Shincheonji Perspective
Shincheonji makes the claim that their leader is the “New John”, as the Apostle John saw and heard the visions of Revelation, the “New John” saw and heard the events of Revelation and their fulfillment.
There are a few doctrinal issues with this interpretation.
Where is the Promise?
This is purely based on a “hidden truth” that was revealed through Lee Manhee, as there are no explicit and direct verses that show that God, Jesus, and the Angels would send another person on their behalf.
As already explained in the above document, the SCJ’s interpretation of the “one who overcomes”, the “faithful and wise servant”, and the “advocate”, are just simply unbiblical.
For the one who overcomes, one thing to take note, is that notice that the 12 promised blessings, including the iron scepter which is the ecclesiastical authority to rule on behalf, are given to the first century Christians.
This further shows that if Revelation 12 was about Lee Manhee, 2000 years in the future, then how is it possible for the Christians to receive this authority, as already explained in the “One Who Overcomes” document?
An SCJ member may try to make the argument that they are now in a different dispensation; however, where does it say that during the time of fulfillment, that there would be a new dispensation and a new set of requirements for salvation, considering how this idea and concept also contradicts the wheat and the tares?
For a man who is supposed to have a deep understanding of the Word of God, it’s strange that he cannot get the most basic parable right, besides not taking into account the context of the many verses he may use to support his position.
Lack of Biblical Support
Shincheonji also claims that the parallels between the first and second coming are going to be apparent, as seen in Lee Manhee’s books:
“Just as the Old Testament promises Jesus Christ (Jn. 5:39), the New Testament prophecies about this promised pastor¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 82).
- On a side note, Jn. 5:39 is only about Jesus Christ, and there’s no indication of a future promised pastor.
“The Old Testament testified about one person in Jesus, God’s promised pastor. It is no exaggeration to say that the New Testament testifies about the one pastor Jesus promised¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 337).”
“It could be said that the New Testament proclaims one pastor promised by Jesus¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 429).”
The doctrinal issue is that throughout the Old Testament, we can find explicit references to a future coming Messiah that are easy to understand and are relatively straight forward.
Examples include the following:
This is also why we even see the Samaritan woman who understands and is also waiting for the Messiah, as seen in John 4:25, 42
The Tulmid tradition says that the prophets spoke of nothing more important than the days of the Messiah.
“All the prophets only prophesied with regard to the change in world order in the end of days with regard to the days of the Messiah” Berakhot 34b
In the generations after Hezekiah, there are prophecies about both redemption and the coming of the Messiah. Sanhedrin 99a
Unfortunately, the idea of another person to speak behalf of God and Jesus isn’t as explicit, but instead rely on a hidden truth that needed to be revealed so that Satan wouldn’t interfere with God’s plan.
The Issues with Hidden Promises
Shincheonji Perspective:
Shincheonji would heavily rely on the concept of the “hidden truth” that was obscured away with parables, and that only when the Promised Pastor of the New Testament comes, we can have the true understanding of the Bible.
Christian Perspective:
The issue with the above statement is that it’s circular. What Shincheonji is ultimately saying is that because their leader, Lee Manhee, has a commentary on the Bible, it must mean that he is the Promised Pastor of the New Testament.
A specific promise according to the Bible is one that the voice in the written record makes known to others independently, like in the writings of the Hebrew prophets announcing the Messiah’s coming. If the written word does not make this clear, the real source of authority is the leader’s revelation (from heavenly entities), which other end-time leaders have used to reveal prophecies for their coming.
Imagine a U.S. judge declaring that ¨something is clear according to the U.S. Constitution¨. This would mean that other judges could open the Constitution and find it there. It would be suspicious if it were only clear to this particular judge and no other judge could confirm its clarity. It would make everything based on this judge’s interpretation/perspective of the Constitution, but not the Constitution’s self-revelation.
One Shincheonji instructor replied that perhaps God planned to hide this promise (i.e. seal it) from Christians. But, this creates more problems than it answers. First, it would make Manhee Lee’s promise different from the promise of a Messiah in the Old Testament, which goes against Mr. Lee’s statement above.
Second, if God truly asks believers to follow a final pastor, it would be strange to hide this promise in his written testimony and then expect everyone to believe a promise that is not clearly revealed in the Bible.
Even though the written word gives many clear prophecies about the end, Christians have never seen a clear promise to follow a world pastor who embodies Jesus’ spiritual return. Jesus’ first sign of the end is a warning to stay away from leaders who come in his name and embody his expected return (Luke. 21:8, Matthew. 24:4,5).
The Unreliable Testimony of Lee Manhee
While a Shincheonji member may now claim that Lee Manhee isn’t infallible for his witness of the events of Revelation, this only further undermines Lee Manhee’s claim of a divine appointment from Jesus.
Quoting Lee Manhee directly:
The Physical Fulfillment of Revelation (2014), Prologue: –“Roughly 2,000 years ago, Apostle John saw the revelation of Jesus in a vision on the island of Patmos, which is now part of Greece. At that time, John wrote the book of Revelation as a prophecy to be fulfilled in the future. Today, I have witnessed the fulfillment of the prophecies of Revelation, which were promised by our Lord, and I have written this book according to the explanation given to me by the spirit.”
The Physical Fulfillment of Revelation (2014), p. 9:
“Since, however, this is the time of the fulfillment and the prophecies have been fulfilled in the blink of an eye, I am ready to testify in detail according to the reality and truth I have witnessed and the explanation I have received from the spirit.”
The Physical Fulfillment of Revelation (2014), page 26 – “Since John, according to the will of Jesus, directly sees and hears the explanation of everything recorded in Revelation, John’s testimony is the only testimony regarding Revelation that is true.”
Despite Lee Manhee claiming that he can explain the events of Revelation in great detail, he seems to have made quite a number of mistakes.
In the past, he made the mistake by incorrectly identifying who the reality of the Beast of the Earth was.
In the present, he made the mistake of not knowing what the reality of the Great Tribulation was, even calling God’s work the “devil’s deed”, which is attributing the judgment carried out by God and the angels to the devil, and is technically “blaspheming against the Holy Spirit” as seen in Mark 3:29.
Of course, I expect that SCJ will say that it was a “misunderstanding” and attempt to gaslight the direct quote, but I digress.
Then there are also doctrinal issues with Shincheonji, where the flow of Revelation 7 was updated and changed, and even try to say that COVID-19 was the “catalyst” of more tribulations.
There’s also the fact that for close to 40 years, Shincheonji taught that the fulfillment of Revelation 12 included Yoo Jae Yool fleeing to the US to pursue a theology degree from Westminster, and even provided a forged document showing the Westminster degree, only to later claim that Lee Manhee only heard this from other men and rumors, and not from God.
We also have to take into consideration that Shincheonji also redefines what a lie is through their wisdom of hiding, which also puts into question whether or not more “wisdom” is being used for their fulfillment.
Then lastly, here are more resources that go into greater detail about the “fulfillment” of Shincheonji:
Fulfillment Issues with Betrayal, Destruction, Salvation
Translation of Won Se-ho’s Interview (The founder of SEC, in charge of training materials)
Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns Analyzed Fulfillment Analyzed
Little Bird’s Essay on the Fulfillment Issues of Shincheonji
- The one who saw and heard
- The one who ate the open scroll
- Angel who was sent on behalf of Jesus
- The Sealed 144,000 of the 12 tribes
- The Great Tribulation
- The Great Multitude with White
- The number of wars in Revelation
- Peace in Mindanao
- Image of the Beast
- Who is the beast of the earth?
- The 3.5 days of the 2 witnesses
- 7000 killed
- A reed like rod
- Lee Manhee involvement with the Olive Tree
- Tabernacle Temple
- Baek’s Recreation Church
While a Shincheonji member may also claim that these are just “misunderstandings”, and that we should not worry too much about the details, a Christian would contend that the details do matter.
When Jesus was asked about the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, and doing away with the law, he responded in the following manner:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
This shows that even the “smallest stroke” will be fulfilled.
The New John Shifts the focus away from Jesus
While a Shincheonji member would acknowledge that the book of Revelation is about Jesus, objectively speaking, when looking at the exaltation and purpose of Lee Manhee becoming the final witness to the events of Revelation, it isn’t much of a stretch to show that this is more about Lee Manhee instead of Jesus Christ.
For example, our salvation is based upon the testimony of the “New John”:
The Physical Fulfillment of Revelation, page 10 – “This means that no one can come to Jesus, gain eternal life, or enter heaven except through the one who overcomes (Rv10).”
The Physical Fulfillment of Revelation, page 11 – “Today, Revelation is being fulfilled, and salvation can only be obtained through the promised one who overcomes.”
The Creation of Heaven & Earth, page 188 – “All believers must find the one who overcomes – the pastor promised in Rv 2-3 – in order to attain heaven and eternal life.”
The Creation of Heaven & Earth, p. 276 – The pastor of salvation, whom Jesus has promised in the New Testament, is the person who fights and overcomes the enemy prophesied in Revelation. God’s kingdom descends upon him.
Then we can also look at how Lee Manhee continues to exalt himself with the following titles:
He is the servant of Revelation 1:1
He is the “One Who Overcomes” of Revelation chapters 2 to 3.
He wrote the letters to the 7 churches
He is the pillar in God’s temple Rv 3:12
He is the one who went to heaven in Rv 4
He was the one before the throne who wept in Rv 5
He is the one that is sealing the 144,000 in Rev. 7.
He is the golden censer of Rev. 8:3-5.
The one who eats the little book in Rev. 10.
He was one of the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11
He is the Seventh Trumpet in Rev. 11:15ff.
He is the male child born in Rev. 12:5f
He is the white horse that Jesus rides on in Rev 19:11
He is the bride of Christ of Rev. 19 and Rev. 21
He is the Messenger who speaks of in Rev. 22:16.
Faithful and Wise Servant (Mt 24:45)
The Advocate (John 14-16)
He is the “tree of life” in the Bible and will sit on God’s throne
Is there a “New John”?
A Shincheonji person may lastly point to Revelation 1:1-3, and Revelation 22:16, claiming that these verses explicitly show that there is indeed a “New John” who will seal the servants of God.
The issue with this interpretation is how the promised blessings of Revelation 2 – 3 were being applied to the believers of the 1st century, and even today. This demonstrates that there is no need for a future Messianic figure, or Promised Pastor of the New Testament.
The purpose of the Book of Revelation, when looking at it from a historical perspective, is to give the Christian Church hope. These same Christians were being tormented for their faith during the time of the Roman empire, and yet the Christian faith managed to triumph and overcome the Roman empire, eventually even absorbing the empire that tried to stamp them out.
Using context, some reasoning and logic, and letting the Bible speak for itself, there doesn’t appear to be a future, Promised Pastor of the New Testament.