Shincheonji Perspective
Shincheonji believes that their open, revealed word, is the good seed that one needs to be born of in order to be properly harvested of Matthew 13:24-30. Those who are born of Satan’s seed, or the Traditions of Christianity which is now a part of Satan’s kingdom, will be left in the field to be judged by fire. The seed that was planted 2000 years ago was the “sealed” word of the New Testament, and when the fulfillment of the New Testament unfolds, the Christians are supposed to be converted into the church of Shincheonji.
Christian Response
The issue with this interpretation is the following: when the son of man planted the good seed, the good seed always persisted until the end of age. This very same seed, also produced a “good crop”, and was harvested into the barn. There is no indication that the seed planted by
Jesus 2000 years ago ever became corrupted. While it is true that the evil one did plant the tares during the night, the two seeds co-existed together until the end of age, where the two are separated.
Nowhere in this parable does it indicate that the “good seed” planted by Jesus 2000 years ago would become corrupt, and also become one with Satan, as Shincheonji beliefs with their commentary on Christianity, whose pastor’s are now married to Satan.
The way that Shincheonji interprets the wheat and the tares goes beyond what the parable is saying, and therefore, is adding and subtracting to what the Bible is saying.
Shincheonji counter
In summary, the last 2,000 years have seen a mixture of truth and falsehood in Christianity, making it difficult to discern true believers until the final judgment. Despite this, God has been guiding people to seek Him, and the parables of Jesus help clarify the truth.
Jesus will judge those who twist his words:
48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.
And at the same time, during the “night”, God will forgive their ignorance, and correctly teach them in Spirit:
26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[a] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
So while the words of Jesus were never corrupted, the interpretations of the words of Jesus were.
We are unable to determine which interpretation is true until the judgment day, which is happening now through Lee Manhee and SCJ.
Christian response
Just to reiterate, according to the parable of the wheat and the tares, the “good” seed will persist until the end of age, where the seed, or the “son of the kingdom”, will be harvested into the barn.
The idea of the “good” seed being partially true, mixed together with false teachings, contradicts Shincheonji’s concept of “good” due to their definition of what a lie is.
According to Shincheonji, a “lie” is when one adds and subtracts to God’s word, citing Revelation 22:18-19, and Proverbs 30:5-6.
Since the “good” seed, according to the above counter, has also been “mixed” with the “bad seed”, this shows that the “good” is no longer good, but instead a lie.
To further the argument, we can also take a look at how Shincheonji interprets the “Tree of Knowledge of good and evil”.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a figurative concept representing a person or organization that speaks a mixture of God’s words and Satan’s doctrines.
With this in mind, this shows an inconsistency with Shincheonji’s interpretation of the “good” seed that persisted for 2000 years before the fulfillment of Revelation.
Shincheonji Counter:
Then, what about Acts 17:28-30? Or 1 Corinthians 13:12 that talks about only knowing in part?
Christian Response
The doctrinal issue of Shincheonji’s interpretation of Acts 17:30 can be found within its context.
Acts 17:30 refers to the time before Christ’s coming, not to a period after 95 AD as Shincheonji claims. Paul is addressing the pagan Athenians and referring to their previous lack of knowledge about the true God. The “times of ignorance” ended with Christ’s coming, death, and resurrection, not in modern times.
An interesting part of the verse to take note:
So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”
The context shows that what Christ did through the cross now expands to a time when the declaration and the expansion of Christianity calling all to repent, and thus creating sons of the kingdom, is to happen now during the time of Paul speaking, and even today.
What was Paul declaring for all to hear and come to repentance? The “good seed” that persisted.
As for 1 Corinthians 13:12:
Both a Christian and a Shincheonji person can agree that until things are fulfilled, we are not going to know every single detail. This is why Shincheonji can insert a new 144,000 for Revelation 7:1-4, despite the older teachings of Shincheonji not supporting such a concept.
With that in mind, does this mean that Lee Manhee was teaching a lie? Or, does it mean that he was ignorant since the details of Revelation 7 were not “revealed” to him? According to Shincheonji, Lee Manhee is the “tree of life” and the “promised pastor”, thus, he cannot be a liar.
Likewise with the Christians, it is true that there is still some ignorance until the fulfillment of Revelation.