Shincheonji Perspective
The sealed book is a central concept in Shincheonji theology, representing the hidden truths within the Bible, particularly the book of Revelation. According to SCJ, these truths remained inaccessible to humanity for 2,000 years, with their founder, Lee Man Hee, being the only one capable of unlocking the mysteries of this book. This concept is critical for legitimizing Lee Man Hee’s authority, as they believe only through him can people gain the true and correct interpretation of the Bible.
In simple terms, Shincheonji teaches that no one had the complete understanding of the Bible because it was “sealed,” obscured by parables and metaphors. Only through Lee Man Hee is the true meaning revealed. They claim that even the prophets and people of God before Lee Man Hee did not fully understand the Scriptures.
While SCJ may acknowledge that Christians might have had a partial understanding of the Bible, they argue that the commentaries and interpretations of the Bible, especially the book of Revelation, were ultimately incorrect and even influenced by the devil.
In doing so, SCJ creates a contradiction: they admit that some Christians had a partial understanding, yet simultaneously claim that Christianity was in complete spiritual darkness for 2,000 years.
This idea of the Bible being sealed is also used by SCJ to challenge the doctrine of the Trinity. They claim that once Jesus, who is described as the light of the world, ascended to heaven, the world was left in darkness. According to SCJ, Jesus gave the Apostle John the sealed book of Revelation around 95 AD. While the apostles might have had some partial understanding, SCJ teaches that Christianity fell into complete spiritual darkness shortly after, walking without the full truth for nearly 2,000 years.
In The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 535: “When Jesus, who is light and day, left this world, everything was plunged into a deep, dark night (Jn 9:4-5). Just as night arrives when the sun sets in the west, this world turned to night when Jesus left it. Today, this world has been in constant darkness for the past 2,000 years.”
SCJ justifies these claims with passages like John 9:4-5 to explain the period of spiritual darkness following Jesus’ ascension. They argue that although the apostles had a partial understanding, the world remained largely in spiritual ignorance until Lee Man Hee’s revelation. This alternating narrative—sometimes claiming Christians had partial understanding and other times asserting they had no understanding—serves SCJ’s agenda. It allows them to dismiss theological doctrines like the Trinity while elevating Lee Man Hee’s role in restoring the full truth.
By acknowledging the apostles’ “partial understanding,” SCJ gives Lee Man Hee more credibility as the one who completes and perfects what was previously known only in part, reinforcing their claim that only through him can the mysteries of the sealed book be unlocked.
Unfortunately, this the “double-think” that one should expect when they respond not only to this document, but to the other theological counters that currently exist and in the future. It reminds me of George Orwell’s book, 1984, which coincidentally is the same year that Shincheonji began.
Speaking to the Prophets with Parables
Hosea 12:10 – I have also spoken to the prophets, And I provided many visions, And through the prophets I spoke in parables.
They make the argument that the prophecies and the plans of God are written in parables, so that Satan cannot interfere with the plans of God.
They normally point to Matthew 13:11-15, to justify how the secret knowledge of God’s word is given to a select few.
They argue just as the Old Testament prophecies required interpretation and were fulfilled in Jesus, so too do New Testament prophecies, especially the book of Revelation, need a divinely appointed leader and interpreter.
The sealed scroll of Isaiah
Isaiah 29:9-13 – “Be delayed and horrified, blind yourselves and be blind; they become drunk, but not with wine, they stagger, but not with intoxicating drink, for the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes—the prophets; and He has covered your heads—the seers; the entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, ‘Please read this,’ he will say, ‘I cannot, because it is sealed’; then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he will say, ‘I cannot read’; then the Lord said, ‘Because this people approaches Me with their words and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught.'”
Isaiah’s Vision and the Sealed Scroll: Shincheonji draws heavily on Isaiah 29:9-13, which describes a vision given to Isaiah that was hidden from the people, likening it to a sealed book that no one, not even prophets, could understand. This passage serves as a foundation for their belief that God intentionally conceals certain truths until the appropriate time. They interpret the blindness mentioned in this passage as a consequence of relying solely on human understanding and tradition, mirroring their criticisms of traditional churches.
Writing on Tablets and Running
Habakkuk 2:2-3 – “Then the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write down the vision and inscribe it clearly on tablets, so that one who reads it may run, for the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hurries toward the goal and it will not fail; though it delays, wait for it, for it will certainly come, it will not delay long.'”
According to Lee Manhee:
Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 8-9
In the same way, the sealed books that the prophet Isaiah and Apostle John saw in their visions are hidden revelations of future events. God said, “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herland may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time”, (Hb 2:2-3, NIV).
In essence, Shincheonji teaches that Habakkuk 2:2-3 points to their church as the site of the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, with Lee Man-Hee as the key figure revealing the previously sealed truths of the Bible, particularly Revelation. They see their interpretation as the only correct and complete understanding of the Bible, leading to salvation for those who believe.
Ezekiel and the Open Scroll
Ezekiel 2:1, 8-10 & 3 – Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”
…
“Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth wide and eat what I am giving you.” 9 Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and behold, a scroll was in it. 10 When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were songs of mourning, sighing, and woe.
…
“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel,’ so I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll, and He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you,’ then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.”
Shincheonji strengthens their claims by drawing parallels between Lee Man Hee and the prophet Ezekiel, who, in Ezekiel chapters 1-3, receives a scroll from God and is commanded to eat it. They view both figures as receiving symbolic scrolls containing God’s message, linking Ezekiel’s prophetic role to Lee Man Hee and reinforcing their assertion that Lee Man Hee is a divinely chosen revealer of truth. While Ezekiel foreshadows Jesus eating the open scroll in the first coming, during the second coming, the Apostle John also ate the open scroll in Revelation 10, and thus, foreshadows another “Promised Pastor” in the future.
The scroll in the right hand of God
Revelation 5:1-5 – “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals, and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?’ and no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it; then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it, but one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'”
The Sealed Book in Revelation: Shincheonji identifies the “sealed book” explicitly with the scroll mentioned in Revelation 5:1-5, which depicts a scroll sealed with seven seals, only openable by Jesus the Lamb. They interpret the seven seals as symbolic of the hidden nature of Revelation’s prophecies, inaccessible to those without the proper spiritual understanding. By highlighting Jesus’s role in opening the scroll, Shincheonji reinforces the idea that understanding Revelation requires divine intervention and revelation.
The Little Scroll of Revelation 10
Revelation 10:1-2; 9-11 – “I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll, and he said to me, ‘Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth, it will be sweet as honey,’ so I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth, it was sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter; and they said to me, ‘You must prophesy again concerning many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.'”
We can see this being reinforced with SCJ’s literature, including:
The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 8:
“Approximately 2,700 years ago the prophet Isaiah saw visions regarding Judah and Jerusalem (Is 1:1). Approximately 2,000 years ago Apostle John, who was in exile on the island of Patmos, received the revelation of Jesus Christ (Rv 1:1-2). The visions and revelations these two men received included information about God’s sealed book (Is 29:9-14; Rv 5, 10). Let us understand the sealed book and the process of revelation more deeply.”
And
Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 339
“This same content also appears in Rv 6-7. Isaiah 29:9-13, however, says that because God’s vision is like words sealed in a book, none of the prophets or the seers (heads) can understand. This same concept also appears in Rv 5, where no one is able to open, much less see or read, the book sealed with seven seals that are in God’s right hand. The consequence of the inaccessibility of God’s word is that people can only learn and teach according to the rules and traditions of men. Believers who attempt to draw closer to the Lord do so only with their lips because their hearts are far from God (Is 29:13)”