This article is taken from:
https://whatismountzion.co.nz/examining-the-biblical-basis-of-shincheonjis-doctrine-on-lying-or-wisdom/
Shincheonji Perspective
SCJ teaches that Jesus did many things in secret, and also told many people to keep his identity secret because he knew that Satan would use people to oppose (persecute) the work of God (Matt. 9:27 – 34, Mark 1:40 – 45, 5:35 – 43, 7:32 – 37, 8:22 – 30, John 5:9 – 16, 7:1 – 12, 11:45 – 57). They believe that because Jesus did things in secret and knew Satan would get in the way, they also must conceal their activities so that Satan will not interfere with their work.
Did Jesus Lie?
To make it clear, Jesus never lied, SCJ doesn’t claim that either, but they claim that Jesus did things in secret so that Satan would not interfere with His work. It is a stretch to go from the actions of Jesus to the actions of SCJ recruiters. We need to understand the intentions behind Jesus’s actions. There are a few reasons why so let’s look into those and also see how Jesus’s actions and intentions differ from SCJ recruiters.
In Matthew 16:20, Jesus instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he is the messiah. He also says a similar thing in Matthew 17 after His transfiguration where he tells them not to share. This can be unsettling as one would think Jesus’s goal is to share that he is the messiah with many people. However, Jesus is not trying to prevent people from knowing who he is. He has publicly displayed all the promised signs of the Messiah and many have acknowledged His identity (Matt. 9:27; 12:23; 15:22). He is sensitive to the weaknesses of the people and if enough became convinced that He was the Messiah—before His prophesied death and resurrection (John 12:32–34)—they would attempt to start a revolution against Rome, to make Him king of Israel (John 6:15). That would be based on a misunderstanding about what the Messiah had come to do on earth. He does not want that.
For now, Jesus seems most interested in allowing Israel’s religious leaders and the people to decide for themselves who they will say that He is, based on His displays of God’s power and His teaching and to not get in the way of his crucifixion and resurrection. The time for many to know the message of Christ will happen when the time is right (Acts 1:8).
It is important to note that Shincheonji believe there will be a time where many people will come to SCJ and they will evangelize more openly, they call this the great multitude referring to Revelation 7 verse 9 and verse 14. But for the time now they believe that they must be discreet since they are still perceived as a cult so people would not believe if they shared who they were openly.
Part of why Jesus was discreet is about humility and service, but this argument is not as strong as the one made above. The main difference between SCJ’s methods and Jesus’s is that SCJ are going beyond being discreet to not mislead. They are being deceptive and manipulative. Many of them share that they are members or leaders of various Christian churches and ministries, that they studied at various bible colleges, or that they themselves are learning this with you for the first time. They also then encourage you not to share these teachings with anyone or not even let anyone know that you are learning the bible. They coach their members how to lie with many of them being comfortable being able to look you straight in the eye while doing so.