Did the vision to Mr. Lee in Shinchonji give him a new Jesus? Is the anointing in Mr. Lee accurate about the central figure of Christianity?
This is an important question because Satan´s revelations to final leaders have three unique characteristics - 1. Clear answers to Bible prophecies about the end-times and Jesus´ return, 2. Based on this information, they add new teachings about Jesus (i.e. distort his identity), and 3. Make the clear answers to their leader necessary for salvation (i.e. distort salvation).
Regarding the second point, Christian investigators commonly study a final movement to see how they treat the nature of the Lord Jesus. Satan´s revelations and visions to final leaders give new teachings that oppose the nature of Jesus Christ that Christians see in the Bible.
This phenomenon can be seen in many movements that oppose Christianity. An example of this is the Jesus in the New Age movement, the Jesus of the Jehovah´s Witnesses, the Jesus in the liberal movement, the Jesus of the Gnostics, the Jesus in the Luz del Mundo movement, etc.
In these groups, Jesus of Nazareth is said to be the Holy Spirit, an angel, only a man, a separate God, a spirit that possesses a final leader, Jesus not existing as the Son of God before coming to earth, and much more.
The early followers of Jesus wrote against new teachings about Jesus (I and 2 John) and recognized the spirit of the anti-christ in the early gnostic teachers. The gnostic leaders had three errors about Jesus. They said that he did not exist before coming to earth, that Jesus first united to God (i.e. was indwelled by a divine spirit) at his baptism, and that Jesus was not the Son of God (i.e. the same nature as God).
What about Shinchonji? What do they teach about Jesus? Shinchonji teaches the same three points. First, it is taught that Jesus was first possessed by God´s Spirit at his baptism. Notice that the verses quoted about God coming to Jesus relate to his baptism.
¨The one who overcomes preaches the revealed word after uniting with the spirit of the counselor, who comes in the name of the Lord (Jn 14:16-17; Jn 14:26; Jn 16:13-14). This is similar to the time of the first coming when God came to Jesus (Matt 3:16; Jn 1:32) and united with him¨ (Jn 10:30). (1) ¨Jesus united with God when God came to dwell within him¨ (Jn 10:30). (2)
This belief is the same thing the Gnostics taught. It conveys the idea that God united to Jesus at his baptism instead of being anointed by the Spirit of God at his baptism.
Shinchonji also teaches that the Son of God did not exist before coming to earth. But, the Scriptures teach that the Son was already united to God before entering this world. Philippians 2:5,6 teach that the Son was equal to God before coming as a servant to earth. In John 8:58, Jesus said that he existed before Abraham.
After studying many passages, Christians define Jesus as being both the Son of God (of the same nature as God) and the Son of Man (the same nature as a human, without sin). But, Shinchonji allows a revelation to Mr. Lee to alter these truths with new information and new Bible explanations.
One Shinchonji teacher said that Jn. 17:5 does not mean what the Son of God said about his pre-existence. Yet, several Old Testament passages reveal that the Messiah would be both man and God. Isaiah calls the Messiah child, Mighty God (Is. 9). Psalms 45, in the descrption that goes beyond the description of the human kings in Israel, calls the Messiah king, God.
What we observe is that Mr. Lee´s anointing removes teachings about Jesus that God has allowed Christians to see for centuries. Shinchonji also teaches that the special relationship between the Son of God, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit (called the Trinity) is a false doctrine, even though the SCJ website misdefines the Trinity. (See articles on this point.)
In the end, when spirit visions appear and offer new revelations about final prophecies (making everything seem extraordinary and logical), we must be careful to see how they treat the nature of Jesus. When Jesus´ nature is changed and salvation is changed, it is a red flag to the Christian world.
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(1) ¨Faith and the Promised Pastor,¨ Shinchonji Website Articles. Accessed May 20th, 2010. http://healingallnations.shinchonji.kr/content/faith-and-promised-pastor
(2) ¨The founder of a church, the Counselor, and the holy spirits,¨ Shinchonji Website Articles. Accessed May 26th, 2010. http://healingallnations.shinchonji.kr/content/founder-church-counselor-and-holy-spirits
