Why are SCJ Interpretations so Different?

Dear reader, 

If you are a Christian and have conversed with end-time groups, you may have asked yourself, ¨How in the world did they get that interpretation from this verse or that word?¨ It seems spiritually bizarre and puzzling.

Some people feel conversations with end-time groups are pointless because Christians show them one set of verses while members of these groups retaliate with other verses (or even use the same ones with different interpretations).  For example, Shincheonji interprets those ¨in the light¨ in I Thess. 5:1-8 to refer to SCJ members with the revealed word, whereas Christians view this as all believers in Christ Jesus.

The reality is that Christians and followers of end-time movements use different ¨glasses¨ (or approaches) to explain meanings in the Bible.  This leads to some important questions about biblical interpretation.

What method should Christians use to interpret the Scriptures?  What approach do final prophets or end-time groups use?  Why are interpretations so different?

There are two methods that have been historically unsafe and dangerous. Even though these approaches claim to possess divine help and guidance, they are based more on human authority.  Below is a brief description and analysis of them.

1. Group-Guided Approach.

This method is based on the notion that God guides a specific group of leaders to explain meanings and concepts of the Christian faith.  The Watchtower Society or the Catholic Magisterium are primary examples.  Leaders of these groups emphasize that God´s Spirit gives them interpretative authority, which is why Christians need them.

One result of this approach is that it forces Christians to depend more on human leaders as opposed to seeking God and relying on his help. In addition, leaders end up developing spiritual traditions, teachings, or rules that go beyond what is written.  Many of these traditions become the central focus of the group and are even elevated above the simple message of Christ.

Lastly, because these leaders consider themselves interpreters by divine appointment, they become the real authority above the Bible.  Moreover, they do not humbly receive correction from the Bible by devoted Christians outside their group.

2.  Prophet-Revealer Approach.

This method is based on the belief that God appoints a prophet to be Jesus´ final spokesperson on earth in the end.  Through visions, dreams, and revelations, this prophet brings new knowledge regarding Jesus´ second coming and salvation. They believe they are filled with God´s power and Spirit, much like the prophets in the Old Testament.

Members in end-time groups are taught to put aside previous concepts about God and the Bible as they learn new information from the prophet.  Their leader offers interpretations that ¨makes sense¨ of mysterious or unfulfilled prophecies.  The prophet´s authority is also magnified because they insist all other Christians are spiritually blind and in darkness.
 
What serious problems emerge with this method?

First, Jesus Christ cautions all Christians to stay away from final prophets who take his place and assume his authority in the end (Mt. 24:4,5, Lk. 21:8).  This is a common sign of error in all end-time groups.

Even so, prophets in end-time groups assert God has sent them as a final prophet. They point to ¨revealed¨ prophecies in the Bible foretelling their coming and authority.  One example in SCJ is the idea that the Bible has promises of a final pastor in the end. Yet, it is suspicious when only the prophet sees certain texts as prophecies and the language (and context) from the Scriptures communicates something else.

Unbeknownst to them, members subtly believe a prophecy based more on human authority than the Bible.

This leads to a second problem - too much interpretative authority in the hands of one person.  Interestingly enough, a prophet offers new light about Bible verses, words, Scripture connections, figurative meanings, prophecies, etc., almost entirely based on an, ¨I say so authority.¨  For instance, Manhee Lee says that the interpretation of ¨east¨ in Rev. 7 refers to Korea because he ¨knows where the east is¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 194), but not based on the Scriptures.

As members become more and more involved in their organization, the danger is that the prophet´s interpretations are viewed as more inspired than the Bible itself.  Thus, any Bible verse or explanation which contradicts their prophet must be in error, especially from Christians outside their group.

Lastly, something is spiritually amiss when a final prophet is said to be filled with God´s Spirit, yet modifies Jesus´ identity and the clear message of salvation through Christ.  They make ¨prophetic knowledge¨ about the Bible a requirement for eternal life instead of being united to Christ Jesus.
  
3. The Christian Model: Holy Spirit and Bible-Method.

This is the safest and most efficient way to interpret the Scriptures.  As Peter said, ¨His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him¨ (2 Pet. 1:3).

As we give our lives to Jesus Christ, believers can rely on God's presence to help them understand the important truths from God (i.e. everything we need for life and godly living).  Regardless of one´s church or denomination, the important truths can be known and experienced by all believers.  The Scriptures preserve and communicate God´s redemptive message in Christ (2 Tim. 3:16) to all those who sincerely seek him.

Thus, the biggest and most important spiritual truths can be understood without an authoritative leader or group (1 Jn. 2:27, Ps. 119:97-104).  In Christian thinking, the clear language in the Bible is superior to a final prophet´s explanations, not the other way around.

In closing, understanding that Shincheonji uses a prophet-interpretation method explains why their interpretations are so innovative and puzzling.  This is why Christians and SCJ members can have Bible discussions and be talking past each other.  They are using two different methods to interpret the Bible.

Is Genesis 1-3 a Concealed Prophecy for a Pastor?

Dear reader,

Many end-time leaders teach they are the final interpreters or prophets of the Christian faith due to a revelation given to them by heavenly creatures or Jesus Christ himself.  It is an extremely powerful spiritual assertion.  At the same time, Christ and the apostles give many warnings of deception from final leaders (Lk. 21:8, I John 4:1, Mt. 24:24, I Tim. 4:1).   
  

In Shincheonji, Manhee Lee claims to have received a revelation or revealed word from divine beings about the meaning and physical fulfillment of the Bible´s last prophecies.  

Manhee Lee holds that he is the final pastor in a long line of chosen pastors.  

To support this teaching, he uses Adam as the first chosen pastor.  Thus, Genesis 1-3 becomes a figurative account of how God chooses his first pastor.  ¨Thus, understanding Genesis 1 literally and thinking that it records the creation of the natural world raises many contradictions.  The order of creation is recorded figuratively to hide the secret of the creation of God's world from the evil one¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 33).

The following description is a condensed version of Manhee Lee's explanation of a pastor in the beginning (Creation of Heaven and Earth, pp. 33-51).  Notice the figurative meanings.

1^st Day – God is looking for a light, which represents a pastor.  Jesus, a chosen pastor, also claimed to be a light (Jn. 12:46, Jn. 8:12).

2^nd Day – God creates the expanse/sky, which represents the tabernacle/heaven of the chosen people.  The sun, moon, and stars are part of the expanse/sky, which refer to Jacob and the chosen people in the Bible (Gen. 37:9,10).  Water represents the ¨revealed word¨ from the pastor (Dt. 32:1,2, Am. 8:11).  The water above is the revealed word and the water below is lies. 

3^rd Day – The land that appears refers figuratively to the chosen people and their tabernacle.  Both the tabernacle/sky and the land refer to the chosen people.  ¨The dry land that appears on the third day and the heaven created on the second day both refer to God´s tabernacle¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 39).  The vegetation, plants, and trees refer to believers (Is. 40:6-8, Dt. 32:2). 

4^th Day – The great light of this day is the chosen pastor.  The moon represents evangelists in the position of a mother.  The many stars are believers in the position of children, but they have different levels of glory (I Cor. 15:41).  They are given authority to rule over the world.

5^th Day – The water represents God´s word (Am. 8:11), the fish represent believers (Hb 1:14, Mt. 4:18-22; Mt. 13:47-50), and the birds represent the spirits that belong to God.  On the fifth day the holy spirit comes as a bird to carry out its work.  Filling the earth means that people are evangelized. 

6^th Day – The cattle, creeping things, and wild animals represent the four beasts in Rev. 4:6,7.  The four living creatures of the spiritual world are heaven´s army.  On this day an organization, like the four living creatures in the spiritual world, is created on earth.  This is what Moses did when he built the tabernacle on earth (Ex. 25:8,9). 

On page 47 of his book, he concludes, ¨Once again, the creation account of Gn. 1 is a spiritual re-creation, stated in the terms of a physical creation.  This creation is not limited to a specific generation.  It is repeated over and over until all of Revelation is fulfilled.  This process of creating heaven and earth takes six thousand years, which is likened unto six days.  The re-creation of heaven and earth in Gn 1 is completed six thousand years later in Rv 21 (Rv. 21:6).¨       

Is this revelation the true explanation of Genesis chapters 1-3?  Why doubt it?

First, although many Christian thinkers have used figurative meanings for Genesis in the past, this explanation seems far-fetched and beyond the simple meanings given.     

The verses used in support of his figurative meanings are disconnected and forced.  For example, Jesus said his disciples would be fishers of men, but this does not mean that ¨fish¨ refer figuratively to men in Genesis.  In context, Jesus used this analogy for fishermen to help them understand deeper spiritual truths, as with other parables (Mt. 13:47-50).  Another misapplication is connecting the metaphor of beasts (those who lack knowledge in Prov. 30:2,3) to beasts and animals in Genesis. 

These examples bring to light a central problem.  (See the article on SCJ Interpretations.)  The authority for making these connections is subtly based on ¨I say so¨ or ¨My revelation makes it so¨ authority (followed by Scripture connections or spiritual reasoning), but not based on the Scriptures themselves.  When a final prophet is the one who makes these interpretations, it is subjective revelation, not proof-supported or objective.    

Another problem is that Manhee Lee´s figurative explanations and arguments against a literal interpretation (i.e. millions of years of life on earth, the appearance of Cain´s wife, Cain´s fear of being killed by other people, and the appearance of light on the fourth day) end up creading more spiritual problems than answers.

For example, he claims that Adam was not the first real physical man.  Adam was only the first man to receive God´s word (i.e. the first chosen pastor).  Mr. Lee states that other beasts (men without God´s word) existed before Adam.  Adam even had parents.

¨Second, the Bible implies that Adam had parents.  God told Adam to leave his parents and unite with his wife (Gen. 2:24).  If Adam really was the first human God created, how could he have had parents? Clearly, Adam was not the first human.  Although there were people living before Adam, because God gave Adam the breath of life that makes him a living being, God decided that Adam was the first ¨man.¨  Anyone with a physical body that lacks God´s breath of life is a mere lump of earth…The fact that no man had yet been created in this passage means God had not yet chosen a pastor…There were many people before Adam, but because they did not know God and they did not have God´s word, they were considered beasts.¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, pp. 58, 59, 61).

This means God created people at the beginning of time, before Adam appeared, who did not have his words.  This creates spiritual problems.  Why would the first humans not have God´s words?  How long did these humans exist without God´s Word?  These and more questions complicate things with his figurative explanation (1).  

Using figurative language to make Genesis 1-3 about a chosen pastor is a way to validate Mr. Lee´s claim about himself - the need for a final chosen pastor in Revelation.  This is not new. Many apocalyptic leaders interpret symbols or words to self-validate their group or authority. (Joseph Smith said that the ¨stick¨ in Ez. 37:15-17 was a figurative symbol for the Mormon revelation.)  But, this is circular since the ¨revealer-prophet¨ is the one who reveals these meanings instead of the written word.   

Another problem with this figurative explanation is that Manhee Lee makes Gen. 1-3 a spiritual parable about the creation of a pastor instead of a real account of God's glory and power in creating a physical world from nothing.  Shincheonji changes the story and focus.

The message God reveals is that the human race needs a savior to restore a broken creation and bring humans back into a perfect and beautiful relationship with God.  It is a promise and blessing repeated in Gen. 12 that finds its answers in the Messiah, not a final pastor who is not the Messiah.  Even early Jewish sources recognized the importance of the Messianic promise after the creation account (2).

___________________
(1) An unbiased reading of the Scriptures state that Adam was the first man to be alive, not receive God´s words.  ¨Thus, it is written, ´The first man, Adam, became a living being´¨ (I Cor. 15:45).  Before Adam, there were no other men.  This is why he is called the first. 

(2) ¨The Palestinian Targum testifies that in Gen. iii.15 there is promised a healing of the bite in the heel from the serpent, which is to take place "at the end of the days, in the days of the King Messiah." In the Palestinian Midrash to Genesis (Bereshith Rabba xii) we read: "The things which God created perfect since man sinned have become corrupt and do not return to their proper condition until the son of Perez (i.e. according to Gen. xxxviii. 29, Ruth iv. 18 ff. the Messiah out of the tribe of Judah) comes."   http://hadavar.org/drupal/book/export/html/107, Accessed July, 2013.

Can Shincheonji be Corrected?

Dear reader,

What would you think of final prophets who would not let themselves be corrected by the Bible?  This would seem strange and spiritually haughty.  All Christians know that we must submit to God's Word and let the Scriptures correct us.  All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for correction (2 Tim. 3:16). In Christian thinking, the Scriptures contain spiritual truths from Christ for our lives.

In end-time groups, final prophets use a series of statements that make it nearly impossible for Christians to correct them with God's Word.  These spiritual points elevate the prophet's voice over God's voice in the written word.  Even though final prophets encourage Christians to test their revelation with the Bible, their claims simultaneously make it difficult to correct their revelation with the Bible.  This is why many end-time movements continue to exist today.

What are these points that make it difficult to correct revelations to final leaders/prophets?

1.   Final prophets have the power to remove what seems clear in Scripture.  

Since final prophets claim to receive information from angels, Jesus, or God, this allows them to give the real meaning to prophetic and non-prophetic parts of the Bible.  Even clear parts of the Bible can mean something different if the leader uses a different connection or a spiritual definition of a word. The true meaning of a verse in the written word does not depend on what the words communicate on their own. For instance, Ac. 1:9-11 does not mean what most Christians think it means.  The final prophet has the authority to define figurative/hidden language in reference to clouds and give the right meaning.

Since Jesus and God are seen to be working through the prophet, the leader becomes the ¨revealer¨. The prophet does not submit to the written word, but reveals it.  This gives unlimited interpretation power to the leader.  It also means he does not have to submit to the ideas that God was making clear in the written word.

When leaders have this special anointing, it disarms Christians from using comprehensible passages in the Bible (the written word) to correct a final leader.  When a group is challenged, the final leader and his group respond by saying that the true meaning of many verses is hidden.  In this way, the final leader does not have to submit to the meaning that Christians clearly see God's voice saying in Scripture.

Once I met up with a leader in a movement in Latin America.  When he pointed out that the Son of God did not exist before coming to earth, I told him that most Christians see the Scriptures saying the opposite (Jn. 1:1, Jn. 17:5, Mic. 5:2, Jn. 8:58, Phil. 2:6, etc.).  This pastor agreed with my comment and, paraphrasing him, said, ¨What you really need is revelation knowledge to see this.¨

Secondly, another consequence of this relates to members of these movements.  When final leaders introduce new definitions, connections, and explanations to the written word, followers accept the new interpretations thinking this is what the Bible is affirming all along.  They believe the Bible is saying new things even when Christians see the written word saying something else.  This makes it hard to use Scriptures to correct revelations when final prophets have given the same verses new meanings.

For example, Jesus refers to a visible coming in Mt. 24:27 when he uses lightning.  But, Christians cannot use this to correct Shinchonji's teaching of an invisible return because SCJ uses other verses (e.g. Lk. 10:18, Rev. 11:19) to show that lightning in Mt. 24:27 is not visible. This is why Christians and members of end-time groups can debate and get nowhere.  Both sides are using the written word in different ways.       

2.  A final leader claims that Jesus has opened up seals to them in the Bible. 

When a final prophet proclaims that Jesus or God has opened seals and mysteries to them in the Bible, it makes it difficult for outside Christians to refute what they reveal because the Christian world is said to only go by a closed book/sealed prophecies.  Manhee Lee makes this point when talking about the importance of a revealed word and the time of unsealed prophecies (Creation of Heaven and Earth, pp. 6-9).

In Christian thinking, a revelation to a leader must still submit to the clear ideas in the written word.  But, leaders with a revealed word argue that Christians are like the Pharisees in the first coming.  They cannot rightly interpret the written word when the prophecies are sealed.  When the Bible is made to be a completely sealed book, it implies that what most Christians see the Bible saying does not necessarily mean it is the right meaning.

One person wrote saying that one Shinchonji instructor told him and another person to completely put aside what they had thought the Bible was saying before.  For example, Shinchonji gives a revealed meaning to the events in Rev. 6, 8, & 9, referring to the church of the seven golden lampstands.  Most Christians, however, see the events referring to people in the whole world.  

When Christians try to use the voice in God's written word to correct Shinchonji, Manhee Lee's writings claim that Christians are using a closed book, which they cannot interpret or understand correctly.

3.  Final leaders claim that all Christians who do not believe in their revelation are deceived by Satan and follow traditions of men.

In end-time movements, the group's literature has many statements about Christians being in darkness and only using traditions of men.  In Christian thinking, ¨traditions of men¨ are ideas that are not clearly stated in God's written revelation.  It's extra information.  For example, the Pharisees held on to a Corban tradition that nullified God's command to honor one's parents (Mk. 7:9-13).

To final prophets' ¨traditions of men¨ are defined as Christian beliefs that the majority of Christian churches have about Christ Jesus and the written word.  In Manhee Lee's writings, he teaches that all ministers in Christianity are either going by the traditions of men or are unscriptural and blinded.

The problem is that this forces insiders to rely more fully on what the final leader reveals to be true than what the voice in the written word is saying.  This is why it is hard to correct members with the written word since they have been trained to think that the written word is only open to the final leader.  They believe outside Christians are deceived by Satan's kingdom.

4. Final leaders use circular reasoning/interpretation.  

When a final prophet employs circular reasoning/interpretation, it is nearly impossible for Christians to correct them with the written word.  For example, many leaders have revealed that they or their group is ¨the servant¨ in Mt. 24:45-47.  The servant is the final leader, which is revealed by the final leader.  But, the written word on its own does not speak of one final servant (but faithful servants in general).  The leader can give this circular interpretation even if Christians see the written word saying something different.

Taken together, these four statements make it hard for Christians to correct final leaders with God's Word.  In addition, leaders have much spiritual pride and confidence that no believer can answer their questions or give them better interpretations.  They are the teachers and everyone in Christianity must listen to them.

Since we are supposed to humbly put ourselves under/submit to the Lord's voice in Scripture, it is important to let God's voice in the written word correct the voice in a revealed word, not the other way around.  All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for correction (2 Tim. 3:16,17).  When end-time leaders use these points to support new interpretations, Christians should be cautious.

Hard Questions Posed by Shincheonji.

Dear reader,

According to Shinchonji, the SCJ pastor, Manhee Lee, had an encounter with heavenly entities on a mountain in South Korea.  These entities (God, Jesus, and a holy spirit/angel) gave Mr. Lee a ¨revealed word¨ or ¨revelation¨ on the prophecies related to the second coming (their meaning and their physical fulfillment).  Mr. Lee says that he is the New Apostle John figure who received the scroll (the revealed word) in Rev. 10.

When heavenly entities convince a leader that their ¨revelation¨ is true and a movement is started, it's important to test this revelation.  Testing, of course, is not physically persecuting a leader or their followers, who are loved by God.  But, it's important to avoid spiritual deception (I Tim. 4:1, I Jn. 4:1).

Leaders in end-time movements believe their revelation is from God because a) it seems to answer all the prophecies about the last stage of Christianity and b) no one else in Christianity knows their answers to these questions.  This is seen as evidence that the ¨revealed word¨ must be divine in origin.

Members in Shinchonji use the revealed word to pose questions to Christians.  In SCJ literature, it is stated that no one can answer their questions about Revelation or the second coming.  To Shinchonji, this demonstrates that the ¨revealed word¨ is superior to all Bible knowledge in Christian circles today.

These questions are also used to make Christans feel like they must have this knowledge (¨the revealed word¨) to be ready for Jesus' return.  In his zeal, one Shinchonji member sent out more than 70 e-mails with questions to his Christian family.  The message was, ¨If you don´t know the answer to these questions, you need to study with Shinchonji?¨

What is the problem with these questions?  What do we discern?

First, it is suspicious when the ¨revealed word¨ asks questions that the written word does not require believers to know.  For example, one Revelation question is, ¨What is the meaning of the white stone in Rev. 2:17?¨ But, when we listen to God´s voice in Rev. 2:17, the written word is not commanding believers to know this meaning.

The reader is able to understand that it is something wonderful.

In Rev. 1:3, God's voice states that those who read Revelation and take to heart what is written in it will be blessed.  Without perfect knowledge, believers throughout the centuries have been blessed by the powerful themes that come from the written word in Revelation.  But, the written word does not command us to understand every word.

Shinchonji members might respond, ¨This is equal to saying that it's not important to understand Jesus' words at all.¨  But, this is different.  All followers of Christ believe that we should study what Jesus makes known in the Bible.  The difference is when a ¨revealed word¨ emphasizes something that the written word does not emphasize.  Only the revealed word requires it to be known.

Instead of trusting in Christ's power, love, and promises, people become more worried about understanding every word in Revelation that the ¨revealed word¨ asks a question about.

When God's word does not emphasize something, we can trust that God either does not emphasize the meaning or he chooses not to reveal it, which is a divine prerogative (Jn. 21:20-23, I Cor. 13:12, I Jn. 3:2). A host of topics in Scripture is unknown to the Christian world (the identity of the spirits in 1 Pet. 3:18, future activities in eternity, the time that elapsed before Satan's rebellion, and much more).

Imagine an English professor asking students, ¨When Cinderella lost her slipper in the story, what was the price of that slipper?¨  The story does not reveal the answer.  In the same way, the ¨revealed word¨ in Shinchonji creates questions that the story in the written word does not ask (and then expects answers that the written word does not reveal).

(Note to reader: Many questions raised by Shinchonji fall under this analysis, but it is possible that some do not.  Each question should be analyzed separately/case by case to see if it applies.)

What are some other problems with ¨revealed questions¨?

Since the ¨revealed¨ questions require answers not easily known in the written word, it slowly makes participants view the ¨revealed word¨ in Shinchonji as the primary source of truth.  Shinchonji would disagree with this, but it becomes more apparent to outside Christians that the revealed word from Manhee Lee becomes the real authority in SCJ, not the written word.

When this happens, it makes it nearly impossible to correct a leader with a ¨revealed word¨ with God's written word.  Revealed ¨words/revelations¨ insist that their revelation unveils the deeper connection or the real meaning in the written word (even if the written word says something different).

For example, God's word in Mt. 24:27 makes it known that the meaning of lightning is related to visibility, but the revealed word in Shinchonji cites other verses, like Lk. 10:18 and Rev. 11:19, to show that the deeper meaning in Mt. 24:27 does not refer to visibility.  So, the revealed word ¨corrects¨ the written word, not the other way around.

A third problem with the ¨revealed word¨ is circular interpretation.  One Shinchonji member once asked, ¨If Mr. Lee is not the Apostle John figure, who is?¨  But, this person did not realize that Mr. Lee (the new Apostle John) is the one who says there must be a new Apostle John.  When the written text is consulted on its own, it does not require followers of Jesus to believe a new John is coming.

Another case is when Manhee Lee reveals that the ¨one who overcomes¨ in Rev. 2,3 refers to one person, Mr. Lee, (as a primary meaning) and to others (as a secondary meaning).  Only Mr. Lee sees that this is a prophecy for a final leader.  When God's Word is consulted independently, it is the exact opposite.

Fourth, when Shinchonji speaks of knowing answers to Revelation (how prophecies should be understood and how they are physically fulfilled), the assumption is that giving interpretations (and the physical fulfillment) is the same as giving the right interpretation (and the right physical fulfillment).  Teachers and students of logic know this is false.  A student can give answers to all the hard questions on an exam and still be wrong (even though their answers were unique and not found on any other exam).

The same is true with revelations from spirit entities to final prophets.  The kingdom of darkness has been revealing end-time answers to many groups for a long time. The fact that final prophets are convinced that supernatural beings from heaven are guiding them doesn't mean that their guided answers are the right ones.  Crafty, intelligent spirits can deceive humans (1 Jn. 4:1), which is why we must test them.

Testing is not merely seeing if a ¨revealed word¨ can give answers to 40 questions on Revelation that the revealed word created, which is circular.  A much safer test is seeing whether or not the voice of the ¨revealed word¨ is the same voice in God's written word.

Lastly, when we test the answers from Shinchonji's revealed word, the ¨revealed word¨ seems to impose itself on the the written word.  The interpretations seem controlled and self-validating. Manhee Lee says, ¨This is connected to the meaning here,¨ but other connections or meanings are possible too.  It feels controlled, like in other movements with a revealed word (see the testimonial section).

For instance, what is Shinchonji's revealed answer to the ¨white stone¨ in Rev. 1:17?

God's Word has many contexts and uses for stones/rocks (Ez. 36:26, Mt. 16:18, 2 Cor. 3:3, 1 Sam. 17:50, Ac. 4:11, Mk. 16:3, etc.), but Manhee Lee's revealed word states that stones represent ¨the tools of God¨ (the words of God) used for judgment, like the stone tablets given to Moses.  In the end, the revealed word says the ¨white stone¨ is ultimately the revealed word (the revelation to Manhee Lee in Rev. 10).

¨The Bible borrows the physical qualities of a stone when it uses stones figuratively to represent the tools of God - people who pass judgment...The white stone (Rev. 2:17) that Jesus (the living stone) promised to give to the one who fights and overcomes the group of Satan (the Nicolaitans) represents the law, which is the word of the New Testament Jesus received from God.  This word is also the word of the open scroll from Rev. 10, and it is by this word that the earth and the sea are judged (Jn. 12:48, Rv. 16)¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, pp. 485-487).

At a certain point, the meanings in Revelation and other prophecies become predictable - everything refers, in some way or another, to the revealed word (see Manhee Lee's book, Creation of Heaven and Earth).

In summary, when a revealed word appears from heavenly entities (an angel, Jesus, or God) and uses questions that it creates, puts itself above the meanings in the written word's self-revelation, or controls meanings between verses, it is a sign to Christians.  It shows that the voice in God's written revelation is not the same voice from the prophet's revelation.

Thank you for considering these points and principles when testing Shinchonji's questions.

Question for Manhee Lee: Where is the Promise?

Dear reader,

Thanks for taking these points to heart.

In the last two hundred years, many final leaders have given prophecies for themselves in the written word to assure their followers that God has chosen them.  Yet, Christian researchers notice that when final leaders reveal prophecies for themselves, the biblical texts do not say what the leaders affirm.

Let´s look at an example in Shinchonji.

According to Shinchonji's public website, Manhee Lee has received information from an angel (a holy spirit), Jesus, and God.  These spiritual entities, working through Mr. Lee, reveal that the New Testament announces the coming of a final pastor.  To Mr. Lee, this is no exaggeration.

Manhee Lee's coming is just as big as the Messiah's first coming.  He writes, ¨Just as the Old Testament promises Jesus Christ (Jn. 5:39), the New Testament prophesies about this promised pastor¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 82).  ¨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).

In Manhee Lee's book, he explains that the Bible reveals a series of pastors and chosen people in different time periods, and that there is now a final pastor (Mr. Lee) and a final chosen people (Shinchonji) in the end. Through this final pastor God accomplishes his will in the book of Revelation.

What is the problem with this claim about a promised pastor?

First, a legitimate promise in the written word is one that everyone sees.  Otherwise, it is not a true promise according to the written word (the Bible).  If it were a clear promise, we should expect devoted Christians from the first century on to be talking about this coming, which we do not find in Christian writings.  This means it is a promise only based on Mr. Lee´s authority, not the written word.

Second, Manhee Lee's statement that his coming is prophesied just like Jesus' coming is not accurate.  Jesus' coming in the Old Testament was foretold in a clear way.  Although many of the details were disputed in the first century, no one disputed the Messianic promise itself.  One Talmudic tradition says that the prophets spoke of nothing more important than the days of the Messiah.  Multiple groups independently extracted promises of a Messiah, like the Essenes.  The Aramaic targums (translations of the Old Testament) inserted the Messiah in many texts.  Even the Samaritans believed a Messiah was to come (Jn. 4:25, 42).

Thus, when God's voice wanted his people to believe in an important coming, like the Messiah's coming, he used clear and unambiguous language.  Applied to Manhee Lee's statement above, if there is a similar promise from God in the New Testament for a pastor, it should be equally obvious, but it´s not.

Thirdly, when we evaluate the verses used by Shinchonji for a final pastor, they are based on circular interpretation.  That is, they are real prophecies only to Shinchonji.  Let´s look at a few examples.

  

Manhee Lee teaches that the phrase ¨the one who overcomes¨ in Rev. 2,3 refers primarily to one individual/Mr. Lee (and, in a secondary sense, to those who overcome in Shinchonji).  But, according to the testimony of the written word, it is the exact opposite.  The primary meaning refers to all those who overcome in the churches (Rev. 2:24, 3:4), not just one individual.

An unbiased reading, confirmed by Christian communities everywhere, reveals that no one sees this as a clear prophecy for one individual.  It is supposedly a secretive prediction only clear to the leader, which makes it based on his authority.  The same is true for other prophecy texts.

According to Mr. Lee, the promise of the Counselor in Jn. 14,16 refers to a final flesh (pastor).  But, this is only so because he re-defines the Counselor to include two aspects - the Spirit and another ¨flesh¨ through whom the Spirit of the Counselor works.  Further, it is not an example of a clear prophecy.  On the contrary, evidence in the text and in Acts dispels the teaching of the Counselor working through only one flesh.

Other examples can also be cited in Revelation.  However, these are only clear promises to Mr. Lee, not any other Christian community.  Again, apocalyptic leaders cite hidden prophecies for themselves based on their authority, but it needs to be shown that God in his written word has made these prophecies known. 

To justify hidden or secretive prophecies in Revelation, Manhee Lee quotes Hosea 12:10 to show that that the Apostle John in Revelation refers to a promised pastor, a new Apostle John who must appear in the future.  According to one source, in the Korean translation of Hosea 12:10, it states that ¨prophets can be used figuratively,¨ but this does not constitute a specific prophecy.

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.

The same is true in God's Word.  One Christian lady said that after looking up Bible verses given to her of a final pastor, she was more convinced that God had not made this promise in the Bible.  According to the written word, God's voice led her in the opposite direction.

One Shinchonji 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 than 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 (Lk. 21:8, Mt. 24:4,5).  See article on Manhee Lee's claim to be the flesh-spirit union with Jesus' returning spirit.

Questions for reflection.  

In Latin America, there is a group that believes that their first leader was the new Aaron of the Christian world.  Are there any clear prophecies for a new Aaron in the Bible?  Should followers of Christ believe a promise that only a final leader makes clear to their group?     

Jesus´ Promise of the Counselor.

Dear reader,

When a final prophet appears and demands the whole Christian world to listen to him because of a revelation from spiritual entities (angels, the Spirit of prophecy, Jesus, or God), it's important to test the information with God's written word.  The written word is God's breath (or voice) to the Christian world (2 Tim. 3:16) and it's superior to revelation words.  When there is a difference, the written word should be believed, not the revealed word. 

Let's test one of the revelations in Shinchonji – the definition of the Counselor. 

In Manhee Lee's book, Creation of Heaven and Earth, he teaches that when Jesus refers to the coming of another Counselor, he is referring to another flesh and the Spirit of Truth, not just the Spirit of Truth.  "The advocate Jesus sends from heaven is both spirit and flesh" (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 436).  One Shinchonji article even calls Christians heretics for only believing in the Counselor as the Spirit of Truth instead of a human/role that the Spirit of Truth works through.

"Without even realizing that the Counselor refers to a role instead of a specific entity, many groups claim that the Counselor is the holy spirit of God.  Because they base this claims on their own faulty arguments and standards they cannot be considered orthodox; these are the actions of heretics." (1)

Both Shinchonji and Christians believe Jesus refers to the Counselor as the Spirit of Truth, but the real question is if the written word also defines the Counselor as another flesh.  Since everything must be according to the Bible (the written word), the written testimony needs to be the final authority that others can see too, not just Shinchonji.

What points make Shinchonji's revelation unreliable?

First, spirit entities to other prophets have misapplied the Counselor meaning and tried to use this same promise in their movements (see the Muslim and Baha’i application of the Counselor promise to their prophets).  The arguments are complex too.  Thus, this should make us suspicious.

Second, for centuries Christians have read the account of the Counselor in Jn. 14:16 and no Christian church has believed that Jesus' voice was referring to another flesh.  If God wanted believers to follow another flesh, it should be clear that Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit and ¨a flesh¨.  If only the Counselor-flesh sees Jesus referring to a flesh role, it is circular. 

In Christian thinking, Jesus was not saying the Spirit of the Counselor would enter only one flesh.  The written word points to the Spirit of Truth entering many Spirit-empowered followers.  The Counselor would be invisible and would come to Jesus' followers shortly.  This Counselor would be with Jesus' disciples forever. 

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you" (Jn. 14:16,17).    

Third, another problem is that Manhee Lee rests on a Korean-Chinese translation of ¨advocate¨ as if this were the original language in God's Word.  Mr. Lee uses the Chinese-Korean word, ¨Bohaesah¨ for ¨advocate¨, which means ¨someone who helps alongside, a teacher who protects with grace¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, pp. 434, 435).  Thus, Mr. Lee says, "Any pastor who belongs to God must speak God's word on God's behalf, protect God's people with grace, and teach only the words of the path leading to God" (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 435).

This Korean-Chinese translation lends to Manhee Lee's teaching in a physical teacher.  But, the real definition is what Jesus says.  In Jesus' definition, Christians only see the second, divine Counselor-presence being God's Holy Spirit.

Fourth, Manhee Lee uses a spirit-flesh teaching to support the Spirit of the Counselor entering his flesh.  He says that "just as" God's spirit entered and worked through Jesus, the Spirit of the Counselor must enter and work through the last pastor.  He writes, "Spirit(s) work through flesh.  That is, a spirit chooses a person and uses that person to speak and work on its behalf" (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 437).  He then uses the example of the spirit of Elijah working through the flesh of John the Baptist.  See our article on this point.

Even if there are cases where God or spirits work through flesh (like in the case of Judas), it is not true that spirits always work through flesh.  In the written word, spirits can work through visions and dreams (Mt. 2:13), through voices (Ac. 8:26), and through temporary bodies of their own (Gen. 18, 19).  God, who is spirit, speaks in many ways (Heb. 1:1).  Manhee Lee needs to show that Jesus specifically said that the Spirit would be another flesh, not just the Holy Spirit.

Fifth, in Ac. 1:4,5, Jesus revealed that the promise of the Father (the Counselor) would come shortly. If Manhee Lee's revelation is correct, then it implies that Jesus only sent the apostles 50% of the promise in the first century and they were without the real Counselor-flesh in their time.  

What is the importance of this Counselor-flesh doctrine?

If true, it means that Manhee Lee is the flesh of God's spirit and the mouth of God's spirit.  This is seen in the way he compares himself to Jesus.  According to Mr. Lee, since God's spirit united to Jesus' flesh, people who heard Jesus were hearing God and people who saw Jesus were seeing God.  The same has happened to Mr. Lee.  Since he has this same indwelling, those who hear him and see him are hearing and seeing God.

"At the first coming, God, who is spirit, worked within Jesus.  This is why Jesus said that anyone who saw him had seen the Father (Jn 14:8-10, 12:44-46).  It is also why Jesus was able to tell people that his words were not his own, but they were the words of the Father who sent him…Just as God, who is also a spirit, worked through Jesus' flesh, the spirit of the truth, who acts as our advocate, dwells within and speaks through the promised pastor (Jn 14;16-17, Rev. 19:9-10, 22:8,9)" (Creation of Heaven and Earth, pp. 438,439).  "The spirit of the advocate, who comes in the name of Jesus, is the one who speaks on behalf of Jesus.  Therefore, the person who receives the spirit of the advocate also becomes the advocate that speaks on behalf of Jesus.  Just as Jesus and God are one (Jn 10:30), the pastor to whom the spirit of the advocate comes unites with that spirit (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 440). 

_______________    

Appendix: What about the Counselor who teaches us ¨all truth¨ in Jn. 16:13-15?  Do Christians know ¨all truth¨ if they have the Spirit of the Counselor? 

I have heard Shinchonji instructors use this argument to show that Christians today do not have the Spirit of the Counselor or the promise from Jesus because they do not know ¨all truth¨.  The idea is that only a leader with perfect mastery of the Bible has the Spirit of the Counselor. 

Manhee Lee uses a Korean translation, tongdal, of ¨searches¨ in 1 Cor. 2:10 to mean ¨master, be well-versed in, or have thorough knowledge of something¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 441).  Having perfect mastery is a sign of the Spirit-Counselor in Mr. Lee.  He writes, ¨Since 1 Cor. 2:10 says that the spirit searches even the deep things of God, we can recognize the promised pastor as the person who has mastered the Bible and who is teaching it accordingly.  The promised pastor, who has united with the spirit of truth, has mastered the Bible through the word of truth and is teaching it in Shinchonji Church of Jesus and at Zion Christian Mission Center¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, pp. 441, 442).

Thus, Shinchonji gives ¨all truth¨ a mastery-definition that applies to Shinchonji, which is self-defining and circular.  In context, Jesus refers to the truths that the Spirit would reveal to them in the lives of the apostles, which is seen in Acts and in the epistles.  This is what Paul recognizes in I Cor. 2:10-13.  The Spirit has shown them things from God, not from the wisdom of man.  Lastly, according to Vine's Dictionary of Greek words, the word for ¨searches¨ in I Cor. 2:10 is ¨eraunao/ereuna,¨ which means ¨search¨ or ¨examine¨ (2).

____________

(        (1) ¨The founder of a church, the Counselor, and holy spirits,¨ Shinchonji Website Articles. Accessed January 11, 2014. http://shinchonjireport.blogspot.com/2012/10/shinchonji-leemanhee-founder-of-church_19.html

      (2)  http://studybible.info/vines/Search

A Review of Manhee Lee's Book, ¨Creation of Heaven and Earth.¨

This edited article comes from a professor in California, a Christian, who read through Manhee Lee's book, Creation of Heaven and Earth (1), and submitted this review.  

________________________________

Some Thoughts on Manhee Lee, The Creation of Heaven and Earth

(Shinchonji Press, 2009)

I am impressed with Mr. Lee’s familiarity with the terrain of the scriptures. The crux of course comes with his interpretation of them, and with whether one can agree with his claims. He complicates this process of discernment on almost every page by asserting that anyone who does not completely agree with him is destined for the lake of fire. He sends all his critics there - both people who do not wish to join his group and people who wish to leave his group. Those who leave “will receive seven more evil spirits regardless of whether they realize it” (351). Those within the group are not allowed to associate with defectors, and defectors are not allowed to repent of their leaving and to return. One might regard this set-up as simply a statement of “what truth is,” or, one might regard it as evidence of a spiritual tone found in other apocalyptic movements.

 

But I digress. As I reflected upon Mr. Lee’s approach to the scriptures, and of his election of himself as the key figure in whom the scriptures supposedly culminate, I thought about an episode in an eighteenth-century moral tale called Rasselas, by Samuel Johnson. In the tale, a group of friends engaged on a search for truth happen upon an astronomer who has spent his entire life studying the movements of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. Over the years, immersed in this study night after night, the astronomer comes to believe that the heavenly bodies only move in the proper way because he keeps track of them; without his guidance, the heavenly bodies would fall out of orbit and the universe would come apart. This delusion is entertained gradually, but once it has taken hold, the astronomer is filled with a sense of responsibility and anxiety. His new friends want to help him, but they are not able to talk him out of his delusion. As he begins to enjoy their company, however, he finds that his delusion gradually melts away.

I have always found this a sweet and cautionary tale, and I think it may apply in the case of Mr. Lee. I imagine him deeply immersed in the scriptures, especially the weirdly fascinating prophetic portions—and this would be only natural to him, as he has apparently spent almost all of his life in groups that pay special attention to these portions of the Bible (2). I also imagine him deeply affected by the power of the scriptures, and wanting to appropriate that power for himself—to involve himself as deeply as possible in what he is reading. And then, one day, caught up in the urgency of the apocalyptic events of the book of Revelation, his thoughts come to rest on “the one who overcomes,” and something inside says, “That’s me.” And then he´s off. 

If he is “the one who overcomes,” he can also be the son of the woman, one of the two witnesses, the white horse, the Advocate, and the Apostle John himself. He can be “the promised pastor” who uniquely succeeds and carries out the will of Jesus. And pretty soon, he’s not just a secondary character—he is the hero of the entire story. Without him, none of the events at the end of the age can take place. He is in fact indispensable, just as the astronomer, in his own mind, becomes indispensable to the proper movements of the heavens.

The difference between the fictional astronomer and the literal Mr. Lee, however, is that the astronomer keeps his delusion to himself, while Mr. Lee uses his to build a public following. And once he insists that everyone else must share his vision, an inflexible narcissism kicks in, and any Christian who questions his bit of theological role-playing is blithely consigned to the lake of fire. But the Scriptures advocate close examination, giving particular caution to end-time leaders who come in Jesus' authority before his time. So, questioning is recommended.

First, I question whether “the one who overcomes” refers to a particular person. In fact, it does not. When we let the words and context give us the meaning, we see that it refers either to believers at that time - those who belonged to the seven churches of Asia Minor - or, by extension, to any subsequent believer who, through the power of Christ, is able to overcome adversity or temptation. Christ does not need a supposed “one who overcomes” to accomplish his return, and in donning this mantle Mr. Lee is not only taking a promise made to all and reserving it only for himself, but he is also changing that promise into something it is not, inventing a leading role for himself out of thin air. His frequent objections to all biblical commentaries and to some biblical translations may stem from the fact that this misunderstanding regarding “the one who overcomes” is so easily resolved. The NRSV, for example, in Rev. 2-3, has “to everyone who conquers” (3x), “whoever conquers” (1x), “if you conquer” (2x), and “to the one who conquers” (1x).

In claiming to be the unique embodiment of the Advocate promised in John 14-16, Mr. Lee is also taking a guarantee made to many and applying it only to himself. Jesus is promising the Holy Spirit to his disciples—and by extension to all believers—but Mr. Lee would have us believe that the holy spirit (always lower-case for him, as he seems to regard the Holy Spirit as more of a function than a person) is only embodied in himself—and that this spirit has been effectively withheld for the last 2,000 years. Again, there is a usurpation—a wrongful taking—of powers here.

Related to this is Mr. Lee’s claim that he literally functions as the Apostle John as a receiver of revelation. Just as John received a vision of the apocalypse, Mr. Lee claims to have received an even clearer vision of what he calls the “physical fulfillment” of these prophecies. He in fact regards John the Apostle as only a “figure” for himself, for Mr. Lee is the actual one who eats the unsealed scroll and finally makes the book of Revelation clear to all. Again, however, he is usurping a role. The revelation given to John was written down for all to read, but by claiming that he is the “real” Apostle John, Mr. Lee invalidates 2,000 years of engagement with a historic text. Access to divine truth is suddenly narrowed, and Mr. Lee becomes the only gatekeeper.

There is a pattern here, and it is not a healthy one. It is one thing to play a children’s game of pretend for oneself—and then to become so caught up in the game that one believes it for oneself. (In the midst of my reading it is fun to imagine that I am Tom Sawyer, or Bilbo Baggins, or Tumnus the Faun.) But it is quite another thing to inflict this game of pretend upon others. (I’m Aslan, and you have to do what I say.) That is when play becomes piracy. What Mr. Lee has accomplished, intentionally or not, is a hijacking of the scriptures.

Finally, and over-archingly, Mr. Lee constructs a pattern of scriptural history to validate his anointed role. Like many before him, Mr. Lee has noticed that God appears to reveal himself in different ways at different times. There have been many efforts to systematize these different ways and steps of revelation, none completely satisfactory, given the fact that the scriptures are full of such living, squirming variety. One of the most rigid ways was developed by a man named Darby in the nineteenth century, and it came to be called dispensationalism, because Darby regarded the Bible as recording a series of different dispensations of God’s presence in a succession of covenants with his people.

Mr. Lee takes Darby’s general idea and shapes it in a particular way. He perceives a rigid social pattern of betrayal, destruction, and then salvation through divine selection of “a new pastor,” and he follows this pattern through Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and Jesus. Most any other interpreter would stop here, with Jesus as the climax of God’s revelation of himself, though of course the return of Christ would be taken into account as well. Mr. Lee, however, uses the momentum he gains from unfolding this pattern to springboard the reader to a “new gospel” of “the promised pastor” in the end times. To do this, he needs to exercise some sleight of hand to stipulate an expiration date for the “old gospel” of Jesus.

This is where he has to equivocate a little: on some pages of his book he extols the saving grace of Jesus made available through his death on the cross; on other pages he insists that salvation is only made available through “the promised pastor.” He has sort of painted himself into a corner. It won’t do to completely dismiss the work of Jesus, partly because Mr. Lee constructs his own authority on the basis of many messianic analogies, but at the same time he wants to convince us that he himself, Mr. Lee, is the new “savior,” the one we must “believe in,” that God’s work is completely contingent upon Mr. Lee’s appearance and upon his heroic acts.

Also, Mr. Lee would have us believe in an inflexible “logic” of this dispensational pattern: God can work in no other way, and this way culminates in the arrival of Mr. Lee. He would not have us notice that the role of “the promised pastor” is one he has completely made up on his own, for no clear New Testament prophecy is made for a promised pastor.

Indeed, there is a certain impenetrable circularity to his logic. How does Mr. Lee have, as he claims, “complete mastery” of the scriptures?  He will tell you it is because he is the one who overcomes and is thus given the hidden manna of the revealed word. How does Mr. Lee know he is the one who overcomes? Why, because he has complete mastery of the scriptures.

Finally, I will note in passing that he exercises this supposed mastery with an exegesis that often seems quite arbitrary. In Mr. Lee's hands, for example, Genesis 1 becomes a figurative allegory for the end times. The 144,000 who belong to the Lamb on Mt. Zion in Revelation 14, however, comprise a number that Mr. Lee takes quite literally. His choice of a strangely literal interpretation or a heretofore unknown figurative interpretation of the scriptures does not seem to be guided by any consistent principle. If there is a consistent principle, it is the promotion of his own status and purposes.

So, this is my response in a nutshell to Mr. Lee’s theology in his book. Samuel Johnson’s astronomer could be cured of his delusion. If Lee is like other end-time visionaries, finding a cure may prove difficult.
____________________
(1) Professor Paul J. Willis, November, 2011. willis@westmont.edu
(2) See article on Lee's involvement in other movements before Shinchonji.

The 144,000 in Rev. 7: Literal or Figurative?

Dear reader,

One of the common problems in apocalyptic groups is that the leader becomes the final authority, not God's Word.  The leader is viewed as Jesus' mouthpiece on earth and his words/interpretations of the Bible are treated as God's Word (inspired commentaries/explanations).  But, in Christian thinking, only the written word (2 Tim. 3:16) is the purest standard and it should be used to correct leaders, not the other way around (i.e. allow leaders to correct or modify meanings in the Bible).

In Shinchonji, Manhee Lee's explanations often go beyond the written word itself.  Although Mr. Lee and other apocalyptic leaders may have the highest sincerity, it's important to notice how they become the authority over God's Word.  An example of this is the 144,000 in Rev. 7.  In Manhee Lee's book, Creation of Heaven and Earth, he teaches that the 144,000 constitute a prophecy for those who unite to Shinchonji.

To understand this, Manhee Lee believes that God originally chose a church in South Korea, called the Church of the Seven Lampstands, and gave them his words.  Because they betrayed Jesus' words (and refused to repent) in Rev. 2, 3, the destroyers (the beast/Nicolaitans) invaded their congregation/temple.  The one who overcomes the invaders was Mr. Lee with his message (revealed word).  He creates a new people, Shinchonji, and the new Spiritual Israel.  Those who learn the revealed word about the events in Revelation (and their physical fulfillment) become the sealed 144,000 (and later the great multitude in white).

¨After judging his chosen people and bringing them to an end, God creates a new chosen people.  He establishes New Spiritual Israel with the 144,000 who are sealed and with the great multitude dressed in white robes¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 195).

What is the problem with Manhee Lee's explanation?

First, as we have mentioned before, there is a problem with Mr. Lee's perception of the Church of the Seven Lampstands in South Korea.  It was an apocalyptic group started by Jae Yul Yoo, who had been in previous end-time movements.  See article on Mr. Lee's history before Shinchonji.

Second, Manhee Lee's explanation goes beyond the written text.  In God's written word, the 144,000 members are Jews (from the tribes of Israel).  ¨Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,00 from all the tribes of Israel¨ (Rev. 7:4).  The written word speaks of the real tribes of Israel, which is in harmony with many of the prophecies outside of Revelation regarding Israel's final restoration.  See other articles on this point.

Manhee Lee explains the tribes in a spiritual, figurative sense, but the written text does not give this explanation. It is based on Mr. Lee's authority, which goes beyond what the written word in Rev. 7 says on its own.

Third, Manhee Lee's explanation of the 144,000 falls prey to the Watchtower Society error.  The Watchtower Society interprets the 144,000 literally and the reference to the tribes figuratively.  It is inconsistent.  If the 144,000 is literal, the Jews/tribes should be literal.  If the Jews/tribes are figurative, the 144,00 should be figurative.  It is based on what the leader decides, but not the text.

Fourth, if the numbers are literal in Revelation, it should be consistent.  However, the number of seven churches in Rev. 1:20 and in chapters 2,3 is not literal.  Manhee Lee teaches that the seven churches in Rev. 1:20 refer figuratively to Jae Yul Yoo's church of the Seven Lampstands.  One Shinchonji instructor wrote and claimed that Mr. Yoo's church fulfilled Rev. 1:20.  

In the written word, we read of seven distinct churches. ¨...The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches¨ (Rev. 1:20).  The seven churches in Rev. 2,3 are different; each one is praised and rebuked for distinct reasons.  But, based on Manhee Lee's perceived authority, the seven churches figuratively refer to one church movement.  So, the number seven (7) is not seen as literal.

Manhee Lee writes, ¨The events of Revelation take place in the seven churches of Asia Minor, which represent the church of the seven golden lampstands.  This is the first mystery of Revelation (Rev. 1:20)¨ (The Truth Regarding Revelation's Fulfillment, pp. 4,5).

Manhee Lee also believes that the reference to the ¨east¨ in Rev. 7 refers to South Korea.  In his explanation, he says this is so because he is the new Apostle John and this is what he saw.  Again, this comes from his own authority.  Notice his explanation:  ¨The east in Rv 7 is the east from the viewpoint of heaven (Rv 4), and it is where the events of Revelation are fulfilled.  This is Mt. Zion where the 144,00 are sealed with God's seal (Rv 14:1-3).  There is no rule excluding Korea from being the place where the sun rises.  Apostle John (Mr. Lee), who was called up to the spiritual heaven, knows where the east is since he saw it from heaven¨ (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 194).
Lastly, in the written word, when God seals the 144,000 in Rev. 7, it is because they were already ¨servants of God.¨  God knows who his servants are (1 Tim. 2:19) and does not need to make servants by teaching them a revealed word.  Mr. Lee interprets the sealing as learning the revealed word in Shinchonji.  But, if God wants to seal 144,000 servants, he has the power to do so in a moment.  

Manhee Lee's explanation of the 144,000, although we believe he is sincere, is seen to be based on circular authority.  He is the one who interprets himself as the Apostle John who then gives the figurative meanings based on his authority (not consistently in the written word) and makes connections in God's Word in the same way.