Shincheonji lesson 73: the promised pastors of the Old and New Testaments

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This lesson teaches that each testament has one promised pastor who “fulfills and testifies”: Jesus for the Old Testament and “New John” for the New. It gives a checklist to identify him. Students are to ask what the scroll tasted like, have him describe Revelation 4 and show what he built, and ask which hand Jesus placed on him. “If even a single one of these is missing, then that person is not the one we’re waiting for.” It identifies the New John with the male child of Revelation 12 and the one who overcomes, and warns, “So, you won’t really understand this person through the opinions of others.” SCJ’s The Creation of Heaven and Earth (p. 430) says the Old Testament testifies about Jesus Christ, and “The New Testament also testifies about one person—the advocate, who is the one who overcomes and the one who eats the opened scroll.” The same page says, “It is only when a person believes in the promised pastor and keeps the words of his testimony that he or she can attain salvation.” The New Testament says plainly who it testifies about.

1. 1. The New Testament testifies about Jesus

   SCJ’s book says the Old Testament testifies about Jesus and the New Testament about another person (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 430).

   • John explains why he wrote: “these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
   • Paul: “I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
   • Revelation itself is “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1), and “the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (19:10).
   • “in these last days he has spoken to us in a son” (Hebrews 1:2).

   The whole Bible, Old and New, testifies about one person: Jesus.

2. 2. The Advocate is the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is our advocate

   SCJ’s book says, “A certain pastor has been chosen as the advocate in the physical world” (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 427).

   Jesus explains who the Advocate is:

   • “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything” (John 14:26).
   • “he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept because it does not see him or know him. But you know him because he resides with you and will be in you” (14:16-17). The world doesn’t see him, and he lives inside believers. No human pastor fits that description.
   • John calls Jesus himself our advocate: “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).

3. 3. Jesus isn’t one of two “promised pastors”

   The lesson’s table puts Jesus and the New John side by side as the promised pastors of each testament.

   • Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Peter tells church leaders, “Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you,” until “the Chief Shepherd appears” (1 Peter 5:2-4). The next shepherd to appear is Jesus himself.
   • “he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses” (Hebrews 3:3). He isn’t one in a series.
   • “there is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12).

4. 4. Revelation’s angel and John are different

   The lesson says the angel of Revelation 22:16 is also a human messenger, because the Greek word can mean both.

   • In Revelation 1:1, God made it clear “by sending his angel to his servant John” (Revelation 1:1). The angel is sent to John. The angel and John are two figures.
   • In Revelation 22:8-9, John falls down to worship the angel, and the angel says, “Do not do this! I am a fellow servant with you” (22:8-9). They’re distinct.
   • Revelation 22:16: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches” (22:16). It’s the angel who testifies, to first-century churches.
   • John signs the book: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things” (22:8). There’s no second John in the text. (See Lessons 39 and 71.)

5. 5. The male child is Jesus

   The lesson says the male child of Revelation 12:5 “must be the same person – the one who overcomes” of Revelation 2:26-27.

   • “Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne” (Revelation 12:5).
   • Jesus says, “I, too, conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (3:21). He’s the one on the Father’s throne.
   • The same verse promises every overcomer a seat with Jesus on his throne, and the iron rod promised in 2:26-27 is shared with every overcomer in Thyatira (2:26-27). (See Lessons 22 and 55.)

6. 6. The checklist can’t be checked

   The lesson’s test is to ask the claimant what the scroll tasted like, have him describe Revelation 4, and ask which hand Jesus placed on him.

   • These are private experiences only the claimant can report. Anyone who knows Revelation can give the right answers: sweet, then bitter (10:10), and the right hand (1:17).
   • A test that only confirms what the claimant says about himself isn’t a test. It’s built to be passed by one person.
   • Jesus warned about exactly this: “if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:23-24).

7. 7. 2 Corinthians 11: The test is the gospel

   The lesson cites 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, about false apostles who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

   • Paul’s test in the same chapter is the message: “if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus … or a different gospel than the one you accepted” (11:4).
   • A gospel in which salvation comes only by believing a promised pastor (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 430) is different from the one Paul preached (Galatians 1:8). (See Lessons 64 and 66.)

8. 8. Eating Ezekiel’s scroll wasn’t a messianic prophecy

   The lesson lists “eating the scroll of Ezekiel 3” among the prophecies Jesus fulfilled.

   • Ezekiel ate the scroll himself and went to the exiles (Ezekiel 3:3, 15). The New Testament never cites it as a prophecy about Jesus. Adding it to the checklist makes eating the scroll look like a qualification for the promised one. (See Lesson 71.)

9. 9. The faithful servant is every disciple

   • Jesus asks, “Who then is the faithful and wise slave …?” (Matthew 24:45) as a challenge to all his followers to be ready. Luke records Peter asking, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” (Luke 12:41). (See Lesson 18.)

10. 10. The lesson rules out the opinions of others

    The lesson says, “So, you won’t really understand this person through the opinions of others,” and “Where is deceit? Everywhere that is not the word.”

    • “The first to state his case seems right, until his opponent begins to cross-examine him” (Proverbs 18:17).
    • “with abundant advisers they are established” (Proverbs 15:22).
    • When someone claims to be the only way to salvation, hearing from people who know his history isn’t deceit. It’s wisdom.

11. 11. “Our company truly matters”

    The lesson says John the Baptist “had bad influences around him, and they really turned his heart from Jesus.”

    • John was in Herod’s prison when he sent his question (Matthew 11:2; 14:3), and Jesus said, “among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist” (11:11). (See Lessons 59 and 60.)
    • Using John to warn students about their company makes family and friends feel like a spiritual risk.