Shincheonji lesson 77: signs of the Lord’s second coming and the end of the age

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This lesson reads all of Matthew 24 as a “mini Revelation” in parables. Wars are spiritual (“It’s a war of doctrines”), famine is a lack of the word, and since God’s side never persecutes, “it’s the place that was receiving the most persecution that should draw your attention.” It says anyone with a testimony of Revelation must date the 42 months: “Otherwise, that testimony should not be listened to.” It says only the Father knew the day and hour because the scroll was sealed, “But God made it known by sending it to Jesus.” It ends with a game: “Find out your tribe by finding out what tribe you’re not first.” SCJ’s The Creation of Heaven and Earth says “the only people who are saved will be those who flee to the mountains” (p. 393), that Jesus “will appear as a spirit with his angels at the tabernacle of heaven that went dark” (p. 394), and that “Shincheonji has seen the physical fulfillment of the signs of the end of the age that Jesus promised” (p. 396). Jesus’ own words in Matthew 24 describe his coming very differently.

1. 1. Jesus’ first words: “Watch out that no one misleads you”

   • Jesus began his answer, “Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many” (Matthew 24:4-5).
   • The whole chapter is framed as a warning against people who claim special knowledge of his coming.

2. 2. His coming will be seen by all, not at one tabernacle

   SCJ’s book says Jesus “will appear as a spirit with his angels at the tabernacle of heaven that went dark,” and prints Matthew 24:26 just above that line (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 394).

   Here is what 24:26 says:

   • “if someone says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him. For just like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be” (24:26-27).
   • “all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (24:30).
   • The angels told the disciples, “This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). He ascended bodily and visibly.

   A spiritual appearance at one tabernacle is exactly the “inner rooms” claim Jesus said not to believe. (See Lessons 9 and 59.)

3. 3. Matthew 24 includes the temple’s destruction

   The lesson reads the whole chapter as the second coming.

   • The discourse begins with Jesus pointing to the temple: “not one stone will be left on another” (24:2). The disciples ask, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (24:3).
   • Luke’s parallel names the event: “when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (Luke 21:20), with people “led away as captives among all nations” (21:24). That happened in AD 70.
   • The roof, the field, pregnant women, winter and the Sabbath (Matthew 24:17-20) are practical details of fleeing a real siege. (See Lessons 12 and 44.)

4. 4. Wars and famines were real

   The lesson says, “It’s a war of doctrines,” and that famine is a lack of the word.

   • Jesus said of wars, “Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come” (24:6). Wars aren’t the sign. They’re ordinary history.
   • “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (24:7). Acts records a famine Agabus predicted, which “took place during the reign of Claudius,” and the church sent relief (Acts 11:28-29). It was literal. (See Lessons 18 and 55.)

5. 5. Persecution isn’t proof

   The lesson says the most persecuted place “should draw your attention because Satan is fighting that place the hardest.”

   • Jesus warned his followers they would be hated “because of my name” (24:9). “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed” (1 Peter 4:14).
   • But Peter adds, “let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker” (4:15). Criticism of a group can be deserved or undeserved. It isn’t evidence either way.
   • This framing makes every outside warning confirm the group. (See Lessons 6 and 35.)

6. 6. The day and hour: Not even the Son knew

   The notes say only the Father knew because the scroll was sealed in his hand, “But God made it known by sending it to Jesus.”

   • Jesus said, “as for that day and hour no one knows it—not even the angels in heaven—except the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36). Mark adds, “nor the Son” (Mark 13:32).
   • After the resurrection, Jesus said again, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7).
   • “the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44).

   The timing of his return wasn’t made known through a scroll. Jesus said repeatedly that it wouldn’t be.

7. 7. Dating the 42 months as a test

   The lesson says, “Numbers are always accurate,” so any testimony of Revelation must date the 42 months: “Otherwise, that testimony should not be listened to.”

   • That test applies to SCJ too. When a prediction “is not fulfilled,” Scripture says, “the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him” (Deuteronomy 18:22). (See Lesson 5.)
   • The days “cut short” in Matthew 24:22 have no number (Matthew 24:22). The idea that Israel’s 70 years are shortened to three and a half isn’t in the text.

8. 8. The angels gather the elect from everywhere

   • “he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). It’s worldwide and follows his visible appearing (24:30). (See Lesson 48.)

9. 9. The faithful servant and Noah’s ark

   • “Who then is the faithful and wise slave …?” (Matthew 24:45) is Jesus’ challenge to every disciple to be ready. It isn’t a description of one person whose food is “The testimony.” (See Lesson 18.)
   • The days of Noah teach suddenness: “they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away” (24:39). Peter says the ark prefigured baptism, which saves “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20-21). It isn’t a place that only exists now. (See Lesson 36.)

10. 10. The tribes are named for Israel, not the disciples

    The notes say the 12 tribes of the new kingdom “will be named after the 12 disciples,” and students play a weekly game to find their tribe by elimination.

    • Revelation 7 names the tribes: “From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000, from the tribe of Gad, 12,000” (Revelation 7:5-8).
    • In the holy city, “the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel are written on the gates,” and “the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” are on the foundations (21:12, 14). The apostles aren’t tribes.
    • The game helps students feel they belong to an SCJ tribe before the structure is explained. Paul rebuked dividing believers by apostles’ names: “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13). (See Lessons 60 and 74.)

11. 11. “There will be no one else to be saved”

    The lesson says only the 144,000 and the white multitude will be saved. SCJ’s book says “the only people who are saved will be those who flee to the mountains” (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 393).

    • The white-robed multitude is “an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, people, and language” (Revelation 7:9). They’re saved because “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14).
    • “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

12. 12. Small slips

    • The notes call the first martyr Philip, but Acts names Stephen (Acts 7:59-60). They attribute “a herald of righteousness” to Paul, but it’s Peter (2 Peter 2:5). These are minor, but in a course that discourages outside study aids, they go uncorrected.