Shincheonji special lesson 93: intermediate level test

Special lesson 93 · Intermediate

Based on the full Closer Look lesson study

Main verses used

Links open the NET Bible.

What SCJ teaches

This section comes from class notes that an attendee wrote down during SCJ’s 9-month Bible study seminar, posted with the full Closer Look study. They are not SCJ’s printed curriculum, so the wording is the note-taker’s.

The test and its rules

This lesson is the end-of-level test, posted as 25 numbered questions with model answers. The header gives the rules: “You need to score minimum 90%” to pass, and students should “Memorize all the answers word by word.” The questions repeat the course in short form, asking for references on most answers. Nothing new is taught. The page is a check on what the first 92 lessons said.

What the answers cover

The first questions test the course frame. Question 1 asks for the eight steps of creation and re-creation, and the model answer runs: “Selection of a pastor → Creation of a kingdom → Covenant with the chosen people → Betrayal of the covenant by the chosen people and destruction → Selection of a new pastor → Judgment and salvation → Creation of a new kingdom → New covenant.” Question 2 asks what kingdom the New Testament creates, and the answer is “New Spiritual Israel,” formed when “Someone fights against and defeats Satan and his Nicolaitans.” Question 3 gives the weapon of the one who overcomes as “The blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony,” and the enemy as “The group of the dragon-Babylon’s beast with seven heads and ten horns.”

Later questions turn to the Old Testament prophets, the parable of the weeds, the sealed word of Isaiah 29, the seven events of Jesus’ ministry and the wedding banquet. Question 24 asks for four requirements for the banquet: “The lamp, oil, wedding clothes, and being sealed.”

The prophets, the mountains and the last events

Question 4 asks for five key points of Isaiah 1:1-2:4, ending with “The place all nations must come to learn” and “Making spears into pruning hooks.” Question 5 reads Jeremiah 1:9-10 as God choosing “one pastor” who is told “to uproot and destroy the old, to build and to re-plant something new.” Question 18 names three mountains: betrayal is “The tabernacle of the seven golden lampstands (Revelation 13),” destruction is “Babylon (Revelation 17)” and salvation is “Mt. Zion (Revelation 14).” Question 19 defines resurrection as “when a dead spirit lives again through the word of the breath of life.” Question 9 says Jesus returns “with his angels and harvests.” Question 12 says Jesus’ flesh and blood take effect “At the time of the second coming of Christ.”

What the answers assume

Several answers rest on readings from earlier lessons. The sun, moon and stars of Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 are “The saints of the tabernacle of the chosen people, Spiritual Israel, at the second coming.” The Spirit of Truth delivers the word “Through a person- the pastor of the covenant.” Question 17 gives “Judgment: The pastors of the world receive judgment.” Being taught by God, in John 6:45, means “To be taught by the pastor, where God is at.” Question 25 asks for the place, betrayers, destroyers and savior of Revelation, and the answer for the savior is “The one who fights and overcomes Satan and his Nicolaitans.” The test names no individual and no organization. A student who gives these answers repeats the course’s reading.

In SCJ’s own books

Each passage was checked against the scanned page image; page numbers are as printed.

Creation of Heaven and Earth, Lee Man-hee (Shincheonji Press), page 330:

“Regarding sin, the advocate, who comes in the name of Jesus, says that sin is not believing in Jesus (Jn 16:8-9).”

Creation of Heaven and Earth, page 538:

“Both Rv 14 and Jn 6 tell us that the word of God should be taught by the holy spirit.”

How the lesson notes compare with the books

  • Sin. Same teaching. The model answer to 17.A is “Sin: Not beleving in Jesus”; Creation says the same of John 16:8-9 (p. 330).
  • Being taught by God. Difference. The model answer to Question 20 reads John 6:45 as being taught “by the pastor, where God is at.” Creation reads John 6 and Revelation 14 as the word “taught by the holy spirit” (p. 538).

What the Bible says

  • The answer to 3.B quotes Revelation 12:11, and the verse says this. But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. (Revelation 12:11, NET)
  • Jesus says what the Advocate proves wrong about judgment. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment— concerning sin because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; and concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been condemned. (John 16:8-11, NET)
  • Jesus quotes the prophets in John 6:45, which the test uses for being taught by God. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me. (John 6:45, NET)
  • Matthew 24:29 describes the sun, moon and stars. “Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. (Matthew 24:29, NET)
  • The test cites Genesis 37 for the sun, moon and stars. Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” (Genesis 37:9, NET)
  • Daniel 4 says whom the great tree is. The tree that you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky, and that could be seen in all the land, whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which there was food available for all, under whose branches wild animals used to live, and in whose branches birds of the sky used to nest— it is you, O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven and your authority to the ends of the earth. (Daniel 4:20-22, NET)
  • Habakkuk 2:3 is cited for the appointed time. For the message is a witness to what is decreed; it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. Even if the message is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; for it will certainly come to pass—it will not arrive late. (Habakkuk 2:3, NET)

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This lesson is the end-of-level test: 25 questions with model answers, a 90% pass mark and the instruction “Memorize all the answers word by word.” Nothing new is taught. The answers restate the intermediate level’s core claims: a kingdom of “New Spiritual Israel,” formed when “Someone fights against and defeats Satan and his Nicolaitans”; Jesus’ flesh and blood taking effect “At the time of the second coming of Christ”; the Spirit of Truth delivering the word “Through a person- the pastor of the covenant”; and being taught by God meaning “To be taught by the pastor, where God is at.” Here is what Scripture says about the key answers.

  1. 1. “Memorize all the answers word by word”
    • Memorizing Scripture is good (Psalm 119:11). Memorizing one group’s model answers word for word is different: it trains students to repeat a reading rather than test it.
    • Scripture asks believers to “test and approve what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2) and to examine claims daily (Acts 17:11). (See Lessons 53 and 62.)

  2. 2. Question 1: The eight steps

    The model answer: selection of a pastor, creation of a kingdom, covenant, betrayal and destruction, a new pastor, judgment and salvation, a new kingdom, a new covenant.

    • Scripture’s own summary of history centers on Christ, not a cycle of pastors: “in these last days he has spoken to us in a son” (Hebrews 1:2). “But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice” (9:26).
    • The cycle is built to require a new pastor after Jesus. (See Lesson 69.)

  3. 3. Question 2: “New Spiritual Israel” formed by an overcomer
    • God’s Israel now is everyone who belongs to Christ: “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants” (Galatians 3:29; see 6:16). (See Lesson 60.)
    • Jesus is the one who defeated Satan, “triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

  4. 4. Question 3: “The blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony”
    • The model answer quotes the verse correctly: “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die” (Revelation 12:11). Note the plural: their testimony. All the faithful overcome, not one man. Their testimony is “the testimony about Jesus” (12:17). (See Lessons 55 and 87.)

  5. 5. Question 4: Isaiah 2 and “The place all nations must come to learn”
    • Isaiah 2:3 says “the Lord’s message will issue from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). Jesus said repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed “to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). It was, through the apostles. (See Lessons 44 and 70.)

  6. 6. Question 5: Jeremiah 1 and “one pastor” to uproot and replant
    • God appointed Jeremiah himself: “I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5), to announce what God would do (1:10). It isn’t a prophecy of a later pastor. (See Lesson 64.)

  7. 7. Question 7: Daniel 4’s tree
    • The model answer calls it “The tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Daniel says, “it is you, O king!” (Daniel 4:22). The tree is Nebuchadnezzar. (See Lesson 82.)

  8. 8. Question 9: Jesus returns “with his angels and harvests”
    • This answer is closer to Scripture than many earlier lessons: “he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect” (Matthew 24:31). “The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels” (13:39).
    • But if angels harvest when Jesus returns visibly (24:30), then evangelists recruiting people out of churches isn’t the harvest. (See Lessons 76 and 77.)

  9. 9. Question 12: Flesh and blood take effect at the second coming
    • Hebrews says, “by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy” (Hebrews 10:14), in the very chapter the test cites. “Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (10:18). (See Lesson 87.)

  10. 10. Questions 13 and 14: The sun, moon and stars
    • The model answer: “The saints of the tabernacle of the chosen people, Spiritual Israel, at the second coming.” In the test’s own reference, Genesis 37, Jacob takes them as his family (Genesis 37:10). Matthew 24:29-30 describes signs in the sky followed by Jesus’ visible appearing. (See Lesson 59.)

  11. 11. Question 16: Who speaks for God

    The model answer: “The Counselor, the holy spirit, and the promised pastor New John.”

    • Jesus says “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit … will teach you everything” (John 14:26). The world can’t see him, and he lives in every believer (14:17). God’s final word came “in a son” (Hebrews 1:2). (See Lessons 73 and 84.)

  12. 12. Question 17: Sin, righteousness and judgment
    • The answer on sin, that sin is not believing in Jesus, matches John 16:9 and SCJ’s book (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 330).
    • The answer on judgment, “The pastors of the world receive judgment,” doesn’t. Jesus says, “concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:11). The one judged is Satan, not pastors.

  13. 13. Question 18: Three mountains
    • Betrayal, destruction and salvation mountains are the course’s framework. Believers have already come to Mount Zion through Jesus (Hebrews 12:22-24), and Babylon is a world city of power and trade (Revelation 17:18; 18:11-19). (See Lessons 44 and 47.)

  14. 14. Question 19: Resurrection
    • The model answer defines resurrection as “when a dead spirit lives again through the word of the breath of life.” Scripture also teaches a bodily resurrection: “the dead will be raised imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Teaching that the resurrection is only spiritual and has already come is the error Paul names in 2 Timothy 2:18. (See Lesson 53.)

  15. 15. Question 20: Saying “taught by God” means “taught by the pastor”
    • Jesus says, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me” (John 6:45). Being taught by God leads to Jesus.
    • SCJ’s own book says, “Both Rv 14 and Jn 6 tell us that the word of God should be taught by the holy spirit” (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 538). The test answer goes further than the book.

  16. 16. Question 24: Lamp, oil, wedding clothes and sealing
    • The model answer lists “The lamp, oil, wedding clothes, and being sealed.” Jesus’ lesson from the ten virgins is “stay alert because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13). Believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit when they believe (Ephesians 1:13). The robes are washed white in the Lamb’s blood (Revelation 7:14; 19:8). (See Lessons 31, 43 and 47.)

  17. 17. Question 25: The savior

    The model answer for Revelation’s savior: “The one who fights and overcomes Satan and his Nicolaitans.”

    • In Revelation, the one who conquers is the Lamb: “the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings” (17:14). “Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (7:10).
    • Peter says, “And there is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12).

The intermediate level in one page

What the course teaches, and what Scripture says:

  • The course: Orthodoxy is the 12 tribes, and “So if someone calls a place a cult, but doesn’t apply it to what happened in the beginning, then they don’t know what a cult actually means” (Lesson 65.). Scripture: Heresy is denying “the Master who bought them,” or preaching another Jesus or gospel (2 Peter 2:1; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:8).
  • The course: Six qualifications are needed for salvation. Scripture: Adding requirements to faith in Christ is what Galatians condemns (Galatians 3:1-3; 5:2-4).
  • The course: The new covenant is Revelation, kept only now. Scripture: The new covenant is in Jesus’ blood, mediated by him now (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:6, 13).
  • The course: The New Testament’s promised pastor is New John, the advocate, the overcomer, the male child. Scripture: The New Testament testifies to Jesus (John 20:31); the Advocate is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26); the male child is Jesus (Revelation 12:5; 3:21); John wrote Revelation (22:8).
  • The course: Jesus returns invisibly as a spirit at a tabernacle, and the last trumpet is sounding now. Scripture: “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7); at the last trumpet the dead are raised and the living changed in a moment (1 Corinthians 15:52).
  • The course: Believers are born again a second time by believing in New John. Scripture: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God” (1 John 5:1).
  • The course: Traditional churches are Babylon, the field and the guardians, so leave them. Scripture: “The field is the world” (Matthew 13:38); the guardian was the law (Galatians 3:24); God’s people have already come to Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22).
  • The course: Questions from family are persecution, discernment is a heart problem, and outside sources are to be avoided. Scripture: Be ready to answer anyone who asks (1 Peter 3:15); “examine all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21; Acts 17:11).

The heart of the biblical answer: “Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me” (John 6:45), and “the one who comes to me I will never send away” (John 6:37).

What’s happening behind the lesson

These notes are our reading of the lesson text, using Steven Hassan’s BITE model (behavior, information, thought and emotional control). They describe what the text does, not the teacher’s intent. Hassan notes that not every group uses every item. Source: Steven Hassan, BITE Model, Freedom of Mind.

  • Emotional: can attach a pass mark to belief. Students must “score minimum 90%” to pass.
  • Behavior: can require word-for-word recall. “Memorize all the answers word by word.”
  • Information: can allow one answer to each question (our reading). Question 16 asks who speaks on behalf of God, and the model answer is “The Counselor, the holy spirit, and the promised pastor New John.” In our reading, a model-answer test teaches students to give the group’s reading as the only reading.
  • Thought: can make the group’s identifications the answer key. Question 25 asks who the savior is, and the answer is “The one who fights and overcomes Satan and his Nicolaitans.”

The practice of testing what a course taught, as in any level test, is not a control technique in itself.

Go deeper

Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. Bible Vaccine Center and Closer Look Initiative are run by the same team.