Shincheonji special lesson 131: advanced level test 3

Special lesson 131 · Advanced

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.

This lesson is different: the notes are a written test with a model answer under each question, so this section summarizes what the test asks and the answers it expects.

How the test works

The page states the rules at the top: students must “score minimum 90%” to pass, and “Memorize all the answers word by word” is preferred. The test is framed as putting “The New Covenant We Must Keep” into action. It has 25 numbered questions, 51 to 75, and the answers run from Revelation 14 to Revelation 22. Most answers are a short phrase, a list of chapters or a name.

Questions 51 to 54: the harvest and the 144,000

The harvest takes place “After the events of betrayal and destruction.” The place of harvest is shown in three verses: Matthew 24:31, Matthew 13:30 and Revelation 14:14-16. The 144,000 appear “At the time of Revelation’s fulfillment (the time of harvest)” on Mount Zion, and they are “Harvested firstfruits (12 tribes).” Their actual entities are “The sealed congregation members of the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.” Question 54 sets out the order from prophecy to fulfillment: Jeremiah 31, Matthew 13, Revelation 14, then Revelation 7, “the sealing and creation of the 12 tribes.”

Questions 55 to 59: the bowls

Those who won in Revelation 15 beat “the dragon” in Revelation 12. The nations that come to worship are “The guests who came during the WARP Summit,” and they come to the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The seven bowls come from Revelation 12 and 15 and were chosen “Because they overcame.” They are poured out on “The tabernacle in Rv 13,” where the betrayers and destroyers are. The kings of the whole world are gathered by “The dragon, the beast, false prophets,” and Armageddon is “A battlefield (Rv 13 and 12).” God’s wrath falls on “The First Tabernacle that became Babylon,” and Babylon’s organizations split into three parts.

Questions 60 to 66: Babylon and the wedding

The beast with seven heads and ten horns and the prostitute belong to the “Kingdom of demons, Babylon.” The kings and inhabitants of the earth are “The Gentile pastors and congregation.” The beast with ten horns judges the prostitute with fire. For Revelation 18 the answers set out the sea as “the world,” the ship as “church,” the captain as “pastor,” the sailors as “church staff” and travelers as congregation members. The nations married the devil, and the bridegroom and bride are “The devil and congregation members who belong to the devil.” The kings are “Gentile pastors,” and the merchants are “Evangelists.” The two marriages are set side by side: “Marriage with the devil (evil spirit), marriage with Jesus.” In Revelation 19 the guests are “The spirits and the congregation members,” the white horse is “the one who overcomes, New John,” the rider is Jesus, and the robe dipped in blood is “God’s word.”

Questions 67 to 75: judgment and the new heaven

The thrones belong to “Jesus’ spiritual and physical 12 disciples.” Those judged after the thousand years are “Gog and Magog, the spirits whose flesh have died.” Those who receive heaven include “Sheep-like believers (Mt 25:34)” and “Shincheonji congregation members (Rv 21).” The inheritors of Revelation 21 are “The sealed saints of the 12 tribes.” The tree of life is “The sealed spirits and flesh of the 12 tribes,” the water of life is “God’s revealed word,” and robes are washed with the same water. The wild beasts are the “Destroyers” and the dogs the “Betrayers.” The last question asks for the two trees: Jesus as the true vine and “wild vine in the middle of the land (Nebuchadnezzar),” and the tree of life and the tree of good and evil.

What the test assumes

Every answer treats the identifications made through Revelation as settled: the named tabernacles, the pastors, the new John and Shincheonji itself. The test asks for the same chain of answers across many chapters, and there is no question that asks a student to read an answer against the verse it cites.

In SCJ’s own books

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

The Physical Fulfillment of Revelation, Lee Man-hee (Shincheonji Press), page 473:

“Jesus, who comes riding on his white horse, is dressed in clothing dipped in blood. This is meant to represent Jesus’s death.”

Page 472 says “The white horse and its rider are flesh and spirit, respectively.” Page 490 says “the thrones in Rv 20:4 are the thrones of the twelve tribes of New Spiritual Israel.” Page 544 says:

“The tree of life is God’s pastor with the word of truth.”

How the lesson notes compare with the books

  • The white horse and rider. Same teaching. Both read the horse as the one who overcomes and the rider as Jesus, with the horse as flesh and the rider as spirit (pp. 472–473).
  • The thrones. Same teaching. Both give the thrones to the twelve disciples and the twelve tribes (p. 490).
  • The robe dipped in blood. Difference. The key says it is “God’s word.” The book says the blood “is meant to represent Jesus’s death” and that “Word of God” is his name (p. 473). Labeled Difference, not Contradiction.
  • The tree of life. Difference. The key says it is “The sealed spirits and flesh of the 12 tribes.” The book says it is “God’s pastor with the word of truth,” and the people are the fruit (p. 544). Labeled Difference, not Contradiction.

What the Bible says

  • Revelation 15:4 speaks of the nations. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy? All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:4, NET)
  • Revelation 19:13 describes the rider. He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13, NET)
  • Revelation 7:14 on the robes. So I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! (Revelation 7:14, NET)
  • Revelation 21:7 names who inherits. The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:7, NET)
  • Revelation 14:4 on the 144,000. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, (Revelation 14:4, NET)
  • Revelation 14:14-16 shows the harvest. Then another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and start to reap, because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!” (Revelation 14:15, NET)
  • Matthew 13:30 on the wheat and darnel. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’” (Matthew 13:30, NET)
  • John 1:14 on the Word. Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. (John 1:14, NET)
  • Revelation 17:11 on the eighth king. The beast that was, and is not, is himself an eighth king and yet is one of the seven, and is going to destruction. (Revelation 17:11, NET)

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This is the final Revelation test: questions 51 to 75, a 90% pass mark, and the instruction “Memorize all the answers word by word.” The key covers Revelation 14 to 22. It says the 144,000 are “The sealed congregation members of the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony,” the nations who come to worship in Revelation 15:4 are “The guests who came during the WARP Summit,” the white horse is “the one who overcomes, New John,” the robe dipped in blood is “God’s word,” robes are washed in “the revealed word that comes from the throne,” and those who receive heaven include “Shincheonji congregation members.” Here is what Scripture says about the key answers, followed by a one-page summary of the Revelation level.

  1. 1. “Memorize all the answers word by word”
    • Three tests now have required word-for-word answers. None asks students to read an answer against the verse it cites. Scripture asks believers to examine (Acts 17:11) and test (1 Thessalonians 5:21). (See Lessons 93, 114 and 123.)

  2. 2. Question 52: The three harvest verses the key cites
    • Matthew 24:31: “he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect,” when “They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven” (24:30).
    • Matthew 13:30: “At harvest time I will tell the reapers,” and Jesus explains, “the reapers are angels” (13:39).
    • Revelation 14:14-16: “seated on the cloud was one like a son of man … the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth.”
    • All three of the key’s own verses name the Son of Man and angels as reapers, at his visible coming. None describes evangelists recruiting from churches. (See Lessons 76 and 120.)

  3. 3. Question 53: The 144,000
    • The key: “The sealed congregation members of the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.”
    • Revelation: “These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb” (14:4). Their seal is “his name and his Father’s name” (14:1), and God seals believers with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). (See Lessons 109 and 120.)

  4. 4. Question 55: “All nations will come and worship”
    • The key says the nations who come to worship are “The guests who came during the WARP Summit.”
    • Revelation 15:4: “All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.” They worship God, the King of the nations.
    • The WARP Summit was presented to its guests as an international peace event. Treating officials who attended a conference as the fulfillment of all nations worshiping God misrepresents both the guests and the verse. (See Lesson 122.)

  5. 5. Questions 56 to 59: The bowls and Armageddon
    • The key says the bowls are poured on “The tabernacle in Rv 13.”
    • Revelation: seven angels pour the bowls (16:1), the first on “the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image” (16:2), echoing the plagues on Egypt.
    • Armageddon is where demonic spirits gather “the kings of the earth … for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful” (16:14). (See Lesson 124.)

  6. 6. Questions 60 to 64: Babylon’s ships and sailors
    • The key maps the sea to “the world,” the ship to “church,” the captain to “pastor” and the sailors to “church staff.”
    • Revelation: the sailors mourn the city “in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth” (18:19). Babylon’s cargo ends with “slaves and human lives” (18:13). It’s a picture of a world trading economy. (See Lesson 126.)
    • The bride and bridegroom whose voices fall silent mark the end of ordinary life in a destroyed city (18:23; Jeremiah 25:10).

  7. 7. Questions 65 to 66: The white horse and the bloody robe
    • The key: the white horse is “the one who overcomes, New John.” The rider comes from heaven: “I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse!” (19:11), and the armies also ride white horses (19:14). A horse isn’t a man. (See Lesson 127.)
    • The key: the robe dipped in blood is “God’s word.” SCJ’s own book says the blood “is meant to represent Jesus’s death” (Physical Fulfillment, p. 473). The test answer and the book disagree.
    • Revelation: “He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God” (19:13). The Word is his name; the blood is blood. It echoes Isaiah 63:1-3, the warrior whose garments are stained from treading the winepress of judgment.

  8. 8. Questions 67 to 68: Thrones and Gog and Magog
    • The thrones of Matthew 19:28 belong to the age “when all things are renewed.” Revelation 20:4 doesn’t name them as SCJ’s tribe leaders. (See Lesson 128.)
    • The key says Gog and Magog are “the spirits whose flesh have died.” Revelation: “fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely” (20:9).

  9. 9. Questions 69 to 71: Who inherits
    • The key lists “Shincheonji congregation members” and “The sealed saints of the 12 tribes.”
    • Revelation: “The one who conquers will inherit these things” (21:7), and the one who conquers is “the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5). Entry is for “those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (21:27). (See Lesson 129.)

  10. 10. Question 72: The tree of life, three different answers
    • The test key: “The sealed spirits and flesh of the 12 tribes.”
    • SCJ’s book: “The tree of life is God’s pastor with the word of truth” (Physical Fulfillment, p. 544).
    • The previous lesson: Jesus is the root, New John the trunk, the tribes the branches. (See Lesson 130.)
    • Three SCJ sources give three different answers to the same question. Jesus answered it: “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). The tree of life is the restored gift of life in God’s presence (Genesis 2:9; Revelation 22:2, 14).

  11. 11. Question 73: What washes the robes
    • The key: “the revealed word that comes from the throne.”
    • Revelation: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!” (7:14). “To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood” (1:5).
    • Replacing the Lamb’s blood with “the revealed word” removes the cross from the washing. (See Lessons 87 and 97.)

  12. 12. Question 74: The dogs and beasts
    • The key: the dogs are the “Betrayers,” the wild beasts the “Destroyers.”
    • Revelation: “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood!” (22:15). It’s a moral description. (See Lesson 130.)

  13. 13. Question 75: The “wild vine”
    • The key pairs Jesus the true vine with a “wild vine in the middle of the land (Nebuchadnezzar).”
    • The wild vine in Scripture is Israel: “I planted you in the land like a special vine of the very best stock. Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes?” (Jeremiah 2:21). The tree of Daniel 4 is Nebuchadnezzar, but it isn’t a vine.

The Revelation level in one page

What the course teaches, and what Revelation says:

  • The course: John’s “I” means New John; he relived the visions in Korea. Revelation: “I, John … was on the island called Patmos” (1:9); “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things” (22:8).
  • The course: Revelation was sealed for 2,000 years and is opened only now. Revelation: The Lamb took and opened the scroll (5:7; 6:1); “Do not seal up the words” (22:10).
  • The course: The trumpets, censer, bowls, hail, horse and throne are people, chiefly New John. Revelation: Angels blow the trumpets and pour the bowls (8:6; 16:1-17); an angel holds the censer (8:3-5); the rider comes from an open heaven (19:11).
  • The course: The beasts, Babylon and the great city are Korean churches and pastors. Revelation: The heads and horns are kings (17:9-12); the woman is “the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth” (17:18); the beast rules “every tribe, people, language, and nation” (13:7).
  • The course: Dates from 1966 to 1990 fulfill the chapters. Revelation: Revelation gives no dates. Even SCJ’s sources disagree: the half hour of silence (30 minutes or six months), the witnesses’ rising (1981 or 1984) and the tree of life (three answers).
  • The course: The blood of the Lamb is the word; robes are washed in the revealed word. Revelation: Jesus has acted “at the cost of his own blood” (1:5; 5:9); the robes are made white “in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14).
  • The course: Jesus returns invisibly through New John; the first resurrection is spirits entering bodies. Revelation: “every eye will see him” (1:7); “They came to life” (20:4); the dead are raised imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:52).
  • The course: The new heaven and earth are Shincheonji; its registry is the book of life. Revelation: No more death or tears (21:4), no temple (21:22), names written “since the foundation of the world” (13:8) in “the Lamb’s book of life” (21:27).

The heart of the biblical answer: Revelation is “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). The Lamb who was killed is worthy (5:9), the King of kings returns in glory (19:11-16), and the Bible closes with his own promise and the church’s reply: “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (22:20)

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.

  • Behavior: can tie progress to exact recall. Students must “score minimum 90%” and “Memorize all the answers word by word.” Passing depends on matching the key, not on explaining it.
  • Information: can limit trust in other teaching (our reading). The key supplies the identity of each figure, such as “The Gentile pastors and congregation.” In our reading, a student who answers from a different source is marked wrong.
  • Thought: can make one reading the only acceptable answer. Each question has one model answer, and the same identifications repeat across chapters: “Destroyers,” “Betrayers.”
  • Emotional: can add pressure through a pass mark. The rule is stated at the top: “score minimum 90%” to pass, before any question is read.

Asking students to review what they learned, as this test does, 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.