Shincheonji lesson 29: figurative blind and deaf
Lesson 29 · Introductory
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.
Seeing without understanding
The board says: “Blind = One who does not understand the Word despite seeing it.” and “Deaf = One who does not understand the Word despite hearing it.” The stated hope is “To be sure that we are those who have eyes that can see and ears that can hear at the second coming!” The class is told, “This class does not depend on intelligence or IQ.”
Revelation 3:17-18 is the opening picture: the Laodicean church thinks it is rich, but Jesus calls it blind. The notes stress that the church did not know: “This is a church that thinks it can see, but in reality it is blind.”
Blind servants and sealed words
Isaiah 43:8 says, “Lead out those who have eyes but are blind”. The notes explain “Lead out” as “to remove them from the assembly of people.” In Isaiah 42:19 God’s own servant is blind, and the notes identify these servants: “The leaders resembled false teachers.” If the leaders are blind, their followers are too.
Isaiah 29 shows a sealed vision that neither the reader nor the non-reader can understand: ““Read” in this context means “understand.”” Isaiah 35:4-5 promises that when God comes the blind will see.
The first coming
Jesus called the Pharisees and teachers of the law “blind guides” (Matthew 15:14). Their followers fell with them, even kind ones: “if they lack understanding of the word, they can inadvertently mislead others.” In Matthew 13:11, the notes read “you” as the disciples and “them” as “the Pharisees and Sadducees”. The disciples could see because they saw the prophecies fulfilled: “Fulfillment is what opens our eyes.” John 6:45 is attributed to “Isaiah 35:5.”
The second coming
The sealed scroll of Revelation 5 will be opened by Jesus. Revelation 22:18-19 warns against adding or taking away; the notes define these words: “To add claims or interpretations without seeing the full testimony is adding.” Subtracting means not understanding or ignoring parts “even after an explanation is provided”. Ephesians 1:17-18 is a prayer for “revelation,” meaning “to open and to show”.
The class is warned: “Let us not fall into the trap of the past by thinking “That was them, we are different.”” Then Matthew 15:14: “when Jesus commands us to “flee” or “leave,” we must heed His words.” The memory verse is Matthew 15:14.
In SCJ’s own books
Each passage was checked against the scanned page image; page numbers are as printed.
The Explanation of Parables (Shincheonji), page 38:
The true meaning of the figurative blind and deaf is “one who can see and hear God’s word but cannot perceive.”
Page 39 lists the results: “Those who can see and hear (healed) → Atoned for their sins (heaven)” and “The blind and deaf (not healed) → Not atoned for their sins (hell)”. On the second coming, the blind are:
“the false shepherds and their followers of the world who do not know the New Testament prophecies (Revelation). Conversely, those who come to God’s shepherd who testifies to the fulfillment of the prophecies of the New Testament (Rv 10) are the ones who can see and hear (have ears) — they receive heaven and eternal life.”
The conclusion says one “must meet the true shepherd of God”.
How the lesson notes compare with the books
- Blind and deaf = not perceiving the word. Same teaching (Parables p. 38).
- Who sees at the second coming. Difference. The notes say eyes open when the scroll is opened and prophecy is fulfilled. The book says those who see are those who come to “God’s shepherd who testifies to the fulfillment” (p. 39).
- What is at stake. Difference in emphasis. The notes speak of spiritual sight. The book ties sight to atonement and heaven, blindness to hell (p. 39).
- Leaving blind guides. Same direction. The notes’ “leave” matches the book’s call to meet the true shepherd (p. 39).
What the Bible says
- In Isaiah 43 the blind and deaf are brought out to be God’s witnesses, not removed. Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, those who are deaf, even though they have ears! All nations gather together, the peoples assemble. Who among them announced this? Who predicted earlier events for us? Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right; let them listen and affirm, “It is true.” “You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “my servant whom I have chosen so that you may consider and believe in me, and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and none will outlive me. (Isaiah 43:8-10, NET)
- God himself promises to lead the blind. I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. I will turn the darkness in front of them into light and level out the rough ground. This is what I will do for them. I will not abandon them. (Isaiah 42:16, NET)
- Jesus answered John the Baptist with actual healings. Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them (Matthew 11:4-5, NET)
- In Matthew 13 “them” is the large crowd on the shore. And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. (Matthew 13:2-3, NET) For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. (Matthew 13:13, NET)
- Matthew 15:14 answers the disciples’ worry that the Pharisees were offended. It is not a command to leave a congregation. Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?” And he replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:12-14, NET)
- John 6:45 quotes “the prophets,” and Jesus says the Father draws people to him. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 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 6:44-45, NET)
- Paul’s readers were already sealed with the Spirit when they believed the gospel. And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, (Ephesians 1:13, NET)
Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible
This lesson defines the blind and deaf as those who see and hear God’s word but don’t understand it. It says the blind “servants” of Isaiah are leaders who “resembled false teachers,” that “Lead out” in Isaiah 43:8 means “to remove them from the assembly of people,” and that “Fulfillment is what opens our eyes.” It closes with Matthew 15:14: “when Jesus commands us to ‘flee’ or ‘leave,’ we must heed His words.” SCJ’s The Explanation of Parables (p. 39) says the blind at the second coming are “the false shepherds and their followers of the world,” and that those who see are “those who come to God’s shepherd who testifies to the fulfillment of the prophecies,” while it labels the blind and deaf “Not atoned for their sins (hell).” Spiritual blindness is a real biblical theme, and that should be admitted. But each key verse in this lesson says something different from what the lesson draws from it.
1. Laodicea: The cure is Jesus, and he stays at the door
The lesson opens with Revelation 3:17-18: a church that thinks it’s rich but is “blind.” Read Jesus’ remedy:
- “take my advice and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me white clothing so you can be clothed … and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see!” (3:18).
- “All those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent!” (3:19).
- “Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me” (3:20).
Jesus doesn’t tell the Laodiceans to leave their church for another. He offers himself as the cure and invites anyone in that church to open the door to him.
2. Isaiah 43:8: “Bring out” the blind to be God’s witnesses
The notes say “Lead out” means “to remove them from the assembly of people,” and that the blind “cannot follow me and be part of my people in this state.”
- Isaiah 43:8-10 is a courtroom scene: “Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes … All nations gather together, the peoples assemble. … ‘You are my witnesses,’ says the Lord, ‘my servant whom I have chosen.’”
- The blind are brought forward to stand before the nations as God’s witnesses. God calls them “my servant whom I have chosen.”
- Isaiah’s reading is the opposite of removal: God takes his imperfect people and makes them his witnesses.
3. Isaiah 42: God leads the blind, and his Servant opens blind eyes
The notes say the blind servant of Isaiah 42:19 means leaders who “resembled false teachers.”
- In Isaiah, God’s servant in this section is Israel: “You, my servant Israel, Jacob, whom I have chosen” (41:8). The blindness of 42:18-20 is the nation’s failure to pay attention to God.
- God’s response is mercy: “I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way … I will turn the darkness in front of them into light … I will not abandon them” (42:16).
- And God’s chosen Servant comes “to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons” (42:7). The New Testament applies that Servant passage to Jesus (Matthew 12:17-21).
4. Isaiah 35: Fulfilled in Jesus
The lesson cites Isaiah 35:4-5: when God comes, the blind will see and the deaf will hear.
- When John the Baptist asked whether Jesus was the one, Jesus answered: “Go tell John what you hear and see: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them” (Matthew 11:4-5).
- Jesus pointed to his own healings as the fulfillment. God came, in Jesus, and opened blind eyes, physically and spiritually.
5. Matthew 13: The word “them” means the crowd
The notes on Matthew 13 say, “to the Pharisees and Sadducees (them), he speaks only in parables.”
- Matthew says: “such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. He told them many things in parables” (13:2-3). The people Jesus spoke to in parables were the crowd.
- And the disciples were blessed not because they had a later explanation of fulfillment, but because they were with Jesus: “your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see” (13:16-17). What they saw was Jesus himself.
- “Fulfillment is what opens our eyes” is true only in this sense: the fulfillment is Christ.
6. John 6:45 quotes Isaiah 54, and it leads to Jesus
The notes attribute John 6:45 to “Isaiah 35:5.”
- Jesus’ quote, “And they will all be taught by God,” comes from Isaiah 54:13: “All your children will be followers of the Lord.”
- More importantly, read what Jesus says the teaching leads to: “Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me” (John 6:45). “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (6:44).
- Being taught by God leads people to Jesus. It doesn’t lead to a shepherd who testifies to fulfillment.
7. Matthew 15:14: “Leave them!” means don’t worry about them, and read why they were blind
The lesson uses Matthew 15:14 to say that “when Jesus commands us to ‘flee’ or ‘leave,’ we must heed His words.”
- The disciples had just said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?” Jesus answered, “Leave them! They are blind guides” (15:12-14). He meant that the disciples shouldn’t worry about their offense. It isn’t a command for believers to leave their congregation.
- Look at why Jesus called them blind. In the same chapter, the Pharisees had set aside God’s command, “Honor your father and mother,” for the sake of their tradition, by declaring help that should have supported their parents “given to God” (15:3-6).
- Jesus’ blind guides were people whose religious rules overrode care for their parents. Any group whose demands override honoring and caring for family fits that description, not the student’s ordinary pastor.
8. The claim about “subtracting from Revelation”
The notes say not understanding or ignoring parts “even after an explanation is provided” is subtracting from Revelation.
- Revelation 22:18-19 warns against adding to or taking away from “the words of the prophecy contained in this book.” It’s about altering the text.
- Not being persuaded by a teacher’s explanation isn’t removing words from Revelation. Testing teaching is what Scripture commands (1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11).
- The lesson’s definition makes doubting the class feel like violating Scripture. Lesson 21 uses the same pressure.
9. Ephesians 1:17-18: Paul prays for believers who already have the Spirit
The lesson uses Ephesians 1:17-18 to define “revelation” as “to open and to show.”
- Four verses earlier, Paul tells these same readers: “when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit” (1:13).
- His prayer is that God would give them “spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,” so they would know “the hope of his calling” and his power (1:17-19).
- Paul is praying for believers to know God more deeply, not for them to receive a hidden explanation of prophecy.
10. What real sight is: Seeing Christ
The Explanation of Parables (p. 39) says those who see are “those who come to God’s shepherd who testifies to the fulfillment of the prophecies of the New Testament (Rv 10).” Paul defines spiritual blindness and sight:
- “the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
- “God … is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ” (4:6).
Blindness is not seeing the gospel of Christ. Sight is seeing God’s glory in the face of Christ. It doesn’t come through a shepherd’s testimony about Revelation.
11. John 9: Claiming to see can be the blindness
After healing the man born blind, Jesus said to the Pharisees: “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but now because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:41).
- The danger Jesus names is confident claims to exclusive sight while condemning others.
- A group that labels every other church and pastor as blind, and says only those who come to its shepherd can see, should weigh this verse carefully.
What the lesson is really for
This lesson prepares students to view their church as blind and to leave it:
- Blind leaders resemble false teachers, and even kind people “can inadvertently mislead others.”
- Isaiah 43:8 means removing the blind from the assembly.
- Not accepting the explanation is subtracting from Revelation.
- Jesus commands us to leave blind guides.
- SCJ’s book says the blind are the world’s shepherds and their followers, who go to hell, while those who come to God’s shepherd can see.
The biblical answer: Jesus offers his own eye salve to a blind church and knocks at its door (Revelation 3:18-20). God brings out his blind people to be his witnesses (Isaiah 43:8-10) and promises to lead them (42:16). Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 35 by opening blind eyes (Matthew 11:4-5). Those taught by the Father come to Jesus (John 6:45). And true sight is seeing God’s glory in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).
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.
- Information: can limit trust in other teaching (our reading). The blind servants of Isaiah are leaders who “resembled false teachers,” and even kind people “can inadvertently mislead others.” In our reading, the warning points at the student’s pastor and church.
- Behavior: can prepare a student to leave a church. Isaiah 43:8 is read as “to remove them from the assembly of people,” and the class hears “when Jesus commands us to “flee” or “leave,” we must heed His words.”
- Thought: can discourage doubt. Not understanding “even after an explanation is provided” counts as subtracting from Revelation, and “That was them, we are different” is named a trap. Doubting the explanation can feel like breaking Revelation 22:18-19.
The prayer “God, please continue to show me” is not a control technique in itself.