Shincheonji special lesson 57: introductory level test review
Special lesson 57 · 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. This lesson is a review of the introductory level test: the notes record the answer key and the instructor’s comments, not the questions in full.
God, Satan and the Bible
The key says God is “He is who He is, That is, self-existent” and the devil is “A created being, a fallen angel.” The instructor adds that Satan held the title of archangel, “one of the four living creatures of heaven before his fall,” and “after his fall, he was replaced because there must be four.” Religion means to “realign or reconnect or rebind” with God. The Bible’s authors are “God, about 35 people,” and “The Bible never contradicts itself because the author is one and the same.”
Key people and periods
The seven key people are “Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Jesus, the one who overcomes (New John).” The periods run from Genesis to the “Period of re-creation and revelation,” the era we are in now. The pattern is the same each time: God makes a promise through one person and fulfils it through another. So John saw Revelation in a vision, but “someone must come and live out those events, not in a vision, but in reality.” That person’s testimony is “not a guess or an interpretation.” The key cites Revelation 21:6-7 for “The one who overcomes, New John,” and the instructor says the singular “is supported by the original text.”
Each era also has one who prepares the way: Aaron before Moses, John the Baptist before Jesus, and at the second coming the “Seven Stars” of Revelation 1:20. The sign of the times is not the news: “The key is to stop focusing on the news and instead look for the fulfillment of the prophecies and the testimony about them.”
Forgiveness and the new covenant
One answer lists three conditions for forgiveness: “We must drink the blood of Jesus,” “We must understand the parables” and “We must keep the new covenant.” The instructor explains John 3:16: “To believe in Jesus requires knowledge, faith, and action,” and the knowledge is “understanding his prophecies and their fulfillment.” He then says, “The new covenant, which is actually the book of Revelation, it actually hasn’t really been possible to keep the new covenant until now.” Another answer reads, “Those who do not understand the figurative language: become outsiders and because their sins are not atoned, they do not receive salvation.”
Reading the Bible as one book
The instructor explains how to read: because “There is only one author,” the same things recur, so “Malachi chapter three sounds just like 2 Peter 3.” When people call the Bible the words of men, “it often stems from a misunderstanding.” On Revelation 10, to “eat” the scroll “means to listen and fully digest the word.” He tells the class, “Since the start of December, we have been receiving solid food, which is why each lesson feels fresh and new.”
The parable dictionary
Most of the test is a list of meanings: “Farmer: Pastor,” “Field; His field: Person’s heart and the world; Jesus’ Church,” “Sun: Pastors,” “Moon: Evangelists,” “Stars: Saints,” “Mountain: A church (organization)” and many more. On the narrow road of Matthew 7:13-14, the instructor says, “someone needs to find this particular pastor in order to find God.” The last pair is “Orthodoxy: God, God’s kingdom of 12 tribes” and “Cult: Devil, devil’s kingdom of Babylon.” The instructor concludes that “any place that does not belong to God can be labeled as such. Therefore, it is crucial to be in a place that belongs to God.”
In SCJ’s own books
Each passage was checked against the scanned page image; page numbers are as printed.
The test key repeats definitions from The Explanation of Parables (Shincheonji), chapters 16 to 19, already quoted on Lessons 52 to 56. Page 98 gives the sun, moon and stars as “Shepherd, Evangelist, Congregation.” Page 92 gives Jerusalem and Babylon as “Kingdom of the chosen people” and “Gentile kingdom of demons.” Page 91 calls a widow “a shepherd from whom the holy spirit left.” Page 86 gives the grave two meanings:
“Physical body from which God’s spirit left; an organization of false teachings”
Page 99 says the stars of the new heaven belong to one place:
“The sun, moon, and stars of the re-created latter heaven are the shepherds, evangelists, and congregation of the Twelve Tribes of Shincheonji, where the one who overcomes is.”
How the test key compares with the books
- Sun, moon, stars and the widow. Same teaching (test key; Parables pp. 91, 98).
- Jerusalem and Babylon. Same teaching, different word. The key says “Denomination of the chosen people.” The book says “Kingdom of the chosen people” (Parables p. 92).
- The grave. Difference in how explicit they are. The key gives one meaning, “Organization of false truth.” The book gives two (Parables p. 86).
- Orthodoxy and the 12 tribes. Same direction. The key names “God’s kingdom of 12 tribes.” The book names “the Twelve Tribes of Shincheonji” (Parables p. 99).
What the Bible says
- John 3:16, which the instructor cites, promises eternal life to everyone who believes. For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NET)
- Jesus calls himself the way to the Father. Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, NET)
- Paul’s church already kept the cup as the new covenant. In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25, NET)
- Hebrews says Jesus “now” mediates the better covenant. But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6, NET)
- God gives a different reason than “anger issues” for Moses not entering the land. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to show me as holy before the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.” (Numbers 20:12, NET)
- Elijah served in the time of the kings, under Ahab, not in the period of the judges. Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.” (1 Kings 17:1, NET)
- Exodus gives 430 years as the time Israel lived in Egypt. Now the length of time the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. (Exodus 12:40, NET)
Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible
This lesson is the answer key for the introductory test, and it gathers the whole course into one place. It lists seven key people in God’s plan, ending with “the one who overcomes (New John).” It says forgiveness requires three conditions, including “We must understand the parables.” It says, “The new covenant, which is actually the book of Revelation, it actually hasn’t really been possible to keep the new covenant until now.” It says those who don’t understand the figurative language “become outsiders and because their sins are not atoned, they do not receive salvation.” On the narrow road, “someone needs to find this particular pastor in order to find God.” And it closes with “Orthodoxy: God, God’s kingdom of 12 tribes” and “Cult: Devil, devil’s kingdom of Babylon.” SCJ’s The Explanation of Parables (p. 99) names the place: “the Twelve Tribes of Shincheonji, where the one who overcomes is.” Here is what Scripture says about each core claim.
1. Finding a particular pastor in order to find God
The instructor says of the narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14), “someone needs to find this particular pastor in order to find God,” quoting John 14:6 in the same answer.
- Read John 14:6 in full: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, emphasis added).
- “I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved” (John 10:9).
- “there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
The verse the instructor quotes rules out the claim he makes. No one needs a pastor to find God. Jesus is the way.
2. Salvation doesn’t depend on understanding figurative language
The key says those who don’t understand the figurative language “become outsiders and because their sins are not atoned, they do not receive salvation.” The instructor says believing in Jesus requires “understanding his prophecies and their fulfillment.”
- John 3:16, which the instructor cites: “everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Two verses later: “The one who believes in him is not condemned” (3:18).
- “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43).
- “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
- Mark 4:11-12 describes “those outside” (Mark 4:11-12), people who were rejecting Jesus, not believers who hadn’t decoded parables. The thief on the cross understood no parables and was promised paradise (Luke 23:42-43). (See Lessons 14 and 55; Lesson 55’s new section isn’t live yet, so that link goes to the lesson page.)
3. Forgiveness: Not three conditions
The key lists three conditions: “We must drink the blood of Jesus,” “We must understand the parables” and “We must keep the new covenant.”
- “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
- “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins” (1 John 1:9).
- Understanding parables is never a condition of forgiveness in Scripture. (See Lesson 55; its new section isn’t live yet, so the link goes to the lesson page.)
4. The new covenant has been in force since the cross
The instructor says, “The new covenant, which is actually the book of Revelation, it actually hasn’t really been possible to keep the new covenant until now.”
- Jesus established it at the Last Supper: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20).
- Paul’s church was already keeping it: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).
- “now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better” (Hebrews 8:6).
- Its content is God writing his laws on hearts, all knowing him, and complete forgiveness (Hebrews 8:10-12). (See Lesson 7.)
5. Seven key people, ending with the New John
The key lists “Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Jesus, the one who overcomes (New John).”
- This places a modern man in the same line as Jesus, and after him.
- “After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). The Son is God’s final word.
- Jesus “has come to deserve greater glory than Moses” (Hebrews 3:3). No one comes after him to carry the plan further.
6. Someone to live out the events in reality
The lesson says God promises through one person and fulfills through another, so John saw Revelation in a vision, but “someone must come and live out those events, not in a vision, but in reality.”
- In Scripture, the one who fulfills the promises is Jesus: “every one of God’s promises are ‘Yes’ in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
- John himself ate the scroll (Revelation 10:9-10) and signed the book: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things” (22:8). (See Lesson 39.)
7. “The one who overcomes” in Revelation 21:7
The key cites Revelation 21:6-7 for “The one who overcomes, New John,” and the instructor says the singular “is supported by the original text.”
- Read 21:7: “The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:7).
- The next verse speaks of “the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers” and others (21:8). Both are general descriptions of kinds of people.
- If 21:7 meant one man, only one person would inherit the new creation and be God’s son. It’s the promise to every believer who overcomes, and John defines the overcomer: “the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5). (See Lesson 45; its new section isn’t live yet, so the link goes to the lesson page.)
8. Satan was “one of the four living creatures” and was replaced
The instructor says Satan was “one of the four living creatures of heaven before his fall,” and “after his fall, he was replaced because there must be four.”
- No passage says this. The living creatures in Revelation 4 worship God and “never rest day or night” (4:8).
- Isaiah 14 is addressed to the king of Babylon and Ezekiel 28 to the king of Tyre. Any secondary reference to Satan is debated, and neither passage mentions living creatures or a replacement. (See Lessons 4 and 50; Lesson 50’s new section isn’t live yet, so that link goes to the lesson page.)
9. “The Bible never contradicts itself”
The key says, “The Bible never contradicts itself because the author is one and the same.”
- That’s a fair statement about Scripture.
- But SCJ’s own books contradict each other: on Abraham’s 400 years (Lesson 10), on the meaning of the ox (Lesson 14), on whether old wine leads to hell (Lesson 42) and on whether Jesus plainly explained the parables (Lesson 39). If one author means no contradictions, SCJ’s books don’t share one.
10. The parable dictionary
Most of the test is a list of fixed meanings: “Sun: Pastors,” “Moon: Evangelists,” “Stars: Saints,” “Field; His field: Person’s heart and the world; Jesus’ Church,” “Mountain: A church (organization).”
- Scripture explains its own symbols differently in different places. In Joseph’s dream, the sun, moon and stars are his father, mother and brothers (Genesis 37:9-10). In Revelation 1:20, “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.”
- Jesus says, “The field is the world” (Matthew 13:38), not the church. (See Lesson 1.)
- A single dictionary applied everywhere doesn’t match how Scripture uses its images. (See Lessons 3, 15 and 17.)
11. SCJ’s labels for orthodox and other churches
The key defines “Orthodoxy: God, God’s kingdom of 12 tribes” and “Cult: Devil, devil’s kingdom of Babylon,” and the instructor says “any place that does not belong to God can be labeled as such.”
- These definitions make SCJ the only orthodox body and put every other church under the key’s label “Cult.”
- Historically, Christian orthodoxy means the faith summarized in the creeds: one God in three persons; Jesus, fully God and fully man, who died for our sins and rose bodily; salvation by grace through faith; and his visible return to judge the living and the dead. It isn’t membership in a particular organization.
- By that standard, a teaching that requires a new mediator, redefines the resurrection and makes salvation depend on a new messenger’s testimony is the one outside orthodoxy.
12. Stop focusing on the news, and solid food since December
- Students are told to “stop focusing on the news and instead look for the fulfillment,” and that the testimony is “not a guess or an interpretation.”
- They’re told, “Since the start of December, we have been receiving solid food, which is why each lesson feels fresh and new.” But the faith was “once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3), and Paul warned against “a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6-8). Novelty isn’t a sign of truth.
The introductory course in one page
What the course teaches, and what Scripture says:
- The course: The field is the church; the harvest is now; the reapers are recruiters.
Scripture: The field is the world, the harvest is the end of the age, the reapers are angels (Matthew 13:38-39). - The course: Parables are a code, sealed until a promised pastor opens them.
Scripture: Jesus explained everything to his disciples (Mark 4:34), spoke plainly (John 16:29), and Revelation was not to be sealed (Revelation 22:10). - The course: God’s will is found in prophecy, and understanding it is required for salvation.
Scripture: God’s will is for everyone who believes in the Son to have eternal life (John 6:40; 3:16). - The course: A new John eats the scroll and must be believed for salvation.
Scripture: John himself ate the scroll and wrote the book (Revelation 10:9-10; 22:8); there is one intermediary, Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5), and salvation in no one else (Acts 4:12). - The course: The seal is accepting the testimony; the 144,000 are a number to join.
Scripture: The seal is the Holy Spirit, given when you believe (Ephesians 1:13); the redeemed are a crowd no one could count (Revelation 7:9). - The course: Babylon is every church outside SCJ; Mount Zion is SCJ; believers must flee there.
Scripture: Babylon is a world city of power and trade (Revelation 17:18; 18:11-19); believers have already come to Mount Zion through Jesus (Hebrews 12:22-24); true worship isn’t tied to a place (John 4:21-23). - The course: The new heaven and new earth is Shincheonji.
Scripture: In the new heaven and earth, death, mourning and pain are gone (Revelation 21:1-4). - The course: Family and friends outside are spiritually dead, and leaving the course is danger.
Scripture: Jesus sent people home to their families (Mark 5:19), cared for his mother from the cross (John 19:26-27), and no one can snatch his sheep from his hand (John 10:28-29).
The heart of the biblical answer: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this eternal life” (1 John 5:11-12).
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.
- Thought: can make a memorised dictionary the test of faith. Understanding the figurative language decides whether sins are atoned, so the course’s answer key becomes a matter of salvation.
- Information: can steer people away from outside sources (our reading). Students are told to “stop focusing on the news,” and the testimony is “not a guess or an interpretation,” which leaves little room to weigh other readings.
- Emotional: can attach fear to belonging. Any place “that does not belong to God” can be labeled as the devil’s, and “it is crucial to be in a place that belongs to God,” which can make leaving feel like leaving God.