Shincheonji lesson 99: overview of Revelation, part 2

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This lesson walks through Revelation by who, what, when, where, why and how. It says that when Revelation is fulfilled, “Someone like Apostle John must appear – a new John or the one who overcomes,” and that the “when” is now because students have “learned and understood the parables” and are “about to start hearing testimony about Revelation’s fulfillment.” It reads Malachi 3:1’s messenger as today’s “lampstands” that “prepare the way,” calls Revelation “the greatest of the 66 books,” and says “The answer is in Mount Zion” for where to find God and the one who overcomes. It says those not “created according to the Book of Revelation” “face destruction,” that “there are three wars” in the book, and that the phrase “after this” marks the order of real events. SCJ’s own book says “Revelation is about two battles between God and Satan” (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 178). Revelation’s own words answer the overview.

1. 1. “Someone like Apostle John must appear”

   • John identifies himself by name, place and circumstance: “I, John, your brother and the one who shares with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos” (Revelation 1:9).
   • He signs the book: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things” (22:8).
   • Revelation never says a second John will appear to live out what the first one saw. (See Lessons 39 and 94.)

2. 2. Saying “We’ve learned and understood the parables”

   The lesson offers two proofs that this is the time of fulfillment: students have understood the parables, and they’re about to hear the testimony.

   • Both proofs come from the course itself. Learning the course’s explanations doesn’t show those explanations are true. That’s circular. (See Lessons 34 and 48.)
   • Revelation told its first readers, “the time is near” (1:3), and blessed them for reading and obeying it.

3. 3. Malachi 3:1 was fulfilled in John the Baptist and Jesus

   The notes read the messenger who prepares the way as today’s “lampstands.”

   • Jesus said of John the Baptist: “This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you’” (Matthew 11:10).
   • The Lord who comes to his temple is Jesus. Scripture identifies both figures, and neither is a modern group.

4. 4. Calling Revelation “the greatest of the 66 books”

   • Revelation opens with “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). Its center is the Lamb who was slain (5:6-14).
   • Jesus said all Scripture testifies about him (John 5:39). Ranking Revelation above the rest, then making Revelation about one group’s history, shifts the center away from Christ. (See Lessons 97 and 98.)

5. 5. One person per era

   The lesson says God’s pattern is one person per era: Noah, Moses, Jesus, and now a faithful servant who eats the scroll.

   • God says: “I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you” (Micah 6:4).
   • After Jesus, God sent twelve apostles and poured out his Spirit “on all people” (Acts 2:17).
   • Jesus is unique because he is the Son of God (Hebrews 1:2), not because God always works through one man. (See Lesson 96.)

6. 6. The faithful servant isn’t a sign of the end

   The notes call a faithful servant giving food at the proper time one of Jesus’ “objective signs.”

   • Jesus asks, “Who then is the faithful and wise slave” (Matthew 24:45)? It’s a question for every disciple about being ready, not a sign that identifies one man. Peter asked if it was for everyone (Luke 12:41). (See Lessons 18 and 95.)

7. 7. “The answer is in Mount Zion”

   • The lesson rightly says Jesus is more important than the one who overcomes. Revelation 14:1 puts the Lamb on Mount Zion with the 144,000, who sing “before the throne” (14:3). It’s a heavenly scene.
   • Hebrews tells believers they have already come to Mount Zion, “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 12:22-24). You find God through Jesus, not by finding a place. (See Lessons 44 and 63.)

8. 8. Saying those not created by Revelation “face destruction”

   • “by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
   • “everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
   • Salvation doesn’t depend on being “created according to the Book of Revelation” through a course. (See Lesson 66.)

9. 9. The war in heaven is fought by Michael

   The lesson counts three wars, including the beast against “the male child and his brothers.” SCJ’s book says the child and his brothers “drive the dragon and his group back to the earth” (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 527).

   • Revelation says: “Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back” (12:7).
   • The male child had already been “suddenly caught up to God and to his throne” (12:5). That’s Jesus (3:21). (See Lessons 55 and 73.)
   • The notes count three wars; the book counts two battles (p. 178). The two SCJ sources don’t agree.

10. 10. The phrase “after this” marks John’s visions

    The lesson says “after this” appears six times and gives the order of events, like a movie script.

    • “After these things I looked” (4:1; 7:9) and “After this I saw” (7:1) tell when John saw each vision. They don’t require that every vision happens in strict sequence in history.
    • Revelation often shows the same reality from different angles. The end of the age appears in the sixth seal (6:12-17), the seventh trumpet (11:15-18), the harvest (14:14-20) and Christ’s return (19:11-21). Reading the book as one straight timeline forces events into a single script. (See Lesson 68.)

11. 11. The prologue and the three mysteries

    • The lesson calls 1:1-8 a summary. It is an introduction: who wrote it, to whom, and its central announcement, “Look! He is returning with the clouds, and every eye will see him” (1:7).
    • Revelation explains its own “mystery” in the same verse that names it: “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (1:20). (See Lesson 28.)

12. 12. Saying the devil “currently rules over the world”

    • After his resurrection, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). He disarmed the powers, “triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). (See Lessons 51 and 89.)
    • Teaching students that the devil rules everything outside the group makes the outside world feel like enemy territory.

13. 13. “You only get to listen to the open word for the first time once in your life”

    • This creates a sense of rarity and urgency, along with a push to bring family and friends to an evangelist. Scripture’s call is to test what you hear first (1 Thessalonians 5:21; Acts 17:11).