Shincheonji lesson 118: Revelation 12: the war between the dragon and God

Lesson 118 · 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. The notes name several men; this page does not repeat the names.

Opening and review

The evangelist opens with Isaiah 55:8 and says, “The hope is that our hearts and minds are empty, and we’re also emptying our own thoughts, so that the word of God can help us grow.” A student recap and a review of Revelation 11 follow, with the 42 months of destruction dated “from September 1980 to March 14, 1984,” and the two witnesses’ three and a half days in prison in early 1981. The class is told, “We will soon have an extraordinary opportunity to hear him speak,” and that “Plans are being made for us to attend one of his seminars or sermons.”

Chapter 12 comes after chapter 13

The notes say, “Revelation 13 happens before Revelation 12 in the chronological reality.” The first clue is the dragon: “According to Revelation 13:1 and 6, the dragon or the beast with seven heads and ten horns enters heaven, but in Revelation 12, it is already present there.” The second is that Revelation 12:10 announces salvation, while “Revelation 13 is a chapter about destruction.”

The woman, the dragon and the child (12:1-5)

“Heaven” here is the Tabernacle Temple. “The woman represents a pastor of flesh,” with the sun as the pastor, the moon as evangelists and the stars as saints. The notes cite Paul’s birth pains and milk (Galatians 4:19, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4) and say pastors have given “spoiled milk” for 2,000 years. The dragon’s seven heads are seven pastors at the training center and the ten horns are ten elders. The tail is false pastors (Isaiah 9:15): “The ordination of these 17 evangelists as pastors was conducted illegally.” The stars are people, not angels, because a third of a countless number would still be countless.

The male child is New John, not Jesus: “Jesus could not have given himself the iron scepter.” The child is “born” while attending the Tabernacle Temple in the early years, and the dragon’s attempt to “snatch him up” is the attack on him. In Genesis 3:15 the enmity between offspring is read as the same war.

The wilderness and the war (12:6-11)

The notes say, “The woman went to a desert – which in reality was a theology school in the United States,” from October 1980 to April 1984, and that a man persuaded the pastor to go for official ordination. The war has two fronts: Michael against Satan in the spirit world, and the child and his brothers against the beast. It is “a doctrinal war – a war of words” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Victory comes by the blood of the Lamb, which means Jesus’s words, and by the word of testimony.

The earth, the sea and the offspring (12:12-17)

The notes say, “The more people learn the open word, the harder Satan fights against them.” The earth is the Tabernacle Temple and the sea is Babylon. The eagle is one of the four living creatures. The serpent’s water is “words of persecution”, and the earth swallowing it is the people defending the pastor. The remaining offspring are those who came out, and they build the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The class ends, “Therefore, it is better to enter now rather than wait.”

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 262:

“Thus, in terms of content, the events of Rv 13 occur before the events of Rv 12.”

“The woman clothed with the sun, having the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head, is the head pastor of the tabernacle of the seven golden lampstands.”

Page 266:

“Their spirits are killed a third at a time by the punishments they begin to receive in Rv 8.”

Page 269:

“If this child in Rv 12 is Jesus, how can he give himself authority over the nations and an iron rod?”

Page 270:

“God has prepared this place to train the woman for 1,260 days.”

How the lesson notes compare with the books

  • Chapter 13 before chapter 12. Same teaching (Physical Fulfillment p. 262).
  • The woman as a pastor. Same teaching (Physical Fulfillment p. 262).
  • The child is not Jesus. Same teaching (Physical Fulfillment p. 269).
  • The stars swept away. Difference. The notes place the sweeping of the stars in Revelation 12 as the last third; the book says the spirits are “killed a third at a time” from Revelation 8 (p. 266). Needs checking.
  • The wilderness. Difference. The notes say a man persuaded the pastor to go to a theology school; the book says “God has prepared this place” (p. 270). Needs checking.

What the Bible says

  • The woman and the sun, moon and stars. Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1, NET)
  • The dragon and a third of the stars. Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. (Revelation 12:3-4, NET)
  • The child and the throne. So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, (Revelation 12:5, NET)
  • The woman flees into the wilderness. and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:6, NET)
  • The beast comes up out of the sea. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, and on its heads a blasphemous name. (Revelation 13:1, NET)
  • The beast blasphemes those who live in heaven. So the beast opened his mouth to blaspheme against God—to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, that is, those who dwell in heaven. (Revelation 13:6, NET)
  • The notes cite Paul’s birth pains. My children—I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you! (Galatians 4:19, NET)
  • The notes read the tail through Isaiah. The leaders and the highly respected people are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. (Isaiah 9:15, NET)

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This lesson says, “Revelation 13 happens before Revelation 12 in the chronological reality.” It reads the woman as “a pastor of flesh,” the head pastor of the Tabernacle Temple, and the dragon’s seven heads and ten horns as pastors and elders at a training center. It says the male child is New John, not Jesus, because “Jesus could not have given himself the iron scepter.” It says the woman’s flight into the wilderness was a pastor going to “a theology school in the United States,” persuaded by a man, and that the war in heaven is “a doctrinal war – a war of words.” It asks students to begin by “emptying our own thoughts,” announces plans to attend the founder’s seminars, and ends: “it is better to enter now rather than wait.” Revelation 12 identifies its own main figures.

  1. 1. The iron rod: Jesus received it from his Father

    The lesson says, “Jesus could not have given himself the iron scepter,” so the child must be New John. SCJ’s book makes the same argument (Physical Fulfillment, p. 269).

    • Psalm 2, which Revelation 12:5 quotes, says God gives it to his Messiah: “You are my son. This very day I have become your father. Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance … You will break them with an iron scepter” (Psalm 2:7-9).
    • Jesus says so himself in Revelation: “he will rule them with an iron rod … just as I have received the right to rule from my Father” (2:27-28).
    • Jesus didn’t give himself the rod. The Father gave it to him, as Psalm 2 says. The argument for New John rests on a premise that Revelation contradicts.

  2. 2. The child is caught up to God’s throne
    • “So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne” (12:5).
    • Jesus “conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (3:21). He was born, threatened by a ruler who tried to kill him as an infant (Matthew 2:13-16), and ascended to God’s throne (Acts 2:33).
    • New John hasn’t been caught up to God’s throne. (See Lessons 73 and 89.)

  3. 3. The dragon is Satan

    The lesson says the dragon’s heads are seven pastors and its horns ten elders.

    • Revelation identifies the dragon itself: “So that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth” (12:9). It’s not a code for a group of pastors.

  4. 4. The woman is God’s people, protected by God

    The lesson says the woman is “a pastor of flesh,” the head of the Tabernacle Temple, whom earlier lessons call a betrayer.

    • Her crown of twelve stars, with the sun and moon, echoes Joseph’s dream about Israel’s family (Genesis 37:9). She is God’s people, from whom the Messiah comes (12:5).
    • “the rest of her children” are “those who keep God’s commandments and hold to the testimony about Jesus” (12:17), all faithful believers.
    • Revelation shows God protecting her: “a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of” (12:6). “the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, to the place God prepared for her, where she is taken care of” (12:14). The dragon “pursued the woman” (12:13).
    • If the woman were the betrayer the course describes, she wouldn’t be the one God shelters while Satan persecutes her.

  5. 5. The wilderness was prepared by God
    • The notes say a man persuaded the pastor to go to a theology school in the U.S. SCJ’s book says “God has prepared this place to train the woman” (Physical Fulfillment, p. 270). The notes and book don’t agree on who sent her.
    • Revelation says: “she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God” (12:6). In Scripture, the wilderness is where God protected and fed his people (Exodus 16; Hosea 2:14).

  6. 6. Revelation 12 comes before 13

    The lesson says chapter 13 happens first, because in 13:1 and 13:6 the beast “enters heaven.”

    • “I saw a beast coming up out of the sea” (13:1). The beast comes from the sea, not into heaven.
    • It blasphemes God and “those who dwell in heaven” (13:6). Speaking against them isn’t entering heaven.
    • Chapter 12 ends with the dragon standing on the seashore (12:17-18), and chapter 13 begins with the beast rising from the sea. The chapters connect in order: the dragon, defeated in heaven and furious on earth, raises the beast to wage war on God’s people (13:2, 7).

  7. 7. Michael fights the dragon
    • “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back” (12:7). Revelation doesn’t put “the child and his brothers” in this war. (See Lesson 99.)
    • The result: “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come” (12:10). Christ’s victory has cast Satan down.

  8. 8. Overcoming “by the blood of the Lamb”
    • The notes read the blood as Jesus’ words. The blood is his sacrifice (1:5; 5:9). The overcomers “did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die” (12:11): martyrs faithful to the end. (See Lessons 87 and 97.)

  9. 9. A third of the stars
    • “the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven” (12:4). The image echoes Daniel 8:10, where a horn “brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars to the ground” (Daniel 8:10). It pictures Satan’s power against God’s realm. Arguing that the stars must be people because a third of a countless number is still countless isn’t a reason from the text.

  10. 10. Saying pastors gave “spoiled milk” for 2,000 years
    • Peter tells believers in every generation to “yearn like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk” (1 Peter 2:2). Saying all pastors have given spoiled milk for 2,000 years dismisses the whole church’s teaching. (See Lesson 92.)

  11. 11. Saying “we’re also emptying our own thoughts”
    • Isaiah 55:8 says God’s plans are not like ours. The verses before it call people to “Seek the Lord while he makes himself available” (55:6). Humility before God isn’t the same as setting aside your mind before a teacher.
    • Jesus said to love God “with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Paul says to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).

  12. 12. Saying “it is better to enter now rather than wait”
    • The lesson builds toward attending the founder’s events and joining soon. Urgency to commit before you’ve finished testing is a reason to slow down (Proverbs 19:2). (See Lesson 103.)

What the lesson is really for

This lesson makes Revelation 12 about New John and his former church:

  • The woman is a betraying pastor; the wilderness a U.S. theology school.
  • The dragon’s heads and horns are named pastors and elders.
  • The male child is New John, since Jesus couldn’t give himself the rod.
  • Empty your thoughts, attend the founder’s seminars, enter now.

The biblical answer: the dragon is “the devil and Satan” (12:9). The male child is caught up to God’s throne (12:5), and Jesus received the iron rod from his Father (2:27-28; Psalm 2:7-9). The woman is God’s people, protected by God in the wilderness (12:6, 14), and her children are all who “hold to the testimony about Jesus” (12:17). And Christ’s victory is announced: “the ruling authority of his Christ” has come (12:10).

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 ask students to set aside their own thinking. The hope is that “we’re also emptying our own thoughts.”
  • Information: can point to one source of guidance (our reading). The notes say, “God prefers to communicate clearly through the promised pastor and the word.” In our reading, this places one teacher between students and God.
  • Emotional: can use regret about waiting. “Therefore, it is better to enter now rather than wait.”
  • Behavior: can lead to attending the founder’s events. “Plans are being made for us to attend one of his seminars or sermons.”

Asking people to approach Scripture humbly, as Isaiah 55:8 describes, 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.