Shincheonji lesson 128: Revelation 20: the first resurrection of the martyrs and the living

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This lesson says the first resurrection happens when “the souls of the martyrs unite with those who are living, becoming one.” SCJ’s book says the martyrs’ spirits “clothe themselves with the physical bodies of those who overcome” (Physical Fulfillment, p. 492). It says the thousand years “began when God’s kingdom was opened on March 14, 1984,” placing students “in year 41,” and that the dragon was bound with “the word of testimony.” It says the thrones belong to SCJ’s 12 tribe leaders (“Who will be Jesus’ throne? New John”), that the great white throne holds “the Promised Pastor New John,” and that the book of life is “the church registry of heaven.” Students are warned, “Your family might suddenly get in the way. These aren’t coincidences,” and that going against their cell-group order “is sinning against God.” A preview of “heavenly culture” includes bowing to others and kneeling to a visiting teacher. Revelation 20 and Paul’s teaching on the resurrection answer the central claim.

1. 1. The resurrection is of the body, not spirits entering the living

   The lesson and SCJ’s book say martyrs’ spirits clothe themselves with living believers’ bodies.

   • Revelation 20:4: “I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded … They came to life and reigned with Christ.” They themselves come to life.
   • Paul describes how: “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Each person’s own body is transformed: Christ “will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).
   • “the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The dead and the living meet the Lord together. Neither group enters the other’s body.
   • The resurrection is modeled on Jesus’ own: his body rose, and the tomb was empty (Luke 24:3, 39). (See Lesson 123.)
   • Scripture warns against seeking contact with the spirits of the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). A teaching that dead spirits come to dwell in living bodies is far from the biblical hope.

2. 2. 1 Thessalonians 4: All who died in Christ

   • The notes say those Jesus brings are martyrs, those “who died righteously doing God’s and Jesus’s will during the first coming.”
   • Paul says “God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians” (1 Thessalonians 4:14), meaning every believer who has died. He wrote to comfort grieving believers about their loved ones (4:13, 18). (See Lesson 88.)

3. 3. If Satan has been bound since 1984

   • The angel “seized the dragon … and tied him up for a thousand years. The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished” (20:2-3).
   • The course says this binding began March 14, 1984. Yet other lessons say troubles including COVID “result from Satan’s influence” and that “Satan has been ruling this world for 6,000 years,” call Babylon Satan’s still-active organization, and here warn that family obstacles “aren’t coincidences.” (See Lessons 111 and 126.)
   • If Satan were bound and unable to deceive the nations since 1984, he couldn’t be doing all of this. The course’s own claims about Satan’s activity contradict its date for the binding.

4. 4. The thrones of Matthew 19:28

   • Jesus promised the apostles: “In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones” (Matthew 19:28). It happens in the renewed world after his return.
   • Revelation 20:4 doesn’t name the thrones’ occupants as the twelve, or as SCJ tribe leaders. And no person becomes “Jesus’ throne”; overcomers sit with him on his throne (3:21). (See Lessons 32, 83 and 104.)

5. 5. Gog and Magog are devoured

   • The lesson says the fire burns their flesh, “leaving only their spirits behind.”
   • “fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too” (20:9-10). It’s total defeat.
   • The lesson calls the camp of God’s people SCJ. The text calls it “the camp of the saints and the beloved city,” God’s people as a whole.

6. 6. The great white throne is God’s

   The lesson says the great white throne holds “the Promised Pastor New John.”

   • “Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them” (20:11).
   • “the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne … So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them” (20:12-13).
   • This is the final judgment of all the dead, raised from the sea and from Hades. The one on the throne is the one before whom creation itself flees. Scripture says the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Placing a human being on that throne gives him a role belonging to God alone.
   • That “the earth and the heaven fled” isn’t a description of people who understand the word. It’s creation unable to stand before its Judge.

7. 7. The book of life

   • The lesson says it’s “the church registry of heaven,” and SCJ’s book says it’s the Tabernacle Temple’s registry (Physical Fulfillment, p. 498).
   • Names were written “since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb” (13:8). The Lamb keeps it (3:5). (See Lessons 104, 113 and 119.)

8. 8. The ox and fattened cattle as the true banquet’s menu

   • The lesson says the test of the true banquet is Matthew 22:4’s ox and fattened cattle, meaning testimony about betrayers and destroyers. In the parable, the food is simply the king’s feast. The point is that those invited refused to come (22:5), and the king then invited everyone (22:9). (See Lesson 127.)

9. 9. Chapters 21 and 22 as “a retelling”

   • Revelation 21 begins with “a new heaven and a new earth” and the end of death (21:1, 4). Saying chapter 20 “marks the conclusion of all events in Revelation” while also saying it’s “not yet” fully fulfilled leaves the course’s timeline unsettled. (See Lesson 125.)

10. 10. “Your family might suddenly get in the way”

    • Framing family concern as part of Satan’s attack makes students treat the people who love them as obstacles. Scripture calls believers to honor parents and care for family (Ephesians 6:2; 1 Timothy 5:8). (See Lessons 90 and 124.)

11. 11. “Going against this order is sinning against God”

    • Paul: “I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24). Peter tells elders not to lord it over those in their care (1 Peter 5:3).
    • Making disagreement with group arrangements a sin against God gives leaders authority over conscience that Scripture never grants.

12. 12. “Heavenly culture”: Kneeling to a teacher

    • The lesson says “it’s about the word, not the individual,” then describes kneeling and clapping for a visiting teacher.
    • When Cornelius fell at Peter’s feet, Peter said, “Stand up. I too am a mere mortal” (Acts 10:25-26). When John fell at an angel’s feet, he was told, “Do not do this! … Worship God” (Revelation 19:10). Jesus: “you have one Teacher and you are all brothers” (Matthew 23:8).