Shincheonji lesson 105: Revelation 4: the throne and structure of God in the spiritual realm
Lesson 105 · Advanced
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.
Order, and a warning about independence
The class opens with 1 Corinthians 14:33: God is a God of order. The notes then describe the world as disordered: “This disorder reflects the enemy’s way, where everything is done according to people’s own understanding and rules.” People who say “don’t be a sheep” and “think for yourself” are said to be suspicious of unity, though “unity is what God and Jesus have requested from us since the beginning.”
Two core points
The first: “The throne and structure of God in the spiritual world must be built in the physical world.” The second: God and the kingdom of heaven come to Mount Zion in the new heaven and new earth.
The vision of Revelation 4
The notes place the vision after the letters of Revelation 2-3: John sends the letters in 1979 and goes up to heaven in the spring of 1980. “After this” appears “exactly 6 times in the book of Revelation,” and each time the earlier chapter happened first. In the vision itself, “Apostle John is the one who sees these events,” but he will not return to life, so the “I” in Revelation 4:1 “refers to New John.”
God looks like jasper and carnelian, blue and red, because he is the creator of heaven and earth. The emerald rainbow is the everlasting covenant of Genesis 9:13. The 24 elders are “administrators of heaven.” Lightning is the quick movement of spirits, and the seven lamps are the seven spirits who inspect and report. The sea of glass is the word, and the four living creatures are four archangels covered with eyes, which stand for spirits. The lion judges beasts, the ox tills hearts, the eagle judges spirits, and the man uses words. Satan is said to have been one of these archangels.
The structure to build
“After seeing these things in heaven, John’s task was to build what he saw in heaven on earth.” The notes list a match for each part. The overcomer is New John, there are 24 ministries, 7 inspectors, 4 departments (elderly, men’s, women’s and young adults), many saints and 12 tribes. The review ends: “If any of these elements is missing from a place, it cannot be considered Mount Zion.” It then asks, “are we at a place where all this structure exists, or are we not?”
Gratitude, and test tips
Students are told, “Your presence here is not by accident.” They end class by glorifying God, and the instructor says, “I’m a servant, only doing my duty.” The study tip for the first Revelation test is to “Focus on five questions at a time.”
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 99:
“The twenty-four elders seated on twenty-four thrones encircling God’s throne (Rv 4:4) are twenty-four spirits in charge of all the work in God’s kingdom.”
Page 102:
“Like John, Moses saw God’s spiritual tabernacle before being told to build a copy and shadow of that tabernacle on Earth.”
Page 105:
“In the physical world, the four living creatures are four divisions of people. Each of these divisions has six cabinet members who act as wings.”
Creation of Heaven and Earth, Lee Man-hee (Shincheonji Press), page 190:
“According to the prophecy of Rv 21:1-2, all the spirits that make up this throne of God will descend on Shincheonji, which is where the one who overcomes can be found.”
How the lesson notes compare with the books
- The 24 elders. Same teaching. The notes call them “administrators of heaven.” Physical Fulfillment p. 99 calls them “twenty-four spirits in charge of all the work in God’s kingdom,” and Creation p. 190 says they “take care of the administrative affairs of God’s kingdom.”
- Where the throne goes. Same teaching. The notes say each part of the structure has an equivalent at Mount Zion, and Creation p. 190 says the spirits of the throne “will descend on Shincheonji.”
- The four living creatures on earth. Difference. The notes say “The heads of these departments are comparable to the 4 living creatures.” Physical Fulfillment p. 105 says “the four living creatures are four divisions of people,” each with “six cabinet members.” The pages checked do not list the four departments the notes name. Needs checking.
What the Bible says
- Revelation 4:1 says what the voice promised to show. After these things I looked, and there was a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said: “Come up here so that I can show you what must happen after these things.” (Revelation 4:1, NET)
- Revelation 22:8 names the one who saw and heard these things. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them, I threw myself down to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me. (Revelation 22:8, NET)
- Revelation 1:19 uses the phrase “after these things” before chapter 4. Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things. (Revelation 1:19, NET)
- Revelation 4:2-8 describes the throne, the elders, the lamps and the sea of glass. Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it! And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne. In a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne, and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. In the middle of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying. Each one of the four living creatures had six wings and was full of eyes all around and inside. They never rest day or night, saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, Who was, and who is, and who is still to come!” (Revelation 4:2-8, NET)
- Exodus 25:8-9 is the command to Moses to build. Let them make for me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them. According to all that I am showing you—the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings—you must make it exactly so. (Exodus 25:8-9, NET)
- Revelation 21:3 says where God’s residence will be. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. (Revelation 21:3, NET)
Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible
This lesson opens with 1 Corinthians 14:33 and the theme that God is a God of order. It says the world’s disorder “reflects the enemy’s way, where everything is done according to people’s own understanding,” noting that people who say “think for yourself” are suspicious of unity. It says the “I” of Revelation 4:1 “refers to New John,” who went up to heaven in the spring of 1980, and that “John’s task was to build what he saw in heaven on earth.” It then matches each part of the throne room to an earthly structure: the overcomer, 24 ministries, 7 inspectors, 4 departments, the saints and 12 tribes. “If any of these elements is missing from a place, it cannot be considered Mount Zion.” SCJ’s book says “all the spirits that make up this throne of God will descend on Shincheonji” (Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 190). Revelation 4 says what the throne room is for.
1. 1 Corinthians 14: Order includes evaluating
The lesson uses God’s order to cast suspicion on “think for yourself.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:33 comes in Paul’s instructions for orderly worship: prophets speaking one at a time (14:29-32).
- In the same passage, Paul says: “Two or three prophets should speak and the others should evaluate what is said” (14:29). God’s order includes the church weighing what prophets claim.
- Paul writes, “examine all things; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Thinking carefully for yourself isn’t disorder. (See Lesson 83.)
2. The “I” in Revelation 4:1 is John
The notes say Apostle John saw the events, but the “I” “refers to New John.”
3. The throne room is about worship
The lesson treats Revelation 4 as an organizational blueprint.
- What happens in the throne room is worship: “They never rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, Who was, and who is, and who is still to come!’” (4:8).
- The elders “offer their crowns before his throne,” saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things” (4:10-11).
- The chapter’s point is that God, the Creator, reigns and is worthy of all worship. It sets up chapter 5, where the Lamb takes the scroll.
4. John wasn’t told to build anything
The notes say “John’s task was to build what he saw in heaven on earth.” SCJ’s book compares him to Moses.
- Moses received an explicit command: “Let them make for me a sanctuary … According to all that I am showing you—the pattern of the tabernacle … you must make it exactly so” (Exodus 25:8-9).
- John received a different instruction: “Come up here so that I can show you what must happen” (Revelation 4:1), and “Write in a book what you see” (1:11). He was to see and write, not build.
- Hebrews says the earthly tabernacle was “a sketch and shadow,” and Christ entered “into heaven itself” (Hebrews 8:5; 9:24). The shadow isn’t rebuilt. (See Lessons 50 and 68.)
5. A checklist that matches one organization
The lesson says a true Mount Zion must have an overcomer, 24 ministries, 7 inspectors, 4 departments (elderly, men’s, women’s and young adults), saints and 12 tribes.
- This is a description of SCJ’s organizational structure. A test built from one group’s org chart will only ever identify that group.
- Scripture’s marks of God’s people are faith in Christ, the gospel, and love (John 13:35; Galatians 1:8; 1 John 4:2). Revelation 4 doesn’t describe a church’s departments. (See Lesson 50.)
6. The seven spirits are not inspectors
The notes say the seven lamps are spirits who “inspect and report.”
- “Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God” (4:5). In 5:6, the Lamb has “seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
- The image echoes Zechariah: “the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:10). It pictures God’s Spirit, present everywhere. Making them a department of seven inspectors adds to the text.
7. The living creatures and the elders
8. “After this” isn’t “exactly 6 times”
The notes say the phrase appears “exactly 6 times in the book of Revelation,” and that each time the earlier chapter happened first.
- In the NET, a vision opens with “After these things” at 4:1, 7:9, 15:5, 18:1 and 19:1, and with “After this” at 7:1. The phrase “after these things” also appears inside sentences at 1:19, 4:1, 9:12 and 20:3. The count isn’t 6.
- Where the phrase opens a vision, it marks when John saw it (“After these things I looked”). It describes the order of John’s seeing, not a fixed historical sequence. (See Lesson 99.)
9. The throne descends with the new creation
SCJ’s book says the spirits of the throne “will descend on Shincheonji.”
- “I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God,” after “the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist” (21:1-2).
- “The residence of God is among human beings … He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more” (21:3-4). It’s God’s new creation, not an organization in today’s world. (See Lessons 56 and 68.)
10. “Your presence here is not by accident”
- The lesson points to a choice of apartment, a hello in a cafeteria and a relative’s change as signs of God’s leading. God does guide lives (Proverbs 16:9), but how someone came to a class doesn’t show the class is true. (See Lesson 94.)
What the lesson is really for
This lesson turns heaven’s throne room into SCJ’s organizational chart:
- Thinking for yourself is the enemy’s disorder.
- New John saw heaven in 1980 and must build it on earth.
- 24 ministries, 7 inspectors, 4 departments and 12 tribes are the test for Mount Zion.
- The throne’s spirits descend on Shincheonji.
The biblical answer: God’s order includes the church evaluating every claim (1 Corinthians 14:29). John saw the throne room and wrote it down (Revelation 4:1; 22:8). What he saw was the worship of the Creator: “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “You are worthy” (4:8, 11). And God lives among his people when he makes all things new (21:3-4).
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 recast independent thinking as the enemy’s way. The notes say “This disorder reflects the enemy’s way, where everything is done according to people’s own understanding and rules,” and mention people who say “think for yourself.”
- Information: can offer one checklist that only the group meets (our reading). The notes say “If any of these elements is missing from a place, it cannot be considered Mount Zion.” In our reading, this leaves a student with one place to look, the one that teaches the class.
- Emotional: can frame a student’s meeting with the group as destiny. The notes say “Your presence here is not by accident,” and list a choice of apartment complex, a hello in a cafeteria and a family member’s change as part of God’s work.
- Behavior: can set a study routine. Students are told to “Focus on five questions at a time” and master a set before moving on.
Asking whether a church is orderly, as in 1 Corinthians 14:33, is not a control technique in itself.
Go deeper
- Read the full Lesson 105 study
- Closer Look response: Examining Revelation – Chapters 4 – 5 (Part One)
- Closer Look response: Examining Revelation – Chapters 4 – 5 (Part Two)
- Closer Look response: Answering Revelation – Chapters 4 – 5 (Part 3)
- Closer Look response: Examining Revelation – Chapters 4 – 5 (Part 4)
- Previous: Lesson 104: Revelation 3: the letters to the messengers of the seven churches
- Next: Lesson 106: Revelation 5: the book sealed with seven seals
- Back to all Shincheonji lessons