Shincheonji lesson 78: wedding banquet of the Lamb

Where SCJ’s reading conflicts with the Bible

This lesson says Jesus “will come in a way where people will not see him with their naked eyes,” that “Jesus will return as a Spirit,” and that what people see is “The flesh that the Spirit uses to work through.” It says the oil of the ten virgins is “The word of testimony,” that in the first resurrection the martyrs’ souls and the living “become one,” that the banquet’s oxen are “the betrayers,” and that Babylon’s wine includes “Blogs, internet posts, commentaries, interpretations, TikTok videos, you name it.” Of study Bibles it says, “I would suggest throwing those out too if you have some.” It tells students, “if you do not meet with us, we cannot help you do that.” SCJ’s The Creation of Heaven and Earth says “Anyone who remains in the field (his or her own church) instead of gathering at the wedding banquet hall becomes a weed that cannot receive salvation” (p. 512), and “We at Shincheonji have captured God’s oxen and fattened beasts” (p. 513). Scripture describes Jesus’ return, and the banquet’s invitation, very differently.

1. 1. Every eye will see him

   The lesson says people won’t see Jesus with their naked eyes when he returns.

   • “Look! He is returning with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes on the earth will mourn because of him” (Revelation 1:7).
   • “They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).
   • “the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
   • Luke 17, the lesson’s own passage: “Then people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day” (Luke 17:23-24).

   Jesus’ point in Luke 17 is that his coming will be so obvious no one needs to be told where he is.

2. 2. The same Jesus, in the same way

   The lesson says, “Jesus will return as a Spirit,” and points to the transfiguration.

   • “This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). They watched him go bodily.
   • The risen Jesus said, “Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones like you see I have” (Luke 24:39).
   • At the transfiguration, the disciples saw him with their own eyes: “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2). Peter later wrote, “we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur” (2 Peter 1:16). The lesson’s own example was visible.

3. 3. “The flesh that the Spirit uses”

   • If Jesus returns invisibly, working through a person whom others must point out, that is exactly what Jesus warned against: “if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him” (Matthew 24:23). (See Lessons 59 and 77; their new sections aren’t live yet, so the links go to the lesson pages.)

4. 4. The ten virgins: Stay alert

   The lesson says the oil is “The word of testimony,” and that the foolish must know who “the witnesses” are, since they sell it.

   • Jesus gives the lesson himself: “Therefore stay alert because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13).
   • In the parable, the foolish virgins who went to buy oil came back to a shut door (25:10-12). The parable doesn’t recommend going to the sellers. (See Lesson 43.)

5. 5. The wedding clothes are given

   • Revelation 19:8: “She was permitted to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints)” (Revelation 19:8). The bride is granted her clothing.
   • The great multitude “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14). Righteousness comes from Christ and shows in the saints’ lives. (See Lesson 31.)
   • The bride is the whole church of saints, not “a representative bride” who is one man. (See Lesson 54.)

6. 6. The first resurrection: Souls who came to life

   The lesson says the martyrs’ souls and the living who refused the mark “become one,” and that this is the first resurrection.

   • Revelation 20:4: “I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus … They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).
   • The souls “came to life.” No union of dead souls with living people is described. (See Lesson 53.)

7. 7. John 11:25-26: Eternal life in Jesus

   The lesson reads Jesus’ words as two groups, with the living whose spirit and flesh “will never die.”

   • Jesus said this to Martha before raising Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).
   • Lazarus was raised, but later died again. Believers do die physically: “people are appointed to die once” (Hebrews 9:27). What never dies is the life Jesus gives. The bodily resurrection comes at his return (1 Corinthians 15:52).
   • Martha’s response is the point: “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God” (John 11:27).

8. 8. The oxen are the feast

   The lesson says the oxen are “the betrayers” and the fattened cattle are “The destroyers.” SCJ’s book says, “We at Shincheonji have captured God’s oxen and fattened beasts” (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 513).

   • The king’s message: “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet” (Matthew 22:4). The animals are the meal. If they were betrayers, the guests would be eating them. (See Lesson 54.)

9. 9. Luke 14: The invitation goes to the poor and outcast

   The lesson says those who make excuses stand for “all nations who hear the call.” SCJ’s book says they are “pastors and not lay people” (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 510).

   • After the invited guests refuse, the master says, “Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame” (Luke 14:21), and then, “Go out to the highways and country roads” (14:23).
   • In Matthew, the slaves “gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Matthew 22:10).
   • The parable shows God’s grace reaching outsiders. The two SCJ sources don’t agree on who the refusers are.

10. 10. God’s “day of rest” and the thousand years

    The lesson calls the thousand years God’s day of rest, citing 2 Peter 3:8.

    • Peter’s point: “a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord … The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you” (2 Peter 3:8-9). It explains God’s patience, not a timeline.
    • Hebrews says believers enter God’s rest now by faith: “we who have believed enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3).

11. 11. Throwing out study Bibles

    The lesson calls commentaries, blogs and study Bibles Babylon’s wine: “Even study Bibles are like commentaries. I would suggest throwing those out too if you have some.”

    • The Ethiopian official said, “How in the world can I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:31). God sent Philip to explain Isaiah, and he pointed to Jesus.
    • God gave the church “pastors and teachers” to build it up (Ephesians 4:11-12). Ezra’s helpers read the law, “explaining it and imparting insight. Thus the people gained understanding from what was read” (Nehemiah 8:8).
    • Removing every outside tool leaves the course as the only voice. (See Lesson 42.)

12. 12. Meeting with evangelists as the condition for help

    The lesson says, “Our job is to get you there, but if you do not meet with us, we cannot help you do that.”

    • Hebrews 10:24-25, which the lesson cites, tells believers to keep meeting and encouraging one another in the church (Hebrews 10:24-25). Coming to Christ doesn’t depend on evangelists’ meetings: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).
    • The notes add, “The evangelists, even those who invited you to study, belong to a particular branch.” Students are being placed into a structure before the group behind it is named. Paul taught “by open proclamation of the truth” (2 Corinthians 4:2).

13. 13. Staying in your church and “cannot receive salvation”

    SCJ’s book says anyone who stays in their own church “becomes a weed that cannot receive salvation” (The Creation of Heaven and Earth, p. 512).

    • Jesus said, “Let both grow together until the harvest,” and “the reapers are angels” (Matthew 13:30; 13:39). (See Lesson 76; its new section isn’t live yet, so the link goes to the lesson page.)
    • “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).