On 17th December 2019, The Dong-A Ilbo published an article entitled “Completion of 100,000 Graduation Ceremony-Nationwide Open Bible Seminar… "2019 is the year of the Great Revolution of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus". This is a translation of that article.

2019 was a time of great revolution for Shincheonji Church of Jesus. This year’s achievements of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has been delivering the true Gospel of the fulfilment of Biblical prophecies since its founding in 1984, have had a great impact both within and outside religious circles.

Let’s break down this year's achievements into three headings and understand their meaning and impact on society.

■100,000 Graduation Ceremony Surprises the World in November in major cities including Seoul Capital Area, Busan, and Gwangju, and 112 cities around the world

Most of those who saw the video and photos of the 100,000 graduation ceremony through various media reacted to its 'oneness'. They were surprised to see 100,000 people in the same uniform glorifying God together. This graduation ceremony of 100,000 graduates means that the number of new believers registered at Shincheonji Church of Jesus this year is 100,000. To be exact, 103,764 students completed the six-month course at the Zion Mission Center, which is hincheonji Church of Jesus' free Bible-teaching institute.

Some Christian press has published slanderous 'fake news' reports because they consider an increase of 100,000 believers in the established denominations within just one year to be an impossibility.

Indeed, amid the global trend of the rapid decline of Christians, the increase of 100,000 new members in such a short period of time is testament to its ‘magnitude’ in world history.

The number of new members is expected to increase exponentially, as the rate of evangelism is 142% and more than 200,000 people are currently studying the Bible.

Unlike South Korea, where persecution and observation of Shincheonji Church of Jesus is severe, pastors of the established church outside Korea are teaching the ‘Gospel Fulfilment’ after having listened to the words of Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Hundreds of their churchgoers are now receiving this word.

■The Time of Harvest, the Second Coming, and time for those who have not heard to hear

In October 2019, Chairman Man Hee Lee led a nationwide tour of the ‘Open Bible Seminar on The Second Coming and Harvest’. It is one of the church's greatest achievements. 

The purpose of the Open Bible Seminar was to spread the word of Shincheonji Church of Jesus and shake the religious world so that one can not later say that one has not heard about Jesus’ work of 'harvest'.

The word ‘harvest’ is Biblical which means finding people today who are born of God’s seed sown at Jesus’ first coming, to create into God’s people at the place Jesus promised to return at the Second Coming. It is through the Open Bible Seminar that one will understand that these promises are being fulfilled according to the Bible through harvesters who belong to the church, that this can be verified through the Bible and that one must not miss this opportunity of understanding the harvest.

The number of participants at the ‘Open Bible Seminar on The Second Coming and Harvest’, which began in October, reached 70,000 nationwide with more than 7000 participants registering for follow-up education (both online and offline).

In particular, on the December 7th, another seminar was hosted by Chairman Lee for 400 pastors of the established church, urging them to verify the fulfilment of New Testament prophecies for themselves to spread to other Christians. It was received very well. Alongside this, Shincheonji Church of Jesus has been preaching the 'Gospel of Revelation' in various ways, including through the nationwide Open Bible Seminar and dialogue.

■Volunteering in Society

Shincheonji Volunteer Group’s efforts to become the light and salt of the world grew more this year. Its voluntary activities, carried out to engage better with society and to share love with those in need, were promoted as an important focus this year.

As the number of believers has increased, the number of volunteers has rapidly increased, as has growth in its activities. This year, 76,000 people volunteered for Shincheonji Volunteer Group. The relationship between Shincheonji Church of Jesus and the community strengthened as they carried out 12,000 activities.

Major activities included environmental clean-up operations (2300), multi-cultural services (1500), activities for the underprivileged (1400), and volunteering with senior residents (1100). Furthermore, in view of the current difficulty in finding blood donors, more than 6000 people have actively participated in the blood donation service. This led to its evaluation as it playing the role of the light and salt in society.

These voluntary efforts have benefitted more than 101,000 people, having served more than 26,000 seniors, 10,000 underprivileged people, 7000 disabled people, 5000 people in multicultural groups, and 3000 war veterans, including those of national merit.

A spokesperson for Shincheonji Church of Jesus said, “This year was a truly meaningful year. The 100,000 Graduation Ceremony and the Open Bible Seminars have sparked a global buzz. It will not be a topical event, but a landmark event that will wake up the entire religious world and bring about great change. Once again, the Bible asks us to confirm the reality of the New Testament prophecies through the Bible itself. The church will serve even more in its contributions as the light and salt of society.”

To read the article as it appeared in Dong-A Ilbo (Korean only), please click here⇨http://bit.ly/38HcJAe