On 17th December 2019, Gyeongin Daily News published an article entitled “Emergence of a New Religious Trend: Shincheonji Church of Jesus' 100,000 Graduation Ceremony in 2019 and its “Bible-Based Activities.” This is a translation of that article. 

What is the first thing you think of when you hear of 'Shincheonji'? If we interpret the word literally, we can feel positive about a new world; one that will come after the old passes away. But when I ask people, they often think of heresy or a sham. Such perception, unilaterally promoted by the Protestant church and media, has damaged the reputation of Shincheonji Church of Jesus. In spite of such persecution, Shincheonji has been showing rapid growth every year up until the 36th anniversary of its founding. Moreover, the number of its mission centers has increased several times over within the last year. This year, the religious world in Korea was marked by very significant events held in Shincheonji. Following a tour of the seven major cities in Korea in October, the Open Bible Seminar for Pastors was held, which was a great success. Now is the time to come, see, hear, and verify the 'true word' directly in Shincheonji, not through rumours circulated by the press. This report highlights the achievements of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in 2019.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus' Open Bible Seminar opened in Seoul and continued on to Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and Jeju Island, with great success.

This year's Open Bible Seminar, with Chairman Man Hee Lee as the main speaker, attracted much attention from the religious world. At each seminar, guests exceeded the seating capacity, and pastors, seminarians, Christians and the general public who attended gave a fervent response.

On their nationwide tour, Chairman Man Hee Lee delivered lectures on the theme 'God's Promised New Work and New Creation' based on the 66 books of the Bible. He detailedly taught about the 6000 years of God's work, today's fulfilment of Revelation and the faith required.

Chairman Lee said, “I stand here to make known God's 6000-year work and the fulfillment of the book of Revelation promised in the Bible." He emphasised, “man must not believe in men's words, but in the word of God that is based on the Bible.”

“The traditional church teaches that weeds are people who do not believe in Jesus, but people who do not believe in Jesus are just an empty field where the seed of the Word has not been sown.” He continued, "As the book of Revelation is being fulfilled, there is separation between those who are harvested and those who are not."

He continued, “When Revelation is fulfilled, Jesus appoints one person as his messenger to testify the fulfillment of Revelation to the churches. Jesus' messenger hears and bears witness to this fulfilment. As Jesus ate the scroll of Ezekiel 3 and testified it to the rebellious people of Israel, I have eaten the opened book in Revelation 10 and am testifying its fulfilment."

Lastly, he said, "There is no one in the Republic of Korea who has not heard of the 'harvest and creation of the 12 tribes with 144,000 people.' Why don't you listen? To receive salvation, you must know who you are according to the Word."

The Open Bible Seminar was livestreamed in eight languages, including Korean, on Shincheonji Church of Jesus' official website and YouTube channel.

John tribe church members and local residents watched the 'Open Bible Seminar on the Second Coming and Harvest' livestreamed on large screens in front of Suwon Station, Seoul, Gyeonggi province. Residents were engaged through publicity booths.

In response to growing demand in Shincheonji Church of Jesus' Bible study following the six-city Open Bible Seminar, the 12 Tribes' Open Bible Seminar was held. Over 70,000 people have now registered for their Bible study course with inquiries constantly growing through local booths.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus' John tribe, which covers Seoul city and Gyeonggi province, hosted a seminar at its headquarters in Gwacheon. The lecture topic, 'The Wine of Adultery', was livestreamed in branch churches including Hanam, Seongnam, Ansan, Suwon, Dongtan, Pyeongtaek and Icheon in Gyeonggi province.

Following the 12 Tribes' Open Bible Seminar, all head lecturers delivered seminars at 70 local branch churches throughout the country, continuing to testify the word until the end of November. In front of about 1000 residents and believers in Suwon, the difference between the teachings of Protestantism and Shincheonji Church of Jesus was explained under the theme 'The Creation of God's New Kingdom and New People'.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus' head lecturer in Suwon, Ki-won Lee, was invited to speak at Icheon branch church at 7pm on the same day, teaching about the difference between Shincheonji Church of Jesus and Protestantism.

That day, Shincheonji Church of Jesus' Suwon branch church operated 20 cars equipped with Open Bible Seminar promotional placards, which turned ears and eyes  for many days as cars toured the Suwon area and broadcast 100 promotional videos a day on Suwon station billboard. Moreover, the church opened its doors two hours prior to the seminar, and public relations brochures were distributed throughout the church to help address and guide visitors' queries.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus sent shockwaves throughout the religious world as it created evangelistic history through its 100,000 Graduation Ceremony on November 10th. 100,000 believers were officially registered into the church within just one year. It has attracted worldwide attention beyond religious circles.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus held their '100,000 Graduation Ceremony of the 12 tribes of Shincheonji: Class 110 Zion Mission Center'. The ceremony was held in three places, including Seoul Metropolitan Area and churches in Busan (Andrew tribe) and Gwangju (Peter tribe), as well as in 112 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

A total of 103,764 people graduated that day. Graduates had attained an evangelism rate of 142%, signalling exponential growth for Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

During the closing part of the ceremony, Chairman Man Hee Lee said, “The book of Revelation records God's secret that will be fulfilled. The Bible says that this will most certainly be fulfilled. Revelation, recorded over 2000 years ago, will be fulfilled as is written."

Moreover, “There must be a reality that appears according to Revelation. God's purpose is to harvest the fruit of the seed sown 2000 years ago in order to create the kingdom of God. Today, God creates a new nation of people born of His seed."

One graduate, Mr. Eron Kim, introduced himself as a missionary born into the third generation of a pastor's family, who himself pastored in Brazil. He confessed, "We have been teaching people lies," and asked, “Who is the true shepherd of God, and how can we wash away the sins that have been sown through the devil's seed?” He added, “I will forever repay this grace to God and Jesus, and have dedicated myself to the work of evangelism and harvest."

Another graduate, Soo-ji Choi, said, “I was more loyal to the established church than anyone else. I watched all the videos produced about Shincheonji on Christian broadcasting networks, and knew of all the online rumours. I came to this place because Shincheonji Church of Jesus is the promised temple where God is at the Second Coming, and it is the only place where the Word of Life comes.”

The growth of 100,000 congregation members within one year is unprecedented, not only in Korea but worldwide. This equates to ten newly established mega churches of 10,000 members each that now belong to Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

The graduation ceremony marked the official registration of new members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus who have completed six months study at Zion Mission Center, which is Shincheonji Church of Jesus' free Bible teaching institute. This marks an increase in the number of people who are qualified to teach the Gospel after having studied the Word, rather than having a vague faith based on listening to sermons.

In fact, Shincheonji Church of Jesus' strict six-month Zion Mission Center Bible study course covers Genesis to Revelation through basic, intermediate and advanced level studies.

Unlike today's Bible teaching that is focused mainly on instruction and history, Shincheonji Church of Jesus emphasises Biblical prophecies and their fulfilment.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus' John tribe Suwon church produced about 1000 graduates at the ceremony, demonstrating an increased interest in the word within the region.

◆Pastors with little to say in response to the Open Bible Seminar Invited

Chairman Man Hee Lee of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, who has been testifying the fulfilment of Bible prophecies, held the Open Bible Seminar for Pastors across the nation on 7th December.

Pastors, evangelists and church officials attended the 'Open Bible Seminar for Pastors' in Gapyeong Peace Institute, Gyeonggi province.

Within the last two months, 1000 pastors and church elders attended the seven seminars, which Chairman Lee delivered in person. Following this nationwide Open Bible Seminar, the 12 Tribes' Open Bible Seminar and 60 branch church seminars were held and attended by many pastors. Many pastors who attended the seminars began to learn the word of Shincheonji Church of Jesus and more than 400 pastors from across the country attended the seminar and listened to the chairman's lecture.

Before the lecture, Chairman Man Hee Lee said, “I am the messenger sent according to Jesus' promise to tell the churches about the fulfillment of the book of Revelation. Today, I want to talk to you in detail. If you hear something that you don't agree with, please first listen. I will open my heart and communicate with you like a good friend."

In particular, the chairman emphasised the role of a pastor according to the Bible compared to this day and age, saying, “The word of God is absolute. If the Bible tells us that the former era will pass away, will this not come true someday? Faith is seeing and believing when the promise in God's word is fulfilled. Living a long life of faith or attending church does not guarantee one's salvation.”

“The reason for persecution in today's rapidly growing new era is because it is God's work. It is your responsibility to find the path to salvation and become God's people. We must be born again with the word of God. Let's live with God in this new promised era."