📰The Bible is one of the best-selling and most widely distributed books in history, yet it is also considered to be among the least understood. The Bible, which is referred to as the New Covenant and Promise of God, in which 'the way to heaven and salvation' is presented, differs in theologians' interpretations that make it difficult to understand. These differing interpretations have been the cause of the rise of denominations with each one establishing their own doctrine. With the increase in online church services and gatherings resulting from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there has been growing interest in the comparison of various church doctrine. This paper, therefore, attempts to provide readers with the opportunity to compare differing Biblical teachings without interpretation. Among a host of online sermons and Bible-based teachings, the contrasting doctrine between the established Church and Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has drawn public interest throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, is hereby compared and summarised. Best efforts have been made to provide a summary of Shincheonji Church of Jesus' understanding of the Bible. Judgment as to what is right or wrong is left to the reader’s discernment.
"666 is used figuratively to refer to the events of the Old Testament at the time of Solomon. It represents false doctrine and a false pastor that deceives God's chosen people"
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony
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Why, out of all numbers, is it 666? 666 is a metaphor. In Psalm 78 of the Old Testament, God prophesied that He would speak in parables and, as is recorded in the New Testament's Book of Matthew Chapter 13, Jesus spoke in parables at the First Coming. According to the prophecy in John 16, today is the time when what was written in parables and metaphorical language has appeared in reality and is testified.
Today, the events recorded in Revelation Chapter 13 are figuratively described using physical events that occurred during the era of Solomon, as recorded in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament book of 1 Kings Chapter 10, King Solomon of Israel made gold shields with the 666 gold talents received from the Gentiles. According to the words of 1 Kings 11, the king, who should have relied on God, ignored God's command and intermarried with the Canaanites, neglecting God's people and instead loving Hittite and many other foreign women from the seven gentile nations. King Solomon followed their ways and built a high place on the mountain overlooking Jerusalem to worship foreign gods. After this act of betrayal, God's wrath consumed Israel through judgment by Assyria and Babylon.
Since this past historical event is the same as what has happened today spiritually in God's Tabernacle, Solomon's 666 golden talents is used figuratively.
What follows is important to conceptualise before understanding the events recorded in Revelation chapter 13.
Firstly, a 'mark' refers to possession and recognition, and carries the same meaning as a 'seal' in the Bible. In the same way that I stamp and mark something to show it is mine, if one is stamped with the seal and mark of God or the seal and mark of Satan, then it means that person belongs to either one of these respective gods. In John 3:32-33, God's mark and seal refer to God's word, and Satan's mark and seal refer to Satan's doctrine. In other words, it is recorded that the words one accepts is 'marked' or 'sealed' (1 Tim. 4:1~2).
What is the forehead and right hand where one receives the mark? Receiving a mark on one's forehead means being ordained according to the beast's doctrine, and receiving a mark on one's right hand means raising one's hand and making an oath in acknowledgement of the beast's doctrine.
What does it mean that people who have the number 666 will not be allowed to buy or sell? This trading is spiritual and refers to speaking and listening to the Word (Matthew 13:45-46). It means that those who are not ordained by, or pledged to, an oath according to the beast's doctrine will not be able to preach or listen. It's the same today: if one does not belong to the established Church, one is considered belonging to a 'cult' and is unable to preach or listen to the word.
The location of Revelation Chapter 13 is the same as that of the tabernacle of the seven golden lampstands, the heavenly dwelling, where the seven stars and seven messengers are (Rev. 1:20). As they broke the covenant with God, even after receiving the contents of the letters in Revelation 2~3, they fell from the right hand of Jesus and became betrayers. As seen in Revelation 13, they were ultimately destroyed. The '666 mark of the beast' that comes out of the earth is used figuratively to describe a false pastor that comes out of the tabernacle that appears at the time of the fulfilment of the book of Revelation.
The reason the beast is named '666' is because, when the beast from the earth becomes one with the pastor of the world, a spiritual idol - that is, false pastors - are established as a shield for them (Hab. 2:18-19) throughout all branch churches. This happens because the congregation members raise their right hands to pledge an oath that they will serve these false pastors. As a result, the behaviour of the '666 mark of the beast', that caused all the pastors and congregation members in the heavenly tabernacle to worship idols and follow foreign gods, is the same as that of Solomon in conduct.
In summary, 666 refers to a false pastor and false doctrine that deceives God's chosen people in Revelation. This can be clearly known only by the one who testifies to what he has seen and heard at the location of the events.
“666 represents Satan, the Devil, and 777 stands for God. It's the 'barcode'. It's the technological era of the credit card"..."It's the name of Rome's Emperor"
Established Church
Pastor A of the Full Gospel Church
"The number of God is 7, and the number of this world is 6. Therefore, the devil is 6, the antichrist is 6, and false prophets are also 6, so it is the Trinity 666. Since God is a perfect God, God is 7. Jesus is 7, and the Holy Spirit is 7 too, so we can go to 777. '666' can also be a country code, peoples' birthdays and a social security number and those numbers (barcodes that include those numbers) will be sealed on peoples' foreheads."
Pastor B of the Presbyterian Church
"Sometimes the word of God is so mysterious. 2000 years ago, it was said that the end of humanity would be marked by a technological era - the 'Card Age'. Back then people bartered with goods, then coins and banknotes. This last era is what we can call the 'Card Age'. From now on, the Bible is telling us that we are in the era of material domination, mammonism, the Card Age and the 666 Age."
Pastor C of the Baptist Church
"It's the mark, the beast and 666. It's giving the mark so that people don't buy or sell. I have to re-do my research on this to make sure it's right, but it just seems so incredible. There are claims that we have to imprint this barcode on the body. When people think about a good area in the body for a barcode, the forehead or right hand is generally considered a good spot. Offerings should now then be made with one's forehead instead of in cash."
Pastor D of the Presbyterian Church
"Credit cards and barcodes have nothing to do with the 666 mark of the beast. Don't be fooled by this. When the name of the Roman emperor 'Nero Caesar' is replaced with a Hebrew word, it translates into the number 666. The consensus among most global theologians is that this 666 refers to the name of the Roman emperor at that time."
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