Where is the 'Wilderness' that the Woman Clothed With the Sun, Moon and Stars Flees to in Revelation Chapter 12? (Shincheonji Church)
📰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.
"Spiritual wilderness is a place where there is no word of truth. The woman who flees there is a pastor who betrays God"
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony
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First, let's summarise the events and characters in Revelation 12. The location of the event is heaven. The characters who appear are a woman clothed with the sun, moon and stars, a beast with seven heads and ten horns, a red dragon, and a male child born of this clothed woman. It is a story about a woman clothed with the sun, moon and stars, who gives birth in front of a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns that entered heaven, and flees into the wilderness. The child then fights and defeats the dragon.
Where is this 'heaven', the location of the events? Heaven in Revelation 12 is the same heaven of Revelation 13. In Revelation chapter 13, it is written that a beast with seven heads and ten horns comes out of the sea and enters heaven. However, in Revelation 12, this beast has already entered heaven. So, we can see that Revelation 13 is an event that precedes Revelation 12. In Revelation 13:6, this place is recorded as 'heaven', which, at the time of Revelation's fulfilment, is not the expanse in the sky but a tabernacle on the earth - a church. In Revelation 1, the seven messengers are referred to as seven stars, and this tabernacle of the seven stars and seven golden lampstands is heaven, which is the location of the events in Revelation 12.
Who is the woman clothed with the sun, moon and stars? A woman in the book of Revelation is figurative for a pastor. The reason is that, just as a woman receives a seed from a man and gives birth to children, a pastor receives the word, which is the seed of God, and gives birth to and nurtures spiritual children, chosen congregation members. Apostle Paul, who did not even marry, referred to himself as a woman giving birth who nursed Timothy as his son (Gal 4:19; 1 Corinthians 3:2).
What does it mean that this woman is clothed in the sun, moon and stars? As seen in Genesis chapter 37, the sun, moon and stars (heaven) symbolise the chosen people of Israel. Therefore, a woman refers to a pastor who guides the seven golden lampstands, which is the tabernacle (church) of the chosen people, at the time of the fulfilment of Revelation. Where is the 'wilderness' where this woman flees? Just as a woman is a spiritual woman, the wilderness where she flees to is a spiritual wilderness. The wilderness refers to a large field where people can not live because of no water to drink. In Deuteronomy 32 and Amos 8, water is the word, and the spiritual wilderness is a place without spiritual water; that is, a place where there is no word of truth.
Even in the Korean hymn, there is a verse which reads, "There are many who shout, but the water of life is dry", but if there is no word of truth or water of life, the place where this pastor is located becomes a spiritual wilderness. Furthermore, today's seminaries are void of truth. It is truly a spiritual wilderness. In summary, the wilderness in Revelation 12 is a place without the word of truth.
What is the reason the woman clothed with the sun, moon and stars flees into the wilderness? In Revelation 13, Satan's beast-like pastor fought against the chosen people in heaven's tabernacle and took possession of it. At that time, the woman clothed with the the sun, moon and stars - a pastor - who is in charge of heaven's tabernacle and should have risked her life to protect the saints, instead abandoned them and fled. It is recorded that this woman is nurtured in the wilderness for 1260 days. This means that this pastor who betrayed God abandons the chosen people and learns the false doctrine of the Gentiles, where there is no word of God.
On the other hand, the male child born of the woman fights and overcomes the group of the dragon with the blood of the lamb and the word of testimony.
Therefore, the first war in heaven's tabernacle ends with Satan's victory, but in the second war, the beast is cast out through the victory of this male child. God's kingdom and salvation then begins. Therefore, no one on the earth today can be said to have salvation without the appearance of the one who overcomes who fights and overcomes this beast. Since this male child is said to be one who will rule all nations with the iron sceptre, this child is the pastor of the promise whom one must meet.
Pastor A of the Presbyterian Church
"Revelation 12's title is, 'The Woman and the Dragon'. Here, of course, this woman means a church. The dragon is Satan, the devil. Verse 6 says that this woman runs away into the wilderness. Where is this wilderness? It's easy to think about. The wilderness is a church. There is nowhere else in this world to flee to. We have nowhere to escape when Satan the Devil, the Dragon attack us. The only safe place is the church."
Pastor B of the Full Gospel Church
"In the Bible, the church has never been described as a woman, but the Israelites were collectively described as a woman married to God. In the wilderness, the land of Petra, and in the crevices of cliff rocks, numerous Bibles and hundreds of tons of canned food are hidden. You can see that God has prepared those to nurture the Israelites for 1260 days in advance."
Pastor C of the Baptist Church
"The woman is Israel, and the boy she bore is Christ the Messiah. Israel must flee. Most Bible scholars believe that Petra is the only way Israel can escape to. Petra is a tremendous rocky mountain, so the Antichrist can't use his power at that point. There is a possibility that it will actually be like that."
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