Is the Book of Revelation Really an 'Epistle'?
On 16th August 2021, Cheonji Ilbo (Cheonji Daily) published an article, in Korean, entitled, “Is the Book of Revelation Really an 'Epistle'?" This is a translation of that report.
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📰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.
"The book of Revelation is a prophecy, written in advance, which is fulfilled at the Second Coming"
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony
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The book of Revelation was written by Apostle John after he received the revelation from Jesus. According to Revelation 1:1 and Revelation 22:8, John did not write it arbitrarily; rather it is a book of prophecy shown in vision by Jesus, who himself will fulfil it in the future. As such, when Apostle John recorded the book of Revelation, he did not witness the fulfilled realities of the prophecy, but only recorded the future events as he received and saw them in vision. Therefore, even if one says that John sends the scroll, it is natural that no one actually received the scroll at that time because he would have sent it in vision.
The book of Revelation has a total of 22 chapters, and among them, the contents related to the letters sent appear only in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Moreover, the book of Revelation is not written to the seven messengers.
The first thing to understand is that the prophecies of the Bible were written using the names of people and places at the time they were written, as evidenced in Hosea 12:10 and Revelation 11:8. The actual seven churches in Asia Minor, which form the background to the book of Revelation, have all been destroyed and only a few traces remain. The events of the Book of Revelation never appeared there. The seven churches of Revelation 1, 2 and 3 do not refer to the seven churches in Asia Minor, but to seven figurative (spiritual) churches in the guise of those seven churches. Therefore, the letters sent in vision were not sent to the seven literal churches of Asia Minor at the time of their writing, but are received by the seven messengers of the seven spiritual churches at the time of Revelation's fulfilment.
The first thing to understand is that the prophecies of the Bible were written using the names of people and places at the time they were written, as evidenced in Hosea 12:10 and Revelation 11:8. The actual seven churches in Asia Minor, which form the background to the book of Revelation, have all been destroyed and only a few traces remain. The events of the Book of Revelation never appeared there. The seven churches of Revelation 1, 2 and 3 do not refer to the seven churches in Asia Minor, but to seven figurative (spiritual) churches in the guise of those seven churches. Therefore, the letters sent in vision were not sent to the seven literal churches of Asia Minor at the time of their writing, but are received by the seven messengers of the seven spiritual churches at the time of Revelation's fulfilment.
Furthermore, in Revelation 1:20, the seven stars and the seven messengers are referred to as a 'mystery', or 'secret'. Therefore, if the book of Revelation records the word for the seven churches in Asia Minor, and the whole world knows about it, why would it be a mystery?
Who are the seven messengers of this mystery who appear in Revelation 1, 2, and 3? They are the preparers of the way who have appeared at the second coming of the Lord, like John the Baptist who came as the light to prepare the way at the first coming of Jesus. The reason they are called a 'mystery' is because no one knew their reality until the prophecies were fulfilled and their reality appeared. At the Second Coming of the Lord, the mystery of the seven stars and seven messengers of the seven golden lampstands of the Tabernacle Temple, appeared and worked as a lamp to prepare the way. This is when the book of Revelation began to be fulfilled.
However, these seven messengers, who were specifically chosen by Jesus to work, forsook their first love with Jesus, fell from Jesus' right hand and were deceived by Satan's Nicolaitans who had invaded the tabernacle of the seven golden lampstands. In order to make this reality known, Jesus chose the messenger of prophecy of Revelation 1 - who is 'new John' at the time of fulfilment - to show him everything that happened there, urged the messengers of the seven churches to repent, and promised to bless those who fought against and overcame (defeated) Satan's Nicolaitans. This is the content of the letters of Revelation 2 and 3.
Therefore, the sender of the letter is Jesus - not John from 2000 years ago. Revelation 2:18 clearly states that the Son of God sends the letters. Moreover, it is said seven times that he who has ears to hear should hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Anyone who reads this will know that the sender of the letters is not John, but the Holy Spirit of Jesus. The recipients of the letters at the time of the fulfilment of the book of Revelation were the seven messengers of the seven churches, and the person who wrote the letters at the time of Revelation's fulfilment was the new John.
"The book of Revelation, written 2000 years ago in Asia Minor, was a letter sent to seven churches"
Korean Church
Pastor A, Presbyterian Church
"The book of Revelation contains terrifying contents of numerous visions, symbols and numbers. This was the region of Asia Minor which is present-day Istanbul in Turkey. This was a letter sent to the seven churches in Asia Minor. It is an actual letter, its content is prophetic and its form is apocalyptic. It's an actual letter. It is a story that actually happened historically. Why was there no other choice but to tell difficult stories at that time? It's because Christianity was being persecuted by the Romans.
Those who believed in God were in difficult situations as they were martyred or enslaved. In this situation, they had to say, 'Rome will soon fall' or 'All dynasties in this world will fall', but if they did, the Roman Empire wouldn't sit still. So this is symbolic."
Pastor B, Presbyterian Church
"The book of Revelation is a letter; the sender is John, and the recipient are the chosen believers who lived in the seven regions of Asia Minor 2000 years ago. When reading the book of Revelation, we must not misunderstand and think that the sender is God and we are the recipients. Sometimes we can misunderstand, believing that God is speaking directly to us.
For example, since 1 Corinthians records Paul's words to the Corinthians, in order to know its contents and purpose, it is necessary to know the circumstances of the church in Corinth and the purpose of Paul's writing. The book of Revelation is a fantastic revelation. It is an error to forget that the sender is John and the receiver is the seven churches of Asia. The words of the book of Revelation are letters. John recorded what he saw through a vision."
For example, since 1 Corinthians records Paul's words to the Corinthians, in order to know its contents and purpose, it is necessary to know the circumstances of the church in Corinth and the purpose of Paul's writing. The book of Revelation is a fantastic revelation. It is an error to forget that the sender is John and the receiver is the seven churches of Asia. The words of the book of Revelation are letters. John recorded what he saw through a vision."
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