What does 'It is finished' mean in John 19?
📰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.
God must fulfil what He has promised, and when the fulfilment comes, a believer can see and believe in the fulfilment of the promise in order to have complete faith. The covenant is between God, who made the promise, and the person who believes in the promise.
God, who left creation after Adam's sin, has been working since that time to resolve the issue of sin.
God's promises were fulfilled through Jesus at the first coming. In particular, in Jeremiah 31:22, a woman embraces a man, and in Isaiah 7:14, it says that a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. As it was recorded in Matthew 1:18-23, this prophecy was fulfilled about 700 years later when the virgin Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus. Moreover, in Micah 5:2, the prophecy that the ruler over Israel would be born in Bethlehem was fulfilled when Joseph and Mary, who had been living in Nazareth, went to Bethlehem and gave birth to Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 2:5. Not only these, but also the prophecies in Isaiah 9:1-2 of a great light that would shine in the Gentile land of Galilee (fulfilled in Matthew 4:13-17), in Jeremiah 31:27 that the two seeds would be sown (Matthew 13:24-25), in Psalm 78:2-4 that the secrets of the kingdom of heaven would be uttered in parables and be passed on to future generations (Mt 13:34~35), and in Zechariah 9:9 that He would enter Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey (Mt 21:1-5). Jesus also fulfilled the prophecies of the crucifixion in Psalms 40-41 and the casting of lots by the soldiers in Psalm 22:18.
When Jesus said 'It is finished', he meant that all the prophecies made through the Old Testament prophets were fulfilled. We can summarise what Jesus accomplished at the first coming into five things: the creation of a 'new thing', the sowing of the two kinds of seed, the fulfilment of the Old Testament and the making of the new covenant, speaking about the secrets of the kingdom of heaven in parables, and bearing the cross for the forgiveness of sins. What Jesus preached at that time was the prophecy (promise) of the Old Testament and its fulfilled reality (fulfilment). Jesus also promised what he would fulfil in the future through the new covenant.
This new covenant is a promise we must know and keep today. The new covenant refers to the prophecies of the New Testament recorded in the book of Revelation. As was said in John 16:25, when the time comes, things would no longer be spoken in parables, but would be revealed and plainly explained (testified). That time refers to the present day, when the words spoken in parables are fulfilled. To explain plainly means to reveal the reality of the prophecy that has appeared. In other words, no one in heaven or on earth can understand the words of the sealed book until the time of fulfilment, when the reality appears and is explained. The book of Revelation says that anyone who adds to, or subtracts from, the words of prophecy will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven and will be cursed (Rev 22:18-19).
The purpose of the new work at the first coming was to bring an end to the physical lineage, and to create the new kingdom of God spiritually. At the second coming, the ultimate purpose of the new work will be fulfilled when the 12 tribes of new spiritual Israel are created. That is why the 'new thing' was carried out by Jesus at the first coming - the sowing of the two kinds of seed, the making of a new covenant, and the shedding of his blood on the cross. At the Second Coming, believers are harvested and sealed, and washed with the blood of Jesus to become God's newly created new kingdom and new people; and the world that existed before Adam sinned is finally restored. The reality of all these prophecies is fulfilled with the 12 Tribes of New Heaven and New Earth.
Pastor A, Full Gospel Church
In return, we should live in wealth. Jesus paid off everything that was poor, naked and hungry, so why are we trying to pay off what Jesus has already done? The Lord said, 'it is finished'. What then, can you claim to have achieved? Poverty, nakedness and hunger have all been eliminated."
Source: http://www.newscj.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=894740
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