The Shincheonji Bible Seminar 'Testimony on the Fulfillment of Revelation', which began on the 22nd of last month in Seoul, continued in Busan and Daejeon and concluded in Incheon, South Korea. Chairman Man-hee Lee, who is over 90 years of age, spoke very logically and with conviction at every lecture as he testified the fulfilment of Revelation he saw and heard firsthand. The fact that hundreds of pastors attended the Shincheonji Bible Seminar each time is an opportunity to gauge the pastors' interest in Shincheonji and address the big three questions that came out of the seminar.

The biggest reason pastors came to the Shincheonji Bible Seminar despite the controversy was because they wanted to know the secret of 'Shincheonji's rapid growth'. Following the 100,000 graduation ceremony in November 2019, many pastors in Korea were expecting the 'eradication of Shincheonji'. However, Shincheonji held another 100,000 graduation ceremony in November 2022 and the exclusiveness of Shincheonji turned into sheer curiosity. 

At the recent Shincheonji Bible Seminar, the pastors in attendance admitted to reporters that they could not find any basis to judge the teachings from Shincheonji as false or heretical based on the 'Bible-centred' lectures of Chairman Lee. Some pastors even expressed their dismay at the controversy, asking the questions, “Is Shincheonji, which teaches according to the Bible, really a cult?” “Why did someone say Shincheonji is a cult?”

The passage that Chairman Lee emphasised the most at the lectures was the words of Revelation 22:18-19, 'If you add to or subtract from Revelation, you cannot go to heaven and will be cursed.' Among pastors and congregation members, the book of Revelation is considered an 'anomaly', as most of Revelation is recorded in figurative language (metaphors) that is difficult to understand and cannot be easily interpreted. As a result, some pastors choose to give their own interpretation of Revelation. To these pastors, Chairman Lee repeatedly asked, “Have you added to or subtracted from the Book of Revelation?” Each time, there was a silence that seemed to echo the inner thought of, “What if I've added to or subtracted from the Book of Revelation?” Chairman Lee delivered the testimony on the Book of Revelation in its entirety from chapters 1 to 22, and appealed, “Please come and check Shincheonji, which has mastered the Book of Revelation, for yourselves”, inviting the pastors in attendance to consider whether to learn 'the revealed theology of Shincheonji'.

The pastors on site were eager to find a way to revive the church by applying the secret of Shincheonji's rapid growth. Most of them agreed that the secret to Shincheonji's growth was 'revealed theology', which is given from heaven, and not human commentaries. In addition, the reaction among pastors who witnessed the news of Shincheonji Church's rapid growth after 598 churches in 28 countries replaced their signage with Shincheonji Church of Jesus (as of April) was one of envy and hope.

One pastor said, “Let’s learn Shincheonji’s revealed theology and use it as an opportunity to restore the church.” It was unimaginable in the past that pastors would go to any other denomination they condemned as heretical to 'learn revealed theology'. Now, it is left up to the pastors to decide whether to learn Shincheonji's revealed theology as a solution to the church's revival.

Regarding the reason for the growth of Shincheonji, Chairman Lee recently mentioned that “God, the Word, and Jesus are in Shincheonji,” and “because believers flock to Shincheonji, where there is spiritual food, just as animals go to places where there is food.” Shincheonji is preparing for yet another 100,000 graduation ceremony this year. If the unprecedented growth of Shincheonji is the work of God, surely no one can stop it.