No graduation is made complete without a cap and gown!

Attention has been drawn to the unique marks engraved on the graduation gown and square caps worn by the 111,628 graduates of the '110,000 Graduation of Class 115 of Zion Christian Mission Center' who completed the six-month Bible education course at the Zion Christian Mission Centre, the theological education institute of Shincheonji Church of Jesus. What is the significance of the graduation gown and cap?

With regards to the graduation gown, the Throne Mark of Shincheonji Church of Jesus (New Heaven New Earth), drawn on the back and chest, symbolises the Holy City New Jerusalem that comes down to the New Heaven and New Earth, which has been created according to the image of heaven as seen in Revelation 4 and Revelation 21. The two outer rings represent the heavens and the earth, and the square within the circle represents the kingdom of God, the Holy City New Jerusalem. The jasper and ruby coloured Bible in the centre symbolise God, who has the Word of eternal life (Jn 1:1, Rv 4:2-3), and the rainbow colours surrounding the throne symbolise God’s covenant. The cross in the centre symbolises the way of Jesus’ cross, and the well of living water flowing out symbolises the path through which God’s words come out. The tree with twelve kinds of fruit represents the twelve tribes of the new Israel who receive the words of eternal life and bear twelve kinds of fruit every month. The throne mark is officially registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (trademark number: 42-0001873). Wearing the graduation robe is evidence that one is a citizen of God’s holy city, New Jerusalem.

Now, the reason why the graduation cap is square is because the square in Revelation 21:16 represents the New Jerusalem, the holy city of the spiritual world, and it means that they were educated in front of the throne of the spiritual world. In the centre of the graduation cap is an open Bible made of jasper and ruby, which represents the theology of the revealed word, that is, the word of the fulfilled reality. Inside the book are engraved the Alpha and Omega, which signify that the kingdom of God will be completed as promised in the Bible. The fact that the graduation cap was made so that it could touch the forehead of the graduate means that the graduates have mastered the revealed word from beginning to end and have completed the theology promised in the Bible. At the graduation ceremony, the instructor moves the graduates’ graduation cap tassels from the left side where the A (alpha) is located to the right side where the Ω (omega) is located, symbolising that the graduates have been born again with the seed of God’s word and have been sealed by the revealed word, becoming complete children of God.

Since the first 86 graduates of the Zion Christian Mission Centre in 1991, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Chairman ManHee Lee), has experienced exponential growth.

In 1998, the number of graduates was 1365, followed by 11,214 graduates in 2010, 25,099 graduates in 2014, 103,764 graduates in 2019, 106,186 graduates in 2022, and 108,084 graduates in 2023. This year, in 2024, 111,628 graduates from 153 countries, including a sizeable number of pastors, seminarians and religious leaders of other faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, graduated, having completed the curriculum of the Zion Christian Mission Centre, which is a free Bible education institution independent of Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

The entire process is done according to the Bible. In short, Shincheonji Church of Jesus is God’s kingdom that God established on this earth today as His will is fulfilled in heaven. It is a creation made as a result of God’s 6000 years of history and a holy temple where priests and people–who will be saved together in the Lord–belong. It is about harvesting those born of God’s seed as recorded in the Book of Revelation, sealing them, and creating the 12 tribes of God’s new nation and new people.

Shincheonji explains, “The 12 tribes were created by harvesting and sealing the ripened fruit of the seeds that Jesus sowed during his first coming.” It goes on to say, “The kingdom of God that appeared in each era was comprised of the 12 tribes. The 12 tribes that appeared in the Old Testament and the First Coming also appear at the Second Coming, that is, in the Book of Revelation.” It also emphasises, “Just as Moses built the tabernacle on this earth based on the layout of heaven that God showed him, today’s Shincheonji Church of Jesus was founded in 1984 on this earth by Chairman ManHee Lee, the pastor promised in the Book of Revelation, according to the image of heaven in the spiritual world that God showed him.” Despite being 94 years of age, Chairman Lee continues to fulfil his duty and testify to the prophecies and fulfilled realities of the Book of Revelation as the messenger of Jesus Christ sent to the churches (Revelation 22:8, 16).

In conclusion, it is no exaggeration to say that the 12 tribes of Shincheonji Church of Jesus are the true reality of the Bible's promises.

Pastor Myung-hoon Kang, who served as a pastor at the Presbyterian Church of Korea for 25 years and still runs a church, said this at the 110,000 Graduation of Class 115 of Zion Christian Mission Center held at the Cheongju Church of Shincheonji Church of Jesus on the 30th October.

Despite having persecuted Shincheonji Church of Jesus before hearing the revealed word from Shincheonji, he shared about how he came to hear the word from Shincheonji, saying, “Thanks to the service and love shown by the members of (Shincheonji) my heart was able to change little by little.”

Pastor Kang decided he had to learn the Word properly and nurture the congregation, and so signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for biblical exchange with Shincheonji Church of Jesus. As a result, the church he runs grew day by day and found vitality, “as if coming out of darkness into light.”

Pastor Kang said that although there was persecution from those around him, he found strength by recalling Jesus’ words in Matthew 10, “A person’s enemies will be the members of his own household. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” As a result, all the church members became one and changed the church sign to Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

As this slogan, shouted in broken Korean by a Sikh religious leader from London, England, flowed out through the speakers, about 1000 religious leaders also chanted together, “We are One.” It was a symbolic moment showing that they wanted to become one only in the “truth” for a world of peace, transcending race, language, and religion. It was a scene that decorated the finale of the “2nd International Special Lecture on Revelation” hosted by Shincheonji Church of Jesus.