Although people are sinners and have been continually hostile toward God, he loved us sinners so much that he gave us his son (Jn 3:16). The son of God bore the cross on our behalf (Jn 1:29) and now he lives within us (Gal 2:20). Jesus taught us to love our enemies (Mt 5:44) and to forgive others their sins (Mt 6:14-15). People who believe these words of Jesus and put them into practice are true believers. Those who refuse to act upon Jesus’ words are not believers at all. Anyone who strays from Jesus’ teachings is acting according to his or her own personal thoughts, opinions, and judgments. The contents of the 66 books of the Bible can be divided into history, teaching, prophecy, and fulfillment.
Biblical history can be divided into several time periods that lead up to today. The period of the judges followed the time of Adam, Noah, Moses (Exodus), and Joshua (the entry into the land of Canaan). The period of the judges was followed by the period of the kings and prophets, the period of the gospel of heaven, during which the Old Testament was fulfilled, and the period of the epistles written by Jesus’ apostles. Now is the time the New Testament is being fulfilled – the period of Revelation. Now is the time of judgment when the good grain is separated from the weeds. Those who believe the word are separated from those who do not believe it (refer to Mt 13:24-30, 36-43, Mt 25).
It is not by human standards that groups of people are judged as being orthodox or heretical (cult members). The only standard that should distinguish orthodoxy from heresy is the Bible. Present-day churches are not orthodox; they are merely holding onto their traditions. The Jewish people (the Pharisees and teachers of the law) stigmatized Jesus as a cult leader and ended up killing him (1 Thes 2:15; Mt 23:29-35). Was Jesus, who preached the revealed word of God (Jn 14:10, 24), a true cult leader? The Jewish people judged Jesus and killed him using their own standards and opinions, which deviated from the Bible (refer to Acts 7:51-54; Mt 27). Pontius Pilate, on the other, realized that Jesus was innocent (Mt 27:24).
Although Shincheonji (SCJ) proclaims only the revealed word of God, a certain person has been calling SCJ a cult. At one point I gave that person 40 questions about the Bible and asked him to answer them and explain. Now, although it has been a few years, I have not received any response. Yet, he is still claiming that SCJ is a cult. Just as Jesus, his disciples, and the prophets of old were denounced as heretics, SCJ is also being denounced as a cult. The New Testament indicates that, at the end of the age, all churches will belong to demons, and the pastors and congregation members of those churches will not even realize that they have united with Satan (Rv 17, 18, 13). In the midst of such a situation, only believers that are sealed with the word and that belong to the promised twelve tribes of the New Testament will become God’s kingdom and priests (Rv 7, 14). Let us speak of what is written in the Bible and answer only according to the Bible. Have those who persecuted SCJ ever willingly accepted our demand for a serious conversation?
I, as chairman of Shincheonji, Man Hee Lee, Church of Jesus, do not even own one square meter of property, and neither does my wife or my son. Why would God’s children, who will eventually receive God’s inheritance, be greedy about such trivial possessions? I would never do anything to jeopardize God’s greater reward. I only act according to the word of God. I teach people about justice and fairness, but I also put these principles into practice. How can someone like this be a cult leader? People who do not stand God’s word – people who tell lies and persecute others – they are the real cult leaders. What does the Bible say about those who will receive salvation in this generation? Those who escape the group of the persecutors to join the group that is being persecuted are the ones who flee from Satan and receive salvation. Let us not forsake the truth.
http://cafe.daum.net/scjschool/E3qZ/20
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