Shincheonji: A New Year, A an Everlasting Beginning

Another year has passed and we have a time to look forward to a new year.

During the past year we may have done many things whether beneficial or devastating, but we have to ask ourselves what we have done for God. Have a time to think, what did I do for God? And what did God do for me? This is a question that we must ask every year and this is what we must look at in order to set goals for the new year!

There are many things we may have been able to fulfill such as getting a new job, a new weight, a new mindset, but the one thing we have not been able to fulfill is the preparation for God to dwell with His people. With so many wars still taking place, with many people dying, is this a world prepared for the heavens to come? When we look at Revelation 21, we see that the Holy City New Jerusalem finally comes down to the earth where God is finally with His people. However, this has not fulfilled and it is something we should all strive to help God return to His people.

God has given a way for Him to finally return to His people and if we look in Heb 8, we are able to see that God returns to those who know His word and the New Covenant in their hearts and their minds. Then we must ask ourselves, do we have the words in our hearts and our minds? The very reason God left his creation in Genesis 6, is because His creation rejected His commands. For so long, God has been waiting and another year has passed for us while for God, He has gone through many. For us we say that we have gone through so much this year, but God has been going through so much more.

More than anything, we should thrive to make this year a year where we are that much closer for God to finally return, that means we must keep the New covenant in our hearts and our minds as well as making sure that everyone around us do as well. This is how God can finally come to a people who have the same mind and heart as Him.

Let us all make it a resolution to do our best to keep the New Covenant! Amen!

Shincheonji Bible: Betrayal and Rebellion

Have you ever felt betrayed in your life?

More than anything in this world, betrayal is the worst of many things that can happen.
Why is betrayal such a bad thing within this world? Before we say "it can happen," let us remember the time we have felt betrayed the most.

We must recognize that betrayal is not a joke, but something that truly hurts. We must also remember that betrayal is not committed among just any two individuals or two parties, but from those who are the closest. This is why betrayal hurts and this is something that everyone in the world will face one day or another.

Why is this betrayal being discussed?

The reason is because there is one who has felt the greatest betrayal in all over the world. This being is God.

Let us remember the time of Moses.
During the time of Moses, the Israelites were in slavery for over 400 years. Little did many of them remember that this was part of a promise that God had made with them and further a promise of salvation to a promised land. God did everything he could to keep His promise and the Israelites should have as well. As we all know, Moses was sent by God to free the people from their slavery and many miracles were performed as God wanted to show His people that He is keeping His promise. Many believed at first and that is when we can say God and the Israelites were finally understanding one another and in agreement to do everything as told and promised (Ex 19:8).

However, after a time, the people lost faith in the covenant...They stopped believing that God will keep His promise of bringing them to the promised land.They lost their faith when they could not persevere in waiting for Moses to return from the mountain top of Sinai. At the moment they started to lose their faith, they had started to have the heart of betrayal. What was that betrayal? They built an idol and worshiped it in place of the one who saved them...

God was indeed angry, but moreover, what do you think He must have felt? God felt sorrow as He now had no choice but to judge them for their sins. God does not anyone to die, but instead everyone to live. However once betrayal is committed, God can no longer dwell with those who turn their backs on Him.

If you were in the position of God and you saved hundreds and thousands of people from their misery but later on are betrayed by those very people, how would you have felt?

This is why we must know God's pain. If you know what betrayal feels like would you betray others yourself especially the ones you say you love? If that heart of understanding is true, one will NOT betray. Therefore let us recognize what position we are with God and repent to find the way of being one with Him and help fulfill His purpose!

Shincheonji: The Life of a Believer

There are many instances in life where we come upon much hardships. However in those hardships do we see them as blessings or do we see them as what they are?

People with faith and people without faith in the Bible all go through hardships. Those who go through hardships outside of the Bible may see it as an opportunity to overcome future problems. People with faith on the other hand may see it a sign or a calling from God. This may be true, but what does a Shincheonji congregation see hardships as?

A Shincheonji congregation sees hardships as nothing but a problem because of this a certain mindset that can be seen all throughout the Bible. The Bible shows God's hardships for so many years that amount to the thousands. As a believer who is able to see the Bible as a whole, one is able to find every hardship as a test to grow their faith even more. Through hardships believers must be able to overcome that hardship using the Bible. The Bible is filled with hope that no hardship is worth going through. If the disciples were able to go through death which can be weighted as the greatest hardship, then we have to ask ourselves how they were able to do this.

The reason in which the disciples were able to overcome every single hardship was because they saw a hope that was worth greater than their lives. Let us ask ourselves if we see the hope to overcome any circumstance. If the hope is unclear, we must be able to now understand God's heart through the word. God has recorded many characters in the scriptures to show us how to overcome, and this is something a believer must take into consideration. The word is full of hope, but how much of that hope do you see?

May everyone be able to pray earnestly with the heart of finding this hope so that one may be able to overcome the circumstances of their lives and even more help others overcome theirs.

Shincheonji Bible: Purpose

Before anything else, I would like to ask you as the reader, "What is the purpose of life?"

This is an answer that many on earth believe they are able to answer with confidence. In all honesty, we may all have different purposes in life and some may also say that there is no true purpose that everyone must live by. However, if I were to say that the purpose of life is to work hard, be happy and die, there are many who will say "yes, that is life."

Now let me ask you what the opposite of LIFE is. I believe everyone can say it is death. Then the opposite to live is to die. Then how can we say that the purpose of life results in death? Even the word 'Life" is the opposite of what many can say what their lives are about. We must reflect on what then is wrong.

Life is precious and the purpose of our life should be to live as long as we can. Many people in this generation strive for longer life and we ask ourselves if this is naturally built within our hearts. I guarantee that not many people will say they want to die early. Even ants see life as precious and dogs. Then as humans, what has life become to us?

Please take your time to look at these videos.

Then how do we have life?

Romans 8:11 says that the spirit of Christ that lives within us can give us life even to our mortal bodies. Furthermore John 6:63 say that the spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing and that the words Jesus spoke which are now recorded in the scriptures are spirit and are life.

Furthermore it says that the light that was in Jesus was the life that gave life to all.
Now is there a lot more hope then we expected right?

Therefore let us continue to see more than just physical ways to prolong life, but let us be able to look for the way that God has said gives life. It is the word and I truly believe that it is through the world, the entire world will come to truly live life with the purpose of living.

Shincheonji Bible: Can You Introduce Who God is?

Do you remember growing up and doing a presentation about someone in school? How about introducing your family or your friends?

Naturally, we can understand that someone who knows about the person who they are introducing is able to introduce them more precisely. Through one's introduction, one should not introduce someone in who they think they are, but who the person says they are.

If you were told to introduce and accurately depict who Bill Gates is, what would you say about them? Most people will say, "He is rich." However, is that who Bill Gates is? It isn't and honestly no one really knows who Bill Gates is as a person.

Now let's take this a step forward...

Can you introduce who God is? Can you accurately depict and explain who God is? Is God to you the God who God says He is? It is only possible for us to know who God is only if He tells us who He is right? Then did God ever whisper or speak to you of who He is? If you did hear Him, then is that what others hear as well?

Therefore we must ask ourselves, how then can we know God so we can actually explain who He is? Out of all the things on earth, God left us one thing that explains who He is. If you are thinking the "Bible" then you are absolutely correct. The Bible is not just a book, but you can see it as the heart of God expressed in words. Just as a person is able to understand another person through their dairy, so are we able to know God through His dairy which is like the Bible.

Therefore, let us really become people who are not strangers to God, but become people who are a part of God's family. Just as one is able to explain who their most loved on is, we should also be able to explain who God if we truly say we love Him.

Shincheonji Bible: The Precious Believers of God

When we ask what is valuable in our lives, there are a variety of answers that people may give. Some say their family, some say money, some say love, but what does God find valuable? What should we find valuable as believers?

Let's dig in the scriptures to find what truly is valuable on this earth.

When we look at Psalm 139:17, David (one of the appointed kings of God) says that God's thoughts are precious. We are well aware that God's thoughts are from above and those thoughts are given to us through His word. Then for us, how precious must God's word be? God's word must be the most precious thing to us today.

Furthermore, Peter states in 2 Pt 1:4 that through the precious promises, believers are able to participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. It is through the word we are able to be ones who are precious to God.

However, within the scriptures, God finds His sons precious. In Lamentations 4:2, it states how precious the sons of Zion. Then shouldn't we know where this Zion is? Yes, we must know where Zion is. If Zion is the place in Israel, we should quickly leave our seats and quickly move to Israel right? If that was the case, why isn't everyone there at the moment. This is why we must reflect to see if we really have God's word in us and if we truly understand what God means when He says Zion.

Let us be believers who become precious to God! AMEN!

Shincheonji Bible: The Pain of the Father

Everyday as believers, we go about our lives wondering if God is there seeing everything that goes about on the surface of the earth. We cannot see Him nor can we touch Him, and at times many can wonder if He is there.

Although it may seem as if God does not watch over His creation, God shows in the scripture He does. In Ps 33:14, God from His dwelling place watches all who live on earth. As we now know God does watch over us, how can we see Him?

God is spirit and it is not possible to see Him as in scriptures it also says if we do see Him, we cannot live. Then is there ever a way we can see Him. Yes. In Jn 1:1 it states that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. God is not physically the pages of the Bible, but His heart is contained within the Bible. Therefore, if we read the words of the Bible and we understand, one will see that there is much pain within God's heart.

As a glimpse of what this is like, imagine the closest of people to you whom you trust and love. Now imagine that you have all promised in your heart to never leave one another nor to turn your backs on one another. But, one day they all decided to leave you and follow another person who spread lies about you saying that you are a person who committed wrong deeds. Would you feel betrayed? Of course. Why? This is because if they truly knew you, they would have known who you are and not believe in what the other says about you. 

In the same way, when God gave His scriptures to His people, they were able to know a lot about who God was. However, when God sent His son who spoke about the scriptures and the reality of the the scriptures, the people who claimed they knew God did not believe in the words God gave to His son Jesus. Many people thought killing Jesus was giving glory to God, but little did they know that they were killing the one who had His very words. 

This is the same as if you were to send someone on your behalf with a letter that has the words you speak. One who knows who you are and have read your letters and also understood the meanings behind every word, will recognize your letters immediately. Even if you sent someone on your behalf with your letter, a person will be able to recognize that you sent your messenger simply by the words on the letter you send with him. 

Therefore we have to always ask ourselves. When we read the scriptures, do we understand the word to the point where we are able to know God's heart? If this post was something that was never heard of, we have to ask ourselves if we are able to see the scriptures in a way where God's heart is seen. With much hope, may the world be able to share in the pain of God and have the heart to give God no more pain. However, now we know this can only happen if we are able to understand His word and the meaning of the words He has given us. 

Shincheonji Bible: Do not Worry

Everyday we go about our lives with so many things on our minds. There are so many things for every single individual to worry about. Some worry about their jobs, some worry about their relationships, some even worry if they have faith in God. However, what does the Bible say about worries? Let take a look at Mt 6:25-33.

When looking at My 6:25-33, we are able to see that God does not want any of us to worry about the things of the world. Many people may worry about what they eat and what they will wear. However we have to see in the perspective of God. What does God say? God says that even the birds of the air do not worry about the food they eat because God provides for them. Then even for ourselves, are we not greater than the birds God created?

How about the clothes that we wear? God says we should not worry about what we wear as God clothes the lilies of the field and not even Solomon was dressed like one of them. Are we not greater than the lilies of the field?

Furthermore, God says those who worry about these things are like pagans. However, as people of God who have a greater hope than just about what we eat and drink and wear, have a hope that is greater than the physical things of the world. As believers, we should first seek God's kingdom and righteousness which is the will God desires! Let us truly constantly seek after this kingdom and righteousness more than worrying all day about the things of the world. Let us never forget that God is always there is we constantly seek him. Let us never lose sight of the one who is the origin of our hope!

Shincheonji Bible: Why do we need God?

Many people in the world today ask themselves everyday, "Why do I need God?" 

So why do we need God? Some say we don't need God because they are able to live life comfortably without a problem.

So then why do we need God? The answer is because God is life. 

In the time of Adam and his generation, God once was one with man. God was among His creation and God loved all that He created. When God was with man, man was destined to live eternity with their creator. However, as soon as the covenant between God and man was broken, sin had entered and death came into the world of Adam (Rm 5:12-14, Hos 6:7). Life was detached from man and life now must return.

The opportunity for life to return to the generation of Adam came during the time of Noah. Noah was the one whom God made a covenant with and Noah kept his part by do as God commanded. However, the people did not listen to the words of God through Noah and that is when death was became their destination while the people of Noah entered life.

Then we have to see if this continued all throughout the Bible, and if we do, we will realize it has. So, why do we need God? Because He is life and the way to life. If we look in John 1:1-5 the words God gave to Jesus was the way to life. Life of man has been 70-80 years as written in Psalms. Ever since Gn 6:3, God could not contend with men forever and his days became 120 years and later 70-80 years. Then God's purpose originally was for man to live eternally with God. We must realize that no matter how much we live on earth without problems, there will always be problems and there will also be joys. However, once death comes upon every individual, all those joys are no longer remembered. This is why life is so precious, and because of the existence of life, we are able to have joy. Without the existence of life, there would also be no joy. 

Let us learn more and see how then we can have life deeply!

Shincheonji Bible: The Faith of Abraham

What kind of faith did Abraham have?

In the story of Abraham, there comes an instance where Abraham is tested. He is told to sacrifice his only son. Abraham had the intent of doing it, but why?

Abraham's faith was astounding to the point where believers must look at as an example of how to live a life of faith. Due to Abraham's faith, he obeyed God even to the point of trying to sacrifice the only son that he had. He did it because as mentioned in Hebrews 11:19, he had faith that although he would sacrifice his son, somehow God would resurrect him. Why? That is because he remembered the promise of God in Genesis 17:19 that the covenant would be with him and the everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. If Isaac had died, God would no longer be able to keep His promise. Abraham believed that God would fulfill His promise and obeyed God with a faithful heart.

As believers today, we must understand that God has promised us many things within the scriptures. However how can we have faith in a promise we may not know? That is why we must continue to seek and learn the word in order for our hearts to gain more faith and reflect the kind of faith Abraham had towards God. Amen!

Shincheonji Bible: 24 questions of Wisdom Asked by Chairman Byoungchul Lee #1

1. How can you prove God’s existence? Why doesn’t God clearly reveal himself?

Looking at oneself gives proof of God’s existence. God does not reveal himself to people because God and men have become enemies.There are two kinds of gods or spirits: God the creator, who is life, and an evil spirit, who is a created being.

Each kind of god has both a parent-god and a child-god. The god who exists inside of a person is the child-god. A person (body) is like the house for a god.

A god is a spirit and the soul is life. Even if the god leaves, a person is able to breathe and live if he still has the soul. When both the god and the soul leave, the person dies. However, even if a body is dead, the spirit is still alive. We cannot know God if we do not know about religion. Man (Adam), who was created and was the child-god of the Creator (Acts 17:29), became a living spirit after receiving the breath of life (Gn 2). However, as a result of receiving the evil spirit of the dragon, who is a created being, the living spirit and the evil spirit became one. This caused confusion, anxiety, and pain. The soul and the spirit left, the flesh returned to the dust and became dust (Gn 3).

People who are born with the genes of the first man (Adam) are the people who have been living on this earth until today. When man, who is the child-god of God, receives another god, the parent-god, who gives life, leaves and after living the life they are left with, the man dies.

As a result of inherited sin and personal sin accumulating on top of original sin; sin increased and our lifespan became shorter (Gn 6:1-3; Ps 90:10). Because evil entered into life, pain and death also came into existence. By receiving another god, sin was committed and because of this sin, the holy God of life left men. The parent-god cannot come to people because of sin and people cannot go to the parent-god because of sin. This is how there came to be a division between heaven and hell.

Confirmation: I am dreaming. My spirit (god) that looks like me comes out from me, goes far away and wanders around. The spirit wanders around and is able to see and hear. My body’s soul, which is still within the body, is not dead and is still breathing. The spirit (god) and soul (life) are separated. The spirit which left even has the ability to fly. The soul which remains in my body lies still and breathes. When the soul (body), which is the house of the spirit, is shaken, the spirit comes back immediately. The spirit then lets the soul know what it has seen and heard. The child-god cannot receive help from the parent-god as a result of sin. One cannot know God through worldly knowledge or wisdom.

Since there are two kinds of gods, which give two kinds of thoughts of the heart, it causes confusion; and after suffering under this kind of captivity and pressure, the spirit leaves, the soul also leaves and only the body (house) is left to return to the ground.

Heavenly religion belongs to the parent-god and it is education which is given to the child-god. This education provides a way for the child-god to meet the parent-god and receive the breath of life. The spirit, which became a living spirit as a result receiving of the breath of life, became a dying spirit and soul as a result of receiving an evil spirit. How does it cause death? It sends all kinds of illnesses and destroys the inner parts of the body (house). Because the house is destroyed, the spirit leaves. By understanding religion, escaping from the evil spirit, and believing in the parent-god, who helps people to become living spirits, the body will be judged and die because of the original sin, hereditary sin, and personal sin, but the spirit will live by being encouraged through faith. This is due to a separation between the child-god and the evil spirit, which was with the child-god.

In order to save mankind, who is in this kind of state from the evil god, first the cost of sin must be paid (with the blood of a righteous man). The evil god must be overcome and one must overcome oneself. This is when one is able to find oneself once again, escape from the evil god and become one with the parent-god, who is the Creator and life. This is the path of religion. This does not occur simply by wishing for it, but rather, it is possible through the one who gives us the path and life (religion). It is similar to a reunification where an orphan finds and drinks the breast milk of his mother.

I have seen the God of heaven, have heard his voice, dreamed dreams and have experienced the spirit and the soul leaving my body. I have also experienced the spirit and the soul leaving and returning (to the body, which is the house of flesh) twice.

Both times I tried hard not to die. After the spirit and soul left, I did not think at all about the body, which was the house. With the same outfit I wore while I was alive, I was traveling somewhere on earth. This happened when I was walking on a path by myself. I do not remember for how long I had left the flesh. I was going far away and the moment I thought about the body, I was back in the body and came back to life again.

Conclusion: The proof of the parent-god is to look at oneself, who is a child-god. How can the son say the father does not exist because he has not seen him? The reason why the parent-god does not show himself is because the child-god has committed sin by uniting with another god. This is why the parent-god (holy spirit) has been groaning (Rom 8:19-27). If I wrote based on the evidence recorded in the Bible, I would have a lot more to say; but I have explained, as you can see above, so people who do not believe would also be able to understand.

Shincheonji Bible: Mind Over Matter

Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior has come to earth during His first coming in order for many people to receive a chance at life. Apart from the many things He did, we are also able to learn the mindset He had throughout His ministry.

An example of Jesus' mindset can be seen when He was on the cross. When Jesus was on the cross there was an instance in Jn 19:28 where it says: After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (NIV 1984). 

Many may wonder why Jesus had asked for sour wine. It may seem like He was thirsty, but actually the purpose of why He said He was thirsty was in order to fulfill scriptures (Ps 69:21). Why would Jesus say He is thirsty when He is dying on the cross in such pain? This is because He was thinking of finishing God's purpose and to fulfill prophecy for believers to truly believe He was the one sent by God (Jn 14:29). Jesus was thinking of God and those who may believe in Him more than His pain. We can see this as the true heart of Jesus and His mindset of putting God's promises before oneself. 

Let us be believers who constantly look to help God fulfill His word!

Shincheonji Bible: The Questions We Never Seem to Ask

There are so many questions in the world that have yet to be answered. There are physical laws and rules of this earth that all of nature obeys. Then as the people of this earth, we have questions and that is why we have many subjects to study such as science, math, etc... But I want to ask these questions.

1. Why are we able to understand what is above and what is below?
2. Why are clouds above? Why is the sun above? Why does rain come from above?
3. Why doesn't this earth have a different order of how it exists such as tree floating instead of being implanted in the ground?
4. Why do plants need the sun, the rain, and the air in order to live? Why are we as humans no different?
5. Where did the birds of the air learn how to fly and where did the ants learn to walk in a straight line?

6. Why do we need food to live? Why are we not created so we don't need to eat or drink?
7. Why do we live if we just die?
8. How does everything on earth have an order that is so specific? Why are the mountains higher than the sea and the land in between?
9. Why is there man and why is there woman?

These are just several questions that people may never ask in their lifetime.

It is easy to say there is no creator and without the answers to these questions, it is definitely hard to believe.  However, if there is a creator, wouldn't this creator leave the answers for His creation? Most definitely! Science was first created to answer the questions of this earth and even to find out who this creator is. However after many years, we have only asked questions and never found the answers. We may have missed what has always been in front of us. The creator according to the Bible is God. God has left us something called the Bible, the word. However, we must ask ourselves if we try to find and understand God through the word or just through what we see with our eyes. If one truly does search, all the answers are in the Bible. It is just a matter of how much one really wants to know. For example, In Dt 32:2, we can see that God expressed the rain as His word. As we and plants need water to live, God uses the His creation to help us understand His purpose of why He created the world in such a way. Without the things of above as rain is above, so is the word which comes from God who is above.

Let us always stay hungry for the word! Let us always search for God and He will surely grant us the knowledge that He has written and has given us.

Shincheonji Bible: The Identity of God and the Identity of Satan

Main reference: Jn 1:1-4, Jn 8:42-47 (Mt 7:15-20, 1 Jn 4)

When we look at the Bible, we are able to find God and His heart recorded within it. Furthermore, the Bible also records the acts of the enemy who opposed God. As believers, we must be able to examine what the identity of God and also the enemy who is trying to stop God's work. 

Who is God? God is the creator and owner of his creation which is everything in the heavens and the earth. God is also life (Jn 1:1-4), spirit, love, and truth. 

Who is satan? Satan is God's creation that wanted to be above God because of his pride and greed. That is why he was cast out by God and eventually he had become the being he is today. (Ez 28:12-19, Is 14:12-15). Satan became the origin of death, evil, curses and lies. 

Why is it that satan is the origin of lies? It is because there are many cases in the Bible where satan's deeds are exposed. From the beginning satan as the serpent lied to Ever that she would not die, but become like God by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil as stated in Gn 3:5. The fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil carries its name because it has a mixture of what is good and what is evil. Therefore, because Eve ate of it, she once who was good had become one also mixed of evil. Eve no longer was good, but evil had entered her in which was an act of turning her back on God. Through the lies of Satan, the words of deception had entered the earth, and since then God has been trying to bring His people back. However, because satan is trying to block God's work, he will carry out actions of persecuting, cursing, and lying so that God's work through people is slowed 

What is it that we must think about then? We must become believer who sees God as life and make sure we do not turn our back on Him. Because God is life, He is the one who keeps us living in spirit and once we turn our backs on him, the life will leave us with no choice. The reason why God has still been working for 6,000 years is because God who is good and love had to leave mankind due to evil entering the world. Therefore, we must do our best effort to not break the covenant and speak lies so that the word of truth do not leave our hearts or else we may lose the likeness and image of God. If we lose the image and likeness of God, then we have no choice, but to become a possible target that satan is looking for. Let us be that much more rooted in the word so satan can never grasp hold of us. God who has been working for so long has been waiting for believers who will grasp onto His word with his/her life. Let us become those believers today and hopefully be able to see our hopes become a reality before our eyes in this lifetime! 

Shincheonji Bible: The Light that Shines

Psalm 119:105 Says that the word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Through this verse, we are able to understand and perceive many things about our walk in faith. 

Everyday, each person goes through their own paths and experiences their own lives in a different way. However, specifically for believers, we all have one path which is to go to heaven. Although we all have one path, we must be sure we are walking on the one that leads to the end result of heaven and be able to see if our path is correct. Through Psalm 119:105, we are able to perceive that the word is what lights our paths and without it, it is difficult for us to see where we are going. In this world with so much chaos and so much darkness, it is important that we always have the word in our hearts like a light that is able to shine wherever we go. When we walk on the sidewalk, it is very scary if there is no light to shine above. Then similarly it must be frightening if we walk our life of faith without the word to guide us. Therefore, let us always remember that this word is more than just pages, but truly a light for us to see and for us to even run in confidence on this path to heaven!