The correct understanding of the Bible and of Shinchonji
– The New Heaven and New Earth
This site and all of its content has been written according to the Bible. Our purpose is to instruct all Christians in a deeper knowledge of God’s word and to lead them to a deeper faith.
The founder of a church, the Counselor, and holy spirits
The founder of a church
Whoever people claim is the founder of their church must also be the head of their church. Calling a church the Church of Jesus implies that Jesus is the founder and head of that particular church. Just as a doorplate reveals who lives in the house above which it hangs, a church’s or denomination’s name reveals the identity of its founder. Who, then, is the founder of the Presbyterian Church? The name “Presbyterian” comes from the word “presbyter” meaning “elder.” All the ecclesiastical authority in the Presbyterian Church is given to its elders so they can oversee its administration. The Presbyterian churches of Korea claim to be churches of Jesus (i.e. part of Christianity). In reality, however, the elders have seized authority over all general affairs and act as if they are the heads of the church. If Jesus is Lord over a church, then neither its pastors nor its elders can usurp that role. These people who have been appointing themselves as heads over their own denominations are the very people who are so skillfully persecuting members of other groups as heretics. Their words, however, are utter nonsense because no physical body can be Lord over the church.
Religion should comprise the teachings of spirits. The Church of Jesus is based on prophecies, their physical fulfillment, and faith in both. The Presbyterian Church, on the other hand, was founded on the doctrines of John Calvin, including his primary teaching on predestination. Who is the true cult: the Church of Jesus or the Presbyterian Church (i.e. the church of Calvin)? Which one holds the truth?
The Counselor
Where English Bibles use the term Counselor or Advocate, the Korean version uses the word pohyesa, which is written with three Chinese characters. These characters mean protect, grace, and teacher, respectively. Seen from this perspective, the Counselor is a teacher who protects others with grace. He teaches and protects those who learn from him with grace and truth. In Ps 2, God warns us that we must learn from the son. According to this word, many people listened to Jesus’ words and learned from him, referring to him as their rabbi. Apostle John also refers to Jesus as the Counselor, who spoke on behalf of God (1 Jn 2:1). Jesus spoke on behalf of God (Jn 8:28; Jn 17:8; Jn 17:14) and he taught us and protected us with grace after the holy spirit came to dwell in his flesh (Mt 3:16; Jn 1:32). All of these scriptures reveal that Jesus was the Counselor in the time of the first coming. It is indisputable. Jesus received the holy spirit of God and acted for believers as the Counselor. Before he left, however, Jesus promised that he would ask the Father to send us another Counselor (Jn 14:16; Jn 14:26).
In Rv 19, the spirit of the angel reveals Jesus’ work to John. Receiving what belonged to Jesus through the angel, Apostle John preaches Jesus’ words to believers (Rv 10). Aren’t these actions of Apostle John the same as the actions of Jesus in the first coming? Doesn’t Apostle John speak on behalf of Jesus just as Jesus spoke on behalf of God? Thus, the Counselor is not an individual spirit; it is a position or role that must be filled. The Counselor is the one who speaks on behalf of God or Jesus. The term “holy spirit” refers to a spirit that is holy, but the term “Counselor” refers to a person with a specific appointed task. Those who are ignorant of the Bible spread nonsense doctrines and deceit when they speak out ignorance saying that the holy spirit of God is same as the Counselor.
Holy spirits
The term holy spirit refers to a spirit that is holy. It is not restricted to the spirit of God himself, but encompasses all the holy angels (spirits) in heaven (Mk 8:38; Acts 8:26; Acts 8:29; 1 Cor 2:10; Rv 17:1-3; Rv 21:9-10).
The spirits in heaven all have different tasks (Rv 4). They are all spirits in heaven, but each one differs from the others in rank and role. The spirit of the Counselor is just one of the thousands upon thousands and ten thousand upon ten thousand spirits in heaven. Just as Jesus spoke on behalf of God (1 Jn 2:1) because he came in the name of God (Jn 5:43) at the time of the first coming, the Counselor speaks on behalf of Jesus because he comes in the name of Jesus at the time of the second coming (Jn 14:26).
If a person without the holy spirit receives the holy spirit, that person unites himself with the holy spirit (1 Cor 6:17). Those who persecute the one with the holy spirit for claiming to have received the holy spirit cannot have the holy spirit themselves. The actions of these persecutors only prove their own spiritual depravity (Jn 8; Gal 4:29). Jesus commanded his disciples to receive the holy spirit (Jn 20:22), and then the holy spirit descended upon them (Acts 2:1-4). Rom 8:9 says that those without the holy spirit do not belong to Christ. No one who knows this verse would dare to do anything that reveals the fact that they lack the holy spirit.
Conclusion
Without being able to distinguish truth from lies or orthodoxy from heresy, no one should pretend to have such a strong faith in God and Jesus or that they understand everything in the Bible. No one should deny the testimony of the truth by calling it heresy. No one should deny the fact that Jesus came in the name of God (Jn 5:43) and that John the Baptist came in the name of Elijah. Jesus united with God when God came to dwell within him (Jn 10:30; Jn 14; Jn 16). John the Baptist was Elijah in the sense that John came in the spirit of Elijah (Mt 11:10-14; Lk 1:13-17). Spirits use flesh (workers in the physical world) to carry out their tasks (1 Jn 4:1-6).
The scriptures testify that the spirit of truth comes in the name of Jesus, and that he carries out the role of the Counselor, who speaks on behalf of Jesus. The scriptures also state that the spirit of truth will be in you (a person) and will teach you everything (Jn 14:16-17; Jn 14:26). The spirit of truth appoints a physical body to speak and teach people on its behalf. Is it wrong, then, to say that the one with the task of speaking on behalf of Jesus has united himself with the spirit of truth? If you have not received the spirit of truth, you should just sit still and be quiet. Why are people persecuting the one with the holy spirit out of ignorance? Why are they not aware that their actions reveal the fact that they lack the holy spirit?
The prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled when God came to his son, Jesus (Hos 2:19-20; Isa 19:1, 20; Mt 3:16; Jn 1:32). No one could understand the prophecies in the Old Testament nor see their physical fulfillment until Jesus came and revealed them. In the same way, the prophecies of the New Testament can only be fulfilled and revealed when Jesus, who made the prophecies, comes along with the Counselor—the flesh (pastor) promised by Jesus. Again, it is impossible for anyone to understand the prophecies of the New Testament until they are revealed. It is, therefore, utter nonsense for anyone to act as if they understand and that they are the only orthodox church prior to the fulfillment of the prophecies.
Supplement:
Recently I read a copy of the magazine Christian Inside (2nd issue, published on July 14, 2008). I also read some statements from theologians and professors who work for the Christian Council of Korea. After reading these things I thought of a few questions I’d like to ask them.
Through this I want them to realize that it is the persecutors who call all newly established groups cults that are the true heretics. It is those who claim so loudly that they are they only orthodox group who are, themselves, the true heretics clinging to worn-out traditions.
1. There is only one true God, and you call that God the “Holy Spirit.” If, as most people have always believed, God is the only one who can be referred to as the holy spirit, why are the seven spirits in Rev 4 referred to as the seven spirits of God? Why does it say in Jn 3 that the holy spirit will be given without limit? Why does it say in Acts 7 that Stephen was full of the holy spirit? If we say that angels are spirits and angels are holy, aren’t angels holy spirits?
2. You wrote that Jesus was the Counselor, and that the other Counselor promised by Jesus refers to the holy spirit of God. I’d like to ask you about this point. Jesus, who was himself the Counselor, said he would ask the father to send us another Counselor. Because the father refers to God, it means God himself has to send us this other Counselor. How can both the one sending and the one being sent be the same (Jn 14:16-17; Jn 14:26)?
The passage in Jn 16:8-15 states that the Counselor will receive what belongs to Jesus and pass it on to believers. It also says that everything that belongs to the father also belongs to Jesus. Rev 1:1-3 summarizes all the chapters of Revelation and explains the route by which the revelation of Jesus is passed down: God to Jesus, Jesus to the angel, the angel to John, and John to the servants. This route of passage is explained in further detail in Rev 5-10. God gives his scroll to Jesus, Jesus gives it to the angel, and the angel gives it to John. After receiving the scroll from the angel, John preaches the word to many nations, peoples, languages, and kings. If this is the route by which the revelation of Jesus is passed down, how can the spirit of truth, which is the Counselor, also be God and Jesus?
We in Shinchonji cannot accept such heresies that go against true understanding of the Bible. Without even realizing that the Counselor refers to a role instead of a specific entity, many groups claim that the Counselor is the holy spirit of God. Because they base this claims on their own faulty arguments and standards they cannot be considered orthodox; these are the actions of heretics (Eze 13:1-3).
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