The account of Revelation
First and foremost, the most foundational teachings of Shincheonji on Revelation do not align with the words of Revelation.
1. Revelation does not mention sending letters.
This is a misunderstanding centered around Revelation 1:11, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches”.
John wrote what he saw, and the messages to the churches, in a book and sent it to the seven churches. That book is the book of Revelation. This is even more clear when you notice the book is addressed to the seven churches in Revelation 1:4, “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come”.
After writing the messages in the book (Revelation 2-3), John recounts that “after this”, he was taken up into heaven (Revelation 4). There is no mention of sending letters, the messengers not repenting, etc. all of this adding to Revelation.
The fact that these churches existed is also an established fact, i.e. The Seven Churches of Asia (by Alexander Svoboda).
2. Revelation does not mention Jesus gave the unsealed book to John.
In Revelation 5, Jesus takes the book with seven seals and opens the seals one by one (chapters 6 to 8). In Revelation 10, it mentions that John saw “another mighty angel coming down from heaven” and the angel had a little book in his hand.
Shincheonji interjects that Jesus gave the book to the angel, but these words do not exist. This is adding words to Revelation. In fact, the words used to refer to the books in Revelation 5 and 10 are not even the same. Revelation 5 uses “βιβλίον”/ book, Revelation 10 uses “βιβλαρίδιον”/ booklet.
Furthermore, every time the book is referred to in Revelation 5, John uses βιβλίον. On the other hand, every time the book is referred to in Revelation 10, John uses βιβλαρίδιον.
Thus, there is no reason to believe the book of Revelation 5 is the booklet of Revelation 10.
3. Revelation does not mention John as one of the two witnesses.
In Revelation 11, John speaks of the witnesses in third-person,
- They have the power to shut the sky ~
- When they have finished their testimony ~
- The breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet ~
- Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them ~
- And they went up to heaven in a cloud ~
He does not ever say “I” or “we”.
Conclusion
Shincheonji’s teaching of Revelation does not align with the Bible. Many events are significantly altered.