I hope all is well, I wanted to write a blog about a Christian sect named Shincheonji, which is translated to “New Heaven New Earth”, a Korean sect that is currently heavily recruiting outside of Korea and is targeting pastors throughout the world to join their Revelation Bible study.
https://shinchonjiandthebible.blogspot.com/
https://www.exshincheonji.com/
Warning: they also own the ex-member’s website referenced above, which is a good example of the level of deception that this sect operates in.
A brief description of the sect:
They deny the deity of Christ. (As in Jesus isn’t God, but is another “Promised Pastor” or prophet / messenger)
They believe that today there is another “Promised Pastor” who received a vision from an Angel from God and Jesus, that the Bible is a big “parable”, and that only their leader, Man Hee Lee, can correctly interpret the Bible and the book of Revelation.
This sect has been operating since 1984 and has used deceptive practices like using front groups and lying to recruit Christians to their bible studies. In these Bible studies, they pretend to be pious Christians at first, and never tell you directly about who they are until the end of the Bible study (which can last between 6 – 12 months). Even in these classes, they have “plants” pretending to be first-time students, so that the plants can spy and report on the new students, showing the length that this sect is willing to go to propagate their beliefs.
A few examples of their deceptive practices have been called out in different parts of the world:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-08/accidentally-joining-south-korean-doomsday-group/100298774
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0WxOE3bUh8
The above video is in German, but has English subtitles, and goes in-depth about the level of privacy invasion and collection of information this sect collects when trying to recruit members.
The sect is also starting to become more open about who they are, hosting “open Bible seminars” throughout the world. I just wanted to warn others about this sect, shine a light on their deceptive past, and how they operate today so that the sect cannot take advantage of one’s ignorance of the group. I want the pastors who may be invited to these events to be aware of the group’s deceptive practices, which the body of Christ was warned about in Matthew 7:15-24, and 2 Peter 2.
I am bringing this to your attention because the same sect is currently operating in this area, and they have recently started reaching out to the local pastors here to “discuss the bible”.
Ways of protecting yourself from accidentally joining their seminars and bible studies:
The best way is by asking questions about their bible study, what their name is, their doctrine of faith, and by Googling their responses. If the name given to you doesn’t return any results, that should be an immediate red flag. Or, if they give you the English translated name of “New Heaven New Earth”, then most likely it’s Shincheonji. If they are vague about their statement of faith, then that is also another red flag.
Most of the Shincheonji front group websites do not have a statement of faith, or are either vague or are outright lying in what they believe. An example of a Shincheonji front group can be found below:
https://www.studywlts.org/who-we-are/
The above URL has been determined to be a Shincheonji website according to the cult expert Steven Hassan.
The background of Steven Hassan was that he was recruited in the 70’s by another Korean cult, escaped, and dedicated his life to the psychology behind how brainwashing works. His book also helped me realize the situation that I was in, and I was able to make the decision to leave.
Truth About Shincheonji 