Hi,
I have been in SCJ since 2022, I joined regular center, coming from a different religion background (got to know about Christianity from my father as he converted) I didn't have much idea of Bible. So for me the Bible study was best way to keep up with my Life of faith and make some believer friends, or that's what I thought. I was in college back then, I was so dedicated I literally skipped one semester for this, neither did I go home, I stayed in my Dorm entire day, working for God(at least that's what I thought back then). Those days were normal, I didn't find any inconsistencies in the doctrine and the reason is the way SCJ operates in Korea is very different in overseas. In fact that's the whole point, the believers overseas have no idea what's happening in Korea, or what is the current status, none of the Korean workers would say anything about what's going on, the accusations, legal battles etc. We were just told there is heavy persecution in Korea and we must pray.
If I share my SCJ bg, over the 4years, I worked as cell leader, regional leader, center leaf, gave BB feedback to bb teachers, team leader and at the end I was assigned in evangelism dept. I was in one Tribe, but recently LMH gave orders to divide all regions among the 12 tribes, so even if I go to anywhere in the world, if that state or country falls under the jurisdiction of Let's say Peter Tribe, I have to shift to Peter tribe, for my own good.
Recently when the tribe change happened, I noticed lot of inconsistencies with time, but I didn't think much of it, again cuz I have a full time job, after coming from work, you won't think much of anything, rather just continue the usual habit of doing all things, join meetings, educations, plan for activities, so you literally don't have time to breathe or think through anything, too exhausted.
Recently with LMH's arrest, I was shocked with the allegations, forcing people to join Political parties, I thought this is kind of unusual accusation, to which we were told, its fabricated and govt is making this up to destroy SCJ, I simply believed. The thing that struck me was in the meeting one day, we were told LMH gave the word before getting arrested, "Let's prepare well for the end". So even I genuinely thought, its the time of end, considering he is being detained for no good reason. And In his absence now, Matthew 24 and 25 are heavily used in sermons, meetings to show us what we must do now to prepare ourselves.
In one meeting, Matthew 24:45-51, was specially used

^("45) “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ^(46) It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ^(47) Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ^(48) But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ^(49) and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ^(50) The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ^(51) He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

and we were told that even if LMH is detained, he is getting all the reports of SCJ and HWPL and he is reviewing all the workers, whether they are evangelizing or not, so we must work hard to evangelize. and then twisted it saying according to the Bible verse, while the master i.e., LMH is away we must work until he returns as when he returns he will check who did the work and who did not.

I was in utter shock, because in center, we were taught this is talking about Jesus, who is the master and wise and faithful servant is LMH, but now when LMH is detained, they are saying he is the master, so you just replaced Jesus because you were detained.

This was like Strike 1 to me.

Then I contacted my previous tribe friends, they were genuine good ones, I asked them about how they took the new of his detention, they said, they were not told from church side. And I was shocked, how come this is not told to you, its like biggest news of anyone in SCJ, your pastor is detained on false charges and you do not know? They were not told until 2 weeks, no one knows the reason. This was strike 2.

Then slowly in the service and meetings, we were told, how LMH asked just like how Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, would we be able to take the level of betrayal ? So then we were told some, head instructor in Korea, is the one who started all this political accusation and he betrayed him. So I was very frustrated as there is no clear conversation to what exactly happened, with time, they just give us bits and fragments of what's happened in Korea, there is no clear answer. This was strike 3.

After which I felt something is wrong, and I started googling things up which we were not allowed to, but I did, to know what's the news saying about detention. You won't believe, I got to know more information about the detention from the news online, than my own SCJ church members. But I kept silent, until recently I have been exhausted and drained out with all works that I have to do in SCJ, to the point, I don't feel like coming out of bed, and this I have felt since June 2025, back then I contacted my team leader, sharing I want to step down, be a normal saint as I am not keeping well, but they did not, reason being, there are no workers to take care of what you are doing, so just hold on sometime until we find replacement, so I was okay. Then instead of making me normal saint, they made me a regional leader, big position, bigger responsibility, I was least interested, I was not asked, I was told to be and added in the groups. Then I thought, may be this is God's way of training me, as in SCJ we are always told, we have to train ourselves to be soldiers in God's kingdom and especially to become 144000 priest who will be responsible to lead nations. I continued doing my work. But physically, mentally I am completely drained, this continued, none listened.
Even after tribe change I thought I can rest, but no, I was assigned responsibilities, and because I was smarter(honestly not bragging, I always remember, we have to be humble in Christ) than others I was assigned more and suddenly I was responsible for everything and everyone. Imagine already being drained out for the same reason, and now more is given to you. There were nights I was extremely exhausted to the point, I didn't want to wakeup the next day.
With the insane amount of demanding sealing test, memorizing the Bible verses and as you go higher in position, you have to be more strict with memorizing and reciting it, that too, if there is exam on Sunday, you should get the verses by at-least by Tuesday right, there were days when we received the announcement on Friday night, how do you expect to memorize 5-6 Revelation verses overnight ? So there is no grace in memorizing, just doing it for the sake of test.

With all these and secrecy of hiding things of Korea, I was done with these people, I just blocked them all, deleted telegram and Whatsapp, deactivated Instagram for now, as I know how we operate, I know how much we try to reach out to the people who try to leave SCJ, get to know the reason, patch up etc. So I didn't feel like explaining anything to them, just blocked them all, deleted accounts.

I am grateful and thankful to the reddit community here, for sharing such in depth analysis and "TRUTH" here, I never knew about the history and beginning of SCJ, we were never told about LMH being part of Olive tree movement, we were never taught proper reality session, though it was planned and promised, last time i got to know about reality was when I was in center, but that was just based on Revelation chapters, so bits and fragments, There has to be more reality right ?

Currently its SCJ year 43, so you basically have a history of 43 years and before that too, none was ever told, I got to know through the reddit community and ex members, esp Mr. Shin's youtube video, as how the doctrine changes every time. yes regarding this, when I joined SCJ in 2022, we were told this is the last year, so we must work hard. again the same story repeated in 2023, we were told this is the last year, and every year on Dec 31st I used to wait to get the final word, but nothing happened and this made me question. If LMH has seen everything, how come he cannot say when the end will come, if we already have 144000 people, who are sealed and stuff, great tribulation happened in 2019 in COVID, so technically the multitude came out that time itself, so when exactly is the end coming then. If we question this, we were told, we are unable to understand God's heart, who has been patiently waiting for 6000 years for completion of this work. We are being impatient by just spending 4years in SCJ, which I thought was true, I am being impatient. But Now I am done with this drama.

I would request all of you, to remember me in prayers as I need it most to heal from 4 years of SCJ, I went so deep into the waters that I am unable to see the Bible through a normal lens, every teaching about the chapters of Revelation comes to my mind, every verse I see, I think it in SCJ way, I think I would need lot of time to recover and wash myself off.

Please keep posting guys, your posts and stories, give lot of encouragement to me.
I am waiting for the bail hearing today of LMH, initially I thought I will wait till the hearing then delete the telegram, but these people started calling me to join meetings and meet people in gathering, so I gave up, just deleted all, I want peace now.

Currently on the fence about leaving I haven’t been truly invested in a while but somehow still sticking around out of fear maybe? Advice or tips would be helpful.

I'm mainly asking because he rambles an incredible amount. The substance of his testimony is probably 10 minute.

>My name is Lee Man Hee.

>I didn’t grow up a believer but when I was young, my grandfather would pray to God in heaven mornings and evenings and I would pray with him. I served in the Korean war in the front lines and after I was discharged, I prayed to God in the open field. I wasn’t a believer, I didn't know about church or the Bible at this time.

>One day, a light appeared and I called my father and he saw the light too. The light appeared for 3 days and guided me to the mountains. There I made a promise to God with my blood, writing it in my blood, that I would serve Him.

>After this I looked at churches and I went to the Tabernacle Temple. I didn't see when Jesus appointed them but they also made a promise with their blood to God. There I worked for some time, and after one of the pastors tried to kill me, I returned to my home town.

>I worked for 7 years in the New Village Movement. On my way to meet a friend in Seoul, Jesus came to me on Jeju Island, and told me to go to the 7 messengers and write letters for them to repent.

>First, Jesus appoints the 7 messengers, then satan’s pastor enters the temple and corrupts the messengers. After this, Jesus appoints a new person to write letters to the messengers telling them to repent. I sent the letters to them each individually, and after I did this, I was taken to heaven. Not in the flesh but in the spirit.

>In heaven I saw the spirits are moving fast to fulfill the prophecies and God says that His throne will come down on earth.

>Then I saw in the right hand of God a book, this is the book of Revelation. The New Covenant that Jesus promised during the night of passover. Then I wept because no one could open it. Jesus took it and opened it, and the seals were opened. When the sixth seal opened, the sun, moon and stars darkened and fell. This is a parable of God’s family who betrayed, and now were destroyed. This is not about unbelievers but the chosen people of God, as Genesis 37 shows.

>After this, the 12 tribes are created and 12,000 of each tribe are sealed. This is not about physical Israel or spiritual Israel, but the new spiritual Israel. First the 12 tribes are created and then 12,000 are harvested and sealed into the tribes. They are sealed with the book of Revelation and become living Bibles. Those who remain and are not harvested are judged. After this a great multitude appears, but this is after the 144,000 are sealed, not before.

>After Jesus opens all the seals, He gives the book to the angel. The angel gave the book to me and I ate it and was told to testify to many nations and languages and kings. Now the book is in my stomach. Then the one who ate the book is persecuted as one of the 2 witnesses. They are killed but they rise to life and the persecutors are judged. Then the kingdom of the world became the kingdom of God.

>Then there is the dragon, and the male child and his brothers fight and overcome the dragon. I know the names of the dragon and the messengers but I can not say them because of laws.

>Up to now, chapter 17 has been fulfilled. Chapter 18 is about the judgement from God, not from people but from God.

LIVE NOW! Will they or won't they? Is PBCC Cult-leader Bruce Hales Chicken? 🐔

On Friday morning (Thursday Evening - TONIGHT - for Europe & USA) Eastern Australia Time (Canberra) the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church Cult are to appear in front of the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee for Electoral Matters' Inquiry into the 2025 federal election.

The Cult has chickened out of attending previous hearings, but this week have stated they will be there.

They have been called along with the Advance lobby group (a far-right unhinged political/religious group) who have received large donations from the Plymouth Brethren (aka Exclusive Brethren) cult.

During the 2025 General Election, the incumbent Prime Minister Albanese called out the Plymouth Brethren as a Cult, and pointed directly towards its involvement in election interference [See the post made that day with video of the Prime Minster calling the PBCC a Cult: https://www.reddit.com/r/cults/comments/1kaw49z/incumbent_australian_prime_minister_anthony/ ]

The Plymouth Brethren Cult have put out a statement saying they will be in attendance at the hearing.

Watch ABC Television's exposé of the Plymouth Brethren Cult broadcast last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFEIJr5rln4

Read about the Plymouth Brethren Cult's attempts to silence a Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse within the Cult: https://www.smh.com.au/national/cartoon-kookaburra-behind-church-s-attempt-to-silence-a-child-sex-abuse-victim-20260406-p5zllv.html (Cheryl Bawtinheimer is a friend of this subreddit and hosts the Get A Life podcast)

Direct Link to Committee YouTube Video Livestream

Anyone know if this page is connected to SCJ? It’s called the One Heart Movement and I know there was a One Heart worship event done by the LA SCJ branch. They are doing a community cookout event next weekend in my city. They have a vague description and no website or connected church that I know of. There is a link in the bio that leads to a telegram group

https://www.instagram.com/1heartmvmt?igsi=MWI5YnYydWlwMGJyOQ==

Should I expose the Bible study group I attended on Reddit for awareness?

I’ve been attending what was presented to me as an independent Bible study for the past few months, and I’ve recently become seriously concerned about the group and its connections to Shincheonji.

I’m considering making a post sharing what I experienced — including photos of the class/materials, screenshots, lesson notes, the structure of the classes, and some of the things they asked us to do — mainly so other people can recognize the signs and make informed decisions for themselves.

I’m not trying to start a witch hunt or encourage harassment. I also don’t want to make accusations that I can’t substantiate.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have left Shincheonji or similar groups. What information would have helped you recognize what you were getting into earlier?

I’m trying to approach this responsibly rather than just posting out of anger.

It is well known that members of Shincheonji sit the ‘Sealing’ tests several times a month. Questions and answers are sent to the believers a few days in advance, so that they must learn them all by heart 100 per cent. They must write the test word for word and achieve a score of at least 90–100 per cent.

The tests are not voluntary.
Everyone must write the tests.
The results are then reported in tables to the General Church in Korea.

How can one spend years learning the answers and writing tests without questioning whether it is biblical? Whether it makes sense? Why one is doing it at all?

Well, there is a verse that Shincheonji uses to try to justify this:

Jeremiah 31:33:

33 ‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Hebrews 8:10:

10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

Well, here God says quite clearly that He will do it. Why do people waste years, week after week, repeatedly spending time memorising the answers so that the results can be reported?

The question is:
Do you have to memorise it, or does it happen through God’s inspiration?
Do you really think that if you recite what Lee Man Hee tells you to, you’ll be in God’s good eyes?

Just take a look at what it goes on to say here in Hebrews:

Hebrews 8,11-12:

11 No longer will they teach their neighbours, or say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’

It is up to God to put it into their minds and write it on their hearts.

But surely not with test after test after test…

————

Just a shirt thought.
When the members take these tests, does God know the results or doesn’t He? Why, then, do they need to be reported?

Think about it – what purpose do these tests serve? Perhaps just to keep you occupied and keep you tied to the system?

There is another verse in 2 Timothy 3:7:

7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Is that true?

I know my story isn’t super interesting because I left after finishing the intermediate stage of the class and I finally took the time over the past two months to fully research them, but I want to let people know they are still active in NYC and warn people against joining from what I’ve seen they prey on those who aren’t as social, who are young, or desperate. I didn’t feel anything too crazy like depression after this as I’ve seen from many in their testimonials that I’ve seen on Reddit, YouTube, and other websites and it hasn’t drawn me away from the Bible or God. I took this experience as a lesson and a reminder, the devil hears your prayers too, he knows your desires and despirations and he can take advantage of it. It’s important for you to read the Bible on your own, to study and grow. Do not be deceived in the way that I was. Do not end up worshiping man or doctrines made up by man. The only way to God is through Jesus, there is no mediator, there is no hidden parables in revelation and no hidden meaning, when you read the scriptures they give you if you keep reading further instead of the cherry picked verse it is stated what everything means shortly after if not in the next chapter.

Deuteronomy 30:11–14: "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off... But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it
John 14:6: "Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man commeth unto the Father, but by me.'
1 Timothy 2:5: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
Matthew 27:50-51
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
⁵¹ And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent

Hello yall

I am an ex-LA(Anaheim) church member and left during Covid.

I used to have an active redditor to yap with, but I was MIA and now I’m back. If you are a current member or you left. Let’s yap!

If you’re not from LA or wasn’t affiliated with LA John tribe church, there’s not much to talk about.

Does anyone have the latest info on SCJ in London. Where do teach classes now? are they still mainly based in South Quay? what methods are they using to recruit now? how well are they growing? what is their doctrine like now? A member tried to recruit me a few weeks ago, using the same concepts that I used when I was a member, so I know they still use those and don't tell people that they are members of SCJ. Trying to get some insight, any info would be appreciated.

Hey everyone, I am posting this as a public call-out regarding an incident I was involved in on August 15, 2026.

I received a tip that SCJ was holding an internal event exclusively for members at Anaheim High School in California. Since I used to be a student at a learning center in Fullerton for a couple months, I know the area well. SCJ frequently operates in Anaheim and Fullerton in Orange County and actively recruits on local college campuses. A regional recruiter I spoke with claimed they now only recruit through friends and family and that they no longer hide their affiliation with SCJ. I do not buy that for a second.

Anyway, I parked my car and walked over with a friend who is also aware of SCJ's deceptive practices. The event was on private property, so we stayed on the public sidewalk, which is completely legal. More on that later. Almost immediately, a recruiter recognized me. We exchanged pleasantries, asking about each other and what was happening at the event, but then I steered the conversation toward Lee Man Hee's court cases.

I made my stance clear. I believe he is a fraud, using lower-level members to funnel donor money back to Korea to manipulate politics and control people. His response was basically that we would see how the court plays out. Then he joked that if Lee actually goes to jail, he would buy me and my friend a tomahawk steak, claiming he is a man of his word. We even shook on it. Somehow, I doubt that steak is coming.

I also told him that to be a solid recruiter, you need swagger and charm, which is why Lee is so effective at building SCJ. My friend then asked if Lee will live forever physically. The recruiter said yes, that is what he truly believes. I am in my early 20s; he is in his 30s. The fact that he thinks Lee will somehow bypass basic biology is honestly baffling. I am guessing if Lee's body dies, he will pivot to some physical spirit lives on narrative, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.

I then politely asked to speak with people closer to my age to ask them about their involvement and beliefs. He refused. That tells you everything. If you cannot let your members speak for themselves, you clearly lack confidence in what you are teaching.

Shortly after, two women in their early 20s walked past on the same sidewalk. I tried to speak with them, and they literally ran away.

For context, I am the same guy who previously went to my old center with a loudspeaker to warn people that they were being recruited by SCJ without full disclosure. They know me well.

While we were standing on the sidewalk, a woman in her 40s told us she had called the Anaheim Police and that they would come if we did not leave. Again, we were on a public sidewalk. We had every right to be there. I had a conference to attend later, so we started walking away. The recruiter took my number. He invited me to tour their temple on Redgum Street and said he would text me to set it up. Still no text, by the way.

Before we left, he tried to intimidate me, claiming I had a police record and saying, "We do not want to do this." He told me to check my criminal history with Fullerton and Anaheim.

So I did. I went to the Anaheim station with my friend and asked for a full background check and to see if I was trespassed from any of their buildings. The result was completely clean. Nothing. I explained the situation to the deputy, and after checking with his supervisor, he confirmed that I have a constitutionally protected right to protest on public sidewalks as long as I am not blocking traffic or people.

Welcome to America, SCJ. Korean values do not override our constitutional freedoms.

Now here is the crazy part. Those two girls who ran away showed up at the police station while I was still talking to the deputy. I asked them if they believed in the First Amendment, and the police told me to step back and move to another window. I complied. I am not sure if they came to file a report or just ask what could be done about me, but the answer was clearly nothing.

SCJ loves playing the victim and running to the police over someone exercising their protected rights. Absolutely hilarious.

I also went to Fullerton PD and ran a full background check there. Clean again. They even gave me a printed copy, which I will share here.

A group that lies about who they are should not surprise anyone when they lie about someone having a record.

If you guys want to come protest with me, send me a DM. Lets get as many people as we can. They dislike when you are on the sidewalk in front of their buildings but they legally cannot do anything :)

Stay sharp, do your research, and know your rights.

https://preview.redd.it/c95ia5r8n7kh1.png?width=1212&format=png&auto=webp&s=9b571b8ca811663791eb8be630f1c5cbd10b1ba3

Malaysian here. For the past few months, I had been attending what was presented to me as an independent Bible study. I joined because I genuinely wanted to learn more about the Bible. I was especially interested in understanding biblical parables and what I thought would simply be a deeper study of Scripture.

At the beginning, I had no reason to believe I was joining Shincheonji.

The classes gradually became more intensive. What started as roughly two classes a week eventually became three classes plus a revision session. There was a teacher and several assistants, and the lessons followed a structured curriculum. A significant amount of time was spent learning about parables, symbolism, prophecy and what the Bible supposedly meant beneath its surface-level interpretation.

At first, I didn't think much of it. Christians study parables all the time, and I assumed this was simply the particular approach of the Bible study.

But as the months went on, things began to feel increasingly unusual.

I started noticing the amount of structure surrounding the classes, the involvement of the assistants, the increasing commitment expected from students, and the emphasis on learning specific interpretations of Scripture. There were also concepts and terminology that I didn't fully understand at the time, including references to a “spring” and a “river.”

Then came the questions about personal information.

I was asked to provide a copy of my IC. That immediately made me uncomfortable. Before giving anyone an official identification document, I wanted to know whether it would simply be used for verification or whether a copy would be kept, who would have access to it, how long it would be stored, and when it would be deleted.

Those questions became even more important once I started investigating who was actually behind the Bible study.

Eventually, I discovered that the Bible study was affiliated with Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

That changed the way I understood everything I had experienced.

I began comparing what I had been taught with Shincheonji's own publicly available material. What stood out was the overlap in the teaching structure. Shincheonji itself openly advertises Bible courses on the meanings of parables, followed by prophecy and fulfillment and then Revelation. Its own statement of faith also identifies Lee Man-hee as the promised shepherd who received and proclaims the fulfilled reality of Revelation.

Suddenly, the emphasis on parables and deeper meanings wasn't just an isolated teaching style. It was part of a much larger theological system.

What also disturbed me was the fact that I had not initially understood that I was being introduced to Shincheonji.

This is particularly significant because independent reporting has documented former members describing recruitment into Bible studies where Shincheonji's identity was not disclosed at the beginning.

That made me question the entire experience.

If I had been told from the beginning:

>

then I could have made an informed decision about whether I wanted to participate.

Instead, I believed I was attending an independent Bible study and only discovered the organisation's affiliation later.

That distinction matters to me.

I am not saying that every person I met was necessarily malicious, nor am I claiming that every teaching I received was automatically false simply because it came from Shincheonji. What I am saying is that I should have been given enough information to make an informed decision from the beginning.

I also don't think questioning this makes me closed-minded toward Christianity.

In fact, it is precisely because I take my faith seriously that I want to investigate what I am being taught rather than accepting something simply because it is presented as “deeper” or “more biblical.”

Looking back, the biggest lesson from this experience is that transparency matters.

A Bible study should not require me to discover its true affiliation through independent investigation. I should not have to wonder who the teachers really represent, why my personal information is being collected, or whether the curriculum comes from a particular religious organisation.

I entered the class wanting to understand the Bible.

I ended up having to investigate the organisation teaching me the Bible.

And that, more than anything, is what made me realise that I needed to step back and ask questions.

Reading the comments from current members responding to the arrest got me curious. The language being used, persecution confirming prophecy, stay strong, the world is against God's chosen, etc. So I went back and looked.

When Lee Man-hee was arrested in 2020 in connection with COVID-19 obstruction charges, SCJ framed it immediately as persecution confirming the fulfilment of Revelation. Members were told this was prophetic. The world rejoicing against God's messenger was exactly what scripture had predicted. Staying strong through the trial was part of the mission.

Then he was convicted. The Supreme Court of Korea upheld the conviction in August 2022. The sentence was finalised. He served on probation.

Here is what didn't happen. No public resurrection. No hostile witnesses terrified by an undeniable reversal. No dramatic moment of vindication that even those who opposed him couldn't deny. The Revelation 11 framing, which predicted exactly those things as the second half of the passage, was quietly set aside as the legal process ran its course and produced a final conviction.

And now in 2026, with a new arrest on entirely separate charges, the same narrative has been redeployed. Same language. Same Revelation framing. Same instruction to current members to see this as confirmation rather than as a problem. The posts in this subreddit from current members right now read almost identically to what was said in 2020.

I want to ask the question this pattern raises as simply as possible.

If the persecution-as-prophecy narrative was applied in 2020, produced a conviction upheld by the highest court in Korea, and delivered none of the Revelation 11 resolution it implied, what happened to that narrative? And if it was quietly set aside after failing to resolve, why is the same narrative being applied again to a different arrest in 2026 as if 2020 didn't happen?

A framework that absorbs every negative event as confirmation and resets after each failure without ever acknowledging the failure is not a framework that can be tested. It is not a framework that can be wrong. And a claim that cannot be wrong is not a claim. It is a closed loop.

Deuteronomy 18:22 was not written for the second attempt. It applied to the first one.

For current members reading this: the sincerity of your faith is not what I am questioning. What I am asking is whether the framework you are being asked to apply to 2026 gave you an accurate account of what would happen in 2020. If it didn't, that is information worth sitting with before applying it again.

Lee Man-hee’s condition according to someone who visited him in detention: “He walked by himself… He was energetic… full of fire.”

I made a short video highlighting an interesting exchange from the recent press conference.

A Malaysian journalist who introduced himself as being from Tamil Osai Media asked about Lee Man-hee’s current health condition.

Hans Noot, who said he had personally visited Lee in detention the day before, responded that he was not a doctor and had not seen Lee’s medical records. But based on his personal observation, he said:

“He walked by himself.”
“He talked freely.”
“He was energetic.”
“He was… full of fire,” meaning full of enthusiasm.

He also said he had heard reports of Lee being wheeled around in a wheelchair, but added:

“I have not observed that myself.”

I think this is particularly worth noting ahead of Lee Man-hee’s August 21 bail hearing.

I also included Lee Man-hee’s own statement from a 1997 sermon:

“If God is with me(this person), would He allow me to become sick and die?”

I think his own words and this recent eyewitness account are worth considering together.

As I mentioned in the video, the full press conference held on August 7, 2026, is available on the official YouTube channel of Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF).

For anyone who wants to verify the context for themselves, the link below starts directly at the Malaysian journalist’s question about Lee Man-hee’s health and Hans Noot’s response:

https://youtu.be/mz51gFQ7Lbg?t=2926

You can watch the original exchange and judge for yourself.

I’m an ex-Shincheonji member, and due to certain circumstances I’m still in occasional contact with one current member.

I brought up the recent situation involving Lee Man-hee because I assumed his detention and the allegations against him would be a significant topic inside Shincheonji. I was curious whether it might make her question him, or at least reconsider some things.

Instead, her response was essentially:

“Yeah, he is in prison now, but to be honest, I'm not so worried, because I know why it's happening, and it makes a lot of sense actually. There is a bigger goal regarding this...

Logically, from a human-rights perspective, what they are doing is absolutely insane. In any other country, it would not be allowed to put somebody who is 95 years old, has had back problems and an operation, into a detention center.There are human-rights activists and experts from around the world who came to Korea to hold a conference and bring this to the UN, because what is happening is not according to law.

People in Korea at the moment have absolutely no sense; they are going insane. Everything is also connected with politics.

What’s happening is really not right, but this will come out more and more, and everything is according to Scripture.

It’s one thing to be in prison, and another thing to go against the law by putting someone in prison. This is really discrimination and being actively blind to the law, but this is not unexpected in this time...”

To say the least, I was baffled. They are hopeless at this point...

What struck me most was that his imprisonment seemed to have caused zero doubt about him being the Promised Pastor. Instead, the entire situation was simply incorporated into the existing narrative: he is being unjustly persecuted, there is a “bigger goal” behind it, and “everything is according to Scripture.”

I genuinely expected at least some reaction along the lines of: “If he really is righteous, why is this happening? Maybe we should seriously consider whether he actually did something wrong.”

But apparently not.

It makes me wonder: What would actually have to happen for a committed Shincheonji member to seriously question the Promised Pastor? If even this can be interpreted as persecution and confirmation of Scripture, what could possibly make someone stop and think, “Maybe we got this wrong”?

For anyone currently inside Shincheonji: Is this actually the general sentiment in SCJ right now?

It’s interesting that members of Shincheonji seem to be so versatile: one day they’re teachers, another day cultural researchers, and another day karate practitioners. Perhaps they go to different countries for three-year periods, and, following the chameleon principle, they even change their professions depending on the situation. Isn’t that part of their method of trapping people? It seems psychologically dangerous.
Is that normal? Is it actually evil?