I’m a Bible teacher at Zion Christian Mission Center (ZCMC).
As a child, my family lived in poverty and the whole family had to share a room. Every morning when I woke up, the first thing I saw was my mother’s back as she knelt to pray in front of a candle and a statue of the Virgin Mary. My mother was a devout Catholic, and when I was 10 years old, I took her hand and went to church for the first time. This was the beginning of my life of faith.
From a very young age, I heard stories of God and Jesus from my mother. I became an altar boy and attended Mass almost daily. As I experienced numerous miracles, my love for God deepened.
Then, one Sunday, I was learning about the book of Genesis from a nun in Sunday school. She told me that the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which would lead to death if eaten, was an apple.
Even though I was young, I could not understand this answer because I ate apples often. I wanted an explanation, so I asked the nun what the tree of life was, what the tree of knowledge of good and evil was, and why their fruit was an apple. But I did not get an answer.
Since I served alongside the priest during Mass, I asked the priests the same questions but I received no satisfactory answers.
I couldn’t resist my curiosity so I asked my mother, who copied the Bible every day. She replied, “I don’t know either,” and bought me a small Bible.
Giving it to me, she said, “God is the Word (John 1:1), and since your desire to understand is good, the Lord will grant you the answer (truth).” She then instructed me to pray and read the Bible over and over again.
After that, I read the Bible extensively, but while I memorized and remembered the historical and moral content, I couldn’t understand what was recorded in the prophetic books. So, I entered seminary for seven years, became a Catholic priest, and served for 12 years. But I still struggled to understand the prophetic writings.
Then one day, a ZCMC Bible teacher came to my office and said he wanted to talk about the Bible with me. So I served him a cup of coffee and we talked about the Bible.
One of the questions he asked was, “What are the lamp and oil that the wise virgins must prepare to enter the wedding feast [salvation] in Matthew 25?” I answered without hesitation that the lamp represents the church and the oil represents the Holy Spirit and love.
The Bible teacher then explained that the lamp represents the Word of God, that is, the revealed word that has been opened (Psalm 119:105, 130), and the oil represents the word that testifies to the fulfillment of the prophecies which is proclaimed by the Lord’s chosen witness (Zechariah 4:11-14; Revelation 11:3-4).
In other words, just as at his first coming when the prophecies of the Bible and their fulfillment were being testified, we must be prepared with the knowledge and faith in the prophecies and their fulfillment when Jesus returns (John 14:29; Hebrews 4:2).
He also biblically explained the meaning of the wise virgins and foolish virgins at Jesus’ return, as well as the meaning of the wedding banquet. His answer was far more biblical and authoritative than mine, and I was speechless, acknowledging it as a truly excellent response.
I enjoy boxing and have sparred extensively so while I feel bad when I’m knocked out by a good punch from my opponent, I also know that I should humbly acknowledge my opponent’s skill and learn from it. Sharing about the Bible was just as simple for me.
After this exchange of questions and answers, the ZCMC Bible teacher asked me, “Father, are you familiar with the Book of Revelation?” I admitted that I studied it in seminary, but the truth was that it had been so long since I’d studied it that I didn’t remember much.
I decided to study my theology books for a month before meeting him again for another “sparring session” so I made an excuse and said, “Let’s talk about the Book of Revelation in a month.” I then scheduled our next Bible sharing session for a month later.
In the next article, I will share what we discussed about the Book of Revelation.
Zion Christian Mission Center is the theology arm of Shincheonji Church of Jesus and it offers a full theology course for free. You can sign up here or scan the QR code. You can also download the ZCMC SPS app for free.
By Soo Oh
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