Introduction
The Divine Principle, the teaching of the Unification Church, can largely be divided into three parts. The most fundamental part of the Principle is the "Principle of Creation," which explains how God made the entire world of creation.
Since God is the substantial being of the unique, good and eternal ideal, in accordance with His purpose, man was also created to become the ideal embodiment of goodness, in whom sin and suffering would be a contradiction and an impossibility. The reality of the contradictions and evil in which man finds himself is a result of his having lost his original value by failing. Therefore, traditional Christianity calls this state of man "the fall. " Divine Principle explains the details of the fall, such as its motivation and process, the origin of sin and the true identity of Satan. This comes under the chapter entitled the "Fall of Man."
The men fallen into sin must tread the path of salvation under God's blessing; in the Unification Principle, salvation is restoration. In other words, the purpose of salvation is to return to the original state before the fall; therefore God's providence of salvation is the providence of restoration. Under what principle has God been working for the salvation of mankind? To clarify the overall meaning and process of salvation is the purpose of the "Principle of Restoration."
The "Principle of Creation," the "Fall of Man" and the "Principle of Restoration" are the three major parts of the Divine Principle of the Unification Church.
On earth, there have been numerous religions and even now present-day Christianity is divided into several hundred denominations. Then what could be the providential significance and motive underlying the emergence of the new Unification Church at this particular time?
God is alive and working. Both throughout history and in the mind of man God has always left the clearly noticeable thread of His life work. In contrast to this, what has man, the object of God's work, been like? Has he always been standing still and not progressing; or has he been changing and improving constantly in his internal standards, such as spiritual state and intellectual level, which God must deal with in the different periods of human history?
If man had not fallen, he would have resembled God's perfection (Matt. 5:48) and realized God's character (John 14:20) so that God could directly relate to him. However, because of his fall, man has been in the state of separation from God; in other words, he fell and became the substantial being of sin, which is contrary to God's will. If we were to speak of how man's spirituality and intellect were affected by the fall, we could say they plummeted down to zero.
The spirituality and intellect of fallen and deteriorated man have gradually come to be enlightened through the benefits of God's restoration providence. Therefore, as man's spiritual and intellectual levels have developed in each age, God accordingly has had to revise the means of educating the people and relating to them. In other words, in Abraham's time, when spirituality and intellect were extremely low, God had to lead people in such a way that they came to God by offering sacrifices to Him. The people of that time were too immature to be able to respond to laws and other words of a higher order. Several hundred year later, in the time of Moses, God carried out the providence through the Law and 1,600 years after that, instead of repeating the same dispensation through laws or commandments, God gave the people the Gospel, in a degree adequate to the spirituality of the people of that age so that they would come closer to God.
The fact that the Jewish people, who so devoutly believed in God, could not recognize Jesus as the savior is the gravest error in the providence of restoration. Not only did they not recognize him, but they went to the extreme of distrusting him, calling him a "prince of devils" and even driving him to be crucified. What led to this? In that age, the people of Israel followed God through their old way of laws, but God began to reach people through Jesus himself, by means of the new dispensation of the Gospel. In light of these historical facts, we can see that as the spirituality and intellect of the people develop in each age God has always adopted an even higher method of reaching them. The objective of the living God and His providence is not men who are like fossils, but rather, men who are very much alive spiritually and intellectually.
Then who is the present object of God? It is not the people of Jesus' time of 2,000 years ago, nor the people of Moses' age 3,600 years ago, nor primitive man still further past. It is contemporary man, living here and now.
Today, no one can deny that churches have lost their spiritual power to attract and hold young people, as well as to influence all the people of this age. Then the living God must give new truth, a new expression of truth, to lead the people of this age to salvation and the New Age.
We read in the Bible Jesus' words, "I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father," (John 16:15) or "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:12) and "You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings" (Rev. 10: 11). All these verses testify that in the Last Days there will come a new expression of the truth. However, since this will be a new way, in some aspects it may not be in accordance with so-called conventional doctrine or tradition. For example, Jesus spoke on the basis of the Old Testament, but at that time, the people were literally bound to the Old Testament and could not understand Jesus. Jesus taught them to make themselves new to be able to receive new words, saying, "new wine must be put into fresh wineskins" (Luke 5:38).
The Divine Principle of the Unification Church does not center on conventional theological theories, nor is it a repetition of past sermons. The Divine Principle contains the words of a new revelation given through the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, that clarify God's will and providence of salvation to the highest degree. Reverend Moon did not gain his revelation in school while studying philosophy and theology. God directly revealed His will to him. We know that God worked through Noah and Abraham, and we know well that God revealed words through Moses and Jesus. Can not the same living God, who is alive today, give a new revelation in the present day?
Today, what the church needs is not another human interpretation of the Bible. What matters now is how God interprets it for us, and when we live for God according to His will, we will be fulfilling His will. Let us consider this with an open mind and heart.
Because the church can not continue as it is any longer, don't we need something new? Don't we believe that many religious people should truly come to revere God now? Can we leave the rapid deterioration of the lives of our young people as it is? Do we honestly believe that if mankind continues to live giving no heed to God our next generation will still have hope? Do we not realize that now is the time for God to speak and give man new direction?
God has already broken His silence. But how? Will you only hear God's voice in the clap of thunder and only find Him amidst the great physical upheavals of the earth? Historically, God's voice to men has been quiet, but it has served as the strongest source of life to man. The revelation that God gave Reverend Moon took place quietly in the East, but it has given today's young men and women of the world new happiness and new hope and has given them new life, from the depths of their hearts. How can youth from 120 nations, whose skin colors, cultural backgrounds and lifestyles are so different, all come to find new life, new meaning and new enthusiasm to follow God?
Here we introduce an outline of the Divine Principle, which has the power of vitality to deeply move the human mind and spirit and to transform an individual into a person of new character centered on God.
The Principle of Creation
The fundamental questions about man and the universe can not be finally resolved without understanding the nature of God, the Creator. This is so because in order to understand and solve the problems concerning any resultant being we must first understand the causal being. So in order to solve the most basic questions about all things, we must first understand the nature of God and the principles by which He created the world.
The Principle of Creation explains God's nature and these principles.
The Dual Characteristics of God
How can we know the nature of God, who is an invisible being? In Rom. 1:20, we read, "Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." In other words, just as the work of an artist is a visible manifestation of its maker's own invisible nature, so we can perceive God's deity by carefully observing the world of His creation.
In order to know the characteristics of God's divine nature, let us examine the common factors which can be found throughout His creation. We find that all things-from man, animals and plants down to the basic components of matter, the molecules and atoms-all exist through the reciprocal relationship of its positive and negative, or subject and object parts. We observe that mankind is composed of man and woman, animals of male and female and plants contain stamen and pistil, and that molecules are made of anion and cation, and even the simplest atom of proton and electron. We can then conclude that the world of creation is made in such a way that everything exists through the reciprocal relationship of positive (subject) and negative (object).
The fact that the world of creation is so constructed means that God Himself, who is the First Cause of all things, also exists through a reciprocal relationship between the dual characteristics of positivity and negativity. As the Apostle Paul indicated in the scriptural verse, Gen. 1:27, "So God created man in his own image ... male and female he created them," we can say that God exists as the harmonized being of positivity and negativity and is the absolute subject to all created beings.
Furthermore, all things of the created world are composed of the dual characteristics of internal character, which is invisible, and external form, which is visible. We call this internal character "sung-sang" and external form, "hyung-sang."
For example, man is composed of mind, which is sung-sang, and body, which is hyung-sang. The invisible mind is the subject and exercises control over the visible body, which is the object. Likewise, the other created beings, though differing in value according to their level of existence, all have an invisible sung-sang character, which is the cause controlling the body, which is hyung-sang. For example the instinct of animals, the instinct of plants and the inherent directive nature of inorganic matter all function to cause and control their bodies or external forms to maintain their existence. Thus, we can readily understand that all things exist through the more fundamental reciprocal relationships of sung-sang (mind) and hyung-sang (body).
Accordingly, God, who is the ultimate cause must exist as the absolute subject of character (mind) and form (body) and we call God's subjective character and form His original Sung-sang and Original Hyung-sang.
When we speak of God as a holy God or God of love, we are referring to one aspect of God's original mind (sung-sang) and when we speak of God's omnipotence we are referring to an aspect of God's original body (hyung-sang). Because God is the cause of all things, the motives, order and purpose that were to be projected into the created world were determined by His Original Sung-sang and the energy which is manifest in the creation is from God's Original Hyung-sang.
Let us summarize what we have been discussing. God is the harmonized being of the dual characteristics of Original Sung-sang and Original Hyung-sang as well as positivity and negativity. Because God is the subject and cause of all created things, every created being exists through the reciprocal relationship between internal character and external form, and between positivity and negativity.
Thus, since each creation is the substantial reflection of God, each having the invisible dual essentialities of God, the subject, each substantial object is known as an "individual truth body. "
Universal Prime Force and Give and Take Action
Every created being which is created by God contains the essential characteristics of internal character and external form, as well as positivity and negativity; in other words, each created being reflects God's own form of existence and contains the elements necessary to maintain its own existence. But then, can individual creations exist entirely independent of one another, without mutual inter-relationships, or do they have definite relationships with one another? From an external viewpoint all things indeed exist as separate individuals, but because they were created by God, whose own nature is harmonized, then they, by nature, are designed to exist, grow and multiply only through interdependent and harmonious relationships with God and each other.
Reciprocal relationships are fulfilled through the action of giving and receiving which is called Give and Take Action. When any subject and object in the creation enter into Give and Take Action, their ideal relationships with other beings are established, and then all the power needed to maintain life, action and multiplication is generated.
Let us consider a few examples. The human body maintains its life through the give and take action between arteries and veins, and inhalation and exhalation. An individual is able to achieve his purpose of existence through the give and take action between mind and body. A home or society exists through the give and take action between individuals and groups. Matter, as well, maintains its harmonious and chemically stable existence through give and take action between its subject and object parts. Both plants and animals maintain their functions through give and take action among their various organs and systems. And we find that even the solar system itself exists through the give and take action between the sun and the planets in their orbital movements.
Next, let us consider the relationship between God and man from the point of view of Give and Take Action. The fact that God gave the first human ancestors His commandment (Gen. 2:17) means that man is created to respond to God by keeping that commandment. Therefore, human beings were originally meant to maintain perfect Give and Take Action with God. Had the first ancestors of man established a vertical relationship with God through perfect Give and take Action, then their descendants as well would have been able to maintain perfect Give and Take Action with Him. With this established, all men, by being in a perfect vertical relationship with God Himself, would be able to maintain harmonious relationships with each other, living for the sake of each other, and thus realizing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Through the fall of the first human ancestors, this give and take relationship with God was cut off and therefore each man has been unable to maintain harmonious give and take with God and others.
Because the Messiah, as the only begotten son of God, came as the one person who maintains a perfect give and take relationship with God, when fallen man unites with the Messiah in a perfect give and take relationship, fallen man automatically recovers his lost relationship of give and take with God. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the mediator through whom fallen man can come closer to God, and, at the same time, he is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).
As the term give and take implies, the action is first giving, then receiving, not taking, then giving. The very fact that God created means that He had to give of Himself in order to bring about the creation-in other words, He had to sacrifice Himself for His creation. Thus it is heavenly and universal law that giving precedes receiving or taking. However, fallen man fails to return or reciprocate even after he receives and it is in this way of life that problems arise. Jesus came to serve mankind with love and sacrifice: ". . the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve" (Matt. 20:28). Jesus also taught directly concerning the principle of Give and Take Action when he said, "Judge not, that you be not judged, for with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get" (Matt. 7:1-2) and whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them" (Matt. 7:12).
Just as the ideal relationship of all things is the result of Give and Take Action between subject and object, the movement of subject and object toward one another (Give and Take Action) must be the result of some other force, a vertical force. Then what is the originating force which makes Give and Take Action possible?
There must first be a causal, vertical force that enables further action before additional forces can be produced. There must be a force within all things of this created world that enables them to exist and which also enables them to initiate Give and Take Action with other beings. This force is called the Universal Prime Force and it is the fundamental force of God, our Creator. It is the basic force that enables God to exist as an eternal, self-existing and absolute being. At the same time, it is the force which God endowed to every created being to cause it to maintain its existence and fulfill its purpose of creation.
Universal Prime Force is the most fundamental trait which all things share. Therefore, no matter what the life form, methods of reproduction or types of actions which result through the various Give and Take Actions among the created things from the smallest to the largest, all ultimately have the same unifying purpose and come to exist in mutually organic relationships.
Therefore, the direction and goal of all Give and Take Action are controlled by the Universal Prime Force. Thus, Give and Take Action is meant not only for a subject and object to fulfill each individual purpose, but also for a greater purpose unifying all.
Therefore the ultimate purpose of Give and Take Action is for the subject and object to unite and develop into a greater and higher dimension. The individual being in which the subject and object become united then strives for Give and Take Action with a corresponding counterpart of still greater dimension, and by uniting with it, develops into a still higher being. Thus, all things have both the purpose of self-maintenance and the purpose of maintaining the whole; therefore the universe can be said to be one huge organic body of dual characteristics.
Origin-Division-Union Action and the Four Position Foundation
When the dual essentialities of God, who is the invisible subject, are projected into a substantial subject and object, and the divided subject and object pair form a reciprocal relationship through Give and Take Action, this subject and object will once again form a union which is a new object to God. Origin-Division-Union Action is the process of creation or course of development of the power or force that originates from God (the origin), divides and then unites again. The divided subject and object, their unified form, and God each become a subject having three objects and an object with three subjects, all mutually performing ideal Give and Take Action, attaining oneness, thus fulfilling what is called the triple objective purpose. The divided subject and object and united body form a triple objective standard and God is always their first object; then they adjust to the purpose of maintaining the whole and the greater order of things.
When the divided subject and object and united body, after dividing from God, fulfill their triple objective purpose, uniting with God and each other, they become an unchangeable foundation of power called the Four Position Foundation. Since the Four Position Foundation is formed when all subjects, objects and united bodies in each stage become one through ideal Give and Take Action centering around God, the Four Position Foundation is the basic foundation upon which God can operate and also the foundation of goodness which accomplishes the purpose of God's creation.
When the mind and body of a man perform ideal Give and Take Action centering around God, forming the ideal man and perfect object of God, an individual four position foundation is realized.
When husband and wife, centering around God, perform ideal Give and Take Action, they become a family which is a perfect object to God, forming a four position foundation of the family. When man and the creation enter into ideal Give and Take Action centering around God, each creation becomes God's perfect object and a foundation of four positions for dominion is realized.
The Purpose of Creation
Each creation has its own purpose of existence. If a creation were to lose its purpose of existence, it would have to be discarded. Then if the purpose of existence is So vital, what is man's purpose of existence?
The purpose of existence is not determined by the created being itself; the true purpose is determined by its creator. Therefore by finding out what God's purpose of creation is, we can then understand the true purpose of man and the universe.
God is eternal, unchanging and unique; therefore His will (or purpose of creation) is also eternal, unchanging and unique. Before creating the universe, God first had an ideal within Him and then He began to create. Then what was His purpose of creation?
We can see in Genesis I that whenever God made a new species of creation He said it was good to behold. Thus, we can say God created the world in order to feel happiness or joy.
How is joy produced? Joy is not created by the individual alone. Joy comes when we have an object, whether invisible or visible, in which we see our own nature reflected and feel the stimulation derived from the object. Therefore, God created man and the universe as His substantial objects so that he could feel His own original nature through His substantial objects.
Out of God's deep concern for man's life He commanded Adam and Eve, ". . of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (Gen. 2:17). In this commandment, God expressed His will and heart of love for man. Therefore, we can see that man is created as an object of love to respond the most directly to God's will and heart.
Thus, since man was created as God's direct object and His child, God gave man dominion over the world. Gen. 1:28 states the essence of the purpose of God's creation of man, the three great blessings: " and God blessed them and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion'. . ." Since the fundamental base upon which God can operate is the Four Position Foundation, the purpose of His creation-God's source of joy is realized when man completes the four positions, fulfilling the three blessings centering around God's ideal of love.
God's first blessing is that of individual perfection. By performing proper Give and Take Action between his mind and body centering around God, uniting them into one, man forms an individual foundation of four positions and becomes the temple of God (I Cor. 3:16). When such perfected individuals become completely one with God in heart (John 14:20), they constantly think and live centering around God, thus achieving deity and becoming the fruit of God's vertical love.
When man achieves God's first blessing, they will naturally share all God's feeling as their own. It would be absolutely impossible for such men to commit a crime for they would indeed feel the grief they would cause God by doing so; rather, such men would only want to be perfect objects of God's joy.
God's second blessing for Adam and Eve was that after attaining individual perfection, they become eternal husband and wife, perfecting the heavenly family, multiplying children of goodness, thus completing the family foundation of four positions centering around God. For Adam and Eve to become eternal husband and wife under God's vertical love means that God's love is perfected in the horizontal plane. In addition, God's giving them the right and ability to multiply God's children means that God is permitting man to experience with his children the same joy that God experiences in His vertical love for us. If Adam and Eve had attained perfection, forming the first family and giving birth to children of goodness, they would have become the true father and mother of all mankind, centering around God, thus becoming the eternal true parents and ancestors of mankind. From this true family as a base, a true society, true nation and true world would have been realized. This is God's will. If Adam and Eve had created such a family and world, it would have been the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
The third blessing God gave to man signified man's qualification to have dominion over the whole creation. God made man as a microcosm of the structures, functions and essential qualities of all things which He had previously created.
Thus, the world of creation was to be the substantial object of man and man was to feel joy when he felt his own nature reflected through the created things which resemble him.
The world where the three blessings are realized is the ideal world in which God and man, as well as man and the creation, are in complete harmony. Such a world is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. As will be described later, man was meant in the beginning to live on earth a life of total oneness with God, the true being of life and goodness. After such a life on earth, upon his physical death he would then pass into the spiritual world where he would automatically be in the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven. There he would live eternally under the perfect dominion of God's love.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the world resembling an individual who has attained perfection. In man, the mind's command is transmitted to the whole body through the central nervous system, thus causing the body to act toward one purpose. Thus, in the Kingdom of Heaven, God's will is conveyed to all His children through the true ancestors of mankind, and under the ideal of God, causing all to work toward one purpose. Just as no part of the body would ever rebel against a nerve's command, perfect man would feel no antagonism or rebellion against God's dominion of love. Such a world would have not one iota of contradiction or crime.
The Process of the Creation of the Universe and the Period of Growth
Next, let us consider the process of God's creation. The process of creation of all things is recorded in Gen. 1. God's creation began with His creating light out of chaos, void and darkness and took a period expressed as six "days" before culminating in the creation of man. But as it is said in II Peter 2:8 that "… with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day,: these days were not actual 24-hour days. This means that the universe did not suddenly come into being without a lapse of time, but rather it was created through six gradual periods.
The fact that it took so much time for the perfected world to be created implies that for each creation to mature there was a period of growth necessary for it to perfect itself. If there was no need of time for an individual being to be created, there is also no reason why time would have been necessary for the universe to be created. If the "morning" mentioned in Gen. I is the initial point of a creation's maturity, then the "evening" can be viewed as the beginning point of creation and the time in between, the night, must then be the period of growth.
The fall of man also implies that there was a period of growth. If man was created perfect, there could have been no possibility of man's falling because if a perfect being of goodness resembling God were to fall, then we would have to conclude that goodness itself is imperfect and therefore question if God is really omnipotent.
Man, before falling, was still in the imperfect position, growing towards perfection, and could choose either the way of death or the way of life. God's ideal of creation is perfection. Therefore, God could never have created anything with an innate inclination to failure or imperfection. However before the fall, man was imperfect; therefore, man fell while still in the stage of imperfection on the way toward perfection.
God's entire work of creation took place through three periods: the evening, night and morning. Also, there is the principle of the establishment of the Four Position Foundation in the three stages of origin-division-union. Similarly, the period of growth is also comprised of the three orderly stages of formation, growth and perfection. In the natural world there are three states of matter, gas, liquid and solid, and the three kingdoms, mineral, plant and animal. Also, in the Bible, God manifests the number "three" in many instances, such as the three archangels, the three decks of Noah's ark, Abraham's three offerings, the 30 years of Jesus' private life, his three years of public ministry, the three wise men from the East, his three major disciples, the three temptations, and many more.
A man who has reached perfection by going through the growth period will then dwell in God's direct dominion of love as a substantial object of the perfect God. Perfected man, in turn, would have direct dominion over all perfected things. Therefore the realm of direct dominion is where the ideal of creation is realized and it is the realm of God's love.
Then how does God relate to man and the creation while they are still in the growth period-in other words, while they are still imperfect? Because they are still in the growth period, God cannot relate to them directly because they are not yet perfect. Instead, God relates to them indirectly, and this period is called the period of indirect dominion. God exists as the author of the Principle and deals directly only with the results of growth in accordance with the Principle.
All things grow through the simple autonomy of the Principle itself, but man does not perfect himself only through the autonomy and dominion of the Principle, but by observing the commandment which God gave to man alone, as his portion of responsibility.
God says in Gen. 2:17, "… in the day that you eat of it you shall die." This indicates that it is up to man not to perfect himself and eat of the fruit. Disobeying God's Word and failing would be determined entirely by man, not God.
Seeing the result of man's failure to fulfill his portion of responsibility-man's fall-why did God give this portion of responsibility to man? In sum, it was to qualify man as lord over all creation.
"Me true right of dominion belongs only to one who has created. But God allows man to participate in the work of creation and have dominion over all things as God Himself, even though originally he too is part of His creation. Thus man is to inherit God's creatorship. In short, man is not perfected by God's principle and power alone; man's own portion of responsibility, however small compared with God's, is necessary. Although man is part of the creation, in perfecting himself he has to fulfill his own portion of responsibility with which God cannot interfere. By perfecting himself man can fulfill the condition of participating in the work of creation, thus inheriting God's creatorship.
God gave man the precious blessing of his own portion of responsibility, but man did not fulfill it and fell. God's providence to save man, who failed his responsibility, is one of re-creation. Then man's portion of responsibility that had existed in the original creation of man also needs to be fulfilled in the salvation providence.
The fact that God's providence of salvation has been prolonged for so long is because the central figures in His providence of restoration have repeatedly failed to accomplish their portion of responsibility, with which even God cannot interfere. As is expressed in John 3:18, no matter how much blessing and love God may grant, to those who have no faith, salvation cannot come. Matt. 7:21 says, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven." This tells us that man's doing what his Heavenly Father desires is entirely up to man's own responsibility. Why can't a merciful God give even to those who do not ask? Why can't God enable those who do not seek and knock to enter? It is because it is man's own responsibility to seek and knock and God cannot interfere with it.
The Invisible Substantial World and the Visible Substantial World
Let us consider the matter of the existence of a world after death and the question of man's spirit, according to the Principle of Creation. Does man have a spirit? If so, what does it look like and what is the spiritual world like in which the spirit lives? What is the relationship of the spiritual world to the physical world? And what principles govern the spiritual world?
Today, much research is going on related to the spiritual world. However, these apparently complex phenomena can not seem to be systematically explained or clearly understood. As a result, many people have been confused and some even dismayed by these important questions and this has affected their religious life. Can we dismiss the many descriptions of a heavenly world that appear in the Bible, such as the three stages of heaven in II Cor. 12:2, the appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration and other examples?
In the world of creation, there is not only the visible world, which resembles the human body, but also the invisible world, which resembles the human mind. The visible world is where the physical body acts within the limitations of time and space. But the invisible world is limitless and eternal beyond the physical world. It is where man's spirit will live for eternity. As Heb. 8:5 expresses, "They serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary." The invisible substantial world is a greater reality than this visible world. The invisible substantial world, like man's mind, is subject to the visible substantial world, which like man's body, is object.
Then what is man's relationship to these two worlds? In Gen. 2:7, it is written, "the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground," which means that God created man's physical body with the basic elements of the visible substantial world, such as earth, water, air and sunlight. "… And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7), means that God fashioned man's spirit from the elements of the spiritual world to form what in Divine Principle is called the spirit man.
Man's spirit is an encapsulation of the invisible substantial world and his physical body is an encapsulation of the visible substantial world. Thus, we can clearly understand that God made man as the substantial microcosm of both the invisible and visible substantial worlds. This is why man is called a microcosm. God created man and told him to have dominion over the world (Gen. 1:28). To put it differently, God created man's physical body from the same ingredients that make up the natural world and let man have dominion over it through his five physical senses. Similarly, the spiritual body is created from the same ingredients that make up the spiritual world and God let man have dominion over it through his five spiritual senses. Therefore, man was originally created with two sets of five senses, one for the physical body, the other for the spiritual body, As a result of the fall, fallen man's spiritual senses became dulled and he became unable to sense the spiritual world, which can be perceived only by the spiritual mind and body. Only those religious people whose spiritual senses have been restored out of God's grace can experience this world.
The spiritual world and physical world cannot communicate directly with each other. Thus, man is created as the mediator and center of harmony of these two worlds. When man's physical body and spirit become one through perfect Give and Take Action, these two worlds, visible and invisible, come into oneness through man as the mediator.
To summarize the position of man from what has just been said, man is the substantial being who is an encapsulation of the spiritual and physical worlds. He was also created as the lord and center of harmony of both worlds.
One more point to be explained is the spirit man itself. Even religious people, who may realize they possess a spirit, have many questions regarding what will happen to their spirit after it separates from their physical body. Does man's spirit dissipate like fog or smoke after death or does it have a substantial body that goes on into the spiritual world? Will man's spirit merely merge into God Himself or will it come to maintain a certain position and continue its individual existence? If so, what is the spirit man like?
According to the Divine Principle, each man has his own physical man and also his own spirit. That is why we call his spirit a spirit man.
The Reciprocal Relationship between the Physical Man and the Spirit Man
The spiritual man is subject to the physical man, which is object. The spiritual body is identical in appearance to the physical man, has five spiritual senses and lives for eternity.
The relationship between the spirit man and the physical man is like that between fruit and tree. The spirit man grows while attached to the tree. In other words, the spirit man, which lives eternally, grows to perfection by receiving vitality elements from the physical body, as well as by receiving life elements coming from God. Therefore the spirit man can grow only on the soil of the physical man. All the vitality elements of the physical man are blended with the life elements from God and given to the spirit man. Therefore, the quality of a spirit man depends on the quality of the vitality elements supplied by the physical man. Accordingly a spirit man which receives wholesome vitality elements from his physical man becomes a being of goodness. On the other hand, a spirit man that receives bad vitality elements from his physical man will become evil. In order for an evil spirit man to become a good one, he must repent while in his physical body in order that his spirit man can receive the wholesome vitality element resulting from the repentance he has made.
The most important aspect of the spirit man which needs to be perfected through the physical man is his sensitivity toward the love of God. It has already been explained that God's purpose of creation is the basic Four Position Foundation upon which God's ideal of love can rest. Therefore only those spirit men who have already experienced the true love of parents, the love of husband and wife and the love of children centering around God, or in other words, who have already experienced this sense of love on earth-these alone-can then go to the Kingdom of Heaven in the spiritual world and lead the way of life of heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is the world ruled and harmonized by the love of God, where all are satisfied through God's love.
Since all creations are perfected through the three orderly stages of growth, man's spirit also goes through three stages of growth based on the physical man before it attains perfection. Thus, a spirit man which is in the formation stage is called a "form spirit," in the growth stage, a "life spirit," and in the perfection stage, a "divine spirit."
Just as a ripened fruit is harvested while its vine returns to the earth, because it was created to live for eternity, after separating from the physical body the spirit man remains and lives eternally in the spiritual world, while the body returns to the earth. Many believe that man's physical body returns to the earth because he fell, but this is false. Ecc. 12:7 says, "And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." Thus, it is according to the order of creation that the physical body returns to the earth. It is not due to the fall that the body dies; this is merely what it is meant to do. Rather the death that afflicted man because of the fall is the degradation of his spirit man. A more detailed explanation of this matter will be given later in the chapter on "Resurrection."
When man lives according to God's ideal of creation in his physical body, he will be living in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and the world where his perfected good spirit man would go after his life on earth would be the Kingdom of Heaven in the spiritual world.
It is on earth that God's purpose of creation must be completed. This is why God's objective of salvation must also be this earth. Thus, God has over and over again sent to this faithless world His prophets and even the Messiah himself. This is why the Bible teaches "… whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18), and "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10. The Lord's Prayer).
God does not determine whether a spirit man goes to the Kingdom of Heaven or to hell. It is man himself, who determines this through his daily life on earth in the physical body, and he goes to the place in the spiritual world based on the stage of development that his spirit attained on earth. God, the Messiah and religion can only teach people how to avoid hell and show the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
In the world where the purpose of creation is realized, there is no Satan, no sin, no hell possible. In God's ideal of creation only heaven was to exist. But instead, because of sin, a result of man's failure to fulfill his purpose of creation, man lost his original value and became like trash. The place where this trash is kept is what we call hell.
The Fall of Man
Men, in their original minds, are inclined to repel evil and to pursue goodness. But almost always, men find themselves performing evil acts which they do not really want to do, driven by an unseen evil force. In Christianity, the master of this evil force is known as "Satan." In this chapter, we will pursue and disclose who and what is Satan.
The Root of Sin
Christians have only vaguely understood from the Bible that the first human ancestors' eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was the root of sin. However. is the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil a literal fruit of a tree, or as in many other instances in the Bible, is it a metaphor or symbol? Divine Principle clearly shows that it is a symbol. Why would a God of love make such an attractive fruit that could entice His own beloved children to fall? (Gen. 3:6). By what Jesus said in Matt. 15:11, we might ask if something edible could cause a man to fall? Or is it possible that God would test man so mercilessly by a means that could cause his death merely to see whether or not he would obey Him? Neither possibility is likely. The fruit must symbolize something so extraordinarily stimulating and so ardently desired that even fear of death, of which God warned, could not deter Adam and Eve from eating.
Before we can really determine what the fruit of good and evil was, we must examine the tree that produced it, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In order to do that, we must first grasp the true meaning of the Tree of Life, which stood next to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden.
In Prov. 13:12 it says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." This indicates that for fallen man to accomplish God's will, man is to become a Tree of Life. Also, Rev. 22:14 says, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life." This verse indicates that the attainment of the Tree of Life is the source of happiness for fallen man. What is the Tree of Life which was the hope of the Israelites of the Old Testament age and of Christians of the New Testament era?
Judging from the fact that the ultimate hope of Adam before the fall was to become a Tree of Life, we can conclude that this is true for man after the fall as well. This is because everything that fallen man truly seeks is what he lost because of the fall. Thus, we find in Gen. 3:24 that Adam, after committing sin, could not reach the Tree of Life and it has since remained the hope of fallen man.
What must Adam have hoped while he was in the process of growing to perfection? For Adam in the Garden of Eden could have material possessions, power or any external thing have been his very deepest wish? As the one who was to have dominion over all things, Adam was the master of his beautiful environment. Therefore, he certainly had no reason of wanting more material possessions or power. If Adam ever had a wish while still growing toward perfection it could only have been to reach perfection itself. In other words his wish would have been to become a being of perfected character, to realize the ideal of creation, to reach perfect manhood. If Adam had not fallen, he would have become a perfected man, attaining the Tree of Life, forming a garden around the Tree of Life (the Garden of Eden) which would have been the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. But Adam fell and God placed the cherubim and flaming sword at the entrance of the Garden to block the way to the Tree of Life (Gen. 3:24). Accordingly, the purpose of creation remained unfulfilled and Adam became a false Tree of Life (fallen man) whose descendants were also false trees of life. Consequently, there must appear on earth a true Tree of Life to which all mankind can be grafted, restoring the garden of the Tree of Life (Garden of Eden) and realizing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. For this reason, Jesus was symbolized as the Tree of Life in Proverbs in the Old Testament (Prov. 13:12) and the coming Lord of the Second Advent was similarly depicted in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament (Rev. 22:14). Thus we can clearly understand that God's goal of salvation is to restore the Tree of Life lost in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9) to the Tree of Life mentioned in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 22:14).
In the Garden of Eden, God created Adam and He also created Eve as Adam's spouse. Thus, when we find in the Garden of Eden a tree symbolizing the perfected man who has accomplished the ideal of creation, mustn't there be another tree symbolizing the perfected woman who has also accomplished the ideal of creation? The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which was described as standing with the Tree of Life, is this very tree.
In the Bible, Jesus is referred to as the vine (John 15:5) or the olive tree (Rom. 11:17). Likewise, perfected Adam and Eve are represented by two different trees. Thus God has given a clue to fallen man as to the secret of the human fall. In the Garden of Eden the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil were not literal trees but symbols of the two important individuals, Adam and Eve, who were the nucleus and center of the ideal of creation. God's entire ideal of creation is to be accomplished through people. Seen in this light, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil must by a symbol of Eve. But to further clarify and prove this point, let us examine the true character of the serpent mentioned in the third chapter of Genesis.
It is recorded that the serpent tempted Eve and made her commit sin (Gen. 3:4-7). That serpent could converse with man and also knew God's intention to prohibit man from eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus, the serpent must have been a spiritual being in their immediate environment. Rev. 12:9 says, "And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world." This indicates that the serpent is called the Devil and that this "ancient serpent" is the very one who tempted Eve. The Bible says further that the serpent was thrown down from heaven, therefore we must again say he must be a spiritual being.
In order to know who the serpent was, we must know who Satan is; therefore we must determine who was that spiritual being thrown down from heaven. That serpent who was thrown down from heaven must originally have been created as a good being headed toward perfection. There was no one in the Garden of Eden not created by God; furthermore, no being already perfect could be capable of falling and committing sin.
Some speculate that this spiritual being who was symbolized as a serpent was in existence before creation with a purpose contrary to that of God. However, with the exception of fallen man on this earth, nothing in the created world exists against God's plan of creation; so, it is not likely that there could have been an already existing evil being as God's adversary. If there had been originally two masters in the universe, their two contrary objectives would clash and the universe would come to naught. Therefore, this spiritual being was originally created for the purpose of goodness, but later fell and became Satan. This being was able to converse with man, he was a spiritual being who knew God's will, and he was also capable of tempting man. And this being, after falling and becoming Satan, could dominate man's mind and spirit transcendent of time and space, making man lead an evil life for thousands of years.
What being fits this description? Only angels are endowed with such characteristics. We may first doubt that angels can commit such sins, but on this assumption let us investigate more deeply. If in the Bible there is any indication that an angel tempted man to sin, then Satan must have been an angel. Then we read in 11 Peter 2:4, "God did not spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom. . ." So we must conclude that the true identity of the serpent, which tempted man to fall, was an angel.
Then, in what way did the angel fall? Jude 1:6-7 reads: "And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire." From this we can see clearly that the sin of the angel was an immoral act of unnatural lust. This immoral act cannot be committed alone; rather, there must be a partner. But who could it have been? In the Garden of Eden, there was only man who could commit sin with an angel. Then what is the sin of the first human ancestors?
In Genesis 3:7, we read that after the fall the first human ancestors, who were tempted by the serpent, became ashamed of their nakedness and covered the lower parts of their body. However, before their fall, Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed of their nakedness (Gen. 2:25). Yet afterwards, they sewed fig leaves together into aprons to cover their lower parts.
Then, could their sin also have been one of an immoral act? If they had committed sin by eating an actual fruit of a "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," they would have concealed their hands and mouths instead, because it is human nature to conceal an area of transgression. Can this not be an indication that Adam and Eve committed sin through their lower parts? In Job 34:33 it is written, ". . .I have concealed my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom." This indicates that Adam committed sin with the lower parts of his body.
In the Garden of Eden, the only possible act that man could have performed at the risk of his life was that of illicit love. Adam and Eve were to grow up as the first brother and sister and after perfecting themselves, were to become the first husband and wife and form the first family, fulfilling God's purpose of creation. But Jesus said in John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil," clearly showing that fallen men are descendants of the devil; in other words, after the first human ancestors had an illicit relationship with the angel, all men came to have Satan as their false father.
Thus, Adam and Eve, forsaking their true father, became one with a false father, Satan. Romans 8:23 says, ". . we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." John the Baptist called fallen men sons of Satan (Matt. 3:7) and even Jesus said, you serpents, you brood of vipers" (Matt. 23:32).
To state the conclusion, since the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil symbolized Eve, the fruit of the tree was the symbol of Eve's love. The fact that Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil means that she had an illicit love relationship with Satan, and the fact that Eve gave Adam the same fruit implies that she seduced Adam to fall in the same way.
Consequently, the root of human sin is not that the first human ancestors picked and ate a literal fruit, but that they had an illicit love relationship with a spiritual being, who was symbolized by the serpent. This established a fallen blood lineage through which this original sin is passed on from generation to generation. Throughout history, all of the major religions have called adultery one of the greatest sins. Also we can see why the Israelites had to be circumcised as a condition to become God's elect. We may be able to eradicate other sins through social, educational or economic improvements, but even as these are made and living conditions continue to improve, man's inclination toward immorality and degradation has also increased. The reality is that no one has been able to prevent this.
As the Last Days draw near and Satan continues to invade the emotion and love of mankind, we must know this is a result of the fall of the first human ancestors, a direct result of their behaving as husband and wife, not with the blessing and permission of God, but under the false fatherhood of Satan. Their descendants are not of God but of sin, and have created the world of sin, conflict and war.
Thus, despite the fact that God created man and the universe, He has never been able to dominate man according to His will because man chose a false master. Instead, Satan became the false master of this world. John 12:31 states that Satan is "the ruler of this world" and in 11 Cor. 4:4, he is called "the god of this world" for this very reason.
The Motivation and Process of the Fall
Then by what motivation did the first human ancestors and the angel come to fall?
Before He made the created world, God first created the angelic world as His servants (Heb. 1: 14). However, man was created as His child and was given the right of dominion over the created world, including the angels. But because man fell he became deceitful and corrupt above all things (Jer. 17:9) and thus has envied even the angels.
Yet in I Cor. 6:3, it is written that man has the fight to judge the angels. And spiritually gifted individuals have many times described angels as surrounding good spirit men and saints. This tells us that man was originally created to be higher and more precious than the angels.
In Isaiah 14:12, we find that Lucifer ("Day Star") was in the position of archangel. He was originally the center of God's love, the one through whom God gave His love to the entire angelic realm. However, after God created Adam and Eve, who were to be His children, God loved them more than the archangel himself who was created to be man's servant. In actuality, God loved Lucifer just as much as before, but when Lucifer saw that God loved Adam and Eve more than himself, he began to feel that the love he was receiving from God had diminished. Because of this, Lucifer tried to come closer to Adam and Eve in order to supplement the love he was receiving.
Since God's love is the source of life and the ideal of all created beings, Eve, who was growing in the abundance of God's love, appeared in Lucifer's eyes to be extremely beautiful. So Lucifer was attracted to Eve, felt the impulse of love and committed sin. The sin that was committed here was the spiritual fall.
How is it possible for sexual relations to occur between an angel and man? Because of the great deterioration of man's spiritual perception due to the fall, this seems difficult to understand. However, there are many examples in the Bible that illustrate the possibility of substantial contact between men and angels. One example is that of Jacob wrestling with the angel, when the angel dislocated Jacob's thigh bone (Gen. 32:25).
After Eve and the archangel committed the spiritual fall by uniting their spiritual bodies in illicit love, Eve began to feel an uneasy conscience and even fear with the additional knowledge given to her by her actions. She then understood that her true spouse was meant to be Adam and not the angel. With this added new wisdom, she then wanted to return to Adam, in part to correct her wrongdoing and in part to be free from the sensation of fear derived from her fall. So, she seduced Adam and this second fallen act of love we call the physical fall.
As was stated in the chapter on the Principle of Creation, Adam and Eve were to fulfill the three blessings, but in order to do so they must join in marriage only when mature, in other words when they had each perfected themselves centering around God. Yet, Adam and Eve not only became one before maturity and without God's permission, but did so centering around Satan. This is the meaning of the fall.
Adam, by becoming one body with Eve, inherited all the elements of evil and sin which Eve had received from Lucifer, in the same manner as she did. These elements were then transmitted to their descendants.
If the first human ancestors did not eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would have perfected themselves as the son and daughter of God, and after perfection, blessed by God, they would have become husband and wife centering around God's love and multiplied children of goodness to fulfill the ideal of God's creation. Then, the love of Eve would have become a good fruit and her substantial being would have become a perfected woman or a tree of goodness.
But imperfect Eve had an illicit love relationship with the archangel and instead became a false woman, furthermore causing Adam to fall, and together becoming the origin of the fallen family upon which God cannot operate. Therefore, fallen Eve herself can be likened to a tree of evil and her love, the fruit of evil.
Seen from the result, Eve, before the fall could have become either a tree of goodness by accomplishing the purpose of creation, or a tree of evil by falling, not keeping God's commandment. This is the reason Eve was likened to a tree of good and evil.
Similarly, Eve's love before the fall could have become either a good or bad fruit, accomplishing the purpose of creation or causing the fall, and thus her love was likened to a fruit of good and evil.
According to the Principle of Creation, God was to accomplish the purpose of creation of man through the ideal of love. Therefore, love is the source of human life and happiness. But because the first human ancestors erred and betrayed this heavenly way through the misuse of love itself, Satan has been persistently claiming and demoralizing man through his false love. Satan is the very criminal who has condemned the human family to destruction.
The Result of the Human Fall
What was the result brought about in the world of creation by the spiritual and physical fall of Adam and Eve? Let us make a comparison with what would have happened had they not fallen.
If Adam and Eve had not fallen but had attained perfection they would have been the substantial realization of the vertical love of God, and by then becoming husband and wife, would have realized the horizontal love of God by bearing children of goodness. They would have fulfilled the Four Position Foundation under God's direct dominion.
However, Adam and Eve, who were still growing toward perfection, fell as a direct result of unprincipled love with the archangel. God, the author of the Divine Principle, was excluded and instead a four position foundation centering around Satan was formed, with Satan acting as the false master.
This is the very reason why the Bible refers to fallen mankind as children of the devil (John 8:44) and says that Satan is "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31).
Even Satan, who is said to be master of this world, cannot perform evil actions without having an object with whom to form a reciprocal base for Give and Take Action. Thus, Satan uses as his objects both evil spirit men in the spiritual world and evil men on earth to manifest his power transcendent of time and space. This is the meaning of the verse in Luke 22:3 saying that Satan entered into Judas Iscariot.
If Adam and Eve had formed the Four Position Foundation centering around God, they would have become substantial beings of goodness and realized the world of goodness.
However, since they formed a four position foundation centering around Satan, through their love which originally had a purpose centering on goodness, they became the substantial beings of evil, realizing a world of evil. Thus, good or evil can result from the same action because behind that action are entirely different motivations and purposes.
Therefore good and evil are not decided by the type and result of a certain action, but are decided by whether the motivation, direction and purpose of that action are directed towards the will of God or the will of Satan.
The Advent of the Messiah and the Purpose of His Second Advent
The purpose of God's creation is to see man perfected in goodness and living in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and in the spiritual world, thus bringing joy to God. But by the human fall, mankind (who was to be the substantial object of God) is now living in suffering both on earth and in the spiritual world, and the purpose of creation has not been realized. Then, has God given up His ideal of creation? No, He has not.
As Isaiah 46:11 says, "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and l will do it."' God will surely accomplish His goal. The God of love could not leave fallen mankind, who were created to be His children, in such circumstances. Instead, God has been trying to work His providence of salvation.
What is salvation? Salvation is synonymous with restoration. To save a sick man is to restore him to health. To save a drowning man is to rescue him and restore him to the state he was in before he began to drown. Therefore, God's salvation of man means for Him to restore fallen and sinful man to his original position of goodness where the purpose of creation is accomplished.
God's purpose of salvation is to realize the ideal individual which He originally planned, and the ideal family centered on that individual, in order to restore the ideal society, nation and world centered on that ideal family. The relationship between a perfected individual and God can be compared to the relationship between the mind and body of man. The body is where the mind dwells and the body acts as the mind directs it. God dwells in the mind of such a perfected man and he becomes a temple of God, and all thought, action and life occur centered on God. Thus a man of perfected individuality achieves the ideal of unity with God, just as when our body achieves harmony with our mind. Therefore, I Cor. 3:16 says, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells within you?" and John 14:20 says, "In that day you will know that I am in my Father and you Me, and I in you."
Thus, if Adam and Eve had perfected themselves in the Garden of Eden, would they ever have needed prayer, a religious life, or a savior? Why would prayer have been necessary for those who were living and communicating with God day and night? Religious life is one of continuous search for God by fallen man; a perfected man who lives his daily life as a temple of God would have no need for ritual. Therefore, if man had not fallen in the Garden of Eden, there would be no churches nor bibles, no sermons given, no revival meetings held, or the like. As beings of goodness, the normal life of the unfallen inhabitants of the Garden of Eden would have been one of inviting God to live with them. Just as those who are not drowning have no need of a rescuer, perfect men who know no sin have no need of a savior.
If man had perfected God's second blessing, realizing the ideal family, what would such a family have been like? If Adam and Eve had achieved a family of goodness, multiplying children of goodness, this family would have expanded into a sinless race, society and nation. Beginning from this family there would have come about an ideal society, consisting of one huge world family with one set of true parents (the first human ancestors) and endless generations of sinless descendants growing in prosperity. God's providence of salvation is to establish such heavenly individuals who have achieved that second blessing and thus heaven itself.
For this goal of salvation, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, as savior to this world. 'Therefore, the Messiah must stand before God as the origin of the ideal individual and furthermore establish the ideal family where the love of God can dwell, and go on to realize the ideal nation and world which would be the originally intended Kingdom of Heaven on earth, This is the purpose for which the Messiah comes.
The Cross of Jesus
God truly loved the chosen people, the Israelites, who were the foundation prepared to receive the Messiah. He prophesied many times of the coming of the Messiah and even warned the people to expect his coming. God had even prepared a forerunner to testify to the Messiah, John the Baptist. Thus, the nation of Israel was passionately logging for the Messiah to arrive.
Tragically, however, the much-prepared chosen people failed to recognize the Messiah when he came. The Son of God tried to persuade the people as to who he really was, but he was never understood, and was branded as blasphemous and ultimately crucified. Even the pagan rulers of that age knew of Jesus' innocence. Yet, ironically, those who judged him guilty were his own people and the Jewish leaders whom God Himself had nurtured and prepared for so long. In fact, they were even anxious to cast out Jesus and send him to the cross. Why?
Christians have traditionally believed that Jesus' death on the cross was predestined or the original plan of God. No! It was a grievous mistake to crucify Jesus Christ. The crucifixion of Jesus was the consequence of the sheer ignorance of the people of Israel about the providence of God. God's will was clearly for the chosen people to believe in and accept Jesus (John 6:29) and receive salvation. The people of Israel did not know who Jesus of Nazareth was, for even as he hung dying on the cross they mocked him, shouting they would believe in him as savior only if he would come down from the cross. Even the Bible points out that "He came to his own home, and his own people received him not" (John 1: 11) and the Apostle Paul testified that "none of the rulers of this age understood this; for it they had they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (I Cor. 2.8).
Christians today do not know what actually occurred at the time of Jesus. If it was God's will solely to crucify His Son, why did He prepare a chosen people for so long, with such effort? Was it not expressly to protect His Son from the evildoing of the unbelievers?
Jesus, in his final prayer given in the garden of Gethsemane prayed, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death ... My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matt. 26:38-39). Jesus uttered this prayer, not once, but three times. Many Christians today believe that although his mission was to die on the cross, Jesus uttered this timid prayer out of human or fleshly weakness. But, could Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind, utter any prayer out of weakness'?
Neither the first Christian martyr, Stephen, nor any of the many martyrs who followed ever prayed from such weakness. Did they ever ask, "Let this cup pass from me" as they were dying'? How can we say that Jesus was weaker than these martyrs? Especially if it was his duty and mission to die on the cross, why did Jesus pray this way?
Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was not a self-centered or timid prayer, uttered out of fear of dying. If the crucifixion were the only way for Jesus to save mankind, he would gladly have died on the cross hundreds of times over.
Jesus was troubled in thinking about his mission on earth: to restore God's purpose of creation. His heart was so troubled because he knew how God would grieve that he could not complete his mission and that the final salvation of mankind could be prolonged for thousands of years. Jesus also foresaw that his disciples and his other followers, the Christians, would have to meet terrible persecution, even shedding blood as he did on the cross. He also anguished over the troubled future that would befall the people of Israel who had rejected him.
Therefore, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, as a last desperate prayer to God, repeatedly pleaded, "Even in these desperate circumstances, let me remain on earth so that I can continue my mission and change the hearts of the people to accept me."
If dying on the cross was predestined by God, why did Jesus Say to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him, "Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man not to have been born." (Matt. 26:24),
Moreover, how can we explain Jesus' cry on the cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46).
If the crucifixion was truly God's will for Jesus, why didn't he feel resounding joy on the cross, upon successfully completing his mission?
The Limit of Salvation through Redemption by the Cross and the Purpose of the Lord's Second Advent
Jesus' death on the cross was not the originally intended mission for Jesus, as the Son of God. Rather, it became God's painful alternative caused by the faithlessness of the people of Israel. What would have happened if all the people of Israel believed in Jesus and welcomed, loved and united with him? Most certainly, salvation would have been realized. In other words, the purpose of creation would have been accomplished and thereby the Kingdom of Heaven on earth established. God's world would literally have been realized-the world in which all people would believe in and follow the Son of God. The people of Israel would have become the core of heaven's glory. The Jewish and Christian worlds would never have come to be divided, nor would the terrible persecution endured by the early Christians have had to occur at all. Furthermore, because the Messiah would have completed his mission, there would have been no reason for him to come again.
Understanding the question of salvation in this light, we can see that Jesus' crucifixion was only a secondary course of salvation and provided only spiritual salvation. Because Jesus was neither trusted nor received by the people, God had to pay the price for the sinful lack of faith of the Jewish people and all mankind by giving the life of His only Son to Satan as a ransom. Consequently, Satan could claim Jesus' body. This is why Jesus' blood on the cross became the price for the redemption of all mankind. At that point, God could resurrect Jesus and open up a way of spiritual salvation free from satanic invasion. Thus God's only victory, was not that of the crucifixion, but that of Jesus' resurrection. As a result, the physical bodies of mankind are subject to satanic invasion even though they were meant to be saved by living Jesus' way of life. Only man's spirit can attain salvation by gaining the condition of participating in the resurrection through belief in the victorious Lord. Thus, there is only spiritual salvation.
Even after Jesus' appearance on earth, the world continues to suffer under the power of Satan and everywhere sin mercilessly persists in the bodies of men. The Apostle Paul lamented, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death ... I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin" (Rom. 7:24-25). As a saint, Paul was so devout and full in his love of the Lord, but his flesh continued to be oppressed by sin. This confession is not limited to Paul alone, but applies to every man alive. This is the reason why the Bible teaches us to "pray constantly" (II Thess. 5:17) to protect us from satanic invasion. Also, I John 1:10 says, "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar." which tells us that mankind is still under the bondage of sin. There is no one whose original sin has been liquidated.
Therefore, the Lord must come again on earth to completely liquidate our sins and to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, the purpose of God's creation.
Two Kinds of Prophecy Concerning the Cross
Then, if Jesus' crucifixion was not predestined by God, what is the reason that in Isaiah 53, Jesus' suffering on the cross is prophesied? Here we must remind ourselves that there are also biblical prophecies that the Messiah will come as the Son of God, the King of kings, and will bring about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. These prophecies appear in Isaiah 9, 11, and 60 in the Old Testament, and in Luke 1:31-33 in the New Testament. Then, why did God give two opposing prophesies regarding the coming of Jesus?
When God first created man, He created him to grow to perfection only by completing his portion of responsibility. Therefore, man could either accomplish his portion of responsibility in accordance with God's will, or, on the contrary, not accomplish it, going against God's will. Therefore, it was inevitable that God give two kinds of prophecies, one for each possibility, regarding the fulfillment of His will.
It was God's portion of responsibility to send the Messiah, but it was man's portion of responsibility to believe in him. Unfortunately, the Jewish people failed to fulfill their portion of responsibility by not accepting Jesus; they did not fulfill God's primary prophecies of the Messiah's coming in Isaiah 60 and Luke 1:31-33, but, on the contrary, carried out the alternative or secondary prophecy of the suffering Lord in Isaiah 53.
The Messiah and Elijah
At this point, there is one matter which we must delve into regarding Jesus' having to go the way of the cross. God had repeatedly prophesied to the chosen people about the coming of the Messiah, and the chosen people themselves longed for and cherished the promise of his coming. Then how could God send the Messiah in such a way that the chosen people could not recognize him? Was it God's will that they not recognize and receive the Messiah? Or did God clearly show them how he was to come, but the people failed to recognize him?
Let us first examine the second coming of Elijah. In Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, it says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers." (Mal. 4:5-6). The great and terrible day referred to is the day when the Lord comes, and this prophecy shows that before the Messiah can come, Elijah must first come again.
Elijah was one of the great prophets of Israel who lived 900 years before the coming of Jesus, and had ascended into heaven on a chariot of fire. The Israelites' longing for the Messiah was indicated by their expectation for the arrival of the historical prophet Elijah. This was because the Old Testament did not clearly foretell when the Messiah would come, but did clearly indicate that Elijah would come before him.
The Trend of Jewish Thought
It was under these very circumstances that Jesus appeared, proclaiming himself as the Messiah. He told the Jewish people that he was the Son of God-the very people who thought that he was simply a man from Nazareth. They had not yet heard any news of Elijah's coming" so they asked "how could it be possible that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God!"
Thus, when Jesus' disciples went out among the people of Israel, testifying to Jesus, the people asked, "If your master is the Messiah, then where is the Elijah who is to come first?" So, Jesus disciples asked him, 'then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?' He replied, 'Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased.' Then they understood that he was speaking to them of. John the Baptist." (Matt. 17:10-13).
Jesus understood the meaning of the scribes asking this important question and indicated that John the Baptist was the second coming of Elijah. Jesus' own disciples could easily believe this, but the Israelites in general could not so easily believe it. John the Baptist did not come directly from heaven and he himself even denied he was Elijah (John 1:21). Jesus knew that the people would not easily accept this, saying, "If you willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come" (Matt. 11: 14).
Jesus said that John the Baptist was the Elijah whom the people had been long awaiting, but when John himself denied this, whom would the people of Israel believe? Naturally, it would depend on how these two were viewed by the people of that time.
How did Jesus appear to the people? Jesus was known only as the son of a humble carpenter and was not even well schooled. Yet Jesus proclaimed himself the lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8), held himself as the one who was higher than the Law (Matt. 5:17), and became the friend of tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners, even eating and drinking with them (Matt. 11: 19). He equated himself with God (John 14:9) and told the people they had to love him more than anyone else (Matt. 10:37). Thus the Jewish leaders went so far as to claim that Jesus was possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Matt. 12:24).
On the other hand, how did John the Baptist appear to the people at that time? He was the son of a prominent family and the people knew of him even from the time of his conception and birth. When he was older, he lived on locusts and honey in the wilderness, thus, in their eyes, he led an exemplary life as a man of faith. In fact, John was held in such high regard that many came to ask him if he were the Messiah (Luke 3:15, John 1:20).
Under these circumstances, the people of Israel believed more in John the Baptist, who asserted he was not Elijah, than in Jesus, who told them that John the Baptist was the one. The people decided that Jesus' view of John the Baptist as the Elijah was untrustworthy, thinking Jesus said this only to make his own claims about himself believable.
Then, why did Jesus say John the Baptist was Elijah? As Luke 1:17 says, John the Baptist came with the mission of Elijah. The people of Israel, who believed the words of the Old Testament literally, assumed that the same Elijah would actually come down from heaven. But, to be precise, God sent John with the mission of Elijah.
John the Baptist himself said he came to "make straight the way of the Lord" (John 1:23) And that he was not even worthy to carry his sandals (Matt. 3: 11). Being a man of such a unique and important mission, John, by his own wisdom, should have known that he himself was Elijah.
The Mission of John the Baptist
Many of the chief priests and people of Israel who respected John the Baptist thought that he might be the Messiah. Therefore, if John had proclaimed that he was Elijah and testified that Jesus was the Messiah, all the Jewish people at that time would have been able to recognize and receive Jesus, obtaining salvation. Then, Jesus' lack of social status and background would never have mattered. However, John's insistence that he was not Elijah, due to his ignorance of God's providence, made Jesus seem a liar. This was the main factor that prevented the people of Israel from coming to Jesus.
In Matt. 3:11 John the Baptist said that he baptizes with water but the one who comes after him -- Jesus -- would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire; therefore, he said he was not even worthy to carry his sandals. In John 1:33, John said, I myself did not know him, but he [God] who sent me to baptize with water said to me 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit [Christ].' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." Thus God told John the Baptist that Jesus was the Son of God. And here John initially fulfilled his mission to testify to Jesus Christ. But what did he do next? He failed to continue his mission of following and ministering to Jesus.
All people, after meeting the Messiah, must believe in and serve him all through their lives, most of all John the Baptist, who came with the mission of the Messiah's forerunner. Therefore, John the Baptist should have served Jesus with all his strength as one of his disciples.
Even John's father was told of the mission of his son upon his birth: "And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people. . . (Luke 1:76-77). However, we cannot find any instance in the Bible where John the Baptist actually served Jesus.
Jesus Reprimands John
After going his own way, not serving Jesus as God would have had him do, John became doubtful that Jesus was the Messiah, and sent his disciples to him, asking, "Are you he is to come, or shall we look for another?" (Matt. 11:3). This clearly proves that John had not trusted in Jesus and failed to serve him.
Jesus was indignant at such a question, and answered quite judgmentally, ". . . blessed is he how takes on offense at me" (Matt. 11:6), indicating that despite Israel's great respect for John, he had already failed his mission for Jesus.
Jesus also said, ". . . among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matt. 11:11). If one was the greatest born of women, surely he should be equally as great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Then how could John the Baptist, who was born to be the greatest in history, be less than the least in heaven?
God sent John the Baptist as the greatest of prophets, for he was to testify to all people of the Messiah, and serve him. But he failed completely in fulfilling his responsibility.
Matt. 11:12 also explains this: "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force." If John the Baptist had served Jesus well, fulfilling his responsibility, he would have become Jesus' chief disciple, but because he failed, Peter, who made the most effort among Jesus' disciples, became the leader of the Twelve.
In order to prepare the people of Israel to have faith in Jesus, God gave much testimony to John's parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, who were greatly trusted by the people. And the people could see that the conception and birth of John the Baptist was God's doing (Luke 1). Undoubtedly, John was told much by his parents about his relationship with Jesus.
Yet, despite all this preparation, John the Baptist failed because of his disbelief and lack of wisdom. His personal ignorance and disbelief did not remain merely as his individual loss, but led to the disbelief of all the people and ultimately resulted in Jesus crucifixion.
The Meaning of the Last Days
Next, we will look into the consummation of human history. At the end of the world, Will heaven and earth literally burn up and melt, the sun and moon lose their light and the stars fall from heaven as described in the Bible? Will the dead literally rise from the grave, and will all living people be raised up to the clouds to meet Jesus in the air?
Or, like in many parts of the Bible, are these symbolic or metaphorical? Let us examine these prophecies of the Last Days, keeping in mind the purpose of God's creation, the facts of the fall, and God's purpose of restoring this fallen world.
If Adam and Eve had perfected themselves in the Garden of Eden by observing God's commandment, they would have become the origin of the ideal family and produced children of goodness. The center of their thought and action would have been God and they would have formed the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in which only God's sovereignty of goodness would have reigned. If this had occurred, their individual and family histories, as well as the ensuing history, would have been histories of goodness. God has sought this history of goodness.
However, because of the fall of the first human ancestors, sin began and they formed the family that God had not purposed, and thus Satan came to rule man and the world. This world then became hell on earth, full of sin and pain, and each individual and family, up to the world itself, has given rise to a history full of contradiction and sin.
The human history God desired was the history of goodness, but at the onset, history began contrary to His desire. Would God then leave the world as it is? No, God wants to achieve the world of His original intent through His providence of salvation. Thus, we call the period of transition from the sinful world of satanic sovereignty into the original world of God's sovereignty the end of the world, or the Last Days. The Last Days are the time of change from the fallen hell on earth into the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, where the ideal of creation is realized. Therefore, the Last Days are not only the time of fear when earthly catastrophes occur, but also, the time of joy for which the original mind of each person has been waiting since the beginning of human history.
In other words, the end of the sinful world is also the hopeful time when the new world of goodness will begin. Since God cannot just leave this world of evil and hell as it is and begin another world of goodness and heaven, a time of judgment, a time of destroying sinful things, must accompany the Last Days.
God has been working with such an aching and anxious heart to restore the world into goodness, so God has always hoped for man to successfully fulfill His providence for the Last Days. However, man repeatedly failed to accomplish his responsibility and thus the Bible records that the Last Days were to occur in Noah's time and in Jesus' time and will again occur at the time of the Second Coming of Christ.
In Noah's time, God said, ". . . I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth" (Gen. 6:13). This clearly indicates that it was the time of the Last Days.
Jesus' time was also the time of the Last Days; for this reason, Jesus said that he had come to judge and destroy the sinful world and build the world of the ideal of creation (Matt. 5:48), John 5:22).
When the Lord comes again it will also be the Last Days, for it says in Luke 17:26, "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man."
All the signs and phenomena of the Last Days can be explained by understanding God's will for the dispensation of the Last Days. As explained before, God's ideal world cannot be realized without restoring the sinful world; therefore, God undertakes the providence of the Last Days. God governs the Last Days to realize His ideal of creation. This is the reason He cannot destroy the earth literally, for it is man who must be restored, not nature.
Then, what is the true meaning of the destruction of heaven and earth (II Peter 3:12) and the formation of a new earth (Rev. 21:1)? It seems contrary to Ecc. 1:4, which says, "A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever." Therefore, it must mean that God will destroy the sinful sovereignty and begin the good sovereignty and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. God would not plan the Garden of Eden without realizing it; therefore, what is said to be destroyed is not the literal earth, but the sin, death and false sovereignty of Satan, all of which are symbolized by the earth.
The scriptural verse which records that records that heaven and earth will be consumed by fire (II Peter 3:12) could not be a literal one, otherwise the purpose of creation could not be fulfilled. In Jesus' time, it was recorded that the judgement would come by fire (Mal. 4:1), but it was not done literally. James 3:6 says "the tongue is a fire," meaning that judgment by fire is the judgment of the tongue or the spoken word. In other words, judgment is done by truth. John 12:48 says, "He who rejects me and does not receive my saying has a judge, the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day." II Thess. 2:8, Isa. 11:4 and John 5:24 all also indicate judgement by words.
Neither could the passage describing all men being caught up to meet the Lord in the air to be raised up to heaven (1 Thess. 4:17) be fulfilled literally because God's purpose of creation is not fulfilled in the air but on earth. All throughout the Bible, the earth connotes the fallen, evil world and heaven connotes the sacred world of the true sovereignty of goodness. Thus, being caught up from the earth to the air (heaven) means that fallen man will be restored or raised up to the original standard of sacredness and goodness from which he fell. Thus, when the Lord comes, the evil sovereignty will be ended, man will be restored to his original sinless state and the Kingdom of Heaven will be established.
Will the sun and moon be darkened and the stars fall from heaven (Matt. 24:29)? When the sole purpose of the Last Days is to restore the world, how can the purpose of creation be realized by these catastrophes?
To explain, let us refer to the interpretation of the dream which Joseph had in Gen. 37:9-11. The sun denoted his father, the moon, his mother, and the stars, their children. In our religious life we have also used the sun and the moon to mean the light of truth which shines over the spiritual world and the heart of mankind, and stars mean the people receiving the light of truth. When the New Testament appeared, the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit outshone the works of the Old Testament. Likewise, in the Last Days, when Christ comes again and gives new words of truth, the mission of the New Testament will be over.
The stars symbolize the saints who are under the light of truth; therefore, this is a warning to the saints to take heed and not fail to recognize the Lord when he comes. Luke 18:8 says, ". . . nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" It is a prediction by Jesus that in the Last Days the Christians might be likely to fail to believe in the Lord.
In summary, the Last Days do not imply physical destruction. Rather they mean a time of banishing pain and disbelief and removing the sinful sovereignty of Satan, which clearly is the obstacle in restoring the purpose of creation and realizing a new starting point of re-creation. We should pray that God's providence of the Last Days will be successfully carried out and we should prepare ourselves to meet this time with repentance and hope.
We should not be among the foolish ones who will become liable to judgment along with all other sins, but rather we should recognize and accept the dawn of the new heaven and new earth and serve our Lord to come with all our strength.
Resurrection
If we are to accept as literal all the prophecies contained in the Bible, we must be convinced of the possibility that, at the Second Advent of the physical bodies of all the saints, which were buried and decomposed, will be restored to their original state of life in the flesh (I Thess. 4:16, Matt. 27:52). But can we continue to believe this?
In order to answer this question, let us first examine the true meaning of resurrection.
The Meaning of Resurrection
The word "resurrection" means to come back to life. Therefore, let us consider the meaning of being "dead" and being "alive."
In Luke 9:60 read that Jesus told a disciple who wanted first to go and bury his father to "leave the dead to bury their own dead." In these words of Jesus, we find two different concepts of life and death. The first concept of life and death concerns the physiological functions of man. The second concept of life and death applied to those physically alive persons who were gathered together for the burial of the father. Why then did Jesus indicate that these men who were actually alive were "dead"? It was because although they were physically alive, they were in a state of death in not knowing God, the source of life, and they had lost the purpose of life, being under the dominion of Satan.
Rev. 3:1 says, " . . . you have the name of being alive, and you are dead," which clearly expresses that all men under satanic dominion are really dead. In this sense of being dead, being alive would then mean the state where man has achieved the purpose of life which God had given, within the scope of God's dominion. Therefore we read in John 11:25, " . . . he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live." The person who believes in Jesus and lives in God's dominion is alive, whether it be on earth or in the spiritual world, regardless of whether he has physically died or not.
Of the two kinds of death just spoken of, let us examine which of the two would be the death brought about by the fall of the first human ancestors, because resurrection has become necessary only because the fall led to death. As is evident from the chapter on the Principle of Creation, there is not one physical organism that is designed to live for eternity, including man's physical body, which when it grows old, is meant to return to the earth. If men were to live eternally on the earth, there would have been no need to create the invisible spiritual world. It certainly was not created after the human fall so that the spirits of fallen men might go there to live.
Also, Gen. 2:17 says that God, after creating Adam and Eve, told them not to eat the fruit, because on the day they ate of it, they would surely die. The death referred to here does not mean physical death, because even after eating the fruit, Adam lived to be 930 years old according to the Bible. But the first human ancestors died instantly the moment they broke God's commandment. Leaving the Master of life and the realm of His love and falling under satanic dominion, means death. In the Bible, it is said that, "He who does not love remains in death," (I John 3:14) and also, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life." (Rom. 6:23) Thus we can understand that the death that resulted from the fall was the state of being cut off from God and being in sin.
Let us draw our conclusion as to the meaning of resurrection. If death did not result from the fall, causing the body to return to the earth, resurrection, then, certainly cannot be realized through the restoration of men's decomposed bodies to their original state. Resurrection must mean the process by which men in the satanic realm, due to the fall, are restored to the realm of the direct dominion of God. Thus, it is recorded in John 5:24, " . . . He who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." This signifies that passing from death to life is resurrection and that it begins from the point of believing in God and receiving Jesus' words. Understanding resurrection in this light, we should expect no drastic external change. Even though the difference in states between Adam and Eve before and after the fall was one of life and death, actually no noticeable physical change occurred in them. Similarly, there is no noticeable external difference between a man who has gained eternal life through the help of the Holy Spirit and a thief who is still under the dominion of death.
The basis of belief in the physical resurrection of the dead comes from verses like Matt. 27:52-53, which says: "The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his [Jesus'] resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many." But if this event had literally occurred, surely the persecutions experienced by the early Christians would never have happened. Even though the people of Israel rejected and crucified Jesus, if they could have seen multitudes of bodies rise up from the grave and hear of their testimony that Jesus was the Messiah, how could they have failed to believe in him? Moreover, how could they have persecuted the followers of Jesus?
Furthermore, because resurrection is said to mean everlasting life, shouldn't we be able to see many great men of God alive even today, such as the four major and twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament? Again, if this were possible, surely these men would have preached throughout the world and their deeds would have been recorded in the New Testament. But yet, the only mention of the dead rising from their tombs after Jesus' resurrection is this one passage in the Gospel of Matthew.
An understanding of the true meaning of resurrection will easily solve this question. Since resurrection is not of the physical body, none of those saints recorded in Matthew could have physically risen from the grave. Instead, it was their spirit men who by the grace of God were being resurrected in order to come closer to perfection. Therefore, they were visible only to those touched by the Holy Spirit by means of spiritual sight. Other people, with only physical sight, could not see these spirit men.
The Providence of Resurrection
Since resurrection means the phenomena occurring in the course of fallen men's restoration to their original nature, the providence of resurrection means the providence of restoration. And since the providence of restoration is the providence of re-creation, therefore the providence of resurrection is also the providence of re-creation. Consequently, the providence of resurrection is worked out in the following way, according to the Principle of Creation.
First, according to the Principle of Creation, in order to realize the purpose of creation man must observe the commandment which God gave him as his own portion of responsibility. Therefore, God gave to man the words of the Old Testament and the New Testament, and He will give additional new words, as He promised, when the Lord comes again. Thus, the providence of resurrection is accomplished by God's giving words of truth to man together with man's fulfilling his responsibility to have faith in them.
Second, in light of the Principle of Creation, the spirit man was made to grow and become perfect only through the physical body. Thus, the restoration of spirit men is also to be -accomplished only through physical life on earth. Until today, resurrection was thought to be limited to spirit men in the spiritual world. However, this is incorrect. Historically God gave men His words, sent His prophets, and worked His providence of resurrection on the earth.
Third, according to the Principle of Creation, man was created to be perfected by going through three orderly stages of growth.
Fourth, while God has been working His providence on earth, all the standards of faith and loyalty set by the past central figures God chose have accumulated as a condition on earth. Therefore, the people of succeeding generations inherit these and can benefit by sharing in these accumulated past achievements. In short, they can gain benefit according to their age or times. Thus, the providence of resurrection is carried out according to the benefits of the age.
The Providence of Resurrection for Earthly Men
When viewed by ordinary men, history seems merely the replacing of one generation by another. However, history as seen by God reflects one consistent endeavor through the providence of resurrection to resurrect the dead Adam to life, without regard to earthly generations.
If the first ancestor, Adam had not fallen and had matured properly through the period of growth, he would have attained perfection by his spirit developing through the three stages of form spirit, life spirit and divine spirit. Since man fell from the top of the growth stage, his spirit deteriorated, and receiving the evil elements from the archangel, fell far below the beginning of t the formation stage. Therefore, after the fall God built a foundation upon which He could give men words and begin the providence of resurrection, to be completed in the ages that followed. This period of building the foundation of resurrection was extended from Adam to Abraham.
Upon this foundation God began the formation stage of the providence of resurrection centered on the Law of the Old Testament. The age of the formation stage of the providence of restoration extended from Abraham to Jesus. The people of that age could attain the level of form spirit by believing in and practicing God's words of the Old Testament.
Due to the crucifixion of Jesus, the providence of resurrection has been left unaccomplished and has been prolonged until the time of the Second Advent. The period from Jesus until the Lord of the Second Advent is the period of the growth stage of the providence of resurrection. During this period, if men believed in God's words of the growth stage of resurrection, the words of the New Testament, they would be able to attain the level of a life spirit.
After the Second Advent of the Lord, the time of resurrection of both spirit and body will be realized. This is the perfection stage of the providence of resurrection. The Lord of the Second Advent is the one coming with new words for the fulfillment of both the Old and New Testament. These new words are called the Completed Testament. Through these words, the spirits of the people on earth can be resurrected into perfection, becoming divine spirits.
The Providence of Resurrection for Spirit Men
Then, how will resurrection be achieved for those individuals now in the spiritual world who could not reach perfection while on earth? Spirit men can neither grow nor resurrect apart from their physical body. Therefore, they must come again to earth and fulfill the responsibility they left unaccomplished in their physical lives through cooperating with men on earth to help them fulfill the same mission. This is why Jude 1:14 says that in the Last Days the Lord will come "with his holy myriads."
In what manner do spirit men cooperate with earthly men to accomplish God's will? When a man becomes an object to a certain spirit man, the spirit man will work through him, pouring upon him spiritual fire, giving him the power to heal diseases, receive revelations, or help others gain a deep experience of truth and other works.
Taking an example from the Bible, Matt. 17:3 tells us that Elijah appeared as a spirit before Jesus and his disciples. However, Elijah lived long before Jesus; thus, it is clear he was in the spiritual world at that time. But Matt. 17:12 tells us that Jesus called john the Baptist, who was then living on earth, Elijah. This means that Elijah descended to John the Baptist and cooperated with him to achieve the mission he left unaccomplished on earth. From the standpoint of his mission, John the Baptist was Elijah. At the same time, John the Baptist's physical body substituted for that of Elijah.
In Heb. 11:39-40, we read, "All these [saints in the Old Testament Age], though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised [permission to enter the Kingdom of Heaven] since God had foreseen something better [the Kingdom of Heaven] for us [earthly men], that apart from us [earthly men] they [spirit men] should not be made perfect [citizens of the kingdom of Heaven]."
This passage demonstrates the principle that, apart from the cooperation of earthly men, the spirit men of the spiritual world cannot perfect themselves.
Thus, spirit men can be resurrected only by descending to earth and cooperating with men in the flesh, achieving perfection through them.
God's Work in the Providence of Restoration
We have previously stated that God, as a being of dual characteristics, created man and all things in the relationship of subject and object, and they are to respond to each other in Give and Take Action, establishing a harmonious union, fulfilling the purpose of goodness.
In addition, we have also shown that man betrayed God and made Satan the false master, thus initiating this sinful world. To save mankind and such a world, God began His providence of restoration in order to restore man and the world to its original sinless state.
Now, let us look at the way God has been working for the purpose of restoration throughout human history.
Does human history consist solely of the roles individual men have played? It is man's experience that he can hardly shape the course of his own life or personal history, much less human history. Therefore, who did what, when and how does not truly tell the whole story behind human history. From God's point of view, man's history is the entire record of His dispensation to save this world. In short, history is the history of restoration, revealing everything God has tried to do to reach this objective.
Because the purpose of God's restoration providence is to restore men and the world to the point where they have fulfilled the purpose of creation, man's history can be defined as the history of God's dispensation to restore the purpose of creation.
Fallen Man as the Origin of the Dual Natures of Good and Evil
As was already explained in the section on the fall of man, man fell while still growing to perfection to become the substantial ideal of creation. As a result, fallen man has come to have the potential for both good and evil. In other words, man, who is still imperfect, contains both the original goodness given by God as well as the evil nature that he inherited from the fallen angel. This evil element from the fallen angel is the original sin.
The proportion of these two natures that individuals have is not always the same. In fallen man, the evil nature is so well developed that it easily manifests itself in his actions. On the other hand, man's foundation of goodness is so imperfect that it has to be constantly encouraged and conscious effort has to be made before it can bear results.
If a man has perfected God's original purpose of creation and has become as perfect as his Heavenly Father (Matt. 5:48), his center of thought, action and life automatically comes to rest on God. Such a man is good and his personal history would also be good. Such men will form good families, a good nation and good world establishing the history of goodness. This was God's ideal. However, due to the fall of man, the history of evil and sin began. But as shown in Isaiah 46:11, God will surely restore the world and its history to what He originally planned in the purpose of creation.
History as the Struggle between Good and Evil
Throughout this fallen world which Satan rules as its false master, God's efforts to divide good from evil have continued, and as a result, most of human history is composed of the struggles between good and evil. Fallen man united with Satan with his mind and commits sin through his body, yet man also has his original mind created by God still within him, and it always remains directed toward God. Man is caught in the midway position. On one hand, the evil sovereignty of Satan is trying desperately to hold on to man, while on the other hand, the good sovereignty of God is striving to win man to His side. Thus, there is always a continuing battle to win man over to one side or the other. This is the true picture of human history: good and evil are in conflict in this world.
After man's fall, Cain's murder of his brother, Abel, was the first such incident to be recorded in the Bible, and this is the reason why history has been the history of conflict and war regardless of East or West. Although the scope of the struggle varied from that among individuals, families and societies, to nations and groups of nations, ultimately these conflicts have all been the conflicts of good and evil, God's side and Satan's side, as the chief protagonists behind the scenes of history.
At times the struggle involved property, land and people; at other times, idea or beliefs. But actually all of these are just reflections of this struggle between God and Satan. God as the being of goodness is trying to restore things of goodness to be used in His ultimate providence of goodness and Satan is trying to maintain his evil position and power. This struggle then appears in the actions of human life and history.
What is the Driving Force of History?
Then, what is the real driving force of history? When we say history stems from the dispensation of God, does history advance solely by the plan and working of God? If the goal of history is to fulfill the purpose of creation, do the conflicts between good and evil automatically progress toward realizing the purpose of creation? If this is so, how can we explain the many injustices and tragedies in history, such as the prevalence of evil or the sacrifice of people on the side of goodness?
In the beginning, God gave the first human ancestors a commandment which they were to observe until their perfection. The purpose of creation was to be accomplished not simply by the plan and workings of God, but by man fulfilling his comparatively small portion of responsibility, obeying God's commandment. In order to fulfill the purpose of creation, man's effort is as absolutely essential as God's.
But man may or may not fulfill his responsibility toward God - When men do accomplish their responsibility, God's plan comes to be concretely reflected in history and restoration progresses. But when men fail to fulfill their responsible part, God's plan for that time is frustrated, and Satan's will comes to be reflected in history instead. Thus, man can accomplish or fail his responsibility. The reason human history appears as nothing but a constant reenactment of sinful history with the prospect of an ideal world seemingly so distant is not because God is impotent or not absolute, but because so few men accomplished their portion of responsibility to fulfill God's providence.
God is absolute eternal and omnipotent; therefore, His purpose of creation or restoration is also absolute. God's will of restoration is surely to be accomplished as is said in Isa. 46:11. Therefore, though one man fails to fulfill his responsibility, God, after a period of time, restores the same foundation and conditions as before, and chooses another man to carry out the same mission. This is precisely the reason why we see very similar incidents and events appearing over the long history of God's dispensation, even over periods of two to four thousand years. We call this reappearance of similar events or periods providential time-identity.
The Messiah and Human History
In God's providence, He must first restore a true man to accomplish His purpose of creation and through him restore a family, society, nation and world of His ideal creation. God sends the Messiah to the world as a model of a true man. Therefore the Messiah is indeed the most valuable fruit of the providential history. As a result, God cannot just send the Messiah to the world without any preparation. This is because, due to the fall of man, mankind has been serving a false master, and if the Messiah were sent without a prepared environment, the sinful world would surely try to eliminate him. God first chooses a few individuals, from the evil ones, who can honor and obey Him, and through these people, He creates families and nations separated from Satan's side so that they can serve as a foundation of faith upon which the Messiah can arrive.
God chose the families of Abraham and Jacob and raised up the tribe of Israel to prepare this people as a landing site for the Messiah. God likewise worked with Christianity for the last two thousand years to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. Consequently, the history of the Israelites before the coming of Jesus and the history of the Christians after Jesus comprise the mainstream of human history.
Central History and Auxiliary History of the Providence of Restoration
God's will is to restore all the people of the world. But first, God works a model dispensation through this central flow of history while conducting the histories of other nations in supporting roles, later grafting them to the central history to include them in the overall salvation.
From the providential viewpoint, the history of religions also occupies the central part of God's dispensation, because they are to educate man's mind and spirit towards accomplishing the goals of the restoration of mankind. Other fields, such as politics, economics, science and culture are meant to improve man's living environment, and thus their histories can be considered auxiliary ones.
With history viewed in this way, we can begin to understand the meaning and significance of the events of the history of the Jewish people as told in the Old Testament. It is not merely a history of a tribe and nation, but it is the central history through which God operated His providence of salvation.
The history of the Jewish people centering around Judaism together with the history of Western civilization centering around Christianity is the clearest manifestation of God's dispensation, and, astonishingly, we can derive a consistent formula which is applicable to all histories. With this formula, it becomes possible to forecast future historical courses.
The Principle of the Providence of Restoration
By what principles does God carry out His providence of restoration?
After failing from the top of the growth stage, man has been under satanic dominion. Before being able to restore such a man, God must first separate him from Satan. In order to completely separate man from Satan leaving no condition by which Satan can invade again, a man must rid himself of original sin. However, original sin cannot be removed until man is born again through the Messiah, who comes as the True Parent. Therefore, fallen man must go through the course of separation from Satan, returning to the top of the growth stage before being able to meet the Messiah, where he will be born again, and then must follow him to achieve perfection, thus fulfilling the purpose of creation.
Therefore, for fallen man, there are two paths to follow: the path of restoration one must go through to be born again and then the path of the Principle, following the Messiah, to reach perfection.
After being born again through receiving the Messiah the course of the Principle requires man to be completely obedient to the Messiah, following with all his strength until reaching perfection.
The Foundation for the Messiah
What is the path of restoration until the time of meeting the Messiah? By what principle does God conduct the providence of restoration until He sends the Messiah? These questions can be understood by knowing the principle of preparation for the Messiah. It is the same principle by which God prepared the foundation upon which to send the Messiah. The Messiah comes to the top of the growth stage, from which man originally fell. Therefore the essence of God's providence until the coming of the Messiah is to enable people to indemnify and restore the foundation upon which God can send the Messiah. Fallen man cannot reach the top of the perfection stage alone. So God gave fallen man some condition to fulfill to be restored to the top of the growth stage.
So, it is man's responsibility to prepare this foundation to receive the Messiah. What condition is necessary in order to prepare the foundation for the Messiah? Restoration must be achieved through reversing the steps of man's fall. What conditions are necessary to reverse the steps of the fall back to the top of the growth stage, which was lost by Adam and Eve when they fell?
First, Adam and Eve failed to believe in God's word's and lost the foundation of faith. Secondly, Adam and Eve could not maintain their original character as the son and daughter of God before the angel, who was created as a servant; therefore they lost the foundation of substance.
Therefore, the foundation for the Messiah which fallen men must restore is to indemnify and restore the original foundation of faith and foundation of substance. Then, what is the condition necessary to indemnify and restore the foundation of faith?
Adam and Eve lost this foundation by failing to believe in God's words and by failing to observe His commandment while going through their growth period. In order to indemnify and restore this, first a central figure of faith is needed in place of Adam and Eve; second, a conditional object must be prepared, and third, a certain period of faith in God must be undergone.
The foundation of faith is the vertical foundation between man and God. Since man fell by not believing in God, it is the purpose of the foundation of faith to indemnify and restore this lost vertical relationship. Throughout the entire history of restoration, so many providential figures offered God a certain condition of faith to indemnify and restore the foundation of faith.
Then, what is the condition to indemnify and restore the foundation of substance?
If Adam and Eve had stood firmly on the foundation of faith, they would have become perfect substantial beings as children to God, and would have established a principled horizontal relationship with the archangel, to form the original relationship of creation.
But in reality, Adam and Eve lost both the foundation of faith and substance, becoming beings with fallen nature, dominated by the archangel, contrary to God's original desire.
Therefore, in order to indemnify and restore the foundation of substance, men must offer a condition to remove the fallen nature, which was inherited from the archangel, and restore the proper horizontal order which was lost.
On the basis of the principles of the restoration providence just explained, let us look into how the history of restoration has been carried out.
The Providence of Restoration Centering on Adam's Family and Noah's Family
The Divided Offering
Because Adam himself failed, it would stand to reason that he be the one to make an offering before God. But instead, God had the next generation make the offering. Why was this so? In other words, in restoring the foundation for the Messiah, why could not Adam become the first central figure of faith?
According to the Principle of Creation, man is created to deal with only one master. Adam was in a position to deal with two masters, God and Satan. Therefore, God could not work His providence with such a man. If God could deal directly with fallen Adam, and with his offerings, then Satan could also claim he had a basis to deal with Adam and his offering because of their blood relationship. But with Adam still having two masters, God would not be able to work His providence.
Therefore, He had to conduct the providence of dividing Adam, the origin of the two natures of good and evil. For this purpose, God gave Adam two sons, representing good and evil respectively. God put them in the respective positions to deal with either God or Satan by making their offerings.
Then, between Cain and Abel, who would represent God's side and who Satan's side? Both Cain and Abel were the fruit of Eve's fall. Consequently, this question was to be decided according to the course of the fall of Eve. As previously explained, Eve's fall consisted of two kinds of illicit love affairs: the first, the spiritual fall through love with the archangel, and the second, the physical fall through love with Adam. Both are the same in that they are fallen actions; however, the latter was more forgivable since it was because Eve wanted to be forgiven and return to God that she committed the second fallen act. Cain symbolized the first fallen act of love with the archangel, and thus was placed in the position to deal with Satan. Abel symbolized the second fallen act of love with Adam, and thus was placed in the position to deal with God. The second fall was the more forgivable act, thus enabling God to deal with man through Abel.
After Satan occupied the principled world which God had created, Satan began to bring about the non-principled world against God's will. Therefore, God separated Cain from Abel before He began to work His providence. Cain, as the first-born son., was to represent Satan's side and Abel, the second-born, was to represent God's side.
Each was now in the position to deal with only one master. In Gen. 4:7 God said to Cain, "Why are you angry and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; it's desire is for you but you must master it." This shows that Cain was placed in a position to deal with Satan. When the Israelites fled out of Egypt, God smote not only all the first-born of the Egyptians but also of their cattle (Ex. 12:29). Also, God loved the second son Jacob and hated the first son Esau while they were still in their mother's womb (Gen. 25:23). And in the case of Jacob's blessing of his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, he blessed them by crossing his hands to lay the right hand on the head of Ephraim, the second son (Gen. 48:14). These are all examples of how God placed every second-born child in the favored position.
Based on this principle, God placed Cain and Abel in their respective positions to make their offerings. God could accept Abel's offering (Gen. 4:4) because he was in a position representing God and made the offering acceptably (Heb. 11:4). Thus, God received Abel but rejected Cain. However, it certainly was not God's permanent will to accept Abel and reject Cain. Cain had to set up a condition of indemnity in order to separate from evil and move towards the side of goodness.
The Condition of Indemnity to be Established by Cain
Then what was this condition of indemnity? It is the condition to restore the foundation of substance. Because Cain had the fallen nature, he could not be the object of God, who is the subject of goodness. He had to establish some condition to remove the evilness within him so that he could become a person to whom God could respond.
Since the first human ancestors fell due to the archangel, inheriting and passing on his fallen nature, the only acceptable condition was to reverse this process of the fall. The archangel, who separated himself from God, must love Adam from the same position as God, and through obeying and humbling himself before Adam, go through him as a mediator to come back to God, thus coming to perfection; but he failed to do that. Therefore, the condition of indemnity to remove the fallen nature must be established in the reverse order of the fall. After their offerings, Cain was in the position of the archangel and Abel in that of Adam; therefore, 'Cain was to love Abel and through him come closer to God by continuing to obey and humble himself before Abel to establish the condition of indemnity. However, in actuality, Cain killed Abel and repeated the process of the fall of the archangel. This act was not simply the crime of an elder brother murdering his younger brother, but it meant that the satanic side had struck God's side, frustrating God's effort to separate good from evil in Adam's family, and losing the side of goodness.
What Cain failed to achieve was the necessary basic condition of indemnity for any individual separated from God to come nearer to God; thus, that condition remained to be fulfilled. Observing this principle within ourselves, our mind, which directs us toward goodness (Rom. 7:22) is in the position of Abel, while our body, tending to serve the law of sin (Rom. 7:25), is in the position of Cain. Consequently, only when our body obeys and is--. subjugated by our mind, will our individual body be made pure (sinless). However, in reality, because of the dominance of our fallen nature, our body always rebels against the command of our mind, repeating the same actions as when Cain killed Abel. Therefore, we continue to do evil.
Since all fallen men stand in the position of Cain, by humbling themselves, and by serving, obeying and loving the Messiah as Abel, men can attain salvation.
Man had become deceitful above all things (Jer. 17:9), so in order to come to God, God made man go through the created things which are now in Abel's position. God carried out His providence by having man make offerings according to this principle.
As was explained earlier, the foundation upon which the Messiah can come is the restored foundation of faith and foundation of substance. In Adam's family, a successful foundation of faith was laid by Abel's making an offering which God could accept. With the same successful sacrifice Abel also qualified himself to become the central figure to establish the foundation of substance. However, as a result of Cain's killing Abel, they failed to establish the condition of indemnity to remove the fallen nature, thus collapsing the foundation of substance, and in turn, failing to form the foundation for the Messiah. Thus God's providence could not be fulfilled in Adam's family.
God's will to accomplish salvation by sending the Messiah is constant and unchanging. But when man fails to accomplish his responsibility, God's providence does not yield success and God must later find another person from among his descendants to continue the providence.
The Foundation of Faith to be Laid by Noah's Family
For example, utilizing the foundation of heart and loyalty established by Abel, God chose Seth, Adam's third son, to take the place of Abel (Gen. 4:25). And from among Seth's descendants God chose Noah's family to substitute for Adam's family and recommence His providence. Noah's family first had to establish the foundation of faith and then had to restore the foundation of substance. Then the foundation to receive the Messiah would be indemnified and restored.
Noah was a righteous man in the sight of God (Gen. 6:9). Thus he became the central figure of the providence and for 120 years built the ark as a conditional object, laying the foundation of faith acceptable to God.
Because of the vertical relationship with God which Noah established through his absolute faith, a history of judgment could begin. God exercised the flood judgment to destroy the rest of mankind because they would not change their evil ways and stand on God's side along with Noah (Gen. 6:13).
Ham's Failure
Noah's family, having stood on the successfully laid foundation of faith, then had to set up the foundation of substance. Just as with the first son Cain and second son Abel in Adam's family, Noah's first son Shem and second son Ham had to indemnify and restore the foundation of substance by making an acceptable offering with utmost loyalty to God.
To do this, the second son Ham, had to become inseparable in heart with his father, Noah, who established the foundation of faith and became the central figure of God's providence.
However, Ham failed to be completely one in heart with Noah, and showed a lack of faith in his father (Gen. 9:20-26), who was in the position to be completely separated from Satan. Thus Ham came into the position where Satan could invade and claim him. This is why Noah cursed Ham's son, Canaan, to be a slave to his brothers (Gen. 9:25).
Because of Ham's failure, the foundation of substance was not established. As a result, God could not fulfill His providence with Noah's family, which he had restored after 1,600 years of waiting and forty days of judgment through the flood.
The Providence of Restoration Centering on Abraham and Isaac
Abraham's Offering
God had to continue His dispensation to fulfill the purpose of creation and He called Abraham on Noah's foundation of heart-and-zeal. Abraham was to become the central figure to restore the foundation of faith in the providence of restoration centering on his own family.
Abraham offered the sacrifice of the doves, ram and heifer as the conditional objects to restore the foundation of faith (Gen. 15:9). According to Gen. 15:10-13, Abraham cut the offerings in two and laid each half over against the other, but he did not cut the doves in two. Birds of prey, symbolizing Satan came down upon the carcasses and Abraham drove them away. Then God appeared to Abraham and said to him: "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in the land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for 400 years…" (Gen. 15:13). Thus, because Abraham did not cut the doves in two, the Israelites had to suffer 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
Why was it such a sin, deserving of such punishment, not to cut the doves in two? The entire purpose of the providence of salvation is to separate good from evil in men and in the world, so as to destroy the evil and preserve the good, and eventually restore the purpose of creation. Therefore, that which is not divided in two remains belonging to Satan and leaves no part which God can claim. Accordingly, Abraham's offering was given to God externally, but internally it was given to Satan, and thus it became sinful. Therefore, after Abraham's failure in the offering, God ordered him to offer his only son Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:2). To offer his own son in that way was even more difficult for Abraham then offering his own life. But Abraham displayed absolute obedience and loyalty by making a successful offering of denying himself to indemnify his sin. Thus He established the condition to qualify his son Isaac to be resurrected in Abraham's position and succeed in his mission.
Isaac's Family Set Up in Place of Abraham's Family
Therefore, after the successful offering of Isaac, the central figure for the foundation of faith in Abraham's family became Isaac. Because of Isaac's absolute obedience to Abraham, God resurrected him from death and he could inherit his father's mission. Then Isaac helped Abraham offer a ram in his place as God commanded (Gen. 22:13), and indemnified and restored the foundation of faith along with Abraham.
The condition which Isaac's family had to establish was the foundation of substance, and this remained for his own two sons, Esau and Jacob to establish successfully.
God's activities with Jacob's family, from external appearance according to Scripture, raise many questions. Why did the twins Esau and Jacob fight even while in their mother's womb? (Gen. 25:22-23). Why was Jacob born with one hand grasping Esau's ankles (Gen. 25:26). Why did Jacob take the birthright from his brother? (Gen. 25:32-34). Why did Jacob cleverly deceive his blind father to gain his blessing? (Gen. 27:18-19). And why did God so love and protect Jacob throughout his life?
From the providential viewpoint, Jacob and Esau were the repeated pattern of separating Abel and Cain and therefore they represented the sides of good and evil respectively. Jacob, through his 21-year experience of drudgery in Haran, prepared himself so that ultimately his elder brother Esau was able to receive him with love and humility. Outwardly this seems merely the case of an elder brother being able to love his younger brother, but from the providential viewpoint, the deeper meaning is that for the first time in human history the satanic side was subjugated by the heavenly side. Thus God blessed Jacob, giving him the name "Israel," and gave His blessing to the three generations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as their God.
The Origin of the Chosen People
We can see, then, that God first locates a victorious individual and a victorious family that have fulfilled the conditions of indemnity, and centering around them, raises a chosen people. Thus, the fact that the Israelites became God's chosen people is due to Jacob's individual victory in subjugating the satanic side.
Jacob's course set the pattern for the subjugation of Satan and this pattern was to be followed by Moses and all other prophets. And because a nation must also follow this pattern, the history of the Israelite nation shows the model course which a nation must go through in the national level providence; for this reason, the history of the Israelites until the coming of Jesus is the central focus of the providential history.
Although it does not seem to have any personal consequence to us today, the Bible greatly emphasizes the details of the history of the Israelites for the reason just mentioned.
In Rom. 9: 11 we read that God "hated" Esau even while in the womb. The fact that God hated him simply means that God was merely working according to the Principle to fulfill His providence of restoration through indemnity by placing Esau in Cain's position.
After Esau's completing his own responsibility by loving and receiving Jacob, he could then stand on the position of restored Cain and finally receive the equal love and blessing of God (Gen. 36:7).
When Esau and Jacob successfully established the foundation of faith and the foundation of substance, the foundation to receive the Messiah, long sought since Adam's time, was laid for the first time. However, because Abraham had already failed in his first offering, his descendants still had to go through the indemnity of 400 years of slavery. Therefore, God internally expanded His providence to the national level upon the base of the family foundation for the Messiah established by Isaac's family. Externally, however, Isaac's descendants still had to undergo the 400 years of slavery as indemnity for Abraham's failure in the first offering.
Thus, Jacob's 12 sons and 70 family members went into Egypt, which represented the satanic world, and remained there in captivity for 400 years. These events had the purpose of raising a chosen people, whom God could later separate from Satan so that He could receive them with love. God could then bring the chosen people back to Canaan to establish the national level foundation for the Messiah and upon that foundation, the Messiah could come, consummating the restoration providence.
God sent so many prophets to the Jewish people and protected them with much love, solely so that on that foundation after subjugating Satan, He could send them the Messiah, who is the fruit of the providence and the personification of the temple.
The tradition established by Jacob's subjugating Esau was to enable the people of Israel to fulfill Cain's position. Representing and taking responsibility on behalf of all mankind, they were to love, obey and serve the Messiah who was to come as the Abel for all the people.
The Providence of Restoration Centering on Moses
When the Israelites had completed their 400 years of slavery in Egypt, God chose Moses to lead the people back to Canaan. Moses was chosen as a representative of God (Ex. 4:16, Ex. 7:1) and as a model for Jesus (Deut. 18:18-19, John 5:19).
Therefore, his leading the Israelites out of Egypt with miracles, crossing the Red Sea and wandering in the wilderness to reach the promised land of Canaan was the model course foreshadowing that which Jesus was later to undertake. It symbolized Jesus crossing the troubled sea and desert of this sinful world, bringing mankind with him to the lost Garden of Eden, which God had promised in the beginning of creation.
Thus, Moses was the central figure to restore the foundation for the Messiah on the national level. Although Moses was adopted and raised to be the son of Pharaoh's daughter and lived in the palace for 40 years, his natural mother disguised as a nurse, educated him, encouraging his strong consciousness of Israel as God's elect. As time went on, he chose to suffer together with his own people rather than enjoy the comforts of Pharaoh's palace, abandoning his years of palace life (Heb. 11:24-25).
Because Moses was chosen as the Abel of all the Israelites, all the people, in the position of Cain, were supposed to believe in him, absolutely obey him and learn the will of God from him, thereby restoring the foundation of substance on the national level.
After choosing Moses, God had him strike the Egyptians by giving him the power to perform three miracles and ten calamities. Later when the Egyptians pursued the Israelites, God led the Egyptians to their death in the Red Sea while He enabled the Israelites to cross safely. Afterwards, they made their way into the wilderness.
God's Providence Centering on the Tabernacle
Seen from God's viewpoint, it was imperative that the Israelites enter the land of Canaan; so, they should never have desired to return to Egypt, no matter how much they suffered in the wilderness. But so many times the Israelites were faithless, disbelieving God and Moses in the course of the Exodus. Ultimately, God was concerned that even Moses might err in his mission. Therefore God had to raise up a symbol of firm faith that would never change even though man might change. That is to say, if any man among the Israelites would devote himself to this symbol of faith, God would give him the power to represent the nation, and carry on the providence. This symbol of faith was the two tablets of the Ten Commandments which Moses had received on Mt. Sinai as well as the tabernacle and the ark in which they were placed. The
two tablets, in which God's words were carved, represented Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who were to come in the flesh as the incarnation of the Word. This is why Jesus was symbolized in the Bible by the white stone (Rev. 2:17) and the rock (I Cor. 10:14).
Therefore, if the people of Israel, centering upon Moses, had devoted themselves with all their strength to these symbols as if they were the actual Messiah, they would have established the national level foundation of substance.
However, the Israelites continued to remain faithless while wandering in the wilderness and God said to Moses: "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not
believe in me, in spite of all the signs which I have wrought among them?" (Num. 14:11). Then God said, "But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in the wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lie in the wilderness" (Num. 14:31-34).
Eventually, those of the first generation of Israelites, born in Egypt, who had fallen into faithlessness, died in the wilderness; then Joshua and Caleb led the next generation into Canaan.
The Providence of Restoration Centering on Jesus
John the Baptist
God truly loved the chosen people, who were to later serve as the basis for the Messiah's coming. So many times He let them know of the Messiah's coming and warned them to be alert and expect him. Especially for a period of 400 years before his coming, God brought about a reformation of the religious attitudes of the people by sending the prophet Malachi, who greatly added to the expectation of the Messiah's coming.
And before the Messiah's coming God provided John the Baptist, the greatest born of women, (Matt. 17:11) to be the central figure to restore the national level foundation of faith and the forerunner to directly testify to the Messiah. He was the greatest of all prophets to "make strait the way of the Lord: (John 1:23), and was the second coming of Elijah (Matt. 11:14, Matt. 17:13). He was chosen to go before the Lord (Luke 1:15) preparing his way. John was to prepare the Lord's people to have knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of their sins (Luke 1:77).
John lived in the wilderness on locusts and honey, and with utmost dedication to God established an excellent foundation of faith.
By the people of Israel's believing in John and becoming one with him, together they would have established the foundation of substance on the national level. Everyone knew that John was the greatest of prophets, for they had heard of the angel's prophecy of his birth, the miracle of his father's becoming mute in the temple, and the miracles and signs that occurred at the time of his birth (Luke 1). In Luke 1:65-66, it says, "And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts saying, 'What then will this child be?' For the hand of the Lord was with him" (Luke 3:15, John 1:19).
Moreover, John's faith was so astonishing that many of the chief priests and people of Israel thought that he might even be the Messiah. The people of Israel loved John the Baptist and obeyed him, establishing the indemnity condition for the foundation of substance on the national level. Thus, the people believed in John so much, based upon the foundation of faith he had built, that the foundation to receive the Messiah was restored.
John the Baptist had testified that Jesus was the Messiah. However, in reality John later came to doubt this (Matt. 11:3). And although he had come in the mission of Elijah, he did not realize this and denied it (John 1:21). As a result, John not only blocked the way for the people to come to Jesus, but ultimately turned them against Jesus.
Thus, although John the Baptist actually laid the foundation for the Messiah, he was ignorant of how to make it correctly serve God's purpose; rather, he caused it to work against Jesus, isolating him. God had tried desperately to prepare John the Baptist for Jesus, but the outcome was a great betrayal to God.
Jesus Succeeds the Mission of John the Baptist
Jesus, already on earth, could wait no longer for a foundation to be prepared. Instead of acting in the capacity of Messiah, Jesus set out to restore the foundation of faith himself, standing in John's place as the central figure. To do so, he went through 40 days of fasting and prayer and Satan's three temptations. Then, Jesus attempted to establish the foundation of substance (or the condition to remove the fallen nature) on the national level by having the Israelites obey and believe in him.
So he had to create miracles in order to urge the people to believe in him. If and when the nation of Israel had believed in and served Jesus, who was in Abel's position, then the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature would have been established, restoring the foundation of substance and forming the foundation for the Messiah.
Upon that foundation, Jesus could then be elevated from the position of John the Baptist to the position of Messiah, and by giving rebirth to mankind would have realized God's purpose of creation.
However, Satan, who had left Jesus after he had overcome the three temptations, had invaded the chief priests and scribes and the whole of the people, so that they came to oppose Jesus. Even among Jesus' twelve disciples there was one who ultimately betrayed him, and not even Jesus' three main disciples could attain the oneness of heart with Jesus to support him (Matt. 26:40), failing to accomplish the foundation of substance.
The Providence of the Cross
Thus, the entire nation of Israel could not believe and receive Jesus, and even his own disciples fell into faithlessness so that God had to ransom Jesus as the price of their sin by sending him to the cross. And only by Jesus' resurrection could God begin a new providence.
God's purpose in sending the Messiah was to bring salvation to the chosen people as well as the rest of mankind; thus, even at the cost of giving Jesus away to Satan, God had to save mankind. Conversely, Satan would rather have given up all mankind to God in order to prevent Jesus from succeeding in his work.
Therefore, God had to give Jesus' body away to Satan as the condition of indemnity to save all mankind, who had fallen onto Satan's side.
Satan used all his power to bring about Jesus' crucifixion; at that point God resurrected Jesus' spirit, which Satan could not invade, opening a realm completely free of Satan's invasion.
After his resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for 40 days, gathering together his scattered disciples, teaching them to follow him even at the cost of their lives, thus spiritually restoring the foundation for the Messiah.
Upon this foundation, Jesus elevated himself from the position of spiritual John the Baptist and established the position of the spiritual Messiah. Then he began the providential task of re-birth. The realm into which Jesus resurrected is free from Satan's accusation, so it has become a spiritual sanctuary against satanic invasion.
In spite of this, however much fallen men may believe in Jesus and unite with him, they are still subject to satanic invasion through their physical bodies, because Jesus' body was given to Satan. Thus the physical salvation of man still remains to be achieved.
This caused Paul to lament in Rom. 7:22, "For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"
And in I John 1: 18, John confesses: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us ... If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us."
Those of us who receive salvation by the cross of Jesus Christ still cannot escape from being sinners, for sins are still committed by our physical bodies.
Nevertheless by believing in the resurrected Lord, we can remain with him in the realm free from satanic invasion and attain spiritual salvation.
However, to liquidate original sin and be free from it, in both our spirit and physical body, the Lord must come again to fulfill God's purpose of creation on this earth.
The Second Israel
When the people of Israel did not accomplish their mission as the central nation of the dispensation, unable to achieve unity with the Son of God, God began to form the Second Israel: the mutli-racial Christianity. Therefore Christianity is what God set up worldwide to replace the nation of Israel and, of course, to be the prepared foundation for the Messiah to come. Thus God's central providence shifted from the Israelites and Judaism to Christianity.
For 400 years the early Christians in Rome paid the price through persecution and martyrdom to establish Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire and to build a strong foundation. Later, nations such as England and America were established by God as central nations to form the Second Israel of Christianity, which is to be responsible to bring the whole world into unity around God and is the foundation of God's blessing prepared for the Lord of the Second Advent.
The Second Advent of the Messiah
In What Manner Will Christ Come Again?
Then how will the Second Coming of the Lord take place? In considering this, first let us look at the second coming of Elijah. In fact, the second coming of Elijah is the clearest example that God has revealed to us of how Christ will come again.
God promised through the prophet Malachi to send Elijah again before He sent Christ to earth (Mal. 4:5). However, the Jewish people believed that the same Elijah who had ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire 900 years before would now come down from heaven. But in reality, Elijah's second coming was realized through a man born on the earth, John the Baptist, quite contrary to their expectations (Matt. 11:14, Matt. 17:13).
Two kinds of prophecies are to be found in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. For example, the prophet Daniel predicted the Lord will come to earth from heaven on a cloud (Dan. 7:13), whereas the prophet Micah prophesied that he would be born on earth (Micah 5:2). Which of these two contradictory prophecies did the Jewish people believe'? Among these two prophets, Daniel was the more popular and also the trend of Jewish thought was towards the Lord's descending directly from heaven. Therefore even after Jesus, the Son of God, ascended into heaven after the crucifixion, there were those who insisted that Jesus, who was born on earth in the flesh, could not have been the Messiah (II John 1:7-8).
Then why did God give this contrary prophecy of coming on the clouds in addition to the one that he would come in the flesh? Jesus indicated that "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man" (John 3:13), pointing out that he came from heaven. As we well know, Jesus was born on earth from his mother Mary; but why, then, did he say he came from heaven?
The word "heaven" is frequently used in the Bible. It is consistently used as a metaphor to evoke a sense of great sacredness, goodness and value. Thus, we can interpret what Jesus said to mean: "I was born like all of you, but I am very different in the motive and origin of my birth; I am born of God."
With this understanding, it becomes unmistakably clear what the prophecy really means concerning Jesus' coming down to earth on a cloud as described in Dan. 7. The true interpretation is quite matter-of-fact, yet by sticking to the literal meaning, the people were wrong. Similarly, John the Baptist, who was born in the family of Zechariah, was not merely born of this earth, but had a great mission (Luke 1:15-17, Luke 1:76). Regardless of the form of his birth, God was behind it and gave him the same mission as Elijah, and he "came down" to earth representing God Himself.
From what is shown in these examples of Elijah's second coming and Jesus' coming, one cannot help but give serious thought toward the prophecies for the Second Coming of the Messiah.
In summary, the New Testament not only contains prophecies that Christ will come as a judge amidst the glory on a cloud from heaven, but it also says he will come again just as he did at Jesus' time, which is quite contrary to the first prophecy of coming on the clouds.
We read in Luke 17:24-25 that Jesus, anticipating what was going to happen at the Second Coming said, "So will the Son of man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." If the Lord should come again, amidst power and glory, with the trumpet call of the archangel, who would dare deny and persecute him? Would you persecute him?
Today many faithful Christians and churches are looking up to the sky, waiting for the Lord to come on the clouds. If he does come on the clouds, there could be no reason for the Lord to be persecuted. But when he does not come on a cloud literally, and instead comes in the flesh, as in the First Coming, then he must first suffer before he will finally be recognized.
In Rev. 12:5 it says a woman gave birth to a child who will govern all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and His throne. The man who will rule the world with a rod of iron is the Lord to come. Thus it is recorded clearly that he will be born of a woman. When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God was coming, he answered, "the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed" (Luke 17:20). Everyone can gaze up at heaven, but Jesus said that he will not be recognized so readily. Why?
It is because he does not come on a literal cloud. In Luke 18:8 Jesus says, "I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? Why did Jesus say this? There are many people around the world who are doing their utmost to prepare for his coming, although their faith may not be perfect. Who would fail to recognize the Lord coming on a literal cloud? Even non-believers would recognize him and come to him. Is it because someone will prevent them from doing so? Certainly not. Difficulties do not necessarily weaken a man's faith. Then would it be because he will come in exactly the same way as Jesus did the first time?
Two thousand years ago, when Jesus came, there was much faith among the people. Day and night they prayed in the temple and memorized their commandments. They tried hard to keep all the commandments and laws that God ordered them to keep. They faithfully offered their tithes and they fasted. In this sense, they had much faith in believing in God, yet they did not understand the true meaning of faith. They were being prepared to recognize t c son of God who was to be sent to them. From this viewpoint, Jesus could not find any faith on earth! Similarly, today there are millions of good Christians waiting for the arrival of the Lord of the Second Advent, but if the Lord comes in the same way as he did before, will he find the faith that will enable Christians to recognize him?
To emphasize once again, from the lessons we have previously learned from the experience of God's working in history, and judging from the scriptural passages quoted before, the Second Advent will occur as at the First Coming, by the Messiah's birth in the flesh, born of a woman. Indeed, he comes as the Son of man.
God created Adam to be the origin of the ideal man and the ideal family on earth. But because Adam fell and began this sinful world, Jesus came to restore the original ideal world in the capacity of the Second Adam (I Cor. 15:45).
Therefore, the Lord of the Second Advent comes to complete the overall task of restoration and purpose of creation as the Third Adam. Therefore, he must come in the flesh, and become the origin of the ideal individual and the ideal family, and realize the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, which has been God's eternal ideal.
If the Lord is to come on the earth in the flesh, then what is the meaning of the coming on the clouds?
According to Rev. 17:15, water symbolizes fallen or sinful man. Then what does a cloud mean? Clouds are vaporized water. Regardless of how dirty water may be, when it evaporates into a cloud, it becomes purified. Likewise, clouds signify the men resurrected or reborn from fallen men, or in other words, the resurrected believers reborn from the sinful world. The metaphor that he will come on the clouds means he will come again among the saints that God prepared.
Then, why did Jesus say he would come again on the clouds? First, it was to prevent the delusions of antichrists. It was better to let the people continue to believe that he would come on the clouds until the actual time of his coming. If it had been clarified that Christ would come on earth in the flesh, the confusion caused by the delusions of many antichrists could hardly have been prevented. But when the time is full, God will surely tell us.
Second, it was to encourage the disciples' religious life by shifting their attention heavenward. Regarding the Second Coming, Jesus said things that were not clearly understandable but were meant to encourage his followers to fulfill God's will as rapidly as possible. He said, "Surely I am coming soon: (Rev. 22:20). In Matt. 10:23, ". . . for truly I say to you, you will not have bone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes." Also in Matt. 16:28, he said, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom." And in John 21:18-22, he also spoke as though he would come again in their lifetime. But what was Jesus' intention in speaking this way?
Because the early Christians believed that Jesus' Second Coming was near, and that he would come on the clouds from heaven in the power and glory of God, they would remain enthusiastic and zealous and have strength to withstand the oppression and persecution of the Roman Empire, thus building the early Christian Church.
When Will Christ Come Again?
Then when will Christ come again? In Matt. 24:36 it says, "but of that day and hour no one knows," indicating that it would be fruitless to speculate as to the time of his return.
However, that same verse in Matthew says, "Only the Father knows," and in Amos 3:7 it says, "Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." We can understand that God will surely let people know about the Lord's Second Coming through the prophets. Many examples of this can be cited in the course of restoration, such as God's revealing the flood judgment to Noah, His destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to Lot, and the Messiah's First Coming. God revealed the time of Jesus' birth to the family of John the Baptist, the wise men of the east, Simeon, Anna, and others. In the entire history of God's providence, can there be any more important time for God than that of the Second Coming? How can God not let the people know, when the Son of God himself comes to earth to accomplish the unfulfilled purpose of creation?
God, who has been guiding history ever since the fall of the ancestors of mankind, must ultimately send the Messiah; God restores the lost purpose of creation by sending the Messiah.
Accordingly, since God's providence of restoration is fulfilled through the Messiah, the Messiah is the most precious fruit of God's restoration. The foundation of preparation for the Messiah began with the formation of the Israelites from Jacob's family. However, the people of Israel did not believe Jesus and thus, God developed the multi-racial Christianity as the Second Israel, consisting of all those who believed in Jesus.
Therefore, God's central providence is found in the history of Christianity, which God prepared as the Second Israel on the worldwide level in place of the lost First Israel. Furthermore, the history of the First Israel, which began from Jacob, and the history of the Second Israel, Christianity, which began from Jesus' time, must be identical because both were prepared for the purpose of enabling the Messiah to be received on earth.
The history of the Jewish people and the history of Christianity differ in terms of time period, make-up, geographical setting and cultural background. However, the mission of these two histories has been passed on from one to the other as part of God's central history of the restoration providence.
Each was prepared for the final product of its dispensation-the foundation for the Messiah through the principle of restoration.
Now let us compare these two histories from the standpoint of the restoration providence and examine the question of when the time of the Lord's Second Coming will be.
The history of Israel from the time of Jacob until Jesus was divided into six periods: the period of slavery in Egypt, the period of Judges, the period of the United Kingdom, the period of the divided kingdom of North and South, the period of Babylonian captivity and return and the period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. In each period, God directly guided the providence, but the people could not fulfill their responsibility, and thus only after going through all of these periods could the Messiah come. Let us examine each time period in greater detail and compare each to the corresponding historical period after the time of Jesus.
The Period of Slavery in Egypt and the Period of Persecution by the Roman Empire
The period of slavery in Egypt began as a result of Abraham's failure in the offering. During this period Jacob's 12 sons and 70 kinsmen entered Egypt, which represented the satanic world, and their descendants were miserably persecuted by the Egyptians.
The period of the persecution under the Roman Empire began as a result of Israel's disbelief in Jesus. During this period Jesus' 12 disciples, 70 apostles and the early Christians went out into the Roman Empire and also underwent miserable persecution.
In the period of slavery in Egypt, the chosen people of Israel, amidst their 400-year long suffering, performed the rite of circumcision, offered sacrifices and kept the Sabbath. Similarly, the Christians during the period of persecution under the Roman Empire, performed the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism, offered the saints as living sacrifices and kept the Sabbath.
After the 400-year period of slavery in Egypt had ended, God chose Moses to subjugate Pharaoh and lead the Israelites to the new land of Canaan. Likewise, at the end of the period of persecution by the Roman Empire, Jesus influenced Emperor Constantine spiritually and moved him to recognize Christianity publicly in 313 AD, and finally could have Christianity declared the national religion by 392 AD In this way, Christians came to be restored, spiritually, into Canaan, out of the satanic world.
After the period of slavery in Egypt, Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, setting up the core of the Old Testament. By maintaining the tablets of stone, the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant, the First Israel, the chosen nation, came to set up the foundation to receive the Messiah. Likewise, after the period of persecution by the Roman Empire, the Second Israel, the chosen nation, collected the words of the Lord and the records of the apostles and decided on the New Testament and established churches centered on the words, and thus broadened the foundation to receive the Lord of the Second Advent.
The Period of Judges and the Period of Christian Churches under the Patriarchal System
The period of Judges is the 400-year period after the Israelites, led by Joshua and Caleb entered Canaan. In this period these judges each filled multiple functions of prophet, chief priest and king.
The period of Christian churches under the patriarchal system is when the Christians were led by the patriarchs, whose duties, from the standpoint of the restoration providence, corresponded to those of the judges.
The period of Judges is when the foundation of Israelite feudal society began centering on the judges in the new land allotted to each tribe.
Likewise, after Christianity's liberation from the Roman Empire, the Gospel was spread to the Germanic tribes who had moved to Western Europe because of the 4th century invasion of the Huns (from Mongolia). There, in the new land of Western Europe, they established the foundation of Christian feudal society.
The Period of the United Kingdom and the Period of the Christian Kingdom
At the onset of the period of the United Kingdom, the period in which the judges led the first Israel was over. The mission of the judges was divided into those of prophet, chief priest and king. Likewise with the period of the Christian Kingdom, the period in which the patriarchs led the Second Israel ended and the mission of the patriarchs was divided into those of monastery, pope and king. The period of the Christian Kingdom began when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Frank Empire, just as the United Kingdom of Israel began when the prophet Samuel, at God's command, anointed Saul as the first King of Israel.
The Period of the Divided Kingdoms of North and South and the Period of the Divided Kingdoms of East and West
The United Kingdom, which had begun with King Saul, was carried on through King David and King Solomon; then it divided into the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was in Cain's position, and the two tribes of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which was in Abel's position. Thus, the period of the divided kingdoms of North and South came about.
Likewise, the Christian Kingdom, which had began with Charlemagne, divided into three parts-the East Franks, the West Franks and Italy-due to quarrels between his three grand sons. However, since Italy was under the rule of the East Franks, it was actually a period of division into the Kingdoms of East and West.
The Period of Jewish Captivity and Return and the Period of Papal Captivity and Return
Not only the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which perished at the end of the period of the Divided Kingdoms because of its disbelief, but also the Southern Kingdom of Judah as well became faithless. They would not repent and failed to make the foundation for the coming of the Messiah, centering on God's ideal of the temple. Therefore, God allowed them to be taken captive into Babylon, the satanic world, to suffer slavery there for 70 years (Jer. 39:1-10, II Kings 24 and 25). In this period, King Jehoiachin, Daniel, members of royalty, government officials and many other Jewish people were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Later, Persia destroyed Babylon and King Cyrus issued a decree freeing the Jews, who returned to their native land in three stages over a period of 140 years. There they set themselves up as the nation centering on the prophet Malachi to prepare for the Messiah.
From the end of the period of the Christian Kingdom, which was to prepare the foundation on the worldwide level for the Messiah's Second Coming, until the time when the papacy fell into corruption, God sent many signs, such as the losses and defeats of the Crusades, to make the popes and priests repent. But they did not and instead, with the gradual expansion of royal power, violent conflict grew between pope and king. Thus Pope Boniface VIII came 'into conflict with the French King Philip IV and was even imprisoned by him for a time. One generation later, Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon in Southern France. There the succeeding popes lived as captives for 70 years under the restraint of the French kings. This is the period of papal captivity. After that, Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome, but even after this there was much confusion as three popes reigned simultaneously for a period and other problems regarding papal authority occurred until the Religious Reformation began.
The Period of Preparation for the Coming of the Messiah and the Period of Preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah
After returning from the Babylonian captivity, the nation of Israel once more erected the destroyed temple, and under the guidance of the prophet Malachi, repented for their past sins of having worshipped evil spirits by pledging themselves to the Law. This aroused a movement of reformation and was the beginning of the period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. After 400 years they received the Messiah.
After the pope returned to Rome the period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah began. It was a 400 year period in which the medieval Christians restored the foundation of faith for the Second Coming on the worldwide level by arousing the movement of religious reformation centering on Luther. The Reformation revived the zeal of the Christians, who then, with new passion, began worldwide evangelism.
The Old Testament Age was the age in which man was to set up faith toward God through the external conditions of the Law and offerings. Therefore, the First Israel, in order to indemnify the entire history since the time of Abraham in the period of preparation for the Messiah, had to go through the course of indemnity by experiencing tribulations under the rule of nations such as Persia, Greece, Egypt, Syria and Rome.
The New Testament Age was the age in which to set up faith toward God through the internal conditions of prayer and faith centering on Jesus' words. Therefore, in this overall period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah, the Second Israel had to walk the way of internal tribulations. Due to the rise of humanism, which was the leading ideology of the Renaissance, the ideology of the Enlightenment which followed, and the freedom of faith propagated after the Reformation, Christianity had to endure much chaos and confusion. In this period Christians had to go through the course to indemnify the period from Jesus to the Lord's Second Coming by overcoming severe internal trials in their religious lives.
God foretold the coming of the Messiah by sending the prophet Malachi and by reforming and renewing Judaism, He prepared the First Israel for the coming of the Messiah. God also prepared the background and environment where the restoration of the purpose of creation was to take place. Examples are the vast political territory formed by the rise of the Roman Empire, with its ease of communication in any direction and the vast cultural sphere formed centering on the Hellenic language and tradition. Thus, the external foundation had already been made through God's providence so that once the Messiah came, the idea of the Messiah could quickly expand from Israel to Rome to the whole world.
Thus, in the period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah, the external circumstances have also been greatly developed as a foundation for the Messiah's Second Advent.
On one hand, the medieval Church, stimulated by the Renaissance, came to advocate the restoration of the early Christian spirit, in which following God's will was the sole purpose of one's existence. The reformation movement, begun by Martin Luther, was meant to free Christians from the unjust interference, ritual and authority of the popes and priests and enable believers to relate directly to God and the Bible. This was done by God in the effort to prepare the Second Israel on the worldwide level for the Second Coming of the Messiah.
We have reviewed in detail the histories of the First and Second Israel as they occurred over different time periods, in different places and with roles played by different people. Yet, we can see an astonishing resemblance of time-identity when we look at them from the providential point of view. Because they are both central dispensations to prepare to receive one Messiah, both providences have been wrought by God Himself.
God's providence of restoration was designed to prepare the foundation for the coming of the Messiah, who is the fruit of human history. It went through six periods since the time of Jacob. They were the period of slavery in Egypt, the period of Judges, the period of United Kingdom, the period of the divided kingdoms of North and South, the period of Jewish captivity and return, and the period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah, which totals 1930 years.
However, when the First Israel did not complete its responsibility and did not believe in the Messiah, God had no choice but to prolong His providence of restoration. Therefore, after the coming of Jesus, until the time of the Lord of the Second Advent, the providence of restoration was repeated and extended. Therefore, we can see that the prolongation period of the providence of restoration went through the period of persecution by the Roman Empire, the period of Christian churches under the patriarchal system, the period of the Christian kingdom, the period of the divided kingdoms of East and West, the period of papal captivity and return, and the period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah which also totals 1930 years.
The year of 1930 is not the time we have to wait for with hope and expectation, for it is already passed. Then why haven't we witnessed on earth the glory of the Second Coming of the Messiah and the final judgment? If the Second Coming is to take place in the air, the Lord's glory already would have been brightly spread all over the world. However, as was pointed out earlier, the Lord does not come again literally on the clouds. The Second Coming is accomplished by the Messiah being born on earth in the flesh. Then is 1930 the precise year the Messiah was born? The year cannot be pinpointed so exactly because a difference of up to plus or minus 10 years was often observed throughout the providential history. For instance, the period of persecution by the Roman Empire was to be of 400 years, but to be precise, actually lasted only until 392 AD Therefore, the coming of the Messiah cannot be pinpointed as the year 1930. Two thousand years ago, when Jesus came, he did not immediately proclaim his messialiship and thereupon promptly begin the judgment. There was indeed an unseen, unheard, yet steady preparation period of private life, and a period of public ministry to prepare the foundation to realize the purpose of the Messiah's coming. Likewise, the Lord of the Second Advent must also go through this course of preparation after his birth. Therefore, we can see that in view of the providence of restoration, this is now the time of preparation for the Lord's appearance.
Where Will Christ Come Again?
Then, if Christ is to come again as a man in the flesh on earth, he must be coming to a predetermined place in a predetermined nation. Then which nation is it?
Jesus said 2,000 years ago in Israel that he would come again, but will he come again among the Jewish people? In Matt. 21:33-43, through the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus clearly indicated that he will not come again in the land of Israel, where he had been killed. Moreover, he said he would reclaim their right to be the chosen nation and give it to a nation and people who will be fruitful for the Second Coming.
In this parable, God is the owner of the vineyard; the vineyard means the works of God to accomplish the ideal of creation, which is the purpose of the salvation providence; the tenants are the chosen nation of Israel; the servants are the prophets; the owner's son is Jesus; and, the nation producing the fruits means the nation that would receive the Lord of the Second Advent.
Then, how should we take the biblical verse which records the coming of the sons of Israel? Rev. 7:4 states that out of every tribe of the sons of Israel there would be sealed 144,000 at the time of the Second Coming. What does this mean?
Originally, the name "Israel" was received by Jacob after he prevailed over the angel at the ford of Jabbok (Gen. 32:28). In other words, "Israel" means the people of God who have triumphed in faith and does not necessarily mean the lineal descendants of Jacob. Matt. 3:9 and Rom. 9:6 clarify the true definition of Israel.
Then, who would be the chosen people of Israel after Jesus' death on the cross? They are the devout Christians who believe in the Lord. It is stated in Rom. 11:11, "Through their [the Jews] trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." This indicates that the center of God's providence of restoration has shifted from the Jewish people. Then, He will work His central providence not among the lineal descendants of Abraham, but among the devout Christians who have taken up the faith of Abraham. But precisely to which country will the Lord come?
When asked where he would come again, Jesus replied symbolically in Luke 17:3, "Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Jesus did not specify which country. In Rev. 7:2-4 it is recorded that an angel ascended from the rising of the sun and sealed the chosen servants of God on their foreheads, the number of those being 144,000.
To state the conclusion first, the nation of the East is Korea. When a farmer transplants a tree, he carefully digs up the soil and waters it to prepare for the tree. How could God, who is expecting the fruit of human history, send the Messiah without preparation? Let us further consider the view that the land to receive the Lord is Korea.
First, the nation to which the Messiah comes must be the object of God's heart. In this view, Korea is the land God has prepared. God, since the fall of the first human ancestors until today, has lived in deep despair and unfulfillment. Too often we refer to God as a being of utmost glory who is so far above us, but this is because we do not know God's heart. Due to the fall of man, who is His only child, God has been grieving with the heart of a parent who lost his child, and to save that rebellious child, He has wandered through the sinful world of hell in search of him. Therefore, the individual, or family, or nation which fights against Satan on earth in God's place can hardly avoid the path of tears and suffering. How could a filial and faithful son, who shares the agony of his parent's heart, lead an easy life?
Since the Messiah is the one who comes bearing the grieving heart of God, to relieve God's sorrow here on earth, he cannot come among a people who are satisfied by their material abundance. Since the nation which is to receive the Messiah must become the object of God's heart-since its people must become sons and daughters of the same heart as God I s-that nation cannot avoid the way of suffering.
The First and Second Israel both had to tread the way of suffering and hardship; likewise, the Third Israel must tread the same way. The history of the utmost misery, especially the extreme example of suffering in modem times, has been the model course which the Third Israel had to take. Thus, even while undergoing the life of suffering and misery, this nation, Korea, has been faithfully inheriting the good tradition of filial piety and loyalty, and even at the height of its national power, never provoked or first invaded a neighboring nation. God's strategy has been that of winning victory from the position of being attacked, quite different from the intent of invasion or aggression. Despite innumerable foreign invasions, the fact that the Korean people have maintained their homogeneous lineage and subjectivity of culture is simply amazing. Even amidst its persistently sorrowful history it has cherished its education as a nation.
Second, Korea is meaningful as the nation bearing fruit of many religions. Korea has a strong inclination toward religious life. The Korean people revere God. Many of the world's great religions, such as Confucianism and Buddhism, have flourished in this land and borne fruit. In recent centuries Christianity arrived and achieved the highest pinnacle of Christianity. Religion has deeply blended with daily life in exquisite harmony. A nation matching this description is indeed hard to find in the world.
The Lord does not come to save Christians alone. Of course Christianity is the central nation in God's providence, but God Himself has created and guided all the major religions for the restoration of their particular region, time period, or circumstance. Therefore, the Messiah, who is to accomplish the ultimate purpose of God's providence must simultaneously fulfill the purpose of a other religions as well.
In this view, the nation which bears the fruits of all the major religions becomes the land suitable to receive the Lord.
Third, the nation in which our Lord comes must be the front line of both God and Satan. As we can understand from God's words to Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit or they would die, the point where they fell became a dividing line of heaven and earth and life and death, and thus good and evil also split apart from this point.
Thus, our Lord comes to the same basic type of point, where again life and death and good and evil confront one another. He then goes on to fulfill the providential history and solve the current problems.
God's providence to restore this world to His own side, after Satan took the initiative, can also be seen as the dispensation of dividing Cain and Abel. The separation of the worlds of Cain and Abel before the coming of the Messiah is manifested in the Communist and democratic worlds. Thus, this can be called a horizontal development of the vertical providence which God has wrought throughout history.
Therefore, where our Lord comes is where the two powers of democracy and Communism confront one another; it is the focal point of both God's love and Satan's hate. That very line of confrontation is the 38th parallel in the Korean peninsula. Therefore, this line is not only the front line of democracy and Communism but also the front line of God and Satan as well.
Since the nation and race in which the Lord comes in the East are an offering for the restoration providence, the Korean nation, which is the offering, must be divided. Thus, the Korean War which broke out along the 38th parallel was not merely the civil conflict of a nation due to territorial separation. It was the confrontation between the democratic and Communist blocs and furthermore, between God and Satan. The fact that many nations (16) not immediately concerned with the conflict nonetheless participated and helped the providence of restoration has divine significance.
Fourth, the nation in which the Lord comes must establish a national foundation for the providence of restoration. In order for Korea to become the nation to receive the Messiah, just as did the First and Second Israel, it must establish the national foundation to separate from Satan. The Israelites had to establish a condition of separating from Satan by suffering in slavery for 400 years in Egypt, which represented the satanic world. The Second Israel also established a condition to separate from Satan by enduring persecution for four centuries in the Roman Empire, which also represented the satanic world.
Thus, at the time of the Second Advent, the Third Israel, Korea, must also endure suffering at the hands of a particular nation on the satanic side in order to separate from Satan. In this case, it was Japan, and for 40 years it brought unimaginable torment upon Korea. In 1905, Japan forcibly deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights and this brought on a period of loss of national sovereignty which lasted until 1945, the year of its defeat in World War 11. During this period, the Korean people were completely deprived of their freedom by Japan, and countless numbers were imprisoned, slaughtered and underwent all sorts of extreme persecution. Especially in 1910, after Japan annexed Korea, the persecution of Christianity, which was the major foundation for Korea's independence movement, was unparalleled in its cruelty. When, on one hand, Christianity was enjoying its freedom under God's providence all around the globe, the suffering of the Korean nation, of which Christians were the core, became the condition of national indemnity to qualify it as the Third Israel.
Fifth, this nation must have prophetic testimonies among the people. When God sends his beloved Son, how can He do it quietly? Certainly, He would reveal it to all prepared souls on earth, hand them the good news and have them prepare themselves. Just as the Jewish people knew through the prophets that the Messiah would come as a king and save them, for 500 years, Korea also had a strong messianic faith through the Chung-Garn-Nok, a book of prophecy. It was written in the time of the providence when God's salvation through the Messiah was not immediately available. It is characteristic of Korea to have been nurtured by this unique messianic thought.
Also, many spiritually gifted clergy and laymen have received specific revelations regarding the Second Advent of the Lord in Korea. Furthermore, many deeply religious people have had the common revelation that Korea will be the center of world salvation.