Exposition of the Divine Principle

Part I

Chapter 1: The Principle of Creation

Throughout history, people have anguished over the fundamental questions of human life and the universe without arriving at satisfying answers. This is because no one has understood the root principle by which humanity and the universe were originally created. To approach this topic properly, it is not enough to examine resultant reality. The fundamental question is that of the causal reality. Problems concerning human life and the universe cannot be solved without first understanding the nature of God. This chapter deals extensively with these questions.

Section 1: The Dual Characteristics of God and the Created Universe

1.1 The Dual Characteristics of God
How can we know the divine nature of the invisible God? One way to fathom His deity is by observing the universe which He created. Thus, St. Paul said:

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. -Rom. 1:20

Just as a work of art displays the invisible nature of its maker in a concrete form, everything in the created universe is a substantial manifestation of some quality of the Creator’s invisible, divine nature. As such, each stands in a relationship to God. Just as we can come to know the character of an artist through his works, so we can understand the nature of God by observing the diverse things of creation.

Let us begin by pointing out the common elements which are found universally throughout the natural world. Every entity possesses dual characteristics of yang (masculinity) and yin (femininity) and comes into existence only when these characteristics have formed reciprocal relationships, both within the entity and between it and other entities.

For example, subatomic particles, the basic building blocks of all matter, possess either a positive charge, a negative charge or a neutral charge formed by the neutralization of positive and negative constituents. When particles join with each other through the reciprocal relationships of their dual characteristics, they form an atom. Atoms, in turn, display either a positive or a negative valence. When the dual characteristics within one atom enter into reciprocal relationships with those in another atom, they form a molecule. Molecules formed in this manner engage in further reciprocal relationships between their dual characteristics to eventually become nourishment fit for consumption by plants and animals.

Plants propagate by means of stamen and pistil. Animals multiply and maintain their species through the relationship between males and females. According to the Bible, after God created Adam, He saw that it was not good for the man to live alone.1 Only after God created Eve as Adam’s female counterpart did He declare that His creations were “very good.”2

Even though atoms become positive or negative ions after ionization, each still consists of a positive nucleus and negative electrons in stable unity. Similarly, each animal, whether male or female, maintains its life through the reciprocal relationships of yang and yin elements within itself. The same holds true for every plant. In people, a feminine nature is found latent in men and a masculine nature is found latent in women.

Moreover, every creation exists with correlative aspects: inside and outside, internal and external, front and rear, right and left, up and down, high and low, strong and weak, rising and falling, long and short, wide and narrow, east and west, north and south, etc. The reason for this is that everything is created to exist through the reciprocal relationships of dual characteristics. Thus, we can understand that everything requires for its existence a reciprocal relationship between the dual characteristics of yang and yin.

However, there is another pair of dual characteristics in reciprocal relationship which are even more fundamental to existence than the dual characteristics of yang and yin. Every entity possesses both an outer form and an inner quality. The visible outer form resembles the invisible inner quality. The inner quality, though invisible, possesses a certain structure which is manifested visibly in the particular outer form. The inner quality is called internal nature, and the outer form or shape is called external form. Since internal nature and external form refer to corresponding inner and outer aspects of the same entity, the external form may also be understood as a second internal nature. Therefore, the internal nature and external form together constitute dual characteristics.

Let us take human beings as an example. A human being is composed of an outer form, the body, and an inner quality, the mind. The body is a visible reflection of the invisible mind. Because the mind possesses a certain structure, the body which reflects it also takes on a particular appearance. This is the idea behind a person’s character and destiny being perceived through examining his outward appearance by such methods as physiognomy or palm reading. Here, mind is the internal nature and body is the external form. Mind and body are two correlative aspects of a human being; hence, the body may be understood as a second mind. Together, they constitute the dual characteristics of a human being. Similarly, all beings exist through the reciprocal relationships between their dual characteristics of internal nature and external form.

What is the relationship between internal nature and external form? The internal nature is intangible and causal, and stands in the position of a subject partner to the external form; the external form is tangible, resultant, and stands in the position of an object partner to the internal nature. The mutual relationships between these two aspects of an entity include: internal and external, cause and result, subject partner and object partner, vertical and horizontal. Let us again use the example of a human being, whose mind and body are his internal nature and external form, respectively. The body resembles the mind and moves according to its commands in such a way as to sustain life and pursue the mind’s purposes. Mind and body thus have a mutual relationship of internal and external, cause and result, subject partner and object partner, vertical and horizontal.

Similarly, all created beings, regardless of their level of complexity, possess an intangible internal nature, which corresponds to the human mind, and a tangible external form, which corresponds to the human body. Within each being, the internal nature, which is causal and subject, commands the external form. This relationship allows the individual being to exist and function purposefully as a creation of God. Animals live and move because their bodies are directed by an internal faculty corresponding to the human mind, which endows them with a certain purpose. Plants maintain their organic functions by virtue of their internal nature, which also operates like the human mind in some respects.

The human mind imparts to every person a natural inclination to join with others in harmony. Likewise, positive ions and negative ions come together to form particular molecules, because within every one of them exists a rudimentary internal nature that guides them toward that end. Electrons assemble around nuclei to form atoms because they possess an attribute of internal nature which directs them toward that purpose. According to modern science, all particles that constitute atoms are made up of energy. For energy to form particles, it, too, must possess an internal nature which directs it to assume specific forms.

Probing deeper still, we search for the Ultimate Cause which brought this energy, with its elements of internal nature and external form, into existence. This being would be the First Cause of all the myriad things in the universe. As the First Cause, it must also possess the dual characteristics of internal nature and external form, which stand in the position of subject partner to the internal natures and external forms of all beings. We call this First Cause of the universe God, and we call God’s internal nature and external form the original internal nature and original external form. As St. Paul indicated, by investigating characteristics that are universally present in the diverse things of creation, we can come to know the nature of God: God is the First Cause of the entire universe and its subject partner, having the harmonious dual characteristics of original internal nature and original external form.

We have already mentioned that entities require for their existence the reciprocal relationship between the dual characteristics of yang and yin. It is only natural to surmise that God, the First Cause of all things, also exists based on the reciprocal relationship between His dual characteristics of yang and yin. The verse “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”3 supports the idea that God, as the subject partner, has dual characteristics of yang and yin in perfect harmony.

What is the relationship between the dual characteristics of internal nature and external form and the dual characteristics of yang and yin? God’s original internal nature and original external form each contain the mutual relationship of original yang and original yin. Therefore, original yang and original yin are attributes of original internal nature and original external form. The relationship between yang and yin is similar to that which exists between internal nature and external form. Yang and yin thus have the following mutual relationships: internal and external, cause and result, subject partner and object partner, vertical and horizontal. For this reason, it is written in Genesis that God took a rib from the man, Adam, and created a woman, Eve, to be his helper.4 In this case, the yang and yin of God were manifested in masculinity and femininity.

A human being attains perfection when he centers his life on his mind; likewise, the creation becomes complete only when God stands as its center. Hence, the universe is a perfect organic body that moves only according to God’s purpose of creation. As one organic body, the universe should exist in a relationship of internal nature and external form, with God as the internal nature and the created universe as the external form. For this reason it is written in the Bible that human beings, who are the center of the universe, are created in the image of God. Because God exists as the subject partner having the qualities of internal nature and masculinity, He created the universe as His object partner with the qualities of external form and femininity. All of this is supported by the Bible verse which states, “man . . . is the image and glory of God.”6 In recognition of God’s position as the internal and masculine subject partner, we call Him “Our Father.”

In summary, God is the Subject in whom the dual characteristics of original internal nature and original external form are in harmony. At the same time, God is the harmonious union of masculinity and femininity, which manifest the qualities of original internal nature and original external form, respectively. In relation to the universe, God is the subject partner having the qualities of internal nature and masculinity.

1.2 The Relationship between God and the Universe
We have learned that every creation is God’s substantial object partner, formed in His likeness as a discrete projection of His dual characteristics. God exists as the incorporeal subject partner to all beings. Human beings are object partners embodied at the level of image, and the rest of creation are object partners embodied at the level of symbol. These object partners are called individual embodiments of truth, in image and symbol.

Individual embodiments of truth are discrete manifestations of the dual characteristics of God. Therefore, they can be distinguished broadly into two classes: those of yang qualities which resemble the original internal nature and masculinity of God, and those of yin qualities which resemble the original external form and femininity of God. Although individual embodiments of truth belong to either of these two classes, since they are all substantial object partners to God resembling His original internal nature and original external form-they each possess within themselves both internal nature and external form, and likewise both yang and yin.

In light of our understanding of the dual characteristics, the relationship between God and the universe can be summarized thus: The universe as a whole is a substantial object partner to God. It is composed of individual embodiments of truth, each a unique manifestation of the dual characteristics of God at either the level of image or of symbol, as governed by the Principle of Creation. The myriad qualities of God, in their duality, are apportioned into diverse human beings, each an incarnate object partner at the level of image. These qualities are also apportioned into all the diverse things of creation, each an embodied object partner at the level of symbol. The relationship between God and the universe is similar to that between internal nature and external form. It is a mutual relationship like that between dual characteristics: internal and external, cause and result, vertical and horizontal, subject partner and object partner, and so forth.

Finally, from the viewpoint of the Principle of Creation, let us investigate the metaphysical concept at the root of East Asian philosophy which is based on the Book of Changes (I Ching). There, the origin of the universe is the Great Ultimate (Ultimate Void). From the Great Ultimate arose yang and yin, from yang and yin came forth the Five Agents-metal, wood, water, fire and earth-and from the Five Agents all things came into existence.7 Yang and yin together are called the Way (Tao), or as the Book of Changes states, “One yang and one yin: this is the Way.”8 The Way is traditionally defined as the Word. To put all this together, from the Great Ultimate arose yang and yin, or the Word, and all things came into being based on the Word. Accordingly, the Great Ultimate is the First Cause of all existing beings, the integral nucleus and harmonious subject partner of yang and yin.

It is written in the Gospel of John that “the Word was with God, and the Word was God,”9 and that all things were made through the Word. Comparing this to the metaphysics rooted in the Book of Changes, we can surmise that the Great Ultimate, as the harmonious source of yang and yin or the Word, is none other than God who, as we have seen, is the harmonious subject partner of dual characteristics. According to the Principle of Creation, the fact that everything created through the Word has dual characteristics shows that the Word itself consists of dual characteristics. Consequently, the claim made in the Book of Changes that yang and yin together are the Word is valid.

However, this East Asian metaphysics observes the universe exclusively from the viewpoint of yang and yin while failing to recognize that all things also possess internal nature and external form. Therefore, although it reveals that the Great Ultimate is the subject partner of harmonious yang and yin, it fails to show that the Great Ultimate is also the subject partner of harmonious original internal nature and original external form. Hence, it does not comprehend that the Great Ultimate is a God with personality.

We have learned that the root concept of East Asian philosophy as based on the Book of Changes can be fully elucidated only with the help of the Principle of Creation. In recent years, Oriental medicine has become recognized to an increasing degree throughout the world. Its success is due to the fact that its founding principles, which focus upon the concepts of yang and yin, are in accordance with the Principle of Creation.

Section 2: Universal Prime Energy, Give and Take Action, and the Four Position Foundation

2.1 Universal Prime Energy
God, the Creator of all things, is the absolute reality, eternal, self-existent and transcendent of time and space. The fundamental energy of God’s being is also eternal, self-existent and absolute. It is the origin of all energies and forces that allow created beings to exist. We call this fundamental energy universal prime energy.

2.2 Give and Take Action
Through the agency of universal prime energy, the subject and object elements of every entity form a common base and enter into interaction. This interaction, in turn, generates all the forces the entity needs for existence, multiplication and action. The interaction generating these forces through this process is called give and take action. Universal prime energy and the forces generated by give and take action are in a reciprocal relationship of cause and result, internal and external, and subject partner and object partner. Universal prime energy is a vertical force, while the forces generated by give and take action are horizontal forces.

Let us examine in detail God and His creation in terms of universal prime energy and give and take action. God’s universal prime energy directs His eternal dual characteristics to form a common base for their mutual relationship. They then engage in give and take action. Based on the forces generated by this give and take action, the dual characteristics construct a foundation for their eternal reciprocation. This is the foundation for God’s existence, upon which God eternally exists and generates all forces needed to create and sustain the universe.

In the created universe, the dual characteristics that make up each being are empowered by universal prime energy to establish a common base. They then engage in give and take action. Based on the forces generated by this give and take action, the dual characteristics construct a foundation for their continued reciprocation. This becomes the foundation for the existence of each individual being, upon which the being becomes an object partner to God and is able to generate all forces necessary for its continued existence.

For example, atoms come into existence when electrons assemble about a nucleus and engage in electromagnetic interaction, which is a type of give and take action. When positive ions and negative ions perform give and take action, they form molecules and produce chemical reactions. The give and take action between positive and negative electrical charges underlies all electrical phenomena.

The circulation of nutrients between xylem and phloem is one of the give and take actions in plants that sustain their life functions and promote their growth. The give and take action between stamen and pistil is the dominant means for the reproduction of plant life. Animals multiply and maintain their species through the give and take action between male and female. Animal and plant life co-exist through such give and take actions as the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide and the cooperation between bees and flowers.

With respect to the heavenly bodies, the solar system exists based on the give and take action between the sun and the planets. Their various movements give structure to the universe. The earth and the moon also maintain their rotations and their revolution in a set orbit through their give and take action.

The human body maintains its life through the give and take actions between arteries and veins, inhalation and exhalation, sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, and so forth. The give and take action between mind and body enables an individual to carry out activities which further the purpose of life. The give and take actions between husband and wife in a family, among people in a society, between the government and citizens in a nation, and among the nations of the world are essential for them to live together in harmony and peace.

However evil a person may be, the force of his conscience, which impels him toward a virtuous life, is always active within his inner self. This is true for all people of all ages and places. No one can quell the force of conscience, which is powerfully at work even without one’s conscious awareness. The minute a person commits an evil act, he immediately feels pangs of conscience. If the function of the conscience were absent in fallen people, God’s providence of restoration would be impossible. How is this force of conscience generated? Since all forces are produced by give and take action, the conscience cannot generate the force needed for its operation all by itself. That is to say, the conscience can operate only when it forms a common base with some subject partner and engages in give and take action with it. The ultimate subject partner of our conscience is God.

The human Fall, in essence, severed our relationship with God. Rather than attaining oneness with God, our ancestors joined in a reciprocal relationship with Satan, thereby becoming one with him. Jesus was the only begotten Son of God; he attained oneness with God through perfect give and take action. When we unite with Jesus in a perfect reciprocal relationship, we can recover our original God-given nature. We can cultivate a give and take relationship with God and become one with Him. This is how Jesus serves as the mediator for fallen people; he is our way, truth and life. Jesus came with love and sacrifice to give all that he had to humankind, even offering his life. If we turn to him in faith, we will “not perish but have eternal life.” 10

Christianity is a religion of love. It strives through love and sacrifice to open the path to restore the horizontal relationships of give and take between people in the love of Christ. On this horizontal foundation of love, the way is opened to restore our vertical relationship of give and take with God. In truth, this was the main purpose of all the teachings and deeds of Jesus. For example, Jesus 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. 7:12

So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. -Matt. 7:12

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. -Matt. 10:32

He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. -Matt. 10:41

And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. -Matt. 10:42

2.3 The Four Position Foundation Which Realizes the Three Object Purpose through Origin-Division-Union Action

2.3.1 Origin-Division-Union Action
The process of God’s creation begins when the dual characteristics within God form a common base through the prompting of His universal prime energy. As they engage in give and take action, they generate a force which engenders multiplication. This force projects the dual characteristics into discrete substantial object partners, each relating to God as its center. These object partners to God then assume the position of subject partner and object partner to each other as they are prompted by the universal prime energy to form a common base and engage in give and take action. They then join together in one harmonious union to form a new object partner to God. This whole process-in which out of God, the Origin, two entities are separately manifested and reunited in oneness-is called origin-division-union action.

2.3.2 The Three Object Purpose
As a result of origin-division-union action, four positions are formed: the origin at the center, the subject partner and the object partner (distinct substantial object partners to the origin in the pattern of its dual characteristics), and their union. Any one of the four positions may assume the position of subject partner and engage the other three as its object partners, forming a communion of three object partners. When each of the four then acts as the subject partner and enters into give and take with the other three revolving around it, they fulfill the three object purpose.

2.3.3 The Four Position Foundation
When through origin-division-union action, the origin, the subject partner and object partner projected from the origin, and their union all fulfill the three object purpose, the four position foundation is established.

The four position foundation is the root of the number four. It is also the root of the number three, because it is the fulfillment of the three object purpose. The four position foundation is realized by God, husband and wife, and children; they complete the three stages of origin-division-union action. Hence, the four position foundation is the root of the principle of three stages. Furthermore, each of the four positions in the four position foundation takes on three object partners in fulfilling the three object purpose. In total there are twelve object partners; hence, it is the root of the number twelve. The four position foundation is the fundamental foundation of goodness. It is the realization of God’s purpose of creation. It is the fundamental foundation for the life of all beings, providing all the forces necessary for their existence and enabling God to abide in them. Therefore, the four position foundation is God’s eternal purpose of creation.

2.3.4 The Mode of Existence of the Four Position Foundation
All beings which have completed the four position foundation by fulfilling the three object purpose through origin-division-union action move in circular (elliptical) or spherical paths. As a result, they exist in three dimensions. Let us now investigate the reason for this.

Through origin-division-union action, the dual characteristics of God are projected to form two distinct and substantial object partners, which interact with each other as subject partner and object partner. The object partner responds to the subject partner to form a common base and begins give and take action around the subject partner. As they are held in balance by the force of giving (centrifugal) and the force of receiving (centripetal), the object partner revolves around the subject partner in a circular motion, and thus they become harmonious and unified. In the same manner, the subject partner becomes an object partner to God, revolving around God and thus attaining oneness with Him. When the object partner becomes completely one with its subject partner, their union can stand before God as a new object partner resembling His dual characteristics. Moreover, the way for any object partner to stand as an object partner before God is by making oneness with its subject partner.

In this union of subject partner and object partner, the subject partner and object partner are themselves composed of dual characteristics; these, by the same principle of give and take action, carry on their own circular motions. Thus, we see circular motions of give and take action within both the subject partner and object partner, which are simultaneously engaged in the greater circular motion within their union. Although there are moments when the two levels of circular motion among subject partners and object partners may happen to have orbits on the same plane, in general, because the angle of revolution around the subject partner is constantly changing, this circular movement becomes a spherical movement. In short, all beings which have completed the four position foundation carry on circular and spherical movement, and hence their mode of existence always becomes three-dimensional.

Let us take the solar system as an example. The planets, standing as object partners to the sun, each form a common base and engage in give and take action with the sun through centripetal and centrifugal forces. Revolving around the sun in elliptical orbits, the sun and planets attain harmony and oneness and form the solar system. At the same time the planet Earth, as a composite body of dual characteristics, rotates on its own axis. This is also true of the sun and the rest of the planets; they are in continuous rotation on their own axes, because they too are composite bodies of dual characteristics. The orbits caused by give and take action in the solar system do not occupy exactly the same plane. Rather, due to the varied angles of their orbits and rotations, the solar system exhibits spherical motion in three dimensions. Likewise, all heavenly bodies exist in three dimensions by virtue of their circular and spherical movements. When the countless heavenly bodies carry on give and take action with each other, they form one body and thereby give structure to the universe. The universe exists in three dimensions as, governed by the same principle, its elements engage in spherical movements.

When an electron forms a common base with a proton and engages in give and take action, it revolves around the proton in a circular motion. Thus, they unite and form an atom (Hydrogen). The electron and the proton are themselves composed of dual characteristics that cause them to spin in continuous rotation. Therefore, the circular motion arising from the give and take action between the proton and electron is not limited to an orbit on one plane but, by continuously altering its angle of revolution, creates a spherical movement. Through spherical movement the atom thus exists in three dimensions. By the same token, the magnetic force between positive and negative poles causes electrically charged particles to precess in spherical movement.

Let us consider the example of human beings. As the object partner to the mind, the body establishes a common base with the mind and engages in give and take action with it. Figuratively speaking, the body then revolves about the mind and attains complete oneness with it. If and when the mind stands as an object partner before God and revolves around Him, resonating in oneness with Him, and when the body becomes one with this mind, the individual will resemble God’s dual characteristics and thus stand as God’s embodied object partner. Thereupon, the person fulfills the purpose of creation. The mind and body are also each composed of dual characteristics, so they carry on continuous movement within themselves. Thus, the circular movement produced through the give and take dynamic between mind and body ceaselessly alters the angle of revolution around God and becomes spherical. People who have realized the purpose of creation exist as three-dimensional beings who always lead their lives in spherical relationships centered on God. This is how they can attain mastery even over the incorporeal world. 11

When the circular movement of the subject partner and the object partner on a single plane becomes a spherical movement in a three-dimensional orbit, the dynamism and creativity of the universe unfolds. Variations in each orbit’s distance, shape, state, direction, angle, force and velocity are manifest as the beauty of creation in its infinite variety.

Just as all beings have internal nature and external form, there is a type of spherical motion that corresponds to internal nature and a type that corresponds to external form. Likewise, there is a center of motion that corresponds to internal nature and a center that corresponds to external form. These two centers have the same relationship as that between internal nature and external form.

What is the ultimate center of all these spherical movements? Human beings are the center of all created things, which are embodied object partners to God’s dual characteristics in symbol. God is the center of human beings, who are created as His embodied object partners in image. Consequently, the ultimate center of all spherical movements in the universe is God.

Let us consider this further. Every object partner to God contains a subject partner and an object partner within itself. The center of their relationship is the subject partner, so the center of the union between subject partner and object partner is also the subject partner. Since God is the center of the subject partner, He is also the ultimate center of the union. As discussed above, the three substantial object partners to God (subject partner, object partner, union) also form common bases with each other. As each of the three takes the central position, and becomes one with the others through give and take action with God as their ultimate center, they fulfill the three object purpose and establish the four position foundation. Accordingly, the ultimate center of the four position foundation is God.

All things that have established four position foundations in this manner are individual embodiments of truth. As mentioned before, individual embodiments of truth are divided broadly into individual embodiments of truth in image (human beings) and individual embodiments of truth in symbol (the rest of the creation). The universe is composed of countless individual embodiments of truth, mutually related to each other in good order from those of the lowest level to those of the highest level. Among them all, human beings occupy the highest level.

Individual embodiments of truth revolve spherically around each other, with those of a lower level acting as object partners to those of a higher level. Thus, the center of any spherical movement is an individual embodiment of truth of a higher level which acts as the subject partner. The centers of the countless symbolic individual embodiments of truth are interconnected from the lowest to the highest. The highest centers are human beings, who are individual embodiments of truth in image.

Let us examine the centrality of human beings. Science holds that elementary particles are the most basic building blocks of matter and explains that they are composed of energy. Considering the purpose of existence of the individual embodiments of truth that make up the material universe at different levels, we can surmise: energy exists in order to form particles, particles exist to form atoms, atoms to form molecules, molecules to form matter, and matter exists for the creation of all the individual entities in the universe. Likewise, the activity of energy is for the purpose of forming particles, the activity of particles is for atoms, the activity of atoms is for molecules, the activity of molecules is for matter, and the activity of matter is for the purpose of constructing the universe.

What is the purpose of the universe? What is its center? The answer to both questions is none other than human beings. This is why God, after creating human beings, commanded them to have dominion over the universe.12 If there were no people to appreciate the universe, then it could be likened to a museum without any visitors. The articles on display in a museum attain their true value and are cherished as historical relics only when there are people who appreciate, love and take delight in them. Their relationship with human beings gives value to their existence. If there were no one to appreciate them, then what meaning would their existence have? The same holds true for the universe, whose lords are human beings.

The diverse things in creation enter into mutual relationships with a common purpose when human beings discover the source and nature of matter, and when they identify and classify plants and animals of the water, land and air, and all the stars in the sky. Their common purpose is realized when they are assimilated into the human body as elements essential for people to maintain their physiological functions, and when they participate in the construction of a comfortable living environment for people. In these and other ways, human beings stand as the center of the created universe in terms of its external form.

In addition, people relate to the universe from their position as the internal center. While the relationships discussed above are physical relationships, here we consider mental or spiritual relationships. The human body, though consisting of matter, fully responds physiologically to the emotion, intellect and will of the human mind. This demonstrates that matter has within itself elements which resonate with emotion, intellect and will-elements which constitute the internal nature of matter. This is the reason all things in the universe respond to human emotion, intellect and will, albeit to different degrees. We become intoxicated with the beauty of the natural world and experience the rapture of mystical union. We experience this because we are the center of the internal natures of all things in the natural world. Human beings are thus created as the center of the universe, and the place where God and human beings become completely one is the center of the cosmos.

Let us discuss from another viewpoint how human beings are the center of the cosmos, which is composed of both the spirit world and the physical world. Every human being embodies all the elements in the cosmos. Yet, as we discussed earlier, everything in the cosmos can be divided broadly into subject partners and object partners. Had Adam, the first human ancestor, reached perfection, he would have embodied all the subject elements in the things of creation. Had Eve attained perfection, she would have embodied all the object elements in the things of creation. God created Adam and Eve to have dominion over the natural world. Growing together toward perfection, Adam was to become the king of all the subject elements in creation and Eve was to become the queen of all the object elements. If they had then become one as husband and wife, they would have become the center that could rule the entire universe consisting of subject partners and object partners.

Human beings are created to be the center of harmony of the whole cosmos. If Adam and Eve had attained perfection and united as husband and wife, it would have meant the joining into oneness of the two centers of the dual characteristics of all beings. Had Adam and Eve moved together in harmony and attained oneness, the whole cosmos with its dual characteristics would have danced in harmony. The place where Adam and Eve become perfectly one in heart and body as husband and wife is also the place where God, the subject partner giving love, and human beings, the object partners returning beauty, become united. This is the center of goodness where the purpose of creation is fulfilled. Here God, our Parent, draws near and abides within His perfected children and rests peacefully for eternity. This center of goodness is the object partner to God’s eternal love, where God can be stimulated with joy for eternity. This is the place where the Word of God is incarnated and brought to fulfillment. It is the center of truth and the center of the original mind which guides us to pursue the purpose of creation.

Consequently, the entire universe will perform a spherical movement with a unified purpose when it is founded on the four position foundation established by a perfected man and woman who join as husband and wife centered on God. Tragically, the universe lost its center when human beings fell. This is why St. Paul wrote that the creation has been groaning in travail while longing for the children of God.13 Creation awaits the people who have restored their original nature to appear and become its center.

2.4 The Omnipresence of God
We have learned that the four position foundation, built upon the three object purpose through the origin-division-union action, proceeds in spherical movement around God and becomes one with God. This is the fundamental foundation for all beings to receive God’s governance and be provided with all the powers necessary for life. In a world where God’s purpose of creation has been fulfilled, all individual beings embody God’s original internal nature and original external form and initiate spherical movements to build the foundation for God’s governance. God is thus omnipresent.

2.5 The Multiplication of Life
For living things to propagate their kind they must reproduce, and this multiplication takes place through origin-division-union action which is built upon good interactions. For example, in plants, seeds develop into flowers with stamens and pistils; through pollination they produce their seed and propagate their kind. Male and female animals mature, engage in courtship, mate and bear offspring. All cells in animals and plants divide through give and take action.

When the body acts according to the will of the mind, and the mind and body thus engage in give and take action, the individual will live a purposeful life. This individual will then attract like-minded people. As these companions work together productively, their group will grow. It may be said that the universe is formed by the multiplication of myriad substantial manifestations of God’s original internal nature and original external form through their give and take action in the pursuit of the purpose of creation.

2.6 The Reason All Beings Are Composed of Dual Characteristics
For any being to exist, energy is required, and energy can be produced only through give and take action. However, nothing can reciprocate without a partner. To generate the forces necessary for existence, a being must contain dual characteristics, a subject partner and an object partner, which can engage in give and take action.

A movement in a straight line cannot be sustained forever. For anything to have an eternal nature it must move in a circle; give and take action between a subject partner and an object partner is necessary for any circular motion. This is true even for God; having dual characteristics allows Him to live eternally. In order for God’s creation to resemble His eternal nature and be His eternal object partner, it likewise must be composed of dual characteristics. Similarly, time maintains its perpetuity through its periodic cycles.

Section 3: The Purpose of Creation

3.1 The Purpose of the Creation of the Universe
It is recorded in the Bible that after God completed each day of creation, He saw that it was good.14 This suggests that God wanted His creations to be object partners embodying goodness that He might take delight in them. How can the creation give God the greatest joy?

God created human beings as the final step in creating the universe. He created them in His image, in the likeness of His internal nature and external form, and gave them sensibility to all feelings and emotions because it was His intention to share joy with them. After their creation, God blessed Adam and Eve:

Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. -Gen. 1:28

These are the three great blessings: to be fruitful (mature and ready to bear fruit), multiply and have dominion over the creation. Had Adam and Eve obeyed this divine mandate and built the Kingdom of Heaven, there is no doubt that God would have felt the greatest joy as His sons and daughters rejoiced in the world of His ideal.

How can God’s three great blessings be fulfilled? They can be realized only when the four position foundation, which is the fundamental foundation of creation, has been established. The three great blessings are fulfilled when the whole creation, including human beings, completes the four position foundation with God as the center. This is the Kingdom of Heaven, where ultimate goodness is realized and God feels the greatest joy. This is, in fact, the very purpose for which God created the universe.

The ultimate purpose of the universe, with human beings at its center, is to return joy to God. All entities have dual purposes. As was explained earlier, every entity has dual centers of movement, one of internal nature and another of external form. These centers pursue corresponding purposes-for the sake of the whole and for the sake of the individual-whose relationship is the same as that between internal nature and external form. These dual purposes relate to each other as cause and result, internal and external, subject partner and object partner. In God’s ideal, there cannot be any individual purpose which does not support the whole purpose, nor can there be any whole purpose that does not guarantee the interests of the individual. The infinite variety of beings in the universe form one vast organic body interwoven by these dual purposes.

3.2 Good Object Partners for the Joy of God
To understand more precisely the issues concerning God’s purpose of creation, let us first examine how joy is produced. Joy is not produced by an individual alone. Joy arises when we have an object partner in which our internal nature and external form are reflected and developed. Our object partner helps us to feel our own internal nature and external form through the stimulation it gives. This object partner may be intangible or it may be substantial. For example, an artist’s object partner may be an idea in his mind, or the finished painting or sculpture which substantiates that idea. When he visualizes his idea or beholds his work, he is stimulated to feel his own internal nature and external form reflected in it and feels joy and satisfaction. When his idea alone is the object partner, it is not as stimulating, nor is the joy that it brings as profound, as that from a finished work. This nature of human beings originates in God’s nature. In like manner, God feels the fullness of joy when He is stimulated by His substantial object partners to feel His original internal nature and original external form through them.

It was explained earlier that when the Kingdom of Heaven is realized-through the fulfillment of the three great blessings and the establishment of the four position foundation-it becomes the good object partner that gives joy to God. Let us investigate how the Kingdom becomes God’s good object partner.

The key to God’s first blessing is the perfection of individual character. An individual’s mind and body are discrete projections and object partners of God’s dual characteristics. In order for an individual to perfect his character, he must form a four position foundation within himself whereby his mind and body become one through give and take action with God as their center. Such individuals become the temples of God,15 achieve complete oneness with Him, 16 and acquire a divine nature. They experience the Heart of God as if it were their own. Hence, they understand His Will and live fully attuned to it. When a person abides in the state of individual perfection, he lives as the substantial object partner to his mind. Because the center of his mind is God, he also lives as the substantial object partner to God. Both the mind and God rejoice as they experience their internal nature and external form through the stimulation which their object partners give them. Accordingly, when people realize God’s first blessing, they become God’s beloved who inspire Him with joy. Sharing all the feelings of God as their own, they would never commit any sinful acts that would cause God grief. This means they would never fall.

God’s second blessing was to be fulfilled by Adam and Eve after they had achieved individual perfection as object partners to God, each manifesting an aspect of God’s dual characteristics. In order to construct the four position foundation in their family, Adam and Eve should have joined in loving oneness as husband and wife and raised children. This would have been the fulfillment of the second blessing. A family or society that has formed the four position foundation in line with God’s ideal is patterned after the image of a perfect individual. It thus becomes the substantial object partner to the individual who lives in oneness with God, and consequently, it also becomes the substantial object partner to God. The individual feels joy, and likewise God feels joy, when each perceives in this family or community the manifestation of his own internal nature and external form. When God’s second blessing is fulfilled, this family or community also becomes a good object partner giving joy to God.

Before we examine how a person upon attaining the third blessing establishes a good object partner giving joy to God, we must first investigate the relationship between human beings and the creation from the viewpoint of internal nature and external form.

Prior to creating human beings, God created the natural world by expressing partial reflections of the internal nature and external form He had conceived for human beings. Consequently, a human being contains within himself the sum total of the essences of all things. This is the reason he is called the microcosm of the cosmos.

When God created living things, He began with creatures of a lower order. Over the course of time, He created animals of a higher order with more complex biological functions, culminating with human beings at the highest level. Therefore, human beings contain all the elements, structures and qualities found in animals. For example, human vocal cords are so versatile that they can imitate virtually any animal sound. Because the human body contains all the beautiful curves and lines of the creation, an artist hones his skills by drawing nude models.

Although human beings and plants have different structures and functions, they are similar in that they both are composed of cells. All the elements, structures and characteristics of plants can be found in human beings. For example, a plant’s leaf corresponds to the human lung in appearance and function. As leaves absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the human lung absorbs oxygen. Branches and stems of plants correspond to the human circulatory system, which distributes nourishment to the entire body; the xylem and phloem correspond to human arteries and veins. The roots of a plant correspond to the human stomach and intestines, which absorb nutrients.

Human beings were fashioned from clay, water and air; consequently they contain elements of the mineral kingdom. Moreover, the earth displays a similarity to the structure of the human body: the earth’s crust is covered with plants, its underground waterways exist inside the substrata, and beneath it all lies a molten core surrounded by a rocky mantle. This resembles the structure of the human body, which has skin covered with hair, blood vessels running inside the musculature, and marrow lying deeper still within the bones.

The meaning of God’s third blessing is the perfection of a human being’s dominion over the natural world. To fulfill this blessing, the four position foundation of dominion must be established centered on God. Human beings and the natural world, which are the substantial object partners of God at the level of image and symbol respectively, must share love and beauty to become completely one. 17

The natural world is an object partner which exhibits human internal nature and external form in diverse ways. Hence, ideal human beings receive stimulation from the world of nature. Sensing their own internal nature and external form displayed throughout the creation, they feel immense joy. God also delights when He experiences the stimulation of His original internal nature and original external form from the universe; this is possible when it becomes His third object partner through the harmonious union of human beings and the natural world. Therefore, when human beings realize God’s third blessing, the entire universe becomes yet another good object partner giving joy to God. Had God’s purpose of creation been realized in this way, an ideal world without even a trace of sin would have been established on the earth. We call this world the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. When life in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth comes to a close, people are to enter the spirit world and naturally enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven there.

Based on the discussion thus far, we can understand that the Kingdom of Heaven resembles a person who has achieved individual perfection, taking after God’s original internal nature and external form. In an individual, the mind’s command is transmitted to the whole body through the central nervous system, causing the body to act with one purpose. Likewise, in the Kingdom of Heaven, God’s direction will be conveyed to all His children through the True Parents of humankind, guiding everyone to live as one.

Section 4: Original Value

4.1 The Process and Standard for the Determination of Original Value
How is a being’s original created value determined? The value of an entity may be determined by the relationship between its purpose of existence and the desire that a human being has for it. To be more precise, the value of an entity intended at its creation is not fixed as an inherent attribute. Rather, it is established through the mutual relationship between the purpose of the entity according to God’s ideal of creation, and people’s original desire to treasure it and bring out its true worth. It finds its true value when it participates as an object partner in a God-centered four position foundation by relating with a person through give and take action and by their union becoming the third object partner to God.

What sets the standard by which the original value of an entity is determined? Since its original value is determined when it participates in a four position foundation, and since the center of this four position foundation is God, it is God who sets the standard for its value. Since God is absolute, the original value of an object partner determined in relation to this standard set by God must also be absolute.

Consider a rose; how is its original beauty determined? It is determined when the purpose for which God created the flower and the divinely given human desire to appreciate and bring out its beauty are fulfilled together. To put it another way, an ideal person feels the fullness of joy when his desire to pursue beauty is satisfied by the emotional stimulation that the flower gives him. At that moment, the flower manifests its original beauty. The flower’s beauty becomes absolute when it achieves its inherent purpose, which is to give complete joy to its subject partner. The human desire to appreciate the beauty of the flower is an instance of the desire to feel aspects of one’s own internal nature and external form through an object partner. The moment the flower’s purpose for which it was created and the human desire to bring out its value are fulfilled, the subject partner and the object partner enter a state of harmonious oneness.

An entity attains its true value when it and a human being, its subject partner, enter a state of harmonious oneness and form the third object partner to God in the four position foundation. Through this process, the true values of all things are determined absolutely, based on their relationship with the absolute standard of value set by God. Until now, no object partner’s value could become absolute; it has remained relative because its relationship with fallen people was not based on God’s ideal of creation but was based on satanic purpose and desire.

4.2 Original Emotion, Intellect and Will; and Original Beauty, Truth and Goodness
The human mind has three faculties: emotion, intellect and will. The human body acts in response to the commands of the mind. When the body responds to the mind’s emotion, intellect and will, its actions pursue the values of beauty, truth and goodness respectively. God is the subject partner to the human mind; hence, He is also the subject partner to human emotion, intellect and will. Desiring to realize his original value, a person responds to the perfect emotion, perfect intellect and perfect will of God through his mind, and acts accordingly through his body. Thus, he manifests the values of original beauty, original truth and original goodness.

4.3 Love and Beauty, Good and Evil, Righteousness and Unrighteousness

4.3.1 Love and Beauty
When two entities, discrete manifestations of God’s dual characteristics, form a common base and seek to unite as the third object partner to God and establish a four position foundation, they will engage in give and take action. In accomplishing this, the emotional force that the subject partner gives to the object partner is called love, and the emotional force that the object partner returns to the subject partner is called beauty. The force of love is active, and the stimulation of beauty is passive.

In the relationship between God and human beings, God gives love as the subject partner and human beings return beauty as object partners. In the relationship between a man and a woman, the man is the subject partner, giving love, while the woman is the object partner, returning beauty. In the universe, people are the subject partners who give love to the natural world, and the natural world returns beauty as an object partner. However, when the subject partner and object partner become completely one in harmony, love is found within beauty and beauty is found within love. This is because when a subject partner and object partner become one in a circular movement, the subject partner sometimes acts as an object partner, and the object partner sometimes acts as a subject partner.

In interpersonal relationships, the beauty that a subordinate returns in response to the love of a superior is called loyalty, and the beauty that children return in response to the love of their parents is called filial piety. The beauty that a wife returns in response to the love of her husband is called fidelity. The purpose of love and beauty is to enable two wholesome beings, springing forth from God, to establish the four position foundation and realize the purpose of creation. By sharing love and beauty with each other, they join in harmonious oneness, becoming the third object partner to God.

Next, let us investigate the nature of God’s love. Had Adam and Eve attained perfection, each becoming a substantial object partner to God resembling one of His dual characteristics, they would have joined as husband and wife and raised children in a godly family. In so doing, they would have experienced three kinds of original love with their three object partners: parental love, conjugal love and children’s love. (The love of the first object partner, the love of the second object partner, and the love of the third object partner.) Only then would they complete the three object purpose and form the four position foundation. This would be the fulfillment of their purpose of creation.

God’s love is the subject to the various kinds of love flowing through the four position foundation. Therefore, God’s love is manifested through the various loves of the three object partners. God’s love is the underlying force which breathes life into the four position foundation. Accordingly, the four position foundation is the vessel of perfect beauty through which we can receive and enjoy the fullness of God’s love. It is also the home of perfect joy and the wellspring of goodness. Upon this ground, the purpose of creation is complete.

4.3.2 Good and Evil
An act or the result of an act is considered good when it fulfills God’s purpose of creation. This takes place when a subject partner and object partner unite through the harmonious and spirited give and take of love and beauty, become the third object partner to God, and form the four position foundation. On the other hand, an act or its result is called evil when it violates God’s purpose of creation by forming a four position foundation under the dominion of Satan.

For example, when an individual realizes God’s first blessing and fulfills his true purpose, the actions to this end are good and the individual is good. These actions involve the free-flowing give and take of love and beauty between the mind and the body so that they unite in the way of God and form the individual four position foundation. When Adam and Eve achieve the second blessing by building a family that realizes God’s purpose, their actions to this end are good and the family they form is good. These actions include joining as a couple in the way of God through the harmonious and passionate sharing of love and beauty, bearing and raising children, and thus establishing the family four position foundation. Moreover, when a perfect individual achieves the third blessing, the actions to this end are good and all things that he nurtures are good. By relating with the natural world as his second self and by becoming completely one with it, a union is formed which becomes the third object partner to God, thus constructing the four position foundation of dominion. Conversely, when a person forms a four position foundation under the bondage of Satan and realizes a purpose contrary to God’s three blessings, this act or its result is called evil.

4.3.3 Righteousness and Unrighteousness
Righteousness refers to that quality in a person which leads him to pursue goodness and further its purpose. Unrighteousness refers to that quality in a person which leads him to pursue evil and further its satanic purpose. A righteous life is absolutely necessary for the attainment of goodness.

Section 5: The Process of the Creation of the Universe and Its Growing Period

5.1 The Process of the Creation of the Universe
According to the Genesis account of the creation of the universe, amidst the primordial state of chaos, void and darkness, God created light. God next separated the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament. He then divided the land from the ocean, created plants, fish, birds and mammals, and finally made humankind. All of this took a period of six “days.” From this account, we can surmise that the process of creating the universe took some period of time represented by six days.

The process of creation recorded in the Bible bears some resemblance to the theory of the origin and formation of the universe as described by modern science. According to modern science, the universe began as expanding plasma. Out of the chaos and void of space, the heavenly bodies formed and gave light. As the molten earth cooled, volcanic eruptions filled the sky with a firmament of water. The land rose and the water fell as rain, creating the continents and oceans. Next, the lower plants and animals came into being. Then came fish, birds, mammals, and finally humankind, in that order. The age of the earth is calculated to be several billion years. Considering that the account of the creation of the universe recorded in the Bible thousands of years ago nearly coincides with the findings of modern scientific research, we are reassured that this biblical record must be a revelation from God.

The universe did not suddenly spring forth complete, without regard to the flow of time. In fact, its origin and development took an enormous length of time. Therefore, the biblical period of six days for the completion of the universe is not to be reckoned by the number of literal sunrises and sunsets. It symbolizes six ordered periods of time in the creation process.

5.2 The Growing Period for the Creation
The fact that it took six days, that is, six time periods, to complete the creation of the universe implies that some period of time was also necessary to complete the creation of each of the individual entities that make up the universe. Furthermore, the way the Genesis account reckons each day reveals something about the passage of time required for the creation of an entity. The account has a unusual way of numbering each day of creation. When the first day of creation was completed, it states, “There was evening and there was morning, one day.”18 One would think that the arrival of the morning after the passage of an evening and a night would be reckoned as the second day, yet it is referred to as the first day. The Bible states “one day” to show that a created being must pass through a growing period, symbolized by the night, before it reaches perfection in the morning. Then, as it greets this new morning, it can step forward and realize its ideal of creation.

All phenomena occurring in the universe bear fruit only after the lapse of a certain interval of time. All things are designed to reach completion only after passing through a set growing period.

5.2.1 The Three Ordered Stages of the Growing Period
The universe unfolds and manifests God’s original internal nature and original external form based on mathematical principles. Hence, we can infer that one aspect of God’s nature is mathematical. God is the one absolute reality in whom the dual characteristics interact in harmony; therefore, He is a Being of the number three. All created beings, having been conceived in the likeness of God, manifest their existence, movement and growth through a course of three stages.

The four position foundation, which is God’s purpose of creation, was to be completed through a three-stage process: the origin in God, the marriage of Adam and Eve, and the multiplication of children. In order to establish the four position foundation and carry on circular movement, a being must first perform the three-stage origin- division-union action and fulfill the three object purpose, with each position engaged in interaction with the other three. It is like what is needed for something to stand firm: it must be supported by at least three points. Accordingly, everything reaches perfection by passing through three ordered stages of growth: the formation stage, the growth stage and the completion stage.

In the natural world, many things appear in threes. It contains three kingdoms: mineral, plant and animal. Matter exists in three states: gas, liquid and solid. Most plants are composed of three parts: roots, branches or stems, and leaves. Animals consist of head, body and limbs.

There are also many examples of the number three in the Bible. Human beings could not fulfill the purpose of their existence because they fell without completing the three stages of the growing period. Hence, in their renewed efforts to realize their purpose, human beings must pass through these three stages. In the providence of restoration, God has worked to reclaim the number three, which explains why there are many records in the Bible of the number three and dispensations based on the number three: the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit); the three levels of Paradise; the three archangels; the three levels of Noah’s ark; the three flights of the dove from the ark after the flood; the three offerings of Abraham; and the three-day journey before the sacrifice of Isaac. At the time of Moses there were: the three-day plague of darkness, the three days of purification at the start of the Exodus, the three forty-year periods for the journey to Canaan, and the three days of purification under Joshua’s leadership just prior to crossing the Jordan River. In the life of Jesus we see: three decades of private life followed by three years of public ministry, the three wise men from the East who brought three gifts, the three disciples, the three temptations, the three prayers in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter’s three denials, the three hours of darkness at the crucifixion, and Jesus’ resurrection after three days in the tomb.

When did the first human ancestors fall? They fell during their growing period, when they were still immature. If human beings fell after they had attained perfection, then there would be no basis for belief in the omnipotence of God. If human beings fell after they had become perfect embodiments of goodness, then goodness itself would be imperfect. Accordingly, we would be forced to conclude that God, as the source of goodness, is also imperfect.

It is written in the Book of Genesis that God warned 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.”19 They had a choice to either ignore God’s warning and lose their lives or to heed the warning and live. The fact that they had the potential either to fall or to become perfect demonstrates that they were still in a state of immaturity. The universe was designed to reach perfection after a certain growing period, described in the Bible as six days. As one of God’s creations, human beings are also bound to this principle.

At what stage of the growing period did the first humans fall? They fell at the top of the growth stage. This can be demonstrated by examining the circumstances surrounding the fall of the first human ancestors and the history of the providence of restoration. These will be further clarified through a thorough study of this volume.

5.2.2 The Realm of Indirect Dominion
During the growing period, all beings in the creation grow by virtue of the autonomy and governance given by God’s Principle. God, the Author of the Principle, has regard only for the fruits of their growth which are based on the Principle. In this way, He governs all things indirectly. We call this growing period the realm of God’s indirect dominion or the realm of dominion based on accomplishments through the Principle.

All things reach perfection after passing through the growing period (the realm of indirect dominion) by virtue of the autonomy and governance given by God’s Principle. Human beings, however, are created in such a way that their growth requires the fulfillment of their own portion of responsibility, in addition to the guidance provided by the Principle. They must exercise this responsibility in order to pass successfully through the growing period and reach perfection. We can deduce from God’s commandment to Adam and Eve 20 that the first human ancestors were responsible to believe in the Word of God and not eat of the fruit. Whether or not they disobeyed God and fell depended not on God, but on themselves. Hence, whether or not human beings attain perfection does not depend only on God’s power of creation; it also requires the fulfillment of human responsibility. In His capacity as the Creator, God created human beings in such a manner that they can pass through the growing period (the realm of indirect dominion) and attain perfection only when they have completed their own portion of responsibility. Because God Himself created human beings in this way, He does not interfere with human responsibility.

God endowed human beings with a portion of responsibility for the following reason. By fulfilling their given portion of responsibility, with which even God does not interfere, human beings are meant to inherit the creative nature of God and participate in God’s great work of creation. God intends human beings to earn ownership and become worthy to rule over the creation as creators in their own right, 21 just as God governs over them as their Creator. This is the principal difference between human beings and the rest of creation.

Once we fulfill our responsibility, we inherit God’s creatorship and attain dominion over all things, including the angels. God provides us with a course through the realm of indirect dominion that we may attain this perfection. We fallen people, who have not yet attained the qualification to rule, must fulfill our responsibility according to the Principle of Restoration. By so doing, we can progress through the realm of indirect dominion and thereby restore our right to rule over all things, including Satan. This is the only way we can accomplish the purpose of creation. God’s providence of salvation has been prolonged for so long because the central figures in charge of the providence of restoration repeatedly made mistakes while attempting to fulfill their portions of responsibility, with which even God could not interfere.

No matter how great the saving grace of the cross of Christ, the salvation knocking at our door will be for naught unless we fortify our faith, which is our portion of responsibility. It was God’s responsibility to grant the benefit of resurrection through the crucifixion of Jesus, but to believe or not to believe is strictly one’s own portion of responsibility. 22

535.2.3 The Realm of Direct Dominion
What is the realm of God’s direct dominion and what is its purpose? Human beings abide in the realm of direct dominion when, as subject partner and object partner, they unite in the love of God to form a four position foundation and become one in heart with God. In this realm they freely and fully share love and beauty according to the will of the subject partner, thus realizing the purpose of goodness. The realm of direct dominion is the realm of perfection. It is essential for the fulfillment of the purpose of creation.

What is the meaning of God’s direct dominion over human beings? Once Adam and Eve had perfected themselves as individuals centered on God, they were to live together as one, forming the four position foundation in their family. Living in oneness with God’s Heart, they would have led a life of goodness, sharing the fullness of love and beauty with Adam as the head of the family. In the realm of God’s direct dominion, people will intensely experience God’s Heart within themselves. Hence, they will know His Will and carry it out in their actions. Just as every part of the body spontaneously moves in response to the subtle directions of the mind, people will spontaneously carry out the Will of God in accord with the deeply felt intentions of His Heart. In this state of perfect resonance, the purpose of creation is realized.

What will the world be like when the natural world abides under the direct dominion of human beings? When a fully mature person relates with the diverse things in nature as his object partners, they come together to form a four position foundation. People who are in total resonance with God’s Heart will lead the natural world in the free-flowing sharing of love and beauty, and the entire universe will realize goodness. In such a manner, human beings will exercise direct dominion over all things.

Section 6: The Incorporeal World and the Corporeal World Whose Center is Human Beings

6.1 The Incorporeal World and the Corporeal World as Substantial Realities
The universe was created after the pattern of a human being, who is in the image of God’s dual characteristics. Therefore, the structure of the universe and every entity in it resembles that of a human being, which consists most fundamentally of mind and body. 23 Corresponding to the human mind and body, the universe consists of the incorporeal world and the corporeal world, both of which are real and substantial. The incorporeal world is so called because we cannot perceive it through our five physical senses. Yet we can perceive it through our five spiritual senses. Those who have had spiritual experiences testify that the incorporeal world appears as real as the world in which we live. The incorporeal and corporeal worlds together form the cosmos.

The body cannot act apart from its relationship with the mind; a person cannot perform true actions apart from a relationship with God. Likewise, the corporeal world cannot manifest its true value apart from a relationship with the incorporeal world. Furthermore, just as we cannot discern a person’s character without fathoming his mind, and we cannot understand the fundamental meaning of human life without understanding God, so we cannot completely understand the nature and structure of the corporeal world without understanding the nature and structure of the incorporeal world. The incorporeal world, or spirit world, is in the position of subject partner, and the corporeal world, or physical world, is in the position of object partner. The latter is like a shadow of the former. 24 When we shed our physical bodies after our life in the physical world, we enter the spirit world as spirits and live there for eternity.

6.2 The Position of Human Beings in the Cosmos
The position of human beings in the cosmos has three aspects. First, God created human beings to be the rulers of the universe. 25 The universe does not of itself have internal sensibility toward God. Hence, God does not govern the universe directly. Rather, God endowed human beings with sensibilities to all things in the universe and gave them the mandate to rule over the universe directly. God created the human body with elements from the physical world-such as water, clay and air-to allow us to perceive and govern it. To make it possible for us to perceive and govern the spirit world, God created our spirits with the same spiritual elements that compose the spirit world. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah, who had died hundreds of years earlier, appeared before Jesus and ministered to him. 26 These were actually the spirits of Moses and Elijah, yet Jesus was able to converse with them and was glorified before them. Human beings, composed of flesh which can dominate the physical world and spirit which can dominate the spiritual world, likewise have the potential to rule both worlds.

Second, God created human beings to be the mediator and the center of harmony of the cosmos. When a person’s flesh and spirit unite through give and take action and become God’s substantial object partner, the physical and spiritual worlds can also begin give and take action with that person as their center. They thus achieve harmonious integration to construct a cosmos that is responsive to God. Like the air that enables two tuning forks to resonate with each other, a true person acts as the mediator and center of harmony between the two worlds. The ability to communicate between the two worlds also may be likened to a radio or television which transforms invisible waves into perceptible images and sounds. Thus, a person can accurately convey the realities of the spirit world to the physical world.

Third, God created human beings to encapsulate in a substantial form the essences of everything in the cosmos. God created the universe by projecting and developing the pre-existent prototype of the human internal nature and external form into countless substantial forms. The human spirit encapsulates all of the elements found in the spirit world, since God created the spirit world as the unfolding of the spirit’s internal nature and external form. The human body encapsulates all the elements of the physical world, since God created the material realm as the unfolding of the body’s internal nature and external form. Accordingly, since human beings contain within themselves the essences of all things in the cosmos, each person is a microcosm.

However, due to the human Fall, the universe has lost its master. St. Paul wrote, “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” 27 -that is, people who have been restored to the original state. Tragically, with the Fall of human beings, who should have served as the center of universal harmony, the give and take between the physical and spiritual worlds was severed. The two worlds have been rendered utterly unable to achieve integration and harmony. Since they remain divided, Paul continued, “the whole creation has been groaning in travail.” 28

Jesus came as the new Adam, perfect in flesh and spirit. He was the microcosm of the cosmos. This is why it is written, “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” 29 Jesus is our Savior. He came into the world to open the way for fallen people to become perfect as he was perfect, by moving our hearts to believe in him and become one with him.

6.3 The Reciprocal Relationship between the Physical Self and the Spirit Self

6.3.1 The Structure and Functions of the Physical Self
The physical self consists of the dual characteristics of the physical mind (subject partner) and the physical body (object partner). The physical mind directs the physical body to maintain the functions necessary for its survival, protection and reproduction. Instinct, for example, is an aspect of an animal’s physical mind. For the physical self to grow in good health, it must have proper nourishment. It must absorb air and sunlight, which are intangible, yang types of nourishment, and must eat and drink food and water, which are tangible, yin types of nourishment. The body has give and take with this nourishment through its digestive and circulatory systems.

Good or evil in the conduct of the physical self is the main determinant of whether the spirit self becomes good or evil. This is because the physical self provides a certain element, which we call the vitality element, to the spirit self. In our everyday experience, our mind rejoices when our physical self performs good deeds but feels anxiety after evil conduct. This is because vitality elements, which can be good or evil according to the deeds of the physical self, are infused into our spirit self.

6.3.2 The Structure and Functions of the Spirit Self
Our spirit self, or spirit, is a substantial yet incorporeal reality which can be apprehended only through the spiritual senses. It is the subject partner to our physical self. Our spirit can communicate directly with God and is meant to govern the incorporeal world, including the angels. In appearance our spirit self matches our physical self. After we shed the physical self, we enter the spirit world and live there for eternity. The reason we desire an eternal life is because our innermost self is the spirit self which has an eternal nature. Our spirit self consists of the dual characteristics of spirit mind (subject partner) and spirit body (object partner). The spirit mind is the center of the spirit self, and it is where God dwells.

The spirit grows through give and take action between two types of nourishment: life elements of a yang type that come from God, and vitality elements of a yin type that come from the physical self. The spirit self not only receives vitality elements from the physical self; it also returns an element to the physical self which we call the living spirit element. When people receive grace from a heavenly spirit, they undergo many positive changes in their physical self; they feel infinite joy and new strength welling up in them which can even drive away illness. Such phenomena occur because the physical self receives living spirit elements from the spirit self.

The spirit can grow only while it abides in the flesh. Thus, the relationship between the physical self and the spirit self is similar to that between a tree and its fruit. When the physical mind obeys the spirit mind and the physical self acts according to the good purpose of the spirit mind, the physical self receives living spirit elements from the spirit self and becomes wholesome. In return, the physical self provides good vitality elements to the spirit self, which enable the spirit self to grow properly in the direction of goodness.

Truth illuminates the innermost desires of the spirit mind. A person must first comprehend his spirit mind’s deepest desire through the truth and then put this knowledge into action to fulfill his responsibility. Only then do the living spirit elements and vitality elements reciprocate within him, enabling him to progress toward goodness. The living spirit element and the vitality element have the relationship of internal nature and external form. Because all people have living spirit elements ever active within themselves, even an evil person’s original mind inclines toward goodness. However, unless he actually leads a life of goodness, the living spirit elements cannot engage in proper give and take with the vitality elements, nor can they be infused into his physical self to make it wholesome.

It can be inferred from the above that the spirit self can attain perfection only during a person’s earthly life. The spirit mind guides the spirit self as it grows in the soil of the physical self. The growth of the spirit self toward perfection progresses through the three orderly stages ordained by the Principle of Creation. A spirit in the formation stage of life is called a form spirit; in the growth stage, a life spirit; and in the completion stage, a divine spirit.

A spirit fully matures as a divine spirit when the person’s spirit self and physical self unite through perfect give and take action centered on God and form the four position foundation. A divine spirit can accurately feel and perceive every reality in the spirit world. As these spiritual realities resonate through the body and manifest themselves as physiological phenomena, they can be recognized through the five physical senses. People of divine spirit, who thus resonate with the spirit world, build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. When they shed their physical bodies, they will make a smooth transition into the Kingdom of Heaven in the spirit world. For this reason, the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven will be realized only after the Kingdom of Heaven on earth has been established.

All the sensibilities of a spirit are cultivated through the reciprocal relationship with the physical self during earthly life. Therefore, only when a person reaches perfection and is totally immersed in the love of God while on earth can he fully delight in the love of God as a spirit after his death. All the qualities of the spirit self are developed while it abides in the physical self: Sinful conduct during earthly life aggravates evil and ugliness in the spirit of a fallen person, while the redemption of sins granted during earthly life opens the way for his spirit to become good. This was the reason Jesus had to come to the earth in the flesh to save sinful humanity. We must lead a good life while we are on the earth. Jesus gave the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter, who remained on the earth, 30 and said, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” 31 because the primary objective of the providence of restoration must be carried out on the earth.

It is not God who decides whether a person’s spirit enters heaven or hell upon his death; it is decided by the spirit himself. Humans are created so that once they reach perfection they will fully breathe the love of God. Those who committed sinful deeds while on earth become crippled spirits who are incapable of fully breathing in the love of God. They find it agonizing to stand before God, the center of true love. Of their own will, they choose to dwell in hell, far removed from the love of God.

Since the human spirit can grow only in the soil of the physical self, the multiplication of human spirits takes place at the same time that the multiplication of physical selves occurs: during earthly life.

6.3.3 The Spirit Mind, the Physical Mind and Their Relationship in the Human Mind
The human mind consists of the spirit mind and physical mind. The relationship between these two minds is like that between internal nature and external form. When they become one through give and take action with God as their center, they form a united functioning entity which guides the spirit self and physical self to become harmonious and progress toward the purpose of creation. This united entity is the mind of a human being.

The conscience is that faculty of the human mind which, by virtue of its inborn nature, always directs us toward what we think is good. However, due to the Fall, human beings have become ignorant of God and thus ignorant of the absolute standard of goodness. For this reason, we are unable to set the proper standard of judgment for our conscience. As the standard of goodness varies, the standard of our conscience also fluctuates; this causes frequent contention even among those who advocate a conscientious life.

The original mind is that faculty of the human mind which pursues absolute goodness. It relates to the conscience as internal nature to external form. A person’s conscience directs him to pursue goodness according to the standard which he has set up in ignorance, even though it may differ from the original standard. However, the original mind, being sensitive to the proper direction, repels this faulty standard and works to correct the conscience.

As long as our spirit mind and physical mind are under the bondage of Satan, the functioning entity they form through their give and take action is called the evil mind. The evil mind continually drives people to do evil. Our original mind and conscience direct us to repel the evil mind. They guide us in desperate efforts to reject evil desires and cling to goodness by breaking our ties with Satan and turning to face God.

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Chapter 2: The Human Fall

All people have an original mind which inclines them to reject evil and pursue goodness. Yet, even without our being aware of it, we are driven by evil forces to abandon the goodness which our original mind desires and to perform evil deeds which, in our innermost heart, we do not want to do. As long as these evil forces assail us, the sinful history of humanity will continue unabated. In Christianity, the master of these evil forces is known as Satan. We have been utterly unable to liquidate the forces of Satan because we have not understood Satan’s identity or how he came to exist. To extirpate evil by its root, and thereby end sinful history and usher in an era of goodness, we must first expose the motivation and origin of Satan and recognize the destruction he has wrought in human life. This explanation of the human Fall will clarify these issues.

Section 1: The Root of Sin

No one has known the root of sin, which lies deep within and ceaselessly drives people toward the way of evil. On the basis of the Bible, Christians have held to a vague belief that Adam and Eve’s eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the root of sin. Some Christians believe that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the fruit of an actual tree, while others believe that the fruit is a symbol, as much of the Bible is written in symbolic language. Let us consider the Bible’s account of the human Fall and its differing interpretations in order to arrive at a complete explanation.

1.1 The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
Adam and Eve fell when they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Many Christians to this day have thought that this was the fruit of an actual tree. But would God, the loving Parent of humanity, make a fruit which could cause the Fall to look so attractive?1 Would He place it where His children could reach it so easily? Furthermore, Jesus said, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”2 How, then, can a food which one eats cause one to fall?

Humankind is beset by the original sin, which has been inherited from our first ancestors. Yet how can something one eats cause a sin which can be transmitted to one’s descendants? The only way something can be inherited is by being passed down through the lineage. The temporary ill effects of eating something cannot be perpetuated through the long descent of lineage. There are those who believe that God made the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and commanded Adam and Eve not to eat it in order to test their obedience to Him. We may ask: would the God of love test humans so mercilessly by a means that could cause their death? Adam and Eve knew they would die the moment they ate the fruit, for God had told them so. Yet still they ate it. Adam and Eve did not lack for food. They would not have risked their lives and disobeyed God only to obtain some delicacy. Therefore, we can surmise that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil could not have been an ordinary fruit. Rather, it must have been something so extraordinarily stimulating that even the fear of death did not deter them from grasping it.

If the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not a material fruit, then it must be a symbol which represents something else. Why should we stubbornly adhere to a literal interpretation of the fruit when so much of the Bible makes use of symbolism and metaphor? We would do well to abandon such a narrow and old-fashioned attitude of faith.

To learn what the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents, let us first investigate the tree of life, which stood next to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.3 When we grasp the meaning of the tree of life, then we can also understand the meaning of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1.1.1 The Tree of Life
According to the Bible, the hope of fallen people is to approach or attain the tree of life: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”4 Thus, the Israelites of the Old Testament Age looked to the tree of life as their hope. Likewise, the hope of all Christians from the time of Jesus until today has been to approach and partake of the tree of life: “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.”5 Since the ultimate hope of humankind is the tree of life, we can infer that the hope of Adam was also the tree of life.

It is written that when Adam fell, God blocked his path to the tree of life by stationing the cherubim with a flaming sword to guard it.6 From this we can also deduce that Adam’s hope before the Fall was the tree of life. Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden without having attained his hope, the tree of life. For fallen people ever since, the tree of life has remained a hope unfulfilled.

What was the hope of Adam during the time he was immature and growing toward perfection? He must have hoped to become a man who would realize God’s ideal of creation by growing to perfection without falling. The tree of life in fact symbolizes a man who has fully realized the ideal of creation. Perfected Adam was to be this ideal man. The tree of life thus symbolizes perfected Adam.

Had Adam not fallen but attained the tree of life, all his descendants could also have attained the tree of life. They would have built the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. But Adam fell, and God blocked his path to the tree with a flaming sword. Ever since, despite the best efforts of fallen people to restore the ideal of creation, the tree of life has remained an unattainable dream. Burdened by the original sin, fallen people cannot complete the ideal of creation and become trees of life by their own efforts alone. For this ideal to be achieved, a man who has completed the ideal of creation must come to the earth as a tree of life. All of humanity must then be engrafted with him7 and become one with him. Jesus was the man who came as this tree of life. The tree of life for which the faithful people of the Old Testament Age longed8 was none other than Jesus.

Ever since God blocked Adam’s path to the tree of life by guarding it with the flaming sword, the tree could not be approached without first clearing the path. On the day of Pentecost, tongues of fire descended upon the saints, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.9 This event marked the clearing of the path and the moving aside of the flaming sword, which appeared as the tongues of fire preceding the rush of the Holy Spirit. It opened the way for all humanity to approach Jesus, the tree of life, and be engrafted with him.

Nonetheless, Christians have been engrafted with Jesus only spiritually. This is why the children of even the most devout Christian parents still inherit sin, which must be redeemed. Even the most faithful saints have not been rid of the original sin, and thus cannot help but transmit it to their children.10 For this reason, Christ must come again on earth as the tree of life. By engrafting all humankind with himself once more, he is to redeem their original sin. Christians thus impatiently await the tree of life, which in the Book of Revelation symbolizes Christ at his Second Coming.11

The purpose of God’s providence of salvation is to restore the failure to attain the tree of life in the Garden of Eden by realizing the tree of life mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Due to the Fall, Adam could not fulfill the ideal of the first tree of life.12 In order to complete the salvation of fallen humanity, Jesus, the “last Adam,”13 must come again as the tree of life in the Last Days.

1.1.2 The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
God did not create Adam to be alone; He also created Eve to be Adam’s spouse. Just as there was a tree in the Garden of Eden which symbolized a perfected man, there also should have been a tree which represented a woman who has fully realized the ideal of creation. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, standing beside the tree of life,14 was this tree which, by fulfilling its good purpose, represents the ideal woman, perfected Eve.

The Bible refers to Jesus using the metaphors of a vine15 and a branch.16 Likewise, to give us a hint about the secret of the human Fall, God provided the symbolism of two trees to represent perfected Adam and Eve.

1.2 The Identity of the Serpent
In the Bible we read that a serpent tempted Eve to commit sin.17 What does the serpent symbolize? Let us investigate the true identity of the serpent, based on the Genesis account.

The serpent described in the Bible was able to converse with people. It caused the Fall of humans, who are spiritual beings. Furthermore, the serpent knew the Will of God, which strictly forbade human beings to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is compelling evidence that the being which the serpent symbolizes was a spiritual being.

It is written: The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-he was thrown down to the earth. -Rev. 12:9

This ancient serpent is the very serpent which tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Having lived in heaven before it was thrown down, this Devil or Satan must be a spiritual being. In fact, ever since the time of the human Fall, Satan has been continually turning the hearts of people toward evil. Since Satan is a spiritual being, the serpent which symbolizes him must also represent a spiritual being. These strands of biblical evidence confirm that the serpent who tempted Eve was not an animal but a symbol for a spiritual being.

The question arises whether the spiritual being symbolized by the serpent existed before the creation of the universe or was created as a part of the universe. If this being existed before the creation of the universe and had a purpose contrary to that of God, then the conflict between good and evil in the universe would be unavoidable and perpetual. God’s providence of restoration, then, would be in vain. Moreover, monotheism, which holds that everything in the universe was created by one God, would be unfounded. We are left with the conclusion that the spiritual being represented by the serpent was originally created with a good purpose, but later fell and became Satan.

What kind of spiritual being in God’s creation could have conversed with people, understood the Will of God, and lived in heaven? What kind of being, even after it had fallen and become degraded to an evil being, could transcend time and space to dominate the human soul? There are no beings endowed with such characteristics other than angels. The verse “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom”18 supports the conclusion that the serpent, which tempted human beings and sinned, is an angel.

A serpent has a forked tongue. It depicts someone who utters contradictory things with one tongue and lives a two-faced life with one heart. A serpent twists its body around its prey before devouring it, a metaphor for someone who ensnares others for his own benefit. For these reasons, the Bible likened the angel who tempted human beings to a serpent.

1.3 The Fall of the Angel and the Fall of Human Beings
It is clear that the serpent who tempted the human beings to fall was an angel, and that this angel became Satan when he sinned and fell. Let us now investigate what kind of sin the angel and the human beings committed.

1.3.1 The Crime of the Angel
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.

-Jude 6-7

From this passage we can infer that the angel fell as a result of an illicit sexual relationship.

Fornication is a crime which cannot be committed alone. With whom did the angel commit the illicit sexual act in the Garden of Eden? In order to unveil this mystery, let us examine what kind of sin the human beings committed.

1.3.2 The Crime of the Human Beings
We read that before they fell, Adam and Eve were both naked, and were not ashamed.19 After the Fall, however, they felt ashamed of their nakedness and sewed fig leaves together into aprons to cover their lower parts.20 If they had committed a crime by eating some actual fruit from a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then they certainly would have covered their hands or mouths instead. It is human nature to conceal one’s faults. Thus, the act of covering their lower parts shows that these parts, and not their mouths, were the source of their shame. In Job 31:33 it is written, “If I have concealed my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom.”21 Adam concealed his lower parts after the Fall; this indicates that his blemish was in his lower parts. Adam and Eve’s sexual parts were the source of their shame because they were the instruments of their sinful deed.

In the world before the human Fall, what act would one be willing to carry out even at the clear risk of one’s life? It could be nothing else but the act of love. God’s purpose of creation, described in the blessings “be fruitful and multiply,”22 can be achieved only through love. Accordingly, from the viewpoint of God’s purpose of creation, love should be the most precious and sacred act. But because the sexual act was the very cause of the Fall, people often regard it with shame and even contempt. In conclusion, human beings fell through an act of illicit sexual intercourse.

1.3.3 The Illicit Sexual Act between the Angel and the Human Beings
Thus far, we have explained that an angel seduced human beings to fall, and that both the angel and the human beings fell due to illicit sexual love. Human beings and angels are the only spiritual beings in the universe who are capable of having love relationships. We can deduce that the illicit sexual relationship must have involved the angel and human beings.

Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.”23 Since the Devil is identified as Satan,24 we can assert that human beings are descendants of Satan, the “ancient serpent” who tempted human beings. Through what circumstances did humankind become the descendants of the fallen angel, Satan? There was an illicit sexual relationship between the angel and the first ancestors. As the fruit of that relationship, all humanity is of the lineage of Satan. When St. Paul wrote, “we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies,”25 he was acknowledging that we fallen people stem from the lineage of Satan, not the lineage of God. John the Baptist reproached the people, calling them “a brood of vipers,”26 that is, children of Satan. Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?”27 These verses affirm that we are the offspring of an illicit sexual relationship involving the angel and our first ancestors. This, in fact, lies at the heart of the human Fall.

1.4 The Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was shown earlier to symbolize Eve. What does the fruit of this tree represent? It signifies the love of Eve. As a tree multiplies by its fruit, Eve should have borne good children through her godly love. Instead, she bore evil children through her satanic love. Eve was created in an immature state; she was to reach full maturity only after going through a period of growth. Thus, it was possible for her to bear either good fruit or evil fruit through her love. This is why Eve’s love is symbolized by the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and why Eve is symbolized by the tree.

What did eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil signify? When we eat something, we make it a part of ourselves. Eve was to have eaten the fruit of goodness by consummating her God-centered love. Then she would have received the essence of God’s divinity and multiplied a good lineage. However, she ate of the fruit of evil by consummating her evil love centered on Satan. Hence, she received the essence of his evil nature and multiplied an evil lineage from which our sinful society descended. Accordingly, Eve’s eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil denotes that she consummated a satanic love relationship with the angel which bound her in blood ties to him.

God cursed the fallen angel, saying, “upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.”28 “Upon your belly you shall go” means that the angel would become a miserable being, unable to function properly or to perform its original service. To “eat dust” means that ever since the angel was thrown down from heaven,29 he has been deprived of life elements from God. Instead, he has had to subsist on evil elements gleaned from the sinful world.

1.5 The Root of Sin
We have learned from the above elucidation of the Bible that the root of sin was not that the first human ancestors ate a fruit, but rather that they had an illicit sexual relationship with an angel (symbolized by a serpent). Consequently, they could not multiply God’s good lineage but instead multiplied Satan’s evil lineage.

There is ample evidence which helps us recognize that the root of human sin stems from sexual immorality. We know that the original sin has been perpetuated through lineal descent from one generation to the next. This is because the root of sin was solidified by a sexual relationship that binds one in ties of blood. Furthermore, those religions which emphasize the need to purge sin regard fornication as a cardinal sin, and they have taught the virtues of chastity and restraint in order to curb it. This is an indication that the root of sin is found in lustful desires. The Israelites performed the rite of circumcision as a condition for sanctification. They qualified themselves as God’s chosen people by draining blood, because the root of sin lies in having taken in through an unchaste act the evil blood which permeates our being.

Sexual promiscuity is a principal cause of the downfall of numerous heroes, patriots and nations. Even in the most outstanding people, the root of sin-illicit sexual desire- is constantly active in their souls, sometimes without their conscious awareness. We may be able to eradicate all other evils by establishing moral codes through religion, by thoroughly implementing various educational programs, and by reforming the socio-economic systems that foster crime. But no one can prevent the plague of sexual promiscuity, which has become increasingly prevalent as the progress of civilization makes lifestyles more comfortable and indolent. Therefore, the hope of an ideal world is an empty dream as long as this root of all evils has not been eradicated at its source. Christ at his Second Advent must be able to solve this problem once and for all.

Section 2: The Motivation and Process of the Fall

The motivation of the human Fall lay within the angel, who, as we have seen, is symbolized by the serpent who tempted Eve. Therefore, before we can know the motivation and the process of the Fall, we must first learn about the angel.

2.1 Angels, Their Missions and Their Relationship to Human Beings
Like all beings, angels were created by God. God created them prior to any other creation. In the biblical account of the creation of heaven and earth, we find that God spoke in the plural: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”30 This is not because God was referring to Himself as the Holy Trinity, as many theologians have interpreted the passage. Rather, He was speaking to the angels, whom He had created before human beings.

God created angels to be His retainers, who would assist Him in creating and sustaining the universe. In the Bible we find many instances of angels working for the Will of God. Angels conveyed to Abraham important words of God’s blessing;31 an angel heralded the conception of Christ;32 an angel unchained Peter and led him out of prison and into the city.33 The angel who escorts John in the Book of Revelation calls himself “a servant,”34 and in Hebrews angels are referred to as “ministering spirits.”35 The Bible often portrays angels honoring and praising God.36

Let us investigate the relationship between human beings and angels from the perspective of the Principle of Creation. Because God created us as His children and gave us dominion over all creation,37 we are meant to rule over the angels as well. It is written in the Bible that we have the authority to judge the angels.38 Many who communicate with the spirit world have witnessed hosts of angels escorting the saints in Paradise. These observations illustrate the fact that angels have the mission to minister to human beings.

2.2 The Spiritual Fall and the Physical Fall
God created human beings with two components: the spirit self and the physical self. The human Fall likewise took place in two dimensions: the spiritual and the physical. The fall which took place through the sexual relationship between the angel and Eve was the spiritual fall, while the fall which occurred through the sexual relationship between Eve and Adam was the physical fall.

How can an act of passionate love be consummated between an angel and a human being? All the emotions and sensations felt between a person and a spirit are exactly the same as those felt during contact between two earthly people. Undoubtedly, a sexual union between an angel and a person is possible.

We can understand this more clearly from the following evidence. There are reported cases of earthly people leading a married life with spirits. In the Bible we have the account of an angel who wrestled with Jacob and put his thigh out of joint.39 Three angels visited Abraham’s family and ate a meal of veal, milk and curds.40 Moreover, two angels visited the house of Lot and ate the unleavened bread he served them. When the townspeople saw the angels, they were excited with lecherous desires for them and surrounded Lot’s house, shouting, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”41

2.2.1 The Spiritual Fall
God created the angelic world and assigned Lucifer42 to the position of archangel. Lucifer was the channel of God’s love to the angelic world, just as Abraham was the channel of God’s blessing to the Israelites. In this position he virtually monopolized the love of God. However, after God created human beings as His children, He loved them many times more than He had ever loved Lucifer, whom He had created as His servant. In truth, God’s love toward Lucifer did not change; it was the same before and after the creation of human beings. Yet when Lucifer saw that God loved Adam and Eve more than him, he felt as if there had been a decrease in the love he received from God. This situation is similar to that in the biblical parable of the laborers in the vineyard.43 Although the laborers who had worked since morning received a fair wage, when they saw that those who came later and worked less received just as much, they felt underpaid. Lucifer, feeling as though he were receiving less love than he deserved, wanted to grasp the same central position in human society as he enjoyed in the angelic world, as the channel of God’s love. This was why he seduced Eve, and this was the motivation of the spiritual fall.

Everything in the universe is created to be governed by God through love. Thus, love is the source of life, the key to happiness, and the essence of the ideal to which all beings aspire. The more one receives love, the more beautiful one appears to others. When the angel, created as God’s servant, beheld Eve, the daughter of God, it was only natural that she looked beautiful in his eyes. Moreover, when Lucifer saw that Eve was responding to his temptation, the angel felt the stimulation of her love to be deliciously enticing. At this point, Lucifer was seducing Eve with the mind to have her, regardless of the consequences. Lucifer, who left his proper position due to his excessive desire, and Eve, who wanted to open her eyes and become like God44 before the time was ripe, formed a common base and began give and take action. The power of the unprincipled love generated by their give and take led them to consummate an illicit sexual relationship on the spiritual plane.

All beings are created based on the principle that when they become one in love, they exchange elements with each other. Accordingly, when Eve became one with Lucifer through love, she received certain elements from him. First, she received feelings of dread arising from the pangs of a guilty conscience, stemming from her violation of the purpose of creation. Second, she received from Lucifer the wisdom which enabled her to discern that her originally intended spouse was to be Adam, not the angel. Eve was in the position to receive wisdom from the Archangel because she was immature and her wisdom was not as seasoned as that of the Archangel, who was already in a state of angelic maturity.

2.2.2 The Physical Fall
Perfect Adam and Eve were supposed to have become an eternal husband and wife in God’s love. But Eve, who in her immaturity had engaged in the illicit relationship with the Archangel, joined with Adam as husband and wife. Thus, Adam fell when he, too, was still immature. This untimely conjugal relationship in satanic love between Adam and Eve constituted the physical fall.

As mentioned above, through the spiritual fall with the Archangel, Eve received feelings of dread arising from the pangs of a guilty conscience and a new wisdom that her originally intended spouse was not the Archangel but Adam. Eve then seduced Adam with the hope that by uniting with him, her intended spouse, she could rid herself of the dread and once again stand before God. This was Eve’s motivation which led to the physical fall.

Once Eve had united with the Archangel through their illicit sexual relationship, she stood in the position of the Archangel with respect to Adam. Thus, Adam, who was still receiving God’s love, appeared very attractive to her. Seeing Adam as her only hope of returning to God, Eve turned to Adam and tempted him, playing the same role as the Archangel had played when he had tempted her. Adam responded and formed a common base with Eve, and they began give and take action with each other. The power of the unprincipled love generated in their relationship induced Adam to abandon his original position and brought them together in an illicit physical relationship of sexual love.

When Adam united in oneness with Eve, he inherited all the elements Eve had received from the Archangel. These elements in turn have been passed down to all subsequent generations without interruption. What if Adam had reached perfection without having yielded to fallen Eve’s temptation? The providence to restore Eve would have been relatively easy because, although she had fallen, Adam still would have remained intact as her perfect subject partner. Unfortunately, Adam also fell, and humanity has multiplied in sin to the present day, perpetuating the lineage of Satan.

Section 3: The Power of Love, the Power of the Principle and God’s Commandment

3.1 The Power of Love and the Power of the Principle in the Human Fall
Human beings are created through the Principle, and they are meant to live according to the way of the Principle. Therefore, it cannot be that the force inherent in the Principle would induce a person to deviate from the way of the Principle and cause him to fall. This may be compared to a train which cannot run off the track unless, aside from a breakdown in the track or locomotive, some outside force stronger than the train’s forward momentum collides with it and pushes it in a different direction. Similarly, for human beings the force inherent in the Principle guides their growth in the proper direction. But if some stronger force from a different direction and with an unprincipled purpose collides with them, they will surely fall. The force which is stronger than the force of the Principle is none other than the power of love. While human beings are in the state of immaturity, it is possible that the power of unprincipled love can induce them to fall.

Why is the power of love stronger than the power of the Principle? Why did God create it stronger, when this leaves open the possibility that the power of deviant love might collide with a person in the state of immaturity and cause him to fall? According to the Principle of Creation, God’s love is the subject of all loves flowing within the four position foundation, which is established when its members have completed the three object purpose through their dynamic love for each other. Without God’s love, there is no way to establish the true four position foundation; without God’s love, there is no way for us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Love is truly the source and wellspring of our life and happiness.

Although God created human beings based on the Principle, He governs us through love. Accordingly, in order for love to fulfill its proper role, its power must be stronger than the power of the Principle. If the power of love were weaker than the power of the Principle, God could not govern human beings through love; rather, we would pursue the Principle more than the love of God. For this reason, Jesus tried to raise his disciples with the truth, but it was his love that saved them.

3.2 Why God Set Up the Commandment as an Object of Faith
Why did God nurture the faith of Adam and Eve by giving them the commandment, “Do not eat of the fruit”? In their immature state, Adam and Eve could not be directly governed by God through love. Because the power of love is stronger than the power of the Principle, God foresaw that if they ever formed a common base with the Archangel, there was a possibility that they could succumb to the power of deviant, unprincipled love and fall. To prevent this, God gave Adam and Eve the commandment that forbade them from relating with the Archangel in this way. No matter how powerful the unprincipled love of the Archangel might be, had Adam and Eve adhered to God’s commandment, forming a common base with God and engaging in give and take with Him and no other, the power of the Archangel’s unprincipled love would not have affected them and they would never have fallen. Tragically, Adam and Eve did not obey the commandment, but formed a common base with the Archangel and had give and take with him. Hence, the power of illicit love pushed them off the track.

It was not only to prevent their fall that God gave immature human beings the commandment. God also wanted them to enjoy dominion over the natural world-including the angels-by inheriting His creative nature. In order to inherit this creatorship, human beings should perfect themselves through their faith in the Word as their own portion of responsibility.45 God gave the commandment not to the Archangel but only to the human beings. God wished to exalt the dignity of human beings as bestowed by the Principle of Creation, which entitled them to stand as God’s children and govern even the angels.

3.3 The Period During Which the Commandment Was Necessary
Was God’s commandment not to eat of the fruit binding forever? God’s second blessing was to be fulfilled when Adam and Eve entered God’s direct dominion of love, by joining as true husband and wife and bearing and raising children in God’s love.46 Indeed, the Principle mandates that human beings eat of the fruit once they reach full maturity of character.

The power of love is stronger than the power of the Principle. Had Adam and Eve reached perfection, become a godly husband and wife, and experienced God’s direct governance by the absolute power of His love, their conjugal love would have become absolute. No person, no power in the universe could ever break that bond of love. At this point, Adam and Eve would never fall. There would have been no way that the love of the Archangel, who is inferior to human beings, could ever have severed the conjugal love of Adam and Eve once it was grounded firmly in God. Accordingly, God’s commandment, “Do not eat of the fruit,” was binding upon Adam and Eve only while they were immature.

Section 4: The Consequences of the Human Fall

What were the consequences of the spiritual and physical fall of Adam and Eve for the entire universe, including humankind and the angels? Let us discuss some of the most serious consequences.

4.1 Satan and Fallen Humanity
Satan is the name given to the Archangel Lucifer after he fell. When the first human ancestors fell, they bound themselves in blood ties with Lucifer. They formed a four position foundation yoked to Satan, and thus all humanity became the children of Satan. This is why Jesus said to the people, “you are of your father the devil,” and called them a “brood of vipers.”47 St. Paul wrote, “not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons,”48 indicating that no one belongs to the lineage of God. Instead, due to the Fall of the first human ancestors, human beings are of the lineage of Satan.

Had Adam and Eve reached full maturity and built a four position foundation centering on God, the world of God’s sovereignty would have been established at that time. While still immature, however, they fell and formed a four position foundation centering on Satan. Consequently, this world has come under Satan’s sovereignty. Hence, the Bible calls Satan “the ruler of this world” and “the god of this world.”49

Once Satan came to dominate human beings, who were intended to be the lords of creation, he also achieved domination over everything in the universe. Accordingly, it is written, “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. . . . We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now.”50 These verses describe the agony of the creation under the domination of Satan as it longs for the appearance of unfallen people who have perfected their original nature; it yearns for the day when they will vanquish Satan and rule it in love.

4.2 Satan’s Activities in Human Society
Satan is constantly accusing all people before God, as he did Job, in order to drag them into hell.51 However, even Satan cannot perpetrate his evil activity unless he first finds an object partner with whom he can form a common base and engage in give and take action. Satan’s object partners are evil spirits in the spirit world. The object partners to these evil spirits are the spirit selves of evil people on the earth, and the vehicles through which these evil spirit selves act are their physical selves. Accordingly, the power of Satan is conveyed through evil spirits and is manifested in the activities of earthly people. For example, Satan entered into Judas Iscariot,52 and Jesus once called Peter “Satan.”53 In the Bible, the spirits of evil earthly men are called “angels” of the devil.54

The Kingdom of Heaven on earth55 is a restored world in which Satan can no longer instigate any activity. To realize this world, it is necessary for all humanity to eliminate their common base with Satan, restore their common base with God, and engage in give and take action with Him. The prophecy that in the Last Days God will confine Satan in a bottomless pit56 signifies that Satan will be utterly incapable of any activity, since there will no longer be any counterpart with whom Satan can relate. In order to eliminate our common base with Satan and be capable of judging him,57 we must understand the identity and crime of Satan and accuse him before God.

However, God endowed human beings and angels with freedom; therefore, He cannot restore them by force. Of their own free will, human beings are to bring Satan to voluntary submission by upholding the Word of God through fulfilling their responsibility. Only in this way can we be restored to the original ideal purposed by God at the creation. Because God works His providence based on this principle, the history of the providence of restoration has been repeatedly prolonged.58

4.3 Good and Evil Seen from the Viewpoint of Purpose
Having already defined good and evil,59 let us further examine the nature of good and evil from the viewpoint of purpose. Had Adam and Eve loved each other as God intended and formed a four position foundation centered on God, they would have established a good world. But when they loved each other with a purpose contrary to God’s intentions and established a four position foundation centered on Satan, they ended up forming an evil world. This demonstrates that although good and evil elements or actions may take the same form, their true nature may be discerned through their fruits. They yield their fruits in accordance with the divergent purposes they pursue.

We find many cases where an aspect of human nature conventionally considered evil is, in fact, good if its purpose is directed toward the Will of God. Let us take the example of desire. Desire, which people often consider sinful, is actually God-given. Joy is the purpose of creation, and joy can only be attained when desire is fulfilled. If we had no desire, we could never experience joy. If we had no desire, we would not have any aspiration to receive God’s love, to live, to perform good deeds, or to improve ourselves. Without desire, therefore, neither God’s purpose of creation nor the providence of restoration could be fulfilled. An orderly, harmonious and flourishing human society would be impossible.

Desires, being part of our God-given nature, are good when they bear fruit for the purpose of God’s Will, or are evil when they bear fruit for the purpose of Satan’s will. On this basis, we can deduce that even this evil world will be restored to goodness and become the Kingdom of Heaven on earth if it changes its direction and purpose according to the guidance of Christ.60 The providence of restoration may thus be interpreted as the process of changing the direction of this fallen world from its current satanic purpose to the purpose of building the Kingdom of Heaven, God’s ideal of creation.

Any standard of goodness set during the course of the providence of restoration is not absolute but relative. In any particular period of history, obedient compliance with the doctrines expounded by the prevailing authorities is considered good, while actions in opposition to them are considered evil. But the change of an era ushers in new authorities and doctrines, with new goals and new standards of good and evil. For the adherents of any religious tradition or school of thought, complying with the precepts of its doctrine or philosophy is good, while opposing them is evil. But whenever a doctrine or philosophy undergoes a change, its standards of good and evil will also change according to its new goals. Similarly, if an adherent converts to a different religion or school of thought, then naturally his goals and standards of good and evil will change accordingly.

Conflicts and revolutions constantly plague human society, mainly because of the continual changes in standards of good and evil as people seek to fulfill divergent purposes. Yet throughout the endless cycles of conflict and revolution in human history, people have been seeking the absolute goodness which their original mind desires. Conflicts and revolutions in fallen human society will inevitably continue as people pursue this absolute goal, until the final achievement of the world of goodness. The standard of goodness will remain relative only as long as the course of restoration continues.

Once the sovereignty of Satan is expelled from the earth, then God, the eternal and absolute Being transcendent of time and space, will establish His sovereignty and His truth. In that day, God’s truth will be absolute, and hence the purpose which it serves and the standard of goodness which it sets will both be absolute. This cosmic, all- encompassing truth will be firmly established by Christ at his Second Advent.

4.4 The Works of Good Spirits and Evil Spirits
We use “good spirits” as a general term for God, spirits on the side of God, and good angels. The general term for Satan and spirits on his side is “evil spirits.” The works of good spirits and evil spirits, as in the case of good and evil acts generally, have a similar appearance at the outset but pursue contrary purposes.

Over time, the works of a good spirit will increase a person’s sense of peace and righteousness and even improve his health. The works of evil spirits, on the contrary, will gradually lead to an increase of anxiety, fear and selfishness and cause his health to deteriorate. It may be difficult for someone who does not know the Principle to discern the works of spirits, but eventually, often belatedly, he will recognize the nature of the spirits by the fruits they bear. Since a fallen person stands in the midway position between God and Satan and relates with both of them, the works of a good spirit may be accompanied by the subtle influences of an evil spirit. In other cases, phenomena which begin as the works of evil spirits may, as time passes, merge with the works of good spirits. Discerning the spirits is thus very difficult for those who do not understand the Principle. It is a pity that many religious authorities, in their ignorance, condemn the works of good spirits by lumping them together with the works of evil spirits. This may place them in an advertent opposition to the Will of
God. In the present era, spiritual phenomena are becoming ever more prevalent. Unless religious leaders can correctly distinguish the works of good spirits from the works of evil spirits, they cannot properly instruct and guide those who experience spiritual phenomena.

4.5 Sin
Sin is a violation of heavenly law which is committed when a person forms a common base with Satan, thus setting a condition for give and take action with him. Sin can be classified into four kinds. The first is the original sin. This sin originated with the spiritual and physical fall of our first human ancestors. It is ingrained in our lineage and is the root of all sins. The second is hereditary sin. This is sin which one inherits from one’s ancestors on account of their connection through lineage. It is written in the Ten Commandments that the sins of parents will be visited upon their descendants.61

The third is collective sin. This is sin for which a person is responsible as a member of a group, even though he neither committed the sin himself nor inherited it from his ancestors. An example of this kind of sin is the crucifixion of Jesus. Although only the chief priests and certain scribes committed the deed when they sent Jesus to be crucified, the Jewish people and humanity as a whole have together shouldered the responsibility for this sin. As a consequence, the Jewish people were cast into the position to undergo grievous suffering, and humanity as a whole has had to walk a path of tribulation, until the Second Coming of Christ. The fourth is individual sin, which an individual himself commits.

The original sin may be thought of as the root of all sins, hereditary sin as the trunk, collective sin as the branches, and individual sin as the leaves. All sins sprout from the original sin, which is their root. Without extirpating the original sin, there is no way to completely eradicate other sins. However, no man is able to unearth this root of sin, buried deep in the recesses of time. Only Christ, who comes as the root and True Parent of humanity, can grasp it and uproot it.

4.6 The Primary Characteristics of the Fallen Nature
Eve inherited from the Archangel all the proclivities incidental to his transgression against God when he bound her in blood ties through their sexual relationship. Adam in turn acquired the same inclinations when Eve, assuming the role of the Archangel, bound him in blood ties through their sexual relationship. These proclivities have become the root cause of the fallen inclinations in all people. They are the primary characteristics of our fallen nature.

The fundamental motivation which engendered these primary characteristics of the fallen nature lay in the envy the Archangel felt toward Adam, the beloved of God. How can there be anything such as envy and jealousy in an archangel, whom God created for a good purpose? The Archangel was endowed with desire and intellect as a part of his original nature. Because the Archangel possessed an intellect, he could compare and discern that God’s love for human beings was greater than the love God gave to him. Because he also possessed desires, he had a natural yearning for God to love him more. This desire of the heart was naturally conducive to envy and jealousy. Envy is an inevitable by-product of the original nature, like the shadow cast by an object in the light.

After human beings reach perfection, however, they will never be induced to fall because of incidental envy. They will know deep inside that the temporary gratification they might feel by attaining the object of their desire is not worth the agony of self-destruction that would ensue. Hence, they would never commit such crimes.

A world that has fulfilled the purpose of creation is a society built upon organic inter- relationships much like the structure of the human body. Recognizing that the downfall of an individual would cause the whole to perish, society will keep its individual members from such self-destruction. In this ideal world, the envious desires that arise incidentally from the original nature will be channeled into spurring the progress of humanity. They will never cause people to fall.

The primary characteristics of the fallen nature can be divided broadly into four types. The first is failing to take God’s standpoint. A principal cause of the Archangel’s fall was his failure to love Adam with the same heart and perspective as God; instead he felt jealous of Adam. This led him to tempt Eve. An example of this characteristic of the fallen nature is when a courtier feels jealous of the king’s favorite instead of sincerely respecting him as one whom the king loves.

The second is leaving one’s proper position. Seeking more of God’s love, Lucifer desired to enjoy the same position of love in the human world as he had in the angelic world. This unrighteous desire caused him to leave his position and fall. People are induced by unrighteous desires to step beyond the bounds of what is right and overreach themselves because of this primary characteristic of the fallen nature.

The third is reversing dominion. The angel, who was supposed to come under the dominion of human beings, instead dominated Eve. Then Eve, who was supposed to come under the dominion of Adam, dominated him instead. This disruption of the proper order has borne bitter fruit. Human society is thrown out of order by people who leave their proper position and then reverse the order of dominion. These repeated occurrences are rooted in this primary characteristic of the fallen nature.

The fourth is multiplying the criminal act. After her fall, had Eve not repeated her sin by seducing Adam, Adam would have remained whole. The restoration of Eve alone would have been relatively easy. However, Eve spread her sin to others by inducing Adam to fall. The proclivity of evil people to entangle others in an expanding web of crime stems from this primary characteristic of the fallen nature.

Section 5: Freedom and the Human Fall

5.1 The Meaning of Freedom from the Viewpoint of the Principle
What is the meaning of true freedom? In light of the Principle, three characteristics of freedom stand out. First, there is no freedom outside the Principle. Freedom requires both free will and the free actions pursuant to that will. The former and the latter have the relationship of internal nature and external form, and perfect freedom is achieved when they are in harmony. Therefore, there cannot be any free action without free will, nor can free will be complete without free actions to accompany it. Free actions are generated by free will, and free will is an expression of the mind. Since the mind of an original, sinless person cannot operate outside of God’s Word, that is, the Principle, it will never express free will or generate free action apart from the Principle. Undoubtedly, the freedom of a true person never deviates from the Principle.

Second, there is no freedom without responsibility. Human beings, created according to the Principle, can reach perfection only by fulfilling their responsibility based on their free will.62 Accordingly, a person pursuing the purpose of creation as prompted by his free will ceaselessly strives to carry out his portion of responsibility.

Third, there is no freedom without accomplishment. When human beings exercise freedom and carry out their responsibility, they strive to accomplish results which complete the purpose of creation and bring joy to God. Free will ceaselessly pursues concrete results through free actions.

5.2 Freedom and the Human Fall
To summarize, freedom cannot exist outside the Principle. Freedom is accompanied by the responsibility laid out in the Principle, and freedom pursues accomplishments that bring joy to God. Free actions generated by free will bring about only good results. Therefore, it cannot be that freedom caused the human Fall. It is written, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”63 This freedom is the freedom of the original mind.

As long as Adam and Eve were bound by God’s warning not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they should have kept this commandment by their free will and without God’s intervention. Certainly, the freedom of their original mind, which is inherently responsible and seeks the good, was prompting them to obey it. When Eve was about to deviate from the Principle, the freedom of her original mind aroused fear and foreboding in her in an attempt to prevent her from deviating. Ever since the Fall, this freedom of the original mind has been working to bring people back to God. Working in this way, freedom could not possibly have caused human beings to fall. Rather, the human Fall was caused by the stronger power of unprincipled love, which overwhelmed the freedom of the original mind.

In truth, human beings lost their freedom as a result of the Fall. Yet even fallen people possess intact a seed of their original nature which seeks freedom, and this makes it possible for God to carry on the providence to restore it. With the progress of history, people have been ever more zealously aspiring for freedom, even at the cost of their lives. This is evidence that we are in the process of restoring our freedom, long lost due to Satan. The purpose of our search for freedom is to facilitate the accomplishment of our God-given responsibility, which is essential for fulfilling our purpose of creation.

5.3 Freedom, the Fall and Restoration
It is true that human beings were free to relate with angels, who were created to minister to them. However, since Eve’s heart and intellect were still immature when she was tempted by the angel, she became confused emotionally and intellectually. Although the freedom of her original mind induced in her a sense of foreboding, because the power of the love between her and the angel was stronger, she crossed the boundary and fell. No matter how freely Eve was relating with the angel, if she had maintained unwavering faith in God’s commandment and not responded to the angel’s temptation, then the power of unprincipled love would not have been generated and she would not have fallen. Therefore, despite the fact that freedom permitted Eve to relate with the angel and brought her to the brink of the Fall, what pushed her over the brink was not freedom but the power of unprincipled love.

Since Eve was created to interact in freedom with angels, she naturally related with Lucifer. Yet when Eve and Lucifer formed a common base and engaged in give and take action, the power of the unprincipled love which was generated caused them to fall. Conversely, since fallen people can also relate with God in freedom, if they follow the words of truth, form a common base and engage in give and take with Him, then the power of principled love can revive their original nature. Indeed, the freedom of the original mind yearns to cultivate fully the original nature. Hence, people in every age have been desperately crying out for freedom.

Due to the Fall, human beings became ignorant of God and His Heart. This ignorance has rendered the human will incapable of striving toward goals which are pleasing to God. As God has given “spirit and truth”64 (meaning internal knowledge and external knowledge) to fallen people according to the merit of the age in the providence of restoration, their heart, which yearns for the freedom of the original mind, has gradually been revived. In step with this progress, their heart toward God has also been restored, strengthening their zeal to live according to His Will.

Moreover, as aspirations for freedom mount in intensity, people will demand a social environment conducive to its realization. When the social circumstances of an era cannot satisfy the desires of freedom-loving people, revolutions inevitably erupt. The French Revolution in the eighteenth century is one example. Revolutions will continue until true freedom has been fully restored.

Section 6: The Reason God Did Not Intervene in the Fall of the First Human Ancestors

God, being omniscient and omnipotent, must have known about the deviant acts of the first human ancestors which were leading to their Fall and was surely capable of preventing them from carrying them out. Why, then, did God not intervene to prevent the Fall? This is one of the most important unsolved mysteries of the ages. We can put forward the following three reasons why God did not interfere with the human Fall.

6.1 To Maintain the Absoluteness and Perfection of the Principle of Creation
In accordance with the Principle of Creation, God created human beings in His image, with the character and powers of the Creator, intending that they govern over all things as He governs over humankind. However, for human beings to inherit the creative nature of God, they must grow to perfection by fulfilling their portion of responsibility. As explained above, the period of their growth is the realm of God’s indirect dominion or the realm of dominion based on accomplishments through the Principle. While people are still in this realm, God does not directly govern them because He wishes to allow them to fulfill their own portion of responsibility. God will govern them directly only after they have reached full maturity.

If God were to interfere with human actions during their growing period, it would be tantamount to ignoring the human portion of responsibility. In that case, God would be disregarding His own Principle of Creation, according to which He intends to give human beings His creative nature and raise them to become the lords of creation. If the Principle were ignored, then its absoluteness and perfection would be undermined. Because God is the absolute and perfect Creator, His Principle of Creation must also be absolute and perfect. In summary, in order to preserve the absoluteness and perfection of the Principle of Creation, God did not intervene in the acts that led the human beings to fall.

6.2 That God Alone Be the Creator
God only governs over a principled existence which He has created and only sways the course of principled acts. God does not regulate any unprincipled existence which He did not create, such as hell; nor does He interfere with any unprincipled act, such as criminal acts. If God were to affect the course of such beings or acts, then they would necessarily be given the value of God’s creations and be recognized as principled.

Consequently, if God were to have intervened in the Fall of the first human ancestors, He would have been attributing to those acts the value of His creations and recognizing them as principled. If God were to do this, He would in effect be creating a new principle that recognizes these criminal acts as lawful. Since it would actually be Satan who manipulated the situation to bring about this outcome, it would in fact be Satan who created another, new principle, and Satan would stand as the creator of all the fruits of the Fall. Therefore, in order that God remain the sole Creator, He did not intervene in the human Fall.

6.3 To Make Human Beings the Lords of Creation
God created human beings and blessed them with dominion over everything in the creation.65 Human beings cannot rule other creatures if they stand on an equal footing with them. They must earn certain qualifications to gain their God-given mandate to govern.

God is qualified to govern human beings because He is their Creator. Likewise, for human beings to gain the qualifications to rule all things, they must also possess the character and powers of the Creator. In order to give them creatorship and make them worthy to govern all things, God has human beings perfect themselves by accomplishing their own portion of responsibility until the end of their growing period. Only by perfecting themselves in accordance with the Principle can they earn the qualifications to rule the universe. If God were to rule directly and control the lives of human beings who are still in the state of immaturity, this would in effect grant the authority of a ruler to those who are unqualified to rule. That is, it would have the effect of granting this authority to those who have not yet fulfilled their responsibility or earned God’s creatorship. It would contradict God’s Principle because He would be treating an immature person as if he were mature. God, the Author of the Principle, would be disregarding His own Principle of Creation, which He established in order to enable human beings to inherit the nature of the Creator and govern the creation. Consequently, it was in order to bless human beings as the lords of creation that God had to restrain Himself from intervening in the acts of immature human beings, as He watched with trepidation their tragic fall.

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Chapter 3: Eschatology and Human History

We dwell in ignorance of history, uncertain about its origin, the direction in which it is heading, and its final destination. Concerning eschatology, or the doctrine of the Last Days, many Christians believe literally what is written in the Bible: “the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire”;1 “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven”;2 and “with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet . . . the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”3 One pertinent question for Christians is whether these events will take place literally or whether the verses are symbolic, as are many parts of the Bible. To address this issue, we should first understand such fundamental matters as the purpose of God’s creation, the meaning of the human Fall, and the goal of the providence of restoration.

Section 1: The Completion of God’s Purpose of Creation and the Human Fall

1.1 The Completion of God’s Purpose of Creation
We have discussed how God’s purpose in creating human beings was to rejoice with them.4 Thus, our purpose of existence is to bring joy to God. What must we do to bring joy to God and fully manifest our original value?

Created beings other than humans are endowed with the innate nature to grow to maturity naturally and become object partners which bring God joy. Human beings, on the other hand, can become true and authentic object partners who bring joy to God only through their free will and free actions.5 They cannot become the object partners who inspire God with joy unless they understand His Will and make effort to live accordingly. Hence, human beings are endowed with emotional sensitivity to the Heart of God, intuition and reason to comprehend His Will, and the requisite abilities to practice it. A person who relates with God in this manner will attain perfection of his individual character. Adam and Eve prior to the Fall, as well as the prophets of every age, had some ability to converse with God because they had these innate faculties.

The relationship between God and a person who has attained individual perfection can be compared to that between the mind and the body. The body is the dwelling place of the mind and moves according to the mind’s direction. Likewise, God abides within the mind of a fully mature person. Such a person becomes a temple of God and leads his life in harmony with His Will. A perfect individual is fully attuned to God, just as the body resonates with the mind. For this reason it is written, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”6 and “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”7 A person who has perfected his individual character becomes a temple of God, and the Holy Spirit abides within him. Living in oneness with God, he acquires a divine nature. Thus, it is impossible for him to commit sin or to fall.

A person who has perfected his individual character embodies total goodness and fulfills the purpose of creation. If a person embodying total goodness could fall, this would lead to the illogical conclusion that goodness contains the seed of its own destruction. Moreover, if human beings, who were created by the omnipotent God, could fall even after becoming perfect, we would have reason to doubt the omnipotence of God. God is the absolute and eternal Subject. To give Him true joy, His object partner must necessarily also be eternal and absolute. For these reasons, a person who has perfected his individual character can never fall.

Had Adam and Eve reached perfection, being thereafter insusceptible to sin, they would have borne good children and founded a sinless family and society in complete concordance with God’s blessings.8 They would have founded the Kingdom of Heaven, which consists of one great family with the same parents. The Kingdom of Heaven has the form of an individual who has achieved perfection of character. Just as the members of the human body are coordinated in horizontal relationships with each other and move as one in response to the vertical commands of the brain, in this society people will form cooperative horizontal relationships with each other and live together in tune with the vertical directions emanating from God. No one will harm his neighbor, since if one person were to suffer pain, everyone in this society would experience the Heart of God who shares in that person’s grief.

Regardless of the purity of the people of this society, if they were living in primitive circumstances like cavemen, this could not be considered the Kingdom of Heaven which both God and human beings desire. God gave us the mandate to have dominion over all things.9 Hence, to realize the ideal of creation, people of perfected character should advance science, harness the natural world, and create an extremely pleasant social and living environment. This will be the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Once people have attained full maturity and enjoyed life in God’s earthly Kingdom, then when they shed their physical bodies and pass into the spirit world, they will form the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven. Accordingly, God’s primary purpose of creation is to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

1.2 Consequences of the Human Fall
Human beings fell while they were immature and still in their growing period. We have already clarified why the growing period was necessary and what the evidence is for the conclusion that the first human beings fell while immature.10 Due to the Fall, human beings could not become temples of God; instead, they united with Satan and became his dwelling places. They failed to cultivate the divine nature; instead, they acquired an evil nature. People with evil nature have propagated evil through their children, constituting evil families, evil societies and an evil world. This is the hell on earth in which we have been living. In this hell, we cannot properly form cooperative horizontal relationships with one another because our vertical relationships with God have been severed. We perform deeds harmful to others because we cannot feel the pain and suffering of our neighbors as our own. Once people have accustomed themselves to living in hell on earth, when they end their physical life, they naturally enter hell in the spirit world. We have not built the Kingdom of God, but instead established the sovereignty of Satan. For this reason, Satan is called the “ruler of this world”11 and the “god of this world.”12

Section 2: God’s Work of Salvation

2.1 God’s Work of Salvation is the Providence of Restoration
The sinful world brings humankind sorrow and causes God to grieve.13 Would God abandon this world in its present misery? God intended to create a world of goodness and experience from it the utmost joy; yet due to the human Fall, the world came to be filled with sin and sorrow. If this sinful world were to continue forever in its present state, then God would be an impotent and ineffectual God who failed in His creation. Therefore, God will save this sinful world, by all means.

To what extent should God save this world? He should save it completely. First, God must expel the evil power of Satan from this sinful world,14 thereby bringing it back to its original state prior to the Fall of the human ancestors. Salvation must then continue until the good purpose of creation is fulfilled and God’s direct dominion is established.15 To save a sick person is to restore him to the condition of health he had before the illness. To save a drowning person is to restore him to the state he was in before he fell in the water. Likewise, to save a person suffering under the yoke of sin means to restore him to his original, sinless state. In other words, God’s work of salvation is the providence of restoration.16

The human Fall was undoubtedly the result of human mistakes. Nevertheless, God also assumes some responsibility for the outcome because it was He who created human beings. Therefore, God has felt compelled to conduct the providence to correct this tragic outcome and to restore human beings to their true, original state. Furthermore, God created us to live eternally. This is because God, the eternal subject partner, wanted to share eternal joy with human beings as His object partners. Having endowed human beings with an eternal nature, God could not, by the laws of the Principle, simply annihilate them just because they fell. If He were to do that, He would be violating His own Principle of Creation. The only choice left to God is to save fallen people and restore them to the original, pure state in which He initially created them.

When God created human beings, He promised to help us accomplish the three great blessings.17 He declared through Isaiah, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it,”18 meaning that despite the Fall, God has been working to fulfill His promise to us through the providence to restore these blessings. He sent Jesus to restore us to our original, ideal state, as we can discern from Jesus’ words to his disciples, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”19 An original, ideal person is one with God and has realized a divine nature; thus, with reference to the purpose of creation, he is perfect as God is perfect.

2.2 The Goal of the Providence of Restoration
What is the goal of the providence of restoration? It is the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven, which in its totality is God’s good object partner and the fulfillment of His purpose of creation. The center of God’s Kingdom on earth is to be human beings. Although God created the first ancestors with that intention, they fell; hence, His Will for the earth was not realized. Since then, the primary goal of the providence of restoration has been nothing less than to rebuild the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Jesus, who came to complete this goal, told his disciples to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”20 He also said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”21 His words testify that the goal of the providence of restoration is the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

2.3 Human History Is the History of the Providence of Restoration
As clarified above, God’s work of salvation is the providence of restoration. Human history can be seen as the history of the providence through which God has been trying to save fallen people and work through them to restore the original, good world. Let us examine this idea in various ways, beginning with the history of the development of cultural spheres.

All people, in all ages and places, including even the most evil, have an original mind which inclines them to repel evil and seek goodness. People’s intellectual understanding of what goodness is and how goodness is achieved has differed according to time, place and individual viewpoint; this has been a source of the conflicts which have made history. Nevertheless, everyone cherishes the same fundamental goal of finding and establishing goodness. Why does the original mind irrepressibly induce people of every age and every place to do good? God, the Subject of goodness, created human beings as His good and worthy object partners in order to fulfill the purpose of the good. Despite Satan’s crippling efforts, which have rendered fallen human beings incapable of leading a life of total goodness, the original mind remains intact within them and prompts them toward goodness. Hence, the ultimate desire of the ages is to attain a world of goodness.

However hard the original mind may struggle to attain goodness, we can hardly find any examples of true goodness in this world under the sovereignty of evil. Human beings have thus been compelled to seek the source of goodness in the world transcendent of time and space. This necessity has given birth to religion. Through religion, fallen people mired in ignorance have sought to meet God by ceaselessly striving toward the good. Even though the individuals, peoples and nations which championed a certain religion may have perished, religion itself has survived.

Religion has endured through history despite the rise and fall of many nations. In the history of China, the Chao dynasty and the Warring States were followed by an era of unification in the Ch’in dynasty. This was followed by the Former Han, Hsin, Later Han, the Six Dynasties, and an era of unification in the Sui and T’ang periods. They were followed by the Five Dynasties, Northern Sung, Southern Sung, Yuan, Ming, Ch’ing, the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China. In its history, China has experienced many cycles of the rise and fall of dynasties and numerous transfers of political power, yet the religions of the Far East-Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism-have continued to thrive. The history of India has witnessed the empire of Mauryas followed by the Guptas, Harsa, Calukyas, the Mughals, Maratha, the British Raj, and today’s independent India. Despite the rise and fall of many kingdoms, the religion of Hinduism has survived and prospered. In the history of the Middle East, the Umayyad Caliphate was followed by the Abbasids, the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks, the colonial period, and today’s Arab states. Despite these changes in political sovereignty, the religion of Islam has endured and continued to thrive. In the history of Western Europe, we find that the center of power changed many times, from Rome to the Carolingian court, to the cities of Renaissance Italy. Spain and Portugal then became the leading powers of Europe, followed briefly by France and the Netherlands, and then England. In the modern era, the leadership of the West has been divided between America and the Soviet Union. Despite these political changes, Christianity has continued to flourish. Even under the despotic regime of the Soviet Union founded upon Marxist materialism, Christianity remains vital and inextinguishable.

If we were to examine the rise and fall of nations, we would find numerous instances in which those nations which persecuted religion have perished, while those which protected and fostered religion have flourished. Often, the people who rose to the position of ruler of a nation were those who most highly esteemed religion. History thus assures us that the day will surely come when the communist world, which is persecuting religion, will perish.

Many religions have left their mark on history. Among them, the religions with the greatest influence formed cultural spheres. The major cultural spheres which have existed at various times in world history numbered between twenty-one and twenty-six. With the flow of history, lesser cultural spheres were absorbed by, or merged into, the more advanced spheres. Through the evolution of cultural spheres, as they were buffeted by the rise and fall of nations, four great cultural spheres have survived to the present day: the East Asian sphere, the Hindu sphere, the Islamic sphere, and the Christian sphere. The current trend has these four spheres forming one global cultural sphere based on the Christian ethos. This historical development is evidence that Christianity has, as its final mission, the accomplishment of the goals of all religions which have sought the ideal of goodness. The history of the development of cultural spheres, each with its stages of expansion, decline and convergence, is ultimately aimed at constituting one global cultural sphere based on one religion. This demonstrates that the essence of human history has been the restoration of one united world.

Second, we can deduce that human history is the history of the providence of restoration by observing the progress of religion and science. It was discussed earlier22 that the purposes of religion and science are to overcome the internal and external aspects of ignorance in fallen humankind. Although they have been working independently with little connection to each other, religion and science inevitably must converge. Today they are on the threshold of reaching this destination, where they will resolve all their problems together in one united undertaking. This trend shows that human history has been walking the providential course to restore the world to its original state.

Had it not been for the Fall, the development of the intellectual capacity of our early human ancestors would have enabled them to reach the highest level of spiritual knowledge, thus naturally stimulating their knowledge of the material world to develop to a corresponding degree. Science then would have advanced rapidly in an extremely short period of time, and today’s level of science and technology would have been attained in those days. However, due to the Fall, human beings plunged into ignorance and could build only a primitive society, far beneath God’s original ideal. Long ages passed before people could overcome this ignorance through the advancement of science. The modern world of highly developed technology has now brought us externally to the threshold of the ideal society.

Third, by examining trends in the history of conflict, we can understand that human history is the history of the providence of restoration. Battles over property, territory and people have continued without interruption, expanding their scope in step with the progress of human society. The scale of these struggles has broadened from the family level to the levels of tribe, society, nation and world until today, when the democratic world and the communist world confront each other in a final conflict. In these Last Days of human history, heavenly law has descended upon the earth in the name of democracy, bringing an end to the long phase of history in which people sought to obtain happiness by seizing property, land and people. At the conclusion of World War I, the defeated nations gave up their colonies. At the end of World War II, the victors voluntarily liberated their colonies and provided them with material aid. In recent years, the great powers have invited weak and tiny nations, some smaller than one of their own cities, to become member states of the United Nations, giving them equal rights and status in the brotherhood of nations.

What form does this final war between democracy and communism take? It is primarily a war of ideologies. Indeed, this war will never truly cease unless a truth emerges which can completely overthrow the ideology of Marxism-Leninism that is threatening the modern world. Communist ideology negates religion and promotes the exclusive supremacy of science. Hence, the new truth which can reconcile religion and science will emerge and prevail over the communist ideology. It will bring about the unification of the communist and democratic worlds. The trend of the history of conflict thus confirms that human history is the providential history to restore the original, ideal world.

Fourth, let us investigate this issue from the words of the Bible. The purpose of human history lies in the restoration of the Garden of Eden with the tree of life standing at its center.23 The Garden of Eden does not refer to a specific geographical location where Adam and Eve were created, but includes the entire earth. If the Garden of Eden were limited to the small region of the globe where they were created, how could humanity be confined to such a small place and still fulfill God’s blessing to multiply and fill the earth?24

Because the first human ancestors fell, the Garden of Eden was claimed by Satan, and the way to the tree of life at its center was blocked.25 It is written in the Book of Revelation:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. -Rev. 22:13-14

Human history began with Alpha and will end with Omega. At the end of history, the hope of fallen people will be to wash their sin-stained robes, enter the restored Garden of Eden, and approach the long-lost tree of life.

Let us discuss further the significance of this verse. The tree of life represents the True Father of humanity who, as we have seen, was to have been Adam had he perfected his character. Due to the fall of the first parents, their descendants were corrupted with the original sin. To be restored to the state of true, original people, we, as Jesus said, must be reborn.26 Therefore, history has been humankind’s search for Christ, the True Father of humanity, the one who can give us rebirth. In this verse, the tree of life which the saints of the Last Days may approach is none other than Christ. Thus, the Bible teaches that the goal of history is the restoration of the Garden of Eden with Christ, who is to come as the tree of life, as its center.

When the Bible states that a new heaven and new earth will appear in the Last Days,27 it means that the old heaven and old earth under the bondage of Satan will be restored as a new heaven and new earth under the God-centered dominion of Christ. The Bible also states that the whole creation, groaning in travail under satanic tyranny, awaits the revealing of the sons of God.28 Created beings do not await the restoration of true children of God in order to be burned in fire and perish in the Last Days; rather, they wait to be made new.29 They will be made new by being restored to their original position under their rightful masters, the true sons and daughters of God, who are able to govern them with love.

Having examined human history from various standpoints-the development of cultural spheres, the trend of religion and science, the trend of the history of conflict, and the evidence in the Bible-it has become clear that human history is the providential history to restore the original, ideal world.

Section 3: The Last Days

3.1 The Meaning of the Last Days
Due to the crime of the Fall, the three great blessings God had granted our first ancestors were not fulfilled based on God’s love and Principle, but instead were actualized in an unprincipled way under the tutelage of Satan. Human history since then has been the history of God’s providence of restoration. Despite its evil beginning, the world under the sovereignty of Satan must one day be transformed into the world where goodness reigns, where the three great blessings are fulfilled centered on God. The Messiah comes at this time of transformation.

The Last Days is this time, when the evil world under satanic sovereignty is transformed into the ideal world under God’s sovereignty. Hell on earth will be transformed into the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Therefore, it will not be a day of fear when the world will be destroyed by global catastrophes, as many Christians have believed. In fact, it will be a day of joy, when the cherished hope of humankind, the desire of the ages, will be realized.

Since human beings fell, God has attempted more than once to consummate His providence to put an end to the sinful world and restore the original, good world.30 Nevertheless, at each attempt, human beings failed to fulfill their portion of responsibility, thus thoroughly frustrating the Will of God. Consequently, dispensations of the Last Days have been repeated several times. This can be confirmed by a close study of the Bible.

3.1.1 Noah’s Day Was the Last Days
God said to Noah, “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.”31 This indicates that Noah’s day was the Last Days. God wanted to destroy the corrupt, evil world which had been ruled by Satan since the time of the human Fall. He intended once and for all to purge sinful history, biblically reckoned as 1,600 years, by the Flood. In its aftermath, God intended to raise up Noah’s family, who worshipped Him and no other, and resurrect the world of God’s sovereignty upon the foundation of their faith. This is how the time of Noah can be considered the Last Days.32 Nonetheless, when Ham, the second son of Noah, committed a sinful act which reaffirmed the Fall, Noah’s family could not fulfill its portion of responsibility on behalf of humankind, and the Will of God was frustrated.33

3.1.2 Jesus’ Day Was the Last Days
God has foreordained the fulfillment of His Will; hence, the goal of the providence of restoration is unchanging and shall be fulfilled without fail.34 Therefore, even though the providence of restoration was not accomplished through Noah, God called upon other prophets to prepare anew the basis of faith. Upon this foundation, God sent Jesus to vanquish the satanic sovereignty which has held this world in thrall and to establish the God-centered ideal world. Accordingly, Jesus’ day was also the Last Days. This is why Jesus said that he came to bring judgment,35 and why Malachi prophesied of Jesus’ coming:

Behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up . . . so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. -Mal. 4:1

Jesus came to restore the original, ideal world. However, when the people of Israel did not believe in him, the human portion of responsibility was left unaccomplished. This meant that the fulfillment of the Will of God had to be prolonged until Christ’s Second Advent.

3.1.3 The Day of Christ’s Second Advent Is the Last Days
When the disbelief of the chosen people led Jesus to go the way of the cross, he could accomplish only spiritual salvation. It remains for him to return and accomplish the goal of the providence of restoration both spiritually and physically and restore the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.36 Hence, the day of the Christ’s Second Advent is also the Last Days. For this reason Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man”37 and prophesied that many natural calamities would break out at his return.38

3.2 Bible Verses Concerning the Signs of the Last Days
Many Christians believe that in the Last Days natural calamities and radical changes beyond the imagination of modern men will take place, as is literally written in the Bible. However, if they understood that human history is the history of God’s providence, which has been restoring the world to the original state intended by God at the Creation, then they would know that the signs of the Last Days prophesied in the Bible will not take place literally. Let us investigate what the prophecies concerning the Last Days actually symbolize.

3.2.1 Heaven and Earth Destroyed, and a New Heaven and New Earth Created
It is written that God determined to destroy the earth in Noah’s time.39 Noah’s time was the Last Days, yet the world was not destroyed. The earth is eternal, as the following verses indicate: “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever;”40 “He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.”41 The earth was created as the object partner of God.

God, the subject partner, is eternal; likewise, earth, the object partner, should also be eternal. Almighty God would never be pleased with having created a world so fragile it could possibly perish because of Satan. What, then, is the meaning of the prophecies of the earth’s destruction in the Last Days? For instance:

The heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. -II Pet. 3:12-13

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. -Rev. 21:1; and. Isa. 66:22

To destroy a nation is to overthrow its sovereignty, while to erect a new nation is to establish a new sovereignty. Likewise, the prophecies that heaven and earth will be destroyed mean that the tyranny of Satan will be overthrown. To create a new heaven and new earth means to restore heaven and earth to God’s sovereignty founded on Christ.

3.2.2 Heaven and Earth Judged by Fire
What is the meaning of the prophecy that “the heavens will be kindled and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire”42 in the Last Days? Malachi, prophesying of Jesus to come, spoke of a day burning with the fire of judgment.43 Jesus came into the world to cast this judgment, as he said, “For judgment I came into this world.”44 Jesus also said, “I came to cast fire upon the earth.”45 “Fire” here represents the means of the judgment for which Jesus came into the world. Nevertheless, there is no record that in his time Jesus judged the world with literal fire. The verses referring to fire must be symbolic. It is written, “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?”46 Therefore, judgment by fire represents judgment by the Word of God.

Let us look for some biblical examples concerning judgment by the Word: “He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.”47 “The lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth,”48 that is, by his word. Moreover, “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.”49 “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.”50 It follows that the judgment by fire which Jesus came to bring was the judgment by the Word.

What is the reason that Jesus judges by the Word? Human beings are created through the Word.51 God’s ideal of creation was that the first human ancestors fulfill the purpose of the Word by incarnating the Word. Yet they did not keep the Word of God and fell; thus, they failed to fulfill the purpose of the Word. Since then, God has tried to fulfill the purpose of the Word by recreating fallen human beings through the Word. This is the providence of restoration based on truth, the Word as revealed in the Scriptures. It is written, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”52 Jesus completely realized the Word. He will come again as the standard of the judgment by the Word and judge the extent to which humanity has fulfilled the purpose of the Word. Judgment in this context contributes to the attainment of the goal of restoration, which is the realization of the purpose of the Word. Hence, in the course of the providence, the Word must be set up as the standard through which judgment can be carried out. Jesus lamented, “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!”53 As the incarnation of the Word,54 he was grieved that the people of Israel did not receive the life-giving words which he proclaimed.

3.2.3 The Dead Rising from Their Tombs
It is written in the Bible that in the Last Days the dead will rise from their graves:

With the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. . . the dead in Christ will rise first. -I Thess. 4:16

We can understand the meaning of this prophecy by examining a similar event, when the dead rose from their tombs at the time of Jesus’ death:

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 resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. -Matt. 27:52-53

This verse does not mean that the decomposed bodies of the saints literally rose up from their graves.55 If the physical bodies of the saints of the Old Testament Age had actually risen from their tombs and appeared before many people in Jerusalem, they would certainly have testified to the people about Jesus, since they already knew that he was the Messiah. After hearing such testimony, who among the inhabitants of Jerusalem would not have believed in the crucified Jesus? Additionally, if the saints really had risen from their tombs in the flesh, then surely their deeds would have been recorded in the Bible. However, we find no such records.

What does the Scripture mean when it says that the bodies of the saints rose from their tombs? This record was made by people who could perceive the spirits of the past saints being resurrected spiritually and appearing on the earth.56 This is much like Moses and Elijah who, as spirits, briefly appeared before Jesus on the Mount of Trans-figuration.57 What does “the tomb” symbolize? The realm of form spirits, the region of the spirit world where the spirits of the Old Testament saints were abiding, appears to be a dark place when viewed from Paradise, the realm of the spirit world opened up by Jesus. Hence, it is referred to as a tomb. The spirits of these saints had all lived in that lower region of the spirit world before they appeared to spiritually-attuned believers on the earth.

3.2.4 People on Earth Caught Up to Meet the Lord in the Air
Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. -I Thess. 4:17

The “air” mentioned in this verse does not refer to the sky over our heads. In the Bible, “earth” is often a symbol for the fallen world under the sway of evil sovereignty, while “Heaven” is often a symbol for the sinless world of good sovereignty. The omnipresent God certainly dwells everywhere on the earth, yet we pray, “Our Father who art in heaven.”58 Even though Jesus was born on the earth, he is referred to as “he who descended from Heaven, the Son of man.”59 Meeting the Lord in the air means that the saints will receive the Lord in the world of good sovereignty when Christ comes again and restores the Kingdom of Heaven on earth by defeating the kingdom of Satan.

3.2.5 The Sun Darkened, the Moon Not Giving Light and the Stars Falling from Heaven
In the Last Days, Jesus said, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven.”60 How are we to understand this verse?

It is written that Joseph, the eleventh of the twelve sons of Jacob, had a dream:

Then he dreamed another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” -Gen. 37:9-10

When Joseph later became the prime minister of Egypt, his parents and brothers bowed down before him, as the dream had foretold. In his dream, the sun and moon symbolized the parents, while the stars symbolized their children. As will be explained, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the True Parents who came to give rebirth to humanity in place of Adam and Eve.61 Therefore, in this prophecy from Matthew, the sun and moon represent Jesus and the Holy Spirit, while the stars represent the faithful believers who are their children. Elsewhere, Jesus is likened to the true light because he came as the incarnation of the Word and shone forth the light of truth.62 Here, the sunlight means the light of the words of Jesus, and the moonlight means the light of the Holy Spirit, who came as the Spirit of truth.63

For the sun to be darkened and the moon to lose its light means that the New Testament Word given by Jesus and the Holy Spirit will lose its luster. How can the Word as revealed in the New Testament possibly lose its light? The Old Testament Word was eclipsed when Jesus and the Holy Spirit came and gave us the New Testament Word, which fulfilled the Old Testament Word.64 Likewise, when Christ returns and gives the new truth65 in order to fulfill the New Testament Word and build a new heaven and new earth,66 the Word which he gave at his first coming will lose its light. It is said that the Word will lose its light because, with the coming of a new era, the period of the mission of the old truth will have lapsed.

The prophecy that the stars will fall from heaven signifies that in the Last Days many faithful Christian believers will make a misstep and fall from God’s grace. At the time of Jesus, the leaders of the Jewish people were all yearning for the coming of the Messiah, but they met their downfall when they did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and opposed him. Likewise, Christians who have been anxiously awaiting the return of Jesus are likely to make the same misjudgment and fall when he actually returns.67

Jesus asked, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”68 On another occasion he said he would declare to devout believers, “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.”69 Jesus gave these warnings to the Christians of the Last Days because he foresaw that they would be likely to disbelieve and trespass against him at his Second Advent.

Section 4: The Last Days and the Present Days

When Jesus was speaking to Peter of his fate, Peter asked him about John’s future. Jesus replied, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”70 Upon hearing this, the disciples thought Jesus would return during John’s lifetime. Moreover, Jesus said to his disciples, “you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes”71 and “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”72 Based on these sayings, the disciples and many Christians since have believed that Jesus would return during their lifetime. They have been constantly haunted by a sense of urgency that the Last Days are at hand. This is because they fail to grasp the fundamental meaning of the Last Days.

We can deduce that today is in fact the Last Days by examining the various circumstances of the present age. We can recognize in these circumstances the restoration of the three great blessings, which God has purposed in His providence of restoration. As Jesus said:

From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. -Matt. 24:32-33

4.1 Signs of the Restoration of the First Blessing
The first blessing God gave to Adam and Eve was perfection of individual character.73 In the modern world, there are various phenomena which indicate that God’s providence to restore fallen people to their original state as perfected individuals is near its zenith.

First, we can observe that the spirituality of fallen people is being restored. We have already explained that when a person reaches perfection, he becomes completely one with God in heart and is able to build true relationships with others. Adam and Eve, though not quite perfect, were able to converse with God. When they fell from this state, they caused their descendants also to sink into ignorance of and insensibility to God. Gradually, the spirituality of fallen people has been rehabilitated as they enjoy the merit of the age in the providence of restoration. In the Last Days, therefore, many faithful believers will acquire the ability to communicate with God, as was prophesied in the Bible:

In the last days . . . I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. -Acts 2:17

As we witness a profusion of spiritual phenomena taking place all around us, we can discern that the present era is the Last Days. We are entering an era when we can reach individual perfection and restore the first blessing of God.

A second sign that the first blessing is being restored in the present era can be seen in the historical trend toward the recovery of the freedom of the original mind. Due to the Fall, our original mind was shackled under the yoke of Satan, and we lost the freedom to come before God. In the present era, as people struggle for freedom at the cost of their lives, the zeal to gain true freedom has reached its height. This is an indication that we are now entering a new era in which we can attain individual perfection, long denied by Satan, and freely go before God.

A third sign of the renewal of the first blessing is the restoration of true human value. From the horizontal perspective, every person possesses equal value, but that does not do justice to his true worth. From the vertical perspective of Heaven, each individual possesses the loftiest cosmic value.74 Human beings lost their original value because of the Fall. In the present era, as democratic ideals have flourished, people have been promoting the emancipation of slaves, the freedom of oppressed racial minorities, and the independence of small and weak nations. They are advocating human rights and equality between the sexes and among all peoples. More than ever before, people are zealously uplifting the value of the individual toward its original value. This demonstrates that we have arrived at the threshold of the Last Days, when fallen people can restore the first blessing of God.

A fourth sign that the first blessing is being renewed in the present age is the restoration of original, true love in fallen people. The world which has realized the ideal of God will be in the image of a perfected individual. Every person in that world is united with God vertically, and this forms the basis upon which they can naturally live in harmony with each other horizontally. Solidarity and empathy are attained only when people join together in the love of God. Due to the Fall, the vertical bond of love between God and people was broken, and this in turn caused the horizontal love among them to be severed. As a result, human history became one of perpetual conflict. In the present era, however, the philosophy of universal love has become widespread, and people are increasingly seeking for true, original love. This is more evidence that the present time is the eve of the Last Days, when we can restore God’s first blessing and reach perfection of individual character grounded in the love of God.

4.2 Signs of the Restoration of the Second Blessing
God’s second blessing was for Adam and Eve to attain True Parenthood and bear and raise good children, forming a family, society and world where goodness reigns. However, Adam and Eve fell and became evil parents multiplying evil children; their descendants (all humanity) formed a world oppressed by evil. Ever since, God has been conducting a twofold providence, internal and external, to restore the sovereignty of goodness.

God has founded religions and worked through them to elevate people’s spirituality by internally purifying people of satanic elements. At the same time, God has been cutting off Satan’s influence externally through conflicts and wars. By separating Satan both internally and externally, the providence of restoration has been raising up good children who will one day be able to serve Christ when he comes as the True Parent. In this way, human history has been paving the way for the restoration of God’s second blessing. Accordingly, we can deduce that the present era is the Last Days by examining the signs of the internal and external restoration of God’s sovereignty. These are manifested as trends in the history of the development of cultural spheres and in the history of the rise and fall of nations, both of which are rooted in religion.

First, let us investigate how the history of the development of cultural spheres has progressed to the point when, in the present era, we have arrived at the threshold of the Last Days. God sends prophets and saints to fallen humanity to found religions. He works to develop them through the original minds of those who seek the good. In this way, God builds up cultural spheres based upon religions. Although many cultural spheres have emerged in the course of history, with the passage of time most of them either merged with or were absorbed by others. In the present age, we see a clear trend toward the formation of one global cultural sphere based on Christian ideals. As this trend progresses, all races and peoples are increasingly coming to stand side by side as brothers and sisters under the love and guidance of Jesus Christ, thereby restoring the second blessing of God.

The main distinction between Christianity and other religions is that its purpose is to receive and honor the True Parents of humanity, through whom all people can be reborn as good children. In this way, Christianity should renew the world as the one global family which God purposed from the time of creation. This makes Christianity the central religion with the mission to fulfill the goal of the providence of restoration. In the present era, the world has been coalescing into one cultural sphere based on Christian ideals. As the world has been greatly influenced by the teachings of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who are the True Parents of humankind,75 the way has been opened for all people to become godly children. This trend is evidence that God’s second blessing is being restored. Thus, we can conclude with certainty that the present age is the Last Days.

Next, let us investigate how the history of the rise and fall of nations has been progressing toward the goal of restoring the sovereignty of good, thereby leading us into the Last Days. It is an error brought about by ignorance of the fundamental providence of God to regard the cause of struggles and wars as mere conflicts of interests and contests between ideologies. Humankind has suffered through a sinful history ever since the first human ancestors fell under the subjugation of Satan. However, as long as God’s purpose of creation still stands, the purpose of this history must be to cut out ties with Satan and restore God’s kingdom. If there were no wars or divisions in this fallen world, then the sovereignty of evil would continue forever and the world would never be restored. Therefore, God has worked His providence to restore the heavenly sovereignty by degrees. He sends prophets and saints to the fallen world to found religions and raise the level of morality. He establishes governments with higher standards of goodness which come to oppose and destroy regimes with lower standards of goodness. To fulfill the providence of restoration, therefore, conflicts and wars are unavoidable.

To summarize some of these issues, many of which will be treated more thoroughly in Part II, human history has progressed through the providential course of restoration through indemnity. Although there have been times when evil seemed to prevail, in the end the relatively evil social and political forces declined and were absorbed by the more godly forces. The wars which have shaped the rise and fall of nations are thus unavoidable during the course of the providence to re-establish the reign of good.

For example, in the Bible God ordered the Israelites to destroy the seven tribes of Canaan. When Saul disobeyed Him, leaving some of the Amalekites alive with their cattle, God severely punished him.76 While on that occasion God commanded the Israelites to destroy the Gentiles, at another time, when the Israelites of the northern kingdom turned to evil, God delivered them into the hands of the Assyrians.77 We must understand that God’s only intention by these events was to obliterate the sovereignty of evil and restore the sovereignty of good. Therefore, fights between individuals within the same good sovereignty on the side of God are evil, because they can weaken and even cause the disintegration of the good sovereignty itself. On the other hand, wars conducted by a good sovereignty to destroy an evil sovereignty are good in that they further the fulfillment of the providence of restoration.

The history of conflicts among nations has served the purpose of cutting off Satan’s ties to humankind. History has progressed to the point where God’s side can now reclaim territories and wealth all over the world. The providence to reclaim people began from lone individuals called by God. God’s foundation progressively expanded to families, societies and nations, and today has reached the world level. The providence to separate Satan began with the clan society and continued through stages of political and social development: feudalism, monarchy and, today, democracy. At present, our world is divided into two: the democratic world, which seeks to create societies on God’s side, and the communist world, which has been establishing regimes on Satan’s side.

In other words, although fallen human history began under the sovereignty of Satan, God’s providence has brought about a progressive transformation of the hearts of people and has nurtured their original nature, which seeks goodness through religion, philosophy and ethics. This inner nurturing has inspired groups which seek a just rule to separate from the prevailing evil. This process of separation has culminated in the establishment of two opposing powers on the global level. These two sovereignties, with contrary purposes, can by no means peacefully coexist. As human history nears its consummation, they will surely arrive at the point of intersection, colliding internally in the realm of ideology. This inner conflict may spur them to fight external wars with military forces. At the conclusion of this conflict, Satan’s sovereignty will perish forever and Heaven’s sovereignty will be re-established as the one, eternal sovereignty of God. Today we are at this very point of intersection, when these two worlds are confronting each other in the final battle. This is yet more evidence that the present era is the Last Days.

The flow of human history, in which good and evil are gradually separated, may be compared to muddy water. When muddy water is flowing slowly, the mud sinks to the bottom while the clear water rises to the top, until eventually the mud and water are completely separated. Human history is similar: with the passage of time, the evil sovereignty slowly sinks to destruction while the good sovereignty gradually ascends on the path of prosperity. After these two sovereignties intersect near the end of history, the good sovereignty will remain as God’s eternal Kingdom, while the evil sovereignty will perish in eternal darkness.

The era when the paths of these good and evil sovereignties intersect is the Last Days. This is also the time when Adam and Eve’s fall from the top of the growth stage will be restored through indemnity. All people in this era will suffer through great ideological confusion, much as the first human ancestors at the point of their temptation were utterly confused as to whom they should obey and what should guide their actions.

During the course of the providence of restoration, there were several occurrences of the Last Days, when the good and evil sovereignties came to the point of intersection. The times of Noah and Jesus, as mentioned earlier, were also the Last Days. Hence, they too were times when the two sovereignties intersected. Yet because people failed to accomplish their portion of responsibility, God’s efforts to destroy the evil sovereignty were frustrated, and He had to begin once again the providence to separate good from evil. At the time of Jesus’ return, the two sovereignties will intersect once more. The course of the providence progresses in a spiral path, moving forward in pursuit of the purpose of creation while events periodically repeat themselves in a circular fashion. Consequently, history has repeated itself, producing parallel periods.78

4.3 Signs of the Restoration of the Third Blessing
Once Adam and Eve had attained perfection, they were to fulfill God’s third blessing by gaining dominion over the natural world. Dominion over the natural world has two aspects: internal and external. Both these aspects of dominion were lost to humankind at the Fall, but we witness their restoration in the present era. This also suggests that the present era is the Last Days.

Internal dominion denotes dominion of the heart. A person who reaches perfection and comes fully to resonate with God in heart will experience God’s Heart as his own reality. Hence, he will be able to love the creation with the same love as that which emanates from God’s Heart and appreciate its beauty with the same delight as God. This is the meaning of dominion of the heart. However, when human beings fell and could no longer experience God’s Heart as a reality, they also could no longer relate to the creation with the same love as that which flows from God’s Heart. God’s providence of restoration through religion, philosophy, ethics and so forth, has gradually elevated the spirituality of fallen people toward God. In the modern world, there is evidence that people are regaining the worthiness to govern the creation through heart.

External dominion denotes proper mastery of the creation through science and technology. Had our first ancestors reached perfection and attained internal dominion over the creation, able to love it with the same heart as God, then their sensibility to the spiritual dimension of creation would have developed to the highest degree. This would have stimulated the rapid advancement of science, giving them external dominion over everything in the natural world. Humankind would have reached the stars long ago and harnessed the full potential of the universe. Economic progress would have accompanied the development of science and technology, creating a comfortable and pleasant living environment.

However, due to the Fall, people’s spirituality declined, and they lost internal dominion over the natural world. Their spiritual sensibility became as dull as those of animals, and they descended to the level of primitive man. Consequently, they also lost external dominion over the natural world. Through God’s providence of restoration, people’s spirituality is being elevated and their internal dominion over the creation is being restored. As a result, their external dominion is also being renewed, leading to today’s highly advanced science. Modern people have built an extremely comfortable and pleasant living environment through the economic progress that has accompanied scientific development. Fallen people have thus been restoring their dominion over the universe, advancing toward the re-establishment of God’s third blessing. Observing this, we are assured that the present era is the Last Days.

To summarize, the world’s cultural spheres are converging toward one global cultural sphere based on one religion. Concurrently, nations are moving toward forming an apparatus for international governance, having progressed from the League of Nations to the United Nations. Today, people are envisioning plans for a world government. In the sphere of economics, the world is moving in the direction of establishing one international market. Highly developed transportation and communication technology have overcome the separation of time and space. People today can travel and communicate with each other almost as if they were all living in the same village. People of all races, from East and West, can meet with one another as easily as if they were members of a large family. People on all six continents are crossing the oceans seeking friendship and brotherly love. However, a family can be formed only when there is a father and a mother; only then can true brotherly love arise. Only when Christ comes again as the Parent of humanity will all people join together in one great family and live harmoniously in the global village.

As these events unfold, we may know that today is surely the Last Days. There is yet one final gift that history must present to humanity: it is the cosmic teaching which can bind together all the strangers of the global village into one family through the love and guidance of the same parents.

Section 5: The Last Days, the New Truth and Our Attitude

5.1 The Last Days and the New Truth
Fallen people have been overcoming their internal ignorance by enlightening their spirituality and intellect with “spirit and truth”79 through religion. “Truth” may be divided into two types: internal truth as taught by religion, which helps people overcome internal ignorance, and external truth as obtained through science, which helps people overcome external ignorance. Accordingly, we can discern two aspects within the intellect: the internal intellect, awakened by internal truth, and the external intellect, awakened by external truth. Religions develop as the internal intellect pursues internal truth, while science advances as the external intellect pursues external truth.

“Spirit” in this context denotes the inspiration of Heaven. Cognition of a spiritual reality begins when it is perceived through the five senses of the spirit self. These perceptions resonate through the five physical senses and are felt physiologically. Cognition of truth, on the other hand, arises from the knowledge gleaned from the physical world as it is perceived directly through our physiological sense organs. Cognition thus takes place through both spiritual and physical processes.

Human beings become complete only when their spirit self and physical self are unified. Hence, the experience of divine inspiration gained through spiritual cognition and the knowledge of truth obtained through physical cognition should become fully harmonized and awaken the spirituality and intellect together. It is only when the spiritual and physical dimensions of cognition resonate together that we can thoroughly comprehend God and the universe.

God thus assists ignorant, fallen people to elevate their spirituality and enlighten their intellect through spirit and truth. By these means, God conducts His providence to restore people to the original state before the Fall. In the course of history, people’s spiritual and intellectual levels have gradually been elevated due to the merit of the age in the providence of restoration. Hence, the quality of spiritual experience and the depth of religious and scientific knowledge have risen accordingly.

Spirit and truth are unique, eternal and unchanging. However, the degree and scope of their teaching and the means of their expression will vary from one age to another as they restore humankind from a state of utter ignorance. For example, in the age prior to the Old Testament, when people were still unenlightened and could not directly receive the Word of truth, God commanded them to make sacrificial offerings as a substitute for the Word.80 In the course of time, the spirituality and intellect of human beings were elevated to the point when, in Moses’ day, God granted them the Law, and at the time of Jesus He gave the Gospel. Jesus made it clear that his words were not the truth itself; rather, he declared that he himself was “the way, the truth, and the life.”81 Jesus was the incarnation of the truth. His words were just a means by which he expressed himself. Thus, the scope and depth of Jesus’ words and the method of his teaching varied according to whom he was speaking.

In this sense, we must understand that the verses in the Bible are only one means of expressing the truth and are not the truth itself. The New Testament is but an interim textbook given to enlighten the people of two thousand years ago, whose spiritual and intellectual levels were far lower than today. The modern, scientific-minded thirst for the truth cannot be satisfied by expressions of truth which are limited in scope and couched in symbols and parables aimed specifically at instructing the people of an earlier age. For modern, intellectual people to be enlightened in the truth, there must appear another textbook of higher and richer content, with a more scientific method of expression. We call this the new truth. This truth, as discussed previously,82 must be able to reconcile science and religion as one united undertaking in order to overcome the internal and external aspects of people’s ignorance.

Let us examine some other reasons a new expression of truth must appear. The Bible, as was noted, is not the truth itself, but rather is a textbook teaching the truth. It renders important parts of the truth in symbols and in parables. Since these are open to various interpretations, there have arisen numerous disagreements among believers, causing them to divide into many denominations. The primary cause of denominational divisions lies in the character of the Bible, not in the people. The strife between denominations will only grow more intractable unless a new truth emerges which can elucidate the symbols and parables obscuring the essential truths of the Bible. Without this new truth, God’s providence, which comes through the unification of Christianity, can never reach its goal. This is why Jesus promised that in the Last Days he will give us the new Word of truth:

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 16:25

Due to the disbelief of the people of his time, Jesus died on the cross without being able to teach all that was in his heart. As he said, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”83 What is more, Jesus added, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now,”84 disclosing how sorrowful he was about the inability of even his closest disciples to receive all that he wanted to share.

Nevertheless, the words that Jesus left unspoken will not remain forever a secret, but one day will be divulged through the Holy Spirit as a new expression of truth. As Jesus said:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. -John 16:13

Moreover, it is written:

I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. -Rev. 5:1

The words that Jesus wanted to give us are written down and sealed in this very scroll. When John wept because he could not find anyone worthy to open the scroll and read it in heaven, on earth or under the earth, one of the elders said, “Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”85 The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, signifies Christ. The day must come when Christ will open the seven seals of the scroll, whose contents have long remained secret to humankind, and reveal to the faithful the words of the new truth. This is why it is written, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”86 It is also prophesied that in the Last Days:

I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. -Acts 2:17

For all these reasons, we can expect the appearance of a new expression of truth in the Last Days.

5.2 Our Attitude in the Last Days
When we examine the progress of history in the providence of restoration, we find that a new dispensation begins when the old dispensation is about to end. Accordingly, the beginning of the new overlaps the conclusion of the old; as darkness falls on the old history, the new history is already dawning. At such a time, the good and evil sovereignties, which had their origins at the same point yet pursued contrary purposes and have each borne their fruits on the world level, come to the point of intersection. Hence, those who live in this period suffer internally from anxiety, fear and confusion due to the absence of a guiding ideology or philosophy. They suffer externally from strife and battles fought with fearsome weapons. In the Last Days, disasters and devastation will abound, as Jesus spoke, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”87

In the Last Days, it is inevitable that such devastation take place in order to vanquish the power of evil and erect the rule of good. In the midst of such wretchedness, God without fail will establish the center of the emerging good sovereignty in order to usher in a new age. Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus were among those whom God raised up as the central figures of their respective new eras. Today, at this historical transition period, we must find the person whom God has designated as the central figure of the new dispensation in order that we might participate in this new age and give honor to God’s wishes.

The providence of the new age does not begin on the ashes of the old age. On the contrary, the new age sprouts and grows amidst the final phases of the old age and comes into conflict with that age. Accordingly, it is difficult for a person steeped in the old tradition to understand or accept the new providence. This is why the saints and sages leading the dispensation of a new age were often persecuted and martyred as victims of the old age. Jesus, for example, who inaugurated the New Testament Age, came at the close of the Old Testament Age in such a way as to bewilder the faithful adherents of the Mosaic Law. He was ostracized by the Jewish people and eventually crucified. This is why Jesus said, “New wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”88

Jesus is to come again at the close of the New Testament Age. He will give us the new truth with which to found a new age, signified by the Bible’s vision of a new heaven and new earth.89 Just as Jesus at his first coming was derided by the Jews as one possessed by Beelzebul,90 he will similarly be persecuted by the Christians when he comes again. Jesus therefore prophesied that at his Second Advent, “he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”91 At this historical transition period, those who are comfortably entrenched in the ways of the old age will surely face judgment, along with the old age.

Fallen people’s spiritual sensibility is extremely dull. Hence, they generally tend to adhere strictly to the letter of the truth in their efforts to follow God’s providence. Such people cannot readily adjust themselves to the dispensation of the new age, even though the providence of restoration is moving toward it. They are generally too strongly attached to the outdated perspective provided by the doctrines of the old age. This is well illustrated by the case of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day who were so attached to the Old Testament that they could not respond to Jesus’ call to open a new chapter of the providence. On the other hand, those believers who receive divine inspiration through prayer are able to grasp spiritually the providence of the new age. Even though this may put them at odds with the doctrines of the old age, they will still respond to the promptings of the spirit and follow the calling of the new providence. Among the disciples of Jesus, there was not one who was overly attached to the Old Testament Scriptures. Rather, they all responded to the spiritual experiences which they could sense through their inner minds. In the Last Days, people who lead an ardent life of prayer or who live by their conscience will feel intense anxiety in their hearts. This is because in their hearts they vaguely sense a spiritual calling and want to follow the providence of the new age, yet they have not come in contact with the new truth which can guide them to act accordingly. These are the chosen ones who, once they hear the new truth, will be awakened simultaneously in their spirits and intellects by spirit and truth. They will then fully understand God’s providential needs concerning the new age and will volunteer with great enthusiasm and delight.

We who are alive today are living in the Last Days. We should cultivate a humble heart and make the utmost effort to receive divine inspiration through prayer. We should not be strongly attached to conventional concepts, but rather should direct ourselves to be receptive to the spirit, in order that we may find the new truth which can guide us to the providence of the new age. When we come across this truth, we should ascertain whether it leads us to become one with Heaven’s guidance. We should examine ourselves as to whether or not genuine, heavenly bliss springs forth abundantly from the depths of our soul. Only in this way can we, the seekers in the Last Days, discover the path to true salvation.

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Chapter 4: The Messiah: His Advent and the Purpose of His Second Coming

The word “Messiah” in Hebrew means the “anointed one,” signifying a king. The chosen people of Israel believed in the Word of God as revealed through the prophets, which promised that God would send them a king and savior. Such was their messianic expectation. God sent this Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ. “Christ” is the Greek word for Messiah.

The Messiah comes to fulfill the purpose of God’s work of salvation. Human beings need salvation because of the Fall. Hence, before we can clarify the meaning of salvation, we must first understand the matter of the Fall. Furthermore, since the Fall implies the failure to accomplish God’s purpose of creation, before we can clarify the significance of the Fall, we must first understand the purpose of creation.

God’s purpose of creation was to be fulfilled with the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. However, due to the human Fall, we have built hell on earth in place of God’s Kingdom. Since the Fall, God has been repeatedly working His providence to restore the Kingdom. Being the history of the providence of restoration, human history’s primary goal is to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.1

Section 1: Salvation through the Cross

1.1 The Purpose of Jesus’ Coming as the Messiah
Jesus came as the Messiah for nothing less than the complete salvation of humanity; he was to fulfill the goal of the providence of restoration. Jesus was supposed to establish the Kingdom of Heaven, first on the earth. We can infer this from Jesus’ own teaching to his disciples, “You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”2 According to the Principle of Creation, a person who has realized the purpose of creation does not commit sin, because he is in full harmony with God and possesses a divine nature. With respect to the purpose of creation, such a person is perfect as Heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus gave this teaching to his disciples with the hope that they could be restored as people who had realized the purpose of creation and become citizens of the Kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus taught people to pray that God’s Will be done on earth as it is in heaven because he came to renew fallen humanity as citizens of God’s Kingdom and build the Kingdom on earth. He also urged the people, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”3 For the same reason, John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way of the Lord, also announced the imminence of the Kingdom.4

What will people be like once they have been restored as those who have realized the purpose of creation and become perfect as Heavenly Father is perfect? Such people are fully attuned to God and experience God’s Heart within their innermost self. They possess a divine nature and live their life with God, inseparable from Him. Moreover, they do not have the original sin, and hence are not in need of redemption or a savior. They do not need to pray arduously or practice a faith, both of which are necessary for fallen people as they seek God. Furthermore, since they do not have the original sin, their children are naturally born good and sinless and likewise have no need of a savior for the redemption of their sins.

1.2 Was Salvation Completed through the Cross?
Did Jesus’ crucifixion, which brought us redemption from our sins, fulfill the purpose of the providence of restoration? If so, we would expect that faithful believers in Jesus would have restored their original nature and built the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Yet in the entire history of Christianity, there has been no one, no matter how devout, who lived his life in inseparable oneness with God. Not one person has ever experienced God’s Heart in its full intensity or possessed a divine nature. There has never been a believer who had no need of redemption or a life of ardent prayer and devotion. Even St. Paul, a great man of God, could not dispense with a life of faith and tearful prayer.5 Moreover, no Christian parent, no matter how devout, has ever given birth to a child without the original sin, who could enter God’s Kingdom without the grace of redemption by the Savior. Christian parents continue to transmit the original sin to their children.

What can be learned from this stark review of the Christian life? It teaches us that the grace of redemption by the cross has neither fully uprooted our original sin nor perfectly restored our original nature. Jesus, knowing that the redemption by the cross would not completely fulfill the purpose for which he came, promised he would come again. He understood that God’s Will to restore the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is absolute and unchangeable. Thus, Jesus hoped to return and accomplish the Will of God completely.

Was Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for naught? Of course not.6 If it were, Christianity would not have brought forth its illustrious history. Furthermore, our own personal experiences in faith make it plain how great is the grace of redemption by the cross.

It is true that the cross has redeemed our sins; yet it is equally true that the cross has not entirely purged us of our original sin. It has not restored us to the unfallen state of perfected original nature in which we would never commit sin, and it has not enabled us to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

What is an accurate assessment of the extent of salvation through the cross? Unless this question is answered, it is difficult for people in the modern world to properly guide their faith. First, however, we must re-examine Jesus’ death on the cross.

1.3 Jesus’ Death on the Cross
Was Jesus’ death on the cross the most desired Will of God? Let us first examine the words and deeds of the disciples as recorded in the Bible. There was one unanimous feeling evident among the disciples concerning the death of Jesus: they were grief-stricken and indignant. Stephen, for example, burned with indignation over the ignorance and disbelief of the Jewish leaders, and he condemned their actions, calling them murderers and rebels.7 Christians since then have commonly shared the same feelings as the disciples of Jesus’ day. If Jesus’ death had been the foreordained outcome for the fulfillment of God’s Will, then it might have been natural for the disciples to grieve over his death, but they would not have been so bitterly resentful over it, nor so angry at those Jewish leaders who caused it. We can infer from their bitter reaction that Jesus’ death was unjust and undue.

Next, let us examine from the viewpoint of God’s providence whether the crucifixion of Jesus was inevitable as the predestined Will of God. God called the chosen people of Israel out of the descendants of Abraham. He protected them, nurtured them, and at times disciplined them with tribulations and trials. God sent prophets to comfort them with the unshakable promise that one day He would send them a Messiah. He prepared them to receive the Messiah by having them build the Tabernacle and the Temple. When Jesus was born, God proclaimed his advent. He sent the three wise men from the East as well as Simon, Anna, John the Baptist and others to testify widely. Concerning John the Baptist in particular, many people knew that an angel had appeared and testified to his conception.8 The miracles surrounding his birth stirred all of Judea in expectation.9 Furthermore, John’s ascetic life in the wilderness was so impressive that many people questioned in their hearts whether perhaps he was the Christ.10 God’s purpose behind sending such a great personality as John the Baptist to bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah was to encourage the Jewish people to believe in Jesus. Since God’s Will was thus to have the Jewish people of that time believe that Jesus was their Messiah, the Jewish people, who were trained to live by God’s Will, should have believed in him. Had they believed in him as God desired, would they have even entertained the thought of sending him to the cross? Would they have wanted any harm to come to the Messiah whom they had so long and eagerly awaited? However, because they went against God’s Will and did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, he was delivered to be crucified. We must understand, therefore, that Jesus did not come to die on the cross.

Next, let us examine the words and deeds of Jesus himself to ascertain whether his crucifixion was in fact the way to completely accomplish his mission as the Messiah. Jesus’ words and deeds were meant to engender belief on the part of the people that he was the Messiah. For example, when the people asked him what they must do to be doing the works of God, Jesus replied:

This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. -John 6:29

One day, when he was agonizing over the Pharisees’ disbelief and having no one with whom to share his heart, Jesus looked down sadly over the city of Jerusalem. He wept as he lamented the fate of the Jewish people, whom God had so laboriously and lovingly guided for two thousand years. Jesus prophesied that the city would be so utterly laid waste that not one stone would be left upon another. He clearly pointed to the ignorance of the people, saying, “you did not know the time of your visitation.”11 On another occasion, Jesus lamented the stubbornness and disbelief of the people of Jerusalem, saying:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! -Matt. 23:37

Jesus reproached the people who refused to believe in him, even though they were familiar with the Scriptures which testified to him:

You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. -John 5:39-40

I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me . . . if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. -John 5:43-46

How many miracles and signs did Jesus perform in his desperate efforts to lift the people from their disbelief! Yet, even as they were witnessing the wondrous works of Jesus, the religious leaders mocked him as one possessed by Beelzebul.12 In the midst of such a wretched situation, Jesus cried out:

Even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. -John 10:38

Then, confronting his opponents, he scathingly denounced their hypocrisy.13 Through his words and deeds, Jesus tried to bring his people to believe in him, because it was God’s Will that they do so. If they had followed God’s Will and believed in Jesus as their Messiah, then who among them would have dared to send him to the cross?

From all the above evidence, we can deduce that Jesus’ death on the cross was the unfortunate outcome of the ignorance and disbelief of the people of his day; it was not necessary for the complete fulfillment of his mission as the Messiah. This is well illustrated by Jesus’ last words on the cross:

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. -Luke 23:34

If God had originally predestined Jesus to die on the cross, Jesus would have expected to go that path as his due course. Why, then, did he pray three times, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt”?14 In truth, Jesus offered those desperate prayers because he knew well that his death would shatter the hope of attaining the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This would be a tragic disappointment to God, who had worked so laboriously to realize this hope through the long ages since the Fall. Furthermore, Jesus knew that humanity’s afflictions would continue unrelieved until the time of his Second Coming.

Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up.”15 When the Israelites lost faith in Moses on the way to Canaan, fiery serpents appeared and began to kill them. God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole, so that all who looked upon the serpent might live.16 Similarly, Jesus foresaw that due to the chosen people’s failure to believe in him, humankind would be consigned to hell. He foresaw that he would then be nailed to the cross like the bronze serpent in order to save all humankind, granting salvation to all who look to him. Foreseeing this eventuality, Jesus uttered this foreboding prophecy with a mournful heart.

Another indication that Jesus’ death on the cross was not the Will of God, but rather due to the disbelief of the people, is that Israel declined after the crucifixion.17 After all, it had been prophesied that Jesus would come and sit on the throne of David and establish an everlasting kingdom:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. -Isa. 9:6-7

An angel appeared to Mary prior to Jesus’ conception and made a similar prediction:

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end. -Luke 1:31-33

God’s clear intention for the chosen people of Israel, whom He had led through all manner of difficulty from the time of Abraham, was to send them a Messiah and build an eternal Kingdom on earth. Nevertheless, when the Jewish leadership persecuted Jesus and led him to the cross, Israel lost its qualification to be the founding nation of God’s Kingdom. Within a few generations, the people of Israel would be scattered over the face of the earth. They have suffered oppression and persecution ever since. This can be viewed as the tragic consequence of the mistake their ancestors committed when they condemned to death the Messiah, whom they should have honored, thereby preventing the completion of the providence of restoration. Moreover, not only the Jews, but also many faithful Christians have shouldered the cross as their portion for the collective sin of having killed Jesus.

1.4 The Limit of Salvation through Redemption by the Cross and the Purpose of Jesus’ Second Advent
What would have happened if Jesus had not been crucified? Jesus would have accomplished both the spiritual and physical aspects of salvation. He surely would have established the everlasting and indestructible Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This, after all, had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah, announced by the angel who appeared to Mary, and expressed by Jesus himself when he announced that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.18

When God created man, “the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”19 Human beings were thus created in both spirit and flesh. Their Fall also happened both spiritually and physically. Since Jesus came to bring full salvation, he was responsible to complete it both spiritually and physically. To believe in Jesus means to become one with him. Hence, Jesus likened himself to a true vine and compared his disciples to its branches.20 He also said, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”21 In order to save fallen people physically as well as spiritually, it was necessary that Jesus come in the flesh. Had the people believed in Jesus and so united with him in both spirit and flesh, they would have received salvation both spiritually and physically. Yet the people did not believe in Jesus; instead they led him to the cross. Jesus’ body was exposed to Satan’s assault, and he was killed. Therefore, even when faithful Christians are united with Jesus, their bodies remain exposed to Satan’s attack, just as was Jesus’ body.

Consequently, no matter how devout a believer may be, he cannot attain physical salvation through redemption by the cross of Jesus. His original sin, which has been passed down through the lineage from Adam, is not eliminated at its root. Even the most devout Christian still has the original sin and gives birth to children who also carry the original sin. In our personal faith, we may feel it necessary to mortify and deny our flesh in our efforts to prevent the intrusion of Satan, who continually tries to ensnare us through our bodies. We are taught to “pray constantly”22 that we might remove the conditions by which Satan can attack us; these conditions stem from the original sin, which was not eradicated despite salvation through redemption by the cross.

Jesus could not fulfill the goal of complete salvation, both spiritual and physical, because his body was struck down by Satan. However, Jesus laid the basis for spiritual salvation by securing the victorious foundation for his resurrection through the redemption by his blood on the cross. As a result, all believers since his resurrection have received the benefit of spiritual salvation, but not physical salvation. Salvation through redemption by the cross is spiritual salvation only. The original sin remains active in the flesh of even the most devout Christians and is transmitted through the lineage to their descendants. The more fervent a believer’s faith, the more fiercely he must fight against the sin within. Even St. Paul, the most devout among the apostles, lamented over his inability to prevent sin from infiltrating his flesh:

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? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. -Rom. 7:22-25

This statement contrasts the bliss Paul felt upon receiving spiritual salvation with the agony he felt because he was unable to achieve physical salvation. John also confessed:

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. -I John 1:8-10

We who receive salvation based on Jesus’ crucifixion cannot unshackle ourselves from the chains of sin, due to the original sin still active deep within us. Therefore, to uproot the original sin, which he could not remove through the crucifixion, and to complete the work of physical salvation, Jesus must come again on earth. Only then will the purpose of God’s work of salvation be fulfilled both spiritually and physically.

1.5 Two Kinds of Prophecies Concerning the Cross
If Jesus’ death on the cross were not predestined as necessary for the complete accomplishment of his purpose as the Messiah, why was it prophesied in Isaiah that he would suffer the ordeal of the cross?23 We may think that the Bible contains only prophecies which foretold Jesus’ suffering. However, when we read the Bible anew with knowledge of the Principle, we realize there are other prophecies to the contrary. As Isaiah prophesied24 and as the angel announced to Mary,25 it was foretold that Jesus would become the king of the Jews in his lifetime and establish an everlasting kingdom on the earth. Let us investigate why God gave two contrasting kinds of prophecies concerning Jesus.

God created human beings to reach perfection only by fulfilling their own portion of responsibility.26 In reality, the first human ancestors did not fulfill their responsibility and fell. Thus, human beings have the potential to either accomplish their responsibility in accordance with God’s Will or fail their responsibility contrary to God’s Will.

To take some examples from the Bible, it was Adam’s portion of responsibility not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He either could obey the commandment of God and reach perfection or eat of the fruit and die. He chose the latter. In the Old Testament Age, God gave the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law, which the people were to obey as the condition for their salvation. It was their portion of responsibility to either uphold the Law and receive salvation or disobey it and come to ruin.27 For the Israelites who left Egypt and journeyed toward Canaan, it was their responsibility to obey the instructions of Moses. They could either faithfully comply with Moses’ directions and enter the land of Canaan or rebel against him and not enter the promised land. In fact, God had foretold that He would guide the Israelites into the land of Canaan28 and commanded Moses to lead them there. Yet due to their lack of faith, the people perished in the wilderness, leaving only their descendants to reach the final destination.

Human beings thus have their own portion of responsibility; they can either fulfill it in accordance with God’s Will or fail to fulfill it contrary to His Will. The nature of the fruits they bear depends upon whether or not they fulfill their portion of responsibility. For this reason, God gave two kinds of prophecies concerning the accomplishment of His Will.

To send the Messiah is God’s portion of responsibility. However, belief in the Messiah is the human portion of responsibility. The Jewish people could either believe in the Messiah as God wished or not believe in him in opposition to His desire. To cope with the contingency of human responsibility, God gave two kinds of prophecies concerning the accomplishment of His Will through Jesus. One kind foretold that Jesus would die due to the disbelief of the people.29 Another kind foretold that the people would believe in and honor Jesus as the Messiah and help him to accomplish God’s Will in glory.30 When Jesus died on the cross due to the disbelief of the people, only the prophecies of the first kind were fulfilled. The prophecies of the second kind were left unfulfilled until the Second Coming of Christ.

1.6 Gospel Passages in Which Jesus Spoke of His Crucifixion as if It Were Necessary
There are several passages in the Gospels in which Jesus spoke of his suffering on the cross as if it were necessary for salvation. For example, when Peter heard Jesus’ prediction of his imminent crucifixion and tried to dissuade him, Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.”31 Why did Jesus chastise Peter so harshly? In truth, when Jesus spoke these words, the disbelief of the chosen people had already frustrated Jesus’ efforts to complete the providence of salvation both physically and spiritually. By that time, Jesus had resolutely determined to accept the fate of the cross32 as a condition of indemnity to open the way for at least the spiritual salvation of humankind. Peter’s dissuasion could have hindered Jesus from paving the way for spiritual salvation through the cross. For this reason, Jesus rebuked him.

A second example is Jesus’ last words on the cross, “It is finished.”33 Jesus did not utter these words to mean that through the crucifixion he had completely accomplished the providence of salvation. After he realized that the people’s disbelief was unalterable, he chose the path of the cross in order to lay the foundation for spiritual salvation, leaving unfulfilled the task of achieving physical salvation until the time of the Second Advent. Hence, by the words, “It is finished,” Jesus meant that he had finished laying the foundation for spiritual salvation. By this time, it had become the alternative goal of the providence.

In order for us to have proper faith, it is necessary first to have direct communion with God through spiritual experiences in prayer, and then to understand the truth through a correct reading of Scripture. This is the reason Jesus told us to worship in “spirit and truth.”34

Since the time of Jesus, Christians have believed that Jesus came to this world to die on the cross. They have not known the fundamental purpose for which Jesus came as the Messiah and misunderstood the spiritual salvation which he brought us, thinking it to be all that his mission entailed. Jesus had wanted to live and fulfill his destiny, yet due to the people’s disbelief in him, he died with a heart full of disappointment. Today, there must appear on earth faithful brides-pure-hearted believers-who can alleviate the bitter and grieving heart of Jesus. There must appear brides who can exalt the desires of Jesus’ heart before Jesus can come again as the bridegroom. Yet Jesus lamented, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”35 for he foresaw that when he returned the people would likely be in darkness.

We have clarified from our study of the Bible that Jesus did not come to die on the cross. We can ascertain this fact even more clearly if we communicate with Jesus spiritually and ask him directly. If we cannot perceive spiritual realities, we should seek out the testimonies of those who are endowed with such gifts in order to properly understand his heart and deepen our faith. Only then will we be worthy to become the brides of Jesus who can receive him in the Last Days.

Section 2: The Second Coming of Elijah and John the Baptist

The prophet Malachi foretold that Elijah would come again: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”36 Jesus testified that the prophesied coming of Elijah was realized in none other than John the Baptist:

“I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. . . .” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. -Matt. 17:12-13

Nevertheless, John the Baptist did not recognize himself to be the second coming of Elijah,37 and neither did the Jewish people. John’s ignorance reinforced his doubts about Jesus.38 Since many Jewish people esteemed John the Baptist, they respected John’s point of view. This exacerbated their disbelief in Jesus. John’s ignorance was a major factor in compelling Jesus to go the way of the cross.

2.1 The Jewish Belief in the Return of Elijah
During the period of the united kingdom, God’s ideal for His holy Temple was thwarted by Satan through the transgressions of King Solomon.39 To restore the Temple and pave the way for the advent of the Messiah-who is the incarnation of the Temple-God sent four major and twelve minor prophets to Israel and worked through them to purify Israel of all satanic influences. Besides these, God sent the prophet Elijah to confront the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel; he defeated them with the power of God and cast down their altars to Baal. However, Elijah ascended to heaven in a whirlwind and a fiery chariot40 before he could complete his divine mission. Satan’s power revived and continued to plague God’s providence. The way of the Messiah could not be made straight until Satan’s influence was removed. Hence, before Jesus could realize the ideal of the incarnate Temple, another prophet should inherit and complete Elijah’s unfinished mission of breaking people’s ties with Satan. Due to this providential necessity, the prophet Malachi foretold that Elijah would come again.41

The Jewish people who believed in the prophecies of Scripture fervently hoped for the advent of the Messiah. Yet we should know that they longed just as eagerly for the return of Elijah. This was because God had clearly promised through the prophet Malachi that He would send the prophet Elijah prior to the advent of the Messiah to prepare the way of the Lord. Elijah had ascended to heaven about 850 years before the birth of Jesus; since then he has abided in the spirit world. We are familiar with the story of the Transfiguration, when Elijah and Moses spiritually appeared before the disciples of Jesus.42 Many Jews believed that when Elijah came again he would descend from heaven in the same manner as he had ascended to heaven. Just as there are Christians today who are resolutely looking to the sky with the expectation that Jesus will come in the clouds, Jews of Jesus’ day were looking up at the sky, anxiously awaiting the coming of Elijah.

Nevertheless, before any news was heard about Elijah having come again to fulfill Malachi’s prophecy, Jesus suddenly appeared and claimed to be the Messiah. It is no wonder that Jesus’ appearance and proclamation stirred up all of Jerusalem in great confusion. Wherever Jesus’ disciples went, they were bombarded with the question about Elijah, who was supposed to come first. Lacking an adequate answer themselves, the disciples turned to Jesus asking, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”43 Jesus replied that John the Baptist was the very Elijah whom the people were awaiting.44 Since the disciples already believed that Jesus was the Messiah, they willingly accepted his testimony that John the Baptist was Elijah. Yet how could others who did not know Jesus accept this controversial claim? Jesus himself expected that they would not readily believe it, and hence he said, “If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”45 What made it even more difficult for the Jewish people to believe in Jesus’ proclamation was the earlier denial by John the Baptist. John had insisted he was not Elijah: “And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’”46

2.2 The Direction the Jewish People Would Choose
Jesus made it plain that John the Baptist was the very Elijah whom the people were so anxiously awaiting, while on the contrary, John the Baptist himself flatly negated this claim. Whose words were the Jewish people to believe? This matter obviously depended on which of the two, Jesus or John, appeared more credible and respectable in the eyes of the people of that time.

Let us examine how Jesus must have appeared to the Jewish people. Jesus was an uneducated young man who grew up in the poor and lowly home of a carpenter. This unknown young man suddenly appeared and called himself the “Lord of the Sabbath” while apparently defiling the Sabbath, which pious Jews kept with utmost reverence.47 Jesus thus gained the reputation of one who wanted to abolish the Law, which for the Jews was the basis of salvation.48 Therefore, the leaders of the Jewish community persecuted Jesus. Jesus was compelled to gather disciples from among simple fishermen and to befriend tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners, with whom he would eat and drink.49 Even worse from the standpoint of the Jewish leaders, Jesus asserted that the tax collectors and prostitutes would enter the Kingdom of Heaven ahead of them.50

On one occasion, a prostitute came to Jesus, weeping, and began to wet his feet with her tears, wipe them with her hair, kiss them, and anoint them with a flask of precious ointment.51 To accept such ministrations from a prostitute would be unseemly even in modern society; it was surely scandalous in Jewish society, with its austere ethical code wherein an adulterous woman would have been stoned to death. Yet Jesus not only approved of her lavish attendance; he even praised her and chastised his disciples when they rebuked the woman.52

Moreover, Jesus seemed to place himself on an equal footing with God53 and asserted that no one could enter God’s Kingdom except through him.54 He insisted that people should love him more than they love their own parents, brothers and sisters, spouses or children.55 Thus, to many, Jesus’ words and deeds appeared blasphemous. Hence, it is not surprising that the Jewish leadership rebuked and mocked him, accusing him of being one possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.56 From all this, we can gather that Jesus was far from credible in the eyes of the Jewish people of his time.

How did John the Baptist appear to the Jewish people of that time? John the Baptist was born to a prominent family; he was the son of Zechariah, a priest. The miracles and signs surrounding John’s conception and birth surprised all the hill country of Judea. One day, when Zechariah was burning incense in the Temple, an angel appeared before him and announced that his wife, who was old and barren, would soon conceive a son. When he did not believe the angel’s words, he was struck dumb, and his tongue was loosed only upon the birth of the child.57 Furthermore, John led an exemplary life of faith and discipline in the wilderness, surviving on locusts and wild honey. For these reasons, many Jewish people wondered whether perhaps he was the Christ, and a delegation of priests and Levites came to him and asked him this directly.58 The Jewish people respected John to this extent.

Considering these circumstances, when the Jewish people of Jesus’ day compared Jesus and John the Baptist, who appeared more credible to them? Without a doubt, John’s words had more credibility. Therefore, they naturally believed John the Baptist when he denied being Elijah more than they believed Jesus’ testimony that John was Elijah. Since the people believed John, they considered Jesus’ words to be a fabrication concocted to support his dubious claim to be the Messiah. Consequently, Jesus was condemned as an impostor.

Once Jesus was condemned as an impostor, the people’s disbelief in him intensified daily. They found his deeds and words more and more offensive. Since they believed John’s words over Jesus’ words, they could only think that Elijah had not yet come. Accordingly, they could not even imagine that the Messiah had already come.

As long as the Jewish people kept their faith in the prophecy of Malachi, they had to reject Jesus, who claimed to be the Messiah, because from their viewpoint Elijah had not yet come. On the other hand, to believe in Jesus they would have had to deny the biblical prophecy which asserted that the Messiah would come only after the return of Elijah. Since pious Jews would not even consider denying the prophecies of Scripture, they were left with no other choice but to disbelieve in Jesus.

2.3 The Faithlessness of John the Baptist
Many among the Jewish leadership and people of Jesus’ day had the highest respect for John the Baptist; some even thought of him as the Messiah. Had John the Baptist announced that he was Elijah, as Jesus had testified, those who were eagerly waiting for the Messiah would have readily believed John’s testimony and flocked to Jesus. Instead, John’s ignorance of God’s providence, which led him to insist that he was not Elijah, became the principal reason why the Jewish people did not come to Jesus.

John the Baptist testified to Jesus at the Jordan River:

I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. -Matt. 3:11

I myself did not know him; but he 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.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. -John 1:33-34

God had directly revealed to John that Jesus was the Messiah, and John bore witness to this revelation. Moreover, he said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”59 and declared that he was the one who had been sent before the Christ.60 Therefore, John should have realized through his own wisdom that he was the returning Elijah. Even if John did not realize this fact, since God had revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah, he should have accepted the testimony of Jesus and, in obedience, proclaimed himself to be Elijah. However, John was ignorant of God’s Will. He negated Jesus’ testimony concerning him; moreover, he separated from Jesus and went his own way. We can imagine how sorrowful Jesus must have been as these events unfolded. How sorrowful must God have felt as He looked upon His Son in such a difficult situation.

In truth, John the Baptist’s mission as a witness ended when he baptized Jesus and testified to him. What should his mission have been after that point? At the time of John’s birth, his father Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, had prophesied concerning the mission of his son to serve the Messiah, saying: “grant us that we . . . might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.”61 In this light, after John the Baptist bore witness to Jesus, he more than anyone, should have served Jesus with ardent devotion as a disciple for the rest of his life. However, John left Jesus and went about baptizing independently. It is no wonder that the Jewish people were confused to the point of even supposing that John was the Messiah.62 Their leaders were confused, too.63 What is more, in one incident, a Jew who followed Jesus and the disciples of John the Baptist quarreled with each other over whose teacher was giving more baptisms.64

We can also discern from John’s statement, “He must increase, but I must decrease,”65 that in his heart John did not regard himself as sharing the same destiny as Jesus. If John the Baptist and Jesus were walking side by side and sharing the same destiny, how then could John ever decrease as Jesus was increasing? Indeed, John the Baptist should have been Jesus’ foremost apostle, zealously proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus. Yet, due to his blindness, he did not fulfill his mission. His precious life, which was meant to be offered for Jesus’ sake, was eventually lost over a relatively insignificant affair.66

When the mind of John the Baptist was focused on God, he recognized Jesus as the Messiah and testified to him. Later, when the inspiration left him and he returned to a mundane state, his ignorance returned and exacerbated his faithlessness. Unable to acknowledge that he was the return of Elijah, John began to regard Jesus in the same disbelieving way as other Jews viewed him, particularly after he was imprisoned. Jesus’ every word and deed seemed to him only strange and perplexing. At one point, John tried to resolve his doubts by sending his disciples to Jesus, asking, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?”67

When Jesus was confronted with this question from John, he answered indignantly, with an air of admonition:

Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me. -Matt. 11:4-6

John the Baptist had been chosen while still inside the womb for the mission of attending Jesus. He led an arduous, ascetic life in the wilderness, building his ministry in order to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. When Jesus began his public ministry, God revealed the identity of Jesus to John before anyone else and inspired John to bear witness to him as the Son of God. Yet John did not properly receive the grace that Heaven had bestowed on him. Therefore, when confronted with John’s doubting question, Jesus did not answer explicitly that he was the Messiah; he instead answered in this circuitous way. Certainly, John the Baptist must have known about Jesus’ miracles and signs. Despite this, Jesus gave a veiled answer, reminding John of the works that he was doing, with the hope of awakening him to his true identity.

We should understand that when Jesus said, “the poor have good news preached to them,” he was expressing his deep sorrow over the disbelief of John the Baptist and the Jewish leadership. The prepared Jews, and John the Baptist in particular, were the rich people who had been blessed with an abundant wealth of God’s love. Yet because they all rejected Jesus, he had to roam the seacoast of Galilee and the region of Samaria to search among the “poor” for those who would listen to the Gospel. These poor ones were uneducated fishermen, tax collectors and prostitutes. The disciples whom Jesus would have preferred to find were not such as these. Since Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, he was more in need of one leader who could guide a thousand than a thousand who would follow a leader. Did he not first preach the Gospel to the priests and scribes in the Temple? He went there in search of prepared and capable people.

Nonetheless, as Jesus indicated in a parable, because the guests who were invited to the banquet did not come, he had to roam the streets and byways to gather the poor and maimed, the blind and lame.68 Faced with the miserable situation of having to offer the riches of his banquet to the uninvited outcasts of society, Jesus expressed his sorrow in these words of judgment: “Blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”69 Though John was greatly admired in his day, Jesus judged John’s life by saying obliquely that one who took offense at him would not be blessed, no matter how great he might be. John took offense and thus failed in his mission to attend Jesus devotedly for the whole of his life.

After the disciples of John the Baptist finished questioning Jesus and left, Jesus remarked that although John may have been the greatest of all prophets, he failed to complete the mission God had entrusted to him:

Truly, I say to you, 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

Everyone in heaven was born of woman and lived an earthly life. One would expect that since John was the greatest among all those born of women, he should also have been the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Why was John less than even the least in the kingdom? Numerous prophets in the past had borne testimony to the Messiah indirectly, across the expanse of time. John, on the other hand, had the mission of testifying to the Messiah directly. If testifying to the Messiah was the main mission of the prophets, then John the Baptist was surely the greatest of prophets. Nevertheless, in terms of attending the Messiah, he was the least of all. Everyone in the kingdom of heaven, no matter how lowly, knew that Jesus was the Messiah and served him with devotion. Yet John the Baptist, who had been called upon to serve the Messiah more closely than anyone else, separated from Jesus and walked his own way. In terms of his devotion to Jesus, therefore, he was less than even the least in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus continued, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”70 John the Baptist was chosen from before his birth and led an arduous ascetic life in the wilderness. Had he attended Jesus with a sincere heart, the position of Jesus’ chief disciple was surely reserved for him. However, because he failed in his mission to serve Jesus, Peter, a “forceful man,” laid hold of the position of chief disciple. We can deduce from the expression “from the days of John the Baptist until now” that Jesus spoke the verses that follow71 in reference not primarily to the people in general but specifically to John the Baptist. Jesus concluded, “Wisdom is justified by her deeds.”72 Had John acted wisely, he would not have left Jesus, and his deeds would have been remembered forever as righteousness. Unfortunately, he was foolish. He blocked the Jewish people’s path to Jesus, as well as his own path. Here we have come to understand that the main reason why Jesus had to die on the cross was the failure of John the Baptist.

2.4 The Sense in Which John the Baptist Was Elijah
We have stated previously that John the Baptist was to inherit and complete the mission which Elijah had left unfinished on earth. As recorded in the Bible, he was born with the mission to go before the Lord, “in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”73 Hence, in terms of his mission, John was the second coming of Elijah. Furthermore, as will be discussed in greater detail,74 Elijah in fact returned in spirit and was trying to help John the Baptist accomplish the mission which he himself had failed to complete during his earthly life. John the Baptist concurrently served as Elijah’s body, through whom Elijah worked to complete his mission. Therefore, in terms of their common mission, John may be seen as the same person as Elijah.

2.5 Our Attitude toward the Bible
We have learned that John the Baptist’s ignorance and disbelief in Jesus brought about the Jewish people’s disbelief, which eventually led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Until today, no one has ever uncovered this heavenly secret, because we have been reading the Bible based on the unquestioned belief that John the Baptist was a great prophet. Our new insight into John the Baptist teaches us that we should dispense with the conservative attitude of faith which makes us afraid to question conventional beliefs and traditional doctrines. Would it not be an error to regard John as having failed in his mission if he actually succeeded? Likewise, it is certainly wrong to believe that John fulfilled his mission when in fact he did not. We should constantly make effort to have the right faith by searching both in spirit and truth. Even though our discussion of John the Baptist has been based on an examination of the Bible, those who are able to communicate spiritually can see the condition of John the Baptist and confirm that the above revelation about John is entirely correct and true.

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Chapter 5: Resurrection

If we are to believe literally the prophecies of Scripture, we should expect that when Jesus comes again, the saints will come back to life in the flesh. Their bodies, buried in the earth and completely decomposed, will be reconstituted to their original state.1 On the one hand, these prophecies are the Word of God, and as people of faith we must accept them. On the other hand, given the modern state of our knowledge, they do not make rational sense. This brings great confusion to the Christian faith. Therefore, it is important that we elucidate the true meaning of resurrection.

Section 1: Resurrection

Resurrection means to come back to life. To come back to life implies that we have been dead. To fathom the meaning of resurrection, we must clarify the biblical concepts of life and death.

1.1 The Biblical Concepts of Life and Death
When a follower asked Jesus if he could go home to bury his deceased father, Jesus said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.”2 From these words of Jesus, it is clear that the Bible contains two different concepts of life and death. The first concept of life and death concerns physical life. Here, “death” means the end of physical life, as was the case of the disciple’s deceased father who was to be buried. “Life” in that sense means the state in which the physical self maintains its physiological functions.

The second concept of life and death concerns those living people who had gathered to bury the deceased man, those whom Jesus called “the dead.” Why did Jesus refer to people whose bodies were alive and active as the dead? He meant that since they had not accepted Jesus, they were far removed from the love of God and were dwelling in the realm of Satan’s dominion. This second concept of death does not refer to the expiration of physical life. It means leaving the bosom of God’s love and falling under the dominion of Satan. The corresponding concept of life refers to the state of living in accordance with God’s Will, within the dominion of God’s infinite love. Therefore, even if a person’s physical self is alive, if he dwells apart from God’s dominion and is in servitude to Satan, he is dead as judged by the original standard of value. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the Lord’s words of judgment upon the faithless people of the church in Sardis: “You have the name of being alive, and you are dead.”3

On the other hand, even though a person’s physical life may have expired, he remains alive in the true sense if his spirit abides in the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven, a realm in the spirit world where God governs through love. When Jesus said, “he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”4 he meant that those who believe in him and live within the realm of God’s dominion have life. Even after their physical bodies have returned to the soil, their spirits enjoy life in God’s dominion. Jesus also said, “whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”5 In saying that believers will never die, he meant that those who believe in Jesus during their earthly life will obtain eternal life not in this world, but in spirit, within the bosom of God’s love. They will be alive, both in this life and the next. Jesus’ words assure us that death, in the sense of the end of physical life, has no effect on our eternal life.

Jesus said, “Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.”6 Those who transgress the Will of God in order to preserve the well-being of their flesh, though their bodies are alive, are dead. On the other hand, those who sacrifice their bodies for the sake of God’s Will are alive, even though their bodies are buried and decayed. They live forever as spirits in the love of God.

1.2 The Death Caused by the Human Fall
We have learned that there are two different biblical concepts of death. Which of the two refers to the death brought about by the Fall of the first human ancestors?

God created human beings to grow old and return to dust; physical death was allotted to human beings regardless of whether or not they fell. Adam died at the biblical age of 930 years, and his flesh returned to dust; but this was not the death caused by the Fall. According to the Principle of Creation, the flesh is the clothing of the spirit. Just as one discards worn-out clothes, the flesh is to be discarded when it has grown old and weak. Only the unclothed spirit self then enters the spirit world and lives there eternally. Nothing material can live forever. Human beings are no exception; our bodies cannot live eternally. If human beings were to live on earth forever in the flesh, why did God create the spirit world as our final destination? The spirit world was not created after the Fall as a place for fallen spirits to abide. Rather, it is part of the original creation, created as the place where individuals who fulfill the purpose of creation will enjoy eternal life as spirits after their life on earth has come to an end.

Most people are attached to their earthly life. They regret its passing because, due to the Fall, they are ignorant of the fact that after they discard their clothes of flesh, they are meant to live forever in the beautiful and eternal spirit world. The transition from physical life to life in the spirit world may be compared to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. If the caterpillar had self-awareness, it might feel the same attachment to its limited existence climbing about the leaves of a plant as people do to their earthly life. It, too, would probably be reluctant to end its existence as a caterpillar, unaware that it is destined to enter a new phase of life as a butterfly, when it will enjoy fragrant flowers and sweet nectar to its heart’s content.

The relationship between earthly existence and the life of a spirit is akin to the relationship of caterpillar and butterfly. Moreover, if there had been no Fall, earthly people would be able to relate with spirits just as naturally as they relate among themselves. They would know that death is not the final departure from their loved ones on earth. If people knew what a beautiful and happy world they will enter after they attain perfection on earth and die a natural death, they would look forward eagerly to the day they enter that world.

Since the Fall did not cause death in the sense of the expiration of physical life, we can surmise that what it brought was the other type of death. Let us examine this further. God told Adam and Eve that on the day they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would surely die.7 Since God so warned them, it must be that when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, they did in fact die. Yet Adam and Eve after the Fall continued their earthly life and bore children, who multiplied to form today’s corrupt human society. We can conclude that the death caused by the Fall does not mean the end of physical life, but rather the descent from the good dominion of God into the evil dominion of Satan.

Let us draw additional support from the Bible. It is written, “We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. He who does not love remains in death.”8 Love here means the love of God. A person who does not love his neighbors with God’s love is dead, even though he remains active and alive on earth. This is also the sense of the verses “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life”9 and “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.”10

1.3 The Meaning of Resurrection
Many have hitherto believed that the death caused by the Fall was physical death. Consequently, they have interpreted the biblical concept of resurrection as revival from physical death, and believed that resurrection of the dead involves the biological regeneration of their decomposed bodies. However, the Fall of the first human ancestors did not cause this kind of death. According to the Principle of Creation, the human body was created to return to dust after it grows old. A decomposed body cannot be restored to its original state. Furthermore, it is not necessary for a spirit to take on another physical body when he is meant to enjoy eternal life in the vast spirit world.

Resurrection may be defined as the process of being restored from the death caused by the Fall to life, from the realm of Satan’s dominion to the realm of God’s direct dominion, through the providence of restoration. Accordingly, whenever we repent of our sins and rise to a higher state of goodness, we are resurrected to that degree.

The Bible illustrates the process of resurrection: “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.”11 Based on this verse, we can affirm that resurrection means to leave the bosom of Satan and return to the bosom of God. It is also written, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”12 This verse means that because we inherited Satan’s lineage as a result of Adam’s fall, we are dead; when we return to the lineage of God through Christ, we shall be resurrected to life.

1.4 What Changes Does Resurrection Cause in Human Beings?
According to God’s Word, Adam and Eve died when they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Nevertheless, no significant external change took place in them. At most there were momentary changes in their countenances due to the anxiety and fear they felt over having fallen. Likewise, no significant external changes should be expected to take place in fallen people when they are resurrected to the state prior to the Fall. One who has been reborn through the Holy Spirit surely has experienced resurrection. Compare such a faithful person to a robber: One has been resurrected to the level of being reborn into God’s realm, while the other is a spiritually dead person destined for hell. Yet the two people cannot be distinguished by their external appearance. One who believes in God according to Jesus’ teaching is indeed resurrected from death to life. However, one cannot discern any obvious change in his physical body before and after he received Jesus and gained life through resurrection.

Jesus was truly a man who fulfilled the purpose of creation.13 Nevertheless, judged by his outward appearance, Jesus was not noticeably different from ordinary people. If he had unmistakably displayed divinity in his outward appearance, then everyone around him would surely have believed in and followed him.

The changes a person experiences when he is resurrected and enters the governance of God take place in his heart and spirit. These internal changes also purify his body, transforming it from a haunt of Satan into a temple of God. In this sense, we may say that our physical body is also resurrected. We may compare it to a building which was previously used for evil purposes and is now used as a place of worship. Although there may be no change in its outward appearance, it is now sanctified as a sacred building.

Section 2: The Providence of Resurrection

2.1 How Does God Carry Out His Work of Resurrection?
Resurrection means the process through which a fallen person is restored to the original state as intended by God. The providence of resurrection thus means the providence of restoration. Since the providence of restoration is God’s work of re-creation, resurrection is a work of re-creation. Thus, the providence of resurrection is carried out in accordance with the Principle of Creation, in the following manner.

First, in the history of the providence of resurrection, many of those who were entrusted with a mission exerted themselves with utmost sincerity and faith to realize the Will of Heaven. Even though they may not have fully carried out their responsibilities, based on their devotion, they broadened the foundation upon which subsequent generations can form a relationship of heart with God. We call this foundation the merit of the age in the providence of restoration. The merit of the age has increased in proportion to the foundation of heart laid by the prophets, sages and righteous people who came before us. Therefore, resurrection is carried out based on the merit of the age.

Second, according to the Principle of Creation, it was God’s responsibility to create human beings and give them His Word, while it was the human portion of responsibility to reach perfection by believing in and living according to it. Similarly, in conducting the providence of resurrection, God’s responsibility is to give us His Word and guidance, and our responsibility is to believe and practice it in order to fulfill the providence.

Third, according to the Principle of Creation, a person’s spirit can grow to perfection only through the physical self. Likewise, in the providence of resurrection, the resurrection of a spirit can be achieved only through earthly life.

Fourth, according to the Principle of Creation, a person is meant to reach perfection through the three ordered stages of the growing period. Therefore, the providence of resurrection for fallen people is also to be completed through three ordered stages, manifested as three ages in the providence of restoration.

2.2 The Providence of Resurrection for People on Earth

2.2.1 The Providence to Lay the Foundation for Resurrection
God began His providence to resurrect fallen humankind in Adam’s family. However, the providence was prolonged because those who were entrusted with accomplishing God’s Will did not fulfill their responsibilities. Two thousand biblical years later, God chose Abraham to be the father of faith, and through him God’s Will began to be accomplished. Consequently, the two thousand years from Adam to Abraham resulted in the establishment of the foundation upon which God could begin His providence of resurrection in the following age. For this reason, we may call this period the age of the providence to lay the foundation for resurrection.

2.2.2 The Providence of Formation-Stage Resurrection
During the two thousand years from Abraham to Jesus, God worked to raise people to the formation stage of resurrection. Hence, this era may be called the age of the providence of formation-stage resurrection. All people who lived on earth during this age could receive the merit of the age based on God’s work of formation-stage resurrection. In this era, God gave the Law of the Old Testament. By believing in and practicing it, the people could fulfill their responsibility and be justified before God. Therefore, this era has been called the age of justification by works. The people of this era who practiced the Law in their daily life were resurrected in spirit to the formation stage and became form spirits. Upon their death, those who achieved the level of form spirits while on earth entered and abided in the form-spirit level of the spirit world.

2.2.3 The Providence of Growth-Stage Resurrection
Due to the crucifixion of Jesus, resurrection was left incomplete, and its completion has been delayed until the time of his return. The two thousand years since then have been a time of prolongation, during which God has worked the providence to resurrect people to the growth stage through spiritual salvation. Hence, this era may be called the age of the providence of growth-stage resurrection. All who have lived in this age can receive the merit of the age based on God’s work of growth-stage resurrection. In this era, people are to believe in the New Testament Word, which God gave them that they might fulfill their responsibility for the providence and be justified before God. Therefore, this era has been called the age of justification by faith.

Those who have lived in this era could be resurrected in spirit by believing in the Gospel during their earthly life. By being resurrected to the growth stage, they could become life spirits. Upon their death, those who became life spirits while on earth enter and abide in Paradise, the life-spirit level of the spirit world.

2.2.4 The Providence of Completion-Stage Resurrection
The era when people are to be resurrected both spiritually and physically through the returning Christ and complete the providence of resurrection is called the age of the providence of completion-stage resurrection. All those who live during this era are to receive the merit of the age based on God’s work of completion-stage resurrection. Christ at the Second Advent brings the new truth with which to fulfill the promises of the Old and New Testaments; it may be called the Completed Testament.14 Believing in this truth, people are to serve and attend the Lord on the earth, that they may fulfill their responsibility for the providence and be justified before God. Therefore, this era is called the age of justification by attendance. By believing in and serving the Lord and devoting themselves to his work, people of this era are to be fully resurrected both spiritually and physically, become divine spirits, and live in the Kingdom of Heaven
on earth. When they shed their physical bodies, as spirits they will enter and abide in the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven, which is the divine-spirit level of the spirit world.

2.2.5 The Kingdom of Heaven and Paradise
Some Christians have been unclear in their concepts of the Kingdom of Heaven and Paradise because they lack a full understanding of the Principle. Had Jesus completed his mission as the Messiah on earth, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth would have been established in his day. The Kingdom of Heaven in heaven would also have been realized at that time, once people of perfect character living in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth had passed into the spirit world as divine spirits. However, because Jesus died on the cross, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth was not realized. The earth never saw the appearance of people who had reached the level of a divine spirit. No one has ever become a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven in the spirit world, which was created as the home of divine spirits. Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven remains empty and incomplete.

Why then did Jesus indicate that whoever believed in him would enter the Kingdom of Heaven? The original purpose for which he came on earth was to establish the Kingdom of Heaven. However, due to the people’s disbelief in him, Jesus died on the cross before he could establish the Kingdom. Jesus promised the thief who was crucified at his right side that he would enter Paradise together with him.15 The thief was the only person who believed in Jesus at the end, when everyone else had abandoned him. While Jesus had the hope of accomplishing his mission as the Messiah, he preached that people could enter the Kingdom of Heaven. But when he was at the point of dying on the cross without fulfilling this purpose, he told the thief that he would enter only Paradise. Paradise refers to the realm in the spirit world for those spirits who have attained the level of life spirits by believing in Jesus during their earthly life. There they remain in waiting until the day when the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven is opened.

2.2.6 Spiritual Phenomena in the Last Days
Adam and Eve fell at the top of the growth stage. Human beings are now being restored to the top of the growth stage through the providence of restoration, having passed through the Old Testament Age and the New Testament Age. The Last Days is the time when people return to the spiritual level reached by the first human ancestors just prior to the Fall. Today, being the Last Days, is the time when people throughout the world are reaching this level. Just as Adam and Eve prior to the Fall were able to converse directly with God, today many people on earth can communicate with the spirit world. The prophecy that in the Last Days, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,”16 may be explained based on this insight from the Principle.

In the Last Days, many people will receive the revelation, “You are the Lord.” Often these people will be misled into believing that they are the Second Coming of Christ. Why do they stray from the right path?

Upon creating human beings, God gave them the mandate to rule over the universe.17 Yet due to the Fall, they have been unable to fulfill this blessing. When fallen people are spiritually restored through the providence of restoration to the top of the growth stage, they will reach the level of heart comparable to that of Adam and Eve just before their Fall. God gives certain people who are at this stage the revelation that they are the Lord, in recognition that they have reached the level of maturity at which He had once blessed human beings with dominion over the universe.

Believers in the Last Days whose devout faith entitles them to receive the revelation that they are “the Lord” stand in a position similar to that of John the Baptist. John the Baptist came with the mission to make straight the way of Jesus.18 In the same way, these people of faith are given the mission to prepare, in their particular areas of responsibility, the way for Christ at the Second Advent. Since they are to act as the Lord’s representatives in their respective fields, God gives them the revelation that they are the Lord.

When someone who is gifted with spiritual communication receives the revelation that he is the Lord, he should understand this phenomenon through the teachings of the Principle. He should not act wrongly, mistaking himself for Christ at the Second Advent. Otherwise, he may end up playing the role of an antichrist. For this reason, the Bible contains prophecies that in the Last Days there will appear many antichrists.19

Spiritual mediums are often confused and fall into conflict among themselves, because the levels of the spirit world with which they are in communication and the content of the revelations they receive differ.20 Although spiritually perceptive people are in contact with the same spirit world, because their circumstances and positions vary and their character, intellect and spirituality are at different levels, they will perceive the spirit world in different ways. These differences give rise to conflicts among them.

People who contribute to the providence of restoration usually are responsible for only a part of the providence. Focusing only on their vertical relationship with God, they are often not sensitive to their proper horizontal relationship with other spiritually attuned people. Strife can break out among them, as each thinks that the Will of God which he serves is different from that which the others are serving. Their conflicts are aggravated when each of them receives the revelation that he is the best. Yet God offers such encouragement to spur each on to do his very best in carrying out his particular mission within the greater providence. God also gives such revelations because each is, in truth, the one best suited for his respective area of mission.

In addition, when people of devout faith become spiritually open and reach the level of heart comparable to Adam and Eve just prior to their fall, they will face a test similar to that which Adam and Eve failed to overcome. If they are not careful, they may commit the mistake of the Fall. It is extremely difficult to overcome this temptation without understanding the Principle. Regrettably, many religious people have failed to overcome this test, nullifying in an instant accomplishments gained through years of devotion and exertion.

How can spiritually gifted people cope with these troubles? To accomplish the providence of restoration in a short period of time, God apportions different missions to numerous individuals and relates to each of them independently. It is thus virtually inevitable that conflicts break out among spiritually sensitive people. However, at the end of history, God will provide them with the new truth. The new truth will help them understand that the unique missions with which each has been entrusted are all for the sake of the same ultimate purpose of God. It will guide them to cooperate with each other and work in harmony to accomplish the greater purpose of the providence of restoration. In this era, all spiritually gifted people should cease their stubborn insistence that they alone have been serving the Will of God. They should search out the higher and more comprehensive words of truth which can help them correctly understand their positions and the true nature of their providential missions. Only then will they be able to overcome the confusion stemming from past horizontal conflicts. Only then can each arrive at the fulfillment of his individual path of faith and bring forth its beautiful fruits.

2.2.7 The First Resurrection
The “first resurrection” spoken of in the Bible describes the fulfillment of restoration for the first time in providential history. This will be accomplished through Christ at the Second Advent. He will cleanse people of the original sin and restore them to their true, original selves, enabling each to fulfill the purpose of creation.

The hope of all Christians is to participate in the first resurrection. But who in fact shall participate? It will be those who are the first to believe in, serve and follow Christ at the Second Advent. They will assist him in fulfilling all the indemnity conditions worldwide and in accomplishing the providence of restoration. In the process, they will be the first to have their original sin removed, become divine spirits, and fulfill the purpose of creation.

Next, let us investigate the meaning of the 144,000 mentioned in the Bible.21 In order for Christ at the Second Advent to complete the providence of restoration, he must find a certain number of people who can restore through indemnity the missions of all the past saints who, despite their best efforts to do God’s Will, fell prey to Satan when they failed in their responsibilities. He must find these people during his lifetime and lay the foundation of victory over Satan’s world. The total number of saints whom Christ at the Second Advent must find to accomplish this task is 144,000.

In the course of God’s providence of restoration, Jacob had twelve children with whom he set out on his mission to restore a family. Moses led twelve tribes in fulfilling the mission to restore a nation. If these twelve tribes were to multiply once more after the pattern of twelve tribes, they would total 144. Jesus, who came with the mission to restore the world, found twelve disciples in order to restore through indemnity, both spiritually and physically, the number 144. Yet due to his crucifixion, Jesus was able to restore it only spiritually. Jacob had twelve sons in order to restore through indemnity in his lifetime the vertical course of twelve generations from Noah, which had been claimed by Satan.22 In the same way, Christ at the Second Advent must restore through indemnity in his lifetime, both spiritually and physically, the long providential course since the First Coming of Christ, who has set up the spiritual pattern of 144 tribes. To accomplish this, he must find a required number of believers, corresponding to the number 144.

2.3 The Providence of Resurrection for Spirits

2.3.1 The Purpose and the Way of Returning Resurrection
According to the Principle of Creation, the growth of the human spirit requires two kinds of nourishment: life elements received from God and vitality elements received through give and take action with the physical self. Spirits can neither grow nor be resurrected apart from a physical self. Consequently, the spirits of people who died before they could reach perfection during their earthly life can be resurrected only by returning to earth and completing their unaccomplished responsibility through cooperation with earthly people. By assisting people of faith living on the earth to fulfill their missions, the spirits may complete their missions at the same time. Herein lies the meaning behind the verse which foretold that in the Last Days the Lord will come “with his holy myriads.”23 We call this process returning resurrection.

How do spirits help people on earth fulfill the Will of God? When people become receptive to spirits through prayer or other spiritual activities, the spirits descend to them to form a common base with their spirit selves and work with them. Spirits perform various works. For example, they pour spiritual fire on earthly people and give them the power to heal diseases. They help people enter states of trance and perceive the realities of the spirit world. They give people revelations and the gift of prophecy. They can also give deep inspiration to the soul. In these various works, spirits act on behalf of the Holy Spirit, guiding people on the earth to accomplish the Will of God.

2.3.2 The Returning Resurrection of the Spirits of Israelites and Christians

2.3.2.1 Growth-Stage Returning Resurrection
Spirits of those who kept the Mosaic Law and worshipped God sincerely while living on earth during the Old Testament Age came to abide at the form-spirit level of the spirit world. After the advent of Jesus, these spirits all returned to earth and assisted faithful people on earth to accomplish the Will of God. By thus helping the people to attain the level of life spirit, they too received the same benefit: namely, they became life spirits and entered Paradise. We call this dispensation growth-stage returning resurrection.

Let us draw some examples from the Bible. Since Elijah appeared as a spirit before Jesus and his disciples,24 it is clear enough that Elijah still lived in the spirit world. Yet Jesus referred to John the Baptist, who lived on the earth, as Elijah.25 Jesus called him Elijah because in terms of their common mission, John’s body concurrently served as Elijah’s body. The spirit of Elijah descended to John the Baptist to help John fulfill the mission Elijah had left unfinished during his earthly life. This was Elijah’s returning resurrection.

It is recorded in the Bible that when Jesus died on the cross, many bodies of the saints rose from their tombs.26 This verse does not mean that these saints’ decayed bodies were regenerated, enabling them to rise up in the flesh. Rather, it describes the spiritual phenomenon of returning resurrection. The spirits of the faithful Jews descended to the earth from the form-spirit level of the spirit world where they had been living. They returned to help the believers on earth, who had the opportunity to benefit from the redemption by the cross, to believe in Jesus and become life spirits. In doing so, the returning spirits also became life spirits. If the saints had risen bodily from their tombs, as is literally written in the Bible, they certainly would have testified to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. Would anyone then have dared to persist in disbelieving in Jesus? Moreover, their deeds and works would have been recorded in the Bible, yet we have nothing other than the vague report that the saints rose from their tombs. This was a fleeting spiritual phenomenon perceptible only to those believers whose spiritual senses were open.

Compared to Paradise, which people could enter by virtue of the redemption by Jesus’ crucifixion, the region of the spirit world where the spirits of the Old Testament saints were staying was relatively dark and miserable; thus it was called a “tomb.”

2.3.2.2 Completion-Stage Returning Resurrection
The spirits of people who believed in Jesus while they lived on earth during the New Testament Age became life spirits and entered Paradise after death. After the Second Advent, these spirits will all return to the earth to help faithful people believe in and attend the returning Christ. By thus helping people on earth to attain the level of divine spirit, they too will receive the same benefit and become divine spirits. When the earthly saints pass over to the next world and enter the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven, the returning spirits will also enter the Kingdom. This dispensation is called completion-stage returning resurrection. In this dispensation, the spirits not only help earthly people; earthly people also assist in the resurrection of the spirits.

Let us elucidate the following verse:

All these [saints of 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 people], that apart from us they [spirits] should not be made perfect [citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven]. -Heb. 11:39-40

With this explanation, we can understand that this verse accurately depicts returning resurrection. It illustrates that spirits living in the spirit world cannot attain perfection apart from the cooperation of earthly people. Furthermore, it is written, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”27 This verse teaches that unless the believers on earth first loose what is bound, the spirits also cannot loose what is bound in them. Since spirits can be resurrected only by cooperating with believers on earth to whom they descend, Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter, representing earthly believers, in order that he might unlock the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.28

2.3.3 The Returning Resurrection of Spirits Who Abide Outside Paradise
There are several classes of spirits who abide outside Paradise; each has a way to achieve returning resurrection. First, let us examine the returning resurrection of spirits who believed in religions other than Christianity during their lifetime. Just as any two people must first form a common base with each other before they can work toward a common goal, earthly people and spirits can work to achieve a common providential goal only when they first form a common base. Therefore, a spirit who returns to the earth for his resurrection seeks a counterpart among the earthly people of the religion in which he believed during his earthly life. A spirit descends to the person of his choice and guides him. When he helps that person fulfill the purpose of the providence of restoration, they both receive the same benefit.

Second, let us examine the returning resurrection of spirits who lived a conscientious life even though they did not believe in a religion. No one among fallen humanity embodies perfect goodness because no one has resolved the original sin within himself. Hence, a good spirit is one who has relatively more goodness in him than an evil spirit. These good spirits descend to good people on earth and cooperate with them in order to help them fulfill the purpose of God’s providence of restoration. In the process, the spirits receive the same benefits as the people they have helped.

Third, let us examine the returning resurrection of evil spirits. In the Bible we read about the “cursed,” who are liable to “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”29 “His angels” here refers to evil spirits who live and work under the control of the Devil. The spiritual creatures commonly known as ghosts, whose features and identity are often unclear, are none other than evil spirits. Even evil spirits are able to receive the merit of the age by returning to the earth. However, the works of evil spirits do not always bear fruit and result in their receiving the benefit of returning resurrection. To receive such benefit, their works must have the effect of punishing earthly people to help them make conditions to indemnify their failures, which have frustrated God’s past efforts to cleanse them of their sins. How, then, can the works of evil spirits result in casting judgment on behalf of Heaven?

Let us take an example. Suppose there is a person living on earth who, based on the merit of the age, is about to graduate from his current sphere of benefit to a higher sphere of benefit. He cannot graduate to the new sphere of benefit unless he first makes some condition of indemnity to remove the sins of the past. In the case of graduating from the family sphere to the clan sphere, a person must pay the debt of sin both for himself and for the ancestors of his clan. Heaven allows evil spirits to torment him as punishment for this sin. If he willingly endures the suffering given by the evil spirits and overcomes it, he will have successfully paid the indemnity through this condition and thus be entitled to enter the higher sphere of benefit at the clan level. The evil spirits who have tormented him receive a corresponding benefit. This is the way that, based on the merit of the age, the providence of restoration expands its sphere of benefit from the family level to the clan level, the national level, and the world level. Whenever humanity is to graduate to a higher level, the person leading the providence must make a condition of indemnity to resolve the sins which he or his forefathers have committed.

The works of evil spirits may help an earthly person fulfill indemnity conditions to purge his sin in two different ways. First, the spirit may trouble the earthly person directly. Second, the evil spirit may descend to the spirit self of another person living on earth who is about to commit a sin comparable to the sin of the person to be punished, and work through the second person to attack him. In either case, if the earthly person gratefully and willingly suffers the work of the evil spirit, he will make the indemnity condition to purge his and his ancestors’ sin. This sin will then be resolved, and he will enter the higher sphere of benefit which has become available in the new era. Thus, the works of the evil spirit will have cast judgment on the person for his sin on behalf of Heaven. Consequently, the spirit will receive the same benefit as the earthly person; he, too, will enter the higher sphere of benefit.

2.4 The Theory of Reincarnation Examined in Light of the Principle of Returning Resurrection
In seeking to fulfill the whole purpose of the providence of restoration, God has called upon many individuals and has apportioned to each a suitable mission. These individuals have passed down their particular missions to other individuals of similar character and circumstances, gradually fulfilling each area of mission over the long flow of history.

The providence of restoration begins with an individual, expands to the family, nation and world, and ultimately will bring restoration to all of heaven and earth. Although the mission given to each individual may be only a part of the greater whole, it also unfolds according to this pattern. Each mission begins at the individual level and expands its scope to the family, nation and world level. To take an example from the Bible, the mission begun with Abraham at the individual and family levels was passed down to Moses at the national level and to Jesus at the worldwide level.

Spirits who could not complete their missions during their earthly life must return to people on earth who share the same type of mission as they had during their lifetime. When a spirit assists an earthly person to fulfill God’s Will, the person will fulfill not only his own mission, but also the mission of the spirit who has helped him. Hence, from the standpoint of mission, the physical self of the person concurrently serves as the physical self of the spirit. In a sense, he is the second coming of the spirit; hence he may sometimes be called by the spirit’s name and appear to be the reincarnation of that spirit. In the Bible, John the Baptist was to have fulfilled the mission which Elijah left unfinished during his earthly life, since he received Elijah’s assistance in carrying out his activities. Jesus called John “Elijah” because John’s physical self concurrently served as the body of Elijah.30

In the Last Days, certain people on earth are entrusted with missions on the worldwide level. They must inherit and complete the responsibilities of all the spirits of the past who were devoted to the same field. These spirits will descend to these people and assist them in order to complete the spirits’ own unfinished work. Since the earthly people are, in a sense, the second coming of these guiding spirits, they may think that they are their reincarnation. Hence, in the Last Days there are people claiming to be the second coming of Jesus, the Maitreya Buddha, Confucius, the Olive Tree, or the Tree of Life. The Hindu and Buddhist doctrines of reincarnation interpret these outward phenomena but without the benefit of knowing the principle of returning resurrection.

Section 3: The Unification of Religions through Returning Resurrection

3.1 The Unification of Christianity through Returning Resurrection
At the time of the Second Advent, all life spirits who dwell in Paradise descend to the people on earth who, by believing in and attending the Lord, can attain the level of divine spirit. By cooperating with these people to fulfill God’s Will for the providence of restoration, the spirits can share the same benefit and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.31 Accordingly, all the spirits will descend from Paradise in that day and assist the believers on the earth.

Although the time of visitation may vary according to an individual’s faith, inborn nature, and the accomplishments of his ancestors for the providence, sooner or later each believer will be guided by the spirits from Paradise to go before Christ at the Second Advent and devote their lives for the sake of God’s Will. For this reason, Christianity is destined to be united.

3.2 The Unification of All Other Religions through Returning Resurrection
As explained above, all religions, which have sought the same ultimate purpose, are gradually coalescing into one cultural sphere based on Christian ideals.32 Christianity does not exist for its own sake, but has as its final mission the fulfillment of the purposes of all the religions in human history. Christ at the Second Advent, who is to come as the center of Christianity, is the person of the Maitreya Buddha who is to return according to the teachings of Buddhism, the True Man who is awaited in the Chinese religious tradition, and the Chongdoryong for whom many Koreans yearn. He is the central figure whose advent is expected in other religions as well.

Consequently, at the Second Coming of Christ, all spirits who believed in religions other than Christianity during their lifetime will, like the spirits in Paradise, also return to earth to be resurrected, even though the timing of their return will vary depending upon their spiritual position. These spirits must guide the earthly believers of their respective religions to Christ at the Second Advent and assist them to believe in him and attend him in his work to fulfill God’s Will. We can find a parallel example of this at the First Advent: the three wise men from the East, who were Zoroastrians, came in search of Jesus and worshipped him at his birth.33 Accordingly, all religions will eventually be united around a revived Christianity.

3.3 The Unification of Non-Religious People through Returning Resurrection
Spirits who, in their lifetime, led a conscientious life but did not believe in any religion will also return to earth at the granted time to receive the benefit of returning resurrection. They will guide conscientious earthly people to seek out Christ at the Second Advent, attend him, and assist him in fulfilling God’s Will.

The ultimate purpose of God’s providence of restoration is to save all of humanity. Therefore, God intends to abolish hell completely after the passage of time necessary for each individual to make restitution for his sin. If hell were to remain eternally in the world where God’s purpose of goodness is fulfilled, it would contradict the perfection of God, His ideal, and His providence of restoration.

Even fallen parents cannot feel joyful when one of their children is unhappy. Is this not even more true for God, our Heavenly Parent? It is written, “The Lord . . . is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”34 Accordingly, hell cannot remain forever. No trace of hell will remain in the ideal world, which is the fulfillment of God’s deepest desire. In the Last Days, when the time is ripe, evil spirits will descend to evil people on earth of the same spiritual level and assist them to accomplish God’s Will. Indeed, even the demons testified that Jesus was the Son of God.35

By participating in these various dispensations over a long course of time, all people will gradually converge toward the goal of God’s ideal world.

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Chapter 6: Predestination

Theological controversy over predestination has caused great confusion in the religious lives of many people. Let us begin by examining the source of this
controversy.

In the Bible, we find many passages which are often interpreted to mean that everything in an individual’s life-prosperity and decline, happiness and misery, salvation and damnation, as well the rise and fall of nations-comes to pass exactly as predestined by God. For example, St. Paul wrote:

Those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified He also glorified. -Rom. 8:30

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So it depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy. -Rom. 9:15-16

Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use? -Rom. 9:21

It is also written that, even while they were still in their mother’s womb, God loved Jacob and hated Esau and announced their destiny, saying, “the elder will serve the younger.”1 Thus, there are ample biblical grounds to justify the doctrine of God’s absolute and complete predestination.

Yet we can also find sufficient evidence in the Bible to refute the doctrine of absolute predestination. For example, God warned the first human ancestors not to eat of the fruit in order to prevent their Fall.2 We can deduce from this that the human Fall was not the outcome of God’s predestination, but rather the result of man’s disobedience to God’s commandment. Again we read, “the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him to his heart.”3 If the human Fall were predestined by God, there would be no reason for Him to grieve over fallen human beings, who were acting in accordance with His predestination. Moreover, it is written in the Gospel of John that whoever believes in Christ shall not perish, but have eternal life,4 implying that no one is predestined to damnation.

The doctrine that the outcome of human undertakings is determined not by God’s predestination, but instead by human effort, is supported by the well-known biblical verse, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”5 If every human undertaking were to turn out as God had predestined, why did Jesus emphasize the need for human effort? The Bible instructs us to pray for our sick brothers,6 suggesting that illness and health do not depend solely on God’s predestination. If everything were determined by inevitable fate, as predestined by God, our tearful supplications would be to no avail.

We would expect that since God is absolute, when He has predestined something, it is fixed absolutely and cannot be altered by human effort. Therefore, if we accept the traditional doctrine that all things are absolutely predestined by God, then we have to conclude that no human endeavor, including prayer, evangelism or charity, can add anything more to God’s providence of restoration. Any extra effort beyond the natural course of events would be completely useless.

Since there are ample grounds in the Bible to justify either of these two contrasting doctrines, controversy over the issue of predestination has been inevitable. How can the Principle solve this problem? We will consider the question of predestination by analyzing it under several topics.

Section 1: The Predestination of God’s Will

Before discussing the predestination of God’s Will, let us first examine what is being willed. Let us remember: God could not accomplish His purpose of creation due to the human Fall. Accordingly, God’s Will in carrying out His providence for fallen humanity is still to accomplish the purpose of creation. In this sense, God’s Will is that restoration be accomplished.

Next, we should know that God predetermines His Will before He works toward its fulfillment. God determined when He created human beings that they accomplish the purpose of creation. When God could not fulfill His Will due to the Fall, He determined to fulfill His Will once more through the providence of restoration and since then has worked to accomplish it.

God must predestine His Will and bring about its realization in the ways of goodness, and not in the ways of evil. God is the Author of goodness. Hence, His purpose of creation is good; likewise, the purpose of the providence of restoration and His Will to accomplish its purpose are good. For this reason, God does not intend anything that obstructs or opposes the fulfillment of the purpose of creation. In particular, He could not have predestined the human Fall or sins which make fallen human beings liable to judgment. Nor could He predestine such events as the destruction of the cosmos. If such evils were the inevitable result of God’s predestination, then God could not be the Author of goodness. Moreover, if God Himself had predestined such evil outcomes, He would not have expressed regret over them as He did, for example, over the depravity of fallen human beings,7 or over King Saul when he lapsed into faithlessness.8 Such verses illustrate that evil is not the result of God’s predestination, but rather the result of human beings failing to fulfill their responsibility and instead joining hands with Satan.

To what extent does God predestine His Will-the ultimate accomplishment of the purpose of creation? God is the absolute Being, unique, eternal and unchanging; therefore, the purpose of His creation must also be absolute, unique, eternal and unchanging. Likewise, His Will for the providence of restoration, the goal of which is the accomplishment of the purpose of creation, must also be absolute, unique and unchanging. It follows that God’s predestination of His Will-that the purpose of creation one day be fulfilled-must also be absolute, as it is written, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”9 Since God predestines His Will absolutely, if the person who has been chosen to accomplish His Will fails, God must continue to carry on His providence until its fulfillment, even though it may require Him to choose another person to shoulder the mission.

For example, God willed that His purpose of creation be fulfilled through Adam. Although this did not come to pass, God’s predestination of this providential Will has remained absolute. Hence, God sent Jesus as the second Adam and attempted to fulfill the Will through him. When Jesus also could not bring about the complete fulfillment of the Will due to the disbelief of the Jewish people,10 he promised he would return and fulfill it without fail.11 Likewise, God’s Will was to establish the family foundation for the Messiah through the dispensation based on Cain and Abel. When Cain killed Abel and this Will was not fulfilled, God made another attempt to fulfill it through Noah’s family. When Noah’s family also failed to fulfill the Will, God chose Abraham as yet another replacement and worked through him. We also see this with respect to the missions of individuals: God tried to remedy the failure to fulfill His Will through Abel by choosing Seth as his replacement.12 God tried to fulfill His Will left unaccomplished by Moses by choosing Joshua in his stead.13 When God’s Will for Judas Iscariot was nullified by his betrayal of Jesus, God made a second attempt to fulfill this Will by electing Matthias in his place.14

Section 2: The Predestination of the Way in Which God’s Will Is Fulfilled

According to the Principle of Creation, God’s purpose of creation can be realized only when human beings complete their portion of responsibility.15 Although God’s Will to realize this purpose through the providence of restoration is absolute and beyond human influence, its fulfillment necessarily requires the accomplishment of the human portion of responsibility. Originally, God’s purpose of creation was to be fulfilled through Adam and Eve only when they completed their given responsibility and refrained from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.16 Similarly, in the providence of restoration, God’s Will is accomplished only when the central figure responsible for a mission completes his portion of responsibility. For example, the Jewish people, as the central nation of the providence, should have believed in Jesus and followed him unconditionally in order for God to accomplish complete salvation at that time. Because they disbelieved and failed to fulfill their responsibility, the fulfillment of the Will had to be postponed until the time of the Second Advent.

To what extent does God predestine the unfolding of the events in the providence? Although God’s Will to realize the purpose of the providence of restoration is absolute, God predestines the process of its accomplishment conditionally, contingent upon the five percent responsibility of the central figure, which must be completed in addition to the ninety-five percent responsibility of God. The proportion of five percent is used to indicate that the human portion of responsibility is extremely small when compared to God’s portion of responsibility. Yet for human beings, this five percent is equivalent to one hundred percent of our effort.

To cite some examples: God predestined that His Will be fulfilled through Adam and Eve only when they refrained from eating the fruit and completed their responsibility. In the dispensation of restoration through Noah, God predestined that His Will be fulfilled only after Noah completed his responsibility by exerting himself with the utmost devotion in building the ark. In the providence of salvation through Jesus, God predestined that His Will be fulfilled only after fallen people completed their responsibility by believing in Jesus as the Messiah and rendering him devoted service.17 However, time and again human beings could not cope with even their small portion of responsibility. Consequently, God’s providence has been repeatedly prolonged.

It is written in the Bible, “The prayer of faith will save the sick man,”18 “Your faith has made you well,”19 and “For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”20 These verses confirm that God predestines His Will to be fulfilled contingent upon human beings’ completing their portion of responsibility. We should recognize from these examples how minuscule the human portion of responsibility is in comparison to God’s toil and grace, which is His portion of responsibility. On the other hand, when we consider the fact that over and over again central figures in the providence could not cope with their responsibility, we can appreciate how extremely difficult it was for them to fulfill even this comparatively small portion.

Section 3: The Predestination of Human Beings

Adam and Eve were to become the good ancestors of humanity, conditional upon fulfilling their responsibility to obey God’s commandment not to eat of the fruit. Accordingly, God did not absolutely predestine that Adam and Eve would become our good ancestors. The same holds for all fallen people: they can become the ideal people God has foreordained them to be only when they complete their responsibility. Therefore, God does not predestine in absolute terms what kind of people they actually turn out to be.

To what extent does God determine the fate of an individual? The fulfillment of God’s Will through an individual absolutely requires that he complete his responsibility. Hence, even though God predestines someone for a particular mission, God’s ninety-five percent responsibility and the person’s five percent responsibility must be accomplished together before the person can complete his given mission and fulfill God’s Will. If the person does not complete his responsibility, he cannot become the person God has purposed him to be.

For example, when God chose Moses, He predestined conditionally that when Moses fulfilled his responsibility, he would lead the chosen people into the blessed land of Canaan.21 However, when Moses transgressed God’s Will by striking the rock twice at Kadesh-barnea, he failed. Consequently, Moses died before reaching his final destination, and God’s intention for him to lead the people into Canaan was not realized.22 When God chose Judas Iscariot, He conditionally predestined that Judas would remain a loyal disciple of Jesus by faithfully completing his responsibility. Yet when Judas turned faithless, God’s expectation for him was not realized, and he ended up a traitor. When God raised up the Jewish people, God predestined that they would be glorified as the chosen nation when they fulfilled their responsibility to believe in and attend Jesus. However, when their leaders sent Jesus to the cross, this preordained destiny was not brought to pass, and the Jewish nation was scattered.

Let us next examine God’s predestination of central figures in the providence of restoration. The purpose of God’s providence of restoration is to restore completely the fallen world to the original world which God intended. Therefore, although the times of their salvation may differ, all fallen people are predestined to be saved.23 Yet, as was the case with God’s creation, His providence of salvation-a work of re-creation-cannot be completed in an instant. It begins from one point and gradually expands to cover the whole. Therefore, in the providence of salvation, God first predestines one person to be the central figure and then calls him to a mission.

What qualifications should the person possess to merit such a calling? First, the central figure must be born into the chosen people. Next, even among the chosen people, he must come from an ancestral line with many good accomplishments. Among the descendants of this outstanding lineage, he must be endowed with the requisite character. Among those with the requisite character, he must develop the necessary qualities during his early life. Finally, among those who have acquired these qualities, God selects first the individual who lives in a time and place most fitting to His need.

Section 4: Elucidation of Biblical Verses Which Support the Doctrine of Absolute Predestination

So far, we have analyzed the various issues concerning predestination. Next, we shall look again at those biblical verses which seem to suggest that the outcome of every undertaking is determined by God’s absolute predestination and elucidate their meaning.

Let us begin with the following verse:

For those whom He foreknew He also predestined . . . those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified He also glorified. -Rom. 8:29-30

God, being omniscient, foreknows who has the qualifications necessary to become a central figure in the providence of restoration. God predestines those whom He foreknows; then He calls upon him to fulfill the purpose of the providence. Calling the person is God’s responsibility, but that alone does not entitle the person to be justified before God and given glory. Only when the person completes his responsibility after being called by God is he justified and then glorified. God’s predestination concerning an individual’s glorification is thus contingent upon the completion of his portion of responsibility. Because the biblical verse does not mention the human portion of responsibility, people may misinterpret it to mean that all affairs are determined solely by God’s absolute predestination.

It is written,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So it depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy. -Rom. 9:15-16

As was explained above, only God foreknows and chooses who is most suitable to fulfill the purpose of the providence of restoration. It is God’s right to choose a person and have mercy or compassion on him; this depends not at all upon human will or human effort. This verse was written to emphasize the power and grace of God.

Paul also wrote,

Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use? -Rom. 9:21

It has been explained that God gave human beings a portion of responsibility as the condition based on which He could love them more than any other being in creation. God’s intention in giving this condition was to make them worthy to be the lords of creation by having them take after His creative nature. Yet human beings themselves violated this condition and fell. They have become like refuse, fit to be discarded. In such a state, fallen people have no cause to complain, no matter how God may treat them. This is what this verse teaches us.

It is written that God loved Jacob and hated Esau even when they were still inside their mother’s womb and had not done anything good or evil. God favored one and disfavored the other and told Rebecca that “the elder will serve the younger.”24 What was the reason for this favoritism? God favored one over the other in order to set up a certain course in the providence of restoration. Although further details will be discussed below,25 God gave Isaac twin sons, Esau and Jacob, with the intention of having them stand in the positions of Cain and Abel. They were to make the conditions of indemnity necessary for accomplishing His Will to recover the birthright of the elder brother, which was lost when Cain killed Abel in Adam’s family. God intended to realize this Will by having Jacob (in the position of Abel) win over his elder brother Esau (in the position of Cain). Since Esau was in the position of Cain, he was “hated” by God. Since Jacob was in the position of Abel, he could receive God’s love.

Nevertheless, whether God would in the end favor or disfavor them depended on whether or not they completed their given portions of responsibility. In fact, because Esau obediently submitted to Jacob, he was able to rise above his previous condition of being hated by God and receive the blessing of God’s love equal to Jacob’s. Conversely, even though Jacob was initially in the position to receive God’s favor, he would have ceased to receive it had he failed in his responsibility.

People such as John Calvin have propounded the doctrine of absolute and complete predestination, which is widely believed even in our present day. They have held to such a doctrine because they wrongly believed that the accomplishment of God’s Will depends solely on the power and work of God. They were ignorant of the true relationship between God’s portion of responsibility and the human portion of responsibility in the fulfillment of the purpose of the providence of restoration.

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Chapter 7: Christology

For fallen people who seek salvation, perhaps the most important questions among the many they must resolve concern Christology. Issues which fall within its scope include the Trinity, which deals with the relationship between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as well as rebirth and the relationship between Jesus, the Holy Spirit and fallen people. Until today, the controversies surrounding these issues have never been clearly settled. Consequently, considerable confusion remains in Christian doctrine and ways of faith. The key in approaching these matters is to understand the original value of human beings. We shall discuss this issue first, as a foundation for answering the other questions of Christology.

Section 1: The Value of a Person Who Has Realized the Purpose of Creation

Let us discuss the value of a person who has realized the purpose of creation; that is, the value of Adam or Eve in perfection. We can understand such a person’s value from several perspectives.

First, the relationship between God and a fully mature person resembles the relationship between the dual characteristics. Human beings were created with mind and body in the likeness of the dual characteristics of God.1 Similarly, the relationship between God and a person who has attained perfection of individual character may be compared to that between the dual characteristics of a person, that is, between mind and body. Just as the body is created in the likeness of the intangible mind to be its substantial object partner, a human being is created in the likeness of the intangible God to be His substantial object partner. Just as there is inseparable oneness between the mind and body of a true person centered on God, there is inseparable oneness between God and a true person who together form a four position foundation. In that union, the person experiences the Heart of God as his own reality. Having a fully mature character, such a person is a temple of God, in whom God can dwell continually, and comes to possess a divine nature.2 Jesus spoke of this state of perfection, saying “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”3 Thus, we see that a person who has realized the purpose of creation assumes a divine value, comparable to God.

Second, let us consider the value of a human being from the perspective of the purpose for which he was created. God created human beings for the purpose of sharing joy with them. Every human being possesses a unique individual character. No matter how many billions of people are born on the earth, no two will ever have exactly the same personality. Each person is God’s substantial object partner who manifests a distinctive aspect of God’s dual characteristics. Hence, that person is the only one in the entire universe who can stimulate that distinctive aspect of God’s nature to bring Him joy.4 Every person who has completed the purpose of creation is thus a unique existence in the cosmos. We can thus affirm the truth in the Buddha’s saying, “In heaven and on earth, I alone am the honored one.”5

Third, let us consider the value of a human being based on his relationship with the universe, as clarified by the Principle of Creation. A person who has completed the purpose of creation can govern the entire universe.6 Possessing both spirit and flesh, he can rule the spirit world with his spirit self and the physical world with his physical self. With human beings acting as mediators, the two worlds enter into a reciprocal relationship and form a unified cosmos which is a complete object partner to God.

We have learned through the Principle of Creation that the universe is the substantial unfolding of the dual characteristics of a human being. A person’s spirit encapsulates all elements of the spirit world while his flesh encapsulates all elements of the physical world. A person who has completed the purpose of creation thus encapsulates all the essences of everything in the cosmos. This is why a human being is called a microcosm of the universe. For these reasons, a human being has the value of the entire cosmos. We can thus understand the saying of Jesus in a new light, “For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?”7

Suppose there is a perfect machine, whose every part is the only one of its kind in the world, and there is no way to either procure or make a replacement for any of them. No matter how small or insignificant a single part may be, its value is then the same as that of the whole machine. Similarly, a fully mature person is unique in all the universe. No matter how insignificant he may seem, his value is equivalent to that of the entire cosmos.

Section 2: Jesus and the Person Who Has Realized the Purpose of Creation

2.1 Perfected Adam, Jesus and the Restoration of the Tree of Life
Human history is the history of the providence of restoration. Its goal is the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth when, at the end of history, the tree of life which was lost in the Garden of Eden will be regained.8 We can understand the relation between perfect Adam and Jesus by comparing the tree of life in the Garden of Eden with the tree of life to be restored in the Last Days.

As was discussed earlier,9 had Adam fully realized the ideal of creation, he would have become the tree of life and likewise all his descendants would have become trees of life. However, Adam’s fall frustrated God’s Will, and ever since, fallen humankind has hoped to be restored as trees of life.10 Since a fallen person can never fully restore himself as a tree of life by his own efforts, a man who has completed the ideal of creation must come as the tree of life and engraft all people with himself. Jesus is this tree of life portrayed in the Bible. Adam, had he realized the ideal of perfection symbolized by the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, and Jesus, symbolized by the tree of life in the Book of Revelation, would be identical in the sense of having realized the goal of creation. As such, they would have equal value.

2.2 Jesus, Human Beings and the Fulfillment of the Purpose of Creation
Let us compare the value of Jesus with that of a person of perfect individual character. With respect to the purpose of creation, a fully mature person is perfect as God is perfect.11 Having the same divine nature as God, he is infinitely precious. Since God is an eternal being, a person created to become His incarnate object partner in perfection must have an eternal life. A fully mature person is unique in all the cosmos. Further-more, since he is the lord of the entire natural world, which cannot realize its full value without him, he possesses the value of the cosmos.

There is no greater value than that of a person who has realized the ideal of creation. This is the value of Jesus, who surely attained the highest imaginable value. The conventional Christian belief in Jesus’ divinity is well founded because, as a perfect human being, Jesus is totally one with God. To assert that Jesus is none other than a man who has completed the purpose of creation does not degrade the value of Jesus in the least. In fact, the Principle of Creation elevates the true value of all people who fulfill the purpose of creation to a level comparable to Jesus.

Let us now examine some biblical evidence supporting the position that Jesus is a man who has fulfilled the purpose of creation. It is written:

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. -I Tim. 2:5

For as by one man’s [Adam’s] disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s [Jesus’] obedience many will be made righteous. -Rom. 5:19

For as by a man [Adam] came death, by a man [Jesus] has come also the resurrection of the dead. -I Cor. 15:21

He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. -Acts 17:31

Thus, the Bible demonstrates plainly that Jesus is a man. Above all, he had to come as a human being that he might become the True Parent who can give rebirth to human beings.

2.3 Is Jesus God Himself?
When Philip asked Jesus to show him God, Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?”12 It is written of Jesus, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.”13 Jesus also said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”14 Based on these biblical verses, many Christians have believed that Jesus is God, the Creator.

Jesus may well be called God because, as a man who has realized the purpose of creation and who lives in oneness with God, he has a divine nature. Nevertheless, he is not God Himself. The relationship between God and Jesus may be thought of as analogous to the relationship between the mind and body. Because the body is the substantial object partner to the mind, resembles the mind and acts in oneness with the mind, it may be understood to be the mind’s second self; but it is not the mind itself. By analogy, since Jesus is one with God and the incarnation of God, he may be understood to be God’s second self; but he is not God. It is true that he who has seen Jesus may be said to have seen God,15 but Jesus did not mean by saying this that he was God Himself.

The Bible refers to Jesus as the Word made flesh.16 This verse means that Jesus is the incarnation of the Word; that is, a man in whom the Word comes alive. We read that all things were made through the Word, and further, that the world was made through Jesus.17 Hence, Jesus may be said to be the creator. To understand what these verses mean, consider that the universe according to the Principle of Creation is the substantial unfolding of the internal nature and external form of a human being of perfected character. All the elements of the universe are encapsulated in a fully mature person and resonate in harmony around him. In this sense, it can be said that the universe is created through a perfect human being. Furthermore, God intended that human beings be the creators and lords of the natural world by endowing them with the character and powers of the Creator; these are to be realized once they reach perfection through the fulfillment of their responsibility. Seen from this perspective, these verses are in agreement with our understanding of Jesus as the man who has completed the purpose of creation; they do not signify that Jesus is the Creator Himself.

Jesus also said, “Before Abraham was, I am.”18 Jesus was the descendant of Abraham. Yet with respect to the providence of restoration, Jesus is the ancestor of Abraham because, as the one to give rebirth to all humankind, he came in the position of their first ancestor. We should understand that Jesus did not mean by this saying that he is God Himself. While on earth, Jesus was a man no different from any of us except for the fact that he was without the original sin. Even in the spirit world, where he has abided since his resurrection, Jesus lives as a spirit, as do his disciples. The only difference between them is that Jesus abides as a divine spirit, emitting brilliant rays of light, while his disciples, as life spirits, reflect that light.

It is written that since his resurrection, Jesus has been interceding for us before God19 as he did while he was on earth.20 If Jesus were God, how could he intercede for us before Himself? Moreover, Jesus called God “Father,” thus acknowledging that he was not God Himself.21 If Jesus were God, how could He be tempted by Satan, as Jesus was? We can conclude with finality that Jesus was not God Himself from the words he uttered on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”22

Section 3: Jesus and Fallen People

A fallen person has nothing of the value of a true person who has completed the purpose of creation. Rather, he has fallen to such a lowly status that he looks up to the angels, who were created to be his subordinates. On the other hand, because Jesus came with the full value of a true person who has completed the purpose of creation, “All things are put in subjection under him.”23 A fallen person with original sin is stained with the condition through which Satan can attack him. On the other hand, Jesus, having no original sin, had no condition in himself for Satan to invade him. A fallen person cannot fathom the Will and Heart of God. At most, he can catch only a glimpse of them. In contrast, Jesus not only understood the Will and Heart of God thoroughly, he also experienced God’s Heart as his own reality in his daily life.

A person has virtually none of his original value as long as he remains in the fallen state. If, however, he were to be reborn spiritually and physically through Jesus, the True Parent, and become his good child cleansed of the original sin, he would be restored as a true person who has perfected the purpose of creation, like Jesus Christ himself. His relationship with Jesus would then be like the human relationship of a child with his parent. Even though their relationship will always maintain the vertical order of parent and child, their original values do not differ in the least. Thus, Christ is the head of the church,24 and we are his body and members.25 Jesus is the main temple, and we are the branch temples. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches.26 We, the wild olive shoots, are to be engrafted with Jesus, the true olive tree,27 before we can become true olive trees ourselves. Accordingly, Jesus called us “my friends,”28 and it is written that “when he appears we shall be like him.”29 Jesus alone is the “first fruits,” but at his return, we who belong to Christ will be the next.30

Section 4: Rebirth and Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity has remained one of the most mysterious topics in Christian theology. Moreover, the related doctrine of rebirth, though seemingly
evident to all, also needs deeper elucidation. We will examine these doctrines in this section.

4.1 Rebirth

4.1.1 Jesus and the Holy Spirit and Their Mission to Give Rebirth
Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”31 Rebirth means to be born a second time. Why must fallen people be born anew?

Had Adam and Eve realized the ideal of creation and become the True Parents of humanity, they would have borne good children without original sin and formed the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. However, Adam and Eve fell and became evil parents, multiplying evil children who created this hell on earth. Hence, as Jesus told Nicodemus, fallen people cannot see the Kingdom of God unless they are first born anew-as children without original sin.

We cannot be born without parents. Who, then, are the good parents through whom we can be born again, cleansed of original sin and able to enter the Kingdom of God? Parents who have original sin cannot give birth to good children who do not have original sin. Certainly, it is impossible to find sinless parents among fallen humankind. These parents must descend from Heaven. Jesus was the Parent who came from Heaven. He came as the True Father in order to give rebirth to fallen people, transforming them into good children, thoroughly cleansed of original sin and fit to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Thus, it is written in the Bible, “By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”32 Jesus came as the True Father whom Adam had failed to become. For this reason, the Bible speaks of him as “the last Adam” and the “Everlasting Father.”33

However, a father alone cannot give birth to children. There must be a True Mother, as well as a True Father, for fallen children to be reborn as good children. The Holy Spirit came as the True Mother. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born anew through the Holy Spirit.34

There are many who have received the revelation that the Holy Spirit is feminine. This is because the Holy Spirit comes as the True Mother or second Eve. Since the Holy Spirit is the feminine aspect of divinity, without first receiving her we cannot go before Jesus as his brides. Being feminine, the Holy Spirit consoles and moves the hearts of people.35 She cleanses people’s sin, thereby atoning for the sin which Eve committed. Jesus, the masculine Lord, works in heaven (yang), while the Holy Spirit, his feminine counterpart, works on the earth (yin).

4.1.2 Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the Dual Characteristics of the Logos
Logos is Greek for “rational principle” or “the Word.” The Bible indicates that the Logos is an object partner to God,36 engaged in a reciprocal relationship with Him. Since God, the subject partner of the Logos, exists with dual characteristics, the Logos as His object partner should also be composed of dual characteristics. If the Logos were without dual characteristics, all things made through it37 would not be composed of dual characteristics. Adam and Eve, the embodied object partners of God in image, were created separately out of the dual characteristics of the Logos.38

Had Adam as a man realized the ideal of creation and become the tree of life, and had Eve as a woman realized the ideal of creation and fulfilled the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would have stood together as the True Parents of humankind. They would have fulfilled God’s three great blessings and established the Kingdom of God on earth. Instead, because they fell, this world became an earthly hell. Therefore, to give rebirth to fallen people, Jesus came as the second Adam,39 the True Father of humankind, with the mission symbolized by the tree of life.40 This being the case, should not there also have come the True Mother of humankind,41 the second Eve with the mission symbolized by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? The one who has come as the True Mother to give rebirth to fallen people is the Holy Spirit.

4.1.3 Spiritual Rebirth through Jesus and the Holy Spirit
A new life is born through the love of parents. When we believe in Jesus as the Savior through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,42 we receive the love of the spiritual True Parents, which is generated through the give and take between Jesus, the spiritual True Father, and the Holy Spirit, the spiritual True Mother. Through this love, new life is infused into us, and our spirits are reborn as new selves. This is spiritual rebirth. Nevertheless, since human beings fell both spiritually and physically, we must be cleansed of original sin by being born again both spiritually and physically. Christ must return to earth to grant physical salvation to humanity, which is to be realized through our physical rebirth.

4.2 The Trinity
According to the Principle of Creation, God’s purpose of creation is completed based upon the four position foundation, which is established by fulfilling the three object purpose through origin-division-union action. To fulfill the purpose of creation, Jesus and the Holy Spirit stand before God as object partners who separately manifest the dual characteristics of God. They unite through give and take with each other with God as the center and form the four position foundation. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit thus become one, and this oneness constitutes the Trinity.

Originally, God’s purpose for creating Adam and Eve was to form a trinity by raising them to be the True Parents of humankind united in harmonious oneness as husband and wife centered on God in a four position foundation. If Adam and Eve had not fallen, but had formed this trinity with God and become the True Parents who could multiply good children, their descendants would have also become good husbands and wives with God as the center of their lives. Each couple would thus have formed a trinity with God. The Kingdom of Heaven on earth fulfilling God’s three great blessings would have been realized at that time. Instead, when Adam and Eve fell, they formed a four position foundation with Satan as their center; in other words, they formed a fallen trinity with Satan. Their descendants likewise have continued to form trinities with Satan, and so built a corrupt and immoral society.

Since the Fall, God has worked for the day when He could give rebirth to people and join them in trinities with Himself. For this purpose, God intended to exalt Jesus and his Bride as the second Adam and Eve to become the True Parents of humanity. However, the resurrected Jesus and the Holy Spirit in oneness with God could form only a spiritual trinity. They could fulfill only the mission of spiritual True Parents. Thus, Jesus and the Holy Spirit have been giving spiritual rebirth to people of faith as their spiritual children, restoring them to spiritual trinities.

Christ must return in the flesh and find his Bride. They will form on the earth a perfect trinity with God and become True Parents both spiritually and physically. They will give fallen people rebirth both spiritually and physically, removing their original sin and enabling them to build trinities on earth with God as the center. When fallen people are restored to the point where they can establish true four position foundations centered on God, they will finally be able to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth where God’s three great blessings are fulfilled.

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