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Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon
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Book One - True God
Chapter Three - The History of the Providence of Restoration and Changes in Humankind's View of God
Section 1. The God of the Old Testament Age
1.1. The Old Testament Age was the age of the servant
Through the Fall, human beings fell into the non-Principle realm. How far did they fall? They fell into a realm even lower than that of the angels, who are God's servants. The princes and princesses, who were supposed to be the masters, fell to a position lower than servants, so they must go back up.
From the way of the servant of servants, they should go up through the way of a servant, adopted child, child by a concubine, and child of the direct lineage, and then return, through the mother, to the position of Adam, the father. This is restoration.
The providence of salvation is like returning someone to the standard of health he enjoyed before he became sick. He must return to the state of having had no sickness.
This is why the providence of salvation is the providence of restoration. The providence of restoration is not carried out arbitrarily. You cannot just "believe and be saved." (222-144, 1991.11.3)
Although human beings fell, they must go up from the position of servant of servants, because they cannot abandon God. Then what does "servant of servants" mean? It means to be without a master. Fallen people must serve God loyally from the position of the servant of servants. Satan was an archangel and God's servant. Since human beings were dragged in front of this servant, in order to return to God, they must set up the standard of having demonstrated their loyalty to God while standing as servants of servants. (17-73, 1966.11.12)
The Old Testament Age was an age when sacrificial offerings were made; thus, God could find people whom He could use as His servants. This is Old Testament history. Because human beings were lost, things were turned upside down and people became lower than all things of creation. Human beings came to be in a worse situation than all things of creation. For this reason, they had to divide all things, which were closer to God, into two and divide what belongs to God from what belongs to Satan. Such divided sacrificial offerings were not made because of God or Satan but because people failed to fulfill their responsibilities. You should know this. It is because people failed in their responsibilities that they came to receive Satan's blood. (136-228, 1985.12.29)
From the viewpoint of the providence, the time before the Old Testament Age, that is, before Jacob, was the age of the servant of servants; the time from Jacob to Jesus was the age of the servant; the time after Jesus was the age of the adopted son; and the time of the Second Advent is the age of the son. Because the age of the son has come, the son must have parents. Thus, through the age of the parents, humankind returns to God. (74-121, 1974.11.25)
The Old Testament Age was the age of the servant, an age where people in the position of servant of servants were restored to the position of servant. For this reason, even Abraham was a servant, not a son. God established the way of loyalty by setting up servants of servants. In this way, God has been moving His providence forward by bringing all humankind together throughout history to take possession of the worldwide stage of evil and bring it to God's side. Even Jacob triumphed as God's servant rather than as God's son. God has been working this way, restoring people from the position of servant of servants to that of servant, and from the position of servant to that of adopted son. (15-325, 1965.12.7)
Comprehensively examining the historical course of restoration, we can see that God has, until now, been leading the providence through the three stages of formation, growth, and completion. The course of restoration passes through the age of the servant, which is the Old Testament Age, the age of the adopted son, which is the New Testament Age, and the age of true children, which is the Completed Testament Age, and enters the age of True Parents. The providence of salvation in the Old Testament Age offered salvation to humankind in the position of servant. Hence, in that age, without establishing a central figure who could endure from beginning to end and achieve victory, the foundation for restoration to the position of servant could not be laid. Hence, God made many sacrifices while leading the four-thousand year history through central figures such as Noah and Abraham. (15-49, 1965.12.7)
What did God do in the Old Testament Age? Since the world became satanic, He took on the task of seeking His servants by sacrificing all things and establishing people on the heavenly side. God was not even looking for adopted sons. He was looking for servants of servants. The people of the satanic world have all become Satan's sons and daughters. God cannot take them away. Hence, God has been gathering those who have lost hope in the satanic world. It is a sad reality, but God has been collecting useless material. He has been dealing with junk. This process does not finish there. Sacrifice is required, and people go through the process of being a sacrificial offering. (136-222, 1985.12.29)
God tried to bring people who were not even good enough to become servants in the satanic world and made them servants of servants in God's world. This is Old Testament history. This is why God made Jacob and Esau fight. This is why He called Noah. God took a servant of servants in the satanic world to a distant country. There, He isolated and exhausted him in order to make him God's servant. (154-334, 1964.10.5)
Satan treats human beings as enemies. They cannot even become Satan's servants. In the Old Testament Age God worked to turn such people into God's servants. Then, God wanted to make servants into adopted children, adopted children into children of direct lineage, children of direct lineage into brothers and sisters, and brothers and sisters into true parents by blessing them as bride and bridegroom. Since the God-centered true family was lost, restoration is the work of regaining it. The marriage feast of the Lamb was to be the occasion heralding Jesus as the true parent. (12-29, 1962.7.15)
God commissioned His servants and taught them, "I am your Father." He taught people through His servants and angels. Such was the Old Testament Age. Next, He worked through His son. This was the New Testament Age. Next, He worked through the Holy Spirit. (10-197, 1960.10.2)
God has been longing for people to be in relationship with all things of creation and with Him. Hence, God has been working to pull fallen people up from the servant's position, through the adopted son's position and children's position to the parents' position. This was in order to sever the painful connection with the Fall and enable all things, people, and God to form unifying relationships so that God's joy becomes humankind's joy and humankind's joy becomes the joy of all things. God wanted to take pride in His sons and daughters and present and dedicate them to the natural world and even to the world of angels. (11-279, 1962.1.3)
If we think about it, the Old Testament Age lasted four thousand years until the coming of Jesus. Was there a word like "Blessing"? Was it possible to bless a family in God's name? Since it was the servant's era, people were in the domain of the archangel, a servant. The archangel cannot be married; he must live a single life. In that era, God could not have a family, and God's sons and daughters could not marry. Can a servant be married? He cannot. (90-97, 1976.12.19)
1.2. In the Old Testament Age, angels worked on behalf of God
In order to restore the defiled land, God has been leading the providence of salvation by building a relationship with humankind through the angels. God is carrying out the providence of salvation in order to once again deal with human beings, who betrayed God through the Fall, and fell so miserably lower than all things. To govern humankind, dominated and accused by Satan, God has been working to build a bridge. This work has lasted throughout the Old Testament and New Testament Ages until now. (1-282, 1956.12.16)
Originally, in the Old Testament Age, God was supposed to work directly with people and relate to them in His glory, but the providence could not be completed because of the Fall. Therefore, in sorrow, God pioneered an alternative way of relating to people through angels, and this was the Old Testament Age. God established a standard whereby He could work through the angels. Since angels are also divine beings, they appeared to people like God and served temporarily as mediators until the coming of Jesus. (1-283, 1956.12.16)
If we look at the Old Testament Age, we see that God has used angels as messengers for the sake of building God's garden of freedom and the heavenly kingdom of liberation. If you want to enter the realm of grace where you can be liberated from the servant's position as God's son, you should be able to feel joyful even while losing your life. Only those who have such a free heart can go beyond the servant's position and enter the son's position. (4-321, 1958.10.12)
Look at the Bible. God has been working through the archangels in the spirit world, through His son, and through the Holy Spirit. God could not directly connect to this work in His heart. In the Old Testament Age He worked through the angels, and in the New Testament Age He worked through His son. From the heavenly viewpoint, the Old Testament Age was the age to regain the people, and the New Testament Age was the age to regain the children. (10-170, 1960.9.25)
Consider this: to restore the people of Israel, the angels in the heavenly world came and worked, the servants came and worked, and then the son came and worked. Now, the father is coming. The coming Lord is coming as a father. He will come as the True Parent, raise true children and give love. What will happen then? You could stay up all night with one beloved person.
God loved one man, Abraham, more than the people of the fallen world. He loved Moses, one person, more than all humankind, and He loved Jesus more than all humankind. Thus, you should know how precious each beloved son and daughter is to God. (10-354, 1960.11.27)
The God Jehovah, who appeared to Abraham, was also an angel. Originally, God, being without form, is invisible, but in Genesis three beings appeared as God, two going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah and the remaining one talking to Abraham as God (Genesis 18:118). Yet, they were angels sent by God, who commissioned them to work on His behalf. The people did not know this.
After twenty-one years of spiritual training, Jacob went back toward his hometown in Seir, where his elder brother lived, in order to satisfy his longing. Although Jacob had waited for twenty-one years, instead of giving him a joyful send-off and saying, "Have a safe journey," God sent an angel and had him wrestle with Jacob at the Ford of Jabbok with much shouting. If Jacob had lost to the angel, the hardships of his past twenty-one years would have been in vain. So, Jacob tenaciously held on to the angel, saying that he would not let go until his hands were pulled off or even if his arms broke. He was deadly serious! (51-344, 1971.12.5)
God had blessed him through Isaac and advised him to abandon everything and return to his hometown; then, why did God not guide Jacob and make his path smooth? When Jacob was pleading with God by the Ford of Jabbok all night with an anxious heart, why did God deal with him so heartlessly by sending an angel to strike him, instead of giving him encouragement and advice? (3-334, 1958.2.9)
What kind of people were our ancestors of faith who lived in the Old Testament Age? Since God is invisible, even if He were to appear no one would know Him. The ancestors of faith are thus the ones God sent to reproduce His work on His behalf in a way appropriate for the age and to help the people forge a connection with Him.
For this reason, in order for us to rise to the position of God's adopted son, we must connect with the historical deeds and retribution of many people. We must go through many stages, including becoming representatives of the world's people on the level of the individual, family, tribe, a people, and nation - and bind all of them together as one, representing the final destination. (77-132, 1975.4.6)
1.3. Why do angels become involved in human salvation?
What kind of beings are angels? They are beings that should have completed the path of loyalty to God in the servant's position, and served as a protective fence for Adam and Eve. They should have created an atmosphere of glory that would have lasted forever in the heavenly world and lived happily with Adam and Eve in God's love. In other words, the archangels were created for Adam and Eve. God, the Father of Adam and Eve, created the angels for their sake. (15-238, 1965.10.17)
Because the archangel's fall led to Adam and Eve bringing the human world to such ruin, the angelic world is working on God's behalf to fight against Satan. The evil Satan and good angels are fighting. Only when the side of the good angels wins the battle will there be a step forward. God cannot do as He pleases. This is the Principle. (109-18, 1980.10.26)
God created the three archangels as servants for the unfallen Adam and Eve and entrusted Adam and Eve to them, asking the archangels to raise them by educating and protecting them. Why did He have to do this? It is because the archangels are in a reciprocal relationship with their subject partner: the earth plane is the subject partner, and the angelic realm is the object partner. God's ideal in creating heaven and earth was to expand the horizontal realm of relationships in front of God's true love in this dual-realm environment. (208-256, 1990.11.20)
Who should educate Adam? It is not God, but the archangels who must do this. They should protect and raise him. The archangels were responsible to carefully supervise, guide, and educate him so that he would be untainted at the time of his marriage.
Since the Unification Church also had to follow this rule to accomplish restoration through indemnity, I have loved the 36 Couples more than my own children. (121-240, 1982.10.27)
God is the source of life. Parents nurture the lives of their children. They are the source of life, love and protection. They protect life, give love, and nurture. So where does happiness come from? Without a protected domain, life is threatened, and when life is threatened, love cannot manifest itself.
If you were to die now, would love manifest itself? It would not. This is why a protective realm is needed. So when this protective realm was secured, the archangels were responsible for it. After receiving life from God, the origin of life, Adam and Eve were educated in love under the archangels' protection. (51-173, 1971.11.21)
Go Home to True Love Go to the Contents Page Go on to Section 2. The Identity of Jehovah God. |
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Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon
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Book One - True God
Chapter Three - The History of the Providence of Restoration and Changes in Humankind's View of God
Section 2. The Identity of Jehovah God
2.1. The attributes of Jehovah God
You should know that the reason Moses introduced the God of authority, God of ability, and God of judgment, instead of the God of love was to give the law to the Israelites and protect and raise heavenly people with the law. It was to accomplish the will of restoration to drive them to the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. (35- 276, 1970.10.25)
Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, was a place that could be entered only by the reborn people who had received the Ten Commandments and the law and carried the Ark of the Covenant in the wilderness. God gave His words to the Israelites who left Egypt in order to recreate them as God's people, but when they did not follow His words, He appeared to them as a terrifying God who struck and punished them.
The Old Testament Age, in which Satan reigned as the king, was an age of the devil's power until the appearance of the Messiah. Jehovah God therefore appeared to Moses as the God of fear, God of revenge, and God of jealousy, and struck with the law the people who had become servants of sin and mercilessly punished the violators of the law. This was the Old Testament Age.
If you look at the attributes of Jehovah God of the Old Testament Age, He was a jealous God who terrified worshipers of other gods, a cruel God who ordered the Israelites to exterminate the seven tribes of Canaan leaving no survivors, and a merciless God who slaughtered the Israelites who had violated the commandments and law.
Could the God of love, who created the universe, have the character to feel such jealousy, exact such revenge, instill such terror, and exhibit the cruelty to exterminate the seven tribes of Canaan? This happened because the Old Testament Age was an age when angels, as mediators, served in the role of God. The revengeful legalism that says "a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, and a stripe for a stripe" cannot stem from the character of the Creator God. God is the God of love and forgiveness.
God appeared to Moses several times: in the burning bush on Mount Horeb where He called Moses and also at the top of Mount Sinai where He gave him the Ten Commandments. To this day we have not known that the God who appeared to Moses was an angel; but if you look in chapter seven of the book of Acts in the New Testament, it is recorded that He was an angel: "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush... you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."
The Jehovah who appears in the Old Testament Age this way is an angel and not God. The Old Testament Age is the age of the servant, and God cannot appear as a father to a servant, because he is not a son. When Moses asks God for His name, He answers, "I am who I am" and tells him his name is Jehovah. But, when Moses stands in front of the people, he emphasizes that Jehovah God is the God of their ancestors, that is, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Jehovah is an angel.
Since the Old Testament Age was the age of the servant, God could not reveal Himself directly. In the Old Testament, did God tell them to fight or not to fight? Do you know that Saul was punished because, after winning the war, he went against God's instruction to kill all the men? Why do you think He did that? If men of the satanic world were spared, that world would invade again. He did it because the survival of the satanic men would preserve that system as they took wives and continued as they had before. Yet cutting off their lineage would end the system, as the women and children belonged to God's side. That is why He did this.
Saul was punished because his failure to act as instructed allowed the invasion of the heavenly nation by the worship of gentile gods and by all their adulterous customs. (124-202, 1983.2.15)
2.2. The religion of the bride and the religion of the archangel
Since God created angels before creating Adam, today's religions are the creations of the angelic realm on earth. That is the religious sphere. What is the task of the religious realm? It must succeed in creating Adam. Then, what is the global center of religion? It turns out to be Judaism. What does Judaism do? It is a religion that introduces the bridegroom. This is the philosophy of the Messiah and Savior. (50-56, 1971.10.31)
Until God created Adam and Eve, the archangels were the guardians of traditional philosophy. As a servant, the archangel was supposed to teach Adam and Eve the new customs and tradition of life before God did, saying, "The sons and daughters of the Master should live in such and such a way."
Is it not the responsibility of the old servant to keep the master's sons and daughters from going astray? Isn't he responsible to guide and instruct them along a smooth path? (50-181, 1971.11.6)
God established religions in order to save fallen people. What are those religions? God established the religion of Eve and the religions of the archangel in the world. Because the Fall was due to Eve and the archangel, human beings are restored through the religions of Eve and the archangel. They are restored through this path.
Religions are in the realm of archangel; whether there are a hundred or a thousand religions, they all belong to the realm of archangel. Although there are a great number of religions, they can be divided broadly into four great religions. Their center is Christianity, and the main philosophy of Christianity is the philosophy of the bride. (239-136, 1992.11.24)
Only God is the true deity, and other god-like beings are angels. To distinguish clearly monotheism and polytheism, the polytheistic religions are founded by heavenly beings, that is, angels. Among these religions, some result from good angels' efforts to elevate human spirituality and heart. These are the advanced religions. You should know that God has been cultivating human hearts through these good religions.
The religions of the archangel do not clearly know the fundamentals. They do not know who God is, nor do they know what is happening in the Last Days. Their teachings have been centered on the external concepts of spiritual training. Because they do not have a clear tradition, in the Last Days they have to wrap up their basic necessities and go to the master's house to serve. (237-186, 1992.11.17)
Let us think about those who followed God's will in the Old Testament Age and in the New Testament Age. In the Old Testament Age, there were primitive forms of religion, and in the New Testament Age, a religion befitting that era emerged. In other words, in the New Testament Age religions have been connecting to modern, twentieth-century civilization.
What kind of religion is the Unification Church? The Unification Church should be on a new level, a futuristic religion compared with the primitive religions and the religions of the age. (122-9, 1982.10.31)
Go Home to True Love Go to the Contents Page Go on to Section 3. Jesus' View of God Based on the Parent-Child Relationship. |
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Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon
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Book One - True God
Chapter Three - The History of the Providence of Restoration and Changes in Humankind's View of God
Section 3. Jesus' View of God Based on the Parent-Child Relationship
3.1. The New Testament Age is the age of the adopted son
When Jacob triumphed and earned the name Israel, he did not triumph as God's son but as God's servant. This way, people were restored from the position of the servant of servants to the servant's position, and then in the New Testament Age from the servant's position to the position of the adopted child. Romans 8:23 says: "but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." They said that they were eagerly waiting to be adopted sons who could call God "Abba, Father." Even the most ardent people of faith in the New Testament Age, whether they were ministers, elders, or people holding doctorates, and so forth, are all adopted children before God. I am speaking to you frankly. They want to be adopted children. Adopted children have a different lineage. (154-257, 1964.10.3)
What step was Jesus elevated to? After humankind fell on earth, the ancestors disappeared. Therefore, when Jesus was elevated to the ancestor's position, the Israelites could be engrafted as God's adopted sons and receive the right of inheritance. This is why Romans chapter eight says, "but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies," and also, "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father." They could only become adopted sons. Today's Christians are adopted children. Adopted children have a different lineage. (154-337, 1964.10.5)
An adopted son is different from the son of direct lineage. Whenever the son of direct lineage comes, the adopted son should be able to give him everything he possesses without hesitation, whether it is night or day. The possessions do not belong to him. Thus, even though he stands as an adopted son or was chosen as an adopted son, when the son of direct lineage is born, he should not say, "Why was this wretch born?" This is satanic nature. When God created Adam, the archangel should have been delighted to see Adam. So, he cannot say, "Why was he born?" The adopted son should know that he must protect the son. When the son of direct lineage is in the womb, the adopted son should not say, "Oh, I wish he were not going to be born." (09-135, 1971.10.9)
What must you do to be an adopted child? You should be better than the servants on God's side and better than Satan. Why do you have to be so? Satan was originally an archangel, a servant, and only one who is better than the servant can be an adopted child. This is according to the Principle. Then what kind of adopted child do you have to be? You should be an adopted child whose philosophy dictates that although you have received God's inheritance, it is not yours to keep but to return to His original sons and daughters. This is how adopted children should be raised. The adopted child should offer his life for the sake of the coming sons and daughters. He should hope to see the birth of the sons and daughters of direct lineage desired by God, although this may require sacrificing everything he has; he should be preparing in heart for them. Without gaining the qualifications of an adopted child, you have no relationship with the son. You should bear in mind that the one born as an intermediate being, one step above the archangel, is the adopted child. (89-203, 1976.11.22)
An adopted child has a different lineage. Originally, the one designated to be an adopted child at the start of the New Testament was John the Baptist. John the Baptist represented the archangel. He was designated as the representative on earth on the side of the archangel who could serve Adam to the end, rather than as the archangel who had opposed God's son Adam. But, a tragic history unfolded because John the Baptist failed to serve Jesus and become one with him. (48-92, 1971.9.5)
You should know that the Old Testament Age and New Testament Age are connected through history. As servants, the believers of the Old Testament era wished to receive the benefits of being adopted children, and this is why they waited for the coming of the Messiah. In other words, their desire was to surmount the sorrowful circumstances of the servant and advance, through the Messiah, to the position of adopted child. The adopted child is entitled to receive an inheritance from the parents in the absence of a son or daughter of direct lineage. So, God's will, which oversaw the servant-level Old Testament Age, guided the people so that they could maintain the desire to transcend the servant's position and attain the benefits of welcoming God's will. This is why they kept longing for the privilege of leaving behind the lot of the servant and receiving God's inheritance. This is the philosophy of God's elect in Israel. (42-281, 1971.3.27)
You should be restored and rise up, beginning from all things, through the victorious realm of the adopted son, through the victorious realm of the son, to the parents' position. But, no matter how devout you may be, in the New Testament Age you absolutely cannot be God's Son! (48-95, 1971.9.5)
Looking at history, the Old Testament Age used all things of creation as sacrificial offerings. They sacrificed the things of creation. The purpose of sacrificing all things was to liberate human beings and to help with the resurrection of humankind. The things of creation were sacrificed in order to restore people, to regain God's children. In the Old Testament Age, the things of creation were used as an offering, and in the New Testament Age, God's children shed their blood as they moved toward the realm of resurrection in this world. This has been the history centered on Christianity. In Christian history, Jesus and all individuals, families, peoples, and nations that followed Jesus have been sacrificed as offerings until the present. (166-276, 1987.6.14)
In Old Testament times, God had Moses bear witness to God's power. The people who did not believe in Him as the God of power were punished. Next, the age of Jesus introduced the God of compassion. Sick people were cured... Had Jesus not cured the sick, he would not have been killed. People die of sickness to pay the price for their ancestors' sins. Then why did he bring them back to life? Rev. Moon of the Unification Church could have cured hundreds of thousands of patients if he had tried. Even without someone curing their disease, lepers can be healed if they hear our words and delight in them. All kinds of diseases can be cured. (194-334, 1989.10.30)
3.2. The adopted child can call out "father"
On leaving the Old Testament Age and welcoming the new morning of the New Testament Age, Jesus declared God as the Father and elevated fallen people to the position of adopted child in order to bring them into a parent-child relationship with God. Adopted children are of a different lineage, but through the coming of the Lord, they were engrafted and thus able to call God "Father," with the title of son. You should know that the establishment of the parent-child relationship with God was a heavenly secret that could be accomplished by no one other than Jesus.
When Jesus called God "Father," the priests and Pharisees, who were immersed in the Old Testament concepts of the time, heard it as a presumptuous word blaspheming God. You should know that Jesus' view of God as the Father was that revolutionary. Jesus went a step higher and introduced God's love. In the Old Testament Age, Moses introduced only the God of authority, God of power, and God of judgment, without being able to introduce the God of love. But, Jesus introduced love. Although he introduced the God of love and his own loving self, the people of his era did not accept him. (35- 276, 1970.10.25)
Since the Old Testament Age was the age of the servant, God could not reveal His real form. God is the Father and a being of love. Since God is love itself, He is the Father of love who forgives all sins. The Old Testament law of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" disappeared. Through Jesus, God revealed His true loving form in which He loves His enemies and forgives a brother's faults, not just seven times but even seventy times seven. How could a father not forgive his child's faults?
God is not someone you can see; in Jesus, the invisible God appeared as the visible God. This is why Jesus proclaimed his oneness with God by saying in the Gospel of John, "I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Therefore, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" This is also why Paul said, "For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39). Jesus came for the sake of God's love. (4-308, 1958.10.5)
You should know that from Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River, when heaven opened, to his ascension was a short period of three years. You should know that although Jesus brought out the view of God based on the parent-child relationship, he departed without being able to explain the details. He came as the Messiah of Judaism and died while pioneering the worldwide messianic course. Then, what happened to Judaism? A God who had thus far been attended as one dealing only with Judaism would not be viable.
What did Jesus come to teach on this earth? He was not to teach about God exactly as was taught in the Old Testament. He had to teach about the God of the New Testament Age. The mission of Jesus, who came as the national Messiah of Israel, was to teach by saying, "Now that we are going beyond the age of the national level to the age of the global level, we must lay the foundation of making strenuous effort for the world in order to absorb it." In this way, he was to dedicate his entire life to gaining the authority and prestige of the world-level Messiah. This was what he had to accomplish during his life. (105-213, 1979.10.26)
Go Home to True Love Go to the Contents Page Go on to Section 4. The Completed Testament Age Is the Age of the Oneness of God and Humankind . |
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Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon
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Book One - True God
Chapter Three - The History of the Providence of Restoration and Changes in Humankind's View of God
Section 4. The Completed Testament Age Is the Age of the Oneness of God and Humankind
4.1. True children should go through the change of lineage and rebirth
On the path of restoration, we should go up from the age of the servant of servants, through the age of the servant, through the age of the adopted child, to the age of the direct lineage. However, can we complete the course from the age of the servant of servants, through the age of the servant, and the age of the adopted child, and be connected to the age of direct lineage? Connecting to the age of direct lineage cannot be done just like that.
According to the Principle, we are required to go through the foundation of faith and foundation of substance in order to welcome the Messiah. The Messiah is the true son of God. The lineage of an adopted son and that of a true son are different. This is why we need a change of lineage. (55-192, 1972.5.9)
Since the Fall was an improper marriage in the Garden of Eden, this is now being rectified as the True Parents create proper marriages. True Parents are clearing away the evil deeds of the false parents, thereby abolishing hell, and giving the Blessing even to hundreds of billions of ancestors in the spirit world. Through the foundation of their descendants' families on earth, centered on true love, the ancestors in the spirit world and their descendants on earth unite vertically. Furthermore, based on the foundation of such families, the East and the West become connected to each other.
Since humankind has received satanic blood, people cannot return to God on their own. So the Messiah must accomplish absolute restoration of the lineage, renewing the blood line that was defiled by Satan. This transition must be made. This is why the Messiah must surely come. Without his coming, there will be no restoration of lineage. We must restore lineage. (172-53, 1988.1.7)
What do True Parents have to do? They must rectify the wrong lineage that forms the root of the satanic world, turn around the deviated life, and correct the misdirected course of love. The Bible says that those who seek to die will live, and those who seek to live will die. Why is this paradox necessary? It is because the satanic world must die. (169-37, 1987.10.4)
The ideal of loving oneness between God and humankind is their unity in a loving relationship based on the true and great love that God desired as His ideal at the time of creation. If God had fulfilled that ideal, today we would all enter the Kingdom of Heaven just as we are, without having to worry about heaven or hell. (275-54, 1995.10.31)
There were three ages in history: the Old Testament Age, the New Testament Age, and the Completed Testament Age. Among these, what kind of an age was the Old Testament Age? It was the age of redemption of children through sacrificial offerings. It was a time of preparation for the coming of God's son. In the New Testament Age, Jesus became the offering for us to receive the parents. This is why, in the age of the Second Coming, we have been preparing to receive the parents by establishing the bride and bridegroom. The reason that I, having the name of the True Parent, have been suffering for forty years as the center of the Completed Testament Age, is to receive God on earth. This will lead to the oneness of God and humankind in love. (227-94, 1992.2.10)
The original relationship between God and humankind is one of parent and child. In the New Testament Age, human beings were God's adopted children. But now, since we are in a parent-child relationship, what the son does is what the Father does, and what the Father does is what the son does. They are acting together. What belongs to the Father belongs to the son, and what belongs to the son belongs to the Father. The reason the Unification Church is fearsome is because it teaches this destined parent-child relationship. (31-324, 1970.6.7)
In the Old Testament Age, they sacrificed material things to pave the way for the coming of the true son. Jesus came as the son and sacrificed himself to pave the way for the coming of the parents. The True Parents come on this level plane, and walk a suffering path in order to invite God in. To what position do they come? To the original, vertical place. Since the original, great principle of heaven and earth was cut off from that point, peace cannot begin as long as that fundamental root is not rectified. This is absolute. (200-55, 1990.2.23)
You should not think of Rev. Moon as being the same as you. What is Rev. Moon's mission? The Old Testament Age was the age when the things of creation were sacrificed to find the sons and daughters. In the New Testament Age, the sons and daughters were sacrificed to pave the way for the coming of the parents. What are the parents to do on this earth after they come? They are to pave the way for God to come. The mission of the True Parents is to build a horizontal base, encompassing all the people of the world, for the vertical Father. As the horizontal father's realm of heart unfolds, the vertical Father's realm of heart will naturally emerge and settle here.
When God reaches the point where He can embrace both vertical and horizontal love, He will finally make the transition to the age when He can go beyond the world into the central position and reorganize the original, ideal authority. Then He will say, "Everything is done." (177-345, 1988.5.22)
The methods for fallen people to go back to God have differed according to the age. In the Old Testament Age, people could go to God by offering sacrifices; in the New Testament Age, it was by believing in Jesus, the son of God; and in the Completed Testament Age, people can go to God by attending the True Parents. (20-340, 1968.7.20)
In the future, you will not be able to marry your sons and daughters with people of the same nationality. God is looking at three generations. Now, you are as you are, but God wants to bring you into unity after three generations. One of these represents the Old Testament Age. So your marriage represents the Old Testament Age. The New Testament Age and the Completed Testament Age come next. The tradition will be established by the third generation, who will be born through the marriages of the second generation -- your sons and daughters. (146-275, 1986.7.20)
In the Completed Testament Age, True Parents sacrifice in order to bring the vertical God to earth. This is the final task. In relation to humankind, God is the vertical Father who is centered on true love. True Parents are the horizontal parents who are horizontally aligned at a ninety degree angle with the vertical Father, based on true love. Therefore, on the basis of this vertical and horizontal love, God's love and life finally burst forth. With the blossoming harmony of God and humankind, new blood ties will expand based on the love of True Parents. In this way, the seed of life that began in God's love and based on the original Principle standard will appear on earth. This is unprecedented in human history. (208-339, 1990.11.21)
Now, we must restore the rights of ownership. Since, in the course of attending God, the things of creation were sacrificed in the Old Testament Age, the son was sacrificed in the New Testament Age, and the parents were sacrificed in the Completed Testament Age, what has to be done now? You should stand in the position representing the mother and father. The sons and daughters are the New Testament Age, and all things of creation are the Old Testament Age.
Because the Old Testament, New Testament, and Completed Testament ages have all deviated from God's true love, Satan has become the owner. Now, however, we must indemnify all this and bring everything to the original owner. (208-345, 1990.11.21)
The Completed Testament Age is the age of accomplishment. We will accomplish as individuals, families, tribes, peoples, nations, and on the worldwide level. These are linked through God's love, God's life, and God's lineage. This is the tradition of one lineage, one love, and one life.
When this happens, Satan will have to leave. The work of engrafting will remove the connection with the satanic lineage. (226-275, 1992.2.9)
Go Home to True Love Go to the Contents Page Go on to Section 5. God's First Manifestation. |
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Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon
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Book One - True God
Chapter Three - The History of the Providence of Restoration and Changes in Humankind's View of God
Section 5. God's First Manifestation
5.1. God finally reveals Himself
The age of the Unification Church is the age of the parents. We are paving the way whereby God can come and be present on earth. This is why it makes sense to say that by God's coming, we are saved through attending Him. This is how history progresses. 077-157, 1988.5.17)
What is it that will remain in the end? It is God and human beings, their life course, and their outlook on daily life -- the divine and human perspectives on life and the world. These perspectives will not be based on vague knowledge, but on an inseparable, eternal relationship. Why? Since God and humankind have been separated at the point where originally they could not be separated, they must reach a place higher than that point of inseparability. At such a point, they should come forward demanding a global stage for daily life where God and humankind are one. (65-125, 1972.11.5)
God is the center of the universe where we have to live for the sake of others. When you go near Him, you will want to be governed by Him for tens of thousands of years and even more. This is the path of attendance to God. We could not have imagined that human beings today could be governed in that way and that there could be no greater happiness than this. (77-328, 1975.4.30)
From now on, you should live a life of attendance. Up until now, a life of faith brought salvation through faith, but from now on you attain salvation through attendance. Originally, if we had not fallen, we would be following our normal path by attending God. You should attend Him in your daily life, and with your heart. (150-213, 1961.4.15)
God is the absolute Father, absolute True Parent, and the unique, unchanging and eternal True Father. Such a Father should bring about unique, unchanging, and eternal couples for the absolute sons. For such daughters, too, He should bring about absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal couples. So, the families in which they will settle peacefully are absolute, unique, unchanging, and eternal families. Such families can live together with God, and constitute the eternal base of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Justification through attendance signifies the age of realizing the Kingdom of Heaven in daily life. This is why we are talking about justification through attendance. The history of restoration is re-creating God's ideal of creation. (161-218, 1987.2.15)
Without creating a starting point from which we can bring God into our heart and where we human beings can be completely one body with God, there is no way to liquidate this devilish world. From this point of view, we understand our time as the age of attendance and the age of salvation based on justification through attendance. We are saved through attendance. God is not a God who is up there in the sky. We should attend God as our subject and Master in our daily life. (144-274, 1986.4.25)
God is not a fantasy or a conceptual God, nor is He an abstract God. With His leadership in our daily life, He is always with us as the master of our daily life. He does not merely receive our attendance, but is living together with us by sharing love. (168-111, 1987.9.13)
What was God's purpose in creating Adam and Eve? As human beings, we have a body, but the invisible God does not. Without a body, God cannot govern the spiritual and physical worlds. Hence, although God exists, if He wants to manifest as the Parent of humankind, He must acquire a body. God's representatives with that body were Adam and Eve. God would have appeared after assuming the body of Adam and Eve had they not fallen.
Adam and Eve were the first ancestors of humankind, and they were to be God who rules over heaven and earth. Assuming the external form, the body, of God who is in the eternal invisible world, and standing in the position of parents, Adam and Eve had the responsibility of governing the world. (133-91, 1984.7.10)
Since the invisible God has no substantial body, the True Parents represent His form. The True Parents are Parents of the individual, family, tribe, ethnic people, and nation. In the future, God will appear in the form of the True Parents in the spirit world. This is the greatness of the Unification Church. The greatness of Rev. Moon resides in the fact that God wants to assume Rev. Moon's form. (98-224, 1978.8.1)
Even if the hundreds of millions of people who have been parents were to come back to life all at once, none among them would have the glory of the True Parents whom you speak of today. Even if tens of thousands of generations of ancestors were all to resurrect and sing the glory of resurrection, this glory and song would still not transcend the domain of the Fall. Although your current situation may be miserable, you should know that the term "True Parents," taught in the Unification Church today, is a proud one and more valuable than hundreds of millions of ancestors rejoicing in a glorious place of earthly victory and liberation of all people. You should know that meeting the True Parents will lead you along the path to meet God, and meeting the Unification Church will lead you along the path whereby God's nation and the homeland desired by the True Parents can soon be found. (138-105, 1986.1.19)
The Completed Testament Age of justification through attendance is the age of directly attending God in our life. Since that is the time when God's tabernacle remains with us and the new Jerusalem in heaven comes down to earth, the form of the true God will finally appear to us then. This will happen for the first time since the creation of the world. Until now, God has not been able to appear in history, which has remained at an uncompleted stage since the Fall.
Go Home to True Love Go to the Contents Page Go on to Section 1. A God of Historical Bitterness, Grief and Pain. |
