Nevertheless, When the Son of Man Comes, Will He Find Faith on Earth?
Important Note: One Daily Inspiration reader brought to my attention that there are problems with Paul’s viewpoint on marriage. On August 7, there was a scripture reading from 1 Corinthians 7:15-16. There, Paul says you can divorce your husband or wife if they are not a follower of the Lord and they ask for a divorce. This scripture was chosen “randomly” by opening the Bible, which is always how Stacey and I receive the daily scriptures. I took it as meaning don’t let dysfunctional, or co-dependent relationships of any kind, not just marital relationships pull you away from your conscience, or God. I do not recommend divorce as a solution for marital problems. Marriage is a commitment in front of God, and possibly barring violence or infidelity, that commitment should not be broken.
18 Those sinners are filthy foam on the surface of the water. And so, their fields and vineyards will fall under a curse and won’t produce. 19 Just as the heat of summer swallows the snow, the world of the dead swallows those who sin. 20 Forgotten here on earth, and with their power broken, they taste sweet to worms.
21 Sinners take advantage of widows and other helpless women. 22 But God’s mighty strength destroys those in power. Even if they seem successful, they are doomed to fail. 23 God may let them feel secure, but they are never out of his sight. 24 Great for a while; gone forever! Sinners are mowed down like weeds, then they wither and die. 25 If I haven’t spoken the truth, then prove me wrong.
Job 39
13 An ostrich proudly flaps her wings, but not because she loves her young. 14 She abandons her eggs and lets the dusty ground keep them warm. 15 And she doesn’t seem to worry that the feet of an animal could crush them all. 16 She treats her eggs as though they were not her own, unconcerned that her work might be for nothing. 17 I myself made her foolish and without common sense. 18 But once she starts running, she laughs at a rider on the fastest horse.
Eschatology and Messianic Hope
New Revelation
2. The Truth of the New Revelation Eclipses the Truths of Former Dispensations
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
People need religion in order to seek the Ultimate Reality and realize goodness in accordance with the inclination of the original mind. Thus, the purpose of every religion is identical. However, religions have appeared in different forms according to their various missions, the cultures in which they took root, and their particular historical periods. Their scriptures have taken different forms for similar reasons. All scriptures have the same purpose: to illuminate their surroundings with the light of truth. Yet when a brighter lamp is lit, the old lamp is outshone and its mission fades. Because religions lack the power to guide modern people out of the dark valley of death into the full radiance of life, there must emerge a new expression of truth that can radiate a new and brighter light. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Introduction)
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.” (Matt. 24.29) 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. 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. (John 1.9, 14) 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. (John 16.13)
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. (2 Cor. 3.7-11) Likewise, when Christ returns and gives the new truth in order to fulfill the New Testament Word and build a new heaven and new earth, (Rev. 21.1) 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.
Jesus asked, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18.8) On another occasion he said he would declare to devout believers, “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.” (Matt. 7.23) 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. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 3.2.5)
