You Rejected Jesus, Who Was Holy and Good

Acts 3

14 You rejected Jesus, who was holy and good. You asked for a murderer to be set free, 15 and you killed the one who leads people to life. But God raised him from death, and all of us can tell you what he has done. 16 You see this man, and you know him. He put his faith in the name of Jesus and was made strong. Faith in Jesus made this man completely well while everyone was watching.

Richard: Jesus did not come to die. God prepared the chosen people of Israel to receive Him. See the Divine Principle Study below.

Isaiah 60

I will bring bronze and iron
    in place of wood and stone;
in place of bronze and iron,
    I will bring gold and silver.
I will appoint peace and justice
    as your rulers and leaders.
18 Violence, destruction, and ruin
will never again
be heard of
    within your borders.
“Victory” will be the name
    you give to your walls;
“Praise” will be the name
    you give to your gates.

Richard: This is a prophecy that should have been fulfilled at the time of Jesus coming, if the chosen people of Israel had received Him.

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

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

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.

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.

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.  Christian parents continue to transmit the original sin to their children. The grace of redemption by the cross has neither fully uprooted our original sin nor perfectly restored our original nature.

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.  Next, let us examine from the viewpoint of God’s providence whether the crucifixion of Jesus was inevitable as the predestined Will of God.  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.

 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.

View slides 1 to 16 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content. For more detail, view the entire text: https://tparents.org/Library/Unification/Books/DP06/DP06-14.pdf .

2007p1-CHAPT-4-The-Messiah-_revised-4-28-2014

The New Truth Must Appear

Cheon Seong Gyeong 606

Where do you discover God’s supreme
love? Not in a palace. The way to occupy
the highest love of God is found at the
bottom of hell where you are bleeding
close to the point of collapse and about
to die. When I was in prison under the
communists, the spirit world testified to
me without my saying even one word.
That is why I had disciples who were
resolved to do anything for me at the risk
of their lives. Given that kind of support,
had I been a villain, I would have had
many ways to escape from prison. God
works with us in such situations. (91-175,
1977.2.6)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1934

We know from history that the
Americans established their nation
while migrating from east to west, giv-
ing birth to a new civilization. Then,
based on Hawaii, the United States
secured a beach-head from which to
influence the Pacific Ocean sphere. (79-72,
1975.6.1)
The reason that Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii is that she had
come to the conclusion that it would
be impossible to defend her position in
either China or Korea without strik-
ing the United States, which lay in the
background. You should be aware of
this. You should understand that Japan
struck Pearl Harbor in order to defend
her dominant position in Korea and
China. Historians in America have not
known this. I am certain about these
things. (111-313, 1981.3.9)

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

THE LAST DAYS

3.1 THE MEANING OF THE LAST DAYS
Human history has been the history 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 sov-
ereignty is transformed into the ideal world under God’s sovereignty.
Hell on earth will be transformed into the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
THE LAST DAYS AND THE PRESENT 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 cir-
cumstances the restoration of the three great blessings, which God has
purposed in His providence of restoration.
4.1 SIGNS OF THE RESTORATION OF THE FIRST BLESSING
The first blessing God gave to Adam and Eve was perfection of indi-
vidual character. 73 In the modern world.
First, we can observe that the spirituality of fallen people is being
restored. 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 free-
dom of the original mind. A third sign of the renewal of the first blessing is the restoration of
true human value. A fourth sign that the first blessing is being renewed in the present
age is the restoration of original, true love in fallen people.
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, soci-
ety and world where goodness reigns. 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 con-
clude with certainty that the present age is the Last Days.
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. Today we are at this very point of inter-
section, 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.
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 exter-
nal. Internal dominion denotes dominion of the 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, 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.

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.
God 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. 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 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.
5.2 OUR ATTITUDE IN THE LAST DAYS
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. 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. 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.
We who are alive today are living in the Last Days. We should cul-
tivate a humble heart and make the utmost effort to receive divine
inspiration through prayer. We should not be strongly attached to con-
ventional 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.

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2007p1-CHAPT-3-Escatology_revised-4-28-2014

Has Christ Been Divided Up?

1 Corinthians 10

10 My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don’t take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. 11 Several people from Chloe’s family[a] have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other. 12 They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter[b] or Christ.

13 Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name? 14 I thank God[c] that I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. 15 Not one of you can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 I did baptize the family[d] of Stephanas, but I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else. 17 Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the good news without using big words that would make the cross of Christ lose its power.

Richard: People of good will should focus on the commonality of the message of Christ at the Second Advent: follow your conscience centered on the Eight Sacred Textbooks and promote and spread the good news about the message of absolutely good sexual ethics and the Holy Wedding Blessing Ceremony.

Amos 9

If they escape to the peaks
of Mount Carmel,
    I’ll search and find them.
And if they hide from me
    at the bottom of the ocean,
I’ll command a sea monster
    to bite them.
I’ll send a sword to kill them,
wherever their enemies
    drag them off as captives.
I’m determined to hurt them,
    not to help them.”

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

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. 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.
THE COMPLETION OF GOD’S PURPOSE OF CREATION AND THE HUMAN FALL

1.1 THE COMPLETION OF GOD’S PURPOSE OF CREATION
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. Had Adam and Eve reached perfection, being thereafter insusceptible to sin, they would have borne good children and founded a sin less family and society in complete concordance with God’s blessings. They would have founded the Kingdom of Heaven, which consists of one great family with the same parents. God gave us the mandate to have dominion over all things. 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. God’s primary purpose of
creation is to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
1.2 CONSEQUENCES OF THE HUMAN FALL
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. We have not built the Kingdom of God, but instead established the sovereignty of Satan.

GOD’S WORK OF SALVATION

2.1 GOD’S WORK OF SALVATION IS THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION
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 pres-
ent 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 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.
2.2 THE GOAL OF THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION
What is the goal of the providence of restoration? It is the estab-
lishment of the Kingdom of Heaven, which in its totality is God’s good
object partner and the fulfillment of His purpose of creation.
2.3 HUMAN HISTORY IS THE HISTORY
OF 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.

View slides 1 to 20 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

2007p1-CHAPT-3-Escatology_revised-4-28-2014

There is No Freedom without Responsibility

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2106

You should not return home to live a
comfortable life alone. Upon your return
you should first organize the church.
Your sons and daughters should not be
objects of public scorn. They should not
be beggars relying on others for their
livelihood. You should assist them with
their living situations and teach them
the new tradition which was created by
shedding blood and sweat in order to
establish a foundation of truth and jus-
tice. Moreover, you will live only when
you invest yourself to save your clan and
they, in return, establish a foundation
for your settlement. Without inheritors
who are willing to sacrifice themselves,
the national foundation on which this
land of South Korea can remain as a
basis for the Kingdom of Heaven would
not exist. (177-163, 1988.5.17)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1554

The only ideology that should remain
is Godism, which provides us with the
absolute ideal of love and the realm of
heart for our brothers and sisters in all
nations. Only Godism and no other
should govern this world! Amen! (137-196,
1986.1.1)

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE HUMAN FALL

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. Adam and Eve while still immature, however, they
fell and formed a four position foundation centering on Satan. Con-
sequently, this world has come under Satan’s sovereignty.
4.2 SATAN’S ACTIVITIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY
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 vehi-
cles 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.
4.5 SIN
Sin is a violation of heavenly law which is committed when a per-
son 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. The second is hereditary sin. The third is collective sin. The fourth is individual sin.
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 prima-
ry characteristics of our fallen nature. The primary characteristics of the fallen nature can be divided
broadly into four types. The first is failing to take God’s standpoint. The second is leaving one’s proper position. The third is reversing dominion. The fourth is multiplying the criminal act.
FREEDOM AND THE HUMAN FALL
5.1 THE MEANING OF FREEDOM FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE PRINCIPLE
First, there is no freedom outside the Principle. Second, there is no freedom without responsibility. Third, there is no freedom without accomplishment. It cannot be that freedom caused the human Fall.
THE REASONS 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. Why, then, did God not intervene to prevent the Fall?
6.1 TO MAINTAIN THE ABSOLUTENESS AND PERFECTION
OF THE PRINCIPLE OF CREATION
6.2 THAT GOD ALONE BE THE CREATOR
6.3 TO MAKE HUMAN BEINGS THE LORDS OF CREATION

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2007p1-CHAPT-2-Fall-of-Man_revised-4-28-2014-1

No One Has Known the Root of Sin

Join us this Saturday, February 1st for a Divine Principle seminar: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/unification-principle-training .

Job 9

25 My life is speeding by,
    without a hope of happiness.
26 Each day passes swifter
than a sailing ship
    or an eagle swooping down.
27 Sometimes I try to be cheerful
    and to stop complaining,
28 but my sufferings frighten me,
because I know that God
    still considers me guilty.
29 So what’s the use of trying
    to prove my innocence?
30 Even if I washed myself
    with the strongest soap,
31 God would throw me into a pit
of stinking slime,
leaving me
    disgusting to my clothes.

Job 15

15 Eliphaz from Teman said:

Job, if you had any sense,
you would stop spreading
    all of this hot air.
Your words are enough
to make others turn from God
    and lead them to doubt.
And your sinful, scheming mind
    is the source of all you say.
I am not here as your judge;
your own words are witnesses
    against you.

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

The Fall of Man

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. This explanation of the human Fall will clarify
these issues.
THE ROOT OF SIN
No one has known the root of sin, which lies deep within and cease-
lessly 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.
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 knowl-
edge of good and evil. Many Christians to this day have thought that
this was the fruit of an actual tree. 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.
1.1.1 THE TREE OF LIFE
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.
1.1.2 THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
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.
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? We are left with the con-
clusion that the spiritual being represented by the serpent was originally
created with a good purpose, but later fell and became Satan. The serpent, which tempted human beings and
sinned, is an angel.
1.3 THE FALL OF THE ANGEL AND THE FALL OF HUMAN BEINGS
1.3.1 T HE C RIME 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 sur-
rounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnat-
ural 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 illic-
it sexual relationship.
1.3.2 T HE 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. Adam and Eve’s sexual parts were the source of their shame
because they were the instruments of their sinful deed.
1.3.3 THE ILLICIT SEXUAL ACT BETWEEN THE ANGEL AND THE HUMAN BEINGS
We can deduce that the illicit sexual relationship must have involved the angel and human beings.
1.4 THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
What does the fruit of this tree represent? It signifies the
love of Eve. Eve should have borne good
children through her godly love. Instead, she bore evil children through
her satanic love. 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.
1.5 THE ROOT OF SIN
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.
THE MOTIVATION AND PROCESS OF THE FALL
2.1 ANGELS , THEIR MISSIONS AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN BEINGS
Angels were created by God prior to any other creation. God created angels to be His retainers, who would assist Him in creating and sustaining the universe. in Hebrews angels are referred to as “ministering spirits.” The Bible often portrays angels honoring and praising
God. Let us investigate the relationship between human beings and angels
from the perspective of the Principle of Creation. Because God creat-
ed us as His children and gave us dominion over all creation, 37 we are
meant to rule over the angels as well.
2.2 T HE SPIRITUAL F ALL 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 dimen-
sions: 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.
2.2.1 T HE SPIRITUAL FALL
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 as the
channel of God’s love in the angelic world. This was why he seduced
Eve, and this was the motivation of the spiritual fall. Lucifer, who left his proper position due to his excessive desire, and Eve,
who wanted to open her eyes and become like God 44 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.
2.2.2 THE PHYSICAL FALL
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. 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.

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2007p1-CHAPT-2-Fall-of-Man_revised-4-28-2014-1