Category: Cheon Seong Gyeong

Calvin Wrongly Believed that the Accomplishment of God’s Will depends solely on the Power and Work of God

Cheon Seong Gyeong 579

One day we will go to the spirit world.
There is no doubt about that. People vis-
iting Korea land at Gimpo Airport, but
that does not mean they have traveled in
Korea. From Gimpo Airport, where do
we go? Do we go to South Jeolla Prov-
ince or South Gyeongsang Province or
Pyeong-an Province? From Pyeong-an
Province, where do we go? To a coun-
ty. From there, where next? A township.
What is next? A village. From there, we
must go to a neighborhood. This is not
easy. If people cannot determine their
dwelling place, what is the value of suc-
cess in social life? That is a problem.
If God orders me to come, even
tomorrow night, no matter how great
I may be today, I have no choice but to
go. However loudly I might protest, I
would have to go. I will go while pro-
testing loudly, but only after speaking
the right words. I must present the way
that the nation and the world must go.
It will be my death if I fail to do so. (177-
41, 1988.5.15)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1231

Until now, who has completed the
payment of indemnity for the portion of
responsibility? Can you pay that indem-
nity with money? Can you pay it by sell-
ing your house and your country? Then
what should you do? There is nothing
you can do. You can only be absolutely
obedient. You must be absolutely obe-
dient until you are in your twenties.
Adam and Eve insisted on their own
way. They had a sexual encounter, thus
falling before they reached the age of
twenty. Until you reach your twenties,
you must be absolutely obedient. Before
you reach twenty, you must obey. There-
fore children are absolutely obedient.
They are, even if you do not teach them
to be like that. They know that if they
do not become one with their parents,
they will go to ruin. You will go to ruin
if you do not become one with God. (133-
136, 1984.7.10)

Exposition of the Divine Principle
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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.  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.

 Let us next examine God’s predestination of central figures in the providence of restoration. Yet, as was the case with God’s creation, His providence of salvation—a work of recreation—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.

ELUCIDATION OF BIBLICAL VERSES WHICH SUPPORT THE DOCTRINE OF ABSOLUTE PREDESTINATION

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

Then He calls upon them to fulfill the purpose of the providence. Calling a 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.

 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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2007p1-CHAPT-6-Predestination_revised-4-28-2014

Spirits Who Could Not Complete Their Mission Must Return to People on Earth

Cheon Seong Gyeong 255

Since we have transcended the world,
white people and black people should be
brothers and sisters. This is to realize the
brotherhood realm of humankind, the
realm of Adam and Eve, which has noth-
ing to do with the Fall. Then, what is the
basic philosophy to establish that tradi-
tion? Everything will work out if we live
for the sake of others. From here, your
sons and daughters will grow up without
suffering in this kind of environment.
They will become descendants who can
go straight to the heavenly nation with
actual accomplishments that surpass the
satanic world and can directly connect
with heaven. Next, these brothers and
sisters will marry one another. For us,
marriage transcends nations. We have
the mind-set that we can marry a black
person if told to do so, marry a white
person if recommended to do so, and
marry a yellow person if recommend-
ed to do so. Such a tradition should be
established from now. This has not yet
been established. We should create one-
ness from now on. So you must guide
your descendants and the world with
this. The two must become one. When
you become one you should not bear evil
children. To bear children of goodness,
the husband and wife should be com-
pletely one. Without becoming one, no
children of goodness will come out. Thus,
they should become completely one cen-
tering on God’s will. (71-19, 1974.3.24)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 136

The parent of humankind came,
but the people could not attend him as
their parent. Could there be such a par-
ent who came to shed blood and die for
them? That parent came to host a festival
of love at which he could say, “My son!
My daughter! My family! My nation!”
and the entire universe could reconcile.
That parent who was to receive praise
for that day of peace and glory should
have met his lost children. Yet instead
he was killed with the thrust of a blade
from those children. Think about how
miserable Jesus was. How grieved God
was to be choked in circumstances that
prevented Him from teaching ignorant
human beings! (145-152, 1986.5.1)

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

Chapter 6
Resurrection

2.4 THE THEORY OF REINCARNATION EXAMINED IN LIGHT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF RETURNING RESURRECTION

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.

THE UNIFICATION OF RELIGIONS THROUGH RETURNING RESURRECTION

3.1 THE UNIFICATION OF CHRISTIANITY THROUGH RETURNING RESURRECTION

 All the spirits will descend from Paradise in that day and assist the believers on the earth. 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

 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.

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.

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Resurrection Occurs through Repentance on Earth

Cheon Seong Gyeong 678

On February 1, 1985 at 3 a.m., Moth-
er and I established this condition
through special prayer. Thenceforth, all
the barriers of hell crumbled, so whoev-
er makes effort on that foundation can
rise up to the heavenly world. Also, if
there are good spirits among your rela-
tives in the spirit world, they will come
to you, educate you and even take you
with them to the heavenly world. Their
role as the Savior in the spirit world has
begun. The mission of the Savior lay not
in the spirit world, but has been limit-
ed to the earth, yet now, by paving this
way, the good spirits in the other world
can educate the evil spirits in hell. While
the good ancestors play the role of the
Savior, a way has been opened allowing
them to develop and ascend to the heav-
enly world. (136-183, 1985.12.22)

Richard: Your good ancestors can guide you, if you are willing to listen and be open to God’s guidance.

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1350

Just as the Israelites set out from
Egypt for Canaan, the 430 Couples sig-
nify that we too have set out to restore
the world, which is our Canaan. Where-
as they set out in the 430th year of their
captivity in Egypt, we have settled on
the number 43, representing 4,300 years.
We are moving forward from this point.
In doing so, we are not working individ-
ually but in family units. We must move
forward with our families. You should
understand this. The unit is no longer
the individual; it is the family. Thus, you
should not abandon your families and
move forward alone. Furthermore, the
central person in the position of Moses
should not abandon the Israelites. He
must lead them all out of Egypt into
Canaan. If one of them happens to be in
prison, he should help that person to get
out so he can come with the others.

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

Chapter 6
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.  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.

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.” 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.

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. 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. 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.

1.3 THE MEANING OF RESURRECTION

 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.

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.

The changes a person experiences when he is resurrected and enters the governance of God take place in his heart and spirit. Having been liberated from Satan’s dominion, a resurrected person can unite with God in heart and acquire a divine nature. These internal changes also purify his body, transforming it from a haunt of Satan into a temple of God.

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What Would Have Happened if Jesus Had Not Been Crucified?

Cheon Seong Gyeong 311

A life lived for love is a productive
and fruitful one, and a life lived with-
out knowing love leads to exhaustion
and destruction. God, humankind, and
even the universe desire to live for the
sake of love. This is the original way of
life. (Blessed Family – 1062)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1165

In the first chapter of the Gospel of
Matthew, four great women who had
illicit relationships: Tamar, Bathsheba,
Rahab and Ruth, are listed in the gene-
alogy of Jesus. This gospel is the equiva-
lent of Genesis, but the question is, why
do the first pages of the New Testament
focus on these women, who are stained
and impure? Without understanding
the Principle view of the Fall, there is no
way to understand this. It has remained
a mystery. By searching throughout my
life, however, I have been able to answer
these questions for the first time. (211-137,
1990.12.30)

Exposition of the Divine Principle
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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.  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.

 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. Therefore, to uproot the original sin, which he could not remove through the crucifixion, and to complete the work of physical salvation, Christ 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? As Isaiah prophesied24 and as the angel announced to Mary, 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.

Human beings have their own portion of responsibility. 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.

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.” 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. 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.

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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
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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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