Category: Eight Great Textbooks

The Third Try Must Be Victorious

John 16

21 When a woman is about to give birth, she is in great pain. But after it is all over, she forgets the pain and is happy, because she has brought a child into the world. 22 You are now very sad. But later I will see you, and you will be so happy that no one will be able to change the way you feel. 23 When that time comes, you won’t have to ask me about anything. I tell you for certain that the Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. 24 You have not asked for anything in this way before, but now you must ask in my name.[b] Then it will be given to you, so that you will be completely happy.

Eccliastes 5

18 What is the best thing to do in the short life that God has given us? I think we should enjoy eating, drinking, and working hard. This is what God intends for us to do. 19 Suppose you are very rich and able to enjoy everything you own. Then go ahead and enjoy working hard—this is God’s gift to you. 20 God will keep you so happy that you won’t have time to worry about each day.

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

3.1.2.2 ABRAHAM’S OFFERING OF ISAAC

 After Abraham failed in the symbolic offering, God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. In this way, God began a new dispensation for the purpose of restoring through indemnity Abraham’s failure. Why, then, did God work with Abraham again when he had him offer Isaac?

 We can advance three reasons. First, the number three represents completion. God’s Principle requires that when the providence to lay the foundation for the Messiah takes place for the third time, it must be brought to completion. Therefore, God’s providence to lay the foundation for the Messiah, which began in Adam’s family as the first dispensation and continued in Noah’s family as the second dispensation, had to conclude in Abraham’s family, which was the third dispensation.

 Second, as was explained earlier, when Abraham was making his sacrifice, he was in the position of Adam. Satan had attacked both Adam and his son Cain, defiling the family over the course of two generations. Hence, according to the principle of restoration through indemnity, God could work to take back Abraham and his son Isaac over the course of two generations.

Third when Abraham was called by God, he stood on the merit of both Abel, who succeeded in the symbolic offering at the formation stage, and Noah, who succeeded in the symbolic offering at the growth stage. Upon this double foundation, Abraham was to make the symbolic offering at the completion stage. Accordingly, even though Abraham failed, God could raise him up and give him another chance to make an offering based on the accumulated merit of Abel’s and Noah’s faithful hearts.

How did Abraham offer Isaac?

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” —Gen. 22:9-12

Abraham’s faith was absolute. In obedience to God’s command, he was about to kill Isaac, his only son, intending to offer him as a burnt offering. God intervened at that moment and told Abraham not to kill the boy. Abraham’s zeal to do God’s Will and his resolute actions, carried out with absolute faith, obedience and loyalty, lifted him up to the position of already having killed Isaac. Therefore, he completely separated Satan from Isaac. Because Abraham succeeded in his offering of Isaac, the providence of restoration in Abraham’s family could be carried on by Isaac.

3.1.2.3 ISAAC’S POSITION AND HIS SYMBOLIC OFFERING IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

When God saved Isaac from death, Abraham was also resurrected to life, now loosed from all the ties with which Satan had bound him when his symbolic offering was defiled. Furthermore, Abraham and Isaac attained inseparable oneness in their fidelity to God’s Will.

 In making the offering, Isaac and Abraham underwent a process of death and resurrection. As a result, two things were accomplished. First, Abraham succeeded in the separation of Satan, who had invaded him because of his mistake in the symbolic offering. He restored through indemnity the position he had occupied before he had made the mistake and transferred his providential mission to Isaac from this restored position. Second, by faithfully obeying God’s Will, Isaac inherited the divine mission from Abraham and demonstrated the faith which qualified him to make the symbolic offering. After the divine mission had passed from Abraham to Isaac, Abraham offered the ram provided by God as the substitute for Isaac. In fact, this was the symbolic offering by which Isaac restored the foundation of faith. Isaac, having inherited Abraham’s mission, made the symbolic offering and restored through indemnity the foundation of faith.

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2007p2-CHAPT-1-Adams-Family_revised-4-28-2014

Good and Evil Have to Be Divided

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1566

Now that the vertical and horizon-
tal eight-stage indemnity has all been
completed, the Ceremony of the Settle-
ment of the Eight Stages could be per-
formed on August 31, 1989, in Alaska,
the most northerly location in the West.
It is the northernmost place. On the first
day of September, I declared “the ideol-
ogy centered on the Heavenly Father”
at the same place. The ideology cen-
tered on the Heavenly Father is simul-
taneously the ideology of salvation by
love as well as the ideology of parental
love. This parent-centered ideology is all
about a life lived by giving love. Satan
cannot oppose anything based on love.
If he cannot oppose the path taken by
the Unification Church, we can rapidly
expand worldwide. (199-157, 1990.2.16)

Richard: There is nothing to hold us back. Will we take the batton and run the race?

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1398

I cannot even say anything to you
about this serious matter. If I told you
what I know, you would descend to the
depths of grief. I have had to reach my
present solitary position all by myself.
Who believed that we could accomplish
3.6 million couples? Kwak Chung-hwan!
He did not believe it. No one believed it.
I alone had faith that we could do it. Re-
creation takes place under the orders of
creation issued by God. Ezekiel was able
to bring to life thousands of people from
the valley of sand; from the valley of dry
bones, Ezekiel brought to life an exceed-
ingly great army. You must understand
that the Almighty God is with us. (288-161,
1997.11.27)

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

THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION IN ABRAHAM’S FAMILY

Abraham had to restore through indemnity the foundation of faith, and his sons had to restore through indemnity the foundation of substance.

3.1 THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

3.1.1 THE CENTRAL FIGURE FOR THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

 In the providence of restoration in Abraham’s family, the central figure to restore the foundation of faith was Abraham. However, Abraham could not inherit this mission unless he first restored through indemnity all the conditions which had been given to Noah to fulfill, but which were lost to Satan due to Ham’s sin.

Abraham was to inherit the mission of Noah and thus the mission of Adam. In this capacity, he represented restored Adam. As God had blessed Adam and Noah, God also blessed Abraham:

I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves. —Gen. 12:2-3

3.1.2 THE OBJECTS FOR THE CONDITION OFFERED FOR THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

3.1.2.1 ABRAHAM’S SYMBOLIC OFFERING

 God commanded Abraham to offer a dove and a pigeon, a ram and a goat, and a heifer.48 These were the objects for the condition which he offered to restore the foundation of faith. What was the significance of Abraham’s symbolic offering? Abraham was required to offer in an acceptable manner objects for the condition to restore all that Cain and Abel were supposed to accomplish through their sacrifices, and all that Noah’s family was trying to accomplish through the dispensation of the ark.

Abraham offered three types of objects as the condition for his symbolic offering: first, a dove and a pigeon; second, a ram and a goat; and third, a heifer. These three sacrifices symbolized the cosmos, which was completed through the three stages of the growing period. The dove represented the formation stage. The ram represented the growth stage. The heifer represented the completion stage.

 Why did Abraham place the three sacrifices—the dove and pigeon, the ram and goat, and the heifer, symbolizing the formation, growth and completion stages—on one altar? Before the Fall, Adam was responsible to grow through all three stages in his one lifetime. Similarly, Abraham, now in the position of Adam, was supposed to restore, all at once, the long providence which God had conducted through the three providential generations of Adam (formation), Noah (growth) and Abraham (completion). Now let us study how Abraham made the symbolic offering: He said to him,

“Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years.” —Gen. 15:9-13

When Abraham offered the birds without first dividing them, it meant that he offered what had not been wrested from Satan’s possession. His mistake had the effect of acknowledging Satan’s claim of possession over them. Abraham’s mistake in making the symbolic offering caused the offering to be defiled. All the conditions God intended to restore through it were lost. As a consequence, Abraham’s descendants had to suffer oppression and slavery for four hundred years in the land of Egypt.

 Abraham failed, repeating the mistakes of the past. Consequently, the providence centered on him was prolonged through the three generations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

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2007p2-CHAPT-1-Adams-Family_revised-4-28-2014

Obey Teachings of Your Parents

Leviticus 23

23 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the community of Israel:

I have chosen certain times for you to come together and worship me.

3 You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for worship. This law will never change.

Proverbs 1

My child, obey the teachings
    of your parents,
9 and wear their teachings
as you would a lovely hat
    or a pretty necklace.
10 Don’t be tempted by sinners
    or listen 11 when they say,
“Come on! Let’s gang up
and kill somebody,

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

THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION IN NOAH’S FAMILY

God had predestined absolutely the fulfillment of the purpose of creation, and His Will remained unchangeable. Hence, upon the foundation of the loyal heart which Abel demonstrated toward Heaven, God chose Seth in his place.21From among Seth’s descendants, God chose Noah’s family to substitute for Adam’s family and commenced a new chapter in His providence.

Noah’s family was responsible to fulfill the indemnity condition to restore the foundation of faith, and then the indemnity condition to restore the foundation of substance. They were to restore through indemnity the foundation for the Messiah, which Adam’s family had failed to lay.

2.1 THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

2.1.1 THE CENTRAL FIGURE FOR THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

In the providence of restoration through Noah’s family, Noah wasthe central figure to restore the foundation of faith. God called Noah ten generations or sixteen hundred biblical years after Adam for the pur-pose of fulfilling the Will which He had intended to realize through Adam. Noah was the second ancestor of humanity.

Noah was called when “the earth was filled with violence.” Enduring all kinds of derision and mockery, he worked for 120 years on a mountain to build the ark in absolute obedience to God’s instruc-tions. Upon this condition of faith, God could bring on the flood judg-ment centered on Noah’s family.

He was called by God upon the foundation of Abel’s loyal and faithful heart in making an acceptable symbolic offering. In regard to his lineage, Noah was a descendant of Seth, who had been chosen to replace Abel. Furthermore, Noah was a righteous man in the sight of God. For these reasons, he was qualified to make the symbolic offering to God by building the ark.

2.1.2 THE OBJECT FOR THE CONDITION IN RESTORING THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

The object for the condition by which Noah was to restore the foun-dation of faith was the ark.

Before Noah could stand in place of Adam as the second human ances-tor, he first had to make an indemnity condition for the restoration of the cosmos, which had been lost to Satan due to Adam’s fall. Hence, the object for this condition, which Noah had to offer in an acceptable manner, should symbolize the new cosmos. He offered the ark as this object.

After the ark was completed, God judged the world with the flood for forty days. What was the purpose of the flood? God brought about the flood judgment, eliminating sinful humanity in order to raise up a family who would relate only with Him.

2.2 THE FOUNDATION OF SUBSTANCE

Noah successfully restored through indemnity the foundation of faith by fulfilling the dispensation of the ark and thereby making a symbolic offering acceptable to God. Upon this foundation,Noah’s sons, Shem and Ham, were then to have stood in the position of Cain and Abel, respectively. Had they then succeeded in the substantial offering by fulfilling the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature,they would have laid the foundation of substance.

Ham,Noah’s second son, was supposed to become the central figure of the substantial offering, just as Abel was the central figure of his family’s substantial offering. In the case of Noah’s family, it was Noah, not Ham, who made the symbolic offering. Therefore, for Ham to stand in the position of Abel, as one who has succeeded in making the symbolic offering, he had to become inseparably one in heart with his father, Noah.

The Bible reports that when Ham saw his father lying naked in histent, he felt ashamed of Noah and took offense. Ham stirred up thesame feelings in his brothers, Shem and Japheth. Adam and Eve after they fell, they felt ashamed of heir nakedness. They covered their lower parts with fig leaves and hid among the trees of the garden, fearing that God would see them

When Ham felt ashamed of his father’s nakedness and acted to cover it up, he made a condition for Satan to enter; hence his feeling and act constituted a sin. Consequently, Ham could not restore through indemnity the position of Abel from which to make the substantial offering. Since he could not establish the foundation of substance, the providence of restoration in Noah’s family ended in failure.

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2007p2-CHAPT-1-Adams-Family_revised-4-28-2014

God Has Absolute Respect for the Human Portion of Responsibility

Cheon Seong Gyeong 615

There is a gate in your mind and it is called the mind’s gate. It does not open in just one direction. Since your mind rotates, the gate moves as well. Without going through such a gate, you as a minus cannot establish a relationship with the plus. Everyone has that kind of mind’s gate. When you pray, you get a different feeling depending on the time of your prayer. Prayer at one o’clock is different from prayer at three o’clock. You will understand this when you experience it. If you pray in a deep and mysterious state, you will know that your prayer will be different depending on when you pray. It will feel different. What you feel in the morning, at noon, in the early evening, and at night are all different.

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1510

Because God is at the center of the family, this world should be His Kingdom. The Blessed Families should strive to lead a life that works toward building His Kingdom. A God-centered tribe, nation and world are established when we live for the sake of others on His behalf, so Blessed Families should be responsible for creating a God-centered world. The Unification Church centered upon the True Parents is like a tribe and race. The purpose of our church is to form a heavenly nation composed of five races in unity, which can live more for the sake of the world than anyone else. This is my purpose and it is God’s purpose that He desires to accomplish through me. (Blessed Family – 947)

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

1.3 THE FOUNDATION FOR THE MESSIAH IN ADAM’S FAMILY

The foundation for the Messiah is established by first restoring through indemnity the foundation of faith and then establishing the foundation of substance. With regard to their requisite sacrifices, the foundation of faith is restored by making an acceptable symbolic offering, and the foundation of substance is established by making an acceptable substantial offering.

One purpose for making the symbolic offering of all things is to enable all things to stand as God’s actual object partners in symbol. It fulfills an indemnity condition for the restoration of the natural world to its original relationship with God. The second purpose for making the symbolic offering is thus to fulfill an indemnity condition for the symbolic restoration of human beings.

The substantial offering means fulfilling the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature. This is essential for the actual restoration of human beings. The substantial offering is carried out when a person in Cain’s position honors the person in Abel’s position and sets him above himself as an offering. Through this, they fulfill the indemnity condition to be restored as good children. At the same time, it is also reckoned as the indemnity condition for the restoration of their parents. In this manner, the substantial offering can meet God’s expectation.

When Abel made his sacrifice in a manner acceptable to God, he fulfilled the indemnity condition to restore Adam’s foundation of faith and firmly secured his position as the central figure of the substantial offering. However, when Cain murdered Abel, they re-enacted the Fall, in which the Archangel murdered Eve spiritually. Needless to say, they did not fulfill the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature and failed to make the substantial offering. Hence, neither the foundation of substance nor the foundation for the Messiah could be established. God’s providence of restoration in Adam’s family came to naught.

1.4 SOME LESSONS FROM ADAM’S FAMILY

The failure of God’s providence of restoration in Adam’s family teaches us something about God’s conditional predestination of the accomplishment of His Will and His absolute respect for the human portion of responsibility.

Second, even after Cain killed Abel, God began a new chapter of His providence by raising Seth in Abel’s place. This shows us that God has absolutely predestined that His Will shall one day be fulfilled, even though His predestination concerning individual human beings is conditional.

Third, through the offerings of Cain and Abel, God teaches us that fallen people must constantly seek for an Abel-type person. By honoring, obeying and following him, we can accomplish God’s Will even without understanding every aspect of it

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2007p2-CHAPT-1-Adams-Family_revised-4-28-2014

To Remove the Fallen Nature, We Must Reverse the Course of the Fall

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1 Samuel 2

22 Eli was now very old, and he heard what his sons were doing to the people of Israel.[f] 23-24 “Why are you doing these awful things?” he asked them. “I’ve been hearing nothing but complaints about you from all of the Lord’s people. 25 If you harm another person, God can help make things right between the two of you. But if you commit a crime against the Lord, no one can help you!”

But the Lord had already decided to kill them. So he kept them from listening to their father.

Job 21

14 Those who are evil say
    to God All-Powerful,
“Leave us alone! Don’t bother us
    with your teachings.
15 What do we gain from praying
    and worshiping you?
16 We succeeded all on our own.”
And so, I keep away from them
    and their evil schemes.

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

Part 2 Chapter 1

The Providence to Lay the Foundation for Restoration

THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION IN ADAM’S FAMILY

 For the providence of restoration to be accomplished in Adam’s family, the members of his family had to make certain conditions of indemnity to restore the foundation of faith and the foundation of substance. On these two foundations, the foundation for the Messiah was to have been established, and the Messiah could have come to Adam’s family.

1.1 THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

 To restore through indemnity the foundation of faith, fallen people must set up an object for the condition. For Adam’s family, this object was a sacrificial offering. To restore the foundation of faith, there must also be a central figure. Yet nowhere in the biblical record do we find Adam offering a sacrifice. Instead, his sons Cain and Abel offered them. What was the reason for this? In line with the Principle God gave Adam two sons, representing good and evil, and set them in positions where each dealt with only one master, God or Satan. After setting up this arrangement, God had the two sons offer sacrifices separately.

 Since Cain was the first fruit of Eve’s love, signifying Eve’s first fallen act of love with the Archangel, he was chosen to represent evil. Therefore, he was in a position to relate with Satan. Since Abel was the second fruit of Eve’s love, signifying Eve’s second fallen act of love with Adam, he was chosen to represent goodness. Therefore, he was in a position to relate with God. God received Abel’s sacrifice because he stood in a proper relationship with God. Also, he made the offering in an acceptable manner—through faith and in line with God’s will. In this way, Abel successfully laid the foundation of faith in Adam’s family.

1.2 THE FOUNDATION OF SUBSTANCE

 Had Cain fulfilled the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature, God would have gladly accepted his sacrifice. The foundation of substance would then have been laid in Adam’s family. To remove the fallen nature, a person must make an indemnity condition in accordance with the Principle of Restoration through Indemnity, by taking a course which reverses the process through which human beings initially acquired the fallen nature. The Archangel fell because he did not love Adam; rather, he envied Adam, who was receiving more love from God than he. This was the cause of the first primary characteristic of the fallen nature: failing to take God’s standpoint. To remove this characteristic of the fallen nature, Cain, who stood in the Archangel’s position, should have taken God’s standpoint by loving Abel, who stood in Adam’s position.

 The Archangel fell because he did not respect Adam as God’s mediator and did not receive God’s love through him; rather, he attempted to seize Adam’s position. This was the cause of the second primary characteristic of the fallen nature: leaving one’s proper position. To remove this characteristic of the fallen nature, Cain, who stood in the Archangel’s position, should have received God’s love through Abel, who stood in Adam’s position, respecting him as God’s mediator. In this way, Cain should have maintained his proper position.

 The Archangel fell when he claimed dominion over Eve and Adam, who were his rightful lords. This was the cause of the third primary characteristic of the fallen nature: reversing dominion. To remove this characteristic of the fallen nature, Cain, who stood in the Archangel’s position, should have obediently submitted to Abel, who stood in Adam’s position. By accepting Abel’s dominion, Cain should have rectified the order of dominion. The Archangel conveyed to Eve his evil will that it was permissible to eat of the fruit. Eve in turn conveyed this evil will to Adam and led him to fall. This was the cause of the fourth primary characteristic of the fallen nature: multiplying evil. To remove this characteristic of the fallen nature, Cain, who stood in the Archangel’s position, should have been receptive to the intentions of Abel, who stood closer to God, and learned God’s Will from him. Thus, Cain should have made a foundation to multiply goodness. Instead, Cain killed Abel. In murdering Abel, Cain repeated the sin of the Archangel. That is, he re-enacted the very process which had given rise to the primary characteristics of the fallen nature. Adam’s family thus failed to lay the foundation of substance. Consequently, God’s providence of restoration through Adam’s family could not be fulfilled.

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