Category: New Testament

Resurrection Is the Process of Being Restored


The Richard Urban Show
#91-Seth Rich Murder and Cover-Up-New Evidence

Luke 3

7 Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, “You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? 8 Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don’t start saying that you belong to Abraham’s family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham.9 An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

Isaiah 47

47 City of Babylon,
You are delicate
    and untouched,
    but that will change.
Surrender your royal power
    and sit in the dirt.
2 Start grinding grain!
    Take off your veil.
Strip off your fancy clothes
    and cross over rivers.
3 You will suffer the shame
    of going naked,
because I will take revenge,
    and no one can escape.
4 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the holy God of Israel.
    I am their Savior.

Rebirth

2. Rebirth Requires Cutting Off the Old Self

All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
    Romans 8.14-17
 
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and puts off the natural man and becomes a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becomes as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord sees fit to inflict upon him, even as a child submits to his father.
    Book of Mormon, Mosiah 3.19 (Latter-day Saints)
 
These same people, though wrapped in all these veils of limitation, and despite the restraint of such observances, as soon as they drank the immortal draught of faith, from the cup of certitude, at the hand of the Manifestation of the All-glorious, were so transformed that they would renounce for his sake their kindred, their substance, their lives, their beliefs, yea, all else save God! So over-powering was their yearning for God, so uplifting their transports of ecstatic delight, that the world and all that is therein faded before their eyes into nothingness. Have not this people exemplified the mysteries of rebirth?
    Book of Certitude 155 (Baha’i Faith)
 
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
 
 
We cannot be born again unless we deny our fallen selves. (244:100, January 31, 1993)
 
Christianity teaches that we cannot be saved unless we receive the Holy Spirit. We come before God when the Holy Spirit visits us and connects us with the Savior. The Holy Spirit comes to bring us to Heaven, to the God of goodness. But before we can receive it, first we must repent. (99:75, September 1, 1978)
 
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.   (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 1.3)
 
Father! Because we were born from evil,
we must be born again to goodness.
The destiny of having to be born twice is a very miserable one.
Isn’t living as a stepchild very regrettable even in the world?
Yet we are not even at the level of stepchildren;
having been born as children of the enemy we must find our Original Parents,
but the path is never a smooth one.
Therefore, we receive countless attacks from Satan’s spears, swords and arrows.
We must cut the ties that bind our bodies and go forth.
We must confront the people that bind us and cut their ties,
whether with our teeth or with our strength. (27:161, December 7, 1969)

Rebirth Transforms a Worldly Person Into a Child of God

The Richard Urban Show
#91-Seth Rich Murder and Cover-Up-New Evidence

John 20

20 On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran to Simon Peter and to Jesus’ favorite disciple and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him.”

Richard: The disciples were struck with uncertainty, as Jesus’ body had apparently disappeared. We, also, are in a time of uncertainty. Yet, we can be sure that God is working. We should strive to understand God’s Word and fulfill our own portion of responsibility.

2 Kings 23

31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem only three months. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32 Jehoahaz disobeyed the Lord, just as some of his ancestors had done.

33 King Neco of Egypt had Jehoahaz arrested and put in prison at Riblah near Hamath. Then he forced the people of Judah to pay him almost four tons of silver and about seventy-five pounds of gold as taxes. 34 Neco appointed Josiah’s son Eliakim king of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz as a prisoner to Egypt, where he died.

35 Jehoiakim forced the people of Judah to pay higher taxes, so he could give Neco the silver and gold he demanded.

Richard: This sounds similar to our current situation. We have a false President who is closely connected to foreign powers (China) and is doing many damaging things to our nation. On the other hand, it is a time to know, love and serve our neighbors and work locally to build God’s Kingdom, as in many ways we have been far away from God’s ideal. This ministry is known as Home Church.

Rebirth

Jesus said, You must be born anew.” Rebirth in Christ transforms a worldly person into a child of God. He or she now experiences an intimacy with God and has the indwelling spirit of Christ. The reason why people must be born a second time, according to Father Moon, lies in the human Fall. The Fall’s negative effects, experienced in every generation, derives from its corruption of the lineage of the human race at its root. through the fall, Satan was able to usurp God and occupy the position of humanity’s false father. To break the devil’s persistent hold over human life, we must be born again as children of God. For this purpose, God sent the Messiah, a man without sin, representing the Father, and the holy spirit, representing the Mother. Out of their love we can be born anew.
In eastern religions, to enter the path of the spiritual aspirant is often understood as a second, spiritual birth. In Hinduism and Buddhism, people become “twice-born” by receiving religious instruction. their biological parents brought them forth into a world of the senses, but after their second, spiritual, Birth their life is now grounded in the Dharma. Father Moon, however, treats rebirth as a specifically Christian doctrine, one that applies strictly to the work of the Messiah to sever us from the lineage of sin. He would regard the broader concept of spiritual conversion through instruction in religious truth under the concept of resurrection.
Father Moon also speaks of the conditions to be made in order to receive rebirth: repentance and renouncing worldly ways. Thus, he also likens the process of rebirth to engrafting: before attaching the new shoot, first the arborist cuts off the old branches; likewise we must deny ourselves and cut off everything false. then we receive the new shoot containing the life and love of God. If the tree is properly pruned, that new shoot will produce new fruit and propagate God’s lineage. Thus, although rebirth is a gift from above, it requires responsibility and dedication on the part of its recipients.

1. Born Anew as God’s Sons and Daughters

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.39 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, ‘You must be born anew.’”
    John 3.1-7

To all who received him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.
    John 1.12-13

He from whom the pupil gathers the knowledge of his religious duties is called the teacher. Him he should never offend. For he causes the pupil to be born a second time by imparting to him sacred learning. The second birth is the best; the father and the mother produce the body only.
    Apastamba Dharma Sutra 1.1 (Hinduism)

Monks, I [Buddha] am a brahmin, one to ask a favor of, ever clean-handed, wearing my last body, incomparable physician and surgeon. You are my own true sons, born of my mouth, born into the doctrine, created in the doctrine, heirs to the doctrine, not carnal heirs.
   Itivuttaka 101 (Buddhism)

You Who Believe; Remember the Grace of God on You

Luke 9

14 There were about five thousand men in the crowd.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Have the people sit in groups of fifty.” 15 They did this, and all the people sat down. 16 Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people.

17 Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled twelve baskets.

1 Kings 22

48 Jehoshaphat had seagoing ships built to sail to Ophir for gold. But they were wrecked at Ezion-Geber and never sailed. 49 Ahaziah son of Ahab offered to let his sailors go with Jehoshaphat’s sailors, but Jehoshaphat refused.

50 Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.

51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat’s rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria.

52 Ahaziah disobeyed the Lord, just as his father, his mother, and Jeroboam had done. They all led Israel to sin. 53 Ahaziah worshiped Baal and made the Lord God of Israel very angry, just as his father had done.

Richard: Jehoshaphat obeyed God, while Ahaziah did not. The main battle is not right vs left, but God vs no God.

Help and Deliverance

2. Deliverance from Danger and Death

O you who believe! Remember the grace of God on you, when there came down on you hosts; but We sent against them a hurricane and forces you could not see: but God sees clearly all that you do. Behold! They came on you from above you and from below you, and behold, the eyes became dim and the hearts gaped up to the throats, and you imagined various vain thoughts about God! In that situation were the believers tried; they were shaken as by a tremendous shaking…
    And God turned back the unbelievers, for all their fury; no advantage did they gain; and enough is God for the believers in their fight. And God is full of Strength, Able to enforce His will.29
    Qur’an 33.9-11, 25

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord :
I will sing to the Lord , for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
The Lord is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea;
and his picked officers are sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods cover them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord , glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord , shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send forth your fury, it consumes them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, “I will pursue,
I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil,
my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword,
my hand shall destroy them.”
You blew them away with your wind,
the sea covered them;
they sank as lead
in the mighty waters.

Who is like thee, O Lord , among the gods?
Who is like thee, majestic in holiness,
terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
Exodus 15.1-11

They threw them [Paul and Silas] into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s fetters were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?”
    Acts 16.23-30

Arms pinioned, was I thrown down in a heap.
The elephant violently was goaded in the head.
The elephant ran away trumpeting,
Declaring, “To this prostrate figure am I a sacrifice;
Lord, in you alone lies my strength.”
The Kazi urged the mahout to goad on the elephant,
Threatening, “Mahout! I shall cut you to pieces!
Goad and drive the elephant!”
But the elephant, meditating on God, would not move:
In his heart was lodged the Lord.
The people queried, “What offense has this
holy man committed,
That in bonds he is thrown to be trampled by an elephant?”
The elephant bowed again and again to the heap before it.
The benighted Kazi did not realize this;
Three times he ordered this trial
But his hard heart still was not softened.
Says Kabir, The Lord is my guardian.
In absorption in Him lies His servant’s life.
    Adi Granth, Gaund, Kabir, p. 870 (Sikhism)

World-honored Lord and Perfect One,
I pray thee now declare
Wherefore this holy Bodhisat
Is known as Kuan Shih Yin [Hearer of the Cries of the World]?
To this the Perfect One replied
By uttering this song:
The echoes of her holy deeds
Resound throughout the world.
So vast and deep the vows she made
When, after countless eons
Of serving hosts of Perfect Ones,
She voiced her pure desire
[To liberate afflicted beings].
Now hearken to what came of it—
To hear her name or see her form,
Or fervently recite her name
Delivers beings from every woe.
Were you with murderous intent
Thrust within a fiery furnace,
One thought of Kuan Yin’s saving power
Would turn those flames to water!
Were you adrift upon the sea
With dragon-fish and fiends around you,
One thought of Kuan Yin’s saving power
Would spare you from the hungry waves…
Were you amidst a band of thieves,
Their cruel knives now raised to slay,
One thought of Kuan Yin’s saving power
And pity must restrain their blows.
Suppose the king now wroth with you,
The headsman’s sword upraised to strike,
One thought of Kuan Yin’s saving power
Would dash the sword to pieces.
Were you close pent by prison walls,
Your wrists and ankles bound by chains,
One thought of Kuan Yin’s saving power
Would instantly procure release…
True Kuan Yin! Pure Kuan Yin!
Immeasurably wise Kuan Yin!
Merciful and filled with pity,
Ever longed-for and revered!
O Radiance spotless and effulgent!
O night-dispelling Sun of Wisdom!
O Vanquisher of storm and flame!
Your glory fills the world!
    Lotus Sutra 25 (Buddhism)

The Lord is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want

Mark15

14 Pilate asked, “But what crime has he done?”

“Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.

15 Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.

Richard: Pilate wanted to please the crowd. This is the 40th day since the false “inauguration” of Joe Biden. Ultimately, President Trump did not want the heaped coals of criticism from the fake media and being blamed for riots, etc. that no doubt would occur. That was probably the dynamic of the false flag Capitol “riot” on January 6th ; to dissuade President Trump from taking decisive action, such as seizing voting machines for audit or other decisive actions. So President Trump did not take action as he should have to prevent the false election and inauguration from moving forward, in my estimation.
None the less, God can work based on the faith and conditions of indemnity set by his children. (See slide 16 and on, here for an explanation of indemnity)

Nehemiah 3

30 Hananiah and Hanun rebuilt the next section, which was the second section[i] for them.

Meshullam son of Berechiah rebuilt the next section, which happened to be in front of his house.

31 Malchijah, a goldsmith, rebuilt the next section, as far as the house used by the temple workers and merchants. This area was across from Gathering Gate, near the room on top of the wall at the northeast corner.

32 The goldsmiths and merchants rebuilt the last section of the wall, which went from the corner room all the way to Sheep Gate.

Richard: This is about rebuilding walls (here the wall around Jerusalem), or protection for our families and nations. That has to be done in each of our communities, by teaching and promoting absolute sexual ethics and the Blessing of Marriage. See Peace Speech 10.
Also, we can take local action, such as sanctuary states and counties, to make sure that Biden’s unconstitutional edicts or other unconstitutional laws are not enforced.

Help and Deliverance

In time of distress, danger, and oppression, the faithful look to God for support and help. in times of crisis, in combat, and when confronting death, even non-believers will pray desperately to God. and time and again, they find deliverance in ample measure. conversely, the scriptures warn against relying on one’s own power, allies, or wealth to prevail in the battle, when true strength lies in God’s saving power.
The passages include expressions of confidence in divine deliverance, supplications for help, and texts which describe God’s grace as an unassailable refuge. there are several accounts of God’s saving deeds in his-tory: from the bible, Moses at the red sea and Paul’s escape from prison; from the Qur’an, the battle of the trench. We include the Buddhist hymn to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of divine compassion who is said to be ready and able to save anyone in distress.
Father Moon experienced divine deliverance on numerous occasions, notably when he was a prisoner in a north Korean labor camp. he explains why people normally receive divine help only if they have the mind of devotion and faith. God’s heart of love extends to everyone. however, due to the activities of Satan, whose accusations can cause God to withdraw his protection, people oftentimes must overcome a trial before they can receive divine assistance.

1. Help in Times of Trouble

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the l ord for ever.
    Psalm 23

Whosoever keeps his duty to God, God will appoint a way out for him, and will provide for him in a way that he cannot foresee. And who-soever puts his trust in God, He will suffice him. Lo! God brings His command to pass. God has set a measure for all things.
    Qur’an 65.2-3

Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your habitation,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will give his angels charge of you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
    Psalm 91.9-12

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the lord of hosts.
    Zechariah 4.6

United with me, you shall overcome all difficulties by my grace.
    Bhagavad-Gita 18.58 (Hinduism)

Men of little ability, too,
By depending upon the great, may prosper;
A drop of water is a little thing,
But when will it dry away if united to a lake?
    Treasury of Elegant Sayings 173 (Buddhism)

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not grow weary, he does not tire,
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives strength to the weary,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Youths may faint and be weary,
and young men may fall, exhausted;
but they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not grow faint.
    Isaiah 40.28-31

A king is not saved by his great army,
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
That he may deliver their soul from death,
and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord ;
he is our help and our shield.
    Psalm 33.16-20

We Need to Renovate Everything through the New Word of God

Mark 6

35 That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This place is like a desert, and it is already late. 36 Let the crowds leave, so they can go to the farms and villages near here and buy something to eat.”

Richard: We are in a desert without God’s Word of truth, and specifically the New Truth.

Luke 19

11 The crowd was still listening to Jesus as he was getting close to Jerusalem. Many of them thought that God’s kingdom would soon appear, 12 and Jesus told them this story:

A prince once went to a foreign country to be crowned king and then to return. 13 But before leaving, he called in ten servants and gave each of them some money. He told them, “Use this to earn more money until I get back.”

14 But the people of his country hated him, and they sent messengers to the foreign country to say, “We don’t want this man to be our king.”

15 After the prince had been made king, he returned and called in his servants. He asked them how much they had earned with the money they had been given.

16 The first servant came and said, “Sir, with the money you gave me I have earned ten times as much.”

17 “That’s fine, my good servant!” the king said. “Since you have shown that you can be trusted with a small amount, you will be given ten cities to rule.”

18 The second one came and said, “Sir, with the money you gave me, I have earned five times as much.”

19 The king said, “You will be given five cities.”

20 Another servant came and said, “Sir, here is your money. I kept it safe in a handkerchief. 21 You are a hard man, and I was afraid of you. You take what isn’t yours, and you harvest crops you didn’t plant.”

22 “You worthless servant!” the king told him. “You have condemned yourself by what you have just said. You knew that I am a hard man, taking what isn’t mine and harvesting what I’ve not planted. 23 Why didn’t you put my money in the bank? On my return, I could have had the money together with interest.”

24 Then he said to some other servants standing there, “Take the money away from him and give it to the servant who earned ten times as much.”

25 But they said, “Sir, he already has ten times as much!”

26 The king replied, “Those who have something will be given more. But everything will be taken away from those who don’t have anything. 27 Now bring me the enemies who didn’t want me to be their king. Kill them while I watch!”

Richard: We should be actively about God’s work, not just sitting and waiting for the Second Advent, which has actually already occurred.

The Refining Fire

1. Judgment by Fire

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Each of us has many different kinds of thoughts, all varieties. Do you think we can easily negate them all to uphold the standard of absolute faith, love and obedience? Is it easy or difficult? How difficult! Even if we were to die and be reborn one hundred times, it would still be difficult.
     It doesn’t matter how many times we say the words “absolute faith, love and obedience”; we should enter the furnace and have our impurities burned away until there is only pure gold left. (320:235, April 5, 2000)
 
Jesus came into the world to cast this judgment, as he said, “For judgment I came into this world.” (John 9.39) Jesus also said, “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” (Luke 12.49) “Fire” here represents the means of the judgment for which Jesus came into the world. Nevertheless, there is no record that in his time Jesus judged the world with literal fire. The verses referring to fire must be symbolic. It is written, “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?” (Jer. 23.29) Therefore, judgment by fire represents judgment by the Word of God. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 3.2.2)
 
The words you are familiar with are connected to Satan. Your beliefs and thought processes have not escaped a relationship with Satan. All elements in the satanic world were created from a humanistic perspective, not from God’s perspective. They cannot go beyond Satan’s realm. That is why we need to renovate everything through the new Word of God.
    Once we know God’s Word, can we also live in harmony with the old words and move on with our lives? Absolutely not. We must completely rid ourselves of the old words. We must clean out all our satanic ideas, beliefs and habits. Then, by living according to the Word of God and its absolute standards, we must establish a new tradition. (21:327, January 1, 1969)
 
To acquire true love, you should invest yourself totally. You should be willing to burn your own name, your pictures, even your own clothes.27 (398:328, December 17, 2002)
 
Oh Father! Look upon us with Thy fiery eyes,
and allow not the bitter roots of sin and death to remain deep in our hearts. Look upon us with Thy fiery eyes,
that today we may pull out all the roots of sin and be unified before Thee. (20:10, March 31, 1968)

Father! We pray Thou wilt remove all that is humanistic and private.
Born as descendants of the Fall, we used to wear masks as we saw fit and relied upon our own views.
Purge us of all these elements as we come before Thee. (21:132, November 17, 1968)