Category: 2 Chronicles

Abraham Obeyed God’s Command

The Richard Urban Show

Three major events all happened on January 13th, 2020. Find out why this was D-Day and what we can expect to happen in the next two years.

Watch: #94-D-Day Was January 13th, 2020

Podcast: D-Day Was January 13th, 2020

Exodus 9

10 So they took a few handfuls of ashes and went to the king.[b] Moses threw them into the air, and sores immediately broke out on the Egyptians and their animals. 11 The magicians were suffering so much from the sores, that they could not even come to Moses. 12 Everything happened just as the Lord had told Moses—he made the king too stubborn to listen to Moses and Aaron.

2 Chronicles 20

5 After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem had come together at the Lord’s temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the new courtyard 6 and prayed:

You, Lord, are the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven you rule every nation in the world. You are so powerful that no one can defeat you. 7 Our God, you forced out the nations who lived in this land before your people Israel came here, and you gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. 8 Our ancestors lived in this land and built a temple to honor you. 9 They believed that whenever this land is struck by war or disease or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple, and you will hear their prayer and save them.

Isaac

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Abraham obeyed God’s command to sacrifice as a burnt offering his precious son Isaac, who was born to Abraham in his old age. In giving that command, God took a great risk unprecedented in history. Whether or not Abraham would comply would be the condition that represented heaven and earth; it would decide the fate of events in heaven, events on earth, and millions of lives yet to be born. Although Abraham was ignorant of its great import, once he received the command, he made a sincere attempt to place his son Isaac on the altar and sacrifice him.
    Think about the heart of Abraham as he picked up the knife to kill his beloved son. His mind truly transcended reality. In his time, who could have recognized that kind of faith? By meeting God’s expectation in that moment of great risk, Abraham’s daring act proved that he belonged to Heaven and his family belonged to Heaven. He demonstrated that he and his family, and all their cattle, follow God’s orders. He established this reality when he made the burnt offering of his only son.
    Abraham offered Isaac with the prayer in his heart, “Although Isaac is my son, he is Thine; therefore I shall offer him to Thee.” The realistic consequences of what he was doing did not matter to him. You should learn the center of faith from the example of these historical forefathers. (1:265-66, December 2, 1956)

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 Abraham’s earlier failure through indemnity…
    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. God commanded Abraham not to kill Isaac because Isaac, now severed of all ties to Satan, stood on God’s side. We must also understand that when God said, “Now I know that you fear God…” He revealed both His reproach to Abraham for his earlier failure in the symbolic offering and His joy over the successful offering of Isaac. Because Abraham succeeded in his offering of Isaac, Isaac could carry on the providence of restoration in Abraham’s family. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Foundation 3.1.2.2)

It is not clear how old Isaac was when Abraham offered the boy as a sacrifice. He was old enough to carry the wood for the sacrifice, and when he saw there was no lamb to be offered, he inquired of his father about it. Isaac was apparently old enough to understand his father’s intentions. We can infer that he helped his father, even though he knew that his father was preparing to offer him as the sacrifice.
    If Isaac had resisted his father’s attempt to sacrifice him, God definitely would not have accepted the offering. In fact, Isaac demonstrated a faith as great as that of Abraham. Together, their faith made the offering successful, and there was no way for Satan to retain his hold on them. In making the offering, Abraham and Isaac went through a process of death and resurrection. As a result, Abraham succeeded in the separation of Satan, who had invaded him because of his mistake in the symbolic offering… Second, by faithfully obeying God’s will, Isaac inherited the divine mission.19(Exposition of the Divine Principle, Foundation 3.1.2.3)

We should give ourselves as offerings to Thee, Father,
yet we are unable to.
Therefore, even if Thou hast to drive us,
even if Thou hast to drag us—
please lead us to Thine altar.
Abraham brought his innocent son, Isaac, on the way to Mount Moriah.
When Isaac asked his father, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
his father answered that he need not worry about it.
Every time I try to fathom Abraham’s heart,
every time I try to fathom that parent’s heart,
I feel how sorrowful Thine heart must be
as Thou leadest us. (48:57, September 5, 1971)

God Sought to Change the Course of Human History

2 Chronicles 20

20 Early the next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the desert near Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen my friends, if we trust the Lord God and believe what these prophets have told us, the Lord will help us, and we will be successful.” 21 Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the Lord for his holy power by singing:[e]

“Praise the Lord!
    His love never ends.”

22 As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, 23 so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!

Nahum 1

6 Who can stand the heat
    of his furious anger?
It flashes out like fire
    and shatters stones.

Abraham

2. Abraham’s Mistake in Offering the Animals

And he said to him, “I am the lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord god, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 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 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…”
    Genesis 15.7-13

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Abraham offered three sacrifices—two birds, a ram and a she-goat, and a heifer—but he was careless and failed to cut the birds in two. If he had been more serious and mindful that this offering was for the sake of humanity and for the sake of God, not for himself, then he would not have committed that historical blunder. (93:313, June 12, 1977)

Because Abraham did not cut the dove and pigeon in two as he should have, birds of prey came down and defiled the sacrifices. As a result of his mistake, the Israelites were destined to enter Egypt and suffer hardships for four hundred years. Why was it a sin not to cut the birds in half?…
    God’s work of salvation aims to restore the sovereignty of goodness by first dividing good from evil and then destroying evil and uplifting the good. This is the reason Adam had to be divided into Cain and Abel before the sacrifice could be made. This is the reason why in Noah’s day, God struck down evil through the flood judgment and winnowed out Noah’s family as the good. God had Abraham cut the sacrifices in two before offering them, with the intention of doing the symbolic work of dividing good from evil, which was left unaccomplished by Adam and Noah… In other words, when Abraham offered the birds without first dividing them, it meant that he offered what had not been wrested from Satan’s possession. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Foundation 3.1.2)

God sought to change the course of human history through Abraham, by his condition of making the symbolic offering. Yet because the condition was not made, the course of Abraham’s family had to pass through three stages, from Abraham to Isaac and Jacob, and the turning of history required an arduous process of symbolic, image-like and substantial conditions. (81:96, December 1, 1975)

Gods Intention Was to Unite the Arab People and the Jewish People

Hebrews 8

All of them will know me,
    no matter who they are.
12 I will treat them with kindness,
even though they are wicked.
    I will forget their sins.”

13 When the Lord talks about a new agreement, he means that the first one is out of date. And anything that is old and useless will soon disappear.

2 Chronicles 36

36 After the death of Josiah, the people of Judah crowned his son Jehoahaz their new king. 2 He was twenty-three years old at the time, and he ruled only three months from Jerusalem. 3 King Neco of Egypt captured Jehoahaz and forced Judah to pay almost four tons of silver and seventy-five pounds of gold as taxes. 4 Then Neco appointed Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king of Judah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He led Jehoahaz away to Egypt as his prisoner.

Islam

2. A Rival Religion, Correcting the Religions that Preceded It

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Had John the Baptist and the people of Israel accepted Jesus, they were destined to struggle against the Roman Empire, just as Jacob wrestled against the angel at the Ford of Jabbok.
    At that time, Roman sovereignty was weak, and there was an opportunity for the smaller surrounding countries to win their independence. Therefore, with Jesus Christ as the commander-in-chief, the movement could have unified the Arab world in revolt against Rome.
    By fighting a common enemy, God’s intention was to unite the Arab people and the Jewish people. It was an opportunity for these peoples under the Roman yoke to unite as one. But first, Jesus, Judaism and John the Baptist’s movement had to become one. That was the precondition to defeat Rome. However, instead John the Baptist went his own way, Jesus acted alone, and the Jews eventually revolted on their own [and were crushed]. As a result, there came to be lasting division between the Arabs and Jews. (111:151, February 10, 1981)
 
In the seventh century, the religion of Islam emerged in the Middle East. It was because Jesus was unable to establish his own nation that Islam appeared and took the position of a rival to Christianity. It is for Islam and Christianity to resolve this Cain-Abel relationship, and when they do they both will be perfected. Thus, you should understand that it was out of providential necessity that God raised up Islam as a rival religion. What do conventional theologians say is the reason and purpose of Islam?
 
    The Jews had received much blessing from God after the Exodus from Egypt. Nevertheless, [after the crucifixion] Islam emerged from the central people—the descendants of Abraham—and became the Jews’ adversaries. Nevertheless, the Jews should learn to live with their Muslim adversaries.
    These days, Islam is expanding more rapidly than Christianity. They are strong! Their values are strong and their faith is firm! They do not sway back and forth, compromising like Christians do.
    Ishmael and Isaac are brothers, both sons of Abraham. Yet their descendants became adversaries and fought throughout history. After the Jews lost Jerusalem, Christians and Muslims fought over the city at the time of the Crusades. The land of Israel should be restored for all these brother religions. However, this must not be accomplished by fighting and bloodshed.
    That is why Reverend Moon, representing Christianity and as founder of the Unification Church, gave his hand to Minister Farrakhan; and also to President Wahid of Indonesia. I wanted to join President Wahid and Minister Farrakhan as brothers. I also helped Minister Farrakhan at the Million Family March. White people opened their eyes in alarm, saying that I should by no means ever help him. But I said to those people, “You oppose me now, but wait and see who is right. Just follow me as I guide you, and something good will definitely happen, something that pleases God. Close your eyes and pray. Don’t open your mouth.”40 (June 21, 2001)
 
Jesus taught us to love our enemies. Minister Farrakhan may be an enemy to Christianity… but since we are taught to love our enemies, I am loving him. Does China love America? Does the Soviet Union love China? Between these enemies there is no love, but taking God’s standpoint I love them all. That is why I have no enemies—neither Christians nor Muslims, neither blacks nor whites. (339:156, December 10, 2000)

 
 
 

God Wants to Save the World

Song of Songs 1

5     Take me to your home.

The Young Women Speak:

We are happy for you!
And we praise your love
    even more than wine.

She Speaks:

Young women of Jerusalem,
it is only right
    that you should adore him.
My skin is dark and beautiful,
like a tent in the desert
    or like Solomon’s curtains.
6 Don’t stare at me
just because the sun
    has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they made me work in the vineyard,
    and so I neglected
    my complexion.

Don’t let the other shepherds
    think badly of me.
7 I’m not one of those women
who shamelessly follow
    after shepherds.
My darling, I love you!
Where do you feed your sheep
    and let them rest at noon?

2 Chronicles 36

36 After the death of Josiah, the people of Judah crowned his son Jehoahaz their new king. 2 He was twenty-three years old at the time, and he ruled only three months from Jerusalem. 3 King Neco of Egypt captured Jehoahaz and forced Judah to pay almost four tons of silver and seventy-five pounds of gold as taxes. 4 Then Neco appointed Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king of Judah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He led Jehoahaz away to Egypt as his prisoner.

Tolerance, Religious Freedom and Interfaith Solidarity

1. Tolerance towards Believers of Other Religions

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The ideal of True Parents and the ideal of world peace are directly connected. We guide all nations, peoples, cultures, and religions to harmonize with one another by becoming 100 percent tolerant to one another for the sake of the ideal; this is the way to establish world peace. (205:159, August 16, 1990)
 
By demonstrating the goodness of their teachings, religions should set the example for all humankind. Instead, religions are fighting one another. Even different denominations within the same religion fight amongst themselves over differences in doctrine. On seeing this, God feels great anguish in His heart. (167:99, June 30, 1987)
 
We who are in a movement for unity must make efforts to unite with all religions. If possible, we can resolve doctrinal differences through persuasion. Otherwise, with much patience and much tolerance we have to compromise in order to cooperate with them. There are no other ways than these two. (103:125, February 18, 1979)
 
A religion that can bring peace to the world should not regard itself as important. It should not have self-centered views about its authority or its possessions. If it does, it will not go beyond the level of its own nation and the people who accept its doctrines.
    There will be no escape from the history of conflicts and wars as long as our religion follows the conventional path of pursuing self-interest. God knows this; therefore He instructs us to deny and sacrifice ourselves. Even though we believe we have the central role, we should not pursue our own self-interest but rather seek for the welfare of other religious groups. Religions should walk the path of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and service to others. (172:143, January 10, 1988)
 
God wants to save the world, not just the Presbyterian Church or the Methodist Church or the Holiness Church. God does not live for the sake of any particular church or denomination; He lives for the world. A true church sacrifices itself for the sake of the world. If need be, for the sake of saving the world, a church should be willing even to let itself go out of existence. This is the way of the Principle; we must travel this road to accomplish God’s Will.
 
    On the other hand, churches that place themselves above every other church, that regard themselves as absolute while denying the validity of all other churches, will perish. (69:87, October 20, 1973)
 
In this age, God wants to lead the world through ‘parent-level religions’—religions with a parental heart… Religions that put down or are hostile to other religions or denominations are not useful for the realization of world peace or the fulfillment of God’s providence. (260:128, May 1, 1994)❖World Scripture II V8 013107.ind393 3932/1/2007 3:14:49 PM
 
 
 

Turn to Me to Be Saved, For I Am God

Urban Life Training Newsletter-March 18, 2021

2 Chronicles 25

14 After Amaziah had defeated the Edomite army, he returned to Jerusalem. He took with him the idols of the Edomite gods and set them up. Then he bowed down and offered them sacrifices. 15 This made the Lord very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask Amaziah, “Why would you worship these foreign gods that couldn’t even save their own people from your attack?”

16 But before the prophet finished speaking, Amaziah interrupted and said, “You’re not one of my advisors! Don’t say another word, or I’ll have you killed.”

The prophet stopped. But then he added, “First you sinned and now you’ve ignored my warning. It’s clear that God has decided to punish you!”

Ezekiel 20

39 Go ahead and worship your idols for now, you Israelites, because soon I will no longer let you dishonor me by offering gifts to them. You will have no choice but to obey me!40 When that day comes, everyone in Israel will worship me on Mount Zion, my holy mountain in Jerusalem. I will once again call you my own, and I will accept your sacred offerings and sacrifices. 41 When I bring you home from the places where you are now scattered, I will be pleased with you, just as I am pleased with the smell of the smoke from your sacrifices. Every nation on earth will see that I am holy, 42 and you will know that I, the Lord, am the one who brought you back to Israel, the land I promised your ancestors. 43 Then you will remember your wicked sins, and you will hate yourselves for doing such horrible things. They have made you unacceptable to me, 44 so you deserve to be punished. But I will treat you in a way that will bring honor to my name, and you will know that I am the Lord God.

Richard: We are currently in a period of separation of good and evil and of judgement. The core teaching of this age is absolute sexual ethics . All the things that are an affront to God and His ideal have to be cleaned up. This will happen, for sure. As always, our own response and and responsibility is key.

Universal Salvation

The compassion and grace of God knows no bounds. The heavenly Father’s heart yearns to save all his children. These passages from scripture praise the extent of God’s saving work and predict it eventually to embrace all humankind. In Buddhist terms, the essential purpose of absolute truth is to liberate all sentient beings, and Mahayana Buddhist scriptures express the universality of grace in the bodhisattva vow of the Buddha Amitabh to save all beings.
Salvation may come to all people through one central point: thus in Abraham “shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12.3). For those who believe in one religion as the only way, the divine mandate to save all humankind is a powerful impetus to missionary activity. On the other hand, God may express his saving will by sending multiple prophets and sages to all nations, warning each to return to God using the means suitable to their different cultures.
If salvation is to be available universally, to every soul who has ever lived regardless of his or her earthly life, the doctrine may appear at odds with beliefs about hell and the Last Judgment. If God is most essentially just, how can the wicked ever receive salvation? On the other hand, if God is most essentially gracious and compassionate, how can he permit any creature to suffer in hell eternally? To understand the heart of God our heavenly Father, Father Moon asks us to imagine how we would feel if one of our children were a condemned criminal. We would want to save our child, even take his place at the gallows.
Father Moon also discusses the difficulty of the path of salvation in terms of the methods which God is constrained to use, because he created human beings with the sovereign freedom to live and mold our lives as each sees fit. Nevertheless, ultimately God’s purpose shall be done: all people will be saved and even hell will be emptied of its occupants.

The daily concern of the Parent is single-heartedly how best I can advance arrangements to save all of you.
    Ofudesaki 14.35 (Tenrikyo)

The Dharma of the Buddhas
by the constant use of a single flavor
causes the several worlds
universally to attain perfection.
By gradual practice
all obtain the Fruit of the Way.
    Lotus Sutra 5 (Buddhism)

The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
    2 Peter 3.9

God is on the watch for the nations of the world to repent, so that He may bring them under His wings.
Numbers Rabbah 10.1 (Judaism)

I testify that Thou art the Lord of all creation, and the Educator of all beings, visible and invisible. I bear witness that Thy power hath encompassed the entire universe, and that the hosts of the earth can never dismay Thee, nor can the dominion of all peoples and nations deter Thee from executing Thy purpose. I confess that Thou hast no desire except the regeneration of the whole world, and the establishment of the unity of its peoples, and the salvation of all them that dwell therein.
    Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh 115 (Baha’i Faith)

We will make offering unto You with worship,
O Lord, and to the Right,
That you may achieve through Good Mind the
destiny of all creatures in the Dominion.
For the salvation of the man of insight among such as you,
O Wise One, will hold good for everyone. 
    Avesta, Yasna 34.3 (Zoroastrianism)

“As I live,” says the Lord God, “I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked.”
    Ezekiel 33.11

Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
an irrevocable decree:
“To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.”
    Isaiah 45.22-23

God it is who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all [false] religion, however much the idolators may be averse.   
    Qur’an 9.33

The Lordsaid to Abram… “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
    Genesis 12.3

And there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them.
    Qur’an 35.24

Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,
O people of Israel?” says the l ord .
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
and the Philistines from Caphtor and the
Syrians from Kir?” 
    Amos 9.7

The Tathagatas do not enter ultimate liberation until all living beings have entered ultimate liberation.
    Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 4 (Buddhism)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him,
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not fail or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law. 
    Isaiah 42.1-4

I establish the Vows unexcelled,
And reach the highest path, Bodhi.

Were these Vows unfulfilled,
I would never attain Enlightenment.

I will be the great provider
Throughout innumerable ages.
Should I fail to save all in need,
I would never attain Enlightenment.

Upon my attaining Enlightenment,
If my Name were not heard anywhere
In the ten quarters of the universe,
I would never attain Enlightenment.

Practicing the Holy Way—selflessness,
Depth in right reflection and pure wisdom,
Aspiring toward the highest path,
I will be the teacher of devas and men.

My wondrous power by its great light
Brightens countless lands throughout,
Removes the darkness of the three defilements
And delivers all from suffering and pain. 
    Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra 9.1-5: Juseige (Buddhism)