Category: Ezekiel

Absolute Truth Is Indestructible

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Romans 4

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Ezekiel 20

5 Tell them that long ago I, the Lord God, chose Israel to be my own. I appeared to their ancestors in Egypt and made a solemn promise that I would be their God and the God of their descendants. 6 I swore that I would rescue them from Egypt and lead them to a land I had already chosen. This land was rich with milk and honey and was the most splendid land of all. 7 I told them to get rid of their disgusting idols and not to sin by worshiping the gods of Egypt. I reminded them that I was the Lord their God, 8 but they still rebelled against me. They refused to listen and kept on worshiping their idols and foreign gods.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Eternal Truth

2. Truth Is Absolute

From the bosom of the sacred Word He
brought forth the world.
On high, below, He abides in His own laws.
Atharva Veda 4.1.3 (Hinduism)

There is no changing the words of God; that is
the mighty triumph.
Qur’an 10.64

Righteousness and justice are the foundations
of thy throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before thee.
Psalm 89.14

Truth is victorious, never untruth.
Truth is the way; truth is the goal of life,
Reached by sages who are free from self-will.
Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6 (Hinduism)

By Divine Law are all forms manifested;
Inexpressible is the Law.
By Divine Law are beings created;
By Law are some exalted.

By Divine Law are beings marked with nobility
or ignominy;
By the Law are they visited with bliss or bale.
On some by His Law falls grace;
Others by His Law are whirled around in cycles
of births and deaths.
All by the Law are governed,
None is exempt.
Says Nanak, Should man realize the power of
the Law,
He would certainly disclaim his ego.
Japuji 2, M.1, p. 1 (Sikhism)

Absolute truth is indestructible. Being indestruc-
tible, it is eternal. Being eternal, it is self-exis-
tent. Being self-existent, it is infinite. Being infi-
nite, it is vast and deep. Being vast and deep, it
is transcendental and intelligent. It is because it
is vast and deep that it contains all existence. It
is because it is transcendental and intelligent that
it embraces all existence. It is because it is infinite
and eternal that it perfects all existence.
Doctrine of the Mean 26 (Confucianism)

What is meant by an eternally-abiding reality?
The ancient road of reality has been here all
the time, like gold, silver, or pearl preserved in
the mine. The Dharmadhatu (Absolute Truth)
abides forever, whether the Tathagata appears
in the world or not. As the Tathagata eternally
abides, so does the Reason of all things. Reality
forever abides, reality keeps its order, like the
roads in an ancient city.
For instance, a man who is walking in a
forest and discovering an ancient city with
its orderly streets may enter into the city, and
having entered into it, he may have a rest,
conduct himself like a citizen, and enjoy all
the pleasures accruing therefrom. What do you
think? Did this man make the road along which
he enters into the city, and the various things in
the city? [No.]
Just so, what has been realized by myself
and the other Tathagatas is this Reality, this
eternally-abiding reality, the self-regulating
reality, the Suchness of things, the Realness of
things, the truth itself.
Lankavatara Sutra 61 (Buddhism)

Glorified and Sanctified be God’s Great Name throughout the World

Matthew 3

3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Ezekiel 1

25 When the creatures stopped flapping their wings, I heard a sound coming from above the dome. 26 I then saw what looked like a throne made of sapphire,[l] and sitting on the throne was a figure in the shape of a human. 27 From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light, 28 as colorful as a rainbow that appears after a storm.

I realized I was seeing the brightness of the Lord’s glory! So I bowed with my face to the ground, and just then I heard a voice speaking to me.

World Scripture and the teachings of Sun Myung Moon

From the Preface:

World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon builds on the foundation of World Scripture: a
Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts (1991). That volume was a pioneering work in the annals of
religious literature. Never before were the scriptures of the world’s religions examined so systematically to illuminate their universal teachings and underscore their common ground. Never before
had a major work drawing on sacred texts articulated a vision of inter-religious compatibility and
harmony.

Invocation, p 1

We open with representative prayers from the world’s religions. They invoke, give thanks, and affirm the efficacious influence of Absolute Reality in human life. Many of these prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer, the Fatihah, the Kaddish, the Gayatri, and the Family Pledge of Father Moon, are recited daily or weekly as part of regular worship.

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6.9-13, The Lord’s Prayer


In the name of God, the Beneficent, the
Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful,
Owner of the Day of Judgment.
Thee alone we worship; Thee alone we ask for
help.
Show us the straight path:
The path of those whom Thou hast favored;
Not of those who earn Thine anger
Nor of those who go astray.
Qur’an 1, The Fatihah


Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name
throughout the world which he has created
according to his will. May he establish his king-
dom in your lifetime and during your days, and
within the life of the entire house of Israel
speedily and soon; and say, Amen.
May his great name be blessed forever and to
all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled
and honored, adored and lauded be the name
of the Holy One, blessed be he, beyond all the
blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May the prayers and supplications of the whole
house of Israel be accepted by their Father who
is in heaven; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and
life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
He who creates peace in his celestial heights,
may he create peace for us and for all Israel; and
say, Amen.
The Kaddish (Judaism)

OM.
We meditate upon the glorious splendor
Of the Vivifier divine.
May He Himself illumine our minds.
OM.
Rig Veda 3.62.10, The Gayatri Mantra (Hinduism)

Homage to Him, the Exalted One, the
Arahant, the All-enlightened One.
To the Buddha I go for refuge.
To the Norm I go for refuge.
To the Order I go for refuge.
Khuddaka Patha (Buddhism)

From the unreal lead me to the Real!
From darkness lead me to light!
From death lead me to immortality!
OM.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28 (Hinduism)

May the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon
you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6.24-26, The Aaronic Benediction

Parallel Providential Time Periods Repeat

Ezekiel 19

19 Ezekiel, sing a funeral song for two of Israel’s leaders:[a]

2 Your mother was a brave lioness
who raised her cubs
    among lions.
3 She taught one of them to hunt,
    and he learned to eat people.
4 When the nations heard of him,
    they trapped him in a pit,
then they used hooks
    to drag him to Egypt.

Esther 3

 Later, King Xerxes promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha to the highest position in his kingdom. Haman was a descendant of Agag,[a] 2 and the king had given orders for his officials at the royal gate to honor Haman by kneeling down to him. All of them obeyed except Mordecai. 3 When the other officials asked Mordecai why he disobeyed the king’s command, 4 he said, “Because I am a Jew.” They spoke to him for several days about kneeling down, but he still refused to obey. Finally, they reported this to Haman, to find out if he would let Mordecai get away with it.

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

THE PERIODS IN THE AGE OF THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION AND THEIR LENGTHS

The Age of the Providence of Restoration, which was the age of image parallels, was to restore through indemnity the Age of the Providence to Lay the Foundation for Restoration, the age of symbolic parallels.

3.1 THE FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR PERIOD OF SLAVERY IN EGYPT

God tried to raise up Abraham by commanding him to make a symbolic offering while standing upon the foundation which had been laid through the intervening period of four hundred years. However,due to Abraham’s mistake, this foundation was defiled by Satan. To recover this foundation of four hundred years, God had the Israelites undergo four hundred years of slavery in Egypt and separate Satan once more.

3.2 THE FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR PERIOD OF THE JUDGES

There was a period of approximately four hundred years from the time the Israelites entered Canaan until the enthronement of King Saul. This was the period of the judges.

3.3 THE ONE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY-YEAR PERIOD OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Saul was enthroned as the king of Israel after the Israelites had restored the four hundred yearsof slavery in Egypt through the four-hundred-year period of the judges. During the forty years of his reign, King Saul was to lay the foundation of faith by restoring through indemnity Moses’ forty years of life in the Pharaoh’s palace. He was then to build the Temple. Yet when King Saul became faithless, God’s Will to build the Temple was prolonged through the two forty-year reigns of King David and King Solomon, thus constituting a total of 120 years for the period of the united kingdom.

3.4 THE FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR PERIOD OF THE DIVIDED KINGDOMS OF NORTH AND SOUTH

The period of the divided kingdoms of north and south lasted nearly four hundred years. It began when the united kingdom was divided into Israel in the north and Judah in the south, and it lasted until the people of Judah were taken into exile in Babylon.

3.5 THE TWO-HUNDRED-AND-TEN-YEAR PERIOD OF ISRAEL’S EXILE AND RETURN

The people of the northern kingdom of Israel broke their covenant with God, and as a result, they were taken into captivity by the Assyrians. The people of the southern kingdom of Judah also sinned against God. As a result, they were taken into exile by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. After they spent nearly seventy years as captives,Babylon fell to King Cyrus of Persia, who issued a royal decree liberating them. From that time, the Jewish people began a gradual return to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple. Inspired by the prophecy of Malachi,16the people began preparations to receive the Messiah. This period came to an end approximately 210 years after the Jews were first taken into exile in Babylon and about 140 years after their liberation by the Persians. This was the period of Israel’s exile and return.

3.6 THE FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR PERIOD OF PREPARATION FOR THE ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH

After the Jewish people returned from exile to their homeland of Israel, they re-established their faith, rebuilt the city wall and, based on Malachi’s prophecy, began as a nation to prepare for the Messiah. From that time until the birth of Jesus was a period of four hundred years,the period of preparation for the advent of the Messiah.

View slides 33 to 40 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

2007p2-CHAPT-3-PeriodsOfHistoryTheirLengths_revised-4-28-2014

God Worried that the Israelites Might Become Faithless

Book Review: As A Peace Loving Global Citizen
By Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Read the review

2 Kings 23

15 But Josiah was not finished yet. At Bethel he destroyed the shrine and the altar that Jeroboam son of Nebat had built and that had caused the Israelites to sin. Josiah had the shrine and the Asherah pole burned and ground into dust. 16 As he looked around, he saw graves on the hillside. He had the bones in them dug up and burned on the altar, so that it could no longer be used. This happened just as God’s prophet had said when Jeroboam was standing at the altar, celebrating a festival.

Richard: ” An Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. The Asherah pole was often mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the ways the Israelites sinned against the Lord and worshiped other gods. … But who was Asherah? She was considered a goddess of fertility. Some believe that the worship of the Queen of Heaven condemned by the prophet Jeremiah was also a reference to the goddess Asherah, though this is uncertain. Certainly, as a fertility goddess, those who worshiped Asherah were also often involved in sexual practices prohibited by the God of Israel. “

“https://www.compellingtruth.org/asherah-pole.html
We have many pagan asherah poles today; all kinds of cultic worship of female ‘gods’. Not sure? Check out ‘popular’ figures like Beyonce.

Ezeliel 20

13 But the Israelites rebelled against me in the desert. They refused to obey my laws and teachings, and they treated the Sabbath like any other day.

Then in my anger, I decided to destroy the Israelites in the desert once and for all. 14 But that would have disgraced me, because many other nations had seen me bring the Israelites out of Egypt. 15 Instead, I told them in the desert that I would not lead them into the beautiful, fertile land I had promised. 16 I said this because they had not only ignored my laws and teachings, but had disgraced my Sabbath and worshiped idols.

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

2.2.2 THE SECOND NATIONAL COURSE TO RESTORE CANAAN

2.2.2.1 THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

 When the first national course to restore Canaan ended in failure due to the disbelief of the Israelites, Satan claimed the forty years of Moses’ life in Pharaoh’s palace during which he had laid the foundation of faith. Hence, for Moses to begin the second national course to restore Canaan, he had to lay anew the foundation of faith by completing another period of forty years to restore through indemnity his lost forty years in the palace. This was the purpose of Moses’ forty-year exile in the wilderness of Midian.  Moses went through a second dispensation of forty for the separation of Satan during the forty years he spent in the wilderness of Midian. There he restored the foundation of faith needed to embark upon the second national course to restore Canaan.

2.2.2.2 THE FOUNDATION OF SUBSTANCE

 Once Moses restored the foundation of faith in the wilderness of Midian, he also secured the position of Abel. God worked the dispensation to start the first national course to restore Canaan when Moses struck and killed an Egyptian. Similarly, to work the dispensation to start the second national course to restore Canaan, God granted Moses three signs and ten plagues with which to prevail over the Egyptians.

In the dispensation to start the second national course, God granted the Israelites the three signs and ten plagues. When the Israelites witnessed these miracles, they came to believe that Moses was truly sent by God as their leader. They believed and followed Moses, the Abel figure who had laid the national foundation of faith. Hence, the Israelites could embark upon the second national course to restore Canaan. However, the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature required more of the Israelites. Due to their previous failure to fulfill this condition, Satan had claimed the entire providential course to restore Canaan. Now the Israelites had to restore that course by remaining faithful and obedient to Moses for the duration of their journey. Only in this way would they fulfill the national indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature. Until they had traversed the wilderness with unwavering faith in Moses and entered the land of Canaan, the national foundation of substance would not be established.

In the first course, if the Israelites had followed Moses, they would have been led along the direct route by way of the land of the Philistines and would have entered Canaan in twenty-one days—a period corresponding to Jacob’s twenty-one-year course in Haran. However, in the second course, God did not lead the people along the direct route. He was worried that when they encountered the warlike Philistines, they might again turn faithless and return to Egypt.79 Instead, God led them across the Red Sea and through the wilderness in a long detour. God planned to bring them into Canaan after twenty-one months. Thus, the Israelites began a twenty-one-month wilderness course under Moses’ leadership. At the outset of this national course, Moses asked for a leave of three days with the intention of deceiving the Pharaoh and liberating his people from bondage.

The Israelites, who numbered some 600,000 according to the Bible, departed from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month by the Hebrew calendar.81 They upheld God’s Will throughout the three-day journey to their first campsite at Succoth. From that time forth, God granted them the grace of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide their way. At the shore of the Red Sea, upon God’s command, Moses stretched out his staff and parted the waters; then he led the Israelites across on dry ground. The Egyptians chasing them in chariots were drowned when the waters closed up and engulfed them. The Israelites crossed the Red Sea and arrived at the wilderness of Sin on the fifteenth day of the second month. From then until the day they arrived at habitable land, God fed them with manna and quail.

When the Israelites left the wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim, there was no water for the people to drink. God commanded Moses to strike the rock at Horeb that water might spring forth from it. Moses did so and gave the people water which saved their lives.

View slides 43-60 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

2007p2-CHAPT-2-S1-2-Moses_revised-4-28-2014

We Are Entering the Age When Parents Will Bless Their Children

2 Samueal 12

20 David got up off the floor; he took a bath, combed his hair, and dressed. He went into the Lord’s tent and worshiped, then he went back home. David asked for something to eat, and when his servants brought him some food, he ate it.

Richard: Here David picks himself up and continues life after his young son had died. Whatever difficulties arise, we should compose ourselves and continue with the core mission God has given us.

Ezekiel 16

33 Prostitutes accept money for having sex, but you bribe men from everywhere to have sex with you. 34 You’re not like other prostitutes. Men don’t ask you for sex—you offer to pay them!

The Lord said:

35 Jerusalem, you prostitute, listen to me. 36 You chased after lovers, then took off your clothes and had sex. You even worshiped disgusting idols and sacrificed your own children as offerings to them. 37 So I, the Lord God, will gather every one of your lovers, those you liked and those you hated. They will stand around you, and I will rip off your clothes and let all of those lovers stare at your nakedness. 38 I will find you guilty of being an unfaithful wife and a murderer, and in my fierce anger I will sentence you to death! 39 Then I will hand you over to your lovers, who will tear down the places where you had sex. They will take your clothes and jewelry, leaving you naked and empty-handed.

Richard: Jerusalem had fallen far from God’s standard. And although the language in this passage is symbolic, it is also literal. The moral standards of the Israelites had fallen to a very low level. And are we not int he same situation today. God does not accept homosexuality, extra marital sex and all kinds of sexual perversions that happen now. We have deviated far from God’s standard. Abstinence before marriage and absolute faithfulness in marriage is not just a nice idea; it is the standard that God has set up as His ideal of creation.

Cheong Seong Gyeong p. 1400

Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Section 12. The 360 Million Couples


Adam’s was the representative fam-
ily – formed by the union of God and
true parents – that would have embraced
the universe; had Adam not fallen, being
blessed by him would have been a uni-
versal blessing. Yet due to the Fall, they
were separated, and so families in the
world today cannot enter the realm of
grace of this great blessing. In order to
restore that which was lost in Adam’s
family through the Fall, I will bless 360
million couples standing in the equal-
ized position in the realm of families
worldwide. (287-142, 1997.9.14)
After the Blessing of 3.6 Million Cou-
ples, it will be a downhill ride – descent
is easy. That will be the 36 million Cou-
ples: the growth stage. What follows is
the Blessing of 360 Million Couples; by
then we would reach level terrain at the
bottom of the hill. Descending there, we
can return to the state of Adam’s fam-
ily before the Fall. By achieving this, we
are entering the age when parents will
bless their children. From this point on,
you can perform the preliminary Bless-
ing ceremonies yourselves. Recognized
as John the Baptist families, you will be
able to do that in the name of the True
Parents. (287-144, 1997.9.14)
Three hundred and sixty million
couples! To think that we will soon have
blessed 360 million couples! You cannot
deny that God is with us in this task. If
I were to explain this in detail, I would
have to go into the secrets of the New
and Old Testaments and all the histori-
cal theological systems. Once you heard
those things, your ears would be opened
and you would develop an insight into
the providential future. Then there would
be no one on earth who could stop you
from walking your providential path.
Do you want this insight or not? These
secrets are such that you would want to
see them with your own eyes even if you
had heard them, and once you had seen
them you would want to listen to the
words again and again, whether in per-
son or not. To gain this knowledge you
should not go a single day without hear-
ing my words. (287-201, 1997.10.30)
What would happen after the Bless-
ing of 36 Million Couples is accom-
plished and the next goal of 360 million
couples comes in sight? Since that is the
number of couples, that would mean
there would be 720 million individuals
involved in the Blessing. If each of them
brought four members from their fami-
ly, then four times seven is twenty-eight,
and the total number brought by them
would be 2.8 billion. Some would bring
even more than four people. Are there
only four family members per house-
hold in the East? There are some fam-
ilies with between five and ten mem-
bers in them. That would result in more
than three billion people coming over
to God’s side, which is more than half
the world population. The era has come
when, if you were to weigh the two sides
with a scale, our side would be the heavi-
er. (288-18, 1997.10.31)