Job | Daily Inspiration

Nevertheless, When the Son of Man Comes, Will He Find Faith on Earth?

Important Note: One Daily Inspiration reader brought to my attention that there are problems with Paul’s viewpoint on marriage.
On August 7, there was a scripture reading from 1 Corinthians 7:15-16.
There, Paul says you can divorce your husband or wife if they are not a follower of the Lord and they ask for a divorce. This scripture was chosen “randomly” by opening the Bible, which is always how Stacey and I receive the daily scriptures. I took it as meaning don’t let dysfunctional, or co-dependent relationships of any kind, not just marital relationships pull you away from your conscience, or God.
I do not recommend divorce as a solution for marital problems. Marriage is a commitment in front of God, and possibly barring violence or infidelity, that commitment should not be broken.

Listen to my third Podcast: The Godless Agenda of those Promoting the COVID-19 Crisis, published March 28, 2020. Still very relevant.

Job 24

¹⁸Those sinners are filthy foam
    on the surface of the water.
And so, their fields and vineyards
will fall under a curse
    and won’t produce.
¹⁹Just as the heat of summer
    swallows the snow,
the world of the dead
    swallows those who sin.
²⁰Forgotten here on earth,
and with their power broken,
    they taste sweet to worms.

²¹Sinners take advantage of widows
    and other helpless women.
²²But God’s mighty strength
    destroys those in power.
Even if they seem successful,
    they are doomed to fail.
²³God may let them feel secure,
but they are never
    out of his sight.
²⁴Great for a while; gone forever!
Sinners are mowed down
    like weeds,
    then they wither and die.
²⁵If I haven’t spoken the truth,
    then prove me wrong.

Job 39

¹³An ostrich proudly
    flaps her wings,
but not because
    she loves her young.
¹⁴She abandons her eggs
and lets the dusty ground
    keep them warm.
¹⁵And she doesn’t seem to worry
that the feet of an animal
    could crush them all.
¹⁶She treats her eggs as though
    they were not her own,
unconcerned that her work
    might be for nothing.
¹⁷I myself made her foolish
    and without common sense.
¹⁸But once she starts running,
she laughs at a rider
    on the fastest horse.

Eschatology and Messianic Hope

New Revelation

2. The Truth of the New Revelation Eclipses the Truths of Former Dispensations

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

People need religion in order to seek the Ultimate Reality and realize goodness in accordance with the inclination of the original mind. Thus, the purpose of every religion is identical. However, religions have appeared in different forms according to their various missions, the cultures in which they took root, and their particular historical periods. Their scriptures have taken different forms for similar reasons. All scriptures have the same purpose: to illuminate their surroundings with the light of truth. Yet when a brighter lamp is lit, the old lamp is outshone and its mission fades. Because religions lack the power to guide modern people out of the dark valley of death into the full radiance of life, there must emerge a new expression of truth that can radiate a new and brighter light. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Introduction)

In the Last Days, Jesus said, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven.” (Matt. 24.29) How are we to understand this verse? It is written that Joseph, the eleventh of the twelve sons of Jacob, had a dream:

Then he dreamed another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” (Gen. 37.9-10)

When Joseph later became the prime minister of Egypt, his parents and brothers bowed down before him, as the dream had foretold. In his dream, the sun and moon symbolized the parents, while the stars symbolized their children. As will be explained, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the True Parents who came to give rebirth to humanity in place of Adam and Eve. Therefore, in this prophecy from Matthew, the sun and moon represent Jesus and the Holy Spirit, while the stars represent the faithful believers who are their children. Elsewhere, Jesus is likened to the true light because he came as the incarnation of the Word and shone forth the light of truth. (John 1.9, 14) Here, the sunlight means the light of the words of Jesus, and the moonlight means the light of the Holy Spirit, who came as the Spirit of truth. (John 16.13)

For the sun to be darkened and the moon to lose its light means that the New Testament Word given by Jesus and the Holy Spirit will lose its luster. How can the Word as revealed in the New Testament possibly lose its light? The Old Testament Word was eclipsed when Jesus and the Holy Spirit came and gave us the New Testament Word, which fulfilled the Old Testament Word. (2 Cor. 3.7-11) Likewise, when Christ returns and gives the new truth in order to fulfill the New Testament Word and build a new heaven and new earth, (Rev. 21.1) the Word which he gave at his first coming will lose its light. It is said that the Word will lose its light because, with the coming of a new era, the period of the mission of the old truth will have lapsed.

The prophecy that the stars will fall from heaven signifies that in the Last Days many faithful Christian believers will make a misstep and fall from God’s grace. At the time of Jesus, the leaders of the Jewish people were all yearning for the coming of the Messiah, but they met their downfall when they did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and opposed him. Likewise, Christians who have been anxiously awaiting the return of Jesus are likely to make the same misjudgment and fall when he actually returns.

Jesus asked, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18.8) On another occasion he said he would declare to devout believers, “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.” (Matt. 7.23) Jesus gave these warnings to the Christians of the Last Days because he foresaw that they would be likely to disbelieve and trespass against him at his Second Advent. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 3.2.5)

Bring Satan to Submission by Upholding the Word of God

Editorial, Richard Urban Show and audio podcast: “When Did We Visit You While You Were Sick or in Jail?”
January 6th US Capitol False Flag Entrapment Operation Needs to be Investigated

Job 22

22 Eliphaz from Teman said:

²What use are we humans
    to God,
    even the wisest of us?
³If you were completely sinless,
that would still mean nothing
    to God All-Powerful.
⁴Is he correcting you
    for worshiping him?
⁵No! It’s because
    of your terrible sins.
⁶To guarantee payment of a debt,
you have taken clothes
    from the poor.
⁷And you refused bread and water
    to the hungry and thirsty,
⁸although you were rich,
    respected, and powerful.
⁹You have turned away widows
and have broken the arms
    of orphans.
¹⁰That’s why you were suddenly
    trapped by terror,
¹¹blinded by darkness,
    and drowned in a flood.

Isaiah 40

²³God brings down rulers
    and turns them into nothing.
²⁴They are like flowers
freshly sprung up
    and starting to grow.
But when God blows on them,
they wilt
and are carried off
    like straw in a storm.

Eschatology and Messianic Hope

The Last Judgement

2. The Binding of Satan

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more…
Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it; from his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20.1-15

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The Kingdom of Heaven on earth is a restored world in which Satan can no longer instigate any activity. To realize this world, it is necessary for all humanity to eliminate their common base with Satan, restore their common base with God, and engage in give and take action with Him. The prophecy that in the Last Days God will confine Satan in a bottomless pit (Rev. 20.1-3) signifies that Satan will be utterly incapable of any activity, since there will no longer be any counterpart with whom Satan can relate. In order to eliminate our common base with Satan and be capable of judging him, we must understand the identity and crime of Satan and accuse him before God.
However, God endowed human beings and angels with freedom; therefore, He cannot restore them by force. Of their own free will, human beings are to bring Satan to voluntary submission by upholding the Word of God through fulfilling their responsibility. Only in this way can we be restored to the original ideal purposed by God at the creation. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Fall 4.2)

Those Who Live for Goodness Will Be Blessed by Heaven

Presenter Abstinence Education Seminar in Shannondale, Harpers Ferry, WV, July 2nd, 2021: More information and Registration

The Richard Urban Show: #96: Bioterrorism by COVID Vaccination

John 21

²⁰Peter turned and saw Jesus’ favorite disciple following them. He was the same one who had sat next to Jesus at the meal and had asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” ²¹When Peter saw that disciple, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

²²Jesus answered, “What is it to you, if I want him to live until I return? You must follow me.” ²³So the rumor spread among the other disciples that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say he would not die. He simply said, “What is it to you, if I want him to live until I return?”

Job 42

³You asked why I talk so much
    when I know so little.
I have talked about things
that are far beyond
    my understanding.
⁴You told me to listen
    and answer your questions.^[a]
⁵I heard about you from others;
now I have seen you
    with my own eyes.
⁶That’s why I hate myself
and sit here in dust and ashes
    to show my sorrow.

Confucius

1. Confucius Faced Hardships and Disappointments While Maintaining Conviction about His Mission

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Confucius was born in the House of Lu during the Warring States period several thousand years ago, a chaotic time of many battles and wars. Yet he was not concerned only for his own country or the surrounding states. Nor did he complain about the trouble-filled society and the difficult circum-stances into which he was born. Although he had no siblings to help him serve his parents, he tried to support them with gratitude. Confucius had the heart to be concerned about the future and the world. Despite frequent rejection, he persevered with gratitude.
Therefore, eventually his teachings would unify the continent of China. More than that, he pioneered a way that has remained for all humankind, even beyond Asia. His aspiration and desire was to offer something truthful, and he searched for the truth that he could offer to humankind. This formed his character. This was where his teachings originated. (33:290, August 21, 1970)

Confucius intended that the House of Lu should adopt his way to govern his nation during those chaotic times. However, seeing chaos and confusion abounding throughout the world as well as in his own nation, he came up with a teaching for a way of life to be followed by all future generations of humankind. (32:260, July 19, 1970)

Confucius was persecuted; he was cursed as a “homeless, wandering dog.” The reason why he and other persecuted people of Heaven could be recognized as saints is because they followed the principle. Therefore with the passage of time their day would come, when they were destined to be victors. (189:205-06, April 6, 1989)

2. Confucius’ Religious Faith

When under siege in K’uang, Confucius said, “With King Wen dead, is not culture (wen) invested here in me? If Heaven intends culture to be destroyed, those who come after me will not be able to have any part of it. If Heaven does not intend this culture to be destroyed, then what can the men of K’uang do to me?”

Analects 9.5

Confucius said, “He who sins against Heaven has none to whom he can pray.”

Analects 3.13

Though his food might be coarse rice and vegetable broth, Confucius inevitably offered a little in sacrifice, and always with solemnity.

Analects 10.8

Po-niu was ill and Confucius went to inquire of him. Having grasped his hand through a window, Confucius said, “It is killing him. It is the will of Heaven, alas! That such a man should have such a malady! That such a man should have such a malady!”

Analects 6.8

Confucius said, “Devote yourselves to the proper demands of the people, respect the ghosts and spirits but keep them at a distance—this may be called wisdom.”Analects

6.20

Confucius said, “I wish I did not have to speak at all.” Tzu Kung said, “But if you did not speak, sir, what should we disciples pass on to others?” Confucius said, “Look at Heaven there. Does it speak? The four seasons run their course and all things are produced. Does Heaven speak?”

Analects 17.19

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

No religious founder puts forth a teaching or propounds principles of living centered only on human beings. Among the teachings of Confucius, there is one: “Those who live for goodness will be blessed by Heaven, but those who live contrary to goodness will face misfortune from Heaven.” That is, Heaven rewards with blessings those who do good deeds, and Heaven will recompense evildoers with disasters. Confucius could say this because he knew Heaven. He knew Heaven; therefore he could erect principles of living that are based on Heaven. Although he only vaguely knew Heaven (God), he included it in his teachings. Therefore, he is qualified to stand among the great founders of religion. (32:261, July 19, 1970)

Providentially, Confucius’ teaching was like the proclamation of the heavenly archangel. Through the elements of Confucian morality, Heaven sought to establish social conditions that would protect against Satan and set up a society resembling the external form of Heaven.37 (205:179, August 28, 1998)

Although They Knew God They Did Not Honor Him

Happy New Year!

The Richard Urban Show
#81-Who Will Give the Faithful Report?

Petition Congress Rally-January 6th, 2021, Washington DC

Sample letters to Congressman about opposing election fraud on January 6th, 2021.

John 18

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That disciple knew the high priest, and he followed Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest’s house. ¹⁶Peter stayed outside near the gate. But the other disciple came back out and spoke to the girl at the gate. She let Peter go in, ¹⁷but asked him, “Aren’t you one of that man’s followers?”

“No, I am not!” Peter answered.

¹⁸It was cold, and the servants and temple police had made a charcoal fire. They were warming themselves around it, when Peter went over and stood near the fire to warm himself.

Job 7

^{¹⁸Why do you test us
    from sunrise to sunset?
¹⁹Won’t you look away
just long enough
    for me to swallow?
²⁰Why do you watch us so closely?
    What’s it to you, if I sin?
Why am I your target
    and such a heavy burden?
²¹Why do you refuse to forgive?
Soon you won’t find me,
    because I’ll be dead.}

Ignorance and Atheism

Many religions regard ignorance as the cause of evil in human life. being ignorant of God and the purpose of life, people’s values become confused, and consequently they act wrongly. the apostle Paul taught that ignorance of God lay at the root of all forms of license and immorality. in Islam it is called “forgetting God,” causing people to deviate from the path and lose their souls. in Buddhism, this ignorance leads to grasping after self and begets delusion (moha). Many scriptures warn against the illusory goals and vanities that infect worldly life.
In their search for knowledge, people have embraced various philosophies, yet it is clear that none of them have illuminated the truth one hundred percent. oftentimes, valid insights are mixed with false views, leading to confusion and conflict over values, to skepticism and even atheism. this too is the result of humanity’s fundamental ignorance, whose source stems from the human Fall, according to Father Moon. as a prophet of the twentieth century who lived through the struggle with communism, he is particularly concerned about this contemporary form of ignorance.
The concluding passages describe humanity’s spiritual blindness. they describe ignorance as a veil that obscures the faculty of insight. the buddha used metaphors such as moths drawn to perish in a lamp to represent people’s attraction to the illusory vanities of this world. in Hinduism and Jainism, this blindness (avidya) is what binds people to the wheel of birth-and-death (samsara), binding them sense pleasures instead of seeking reality itself. Plato’s famous Myth of the cave speaks to this topic. Father Moon likewise describes a pervasive delusion, born of the human Fall, that leaves human beings blind to spiritual truth and totally unable to know God’s inner heart.

Ignorance of God

Be not like those who forget God, and therefore He made them forget their own souls!
Qur’an 59.19

Although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their sense-less minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Romans 1.21-25

The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are all corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none that does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven
upon the children of men,
to see if there are any that act wisely,
that seek after God.
They have all gone astray,
they are all alike corrupt;
there is none that does good,
no, not one.
Have they no knowledge,
all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the Lord ?
Psalm 14.1-4

Whoever wants to do some evil against another does not remember God.
Proverb (African Traditional Religions)

He who does not clearly understand Heaven will not be pure in virtue. He who has not mastered the Way will find himself without any accept-able path of approach. He who does not under-stand the Way is pitiable indeed!
Chuang Tzu 11 (Taoism)

No man lies to his neighbor until he has denied the Root. It happened once that Rabbi Reuben was in Tiberias on the Sabbath, and a philosopher asked him, “Who is the most hateful man in the world?” He replied, “The man who denies his Creator.” “How so?” asked the philosopher. Rabbi Reuben answered, “‘Honor thy father and thy mother, thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, thou shalt not covet.’ No man denies the derivative [the Ten Commandments] until he has previously denied the Root [God], and no man sins unless he has denied Him who com-manded him not to commit that sin.”
Tosefta Shevuot 3.6 (Judaism)

The demonic do things they should avoid and avoid the things they should do. They have no sense of uprightness, purity, or truth.

“There is no God,” they say, “no truth, no spiritual law, no moral order. The basis of life is sex; what else can it be?” Holding such distorted views, possessing scant discrimination, they become enemies of the world, causing suffering and destruction.

Hypocritical, proud, and arrogant, living in delusion and clinging to deluded ideas, insatiable in their desires, they pursue their unclean ends. Although burdened with fears that end only with death, they still maintain with complete assurance, “Gratification of lust is the highest that life can offer.”

Bound on all sides by scheming and anxiety, driven by anger and greed, they amass by any means they can a hoard of money for the satisfaction of their cravings.

“I got this today,” they say; “tomorrow I shall get that. This wealth is mine, and that will be mine too. I have destroyed my enemies. I shall destroy others too! Am I not like God? I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am powerful. I am happy. I am rich and well-born. Who is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices and give gifts, and rejoice in my own generosity.”

This is how they go on, deluded by ignorance. Bound by their greed and entangled in a web of delusion, whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell.
Bhagavad-Gita 16.7-16 (Hinduism)

Man’s Real Nature is Primarily Spiritual Life

Ezekiel 45

¹⁵Finally, they must bring one sheep out of every two hundred from their flocks.

These offerings will be used as grain sacrifices, as well as sacrifices to please me and those to ask my blessing. I, the Lord, will be pleased with these sacrifices and will forgive the sins of my people.

Job 5

²⁶You will live a long life,
and your body will be strong
until the day you die.

The Immortal Soul

2. Death: Transition to a New Life

The hour of departure has arrived, and we go
our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is
better God only knows.
It is We who give life, and make to die, and to
Us is the homecoming.
Qur’an 50.43

Socrates, in Plato, Apology 42 (Hellenism)
The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the
spirit returns to God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12.7

Now my breath and spirit goes to the Immortal,
and this body ends in ashes;
OM. O Mind! Remember. Remember the
deeds.
Remember the actions.
Isha Upanishad 17 (Hinduism)

Man’s real nature is primarily spiritual life,
which weaves its threads of mind to build a
cocoon of flesh,
encloses its own soul in the cocoon,
and, for the first time, the spirit becomes flesh.
Understand this clearly: The cocoon is not the
silkworm;
in the same way, the physical body is not man
but merely man’s cocoon.
Just as the silkworm will break out of its cocoon
and fly free,
so, too, will man break out of his body-cocoon
and ascend to the spirit world when his time
is come.
Never think that the death of the physical
body is the death of man.
Since man is life, he will never know death.
Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines (Seicho-no-Ie)

One man believes he is the slayer, another
believes he is the slain. Both are ignorant; there
is neither slayer nor slain. You were never born;
you will never die. You have never changed; you
can never change. Unborn, eternal, immutable,
immemorial, you do not die when the body dies.
Realizing that which is indestructible, eternal,
unborn, and unchanging, how can you slay or
cause another to be slain?

As a man abandons his worn-out clothes and
acquires new ones, so when the body is worn
out a new one is acquired by the Self, who lives
within.
The Self cannot be pierced with weapons or
burned with fire; water cannot wet it, nor can
the wind dry it. The Self cannot be pierced or
burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and
infinite, standing on the motionless foundation
of eternity. The Self is unmanifest, beyond all
thought, beyond all change. Knowing this, you
should not grieve. 7
Bhagavad-Gita 2.19-25 (Hinduism)

You prefer this life, although the life to come
is better and more enduring. All this is written
in earlier scriptures; the scriptures of Abraham
and Moses.
Qur’an 87.16-19

I inquired of Africanus whether he himself, my
father Paulus, and others whom we look upon as
dead, were really living. “Yes, truly,” replied he,
“they all enjoy life who have escaped from the
chains of the body as from a prison. But as to
what you call life on earth, that is no more than
a form of death. But see, here comes your father
Paulus towards you!”
Cicero, On the Republic 6.14 (Hellenism)

Onyame does not die; I will therefore not die.
Akan Proverb (African Traditional Religions)

Meet the Fathers, meet Yama, and meet with
the
fulfillment of wishes in the highest heaven;
casting off imperfections, find anew thy
dwelling,
and be united with a lustrous body.
Rig Veda 10.14.8 (Hinduism)

Though our outer nature is wasting away, our
inner nature is being renewed every day. For this
slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an
eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
because we look not to the things that are seen
but to the things that are unseen; for the things
that are seen are transient, but the things that
are unseen are eternal.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live
in is destroyed, we have a building from God,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. Here indeed we groan, and long to put
on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it
on we may not be found naked. For while we are
still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that
we would be unclothed, but that we would be
further clothed, so that what is mortal may be
swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us
for this very thing is God, who has given us the
Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always of good courage; we know
that while we are at home in the body we are
away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not
by sight. We are of good courage, and we would
rather be away from the body and at home with
the Lord. For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may
receive good or evil, according to what he has
done in the body.
2 Corinthians 4.16-5.10