The Father Resembles Us

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I John

Dear friends, don’t believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. But when someone doesn’t say this about Jesus, you know that person has a spirit that doesn’t come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew that this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.

Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God’s Spirit[a] is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world. These enemies belong to this world, and the world listens to them, because they speak its language. We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don’t know God won’t listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies.

Job 16

16 Job said:

I have often heard this,
    and it offers no comfort.
So why don’t you keep quiet?
    What’s bothering you?
If I were in your place,
it would be easy to criticize
    or to give advice.
But I would offer hope
    and comfort instead.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

The Image of God

1. How Human Beings Resemble God

God made us in His image, like Himself. That means the Father resembles us just as we resemble the Father. So when someone asks you, “What kind of being is God?” you can answer, “He is someone like me.” This answer will hit the mark. (127:233)

God created all creatures to take after His image, and among them He particularly created human beings to represent His character and be co-creators.
Human beings should have the same attributes of feeling and thinking as God does. If God rejoices, human beings should rejoice with Him, and if God grieves, human beings should grieve with Him. Unless people are able to experience the same feelings as God, no matter how much God loves them they cannot attain a state of harmony and oneness with Him.
In sum, God necessarily had to create object partners to share His love. Hence, God created human beings with the capacity to rejoice with God and experience His love. Again, God created human beings with the same value as the Absolute Being, that they might stand as His object partners. (39:9, January 9, 1971)

People are fond of things that resemble them. Whom does the world resemble? In the future, whom should the ideal world resemble? It must resemble God. It says in Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Indeed, God created men and women in His image. We like things that resemble us, and we can surmise that God likes us because we resemble Him. God created all creatures in heaven and on earth, and He is pleased when they resemble Him. (26:167, October 25, 1969)

Since we are created to resemble God, we want to make ourselves like Him. God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, so what must we be like in order to resemble God? As God is eternal, we also must be eternal. As God is omnipresent, we also must be omnipresent. That is why we want to live anywhere in the world. We want to be omniscient and omnipotent to embrace the entire world at once…
In what respect would God most like us to resemble Him? More than omnipresence, more than omniscience and omnipotence, more than uniqueness, He most wants us to resemble Him in love. The day when we come to resemble Him in love, we can lose everything and still it will follow us wherever we go. A woman can be so ugly as to be not worth a penny, but if she has love a young man as handsome as a stallion will pursue her. (26:167, October 25, 1969)

A true person is one who resembles God. To establish a world abounding in true people, what we need is not a political revolution but a “revolution of character.” A revolution of character is the revolution that transforms us into true human beings who resemble God’s character. It uplifts people’s character to the standard of God’s character. (149:271, November 28, 1986)

God is the most public-minded being, whereas Satan is the most self-centered being, private and selfish to his bone marrow. Thus, God’s formula to restore human beings aims for us to become Godlike. This means that we must sacrifice what is personal and uphold what is public. Each of us must embody the spirit of altruism and service to others.
A selfless and public-minded person will prosper because he or she is the image of God. The selfish, self-centered person will decline because he is the opposite of God, in the image of the betrayer. This is a law of Heaven. (88:209, September 18, 1976)

We Exist as Women and Men Because of Love

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1 Timothy 3

They must not be new followers of the Lord. If they are, they might become proud and be doomed along with the devil. Finally, they must be well-respected by people who are not followers. Then they won’t be trapped and disgraced by the devil.

Church officers[d] should be serious. They must not be liars, heavy drinkers, or greedy for money. And they must have a clear conscience and hold firmly to what God has shown us about our faith. 10 They must first prove themselves. Then if no one has anything against them, they can serve as officers.

11 Women[e] must also be serious. They must not gossip or be heavy drinkers, and they must be faithful in everything they do.

12 Church officers must be faithful in marriage.[f] They must be in full control of their children and everyone else in their home. 13 Those who serve well as officers will earn a good reputation and will be highly respected for their faith in Christ Jesus.

Job 42

13 In addition to seven sons, Job had three daughters, 14 whose names were Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren Happuch. 15 They were the most beautiful women in that part of the world, and Job gave them shares of his property, along with their brothers.

16 Job lived for another one hundred forty years—long enough to see his great-grandchildren have children of their own— 17 and when he finally died, he was very old.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Eternal Truth

3. The Law of Love

Love, the divine Principle, is the Father and
Mother of the universe, including man.
Science and Health, p. 256 (Christian Science)

Love is the great law that rules this mighty and
heavenly cycle, the unique power that binds
together the diverse elements of this material
world, and the supreme magnetic force that
directs the movements of the spheres in the
celestial realms. Love reveals with unfailing and
limitless power the mysteries latent in the uni-
verse. Love is the spirit of life unto the adorned
body of mankind, the establisher of true civili-
zation in this mortal world, and the shedder of
imperishable glory upon every high-aiming race
and nation.
‘Abdu’l Bahá (Bahá’i Faith)

That which lets now the dark (yin), now the
light (yang) appear is Tao.
As continuer, it is good. As completer, it is the
essence.
The kind man discovers it and calls it benevo-
lence (jen).
The wise man discovers it and calls it wisdom.
The people use it day by day and are not aware
of it, for the way of the superior man is rare.
It manifests itself as benevolence but conceals
its workings.
It gives life to all things, without sharing the
anxieties of the holy sage.
Its glorious power, its great field of action, are
of all things the most sublime.
It possesses everything in complete abundance:
this is its great field of action.
It renews everything daily: this is its glorious
power.
I Ching, Great Treatise 1.5 (Confucianism)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The universe is created centering on love and the principles of love. It dances to that rhythm, not to the rhythm of the individual. (131:124, April 22, 1984)

The omniscient and omnipotent God, who has no need for gold or knowledge, the God who has everything—what was it He yearned for that He would create human beings? What was the fundamental motivation for the act of creation? It was not power, it was not knowledge, and it was not wealth. What God lacked was a foundation for love. Even God cannot bring about love by Himself. Thus, the motivation for the creation of the heavens and the earth was love. (149:149, November 21, 1986)

The creation of the universe began with love. Love preexisted the creation. If the idea of love did not exist, then there would have been no purpose to the principle of male and female. The mineral kingdom consists of positive and negative ions—like male and female. The world of insects consists of male and female. The animal world consists of male and female. Human beings, likewise, are men and women. Before the principle of male and female, there was the idea of love, that things made male and female would become one through love. If the idea of love didn’t exist, this universe pervaded by the duality of male and female would not have arisen. Which came first: male and female physical beings or the emotion and idea of love? This is the old philosophical problem of Realism vs. Idealism… We should know that the idea of love came first. Women are not born for their own sake. Men are not born for their own sake. They both exist for the sake of love. For this reason, the chief concern of both men and women is love. (218:339-40, August 22, 1991)

The created world contains subject and object partners, and for this reason there are men and women and male and female creatures. The subject-object relationship is found in flowers with stamen and pistil, in molecules with positive and negative ions, and in atoms with protons and electrons. Everything exists in a pair system. Nothing else but love fulfills the value and carries on the history of existing beings. Through love men and women procreate. Other beings—insects, plants, and minerals—also love according to their kind. Why is everything in a pair system? Why are there always subject and object partners? The reason is love. Which came first, love or subject and object partners? Does love exist because there are women and men, or do we exist as women and men because of love? Which is it? We exist as women and men because of love. (227:268, February 14, 1992)

Without God’s investment of love, the cosmos could not have come into being. The law of the cosmos is that the subject partner lives for the sake of the object partner. However, in the fallen world, the subject does not live for the sake of the object; instead, the subject misuses the object for his own sake. That is why the world is destined to decline. Religions must teach the heavenly principle that you are happy only when your counterpart is happy. (271:70, August 21, 1995)

Christ Must Return as an Earthly Man

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1 Kings 16

21 After Zimri died, some of the Israelites wanted Tibni son of Ginath to be king, but others wanted Omri. 22 Omri’s followers were stronger than Tibni’s, so Tibni was killed, and Omri became king of Israel 23 in the thirty-first year of Asa’s rule in Judah.

Job 10

1I am sick of life!
And from my deep despair,
    I complain to you, my God.
Don’t just condemn me!
    Point out my sin.
Why do you take such delight
in destroying those you created
    and in smiling on sinners?
Do you look at things
    the way we humans do?
Is your life as short as ours?
Is that why you are so quick
    to find fault with me?
You know I am innocent,
but who can defend me
    against you?

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

Chapter 6

The Second Advent

Jesus clearly foretold of his return.1 Yet he added that no one knew of the day and hour of his return, not the angels, not even himself.2 Hence, it has been commonly thought unwise to speculate about the date, place and manner of the Second Advent. Nevertheless, we can deduce from the words of Jesus, “But of that day and hour no one knows . . . but the Father only,”3 and the verse, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets,”4 that God, who knows the day and hour, will surely reveal all secrets about the Second Advent to His prophets before He carries out His work.

Accordingly, regarding the Second Advent of the Lord, God will certainly give prophecies to those faithful believers who are in the light and have ears to hear and eyes to see. As it is written: And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. —Acts 2:17

WHEN WILL CHRIST RETURN?

 We call the time of Christ’s Second Advent the Last Days. As it was already explained, we are living in the Last Days today.7 We can thus understand that today is truly the time of Christ’s return. The Principle of Restoration through Indemnity leads us to infer that Christ is to return at the end of the two-thousand-year-long New Testament Age, the Age of the Prolongation of the Providence of Restoration, which has been restoring the previous age through substantial parallel conditions of indemnity. We can thus conclude that the period of the Second Advent began soon after the end of the First World War.

IN WHAT MANNER WILL CHRIST RETURN?

2.1 PERSPECTIVES ON THE BIBLE

God reveals well in advance all the essential matters of His Will in parables and symbols, in order that people living in any age can understand the demands of the providence for their time and for the future according to the level of their intellect and spirituality. In interpreting the Bible, therefore, the most important matter is to find the right perspective.

Until today many of us have read the Bible with the preconceived notion that Jesus will come on the clouds with signs and wonders. This is based on such words of Jesus as:

They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds. —Matt. 24:30-31

 If we adhere closely to a literal interpretation, the biblical evidence indeed seems to point in that direction. However, the idea that Christ will return on the clouds is totally unacceptable to the scientific mind of the modern age. We find it necessary to probe more deeply into the Bible from another standpoint to grasp the true meaning of such verses.

2.2 CHRIST WILL RETURN AS A CHILD ON THE EARTH

Jesus made a number of predictions foretelling what would happen to the Lord at his return:

But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. —Luke 17:25

As Jesus reflected upon his situation, he foresaw that at the Second Advent, the Christians awaiting his return would once more fix their gaze upon the sky. Hence, they would be likely to persecute Christ at the Second Advent when he is born in the flesh and appears unexpectedly, like a thief. They would condemn him as a heretic, just as Jesus was condemned. That is why he foretold that the Lord would suffer and be rejected by his generation. This prophecy can be fulfilled only if Christ returns in the flesh; it cannot possibly come true if he comes on the clouds. Jesus said:

I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? —Luke 18:8

Jesus could not find any believer among the Jews faithful and zealous enough to follow him even to the point of death. Jesus grieved over this situation and lamented that something similar might happen upon his return. He foresaw that at the Second Advent, the believers would be looking only toward heaven, thinking that Christ will return on the clouds in glory. Therefore, when Christ does in fact return to the earth as a man of humble origins, he may not find any faith, as was the case in Jesus’ day. This prophecy in Luke can never be fulfilled unless the returning Christ is born on the earth.

Jesus once said:

On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.” —Matt. 7:22-23

This prophecy also cannot be fulfilled if Jesus comes on the clouds.

At the Second Advent of Christ, those Christians who expect his miraculous and glorious appearance will almost certainly reject him if he comes in the flesh of humble birth. No matter how faithful they may be, the Lord will be left with no choice but to abandon them because they will have transgressed against God.

There are several reasons in the Principle why Christ must return as an earthly man. God created both the incorporeal world and the corporeal world. Then God created human beings with the aspects of both spirit and flesh, intending for them to rule over the two worlds in fulfillment of His blessings.

There has not been even one person on the earth who has attained perfection both spiritually and physically, ruled the spiritual and physical worlds, and brought them into harmony. This is the reason Christ cannot return only in a spiritual body. As at the First Advent, he must come as a human being and grow to perfection in both spirit and flesh. Then, by engrafting all humanity with himself both spiritually and physically, he is to guide them to perfection both in spirit and flesh and make them qualified to be the lords of both the spiritual and physical worlds.

At the Second Advent, Christ is again responsible to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and there become the True Parent and king of all humanity. This is another reason why, as at his First Coming, Christ at his Second Coming must be born on the earth. In conclusion, we have demonstrated beyond any doubt that the Second Advent of Christ will take place through his physical birth on the earth.

View slides 1 to 24 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

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

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1 Samuel 2

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

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

Job 21

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

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

Part 2 Chapter 1

The Providence to Lay the Foundation for Restoration

THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION IN ADAM’S FAMILY

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

1.1 THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

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

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

1.2 THE FOUNDATION OF SUBSTANCE

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

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

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

View slides 1 to 26 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

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

No One Has Known the Root of Sin

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Job 9

25 My life is speeding by,
    without a hope of happiness.
26 Each day passes swifter
than a sailing ship
    or an eagle swooping down.
27 Sometimes I try to be cheerful
    and to stop complaining,
28 but my sufferings frighten me,
because I know that God
    still considers me guilty.
29 So what’s the use of trying
    to prove my innocence?
30 Even if I washed myself
    with the strongest soap,
31 God would throw me into a pit
of stinking slime,
leaving me
    disgusting to my clothes.

Job 15

15 Eliphaz from Teman said:

Job, if you had any sense,
you would stop spreading
    all of this hot air.
Your words are enough
to make others turn from God
    and lead them to doubt.
And your sinful, scheming mind
    is the source of all you say.
I am not here as your judge;
your own words are witnesses
    against you.

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

The Fall of Man

All people have an original mind which inclines them to reject evil
and pursue goodness. Yet, even without our being aware of it, we are
driven by evil forces to abandon the goodness which our original mind
desires and to perform evil deeds which, in our innermost heart, we do
not want to do. As long as these evil forces assail us, the sinful history
of humanity will continue unabated. In Christianity, the master of these
evil forces is known as Satan. We have been utterly unable to liquidate
the forces of Satan because we have not understood Satan’s identity or
how he came to exist. This explanation of the human Fall will clarify
these issues.
THE ROOT OF SIN
No one has known the root of sin, which lies deep within and cease-
lessly drives people toward the way of evil. On the basis of the Bible,
Christians have held to a vague belief that Adam and Eve’s eating the
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the root of sin.
1.1 THE TREE OF LIFE AND THE TREE OF
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
Adam and Eve fell when they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowl-
edge of good and evil. Many Christians to this day have thought that
this was the fruit of an actual tree. Why should we stubbornly adhere to a literal interpretation of the fruit when
so much of the Bible makes use of symbolism and metaphor? We would
do well to abandon such a narrow and old-fashioned attitude of faith.
To learn what the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil represents, let us first investigate the tree of life, which stood next
to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.
1.1.1 THE TREE OF LIFE
The tree of life in fact symbolizes a man who has fully
realized the ideal of creation. Perfected Adam was to be this ideal man.
The tree of life thus symbolizes perfected Adam.
1.1.2 THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, standing beside the tree of
life, 14 was this tree which, by fulfilling its good purpose, represents the
ideal woman, perfected Eve.
1.2 THE IDENTITY OF THE SERPENT
In the Bible we read that a serpent tempted Eve to commit sin. 17
What does the serpent symbolize? We are left with the con-
clusion that the spiritual being represented by the serpent was originally
created with a good purpose, but later fell and became Satan. The serpent, which tempted human beings and
sinned, is an angel.
1.3 THE FALL OF THE ANGEL AND THE FALL OF HUMAN BEINGS
1.3.1 T HE C RIME OF THE ANGEL
And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper
dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until
the judgment of the great day; just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the sur-
rounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnat-
ural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
— Jude 6-7
From this passage we can infer that the angel fell as a result of an illic-
it sexual relationship.
1.3.2 T HE CRIME OF THE HUMAN BEINGS
We read that before they fell, Adam and Eve were both naked, and
were not ashamed. 19 After the Fall, however, they felt ashamed of their
nakedness and sewed fig leaves together into aprons to cover their
lower parts. Adam and Eve’s sexual parts were the source of their shame
because they were the instruments of their sinful deed.
1.3.3 THE ILLICIT SEXUAL ACT BETWEEN THE ANGEL AND THE HUMAN BEINGS
We can deduce that the illicit sexual relationship must have involved the angel and human beings.
1.4 THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
What does the fruit of this tree represent? It signifies the
love of Eve. Eve should have borne good
children through her godly love. Instead, she bore evil children through
her satanic love. Accordingly, Eve’s eating of
the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil denotes that she
consummated a satanic love relationship with the angel which bound
her in blood ties to him.
1.5 THE ROOT OF SIN
The root of sin was not that the first human ancestors ate a fruit, but rather
that they had an illicit sexual relationship with an angel (symbolized by
a serpent). Consequently, they could not multiply God’s good lineage
but instead multiplied Satan’s evil lineage.
THE MOTIVATION AND PROCESS OF THE FALL
2.1 ANGELS , THEIR MISSIONS AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN BEINGS
Angels were created by God prior to any other creation. God created angels to be His retainers, who would assist Him in creating and sustaining the universe. in Hebrews angels are referred to as “ministering spirits.” The Bible often portrays angels honoring and praising
God. Let us investigate the relationship between human beings and angels
from the perspective of the Principle of Creation. Because God creat-
ed us as His children and gave us dominion over all creation, 37 we are
meant to rule over the angels as well.
2.2 T HE SPIRITUAL F ALL AND THE PHYSICAL FALL
God created human beings with two components: the spirit self
and the physical self. The human Fall likewise took place in two dimen-
sions: the spiritual and the physical. The fall which took place through
the sexual relationship between the angel and Eve was the spiritual fall,
while the fall which occurred through the sexual relationship between
Eve and Adam was the physical fall.
2.2.1 T HE SPIRITUAL FALL
Lucifer, feeling as though he were receiving less love than he deserved, wanted to grasp the same central position in human society as he enjoyed as the
channel of God’s love in the angelic world. This was why he seduced
Eve, and this was the motivation of the spiritual fall. Lucifer, who left his proper position due to his excessive desire, and Eve,
who wanted to open her eyes and become like God 44 before the time
was ripe, formed a common base and began give and take action. The
power of the unprincipled love generated by their give and take led
them to consummate an illicit sexual relationship on the spiritual plane.
2.2.2 THE PHYSICAL FALL
Eve then seduced Adam with the hope that by uniting with him, her intended spouse, she could rid herself of the dread and once again stand before God. This was Eve’s motivation which led to the physical fall. Adam responded and formed a common base with Eve, and they began give and take action with each other. The power of the unprincipled love generated in their relationship induced Adam to abandon his original position and brought them together in an illicit physical relationship of sexual love.

View slides 1 to 25 below for a graphical presentation of the above content:

2007p1-CHAPT-2-Fall-of-Man_revised-4-28-2014-1