Category: Joshua

Is Jesus God?

Joshua 24

2 Then Joshua told everyone to listen to this message from the Lord, the God of Israel:

Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods. This continued until the time of your ancestor Terah and his two sons, Abraham and Nahor. 3 But I brought Abraham across the Euphrates River and led him through the land of Canaan. I blessed him by giving him Isaac, the first in a line of many descendants. 4 Then I gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I had Esau live in the hill country of Mount Seir, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went to live in Egypt.

Jeremiah 51

63 When you finish praying, tie the scroll to a rock and throw it in the Euphrates River. Then say, 64 “This is how Babylon will sink when the Lord destroys it. Everyone in the city will die, and it won’t have the strength to rise again.”

Richard: Here, in these two verses, God gives a warning; ‘Get with the program, or else’. As I said on Monday the fundamental core issue is the breakdown and discarding of good sexual ethics.

Jesus

3. Jesus—the True Man and the Sinless ‘Second Adam’

The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam [Jesus] became a life-giving spirit.
    1 Corinthians 15.45

Lo! The likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam.
    Qur’an 3.59

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
    1 Timothy 2.5

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

    Hebrews 5.7-9

And when God said, “O Jesus son of Mary, did you say to mankind, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allah?’ ” He replied, “Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. Thou wouldst have known it if I said it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. Truly Thou alone art the Knower of Things Hidden. I spoke to them only that which Thou didst command me, saying, ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ I was a witness to them while I dwelt among them, and when Thou didst take me Thou wert the Watcher over them. Thou art Witness over all things.”
    Qur’an 5.116-17

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Had Adam and Eve realized the ideal of creation and become the True Parents of humanity, they would have borne good children without original sin and formed the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. However, Adam and Eve fell and became evil parents, multiplying evil children who created this hell on earth. Hence, as Jesus told Nicodemus, fallen people cannot see the Kingdom of God unless they are first born anew—as children without original sin.
    We cannot be born without parents. Who, then, are the good parents through whom we can be born again, cleansed of original sin and able to enter the Kingdom of God? Parents who have original sin cannot give birth to good children who do not have original sin. Certainly, it is impossible to find sinless parents among fallen humankind. These parents must descend from Heaven. Jesus was the Parent who came from Heaven. He came as the True Father in order to give rebirth to fallen people, transforming them into good children, thoroughly cleansed of original sin and fit to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth… Jesus came as the True Father whom Adam had failed to become. For this reason, the Bible speaks of him as the “last Adam” and the “Everlasting Father.” (1 Cor. 15.45, Isa. 9.6) (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Christology 4.1.1)
 
Jesus said that the value of a human life cannot be exchanged for the entire universe… Yet many Christians say that God is very high while we human beings are sinners. They say that Jesus is God while humans are creatures with no value. If that were true, how could we possibly be connected to God? How could we realize our full potential to become God-like people? That teaching creates an unbridgeable gap between God and human beings.
    To connect us to God, Jesus should stand on the side of human beings. If he stood on the side of God, we would have no hope. We read from the Bible, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2.5) The passage is correct. Because Jesus is a man, he provides the way for us sinners to approach God. If Jesus were God and not man, we would have no way to approach Him. This is a fundamental issue; it requires the correct and logical understanding.
    Jesus is a sinless person while we are sinful people—that is the difference between him and us. Because Jesus is sinless, he can relate with God’s love, life and ideal; and as the mediator, he can connect us to God’s love, life and ideal. (69:80-81, October 20, 1973)
 
Let me ask you a question: Was Jesus a man or a woman? Of course he was a man. When Jesus looked at a woman, do you think he saw her as a woman, or as a man? Of course, he saw her as a woman. Then, do you think he sometimes felt an attraction? There is always the force of electricity pulling plus and minus toward each other—it is the law of nature. While Jesus was standing there, an attractive woman would approach him. His body must have shaken like this [demonstrating]. His hand must have shaken, but his feet were firmly planted. He felt frustrated, but he did not move his feet. He knew that if he moved he might fall, so he remained still and unwavering. Ordinary people respond to temptation, but Jesus never budged, even if his hand might have touched her.
    No matter how great we may be, we cannot consider ourselves to be greater than Jesus. Jesus experienced the vulnerability of his human nature, but each time he drew the line and said, “No, I cannot do it.” “No, it is not permitted.” “I had better cut it off.” By continually overcoming temptation, he reached the point where he could say, “Now I am in oneness.” (128:78-79, June 5, 1983)
 
Richard:  Here we see in Rev. Moon’s teachings that Jesus is not God, but the sinless second Adam who mediates for us before God.
 
 

The Path of Indemnity Is to Deny Oneself and Go Opposite the Way of the World

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Joshua 19

24-26 Asher was the fifth tribe chosen to receive land, and the region for its clans included the following towns:

Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal.

Jeremiah 50

38 Your rivers and canals
    will dry up.

All of this will happen,
because your land
    is full of idols,
and they have made fools
    of you.
39 Never again will people live
    in your land—
only desert animals, jackals,
    and unclean birds.

Richard: Modern day idols are power, money and sex, when misused in a self-centered way.

Reversal and Restoration

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The path of indemnity is to deny oneself and go opposite the way of the world. In the beginning in the Garden of Eden, Adam fell because he rejected God and followed Satan. Now in reverse we must reject Satan and return to God. (73:93, August 4, 1974)

When someone has lost his original position or state, he must make some condition to be restored to it. The making of such conditions of restitution is called indemnity. For example, to recover lost reputation, position or health, one must make the necessary effort or pay the due price. Suppose two people who once loved each other come to be on bad terms; they must make some condition of reconciliation before the love they previously enjoyed can be revived. In like manner, it is necessary for human beings who have fallen from God’s grace into corruption to fulfill some condition before they can be restored to their true standing. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Restoration 1.1)

A snake cannot grow without shedding its skin. To shed it, the snake crawls between narrow rocks. It needs an opposing force to push off the old skin. Likewise, the force of darkness has soaked through our body and blood. We cannot just go along with it; how do we get rid of it? We need the wisdom to go the opposite way entirely. (46:83, July 25, 1971)

Humanity went astray from the very beginning when Adam and Eve went in the wrong direction. Now we have to turn it completely around. Our conventional attitudes, our ways of thinking, and our desires in all areas of life must be changed into their opposites. What, then, should be our way of thinking? Thus far we have been thinking about our family for how it can benefit ourselves, and we have been dealing with our nation in ways that advance our self-interest. However, from now on we should think, “I exist for the greater whole—for my family, not for me; for my nation, not for me; for the world, not for me.” Do you understand what I am saying? We must change fundamentally. White people should live for black people and yellow people, and yellow people should live for white people and black people. Likewise, Christianity should live for Islam, and Islam for Christianity. (May 1, 1978)

The Human Fall took place because the first human ancestors were caught up with consciousness of self. Conversely, restoration requires that our awareness be reoriented away from the self and toward the cosmos and its ideal purpose. Therefore, the path to liberation requires that we willingly bear other people’s burdens and take responsibility for the common good. (396:178, November 7, 200

God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth

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Joshua 7

The spies left and went to Ai, which is east of Bethel and near Beth-Aven. 3 They went back to Joshua and reported, “You don’t need to send the whole army to attack Ai—two or three thousand troops will be enough. Why bother the whole army for a town that small?”

Richard: Even a small number of Blessed families doing Home Church can make a big difference.

Psalm 112

Shout praises to the Lord!
    The Lord blesses everyone
    who worships him and gladly
    obeys his teachings.
2 Their descendants will have
    great power in the land,
    because the Lord blesses
    all who do right.
3 They will get rich and prosper
    and will always be remembered
    for their fairness.
4 They will be so kind
    and merciful and good,
that they will be a light
in the dark
    for others
    who do the right thing.

Enlightenment

2. Inner Enlightenment

Brahman is all in all.
He is action, knowledge, goodness supreme.
To know Him, hidden in the lotus of the heart, is to untie the knot of ignorance.
    Mundaka Upanishad 2.1.10 (Hinduism)

In the golden city of the heart dwells
The Lord of Love, without parts, without stain.
Know Him as the radiant light of lights.
There shines not the sun, neither moon nor star,
Nor flash of lightning, nor fire lit on earth.
The Lord is the light reflected by all.
He shining, everything shines after Him.
    Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.10-11 (Hinduism)

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His Light
is as if there were a Niche,
and within it a Lamp;
the Lamp enclosed in Glass:
The Glass as it were a brilliant star:
Lit from a blessed Tree,
an olive neither of the East nor of the West,
Whose oil is well-nigh luminous,
though fire scarce touched it.
Light upon Light!
God guides whom He will to His Light:
God sets forth parables for men, and God knows all things. 
    Qur’an 24.35

Even as a mirror stained by dust
Shines brilliantly when it has been cleansed,
So the embodied one, on seeing the nature of the Self,
Becomes unitary, his end attained, from sorrow freed.
    Svetasvatara Upanishad 2.14 (Hinduism)

The Self within the heart is like a boundary which divides the world from That. Day and night cross not that boundary, nor old age, nor death; neither grief nor pleasure, neither good nor evil deeds. All evil shuns That. For That is free from impurity: by impurity can it never be touched.
    Wherefore he who has crossed that boundary and has realized the Self, if he is blind, ceases to be blind; if he is wounded, ceases to be wounded; if he is afflicted, ceases to be afflicted. When that boundary is crossed, night becomes day; for the world of Brahman is light itself.
    Chandogya Upanishad 4.1-2 (Hinduism)

The Sixth Patriarch was pursued by the monk Myo as far as Taiyu Mountain. The patriarch, seeing Myo coming, laid the Robe and bowl [of office] on a rock and said, “This robe represents the faith; it should not be fought over. If you want to take it away, take it now.” Myo tried to move it, but it was as heavy as a mountain and would not budge. Faltering and trembling, he cried out, “I came for the Dharma, not for the robe. I beg you, please give me your instruction.
    ”The patriarch said, “Think neither good nor evil. At this very moment, what is the original self of the monk Myo?” At these words, Myo was directly illuminated. His whole body was covered with sweat. He wept and bowed, saying, “Besides the secret words and secret meaning you have just now revealed to me, is there anything else, deeper still?” The patriarch said, “What I have told you is no secret at all. When you look into your own true self, whatever is deeper is found right there.”
    Mumonkan 23 (Buddhism)

God Resolutely Works to Cleanse the Human World

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Leviticus 23

37 I have chosen these festivals as times when my people must come together for worship and when animals, grain, and wine are to be offered on the proper days. 38 These festivals must be celebrated in addition to the Sabbaths and the times when you offer special gifts or sacrifices to keep a promise or as a voluntary offering.
Richard: We should be aware of and celebrate the Holy Days that God has set up. On the Heavenly Calendar there are eight major Holy Days.

Joshua 16

9 Ephraim also had some towns and villages that were inside Manasseh’s tribal land.

Richard: Even though we are living in a fallen world, Cheong Il Guk (the Kingdom of Heaven) has been established and must be expanded centering on Blessed families.

CSG 2305
Sovereignty, territory and citizenry are necessary for creating a nation. You must believe that the eternal settlement of Cheon Il Guk was declared on the foundation of all its constituent parts. Have confidence as God would and when you push forward with all your strength with confidence equal to that of Rev. Moon, the True Parent, nothing will hold you back. (364-87, 2002.1.1)
CSG p 1511
Your families represent the sovereignty of God’s Kingdom. The parents stand on behalf of this sovereignty. The children stand in the stead of the citizens, and the material possessions rep-resent the land of that kingdom. Subsequently, being filial to one’s parents is the same as being loyal to one’s nation, and also leads one to fulfill one’s duties as a saint. At present, the family has become the origin of many disgraceful acts, but God hopes that the family will be transformed into sanctified ground. Therefore, the mission to save corrupted families in the fallen realm lies with us. Though families worldwide are shattering, we are not in a position to abandon them. (35-306, 1970.10.30)

Forgiveness

2. Cleansing and Purification

On this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.
    Leviticus 16.30

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to thy steadfast love;
according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done that which is evil in thy sight,
so that thou art justified in thy sentence
and blameless in thy judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Fill me with joy and gladness;
let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
     Psalm 51.1-10

Thus hearing the litany, and that there be no blot of sin in the court or the country,
May the deities bestow their purification that no offense remain, and
As the wind blows from its origin to carry away
the clouds of heaven,
Even as the wind of morning and the wind of evening clears away the morning and
evening mists,
As the ship in harbor casts off its moorings stem and stern to be borne out onto the
great plain of the sea, and
As the rank grasses beyond the river are swept away with the clean stroke of the scythe—
Even so, may the deity Seoritsuhime-no-kami,
Dwelling in the swift-flowing stream that falls
from the high mountains and low hills,
Carry away these sins and pollutions without
remain, to the wide sea plain.

Our sins thus swept away, may the goddess
Hayaakitsuhimi-no-kami,
Who lives in the stream of the sea plain,
Open wide her great mouth to engulf those sins
and impurities, and
When they are thus imbibed,
May the god Ibukidonushi-no-kami,
Dwelling in the place where breath is breathed,
Blow them out with a great rushing breath.
And when he has thus banished them to the
underworld,
May the goddess Hayasasurahime-no-kami
disperse them once and all.
Even in this way, may the sins of all in the realm,
from officials of the court on down,
every transgression within the land be washed away. 
    Engishiki 8 (Shinto)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Just as the ocean takes in all manner of sewage and muddy water and then cleanses it, God, the original entity of absolute true love, resolutely works to cleanse the human world that deviated from the principles of His creation. (December 27, 2002) 
 
Father! Please purify the minds and hearts of all Thy children who kneel before Thee.
Work with Thy purifying touch in the soul of each one here.
Please reveal all that is in each of our minds and bodies, Father, and sanctify everything.
Since it will not do unless all improper elements are separated out and cast away,
O Father, please personally be the Lord who purifies us
and the Lord of our hearts. (1:162, July 11, 1956)
 
 

Almighty God is the God of Love and the God of Mercy

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Joshua 6

15 On the seventh day, the army got up at daybreak. They marched slowly around Jericho the same as they had done for the past six days, except on this day they went around seven times. 16 Then the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua yelled:

Get ready to shout! The Lord will let you capture this town. 17 But you must destroy it and everything in it, to show that it now belongs to the Lord. The woman Rahab helped the spies we sent, so protect her and the others who are inside her house. But kill everyone else in the town. 18-19 The silver and gold and everything made of bronze and iron belong to the Lord and must be put in his treasury. Be careful to follow these instructions, because if you see something you want and take it, the Lord will destroy Israel. And it will be all your fault.

Psalm 149

8     Put chains of iron
    on their kings and rulers.
9 Punish them as they deserve;
    this is the privilege
of God’s faithful people.
    Shout praises to the Lord!

Richard: God is giving a clear message about His victory and the victory of his people. See The Richard Urban Show: #89- Could Joe Biden only be President for 40 Days?

Grace

1. Grace Needful for Salvation

Teachings of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Almighty God is the God of love and the God of mercy. He is deeply concerned and grieved over the living death of His children. He knows that people are incapable of breaking their chains and getting rid of their sin by their own efforts. He knows that only one power can bring people to salvation—God Himself. And God, in His mercy, is determined to save this world. (September 18, 1974)

Because God must, in the end, accomplish His Will2 on earth, He has preserved us although we were perishing. (Way of God’s Will 1.3)

God is not the kind of God to just stand by while human beings live a fallen existence. He has worked until today to lay the foundation for re-creation through religion, in order to recreate the ideal world that He has purposed from the very beginning. This is God’s providence for salvation. (May 10, 1981)

Our ancestors who were expelled from the Garden of Eden were the worst criminals in human history; they have no basis to be proud of themselves. However, because God still has a relationship of heart with them, He endures all ordeals while leading the providence of restoration from Adam, Noah, Moses and Jesus to the present day. Thinking of this grace of God, we should appeal to Him with gratitude for His mercy upon humanity throughout history, not merely for His mercy in the current moment. (16:236, June 19, 1966)

We have nothing that would enable us to relate with the all-knowing and almighty Being. Born as fallen people, our eyes are defiled. Our five senses and all our emotions belong to the secular. We have nothing that would enable us to relate with God. By the principle of heavenly righteousness we have nothing. And yet, one path remains through which we can relate to God: by the principle of love. (149:37, November 11, 1986)

Salvation fundamentally begins when we connect with God’s love. However, we became fallen human beings having nothing to do with God’s lineage. Atonement is required; this means nothing less than the removal of the original sin. However, since the original sin is carried in the lineage, we fallen human beings cannot resolve this problem on our own, no matter what we do. That is why we need the Messiah. (35:159, October 13, 1970)

Not due to our own will do we exist,
not due to our own selves do we enjoy the glory of life,
and not due to our own efforts can we rejoice today in the presence of our Father,
but due to the grace mercifully bestowed by our Father,
who hast toiled through thousands of years of history. (2:280, June 23, 1957)