Tag: John the Baptist

John the Baptist Failed His Mission

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 2496

What is it that the True Parents are supposed to do? They have to completely open up the blocked way between the spirit world and physical world and lay a highway, a highway from hell, from Danbury, from the hell of the spirit world to heaven! (134-127, 1985.2.25)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1018

    Try conveying the Word till after midnight and until you hear the crow of the first rooster. How mysterious it is! Try conveying the Word as you listen to the barking of dogs in the neighborhood in the quiet, tranquil night. You will feel as if you have broken through on a new path of life in search of the bright sunlight; you will feel like the captain of a ship who determines anew to find the lighthouse. You will experience a sense of valor, pride, and majesty as if you were alone in this world filled entirely with mysteries of all kinds.
    In order to have that bond of heart, you should give guidance during the nighttime. It is necessary to conduct such activities during the night or at dawn. (29-196, 1970.2.28)

Original Substance of the Divine Principle

The Principle of Restoration

The Worldwide Course for the Restoration of Canaan Centering on Jesus

Jesus was the second Adam and had to walk the course to bring Satan to submission, following the course set out by Jacob and Moses.
To establish a relationship with the Messiah, human beings must first establish the
Foundation for the Messiah.  If there is no Foundation for the Messiah, fallen people will kill the Messiah when he comes.
The Jewish people believed in John the Baptist, who was in the position of Elijah.  But John had doubts about Jesus (Mt. 11:3).  Therefore the first world-level course for the restoration of Canaan failed. 
See slides 1 to 5 below:

He Must Increase and I Must Decrease

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 390

Why do men exist? Men often say they are not interested in such issues because they can usually live alone, but men are born for the sake of women. Without women, men have no reason to be here. There is nothing that has come into being for its own sake. (285-220, 1997.5.19)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1188

As viewed from God’s original ideal of creation, the eldest son should come from God’s side and, of course, the second son should also come from God’s side. Due to the Fall, the position of the first son was taken by Satan, and the position of the second son went to God. This has to be made right. Thus, when we consider the story of Esau and Jacob in the Bible, Jacob united with his mother and received her help. He gave Esau the pottage of lentils and bread in exchange for the birthright of the firstborn son. Until today, we could not understand why Bible history is the way it is. With the appearance of the Unification Church, its meaning was clarified for the first time. (134-304, 1985.8.16)

Original Substance of the Divine Principle

The Advent of the Messiah and the Purpose of His Second Coming

Many people think that John the Baptist was a great providential figure. However, we need to look again at the role of John the Baptist. Did he not testify to Jesus as the Messiah at the Jordan River? Then why did John not follow and assist Jesus, but rather said ‘he must increase and I must decrease’?
Study slides 12 to 16 below:

It Only Takes a Spark to Start a Forest Fire!

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James 3

It takes only a spark to start a forest fire! 6 The tongue is like a spark. It is an evil power that dirties the rest of the body and sets a person’s entire life on fire with flames that come from hell itself. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be tamed and have been tamed. 8 But our tongues get out of control. They are restless and evil, and always spreading deadly poison.

Ecclesiastes 1

10 I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work. 11 Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind. Nothing on earth is worth the trouble.

Jesus

4. Preparation for Christ’s Advent and the Responsibility of John the Baptist

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

If the Messiah were sent to this fallen world without any preparations or foundation, the enemy Satan would definitely capture him and kill him. Therefore, to prepare for his coming, God worked throughout history to establish religions. God erected the major religions and separated good from evil to find the people on His side. God’s plan was to raise an individual, family, tribe, people and nation that could be victorious over Satan. It would be the prepared foundation, ready to unite totally with the Messiah when he came. That foundation was the nation called Israel, which means victory. (74:59-60, November 12, 1974)
 
Through many prophets, God sent messages promising that He would send the Messiah to Israel. Thus God built a foundation of messianic expectation in the Jewish people. At the proper time, God fulfilled His promise by sending His Son, the Messiah. He was Jesus. (73:218, September 18, 1974)
 
When Jesus was born, God proclaimed his advent. He sent the three wise men from the East as well as Simon, Anna, John the Baptist and others to testify widely.
    Concerning John the Baptist in particular, many people knew that an angel had appeared and testified to his conception. (Luke 1.13) The miracles surrounding his birth stirred all of Judea in expectation. (Luke 1.63-66) Furthermore, John’s ascetic life in the wilderness was so impressive that many people questioned in their hearts whether perhaps he was the Christ. (Luke 3.15) God’s purpose behind sending such a great personality as John the Baptist to bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah was to encourage the Jewish people to believe in Jesus. (Exposition of the Divine Principle,Messiah 1.3)I
 
f the Jewish believers who respected John the Baptist as a prophet had united with Jesus, what would have happened? Jesus’ disciples would have been the leading citizens of Israel, not poor fishermen. With that level of support, who would have dared arrested and killed Jesus? Was it originally God’s will that Jesus’ chief followers should be tax collectors and prostitutes? (74:153, November 28, 1974)
 
When the mind of John the Baptist was focused on God, he recognized Jesus as the Messiah and testified to him. Later, when the inspiration left him and he returned to a mundane state, his ignorance returned and exacerbated his faithlessness. Unable to acknowledge that he was the return of Elijah, John began to regard Jesus in the same disbelieving way as other Jews viewed him, particularly after he was imprisoned. Jesus’ every word and deed seemed to him only strange and perplexing. At one point, John tried to resolve his doubts by sending his disciples to Jesus and asking, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matt. 11.3)…
 
    John the Baptist had been chosen while still inside the womb for the mission of attending Jesus. He led an arduous, ascetic life in the wilderness, building his ministry in order to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. When Jesus began his public ministry, God revealed the identity of Jesus to John before anyone else and inspired John to bear witness to him as the Son of God. Yet John did not properly receive the grace that Heaven had bestowed on him. Therefore, when confronted with John’s doubting question, Jesus did not answer explicitly that he was the Messiah; he instead answered in this circuitous way. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Messiah 2.3)
 
Jesus said, “Among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” (Matt. 11.11) What did he mean by this? The mission of prophets through the ages was mainly to testify to the Messiah. Prophets in the past testified from a distance of time, but John the Baptist was the prophet contemporary with the Messiah, the prophet who could bear witness, in person, to the living Christ. Therefore he was the greatest among prophets. However, John failed to love and serve the Messiah. Even the least of the prophets then living in the spirit world knew that Jesus was the Son of God and served him. That is why John, who was given the greatest mission and failed, became less than the least.
    From his birth, John should have lived and died in the service of Christ, but instead he died over involvement in a trivial matter, the affair of Herodias. Was that the path God intended for John the Baptist?
    Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has advanced forcefully, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matt. 11:12) In other words, Jesus said that during days of John the Baptist just prior to the appearance of Jesus, there was the possibility that the Kingdom of Heaven could be taken and claimed by forceful men.
    If John the Baptist had believed in Jesus, he certainly would have become Jesus’ chief disciple. Jesus’ 12 disciples and 70 disciples would have been the leaders of John the Baptist’s group. As Jews of good reputation, they could have won over the scribes and priests to Jesus’ side.
    One day John’s followers came to him and asked, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” (John 3.26) They carried concern in their question: Look at all the people going to Jesus. What about you? John replied, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” (John 3.30) Usually this passage is interpreted as evidence of John’s humility. But what it really means is that John and Jesus were not united in heart and action. If Jesus and John had been united, their destiny would be to rise or fall together. Know, then, that the reason Jesus died on the cross was due to the failure of John the Baptist. (69:139, October 23, 1973)
 
 
 

There Can Be No Perfection in Ignorance

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2168

Are you brave soldiers who should stand forward for the establishment of the homeland, or are you failures who bring it down? When we say brave warriors, we mean those who can represent the nation and carry out the things that other people cannot do. We do not use the term brave soldier for the people who do what just anyone can do; they are the rank and file troops. The brave soldier is the one who carries out the mission that his comrades have retreated from or failed to accomplish. The word yong means swift, quick. The brave soldier has to be able to run faster than anyone else, and even to be able to dodge bullets. The term brave soldier is reserved for those who do what no one else can do.

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There can be no perfection in ignorance. Who did I say Satan is? He is the adulterer. I have made all this clear to you. Do you think you can go to the Kingdom of Heaven if you ignore this? Do you think you can be saved if you ignore it? There is not even the slimmest chance. What a set of ignorant people! If you could be saved by just believing what you are told to believe, people like you and I would have been saved a long time ago. We would not have to suffer like this. (188-230, 1989.2.26)

Jesus

4. Preparation for Christ’s Advent and the Responsibility of John the Baptist

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Who are little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
    Micah 5.2

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
who shall prepare thy way;
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight”—
 
John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey.
    Mark 1.2-6
 
John said, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
    The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
    John 1.26-34
 
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”
    As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out?… To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
 
‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,who shall prepare thy way before thee.’
 
Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force.
    For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
    Matthew 11.2-15
 
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
    John 1.19-21
 
 
 

John the Baptist Harbored Doubts Toward Jesus

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2088

Now you must straighten out your
roots. Your father and mother took
a wrong turn because they fell away
from their original roots. The first son
has gone wrong as well. Therefore, you
must turn them back so that they make,
as their central focus, the original right
of the parents centered on True Parents
and the right of the first son centered on
true sons and daughters. A connection
will not simply be made automatically.
Only after turning yourself around 180
degrees and engrafting onto the true
root can you begin anew. Therefore,
you must return to your homeland and
become the new ancestors for your lin-
eage. You must understand that this is
your final destiny. (178-99, 1998.6.1)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 918

In regard to the firstborn son of the
eldest son, even the grandfather comes
under his command when that son per-
forms the ancestral rites. The grandfa-
ther has to show his respect. The fact that
Koreans place value in the lineage of the
firstborn son, and also in their geneal-
ogy and lineage, holds record-breaking
historical value in God’s providence of
restoration, which can never be forgot-
ten from the deepest root of His mind.
(290-9, 1998.2.2)

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

THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF JESUS

 In the beginning, Adam should have governed the angels; but due to his fall, human beings came under Satan’s dominion and formed a hellish world. To restore this through indemnity, Jesus came as the second Adam to personally bring Satan to submission and establish the Kingdom of Heaven.

 Jacob walked the symbolic course to bring Satan to submission, while Moses walked the image course. Their courses pioneered the way for Jesus to walk the actual course. In walking the worldwide course to restore Canaan, Jesus followed the model demonstrated in the national course to restore Canaan when Moses was working to subjugate Satan.

3.1 THE FIRST WORLDWIDE COURSE TO RESTORE CANAAN

3.1.1 THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

 In the first worldwide course to restore Canaan, the central figure entrusted with the mission to restore the foundation of faith was John the Baptist.

 John the Baptist, like Moses, was called on the foundation of a four-hundred-year period for the separation of Satan. Moses had learned to love his brethren and the traditions of his fathers while living in the Pharaoh’s palace. Likewise, John the Baptist learned the way of faith and obedience to Heaven and made preparations for the Messiah while living on locusts and wild honey in the wilderness. His life was so exemplary that many people, including the priests and Levites, wondered whether he might be the Messiah.181 In this way, John the Baptist successfully established the dispensation of forty for the separation of Satan and was able to lay the foundation of faith for the first worldwide course to restore Canaan.

3.1.2 THE FOUNDATION OF SUBSTANCE

 Since John the Baptist stood in the same position as Moses, he likewise stood in the dual positions of parent and child. From the position of parent, he restored through indemnity the foundation of faith. From the position of child, he secured the position of Abel for the fulfillment of the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature.

 God conducted the dispensation to start by encouraging the Jewish people to believe in John through the miracles surrounding his life. The Jewish people in Jesus’ time were to believe in and follow John the Baptist, whom God had raised up through miracles and signs as the focus of their faith. Thus, they would fulfill the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature and lay the foundation of substance, thereby immediately establishing the foundation for the Messiah.

3.1.3 THE FAILURE OF THE FIRST WORLDWIDE COURSE TO RESTORE CANAAN

 The Jewish people stood upon the foundation of faith laid by John the Baptist and followed John as if they were following the Messiah. Thereupon, they brought an end to the Old Testament Age and were ready to embark upon a new course to restore Canaan worldwide. Yet, John the Baptist harbored doubts toward Jesus, even though he had testified to him. He sent a delegation and asked Jesus, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” He denied that he was Elijah even though he in fact came to fulfill Elijah’s mission. This not only blocked the Jewish people’s path to Jesus, it even led them to oppose him. In effect, John left the position of Abel, depriving the Jewish people of the central person with whom they could fulfill the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature. This blocked their way to complete the foundation of substance or the foundation for the Messiah. Consequently, the first worldwide course to restore Canaan was aborted. As was the case in Moses’ days, it was prolonged to a second and then a third course.

View slides 1 to 12 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

2007p2-CHAPT-2-S3-Jesus_revised-4-28-2014