CHAPTER EIGHT
Overview of the Principles of Restoration
I. HISTORY FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE DISPENSATION FOR RESTORATION
As explained in "The Principles of the Creation," God created man to
live in his love for eternity--first, in the Kingdom of Heaven on
earth, and later, as a spirit person, in the Kingdom of Heaven in the
spirit world. However, because the first man and woman fell (during
their growing period), they embodied sin and were dominated by Satan.
But God could not leave his original Ideal for the Creation
unaccomplished. In Isaiah 46:11 God said, "'I have spoken, and I will
bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it,'" showing that he
will definitely carry out his original plan. He is determined to save
man. His dispensation to save fallen man consists of restoring man to
his original state. Let us examine how God has worked for man's
salvation throughout history.
History does not consist solely of who did what, when they did it, and
where it was done. It is man's experience that he can barely shape
the course of his own personal history. From God's viewpoint, man's
history is the record of God's dispensation for salvation--that is, of
His dispensation for the restoration of fallen man, who is under the
dominion of Satan. Human history is the manifestation of God's work
to fulfill the purpose of restoration. Thus, it is the history of
God's Dispensation for Restoration.
The goal of God's Dispensation for Restoration is the restoration of
fallen man to the position where he fulfills the Purpose of the
Creation and the restoration of the cosmos as it was originally
created. Therefore, the history of mankind can be defined as the
history of God's dispensation for re-establishing the Purpose of the
Creation in man's life.
A. Fallen Man is the Womb of Good and Evil
A person who fulfills God's Purpose for the Creation becomes God's
temple, where God's spirit dwells (1 Cor 3:16). Such a person would
have a divine nature and would be "'...perfect, as [his] heavenly
Father is perfect'" (Mt 5:48). And God would always be the center of
the thoughts, actions, and life of such an individual. The personal
history of such a person would be good; and the histories of the
families of such individuals, and of the nations and world populated
by such individuals, would be nothing other than good. Therefore, the
ideal history of mankind as conceived of in the mind of God can be
stated in one word: goodness.
However, because of the Fall, man did not become God's temple. To the
contrary, he became the dwelling place of Satan, and by becoming one
with Satan, man came to have an evil nature instead of a divine
nature. As a result, Satan is "'...the ruler of this world..." (2 Cor
4:4) and controls fallen man's thoughts, activities, and life.
Consequently, the history of mankind has been evil. The histories of
such fallen individuals, of the families of such individuals, and of
the nations and world populated by such individuals, could be nothing
other than evil. The history of mankind began as a history of sin and
evil and has continued as such.
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As was already explained in "The Fall," man fell during the time he
was growing toward perfection. Such perfection means becoming the
embodiment of the Ideal for the Creation. However, as a result of the
Fall, fallen man became the embodiment and womb of good and evil.
Adam and Eve had grown to a certain stage centered on God, and
therefore they had within themselves a base of goodness resembling
God, although it was not fully developed. Additionally, they
developed a base of evil within themselves by receiving evil elements
from the archangel. The evil element received from the fallen
archangel is Original Sin. However, the degree of good and the degree
of evil operating in fallen man are not equally developed. The base
of evil is highly expressed. On the other hand, man's foundation of
goodness is only germinal, and so unless conscious effort is made to
encourage it, it is extremely difficult for that goodness to bear
fruit.
B. The Struggle between Good and Evil --
The Hidden Dimension of History
In order to realize the Purpose of the Creation in the midst of the
fallen world, which Satan rules, God consistently carries out the
Dispensation for Restoration by separating good from evil. As a
result, most of human history is composed of struggles between good
and evil. Fallen man unites with Satan in his mind and commits sins
through his body. Yet, man still has within himself the Original Mind
created by God, and it always remains directed toward God.
In the Dispensation for Restoration, there is an unseen struggle
between God and Satan. And man, being the embodiment of good and
evil, is caught in the middle of that struggle--between God, working
to win man to his side through the base of goodness (the Original
Mind) within man, and Satan, working to keep man on his side through
the base of evil (the evil mind) within man. Without understanding
the unseen causal dimension of God and Satan, human history cannot be
properly understood. It cannot be understood simply by examining the
superficial activities of man on earth.
There is continuous conflict between the evil sovereignty of Satan,
who is trying to hold on to man, and the good sovereignty of God, who
is trying to recover man and restore him. This is reflected in the
battles between the good and evil in this world. In this struggle
between God and Satan lies the reason for the first bloodshed recorded
in the Bible, that in which Cain killed Abel; and in this same
struggle lies the reason that the history of mankind has been marked
by conflict and war, regardless of whether one looks to the East or to
the West. Whether the leading roles in these struggles are played by
individuals, families, tribes, nations, or blocs of nations, these
struggles all amount to a struggle between God, working on the side of
goodness, and Satan, working on the side of evil. Accordingly, it is
God's work and Satan's work that are behind any type of human
conflict, whether it is a struggle between one individual and another,
one family and another, or one bloc of nations and another.
At times, the struggle has centered on property, land, or people; at
other times, on ideologies and beliefs. But actually all of these are
just reflections of the struggle between God and Satan. God is trying
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to restore man to the purpose of goodness, and Satan is trying to
maintain his evil position and power. This struggle then manifests in
the world as the conflicts recorded in human history.
C. The Cause of the Development and Progress of History
Then, what is the real driving force of history? When we say that all
of history is the reflection of God's dispensational work, does it
mean that history advances solely by the plan and work of God? Even
though the goal of history is to restore the Purpose of the Creation,
do the conflicts between good and evil automatically and naturally
progress toward that Purpose? If so, then how can we explain the many
injustices and tragedies in history, such as the prevalence of evil or
the suffering of righteous people, things which could hardly be
thought of as the work of an almighty God of goodness?
In the beginning, God gave the first man and woman a commandment which
they were to obey until they perfected themselves. The realization of
the Purpose of the Creation is possible only if man and woman
accomplish their responsibility, by obeying the commandment. The
Purpose of the Creation is not to be accomplished simply by concern
and action on the part of God. Although man's responsibility may seem
infinitely small, it is a principle of the Creation that man's
responsibility is a necessary element. Thus, in order to restore the
lost Purpose of the Creation, man's portion of responsibility is also
absolutely essential-- it cannot be done by God's power and
dispensation alone.
But it is possible for man either to fulfill his responsibility or not
to fulfill it. When a person does fulfill his responsibility, God's
Will is manifested in history through that person, and God's
dispensation is concretely accomplished and restoration progresses.
But when a person fails to fulfill his responsibility, God's
dispensation through that person is frustrated, and Satan's will
comes to be reflected in history instead. Thus, man can make God
happy, by fulfilling his responsibility, or sad, by failing in his
responsibility. The reason that human history appears to be nothing
but a constant re-enactment of sinful history, with the prospect of an
ideal world seemingly so distant, is not because God is impotent, or
because he is not absolute, but because man has not fulfilled his
responsibility to carry out God's Will. God is absolute, eternal, and
omnipotent; therefore, the accomplishment of his Purpose for the
Creation and of his purpose of restoration are also absolute. God's
will for restoration will definitely be accomplished (Is 46:11).
Therefore, when the person carrying out the will does not fulfill his
responsibility, God, after a period of time restores the same
foundation and conditions as before, and chooses another person to
carry out the same mission. This is precisely the reason that we see
very similar incidents and events recurring throughout the long
history of God's dispensation, even after periods of two to four
thousand years. We call this recurrence of similar events or periods,
Dispensational Time Identity. (For a full explanation, refer to
"Dispensational Time Identity.")
II. THE PRINCIPLES OF RESTORATION
A. The Dispensation for Restoration and the Messiah
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What are the specific principles of God's dispensation for the
restoration of fallen man? At the completion level of the growth
stage, man fell and thus came under the dominion of Satan. In order
for God to restore fallen people, God must first separate them from
Satan. This is because as long as man remains an object to Satan, or
remains under his influence, the Purpose of the Creation cannot be
fulfilled. In order to be completely separated from Satan, leaving no
basis by which Satan can invade again, a person must be cleansed of
Original Sin, because it is the root of all the bases by which Satan
accuses and invades fallen man. However, Original Sin cannot be
removed unless man is reborn through the Messiah, who comes as the
True Parent. Only the Messiah can eliminate the Original Sin.
The Messiah, who is thus the most indispensable central person in the
Dispensation for Restoration, is the model of a true person, and it is
through him that God creates true individuals, families, tribes,
nations, and a world that fulfill the original Ideal for the Creation.
So, God cannot send the Messiah to the world without preparing it.
Preparation is necessary because, ever since the Fall of man, mankind
has been serving the false master, Satan, and if the Messiah were sent
without a prepared environment, there is the danger that the satanic
world would try to eliminate him. Therefore, from the midst of the
evil people who are serving the false master, God first chooses one
individual who will honor and obey him. Based on this individual, God
creates families and nations separated from Satan's side, families and
nations which then can serve as a foundation of faith upon which the
Messiah can come.
Since at the beginning of God's Dispensation for Restoration the
Messiah had not yet come, fallen man had to meet the condition of
symbolically restoring himself to the completion level of the growth
state. Man thus establishes the foundation to receive the Messiah.
To begin this process, man must go through a course of separation from
Satan. And as a result of this process, fallen man receives the
Messiah, who comes as the True Parent, and is reborn. Through this
rebirth, a person is restored to the position of Adam or Eve before
the Fall. Since the level from which the first man and woman fell was
the completion level of the growth stage, the completion level of the
growth stage is also the level at which he is born again in the course
of restoration. Consequently, the completion stage still remains to
be gone through. Man grows through this stage by following the
Messiah, finally reaching the position where he fulfills the Purpose
of the Creation. Originally, man's responsibility during his growing
period is only to follow the Way of The Principle. However, fallen
man is required to pass through two courses on his way to perfection:
(1) the first course is the Way of Restoration, which includes the
course he must follow until the Messiah's coming and his rebirth
through the Messiah; (2) the second course is the original Way of The
Principle, which is the path he must follow through the remaining
stage of the growing period, namely, the completion stage. Fallen man
does this by following the Messiah.
If Adam and Eve had perfected themselves, thus becoming the True
Parents and True Ancestors of the human race, their children would
have followed the Way of The Principle under the guidance and
protection of their parents. After being born again through the
Messiah, the Way of The Principle requires man to be completely
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obedient to the Messiah and to rely on him while growing to
perfection, for he stands as the True Parent.
B. Restoration through Indemnity
Then what is the Way of Restoration which must be followed until the
Messiah comes? In other words, what are the principles of God's
dispensation until he sends the Messiah? These questions can be
answered by understanding what is involved in preparing for the
Messiah. Since the Messiah comes in the position of Adam
(1 Cor 15:45), he cannot appear at just any time; he can only appear
when man has been restored to the position that Adam had reached just
prior to the Fall, that position being the completion level of the
growth stage. That is, the Messiah can appear only when there is a
foundation for him to stand on in the position of the original sinless
Adam. However, fallen man cannot reach that state on his own because
he has Original Sin. Therefore, God requires that fallen man meet
certain conditions--conditions such that man can be considered as
having been symbolically restored to this level--in other words, such
that man has restored the completion level of the growth stage in
form. Therefore, God's dispensation prior to the Messiah's coming may
be summarized as mankind's restoring the foundation upon which the
Messiah can appear. Consequently, in the Way of Restoration, man's
responsibility is to restore the foundation for receiving the Messiah.
What does 'restoration through indemnity' mean? In order for
something to be restored to a position or state which it has lost,
certain conditions must be met. To meet these conditions is to
indemnify the loss of the original--and thus, to restore through
indemnity.
Man lost his original state and position because of the Fall. In
order for him to restore that original position and state, he must
meet certain conditions. Since meeting these conditions indemnifies
the loss, returning to the original state by meeting the required
conditions is called restoration through indemnity. The conditions
that need to be met for this process of restoration through indemnity
are called indemnity conditions. The dispensation to restore fallen
man's Original Nature through fulfilling indemnity conditions is
called the Dispensation for Restoration through Indemnity.
Next, we need to understand the different kinds of indemnity
conditions. The first kind is the indemnity condition of an equal
amount, such as that found in Exodus 21:23-25: "'If any harm follows,
then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand
for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for
stripe.'" This means that the original state is restored by paying
indemnity of a value that is identical to the loss or damage.
The second kind of indemnity condition is the indemnity condition of a
lesser amount. In this case, the original state is restored by paying
indemnity of a value that is less than that which was originally lost.
For example, we receive the great benefit of Jesus' resurrection from
the dead by meeting the very small indemnity condition of 'having
faith in redemption through the cross'. Other examples of indemnity
conditions of a lesser amount are baptism and holy communion. Through
baptism we meet the condition of having to be cleansed of sin, and in
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holy communion we meet the condition of having to be one in spirit and
body with Christ.
The third kind of indemnity condition is the indemnity condition of a
greater amount. When a person fails to fulfill his responsibility to
meet an indemnity condition of a lesser amount, then he must restore
the original state by meeting an indemnity condition of a greater
amount. For example, when the Israelite's forty days of spying in
Canaan (at the time of Moses) failed to meet with God's approval, the
duration of the indemnity condition was increased to one year for each
of the original days. Instead of suffering for forty days in the
wilderness, they had to suffer for forty years (Num 14:34).
Next, what is the method involved in meeting an indemnity condition?
An indemnity condition is the condition that must be met in order for
something to be restored to its original position or state. An
indemnity condition achieves this by being the reversal of the process
which led to the loss of the original position or state. Because the
first man and woman failed to fulfill their responsibility and fell
away from God, their descendants have been required to fulfill the
indemnity conditions required in the Way of Restoration.
C. The Foundation for the Messiah
As was explained earlier, although God sends the Messiah out of his
grace, in order to receive the Messiah, man must fulfill his
responsibility, by meeting the indemnity conditions.
What are the indemnity conditions needed to establish the Foundation
for the Messiah? Since indemnity conditions must reverse the process
by which Adam lost his original position and state, in order to answer
this question we must understand by what process Adam fell--what it is
that he did and did not do that left the Purpose of the Creation
unfulfilled.
Because Adam and Eve did not believe God's Work, they could not
establish the Foundation of Faith and they fell. in order to receive
the Messiah, fallen man must first restore the Foundation of Faith by
indemnifying this failure to believe in God's Word.
After establishing the Foundation of Faith, fallen man must then
restore, through indemnity, the Foundation of Substance. Let us
examine the reasons that this foundation has to be made. If Adam and
Eve had established the Foundation of Faith, they would have become
perfect incarnations of God's Word. In other words, they would have
developed the character of perfected individuals. This perfect
incarnation is the ultimate goal in the creation of man. Faith in
God's commandment 'not to eat' was necessary for Adam and Eve only
until they reached perfection. God's wish was for them to become
beings embodying his character and resembling him. When this took
place they would have been able rightfully to have dominion over all
of the cosmos, including the archangel, But because Adam and Eve did
not base their life on an attitude of faith, they lost the basis by
which they could embody God';s character and resemble him, and instead
they came to be dominated by the archangel, who was to have been the
servant of God and man. Thus, the Foundation for the Messiah which
fallen man must establish requires establishing through indemnity the
Foundation of Faith and the Foundation of Substance.
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1. The Foundation of Faith
First, what are the indemnity conditions that must be met in order to
establish the Foundation of Faith? To know what they are, we must
understand what Adam and Eve failed to do. Adam and Eve failed to
establish this foundation as a result of their not having absolute
faith in God's commandment during their growing period.
To indemnify this failure, first of all there must be a central person
who can stand in Adam's position and restore the Foundation of Faith.
Secondly, to indemnify and restore Adam's and Eve's failure to keep
God's commandment, the central person must make the required offering
with absolute faith. Thirdly, Adam and Eve did not go through the
growing period in accordance with God's Will, thus failing to meet the
condition of demonstrating faith. In other words, they did not
properly go through the period in which they were to carry out their
responsibility--by living in accordance with God's Will. As a result,
a numerically determined indemnity time-period became necessary to
restore the misused growing period. This period is called the
mathematical period of indemnity.
The Foundation of Faith is the absolute vertical relationship that man
must establish with God. Since man's vertical relationship with God
was severed by the first man's and woman's faithlessness toward God,
the condition required to indemnify and restore this is called the
Foundation of Faith. The reason that throughout history great men of
God such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Isaac were required to
demonstrate tremendous faith was because they were the individuals
responsible to restore through indemnity the Foundation of Faith.
2. The Foundation of Substance
Let us now consider what indemnity is required to restore the
Foundation of Substance. If, on the basis of their Foundation of
Faith, Adam and Eve had perfected themselves as true children of God,
they would have been the perfect incarnations of God's Word and the
incarnations of the character of the invisible God. Had this
happened, man would have had dominion over all things, including the
archangel, thereby fulfilling God's Third Blessing. A Principle
relationship would have been established between man and all things,
including the angels.
However, Adam and Eve never established a Foundation of Faith, and
consequently, did not establish the Foundation of Substance either.
Instead, Adam and Eve were defiled by Fallen Nature and ended up being
dominated by the archangel.
To establish the Foundation of Substance, fallen man must meet the
Indemnity Condition for Removing the Fallen Nature and restore the
proper horizontal order, which was disrupted. This is done by
reversing the process through which man acquired the Fallen Nature.
Specifically, what is it that has to be done to remove the Fallen
Nature? The first factor in the process of the fall of the archangel
lay in the archangel's failure to love Adam, who was receiving more
love from God. Fallen man inherited this fallen nature of 'not taking
the same viewpoint as God'. To remove this fallen nature, a person in
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the position of the archangel must love a person in Adam's position,
thereby taking the same viewpoint as God.
The second factor in the process of the fall of the archangel was his
not wanting to receive God's love through Adam who was closer to God.
Instead, the archangel attempted to take Adam's position, and he fell,
giving rise to the fallen nature of 'leaving one's position'. To
remove this fallen nature, a person in the archangel's position must
receive God's love through the person in Adam's position, thus keeping
his proper position.
The third factor in the process of the Fall was the archangel's
dominating Adam and Eve instead of allowing himself to be governed by
them. From this came the fallen nature of 'reversing the order of
dominion'. To remove this fallen nature, a person in the archangel's
position should be obedient to and submit to a person in Adam's
position, thereby establishing the proper order of dominion.
The will of goodness not to eat of the Fruit of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil should have been received from God by Adam,
from Adam by Eve, and from Eve by the archangel, thus multiplying
goodness. However, instead of goodness being multiplied, Eve accepted
from the archangel that she could eat the Fruit of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil, and Adam accepted that direction from Eve,
thus multiplying the will for evil and causing them to fall. Thus,
the final aspect of the Fallen Nature was created--the nature of
'multiplying sin'. To remove this fallen nature of multiplying sin, a
person in the archangel's position must receive the righteous will
from a person in Adam's position, restoring the nature that multiplies
the will of goodness.
When all these conditions are met, the Indemnity Condition for
Removing the Fallen Nature is met, and this constitutes the Foundation
of Substance. The Foundation for the Messiah is made by restoring
through indemnity the Foundation of Faith and the Foundation of
Substance. It is only on this foundation that fallen man can receive
the Messiah.
From the foregoing, we can understand that the history of mankind is
the dispensational history in which God leads man to prepare himself
to receive the Messiah by inducing man to fulfill his responsibility.
When man finishes this preparation, God will send the Messiah and
conclude his Dispensation for Restoration.
This interpretation of history based on the principles of God's
Dispensation for Restoration is called the Restoration View of History
or the Unification View of History. Now, let us examine the central
history within God's Dispensation for Restoration.
D. The Central and Peripheral Histories in the Dispensation for
Restoration
Through the Dispensation for Restoration, God seeks to save all of
mankind. His methods for accomplishing the dispensation have varied
somewhat according to the different histories, traditions, cultural
backgrounds, and living conditions of the people with whom he has been
dealing. However, God carries out a model dispensation through one
central nation. He works his dispensation in other nations as
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peripheral histories, at some point grafting the peripheral histories
to the central history in order that all of mankind can receive the
benefit of salvation.
As can be seen in the Old Testament, God had to go through many
difficulties in the restoration process before finding one central
nation. From what is recorded in the Bible, it seems that once God
established Israel as the central nation, he worked only through that
nation. And it is true that the training the Israelites received from
God was very strict and special and that they received special
blessings which cannot be found among other peoples.
However, Jesus did not introduce God only as the God of the Jews, but
as the God of all nations. This is clearly shown in John 3:16, where
Jesus said "'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life'"
(emphasis added). This means that anyone can be connected to the
central dispensation of God--even those in the peripheral histories.
As we study the Bible it becomes clear that God has focused on
educating a central individual, family, tribe, and nation who will
take charge of his model dispensation. Yet, he has also led the
peripheral dispensations toward the day when he would connect those
individuals, families, tribes, and nations to the Messiah.
John the Baptist also showed that salvation was within reach of all
when he chastised the Israelites who did not have sincere faith and
arrogantly prided themselves on being God's only chosen people, say to
them, "'...do not presume to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as
our father"; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up
children to Abraham'" (Mt 3:9).
God's central dispensation of preparation for the Messiah is clearly
shown in the Old Testament. Right at the beginning, God's
dispensation for Adam's family was frustrated by Cain's slaying Abel.
Ten generations later, God's Will was transferred to Noah's family.
However, because of the disbelief and failure of Noah's second son,
Ham, the family Foundation for the Messiah was not established. It
was not until the time of Abraham's and Jacob's families that the
Foundation for the Messiah was established (refer to Chapter 11).
Based on Jacob's family, God was able to form the Israelites as the
chosen people. God's dispensation for the Israelites was to prepare
the landing site of faith for the Messiah by having the Israelites
establish the national Foundation for the Messiah. As was explained
in detail in "The Purpose of the Messiah," the Israelites failed to
establish the national Foundation for the Messiah. They ended up
committing the historic error of not believing in the Messiah.
Jesus promised a Second Coming. There should be preparation on earth
for the Second Coming similar to that made for the First Coming. The
past two thousand years of Christian history have had one central
purpose--that of establishing the world-wide foundation for the Second
Coming of the Messiah. Therefore, the history of Israel before the
coming of Jesus and the History of Christianity since his time are the
core material of the history of the Dispensation for Restoration.
Looking at history in this way, we can begin to understand the meaning
and significance of the events in the history of the Jewish people as
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recorded in the Old Testament. It is not merely a history of one
particular nation, but is rather the model history through which God
has worked his dispensation for salvation. The history of the Jewish
people, centered on Judaism, and Wester history, centered on
Christianity, together are the clearest record of God's Dispensation,
and astonishingly, we can see a consistent formula which is applied
throughout these two histories.
Since religion guides man's mind and spirit toward accomplishing the
restoration of mankind, from the dispensational viewpoint, the history
of religion is the central history of God's Dispensation. The other
histories, such as the histories of the development of politics,
economics, science, and culture con be considered as peripheral.
God's Purpose for the Creation is fulfilled in the Three Blessings.
First, each individual is to perfect himself. Next, he is to
establish an ideal family, an ideal world, and ideal living
conditions. Consequently, the first objective in God's Dispensation
for Restoration is not to restore man's social institutions, or his
living conditions; it is to restore people. Consequently, from the
standpoint of the Dispensation, the history of religion is the central
history, while the other histories are peripheral.
III. THE COURSE OF GOD'S DISPENSATION FOR RESTORATION
Let us summarize human history from Adam to the present in light of
what we have discussed. The entire course of the Dispensation may be
divided into three ages of approximately two thousand years each:
1. The age from Adam to Abraham;
2. The age from Abraham to Jesus;
3. The age from Jesus to the Second Coming.
The period after the Second Coming is the new age in which God's Ideal
is accomplished in its entirety on earth and in the spirit world.
Now let us examine the contents of the dispensation for each age from
several different standpoints. First of all, the ages may be looked
at from the stand point of God's Word of re-creation:
1. During the age from Adam to Abraham, man could not yet
receive God's Word, through which the Dispensation for
Restoration is carried out. Through the offerings that God
instructed man to make, man was establishing the foundation
to receive the Word of God, so this period is called the
Dispensational Age of the Foundation for the Word;
2. The age from Abraham to Jesus is called the Old Testament
Age and the formation stage in the history of restoration;
3. The age from Jesus to the Second Coming is called the New
Testament Age and the growth stage in the history of
restoration;
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4. The time after the Second Coming is called the Completed
Testament Age and the completion stage in the history of
restoration.
Secondly, the ages can be divided from the standpoint of the
dispensation for resurrection. As already explained in "Resurrec-
tion," the dispensational history may be divided as follows:
1. The age from Adam to Abraham is the Dispensational Age of
the Foundation for Resurrection;
2. The age from Abraham to Jesus is the Dispensational Age of
Formation Stage Resurrection;
3. The age from Jesus to the Second Coming is the Dispensa-
tional Age of Growth Stage Resurrection;
4. The time after the Second Coming is called the Dispensa-
tional Age for Completion Stage Resurrection.
Thirdly, the ages of faith may be divided from the Standpoint of
Restoration through Indemnity as follows:
1. The two-thousand-year period from Adam to Abraham was
invaded by Satan, but was completed by the victory of
Abraham's family. This period established the foundation to
start the period for restoration through indemnity of what
had been lost to Satan. Therefore this period is called the
Dispensational Age of the Foundation for Restoration through
Indemnity;
2. The age from Abraham to Jesus is the Dispensational Age of
Restoration through Indemnity;
3. The age from Jesus to the Second Coming came about because
the dispensation which was supposed to be fulfilled at the
First Coming was extended until the Second Coming because of
the chosen people's lack of faith. This period is called
the Dispensational Age of the Prolongation of Restoration
through Indemnity;
4. The time after the Second Coming is the Dispensational Age
for the Completion of Restoration.
Fourthly, the ages may be divided from the standpoint of the level of
the Foundation for the Messiah:
1. In the age from Adam to Abraham, God's dispensation to
prepare the Foundation for the Messiah was based on the
family. Therefore, this period is called the Dispensational
Age of the Family Foundation for the Messiah;
2. The age from Abraham to Jesus is called the Dispensational
Age of the National Foundation for the Messiah;
3. The age from Jesus to the Second Coming is the Dispensa-
tional Age of the World-wide Foundation for the Messiah;
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4. The time beginning with the Second Coming is the Dispen-
sational Age for the Cosmic (i.e., physical world and spirit
world) Foundation for the Messiah.
Finally, the ages may be divided according to Dispensational Time
Identity, as follows:
1. During the age from Adam to Abraham, man established his
faith before God through symbolic offerings, and so this
period is called the Age of Symbolic Time Identity;
2. In the age from Abraham to Jesus, man demonstrated his faith
in God by offering things in image form--that is, by
offering such things as the tabernacle and the temple, which
represented the image of the true human being, which had
been lost at the Fall. So this period is called the Age of
Image Time Identity;
3. From Jesus' time to that of the Second Coming, man
demonstrated his faith through Jesus, the substantial
temple. This period is therefore called the Age of
Substantial Time Identity.