CHAPTER SIXTEEN

                           The Second Coming

Jesus definitely spoke of a Second Coming (Mt 16:27).  Yet, there has
been no clear understanding concerning the Second Coming.  We need to
know how, when and where the Second Coming will take place.  Some
people believe that the Second Coming takes place when Jesus enters
the heart of an individual (Jn 14:20) through the descent of the Holy
Spirit (Acts 8:16,19).  However, this is not The Principle view.  Ever
since the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:40, many
believers have experienced the presence of Jesus within themselves. 
If this were the Second Coming, then we would have to say that the
Second Coming already took place two thousand years ago.  However, we
know that the Second Coming does not take place in this way because 
Christians have continued to wait for the Second Coming even after the
descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

On the other hand, some people believe that Jesus will return
spiritually.  Other facts indicate that this will not be so.  Ever
since the resurrection of Jesus, the appearance of Jesus in spirit has
been possible at any moment, and has frequently occurred.  Yet,
Christians still eagerly wait for the day of the Second Coming.  From
this, we know that what they have been waiting for was not a second
coming in spirit.  Jesus often met the apostle John in spirit, yet
Jesus told him, "'Surely I am coming soon'" (Rev 22:20).


I.  HOW WILL CHRIST COME AGAIN?

A. Lessons Based on the Second Coming of Elijah

Then how will the Second Coming of Christ take place?  In considering
this, let us first look at the second coming of Elijah.  In fact, the
second coming of Elijah is the clearest example that God has given us
related to how Christ will come again.

Through the prophet Malachi, God promised to send Elijah again, before
the coming of the Messiah (Mal 4:5).  So Israelites of that time who
were waiting for the Messiah were actually waiting for the second
coming of Elijah, because he was to precede the Messiah.  Because the
second coming of Elijah was to be the return of the Elijah who had
ascended into heaven, the people believed that Elijah would surely
descend from heaven.  Yet, Jesus clearly declared that John the
Baptist, who was born on earth, was Elijah (Mt 11:14; 17:13). 
However, that the second coming of Elijah took place through John the
Baptist does not mean that Elijah, himself, was born again as John the
Baptist.  Elijah was in the spirit world, helping John the Baptist,
who was on earth, since John was born with the same mission (Lk 1:17). 
So, although the mission was the same, the person was different.

Through this lesson learned from the second coming of Elijah, we can
understand that the Second Coming might possible take place by the
Lord's being born on earth.  We can also understand that though at the
Second Coming, the Lord, as the Messiah, will have the same mission as
Jesus, he may not have the same appearance as Jesus (Jn 14:16,17;
16:12; Rev 19:12; 2:17).


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B. Lessons based on the First Coming

In the Old Testament, we find two contradictory prophecies concerning
the coming of the Messiah.  In Daniel 7:13, we find the prophecy that
the Lord would come on the clouds:  "I saw in the night visions, and
behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man..." 
However, the prophet Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born
in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2).  Which of these contradictory prophecies did
the Israelites believe?

Knowing the influence of the two prophets Daniel and Micah on the
Israelites, and knowing that the Israelites had great faith in God, we
know that they were waiting for the Messiah to come from heaven.

It was for this reason that even after the crucifixion of Jesus, an
anti-Christian movement arose saying that Jesus could not have been
the Messiah because he was born in the flesh on earth.  This can be
understood in the warning by the apostle John:  "For many deceivers
have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming
of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the anti-
christ" (2 Jn 7:8).

There are some people who insist that Daniel 7:3 is a prophecy of what
is going to happen at the Second Coming.  However, from the following
passages, we can see that the Old Testament Age was to end with the
coming of Jesus:  "'For all the prophets and the law prophesied until
John...'" (Mt 11:13) and "For Christ is the end of the law, that every
one who has faith may be justified" (Rom 10:4).  The situation was
such that no one ever imagined a second coming of the Messiah until
Jesus himself, toward the end of his ministry, said that the Lord
would come again.  as a result, no Israelite at the time of Jesus
would have thought that the prophecy of Daniel 7:13 was concerned with
second coming.  They would have believed it applied to the coming of
the Messiah, and they would have acted as though it did.  (In other
words, they would have expected the Messiah to arrive on the clouds.)

Then, why, in sending the one Messiah, Jesus, did God give this
prophecy of the Messiah's coming in the flesh?  Jesus said, "'No one
has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of
man'" (Jn 3:13), indicating that he came from heaven.  Yet, as we well
know, Jesus was born on earth from his mother, Mary.  Why then did he
say he came from heaven?

The word 'heaven' is frequently used in the Bible.  It is repeatedly
used as a metaphor to connote great value, sacredness, or goodness. 
Thus, we can interpret what Jesus said to mean 'I was born like all of
you, but I am very different in the motive and origin of my birth; I
am born of God'.  With this understanding of the word 'heaven', the
prophecy that Jesus is coming on the clouds is not incorrect. 
However, it is a mistake to interpret it literally.

In a similar way, John the Baptist, who was born in the family of
Zachariah according to God's special dispensation, was not merely born
of this earth, but had a great mission (Lk 1:15-17, 76).  Regardless
of the form of his birth, God was the direct cause, and thus John had
"come down from heaven" representing Elijah, and had the same mission
of Elijah.

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C. The Second Coming of Christ Takes Place through his Birth on Earth

From what is shown in the examples of Elijah's second coming and
Jesus' coming, both of which were the direct work of God, one cannot
help but give serious thought to the prophecies for the Second Coming.

In summary, the New Testament not only contains prophecies that say
Christ will come as a judge amidst glory on a cloud from heaven, but
also some that say he will come again just as he did the first time,
quite contrary to the other type of prophecy of his coming on the
clouds.

We read in Luke 17:24,25 that Jesus, anticipating what was going to
happen at the Second Coming, said," '...so will the Son of man be in
his day.  But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this
generation.'"  If the Lord should come again amidst power and glory,
with the trumpet call of the archangel, who would dare deny and
persecute him?  Would you persecute him?

Today, many faithful Christians and churches are looking up to the
sky, waiting for the Lord to come on the clouds.  If he were to come
on the clouds, there would be no reason for him to be persecuted. 
However, if he does not come on a literal cloud, and instead comes in
the flesh, as at the First Coming, then it becomes apparent why Jesus
said he would first suffer before finally being recognized (Lk
17:24,25).

Revelation 12:5 says," ...she brought forth a male child, one who is
to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught
up to God and to his throne."  The man who will rule the world with a
rod of iron is the coming Lord.  In this verse, it says that he will
be born of a woman.  When the Pharisees wanted to know the time of the
Second Coming, they asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God was coming,
and he answered,"...'The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be
observed...'" (Lk 17:20).  Everyone can gaze up at heaven, but Jesus
said that the coming of God's Kingdom, in other words, the Second
Coming will not be visible.  Why is that so?  It is because the
Messiah does not come on a literal cloud.  In Luke 18:8, Jesus said, "
'I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily.  Nevertheless, when the
Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?' "Jesus was prophesying
that he would not find faith on earth at his second coming.  This
means that when he comes, there will be almost no one who will be
saved by their complete faith.  Why is this so?

Of course, not all believers on earth have perfect faith, but there
are people all over the world who are going the way of true faith. 
Then why did Jesus imply that he would not find faith?  Furthermore,
who would fail to recognize the Lord coming on a literal cloud? 
Certainly even non-believers would recognize him and have faith in
him.  Will people lack faith because someone will prevent them from
having it?  Certainly not.  Difficulties do not necessarily weaken a
person's faith.  We interpret Jesus' saying that he would not find
faith on earth to mean that he is going to come in the same manner as
at the first coming. 



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When Jesus came two thousand years ago, there was great faith - of a
sort - among the people.  Some prayed day and night in the temple, and
they memorized the commandments.  They tried hard to keep all of the
commandments and laws that God had ordered them to keep.  They
faithfully offered their tithes, and they fasted.  In this sense, they
had great faith in God, yet there was no true faith.  Why didn't they
have a faith that would allow them to believe in Jesus as the Messiah
sent by God?

From this viewpoint, Jesus could not find any faith on earth! 
Similarly, today there are millions of good Christians waiting for the
Lord to appear - on the clouds; but if he comes in the same way as he
did before, will he find the faith that will enable Christians to
recognize him?

To emphasize once again, based on the Bible passages quoted above and
on the lessons learned from God's work in history, the Second Coming
will occur as the first coming did, with the Messiah's being born in
the flesh on earth.  Indeed, he comes as the Son of man.


D.  The Principle Point of View

According to "The Principles of the Creation," God's purpose in
creating Adam and Even was to be fulfilled through their fulfilling
the Three Blessings on earth.  In other words, they were to perfect
themselves as ideal individuals, become true parents, who are the
origin of the ideal family, and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on
earth.  Then, as God's representatives, they were to rule the Creation
in love.  However, because they fell, they could not become the True
Parents and they created an evil world.

Jesus, who came as the Second Adam (1 Cor 15:45), was to transform
this world into the ideal world that had been planned at the time of
creation (Mt 4:17).  Since God's Three Blessings still remain
unfulfilled, even after the dispensation for salvation through Jesus'
crucifixion and resurrection, the Messiah, the sinless Third Adam,
must come to fulfill god's Purpose for the Creation.

The Messiah must be born on earth as a substantial, physical being
since he must be the example of the ideal person, the person who has
perfected his character, and thus, who has fulfilled the First
Blessing.  He can only carry out this responsibility in the flesh.  He
must also realize the ideal family that God has desired, and thus
become the True Parent, one who has realized God's Second Blessing. 
His parental heart will implant God's Heart and love in the hearts of
everyone following him and will help them to perfect themselves by
giving rebirth to them and showing each one how he himself can also
accomplish the true purpose of life.  He will be a perfect person and
will become the lord who governs the spirit world and physical world
in perfect love, fulfilling God's Third Blessing.  People will be
grafted to him (Rom 11:17) and become one with him by believing and
attending him.  Thus, the Lord will lead them to become persons who
control things through love, realizing God's Third Blessing. 
Therefore, he must be born in the flesh, on earth, as at the first
coming.



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The main mission of Judaism was not only to receive Jesus but also to
follow him and help him fulfill his will after he came.  Likewise, the
mission of Christianity, in addition to establishing the world-wide
foundation for the Second Coming, is to help the Lord accomplish his
mission when he comes.

The Kingdom of Heaven on earth which Christ is to build is not to be a
Kingdom of Heaven in fantasy.  The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be
realized by supernatural miracles but only by man's fulfilling his
responsibility to solve all of the problems in a realistic way, in
accordance with God's guidance.

Salvation cannot take place in those who do not respond to God's work. 
However, it is God's desire for all mankind to be saved because he is
the God of righteousness and love.  Since God's Ideal for the Creation
is not fulfilled with the perfection of an individual's character,
God's dispensation for salvation also does not end with the salvation
of the individual.  Therefore, Christ, who at the Second Coming will
completely fulfill God's ideal, will not be bound by any particular
denomination of Christianity, but will transcend all denominations. 
He will work to establish one world under God, transcending tribal,
national, and racial boundaries.


E.  The Meaning of the Clouds

If the Lord is to appear on earth in the flesh, then what is the
meaning of coming on the clouds?  What is meant by clouds?  Clouds are
vaporized water.  Regardless of how dirty water might be, when it
evaporates into a cloud, it becomes purified.  According to Revelation
17:15, water symbolizes fallen or sinful man.  Then, clouds signify
the people resurrected or reborn as saints from among the fallen
people.  The metaphor that Christ will come on the clouds means that
he will come again among the saints that God prepares. 

Then why did Jesus say he would come again on the clouds?  First of
all, it was to prevent the deceptions of antichrists.  Until the
actual time of his coming, it was better to let people believe that he
would come on the clouds.  If it had been clearly explained that
Christ would appear in the flesh on earth, the confusion caused by
claims of many antichrists could hardly have been prevented.  However,
when the time is imminent,  God will surely tell us how the Messiah is
to come (Amos 3:7).

Secondly, it was to encourage the disciples in their religious life,
which was to be a difficult course.  Actually, Jesus said several
things about the Second Coming that do not seem completely
understandable.  Revelation 22:20 says, " 'Surely I am coming soon.' " 
Matthew 10:23, Jesus said, " '...for truly, I say to you, you will not
have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man
comes.' "  In Matthew 16:28, he said, " 'Truly, I say to you, there
are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the
Son of man coming in his kingdom.' "  In John 21:18-22, he also spoke
as though he would come again during John's lifetime.  In all of these
passages Jesus emphasized that the Second Coming would take place soon
(relative to his time).  Yet, it did not happen.  Then why did Jesus
say it would?  What was Jesus' reason for speaking that way?


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Jesus foresaw the persecution by the Roman Empire, so he had to
educate, encourage, and give hope to his disciples in such a way that
Christianity would survive the miserable persecution and quickly
prepare the world-wide foundation for the Second Coming.  The early
Christians were able to remain enthusiastic and zealous because they
believed that Jesus' second coming was imminent and that he would come
from heaven on clouds in the power and glory of God.  Because of this
belief, they had the strength to withstand the oppression and
persecution of the Roman Empire and thus establish the early Christian
Church.


II.  WHEN WILL CHRIST COME AGAIN?

Then when will Christ come again?  In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said, "
'But of that day and hour no one knows ...,' " indicating that it
would be fruitless to speculate as to the time of his return.

However, that same verse in Matthew says that the Father knows, and
Amos 3:7 says, " 'Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing
his secret to his servants the prophets.' "  Thus, we can understand
that through prophets God will surely let people know about Christ's
Second Coming.  Many examples of God's foretelling what he could do
can be cited in the course of restoration: God forewarned Noah of the
Flood Judgment and Lot of his destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; and
God revealed the time of the Messiah's birth the first time.  God
revealed the time of Jesus' birth to the family of John the Baptist
(Lk 1:41-45); to the wise men of the east (Mt 2:1-12); to Simeon (Lk
2:26-32); to shepherds in the field (Lk 2:8-12,15); to Anna (Lk 2:38);
to Joseph (Mt 1:20-22); and to others.  In the entire history of God's
dispensation, can there be any more important time for God than that
of the Messiah's coming?  How can God not let the people know when the
Son of God, himself, comes to earth to fulfill the lost Purpose of the
Creation?

On the other hand, Jesus also said that he will come like a thief (Rev
3:3).  But then, he also said that he would not come like a thief to
those who are in the light (1 Thess 5:4-6) and to those who remain
awake (1 Thess 5:4-6, Rev 3:3).  So it is clear that to those
believers who always pray and are awake and in the light, God will
foretell the advent of the Lord so that they can prepare for him (Lk
21:34,35).

Since God's Dispensation for Restoration is consummated through the
Messiah, the Messiah is the most precious fruit of the entire history
of God's Dispensation for Restoration.  The foundation prepared for
this precious Messiah was Judaism and the Israelites, which began with
Jacob's family.  However, as was already explained, the people of
Israel did not believe in Jesus, and thus God developed a multi-racial
Second Israel (Christianity) of those who believed in Jesus.

God's dispensational formula which is found in the history of Israel
must also be found in the history of Christianity, because God
prepared Christianity to be the world-wide Second Israel in place of
the lost First Israel.  The history of the First Israel, which began
with Jacob, and the history of the Second Israel, Christianity, which
began at Jesus' time, must both follow the same process for fulfilling
the purpose of preparing for the Messiah to be received on earth.

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The history of Israel and the history of Christianity differ in terms
of their historical eras and events and their geographical settings
and cultural backgrounds.  However, the role of central history in
God's Dispensation for Restoration was passed on from one to the
other.  Since both of these dispensations were to prepare the
Foundation for the Messiah, the purpose underlying them was one and
the same.

We have already compared these two histories from the viewpoint of
God's Dispensation for Restoration.  Let us consider the time of
Christ's coming on the basis of that comparison.

The history of Israel from Jacob to Jesus was divided into six major
sub-periods: the Period of Slavery in Egypt; the Period of Judges; the
Period of the United Kingdom; the Period of the Divided Kingdoms of
North and South; the Period of Jewish Captivity and Return; and the
Period of Preparation for the Messiah.  These six sub-periods actually
comprise one dispensational age of nineteen hundred thirty years,
during which God desired to consummate the Dispensation for
Restoration.  But when the First Israel could not fulfill its
responsibility to believe in the Messiah, God had no alternative but
to prolong the Dispensation for Restoration.  The period from Jesus to
the Second Coming is also divided into six major sub-periods: the
Period of Persecution in Roman Empire; the Period of the Christian
Churches under the Patriarchal System (the Period of the Patriarchs);
the Period of the Christian Kingdom; the Period of the Divided
Kingdoms of East and West; the Period of Papal Captivity and Return;
and the Period of Preparation for the Second Coming.  These six sub-
periods also span a period totalling nineteen hundred thirty years.

The year 1930 is not a time which we have to wait for with hope and
expectation--it has already occurred.  Then why haven't we on earth
witnessed the Final Judgment and the glory of the Second Coming?  If
the Second Coming is supposed to take place in the air, then the
Lord's glory already would have been brightly spread all over the
world.  However, as explained earlier, the Lord will not come on
literal clouds; the Second Coming will take place by the Messiah's
being born in the flesh on earth.  Then, is 1930 the precise year the
Messiah was born?  The year cannot be pinpointed so exactly because a
difference of up to ten years was often observed throughout the
dispensational history.  For instance, the Period of Persecution in
the Roman Empire was to be four hundred years, but actually lasted
only until 392 A.D.  The Period of Preparation for the Second Coming
began with the Reformation in 1517 and ended four hundred years later. 
Based on this, the Second Coming should have occurred in 1917.  Thus
the birth of Christ should have taken place somewhere between 1917 and
1930.

When Jesus came two thousand years ago, he did not immediately
proclaim his messiahship and thereupon promptly begin the Judgment. 
There was an unseen and unheard, yet steady preparation period of
private life, and then a period of public ministry to prepare the
foundation for fulfilling the Messiah's purpose.  At the Second
Coming, the Lord must also go through a similar course of preparation
after his birth.  By understanding what took place during the
Dispensation for Restoration, we can understand that this present
period is the time of preparation for the Lord's appearance.  We call

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the time of Christ's second coming the Last Days.  It has already been
explained in "Consummation of Human History" that the present days are
the Last Days.  Consequently, it can be said that the present days are
the time when Christ will appear.


III.  WHERE WILL CHRIST COME AGAIN?

Then, if Christ is again to be born as a man in the flesh, he must be
coming to a particular place in a particular nation.  Which nation is
it?

Two thousand years ago in Judea, Jesus said that he would come again,
but will he come again among the people of Israel?  In Matthew 21:33-
43, in the parable of the vineyard, Jesus clearly indicated that he
would not come to the land of Israel again.  In this parable, God is
the owner of the vineyard, the vineyard represents the work of God to
accomplish the Ideal for the Creation, the tenants are the chosen
nation of Israel, the servants are the prophets, the owner's son is
Jesus, and the nation producing the fruits means the nation that will
receive the Lord at the Second Coming.  Jesus said that he would not
come again to the people who had killed him.  Moreover, he said he
would take their right to be the chosen nation and give it to a nation
and people who would be fruitful for the Second Coming.

Then, how should we take the Bible passage which speaks of the coming
of the sons of Israel?  Revelation 7:4 says that at the time of the
Second Coming, one hundred forty-four thousand would be drawn from the
tribes of Israel and sealed.  What does this mean?

The name 'Israel' was originally received by Jacob after he prevailed
over the angel at the ford of the Jabbok (Gen 32:28) and means 'he who
has strived with God'.  In other words, 'Israel' means the people of
God who have triumphed in faith and does not necessarily mean the
lineal descendants of Jacob.  This is borne out in the words of John
the Baptist in Matthew 3:9 " '...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.' "  It is again borne
out by St. Paul when he said in Romans 9:6, "For not all who are
descended from Israel belong to Israel..."

Then who would be the chosen people of "Israel" after Jesus' death on
the cross?  They are the devout Christians who believe in the Lord. 
Romans 11:11 says, "...through their [the Israelites'] trespass
salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." 
This indicates that the center of God's Dispensation for Restoration
has shifted from the Israelites.  Then God will work his central
dispensation not among the lineal descendants of Abraham, but among
the devout Christians who have taken up the faith of Abraham.  But to
precisely which country will the Lord come?

When asked by a disciple where he would come again, Jesus replied
metaphorically in Luke 17:37, " 'Where the body is, there the eagles
will be gathered together.' "  Jesus did not specify which country he
would come to.  But Revelation 7:2-4 says that an angel would ascend
from the rising of the sun, in other words, from the east, and would
seal one hundred forty-four thousand chosen servants of God on their
foreheads.  Then what country does this refer to?

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That nation of the East is Korea.  When a farmer transplants a tree,
he carefully digs up the soil and waters it to prepare for the tree. 
How could God, who is expecting the fruit of human history, send the
Messiah without preparation?  From this perspective of the foundation
prepared by God, let us further consider the idea that Korea is the
land which is to receive the Lord.

First of all, the nation to which the Messiah comes must be the object
of God's Heart.  Based on this view, Korea is the land God has
prepared.  From the Fall of the first man and woman until today, God
has lived in deep despair and has felt unfulfilled.  Often we refer to
God as a being of utmost glory who is so far above us.  But this is
because we do not know God's Heart.  Because of the Fall of Adam and
Eve, who were God's only children, God has been grieving with the
heart of a parent who has lost his children, and he has wandered
through the sinful world of Hell in search of them, longing to save
his rebellious children.  Therefore, the individual, family, or nation
which fights against Satan in God's place can hardly avoid the path of
tears and suffering.  How could filial and faithful children, who
would share the agony of their parent's heart, lead an easy life? 
Since the Messiah is the one who bears the grieving heart of God, and
is to relieve God's sorrow, he cannot come to a people who are
satisfied by their material abundance.  Since the nation that is to
receive the Messiah must be the object of God's Heart, that is, since
its people must be sons and daughters who have the same Heart as
God's, that nation cannot avoid the way of suffering.

The First and Second Israel both had to walk the path of suffering and
hardship.  As the nation which is to receive the Messiah, Korea also
had to walk that same path.  Thus, in its recent history Korea has had
to undergo a course of the most extreme suffering.  Even while
undergoing suffering and misery, Korea has faithfully developed the
good traditions of filial piety and loyalty.  Even at the height of
its national power, it never provoked or first invaded another nation. 
God's strategy has been to win victory after being attacked, quite
different from Satan's strategy of invasion.  The Korean people's
maintaining their homogeneous lineage, unique language and traditional
national spirit, and the integrity of their own distinct culture
despite numerous invasions over nearly five thousand years is a record
that may well be unparalleled in world history.  Even in the midst of
its persistently sorrowful history, the Korean nation has cherished
righteousness and peace and was being educated to be God's object.

Secondly, it is significant that Korea is a nation bearing the fruits
of many religions.  Koreans have a strong inclination toward religious
life; they revere God and a spiritual way of life.  Thus, many of the
world's great spiritual and ethical teachings, such as Buddhism and
Confucianism, have flourished in this land, and it is centered on
these spiritual traditions that the Korean national culture became
fruitful.  Within the last few centuries, Christianity arrived and
achieved the highest pinnacle of Christianity.  Religion has blended
deeply with daily life in exquisite harmony.  A nation matching this
description is hard to find anywhere in the world.

The Lord does not come to save Christians alone.  While Christians are
the central nation in God's dispensation, all people are to be God's
children, and God, himself, has created and guided all of the major

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religions toward the restoration of the people of their particular
region, time period, and circumstances.  Therefore, the Messiah, who
is to accomplish the ultimate purpose of God's dispensation, must
simultaneously fulfill the purpose of all other religions.  In this
light, the nation suitably prepared to receive the Lord would be a
nation bearing the fruits of all the major religions.

Thirdly, the nation to which our Lord comes must be the front line of
both God and Satan.  God told Adam and Eve, " '...do not eat of the
fruit...for in that day you will die.' "  From these words, we can
understand that the point where they fell became the dividing line
between heaven and earth, between life and death, and between good and
evil.  Thus, the Lord must come to the same type of point, where life
and death and good and evil again confront one another.  He must then
go on to actually solve the problems of the world and conclude the
dispensational history.

God's dispensation to restore to his side the world begun by Satan is
based on, and may be summarized as, the separation of Cain and Abel. 
The separation of the Cain and Abel worlds before the coming of the
Messiah is manifested in the Communist and democratic worlds.  This is
a horizontal development of the vertical dispensation which God has
worked throughout history.  Therefore, the Lord will appear where the
two powers of democracy and Communism confront one another, that is,
at the focal point of both God's love and Satan's hate.  That line of
confrontation is the 38th parallel in the Korean peninsula.  The 38th
parallel in Korea has this dispensational meaning to it.  It is not
only the front line of democracy and Communism; it is also the front
line of God and Satan.

When God works to accomplish his Will, Satan works to oppose and
prevent God's work.  Thus, God's front line becomes Satan's front
line.  Of all the efforts of God, Satan would most oppose the
preparation of the nation which is to receive the Messiah.  Since the
core element in the process of restoration is religion, in the world-
wide Dispensation for Restoration, God works to prepare for the
Messiah based on the fruits of the world's religions, and Satan works
to crush all religion.  In preparing Korea for the Messiah, God sought
to foster religion throughout Korea--Satan wanted to totally eradicate
it.  Thus, the Korean War which broke out along the 38th parallel, and
the resulting division of Korea, were not merely the results of a
nation's civil conflict due to territorial separation.  It was the
confrontation between the democratic and Communist blocs, and
furthermore, between God and Satan.  The fact that many nations (16)
not immediately concerned with the conflict nonetheless participated
and helped the Dispensation for Restoration has divine significance.

Fourthly, the nation to which the Lord comes must establish a national
foundation for the Dispensation for Restoration.  In order for Korea
to be the nation to receive the Messiah, it had to establish the
national foundation of separation from Satan, just as Israel and the
Early Christians did.  The Israelites had to meet the condition of
separating from Satan by suffering for four hundred years in Egypt,
which represented the satanic world.  The Second Israel established
the condition of separation from Satan by enduring persecution for
nearly four centuries under the Roman Empire, which also represented
the satanic world.  Thus, at the time of the Second Coming, in order
to separate from Satan, Korean must also endure suffering at the hands

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of a nation on the satanic side.  In this case, the nation on the
satanic side was Japan, and for forty years it brought unimaginable
torment upon Korea.  In the name of the Eulsa Protection Treaty, Japan
forcibly deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights and national
sovereignty from 1905 until 1945, when Japan was defeated in World War
II.  During this period, the Korean people were completely deprived of
their freedom by Japan, and countless numbers were imprisoned and
slaughtered and underwent all sorts of extreme persecution.  Beginning
in 1910, when Japan annexed Korea, the persecution of Christianity,
which was the foundation of Korea's independence movement, was
unparalleled in its cruelty.  While under God's dispensation,
Christianity was enjoying its freedom around the globe, the Korean
nation, with its Christians at the forefront, suffered greatly and
thus paid the national indemnity that qualified it as the nation which
would receive the Messiah.

Fifthly, this nation must have a history of relevant prophecy.  When
God sends his beloved Son, how can he do it quietly?  Certainly he
would reveal it to all those on earth who are spiritually prepared;
certainly he would hand them the good news and have them prepare to
receive the Messiah.  Just as the Israelites knew through the prophets
that the Messiah would come as a king and save them, the Korean people
have waited for a king of righteousness.  For five hundred years,
Korea has also had a strong messianic expectation as a result of the
Chung-Gam-Nok, a book of prophecy.  It is quite characteristic of the
Korean people to have had this type of unique messianic thought even
before they were actually able to receive the benefits of God's
dispensation for salvation through Jesus.  Many spiritually gifted
clergymen and laymen have received specific revelations regarding the
Second Coming of the Lord in Korea; and many deeply religious people
have had the common revelation that Korea will be the center of world
salvation.

The fulfillment of God's Dispensation for Restoration is focused
primarily on restoring man and secondarily on restoring the
environment of the Kingdom of Heaven.  God has worked through religion
to restore man; God has developed civilizations in order to restore
the environment of the Kingdom of Heaven.  He has worked to create the
most ideal culture and civilization for the Second Coming.  The Second
Coming will bring harmony between religion and science, between the
spiritual aspects and the material aspects of civilization, and
between East and West.  All will be blended in harmony, giving birth
to the new culture of Godism.  The Korean peninsula was a hidden area
of the Orient for a long time; however, western culture came to the
East and finally reached Korea.

God trained the Korean people for five thousand years to have deep
faith and love, and on that basis Christianity was received.  When God
sent Christianity to the Korean people, he made his final preparation
for them to receive the Lord of the Second Coming, and made Korea the
world representative of Christianity.  Although Korea is a small
nation, it has consistently played a significant role in modern
history, as if it were the nucleus of the leading international
political trends.


Jesus' Age and the Present Age from the Standpoint of Time-Identity


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Jesus' age and the time of the Second Coming are periods of
dispensational time-identity.  Thus, God's dispensation for the Second
Coming, which is centered on Christianity, is similar to that for
Jesus' time.

First, let's look at these two ages from the viewpoint of the central
nation for the dispensation.  God's plan was to have his dispensation
expand from Jesus to the nation of Israel, from Israel to Rome, and
from Rome to the rest of the world.  Assuming that the central
religion at the time of the Second Coming is Christianity, and that
the Israel is Korea, then which nation would be in the position of the
Roman Empire?  The present day Rome is the nation which God developed
as the leading nation of the world, based on Christianity.  For over
two hundred years, America has been prepared by God to fulfill the
purpose of the Second Coming.  Consequently, the relationship between
Korea and America in our time is similar to the relationship between
Rome and Israel at the time of Jesus.

Second, let us compare today's Christianity with the Judaism of Jesus'
time.  At Jesus' time, Judaism in Israel was attached to the authority
of the priests and to the rites of the temple; their spiritual life
was corrupted.  The Jewish religious leaders had forgotten the
traditional piety which had passed from Abraham to Jacob and Moses and
the prophets.  Instead, their relationship to God had become only a
formality, and as a result Jesus criticized their substanceless faith
many times (Mt 23:1-39).

Today, Christianity must repent that it too has lost its content and
has become mere formality.  When we think of the passion and faith of
the early Church, we can say that today's Church has become too formal
hand has departed greatly from the original purpose of the faith. 
Many people consider themselves Christian, but in reality are living a
life far distant from the teachings of Jesus.

Just as Jesus poured out all of his effort to reform the corrupted
Judaism of his time, at the Second Coming, he will also fundamentally
reform Christianity to make it a true church which reveres God and
will also inspire Christians to be those who practice God's Will and
Jesus' teaching.

At Jesus' time, Judaism did not recognize the true value of Jesus' the
Jewish leaders turned their backs on God's Will and the reformation
which Jesus was teaching and persecuted him.  Likewise, at the Second
Coming, the new teachings and reformation activities of Christ will be
opposed by believers who refuse to make the effort to reform
Christianity, and by the Church, which is attached to its traditional
authority and rites.

At Jesus' time, the words of the Messiah were not received by the
leaders of Judaism.  Rather, they were received by simple lower class
Jews and Gentiles who were thirsty for spiritual life, or who were
troubled by their guilty consciences.  Similarly, at the time of the
Second Coming, laymen who are trying hard to live God's Word, or even
non-Christians, may be the first to accept the teachings of Christ,
rather than the leaders of Christianity.  This is why Jesus, in
sorrow, said that those who would enjoy the marriage feast which he
would prepare might not be those invited, but those called in at
random from the street (Mt.22:8-10).

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The people of Jesus' time were born to lead lives of dispensational
significance, for they were to attend the Messiah and help him to
realize his will.  They were not ordinary individuals, but had the
historic responsibility of living at the most important time in
dispensational history.  Similarly, all people today, and especially
Christians, have the responsibility to attend the Lord and establish
the world that realizes the Ideal for the Creation.  We are living at
a point in time unlike any since the beginning of history.

At the Second Coming, Christ will proclaim God's Will, which must be
realized on the earth, and he will educate people to carry it out. 
True people of faith should search for and attend him; and follow
God's Will, which is revealed through him.  In Matthew 2:3, the Bible
says that upon hearing of the Messiah's birth, the whole of Jerusalem
was in an uproar.  However, was there any one who cared for Jesus as a
baby, or publicly supported him after he began his mission?  Let us
humbly listen to the voice of our original mind and search for the
announcement of the Messiah.  Let us calm our mind and pay attention
to the hope-giving news that announces the New Age.