DIVINE PRINCIPLE
PART I
CHAPTER 2

FALL OF MAN

SECTION I--THE ROOT OF SIN

Until the present era, not a single man has known the root of sin. Christians have believed that Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and that this act was the root of sin. There are a number of believers who assume that the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the fruit of an actual tree, while others believe that the fruit is a symbol. Such diverse opinions lead to differing interpretations and, hence, to confusion.

1. THE TREE OF LIFE AND THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

Many Christians to this day believe that the fruit which caused Adam and Eve to fall was literally the fruit of a tree. But how could God--the Parent of man--make a fruit so tempting (Gen. 3:6) that His children would risk falling in order to eat it? How could He have placed such a harmful fruit where His children could reach it so easily?

Jesus said, "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." (Matt. 15:11). Then how could the food which man eats cause him to fall? The original sin of man has been inherited from the first man and the first woman. How could something edible be the source of that sin or the cause of transmitting that original sin to the children? That which is inherited is passed on through the blood lineage. What a man has eaten cannot be transmitted from one generation to the next.

There are many who believe that God created the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and commanded man not to eat of it in order to test man's obedience to Him. We must ask: would a God of Love test man so mercilessly by a means that could cause his death? Adam and Eve knew they would die when they ate the fruit, for God had told them. Yet they ate it. We cannot understand why Adam and Eve, who were far from starvation, would disobey God's command at the risk of their lives. The fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil must have been so extraordinarily stimulating and so ardently desired that fear of punishment--even death--could not deter them from eating it.

If the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not a material fruit, but a symbol, what does this symbol represent? To answer this question let us begin with an examination of the Tree of Life, which grew in the Garden of Eden along with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9). When we grasp the true character of the Tree of Life, we will also know the nature of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

(1) The Tree of Life

According to the Bible, the hope of fallen man lies in the Tree of Life, that is, in becoming a Tree of Life. Israelites of the Old Testament looked toward the Tree of Life as their ultimate hope (Prov. 13:12). The hope of Christians from Jesus' day to the present time has been directed toward the Tree of Life (Rev. 22:14). Since the ultimate hope of fallen man is the Tree of Life, we can conclude that the hope of Adam before his fall was also the Tree of Life.

Why can we conclude that the hope of Adam was to attain the Tree of Life? Genesis 3:24 says that after Adam committed sin, God placed cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the Tree of Life. Due to his fall, Adam was driven from the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:24) without having attained the Tree of Life. Ever since then, fallen man has set his hope upon attaining what Adam failed to attain--the Tree of Life.

What must Adam have hoped while he was in the process of growing to perfection? He hoped to reach perfect manhood without falling and thus fulfill God's ideal of creation. So we can now understand the importance of the Tree of Life as "manhood fulfilling the ideal of creation", as perfected Adam. The Tree of Life represents perfected Adam.

Had Adam attained the Tree of Life, all his descendants also could have attained the Tree of Life and thus they could have realized the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. But Adam fell and God placed the flaming sword at the entrance of the Garden to guard it. So the Tree of Life remains the hope of fallen man, who is trying to restore the ideal of creation.

Why is the quest to attain the Tree of Life so difficult that none have attained it? Fallen man, burdened with original sin, cannot achieve that goal by his own ability alone. A man who has fulfilled the ideal of creation on earth must come and draw all fallen men to himself in harmonious oneness (Rom. 11:17). Such a man must come to show fallen men the way. Jesus came as the Tree of Life to fulfill the hope of the Old Testament saints, who had waited for his advent (Prov. 13:12).

Acts 2:4 states that the saints, on the day of Pentecost, could receive the Holy Spirit, through whom all mankind might come to Jesus, the Tree of Life, and be joined with him. This would happen only after the distribution of the "tongues as of fire", that is, the sword of fire, which guards the way to the Tree of Life. In this way only are Christians spiritually joined with Jesus. Thus, no matter how devout their faith in Jesus, parents cannot but give birth to sinful children, who are required to undergo the redemption of sins. We know that even the most pious saints have not been able to remove the original sin; therefore, even they must transmit this sin to their children (cf. Part I, Ch. 4, Sec. I--140).

Therefore, Christ must come again on earth as the Tree of Life to carry out the providence of the redemption of mankind from original sin by grafting men to himself. This is the reason that the saints of the New Testament Age wait for the Tree of Life recorded in Revelation 22:14, which is, in fact, the Lord of the Second Advent.

We can understand that the purpose of God's providence of salvation is to restore the Tree of life which was lost in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9), to the Tree of Life mentioned in Revelation 22:14. Because of the fall, Adam could not attain the first Tree of Life. Therefore, Christ must come again as the last Adam (Rev. 22:13) in order to save fallen man. It is for this reason that Christ is called the "last Adam" (I Cor. 15:45).

(2) The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

God created Adam, and He also created Eve as Adam's spouse. Thus, when we find in the Garden of Eden a tree symbolizing manhood, we know there must be another tree symbolizing womanhood. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which was described as standing with the Tree of Life (Gen. 2:9), was thus the symbol of Eve.

The Bible refers to Jesus as the vine (John 15:5), or the olive tree (Rom. 11:17). Likewise, Adam and Eve are represented by two trees.

2. THE TRUE NATURE OF THE SERPENT

In the Bible we read that the serpent tempted Eve to sin (Gen. 3:4-5). What does this serpent signify? The answer is found by studying the true character of the serpent in the third chapter of Genesis.

The serpent described in the Bible could converse with man. Moreover, he caused the fall of man, who is a spiritual being. Therefore, the serpent also must have been a spiritual being. He knew God's intention to prohibit man from eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tells us decisively that the serpent was spiritual.

In Revelation 12:9 we read further that the "great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent", who is called the devil by some, and Satan by others. This "ancient serpent" was the same one which tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This serpent is called the devil and Satan who, as we know, has constantly directed the human mind toward evil. Therefore, Satan must be a spiritual being. If the devil is spiritual, the serpent symbolizing the devil also must be spiritual. So we are assured that the serpent which tempted the first man and the first woman was not an animal but was a spiritual being.

A question we must resolve, then, is whether the serpent existed before the time of the creation or was formed at the creation. If this serpent was a being in existence before creation with a purpose contrary to that of God, the struggle between good and evil in the world would be inevitable and eternal. God's providence of restoration, then, would come to naught; and monism, the belief that all things were created by one God, would be disproven. We cannot avoid the conclusion, therefore, that the spiritual being, likened to a serpent, was a being originally created for the purpose of goodness who later fell and was degraded to become Satan.

What kind of spiritual being could have conversed with man, known God's will, lived in heaven (the world of spirit), and could dominate the human soul, transcendent of time and space, even after this being's fall and degradation? There is no being endowed with such characteristics except an angel. The serpent, then, must have been a figurative term for an angel. We read in II Peter 2:4 that God did not spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into hell. So we must conclude that the true nature of the serpent, which tempted man to sin, was that of an angel.

The serpent's tongue is split in two. This symbolizes a man or being which utters two different things with one tongue, a being which lives a double life with one heart. The serpent is also the symbol of one who induces others to sacrifice themselves for his own benefit. The serpent twists its body around the prey, and then devours it. For these reasons, the Bible likened the angel which tempted man to a serpent.

3. THE FALL OF THE ANGEL AND THE FALL OF MAN

Now we know that the serpent which tempted man to fall was an angel, and that this angel, having fallen into sin, became Satan. Let us further investigate what kind of sin the angel and (the) man committed.

(1) The Crime of the Angel

Jude 1:6-7 reads:

And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally [committed fornication] and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

From this we can reason that the angel fell as the result of an immoral act of unnatural lust, and that act was fornication.

Fornication is a crime which cannot be committed by one person alone. Therefore, we must know with whom the angel committed fornication in the Garden of Eden. In order to know that, let us first investigate what kind of crime was committed by man.

(2) The Crime of Man

In Genesis 2:25 we read that Adam and Eve were naked, and were not ashamed of their nakedness. But, after the fall, they became ashamed of their nakedness and sewed fig leaves together into aprons to cover their lower parts (Gen. 3:7). If they had committed sin by eating an actual fruit of a "tree of the knowledge of good and evil", they would have concealed their hands and mouths instead. It is the nature of man to conceal an area of transgression. They covered their sexual parts, clearly indicating that they were ashamed of the sexual areas of their bodies because they had sinned through them. From this we know that they committed sin through the sexual parts of their bodies.

In Job 31:33 it is written: "If I have concealed my transgressions from men, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom...". Adam concealed his transgression by covering the sexual part of his body after the fall. This again indicates that the sexual part of Adam's body was the area of transgression. Thus we must conclude that Adam's sexual part became the place of transgression, because Adam committed sin through that part.

In the world before the fall of man, what act could man have performed at the risk of his life? It could be nothing else but an improper act of love. From the viewpoint of God's creation, love should be the most precious and holy act in the world. Nevertheless, men since the fall have often regarded the act of love as despicable, because love was the very cause of the human fall. This further demonstrates that man fell because of fornication.

(3) The Act of Adultery between the Angel and Man

Thus far, we have clarified the fact that man was tempted by an angel and fell. Both man and the angel fell because of fornication. In the world of creation, men and angels are the only spiritual beings capable of having a relationship of love. From the above, we can conclude that there must have been some act of adultery between man and the angel.

John 8:44 says, "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.". Again, Revelation 12:9 clarifies that the devil is Satan, and that Satan is the "ancient serpent" which tempted man. From these Biblical verses we can assert that man is the descendant of the devil and, naturally, the descendant of Satan; and thus, he is the descendant of the serpent. What were the circumstances surrounding the affair which made man the descendant of the fallen angel, Satan? These circumstances are related to the fact that adultery was committed between the first human ancestors and the angel. From this act, all men came to be born of Satanic lineage, apart from God's. In Romans 8:23, it says: ...we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

In Matthew 3:7, John the Baptist reproached the faithless people, calling them a "brood of vipers"--sons of Satan. Again, in Matthew 23:33 Jesus rebuked the Jews, saying, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?".

From these Biblical references we can ascertain that there was an adulterous relationship between the angel and man, and this became the cause of the fall of man.

4. THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

We have previously clarified the fact that the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is Eve. What then does the fruit of the tree symbolize? It symbolizes Eve's love. Just as a fruit tree multiplies by the fruit which contains its seed, Eve should have multiplied children of goodness through her love centered on God. But instead, Eve multiplied children of evil through her love centered on Satan. Eve was created to become perfect through the period of growth she could bear either good fruit or bad fruit through her love. Consequently, her love was called "the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil", while she herself was called "the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil".

Then, what did the act of eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil signify? When we say we eat something, it means that we make it into our blood and flesh. Eve should have multiplied children of good lineage through her blood and flesh of goodness derived from the good "fruit" she ate in her love centered on God. Instead, she produced a sinful world by multiplying children of bad lineage through her blood and flesh of evil derived from the evil "fruit" she ate in her love centered on Satan. Accordingly, Eve's having eaten the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil signifies that she had a blood relationship with the angel (Satan) through her evil love centered on him.

Genesis 3:14 states that God cursed the fallen angel, saying he should go upon his belly and should eat dust all the days of his life. "Upon your belly you shall go" means that the angel becomes a miserable being, unable to function properly according to the original way of creation. To have to "eat dust" means that he has to live by receiving evil vitality elements from the sinful world, deprived of the right to have elements of life from God, since he was thrown down from heaven (Is. 14:12, Rev. 12:9).

5. THE ROOT OF SIN

According to what has been elucidated by the Bible, we have come to understand that the root of sin is not that the first human ancestors ate a fruit, but that they had an illicit blood relationship with an angel symbolized by a serpent. Consequently, they could not multiply the good lineage of God, but rather multiplied the evil lineage of Satan.

Furthermore, there is another fact which demonstrates clearly that the root of man's sin stems from adultery. It is because the root of sin began by a blood relationship that the original sin is transmitted from generation to generation. Every religion which teaches how to eliminate sin has called adultery the greatest sin, and has emphasized an ascetic life in order to prevent it. This also demonstrates that the root of sin lies in adultery. The Israelites were circumcised as a condition of redemption to become God's elect, because the root of sin lay in having received evil blood because of adultery, and they wanted to sanctify themselves to make a condition that the evil blood be removed from their flesh as fallen men.

The principal cause of the downfall of numerous nations, national heroes and patriots, was adultery, because the urge to commit adultery, the root of sin, was always at work in the mind of man without his being conscious of it. We may be able to eradicate all other sins by elevating the ethics and the morality of man through religion, education, and improvement of the economic and social system. But in present conditions no one can prevent the crime of adultery, which has become increasingly prevalent as the development of civilization makes human life easier and more indolent. Therefore, we can never expect the ideal world to be established unless we can eradicate the source of this crime. Accordingly, the Lord of the Second Advent must be able to solve this problem completely. All these facts prove that the root of sin lies in adultery.

SECTION II--THE MOTIVATION AND PROCESS OF THE FALL

We have already clarified in Section I the fact that the serpent was an angel who caused Eve to fall. Since the motivation of the human fall lay within the angel, we must know something about the angel before we can really know the motivation and process of the fall.

1. THE CREATION OF THE ANGEL, HIS MISSION, AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO MAN

All beings were created by God. The angels were no exception. God created the angelic world before anything else. Genesis 1:26 records the story of creation: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness", putting the first person in the plural. This is not because He was speaking as a trinity, as many theologians have interpreted, but because He was speaking to the angels, who had been created before man (Gen. 1:26).

God created the angels as servants who were to assist in the creation of the universe, and in His dispensation for it (Heb. 1:14). The angels conveyed to Abraham the important words of blessing from God (Gen. 18:10), heralded Mary's conception of Christ (Matt. 1:20, Luke 1:31), and unchained Peter and led him out of prison (Acts 12:7-11). We can find numerous examples in the Bible of the angels working for God. In Revelation 22:9 the angel calls himself a "servant", while in Hebrews 1:14, angels are said to be "ministering spirits". Again, we may find in many biblical verses solid proof of the angels having been created to honor and praise God (Rev. 5:11-12, 7:11-12).

Let us now investigate the relationship between man and angels, according to the principle of creation. Since God created men as His children, giving them dominion over all creation (Gen. 1:28), man was supposed to dominate the angels, too. I Corinthians 6:3 says that man has the authority to judge the angels. Many who communicate with the spirit world frequently see angels ministering to the saints in Paradise. This, too, is a good example illustrating that angels minister to men.

2. THE SPIRITUAL FALL AND THE PHYSICAL FALL

Since God created man in spirit and flesh, the fall also took place in spirit and flesh. The fall through the blood relationship between the angel and Eve was the spiritual fall, while that through the blood relationship between Eve and Adam was the physical fall.

How could there be a sexual relationship between the angel and man? Feelings and sensations are felt and responded to in the invisible, or spirit world. Contact between a spirit and earthly man (who has a spirit) is not very different from contact between two earthly human beings. Therefore, sexual union between a human being and an angel is actually possible.

We can understand what has been said here even more clearly through the following stories. There are recorded instances in human society of an earthly man leading a married life with a spirit. There is the story of the angel who, in wrestling with Jacob, touched the hollow of his thigh and put it out of joint (Gen. 32:25). Still another story is about the angels who appeared in Abraham's home and ate the meat and other food he had prepared for them (Gen. 18:7-8), and the two angels visiting Lot who ate the unleavened bread he baked for them. The men of the city, excited in sexual desire upon seeing them, surrounded the house and called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." (Gen. 19:5). These incidents illustrate the possibility of contact between men and angels.

(1) Spiritual Fall

God created the angelic world (Gen. 1:26) and put Lucifer (signified by "Day Star, son of Dawn", Is. 14:12) in the position of archangel. Lucifer was in a position to monopolize God's love as the mediator between God and the angelic world, just as Abraham was the channel for God's blessing to the Israelites. However, God, after creating men as His children, loved them much more than He loved Lucifer, who had been created as His servant. In fact, Lucifer received the same amount of God's love as he had before the creation of man, but when he saw that God loved Adam and Eve more, he felt that God loved him less than before. This situation is similar to the biblical story of the laborers who had begun working early in the morning; seeing that those who were hired late and worked little received the same wage as they, they felt underpaid, although they received the promised amount (Matt. 20:1-15). Lucifer, who felt a decrease of love, tried to tempt Eve to submit to him in order that he might enjoy the same position in human society that he did in the angelic world. This was the motivation of the spiritual fall.

All things were created to receive God's dominion through love. Therefore, love is the source of life and the essence of happiness; love is the ideal of all creation. Accordingly, the more one receives God's love, the more beautiful he or she becomes. So it was very natural that Eve looked most beautiful in Lucifer's eyes. Moreover, when Eve was susceptible to his temptation. Lucifer was strongly stimulated by an impulse of love toward Eve. At this point, Lucifer dared to seduce Eve at the risk of his life. Lucifer, who left his position due to excessive desire, and Eve, who desired to have her eyes opened like God's through a sexual relationship before she was ready for it, thus formed a reciprocal base and had sexual intercourse with each other through their give and take action (Gen 3:5-6). Since the power of love derived from their give and take action was not based on the Principle, they fell into an illicit relationship of spiritual love.

According to the principle that men were created to exchange elements with the objective being with whom they have become one body through love, Eve received certain elements from Lucifer when she joined into one body with him through love. First, she received from Lucifer the sense of fear, which came from his guilty conscience because of their violation of the purpose of creation. Second, she received wisdom enabling her to perceive that her intended spouse in the original nature of creation was not Lucifer but Adam. At that time Eve was still in the period of immaturity. Therefore, she was immature in her wisdom compare to the archangel, who had already reached a certain level of maturity. Thus she received the wisdom of the archangel.

(2) Physical Fall

Adam and Eve should have become husband and wife, eternally centered on God, after their perfection. However, Eve joined with Adam after she had the illicit relationship with the archangel in her period of growth. Adam, too, fell in his growth period. The premature conjugal relationship thus established between Adam and Eve was centered on Satan and caused the physical fall.

As mentioned above, Eve obtained, from the spiritual fall with the archangel, the sense of fear arising from the pangs of her guilty conscience, and the wisdom to understand that her intended spouse was not the archangel but Adam. Eve then seduced Adam in the hope that she might rid herself of the fear derived from the fall and stand before God by becoming, even then, one body with Adam, who was meant to be her spouse. This was the motivation behind the physical fall.

Eve, having become one body with the archangel through their illicit sexual relationship, was in the position of the archangel to Adam. Therefore, Adam, whom God loved, looked very beautiful to her. Adam was Eve's only hope for returning to God. Feeling this, Eve tempted Adam, just as the archangel had tempted her. Adam and Eve formed a reciprocal base, and through their give and take action, the power of love drew them closer. This powerful love made Adam leave his original position and finally caused Eve and him to have an illicit sexual relationship.

Adam, by becoming one body with Eve, inherited all the elements Eve had received from Lucifer, in the same manner she did. These elements were then transmitted to their descendants. Despite Eve's fall, if Adam had reached perfection without forming a reciprocal base with the fallen Eve, he as the perfected subject would have remained intact, and the providence to restore Eve alone would have been much easier. However, Adam also fell, and mankind has multiplied in sin to the present day, thus perpetuating the lineage of Satan.

SECTION III--THE POWER OF LOVE, THE POWER OF THE PRINCIPLE, AND GOD'S COMMANDMENT

1. THE HUMAN FALL SEEN FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE POWER OF LOVE AND THE POWER OF THE PRINCIPLE

Man was created to live in accordance with the Principle. Therefore, it cannot be that the power of the Principle would cause the fall, and throw man off the track. We can compare this to a train which cannot run off the track by itself. For a train to run off the track, there must be a breakdown in the engine or the rail, or an external force stronger than its own running force must collide with it, coming from a different direction. Likewise, man can fall when a certain power, stronger than that of the Principle which makes him grow, and with a different purpose, collides with him. The power which is stronger than that of the Principle is nothing else but the power of love. Therefore, man, in an immature state, could fall because of the power of love, if it was not centered on the Principle.

Why, then, was the power of love stronger than the power of the Principle, such that man fell when he met with love headed for a different purpose?

According to the principle of creation, God's love is the subjective love, manifested through the four position foundation, which is established by having perfected the three objective purposes through the three objective loves. Therefore, love is the source of man's life and happiness, because without God's love, the four position foundation, which is the purpose of man's creation, could never be established. God, through love, should have dominion over man, who is created through the Principle. Therefore, in order that love may have the greater value, the power of love must be stronger than that of the Principle. If the power of love were weaker than that of the Principle, God's love would not be able to dominate man, who was created through the Principle. Rather, man would be concerned with the Principle more than with God's love. This was the reason that Jesus wanted to raise his disciples with the truth and save them with love.

2. THE PURPOSE OF GOD'S GIVING MAN THE COMMANDMENT

What could have been the purpose God's giving Adam and Eve the commandment not to eat the fruit? If Adam and Eve, who were not in God's direct dominion of love due to their immaturity, should enter into a reciprocal relationship with the archangel based on unprincipled love, they could fall, since the power of love was stronger than that of the Principle. But, however strong the power of the archangel's love was, if they had followed God's commandment without responding to the angel, performing the action of give and take with God alone, they could not have fallen. In that case, the power of unprincipled love could not have any effect. Since they formed a reciprocal base with the archangel and performed give and take action with him, against God's commandment, the power of illicit love made them deviate from the Principle.

It was not simply because He wanted to prevent him from falling that God gave such a commandment to man while he was yet immature. God also wanted man to enjoy dominion over all creation by having him inherit His creative nature. Thus, Adam and Eve should have perfected themselves through their faith in the Word, as their own portion of responsibility (cf. Part I, Ch. 1, Sec. V, 2.2--55).

God gave this commandment not to the archangel but to man; He sought to exalt man's dignity and qualification in the principle of creation so that man might dominate even the archangel from the position of God's son.

3. THE PERIOD NECESSITATING THE COMMANDMENT

Would God's commandment not to eat of the fruit have been necessary forever? Seen from the viewpoint of love, the fulfillment of God's second blessing is that Adam and Eve enter into God's direct dominion through His love by becoming husband and wife, centering on God's love, and multiplying their children (Gen. 1:28). Therefore, man was created to be allowed, by the Principle, to eat the fruit after his perfection.

Since the power of love is stronger than that of the Principle, Adam and Eve could not have fallen if they had become husband and wife after their perfection, and entered into God's direct dominion through their absolute love. (In this case, no man nor any other power could break the power of the absolute conjugal love. Moreover, the power of the archangel's love, which is supposed to be lesser and weaker than man's could by no means have severed their reciprocal love centered on God. Therefore, God's commandment not to eat of the fruit would have been necessary for Adam and Eve only in the period of their immaturity.

SECTION IV--THE RESULT OF THE HUMAN FALL

What was the result brought about in the world of creation, including man and the archangel, by the spiritual and physical fall of Adam and Eve? Let us examine this important question.

1. SATAN AND FALLEN MAN

We have previously mentioned that Lucifer, the fallen archangel, was called Satan. Man fell, becoming Satan's child, because he formed the four position foundation centered on Satan, thus becoming one body with him through their blood relationship. Therefore, Jesus said that fallen men are of their father the devil (John 8:44), and on many occasions called them the brood of vipers, that is, sons of Satan (Matt. 3:7, 12:34, 23:33). Romans 8:23 says, "...not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons...". This is because man could not inherit God's lineage, but inherited Satan's instead, due to the fall of the first human ancestors.

If Adam and Eve had established the four position foundation centered on God after having perfected themselves, the world under the sovereignty of God could have been established at that time. However, they fell in the period of immaturity, thus forming the four position foundation centered on Satan. Therefore, the world came under Satanic sovereignty. John 12:31 says that Satan is the "ruler of this world", while in II Corinthians 4:4 Satan is called the "god of this world". This is the manner in which Satan came to dominate man, who had been created to be the dominator of the whole creation, and thus came to dominate the creation as well. Therefore, Romans 8:19 says that the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. This signifies that all creation, being now under the dominion of Satan while it should be dominated by perfected men, is anxious to repel Satan and to see the revealing of the men of the original nature of creation, who are entitled to dominate all creation in love.

2. SATAN'S ACTIVITIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY

Satan is constantly accusing men before God, just as he did with Job (Job 1:9-11), in order to put them into hell. However, even Satan cannot perform this kind of evil action without having an object with whom to form a reciprocal base for give and take action. The objects of Satan are the evil spirits in the spirit world. The objects of these evil spirits are the spirit men of evil men on earth. The objects of the spirits of evil men on earth are their own physical bodies. Therefore, Satanic power, conveyed by evil spirits, results in the evil physical activities of earthly men. Therefore, we read in Luke 22:3 that Satan entered into Judas Iscariot. Again in Matthew 16:23, Jesus called Peter "Satan". In the Bible, evil spirit men are called "angels" of the devil (Matt. 25:41).

To restore the earthly Kingdom of Heaven (Part I, Ch. 3, Sec. II--103) means to realize the world in which Satan can never act, by man's severing completely his reciprocal base with Satan and restoring his reciprocal base with God, thus entering in give and take action with Him. That God keeps Satan in a bottomless pit in the Latter Days signifies that Satan will be unable to act since he will have lost his object with which to work. In order for man to be able to cut off his reciprocal base with Satan and be rightfully able to judge him (I Cor. 6:3), he must know the true character of Satan's crime and accuse him before God. However, God in creating angels and men, gave them freedom; and so He cannot restore them by force. Therefore, man should be able to make Satan come to a natural surrender by exalting the Word, through the accomplishment of his own portion of responsibility by his own volition, before he can be restored to the status of a man of the original nature of creation. The history of the providence of restoration has been prolonged for such a long time because God is developing His providence according to such principles.

3. GOOD AND EVIL SEEN FROM THE NATURE OF PURPOSE

We have already defined good and evil in the "Original Value of Creation" (Part I, Ch. 1, Sec. IV--46). Let us now investigate good and evil, seen from the nature of purpose. If Adam and Eve had established the four position foundation centered on God through the love with which they were originally endowed, they would have realized the world of goodness. But they realized a world of evil because they had established the four position foundation centered on Satan through their love which had a purpose contrary to goodness. Therefore, good and evil can result from the same action, but have a different direction and purpose. There are many examples illustrating that human nature, considered evil, would be good if it pursued the purpose of God's will. For instance, human desire or ambition, usually considered evil, is part of the original nature of creation endowed by God in the beginning. This is true because the purpose of creation was to obtain joy, and joy can be attained only when desire is fulfilled. If man had no desire or ambition, he could have no joy. If man had no desire or ambition, he would have no ambition to receive God's love, to want to live, to perform good deeds, nor to develop. In this way, neither God's purpose of creation nor the providence of restoration could be fulfilled. The maintenance and development of human society, too, would be impeded.

The original desire of man, being the original nature of creation, comes to realize goodness if it is fruitful for the purpose of God's will. On the contrary, if it is fruitful for the purpose of Satan's will, it results in evil. From this principle, it is self-evident that even the world of evil, when turned toward the purpose of goodness centered on Christ, will be restored to perfect goodness, thus realizing the Kingdom of God on earth (cf. Part I, Ch. 3, Sec. II, 2--105). Accordingly, the providence of salvation is to change the direction of the fallen world, heading toward the purpose of Satan, to the direction of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, in order to realize God's purpose of creation.

The standard of goodness upheld in the course of this providence is not absolute but relative. This is because, during a specific age, it may be considered good to follow the purpose of the sovereign's ideology, while it is considered evil to go against his purpose. But once the age and the sovereign change, bringing a different ideology, the purpose also will change, and with it the standard of good and evil. In any religion or ideology, it is "good" for the adherents to follow the purpose defined by the doctrine, while to go against it is "evil". But for those of a different religion or ideology, or those who change their beliefs, the standard of good and evil would naturally differ according to the difference in purpose.

The principal cause behind the conflicts and revolutions which constantly take place in human society is the change in the standard of good and evil which occurs, as the purpose sought by men varies. The standard of goodness in the course of restoration is thus not an absolute one but a relative one. However, when the sovereignty of Satan is expelled from the earth, and God, the eternal absolute Being transcendent of time and space, restores His sovereignty with His absolute ideology, the purpose determined by the ideology, and the resultant standard of goodness, will also be absolute. This will be the world of macrocosmic ideology which will be established by the Lord of the Second Advent. In fact, human history has been the struggle in pursuit of the absolute goodness of our original mind's desire, constantly undergoing conflicts and revolutions. Accordingly, the conflicts and revolutions which take place in human society will continue until the world of absolute goodness is established.

4. THE WORKS OF GOOD SPIRITS AND EVIL SPIRITS

"Good spirits" is the collective name for God, good spirit men on His side, and angels. What we call "evil spirits" are Satan and all the evil spirit men on his side. The works of good spirits and evil spirits, as in the case of good and evil, start at the same point in the same manner but are directed toward different purposes.

Those who are involved in the works of good spirits enjoy an increasing sense of peace and righteousness; even the physical health of the individual will improve. The works of evil spirits make individuals feel an increasing sense of insecurity, fear, and egoism, even hindering the physical health of the obsessed. Those who are ignorant of the Principle find it very hard to discern the good or evil of the spiritual works. With the lapse of time, the results will reveal the nature of the spirit. However, fallen man, situated halfway between good (God) and evil (Satan), may sometimes cooperate with the work of both good and evil spirits. In many cases, even the works of evil spirits may combine with the works of good spirits after a certain period. So it is very difficult for people who are ignorant of the Principle to discern between them. It is a pity that in this age, many ministers and other religious workers condemn, from ignorance, the works of good spirits as those of evil spirits, thus going against God's will without being aware of it. No one in the present day of such increasing spiritual phenomena can guide men in spiritual communication unless he can discern between the works of good spirits and evil spirits.

5. SIN

Sin is the act of violating the heavenly law by establishing a condition in which one forms a reciprocal base with Satan, and enters into the action of give and take with him. We can classify human sin into four kinds. First is man's "original sin", which is the sin derived from the spiritual and physical fall of the first human ancestors. Original sin is the root of all sins.

Second is man's "hereditary sin", which is the sin of the ancestors transmitted to the descendants through blood lineage. The Ten Commandments state that the sin of the parents will be conveyed through several generations (Ex. 20:5).

Third is the "collective sin". This is the sin for which everybody is collectively responsible, even though it is neither his own sin nor a hereditary sin. An example of this kind of sin is the crucifixion of Jesus. The chief priests and scribes of the people had Jesus crucified; therefore, all the Jews have undergone God's punishment, taking the responsibility as a whole. Likewise, all mankind has had to suffer and will bear common responsibility until the Second Advent of the Lord.

Fourth is the "individual sin" which everyone commits himself. As mentioned above, we call original sin the root of all sins. Hereditary sin corresponds to the trunk, while collective sin and individual sin correspond respectively to the branches and leaves of a tree. All sins come from original sin, which is the root of all sins. Therefore, man cannot fundamentally liquidate all sins without getting rid of original sin. However, no one has been able to uncover this root of sin. Only Christ, the True Parent, who comes as the root of life, can uncover the root of sin(s) and liquidate it.

6. THE ORIGINAL NATURE OF THE FALL

Eve inherited from the archangel all the characteristics that came about when the archangel committed a sexual act with Eve against God's will. Then Adam, who entered into a blood relationship with Eve--who in turn was in the position of the archangel to him--came to inherit the same characteristics. In this manner, these characteristics gave rise to the fallen nature of man. We call these the "original nature of the fall".

The basic motivation that thus caused the original nature of the fall lay in the jealousy the archangel felt toward Adam. How could there be any such thing as jealousy in the archangel, who had been created for the purpose of goodness? Originally, the archangel was endowed with wisdom and desire, as the original nature of creation. He could compare and discern that God's love toward men was greater than that toward himself. It was quite natural for him to entertain the hope of receiving greater love than anyone else because he possessed a spontaneous desire for the greatest love. Such a desire was automatically conducive to jealousy. Therefore, jealousy was a by-product of the original nature of creation, like the shadow of a thing produced by the light.

However, after perfection, man could never fall due to such incidental desire. He would not dare commit such a crime, because he would know that the torment he would experience in fear of self-destruction, after fulfilling such a desire, would be far greater than the momentary satisfaction he would enjoy by fulfilling it.

The world after the accomplishment of the purpose of creation should be a systematic society, resembling a man in its form, in which all men have an integrated relationship with one another. So, the harm which comes to an individual is felt by the whole. Therefore, the whole body would keep the individual members from destruction. Similarly, in the world in which the purpose of creation is fulfilled, any incidental desire occurring from the original nature of creation would be used for the development of human society; it could never cause man to fall.

We may roughly divide the original nature of the fall into four aspects. The first is the failure to take the standpoint of God in loving others. The motivation of the archangel's fall lay in his jealousy of Adam; he did not love him from the same standpoint as God. This led him to defile Eve. The nature by which a courtier feels jealous of a King's favorite, instead of loving him from the standpoint of the king, is another example of the original nature of the fall.

The second is to leave one's own position. Lucifer fell by leaving his position because of an unrighteous desire to enjoy the same position of love in human society as he did in the angelic world, and due to his attempt to receive more love from God. Any act that is performed apart from one's own position and limit, out of an unrighteous desire, is without exception, a manifestation of this original nature of the fall.

The third is to reverse the dominion. The angel who was supposed to be under the dominion of man, dominated Eve, reversing the principled order. And Eve, who was supposed to be under the dominion of Adam, dominated him instead. This resulted in the fall. Human society was thrown out of order by those who left their positions and reversed their dominions. This resulted because of the third original nature of the fall.

The fourth is to multiply the criminal act. If Eve had not multiplied her crime in Adam before her fall, Adam would have remained intact. To restore Eve alone would have been easy. However, Eve caused Adam to fall, multiplying her crime in him. The desire of evil men to induce their colleague to commit crimes with them also comes from this original nature of the fall.

SECTION V - Freedom and the Fall

1. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FREEDOM SEEN FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE PRINCIPLE

In discussing the nature of freedom in light of the Principle, we must first understand that there is no freedom apart from the Principle.

The word "freedom" expresses collectively both free will and free action which accompanies it. Because the former and the latter are in the relation of character and form, perfect freedom is only possible when these two are combined. Naturally, where there is no free will, there is no free action.

Free will not followed by free action cannot be perfected. Free action comes from free will, and free will is the manifestation of one's original mind. The minds of men of the original nature of creation cannot operate apart from the Principle, which is the Word of God. Therefore, there can be no free will apart from the Principle, and naturally no true free action can follow. We can conclude that, for men of the original nature of creation, there is no freedom whatsoever apart from the Principle.

Secondly, there is no freedom unaccompanied by responsibility. Man, created according to the Principle, is to perfect himself by accomplishing his portion of responsibility through his own free will (cf. Part I, Ch. 1, Sec. V, 2.2--55). Accordingly, man, in pursuit of the purpose of creation, always tries to accomplish his responsibility according to his free will; therefore, there can be no freedom unaccompanied by responsibility.

Thirdly, there is no freedom without actual results. The purpose of man's attempt to accomplish his own portion of responsibility is to attain the purpose of creation, and thus bring about actual results by which he can make God happy. Accordingly, freedom always seeks actual results in the accomplishment of God's purpose of creation. There is no freedom whatsoever without actual results.

2. FREEDOM AND THE HUMAN FALL

As previously explained, freedom cannot exist apart from the Principle. Therefore, in accordance with the principle of creation, freedom is always accompanied by responsibility and it is always in pursuit of actual results to make God happy. Consequently, free acts according to free will should always result in goodness. Therefore, it cannot be that man would fall because of freedom. That is why in II Corinthians 3:17 it is stated, "The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.". We call this kind of freedom "the freedom of the original mind".

Since Adam and Eve had been advised by God not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they should have kept the commandment in accordance with the freedom of their original mind, without God's intervention. When Eve was about to deviate from the Principle, the freedom of her original mind, seeking the actual results of goodness and responsibility in the Principle, apparently worked to keep her from going off the track by arousing a sense of insecurity and fear within her. Even after the fall, this freedom of the original mind surely worked to have man return to God. Therefore, man could not have fallen due to the freedom of the original mind. On the contrary, the human fall had its fundamental cause in the fact that the power of the non-principled love was stronger than the directive power of the freedom of the original mind. After all, man lost his freedom because of the fall. However, God can work His providence of restoring man's freedom because man, though fallen, still has a remainder of his original nature which seeks freedom in God. It is sound proof of man's progress toward restoring this freedom, long lost due to Satan, that, as time goes by, man's zeal for the pursuit of freedom grows, and he seeks it even at the risk of his life. Therefore, the purpose of man's search for freedom is to accomplish the purpose of creation by bringing about actual results, and to accomplish his responsibility in the Principle through his free action in accordance with his free will.

3. FREEDOM, THE FALL, AND RESTORATION

Angels were created to minister to men. Thus, men were free to deal with the angels. However, Eve, at the time of her temptation, was still immature both in wisdom and in heart, Thus, when Eve was blinded in wisdom (knowledge) and confused in heart (feeling) by the temptation of the angel, she was forced to go beyond the line of fall even though she felt anxiety due to the freedom of her original mind, which was in pursuit of actual results and responsibility. This is because the power of love with the angel was stronger than the freedom of her original mind. However free Eve may have been to deal with the angel, she should have believed in God's commandment not to eat the fruit, thus restraining herself from responding to the temptation of the angel. Had Eve restrained herself, she would not have fallen. In that case, the power of the non-principled love with the angel could not have been generated. Despite the fact that freedom allowed Eve to respond to the angel, leading her to the line of fall, it was by no means freedom but the power of non-principled love that made her overstep the line of fall.

Since man was created to deal with the angels in freedom, Eve came to deal with Lucifer. By Eve's performing give and take action with him on a reciprocal base, they fell into non-principled love, and the power of this love caused them to fall. On the contrary, fallen man can also stand in the objective position to God in freedom. Therefore, if man performs the action of give and take with God on a reciprocal base according to the truth, he can restore the original nature of creation by the power of principled love. Man came to cry for freedom because of the directional nature of the freedom of his original mind, which seeks to restore the original nature of creation.

Man, due to the fall, became ignorant of God and of His heart. Therefore, human will, due to ignorance, could not take a direction with which God could be pleased. However, in fallen man the "heart-and-zeal" for the freedom of the original mind directed toward the purpose of creation has been renewed, as spirit (internal knowledge) and truth (external knowledge) have developed according to the age in the providence of restoration. Subsequently, man's heart-and-zeal toward God has also been restored, heightening his desire to live in accordance with God's will.

As man's volition for the restoration of freedom is cultivated, he naturally seeks to create the social circumstances in which he can realize freedom. Social revolution is unavoidable when the circumstances of the age cannot satisfy the desires of the men belonging to the age. The French Revolution in the 18th century is a representative example. Revolution will continue until the freedom of the original nature of creation is restored completely.

SECTION VI--THE REASON GOD DID NOT INTERFERE WITH THE FIRST HUMAN ANCESTORS' FALLEN ACT

God, being omniscient and omnipotent, foresaw the possibility of the fallen act of the first human ancestors. He did not lack the power to prevent Adam and Eve from committing the act. Why, then, did God not intervene to prevent the act of the fall when He foresaw it? This is one of the most important questions, but has been left unsolved throughout human history. We can give the following three points as the reasons God did not interfere with man's fallen act.

1. FOR THE SAKE OF THE ABSOLUTENESS AND PERFECTION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF CREATION

According to the principle of creation, God created man so that, by inheriting His creative nature, man might dominate all things even as God dominates mankind. However, man must perfect himself by accomplishing his portion of responsibility in order to inherit God's creative nature. We call this period of growth the "sphere of indirect dominion", or the "sphere of dominion over the result of the Principle". While men are in this sphere, God does not dominate them; instead, He seeks to have them fulfill their portion of responsibility. God is to dominate men directly only after their perfection. If God should interfere with their acts during the growth period, it would amount to God's ignoring man's portion of responsibility. In that case, God Himself would be ignoring the principle of creation, in which He exalts man as the dominator of all things by giving him a creative nature. If the Principle should be ignored, the absoluteness and perfection of the Principle would be lost. Since God is the Creator, both absolute and perfect, the principle of creation which He set forth should also be absolute and perfect. Therefore, God could not interfere with the act of the fall while men were in the period of growth, for the sake of the absoluteness and perfection of the principle of creation.

2. IN ORDER THAT GOD ALONE BE THE CREATOR

God intervenes with beings or acts only within the Principle, but He does not interfere with beings or acts outside the Principle and thus not of His creation. Therefore, if God interferes with any such being or act, that being or act becomes recognized as part of the Principle.

When viewed from this standpoint, if God had intervened in the fallen act of the first human ancestors, it would have meant that even the act of the fall would have been given the value of creation, and that this sinful act would have been recognized as part of the Principle. If so, it would have caused God to set up a new principle which would have called for His recognizing the sinful act as an act of the Principle. Since Satan initiated this process, this means that Satan would have created a new principle, making himself a creator along with God. In order that God alone be the Creator, He could not interfere with the act of the fall.

3. IN ORDER TO SET UP MAN AS THE DOMINATOR OF ALL THINGS

God created man and blessed him, and set him up to be the dominator of all things (Gen. 1:28). In order for man to dominate all things as God desired, he should have possessed certain qualifications as a lord because he could only dominate others from a position superior to theirs.

Just as God was qualified to dominate all men because He was the Creator, man had to have the creativity of God in order to be qualified as the dominator of all things. Therefore, God made man to perfect himself by accomplishing his own portion of responsibility through the period of his growth, in order to qualify him as the dominator of all things. Therefore, man should possess the qualities of dominion that can be obtained only by perfecting himself through such a course in the Principle, before he can dominate all things. If God directly dominated and interfered with man in the period of his immaturity, it would result in making him the dominator of all things when he was not yet qualified to be a dominator, for he did not have the creativity of God, and had not accomplished his portion of responsibility. It would be a contradiction to deal with an immature man and a perfect man on an equal basis. More than that, this would ignore the principle of creation which He set up in order to make man dominator of all things by giving him even His power of creativity. Therefore, God, who made the world according to the Principle, could not interfere with the act of the fall of the immature man, who was still in the sphere of indirect dominion, in order that He could later set man up in the position of dominator over all things.