World History Repeats Itself For Restoration Part I

We see it even in history of fashion.  The clothing and music of the 50s were very popular in the 80s, the last decade revived the 70s for some reason, and it seems we are living in the 80s and 90s once again. 

When viewing the larger more historical view of world political and religious aspects, one will soon find the same similarities all throughout history.  Why do certain wars such as the one in Israel seem to repeat itself and not be resolved?

Why are we repeating wars based on conflicts that occurred between people who are no longer alive?  Why do we continue conflicts that we did not even start?


Why Does History Repeat Itself?

This question is impossible to answer in one meager article, for it takes a very in depth look back into the history of conflicts between nations.  Also, one must take a look at the beginning of conflicts and how they parallel to other time periods.  This is a very brief understanding of what is called the Providence of Restoration.  To take a more indepth look at history, would take a book, not a simply written page.

To get a more detailed understanding of history from God's view point of history it is best to obtain "The Divine Principle" book which this article is based upon.   

God had used seemingly random wars and leaders for his good, actually had a deeper meaning. 

Why does history repeat itself?  The simplest way to answer is God had a plan for that dispensation using a central figure or leader, a nation and people he had prepared for one purpose.  This purpose is to bring a foundation for the Messiah.  In other words.  Before the Messiah appeared and reappears in our time, God had an ultimate goal to bring the Messiah to a certain nation way before Jesus and prepared for him to return way before now.  So what happened?

Bluntly, many of God's chosen people and nation's central leaders messed up God's plan in exchange for their own earthly interest.  This explains why so many kings and nations rise and fall over and over again in history.  Once they fail, God surely plans to finish his Will of world peace, yet He uses a new nation, new people and new leadership.  What usually happens to the ones who failed?

Traditional Views of History

The following is an overview of only a few key points in history, and will attempt to clarify the Unification viewpoint of their historical significance centered on God's restoration process.  It would elongate the post if we place in all of history as the book Divine Principle tackles, to keep it short, we can only go through a few points here.

A. The Cyclical View of History (Fatalist View of History)

The ancient Greeks believed that just as the four seasons absolutely repeat, they believed that history followed the same natural course.  The Greeks believed that history was destined to repeat, and humans could not affect the outcome.  To them, history was just repetition of events that did not have any meaning or goal.

This viewpoint is called the fatalist view of history or "cyclical view of history".  Herodotus (484-425 BC) was called the father of history, and Thucydides wrote "history of the Peloponnesian War" (460-400 BC).  These two men both believed that history repeated itself.  They do not believe humans can affect change to the development of history and deem history as necessary.  This fatalist viewpoint does not see any goal in history and cannot offer a future image of World Peace.


B. The Providential View of History

Christianity presented a view in contrast to the Greeks view of history.  Christianity believed that history has a beginning and advances in a straight line toward a definite goal led by God's providence.  Christian history began with the human fall, and its history is a history of salvation leading to Judgment day.

Christians divides human history into six periods:

(1) from Adam to Noah's flood,
(2) from Noah to Abraham,
(3) from Abraham to David,
(4) from David to the Babylonian captivity,
(5) from the Babylonian captivity to the birth of Christ, and
(6) from the first coming to the second coming of Christ.

As stated in other articles, the purpose of the Providence of Restoration is the process to restore man.  To establish a base or foundation to receive the Messiah. As with the case with Moses and the Israelites and John the Baptist not continuously testifying Jesus was the Messiah, when God's providence is prolonged, the whole history must be repeated until the mistake is restored.  The Process of Restoration:

1. The central figure must set up the foundation of faith by offering a symbolic sacrifice accepted by God which is a condition of indemnity to remove natures produced from the fall.

and

2. The central figure must establish the foundation of substance by offering substantial or real sacrifices acceptable by God.

Humankind's history has been formed by the history of many nations.  God chooses a specific nation as the center of the providential course of restoration to establish the foundation to receive the Messiah.  This nation of chosen people leads the history of humankind.

God's chosen people were originally descendants of Abraham who established the foundation to receive the Messiah on a family level.  Therefore, Israel was the chosen nation after they fulfilled the providential age of restoration in faith.

However, after the Israelites had delivered Jesus to his crucifixion, which was not God's first ideal choice to fulfill Heaven on Earth, they lost their qualification as the chosen nation.

Here is the understanding of history from God's providence of restoration viewpoint:

1. The 400-year period from Noah to Abraham was invaded by Satan, because of Abraham's failure in the offering. Therefore, during the period of slavery in Egypt, to restore by indemnity this 400-year period,

2.  The posterity of Jacob were miserably persecuted by the Egyptians for the 400 years after he and the 70 kinsmen, centering on his 12 sons, had entered Egypt. In the period of the persecution under the Roman Empire to restore this period by indemnity,

3. The 12 apostles, the 70 disciples, and the Christians centering on Jesus, because of his crucifixion, had to undergo miserable persecution by the Roman Empire for 400 years in order to restore, by indemnity, the 400-year period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah which had been invaded by Satan.

Even though the bible is riddled with many of God's chosen people not completely fulfilling their mission, these three points explain why history up until Christianity conquered Rome had to repeat itself. 


Moses Disbelief, Israelites Follow Canaan Idols

In the period of slavery in Egypt, the First Israel, the chosen nation, separated itself from Satan, who invaded because of Abraham's failure in the offering, by circumcising (Ex. 4:25), offering sacrifices (Ex. 5:3), and keeping the Sabbath (Ex. 16:23).

History repeats itself when God preordains a chosen people and nation and they do not complete their mission, God chooses another time, nation and people through which to work his providence.

During the First Israel's slavery in Egypt, the chosen nation was able to indemnify or pay back Abraham's failure when he failed to cut the doves in half when making an offering to God.

Even though Abraham indemnify that mistake by having to offer Issac, God still could work through Abraham's family, in order to do this, they endured 400 years of slavery.

Abraham's descendants were able to indemnify through offering of circumcising, offering sacrifices and by keeping the Sabbath holy, these conditions paid back Abraham's mistake.

After the 400 year period of slavery ended, Moses was subject to Satan by the powers of the three miracles and ten calamities and headed for Canaan.  Likewise, the period of Christian persecution by the Roman Empire.  This time period had to be indemnified, in other words, this time period repeated.  Therefore Christians indemnified the past by offering of saints as living sacrifices, keeping the Sabbath and partaking in Holy Communion and Baptism.  Then after this 400-year persecution period, Jesus in spirit along with his followers, influenced Emperor Constantine and moved him to recognize Christianity publicly in year 313.  Then Theodosius I declared Christianity the national religion.

In this way, Christians came to be restored, spiritually, into Canaan, out of the Satanic world.In the Old Testament Age in which God had worked His providence through external conditions of offerings as indemnity.  According to the law, God subjugated Pharaoh by giving Moses external miracles and signs.

After the period of slavery in Egypt had ended, Moses set up the center of the Old Testament by receiving the Ten Commandments and words on Mount Sinai. By receiving the tablets of stone, the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant, the First Israel, the chosen nation, came to set up the will to receive the Messiah.

Likewise, after the period of persecution by the Roman Empire, the Second Israel, the chosen nation, decided on the New Testament by collecting the records of the apostles as the words to fulfill spiritually the Ten commandments and the ideal of the temple of the Old Testament Age.

This laid the groundwork to receive the Lord of the Second Advent by establishing churches centering on the words of the New Testament.  After the period of Jesus, he and the Holy Spirit have been leading Christians directly.  In all periods throughout the biblical history, there was always a central figure such as Noah, Abraham and Jacob.

Yet, after Jesus's coming, he did not set up any one person as the central figure of the whole providence.

In the period of the judges, after the Israelites, led by Joshua and Caleb, entered the blessed land of Canaan, they formed a new nation of God's elect, centering on the judges in the new land given to each tribe. Thus they established the foundation of the Israelite feudal society.

Likewise, in the period of Christian churches under the patriarchal system of Christianity, after its liberation from the Roman Empire, which represented the Satanic world, spread the gospel to the Germanic tribes, who had moved to Western Europe because of the invasion by the Huns in the 4th century. By setting up the Germanic people as a new people of God's elect in the new land of Western Europe, they established the foundation of the Christian feudal society.

Feudal Society Failed

In Moses's time, in the course of restoration into Canaan by the people of Israel, set up the foundation of substance through the tabernacle as the symbolic being of the Messiah.

Therefore, after they entered Canaan, the Israelite nation in the period of judges should have exalted the will of the tabernacle under the leadership of the Judges.

But, by living among the seven tribes of Canaan, representative of Satan's world, without destroying them, the Israelites came to worship Canaan's idols after their evil customs, thus bringing about great chaos in their faith.

Likewise, in the period of Christian churches under the patriarchal system, the Christians should have exalted the will of the church as the image-entity of the Messiah.

Instead, there came about a great confusion in their faith due partially due to the influence of the many miscellaneous religions of the German people.

The Israelites received Jesus only after the 400-year period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah.   Therefore, in order to restore this by indemnity, Christians also can receive the Lord of the Second Advent only after the 400-year period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah. This began with the Pope's return to Rome from his life of captivity in Avignon.

Let us here observe how the background and environment were formed in each of the two periods which were the preparation periods to receive the Messiah.

At the time of the first coming of the Messiah, God sent the prophet Malachi to His chosen nation 430 years in advance, having him prophesy the coming of the Messiah which would be Jesus. He reformed Judaism, preparing Israel as the chosen nation to receive Jesus.

Meanwhile, among the Gentiles, at about the same time, God had Gautama Buddha of India (565-485 B.C.) pioneer a new base for Buddhism by improving Hinduism.  Also, in Greece he had Socrates (470-399 B.C.) pioneer the period of Hellenic culture. In the Orient, He had Confucius (552-479 B.C.)  set up human ethics and morality through Confucianism, thus having them establish the culture and religion suitable for the place and people in order that they may make necessary spiritual preparation to receive the coming Messiah.

God prepared this basis, foundation around the world in order to unify all the regions of various religions and cultures into one sphere of Christian culture.  This explains why different countries around the world have similar history and religious background. God planned for the Christian culture to absorb and win over Judaism, Hellenism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and other religions from around the world.  This was God's ideal to bring World Peace in this way.


Democratic Sphere Usher in Messiah

The Renaissance period occurred in order to restore history through indemnity.  This period served as a background and environment to establish a foundation for the Second Coming of the Messiah.  In addition, the rapid progress in politics, economy, culture, science and all other aspects of human endeavor that we enjoy today all began in the Renaissance period.

The political territory in Jesus's day was formed by the rise of the Roman Empire.  The Roman had ease of communication in all directions, and the vast cultural territory formed centering on the Hellenic language.  This established the foundation to expand the ideas of the Messiah - from Israel on Jesus, to Rome centering on Israel, and then to the world centering on Rome.

Likewise, since we are living in the days of the Lord's return, the democratic sphere, which is based on freedom, is covering almost every corner of the earth.  Transportation and communication shortens the extremes between East and West.  Also, due to the free exchange of languages and cultures, the ideology for the Second Advent of the Messiah can freely and swiftly flow into the hearts of all mankind.

It is easy to see this is the best foundation to spread the truth and ideology of the Second Messiah worldwide within the shortest possible time.  In other words, the Internet, the ability to go anywhere in the world in under an hour is to prepare a way to spread the Messiah's message as he returns.

Return for tomorrow's post: World Peace Brings World Without Borders


Photos courtesy of: freedigitalphotos.net

Note:

The text above was taken directly from the Korean textbook, "The Divine Principle".  This has been rewritten in conversational form without changing the philosophical or spiritual nature of the text.  To learn more about the teachings it is based on, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, please visit, www.unificationnews.com.

Back To The Future - Messiah Restoring Family

Back To The Future became a mega hit in the 80s.  It still is a highly-respected cult classic enjoyed by generations after its released.



We love to see Marty's antics of trying to avoid his mother's advances, and his struggles to get his parents to fall in love again.  This movie is so well praised that it has a part II and a part III.

The best part of the movie is what screenwriters call a payoff.  Throughout the movie there are dozens of setups such as listed above. One major one is Marty's father is a overly weak social loser.   Yet when Marty returns to the future, in 1985, his father becomes successful and confident.  This was a major perk of having a time machine.  To be able to change your destiny, rewrite the wrong history in which your life course is headed.


Why Do We Love Time Machines So Much?

The idea that we can go back and change our lives to become better people, is a hope of all people which spans from history until now.

You do have a time machine.  Through God's dispensation, we have a way to return, not only our individual mistakes, but the mistakes of our ancestor which we inherited through blood connections.

If you had a time machine, where would you go first - to the past and then back to the future or straight on into the future?

It is a dream that we might sometimes wish as we get older and regret starts to set in.  What if we could go back and change the history of God's providence? 
 
From the standpoint of The Divine Principle, we see that there were hundreds of mistakes made by many of God's chosen people.  These mistakes directly affect our broken world today.

If we could go back to the time of those mistakes, we would change the history.  Such mistakes like that of Adam and Eve, also Cain and Abel.  We would have the Israelites follow Moses instead of falling into faithlessness and enjoy Canaan immediately after being freed from Egypt.

This is also God's dream.  To return to history and to restore it.  This is called the Providence of Restoration.  The idea of a time machine in the physical world may not be ready for the market, but the idea of returning to a time of a past wrong has been God's process of restoring man to his original ideal.  Through His chosen representatives, God plans to return to his ideal of Heaven on Earth and bring us to a true World of Peace.


God's Time Machine

Where does God return in His time machine?  He returns to the beginning where humanity first turned away from God's path toward the ideal world. 

Where would this be?

God would return to the Garden of Eden.  Once He returns there, restoration is complete.

Then, what does "to fulfill the ideal of creation" mean?

It completes a True Man and a True Woman on earth.  The whole creation will be united centering on a restored Adam and Eve as a True Man and True Woman.  Then Adam and Eve will have True Children.  According to the Divine Principle textbook, this is called the Four-Position Foundation.  The three relationships created are between Husband and Wife, Brother and Sister, and parent and child. 

What is the fourth relationship? 

These three positions are centered relating to God.

God's will is the completion of God's purpose or ideal of creation. When God created all things, He did so absolutely with a purpose.  Then, who is the center of this purpose? It was Adam and Eve.

The Four-Position Foundation is the foundation of the family centering on God, in which a God-centered Adam and Eve become an ideal couple completely uniting, and multiply children. Adam and Eve become united through the love of husband and wife centering on God.

Were the original Adam and Eve an ideal couple who centered their life on God?  Were they married  before they left the Garden of Eden or after?  Was God able to bless their union? 

It was God's ideal that Adam and Eve wait for His commandment to be married centered on Him.  Instead they left their position and followed Lucifer away from God.  We have been repeating this without fail for thousands of biblical years.

What was God's purpose of creation? It was not just to watch Adam and Eve. The reason for creating man and woman was not just for each of them to live on earth without purpose, then become old and   die. God's purpose of creation was for Adam and Eve to fully mature under God's guidance, and when they recognize their feelings toward the opposite sex, to create humankind's true heaven on earth. 

This would create a world of love centering on God. Here, the male Adam would represent heaven, and the female Eve would represent earth. Then as Adam and Eve became united horizontally, centering on love, heaven and earth would automatically have united into one.

Imagine a world where Adam and Eve chose to wait on God to become a couple and have a family.

You and I would be born into a good lineage directly linked to God without sin.  There would be no need for a Messiah.  A Messiah comes to save.  So, if Adam and Eve had followed God's law, Heaven on Earth and Heaven in Heaven would have been created automatically based on their marriage.


How Can a Marriage Restore a World? 

All of creation is based on a relationship of two.

The process of bringing about the ideal of creation does not end merely by men and women getting married and uniting through love. After this, they must experience having sons and daughters, because heaven and earth are formed from a principle wherein everything is linked in relationships of high and low and front and back, plus and minus, and subject and object.

If there is a yesterday, there is a today; if there is a today, there is a tomorrow. Everything must be connected through a relationship of two or a partner. If husband and wife are the higher position, then there must be children in the lower position. If there is no lower, there is no meaning. The principle of heaven and earth includes the relationship of high and low and left and right; husband and wife make up the left and right.

Perfect Adam and Perfect Eve were meant to be blessed in Holy Marriage under God, and then have True Children. This is why we call children the object of love who can initiate new hope.

Remember in Back to the Future when Marty had gone back to 1955?  How was history changed when he saved his father from 1955 from being hit by the car?  He intervened in the very event that made his parents fall in love.

So, Marty made a mistake when he saved his father and thus this had a ripple effect in ending his very own existence.  If his parents don't fall in love in 1955, he can't be born.  So, frantically, Marty and Doc Brown spend the whole movie making his mother fall for his father in another way.  If Marty fails to restore his mother and father's relationship, then his family will not exist, thus, he will not exist.

This ironically details God's work to save the world by going into the past and working through restoring the first family where the mistake began.  Where Lucifer had intervened in God's first family and prevented them from connecting to God thus, God's family could not come into existence. 

In essence, Back to the Future Marty rightfully describes how Lucifer acted between Adam and Eve. To reverse this mistake, God plans to return to that time and center restoration on a perfected man and perfected woman who center their love relationship on him as Adam and Eve were meant to do.



Four-Position Foundation


There is one aspect of creation that is more important to God than creating Adam and Eve.  This was the absolute dream of Adam and Eve completing the Four-Position Foundation which is to have a True Family centered on True Love.

Every being in creation develops based on a circular relationship with a partner.  One representing plus or subject, and the other a minus or object.  Minus does not mean lower or bad in that context.

Just imagine two magnets that are on a refrigerator, one is a plus quality, the other is a minus. When they are introduced they come together.  Negative quality does not degrade their value.



We also relate in this way as humans.  Teacher (subject) to student (object), parent (subject) to child (object) are just two examples of these relationships.  How about man, woman and husband and wife.

God created Adam as a representative of a plus which is the subject.  Eve is a representative of minus which is the object. Then Adam is object of God.   God lost this ideal when Adam and Eve centered their love relationship outside of God's realm.  God's ideal will be complete when His True Son and True Daughter have True Children who center their love on Him.

Therefore, parents think that they have fulfilled their responsibility when all their sons and daughters have married. When a husband and wife become parents, and when their children get married, the higher and lower relationship is realized for the first time. Only when this higher and lower relationship is realized, then the ideal manifested.

A husband and wife in a left and right relationship become united, but it is only when they become parents with children, forming an upper and lower relationship, that the horizontal (human) and the vertical (God) are linked and they can realize the universal, ideal world.

Furthermore, when brothers and sisters become linked to this relationship, at last a circular motion is realized around the world. In order to complete the realization of the ideal, we must be able to form a circle in which the vertical (God) and the horizontal (humanity) are linked. When a man and a woman each come to feel this double realm of the realized ideal, they are able to live in accordance to God's word.

What does this mean? This is what Unification Thought  calls the Four-Position Foundation. Therefore we can say that to complete the ideal of creation means to complete the Four Position Foundation.

The four positions again are the relationship of True Brother and True Sister, True Parent and True Children, True Husband and True Wife, True Family and God.  Centered on this ideal multiplying around the earth, God's ideal that he had during the creation will be realized as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.


Return for tomorrow's post: Why World History Repeats Itself Part I


Photos courtesy of: freedigitalphotos.net

NOTE:

The Divine Principle was used today for the text written above.  This textbook is based on the teachings of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon.  To learn more about the Unification Movement, please visit: www.familyfed.org.