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Chapter Thirteen - Doctrine of the of [Part 1]

I. His Second Coming Will Be a Factual Event

II. The Events Which Are To Take Place Before His Coming

III. The Time of His Second Coming

IV. The Present Day and the Day of Christ, Viewed From the Synchronization Theory

V. Several Theories As to the Manner of His Coming

VI. The Place of the Second Coming

1. The Nation Should Establish the National Foundation According to the Principle of Indemnity and Restoration

2. The Nation Must Be 's Front Line and, At the Same Time, 's Front Line

3. The Nation Must Be the Objective Position of the Heart of God (Who Is the Subjective Position)

4. The Nation Should, As a Chosen Nation, Have Spiritual Proofs from God.

5. All Past Civilizations Must Culminate in the Chosen Nation

VII. What Are the Purposes of His Second Coming?

1. To Consummate God's Creation of Man and the

2. To End the Dominion of Satan Over the Earth and the Spirit-World

3. To Complete and Fulfill the Prophecies of the Old and New Testaments

4. To Restore All Conditions and Important Individuals That Have Been Lost to Satan Since the Beginning of God's Restoration Providence

5. To Bring One Faith to Mankind by Uniting the Scattered Christian Denominations and All Major

6. To Bring One Language on Earth

7. To Receive All Things as of the Universe and to be Received by All Mankind as Their Father

VIII. How Can We Be Ready For His Second Coming?

1. Our Hearts Must Not be Weighed Down with Dissipation and Drunkenness and the Cares of This Life

2. Our Daily Life Must be Godly, Sober and Righteous, and Ws Must Constantly Be Looking Forward to the Blessed Hope Described in the

3. Our Hearts Must Be Ready for New Ideas and New Truths Which Will Change the Old Ideas

4. We Must Be Watchful

5. We Must Battle Satan by Constantly Praying and Searching for the Hidden Truth in

6. We Must Occupy 10 Pounds Till He Comes

I. His Second Coming Will Be A Factual Event

That His Second Coming will be a factual event is known through the testimonies of Jesus, the Apostles, and heavenly beings and by the Lord's Supper. The references are as follows: The testimony of Jesus:

Matthew 16:27: "For the shall come in the of his Father with his ; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Matthew 25:31-32: "When the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: (32) And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"

John 14:2-3: "In my Father's house are many-mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and

prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also."

John 21:22: "Jesus saith unto him 'If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me."

The testimony of the Apostles:

By Paul: Philippians 3:20-21: "For our conversation is in ; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

Titus 2:13: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

Hebrews 9:28: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto ."

By James: James 5:7: "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. (8) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

By Peter: II Peter 1:16: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

By Jude: Jude 14-15: "And also, the seventh from , prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

By John: :7: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."

The testimony of heavenly beings:

Acts 1:10:11: "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."

The testimony in the Lord's Supper

I Corinthians 11:26: "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."

II. The Events Which Are to Take Place Before His Coming

Though there is no universal agreement among scholars and theologians as to what events will take place before His return, what is written about these events is to be interpreted. It is generally agreed that the following events will occur:

The calling of the gentiles and their participation in the Coming Kingdom according to:

Matthew 24:14

Matthew 13:31-32

Mark 13:10

Acts 15:14

Romans 11:25

Romans 9:24-26

Matthew 8:11

Ephesians 2:1.1,20

The conversion of Israel according to:

Zechariah 12:10

Zechariah 13:1

Romans 11:25-29

II Corinthians 3:15-16

The and the according to:

Matthew 24:9-12

Matthew 24:21-24

Mark 13:9-22

Luke 21:22-24

The appearance of the according to:

Daniel 7:8

I :3

Daniel 7:23-26

II

I :18,22

Revelation 13:18

Many signs and wonders such as wars, rumors of war, famines, and earthquakes a according to:

Matthew 24:20-30

Mark 13:24-25

Luke 21:25-26

Let us discuss the above events in detail.

It is very difficult to interpret these scriptures so as to determine to which of the events that actually take place the scriptures refer. Since the beginning of the 19th century, many Christian missions have been established in many countries to bring the of Jesus to non-Jewish peoples. Almost every part of the earth has received . So, in this sense, the calling of the gentiles is fulfilled I and now is the time of His Coming. But if we believe that are the gentiles which have been called, then

a great deal of confusion will be produced and it will be very difficult to determine which of the events that occur are the ones referred to in the Bible.

Concerning the conversion of Israel, it is true that many Jews have been converted to Christianity and that there was a restoration of a nation in the during 1948, as the Pre-millennialists, who believe that this must take place immediately before or during the Millennial reign of Christ, insist. But other scholars doubt that Israel will be re-established as a nation and turn to the Lord. Further, they argue that while some prophecies seem to predict that this will happen, they insist that these scriptures should be interpreted in the light of the . They maintain that the New Testament does not justify the expectation of a future restoration and conversion of the Jews. Jesus spoke plainly of the opposition of the Jews to His Coming Kingdom and of the certainty that the Jews would lose their place in the Coming Kingdom, even though in a sense they could be said to be "of the Kingdom" (see Matthew 9:11-12, 21:26-27, 22:1-14, and Luke 13:1-9). He, Himself, informed the Jews that the Kingdom would be taken from them and given to "a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof." But He did not even hint that there would be a restoration or conversion of Israel. The fact that He is silent on this subject is very significant. So He will not come to the Jews and another nation will be chosen. Paul's discussion in Romans 9:11 and Romans 10 shows clearly that the promises of God to Israel do not apply to Israel according to the flesh, but to spiritual Israel. Thus, according to the statements of Jesus and Paul, the conversion and restoration of Israel are doubtful and there is a possibility that some nation other than Israel will be chosen.

The great apostasy and the great tribulation are interwoven at the end of the world. Paul speaks of the great apostasy and saw signs of it even in his own day, but he emphasized that it would reach much greater proportions during the last days. But again, even orthodox scholars disagree with each other. Present Dispensationalists do not regard the great tribulation as a precursor of His Second Coming, but believe rather that it will follow His Coming, and that, therefore, the will not pass through the great tribulation. However, Jesus mentions the great tribulation as one of the signs of His Coming at the end of the world and warned that it will affect even the elect so that they will be in danger of being led astray, (Matthew 24:3-24).

At the present time we see that everywhere there is apostasy from churches, tribulation of believers under persecutions, famine, rumors of war, political confusion and poverty. It appears to be the fulfillment of the prophecies about the great tribulation, though there is no way to determine the exact fulfillment.

Historically, there have been many different opinions concerning the appearance of . In ancient times, the antichrist was expected to be a Jew who would pretend to be the , though Paul and some others thought that one of the Roman emperors who persecuted Christians would be the antichrist. John, himself, described the Emperor Nero by the number 666 in Revelation 13:18. Since the , many reformed scholars have looked upon some particular pope as the antichrist. John, in his Epistles, used the term "antichrist" to mean "instead of Christ" or "against Christ." In his , he described the antichrist as a Power or Principality by means of the two beasts, one of which came out of the sea and the other from the earth (Revelation 13). This opposing power or principle is what John refers to by the term, "antichrist" in both his Epistles and the Book of Revelation.

Does the antichrist have any realization at the present time? Many organizations, religions and some philosophies have elements of antichrist. If we follow this line of reasoning, then we are in the time of the Second Coming. Some people point out that antichrist was at work in the days of Paul and John, according to their own testimony, and they believe that antichrist will reach its greatest power toward the end of the world and just before His Coming, when the power will be concentrated in a single individual, the embodiment of all wickedness. But this is a big subject and allows a great deal of room for argument.

The signs and wonders which will precede His Coming such as: wars, rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes, of which the Bible speaks are not necessarily to be interpreted literally, though many such events have taken place since the early days of the Church. But it is quite difficult to determine whether or not some particular event is a fulfillment of scriptural verses. Scripture also says that false and false christs will show great signs and lead many astray. This is not necessarily to be interpreted literally, either. Again, scripture says that the , moon and stars will fall from the sky. Nor can this be taken literally. Many of these various signs and wonders have occurred often in the natural order of events. So it is very difficult to recognize which events point to the Second Coming.

III. The Time of His Second Coming

Earnest, well-meaning Christians and many fundamental scholars believe that the Bible teaches that the time of His Coming is unknown (see Matthew 24:36), and so all attempts to compute the date of His Coming are erroneous. The most, they say, that can be known is that He will return at the end of the world when the earth will be destroyed. Their belief that these two events will coincide is based on:

Matthew 24:3, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"

Other scholars, such as Thayers, Cremer, Korgal, Welker, Selmond, and Zaker, while agreeing that the time of His Coming is unknown, say that His Coming will bring the Day of Consummation which involves the Restoration of All Things and not the destruction of all things.

Some devoted Christian groups in the and in other countries claim that they have received the exact date of His Coming so that they can prepare themselves for His Coming Kingdom. This is possible, even though Jesus said to His disciples that He does not have authority to determine the time of His Coming.

Matthew 24:36 states, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

In other words, the time of His Coming is a Divine Secret, but when the time comes, the Father will reveal the secret to His chosen children on earth. Amos says clearly that God does not do anything without revealing it to His children on earth.

Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants the prophets.".

Now the time of His Coming is near, so God will reveal His secrets to His chosen people. God actually showed us that He reveals His important secrets to His children in the course of the Restoration Providence. In Abraham's day, as in 's day, God revealed His judgment on so that Abraham or his servant could escape from it. In Jesus' day, God, the Father revealed the birth of the Messiah to His servants: Zacharis, the father of , received the Divine Secret as did the three wise men, Simon, Anna, and the shepherds. These people were in the Light and received the Divine Secret while others like the high priest, the scribes, and the Pharisees were in Darkness and could not receive the Divine Secret. Jesus said that to those who are in Darkness, His Second Coming will be like the coming of a thief, but that it will not be thus for those who are in the Light. (Revelation 3:3, I Thess. 5:4.)

So the Father's promise in Amos 3:7 and Jesus' warning to us show that the Father will reveal the exact time and place of His Coming to His children on earth. In the time of His Coming, He will pour out His Spirit on His children so that they prophecy and see visions (Acts 2:17-18). Those who have ears will hear the Time of His Coming, and those who have eyes will see Him when He comes.

In the lecture on Chapter 12, Section IV in Part II, it is indicated that the actual appearance of the Lord of the Second Coming took place in 1920, immediately after the Communist revolution of 1919.

At this point, we cannot continue without referring briefly to the Millennial Kingdom arguments as to the time of His Coming. Many fundamentalists believe that His Coming will be Pre-millennial, that is, that it will take place before the thousand-year period mentioned in Revelation 20:1-6. This thousand-year period is spoken of in other scriptures as "The Kingdom" and "A Time of Righteousness." On the other hand, some fundamentalists believe that His Coming will be Post-millennial, which means that it will take place after the thousand-year period. Also, there are many who do not believe that there will be a Millennium. Their views on this are purely negative and are called A-Millennial.

There are some variations among Pre-millennialist views. While some believe in a coming visible Kingdom, others believe in a spiritual Kingdom, and do not look for the physical presence of Christ on earth. Other disagreements concern the actual length of the thousand-year period, the order of the Jews' conversion, the place where mankind will dwell during the millennial reign (that is, will it be in heaven or on earth?), and the propagation or non-propagation of the human race during the millennial reign.

There are several objections to Pre-. First, Fairbain, Reihm, Davidson, Brown, and others point out that Pre-millennialism is based on a literal interpretation of the prophetic descriptions of the future of Israel and the Kingdom of God. Second, the postponement theory has no scriptural basis and breaks up the unity of the Scriptures. Third, Pre-millennialism is based solely on Revelation 20:1-6 which is a very insubstantial basis for the following reasons:

One This passage is highly symbolic and very obscure so that many different interpretations are possible.

Two The literal interpretation of this passage which is used by the Pre-Millennialists has no support elsewhere in the Scriptures and is, in fact, contradicted by other parts of the New Testament.

Three There is no indication in these verses that Christ and His saints are to rule on earth.

Four This passage mentions neither , , the Temple, the Jews, nor the national character of the Millennial Kingdom, and there is no

hint whatsoever, that these are in any way connected with the thousand-year reign.

Detailed interpretations of this same passage from the A-Millennial point of view can be found in the works of Kuyper, Bavink, De Moor, Dijk, Greydanus, Vos, and Handerikson.

The fundamental ideas of Post-Millennialism can be summarized as follows: The whole world will gradually be won for Christ, the life of all nations will be transformed by , righteousness and peace will reign supreme, the blessings of the Spirit will be poured out in richer abundance than before, and the Church will experience a season of unexpected prosperity just before the Coming of the Lord. The present age will not end in a great cataclysmic change, but will pass almost imperceptibly into the coming age. The modern ideas of natural evolution, education, social reform, and legislation will gradually bring the perfect reign of the Christian spirit.

Objections have been raised by some people who say that these ideas are unscriptural and that they even conflict with the Word of God on some points.

Before concluding this section, we shall also briefly consider the views hold by the Russellites or Millennial Darwinists concerning the time of the Second Coming. The Russellites maintain that the return of Christ and the inauguration of the Millennium took place invisibly in 1874, and that Christ came to power in 1914 in order to remove the church and overthrow the Kingdom of the world. However, when the year 1914 had passed and there had been no visible return of Christ, they insisted that Christ had come invisibly because people did not show sufficient repentance.

Though there has been much criticism and ridicule of these revelations which were received by members of the Russellite group, we can not disregard these spiritual phenomena. There is meaning in the revelations of His Coming in 1874 and 1914, but the Russellites received the revelations not knowing how to interpret them so as to find out what they should mean to receivers.

The author uses the term "Discrepancy of Revelations" when contradictory revelations concerning the same subject are received. As explained in previous chapters, there are many spiritual laws involved. Some kind of tool must be used to determine from what level in the spirit-world the revelations come, whether from God directly or from some lower level. This is not the place to go into details on "Discrepancy of Revelations." Still, it must be realized that throughout the world differing revelations are received by various groups, and that these bring confusion and even cause groups to split. In extreme cases, people commit adultery, believing that God revealed to them that they

should do so. All spiritual revelations must be checked according to spiritual laws based on the Word of God. If this is not done, the same great mistakes that have been made by various emotional and Pentecostal groups will be repeated. These groups, not understanding the spirit-world and its activities, think that all the messages that they receive are directly from God, and so they accept them as true without questioning them. This provides an opportunity for Satan to invade and destroy their faith. If anyone studies the materials in this book, he will at least learn how to handle "Discrepancy of Revelation."

Chapter Thirteen - Doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ [Part 2]

IV. The Present Day and the Day of Jesus Christ, Viewed From the Synchronization Theory

The sequence of events which occurred at the time of Jesus and the First Coming, is being repeated at the present time, centering in the Lord of the Second Coming. For example, during the Christ, the high-ranking religious leaders of that time opposed and persecuted Him, using their power and authority against of God. Now, consider the moral and physical condition of the present Christian Church; they have power and authority; beliefs are rooted in strong, ritualistic formality; and the churches are just as corrupt in content as was at the time of Jesus.

During the time of Jesus' ministry, the high priests, scribes, and Pharisees were engaged in rituals and exercised the maximum authority of Judaism. Many believers seeking the truth were following Jesus in order to fill their empty spirits and . The same conditions are now arising among present-day Christianity. Christians seeking for answers are groping in the wilderness of our confused society, visiting from one denomination to another, even converting to Oriental religions in their earnest search for higher truth, for a new message in the .

If the Lord comes again, the Christians (second Israel) shall oppose Him first, and persecute Him just as the first Israel (Jewish people) opposed Jesus and persecuted Him, not knowing God's Will and not knowing that He was the very Messiah for whom they had been waiting. Jesus came as the King of Kings to begin a new history for mankind upon the foundation of the Old Testament. He came to fulfill the words and prophecies of the Old Testament, and He introduced new teachings and a new message beyond the Old Testament contents which were necessary for the new age to come. However, all the high priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and others took the

writings of the Old Testament too literally, and they were so rigid in their ritualistic beliefs that they could not reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the contents of the Old Testament. Thereupon, they accused Him of being the Prince of Devils, judged Him, and finally killed Him. They thought it was God's Will to destroy Him.

When He comes again, He shall set up a New Heaven and a on the very foundation of present Christianity; upon the spiritual salvation of the New Testament. Naturally, the Lord of the Second Coming must give the people a new message beyond the New Testament contents, which Jesus had already given. He shall not repeat the message Jesus taught 2,000 years ago, but He shall bring new truth and a new message for the new age. But those who cling to the New Testament letters as their only life-line criteria will not have an open mind; in their eyes, and according to their Bible, He will be an heretic -- He will not be the Lord of the Second Coming. They will judge everything He does within their scope of the New Testament and man-made doctrines and theology. They shall persecute Him and throw Him in prison because of the newness of the Truth. Jesus clearly visualized the scene in the future, saying that:

"But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation." (Luke 17:25)

God's revelations of the Second Coming and the public acceptance of this message from the Lord of the Second Coming will be parallel to the sequence of events which occurred in Jesus' Day, at the time of the First Coming.

God did not reveal His First Coming to the high priests, scribes and religious leaders in Judaism, but to gentile astrologers and ignorant shepherds in the fields. Unless present church leaders repent of their attitudes of faith, God will not reveal the Second Coming to them, but to laymen Christians or non-Christians who are conscientious and seeking for new truth; and who are in the Lights and are watchful and prayerful.

In Jesus' Days those who accepted Jesus' Gospel were the Gentiles, not the First Israel people. In the same manner, when He comes again, the Second Israel night not accept His message, but non-Christians or laymen Christians will accept and receive the benefits of the Third Israel. When Jesus invited guests to His banquets they did not come. So, as we see in Jesus' parable, the host brought strangers in from the streets who were not originally invited.

At the time of the Second Coming, many people who had started their journey of faith in the direction of Heaven, will unexpectedly land in . Just as in Jesus' Day, when all the religious leaders of Judaism who thought they were the real servants of God and

believed they would go to Heaven when they died, actually, because of their rejection and persecution, and their unwitting crime against God, were banished to Hell after death. We must all be very careful in these last days to avoid this fate due to ignorance of the Heavenly time and God's Will.

It was the responsibility of the Jewish religious leaders, the high priests and scribes, to lead their people to Jesus Christ in order to accomplish their Heavenly missions and to learn about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, Himself, in order to help them fulfill their missions first preached His new message in the Temples. After their rejection of His new revelations, Jesus had to walk along the seaside of Galilee in order to find His disciples from among the ignorant fishermen. Finally, He began to accept sinners, tax-collectors, and even harlots.

On the other hand, the high priests, scribes, and other religious leaders succeeded in killing Jesus, believing that they really killed the betrayer of God, and that it was God's Will that Jesus should die. They raised their voices in prayer, thanking God for their success in executing Jesus, firmly convinced that He was a betrayer of God. All their lives, even after Jesus' death, they worshipped God, offered their tithes, and offered their sacrifices until they died. They began their lives on the road to Heaven, but their disbelief nullified the blessings for which they were originally destined in this world and also, in their life after death.

Who can tell that modern, sincere Christian leaders, ministers, and preachers might not go to Hell, contrary to their original destination for Heaven, when He comes again? The same synchronizing pattern shall happen when He comes again. That is the reason why Jesus said:

"Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?'"

"And then will I profess unto them, 'I never knew you, depart from me, Ye that work iniquity.'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

Truly, the saints who are living in this period of transition in history are in grave danger of committing great crimes against God, unwittingly, if they refuse to accept proper guidance and if they do not act wisely.

So, Daniel strongly emphasized wisdom:

"... None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." (Daniel 12:10)

V. Several Theories as to the Manner of His Second Coming

There is much disagreement on this subject among scholars and good Christians. Some people believe that His Second Coming is spiritual, and was fulfilled at the time of Pentecost. But Jesus said that He would send the Comforter, which is the (John 16:7). So Pentecost cannot be the Second Coming. Further, the New Testament was written after Pentecost and the Second Coming was always described as a future event.

Some people believe that the conversion of sinners is the Second Coming. But when sinners convert to Christ, they came to Christ, Christ does not come to them. Furthermore, conversion of sinners is the function of the Holy Spirit, not of Christ. There might be a spiritual indwelling of Christ, but the Second Coming should be, like the first coming of Jesus, a visible, personal and physical coming.

Some people believe that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Romans was the Second Coming. However, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman soldiers and the Lord of the Second Coming was not present at that time. The purpose of His Second Coming is to restore the world and save mankind in both spirit and body, not to destroy Jerusalem. Further, the Book of Revelation was written twenty-six years after the destruction of Jerusalem, and it still speaks of the Second Coming as a future event.

Some people believe that the diffusion of Christianity is the Second Coming. The preaching of the Gospel is the duty of His followers as His final commandment before His ascension, not Christ's duty. The diffusion of Christianity is a gradual process while the Second Coming is a single event.

Some people believe that He will return in the same manner as He left, following the literal interpretation of Acts 1:31. According to this view, He went up bodily and visibly and He will return in the clouds in the same manner, accompanied by the sound of 's trumpets. He will come first into the region of our atmosphere and the dead in Christ and the living saints will be caught up to meet Him in the air. Here we find several difficult problems which must be settled. If He comes in the body of Jesus of Nazareth, we must be able to explain how He maintained a physical body in the air for two thousand years. This violates the natural laws that God established when He created man and the universe. But if He comes as the Spirit of Jesus Christ with a resurrected body, then it would not be the Second Coming. Nowadays, many Christian saints

throughout the world secretly see Jesus Christ in visions and converse with Him freely when they have been advanced spiritually to a certain level. In the same way, Adam and Eve talked with God in the Garden of Eden and many Old Testament prophets communicated with God. So His Coming to us as the Spirit of Jesus Christ is not the Second Coming. As mentioned in previous chapters, the physical body returns to the earth, but the spirit lives eternally as a spiritual entity. The impossibility of a bodily return of Jesus of Nazareth and the theory of discussed in a previous chapter make the literal interpretation of Acts 1:11 seem very unlikely.

A recently developed theory is that the Second Coming will be fulfilled by the appearance of another person having the same mission as Jesus. We will consider this view in some detail.

The Bible can be interpreted in different ways according to the point of view of the interpreter. The Bible contains many truths in parables and symbolic expressions which God reveals to man progressively according to man's intellectual and spiritual growth. But, because of these parables and symbolic expressions, many denominations have developed within Christianity, each denomination being based on interpretation of the Bible according to one point of view. So it is very important to have the proper viewpoint when examining the Scriptures. For example, let us consider the case of John the Baptist. If we take the position that John the Baptist did finish his heavenly mission, we can find many scripture verses which seem to establish this point of view. But, if we take the position that John the Baptist failed to accomplish his heavenly missions then we again can find many Bible verses to establish our point of view and convince us that there was some unknown fact concerning John the Baptist as mentioned in Chapter three of Part I. Another example can be taken from the subject, "the manner of His Second Coming." If we take the position that He will come in the clouds with the body of Jesus of Nazareth, many verses of the Bible seen to establish this position, assuming the strict literal interpretation of these verses that we have been taught. If we take the opposite viewpoint, that He will came as another person, again there are many proofs that seem logical and reasonable to the modern intellectuals and highly educated Christians. So, let us approach the subject from this latter point of view, and try to gain a deeper understanding of the Bible.

The new viewpoint is based on the relation between and John the Baptist with respect to their heavenly missions. Malachi prophesied that before the appearance of Jesus Christ, Elijah would be sent as a forerunner (Malachi 4:5). Elijah ascended to heaven with a chariot, so many Jewish people believed the literal sense of the Bible, expecting that the literal Elijah, who ascended to heaven nearly four hundred years before Jesus came, would return to earth in the clouds. Because God said so through

the Malachi, the Jews believed it literally. But, contrary to the literal interpretation of the Word of God, John the Baptist came as Elijah (:14-15). In other words, the Second Coming of Elijah was fulfilled in another person, John the Baptist, from God's point of view. Elijah did not come in the clouds, nor did he come in the body of Elijah who had ascended to heaven four hundred years previously. Are we to assume then, that the Word of God is wrong? Certainly not; we must consider, instead, that if the Bible is always interpreted literally, the deep truths contained therein may be missed. So we can safely say that it is possible that the Second Coming of the Lord may be fulfilled in another person, as was true in the instance of Elijah and John the Baptist. The example of Elijah and John the Baptist also hints that He might be born of a woman as a perfect Adam, just as Jesus was. Taking this viewpoint, let us consider the scriptures which prove this.

Even in Jesus, day, many scholars knew that He would be born at . But some of the Jewish people believed that He would come from heaven in the clouds because they believed the literal interpretation of Daniel's vision.

Daniel 7:13, "I saw in the night visions, and , behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the , and they brought him near before him."

This is the reason that many Jews opposed Christianity, even after Jesus' crucifixion. They believed that Jesus as a fleshly person could not be the Messiah. John gave a warning to those who opposed Christianity,

II John 7, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an anti-Christ."

In other words, in Jesus day, some people believed that the Messiah would come in the clouds accompanied by heavenly wonders. So there is a possibility that Christ will be a man born of a woman. The following Scriptures may be used to prove that this will be the case:

Luke 17:25, "But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation."

Luke 18:8, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

Matthew 7:22-23, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy

name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

From Luke 17:20-37,

"... The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation." (20)

"... The Kingdom of God is within you." (21)

"... The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of, the Son of man, and ye shall not see it." (22)

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." (26-27)

"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." (33)

"There shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other left." (34)

"Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left." (35)

"Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." (36)

"Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Where so ever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." (37)

Luke 22:18, "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God shall come."

And from :1-5,

"A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." (1)

"And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." (2)

"And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." (4)

"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."

The woman in this passage is usually interpreted as a symbol of the Heavenly Kingdom or the Christian church or Mary, Jesus' mother. But here a literal interpretation is required since the woman signifies the actual mother of the Lord of the Second Coming who will rule all nations with the Word of God and judge the world. The Lord of the Second Coming must be born of a woman, just as Jesus was, thereby being in the blood lineage of fallen man. He must even have the four immoral women in His lineage (Jesus). This is necessary if He is to make indemnity and restore all mankind.

Jesus came to restore fallen mankind and to rule the visible and invisible worlds through spirit and body. But Jesus accomplished spiritual salvation only, leaving physical salvation to His Second Coming. To accomplish the purpose of His First Coming, He must have a physical body to which mankind may be grafted so that they become perfected children of God and rule over the whole universe. Without a physical body, the Lord of the Second Coming cannot fulfill His mission, so He must come as a man and not as a spirit. He cannot come in the clouds.

Jesus Christ came to the earth to be the real father of mankind and to become the King of Kings in His Earthly Kingdom (Isaiah 9:6, :31-33). The Lord of the Second Coming can accomplish this unfulfilled mission only if He has a physical body just as Jesus did. So, again, He cannot come as a spirit in the clouds.

Finally, the redemption of sins is possible only while we have a physical body. The Lord of the Second Coming will bring complete salvation in body and spirit to living mankind on the earth, so he must come as a living man.

The meaning of the symbolic expression "coming in the clouds" may be learned by examining the Bible. Clouds in the sky are evaporated water from the dirty water on earth. Revelation 17:15 says that waters symbolize peoples. So clouds are regenerated people who have been cleansed of their fallen natures and the evilness of the sinful world and whose minds are pure and serene above worldly corruption like the white clouds of heaven. Also, according to Hebrew 12:1, clouds symbolize witnesses. These witnesses always do God's work and witness to people on earth. With this interpretation, we can conclude that the statement "He will come in the clouds" means that He will appear among regenerated Christian saints on earth who are purified and

sanctified and whose minds and hearts are in heaven though their bodies are living on earth.

If we take this interpretation, Jesus Christ actually came to earth in the clouds, fulfilling the prophecy in Daniel.

I. Cor. 15:47: "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."

John 3:13: "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."

The above two scriptures indicate that Jesus Christ, though He was born of a woman, came from Heaven. This means that at His First Coming He came in the clouds in the sense of the above interpretation of "coming in the clouds." Though He came from earth, He came from Heaven.

Why then did Jesus say that He would come in the clouds? There are two reasons: first, in order to prevent who would confuse Christians. If He had revealed that He would come as another person, there would have arisen a tremendous number of antichrists during the last two thousand years. Even the lowest and poorest people will claim their Lordship when they reach a certain level of spiritual growth (see Chapter Six on Resurrection) and this might have caused the greatest confusion in the course of the Restoration Providence since the . Because He said that He would come in the clouds, all the saints waited with great hope for His return, and thus the confusion was avoided. But now the time of His Coming is near, so God has revealed that He will not come in the clouds, a fact which many spiritually gifted people throughout the world have received. Second, Jesus said that He would come in the clouds in order to encourage the suffering saints and help them to fulfill their heavenly missions. Often Jesus told His disciples things that were not fulfilled. For example:

Matthew 10:23: "But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."

John 21:22: "... If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me."

According to the above statements, His Coming should have taken place before the death of John and Peter. Further, Jesus said,

Luke 9:27: "But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God."

But the Kingdom did not come at that time. Then why did Jesus say this? Simply because He wanted to encourage His followers to work hard and do God's Will, with the Coming as a great hope for the near future. With this hope before them, they endured much suffering and hardship until Christianity was established, even withstanding the persecutions of the Roman Empire. His statements were all motivated by His Divine Love for His followers. So they waited, expecting His arrival at any time.

Chapter Thirteen - Doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ [Part 3]

VI. The Place of the Second Coming

If He does not come in the clouds accompanied by the sounds of angels' trumpets, but rather comes as another man with the same mission as Jesus, both Christians and non-Christians will have to search and study diligently in order to find the place of the Second Coming. It will be of the greatest importance to find the nation chosen by God to bring forth the Lord of the Second Coming.

Many people believe that He will come to Israel. This is based on the following scriptures:

Revelation 7:4: "and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."

Matthew 10:23. "But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into mother: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."

Matthew 16:28: "Verily, I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

There are many people who accept the literal interpretation of these scriptures and so believe that he will come to Israel. But these people do not know God's fundamental providence. Matthew 21:33-43 shows clearly that the Kingdom will be taken way from Israel and given to mother nation. Because of Israel's rejection of His at the First Coming, the Second Coming will take place in another nation where Israel's spiritual lineage is established.

Matthew 31:43: "Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."

In other words, there will be a Spiritual Israel whose citizens are not necessarily the physical descendants of .

Jacob obtained the name Israel when he was victorious in wrestling with the angel at the ford of Jabbok. In achieving the victory, it will be remembered, Jacob recovered Abel's position in God's Restoration Providence. The name was given to him as a sign that he had accomplished God's will in the Restoration Providence centering in Jacob's course. Through Jacob's victory, the foundation to receive the coming Messiah had been established and so Jacob's descendants received the name Israel. But this does not mean that Israel is composed of the blood descendants of Jacob, rather, Israel denotes the people who obtained victory through faith in God. Thus, it is not necessarily those who are blood descend of Jacob that we the people of Israel, but only those who received the heritage of faith in God. In accordance with this meaning of the name Israel, John the Baptist said,

Matthew 3:9: "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."

In the same way, St. Paul says in,

Romans 9:6-7: "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children but, In Isaac shall by seed be called."

So the Jews, who were so proud of being the blood descendants of Abraham, were not all people of Israel. For example, when the descendants of Jacob rebelled against the Egyptians under the leadership of , they were the people of Israel. But later, when they betrayed God in the wilderness, they were no longer the people of Israel. From that time, only those who believed in Moses and followed him were the people of Israel. Again, after had been conquered, not all of the descendants of Israel in Canaan were people of Israel. The ten tribes of northern Israel who betrayed God were no longer Israel, but the two tribes of southern Judah, who followed God's Will became the Israel people. Then, later, the two tribes of the Jews were no longer Israel because they crucified Jesus, their Messiah, and betrayed God's Will. After Jesus' crucifixion, the Christians became the Second Israel and the Jews were no longer the people of Israel.

This is seen in the following two scriptures which prove that the grace of God's salvation has been transferred from the chosen people of Israel to the Gentile nations:

Acts 14:46: "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, 'It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.'"

Romans 32:11: "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy."

Therefore, the nation chosen for His Second Coming is not the Jewish nation, but the Christians or some Christian nation which has inherited the faith of Abraham.

He will come from the East. The scripture which says that the nation to be chosen is in the East is,

Revelation 7:2-4: "And I saw another angel ascending from the east. Having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the tress, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of children of Israel."

Bible scholars, in interpreting these verses, say that the Messiah will come from the East, or the servant of God will come from the East, or Salvation win come from the East like the morning sunrise from the East to shine throughout the whole world. However,

Revelation 14:1: says "... a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him and hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads."

So the angel of Revelation 7:2-4 must be the same as the Lamb in Revelation 14:l, and since the Lamb is the Lord of the Second Coming we can see that the Lord of the Second Coming will come from the East. He will gather His people from all religions and denominations, which are represented by the tribes of the children of Israel. He will be the Lord of all mankind and not the Lord of just one denomination or one .

Korea is the land of the East which is chosen by God for the Lord of the Second Coming. How can it be shown that Korea is the chosen nation, the very one described in Revelation? We know now that He will come to a Christian nation which bears the fruits of God's heritage of faith. Before discussing Korea further, let us consider the nations that are in the East. There are three countries that are generally considered to be the eastern nations: China, Japan and Korea, of these, China is anti-Christian and communist. During the Korean conflict, communism attacked nations which represented God's side, so China can not be God's chosen nation. China under communism represents Satan's side. Japan has been worshipping the Goddess Amaderasu since earliest times and is not a Christian nation (this will be discussed in a later part of the lecture). Further, Japan dominated Korea for forty years, during which time it persecuted and martyred Korean Christians, thereby committing tremendous sins in the sight of God. Japan cannot be the nation chosen by God to receive the blessing of the Second Coming.

Then let us examine Korea to see if there are any grounds, according to the Principles, for believing that it might be the chosen land from which the Lord of the Second Coming will come. The following five conditions, at least, must be fulfilled by the nation which is to receive the Lord of the Second Coming in the course of God's Restoration Providence:

1. The Nation Should Establish the National Foundation According to the Principle of Indemnity and Restoration.

Let us examine how Korea has established the above condition for receiving the Lord of the Second Coming. This nation should set up "the forty day period of separation from Satan" for the universal restoration of Canaan, for if He comes to Korea, that nation will be Third Israel. As was mentioned above, the physical descendants of Abraham constituted First Israel. Second Israel, the Christians, was persecuted and rejected by First Israel as a heretic . Jesus predicted that He will suffer many things when He comes (see Luke 17:25). To fulfill this verse, the nation that is to become Third Israel should receive persecution from the Christians. But the chosen people should endure the sufferings centering on the Lord of the Second Coming and must begin God's Third Restoration Providence if they are to accomplish God's Will. Then that nation will be Third Israel.

Just as First Israel suffered in Egypt for four hundred years in order to set up the "forty day period of separation from Satan," and just as Second Israel suffered under the Roman Empire for four hundred years for the same purpose, so Korea suffered under Japan for forty years to establish this foundation. Japan's imperialistic advances toward

Korea actually began in 1905 when the Eulsa Protective Treaty was signed, contrary to the desires of the Korean people. Korea was officially annexed to Japan in 1910 and in 1919 on March 1, during the Independence Movement, tremendous numbers of patriots and Christians, both young and old, were killed by the Japanese. Most of the key leaders in the 1919 Independence Movement were Christians who took the initiative and fought, without weapons, against Japan. The Japanese persecution lasted until 1945. Just before the liberation the Japanese authorities secretly formed a plan for the mass slaughter of Christian ministers and laymen. But God saved His children on August 15, 1945 by bringing the war to a sudden end. Thus, from 1905 to 1945, the Korean people suffered unbearable persecution from Japan so as to set up the foundation for "the forty day period of separation from Satan." This period of forty years is similar to the suffering endured by First Israel and Second Israel in Egypt and under the Roman Empire, respectively. It is significant that the Independence Movement in 1919 was initiated mainly by Korean Christians and these people received more persecution than any other Koreans.

2. The Nation Mist Be God's Front Line and, at the Same Time, Satan's Front Line.

As stated in the chapter "Doctrine of the Last-Days" in Part I, the two elements of good and evil began with Cain and Abel and have been consummated in the two extreme camps of Communism and Democracy which are waiting for the final battle to bring about one ideal world. Because of the fall, God had to allow the Cain-type world which began at the individual level and was extended to the family level, to the national level, to the world level, and finally to Communism. God is taking over the Cain-type world and turning it into an Abel-type world, following after the false Cain-type world. Always, evil appears first because Satan imitates God's programs. But then God's side follows and conquers.

So the final stage of development of the Cain-type world is terminated in Communism while the Abel-type world is terminated in Democracy. So, the nation from which the Lord of the Second Coming will come will be a place where the two elements of good and evil, or God's side and Satan's side, both have a front line. This nation is the one that God loves the most while it is the one that Satan hates the most, and thus it will show both of the extremes, good and evil. Korea has been established according to this Principle of the Restoration Providence as a final battle line in the conflict of good and evil. Sacrifice originated as a condition by which the battle between God and Satan can be decided through men. The Korean people were put on the universal altar as a sacrifice to accomplish God's Universal Restoration Providence. The Korean War in 1950 was a battle between the Democratic and Communist nations, or a battle between God and Satan. Troops were sent under the flag of the United Nations in order to fulfill

the purpose of God's Restoration Providence exhibited at the international level. Unconsciously, the countries who sent soldiers to Korea participated in the restoration of their fatherland and buried their young people in the land of Korea as an indemnity condition. Not only does Korea have to suffer from war, but it must also be confronted with political conflicts, economic and religious confusion, and disturbance in every other aspect of life. This situation is the precursor of the spread of such conditions throughout the rest of the world. These conditions have already appeared in the spirit-world and will appear on earth beginning with Korea and then spreading over the rest of the world, bringing chaos, tension-and conflict in every facet of human existence.

Matthew 24:32-33: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

These conditions of chaos, tension and conflict that are prevailing everywhere indicate that the new world order is very near.

When the disciples asked Jesus where He would come again, He replied,

Luke 17:37: "... Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together."

This means that He will come to the place of God's front line and Satan's front line, the land of Korea, where eternal life and eternal death will meet and fight, where Satan and his forces will gather together to meet their children of death, and the Lord of the Second Coming will come to His children of life

3. The Nation Must Be the Objective Position of the Heart of God (Who Is the Subjective Position).

First, if a nation is to be the objective position of God's heart, it must shed blood, sweat and tears. When Satan gained control over mankind, the parent-child relationship between God and mankind was destroyed and God lost His children on earth. This resulted in Divine Grief and Sorrow so great that He even repented that He had created man (Genesis 6:6). God's chosen nation, in taking the position of object, with God as subject in the action of give and take, must come to know God's Heart and understand the Divine Grief. For this reason, both First Israel and Second Israel endured great suffering and hardship. Korea, if it is Third Israel, should also endure great suffering and

hardship. History shows that from the beginning through the present time Korea has suffered terribly. This has been part of God's plan to send the Lord through this nation.

Second, the people must be a good-hearted race. All Koreans are of the same good-hearted race, and are a monolingual people. The Koreans have never, in the four thousand, two hundred years of their history, invaded any of their neighboring nations. Further, from ancient times Koreans have observed loyalty to their nation and kings, and piety to their parents. Such is the national temperament of Korea. All these examples show that Korea is qualified to be on God's side as a good-hearted and peace-loving nation.

God's fighting strategy is always to bring the final victory to the side receiving aggression. We see this principle applied in the Old and New Testaments. Many of God's prophets and saints were killed and even the only , Jesus, was sacrificed on the cross. But the final victory came back to God's side. In World War I and World War II, God's nations received attacks from Satan's side, but the final victory went to God's side. The same principle applies to Korea which has received many attacks and invasions in the past, but to which the final victory will come through the Lord of the Second Coming.

Third, the people must have an inheritance of deep religious faith and a religious disposition. This is true of the Korean people who have always searched for higher truths than those dealing with this earthly life. None of the nature religions such as Shamanism, through which many hope to find happiness, have ever prevailed, even in ancient times, among the Korean people.

4. The Nation Should, as a Chosen Nation, Have Spiritual Proofs from God.

The first spiritual proof is the fact that Korea has the same Messianic Ideal as First Israel, which expected the Messiah to come as the King of Kings to establish the Kingdom and to save the Jewish nation (Malachi 4:2-5 and Isaiah 60:1-22). Korea has, for five hundred years, maintained the belief that a Righteous King will be born in Korea, and that he will rule all nations and receive all tribute for one thousand years. This Messianic belief is derived from the prophetic book, the Book of Chung-Gaam (Chung-Gaam Rok). Because of the prophetic statements contained in this books successive kings of the Lee dynasty tried to erase this Messianic belief by burning the books and persecuting the students of the book. Since Christianity came to Korea, the contents of this book are regarded as mere superstition, but the Messianic Ideal cannot be erased from the hearts of the Korean people. Even the Japanese, during their forty-year occupation of Korea, were unable to erase the Messianic Ideal. In the book,

the Righteous King is called Chung-do-Ryung, which means literally, "the Person who brings the Word of God." The same expression, Chung-do-Ryung, is the Korean expression which signifies the Lord of the Second Coming as He is revealed in the Bible. More than four hundred years before Christianity was brought to Korea by American missionaries, God revealed to the Korean people the prophecy of the Messiah who would come from Korea as the Lord of the Second Coming. Recently, students of this book have found that many of its prophecies are similar to prophecies found in the Bible. Some of the prophecies of the Book of Chung-Gaam have been completely fulfilled during the last five hundred years of Korean history, but this is another topic which cannot be discussed at the present time for lack of space.

The second spiritual proof is the constant revelations from God that all past founders of major religions will come again, in Korea. In Chapter Six of Part I, "The Resurrection," we saw how the unification of all religions will take place through a reformed Christianity. In the Last Days, the purposes of other religions will be fulfilled in the reformed Christianity which will be a united religion composed of all past religions. The Second Coming will accomplish all the goals of all sincere religions, so from God's point of view, the Lord of the Second Coming will be the of the individual founders of religions as He will complete their individual missions.

Major religious leaders now in Korea know through revelation that the founders of their respective religions will come again in Korea. The Lord of the Second Coming described in the Bible is fulfilling individual second con' a of religious founders who are now in the spirit-world. For example, Korean Buddhists expect the second coming of Buddha, called Miruk-Jon-Bool. Followers of Confucius now expect Confucius, or True-Person, to return. The Chundo-Kyo, The Heavenly Way religion, which originated in Korea, is looking for the return of Soo-un Choi who is its founder. And all other religions in Korea are showing the same phenomena according to the principle of the unification of all religions discussed in Chapter Six of Part I.

In Korea, as the third spiritual proof, there is a great spiritual awakening in progress, and revival meetings for the preparation for the Second Coming are growing rapidly. The prophecy on the pouring out of His Spirit in the latter days as described in Acts 2:17 is actually being fulfilled in Korea as the most Christian nation in the Far East. All religious groups are now contacting spirit saints from the lower levels of the spirit-world up to the highest levels, depending on the spiritual growth of the group, and are receiving revelations of the Coming of the Lord. Accurate spiritual information is given to various scattered groups in Korea, sometimes at mountain prayer altars, sometimes in revival meetings, and sometimes to an individual praying quietly at home. But those Christians who stubbornly adhere to preconceived ideas and are ignorant of spiritual

phenomena and information obtained from spirit-saints are very far behind, just as in Jesus' day when the established Jewish religion made its scholars, the priests and scribes, spiritually blind so that they missed the heavenly time. They did not even know of the birth of their Messiah, while the humble shepherds and astrologers knew of the Coming of the Messiah. Thus, Jesus prayed to God,

Luke 10:21 "... I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes ..."

This statement indicates the ignorance of the religious leaders of that time. This same pattern is repeated now at the time of the Second Coming when many spiritually gifted children of God know and receive heavenly messages on even the place and the time of His Coming. The pattern that was established at the First Coming is being repeated in the Korean churches and in established churches in the rest of the world as well. This repetition is called "historical synchronization." Presently, many devoted and prayerful Christians in the established churches throughout the world receive many strange revelations which they cannot interpret, thus fulfilling the above verse in our own day. If these people announce their spiritual revelations to the public, church leaders, who are ignorant and use only Bible verses, call them heretical and Satanic. Many good Korean Christians were ousted from the churches. Those who want to stay in the churches hesitate to announce the things that they received through their prayers and meditation. This is now occurring throughout all Christianity.

5. All Past Civilizations Must Culminate in the Chosen Nation.

In order to solve the fundamental spiritual and material problems which resulted from the tragic fall of man, civilization with religion and science must culminate in one United Civilization, the beginning of God's Ideal World and the consummation of human history. Religion and science exist, from God's point of view, in order to educate and enlighten people so as to prepare them for the United Civilization.

The Ideal World of the Coming Lord will be very highly developed, both materially and spiritually. In the land where He will come, all developed civilizations must be united to bear the fruit with which to begin the Ideal World.

For this reason, the Continent Civilization that developed from the land must culminate in Korea. An example of this is the civilization which began in Egypt and moved to Greece, , Iberia, etc., forming the Peninsular Civilization, which then moved forward to Island Civilization centering around England. This civilization then traveled to

the American continent and now must pass through Japan and culminate in Korea as the final step before the beginning of the ideal World.

The civilization which developed around rivers and oceans must also culminate in Korea. This civilization developed around the , Tigris, and Euphrates rivers, moved to the Mediterranean civilization through Greece, Rome, Spain and Portugal, and from there it passed to the Atlantic civilization centering around England and must finally reach its highest level in Korea after passing through America and Japan.

Finally, civilization as interpreted by seasons must culminate in Korea. But, before considering this, let us examine the notion of "interpretation by seasons."

A year is divided into four periods called seasons. A day is divided into four parts which correspond to the four seasons: Morning is the spring, afternoon is the summer, evening is the autumn, and night is the winter. All Living things obey a cycle having four parts: during the spring there is birth, during the summer there is growth, fruit is borne in the fall, during the winter there is rest. A man's life is divided into four parts: a man is first a child, then a young man, then he enters into middle age, and finally old age. The same principle applies to the whole period of human history. To interpret civilization by seasons means to elucidate the variations civilization has passed through in accordance with the pattern exemplified by the sequence of spring, summer, autumn and winter. It is important to realize that the universal nature of this pattern is not mere coincidence. All these seasonal processes originated from God's principles and are part of the mystery of His creation.

Man's civilization should have started with the Garden of Eden as the location of the Springtime Civilization and then progressed through the Summer Civilization, Autumn Civilization and Winter Civilization as part of the orderly and natural cycle of civilization. But, because of the fall of man, the Springtime Civilization was destroyed and man fell as far as the level of primitive man. So, contrary to God's original providence, a Summer Civilization began in Egypt. This Summer Civilization then passed into the Autumn Civilization centering around first, the Mediterranean and then the Atlantic, and finally, became the Winter Civilization of Soviet Russia. And now, the seasons are changing. In accordance with God's principle, civilization is passing and the Spring Civilization of God's Ideal World under the Lord of the Second Coming is arriving. This Spring Civilization is the culmination of the previous summer, autumn and winter civilizations and so must be brought forth from Korea centering in the Lord of the Second Coming.

Chapter Thirteen - Doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ [Part 4]

VII. What are the Purposes of His Second Coming?

The purposes of His Second Coming are:

1. To Consummate God's Ideal Creation of Man and the Universe.

Since the fall of man, God's Ideal Kingdom an earth has not been realized until now. Through Jesus Christ, the Messiah at the time of the First Coming, the Ideal World should have been realized. If the Jewish people had accepted Him as their Messiah, He could have restored the individual, the family, the nation, and the world, and have had sinless children in the capacity of the second Adam. Had this been accomplished, a new race would have spread throughout the world and continue to exist a present time. The Second Coming is necessary for the fulfillment of this unfinished mission of Jesus Christ. Eventually, the Lord of the Second Coming, having subjugated Satan on earth, must set up the Earthly Kingdom, and then the Ideal World will begin.

2. To End the Dominion of Satan Over the Earth and the Spirit-World.

Lucifer, the archangel, became the prince of the world when he took Adam and Eve under his blood lineage. The same Satan obtained similar victory through the unbelieving Jewish people who crucified their Messiah, Jesus. Until this time, the secret of Satan's crime had not been revealed. But now us, the saints of the United Faith, have appeared and are constantly proclaiming the hidden crime of Satan to the public. Jesus should have formed a four-position foundation to subjugate Satan and his evil angels on earth. Through the cross, Jesus accomplished spiritual salvation only, leaving the physical salvation to His Second Coming. This time, the Lord of the Second Coming will, while on earth, subjugate Satan and his evil angels, bringing complete salvation in both body and spirit. As the reader recalls from the chapter, "The Principle of the Fall of Man" in Part I, man should originally have had dominion over both the archangel and his angelic world. The Lord of the Second Coming will accomplish the task of completely subjugating Satan by exposing Satan's crime to Heaven and Earth, and finally, the Lord of the Second Coming will receive Satan's official surrender, and thereby seal the end of Satan's six-thousand-year period of dominion. Satan will be punished in the bottomless pit and the Lord of the second Coming will set up His Kingdom of Love, Peace, Joy and Righteousness. He will be the Lord of the Universe, Lord of and New Heaven and New Earth. His Kingdom shall never fail and there will be no more sin, no more war and no more pain. There will be harmony even with wild animals. Harmony will exist between man and the creation, and between the spirit-world and physical world. Only the Lord of the Second Coming can bring this about.

3. To Complete and Fulfill the Prophecies of the Old and Now Testaments.

Unknown facts and hidden truths will be explained by Him when He comes again, and all saints will know the truth plainly. He will make known all facts related to the events that took place in the Garden of Eden, He will explain what happened to Jesus concerning His birth and death, and He will reveal everything that Jesus could not have revealed to His disciples who were unable to bear such things at that time. He will teach new truths and a message which will fulfill the Old and New Testaments and all their prophecies. By making clear the harmony between Old and New Testaments, explaining all verses which appear to conflict, and making systematic links between the two testaments, He will give the definitive interpretation of the Bible and begin the Age of the Complete Testament.

Through His teachings, His followers shall know how to follow God's laws and how to live in the Coming Kingdom. He will guide world leaders in the fields of religion and politics so that they may know and understand the family structure and the social, economic, and political system of the Ideal World that God wants to establish on earth. Those who follow His teaching a shall be blessed regardless of their race, education, culture, or . Especially, He will explain the way that an individual must live if he is to be a citizen of His Kingdom and He will show how the Father, God, must be worshipped. Thus, all things, including all the prophecies in the Bible will be fulfilled by Him.

4. To Restore All Conditions and Important Individuals that Have Been Lost to Satan Since the Beginning of God's Restoration Providence.

As explained in Part II, in the chapter, "The Principle of Restoration Providence," God lost many conditions and many important individuals during the Restoration History because of the failures of His prophets who were individuals chosen for particular heavenly missions in the battle against Satan. The Lord of the Second Coming will first restore Adam's family. To do this, He must, as third Adam, restore third Eve. Then He will receive the blessed holy marriage by God; the first such marriage since the beginning of human history. He will restore Noah's family of eight people, three sons and three daughters-in-law, and He will restore the thirty-six heavenly royal families which represent, first, second, and third Israel, together with other important groups of people that were involved in God's Restoration Providence. Further, He will restore basic numbers that were lost, for example, the four-position foundation and the twelve numbers of Jacob's family, Moses' tribes and Jesus' disciples. Many heavenly ceremonies, both public and private, will take place to fulfill God's requirements which were not fulfilled in the previous course of Restoration Providence. He will also restore

all things which are under Satan's control and which are therefore waiting for the manifesting of God's children. He is Lord of the Universe, including the earth and all mankind. Satan, knowing His mission, will fight Him from the time that He is in His Mother's womb, but eventually He will restore all things and even receive Satan's official surrender. Satan will release mankind and all things, which have been under his dominion for six thousand years, and surrender them to the Lord of the Second Coming.

5. To Bring One Faith to Mankind by Uniting the Scattered Christian Denominations and All Major Religions.

All present divisions of Christian denominations and all conflicts among major religions are nothing but transitional phenomena produced during the course of God's Restoration Providence. These transitional phenomena have the function of leading groups of men to a more consecrated life on earth and to develop then properly according to the age, their race, geographical factors, etc., until the time of God's final has come. The Lord of the Second Coming is the one who is able to bring about the realization of the goals of Christianity, and the goals of all other sincere religions. He will unify not only the conflicting Christian denominations, but also all religions, in order to bring all mankind to One Faith, One God, One Ideology, and One Savior under Christ's banner of Universal Family of mankind. His ideology will embrace all doctrines in philosophy and theology, and it will encompass all races and cultures, bringing the world of peace on earth.

6. To Bring One Language on Earth.

After the Fall of Man, the Tower of Babel appeared to God as an expression of man's rebellious nature, so God destroyed it and brought about the diversity of human languages which, in turn, created the barriers between the different races. When He comes, everything will be restored and so mankind will again have one language. The language which the Lord of the Second Coming speaks will be the language that all men will speak under His Coming Kingdom.

7. To Receive All Things as the Lord of the Universe and to be Received by All Mankind as Their Father.

All things rightly belong to Christ, Son of God, and also to the Lord of the Second Coming.

Colossians 1:16, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him:"

Satan and his angels have been occupying illegally all things, including mankind, since the fall of man. Jesus Christ had come to claim His right to all things and mankind, but He left this work to His Second Coming because of the betrayal and disbelief of His people. The new owner of all things and mankind will claim them mid He will fulfill the following scripture verse:

Revelation 4:11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou best created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

By fulfilling this verse through the Lord to Come, God, the Father, will rule the whole universe and perfect man on earth directly for the first time, and man's sinful history will be ended. At the First Coming of Christ, Jesus came to His own people, but they did not accept Him (:11). But at the Second Coming, His people and nation will accept Him as the Lord and, at the same time, accept Him as the Real Father of mankind, and mankind shall be liberated from and Satan's yoke by grafting to Him. He will fulfill the following scriptures:

Isaiah 9:6, "... His name will be called ... Everlasting Father ..."

Isaiah 53:10, "... He shall see His offspring ..."

These verses indicate that Christ is "everlasting father," and that He will begin a new ​ race on earth. He will claim His ruler ship, over the universe and mankind and "He will ​ see every knee bow before Him and hear every tongue confers that He, Christ, is the Lord to the glory of .

Truly, we have the blessed privilege to receive the Lord as our Savior who brings us complete salvation in body and spirit as King of Kings in His Kingdom. It is the author's desire that we do not let this salvation pass us by. What, then, can we do to be ready for His Second Coming?

VIII. How Can We Be Ready For His Second Coming?

If we take the fundamental view of His Second Coming, as extremist schools and theologians do, there would be no difficulty in recognizing the Lord of the Second Coming, for His spiritual coming or His arrival in the clouds with the accompaniment of

angels' trumpets and the falling of the sun, moon and stars would leave little doubt as to His identity. But our close investigation of the Word of God and the constant revelations to His chosen groups and children throughout the world show that the time of His Coming, the manner in which He comes and the place where He will be found, will be different from what is taught in the established doctrines on this crucial subject. These advanced Christian and non-Christian groups have received information concerning the Second Coming (either complete or incomplete information, depending upon the group), through their fervent prayers, meditations and revelations from God. This is the reason that we, both Christians and non-Christians, should be prepared for His Coming as an individual and must be ready for accepting Him as our savior and King of Kings in His Coming Kingdom, and as the real father of mankind. We must not repeat the crime committed by First Israel who did not recognize that Jesus was their Messiah and true Father. To avoid this, we must prepare ourselves to be ready to recognize Him and accept Him. This is the time for us to search thoroughly and fervently the Word of God for deeper understanding of the subject of the Second Coming.

Some non-Christian religions have recently insisted that their founders, for example, Mohammed, Buddha and Confucius, will come again to the earth in order to complete their missions. This is happening, because the spiritually gifted followers of these religions, who are scattered throughout the world, are receiving revelations from the spirit-world. We must know why this is happening, what it means, and how such phenomena should be interpreted. Furthermore, many religious leaders in Christian and non-Christian groups claim to be the Christ and they say that God has informed them of this through the spirit-world. Many antichrists are now appearing throughout the world. How do we interpret this phenomena? In the chapter, "The Principle of Resurrection," full warning concerning these phenomena was given, and also an explanation of the reasons for such phenomena. It this is the time of the Second Coming, there must be one true Christ, and the others will be antichrists. In view of this, we will need to distinguish between the true Christ and the false Christs, and we will need to have some criteria by which we can determine the true Christ. Until the message contained in this book was made public, no such criteria were available and there was no means by which we could recognize Him or by which the individual could find Him on earth. So, we have to prepare ourselves and become ready for His Second Coming. In Luke 21:34-36, Jesus, Himself, warned His disciples, saying, "... Take heed to yourselves ..." This is a very personal warning which is given to every person, and especially to the carnal minded Christians.

In preparation, we must observe the following:

1. Our Hearts Must Not be Weighed Down With Dissipation and Drunkenness and the Cares of This Life.

We must not allow ourselves to be taxed too greatly with worldly concerns which may make one dull or cloud one's mind. God does not want us to be overburdened with these things. This does not mean that we should neglect worldly cares and responsibilities, for it is normal and proper for us to be concerned with these. But we must not allow ourselves to be dominated by them. Being too much concerned with worldly cares and responsibilities will hinder or prevent spiritual growth and result in an unhealthy condition of our souls. Jesus warns us not to be so preoccupied with these things that we leave no time for the Lord of the Second Coming. Just as Jesus, at His First Coming, asked that individuals love Him more than anything else in the world, so also will the Lord of the Second Coming. Anybody who loves his father, mother or child more than Him can not be His . Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

2. Our Daily Life Must be Godly, Sober and Righteous, and We Must Constantly Be Looking Forward to the Blessed Hope Described in the Bible.

Titus 2:11-13, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for this blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ;"

In the above scripture, we are told how we are to live in the time prior to His glorious appearance. We have learned of worldly matters and become wise in worldly knowledge, which we need to unlearn and deny. When He comes again He will find that we are conceited and puffed up. So first we must deny ungodliness. Too much hard work is apt to make us neglect God and the Lord to come.

Too much emphasis on prosperity in business is likely to produce neglect of the and the life after death. It may prevent us from reading and studying the Bible, it may destroy our prayer life, and finally it may produce forgetfulness of God and the coming Lord.

Next, we must deny excessive "worldly lusts" and the desires of the flesh, such as overindulgence, unchastity, immorality and infidelity. The spirit of worship of wealth leads to greediness and wantonness of mind so that one cares only for the frivolity of

the present earthly life. We must deny the prevailing filthy immorality and unhealthy philosophies and inglorious maxims of the present sinful world.

After denying these things, we have to live soberly, righteously and godly during the time prior to His appearance. But we must not retreat from the present world. The Lord of the Second Coming will teach us how to restore this sinful world to the original good world. So we have to prepare ourselves to live according to Heavenly laws and not according to worldly standards.

In order to prepare ourselves, we are to live soberly with respect to eating, drinking and all other bodily appetites. We should be sober in our thinking, in our speaking and in all other activities. Especially, there is to be sobriety in all our worldly pursuits. We are to live with ourselves well in hand, we are to be self-restrained. It is also necessary that we be thoughtful, considerate, and we be no longer tossed about by passions and swayed by prejudice.

In relation to our fellow men, we must live righteously. As followers of Christ, we cannot be involved in any dishonest activity, either in business or in any other profession. If we mean to follow the way of the devil, we must take the consequences. But if we profess to be followers of Christ and wait for His Coming, we must deny all partnership with unrighteousness; for such partnerships provide conditions for Satan to invade. Simply speaking, dishonesty and falsehood are the very opposites of righteousness. Even poor Christians must live righteously.

In order to meet the Lord of the Second Coming, we are to be godly. We must love God, the Father, and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. And it is necessary that we meet the Lord of the Second Coming, for God will do nothing on earth except through His Son.

Lastly, we must live looking forward. We have a great hope for our complete salvation when He appears again to deliver us from evil and the yoke of Satan, the prince of the present world. We are living at a glorious and blessed time, so we must be filled with joy and thanksgiving and should live, with great hope, looking forward.

3. Our Hearts Must Be Ready for New Ideas and New Truths Which Will Change the Old Ideas.

Ordinations, , , rituals and ordinances are temporary institutions which will pass away when He comes again. These are only the scaffolding and shadows of the unfinished edifice which He will complete. The substance is Christ to come. He will urge us to get out of the shells of the denominations and religions so that

we may receive the new message for the new age. On the surface, His message seems to destroy the Old and New Testaments, but it actually completes and fulfills the whole Bible and gives us more truth. Those who adhere rigidly to the Old and New Testament verses shall make the same mistakes and commit the same crimes that the Jewish religious leaders did when they rejected and crucified their awaited Messiah, Jesus. They could not accept Jesus' new teachings and new interpretation of the Old Testament. So we have to cast off our narrow-minded concepts concerning denominations, theology and Bible interpretation and open our minds to look for the new truths and messages. His new teachings will unite all the scattered Christian denominations and all religions into One. We must arm ourselves so as to be ready for the new concepts and ideas, and be prepared to throw out the old concepts and ideas when the new ones appear in front of us. To the Jews, the Lord of the Second Coming shall appear as the Messiah of the First Coming, to the Christians, He will be the Lord of the Second Coming. He will not be the Lord for one denomination, nor for any one religion, but will be the Lord of all mankind. First, He will be persecuted, but then Matthew 7:22-23 will be fulfilled:

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

We must avoid this by perfect preparation for His Coming. We need to have the wisdom of the five virgins who were ready for their Coming Bridegroom at midnight.

4. We Must Be Watchful.

The Bible warns us that His Second Coming will be like the springing of a trap. Watchfulness is important.

Matthew 24:40-44, "Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, mid the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."

When Jesus Christ came, the Jewish people were caught unprepared and finally, believing that they were righteous, crucified Him. They were so occupied with the old

doctrines concerning their rituals and the Mosaic Law that they could not accept Jesus' new teachings which seemed contrary to theirs. They had no time to consider Him seriously in order to evaluate and investigate His life and ministry. Very few people were wise and recognized Him. The above scripture was fulfilled at the First Coming even as it will be fulfilled at the Second Coming. Jesus warns us again in;

Matthew 24:38-39, "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

Truly, this is a great warning to modern Christians.

5. We Must Battle Satan by Constantly Praying and Searching for the Hidden Truth in the Bible.

This is the key to being prepared for His Second Coming. The Bible says,

"Put on the whole armor of God, that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

We must constantly maintain an attitude of prayer in our hearts, and we should live always in expectation of His Coming. If we are watchful, wise, and prayerful, we can minimize Satan's attempt to destroy us and prevent us from finding and recognizing our Lord of the Second Coming. Satan will use any means to hinder us and cause us to fail. He and his evil angels will act to prevent every stop that we try to make to approach the Lord to come.

6. We Must Occupy 10 minas* Till He Comes

(* Luke 19:13 The mina (Greek mna, Hebrew minahs) was worth about three months salary.)

The spiritual kingdom of Christ is set up and Jesus is King in the hearts of Christians. But His real, literal, visible, complete Kingdom on earth has not yet been established.

Psalms 110:1, "The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." (Also see Matthew 22:43-44, :36, and Hebrew 1:13.)

We have to admit that the devil is the prince of the present world, and the Kingdom of Christ has not yet arrived. The vast majority of the inhabitants of the earth choose the things that please the devil rather than the things that please God, especially in one nation, the United States. They do the devil's will, behave as the devil's subjects and serve the devil more than God and Christ. There is not one nation where the devil does not have more subjects then Christ. This proves that this world does not yet enjoy the Kingdom of Christ.

So, we have to arm ourselves to fight against Satan and this evil world so as to subjugate him completely. In the parable of Jesus, Luke 19:12-27, the noble man, representing Christ to come, delivers ten minas to ten servants and said, "Occupy till I come." This tells us what duties we, as beings created for His Coming Kingdom, have during the time before His glorious appearance.

We are to be doers in our daily life, not merely hearing and professing believers. He ​ ​ asks us to do His work and multiply the children of God. When He comes He shall count the number of souls that we have won to God.

Everybody is given an equal opportunity to fulfill an individual heavenly mission for His glory. It is from God that we receive all things - bodily health and strength, mental and spiritual gifts, money, and other material blessings, freedom of worship, all are our pounds received from Him. All these must be used and employed with continual reference to the glory of the Lord of the Second Coming. All our gifts must be submitted to our Coming Lord.

We are to do His work on earth like the faithful servant who does not know at what hour his master may come home, but yet keeps all things in readiness and is always prepared for His Coming. The day of His Coming will be a day of reckoning, so we must be ready to render our heavenly account at any time. We are to keep our spiritual account constantly prepared so that it will be acceptable to the lord of the Second Coming.