The primary question of a fallen man is the deliverance from sin, but he cannot rid himself of sin unless he understands the origin and nature of his sin. Unless he understands his sin definitely and specifically, he cannot repent his sin, accordingly cannot be forgiven by God. There are three kinds of sin. 'The first kind is the original sin, by which the first man was alienated from God, and this sin has been decisively affecting his descendants, generation after generation of man. The second is the sin committed by crucifying Jesus and for this sin mankind is collectively responsible. The third is the personal sin that each one commits in his life time. Any conscientious person is aware of his personally committed sin and any Christian should realize that he is also responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But the inherited original sin, which has been the root of all sin and evil, has never been disclosed, and yet no one has escaped it, even with constant prayer.

According to Genesis 3:6, sin originated from the fact that Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This sin was passed on to their children, and it is still inherited by us today. Therefore Christianity teaches that everyone is born a sinner, and needs the Savior for his deliverance from the moment of his birth.

This sin could not be originated by eating a fruit. Therefore the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil should not be interpreted literally but symbolically. What does it symbolize? What Adam and Eve did after they ate the fruit gives a hint to the meaning of the eating of the fruit. They had been nude and not been ashamed at all. After they ate the fruit they felt ashamed, and sewed fig leaves together and made aprons in order to conceal their lower parts.(Genesis 2:25; 3:7, 8) What does this mean?

It is human nature to conceal what is wrong or defective. Job said in Chapter 31:33, " If I have concealed my transgressions like Adam by hiding my iniquity in my bosom let the Almighty answer me. " Job defended himself by saying that he had not the same sin as Adam, in other words, what Adam concealed was his defective part, and that was h is lower part, therefore the 'transgressions like Adam's means sexual sin. To have eaten the fruit, therefore, represented that Adam and Eve had had unlawful and immoral sexual relations which God had forbidden.

In creating man and woman, God blessed them to marry. "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it. "(Genesis 1:27) But unjust and unlawful sex relations are forbidden; thus adultery is regarded as the gravest sin leaving a scar deep in heart and body. God blessed marital love above all, but adultery is regarded as the degraded deed. The sin that Adam and Eve committed was adultery which became the origin of sin.

According to the Book of Job, Satan constantly accuses man before God. "Then Satan answered the Lord, 'Does Job fear, God for nought?' ..." (1:9) Satan is called as an accuser in the Book of Revelation.

And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses, them day and night before our God.' (Rev. 12:10)

However there was no one who could have prosecuted Satan before God and driven him out of the world. It was impossible because no one knew the true nature of his offense. A very serious criminal may live safely as long as his crime is unknown to the world. Satan also dominated the world because no one had discovered his crime and accused him before God by pointing out the origin and the nature of his crime.

Today, however, his terrible secret has been detected, and the battle between man and Satan or good and evil is now coming to a decisive last encounter. Therefore as soon as one reveals Satan's secret and brings his offense into the light of truth, Satan cannot exercise his power over the man any longer, and will only surrender. For the final victory, it is necessary for each individual to arm himself with the understanding of the nature of Satan's crime, then confront and defeat him with this powerful weapon. God did not disclose Satan's secret in the Scriptures, but only intimated it through symbols and parables. For it is man's responsibility to detect the secret of Satan, prosecute him before God and subjugate him. What is the secret of Satan hidden in the symbols and parables written in the Scriptures and how did Satan originate?

God made the angelic world first. The angelic world was made that the angels might serve God and return praise to God: they conveyed a significant message to Abraham (Gen. 19:1-); they brought the message of Christ's birth to Mary and Joseph (Matt 1:20); and they served as the messenger of God in many other cases. (Kings 19:5; Acts 12:7; Luke 16:22). Hence the angels were called the 'ministering spirit' (Hebrews 1:14). The angels were also made in order return praise and glory to God (Hebrews 1:6; Luke 2:13; Rev. 5:11-12; 7:11).

Lucifer held a position of Archangel. God's blessing to the angelic world was distributed through him, just as God chose Abraham and gave blessing to the children of Israel through him. Lucifer appeared to monopolize God' s love. However, when Adam and Eve were created, God loved them even more than He loved Lucifer; He loved them as His children, where --as He loved Lucifer as His servant. Therefore Lucifer felt that God loved him less than before even though His love was the same. Lucifer, therefore, wished to hold the same position over Adam and Eve that he held over the angelic world, and he wished that God would love Adam and Eve through him. In other words, he could not love Adam as God did, but instead felt a strong animosity based on jealousy. In addition, Lucifer felt a fierce impulse of love toward Eve.

God's love is the source of life and power and the elements of ideal and happiness. The more love one receives from God, the more beautiful one becomes. Therefore Adam and Eve looked extremely beautiful to Lucifer. Eve was even more beautiful, and as she was more inclined to be tempted, Lucifer could not help feeling the stimulating impulse of 1ove toward her. Lucifer ventured to join together with Eve in spite of the threat of death, and this was the spiritual fall between Eve and Lucifer. Thus Lucifer became Satan.

The sexual intercourse between a human being and a spiritual entity is possible. Occasionally these days it is told that the spirit man of a departed husband visits his living wife and has sexual intercourse, which is very realistic for the living mate although it is only spiritual. When three angels came to Abraham to tell him that his wife Sarah would have a son, they ate a meal which Abraham had prepared; he did not know they were angels until he saw them suddenly vanish at his door. Again by the ford of Jabbok, Jacob wrestled with an angel, thinking that it was a man until the angel suddenly vanished. (Genesis 32:24) These incidents are adequate and valid proof that diverse contacts between angels and human beings are possible.

Love unites two persons into one, and by becoming one, each one receives some elements from the other. Having joined Lucifer, Eve received some elements from him -- one of which was the sense of fear. Lucifer felt the pangs of fear that came from his violation of the Divine principles, and this sense of fear was transferred to Eve. When an evil spirit approaches, one immediately feels fear. If he cannot overcome the fear and is occupied by the evil spirit, he becomes insane. The evil spirit comes from the kingdom of Satan, which is filled with fear.

Another element that Eve received was the wisdom of the Archangel. Lucifer was lower than Adam and Eve in the measure of the Divine love, but higher in wisdom, since he was created earlier than they and had had time to achieve greater wisdom.

Having received this wisdom, Eve perceived that Lucifer was not her husband, but, that in accordance with the Divine Principles, Adam would be. At this time Adam and Eve, who were still in the period of growth, knew each other as brother and sister, and not as husband and wife. Having committed sin Eve wished to recover her previous position in God's favor, and compelled Adam to behave as her husband. Being tempted by Eve, Adam responded to her by committing adultery and ignoring God's command. Adam immediately felt the same fear as Eve did and perceived his sin with the wisdom which he received from her. They were ashamed of what they had done and concealed their lower parts with fig leaves and hid themselves under a tree.

If they had been perfect already, God would have blessed them in marriage. If they had become united, with the love of God, the earth would have been filled with the children of the innocent. But because Adam and Eve joined with Satan, through the act of illicit love, their descendants were fallen mankind, and the world was under Satanic rule. This is the reason John the Baptist said, "You are the brood of vipers. "Jesus also said," You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.. He was a murderer from the beginning. Judging from these verses mankind has another father who is not God.

No man who is under the rule of the Divine Principles can turn the wrong way of his own accord. However, if there is something which is stronger than the force of the Principles, which causes him to turn in the wrong direction, he will be off the track of the Principles, just as a train will run off the track if it strikes an obstacle.

What is it that is stronger than the force of the Principles. It is the force of love. God made love so absolute and supreme that even the Principles cannot dominate it. Therefore, it was possible that the power of any kind of love could drive Adam off the track of the Principles. God, therefore, set a rule, "You shall not eat of the fruit," and commanded man to obey it in order to prevent him from deviating from the Principles.

Why did God set the power of love in the absolute and supreme position? God made man to live in the absolute and extreme love and to enjoy the utmost happiness on the earth and in the eternal world. If the love were controlled by the Principles, the love would no longer be perfect and absolute. After reaching the state of perfection, man is no longer under the Principles but under the dominion of God's direct love. A perfect freedom and a supreme happiness do not exist under the law and principles, but under the rule of God's absolute love. The life in this absolute Divine love was the blessing and promise that God had given to Adam and Eve. Such a blessing was available only in the stage of perfection and maturity of the spirit-man and the physical body. The perverted love of Adam and Eve defeated this blessing and made them deviate from the Principle.

If Lucifer had not entered the situation, God would not even have needed to warn Adam and Eve about the forbidden fruit, because while Adam and Eve were still immature, they saw each other as a brother and sister and were not conscious of sex. But if they had become mature and perfect and united into one by the blessing of God, the love between them would have become so strong that no temptation of the Archangel could separate them from one another, thus Adam and Eve could not have possibly fallen.

Free will is the highest gift that man has received from God. This gift makes man superior to all other creatures and makes him supreme in heaven and on earth, for he represents God, the Creator. Some Christians believe that Adam and Eve fell because of their free will. If free will had made them fall, there would always be the danger of a fall, even after they had become perfect. Even the life of the heavenly kingdom where man would have complete freedom would be insecure. If the danger of the fall exists forever, there will be uncertainty and insecurity forever, and there will be neither perfect salvation for man, nor the accomplishment of the perfection the heavenly Father represents. If there is no possibility of becoming perfect as God is, His creation is imperfect, and God Himself is no longer perfect or Almighty.

It is, therefore, logically inconsistent to think that free will was the cause of man' s fall. It is true, however, that Adam and Eve lost freedom because of their fall and became subject to Satan. Hence it is necessary to restore the freedom of man in order to restore the Garden of Eden and the original self of man. It is one of the signs that a new age has come that people all over the world seek freedom at all costs, on an individual level as well as a national level.

The motive behind the Archangel's fall was his jealousy of Adam, whom God loved. If Lucifer had loved Adam as God did, the Archangel could have shared joy and happiness with God because of Adam. But Lucifer was jealous of Adam and violated Eve and thus took an opposite stand to God. When man stands with God, he is filled with joy and life, but if he stands against Him, he destroys not only himself but all other people.

However, the Archangel's desire that God love him as much as Adam was not evil in itself. His sin was that he went beyond the boundary of his own position in order to monopolize God's love. In other words, he did not keep his own position. According to Jude 1:6,

And the angels that did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether-gloom until the judgment of the great day.

By leaving his position, the Archangel fell and caused disorder in the whole universe. By leaving his position, the Archangel also reversed the order of dominion. He was to be under Adam and Eve, and Eve was under Adam, Nevertheless, the angel dominated Eve, and she dominated Adam through temptation. Thus the order of domination was reversed. The human pride that wishes to dominate even God is derived from the fallen nature of the Archangel.

According to Genesis 3:14, there was a serpent in the Garden of Eden, and he induced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. An animal has no spirit and cannot tempt man. Therefore the serpent in Genesis 3:14 should be interpreted symbolically and not literally. According to the Book of Revelation 12:9, a serpent is a symbol of Satan, the fallen Archangel. Again it is said in II Peter 2:4,

For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until t h e judgment.

It is plain in this verse that the angel had committed sin, and the nature of his sin is hinted in Jude 6:7,

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

It is now clear that it was the angel who tempted Eve and Adam, and his sin was adultery. Since their sin was adultery, it stained their blood and generation after generation inherited the sin through their blood; and the descendants of Adam became the children of Satan.

Therefore Jesus and John the Baptist pointed out that mankind had the devil as their father. Paul also said, "Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:23) Definitely Paul meant in this verse that mankind is not the children of God but have a different line of blood from God.

Since the fall, Satan has ruled the world in a pseudo form of the Divine Principles.

Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out. (John 12:31) In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the likeness of God. (II Cor. 4:4)

With the accumulation of man's sin, the power of Satan and the number of his subjects increased. All evil spirits are men who have led wicked lives on earth. They can exercise their power over people on earth as long as wicked people become their objects for reciprocal relation and have give-and-take with them. Therefore if no evil person is left on earth to work with, Satan loses the base on which he stands and accordingly he becomes powerless. When Judas became a base for Satan to work on, he entered into Judas' mind

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. (Luke 22:3)

As Satan entered into Peter, Jesus said to him,

Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me for you are not on the side of God, but of men. (Matt. 16:23)

The great dragon w as thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. (Rev. 12:9)

All these are the members of Satan's kingdom. Many people do not know about this and consider the work of the devil merely some kind of psychological disturbance. But those whose spiritual eyes are open can see them as substantial spiritual entities and understand' who and what they are.

God is Almighty and All-knowing; therefore He could foresee Adam's fall. But apparently He did not prevent Adam and Eve from falling, and He did not interfere with their act beforehand. Foreseeing the destructive universal consequence of their fall, why did God not prevent it beforehand? God made provision after the fall and not before, that they may be restored. The Almighty God has taken a long time for the restoration of man and the world. Why could He have not used His Almighty power and accomplished the universal restoration in a short time?

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