1. Crisis: the Truth Shall Make You Free
2. Eschatology, What is the Problem?
4. The Significance of the Last Days
5. Explanation of the Signs that Will Happen in the Last Days
6. Heaven and Earth Destroyed and a New Heaven and a New Earth Created
7. Heaven and Earth Judged by Fire
8. The Dead Rise from Their Tombs
9. Korean Churches! Wake Up from the Dream!
1. Crisis: the Truth Shall Make You Free
Today's world is faced with a time of big revolution. Looking out the 21st century, we are on the brink of the point where we have to examine ourselves and the world thoroughly and search for a new way. Material civilization has bloomed to the full, but the inside is empty. Maximization of the reason, ironically enough, accelerated inhumanization. What is that man can be man? If the ability to think and the ability to introspect are the rational act, through this, alienation should be overcome and self-actualization should be attained. However, we see quite the contrary phenomenon.
The modern society is sick internally. The internal sickness has growingly spread externally. The internal sickness implies the corruption of the morality and ethics which are the very basic for man. The morality and ethics are not acquired consciousness but inborn one. In other words, they are based on the spirituality given from God and, through them, the spiritual culture has been developed. However, now, the sense of value has been completely paralyzed.
The internal sickness like this has brought about the fall of ethics at home, society, and nation; the youth's problem, drug abuse, wrong view of love, pollution, nuclear issues, and conflicts among nations and religion, etc.. Who can possibly view the 21st century hopefully? Then how shall we have to deal with this? The biggest event of the 21st century was the appearance and the demise of Communism. It insisted that it will defeat alienation with man's ability and create an Earthly paradise. After 70 years of experiment, however, it is disappearing into the shadow of history without giving any hope whatsoever. The Marxism evidently had the strongest will toward renovation. According to the materialistic interpretation of history, labor and product which are the most fundamental factors in men were being exploited by the governing classes. The Marxism legitimized fighting for the overcome of alienation. It fought hard for the kingdom of laborers. Its result, to the contrary, was the increase of alienation.
Then where can man find the light of hope? Since the sound on the earth has lost its light, we shall have to listen to the sound in heaven. Just as if the blind cannot lead a road and seriously ill patients cannot the role of a doctor, we have to rely not on man's reason, but on God's truth. However, is today's Christianity giving hope for the future? No, it's not. The Christianity with its understanding of history has its limit in giving hope for mankind in crisis. Rather, the Christianity interprets history in pessimistic point. It sees that only they will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and that the rest shall perish by judgement by fire. It is increasing anxiety and fear by saying that mankind shall face the Last Days with serious destruction in the universe.
Now we are conveying the news of hope of the Completed Testament Age. It is the message of new word which Jesus promised in John 16:12- I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
This word of truth shall make us free with the hope of new world.
2. Eschatology, What is the Problem?
A few years ago, we did experience a happening "ÈÞ°Å(hyu-go?--being caught up into the air)." People, whether they believe it or not, nervously paid their attention to 12 a.m. of October, 28. Nothing happened and the providence of nature kept on going as it has been before. This accident gave a lot of confusion to believers and became the social focus of censure and ridicule.
Then what will happen in the future? At the time of the accident, most of the Christianity which insists to be of orthodox had a pessimistic view on the assertion of limited-timed eschatologists. The orthodoxes said that they could not agree to their assertion based on the biblical verse in Matthew 24:36; But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
However, the focus of this issue lies not in the 'limited-timed,' but in the view on the eschatology. Both has the same trouble. As long as they have the eschatological view of history with unclear understanding of history, such a happening will continue happen, and the
Christianity will go more and more away from the matured society. When we see the trends in the field of theology, there are different understanding of eschatology according to the doctrine of each denomination. In general, there are two trends; "½ÇÇöµÈ Á¾¸»·Ð (realized eschatology ?)" which insists that God's world is already realized and "¹Ì·¡Àû Á¾¸»·Ð (futuristic eschatology ?)" which interprets it God's world as an event of the future.
C.H. Dodd represents the Realized Eschatology. Based on the biblical verse of Luke 11:20 (surely the kingdom of God has come upon you), he insisted that the last days was realized already in the Jesus' event. It sees that 'at right here' there was the perfection of the last days, and that the authority to govern is being realized continuously through churches.
It was R. Bultman who interpreted this more existentially. He advocates existential eschatology. He completely excludes revelational thinking which talk about the Second Advent of the Lord, judgment of individual, and the recreation of the universe. Bultman insists that since there is no meaning and eternity without self-existence, eternity and God's world were already fulfilled as 'the new being' within an individual's existential faith.
There is a problem in there. What in specific is God's world? There is ambiguity in 'in the faith.' In short, heavenly kingdom is a place where there is no sin. But see the confession of faith by Apostle Paul. His faith was very existential. Nevertheless, he revealed his limitation by saying, "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,,, (Romans 7:22-24)." If people still insist the realization of God's world, they are subject to receive the criticism that their assertion is off the history and psychological misunderstanding.
Next, there is 'Futuristic Eschatology.' This sees God's world to be established in the future, not as already having built. Since the present and the future are directly connected, they ask people to prepare for the desperate last days in the present and the future. There are several assertions including 'Thorough Eschatology,' 'Eschatology of Hope,' and 'Revelational Eschatology,' etc. (quoted from 'Eschatology II' by Jong Sung Lee, p.97-130)
Korean Christianity, in general, takes the ¸»¼¼·ÐÀû Á¾¸»·Ð which fundamentalists insist. It views that God's world is realized together with the complete destruction of the world. In other words, in terms of interpreting the biblical verses, it is at a very infant stage of understanding verses through their literal meaning. They believe that in the Last Days the sun and the moon will be darkened, stars fall from heaven, earth be destroyed, and the millennium kingdom be established as events of judgment. Accordingly, it furthermore orients people to the direction of the next world, and delude the world and deceive the people.
Such a confusing understanding of history is where today's churches find themselves. Professor Chol Sun Kim, a New Testament theologian, diagnoses as the following, "Korean churches which celebrated 100th anniversary of their doing missionary work can undoubtedly say that they reached the point of maturity. However, we cannot but doubt on whether they indeed grew enough to well match their age. Especially among Christians of our country, most of them think the eschatological hope as the final purpose of faith and identify it with God's world. It means that they still do not have a clear understanding of 'God's world.'" (Chol Son Kim, God's World and the Eschatology in "The New Testament Testifies to Us" p.197 )
Therefore, as was mentioned, now we have to get out of the infant stage of literal interpretation of biblical verses, and thus liberate God from the dogma. The idol, 'À²¹ýÁÖÀÇ,' of Judaism named Jesus as a man possessed by ghost, the idol, 'ecclesiasticism', of the Middle Ages made churches as the house of darkness, and today's 'doctrine-for-doctrine principle' silences the Bible and makes churches as whitewashed tombs. Now is time that we truly realize that it is the very that day that was promised and listen to the subtle sound of the Mt. Horep (spelling ?)
.
3. Eschatology in the Bible :Human History is God's History of the Providence of Restoration
The 'last days' means the 'end' of history. The 'end' is not a simple 'last day', but the turning point where the 'before' and the 'later' are divided. It has the start of new era as its premise. Therefore there first should be an understanding of the beginning, purpose, and process of history in order to know its meaning. As if there is no need of a physician unless one is sick (Mark 2:17), we would not have needed the Messiah had we not fallen. Since the reason for the need of the last days lies in the fall, we have to clarify, more than other things, the purpose of creation, the fall, and the salvation.
Then what could have been the purpose of God's creation of the universe? God's creation, His ruling of the history, and sending the Messiah have a clear purpose. All the records of events in the Bible are focused on this. Let us look at Jesus' proclamation! The first message that he proclaimed in beginning his public life was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4: 17). John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." The verses signify that Jesus came to realize kingdom and to fulfill the salvation. The reason for his doing so is that men lost it because of the fall. In other words, God wanted the kingdom to be realized on earth, but the world of evil arrived instead as men disobeyed the word of commandment. Accordingly, He is unfolding the history of recovering it and has sent the Messiah as the one and only event. Therefore, the purpose of the advent is to regain the lost heaven. The thing is that the heaven we are talking about here is not something that exists outside of history or in the nest world. Today's Christianity is overlooking this point We repeatedly point out here that God's world is not a mystical world that exists far away from the earth or in the other world. It refers to the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that should be realized in the history.
Jesus said that he came with the mission of a physician who will cure the sick (Mark 2:17). To cure the sickness signifies recovering the 'sinful man' caused by the fall into the 'righteous man.' Jesus prayed in the Lord's Prayer, "#? The Will shall be realized in the earth, too, as it was realized in heaven." Besides, all the teachings in the Gospels paid attention to the accomplishment of the Heavenly Kingdom in the world.
When we see in this point of view, we can figure out that God's purpose of creating the world was to get joy by establishing heaven. As the conclusion of the creation of the universe, God said, ""Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth (Genesis 1:28)." As is expressed in John 14:20, "... I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you," God hoped that Adam and Eve perfect their individualities, become husband and wife, family, prosper into tribe, nation, and world, and finally realize the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth. That world is the world of goodness, and mankind becomes on big family community. It is the world under God's dominion. As if parents feel joy and happiness through their children, God also created men and the universe so as to feel joy and glory through them. Then what is the fall? It refers to the state of leaving God's sovereignty and thus having the evil nature instead of being the substantial body of goodness. Man who should have been God's image (Genesis 1:26) became 'brood of vipers' (Matthew 3:7, John 8:44). The world became to be governed by Satan, the devil, instead of being under God's sovereignty. So Satan was called 'the ruler of this world' (John 12:31) or 'the god of this age' (II Cor. 4:4). Adam and Eve with evil blood lineage centered on Satan united together and established family, tribe, nation and world. This world has become the evil world under Satan's dominion. This, for sure, is not what God had originally intended to see.
Christianity sometimes sees even the fall as a predestinated event, which is very wrong. It is because God of goodness cannot predestinate evil, witness the evil world, and repent alone (Gen. 6:6). So God is doing the providence of restoration with purposeful intention. Consequently, history is progressing toward the country of God. God is doing the history of restoration since the world became to be ruled by Satan.
Accordingly, the purpose of Jesus' having come, as was mentioned above, was in recovering the heaven, and the promise of coming again was also meant to accomplish this. "Human history is the history of the providence of restoration."
(Divine Principle pp. 100-102)
4. The Significance of the Last Days
The Last Days signifies the end of the world. So far, Christianity has understood it as the end of the world at which a convulsion of nature happens. However, as was studied, the background of the providence was the establishment of the Satanic world, instead of God's world. We have to have a thorough consideration and examination in interpreting the Bible.
Human history did not begin as God had originally intended it to be. Because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, it began centered on the evil blood lineage. (This is absolutely not a predestinated event, but happened because men did not fulfill their portion of responsibility. We will talk more about this later.) So the world under Satan's dominion spread. Though the image of God was destroyed due to men's mistake, God developed the history of salvation again. That's why we say that God is love while He is God of pain at the same time. Since God is doing the providence to realize the purpose of creation, though human history began with the evil history, the human history is the history of providence to restore the lost ideal world. Hence, the conclusion of history is the evil history changing into the world of goodness, which is the original form of creation. At that time, the world of hell that Satan governs will be transformed into the world of good sovereignty. It also means that one world is ended and a new heaven and a new earth are opened. The end is the end, but that end does not mean going to naught, but the opening of a new world. Thus the Last Days signifies the age in which the sinful world under Satanic sovereignty is transformed into the ideal world of creation under God's sovereignty. It is a very significant time of changing.
For this reason, the Last Days is not a time of fear and despair, but of hope and ideal. It is the time of hope when the sinful history comes to an end and the good new world notifies its beginning.
Since the Last Days has such a meaning, the providence about the Last Days shown in the Bible was not merely about event to come. Rather, there already were the Last Days. The representative cases were the providence centered on Noah and Jesus' time. There are chronous (?) and chiros(?) as meaning time in the Bible. Chronous(?) can be called horizontal and chiros as vertical. A decisive point of the chiros is the very time if the Last Days. When we see God's providence, we can find that there is time when He is keeping silence and time when He is responding. So the history of salvation was developed through events. God always did those events through men. All the central figures in the Bible are participants of the providence. Accordingly, the will is gained through the ability of God who intervenes with the work coupled with the central figure's fulfillment of responsibility. This is not to limit God's power at all. Therefore, the providence toward the Last Days is not fulfilled by God's ability alone. It needs man's portion of responsibility. God dispensed a big epochal providence with His work at Noah's time: "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth (Genesis 6:13)" This corresponds to the providence of the Last Days. God commanded the providence in order to end, with the flood judgment, the 1600 year history of the sinful history since the fall of man. That time was the Last Days since God carried out the providence in order to start the history of goodness by realizing the ideal world under God's dominion centered on the family of Noah, a just man of his time (Genesis 6:9). However with the failure of the second son, Ham, in fulfilling his responsibility in front of heaven's will (Genesis 9:22), the will of providence could not be accomplished. Next, Jesus' day was also the Last Days. Since God's purpose of the providence of restoration is absolute, the providence goes on. So God selected Israel as the chosen nation and sent Jesus after 2000 year preparation. Prophet Malachi said, "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly, will be subtle. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," says the LORD of hosts, "that will leave them neither root nor branch" (Malachi 4:1). Jesus himself said that he came as the master of judgement and would restore the kingdom (John 5:22). All this shows the will of realizing the ideal world Then was that accomplished? Is the evil world cleansed? No! Sin is going on. In other words, due to the disbelief of the Jews and their failure to fulfill their responsibilities, the providence of restoration was prolonged until the time of the Lord's Second Advent. (We will talk more about this in the Completed Message part.)
Thus, there will be the providence of restoration at the time of the Second Advent of the Lord, too. The purpose of the Second Advent is to restore the sinful world of Satan into the world of God's world of goodness. That's why Jesus said that "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man" (Luke 17:26) and Matthew 24:29 predicted a surprising miracle and change in heaven and on earth. In sum, the providence of restoration is sure to be accomplished because the will of God is absolute. As we saw previously, the end of darkness is the beginning of light and, consequently, the age of hope. The end of the world has qualitative meaning, not quantitative one. The fall of a country lies in the loss of sovereignty, and Jesus' miracle changes water into wine. Likewise, chiros (?) of qualitative change when this world transfers into the world of goodness centered on God is the very Last Days and this shall be perfected through the event, the Last Days.
5. Explanation of the Signs that Will Happen in the Last Days
Now let us interpret symptoms in the Bible related to the Last Days. As was explained before, God cannot realize the world of goodness with the sinful world intact.
Accordingly, He is doing the providence of the Last Days. The human history is the process of realizing the heavenly kingdom on earth, but the Bible records that the heaven and earth will be destroyed, there will be judgment by fire. This is, for sure, contradictory. God, who pays more attention to one lost sheep than to the found ninety nine sheep, cannot lead the providence into the direction of destruction. Here is the reason why we have to interprets the Bible. It is because there are verses which we cannot believe literally as they are written.
For example, if we are to believe the judgment be fire literally, Christians will be the first who suffer a burn. At Jesus' metaphor of ten virgins about the attitude of expecting the Second Advent, he told them to prepare oil. If we interpret the oil literally, there surely will be a fire. What an absurd interpretation! Then can we interpret judgment by fire literally while quibbling that we have to interpret the oil as figurative expression? Important parts in the Bible are expressed with metaphor and symbols. While saying that he is speaking in parables, Jesus told his disciples, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:9) and promised, "These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father" (John 16:25).
Today hundreds of denominations of Christianity have their own dogma.
The structure of conflict among denominations is very acute. Mentioning about the progressive tendencies of churches, Professor A Ron Park, conservative theologian, said, "Some indiscreet liberal theologians of Korea compromise with the modern atheism and even try the combination of Christianity and thoughts of other religions while judging the the history of pious faith and orthodox theological history of almost 100 year old Korean church, and laughing at the historic Christian faith, which is the pride of Korean church. How can we not lament this situation?"
(Modern Theology, A-Ron Park, p.15)
"There is a danger in that ecumenical Christianity is pro-Communist and New Evangelism is seeking to have dialogue and contact with that ecumenical Christianity." (Ibid., p.30)
The overcome of that situation is possible through the promised new word. Just as if Jesus set straight the Jew's misunderstanding of the Sabbath by saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27), we can get a clear answer from the new word.
6. Heaven and Earth Destroyed and a New Heaven and a New Earth Created
looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (II Peter 3:12).
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (Revelation 21:1)
The above verses show that there certainly will be a big change. While the Genesis 6:13 said that God will destroy the earth at the time of Noah, the Last Days, He did not perish the earth, actually. Besides, the world is recorded to exist eternally in the following verses.
One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever (Ecclesiastes 1:4).
And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever (Psalms 78:69).
How are we supposed to interpret the two aspects in the Bible? As was pointed out, we have to interpret them in the general context of the providence. If we are to interpret them in material sense, the realization of the heavenly kingdom on earth will be made impossible. It leads us to the conclusion that this world gets perished by Satan.
Therefore, we have to see 'heaven and earth destroyed, and a new world and a new earth built' in qualitative sense. This signifies 'the change of sovereignty' that rules this world. To perish a nation means to crumble the current sovereignty, to destroy the sinful world of Satan's dominion resulted from man's fall, and to restore the world into an ideal world that God governs.
7. Heaven and Earth Judged by Fire
Most Christians believe the judgment by fire literally as it is written in the Bible looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (II Peter 3:12). The prophet Malachi of the Old Testament said that Jesus will judge by fire when he comes (Malachi 4:1), and Jesus also said, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49).
" However, there is no trace that Jesus judged by fire. Then the Bible must have symbolized something. There must be some symbolic meaning. We can notice that the word 'fire' in the Bible is recorded as related to the 'word.' "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "and like hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:29). James 3:6 also says that the tongue is a fire, indicating the possibility that judgment by fire is judgment by word. Here are biblical verses about judgment by word. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day (John 12:48). And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming (II Thessalonians 2:8). but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked (Isaiah 11:4). Jesus said in John 5:24 that those who "believe in his word and God shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." Seen in this way, judgment by fire represents judgment by word. Besides, there is a reason for having to do judgment by word. The process of creation of the universe as is described in the first chapter of the Genesis explains that God created the world with word. The first chapter of John testifies this.
Accordingly, God's ideal of creation that had to be accomplished by human ancestors as substantial body of word could not be fulfilled because of man's failure to become obey God's word and to become substantial body of word.
To recover this is salvation, restoration, and recreation. This should be done by word. In other words, salvation is the providence of restoration through truth. For this reason, Jesus mentioned "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14) and incarnation as his identity as the Messiah, and left behind eternal truth.
8. The Dead Rise from Their Tombs
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:17). Many Christians, based on this, are looking forward to this day of being caught up in the air. Could this happen as it is written? Seen from the law of nature that God gave to man, this cannot be understood at all.
The question here is whether the 'air' mentioned here means the 'heaven' in spacial meaning. The fact is that heaven and earth written in the Bible are not the spacial concept. God is omnipresent and dwells in the lives of those who believe. For all of that, Matthew 6:9 says, "Our Father in heaven." Despite the fact that Jesus was born on earth, he is described as 'He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven" (John 3:13).
Therefore, we can see that the heaven written in the Bible means the 'good sovereignty' without sin and the earth, the fallen world of evil sovereignty. To receive Jesus in the air does not mean body going up into the air, but receiving Jesus in the good sovereignty under God's dominion away from the sinful world of evil sovereignty.
Furthermore, the verses do not have literal meaning because God's purpose of creation is not supposed to be realized in the air. Jesus' feature denies Docetism(?). Namely, it is historic Jesus' feature. The following verses explain that the ideal world will be realized in history. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18). And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward (Matthew 10:42). (The physical resurrection that the dead rise from their tombs was dealt with in the First issue(?) of the Completed Testament Message.)
9. Korean Churches! Wake Up from the Dream!
2000 years ago, several fishermen, prostitutes, and tax collectors were wandering about the lakeside of Galilee. They were groups of people who even grind ears of wheat out of hunger, while ignoring the Sabbath which Judaism values very much and curing the sick. The Jews names their young leader as "a man who is possessed by god(?)" or " a man attached by Beelzebub and scolded him.
The young man even tried not to go to the Jewish land in the south, away from them. Instead, he roamed about Galilee, the alienated land. Jesus lamented, "Even the bird in the air has a house and a fox has a den. However, I don't even have a place to put my head on."
In the end, without even being able to elucidate the truth, he was nailed to a cross amid mockery. Well, what worldwide significance can it have at such a situation? The event, however, was spread and came to govern the world since God's providence stayed there. This is God's providence, and historical consciousness that can examine today.
That's why we have to be attentive to new word now. The very time of the promise has come. We should not repeat the sorry situation as can be seen in the following verse. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:12). There should not be a deplorable lamentation of Matthew 23:27 any more: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Korean churches, what in the world are you going to do? Are you going to ignore the sound of moan heard from the marsh of death and just look up the sky, waiting for the day of being caught up in the sky? Does the cross in a neon sign signify Jesus or the Babel Tower I shout with an aching heart.
You, Korean churches, wake up!
Rise and give off light!
The time of the promise has arrived.
Come out to a wilderness! And liberate the suffering God!
Stop God's lamentation!
Amen.
(Completed Testament Message, II, June, 1993)
