God chose to bless the Ishmaelites directly and set up a 2nd providence to complement and counterbalance Christianity if needed by sending the prophet Mohammed. Historically, Islam is the only major prophetic religion to appear since Jesus gave birth to Christianity. This makes Mohammed the last of the Abrahamic prophets.

Viewing the difficulty of Christianity to spread out across the world and establish a foundation to receive the Coming of Christ in the Last Days, Mohammed was called to purify the lineage of Ishmael, to separate it from idolatry and to provide it with a clear understanding of God's truth so it could fulfill a providential role in preparing for the true parents.

Note: Prophet Mohammed came to Ishmael's descendants who were burying babies in the desert if they were girls and worshiping idols. Unlike Jesus who came upon the foundation of Moses, "the learnt wisdom and established culture of the Old Testament", Mohammed had to raise the culture from pre-Formation Level to the top of the Growth Level. Thus within Islam there is a natural focus on the Old Testament Rule of Law, but Islam also contains the essence of Jesus' message of love and forgiveness. However it is easy for Muslims to get stuck in the Old Testament Era thinking because of the quantity of daily life details.

Following the restoration time periods, establishing the Foundation of Faith and then the Foundation of Substance, Mohammed laid a foundation for true parents with Ishmael's descendants, bringing them directly into the orbit of the central providence of restoration. Just as Jacob, Moses, and Jesus -- Mohammad had 3 Courses to his Providential Foundation Mohammad's 1st Course (Tribal Level)

Prophet Mohammad was born in 570 A.D., the son of an illustrious family. Because his father died before he was born and his mother when he was only six, Mohammad was cared for by his grandfather and raised by his uncle. At age twelve, he met a Syrian monk who predicted that some day he would become a great prophet of God. As a young man, he worked as a shepherd, as did Prophet Moses and King David.

Throughout his youth Mohammad was distinguished by his refined manners, extreme righteousness and absolute chastity, so much so, that his companions nicknamed him "al-Amin" (the true and reliable). At age 25 he married his employer, the rich and much older Khadijah (40) who restored the historic mother position. His wife had been a prosperous merchant and Mohammad was so capable as a trader that the couple lived in very comfortable circumstances. His love for Khadijah was deep and lasting. Until her death a quarter century after their marriage, he took no other wife. Because of her being 15 years older than Mohammad, Khadijah was able to help Mohammad restore three kinds of lost love: brother/sister love before their marriage, mother/son love through her guiding and supporting Mohammad, and husband/wife love through believing Mohammad's relationship with God and his mission was more important than their personal relationship. This was typified by Khadijah insisting to Mohammad to believe in and accept his mission, although it meant great difficulty and sacrifice for her.

By temperament, Mohammad was restrained and talked little. Where his own personal rights and prerogatives were concerned, the Prophet was always yielding and indulgent. Even when he had subsequently won high position and great power, his life remained simple and frugal. Pomp and luxury were avoided at all times by the Prophet and his family. It was in this way that Mohammad established a -foundation of faith -- to become the central figure.

Even though he lived surrounded by wealth and the possibility of living an easy life, Mohammad never let this change his readiness to endure hardship and suffering to discover deeper truths and serve God. Consequently, when God called Mohammad to Prophethood at age 40, he without hesitation sacrificed the pleasures of a worldly life (physical wealth) to accept his mission.

After establishing a foundation of faith, Mohammad had to next establish a foundation of substance to remove fallen natures. This was to be accomplished by his first gaining 3, then 12 people to recognize and support his Prophethood (willing to risk their lives supporting him) and progressively gaining 70 disciples to complete the tribal level.

When Mohammad discovered that his dreams turned out to be accurate predictions of the future, he became interested in spending as much time as possible in mediation. While fasting and praying in solitude at Mt. Hira, north of Mecca, he saw a vision of the archangel Gabriel. The angel then told Mohammad to read.

Naturally, Mohammad was completely overcome, even a little fearful of his sanity. When he told his wife what had occurred, she reassured him. So did her cousin (Warqa-bin-Naufal) who predicted that he would be the prophet announced by Jesus 600 years earlier. As Mohammad received further revelations he began to gather his family of disciples (3 then 12) -- Khadijah, Abu Bakr, Ali -- then Saad, Zohair, Talha, Othman, Abdur Rahman son of Auf, Abu Obeida, Othman son of Mazun, Abu Salma, Obeida son of Al-Harith. After 3 years his following numbered 40, which brought to a close his secret preaching and saw him make his first public announcement of his Prophethood.

During the next 4 years Mohammad proceeded to restore a tribe of believers by teaching and strengthening at least 70 believers, and he also proceeded to restore a clan of believers by insisting to the Quraish tribes publicly that there is only one God and that they must leave their worship of idols. Through this demanding the people leave their evil ways and because of the power he was gaining by an increase of supporters, Mohammad aroused intense opposition. Men called him a fool, a bigot, a mad poet, and a man possessed by demons.

To restore symbolically the 3 blessings and to restore the loss of Jesus' success over Satan's 3 temptations, Mohammad underwent 3 temptations offered by the Quraish. A deputation approached the Prophet and offered the following tempting terms to leave his give up his mission.

Mohammad's rejection of the Quraish temptations was viewed as an insult which increased their plotting to get rid of him. However, because Mohammad had successfully restored the tribal level (by uniting his powerful tribal kinfolk, Banu Hashim, around himself as the Prophet) the Quraish were unable to attack or kill the Prophet physically, without confronting the whole tribe in a bloody battle. Consequently, as a new scheme to destroy the Prophet and his protective tribe, the Quraish issued a formal social and economic ban (blockade) on the Banu Hashim tribe. This ban was a public rejection of Mohammad's prophethood by most of the Quraish tribes, signified the failure of the clan level restoration at this point, and brings to close the first 7 year course of alternative restoration, with tribal level restoration fulfilled. Mohammad's 2nd Course of Restoration (Clan Level)

The Banu Hashim tribe lived in a state of want for 3 full years, suffering often the pangs of hunger and thirst. During these 3 years and the following 3 years the Hashim tribe endured persecution with constant faith in God and Prophet Mohammad (never complaining) and through such suffering, established a condition to separate Satan from themselves. The followers of Mohammad supported and protected him at all times, even though their physical lives were often threatened with death.

This constant support of the Prophet restored the failure of the followers of Jesus, who fled away from Prophet/Messiah Jesus, when their personal lives became endangered because of his persecution. This constant faith established the Hashim tribe in the Abel position under the leadership of Prophet Mohammad.

In the 10th year of Mohammad's mission, just after the end of the Quraish boycott, Khdijah and Mohammad's dear uncle and protector (Hazrat Abu Talib) died. With the loss of these two powerful and great supporters, the Prophet and Hashim tribe had to face grave difficulties. Because of this constant rejection and apparent impossibility of the Quraish tribes (Cain position) uniting with the Hashim tribe (Abel position), Mohammad decided to go elsewhere to establish the clan level restoration.

Therefore, for the purpose of clan level restoration, Mohammad journeyed to a town called Taif, 40 miles from Mecca. Here he stayed for 10 days teaching the people his revelations, in spite of constant rejections and ridicule.

Unfortunately no one accepted Islam there and the Prophet himself endured a stoning that drew much blood and threatened his life. However, the indemnity condition established through Mohammad's keeping faith in God (on the clan level) while suffering so and faced with the threat of death, allowed him to successfully begin the clan level restoration, a short time later during the pilgrimage to Mecca of many outside tribes.

The Holy Prophet called on each of these outside tribes (who were performing the Pilgrimage) and expounded to them the theories of Islam. However, the Quraish and Abu Lahab managed as usual to see that none of the outsiders paid any attention to the Prophet, and the consequence was that whenever Mohammad approached any tribe, it harshly rejected him. This rejection continued until Mohammad met a few men from the Khazraj tribe of Median. Now these particular men knew and were expecting a Prophet as prophesied in the Jewish scriptures and when they grasped the beauty of Mohammad's teachings, they believed at once that he was the prophesied Prophet. These men then returned to Medina and began to spread the good news of Mohammad's Prophethood. The following year 12 men from Medina visited Mecca and promised to support Mohammad and his mission with their lives, at what is called the Pledge of Aqaba.

This Pledge of Aqaba and the consequent spreading of Islam to various tribes in Medina by these 12 men and Mohammad's disciple (Musab-bin-Umair), successfully established Mohammad's restoration work beyond the tribe level into the clan level. Islam spread fast in Medina, sometimes whole tribes accepting in one day. The next year's pilgrimage brought roughly 70 men to Mecca to make the Pledge of Aqaba. At this time the Medinans invited Mohammad to return to Medina and lead their tribes. Mohammad however, decided to wait for God's command to transfer the center of his work from Mecca to Medina.

By the time of the 70 Medinans' Pledge of Aqaba, the persecution of the Moslems in Mecca had reached its summit and all known forms of torture were obstinately meted out to the Muslims. Consequently, the Prophet decided that the persecution might end in a general massacre and so he advised his followers to seek immediate safety in Medina. Under perfect secrecy the Moslem families in twos and threes left Mecca and went over to Medina where they were warmly received.

The foundation of substance is established by the person or people in the Cain position uniting with the leadership of the Abel position, and by the Abel position taking responsibility to help and protect the Cain position, at the sacrifice of their life. The Banu Hashim (Mecca) Tribe was in the position of Abel, while the various different Medinan tribes were in the position of Cain. Each of these tribes overcame their fallen natures (feelings of jealousy, pride, etc.) and embraced each other with love and service. Each Ansar or Medinan Moslem took a brother emigrant (who had sacrificed his home, happiness and wealth for the sake of Islam) and placed half of his house, goods, and business concerns at the Meccan Moslems' disposal. The emigrant Moslems in turn did not take undue advantage of such offers, but continued to follow Mohammad's example of sacrifice. In this manner the followers of Mohammad successfully established the Clan Level Foundation of Substance.

The successful union of the various tribes now following Mohammad in Medina, made a condition that allowed Mohammad to flee his would-be assassins and transfer the center of God's restoration work from Mecca to Medina. Therefore, Mohammad after receiving divine revelation to migrate left Mecca in the 13th year of his public mission.

On the particular night he was to be assassinated, he had Ali sleep in his bed, while he and Abu Bakr slipped away unnoticed. His tricking the Quraish assassins restored Satan's tricking Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The first 3 days of Mohammad's escaping Mecca, found him hiding in a cave.

Once in Medina, Mohammad proceeded to unite and strengthen the various tribes into one strong clan. This Mohammad did by teaching them the deeper aspects of Islam, by establishing civic laws and by building a mosque; the first place where the people could unite around the Prophet physically in prayer centered on God. The building of the mosque and it's sincere use, restored the invasion of the Jewish temple and Christian church and brought to a close the second 7-year course of Alternative Restoration (with clan level success).

Medina proved to be a very fertile soil for Islam. The city was inhabited mostly by the tribes of Aus and hzraj. Other tribes rapidly entered the fold of Islam. Some Jewish tribes also lived in the city. The Holy Prophet made a treaty of mutual help with them. There followed a short era of peace and prosperity for the Muslims in Medina. Mosques were erected, the call to prayer was regulated, and all had the freedom to follow the faith unmolested. Islam grew in power and influence day by day.

Because of the open hearted acceptance of Islam by the Medinan tribes, what we shall call the Medinan Clan assumed the position of Abel on the clan level, after Mecca's rejection of Islam. As such, it was their responsibility to carry out a mission of love and peace by spreading Islam across the whole Arab world, under the guidance of Prophet Mohammad. The rest of the Arabian Clans existed in the Cain Position, which meant they were supposed to submit themselves to the leadership of the Medinan Clan (the purpose being spiritual purification through embracing Islam).

To begin the 3rd course of Mohammad's restoration work (the national level, centering on the Medinan Clan) the Medinan Clan had to establish a foundation of faith. This came in the form of a difficult test of faith; a Moslem army of only 313 (poorly equipped and ill prepared) men to fight against a Quraish army of 1,000 men (who were well armed and were riding on 300 horses and 700 camels). To the mighty Quraish, the Muslim army looked like a flock of sheep waiting to be butchered.

In spite of overwhelming odds of defeat, the Medinan Clan kept faith in God and followed Mohammad to face a formidable oppressor. This constant faith and support of Mohammad allowed the Medinan Clan to restore the failure of the Jewish people to support Moses and later Prophet Jesus, when they were faced with a similar situation. Upon this condition of faith, God gave Divine Support and converted all the physical weakness into unconquerable strength. Thus, the small Moslem army managed to overpower and defeat the overwhelmingly mighty Quraish army and firmly establish themselves in the Abel position. Here in Al-i-Imran, we find God confirming His choice and support of the Median Clan in the Abel position. Further proof of the worthiness of Mohammad and his followers to be in the position closer to God is the fact that while the battle was at it's height, the Holy Prophet (with tears streaming down his eyes) was praying to God to help the helpless and wounded among the Muslims, as well as the enemy.

The victory of faith (at Badr) allowed the Medianan Clan to assume the position of Abel on the Clan level. It now became their responsibility to extend the restoration foundation to the national level under the guidance of Prophet Mohammad. This they did through living and teaching Islam with forgiving love, patience, and humble service to all the surrounding Clans.

The surprise success of the Muslims in the Battle of Badr had a startling effect on the many neighboring tribes. It started them thinking that the Muslims were helped by some kind of a Supreme Being and resulted in many of them embracing Islam. Over the next 6 years, thousands of believers entered the Islamic faith because of the many victories gained against formidable attackers and through the patience teaching of Mohammad's disciples. This growth continued until finally the Islamic Clan was ready to return to Mecca and subjugate the Satan controlled idol worshipers.

In December 629 A.D. 10,000 Moslems marched to Mecca to put an end to Satan's constant attacks on Islam and to establish a God-centered-nation. They did not encamp until they reached Marr-uz-Zahran, a place only a few hours journey from Mecca. The Prophet then ordered huge fires to be lit in every camp. This gave the Quraish the impression that the strength of the Muslim army was considerably greater than it really was and they consequently surrendered without any attempt at resistance. It was a peaceful conquest without the shedding of blood.

After entering the city and assuring the people of no revenge, Mohammad promptly proceeded to the Kaba and cleaned it of its idols. This Mohammad did by touching each idol of stone with his stick (which represented the stick that Moses struck evil with) and by reciting the Quranic verse: "Say the Truth has (now) Arrived, and Falsehood perished: For Falsehood is (by its nature) Bound to perish." (Bani Israil 81)

Next, the Prophet gave a sermon about the beautiful unity of God and about the underlying principle of unity between amn and man (about universal brotherhood). He then forgave every one of their sins against Islam, regardless of the graveness; for example Hinda (who ate the liver of Hamza -- the Prophet's dear uncle). This unparalleled forgiving love was something beyond the Quraish people's wildest dreams or expectations. This resulted in most of the Mecca Clan embracing Islam and humbling themselves to Mohammad and the Medinan Clan's leadership -- thus establishing the foundation of substance on the National Level.

In the year following the Medinan Clan's successful entrance into Mecca, Mohammad firmly secured the foundation of substance for the National Level Restoration. This he did by receiving representatives from surrounding clans and absorbing them into the newly forming Islamic nation. A few larger tribes were subjugated with force when they tried to block the forming of this nation centered on God.

Also during this period many governing principles were revealed to integrate and unify these many different clans into one strong, God-serving nation. Thus, after three 7-year courses (21 years), Prophet Mohammad succeeded in restoring a nation to God.

From the foundation of restoration of a nation to God, Mohammad next proceeded to spread Islam to the Kingdom Level. This he did during the last year of his life by sending representatives to surrounding nations. However, the work of uniting many nations around Islam had to be completed by the Caliphs, for the Prophet Mohammad died 1 1/2 years after beginning the Kingdom Level Restoration (of natural causes). We will study this and the rest of Islamic History parallel to Christian History, for from this time Of Mohammad till today, God has been working through two main brotherhood religions to restore the world.

1. All of humankind is invited to the Kingdom of Heaven and it is up to each person to choose to follow the Prophet or not.

2. One must be prepared to sacrifice all to go God's way of life.

3. Victory will come to the righteous man when he has entrusted his life in humble service and complete faith to God

4. Humankind must not just wait for Satan to attack first and then defend himself, but each person must wage an active war (Holy Jihad) within himself to remove all evil bases Satan can use to pull him away from God.

5. God's will (the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth) is absolute and the work to accomplish such is passed from one Prophet to another until such is accomplished.

6. We must be prepared to leave our family and loved ones if they prevent us from living a truly God-centered way of life, just as Mohammad had to flee Mecca to Medina to have the freedom to follow God's way of life.

7. The more you love God the more you must be prepared to suffer, endure persecution and serve your accusing brother.

8. God will forgive the greatest sinner if he humbles himself in repentance before God

Following the Jewish 400 years of slavery in Egypt and the death of Prophet Moses, came the Period of Judges, which lasted for 400 years. Restitution for the Period of Judges was made by the period of Church Patriarchs and by the Period of Holy Caliphs.

Comparable to the military efforts of Joshua and the activity of the Hebrew leaders known as judges, was the rule of the first four Muslim caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. From the Biblical book of Judges we learn the Jewish leaders took 400 years to solidify Israel's precarious hold on Canaan. Like Joshua, Gideon and Samson, the first four Moslem caliphs were men of righteousness living in an age of war. Life was hard and often harsh. Through their military victories they extended the Kingdom of Islamic rule, nearly from the borders of India to the borders of Spain. Likewise, after their triumph over the Roman Empire, the Christians moved rapidly across the European continent and, facilitated by the Germanic tribes who were taking refuge within the confines of the Roman Empire, they quickly spread the teachings of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire and other parts of the world.

The characteristic duties of the judges, the church patriarchs, and the caliphs were very similar -- to lead the faithful believers of the word. Most of the judges were prophets -- they acted as both chief religious leaders and kings. The Christian patriarchs (bishops) performed similar roles -- they acted as both chief religious leaders and kings in the main cities of the Roman Empire. Each of the Holy Caliphs assumed the responsibility of a prophet -- they acted as both the chief religious leader and king of the newly formed Islamic Empire. During this time the political and economic system

Note: The time periods in Islamic Restoration are not exact because the beginning point is later than Christianity; however the pattern and restoration events are the same.

At the close of the Period of Judges, the Prophet Samuel anointed Saul and made him the first king of Israel. Following Saul, were King David and King Solomon who each reigned for 40 years, bringing the duration of the United Jewish Kingdom to 120 years. The loss of the United Jewish Kingdom was restored in Islam through the United Islamic Kingdom and in the Christianity through the United Christian Kingdom.

Thus, as Prophet Samuel anointed Saul King, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as the first emperor (king) of the united Christian Empire, commonly known as the "Holy Roman Empire". Through this, the previous responsibilities held solely by the pope, were distributed over two positions: the king being responsible for economical, political and military interests while the pope was responsible to guide the religious and spiritual development of the Empire.

In the period of the United Christian Kingdom, all the conditions belonging to the period of the United Jewish Kingdom had to be restored. Consequently, the central figure to restore through indemnity the foundation of faith had to be a king, reflecting the position of kingship from the earlier Jewish period.

While the Islamic Kingdom prospered and expanded under the Umayyad monarchs, so also the Christian Kingdom prospered and expanded under the leadership of Charlemagne. Through uniting the existing Christian nations and through expanding Christianity across most of Europe, Charlemagne was able to establish a vast empire. During his reign education, the arts, architecture and new idealistic concepts became significant for the first time in Christian culture.

With the tragic death of Ali and the accession of Mu'awiya (the shrewd governor of Syria), the age of the Caliphs came to an end. The highest position of power (caliphate) now changed in purpose from that of guiding the establishment of a God-centered Islamic World to worldly, political dynastic rule. For about a century (661-750 A.D.) the Umayyad Dynasty ruled as caliphs from the new Moslem capital they established in Damascus. During this time, Mecca and Medina remained the religious centers of Islam, while the political and military focus of Moslem power shifted to the crossroads of the Near East (Damascus). Just as Hebrew life grew and flowered under the century long reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, the Islamic civilization prospered and greatly expanded under the Umayyad monarchs. Following the pattern of Saul and David being soldier-statesmen, the Umayyad caliphs pushed the Muslim armies to establish a vast Islamic Empire, bordering France, North Africa, India, China and Russia. The period of the United Islamic Kingdom gradually created an Islamic civilization famed for it's medicine, poetry, architecture, jurisprudence, philosophy, arabesque designs, calligraphy and mysticism.

Since in both, Christianity and Islam the responsibilities of leadership (religious/spiritual and economic/political) were divided between two positions it was essential that these two positions co-operate and unite around the common goal of establishing a new world centered on God and His principles revealed by both Jesus and Prophet Mohammad. Through such unity within both the vast empires of both would have developed pure and been ready to receive and follow the True Parents in the Last Days. Upon such a foundation of unity the True Parents would have come to the world, would have guided the Islamic and Christian Kingdoms to unite as one vast empire centered on God and thus established the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. However, because this unity did not take place and because the fallen nature of selfish greed caused the successful political and economical expansion to become centered on selfish gains, rather than God's purpose a foundation to receive the True Parents wasn't established and God consequently divided both Kingdoms.

Although King Solomon succeeded in erecting the temple, the Jewish people did not uphold faith in it and the nation of Israel became contaminated with heathen practices. Because of this invasion of Satan, God divided the Jewish Kingdom into the Northern Kingdom of Israel (centering on 10 tribes in the position of Cain) and into the Southern Kingdom of Judah (centering on 2 tribes in the position of Abel). Here we find God separating relative good from the invasion of evil influences, until the relative good portion can become purified and revitalized enough to return to the other portion and bring it closer to God. Now following God's restoration pattern, after the Southern Kingdom gained some revitalized spiritual strength, they sent many Minor Prophets (Elijah, Jonah, Hosea, Amos) to the Northern Kingdom to awaken them from their evil ways and urge them to repent. Regretfully they refused to give up their fallen ways and even proceeded to invade the isolated Southern Kingdom with their evilness. Consequently God decided to destroy the Northern Kingdom with the Assyrian people rather than have the Abel position corrupted.

Similar to the Jewish Kingdom, the Christian Kingdom was also divided into 2 major divisions: East Franks and West Franks. This took place because of political disputes of Emperor Charlemagne's grandsons. Also at this time the Christian Church became divided into -- the Eastern Orthodox Church and The Roman Catholic Church. This took place because of disputes over the application of Jesus' teachings and the method of worship. The Roman Catholic Church worked closely with the East Frankish Empire (later to become Germany) during this time. The Roman Catholic Church (papacy) was in the position of Abel at this point.

With the papacy holding such power, it was an opportune time for Christianity to spread it's ideals and ethics. If the papacy had remained righteous and acted according to the Will of God during it's zenith of power, Christendom would have been very close to a tangible realization of God's ideal kingdom at that time. However often the papacy abused its power for personal, political and economic gain. This caused Christianity and the papacy to wander far from being the true channels of God's Will and thus as fast as the papacy had ascended, it now began to descend. As when the Jewish people became corrupted during the United Jewish Kingdom and God sent prophets into their midst as means of awakening them from their sinful ways, God also tried to persuade the papacy to leave their corrupted ways through warning s from holy men (monks) like Saint Francis of Assisi. However, the papacy turned a deaf ear to the cries of these holy reformers and continued their evil ways. God thereafter used military defeats by Moslem armies to punish the papacy and reveal to the common people that God was no longer working through the papacy and the corrupted church leadership.

A similar pattern befell the United Islamic Kingdom. In 747 A.D. the Abbasids, who claimed descent from an uncle of Mohammad (al-Abbas), openly revolted against their cousins the Umayyad Caliphs, which consequently divided the Islamic Kingdom.

The Umayyad rulers had been widely criticized for their luxurious life-style, their Epicurean Morality (gross sensualism) and their merely nominal piety. Following the pattern of Jeroboam (the disaffected court official) and Abijah (the prophet that led the opposition to Solomon's son), ambitious Arab generals and critical Moslem religious spokesmen mounted opposition to the Umayyads. The Abbasid rebels were resourceful, cunning and often ruthless in getting what they wanted. Civil war broke out in many places and blood was shed profusely. The Abbasids won the throne with a sword and remained in power because of the beheadings carried out by their executioners. For 500 years (747-1258) the Abbasid Caliphs ruled the Middle East.

During the time the Abbasids were attacking the Umayyads, a member of the Umayyad royal family escaped to Spain and established a new caliphate there which lasted until 1492 A.D. During this time both the Abbasid dynasty and the Umayyad dynasty flourished economically, intellectually and politically, but the both declined spiritually. God thereupon sent many holy Islamic Men (Sufis) to urge them to repent and leave their materialistic, selfish ways for face divine retribution. Unfortunately they didn't listen and God eventually punished and destroyed the caliphs and the Islamic Kingdom through attacking armies.

Because the Jewish people worshiped idols, did not follow the laws revealed by Prophet Moses and allowed many other practices which were evil in God's eyes, God sent many Minor Prophets to awaken them to the true way of life. However since Jewish people failed to heed the entreaties of these holy men, God allowed the destruction of the Northern Jewish Kingdom with attacking Assyrians and the educated portion of the Southern Jewish Kingdom taken captive and brought to Babylon for over 70 years.

At the end of 70 years of exile in Babylon, Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylonia and permitted the Jewish people to return to Palestine. This return was accomplished in 3 states over a period of 140 years. Thus, from the beginning of their exile to the end or their return, 210 years elapsed. Once they actually returned to their land, they actively began to set up a nation centered on one God (under the guidance of Prophet Malachi) and prepare to receive the True Parents.

Similarly, when the papacy and church leadership refused to follow the direction indicated by dedicated monks and holy men and persisted in their corruption and distortion of Christianity, God first reprimanded them with defeat by Moslem armies during the 7 Christian Crusades to recapture the Holy Land. God's purpose in their defeat was to shock them into an understanding that they had left the Principles of Jesus and if they continued such evil practices, God would no longer support them. Sadly even the defeat of the Crusaders could not bring the Church to purify its practice. Thus, when the papacy did not correct it's evils despite many warnings and chastisements, it was exiled into the hands of the French king into Avignon. Since the church had so often and so disastrously meddled in politics, the powerful king of France ordered the papacy and his hierarchy of leaders to move from Rome to Avignon, where he could keep his eye on or control it. For about 70 years the popes were little more than vassals of the French monarchy (1309-1377. It was a period of humiliation for the Vatican and dismay for the church as a whole. This patterned the Jewish exile.

After 70 years of papal captivity in Avignon, another pope in Rome was elected so for a time there were two popes in authority. The next years were ones of confusion with the papacy being transferred back and forth from Avignon to Rome. At one time there were even 3 popes, until at last the papacy was permanently settled in Rome. Once reinstated in Rome, the papacy gradually revived, but by that time the prestige of the papacy, the spiritual strength of the church and the unity of the Christian people had severely deteriorated. According to the pattern of God's restoration history, the time was now drawing near to the final stage of preparation for the coming of the Messiah as True Parents. However, the foundation for their coming still had yet to be accomplished so God carried out an intensive preparation plan to lay the necessary foundation within the next 400 years. This plan was the Reformation of the Christian Church (1517 A.D.) which was ignited by Martin Luther, a figure comparable to Prophet Malachi.

Because the caliphs, sultans and grand-viziers paid scant attention to the Sufi and Moslem holy men's supplication to leave their materialistic ways and return to pure Islam, God's punishment was inevitable. In a similar pattern to the Assyrian destruction of the Northern Jewish Kingdom God's punishment reached the Moslems through the Mongol's' execution of the Gaghdad caliph and near total destruction of the Abbasid Kingdom (1216-1258 A.D.) and through the Christian Crusaders' attacks on the Umayyad Kingdom (1095-1291 A.D).

After the destruction of the Abbasid Kingdom, the Moslems experienced a period of political weakness, moral disorganization and religious division. In place of one empire, "Dar al-Islam", there were in fact more than a half dozen separate Moslem sultanates in Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, Persia, India and the nominal Moslem empire of the Mongol khans. Thus from a period of reduced, captive Islamic power and from the ashes of a Moslem world mauled by Frankish crusaders and devastated by Mongol cavalry, Islam again rose to power through the expansion of the Ottoman Empire of the Turks. This return to political power was completed with the entering of Constantinople by Mehmed II in 1453 A.D. and through the golden age of the Turks (1453-1566 A.D.). As mentioned in the previous section the time was now drawing near to the final stage of preparation for the coming of the Messianic True Parents and yet the Moslem world still did not have a foundation to understand or receive the Messiah. Consequently, God began an intensive program to reform (purify) the Moslem people. This was accomplished by Suleyman (the 10th Ottoman sultan, (1520-1566 A.D.), a figure comparable to Prophet Malachi and Martin Luther.

The Jewish people after returning from the Babylonian captivity began a 400 year period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah in Israel. Upon returning they promptly re-erected the destroyed Temple of God and under the inspiration of Prophet Malachi studied deeply their religion. This period was similar in significance to the 400 years of slavery in Egypt; a period to purify themselves through intense indemnity. Consequently, this period was one of incredible hardship as they were invaded and controlled by foreign powers time after time: Persia, Greece, Egypt, Syria and Rome.

These tribulations however were valuable in that they influenced the Jewish people to abandon their hopes for an earthly, materialistic life of ease and look forward to God for relief. They longed for a mighty deliverer who would free them from their oppressors. Deep in their hearts was the feeling that, if God cared at all for them, He would act soon. The ardent hope for a supernatural deliverance from their suffering grew with an increasing flood of "Last Days" literature. All this suffering worked to prepare them to receive the Messiah, by increasing their faith in God. These new religious longings, coupled with the prophecies of Prophet Malachi concerning the coming of the Messiah caused a religious revival in the Jewish people, which resulted in a foundation of faith being established that the Messiah could come upon.

After the reinstatement of the papacy in Rome, a period of intensive preparation for the coming of the Messianic True Parents began. This period was for 400 years (1517-1917) and restored the lost 400 year Jewish preparation period. These 400 years were something like a general review of studies right before a final examination. A person comparable to Malachi -- Martin Luther began this preparation period when he ignited one of the greatest spiritual revolutions ever known in history, the Christian Church Reformation. Because of Christian's loss of faith in the papacy and the rise of the Renaissance, this new movement of protest swept the whole continent of Europe into revolt. The Protestant Reformation was important for the Christians to understand and support the coming True Parents.

At this time the Bible (which had been read almost only by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church) was translated into English and German and given to the common people to read. Such access to the Bible led to a deeper understanding of Jesus' teachings, caused the people to realize the teachings of the church were often far from Jesus' teachings and started a Messianic hope to become widespread amongst the masses of people. This period was also one of great confusion and upheaval. Great suffering was endured that ignited men with a new hope for the appearance of a heavenly authority or power to deliver them from confusion and evils.

The manner of suffering was different however from the suffering of the Jewish nation whose suffering was more of an outward and physical nature, whereas the suffering of the past 400 years for Christians has been an inward kind (often stemming from progressive ideological pursuits). For example during the Old Testament era the providence of God was based on the Mosaic Law which was composed of objective limitations of "do's and don'ts with little emphasis given to reason and spiritual perfection. The period following Jesus however, dealt more with inner motivation. For instance Jesus taught, "Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery..." Thus the last 400 years have been a time when God has been judging man by his thoughts and feelings; an intense period of inner purification to remove man's basic evil natures.

In a similar manner to the Christian preparation for the Messianic True Parents, (after Islam regained it's sovereignty through the rise of the Turkish Empire) a period of intensive preparation for the coming of the Messiah began. This period was also for about 400 years (1520-1920 A.D.). A person comparable to Malachi and Martin Luther (who God desire to ignite a reformation in Islam) was Suleyman, the 10th Ottoman Sultan. Suleyman, whose long reign went from 1520 to 1566, was considered the greatest Turkish ruler and was called by many "the shadow of God on Earth". During his reign he worked to unify the division between the Shi'ite Moslems and the Sunni Moslems around the original, core principles of Islam and through such prepare all Moslems to receive the Messiah of Judgment as a One United Islamic Family. It is interesting to note that Suleyman began his long reign and intended reformation 3 years after Martin Luther began his reformation of the Christian Church in 1517 A.D.

Just like Christianity, this period also became one of great confusion and suffering in Islam. Through the slow break-up (decay) of the Turkish Empire by the infiltration of imperialistic and rationalistic concepts and through a technological, industrialization revolution in the western world that the Turkish Empire did not take part in many Moslems began to question the instruction, understanding and application of the Islamic Principles traditionally passed on to them. The desolation of the Turkish Empire completed itself in 1919, when the Allied army of occupation moved into Constantinople at the close of World War I. All of this has resulted in a general mood of eschatological urgency and messianic expectancy amongst the sincere Moslems and thus established a foundation in many Moslem people to understand, support and follow the Messianic True Parents when they come.

Before the coming of Jesus, God readied the environment for the worldwide spread of Jesus' teachings through the rise and the expansion of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was to be the servant of Jesus for establishing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. In a similar manner preparation for the Messiah's world-wide work has been made through the rapid development in politics, economics, culture, science, technology and all other aspects of human endeavor. These past 400 years have seen humankind rapidly conquering the physical universe. Man can now circle the earth in just little more than an hour. In the field of communications man has made such immense development (computers, telephone, television, radio, satellites) that it is now possible for the True Parents to reach all corners of the earth personally and simultaneously, with the deepest understanding of God's Divine Principles found in the Holy Quran and other holy books. Also we find that a democratic political sphere (which is based on the freedom of expression and a basic belief in one God) is covering almost every corner of the earth and thus will allow the Messiah the freedom to travel around the world and unite all humankind as brothers and sisters of one huge international family without a physical army. Thus the period of the Renaissance up to recent years has served to establish an environment to make the perfection stage principles known worldwide in the shortest possible time when the Messianic True Parents come.

The 400 years after Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in 1517 or after the beginning of Sultan Suleyman's glorious reign in 1520, marked the beginning of the final period of preparation for the coming of the True Parents. During this time God worked intensely to prepare the world environment to support the coming of the True Parents and the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This preparation took place in three main areas" religious or ideological, political and economical. Christianity and the Western Hemisphere were the focal point of this development.

Since Prophet Mohammad, God's restoration work has been developing through two main religious movements, Islam and Christianity. Shortly after their beginning both of these religions were invaded by Satanic forces and thus blocked from establish a pure foundation for God's Kingdom to be established. Because of this they both have been undergoing a history of God's purification work although the method of this work and consequent historic development have been different. The reason for this comes from the basic difference between Islam and Christianity.

In Islam through the Holy Quran and Hadiths, God revealed precise instructive details on how to live the ideal spiritual life in all aspects o human individual and collective daily life, including religious, political and economical. This means it was not necessary for God to provide further instructions or additions to the Quran and..., but it was only necessary for God to purify and deepen the thinking of the Moslem people. Because of this the Moslems had to endure 400 years of suffering by oppression.

Christianity however, did not receive such details on how to setup and maintain the ideal form of religious, political or economical intuitions. Because the Jewish people rejected Jesus and did not listen, Jesus only had the opportunity to speak about the beauty of the ideal world and the qualifications one must have to live in such, but he did not have the chance to reveal and establish the actual governing systems. Consequently, it was necessary for God to prepare the Christian Culture not only through God's purification methods, but also to progressively reveal and establish the ideal form of each system that the True Parents would speak about and actually establish. Through this preparation the Christians and Moslems would both have the capacity to recognize and follow the 2nd coming of Adam and Eve whose identity would become clear as they spoke and actually established God's ideal systems of life across the world. Thus we find the development of religion, politics and economics in the Christian world has been towards that which is called for in the Islamic Holy Books. Let us then begin this section by tracing from the time of the Renaissance up to today God's preparation of the Christian Culture to understand and accept a completely God-centered form of Religious, Political and Economic Life or Culture.

Philosophy and Religion -- The Development of the Perfection Stage Ideology When the medieval feudal society failed to carry out the work of establishing a foundation to receive the True Parents God used the Renaissance to give history a new direction. As a result of the Christian Crusades, Westerners became espoused to the Eastern Cultures. Trading of material and different ways of life between these two cultures began when the Crusaders returned to Europe with many ancient literary masterpieces and Oriental customs. The rise of commercial towns after the collapse of the feudal system brought in a completely new pattern of life. With the fall of Constantinople (15th century) many scholars fled to Italy and brought with them art and literature in the original Latin or Greek. This influx inspired a revival of classical learning which gave birth to the movement known as the Renaissance.

The Renaissance emphasized the humanistic, individualistic, and realistic outlooks on life. The Renaissance viewpoint stressed judgment by reason rather than blind acceptance of church tradition or customs. It emphasized the present earthly life and the beauty of nature. Technology, invention, anatomy, medicine, and astronomy were the major concerns of the Renaissance scientists. Their investigations prepared the way for the development of modern science in the 17th century, first by their successful attack on the abstract and deductive late medieval philosophy and second by their emphasis on this physical world and the life of the senses. Many new inventions such as the printing press, magnetic compass, and gunpowder exerted great influence on human lifestyle.

The introduction of Greek classics into the West stimulated scholars and even educated lament to learn Greek. As they read the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament they began to see discrepancies between the words and works of Jesus and the theology and practice of the Roman Catholic Church. As the growing middle class became more independent financially and developed greater self-confidence in their ability to meet life's problems, they desired to free themselves from the strict rule of the Church. Thus the corruption of the Church, the rediscovery of a deeper understanding of Jesus' teachings, the rapid growth of a self supporting middle class, and the materialism, self-indulgence and power-politics of the Renaissance provided an atmosphere which encouraged the Christian common man to question and criticize the manners and morals of the Christian Church leadership. The Renaissance in short was an anti-clerical movement that was reacting against the Church's corruption.

Because of the social environment of the feudal system and the secular degradation of Roman Catholicism in the medieval ages, the original nature of the average Christian was restrained and it's free development was restricted. Faith or the spiritual path each human must walk to have a close relationship with God can only be realized by a vertical and/or inner relationship directly between an individual and God. The intervention of the Pope and Priests between individuals and God, together with formal religious ceremonies and laws fettered the religious freedom of that age, while the strict system of the feudalistic classes restrained each human's independent religious activity. Besides the buying and selling of the priesthood and the exploitation of the people by the priests, these religious leaders' lives inclined to be very luxurious and hedonistic. Because of this, these religious leaders were more like the authorities of a general materialistic society and consequently unable to lead the common Christian to God, but led them more in the direction of evil influence or domination. Medieval men, who were under the bondage of such an environment moved spontaneously in the direction of destroying this barrier between themselves and God by breaking down the restrictive environment. This first took place externally and then internally.

God's sequence of creation is from one to many, from simple to complex and from outward to inward. The universe which is the outward environment was created before mankind was created. In the creation of humans the flesh was made first followed by the creation of the spirit. In the course of God's re-creation work, the principle remains the same, that is the outward re-creation occurs before the inward does. Thus, according to God's principle of creation from outward to inward the outward environment of humanity must be restored before inward restoration can take place, specifically the improvement of our physical environment or situation. This means before the True Parents could come to guide humanity through the Completion Stage, the material world must be developed and prepared. Towards this ends the Renaissance with its tendency towards rational thought and enthusiastic investigation of the natural world greatly helped to prepare a foundation for the progressive development of the outward environment of humanity.

Besides preparing the way for the modern scientific age, the Renaissance also had an adverse effect because it gave rise to non-God-centered philosophies such as those of Machiavelli, Chaucer and Rabelais, with an emphasis on "this life" or the material world. Medieval people also came to study the classics of Hellenism which had it's origin in Greece. The old spirit of Hellas was an external pursuit of man's original nature -- the pursuit of human freedom, the independence of personality, the dignity of human intellect and reason, the estimation of nature, the emphasis on reality and the exaltation of science. This movement to restore Hellenism occurred with great ardor because it agreed with the desire of the oppressed Christian's original God-centered nature. This movement developed into what is called Humanism.

In addition to producing a Cain-like philosophy, the Renaissance gave stimulus to the revolution of the churches which resulted in an Abel-like philosophy. In opposition to the atheistic Cain-like philosophies a new and more concise religious thought came about through the Church Reformation.

In viewing this period we find 3 major developments:

The Church Reformation (1517-1648)|
Struggle and Confusion in Religion and Ideology (1648-1800)
Maturing of Political, Economical and Ideological Systems (1800-1920)

As medieval mankind came to advocate humanism, he resisted the formal religious ceremonies and rules; he went against the feudal system of classes and papal authority which repressed his autonomy and as he pursued the external desire of his original nature he also came to pursue the internal desire of his original nature. This he did by advocating the restoration of the early Christian spirit in which the people centering on the apostles were very earnest in following God's will. The movement to restore the early Christian spirit was called the Great Religious Reformation.

Because of the rapidly changing trends, the Church was left behind in all aspects of the onward sweep of progress. Many protests were made during the pre-Reformation period, but none was effective until Martin Luther in 1517 A.D. nailed his famous 95 Thesis on the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany. His theses were a detailed attack on the Papacy for selling indulgences. This act ignited a religious revolution which immediately swept across the entire European continent beginning in Germany and then spreading to other countries. God used Luther as an instrument to spark the Protestant revolt. Besides Luther there were many other champions of God (Zwingli, Calvin, Farel, Knox) who rose up to spread this Protestant reform across the Christian world.

The international conflict which burst out around the Protestant movement continued for more than 100 years until the fight between the old and new religious sects was settled by the "Thirty Years War". This war was waged centering on Germany and finally ended in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia. The struggle ended with Protestantism the victor in Northern Europe centered on Germany and Roman Catholicism maintaining control of Southern Europe centering on the Latin speaking people. However due to the attack of the Protestants on the Catholic Church, Catholicism revised its practices and experienced an internal reformation. This war did not end up as a simple religious fight, but it also became a political civil war which decided the existence of the German Empire.

This period lasted for approximately 140 years, beginning with the Treaty of Westphalia and ended with the French Revolution. These 140 years were ones of bitter religious struggle and confusion as the liberated Christians sought to express themselves in their newly found religious freedom. Because the direction the Christians would follow had not been firmly set, their freedom from traditional dogma plunged them into the worst religious turbulence ever seen in history. Mass persecution and martyrdom scorched the whole of Europe. Numerous divergences of dogma arose which divided the Church into many different sects and denominations.

Yet throughout this chaotic situation God was gradually molding the thought of humankind into two major ideologies (that known as Cain thought and Abel thought) which today has matured into the atheistic philosophy known as Communism and the God-centered ideology of Democracy. After Adam fell God separated the newly established evil within Adam from the good contained nature by giving him two sons (Cain and Abel) who respectively contain relative evil and relative good. Later we find the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Kingdoms were divided into two parts representative of the Cain and Abel positions. This separation of relative good from relative evil has continued to the recent world division of Communism and Democracy.

The anti-medieval movement of the Renaissance called humanism, born as a reaction to the hypocrisy of Christian leaders, made light of a person's conversion to God or his dedication to religion. It abandoned the medieval view of life under which people regarded nature and the physical body of man as base and sinful. It even took the opposite view of life, exalting the value and dignity of these things. Mankind and nature came to be recognized through rational criticism by reason, experience and through demonstrative analysis.

Typical beliefs of the developing Cain philosophy were:

Skepticism -- the belief that human efforts to know are futile.

Materialism -- the theory that Ultimate Reality is constituted by a substance called "matter".

Deism -- a rejection of miracles, special Divine Providence, revelation and God's personal love for an individual. God is the first cause who set the universe in motion to run according to rigid physical laws separate from Himself.

Agnosticism -- the theory that the final answer to basic questions is always "I do not know".

Atheism -- the belief that the idea of God is not tenable in any way.

Egoism -- the ethical doctrine that the object of prime importance is oneself.

The Renaissance gave birth to a view of life which prevented humans from going to God in accordance with their internal inspirations and it opened the way of going to demonic forces or evil by emphasizing the external world alone. This was the Cain-type view of life. This Cain-type view of life upon entering the 18th century broke down history and tradition and judged every human endeavor by reason and actualism. The great ideas and achievements of John Locke (1632-1704) and Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) carried forward the scientific methodology and rationalistic philosophy of Bacon and Descartes and laid the foundation for the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century.

During the Enlightenment Age, human reason became "god" for many men who believed it would free them from error and misfortune and lead them to perpetual peace, a utopian government and a perfect society. The philosophers, publicists, economists, political scientists and social reformers -- derived their basic principles from Locke's firm belief in the powers of human reason to explain all that men needed to know and from Newton's demonstrations and formulations of natural law. The philosophers pictured the world as a giant machine. Man had only to discover and understand, as Newton had done for the natural world, the laws governing man's intellectual, moral, and social development in order to bring about a smoothly functioning world machine. As the 18th century proceeded, technological and scientific advances strengthened man's faith in natural law and progress. Greater and greater emphasis was placed on the intellect of humans, natural law, and human progress rather than on the grace of God, faith in God and accomplishing the purpose or "Will of God" within the framework of a personal relationship with Him. This was the Cain-type view of life or the so-called "Enlightenment" which became the motivating power for the French Revolution and later matured to form the Communist viewpoint of reality.

Following the Church Reformation, philosophers, theologians and dedicated laymen made great strides in finding and living a more relevant Christian theology. Typical beliefs of the developing Abel Philosophies were:

Idealism -- the view that all reality is of the essence of the spirit pietism -- asserted the primary importance of feeling (love) in being a Christian and the need for the laity to work actively in building up their Christian life.

Theism -- the belief that the concept of God can be defined and used in an acceptable fashion

Romanticism -- the belief that men reached God and the truths of the spiritual world not through common sense or reasoned analysis, but through feeling God and nature through emotions.

Critical philosophy -- analyzing philosophically the desire of man's original nature in pursuit of both internal and external goals.

The spiritual experiences of the Englishman George Fox (1624-1690), founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), and the explorations into the nature of the spirit world by the noted Swedish scientist, Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), countered the rationalistic, naturalistic and deistic temper of the age by demonstrating the existence of the spirit world and the immediacy of God's presence among humans. Philip Spener (1635-1705) and Hermann Francke (1663-1727) led pietism, with its emphasis on religion of the heart to stimulate the Protestants to live a more enthusiastic Christian life. In England three great leaders, John Wesley (1703-1791), Charles Wesley (1707-1788), and George Whitefield (1714-1770), arose to combat the spiritual lethargy of the Church of England in the form of the Evangelical Revival. In America, at a time of spreading rationalism and cultural confusion, the Great Awakening revival movement and the sincere efforts of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) led to a tremendous renewal of a purer Christian life. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, philosophers began to protest against the rationalism and deism of the Enlightenment Age and stressed the importance of feeling, conscience and the will. Emanuel Kant (1724-1804) foreshadowed the Romantic Movement (1790-1840) with his redefinition of reason as intuition. When a human is confronted with an ethical choice and asks, "What should I do?" the moral law or conscience which God has implanted within him will answer. Kant's redefinition of reason and his rehabilitation of conscience marked a high point in the intellectual reaction against the dominant rationalism of the Enlightenment period.

The Romantic Movement was a reaction against the Enlightenment and it's over-emphasis on reason. Most of the Romantics were horrified by the religious skepticism of the philosophers. Although the Romantic protest against classicism, rationalism and deism, (and its support of faith, emotion and tradition) was most clearly and passionately expressed by the poets of the age (like Goethe, Wordsworth and Coleridge), the philosophers also spoke out strongly. The greatest of Kant's disciples, George Hegel (1770-1831), attacked the tendency of the Enlightenment to see human nature and human history only by what first meets the eye. For Hegel, God was good and governed the world through men. Human efforts to carry out God's Plan formed the history of the world. Thus while Satan was recruiting leaders for his side, God was awakening the minds and hearts of people to a more enriched and vital relationship with Him.

By 1920 A.D., western ideology had pretty well matured into two branches. The first was the atheistic philosophy of Cain, which acknowledged "Nature" or "Science" as its God. The second was the theistic philosophy of Abel, which upheld the Christian idea of God. Let us first examine the adherents of the Cain philosophy.

In 1859, Charles Darwin set forth his theory of evolution, which contradicted the orthodox Christian interpretation of the Genesis Creation story in the Bible and set off a furor in theological, philosophical, and scientific circles which did not die down for half a century and which is even felt in today's society. A number of philosophers like Ludwig Buechner (1824-1899) championed materialism or Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) expounded upon the ideas of Darwin and thus further focused humankind's at5tention on nature and natural science.

The pantheism (the belief that the universe taken as a whole is God) of Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) and the pessimism of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) contributed to the rise of agnosticism and atheism. The glorification by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) of the man of power, and the "will to power", together with the ideas of racists (one race has evolved to be better than another) created a source for later fascist and totalitarian thought. An extreme for of socialism (revolutionary communism) was advocated by Karl Marx at the end of the 19th century. Influenced by Hegel's dialectic and Feuerbach's atheistic thought, Marx concluded from his study of history that three laws were operative in history:

Economic Determinism -- the law that economic conditions largely determine all other human institutions.

Class Struggle -- the law that history is a dialectical process between the economically rich and poor, the propertied bourgeoisie and the property-less proletariat.

Inevitability of Communism -- the law that the class struggle would end with the proletariat victorious, the capitalists defeated and an eventual classless utopia.

Marx thus combined the views of the 18th century philosophies on natural law with the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis dialectic of Hegel to produce his theory of scientific revolutionary socialism.

In 1847, Fiedrich Engels, a German Socialist, who had been working with Marx in a small international organization of radical working men, (the communist league) drafted the "Communist Manifesto", which Marx revised later. This manifesto remains the classic statement of Marxian materialism and the Marxist Theory of History. Later, George Plekhanov (1856-1918) interpreted Marx for the Russians. He is regarded as the founder of Russian Philosophic Marxism and influenced Lenin greatly. Thus Marx and Engels "dialectical materialism", Hegel's theory of "state supremacy" and Plekhanov's reinterpretation of Marxian thought for the Russians laid the foundation for the development of worldwide communism and the Cain Philosophy that Satan would use against the return of Christ and the Abel Philosophy he would bring.

To counter the rise in atheistic thought, God worked through the adherents of the Abel Philosophy. Friedrich Schleiermacher (1763-1834) and his disciples had a great influence during the 19th century. Schleiermacher set forth the idea that religion belonged to the realm of feeling and he emphasized the importance of the need for the Messiah as a mediator between finite, temporal, sinful men and the infinite, eternal and sinless God. Later when the approaches of Schleiermacher and Hegel were losing their appeal, Albrecht Ritschl set forth a new "apologetic synthesis" between the Christian faith and the new Knowledge contributed by scientific and historical scholarship. The Ritschlian spirit with its earnest piety and devotion to truth had a great inspiring effect in Germany, England and America in the later 19th and early 20th centuries.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Second Great Evangelical Awakening gave new vitality to the church. Evangelists like the American Dwight Moody (1837-1899) and the Englishman William Booth (1829-1912), founder of the Salvation Army, held dynamic revivals and fostered an evangelistic and pietistic interpretation of the Christian faith. God now began to raise up great religious leaders (forerunners) to prepare for the immediate coming of the True Parents and the teachings of the Completed Testament Age. A number of men thus started to proclaim the imminent coming of Christ and the Last Days of Judgment:

William Miller -- who taught that the Messiah would come in 1843-1844 began the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Charles Russell -- who founded the Jehovah Witnesses in the late 1870's urged the people to prepare quickly for the Lord return.

Joseph Smith -- who founded the Mormon Church and claimed to be a Prophet of God started a movement announcing the coming of God's Kingdom.

Therefore, while the philosophy of Cain (expressed later in totalitarianism, fascism and ultimately in Communism) was developing, it's opponent, The Philosophy of Abel, likewise was heading into it's final stages of preparation for the showdown between good and evil that would occur in the biblical Last Days when Christ would return and the True Parents would be established and the Complete Testament would be shared