Resurrection

1.3 The Meaning of Resurrection

Many have hitherto believed that the death caused by the Fall was physical death. Consequently, they have interpreted the biblical concept of resurrection as revival from physical death, and believed that resurrection of the dead involves the biological regeneration of their decomposed bodies. However, the Fall of the first human ancestors did not cause this kind of death. According to the Principle of Creation, the human body was created to return to dust after it grows old. A decomposed body cannot be restored to its original state. Furthermore, it is not necessary for a spirit to take on another physical body when he is meant to enjoy eternal life in the vast spirit world.

Resurrection may be defined as the process of being restored from the death caused by the Fall to life, from the realm of Satan’s dominion to the realm of God’s direct dominion, through the providence of restoration. Accordingly, whenever we repent of our sins and rise to a higher state of goodness, we are resurrected to that degree.

The Bible illustrates the process of resurrection: “He who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”¹¹ Based on this verse, we can affirm that resurrection means to leave the bosom of Satan and return to the bosom of God. It is also written, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”¹² This verse means that because we inherited Satan’s lineage as a result of Adam’s fall, we are dead; when we return to the lineage of God through Christ, we shall be resurrected to life.

1.4 What changes does resurrection cause in human beings?

According to God’s Word, Adam and Eve died when they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Nevertheless, no significant external change took place in them. At most there were momentary changes in their countenances due to the anxiety and fear they felt over having fallen. Likewise, no significant external changes should be expected to take place in fallen people when they are resurrected to the state prior to the Fall. One who has been reborn through the Holy Spirit surely has experienced resurrection. Compare such a faithful person to a robber: One has been resurrected to the level of being reborn into God’s realm, while the other is a spiritually dead person destined for hell. Yet the two people cannot be distinguished by their external appearance. One who believes in God according to Jesus’ teaching is indeed resurrected from death to life. However, one cannot discern any obvious change in his physical body before and after he received Jesus and gained life through resurrection.

Jesus was truly a man who fulfilled the purpose of creation.¹³ Nevertheless, judged by his outward appearance, Jesus was not noticeably different from ordinary people. If he had unmistakably displayed divinity in his outward appearance, then everyone around him would surely have believed in and followed him.

The changes a person experiences when he is resurrected and enters the governance of God take place in his heart and spirit. Having been liberated from Satan’s dominion, a resurrected person can unite with God in heart and acquire a divine nature. These internal changes also purify his body, transforming it from a haunt of Satan into a temple of God. In this sense, we may say that our physical body is also resurrected. We may compare it to a building which was previously used for evil purposes and is now used as a place of worship. Although there may be no change in its outward appearance, it is now sanctified as a sacred building.

2.3.1 The purpose and the way of returning resurrection

According to the Principle of Creation, the growth of the human spirit requires two kinds of nourishment: life elements received from God and vitality elements received through give and take action with the physical self. Spirits can neither grow nor be resurrected apart from a physical self. Consequently, the spirits of people who died before they could reach perfection during their earthly life can be resurrected only by returning to earth and completing their unaccomplished responsibility through cooperation with earthly people. By assisting people of faith living on the earth to fulfill their missions, the spirits may complete their missions at the same time. Herein lies the meaning behind the verse which foretold that in the Last Days the Lord will come “with his holy myriads.”²³ We call this process returning resurrection.

How do spirits help people on earth fulfill the Will of God? When people become receptive to spirits through prayer or other spiritual activities, the spirits descend to them to form a common base with their spirit selves and work with them. Spirits perform various works. For example, they pour spiritual fire on earthly people and give them the power to heal diseases. They help people enter states of trance and perceive the realities of the spirit world. They give people revelations and the gift of prophecy. They can also give deep inspiration to the soul. In these various works, spirits act on behalf of the Holy Spirit, guiding people on the earth to accomplish the Will of God.

2.3.3 The returning resurrection of spirits who abide outside paradise

There are several classes of spirits who abide outside Paradise; each has a way to achieve returning resurrection. First, let us examine the returning resurrection of spirits who believed in religions other than Christianity during their lifetime. Just as any two people must first form a common base with each other before they can work toward a common goal, earthly people and spirits can work to achieve a common providential goal only when they first form a common base. Therefore, a spirit who returns to the earth for his resurrection seeks a counterpart among the earthly people of the religion in which he believed during his earthly life. A spirit descends to the person of his choice and guides him. When he helps that person fulfill the purpose of the providence of restoration, they both receive the same benefit.

Second, let us examine the returning resurrection of spirits who lived a conscientious life even though they did not believe in a religion. No one among fallen humanity embodies perfect goodness because no one has resolved the original sin within himself. Hence, a good spirit is only relatively better than an evil spirit. These good spirits descend to good people on earth and cooperate with them in order to help them fulfill the purpose of God’s providence of restoration. In the process, the spirits receive the same benefits as the people they have helped.

Third, let us examine the returning resurrection of evil spirits. In the Bible we read about the “cursed,” who are liable to “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”²⁹ “His angels” here refers to evil spirits who live and work under the control of the Devil. The spiritual creatures commonly known as ghosts, whose features and identity are often unclear, are none other than evil spirits. Even evil spirits are able to receive the merit of the age by returning to the earth. However, the works of evil spirits do not always bear fruit and result in their receiving the benefit of returning resurrection. To receive such benefit, their works must have the effect of punishing earthly people, thereby enlisting their help in making indemnity conditions in accordance with God’s plan to cleanse evil spirits through punishment. How, then, can the works of evil spirits result in casting judgment on behalf of Heaven?

Let us take an example. Suppose there is a person living on earth who, based on the merit of the age, is about to graduate from his current sphere of benefit to a higher sphere of benefit. He cannot graduate to the new sphere of benefit unless he first makes some condition of indemnity to remove the sins of the past. In the case of graduating from the family sphere to the clan sphere, a person must pay the debt of sin both for himself and for the ancestors of his clan. Heaven allows evil spirits to torment him as punishment for this sin. If he willingly endures the suffering given by the evil spirits and overcomes it, he will have successfully paid the indemnity through this condition and thus be entitled to enter the higher sphere of benefit at the clan level. The evil spirits who have tormented him receive a corresponding benefit. This is the way that, based on the merit of the age, the providence of restoration expands its sphere of benefit from the family level to the clan level, the national level, and the world level. Whenever humanity is to graduate to a higher level, the person leading the providence must make a condition of indemnity to resolve the sins which he or his forefathers have committed.

The works of evil spirits may help an earthly person fulfill indemnity conditions to purge his sin in two different ways. First, the spirit may trouble the earthly person directly. Second, the evil spirit may descend to the spirit self of another person living on earth who is about to commit a sin comparable to the sin of the person to be punished, and work through the second person to attack him. In either case, if the earthly person gratefully and willingly suffers the work of the evil spirit, he will make the indemnity condition to purge his and his ancestors’ sin. This sin will then be resolved, and he will enter the higher sphere of benefit which has become available in the new era. Thus, the works of the evil spirit will have cast judgment on the person for his sin on behalf of Heaven. Consequently, the spirit will receive the same benefit as the earthly person; he, too, will enter the higher sphere of benefit.