Book Two - True Parents
Chapter Two - The Messiah and the True Parents
Section 4. The Second Coming and the True Parents

4.1. We need to prepare to receive the Messiah

The place you are meant to live in is the Kingdom of Heaven. But are you living there now? No! What is more, the Kingdom of Heaven does not come immediately. Then, what should come before the appearance of the heavenly kingdom? The Messiah should come. But the Messiah alone will not do. Although Jesus came to the Jewish nation, the nation of Israel, the Kingdom of Heaven did not emerge.

Before the appearance of the heavenly kingdom, the heavenly kingdom people must appear. What should be done in order that a heavenly kingdom people arises? A people does not come into being all of a sudden. A special clan must appear, and this clan must move that people. What should be done so that the clan appears? There has to be an extended family of close relatives. What should be done so that these close relatives appear? A family must appear as the center of these close relatives. Then, what should be done so that the family appears? There have to be children and parents. Then, what should be done so that children appear? There have to be parents. What should be done so that parents appear? There has to be one man who can represent everything concerning heaven.

Who is this? He is the Messiah. What should that man do? If he is to be a parent, he must find a partner and be one with her. This is the teaching of Christianity. When this happens, it will be the Last Days. Thus, what was upside down has now been spiritually restored over the past two thousand years centering on Jesus, on the foundation of global Christianity. Based on the spiritual aspect of Christianity, when people meet the Messiah, all these things will be completed at that time.

At the Second Coming, the Lord will come and right all things to what they were originally meant to be. In this way, the world must be one and nations must be one: everything must be one. This will happen. Within a country, the Christian denominations must be one, and among denominations the overall leaders must be united. This has to happen. In order for the denominations to be one, their leaders must be one. These leaders must be united among themselves and be one with Jesus. So when they receive Jesus and become one with him, the world will be easily restored. God has been preparing for this for two thousand years. Since this unity did not come about at the proper time, we have had to prepare all over again. (66-277, 1973.05.16)

4.2. The Task of the Lord at the Second Coming

What is the task that the returning Lord should carry out? He must win over Satan and then win over all the people in the spirit world. There are many spiritual masters today who brag about who they are in heaven and earth. However, in expectation of the time to come, they should not merely be making spiritual efforts, no matter how sincere, without knowing how to resolve the world that came about as a result of the Fall.

We should be victorious first over the satanic world, which is a visible world rather that an invisible world, and then over the spirit world. Without fighting in the visible world and defeating Satan, no road will emerge by which we can make progress in the spirit world. Without this, we would surely face obstacles; then what would happen when we entered the spirit world? We would not be able to enter, and even if we could, we would not be able to win the battle.

So we should attain victory within the satanic world, and next enter the spirit world and attain victory there, subjugating all religions from the least to the greatest -- to Christianity, if Christianity is the highest of the mainstream religions. What this means is that we must inherit everything these religions have. When we have fought this battle and received official recognition of our victory over heaven and earth, God will say to us, "You are the victors over Satan and the spirit world!" Then we will begin to take action here on earth. Such a history remains to be made.

Then what does the returning Lord have to do? He has to subdue Satan and subjugate, one by one, myriads of spirit people, religious leaders and leaders as a whole. As he guides them with God's character and true love, they will come to understand the true reality of religion and the universe and they will surrender. This will happen because all beings in this universe desire to be absorbed into the sphere of a lord of love on earth who is higher than they. Even birds and dogs will go to a village that loves them more and takes care of them. It is the same for all beings. Therefore, we should subjugate them through true love and inherit all their authority. We should inherit that unified world. This is the responsibility that the Messiah must fulfill on earth.

Uniting Christianity will not suffice. Christianity may be unified on earth, but this is not enough to create the all-encompassing cultural sphere. That sphere includes the Buddhist cultural sphere and the Islamic cultural sphere, which together form the background of the spirit world. As long as cultural barriers remain on earth and are not all removed, and as long as the source of unity is not created in the spirit world, the root of all these diverse cultures, we will not be able to bring them into unity. (100-16, 1978.10.04)

The person with the responsibility to make the nations one, make the world one, and make heaven and earth one with original love is the Messiah. Can the Messiah actually fulfill this role alone? I am asking you if he can do it when even God Himself cannot. From this perspective, what kind of religion is it that will be introduced by the Messiah and established by God? The conclusion is that it has to be a religion that has great strength to unify individuals, families, tribes, peoples, nations, the world, and cosmos with love. Even Satan says, "Isn't this the purpose that the Messiah should come for and pursue? Isn't this God's purpose of sending the Messiah?" (130-174, 1984.1.15)