Divine Principle reading When Will Christ Come Again? Then when will Christ come again? In Matt. 24:36 it says, but of that day and hour no one knows, indicating that it would be fruitless to speculate as to the time of his return. However, that same verse in Matthew says, Only the Father knows, and in Amos 3:7 it says, Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. We can understand that God will surely let people know about the Lords Second Coming through the prophets. Many examples of this can be cited in the course of restoration, such as Gods revealing the flood judgment to Noah, His destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to Lot, and the Messiahs First Coming. God revealed the time of Jesus birth to the family of John the Baptist, the wise men of the east, Simeon, Anna, and others. In the entire history of Gods providence, can there be any more important time for God than that of the Second Coming? How can God not let the people know, when the Son of God himself comes to earth to accomplish the unfulfilled purpose of creation? God, who has been guiding history ever since the fall of the ancestors of mankind, must ultimately send the Messiah; God restores the lost purpose of creation by sending the Messiah. Accordingly, since Gods providence of restoration is fulfilled through the Messiah, the Messiah is the most precious fruit of Gods restoration. The foundation of preparation for the Messiah began with the formation of the Israelites from Jacobs family. However, the people of Israel did not believe Jesus and thus, God developed the multi-racial Christianity as the Second Israel, consisting of all those who believed in Jesus. Therefore, Gods central providence is found in the history of Christianity, which God prepared as the Second Israel on the worldwide level in place of the lost First Israel. Furthermore, the history of the First Israel, which began from Jacob, and the history of the Second Israel, Christianity, which began from Jesus time, must be identical because both were prepared for the purpose of enabling the Messiah to be received on earth. The history of the Jewish people and the history of Christianity differ in terms of time period, make-up, geographical setting and cultural background. However, the mission of these two histories has been passed on from one to the other as part of Gods central history of the restoration providence. Each was prepared for the final product of its dispensation-the foundation for the Messiah through the principle of restoration. Now let us compare these two histories from the standpoint of the restoration providence and examine the question of when the time of the Lords Second Coming will be. The history of Israel from the time of Jacob until Jesus was divided into six periods: the period of slavery in Egypt, the period of Judges, the period of the United Kingdom, the period of the divided kingdom of North and South, the period of Babylonian captivity and return and the period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. In each period, God directly guided the providence, but the people could not fulfill their responsibility, and thus only after going through all of these periods could the Messiah come. Let us examine each time period in greater detail and compare each to the corresponding historical period after the time of Jesus. The Period of Slavery in Egypt and the Period of Persecution by the Roman Empire The period of slavery in Egypt began as a result of Abrahams failure in the offering. During this period Jacobs 12 sons and 70 kinsmen entered Egypt, which represented the satanic world, and their descendants were miserably persecuted by the Egyptians. The period of the persecution under the Roman Empire began as a result of Israels disbelief in Jesus. During this period Jesus 12 disciples, 70 apostles and the early Christians went out into the Roman Empire and also underwent miserable persecution. In the period of slavery in Egypt, the chosen people of Israel, amidst their 400-year long suffering, performed the rite of circumcision, offered sacrifices and kept the Sabbath. Similarly, the Christians during the period of persecution under the Roman Empire, performed the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism, offered the saints as living sacrifices and kept the Sabbath. After the 400-year period of slavery in Egypt had ended, God chose Moses to subjugate Pharaoh and lead the Israelites to the new land of Canaan. Likewise, at the end of the period of persecution by the Roman Empire, Jesus influenced Emperor Constantine spiritually and moved him to recognize Christianity publicly in 313 AD, and finally could have Christianity declared the national religion by 392 AD In this way, Christians came to be restored, spiritually, into Canaan, out of the satanic world. After the period of slavery in Egypt, Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, setting up the core of the Old Testament. By maintaining the tablets of stone, the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant, the First Israel, the chosen nation, came to set up the foundation to receive the Messiah. Likewise, after the period of persecution by the Roman Empire, the Second Israel, the chosen nation, collected the words of the Lord and the records of the apostles and decided on the New Testament and established churches centered on the words, and thus broadened the foundation to receive the Lord of the Second Advent. The Period of Judges and the Period of Christian Churches under the Patriarchal System The period of Judges is the 400-year period after the Israelites, led by Joshua and Caleb entered Canaan. In this period these judges each filled multiple functions of prophet, chief priest and king. The period of Christian churches under the patriarchal system is when the Christians were led by the patriarchs, whose duties, from the standpoint of the restoration providence, corresponded to those of the judges. The period of Judges is when the foundation of Israelite feudal society began centering on the judges in the new land allotted to each tribe. Likewise, after Christianitys liberation from the Roman Empire, the Gospel was spread to the Germanic tribes who had moved to Western Europe because of the 4th century invasion of the Huns (from Mongolia). There, in the new land of Western Europe, they established the foundation of Christian feudal society. The Period of the United Kingdom and the Period of the Christian Kingdom At the onset of the period of the United Kingdom, the period in which the judges led the first Israel was over. The mission of the judges was divided into those of prophet, chief priest and king. Likewise with the period of the Christian Kingdom, the period in which the patriarchs led the Second Israel ended and the mission of the patriarchs was divided into those of monastery, pope and king. The period of the Christian Kingdom began when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Frank Empire, just as the United Kingdom of Israel began when the prophet Samuel, at Gods command, anointed Saul as the first King of Israel. The Period of the Divided Kingdoms of North and South and the Period of the Divided Kingdoms of East and West The United Kingdom, which had begun with King Saul, was carried on through King David and King Solomon; then it divided into the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was in Cains position, and the two tribes of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which was in Abels position. Thus, the period of the divided kingdoms of North and South came about. Likewise, the Christian Kingdom, which had began with Charlemagne, divided into three parts-the East Franks, the West Franks and Italy-due to quarrels between his three grand sons. However, since Italy was under the rule of the East Franks, it was actually a period of division into the Kingdoms of East and West. The Period of Jewish Captivity and Return and the Period of Papal Captivity and Return Not only the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which perished at the end of the period of the Divided Kingdoms because of its disbelief, but also the Southern Kingdom of Judah as well became faithless. They would not repent and failed to make the foundation for the coming of the Messiah, centering on Gods ideal of the temple. Therefore, God allowed them to be taken captive into Babylon, the satanic world, to suffer slavery there for 70 years (Jer. 39:1-10, II Kings 24 and 25). In this period, King Jehoiachin, Daniel, members of royalty, government officials and many other Jewish people were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Later, Persia destroyed Babylon and King Cyrus issued a decree freeing the Jews, who returned to their native land in three stages over a period of 140 years. There they set themselves up as the nation centering on the prophet Malachi to prepare for the Messiah. From the end of the period of the Christian Kingdom, which was to prepare the foundation on the worldwide level for the Messiahs Second Coming, until the time when the papacy fell into corruption, God sent many signs, such as the losses and defeats of the Crusades, to make the popes and priests repent. But they did not and instead, with the gradual expansion of royal power, violent conflict grew between pope and king. Thus Pope Boniface VIII came into conflict with the French King Philip IV and was even imprisoned by him for a time. One generation later, Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon in Southern France. There the succeeding popes lived as captives for 70 years under the restraint of the French kings. This is the period of papal captivity. After that, Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome, but even after this there was much confusion as three popes reigned simultaneously for a period and other problems regarding papal authority occurred until the Religious Reformation began. The Period of Preparation for the Coming of the Messiah and the Period of Preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah After returning from the Babylonian captivity, the nation of Israel once more erected the destroyed temple, and under the guidance of the prophet Malachi, repented for their past sins of having worshipped evil spirits by pledging themselves to the Law. This aroused a movement of reformation and was the beginning of the period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. After 400 years they received the Messiah. After the pope returned to Rome the period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah began. It was a 400 year period in which the medieval Christians restored the foundation of faith for the Second Coming on the worldwide level by arousing the movement of religious reformation centering on Luther. The Reformation revived the zeal of the Christians, who then, with new passion, began worldwide evangelism. The Old Testament Age was the age in which man was to set up faith toward God through the external conditions of the Law and offerings. Therefore, the First Israel, in order to indemnify the entire history since the time of Abraham in the period of preparation for the Messiah, had to go through the course of indemnity by experiencing tribulations under the rule of nations such as Persia, Greece, Egypt, Syria and Rome. The New Testament Age was the age in which to set up faith toward God through the internal conditions of prayer and faith centering on Jesus words. Therefore, in this overall period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah, the Second Israel had to walk the way of internal tribulations. Due to the rise of humanism, which was the leading ideology of the Renaissance, the ideology of the Enlightenment which followed, and the freedom of faith propagated after the Reformation, Christianity had to endure much chaos and confusion. In this period Christians had to go through the course to indemnify the period from Jesus to the Lords Second Coming by overcoming severe internal trials in their religious lives. God foretold the coming of the Messiah by sending the prophet Malachi and by reforming and renewing Judaism, He prepared the First Israel for the coming of the Messiah. God also prepared the background and environment where the restoration of the purpose of creation was to take place. Examples are the vast political territory formed by the rise of the Roman Empire, with its ease of communication in any direction and the vast cultural sphere formed centering on the Hellenic language and tradition. Thus, the external foundation had already been made through Gods providence so that once the Messiah came, the idea of the Messiah could quickly expand from Israel to Rome to the whole world. Thus, in the period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah, the external circumstances have also been greatly developed as a foundation for the Messiahs Second Advent. On one hand, the medieval Church, stimulated by the Renaissance, came to advocate the restoration of the early Christian spirit, in which following Gods will was the sole purpose of ones existence. The reformation movement, begun by Martin Luther, was meant to free Christians from the unjust interference, ritual and authority of the popes and priests and enable believers to relate directly to God and the Bible. This was done by God in the effort to prepare the Second Israel on the worldwide level for the Second Coming of the Messiah. We have reviewed in detail the histories of the First and Second Israel as they occurred over different time periods, in different places and with roles played by different people. Yet, we can see an astonishing resemblance of time-identity when we look at them from the providential point of view. Because they are both central dispensations to prepare to receive one Messiah, both providences have been wrought by God Himself. Gods providence of restoration was designed to prepare the foundation for the coming of the Messiah, who is the fruit of human history. It went through six periods since the time of Jacob. They were the period of slavery in Egypt, the period of Judges, the period of United Kingdom, the period of the divided kingdoms of North and South, the period of Jewish captivity and return, and the period of preparation for the coming of the Messiah, which totals 1930 years. However, when the First Israel did not complete its responsibility and did not believe in the Messiah, God had no choice but to prolong His providence of restoration. Therefore, after the coming of Jesus, until the time of the Lord of the Second Advent, the providence of restoration was repeated and extended. Therefore, we can see that the prolongation period of the providence of restoration went through the period of persecution by the Roman Empire, the period of Christian churches under the patriarchal system, the period of the Christian kingdom, the period of the divided kingdoms of East and West, the period of papal captivity and return, and the period of preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah which also totals 1930 years. The year of 1930 is not the time we have to wait for with hope and expectation, for it is already passed. Then why havent we witnessed on earth the glory of the Second Coming of the Messiah and the final judgment? If the Second Coming is to take place in the air, the Lords glory already would have been brightly spread all over the world. However, as was pointed out earlier, the Lord does not come again literally on the clouds. The Second Coming is accomplished by the Messiah being born on earth in the flesh. Then is 1930 the precise year the Messiah was born? The year cannot be pinpointed so exactly because a difference of up to plus or minus 10 years was often observed throughout the providential history. For instance, the period of persecution by the Roman Empire was to be of 400 years, but to be precise, actually lasted only until 392 AD Therefore, the coming of the Messiah cannot be pinpointed as the year 1930. Two thousand years ago, when Jesus came, he did not immediately proclaim his messialiship and thereupon promptly begin the judgment. There was indeed an unseen, unheard, yet steady preparation period of private life, and a period of public ministry to prepare the foundation to realize the purpose of the Messiahs coming. Likewise, the Lord of the Second Advent must also go through this course of preparation after his birth. Therefore, we can see that in view of the providence of restoration, this is now the time of preparation for the Lords appearance.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 02:38:22 +0000