Divine Principle reading Where Will Christ Come Again? Then, if Christ is to come again as a man in the flesh on earth, he must be coming to a predetermined place in a predetermined nation. Then which nation is it? Jesus said 2,000 years ago in Israel that he would come again, but will he come again among the Jewish people? In Matt. 21:33-43, through the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus clearly indicated that he will not come again in the land of Israel, where he had been killed. Moreover, he said he would reclaim their right to be the chosen nation and give it to a nation and people who will be fruitful for the Second Coming. In this parable, God is the owner of the vineyard; the vineyard means the works of God to accomplish the ideal of creation, which is the purpose of the salvation providence; the tenants are the chosen nation of Israel; the servants are the prophets; the owners son is Jesus; and, the nation producing the fruits means the nation that would receive the Lord of the Second Advent. Then, how should we take the biblical verse which records the coming of the sons of Israel? Rev. 7:4 states that out of every tribe of the sons of Israel there would be sealed 144,000 at the time of the Second Coming. What does this mean? Originally, the name Israel was received by Jacob after he prevailed over the angel at the ford of Jabbok (Gen. 32:28). In other words, Israel means the people of God who have triumphed in faith and does not necessarily mean the lineal descendants of Jacob. Matt. 3:9 and Rom. 9:6 clarify the true definition of Israel. Then, who would be the chosen people of Israel after Jesus death on the cross? They are the devout Christians who believe in the Lord. It is stated in Rom. 11:11, Through their [the Jews] trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. This indicates that the center of Gods providence of restoration has shifted from the Jewish people. Then, He will work His central providence not among the lineal descendants of Abraham, but among the devout Christians who have taken up the faith of Abraham. But precisely to which country will the Lord come? When asked where he would come again, Jesus replied symbolically in Luke 17:3, Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Jesus did not specify which country. In Rev. 7:2-4 it is recorded that an angel ascended from the rising of the sun and sealed the chosen servants of God on their foreheads, the number of those being 144,000. To state the conclusion first, the nation of the East is Korea. When a farmer transplants a tree, he carefully digs up the soil and waters it to prepare for the tree. How could God, who is expecting the fruit of human history, send the Messiah without preparation? Let us further consider the view that the land to receive the Lord is Korea. First, the nation to which the Messiah comes must be the object of Gods heart. In this view, Korea is the land God has prepared. God, since the fall of the first human ancestors until today, has lived in deep despair and unfulfillment. Too often we refer to God as a being of utmost glory who is so far above us, but this is because we do not know Gods heart. Due to the fall of man, who is His only child, God has been grieving with the heart of a parent who lost his child, and to save that rebellious child, He has wandered through the sinful world of hell in search of him. Therefore, the individual, or family, or nation which fights against Satan on earth in Gods place can hardly avoid the path of tears and suffering. How could a filial and faithful son, who shares the agony of his parents heart, lead an easy life? Since the Messiah is the one who comes bearing the grieving heart of God, to relieve Gods sorrow here on earth, he cannot come among a people who are satisfied by their material abundance. Since the nation which is to receive the Messiah must become the object of Gods heart-since its people must become sons and daughters of the same heart as God I s-that nation cannot avoid the way of suffering. The First and Second Israel both had to tread the way of suffering and hardship; likewise, the Third Israel must tread the same way. The history of the utmost misery, especially the extreme example of suffering in modem times, has been the model course which the Third Israel had to take. Thus, even while undergoing the life of suffering and misery, this nation, Korea, has been faithfully inheriting the good tradition of filial piety and loyalty, and even at the height of its national power, never provoked or first invaded a neighboring nation. Gods strategy has been that of winning victory from the position of being attacked, quite different from the intent of invasion or aggression. Despite innumerable foreign invasions, the fact that the Korean people have maintained their homogeneous lineage and subjectivity of culture is simply amazing. Even amidst its persistently sorrowful history it has cherished its education as a nation. Second, Korea is meaningful as the nation bearing fruit of many religions. Korea has a strong inclination toward religious life. The Korean people revere God. Many of the worlds great religions, such as Confucianism and Buddhism, have flourished in this land and borne fruit. In recent centuries Christianity arrived and achieved the highest pinnacle of Christianity. Religion has deeply blended with daily life in exquisite harmony. A nation matching this description is indeed hard to find in the world. The Lord does not come to save Christians alone. Of course Christianity is the central nation in Gods providence, but God Himself has created and guided all the major religions for the restoration of their particular region, time period, or circumstance. Therefore, the Messiah, who is to accomplish the ultimate purpose of Gods providence must simultaneously fulfill the purpose of a other religions as well. In this view, the nation which bears the fruits of all the major religions becomes the land suitable to receive the Lord. Third, the nation in which our Lord comes must be the front line of both God and Satan. As we can understand from Gods words to Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit or they would die, the point where they fell became a dividing line of heaven and earth and life and death, and thus good and evil also split apart from this point. Thus, our Lord comes to the same basic type of point, where again life and death and good and evil confront one another. He then goes on to fulfill the providential history and solve the current problems. Gods providence to restore this world to His own side, after Satan took the initiative, can also be seen as the dispensation of dividing Cain and Abel. The separation of the worlds of Cain and Abel before the coming of the Messiah is manifested in the Communist and democratic worlds. Thus, this can be called a horizontal development of the vertical providence which God has wrought throughout history. Therefore, where our Lord comes is where the two powers of democracy and Communism confront one another; it is the focal point of both Gods love and Satans hate. That very line of confrontation is the 38th parallel in the Korean peninsula. Therefore, this line is not only the front line of democracy and Communism but also the front line of God and Satan as well. Since the nation and race in which the Lord comes in the East are an offering for the restoration providence, the Korean nation, which is the offering, must be divided. Thus, the Korean War which broke out along the 38th parallel was not merely the civil conflict of a nation due to territorial separation. It was the confrontation between the democratic and Communist blocs and furthermore, between God and Satan. The fact that many nations (16) not immediately concerned with the conflict nonetheless participated and helped the providence of restoration has divine significance. Fourth, the nation in which the Lord comes must establish a national foundation for the providence of restoration. In order for Korea to become the nation to receive the Messiah, just as did the First and Second Israel, it must establish the national foundation to separate from Satan. The Israelites had to establish a condition of separating from Satan by suffering in slavery for 400 years in Egypt, which represented the satanic world. The Second Israel also established a condition to separate from Satan by enduring persecution for four centuries in the Roman Empire, which also represented the satanic world. Thus, at the time of the Second Advent, the Third Israel, Korea, must also endure suffering at the hands of a particular nation on the satanic side in order to separate from Satan. In this case, it was Japan, and for 40 years it brought unimaginable torment upon Korea. In 1905, Japan forcibly deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights and this brought on a period of loss of national sovereignty which lasted until 1945, the year of its defeat in World War 11. During this period, the Korean people were completely deprived of their freedom by Japan, and countless numbers were imprisoned, slaughtered and underwent all sorts of extreme persecution. Especially in 1910, after Japan annexed Korea, the persecution of Christianity, which was the major foundation for Koreas independence movement, was unparalleled in its cruelty. When, on one hand, Christianity was enjoying its freedom under Gods providence all around the globe, the suffering of the Korean nation, of which Christians were the core, became the condition of national indemnity to qualify it as the Third Israel. Fifth, this nation must have prophetic testimonies among the people. When God sends his beloved Son, how can He do it quietly? Certainly, He would reveal it to all prepared souls on earth, hand them the good news and have them prepare themselves. Just as the Jewish people knew through the prophets that the Messiah would come as a king and save them, for 500 years, Korea also had a strong messianic faith through the Chung-Garn-Nok, a book of prophecy. It was written in the time of the providence when Gods salvation through the Messiah was not immediately available. It is characteristic of Korea to have been nurtured by this unique messianic thought. Also, many spiritually gifted clergy and laymen have received specific revelations regarding the Second Advent of the Lord in Korea. Furthermore, many deeply religious people have had the common revelation that Korea will be the center of world salvation.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 03:22:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015