Being Called
Excerpts from different sections of the Divine Principle
Selected by ESGD
21 minutes
PART 1, Chapter 3: Eschatology, 5.2
Among the disciples of Jesus, there was not one who was overly attached to the Old Testament Scriptures. Rather, they all responded to the spiritual experiences which they could sense through their inner minds. In the Last Days, people who lead an ardent life of prayer or who live by their conscience will feel intense anxiety in their hearts. This is because in their hearts they vaguely sense a spiritual calling and want to follow the providence of the new age, yet they have not come in contact with the new truth which can guide them to act accordingly.
These are the chosen ones who, once they hear the new truth, will be awakened simultaneously in their spirits and intellects by spirit and truth. They will then fully understand God’s providential needs concerning the new age and will volunteer with great enthusiasm and delight. We who are alive today are living in the Last Days. We should cultivate a humble heart and make the utmost effort to receive divine inspiration through prayer. We should not be strongly attached to conventional concepts, but rather should direct ourselves to be receptive to the spirit, in order that we may find the new truth which can guide us to the providence of the new age. When we come across this truth, we should ascertain whether it leads us to become one with Heaven’s guidance.
We should examine ourselves as to whether or not genuine, heavenly bliss springs forth abundantly from the depths of our soul. Only in this way can we, the seekers in the Last Days, discover the path to true salvation.
PART 1, Chapter 5: Resurrection, 2.4
THE THEORY OF REINCARNATION EXAMINED IN LIGHT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF RETURNING RESURRECTION
In seeking to fulfill the whole purpose of the providence of restoration, God has called upon many individuals and has apportioned to each a suitable mission. These individuals have passed down their particular missions to other individuals of similar character and circumstances, gradually fulfilling each area of mission over the long flow of history.
The providence of restoration begins with an individual, expands to the family, nation and world, and ultimately will bring restoration to all of heaven and earth. Although the mission given to each individual may be only a part of the greater whole, it also unfolds according to this pattern. Each mission begins at the individual level and expands its scope to the family, nation and world level. To take an example from the Bible, the mission begun with Abraham at the individual and family levels was passed down to Moses at the national level and to Jesus at the worldwide level. […]
In the Last Days, certain people on earth are entrusted with missions on the worldwide level. They must inherit and complete the responsibilities of all the spirits of the past who were devoted to the same field. These spirits will descend to these people and assist them in order to complete the spirits’ own unfinished work.
Part 1, Chapter 6: Predestination, 3-4
God’s providence of salvation—a work of re-creation—cannot be completed in an instant. It begins from one point and gradually expands to cover the whole. Therefore, in the providence of salvation, God first predestines one person to be the central figure and then calls him to a mission.
[…] God, being omniscient, foreknows who has the qualifications necessary to become a central figure in the providence of restoration. God predestines those whom He foreknows; then He calls upon him to fulfill the purpose of the providence. Calling the person is God’s responsibility, but that alone does not entitle the person to be justified before God and given glory. Only when the person completes his responsibility after being called by God is he justified and then glorified.
PART 2, Introduction to Restoration, 3
THE HISTORY OF THE PROVIDENCE OF RESTORATION AND I
As an individual, each one of us is a product of the history of the providence of restoration. Hence, the person who is to accomplish the purpose of history is none other than I, myself. I must take up the cross of history and accept responsibility to fulfill its calling. To this end, I must fulfill in my lifetime (horizontally), through my efforts, the indemnity conditions which have accumulated through the long course of the providence of restoration (vertically). Only by doing this can I stand proudly as the fruit of history, the one whom God has eagerly sought throughout His providence.
In other words, I must restore through indemnity, during my own generation, all the unaccomplished missions of past prophets and saints who were called in their time to carry the cross of restoration. Otherwise, I cannot become the individual who completes the purpose of the providence of restoration. To become such an historical victor, I must understand clearly the Heart of God when He worked with past prophets and saints, the original purpose for which God called them, and the details of the providential missions which He entrusted to them.
Yet there is no one among fallen humanity who can become such an historical victor by his efforts alone. For this reason, we must understand all these things through Christ at the Second Advent, who comes to fulfill the providence of restoration. Moreover, when we believe in him, become one with him, and attend him in his work, we can stand in the position of having fulfilled horizontally with him the vertical indemnity conditions in the history of the providence of restoration.
The path which all past saints walked as they strove to fulfill God’s providential Will is the very path we must walk again today. Beyond that, we must continue on to the end of the path, even walking trails they left untrodden. Therefore, fallen people can never find the path that leads to life without understanding the particulars of the providence of restoration. Herein lies the reason why we must study the Principle of Restoration in detail.
PART 2, Chapter 5: The Period of Preparation for the Second Advent of the Messiah, 1.1
According to the Principle of Creation, we are created to attain perfection by fulfilling our given responsibility of our own free will, without God’s direct assistance. We are then to attain oneness with God and acquire true autonomy. Therefore, it is the calling of our original nature to pursue freedom and autonomy. A person of perfect character understands the Will of God and puts it into practice through his own insight and reason, without the need to rely on revelations from God. Hence, it is only natural that we pursue reason and understanding. We also are endowed with the God-given right to master the natural world, to tame and cultivate it in order to create a pleasant living environment, by investigating the hidden laws of nature through science. Hence, we value the natural world, pursue science, and esteem the practical life.
PART 2, Chapter 5: The Period of Preparation for the Second Advent of the Messiah, 1.2
The providence of restoration centering on the medieval papacy did not bear fruit due to the secularization and decadence of the Church leadership. Consequently, as the people advocated humanism, they also rebelled against the ritualism and rules of the Church which were constraining their free devotion. They fought against the stratified feudal system and papal authority which deprived them of autonomy. They protested against the medieval view that faith required unquestioning obedience to the dictates of the Church in all areas of life, which denied them the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience based on their own reading of the Bible. They also questioned the otherworldly and ascetic monastic ideal which devalued the natural world, science and the practical affairs of life. Out of these grievances, many medieval Christians revolted against the rule of the papacy.
PART 2, Chapter 6: The Second Advent, 2.2
When Noah knew that the flood judgment was imminent, he called the people to enter his ark. Yet they did not heed his words, and all were drowned. Similarly in the Last Days, Christ will return in the flesh and call to the people to enter the ark of truth. Yet Christians who stubbornly fix their gaze upon the sky, expecting to see miraculous signs of the Lord’s appearance, will not heed the words of truth proclaimed from the earth. Instead, they will reject the Lord as a heretic. Heedless as the people of Noah’s day, they will have failed to serve God’s providential Will.
Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. —Luke 17:33
PART 2, Chapter 6: The Second Advent, 3.1
“Israel” means the one who has prevailed. Jacob received this name upon defeating the angel who wrestled with him at the ford of Jabbok. Jacob wrestled with the angel to secure the position of Abel for the foundation of substance. […]
The term “Israel” thus signifies the people of God who have triumphed through their faith and does not necessarily apply to everyone who comes out of Jacob’s lineage. Thus, John the Baptist said to the Jews, “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” Moreover, St. Paul said, “For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal,” and “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.” They reproached those Jews who boasted that they were the chosen people based only on their lineal connection to Abraham, even though they were not in fact living according to the Will of God.
PART 1, Chapter 5: Resurrection, 1.1 – 1.4
When a follower asked Jesus if he could go home to bury his deceased father, Jesus said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.” From these words of Jesus, it is clear that the Bible contains two different concepts of life and death. The first concept of life and death concerns physical life. […] The second concept of life and death concerns those living people who had gathered to bury the deceased man, those whom Jesus called “the dead.”
Why did Jesus refer to people whose bodies were alive and active as the dead? He meant that since they had not accepted Jesus, they were far removed from the love of God and were dwelling in the realm of Satan’s dominion. This second concept of death does not refer to the expiration of physical life. It means leaving the bosom of God’s love and falling under the dominion of Satan. The corresponding concept of life refers to the state of living in accordance with God’s Will, within the dominion of God’s infinite love. […] Accordingly, whenever we repent of our sins and rise to a higher state of goodness, we are resurrected to that degree.
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.
PART 1, Chapter 5: Resurrection, 2.1
HOW DOES GOD CARRY OUT HIS WORK OF RESURRECTION?
Resurrection means the process through which a fallen person is restored to the original state as intended by God. […] Since the providence of restoration is God’s work of re-creation, resurrection is a work of re-creation. Thus, the providence of resurrection is carried out in accordance with the Principle of Creation, in the following manner.
First, in the history of the providence of resurrection, many of those who were entrusted with a mission exerted themselves with utmost sincerity and faith to realize the Will of Heaven. Even though they may not have fully carried out their responsibilities, based on their devotion, they broadened the foundation upon which subsequent generations can form a relationship of heart with God. We call this foundation the merit of the age in the providence of restoration. The merit of the age has increased in proportion to the foundation of heart laid by the prophets, sages and righteous people who came before us. […]
Second, according to the Principle of Creation, it was God’s responsibility to create human beings and give them His Word, while it was the human portion of responsibility to reach perfection by believing in and living according to it. Similarly, in conducting the providence of resurrection, God’s responsibility is to give us His Word and guidance, and our responsibility is to believe and practice it in order to fulfill the providence.
Third, according to the Principle of Creation, a person’s spirit can grow to perfection only through the physical self. Likewise, in the providence of resurrection, the resurrection of a spirit can be achieved only through earthly life.
Fourth, according to the Principle of Creation, a person is meant to reach perfection through the three ordered stages of the growing period. Therefore, the providence of resurrection for fallen people is also to be completed through three ordered stages, manifested as three ages in the providence of restoration.
