Pyeong Hwa Gyeong: Episode 156
Pyeong Hwa Gyeong: A Selection of True Parents’ Speeches
Book 4: The True Family Movement
Speech 4: The True Family Movement to Save Humankind, pg 546-549
Restoration of lineage through the submission of the first son
From the overall perspective of the providence of restoration, the foundation of cooperation between mother and son is very important. This was so at the time of Jacob, of Moses and of Jesus. God has been working His providence to separate people from Satan’s life and lineage by establishing the foundation of cooperation between a mother, who has to fulfill the responsibility of Eve, who initiated the Fall, and the second son of the family.
God could not directly relate to the first son, because the firstborn is in the position of having a direct relationship with Satan who, through the Fall, came to dominate humankind. God has been restoring the lineage of goodness by having the second son, who represents the side of goodness, establish the requisite condition. God’s strategy is then for the first son, who represents the side of evil, to voluntarily take a position subordinate to the second son.
The Fall was committed by three beings: Adam, Eve and the archangel. The archangel seduced Eve, causing the spiritual Fall, and later fallen Eve seduced Adam, causing the physical Fall. As a result, Adam and Eve became alienated from God, and the fallen archangel began to dominate them as Satan. Since the providence of salvation is the providence of restoration, the principle by which restoration takes place demands a 180-degree reversal of the course of events that led to the Fall.
God lost Adam, who had the seed of true love and true life. So God had to find a son with the new seed, free from satanic accusation. Just as God created Adam first at the time of the creation, God had to prepare a son who had no relationship to the Fall. Thus the providence of restoration is the providence of re-creation, and this is why humanity has awaited the coming of the Messiah.
For a son to be born on earth with this seed of God’s love and life, there first must exist a mother. The mother cannot give birth to this child in a conventional way. Conception must happen through the formula of restoration. All the cooperation between mothers and sons in the providence of restoration is a preparation and condition for the son of God to be born with the seed of new life, free from satanic accusation. By making conditions to avoid Satan’s attacks and by subordinating the firstborn son, who represents evil, mother and son restore the love, life and lineage that were taken over by Satan.
The Bible, which records the providential work of God, contains many stories that are difficult to understand. For example, Rebekah deceived her husband Isaac and her first son Esau and helped her second son Jacob to receive the blessing. God took the side of that mother and son, and although they used methods that at first glance seem unjust, God still blessed them for their actions.
In Adam’s family, Cain and Abel fought each other, and their struggle resulted in the death of Abel, the second son. Then God raised up Jacob. On the merits of many godly people who made sacrifices and paid indemnity after the time of Abel, Jacob at last stood in a position to dominate Satan, reversing the situation where the archangel first dominated humankind. At the ford of Jabbok, Jacob attained spiritual victory over the angel sent to fight him. Jacob consequently was blessed as the first victor in history and was given the name “Israel.” (Genesis 32:28) Then Jacob found a way to win over his twin brother Esau who was in the position of the archangel’s substantial body.
By the time Jacob attained his victory, he was more than forty years old. Because Satan had sown the seed of false love within the womb of Eve, which brought forth evil, God intended to purify a mother’s womb from which the heavenly Son could be born. To do this, a period of purification and separation from Satan was required to begin at the time of conception and extend to the age of forty. On the foundation of Jacob’s victory, God could prepare the way for a mother to assume the responsibility of fulfilling this condition. The woman chosen for this was Tamar.
Tamar had married Er, the eldest son of Judah. However, Er displeased God and he died. According to the custom of that time, Judah gave his second son, Onan, to Tamar so that they might bear a child for Er. Then Onan, knowing that Tamar’s child would not be his, spilled his semen on the ground. This was a sin in God’s eyes for which Onan died. Tamar was then to become the wife of Shelah, Judah’s third son. But Judah did not allow this, thinking that his two sons had died because of Tamar and fearing that his lineage would come to an end if Shelah also died.
However, Tamar had the conviction that she was to carry on the lineage of the chosen people. To do that, she disguised herself as a prostitute and slept with her father-in-law, Judah, and became pregnant with twins. While she was giving birth one of the twin sons, Zerah, stretched out his hand from the womb, as if to become the firstborn. But during her labor the babies’ positions were reversed and the second son, Perez, was born first.
Thus, within the womb of Tamar, the first and second sons struggled, and their reversal of positions represented their separation from Satan. That became the condition for restoration in the womb.
Upon this condition, two thousand years later the Messiah could be conceived through the lineage of the chosen people, on the foundation of the nation of Israel that had maintained its tradition of faith even under the Roman Empire. The foundation of victory within the womb was thus taken to the national level, and Mary was chosen as the holy mother, free of satanic accusation, who was to receive the seed of the Son of God. is is how Mary emerged in the mainstream of God’s providence.
When Mary was engaged to Joseph, she received from the archangel Gabriel the surprising message that the Messiah would be born through her. In those days, if an unmarried woman became pregnant, she would be killed. However, Mary accepted the Will of God with absolute faith, saying, “Here I am, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Mary confided in her relative, the highly respected priest, Zechariah. In this way, God let Mary, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth know about the birth of the Messiah before anyone else. All of them had the absolutely crucial mission of following the Will of God and serving Jesus. Zechariah and Elizabeth let Mary stay in their home, and Jesus was conceived there. For the first time in history, free of satanic accusation, the seed of the Son of God, the seed of the True Father, was planted within a prepared womb. In this way, the only begotten Son of God, the owner of the first love of God, was born.
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