Witnessing Activities
Special Lectures
| Lecture 20 : [Restoration] The Principle of Restoration Through Indemnity | |
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| Date created : 2015-01-14/ Views : 993 | |
Second Volume Introduction 1
Lecture 20 The Principle of Restoration Through Indemnity
Hello, and welcome back to the path to Happiness. I’m your host, Dr. Tyler Hendricks.
In our last session, we learned that since the Fall took place as a couple, spiritually and physically, it is restored as a couple, spiritually and physically, and it is bestowed through holy marriage Blessing.
Now, how do we prepare for this? Can I just sign up? Actually, there are simple principled steps we can take. In this session, we will introduce the principles of restoration, the principles of preparation to receive the True Parents through the holy marriage blessing, which is the path to happiness.
The providence of restoration is Part 2 of the Divine Principle. It is the providence of the re-creation which attempts to recover and fulfill the purpose of creation. We will learn about the fundamental principle of biblical history from Genesis through Revelation. We will be able to resolve many biblical puzzles. Just as God has created all of the Creation with the principle of creation, God's principle of restoration must also follow principles. We can see them come into play right after the fall of the first ancestors.
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I will begin by sharing how the principle works to cut off our relationship with satan, build our relationship with God, and make a foundation to receive the True Parents. We can achieve salvation through leading lives according to such principles. Here’s the key term: “Restoration through Indemnity.”
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First, since we are under satan’s realm, we have to separate from Satan and subjugate satan. This means to connect ourselves to God, and to overcome selfishness and evil in our relationships. We are not expecting perfection here, and that’s why we use the word “conditions.” They symbolize, they look like, the ideal, even though we know we are still not ideal. We call them “conditions of indemnity.”
Indemnity means that you have a debt that you cannot pay, and your creditor forgives your debt based your paying a conditional amount. So, “conditions of indemnity” are a great blessing. But still, as we will see, it takes a lot of effort.
Now, because Adam and Eve fell at the top of the growth stage, we need to make these conditions in a way that correlates to the top of the growth stage, at which point we can receive the True Parents through the Holy Marriage Blessing, be reborn and remove the claim of original sin. After removing original sin, we are restored to the position that Adam and Even enjoyed before the fall. At that point, we must follow the Messiah, continuing to grow and reach the position of having completed the purpose of creation. This is the principle of restoration.
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Now let’s delve deeper. We first talk about the position we held before the fall. With no fall, we would have achieved perfection and became one in heart with God. But our fall into a love relationship with Satan means we made a bond with Satan. That is why immediately after the fall, Adam and Even faced God and Satan from a position in the middle, the midway position. Following this, all their descendants came to stand in a midway position. If we do evil, we go more to satan’s side. If we do good, we go more to God’s side. It’s completely our decision and responsibility. Separating from Satan and returning to the position where we can face God is the first priority.
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Then what we do to separate from Satan? We formed a love relationship with Satan, so we have to set up a condition of love for God that He can accept. We are separated according to the conditions we make. Good conditions lead us toward God, and bad conditions lead us toward Satan. Then what kind of good conditions of indemnity can separate us from Satan?
If something in its original state has been damaged, in order to restore that thing to its original state, you have to assess the damage. For example, to recover a tarnished reputation, we change our behavior. To restore demoted status, we work harder. To cure an illness, we rest and medicate. Likewise, to restore our proper position before God and each other, we have to to set up the proper conditions to bring God’s forgiving grace. This is called 'restoration through indemnity.” The conditions to fulfill this are 'condition of indemnity.' And the providence that restores us to the position before the fall through setting conditions of indemnity is called the 'providence of restoration through indemnity.' That happens through history.
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Now, there are three variations on these conditions: equal, lesser, and greater. Conditions of equal indemnity means restoring something by setting up conditions of indeminity of equal value. When Moses fasted for 40 days atop Mt. Sinai, received the 10 commandments from God then broke them, he had to set the condition of fasting for another 40 days and receive the 10 commandments once again. As it says in Exodus 21:23-24, “Then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” This is what is meant by equal conditions of indemnity.
Second, setting conditions of lesser indemnity means to restore something back to its original state through something of value that is less than the value of the original. For example, whenever some debtor has a large debt, the creditor out of the goodness of his heart could ask for only a small amount to be repayed, and by doing so the debter could clear the debt. By setting the small condition of indemnity of believing in redemption through the Cross, we can receive the same great benefit of salvation as Jesus did when he died, or by setting the condition of indemnity by being baptised with water to be reborn by Jesus and the Holy Spirit, or by sharing in Holy Communion with bread and wine one can obtain the priceless benefit of engrafting the body of Christ into yourself.
Third, setting a condition of greater indemnity comes if there is a failure in a condition of lesser indemnity, and a condition greater than that is given in order to indemnify both the original object of the condition plus the failed attempt. For example, once Abraham failed to divide birds for an offering. To restore this, he had to offer his son. The Israelites at Moses’ time failed in a period of 40 days spying the land, and as a result had to wander for 40 years in the wilderness.
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Our last introductory point covers the question of who must set up such conditions of indemnity. The principle of creation teaches that we must fulfill our portion of responsibility to realize God's purpose of creation. The first ancestors did not fulfill their portion of responsibility, and rather fell under Satan's dominion. Therefore, it is our portion of responsibility to free ourselves from Satan's dominion, and restore God’s dominion over ourselves and the world. So it is our responsibility to set the necessary conditions of indemnity.
So, it’s up to us, so we’d better understand how to set up these conditions. That’s the topic of our next session.
Thanks for listening, and may God bless you.
