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| Lecture 36 : [Restoration] Parallel Periods in Providential History | |
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| Date created : 2015-05-13/ Views : 1467 | |
The Parallels between the Age in the Providence of Restoration and the Age of the Prolongation of the Providence of Restoration
Lecture 36 The Parallels between the Age in the Providence of Restoration and the Age of the Prolongation of the Providence of Restoration
Welcome back to the path to happiness, an introduction to the Unification principle. I’m your host, Dr. Tyler Hendricks.
We’re studying history, and this might seem abstract to us, but let us keep in mind that we are talking about people, men and women like you and me, living their lives in hopes that one day they would see a better world, on earth or in heaven, but having no idea how or when. These are our mothers and fathers going back hundreds of generations, and these principles show how each person’s life ties into God’s great plan of salvation, and how each and every child of God will someday live together as families of true love in Heaven.
Let us examine the chart of the parallel ages in the providence. The Age in the Providence of Restoration is from Abraham until Jesus, and the Age of the Prolongation of the Providence of Restoration, which is to restore through indemnity the previous age, refers to the period from Jesus until the Second Advent of the Messiah. Based on the principle of restoration, we will find cycles that are parallel to the earlier period.
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God’s first chosen people consisted of the descendants of Abraham, who established the family foundation for the Messiah. Israel was centrally responsible for God’s providence in the Age of the Providence of Restoration. Therefore, the history of Israel provides the source material for the Providence of Restoration. This age is made up of a 400-year period of slavery in Egypt, a 400-year period of rule by judges, a 120-year period of a united kingdom, a 400-year period of divided kingdoms of North and South, a 210-year period of exile and return, and a 400-year period of preparation for the Messiah.
However, after the rejection of Jesus and his resurrection and founding of Christianity, the Age of the Prolongation of the Providence of Restoration began, and the Christians became centrally responsible. The history of western Christianity provides the source material for the providential history in this age.
The purpose of this age is to restore through indemnity the previous age, which was lost, and therefore it is parallel to six stages of the previous age. We have a 400-year period of persecution in the Roman Empire, a 400-year period of regional church leadership, a 120-year period of united Christian Empire, a 400-year period of divided empires of East and West, a 210-year period of the Papal Exile and Return, and a 400-year period of preparation for the Second Advent.
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Let’s go into these stages in a bit more detail.
First, there was the 400-year period of slavery in Egypt. In order to restore through indemnity Abraham’s mistake in his offering, centered on Jacob and his 12 children, 70 families entered Egypt and toiled in slavery for 400 years. This period was the image parallel to the sixteen hundred years from Adam to Noah and was to restore the earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions
Second was the 400-year period of the judges. After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt in BC 1446, they entered Canaan. After Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan, fifteen judges governed the tribes: after the first twelve judges beginning with Othniel were Samson, Eli and Samuel. The judges filled the triple responsibilities of prophet, priest and king. This period was the image parallel to the period of the four hundred years from Noah to Abraham in the age of symbolic parallels and was to restore the earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Third was the 120-year period of the united kingdom of Israel (B.C. 1050-931). This was a 120-year period of restoration through indemnity to restore Moses’ three attempts, each 40 years long, to lay the foundation of faith for the national course to restore Canaan. Therefore, in the period of the united kingdom, King Saul reigned for 40 years, King David for 40 years and King Solomon for 40 years, making a total of 120 years. This period was the image parallel to the period of 120 years from the time Abraham left Haran until Jacob purchased the birthright from his brother, and was to restore the earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Fourth was 400-year period of the divided kingdoms of North and South where the northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians (BCE 722) and the southern kingdom was destroyed by the Babylon Empire and taken into exile in Babylon (BCE 586). This period was the image parallel to the forty years from Jacob’s purchase of the birthright from Esau with bread and lentils until he received the blessing of his father Isaac and fled to Haran, and was to restore the earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Fifth was the 210-year period of Israel’s exile and return. Due to the Israelites’ disbelief, more than 10,000 people of the southern kingdom of Judah were taken into exile by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar in three stages (B.C.E. 605, 598, 586). After nearly seventy years of captivity, Babylon fell to King Cyrus of Persia, who issued a royal decree liberating them. They returned to Jerusalem in three stages (B.C.E. 537, 458, 445). Afterwards, the prophet Malachi (B.C.E. 433) told the people how to prepare to receive the Messiah. This period from when the Jews were first taken into exile in Babylon until Malachi’s prophecy is the period of Israel’s exile and return. This period was the image parallel to Jacob’s twenty-one-year period in Haran, and was to restore the earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Sixth is the 400-year period of preparation for the advent of the Messiah. After the Jewish people returned to their homeland, they built the second Temple and city walls and, based on Malachi’s prophecy, began as a nation to prepare for the Messiah. From that time until the birth of Jesus was a period of four hundred years, the period of preparation for the advent of the Messiah. This period was the image parallel to the forty-year period extending from the time Jacob returned to Canaan until his family entered Egypt at the invitation of his son Joseph, and was to restore the earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
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Now, let’s knit that together with the Age of the Prolongation of the Providence of Restoration. The Age of the Prolongation of the Providence of Restoration was to restore through substantial parallels the Age of the Providence of Restoration.
First was the 400-year period of persecution in the Roman Empire. Because the people failed to follow Jesus, early Christians underwent a period of suffering comparable to the period of slavery in Egypt through the persecution of the Roman Empire for 400 years. Emperor Constantine formally recognized Christianity as a legal religion in 313 A.D., and Emperor Theodosius established Christianity as the state religion in 392 A.D. This period was the substantial parallel to the Israelites’ four-hundred-year period of slavery in Egypt, and its purpose was to restore that earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Second was the 400-year period of regional church leadership. The period of regional church leadership began when Christianity was declared the state religion of the Roman Empire and ended with the enthronement of Charlemagne in 800 A.D., which signaled the ascendancy of Rome among the five church regions. This period was the substantial parallel to the four-hundred-year period of the judges, and its purpose was to restore that earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Third was the 120-year period of Charlemagne’s Christian empire. This period of 120 years began with Charlemagne’s enthronement as the emperor and ended after three generations, in 919 A.D. when Henry I was elected king of the German lands. This period was the substantial parallel to the 120-year period of the united kingdom of Saul, David and Solomon and its purpose was to restore that earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Fourth was the 400-year period of the divided kingdoms of East and West. This period of 400 years began after the period of the Christian empire and ended in 1309 when the papacy moved to Avignon, in what is now southern France. Although when the empire was first divided, it was split into the kingdoms of the East Franks, the West Franks and Italy, Italy soon reverted to the rule of the East Franks and together these constituted the Holy Roman Empire. This period was the substantial parallel to the four-hundred-year period of the divided kingdoms of North and South after Solomon, and its purpose was to restore that earlier period through parallel indemnity conditions.
Fifth was the 210-year period of the papal exile and return. The earlier period was from when the Jewish people of the kingdom of Judah in the south became faithless and failed to uphold the holiness of the Temple and were consequently taken into exile in Babylon, until they returned to Israel and rebuilt the Temple—a period of 210 years. Two thousand years later, in 1309 A.D. Pope Clement V was forced to move the papacy from Rome to Avignon and live there under the control of the kings of France. Later, the papacy returned to Rome but the instability continued. This period lasted 210 years and led up to the Protestant Reformation in 1517.
Sixth was the 400-year period of preparation for the Second Advent of the Messiah. This period was to restore the earlier preparation for the advent of the Messiah starting after Malachi’s prophecy and leading to the birth of Christ, through parallel indemnity conditions. By these parallels, 400 years after Martin Luther’s renunciation of Roman authority would bring us to the eve of the Second Advent of Christ on the earth.
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Luther’s Protestant Reformation opened the way for free Christian churches by rejecting the absolutist system centered on the pope. The Bible was translated into English, German and other popular languages, allowing anyone to have the freedom to practice their faith directly from the Bible. It was a revolutionary change. This gave birth to populist faith, which allows the individual the freedom and responsibility to recognize the Second Advent of the Messiah.
We see that the Unification principle integrates the principles of the creation, the human fall, the development of human faith and love, as well as science and economy, into one overarching ideal of true love and true families. So it all comes down to our lives and our families. It is about how God is working through us to bring these ideals to liberate all people and bring His dwelling place to earth.
But how does all this make its way into the twenty-first century? Social media, terrorism, gay marriage, healthcare crisis, environmental crisis … what is God’s plan today? We’ll find our way there by looking at the last 400 years of history.
Thanks for listening, and may God grant us all the ability to live in his love.
