[To send the Messiah is God’s portion of responsibility. However, belief in the Messiah is the human portion of responsibility. The Jewish people could either believe in the Messiah as God wished or not believe in him in opposition to His desire. To cope with the contingency of human responsibility, God gave two kinds of prophecies concerning the accomplishment of His Will through Jesus. One kind foretold that Jesus would die due to the disbelief of the people. (Isa53) Another kind foretold that the people would believe in and honor Jesus as the Messiah and help him to accomplish God’s Will in glory. (Isa9,11,60; Lk1:31) When Jesus died on the cross due to the disbelief of the people, only the prophecies of the first kind were fulfilled. The prophecies of the second kind were left unfulfilled until the 2nd Coming of Christ. 

There are several passages in the Gospels in which Jesus spoke of his suffering on the cross as if it were necessary for salvation. For example, when Peter heard Jesus’ prediction of his imminent crucifixion and tried to dissuade him, Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.” (Mt16:23) Why did Jesus chastise Peter so harshly? In truth, when Jesus spoke these words, the disbelief of the chosen people had already frustrated Jesus’ efforts to complete the providence of salvation both physically and spiritually. By that time, Jesus had resolutely determined to accept the fate of the cross (Lk9:31) as a condition of indemnity to open the way for at least the spiritual salvation of humankind. Peter’s dissuasion could have hindered Jesus from paving the way for spiritual salvation through the cross. For this reason, Jesus rebuked him. 

A second example is Jesus’ last words on the cross, “It is finished.” (Jn19:30) Jesus did not utter these words to mean that through the crucifixion he had completely accomplished the providence of salvation. After he realized that the people’s disbelief was unalterable, he chose the path of the cross in order to lay the foundation for spiritual salvation, leaving unfulfilled the task of achieving physical salvation until the time of the Second Advent. Hence, by the words, “It is finished,” Jesus meant that he had finished laying the foundation for spiritual salvation. By this time, it had become the alternative goal of the providence. 

In order for us to have proper faith, it is necessary first to have direct communion with God through spiritual experiences in prayer, and then to understand the truth through a correct reading of Scripture. This is the reason Jesus told us to worship in “spirit and truth.” (Jn4:24) 

Since the time of Jesus, Christians have believed that Jesus came to this world to die on the cross. They have not known the fundamental purpose for which Jesus came as the Messiah and misunderstood the spiritual salvation which he brought us, thinking it to be all that his mission entailed. Jesus had wanted to live and fulfill his destiny, yet due to the people’s disbelief in him, he died with a heart full of disappointment. Today, there must appear on earth faithful brides — pure-hearted Believers — who can alleviate the bitter and grieving heart of Jesus. 

There must appear brides who can exalt the desires of Jesus’ heart before Jesus can come again as the bridegroom. Yet Jesus lamented, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk18:8) for he foresaw that when he returned the people would likely be in darkness.

We have clarified from our study of the Bible that Jesus did not come to die on the cross. We can ascertain this fact even more clearly if we communicate with Jesus spiritually and ask him directly. If we cannot perceive spiritual realities, we should seek out the testimonies of those who are endowed with such gifts in order to properly understand his heart and deepen our faith. Only then will we be worthy to become the brides of Jesus who can receive him in the Last Days.] From Exposition of the Divine Principle Part 1, Chapter 4, Section 1

​Christians currently have an erroneous take on Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane thinking that Jesus (as God) was displaying His human weakness side in being afraid of death but, nevertheless, yielding to it. But this new understanding makes it clear that Jesus wanted to fulfill his primary mission to bring the actual realization of the Kingdom of Heaven that was prevented by the Fall of Man. Jesus was looking for some way to accomplish that, rather than keeping the way open for the 2nd Coming through the spiritual salvation that he accomplished through his sacrifice on the cross.

When Jesus declared, “What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven . . .” (and vice versa) he was affirming that the victory over satan and the Fall have to be accomplished on this earth. Satan is the false ruler, and false god, of this world as written in the Bible verses from John 12:31 and 2 Corinthians 4:4. This is why the 2nd Coming of Christ will occur in the same way that Jesus came – born on the earth. The 2nd coming of Elijah fulfilling the crucial Malachi 4:5 prophecy was through a different person, with a different name, according to the words of Jesus. Revelation 2:17 also declares that, " . . . he (2nd Advent) will come with a new name".
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There is strong evidence that the 2nd Coming occurred already between the years 1917 and 1930. Hope that you’ll check this out and see that the 2nd Coming is more to do with bringing the complete truth that ‘we the people’ need to align with rather than to be taken up into the air to meet the Lord and leave this fallen world behind. We the people invited satan in through the Fall of Man and it is we the people who, aligning with God’s Will through the words of the returning Christ, have to invite satan out again. I believe we’re seeing this taking place in the world right now.

There is a good case that the verse in Revelation 12 is a time stamp: 2017 September 24th - as this is when the constellation pattern described in Rev12:1,2 concluded. That would mean that we’re living through the events described in Revelation right now.

Looking forward to hearing your views on this matter. We should be able to reason together, right? The first chosen people made a huge mistake in not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Saul, who became St Paul, is a pertinent demonstration that it’s never too late to make a fundamental change as he became arguably the most loyal, dedicated, and effective, of all the apostles. In saying that we should be able to reason together is also implying that the 2nd Advent of Christ marks the conclusion of religion – as per Rev21:22 !!!

Thank you for reading this far.

Andrew Derricutt 

Thinking here of Jesus' words, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Lk17:33, Mt16:25) We're living in serious times right now.

Just over 2000 years ago the chosen people did not believe in Jesus; instead they led him to the cross. [Jesus’ body was exposed to Satan’s assault, and he was killed. Therefore, even when faithful Christians are united with Jesus, their bodies remain exposed to Satan’s attack, just as was Jesus’ body.

Consequently, no matter how devout a believer may be, he cannot attain physical salvation through redemption by the cross of Jesus. His original sin, which has been passed down through the lineage from Adam, is not eliminated at its root. Even the most devout Christian still has the original sin and gives birth to children who also carry the original sin. In our personal faith, we may feel it necessary to mortify and deny our flesh in our efforts to prevent the intrusion of Satan, who continually tries to ensnare us through our bodies. We are taught to “pray constantly” (1Thss.5:17) that we might remove the conditions by which Satan can attack us; these conditions stem from the original sin, which was not eradicated despite salvation through redemption by the cross.

Jesus could not fulfill the goal of complete salvation, both spiritual and physical, because his body was struck down by Satan. However, Jesus laid the basis for spiritual salvation by securing the victorious foundation for his resurrection through the redemption by his blood on the cross. As a result, all believers since his resurrection have received the benefit of spiritual salvation, but not physical salvation. Salvation through redemption by the cross is spiritual salvation only. The original sin remains active in the flesh of even the most devout Christians and is transmitted through the lineage to their descendants. The more fervent a believer’s faith, the more fiercely he must fight against the sin within. Even St. Paul, the most devout among the apostles, lamented over his inability to prevent sin from infiltrating his flesh:

For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Rom. 7:22-25)

This statement contrasts the bliss Paul felt upon receiving spiritual salvation with the agony he felt because he was unable to achieve physical salvation. John also confessed:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. . . . If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 Jn 1:8-10)

We who receive salvation based on Jesus’ crucifixion cannot unshackle ourselves from the chains of sin, due to the original sin still active deep within us. Therefore, to uproot the original sin, which he could not remove through the crucifixion, and to complete the work of physical salvation, Jesus must come again on earth. Only then will the purpose of God’s work of salvation be fulfilled both spiritually and physically.​

Two Kinds of Prophecies Concerning the Cross:
If Jesus’ death on the cross were not predestined as necessary for the complete accomplishment of his purpose as the Messiah, why was it prophesied in Isaiah that he would suffer the ordeal of the cross? (Isa.53) We may think that the Bible contains only prophecies which foretold Jesus’ suffering. However, when we read the Bible anew with knowledge of the Principle, we realize there are other prophecies to the contrary. As Isaiah prophesied (Isa.9, 11&60) and as the angel announced to Mary, (Lk 1:31-33) it was foretold that Jesus would become the king of the Jews in his lifetime and establish an everlasting kingdom on the earth. Let us investigate why God gave two contrasting kinds of prophecies concerning Jesus.

God created human beings to reach perfection only by fulfilling their own portion of responsibility, (Freedom of choice - we are made in the image of God) In reality, the first human ancestors did not fulfill their responsibility and fell. Thus, human beings have the potential to either accomplish their responsibility in accordance with God’s Will or fail their responsibility contrary to God’s Will.

To take some examples from the Bible, it was Adam’s portion of responsibility not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He either could obey the commandment of God and reach perfection or eat of the fruit and die. He chose the latter. In the Old Testament Age, God gave the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law, which the people were to obey as the condition for their salvation. It was their portion of responsibility to either uphold the Law and receive salvation or disobey it and come to ruin. (Deut.30:15-20) For the Israelites who left Egypt and journeyed toward Canaan, it was their responsibility to obey the instructions of Moses. They could either faithfully comply with Moses’ directions and enter the land of Canaan or rebel against him and not enter the promised land. In fact, God had foretold that He would guide the Israelites into the land of Canaan (Exod3:8) and commanded Moses to lead them there. Yet due to their lack of faith, the people perished in the wilderness, leaving only their descendants to reach the final destination.

Human beings thus have their own portion of responsibility; they can either fulfill it in accordance with God’s Will or fail to fulfill it contrary to His Will. The nature of the fruits they bear depends upon whether or not they fulfill their portion of responsibility. For this reason, God gave two kinds of prophecies concerning the accomplishment of His Will.

To send the Messiah is God’s portion of responsibility. However, belief in the Messiah is the human portion of responsibility. The Jewish people could either believe in the Messiah as God wished or not believe in him in opposition to His desire. To cope with the contingency of human responsibility, God gave two kinds of prophecies concerning the accomplishment of His Will through Jesus. One kind foretold that Jesus would die due to the disbelief of the people. (Isa. 53) Another kind foretold that the people would believe in and honor Jesus as the Messiah and help him to accomplish God’s Will in glory. (Isa.9,11&60; Lk1:31) When Jesus died on the cross due to the disbelief of the people, only the prophecies of the first kind were fulfilled. The prophecies of the second kind were left unfulfilled until the Second Coming of Christ.] EotDP part1 Chapter4

Understanding why Jesus came is crucial to being able to see, and connect with, the Lord of the 2nd Advent. I think it will become more and more clear that we're living in the Last Days right now and we'll need to make a decision, a choice, in line with Jesus' words at the start of this blog. Thank You for reading this far. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Andrew Derricutt

Going back to the very start - had the 1st ancestors honored God's commandment, "Do not eat" they would have kept the lineage of God, our Heavenly Father, and become the True Parents of humanity. We would all then become God's true sons and daughters with no need to be saved. The archangel, who is now the false ruler and 'god' of this world (Jn12;31; 2Cor4:4), would have thus kept his proper position not becoming God's adversary. All the angels who honor God would then have had tangible multiple and unique manifestations of God, as well as the original God Who exists beyond time and space. Still with me?

Jesus, being the manifestation of the Word wanted the 'Chosen People' to believe in and follow him. Any written or spoken word describing something, pales in comparison with that which is the actual thing. Jesus being the substance of the Word of God similarly is greater than any explanation. in other words there is no substitute for actually being there. This is, essentially, why Jesus wanted the people to 'believe in him whom He had sent' rather than having to explain in words.

Here is what Jesus said regarding that. "I have said that to you in figures: the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father." (Jn16:25). After having already stated that, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" And, "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now . . ." He even had to explain some of his parables to his close disciples, right? It is reasonable to say that none of them fully understood who Jesus really was until after the resurrection of Jesus over 40 days.

I'm sure that You must've had the frustrating experience of trying to explain something to someone who has some preconceived idea at odds with what you have. Why did Jesus have such a hard time with the chosen people of 2000 years ago. Wouldn't it be important to figure out why the then chosen people did not accept Jesus as Messiah; and, furthermore, that even up to the present day still cannot accept Jesus as the Messiah?

​The point I'm making here is that the 2nd Coming of Christ is to bring a higher and more complete expression of the truth than Jesus was able to bring - according to Jesus' own words that I've already shared with you above. 

Let us examine some other reasons a new expression of truth must appear. The Bible, as was noted, is not the truth itself, but rather is a textbook teaching the truth. It renders important parts of the truth in symbols and in parables. Since these are open to various interpretations, there have arisen numerous disagreements among believers, causing them to divide into many denominations. The primary cause of denominational divisions lies in the character of the Bible, not in the people. The strife between denominations will only grow more intractable unless a new truth emerges which can elucidate the symbols and parables obscuring the essential truths of the Bible. Without this new truth, God’s providence, which comes through the unification of Christianity, can never reach its goal. This is why Jesus promised that in the Last Days he will give us the new Word of truth.

So, this understanding should lessen the expectation of miracles. We (the people) need to accomplish becoming the 'Word made flesh' as Jesus did. We can do that by aligning with God, our Heavenly Father, through the Word of God that the 2nd Coming of Christ brings.

In addition Christ comes to give re-birth. Re-birth is changing from the lineage of the Fall (we're all a 'brood of vipers' - in other words: children of Satan) to the lineage of God as it would have been had the first ancestors honored God's commandment as per the start of this blog.

This line of reasoning puts a whole different expectation regarding the 2nd Coming of Christ. St Paul equated Jesus with Adam in many of his letters. Adam was the one who brought death, whereas Jesus brought life. St Paul describes Jesus as the 'last Adam' (1Cor15:45) as would've been the case had Jesus been accepted by the 'chosen people'. Jesus could not accomplish what he originally wanted because of the disbelief of the chosen people. Jesus, because of his unswerving loyalty to God did accomplish spiritual rebirth and Christians today have that, having been re-born through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It should not need to be explained that spiritual re-birth falls short - as children of Christian parents still need re-birth. Our lineage is connected with the Fall and, thus, Satan has a claim on us. Just as Jesus' body was attacked by Satan so too are Christians vulnerable to physical attack from Satan and this is why Christianity tends to be other worldly and is a religion of martyrdom.

Christ coming again to give re-birth explains too why Christ will have a 'new name'. This is because the 2nd Coming will occur in exactly the same way as Jesus. That is, born on the earth. And this is why Jesus warned that it would not be easy to recognize the 2nd Coming: Lk17:25; 18:8 and the scary Matt7:21-23 - "I never knew you."

I realize that this explanation is not going to sit well with churchgoing Christians. But, if nothing else, it is entirely logical and grounded in the Holy Bible. We do need to 'reason together', right? . . .

Andrew Derricutt

We’re living in the Last Days right now but don’t appreciate that this has happened twice before already. God requires a proper, or appropriate, response from mankind - as Jesus inferred when he said, “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.’ (Mt11:16,17) And as God also inferred when He said that, “He was sorry that He made mankind on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart” (Gen6:6); as mankind had frustrated God’s Will by not obeying the commandment, “Do not eat...for in the day you eat of it, you shall die”. Let’s look at previous Last Days as recorded in the Bible and re-assess how we should respond to God today.

Noah’s Day was the Last Days

God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Gen 6:13) This indicates that Noah’s day was the Last Days. God wanted to destroy the corrupt, evil world which had been ruled by Satan since the time of the human Fall. He intended once and for all to purge sinful history, biblically reckoned as 1,600 years, by the Flood. In its aftermath, God intended to raise up Noah’s family, who worshipped Him and no other, and resurrect the world of God’s sovereignty upon the foundation of their faith. This is how the time of Noah can be considered the Last Days. Nonetheless, when Ham, the second son of Noah, committed a sinful act which reaffirmed the Fall, Noah’s family could not fulfill its portion of responsibility on behalf of humankind, and the Will of God was frustrated. (Gen 9:22) 

Jesus' Day was the Last Days

God has foreordained the fulfillment of His Will; hence, the goal of the providence of restoration is unchanging and shall be fulfilled without fail. Therefore, even though the providence of restoration was not accomplished through Noah, God called upon other prophets to prepare anew the basis of faith. Upon this foundation, God sent Jesus to vanquish the satanic sovereignty which has held this world in thrall and to establish the God-centered ideal world. Accordingly, Jesus’ day was also the Last Days. This is why Jesus said that he came to bring judgment, (Jn5:22) and why Malachi prophesied of Jesus’ coming: Behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up . . . so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. (Mal 4:1) 

Jesus came to restore the original, ideal world. However, when the people of Israel did not believe in him, the human portion of responsibility was left unaccomplished. This meant that the fulfillment of the Will of God had to be prolonged until Christ’s Second Advent. 

The Day of Christ’s 2nd Advent is the Last Days
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When the disbelief of the chosen people led Jesus to go the way of the cross, he could accomplish only spiritual salvation. It remains for him to return and accomplish the goal of the providence of restoration both spiritually and physically and restore the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Hence, the day of the Christ’s Second Advent is also the Last Days. For this reason Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man” (Luke 17:26) and prophesied that many natural calamities would break out at his return. (Matt. 24:7, 29)

What can be learned from this? Could you have taken seriously someone who built a boat on a mountain? Could you have followed Jesus even though John the Baptist denied he was the Elijah (thus negating Mal 4:5) and who didn’t even follow Jesus?
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And if the 2nd Advent comes in the same way that Jesus did (born on the earth) then it won’t be easy to recognize him, right?

Check out Eschatology (doctrine of the Last Days) in the Exposition of the Divine Principle of Sun Myung Moon. (part 1, Chapter 3)

Andrew Derricutt