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The literal meaning
of "Resurrection" is to rise from the dead. In order
to understand the meaning of resurrection, the definition
of death must be clarified. Before the fall, God said to Adam
and Eve, "For in the day that you eat of it you shall
die." What did He mean by death here? Was it the fact
that man's flesh becomes old, dies, and returns to dust? No,
such death is only a natural process of the physical life
in accordance with the principle of creation -- no physical
life is created to live for eternity. |
| Man, however, is apt to attach
himself to this physical life, because he does not know that
his spirit-man lives forever in the spiritual world after
separation from the body. Accordingly, the separation of the
spirit-man from his physical body is not death in God's sight. |
In
Luke 9:60 we read that to the disciple who wanted to go home
forhis father's funeral, Jesus said, "'... Leave the
dead to bury their
own dead ...'". In these words of Jesus we find two different
concepts of life and death. One concept is concerned with
the physiological functioning of the physical body. The other
is concerned with the people who would gather for the burial
of the disciple's father. Why did Jesus indicate that those
people who would attend the funeral were dead when they were
actually alive? |
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It
was because, being under Satan's dominion, they were ignorant
of the
purpose of life and did not know God, who is the source of
life. Revelation 3:1 says, "'... you have the name of
being alive and you are dead.'"From this verse we can
see that even though a person is physically alive, if he is
under Satan's dominion, then from Jesus point of view he is
dead. |
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The resurrection means all the
phenomena that appear in the process of restoring man's original
nature, which enables him to respond to God with his original
beauty and receive His love fully. There was no outward physical
transformation in Adam and Eve after their fall. Likewise,
there will be no outward physical transformation as one passes
through the process of resurrection. |
| But there is a radical spiritual change --
which is the removal of man from Satanic domination into God's
rule. Once man is completely resurrected, Satan can not have
control over him. The resurrection is, in other words, a process
of re-creating the spirit-man; therefore there are three stages
of growth in the process: Formation, Growth, and Perfection.
When man's resurrection is completed he becomes a Luminous
Being during his earthly life, a perfect spirit-man comes
into being simultaneously in the spiritual heavenly world.
Therefore the perfection of man is accomplished on earth first,
and then in the spiritual world. Resurrection also means the
restoration of true self -- the original self of creation.
The word, restoration, is applied to the restoration of individuals
as well as of the whole world, and these two are interrelated.
In other words, the individual's resurrection is completed
when the restoration of the entire world is accomplished.
The providence of restoration has been carried on through
the history of God's chosen people. |
The Principles
of Resurrection
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| Since
resurrection means the phenomena occurring in the course of
restoring fallen man's nature to the standard originally created
by God, the dispensation for resurrection is actually the
Dispensation for Restoration or the Dispensation for Re-Creation.
Consequently the dispensation for the resurrection is carried
out according to "The Principles of the Creation".
First of all, according to
"The Principles of the Creation", the Purpose of
the Creation is fulfilled when man accomplishes his responsibility,
by believing in and living God's Word. Therefore in resurrection,
which is re-creation, God gives man His Word -- he gave the
Old Testament and the New Testament, and he promised to give
the complete testament when Christ returns. In order to be
resurrected,
man must fulfill his responsibility -- to believe in and live
the Word. Thus, resurrection is accomplished by God's giving
His Word (truth) to man together with man's fulfilling his
responsibility to believe in and live the truth.
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| Secondly, according
to "The Principles of the Creation", each person's
spirit self is created to grow and become perfect only on the
basis of a relationship with the physical self. In accordance
with this principle, the resurrection (purification, growth,
and perfection) of a persons spirit self must also be realized
based on his physical self, and thus, while he is living on
earth. Actually, until today,resurrection has usually been conceived
of as the reviving of the physically dead at Christ's return. |
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But this is incorrect; God's
dispensation for resurrection is an ongoing process that has
focused on the people who are alive on earth. It is to them
that the has sent
prophets with the Truth. |
Thirdly, according to "The
Principles of the Creation", man is created to become
perfect by growing through the three stages of the growing
period. Therefore, the dispensation for the resurrection of
fallen man is to be accomplished through three dispensational
stages.
Fourthly, although the various
central persons in God's Dispensation for Restoration could
not fully carry out their responsibilities, they did their
best with the deepest loyalty to God. Their loyalty and devotion
has accumulated as merit on earth. Based on this foundation
of heart laid by faithful people of earlier ages, people of
later
generations have been able to receive certain merits in each
age (merits of the age) in the dispensation for resurrection.
The dispensation for resurrection is carried out according
to the merits of the age. In other words, the degree of resurrection
possible in a given age is based on the historical foundation
of heart established
by the faithful of earlier ages. -more-
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