Preparation for the Messiah – Part 3
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Section 4
The World Wars
4.1 The Providential Causes of the World Wars
Wars break out due to such factors as conflicts of political and economic interests and clashes of ideology. Yet these are merely external causes. There are also internal causes of wars, just as there are internal and external motives for every human action. Human actions are decided by the free will of the individual, who is trying both to respond externally to the situation with which he is confronted and to follow his internal tendency toward the Will of God and the advancement of His providence of restoration. Therefore, the good or evil of a human action should not be judged only by external motives. The same can be said of the world wars, which have resulted from the worldwide collision between the actions of numerous individuals arising from their free will. Accordingly, we cannot grasp the providential significance of the world wars by focusing only on conflicts of political and economic interests, ideological clashes and other such external causes.
What are the internal, providential causes of the world wars? First, the world wars have resulted from Satan’s last desperate struggle to preserve his sovereignty. Since the Fall of the first human ancestors, Satan has been building defective, unprincipled imitations of God’s ideal world. Aiming to restore the ideal world of His Principle, God has been in pursuit, gradually expanding His dominion by reclaiming it from the unprincipled world under Satan’s bondage.13(cf. Parallels 7.1) Accordingly, in the course of the providence of restoration, a false representation of the ideal appears before the emergence of its true manifestation. The biblical prophecy that the antichrist will appear before the return of Christ is an illustration of this truth.
Human history under Satan’s evil sovereignty will end with the Second Advent of Christ. Then it will be transformed into the history of humanity abiding in the realm of God’s good sovereignty. At that time, Satan will put up a last-ditch fight. When the Israelites were about to leave Egypt in the national course to restore Canaan, Satan worked through the Pharaoh to wage a bitter struggle to keep them in bondage. By virtue of this, God’s side was entitled to strike him with three supernatural signs. Similarly, in the Last Days, Satan has been putting up his last struggle to undermine God’s side as it has prepared itself to embark upon the worldwide course to restore Canaan. God’s three counterattacks to Satan’s aggressions have manifested themselves as the three world wars.
Second, the three world wars have occurred in order to fulfill the worldwide indemnity conditions to restore the three great blessings. Upon creating human beings, God gave them three blessings: to reach individual perfection, multiply as an ideal family and have dominion over the creation.14(Gen. 1:28)CEV|KJ|NI By fulfilling these blessings, our first ancestors were to build the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. Since God Himself created human beings and blessed them, He did not annul these blessings just because they fell. God had to allow fallen people to build an unprincipled world that has imitated the three blessings, though defectively, under Satan’s leadership. Accordingly, at the consummation of human history, unprincipled worlds have emerged which have realized defectively the outward form of the three blessings: an individual championing Satan’s causes, multiplication of satanic children, and the conquest of the world under Satan’s domination. To fulfill the worldwide indemnity conditions to restore God’s three great blessings, three world conflicts must break out by which God can prevail over these satanic worlds through the three stages of formation, growth and completion.
Third, the three world wars have occurred so that all humanity may overcome on the world level the three temptations by which Satan tempted Jesus. As Jesus’ disciples, Christians are to follow the course of their Teacher and overcome the three temptations which he confronted in the wilderness as individuals, families, nations and at the world level.
Fourth, the world wars have taken place to fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition to restore God’s sovereignty. Had the first human beings not fallen but reached perfection by passing through the three stages of the growing period, they would have realized the world of God’s sovereignty. Similarly, worldwide restoration must pass through three stages. The restoration of this world requires that it first be divided into Cain-type and Abel-type worlds, and that there be three final wars in which the heavenly, Abel-type world prevails over the satanic, Cain-type world. This is a condition to restore through worldwide indemnity Cain’s murder of Abel. After that, the world of God’s sovereignty can be established. Accordingly, the world wars are the final global conflicts in human history, restoring horizontally through indemnity the purpose of all the wars that have been waged for the restoration of God’s sovereignty in the vertical course of the providence.
4.2 The First World War
4.2.1 Summary of the Providence in the First World War
Absolute monarchy had come to an end as a consequence of the Cain-type and Abel-type democratic revolutions, which had arisen out of the Cain-type and Abel-type views of life. The Industrial Revolution which followed cleared away the remnants of feudalism and led to the ascendancy of capitalism. This was followed by the age of imperialism.
In the political sphere, the First World War was a conflict between Abel-type democracies, which pursued the goal of the providence of restoration, and authoritarian states where Cain-type democratic ideals were thriving and which stood in opposition to the goals of the providence of restoration. It was fought between the imperialist nations on God’s side and the imperialist nations on Satan’s side. In terms of economic interests, this war was a conflict between more established and newly industrializing capitalist nations over colonies. In the sphere of religion and ideology, the Cain-type nations included Turkey, a Muslim nation persecuting Christianity, and its allies, Germany and Austria-Hungary. They fought the Abel-type nations of Great Britain, the United States, France and Russia, which generally upheld Christianity. At the conclusion of the First World War, the Abel-type democracies had gained victory at the formation stage.
4.2.2 What Decides God’s Side and Satan’s Side?
The question of which nations are on God’s side and which are on Satan’s side is decided based on the direction of God’s providence of restoration. Those who are in line with the direction of God’s providence or are acting in concert with that direction, even indirectly, are on the side of God, while those who take an opposing position are on the side of Satan. Therefore, whether or not an individual or nation belongs to God’s side or Satan’s side is not always in agreement with the judgment of our common sense or conscience. For example, someone who is ignorant of God’s providence may judge that Moses’ killing of the Egyptian taskmaster was evil. Yet, it may be regarded as a good act because it was in line with God’s providence. Likewise, the Israelites invaded the land of Canaan and killed many Canaanites seemingly without much justification. To someone ignorant of God’s providence, their action might seem evil and cruel; nevertheless, it was just in the sight of God. Even if there were more good-hearted people among the Canaanites than among the Israelites, at that time the Canaanites collectively belonged to Satan’s side, while the Israelites collectively belonged to God’s side.
Let us further investigate this concept in the sphere of religion. Since the goal of every religion is goodness, every one of them belongs to God’s side. However, when a religion obstructs the path of another religion which stands closer to the center of God’s providence, it will find itself standing on Satan’s side. A religion is given a mission for its age, but if, after its time of responsibility has passed, it becomes an obstacle to an emerging religion which comes with a new mission for the next age, then it stands on the side of Satan. Before the coming of Jesus, Judaism and its believers stood on God’s side. However, when they persecuted Jesus, who came with a new mission – which among other things would have fulfilled the purpose of Judaism – they moved to the side of Satan, irrespective of how faithfully they had served God in the past.
In the modern world, systems which espouse the Abel-type view of life belong to God’s side while those which espouse the Cain-type view of life stand on Satan’s side. For example, no matter how ethical and sacrificial a materialistic thought rooted in the Cain-type view of life may appear from a humanistic perspective, it still belongs to Satan’s side. For this reason, the communist world can be judged to be the satanic world. On the other hand, since the democratic world, which grants religious freedom, is based on the Abel-type view of life, it may be judged to be on God’s side.
Christianity was established as the central religion with the ultimate mission to fulfill the goals of all religions.15(cf. Eschatology 2.3) Hence, any nation which persecutes Christianity or obstructs its progress, either directly or indirectly, stands on Satan’s side. In the First World War, the Allied Powers led by Great Britain, the United States, France and Russia were Christian nations; moreover, they had been fighting to liberate the Christians under persecution in Turkey. Thus, they stood on God’s side. On the other hand, Germany and Austria-Hungary, the leading Central Powers, supported Turkey, a Muslim nation which persecuted Christianity. Therefore, together with Turkey, they stood on Satan’s side.
4.2.3 The Providential Causes behind the First World War
What were the providential, internal causes of the First World War? The First World War had to take place, first, to fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition to restore God’s three great blessings at the formation stage. Satan has been constructing in advance a defective imitation of God’s ideal world, which was to have been established by Adam. Hence, there should appear at the end of history an unprincipled world which has realized a distorted, outward form of the three blessings at the formation stage, led by an antitype of Adam on Satan’s side. God’s side should then prevail over this unprincipled world to fulfill the indemnity condition.
In fact, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) of Germany, who launched the First World War, was this antitype of Adam on Satan’s side. He was in the formation-stage likeness of one who has attained individual perfection. He displayed the form of having fulfilled the blessing of multiplying children by advocating Pan-Germanism, and displayed a form of dominion over the creation by implementing his policy of world hegemony. In this manner, the Kaiser realized an unprincipled world completing a satanic imitation of the three great blessings at the formation stage. The First World War was to fulfill the worldwide formation-stage indemnity condition to restore, in the future, the world where the three great blessings will actually be completed centering on God.
Second, the First World War took place in order to have people on God’s side collectively overcome Jesus’ first temptation on the world level. In light of the meaning of Jesus’ three temptations, we can recognize that God’s side had to prevail in the First World War to fulfill the indemnity condition to restore God’s first blessing worldwide. By prevailing in his first temptation in the wilderness, Jesus recovered himself, symbolized by the rock, and laid the foundation to restore perfection of individual character. Likewise, by prevailing in the First World War, God’s side not only was to defeat Satan’s world and its center, it also was to build God’s world and lay the foundation for its own center, Christ at the Second Coming. This was to be the basis upon which the returning Christ could be born and perfect his individual character.
Third, the First World War took place in order to lay the formation-stage foundation for the restoration of God’s sovereignty. Democracy arose to bring an end to authoritarian monarchic regimes and as the final political system with the mission to restore God’s sovereignty.16(cf. Parallels 7.2.6) In the First World War, God’s side was responsible to be victorious and expand its political territory to Christianize the world. By thus establishing a vast and firm political and economic foundation, it would secure the formation-stage foundation for the democratic world and, at the same time, the formation-stage foundation to restore God’s sovereignty.
4.2.4 The Providential Results of the First World War
The victory of the Allied Powers in the First World War fulfilled the formation-stage indemnity condition to restore God’s three great blessings worldwide. By overcoming Jesus’ first temptation on the worldwide level, they fulfilled the indemnity condition to restore God’s first blessing worldwide. The victory of democracy also established the formation-stage foundation for the restoration of God’s sovereignty. With the defeat of the satanic world and its ruler, the Kaiser, the world on God’s side won the formation-stage victory and laid the foundation for the birth of the returning Christ, who is destined to be the Lord of God’s world.
Contemporaneous with this, communism was established in Russia. Stalin soon rose to power as the antitype of Christ at the Second Advent on Satan’s side. Since Christ comes with the ideals of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth – interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values – the satanic side tries to realize these ideals in advance by building an imitation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, led by the satanic counterpart to Christ at the Second Advent.
In conclusion, with the victory of God’s side in the First World War, the foundation was laid for the Second Advent of the Messiah. From that time, the formation stage of the dispensation of the Second Advent commenced.
4.3 The Second World War
4.3.1 Summary of the Providence in the Second World War
The spiritual origin of modern democracy lies in the people’s striving to realize the values of the Abel-type view of life. Democracy follows the internal and external aspirations of the original human nature and will certainly develop in the direction of God’s ideal world. Fascism, on the other hand, constrains people from following the aspirations of their original nature. In the Second World War, democracy, while standing upon the formation stage victory attained in the First World War, defeated fascism and secured victory at the growth stage.
4.3.2 The Nature of Fascism
When economic depression overwhelmed the world in the 1930s, some nations tried to break out of it by adopting fascism. This was the road taken by Germany, Japan and Italy, which felt isolated and beset by adversity.
What, then, is fascism? Fascism denies the fundamental values of modern democracy, including respect for the individual and his basic rights, freedoms of speech, the press and association, and the parliamentary system. Race or nationality is the ultimate value, to be upheld by a strong nation-state. Individuals and institutions exist only for the benefit of the state. Under fascism, individuals cannot claim freedom as their inviolable right; they are to sacrifice their freedom in their duty to serve the state. The guiding political principle of fascism holds that all power and authority should be entrusted in one supreme leader rather than distributed among people. The personal will of the leader dictates the governing ideology for the entire nation. Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany, and the leaders of Japan’s militaristic government were dictators of the fascist type.
4.3.3 The Nations on God’s Side and the Nations
on Satan’s Side in the Second World War
In the Second World War, an alliance of the democratic nations of the United States, Great Britain and France led the nations on God’s side. Satan’s side was the alliance of the fascist nations: Germany, Japan and Italy. What determined that the former stood on God’s side and the latter on Satan’s side? The Allies stood on God’s side because their political systems were democracies, the political system for the final stage in the providence of restoration founded upon the Abel-type view of life. The Axis Powers, on the other hand, stood on Satan’s side because they upheld fascism, which was anti-democratic and stemmed from the Cain-type view of life. Moreover, the Allies and Axis Powers were separated into God’s side and Satan’s side because the former nations supported Christianity while the latter opposed and persecuted Christianity.
Germany, the leader of the Axis Powers, deprived people of their basic freedoms, and its ideological oppression denied them their religious freedom. Furthermore, Hitler massacred six million Jews. After concluding a concordat with the pope, Hitler attempted to subordinate the churches under the control of cooperative bishops while corrupting Christianity into a nationalistic neo-paganism based on primitive Germanic religion. In protest, some Protestants and Catholics put up bitter resistance.
Japanese militarists during the Second World War forced every church in Korea to install a kamidana, an altar for the Japanese Shinto gods, and compelled Korean Christians to worship at Shinto shrines. Those Christians who did not comply were imprisoned or killed. Korean Christians who had fled to Manchuria in search of religious freedom were brutally massacred. These measures against Korean Christianity were intensified toward the end of the war.
Italy supported Germany’s cause as one of the Axis Powers. Against the general thrust of God’s providence, Mussolini promoted Catholicism as the state religion with the selfish intention to use it for unifying the people under his fascist regime. On these grounds, Germany, Japan and Italy during the war may be classified as the nations on Satan’s side.
4.3.4 The Providential Roles of the Three Nations
on God’s Side and Satan’s Side
One purpose behind the Second World War was to fulfill the worldwide condition of indemnity at the growth stage to restore God’s three great blessings, as was meant to occur at the time of Jesus. In the beginning, it was due to the Fall of Adam, Eve and the Archangel that God’s three great blessings were not realized. Therefore, in the restoration of the three blessings, there necessarily have to be three actors taking these respective roles. Thus, God spiritually restored the three blessings in the providence of spiritual salvation through the joint efforts of the resurrected Jesus as the second Adam, the Holy Spirit representing Eve,17(cf. Christology 4.1) and angels. Accordingly, during the Second World War, the three nations on God’s side representing Adam, Eve and the Archangel led the fight against the three nations on Satan’s side, which also represented Adam, Eve and the Archangel. The victory of the nations on God’s side would make a growth-stage indemnity condition for the restoration of the three great blessings. Satan, who was aware of this providence, took the lead by mustering the three nations representing Adam, Eve and the Archangel on his side and had them attack the three nations on God’s side.
The United States, as a masculine type of nation, represented Adam on God’s side. Great Britain, as a feminine type of nation, represented Eve on God’s side. France, as a mixed type of nation, represented the Archangel on God’s side. On Satan’s side, Germany, as a masculine type of nation, represented Adam; Japan, as a feminine type of nation, represented Eve; and Italy, as a mixed type of nation, represented the Archangel. In the First World War, the United States, Great Britain and France had represented at the formation stage these three positions on God’s side, while Germany, Austria and Turkey took these positions on Satan’s side.
The Soviet Union, a nation on Satan’s side, participated in the Second World War on God’s side. How was it possible? When medieval society could not fulfill its providential purpose, it became a hindrance to both God’s side and Satan’s side, which then divided and began developing along paths leading to the maturation of the democratic world and the communist world. The Cain-type and Abel-type views of life worked in tandem to break down medieval feudal society and later, absolute monarchy and imperialism. Just as God’s providence progresses while riding on the currents of its time, Satan’s effort to build an unprincipled imitation of the ideal world is also bound to the currents of its time. When the prevailing social order obstructs the formation of new societies, including those furthering Satan’s goals, Satan joins in the fight to destroy it.
In a similar fashion, fascism had become an obstacle to both Satan’s side and God’s side. Because the providence of restoration through indemnity required that God temporarily permit Satan’s side to form the communist world, the Soviet Union in the Second World War was allowed to join forces with the nations on God’s side to destroy fascism, in order that it might quickly build up its communist state. Nevertheless, as soon as the Second World War was over, the communist world and the democratic world separated like oil and water.
4.3.5 The Providential Causes behind the Second World War
The internal, providential causes behind the Second World War were as follows: First, the war broke out to fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition at the growth stage to restore God’s three great blessings. The ideal world where God’s three blessings are fulfilled, which could not be realized by Adam due to the Fall, was to have been realized by Jesus, whom God sent as the Second Adam. Yet this ideal was realized only spiritually because Jesus died on the cross. Since Satan tries to realize in advance a defective imitation of the ideal world, at the consummation of history, there will surely emerge an unprincipled world which has realized defectively the outward form of the three great blessings at the growth stage under the leadership of a satanic antitype of Jesus. God’s side must prevail over this world and thereby fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition at the growth stage required for the restoration of the ideal world, where the three great blessings are fully realized centering on God.
Hitler was the satanic antitype of Jesus. Though his will was totally contrary to Jesus’, certain aspects of Hitler’s life mimicked in a perverted manner some of the events in Jesus’ life: his grandiose vision, his single life and the disappearance of his corpse are examples. Hitler was also the satanic antitype of perfected Adam at the growth stage. He made a travesty of the blessing of the multiplication of children by advocating the purity of the German people as the master race and mimicked the blessing of dominion over the creation by his policy of world conquest. In this manner, Hitler realized an unprincipled world with a satanic form of the three blessings, fulfilled at the growth stage. By prevailing in the Second World War, God’s side was to fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition at the growth stage to restore the ideal world of God’s three blessings.
The second providential cause behind the war was to have the people on God’s side overcome Jesus’ second temptation on the world level. In light of the meaning of Jesus’ three temptations, we can recognize that God’s side had to prevail in the Second World War to fulfill the indemnity condition to restore worldwide God’s second blessing. As Jesus laid the foundation for the restoration of children by overcoming the second temptation in the wilderness, God’s side was to lay the worldwide growth-stage foundation for democracy by triumphing in the Second World War.
The third providential cause behind the war was to lay the growth-stage foundation for the restoration of God’s sovereignty. By the victory of God’s side in the First World War, the democratic world had secured its formation-stage foundation. Working to build the Cain-type world, Satan’s side also benefited from the collapse of Czarist absolutism during the First World War and laid the formation-stage foundation for the communist world. During the Second World War, the communist world and the democratic world built their separate growth-stage foundations before parting company at the conclusion of the war. Building this growth-stage foundation for the democratic world restored the growth-stage foundation of God’s sovereignty.
4.3.6 The Providential Results of the Second World War
The victory of God’s side in the Second World War fulfilled the growth-stage indemnity condition to restore God’s three great blessings worldwide. Having the significance of overcoming Jesus’ second temptation on the world level, the victory fulfilled the indemnity condition to restore God’s second blessing worldwide. Finally, by laying the growth-stage foundation for the democratic world, it established the growth-stage foundation to restore God’s sovereignty.
While Hitler was the antitype of Jesus on Satan’s side, Stalin was the antitype of the Second Advent of Christ on Satan’s side. The fact that Hitler and his nation were destroyed, while Stalin and his foundation of worldwide communism grew strong, indicated that the time for building the spiritual kingdom under the leadership of the resurrected Jesus had passed, and the age for building a new heaven and new earth18(Rev. 21:1-7)CEV|KJ|NI under the leadership of Christ at the Second Advent had begun.
At the conclusion of the Second World War, the growth stage of the dispensation of the Second Advent commenced. Many Christians began receiving revelations about the return of Jesus, and God’s spiritual works began occurring throughout the world. Since then, the established churches have become increasingly confused, divided and secularized; they have been gradually losing the heart of their spiritual life. These are phenomena of the Last Days, occurring on account of God’s final providence to unify all religions through the new, ultimate expression of the truth.
4.4 The Third World War
4.4.1 Is the Third World War Inevitable?
We know that because God gave the first human ancestors the blessing to rule the universe, when Satan works through fallen people to create an unprincipled imitation of the world where this blessing is fulfilled, God has to allow it. On the heels of Satan, God conducts His providence to claim back Satan’s world and its fruits. At the consummation of human history, Satan’s side and God’s side will strive until they each attain sovereignty over a world. This is why the democratic world and the communist world stand confronting each other. Consequently, it became inevitable that there be world wars, first to divide and then to unify these two worlds.
The First and Second World Wars had the providential purpose of dividing the globe into the communist world and the democratic world. Afterward, yet another war must take place to bring about their unification. This conflict is the Third World War. It is inevitable that the Third World War take place; however, there are two possible ways it may be fought.
One way to bring Satan’s side to surrender is through armed conflict. However, at the conclusion of the conflict, there should come an ideal world in which all humanity is to rejoice together. This can never be built merely by defeating enemies in battle. Afterward, they must be brought to submission internally, that everyone may be reconciled and rejoice sincerely from the bottom of their hearts. To accomplish this, there must come a perfect ideology which can satisfy the desires of the original nature of all people.
The other way this war may be fought is as a wholly internal, ideological conflict, without the outbreak of armed hostilities, to bring Satan’s world to submission and unification in a short time. People are rational beings. Therefore, a perfect, unified world can be established only when people submit to one another and participate in unification through a profound reawakening.
By which of these two ways will the Third World War actually be fought? It depends upon success or failure in carrying out the human portion of responsibility.
From where will the ideology essential to the resolution of this conflict and the establishment of the new world come? It surely cannot come out of the communist world, rooted in the Cain-type view of life, since the Cain-type view of life opposes the internal aspirations of the original human nature. Rather, this ideology must arise out of the democratic world, which is rooted in the Abel-type view of life. Nonetheless, it is a fact of history that no conventional ideology among those prevailing in the democratic world can effectively defeat communist ideology. Therefore, a hitherto unknown ideology will emerge from within the democratic world.
For the new ideology to be born, there must first arise a new expression of the truth. This new truth is the essence of the Abel-type view of life and the core of democracy. As has been the case in the past, when the new expression of truth appears, it may contradict the old expressions of truth in which many people have believed. Hence, even the democratic world will be divided into two camps which, like Cain and Abel, will be pitted against each other. When the new truth secures a victorious foundation in the democratic world and then conquers communist ideology, the unification of the world will be achieved based on the one truth.
Satan knew God’s plan to unify the world through the one truth and presented a false imitation of the truth in order to unify humanity centering on himself. This false truth is dialectical materialism. Dialectical materialism denies the existence of any spiritual reality, setting up an explanation of the universe based on a wholly materialistic logic. In denying the existence of God, it also denies the existence of Satan. Thus, in promoting dialectical materialism, Satan was effectively denying his own reality, even risking his own demise. Satan understood what would unfold at the close of human history and knew well that he would surely perish. Accepting that this was not the time to be worshipped, he rose in a monstrous denial of God, even at the sacrifice of himself. This is the spiritual root of dialectical materialism. As long as the democratic world lacks the truth which can overturn this evil doctrine, it will always be vulnerable and on the defensive. For this reason, someone on God’s side must proclaim the perfect truth.
4.4.2 Summary of the Providence in the Third World War
The Third World War is the final conflict in the providence of restoration. Through this war, God intends that the democratic world bring the communist world to submission and build the ideal world. Leading up to the First World War, the nations on God’s side had expanded their political and economic dominion by claiming colonies throughout the world, to be used by God for His providence. At the conclusion of the war, these nations laid the worldwide formation-stage foundation for democracy. Through the Second World War, they laid the worldwide growth-stage foundation for democracy, thereby firmly consolidating the democratic world. During the Third World War, God’s side is to found the perfect Abel-type view of life based on the new truth and complete the worldwide completion-stage foundation for democracy. God’s side is then to guide all of humanity into one unified world. In summary, the Third World War is the last great war at the close of history, when God’s side restores horizontally through indemnity all that was lost to Satan throughout the three stages of the prolonged providence.
4.4.3 The Providential Causes behind the Third World War
As was explained above, whether the Third World War is waged by force of arms or as an ideological conflict depends upon the responsibility of the people who are serving the providence of God. Regardless, it is inescapable that this worldwide conflict take place.
What are the internal, providential causes behind the Third World War? First, the war has to take place to fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition at the completion stage to restore God’s three great blessings. When Jesus could accomplish the providence of restoration only spiritually due to the disbelief of the people, it became necessary that he return and restore the world of God’s ideal both spiritually and physically. Yet, since Satan realizes in advance a defective form of God’s ideal, at the consummation of history there will emerge an unprincipled world with the pretense of having restored the three great blessings under the leadership of a satanic antitype of Christ at the Second Advent. By prevailing over this satanic world, God’s side is responsible to fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition at the completion stage to restore the ideal world in which the three great blessings are fulfilled centering on God.
Stalin was the satanic antitype of Christ at the Second Advent. He was idolized as a perfect human being. By advocating the solidarity of farmers and workers in opposition to the democratic world, he mimicked the blessing of the multiplication of children, and by his policy of worldwide communist domination, he achieved the outward semblance of the blessing of dominion over the creation. Stalin thus created a vast communist world which realized defectively the outward form of the three great blessings. We must understand that the communist world is the unprincipled and flawed imitation of the world of God’s ideal, which will be characterized by interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values founded in God.
Second, the Third World War has to take place to have the people on God’s side overcome Jesus’ third temptation on the world level. In light of the meaning of Jesus’ three temptations, we recognize that God’s side must prevail in the Third World War to fulfill the indemnity condition to restore worldwide God’s third blessing. As Jesus established the foundation to restore dominion over the creation by overcoming the third temptation in the wilderness, God’s side must win in the Third World War to restore human beings’ dominion over the entire universe.
Third, the Third World War has to take place to lay the completion-stage foundation for the restoration of God’s sovereignty. God’s side must be victorious in the war to destroy the communist world and return all sovereignty to God. Then the ideal world will be established based upon the principles of heaven and earth.
4.4.4 The Providential Results of the Third World War
Long ago, God intended to conclude His providence of restoration in Adam’s family by working through Cain and Abel. Instead, Cain murdered Abel, commencing the sinful history of humanity. God began the dispensation of dividing good and evil to restore the failure in Adam’s family on the individual level and developed it through the levels of family, clan, society, people and nation. The time has come when God conducts this dispensation on the world level. God intends to restore through indemnity the entire providence, which was prolonged to the third stage, by winning victory in the three world wars, which belong to the final chapter of providential history.
In the beginning, the first human ancestors lost their connection of heart to God when they fell prey to the tempting words of Satan. Through the internal, spiritual fall and the external, physical fall, they inherited the lineage of Satan. Therefore, the providence of restoration can be completed only after fallen people restore their heart toward God through God’s life-giving Word, are saved both spiritually and physically, and inherit God’s lineage.19(cf. Moses and Jesus 3.3.2)
The victories of God’s side in the three world wars will fully restore through indemnity all these aspects of the providence of restoration. They will make possible the realization of God’s ideal world, for which God has labored with unremitting tears over the centuries of human misery since the Fall.