Divine Principle - 6) The Second Advent - Section 4

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Section 4. Parallels between Jesus’ Day and Today

The period of the Second Advent is parallel to the time of Jesus. The situations unfolding in Christianity today are similar to those which took place in Judaism at Jesus’ time. Let us examine some of these parallels.

Today’s Christianity, like the Judaism of Jesus’ day, adheres too rigidly to institutional authority and ceremonies, while internally it is corrupt. At the time of Jesus, many priests and scribes had become enslaved to ritualism and legalism, and their spiritual life was corrupt. Therefore, Jews with sincere faith flocked to Jesus, that accused heretic, to slake their spiritual thirst. Similarly, in today’s Christianity, many leading clergymen and priests are captive to their authorities and enamored of their rituals while their spirits grow dimmer each day. Hence, devout Christians are wandering about the mountains and plains in search of the true path. They are seeking new leaders who can guide them out of this spiritual wilderness and show them the way to the inner light.

Christian leaders today, like the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day, will probably be the first to persecute Christ at the Second Advent. Jesus came to found a new era which would fulfill the words of the Old Testament proclaimed by the prophets. He did not limit himself to repeating the words of the Old Testament, but gave new words of truth fit for the new era. The Jewish priests and scribes criticized Jesus’ words and deeds based on their narrow understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures. Their mistaken judgment led them to deliver Jesus to the cross.

Similarly, the purpose of Christ at the Second Advent is to build a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1-4) upon the foundation of the spiritual salvation which had been laid by Christianity in the New Testament Age. When he returns, he will not merely repeat the words of the New Testament given two thousand years ago, but will surely add new words of truth necessary for the founding of a new heaven and a new earth.

However, those Christians of today whose minds are narrowly attached to the letter of the New Testament will criticize the words and deeds of Christ at his return based on their narrow understanding of the Scriptures. Therefore, it can be expected that they will brand the Lord a heretic and persecute him. This is why Jesus foretold that at the Second Advent, Christ would first suffer many things and be rejected by his generation (Luke 17:25).

When people receive revelations about Christ at the Second Advent or hear his words, they will respond in ways similar to the way the Jews in Jesus’ day responded. God did not reveal the news of the birth of Jesus to the priests and scribes, but to gentile astrologers and pure-hearted shepherds. This is like the case of a father who, due to the ignorance of his own children, has to confide in his step-child. Likewise, God may well reveal the news of the return of Christ first to lay people, to marginal spiritual groups and churches which the mainstream treats with disdain, or to conscientious non-believers. Only later may the news reach the mainstream Christian clergy who are unthinkingly keeping to their conventional ways of faith. In Jesus’ day, those who sincerely received the Gospel were not the Jewish leaders, but simple common folk and Gentiles. Likewise, at Christ’s return, simple Christians and non-Christians will accept the Lord’s words before the Christian leadership, which regards itself as God’s elect. This is the meaning of Jesus’ parable of the marriage feast. When the invited guests, the leading men of the community, declined the king’s invitation: He said to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.” And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests (Matt. 22:8-10).

Both in Jesus’ day and at the Second Advent, many devout believers who set out on the path of faith with the hope of entering Heaven may actually find themselves in hell. In Jesus’ day, because the priests and scribes had the responsibility to guide God’s chosen people, they should have been the first to recognize that the Messiah had come and should have led the Jewish people to him. To help them fulfill their mission, Jesus took the initiative; he visited the Temple and taught them the Gospel before teaching anyone else (Luke 2:42-47). However, when they did not receive him, Jesus had no choice but to search the shores of Galilee and take disciples from among the fishermen there. He had to minister to the dregs of society and associate with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes. Eventually, the priests and scribes persecuted him to the point where he had to accept the fate of the cross. They committed this murder, believing that they had done a righteous deed by eliminating a dangerous heretic and blasphemer. Then they continued on with their customary clerical duties for the rest of their lives, reciting the Holy Scriptures, paying their tithes, and making sacrifices at the Temple, all with the assurance that they were headed toward Heaven. Instead, after they passed on, they found themselves most unexpectedly in hell. Ironically, the very path upon which they had set out to reach Heaven had led them astray.

Recognizing that similar events may occur in the Last Days, each of us should seriously examine ourselves. Many Christians today are dashing on a path which they believe leads to Heaven. Yet if they take a wrong step, their path may actually lead them to hell. This is why Jesus once said that he will rebuke many devout believers in the Last Days, even those whose dedication is so strong that they can cast out demons and perform miracles in his name: “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers” (Matt. 7:23).

In truth, no one faces a more precarious situation than believers who live in such a transition period of history as exists today. No matter how much faith we have demonstrated in our lives, if we, like the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day, take the wrong step of turning against the returning Christ, all our efforts will have been in vain. Of these people, Daniel had said, “Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand” (Dan. 12:10).