Claim. Death itself is unavoidable; what matters is dying for the highest possible cause — the heavenly kingdom and the universe — so that one’s death conditions establish a foothold in heaven rather than nothing.
Elaboration. SMM scripts death as a positional choice: “Where are we to go and die? In the highest position rather than the lowest. Thus, we should die for the Kingdom of Heaven. It is greater than any nation in this world. We must die in God’s Kingdom, the only one in heaven and on earth. Where shall we die? That is the question. Even in dying, there is a way. There is a proper position in which to die. Don’t die in the ordinary Korean way. If you do, however many times you die, it won’t count” (2.9. Our attitude in the face of death, 34-184, 1970.9.6). The standard is set even higher with respect to enemies: “Die without enemies. If you are to die anyway, die after planting something, and without making any enemies. Be resolved to die while loving the enemy as a friend rather than otherwise. Jesus’ prayer on the cross for his enemies was great in this way” (ibid, 34-45, 1970.8.29). Death’s positional value, not its fact, is what survives.
See also. csg-life-on-earth-is-an-instant-of-eternal-consequence