Claim. restoration is functionally identical to indemnity — they cannot be separated; the way of restoration is re-creation by going the reverse route of the Fall, and perfection is unreachable except through this bitter-medicine course.
Elaboration. SMM ties indemnity and restoration as one process: “When we say ‘restoration through indemnity,’ it means indemnity for the sake of restoration. Restoration through indemnity is the way to attain perfection. Only after indemnity can restoration take place; then we can go the path of perfection. Thus, you can consider that indemnity and restoration are one. Perfection cannot be attained automatically; it is attained through indemnity” (1.1. Restoration through indemnity is the way of re-creation, God’s Will-697). The bitter-medicine metaphor is explicit: “If a person is sick, he must take medication in order to recover, even if the medicine tastes bitter and he does not like it. Good medicine tastes bitter… Setting indemnity conditions is difficult, like taking bitter medicine” (ibid, 92-254, 1977.4.18). The reverse-route definition follows: “Indemnity means going the route opposite to that of the Fall. It means going the reverse way” (ibid). Restoration is therefore the systematic inversion of the Fall’s mechanism, not a separate salvific act.
See also. indemnity, restoration