Chapter 22 - The New Cosmic Spring Will Prosper Eternally

Chapter 22
The New Cosmic Spring Will Prosper Eternally
April 18,1976 -- Tarrytown, New York

Spring has come. Plants, grass, trees, insects, birds, animals, all of them are welcoming spring. What happens when spring comes? In nature everything stirs. Spring is the season of love. Birds are singing songs of love every morning. God also is seeking a spring when He can sing a song of love, a song of spring. Nature sings a song of life and prosperity. Everything is in that melody. The Creator and the creation are one. Accordingly, God is also preparing to sing a song for spring. But is God in a situation where He can sing now?

One day can be divided into four seasons. Morning expresses spring, noon expresses summer, the evening expresses autumn, and night expresses winter. Human history as well is following the same seasonal path. Human history started from the sorrowful spring caused by the fall of man. Later it moved into the sorrowful summer, which was manifested by the cultures of Egypt and China. Then civilization prospered in countries such as England, the United States and Japan, and so moved into the tropics. These modern civilizations correspond to the autumn of human history, the season of cultivation.

The cold season, the winter of civilization, is coming. That is the threat of communism, centering on the Soviet Union. In a shivering, frozen culture, only a tree with good roots and seeds can survive. What can survive in cold civilizations are the things which have a life force inside, and the source of its life, the seed. We must have the root. That is God. A man who has this root can survive in a cold civilization. A seed which has energy can survive. The seed itself has the root and branch within. This bud is a small cosmos of life.

If you really understand the plan of seasonal history, you know that winter is not the very end. A new spring will come. Since God knows the direction of history, He prepares a people for spring, and sends them out as pioneers to the world. God has been preparing them over a long time.

Religions are headed toward paralysis and destruction. They are not following their predestined purpose. The crisis of democracy is reflected by the crisis of Christianity. God was hoping for evergreen trees, with Himself as the root. But the trunks of today's religions are paralyzed. The sign of new life must rise from there. The new sign must appear despite all kinds of cold weather.

God is the root

If the new spring reaches the cosmic level, who will welcome it? It is not the dead, dried branch or trunk but the small twigs and the small branches. The small branch which came out from the root is evergreen and is growing even during the winter. The branch may be small; however, it is connected to God who is the root.

God is trying to prepare the cosmic spring. For spring He is raising princes and princesses. Finally, when the preparation is made in which spring can bring life, God cuts out the rotten branches and trunks. This cutting occurs on all the levels such as family, race and nation. All the energy coming from the root is given to the evergreen branches. Yet this branch is bringing benefit to all levels. The Unification Church is like this small branch. However, it is growing from the family level to the national level and moving toward the world level. Once we move beyond the world level, we can realize that the cosmic spring is awaiting us. When spring comes, the atmosphere will automatically change. The cold weather of Siberia will die away.

Today communism has a big crack within itself. The early ideal of international communism has already been destroyed, and they have fallen back to the national level. Satan's trees are still growing, but their leaves are falling and their branches are withering. The golden age of communism has come to an end.

When will the turning point come? The year is 1976 and the day is June 1. Once we achieve a distinguished record at Yankee Stadium, the free world will enter into the cosmic spring and will make effort for the purpose of its prosperity. We will receive the respect and trust of all the world.

Since God is very powerful, He will soon bring forth a great tree. This evergreen tree will be made hard by the wind of Siberia. It will grow quickly when spring comes. When we bring spring to the free world, the same spring will give a warm climate to the cold civilization of communism.

Wherever we go, we can see the world feels no hope. Yet the world does have hope. The seed is bringing a new life. You are made hard by cold climates, but you have the glow of life burning inside you. The warmth of spring can break the shell. As a result, the evergreen tree will bring forth new leaves.

The civilization for which God has been longing is not in bloom yet. As you know, God is not really savoring the joy of history. Past civilizations centering upon past religions could not go beyond the limit of the nation. Accordingly, the new evergreen tree must begin on the international level. Neither could past religions overcome the obstacles stemming from different skin colors. But we know that God is color blind.

Embracing the entire cosmos

Communism could not overcome materialism. On the other hand, religions have centered on the spiritual world and put minimal value on the material world. Both of them are one-sided: however, the Unification Church embraces the entire cosmos of spiritual world and physical world. Let's think about how different we are. Other people worship God in order to receive His blessing, but we are trying to set God free. If you understand this is the truth, there is nothing higher or greater than our ideal.

Comparing yourself with the you of the past, you are a totally new person, spiritually and morally. Your face is the same, but your thoughts and mind are different. The mysterious invisible power that changed your thoughts is indestructible. You have become men and women who are full of energy. We have the formula for perfection. What you have to do is simply to apply this formula and extend it. Twenty years ago members of the Unification Church were working on the individual level. Now the activities of the Unification Church are the same, and the formula is the same, but the range has been enlarged.

Americans used to have a lot of pride. But now that pride has been lost, and 50 is their purpose. If Americans can find a new hope, the rest of the world can follow them.

The Yankee Stadium event is something like throwing a large rock into a huge lake. After the splash the wave moves from the center outward. Our impact will be felt throughout the entire world. It is the same in the communist world. God is testing us by seeing if the wave can move or not. Therefore, in March there was a hurricane of negativity which opposed us. God is hoping that we are strong enough to be able to bear such a negative event as the bombing of our church center in France. I hope that you have guts. When I sent my representatives to 120 countries, I said to them, "You are the seeds of Heaven; you must be spread. You must prosper. The seed grows a root. The root penetrates the earth, and you will grow." They have guts and confidence.

God is secretly preparing the huge cosmic spring. For this reason, God is preparing one select group out of the cold weather. This group can survive and bring the new civilization to the world. The ancient, subtropical and communist civilizations have been judged. The new cosmic civilization of spring will come, and it will prosper eternally.

Covered with evergreen trees

We have been struggling during the winter, but the time has come. Now a spring is smiling over us. By 1981 the cosmic summer will come. When we go into the cosmic summer, nature will be covered with evergreen trees. Do you want to be the persons who welcome the cosmic spring?

Your smile is very big, and contains a joy that has no precedence in history. Your smile reaches to the end of the world, so God also smiles broadly. God and man will embrace each other and everything under the sun will sing a song of spring -- nature's grasses, trees, insects, and birds.

Spring is a season that love can visit. Why is the power of love immortal? Because it makes separate things into one. Love generates life. The power of love is so strong and so warm that it can melt the universe. The power of love will bring a blossoming spring on the earth.

The God of love is dominating us beyond the limit of nationality or race. We will march forward in order to welcome the imminent cosmic spring. We have been chosen by God as the harbingers of spring. We are marching forward toward Yankee Stadium in order to declare the spring. What a joy this is!

New York is the city of despair. We must bring a revival to New York. We will create a spring atmosphere. Yankee Stadium will become the place of the welcoming spring banquet for the entire universe. Just as spring visits all places, you must visit each street and each home in New York. You must show the sign of spring to all places, in each small part of town and on each street. Raise your hands, those of you who truly wish to become the harbingers of spring.

Chapter 21 - Message at the Unification Ceremony

Chapter 21
Message at the Unification Ceremony
January 31,1976--Seoul, Korea

As you know 1976 is a historical year. The Yoido rally last year prepared the national foundation spiritually and established the substantial national standard. Because Jesus died on the cross the nation of Judea and the Jewish religion could not be united. Last year was the historical period for restoring this through indemnity. At the time of Jesus, the Jewish people and the government joined to confront him. Last year the Unification Church and the government together confronted the established churches and turned the situation completely upside down.

Unification Church members from 60 nations came to Korea representing many nations of the world. Looking at the national point of view horizontally, we can say that the democratic world has the spiritual mission of Christianity; therefore, the International One World Crusade (IOWC) was organized in order to give our movement a spiritual foundation on the worldwide level. The Western team members brought along the victorious spiritual foundation of all of Western Christianity.

Last year's events also created an opportunity for the Asian and the Western cultures to be united, since many spirit people who had come to Asian nations while they were on earth and many Christian spirit people who had sacrificed themselves here helped us. They had tried to achieve that unity on earth, but never succeeded. This unity has now created an opportunity for making contact between good Asian spirit people who had been loyal patriots and good Western spirit people who had done good deeds for their cultures.

Korea is a nation which has paid the historical indemnity condition representing the whole world; therefore, it must establish one unifying teaching representing the entire world. The spiritual unity in Korea means that both Christianity and the Unification Church are uniting, as well as Western culture and Asian culture. Now the spiritual foundation of Christianity must be connected to the world centered upon the Unification Church in Korea today. There is no way we can reach out to the world physically unless we have all the blessings of worldwide Christianity centered here on the spiritual standard, and can connect those blessings with the physical foundation in Korea.

The Yoido rally was a historical event that established these conditions. The participants came not by their own will alone, but were moved unconsciously by the entire spiritual world which was mobilized for the occasion. This rally was unprecedented in Korean history and established a world record as well.

This shows that now is the time to jump forward according to the fundamental principle centering upon the nation. Thus I have established certain conditions in the United States. In the third year of my course in the United States the media began to attack me severely. But I know that by this April we will go over the peak and take the offensive.

It makes me feel good that the communist accusations that I do brain- washing have all been dismissed. A recent court case clarified this, and our accusers were sentenced and had to back down. All the American news media have been opposing God's providence since the time of President Nixon, and they are now trying to kick us out, saying that the leaders of the Unification Church are coming to the United States and are influencing the entire nation. They contend that a stranger appeared and began attracting young people away from the affluent American way of life.

We know our activities are sacrificial deeds for God's providence, but the news media sees them as something to be accused. They say that members are forced to sell flowers or raise funds on the street. But Unification Church members are voluntarily doing this as a sacrifice in order to bring life to the world. The world esteems people who work faithfully eight hours a day for themselves, but how can we save the nation if we just imitate what people of the world do? Theoretically it is reasonable that we should do more than they do if we are working for the sake of others and the whole world. This is our point of view, which they do not understand. This is why we get up early in the morning and come back at midnight or 1 a.m. Americans consider this overworking.

Some people thought that the Communist Party was assisting me and using me to gain control of the United States. So they investigated through the CIA, but they could not find anything. If I had not initiated Victory Over Communism (VOC) activity, a lot of problems would have developed. I initiated VOC activities in Korea and other parts of Asia and have been considered the authority on anti-communism. No one can ignore that fact.

Thus they are very concerned about me. They are trying to create a situation in which they can catch me and accuse me. From an ideological point of view, I am not a member of the Communist Party; from a religious or Christian point of view, I am in the leading position. So they cannot find any condition to accuse me.

The Yankee Stadium rally

Our activities were all done in order to meet the dispensational time conditions. We are now working in the spiritual Christian cultural realm, since the United States is the central Christian nation of the world. My three-year course in the United States that ended last year established a victorious spiritual foundation, which connected Christianity and the Unification Church. We have control over the spiritual foundation no matter how much noise the democratic world or established. Christians make. The foundation we established in Korea has set the national and substantial standard both spiritually and physically. This was the purpose behind the three-year course in the United States. We must work to set the national and substantial standards in the United States through 1976,1977, and until April 1978. Then the United States will certainly enter a whirl of great confusion centered upon me, but that confusion will decline after the second year.

Jesus was crucified because his situation was reversed after the second year. However, today we are going in the opposite direction--up. Therefore, the three-year period from 1975-77 should connect the victorious worldwide spiritual foundation with the victorious physical standard. The victorious national condition set both physically and spiritually at the Yoido rally has made this possible.

Because I know the absolute authority of the Principle--that no one can ever get victory over us no matter how they attack us--I am fighting with great confidence. Now a big battle will begin centering upon Yankee Stadium.

All the Unification members will attend. Among them there are many kinds of people. Our course until the Washington Monument rally will be our second major battle centering upon the Madison Square Garden rally. If we can meet that standard, a historical turning point will come after the Washington rally.

Those who oppose us are disappointed; they are questioning what kind of person I am. They are so worried about being at a disadvantage that they are now attempting terrorism. Terrorists attacked the Unification Church in Paris. The same phenomenon can happen in the United States as well. There was a threat to blow up Belvedere, and we talked to the local fire station and the police. The New York Times officially reported that the incident in Paris was carried out jointly by the established churches and the Communist Party. Now, the American people cannot refute us when we claim that the Communist Party is working behind people who persecute us.

We are marching on with these advantageous conditions. Now, with this Unification Ceremony, the unification line has been set for the individual, family, clan, tribe, nation, and world. Do you understand? We have never held such a ceremony before. Previous ceremonies were all related to the past; we never had a ceremony to establish the horizontally unified front line. The fact that the Unification Church could cross the peak of national Indemnity, gather together all the blessings of the world, and carry out this ceremony indicates that the Unification Church is marching to the determining point of eternal victory. You must know this.

The new era

In the speech at the beginning of this year I announced that schools of thought must be unified. The prominent professors of the Korean Professors World Peace Academy (PWPA) are now aware of the greatness of the Unification Thought which the Unification Church is teaching. The Korean Department of the Interior and the Department of Information had been offering programs of ideological education, but recently they asked us to take it over. After our seminars, 98 percent of the participants recommended that this be developed as the education for the whole nation. Such a response convinces us that this nation must surely be equipped with this new thought, and establish a foundation to be able to harmonize things on a new dimension. All things, internally and externally, are coming together.

Now you understand the time we are in and what is going to happen. The Unification Church, centering on my family, has only one way to go--that is the way of the Principle. So far, we have been walking complicated paths. However, now we must guide ourselves based on the principled standard. This time I did not come with Mrs. Won Bok Choi. From now on things should be guided centering upon the family. There are many problems in the family, internally or externally; we have to deal with many things, such as education of children. We have been fighting on the front line; from now on, mothers also have to stand on the front line. We have to establish an internal and an external order.

We had never been able to establish a clear order or position. Why? The position of unfallen Adam is a unique position in relation to the world. An individual cannot secure his position without paying indemnity for the worldwide historical indemnity condition. This is why the position of an individual has not been established. I have done many things in order to establish the worldwide historical indemnity condition, so now the position of an individual can be established in relation to the family, tribe, nation and world.

Unification Ceremony

What does unification mean? So far Cain has been hitting Abel. Evil has been attacking good. From now on, that era is over. Good can smite evil, but evil may not hit good. You must know that today is the historical turning point. Therefore, we call this ceremony the Unification Ceremony. Do you understand?

Unification Church members need to completely unite their body with their mind, and guide their mind by the public thought. This hasn't been done yet. The body must unite with the mind, centering upon the purpose which our mind desires. No matter how difficult our circumstance may be, the goal for our mind and body never varies. No matter how miserable the condition in which I was placed, I overcame it with this thought. I never wavered.

You too must become willing to sacrifice your body in order to achieve unity with the mind, centering upon God's will and God's ideal of creation. There is no accusation by living that way. When you go against that way, however, you will certainly become sick or have to pay certain indemnity.

A man whose mind and body are united, and a woman whose mind and body are united, should form a family. When a man and a woman love each other, they have to do so centering upon God's ideal of creation. The husband's love for his wife or the wife's love for her husband are insufficient by themselves; their loves must be united with the love of the ideal of creation. The love of the ideal of creation is the love centered on God, binding together husband and wife.

The position of True Parents is secured only when vertical love is established within the realm of horizontal love, and horizontal love is established within the realm of vertical love. Then children can stand in a position inseparable from their parents' position. If they break away, they certainly will have to pay indemnity. Also, children must be united with each other centering on their parents. Just as Cain hit Abel, elder brothers have been hitting younger brothers in Cain's position.

Children should serve their parents faithfully with filial piety centered upon God, and brothers and sisters should be united centering on God's will. For this to happen, parents have to educate their children. Until now children have been educated in school. From now on, however, parents must take responsibility for educating them. Father and mother must be united and be examples for their children to follow. For instance, the father should demonstrate how a man should live and how he should care for a woman. We must establish this kind of tradition and must create new families.

Such a family can be the model for their neighbors and relatives, starting a unified circle. If people value our way of life, they will come to believe in the Unification Church and want to live centering upon the love of God's ideal of creation. Then neighbors come spontaneously to such a family to ask for advice. And relatives will come to them for counseling when difficulties arise.

All things will be united

We have been involved in ecumenical activities. When ministers listen to the Principle their attitudes naturally become softened. In an atmosphere of love, all the elements in ourselves will harmonize and become tempered. To make all our dimensions harmonious, we should keep them free. When elements are kept free, they can be united into one. So when we create an atmosphere of love, people will begin to open themselves, even unconsciously.

Such a family can unite its neighbors and relatives. They will tell you all their secrets and you can listen to them and comfort them. After that, if you guide them in a good direction! they will come to trust you. In this way unity will be realized in a clan and in a nation. Let's say Mr. Kim's clan becomes united with his family and the clan becomes better; that means that the nation also becomes better.

Nations also must be united. A nation means a state and a sovereignty. We must certainly have the determining point for establishing our Fatherland. Sovereignty represents God. A God-centered state--the state whose sovereignty represents God--was a task that Adam and Eve were supposed to have accomplished. They fell, however, and left the indemnity to be paid on the worldwide level; therefore, some nation in the world should indemnify and accomplish it, going through the necessary suffering course of indemnity.

To be established in the position of a son, a nation must pay all the national indemnity. Korea was divided and the communist nation of North Korea was established. If the two halves--South and North Korea--are united and become the new Israel, it will be an example for the world.

If an ideology that can overcome communism appears in a nation confronting communism face to face, that ideology will become world- wide. Then any democratic nation that does not like communism must learn the thought of this nation, because it is a bulwark against communism. That way, a condition to forgive even Satan will be established. We can say to Satan, "You helped to prepare the way of unification; therefore, I will forgive you.

Thus we can see God's dispensation to save mankind transcending all peoples, all races and all ideologies. Since we are equipped with anti-communism theory, we can be united with nations that are threatened by communism. On the other hand, communists also attack us.

Time for victory

What communists want to crush is not the government but me. As a result, people will naturally come to our side. We are entering a time when we can develop our movement more in Asia. From the dispensational point of view, the time from now until April is a peak. The first year of the crusade activity ends this April. The second year starts from there. Then a big change will occur both in our nation and in Asia. You must understand the importance of the ceremony we are holding now in order to bring glory to God.

All the 36 Couples, 72 Couples, and 124 Couples should form one team. We cannot have branch families. The 36 Couples represent the ancestors of history. The 72 Couples represent children, sons and daughters. The 124 Couples represent nations of the world, and the side of Cain. They also represent 12 branches on the worldwide level. Thus the ancestors and Cain and Abel can become united and the 12 branches also become one. This is the history of restoration. The key point of the history of restoration is that when the parents become united they transform bad Cain and Abel sons into original children of God and guide them into unity. The 72 Couples are the Cain and Abel branches of the 36 Couples. Therefore, they must become united. But family unity is not yet the horizontal foundation on the world level. The 120 apostles (124 Couples) are the representatives of the 12 branches reaching out to the world. In other words, the 120 apostles are the archetypes enlarged to the world level.

In the dispensation centered upon Jesus as well, the 72 disciples were supposed to become united centered upon Jesus and work to accomplish the restoration through indemnity. Jesus established the representatives through the 12 apostles and 72 and 120 disciples. They should have accomplished certain conditions, but they failed.

In our restoration through indemnity, we are able to advance by establishing these three stages of families. That is why 120 couples and leaders of the nine districts of Korea participated in this ceremony. The nine districts of Korea represent the nation and the world; and the district leaders symbolize tribal chiefs. This ceremony--held on the second floor of the headquarters of Korea--has worldwide significance. Invisible border lines had separated the individual, family, clan, tribe, nation, and the world. From now on, however, everything will be on a straight line. This Unification Ceremony has created this alignment. This is the most precious ceremony in the Unification Church.

The fortune of the True Children

Actually, I tried to hold this ceremony with Hyo Jin and Ye Jin, but they had to attend school. So I did it with Kwon Jin.

The 'Hyo' of Hyo Jin's name means filial piety. Blessed families can win victory by serving with filial piety. The 'Heung' of Heung Jin's name means prosperity, and the 'Hyun' of Hyun Jin means rising. He will rise after the Blessing. Kook Jin will appear in the nation; that is his responsibility. Kwon Jin will appear in the nation and bring the power.

Each of the True Children has a distinct nature. Kwon Jin smiled the 17th day after he was born. Usually babies are glad when they are held at all. But he never enjoyed being held for only a short time. If someone picked him up, he had to hold him for a long time. He has a unique and wonderful nature, and is very wise. The Unification Church is marching on with Kwon Jin. Dispensational meaning coincides with his name, Kwon Jin. Since Kwon Jin was born in the United States and has its citizenship, he represents the United States. Through him, the United States and Korea can be connected. That's why I brought Kwon Jin with me this time.

You should exemplify the meaning of unification, creating unity in the family, the society, and the country. You should be unchangeable centering upon one purpose, the realization of the unified nation and the unified world. Otherwise, you will have to pay indemnity from now on.

There are three stages of paying indemnity. You may suffer a lot materially, then your child may become ill, or you yourself may become sick; In the Old Testament Age people paid indemnity by making offerings. In the New Testament Age, indemnity was paid through children--sons and daughters. In this Completed Testament Age, indemnity is paid through parents. Therefore, you have to suffer physically and materially. You must conform your family to God's providence. Otherwise your children will pay indemnity. But if you are still obstinate and do not repent, you personally will suffer. After being punished on the three stages of formation, growth and perfection, if you still do not repent, that is the end. This is the law of indemnity.

If you understand this principle, your mind and body must become united, your family must be united, also the church, nation and world must be united. It is the heavenly principle that a family must be unified even at the sacrifice of an individual. This is the way of goodness. If we can save our relatives at the sacrifice of our family, we must go that way.

To sacrifice the nation for the sake of oneself or to sacrifice relatives for the sake of oneself, or to sacrifice one's wife for the sake of oneself, these are totally opposite to the heavenly way. A wife must sacrifice herself for the sake of her husband, and parents must sacrifice themselves for the sake of the family, the family for the sake of the clan, the clan for the sake of the tribe, the tribe for the sake of the nation, and the nation for the sake of the world. Accordingly, if the nation of Korea is to receive the blessing of God's kingdom, it must stand in the position of son on behalf of the other nations and set the tradition of sacrifice for the sake of the world. If Korea does so it will never fall. This is totally opposite from the usual way of thinking.

Now all the nations are trying to use other nations, such as the United States, for their benefit. Life in the Kingdom of God is totally opposite. In order to establish the world that God wishes, we should sacrifice our nation beyond what any other nation has sacrificed for the sake of world happiness and God's kingdom--regardless of the opposition we may face. When we sacrifice our nation for the sake of the world, we are guiding it to become the world's leading nation. That way we will establish a historical tradition and gain true achievement. In this fallen world, only the achievements attained with a sacrificial spirit, only good achievements, can remain. Those who lived that way are regarded as saints and historical figures--central figures and people of merit.

Therefore, to sacrifice oneself for the sake of others is reasonable. It corresponds to God's position. To throw oneself into something is to create one's second self. God threw Himself into the work of recreation as well as creation. That is how indemnity is paid in the history of restoration, or recreation. Indemnity will be paid only when one invests in it the power of recreation. Without this, the history of recreation cannot begin. The conclusion is drawn theoretically. It applies to me as well.

The way of sacrifice is the formula course

We gather money here and sacrifice our nation, sending the money to the United States. The United States is a rich and affluent nation, but in the history of recreation, we have to save the United States at the sacrifice of Korea and Japan. So we have thrown everything into the United States. God threw Himself into the creation of Adam and Eve. God invested the archangel, all things, and His entire spirit into the creation. Creation requires total investment.

For this reason Korea should become the first nation to throw itself into God's providence. If Korea does become such a nation, it will never perish. Nations supporting Korea will naturally appear, and Korea will receive the blessing and prosper. Other nations will follow the direction of this nation. Thus the way of restoration, the principle of unification, can only follow the course of indemnity. Restoration and unification cannot be accomplished without self-sacrifice.

We must make an effort to unite our body with our mind even at the sacrifice of our body. When we confront difficulty, we must overcome it, consoling our mind even if our body aches. This formula matches the Principle. This formula applies to an individual, a family, a clan, a tribe, a nation, and the world, as well as the spiritual world. The formula course that we should go is the principled one. An individual exists for his family, a family for its clan, a clan for its tribe, a tribe for its nation, a nation for the world, the world for the heaven and earth, and heaven and earth for God. When we do this we can receive the fruits of God's sincere investment. This is the Principle, the way of heaven.

Then who will become the master? The person who sowed seeds and cultivated the crops becomes the master. In the spiritual world it is the same. He who enjoys a good harvest in autumn is the one who sowed the seeds in spring. This is the heavenly principle. Accordingly, one must sow seeds with sincerity and cultivate with sincerity.

This formula is the foundation for achieving perfection. This is the Principle. Speaking about the ideal of creation, we must earnestly fulfill the ideal that God implanted in us with His sincere heart. The perfection of the ideal of creation means accomplishing the ideal on the worldwide level.

Speaking about unity, ask yourself whether you have achieved such unity in your activity. You know well the answer. If you say you do not know, you are telling a lie. You know whether you are a genuine person. Only when you face yourself can you make progress. Your conscience knows everything and you can learn from it.

Both husband and wife know whether they are truly standing in a principled position. When parents fulfill their responsibility to their children, they know whether they are taking care of children in a principled way. A family knows whether it is fulfilling its responsibility for its clan. Because your conscience guides you, you should be able to practice the principled way, almost as if you had already been taught. Thus, people can receive God's blessing through practice. If people cannot practice the principled way, even after being taught, they have to take responsibility for it. That is the heavenly principle. You have a conscience, and through it the spiritual world teaches you.

Any effort leads to development

Up until now the way had not been opened for a family, a church, a nation,. the world, and the spiritual world to be united. Even if an individual or a family had achieved perfection, true perfection was left unaccomplished until the worldwide standard was established. No matter how loyally or sincerely an individual or a family served, they remained on the level of individual perfection, since the way through the clan, tribe, and nation was not opened, and individuals could not stand on the world historical position. That is the reason why people could not live the ideal life in the spiritual world.

I have now opened the way for you to go to the world starting from the individual level, through the family, clan, tribe, and national levels. So once you join the Unification Church, if you make certain effort you can make rapid progress. You are living in such a precious time. Do you understand?

Even people who served with their best loyalty, waiting thousands of years, giving their best loyal service, could not accomplish perfection, because the way was closed. The historical indemnity had not been paid; therefore, people could not resolve things in their 70 or 80 years of life. After going to the spiritual world they had to resurrect through their descendants and pay indemnity again. But from now on all the good spirits will push their descendants day and night. Such a time will come. This is the result of today's ceremony.

The spiritual world cannot keep silent; it can cause illness or other things to happen to their descendants if they do not go to the Unification Church. Recently in the United States, too, such phenomena are happening. Organizations will also be pushed. Ancestors can teach their descendants through spiritual works. All the ancestors are being mobilized to push their descendants by all means. That's the time we are in.

For this purpose Lon Sun Harumony has the mission to liberate ancestors, opening the way for them to come to the earth. This ceremony lays the foundation to dissolve the resentments for thousands of generations of ancestors and open the way for them to resurrect. I have been doing these works through this elderly woman. Do you understand? Leaders may not understand clearly, but ancestors are being liberated. On May 1 of last year we performed a ceremony for the total dissolution of resentment and dissolved the resentment of even Satan.

It is very historical that such a ceremony is performed this year. Now Buddhists, for instance, can make rapid spiritual progress. All providential religions are now being pushed to make new leaps. This is the time for us to encounter the spiritual world. We cannot solve the confusion of the spirit world unless we know the spiritual principle. For this reason if you are not in the course of unification, the spiritual world can attack you.

The good spiritual world represents the good archangelic realm. God, the archangel, and Adam should have been united in the Garden of Eden. Now God, the good spiritual world, and the Unification Church are unifying. This is the same as God, the archangel, and Adam being united. The Cain world should follow in order to avoid destruction. Cain can survive by following. Such a time has come.

I have already set up the condition for an individual, a family, a tribe, a nation, and the world to be able to connect with God and heaven. In fact, I have established the condition for the Unification Church to make rapid progress. We know that is God's will. Knowing this, you should live not for yourself but for the nation and the world. You should try to give a donation even if it is a penny. Especially the 36 Couples and those who have public missions should never live in a private way. Do not use money in a private way. If you use money for God's public will, you will not violate the law in front of God. But if you use money in a private way you will have to pay indemnity.

The principle of unification

You should understand this principle well, and the 36 Couples, 72 Couples, and 124 Couples must be united. The 72 Couples should not criticize the 36 Couples, nor should the 36 Couples criticize the 72 Couples or the 124 Couples, and so on. Even if the 72 Couples do very well, I cannot praise them if they do not appreciate the 36 Couples. Even if the 124 Couples do well, I cannot bless them unless they appreciate the 72 Couples. This is the principle of unification. Therefore, these three sets of families must become united. The 36 Couples are the resurrection of human ancestors, the 72 Couples the resurrection of children, and the 124 Couples the resurrection of the people of the world. Therefore, if they become united, the family, children, and the world can become united. For this reason I am responsible for these three stages of couples. Do you understand? From now on, therefore, you must think in this way.

We must mobilize a nation in order to save the world; I must mobilize my clan, the Moon clan, in order to save the nation of Korea. And my family must save my clan. This is the task of a tribal Messiah. But we must have a national Messiah in order for us to become clan Messiahs. When the clan standard is established, we have to prepare ourselves to keep the principle and be connected with the national standard; then we can go up to the national level. This is the course of restoration through indemnity.

We can face God only when the subject and the object become united. For subject and object to become united, they need a center. God certainly should live there. When subject and object perform give and take action, movement begins. And their motion needs a central point, an eternal central point. If subject and object are not united and do not perform give and take action, they cannot establish themselves as an object to God. This means that they have no relationship with God.

Therefore, husband and wife must be united centering upon God. Parents and children must be united centering on God. Compared to that ideal, I must say that you are living a haphazard life. You should have a substantially fruitful life. You must focus your mind on establishing these relationships in substantial life, and you must bring certain results in your lifetime.

Chapter 20 - The Turning Point of History

Chapter 20
The Turning Point of History
December 1, 1975 -- Tarrytown, New York

In the history of our world, the dispensation of restoration has often been repeated three times due to human failures. Originally, there was to have been no dispensation of restoration. The need for restoration and the subsequent repetitions ultimately came from one event: the fall. We have learned that since the fall, God, Satan and man have been tackling each other. Their interaction has formed history, with the heavenly side battling to establish turning points in order to restore the original position, and the satanic side battling to keep its dominion. The issue has always been to determine who will eventually gain the victorious turning point -- God or Satan.

The established religions and their adherents have never realized that man has a central responsibility for turning this evil world around. They have believed that anything can be accomplished if only God wishes it. They assumed that if God willed something, even Satan would not oppose Him. Unification theology says that man himself must take all responsibility. We say that we cannot reach the true turning point unless we expel Satan. Man must take a leading position. God, on His side, is trying to restore mankind centering on good people. Satan's side, centering on evil people, opposes this restoration. History has been developing through the repetition of these struggles.

Cain represents Satan's side and Abel represents God's side. They inevitably collide. God's side stands in the internal position while Satan's side is in the external position. Cain and Abel experienced this kind of struggle, and in their battle, Satan's side eventually gained the victory. Had God's side been victorious, history would have moved at that crucial turning point to the side of goodness.

At the times of Noah and Abraham, Satan was able to win more battles and frustrate the attempt to set the turning point toward goodness. At any historical turning point, heaven has always fought centering upon three stages or generations, representing the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Completed Testament, or the formation, growth, and perfection stages. Abraham, representing mankind, tried to make a complete turnabout by making symbolic offerings. Yet because he did not cut the birds in two, the condition was not established. Then the course of Abraham's family had to pass through three stages -- from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. Finally, for the first time, a victorious historical turning point was made at the time of Jacob.

Jacob set the turning point

When Jacob gained the victory for the first time, a whole family was able to follow the path toward heaven. What was the next challenge? What is always critical after a new tradition starts? Passing that accomplishment on to one's descendants. The thought, faith, and action by which Jacob gained the victory be- came the new tradition which his descendants were to follow. Although Jacob was an individual, he did not set the indemnity condition simply as an individual, but rather as someone standing in a historical position. Thus, the historical turning point which he achieved had to be passed on to the family and then the tribe. They had to inherit the tradition through which Jacob gained his victory. This is the course of Jacob which we study in the Principle.

But the chosen people of Israel could not inherit Jacob's historical victory over Satan unless they could continue to follow the path which he and his family walked through the time of Moses. No matter how difficult the course may have been, they had to observe this rule through the time of Moses. This rule applied to them not only in their own country, but wherever they went. Furthermore, they had to create the turning point centering on the level of the race or the people at Moses' time.

Satan is always standing one step ahead of us. In the alien country of Egypt, God and God's people had to face Satan, Satan's people and Satan's country. By the time God had gathered His people, Satan had already claimed a country. By the time God had a country, Satan had the world. They have always been fighting in this way.

Moses was a leader in the palace of the pharaoh even though he was an Israelite. In the palace, since he represented the Egyptians, he was a man on Satan's side. But Moses left the palace and made a change. The day he changed, Moses became one of the people of Israel -- a man on God's side. No longer was he the Moses of the palace, dwelling on Satan's side.

Moses was able to gain the foundation to lead his race, his people, during his 40 year period in Midian. Moses and the people of Israel became one and battled against the palace of the pharaoh. God's side and Satan's side fought each other, and God's side subjugated Satan's side. The Israelites journeyed for three days until they reached the Red Sea. The initial three-day period for returning to Canaan was significant in Jacob's return to his homeland as well.

After winning these battles, the people of Israel began their exodus, ending 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Yet they did not go directly to Canaan, but spent 40 more years wandering in the wilderness. Why did they have to go this course? Because the Israelites were not willing to pursue their goal at the risk of their lives. They could not focus on one goal leading to God alone. Their way of thinking was humanistic and still tied to the satanic world.

From the time the people of Israel left Egypt until they returned to establish the national foundation and await the Messiah, the tradition they had to inherit was the one Moses used to gain victory in Egypt. Unless they followed and observed this tradition wholeheartedly, they could not inherit the foundation of victory on the level of a race or a people or bring the turning point to the level of a nation. This foundation was critical because upon the expansion of this foundation Jesus was supposed to come on the national level and bring the messianic age.

The level of the nation is one step higher than the level of the people. The nation encompasses families and people. Accordingly, in the national age, conditions to restore families and people do not have to be repeated individually. Therefore, when Jesus came to the earth as the Messiah, if he set the national standard victoriously, he could also accomplish all the requirements to restore the family and the people.

What did Moses have to focus on to accomplish restoration at the stage of a race or people? He had to inherit the tradition of Jacob's course. You must understand this. Moses represented the next goal in the process of development since Jacob, and he inherited the tradition which Jacob left. In the process of development, there is no growth stage without a formation stage, no completion stage without a growth stage. So, if Jacob's age is the formation stage, Moses could come on that foundation at the growth stage. In the vertical process of history, Moses inherited the past and stood on the present. The turning point was directed toward the future. So he decided to march forward. From this turning point, the concepts of past, present and future were determined.

Jacob's family passed through the formation and growth stages and went forward to the level of complete faith. They followed the formula of bringing victory by setting up three stages -- past, present and future.

Without making conditions, Moses could not simply tell the people, "Let's go to Canaan." He could start forming a nation only after he cleaned up all the failures from Jacob's age until his time and set up a foundation which excluded Satan. The formula is the same. Then what must be done after entering the national age? Jesus had to stand upon the foundation of a victorious Moses. Since Moses' foundation was the foundation of a people, Jesus could not succeed without inheriting Moses' position and eliminating any conditions for Satan to invade.

The nation of Israel and the people whom Moses led were to become the foundation for Jesus. Therefore, all the failures from the age of Moses had to be cleaned up within the time of Jesus. Once he prepared and cleaned the foundation of the people and connected it with the national foundation, then Jesus could go to the world level. Only in that way could he go one dimension higher.

Since the turning point can only be made by securing the historical tradition from the previous level, when the national foundation was not secured at Jesus' time, the possibility for world restoration was lost. All the conditions established centering internally upon God and externally upon Jesus were supposed to have created one national foundation to confront Rome and the satanic world. If they could have created such a national turning point then the national of Israel would have existed on the earth eternally.

After the time of Jesus, both Jews and non-Jews should have been able to follow the original tradition of Jesus, and unite and create a national foundation. Then can any individual, family, race or nation accomplish God's will on earth? What happened at the death of Jesus? Was the turning point on earth lost or does it remain?

Christianity

Today Christians say that everything is accomplished by simple faith in Jesus. However, this is not so. Through the death of Jesus, Christians lost the earthly foundation upon which they can restore the past, present and the future on the individual through the national levels. Where should we make the turning point? It should be on the earth. Because a being of spirit and flesh fell, it must be a people of spirit and flesh who go back to God as an individual, family, tribe, race, nation and world. By the death of Jesus, all of these levels were lost.

At the time of Jesus, his followers had to create the spiritual foundation to reach out to the world. The time had been right to create the national turning point on earth and go forward toward the world level. However, the death of Jesus blocked the way to the national and world stages, and Christians had to start a spiritual movement to accomplish God's ideal. Is Christianity qualified to inherit the earth? First Christians had to understand Jesus' situation and keep his tradition. You must understand that Christianity became a spiritual movement through the death of Jesus. What is Jesus' spiritual victory? It means his followers are not violated spiritually on the earth; a victorious spiritual atmosphere has been established. What Christians must know is why Jesus' prayed, "My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt." From this we can draw the conclusion that Christians are not able to reach God's ideal without uniting with Heavenly Father's will, just as Jesus prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane.

It is clear that with Jesus' death, God lost the earthly foundation which Moses had set. Externally the situation became worse than it was before the Messiah came. The Christians, the second Israel, have no nation, no land. They are like members of a family with no head of the household. There is no guarantee that God can protect the people for whom He had so carefully prepared the foundation of individual victory, family victory, tribal victory and racial victory. Even though God is an almighty God, He has no foundation to protect this second Israel. This is why Christian history has been the most miserable in the history of religions. Christianity has been a religion of martyrs. People wondered: Why, if God truly exists, did the Christians have to go such a miserable path, individually and as a people? We see now how Satan can always attack physically when there is no foundation for the individual, the family, the clan, the tribe or the nation.

The Second Coming

Then, should Jesus return? Absolutely. Today, many Christians say that it doesn't matter whether the Messiah comes or not; it is not necessary. Some believe that the Lord will come on the clouds and bum everything up, and then the world will be made over just as God and Jesus wish it to be. Can this happen? This kind of Christian thought is too far removed from true restoration history and it will perish. People with that kind of faith will never be able to see the Lord of the Second Advent.

Is the Lord of the Second Advent coming with glory? Does he have the principled authority to be able to overcome the satanic individual, family, race and nation? In order to come on a national foundation, the Messiah must inherit the foundation of a race or people. But to inherit that, he must first inherit a family foundation which is perfectly purified. Only then can he firmly stand on the national foundation. Without this kind of foundation the Lord of the Second Advent cannot come with glory. Then the prophecy that he will come under conditions of incredible suffering and misery will be fulfilled.

The present situation of Christianity is like clouds floating in the sky. Clouds drift as the wind blows. Today, there are many nations in the world whose national religion is Christianity. But they have no earthly foundation of individual victory, family victory, and tribal victory. They have not established a chosen nation.

Then, what should the Lord of the Second Coming do when he arrives? He cannot reach out and save the world unless he recreates a substantial foundation on the individual, family, clan, race, and national levels, which were all lost in the nation of Israel. Without reestablishing those levels, he cannot consummate world Christianity.

Where has the floating spiritual Christianity settled in these 2,000 years? Do you think something which could not settle anywhere else could settle successfully in the United States?

Where can God gain His base? The dispensation did not succeed in Rome, or in England, or in this Christian nation of America either. There- fore, God set His base in a small country in the East. He needed to find a nation that had a long history of more that 4,000 years, and it had to be a small nation with a population of a manageable size. He needed a nation of one pure race of people. That nation had to be one which had never invaded another, and its people had to have a distinguished culture. It had to be a nation that had kept a strong national heritage even if it had to become a dependent state or suffer an unstable situation. Also, it had to be a nation whose people had undergone much suffering, because they were needed to indemnify the suffering of the world.

The chosen nation

In the course of history only two nations have met these conditions. One is Israel. The Israelites wandered without a nation. Yet, in order to receive the Messiah, they persevered as a nationless nation in spite of all kinds of persecution and harsh treatment. The other nation is Korea. Koreans have been called the Jews of Asia. Korea has been able to inherit the achievements of Western culture, but its culture has not been diluted by Western civilization. It has been dominated by Satan's side, and in that, it shares the situation of Israel, which was ruled by Rome.

In 1948, Israel became independent; therefore, some might think it reasonable for the Lord to come back to Israel. Korea also became independent in 1948. However, Korea was liberated from Japanese colonization, in contrast to modern Israel's situation. Conceivably both countries may have become independent at the same time because the physical Israel inherited something from the spiritual Israel, Korea. The fact that the Jewish people, who had been wandering for 2,000 years, found their nation, shows that all their sins had been forgiven. Therefore, they could return to their original position. The prophecy that Israel would be restored when Jesus returned was fulfilled. Because Jesus' death was indemnified, mankind was able to receive forgiveness and the Lord of the Second Advent could come.

If the Lord of the Second Advent comes to Korea, is he going to lead a luxurious life or go the way of indemnity? He must endure many things in walking the path of indemnity; he must develop incredible endurance. The Koreans, who love hot food, say that such a person is able "to eat peppers without crying."

Korean Christianity stands in a position similar to that of the Jewish leaders in the past, except that Christians are floating, maintained by only a spiritual base. The mind, or spirit, follows where the body goes, so if Christians find a group of people who are welcoming the Messiah, the spirit may move them to follow. The Lord may appear through a new movement born in Korea, one which carries God's historical mission. What is that movement? The Unification movement is the focus of God's spirit and is trying to unify Christianity and the world.

The Messiah's course

What does all this mean? It means that the Messiah has come. If people had not opposed him but accepted everything, the restoration process would have ended in seven years; the indemnity conditions for the family, clan, and nation would have enabled all levels to unite. Korean independence was declared in 1948; by 1952, seven years after Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945, restoration would have been accomplished.

God accomplished His creation in one week, resting on the seventh day. What did I do during this period of seven years? I was in prison. I stayed there until I was liberated in 1950. When Jesus went the way of death, his disciples ran away. However, while I was in prison, I found 12 faithful disciples. This way the course of restoration through indemnity could start. I had started preaching in the democratic sphere, but the Christians opposed me. This signified that democracy was failing at that time. Since I found hostility at home in South Korea, I went to the basically enemy territory, communist controlled North Korea, to regain what was lost.

Restoring blessed families

From that point, recreation could start anew. I worked to form a family from the position of Jacob, or at the individual level. I could begin my family in 1960, 14 years after the liberation of Korea. Considering each stage as seven years, I went through the stages of formation and growth to restore the failures at the time of Jesus. Jacob also worked 14 years to establish his family. So, in 1960, the family of God could begin to separate itself from the family of Satan.

I wanted to form families on the world level, creating a new blessing sphere of the new Israel. The third Israel is made up of blessed families. From 1960 we began to reach for the worldwide level of restoration, going through the historical process of the family age, clan age, tribal age and national age.

Up until now, the Unification Church has been forming clans and tribes centering on 12 couples representing Jacob's families. The 36 Couples represent three stages of 12 couples each. One process of restoration involves 36 couples; one family is the extension of 36 generations. When Cain's and Abel's families are added, they become 72 couples. Through the Blessing we must find the original, historical families which were lost, and we must restore them.

To accomplish God's will, Jesus should have blessed three disciples first and then the rest of the 12. So we also must fulfill the Blessing number 12. This number expanded horizontally through the past, present, and future becomes 36 couples. Also, the formation, growth, and completion stages expanded horizontally become 36 couples.

There were 10 generations from Adam to Noah and 10 generations from Noah to Abraham. However, this number 10 implies the fundamental number 12, because it includes Cain and Abel, or Isaac and Jacob. Through the formation, growth and completion stages, the number 12 becomes the number 36. This is the origin of the 36 Blessed Couples.

Expanded to the level of Abel and Cain, the 36 become 72 couples, representing a tribe. The next level of Blessing is the number 124, corresponding to the 120 followers with whom Jesus started his worldwide spiritual course. They are the representatives of the world's nations Jesus originally wanted to bless them and unify them, connecting them with the nation of Israel. If Jesus could have blessed his 120 followers, and if he had been welcomed by the nation of Israel, would he have been killed? Of course not. We had to indemnify what he did not accomplish and bless the 36, 72, and 124 couples within three years.

Next is the 430 Couples. The numbers four and three when added together become seven, and the numbers four and three always correspond to the number of liberation. The people of Israel made their exodus to the Promised Land after 430 years. In Korean history as well, the liberation from Japan happened in the year 4300, according to the Korean calendar. After 4,300 years, Korea could become the chosen nation. Therefore, 430 years is the period for the restoration of the nation of Israel.

When the foundation in Korea reached the national level, I blessed 43 couples of the Western world. The number 43 is a factor of the number 430.

The next Blessing was the 777 Couples, including people from 10 nations. Through this Blessing the way was opened for the world level.

The Unification Church is forming a new tribe and new nation. Do you understand what is happening? If you do not understand this so far, you will not understand the dispensation from now on. You must inherit the tradition and observe it, but how can you observe and maintain something you do not understand?

In February 1975 I blessed the 1,800 Couples. I had to hold that Blessing within 14 years after the dispensation started in April 1960. The 1,800 Couple Blessing closed the second seven-year course of the Unification Church because it prepared the perfect foundation for expanding to the world level. The number six is the number of Satan, and 1,800 is a multiple of 18, which is the total of six plus six plus six. It signifies the dominion of the satanic world. The first six represents the formation stage of the satanic side; the second six represents the growth stage of the satanic side; and the third six represents the completion stage of the satanic side. Thus the world foundation was prepared; therefore, from now on we can mobilize the nation and the world.

The Yoido rally

We have been holding rallies, centering on the Yoido rally this past June in Korea. Rally preparations began in February, and the event reversed the entire fortune of Korea. We had to reverse the path of the established churches and achieve victory in various other areas as well. These activities have linked Korea to the individual, family, race, national and worldwide levels. This spiritual connection has given Korea a substantial foundation on the worldwide level.

We could open the way to go to the world by making a spiritual connection through conditions such as the three-year course in the United States from 1972-1974. Before, we had been working spiritually on the level of tribe and race. However, I have sent members out to the world and have brought a spiritual victory through the three-year course in the United States beginning in 1972.

Now that the national standard is set, in order to expand it on the worldwide level, we have to establish the substantial Christian world standard in these next three years and connect it with the foundation of spiritual Christianity. In the following three years, combining the substantial foundation with the spiritual foundation, we must mobilize on a world level. This period corresponds on a worldwide level to Jesus' three-year mission. The foundation for all this was the Yoido rally. Through it we reached the level of the established churches and the nation and have prepared a victorious foundation spiritually and physically. The three-year dispensational course for the world begins this year in the United States.

The next three years

This is the historical turning point for the world level spiritually and physically. You must understand this. During these three years -- 1975, 1976 and 1977 -- the destiny of the United States will change, and the destiny of the world will change with it.

In Korea, I have been restoring though indemnity everything lost in Israel. I prepared the national foundation and completed it, spiritually and physically, through the Christian world. I have also been setting the indemnity conditions for the world level.

In these first three years, we must create the spiritual foundation, and in the latter three years we must create the physical foundation. Then from 1977 to 1981, we must completely indemnify the problems of the world and resolve them. We must gain a certain victory in the first three years until 1977, and by 1981 we must free the Unification Church from any opposition in the democratic world. The communist sphere may still oppose us, but in the sphere of the free world the Unification Church should be welcomed any place. What we achieve in the United States will determine this.

What kind of time are we in? In terms of the historical turning point, we have now inherited the national foundation the Christian era. To that we must add the foundation of the world level not only spiritually but physically as well. In the coming years we will fight to create the world foundation. The destiny of the worldwide foundation will be based upon the principle of restoration through indemnity. Therefore, you must understand that 1975, 1976, and 1977 are the years of the greatest turning point in history. We are standing on that point.

In these three years, how shall we influence America? What do we have to do? God has shifted His focus from the established churches, and the Unification Church has appeared. We must have a clear providential view of history. We must understand the reality, not only the theory, of history. Jacob went through his providential course without understanding much of it; neither Moses nor Jesus went through the providence with full knowledge. But our situation is different. We understand everything, so we should be able to do it. The formation stage is Adam's, the growth stage belongs to Jesus, and now we are in the completion stage. Therefore, we must clearly understand God's situation.

I have stood up for a nation, and that nation is Korea, not America. We have no way to restore Christianity and the spiritual foundation unless we find the physical substance again. As you trace back through the ages, who has the most ideal situation -- Jesus and his disciples, or you? Jesus' age was at the tribal or national level; however, we are standing on the world level. How great this time is! You must understand that theoretically you should be greater than they. The early Christians were willing to go to Rome even knowing their throats would be slashed. What would you do if knew your throats were to be slashed in Moscow? Are you superior to Jesus' disciples?

How many years do we have to work in order to save the democratic world? We must work hard these three years, and accomplish as mush as possible to win the communist world within a seven-year period. If we do so, the democratic world can be victorious over the communist sphere without fighting it. If we cannot do it, there will be one fight after another. In that case, members of the Unification Church must go toward the victory even if our blood is shed. Therefore, in this course, we must solve the world problems by all means. This is always my earnest desire, whether I am asleep or awake. God and Jesus long for this as well. Many spirit persons are relying on us to gain this additional victory for which we have been striving. This is what we and the spiritual world are praying for.

In the past the spiritual world could not fully assist us, but now they are able to fully participate. Everything depends on us opening the way. How near the Heavenly Kingdom is! We have seven years left.

Yankee Stadium

What are the turning points in this battle? The Madison Square Garden rally changed things spiritually. Now the challenge is the external world. The growth stage is the Yankee Stadium rally. World victory depends on the upcoming rally at Yankee Stadium. The second stage in the providence is usually the turning point. In Adam's family, the providence centered upon Abel, the second son. At the family level, centering upon Noah, the heavens and the earth were divided. The second stage is the most crucial. In Abraham's family, a decision of life and death revolved around the second generation, Isaac. In the larger scope of history, Jesus, the second Adam, had tried to set the turning point but could not. The growth stage is at the center, whether it is viewed vertically or horizontally.

Now, on the world level, the turning point is the second key rally, at Yankee Stadium. The number seven represents the formation, 14 is the growth, and 21 is the completion. Therefore, Yankee Stadium will be a victory if we can gather 210,000 people. To accomplish that will be equivalent to lifting up the United States. Therefore, we must do it at the risk of our lives. We must be victorious at Yankee Stadium. We should concentrate on God's Kingdom not only with our mind, but with our whole body. If all are gathered at Yankee Stadium, how delighted God and Jesus would be! The entire spiritual world will be grateful. And this generation will change. Groups opposing us will shrink away.

You must understand that I am standing in a serious position. For the first time I am standing on the world foundation spiritually, and now I am surveying the physical foundation. If you gain the victory here within three years, by 1980 we will surely be able to protect all these foundations. We can openly testify, in front of God, that all the problems of the world have been solved without a fight. If we can bring more that 200,000 people to Yankee Stadium, we will triumph at Washington Monument and be able to get 600,000 or even 700,000 people. When 600,000 people can support me, the new Israelites can head for Canaan.

In these three years we will create the world foundation. We are building the restoration through indemnity. In Korea, we assembled 1.2 million people for a rally at Yoido Island. If you have the same heart as Jesus and unite in a desperate effort, the spiritual world will be mobilized and we can gain the victory. People will feel unconsciously drawn to Yankee Stadium.

When they see you, they will want to follow you. The spiritual world will attract them. Therefore we must do our best. This is the final battle. It has never existed before and will not come again. God is serious, Jesus is serious, and I am serious; the Christian spirit world is serious and you members of the Unification Church are serious. Those who went to the spiritual world believing in Christianity will come and assist us. After Christianity penetrated Rome, opposition to Christianity did not last much longer. If we gain the victory at Yankee Stadium there won't be much opposition after that. The people will feel somehow attracted to the Unification Church, and they will come and observe what we are and what we do.

The victory of Yankee Stadium will put us over the growth stage. It is the same as rising beyond the sphere of the fall. Since it will establish God's authority on the world level, Satan will have no place to go. Therefore, our enemies will not be able to oppose us. Yankee Stadium will determine all these things. In a way, I feel desperate.

If it fails, what will happen next? I am most serious on that point. You must understand it. We must accomplish by all means, regardless of what happens.

The United states will soon be 200 years old. We understand that God's providence works through corresponding time periods. During their 400 years of persecution under the Roman Empire, the early Christians re- stored through indemnity the 4,000 years of human history lost at the time of Jesus. Now the United States must indemnify the 2,000 years lost by the failure of Christianity. These 200 years must consummate spiritually and substantially the providence since Jesus, solve everything, and return it to heaven. The indemnity period to restore the spirit and flesh of Jesus is this 200 years.

The title of the Yankee Stadium rally is "America's Bicentennial -- God Bless America." It means we are passing over to the Heavenly Kingdom, crossing over the peak of the second providential stage. Even when you sleep, sleep with a mind directing your arms and legs toward Yankee Stadium. If we think about things is that way, victory will surely come. If you bring success, you will rise up. Jesus will bow his head to you. So will God, and the spiritual world too.

Now is the time when each of you can focus on 6,000 years of history with the best of sincerity and become the resurrected body of Jesus. In the history of the providence, you are standing on a brand new summit of history; it will never reappear. Do your best. If God should ask you, "Couldn't you have done more?" and you can reply, "I did the maximum I was capable of," both you and I will be free from responsibility. But if you did not do your very best with the utmost sincerity, you will become the object of resentment of billions and billions of generations. You and I must completely unite. Satan does not take a rest; God does not take a rest, and we cannot. Think in these terms, and in the coming six months -- which will be like the final hell -- you must seriously overcome all obstacles. This time will never be repeated. Let's all do our best and make our pledge in front of God that six months from today we will accomplish our goal.

Chapter 19- Myself

Chapter 19
Myself
January 13, 1980--Tarrytown, New York

When someone says "I," he is. not thinking of himself as a solitary individual. Each person understands himself within the context of a certain background and set of circumstances. When I think of myself, I think of my family, parents and surroundings. Each of you is aware of being a citizen of America. A man of deeper thought thinks of himself as part of the world. If he is truly religious, then he will feel connected to God, who created everything around him.

In various situations, there are some good people, some bad, some happy and unhappy, all put together. A person may assess himself as good, or as bad but trying to improve, and as generally happy or unhappy. When each of us thinks of "I" we think in connection with all these surrounding conditions. That "I" exists now, but when did it begin? You might think, "Well, I am 30, so I started to exist 30 years ago." In addition, you know that you have been and always are increasing in age.

You also realize that you didn't just abruptly start from nothing, but received certain things from your parents. You didn't begin to exist from yourself but from your parents. Your course of thought traces back to your parents, their parents and so on through your ancestry. If you have a good imagination, you might trace it back to the beginning of energy, which has been passed down through your ancestors. If you pull yourself in a certain direction at this point, you are not pulling yourself alone, but all your lineage as well. If I pull one thin hair on your head, the rest of your body had better follow along if it doesn't want to feel any pain. When you dance about the floor, the whole lineage that is connected with you is also moving around.

No one wants to be isolated, but desires instead to be proud of representing everything that is connected to him. Would you choose to be isolated and independent, or to represent many more people than just yourself Everyone wants the second choice. Why should you feel like that? Why do we tend to think of ourselves as the center of everything surrounding us? Is it because we want mastery and control? Whatever the reason, the fact remains that an individual will try to protect himself from invasion. Also, you want your eyes to be the best of all eyes, your nose and even your hair to be the best. You want to protect even external things that change, like your clothes. Where does this quality come from?

Everyone wants to advance, whether he is of low or high capability. We can state that the force of the conscience urges the uplifting of the individual. Why does each person want to make himself better? Where does that action of conscientiousness come from? It is derived from a cause-result relationship. No action is initiated without purpose; all actions have some purpose. The bird sings and the bee hums, the butterfly flies, the wind blows--all of these have their purpose. When your eyelid blinks it certainly has a purpose, doesn't it? Your breathing has a purpose. When you smile, it is not for yourself, but for some reason. No action takes place without purpose.

Is force or energy first?

Scientists maintain that the universe is made up of energy. Energy exists everywhere, as well as force or power. Is force or energy first? Does the Principle teach that force comes into being by give and take action, or does give and take exist after the force exists? We should examine our thought carefully to see whether we are not taking the answer for granted. Seen from different angles, both viewpoints seem entirely correct, so it is important to know which is the correct answer. What is your opinion?

Action certainly must come from a definite source. The subject and object precede action. If we pursue this a little further, we can say that if God is omnipresent, then He must have both subject and object qualities. God's dual characteristics are not just conceptual or abstract; they are very real and important to our lives. Ever since the universe and individual entities came into being, subject and object were the beginning of the existence of self. All things in the universe are made up of these two different qualities or parts, and each is involved in give and take action.

The force, or the result, is the consequence of the subject and object having give and take action. Let us take the simple example of parents having give and take of love; their child will be the result. The child is like the force that results from give and take action. What causes that? God is the cause, and that process follows the pattern of God's creative process. The force in turn has within itself the possibility of give and take action because it is the result of give and take. When we think of force, we recognize it involves the two qualities of subject and object, cause and result.

When you think of your existence, you think of the power within yourself, but prior to that you realize the give and take action within yourself. You have a mind and body that form a subject-object relationship, and when they have give and take you can't help but feel the resulting power within yourself. Therefore, you are the subject body of force. You are very powerful. When you draw a line down your front, dividing yourself in half, the two parts look alike externally. Why is that? Because if the cause has that quality, then the result has to be that way. That's a very logical reason.

When scientists examine the development of life forms, they conclude that energy randomly evolved into higher and more complex beings, and this is how man came to exist. This theory is not rational when we really examine it. It is more reasonable that subject and object together would form an entity, which in turn would become a subject and take an object. Together they would create some higher life form as subject which would also take an object, and so on, forming greater and greater entities.

In our social life, we want to broaden our sphere of Influence, increasing our areas of activity. When you become a subject on one level you want to find an object on that level, and then, when you are united, you find that together you become a subject on another level. Scientists explain the formation of new species through random mutation, saying it happens by chance. We can immediately see that is false reasoning, but they have not come up with some better theory so they stick with this one. It does not stand to reason to say that a small thing could just suddenly become big. Even a non-scholar would find the subject-object explanation more reasonable.

Purpose precedes interaction

How could a bigger entity come to exist? From where does the original force come that can cause a small cell to grow bigger, that can enable a small group of cells to become bigger, and enable each step to develop? A force is the result of give and take, but there must be some purpose preceding that give and take. Nothing happens without purpose. A chemistry professor trying to mix a plus element and a minus element of unrelated qualities will never get a reaction. But if he prepares a compatible subject and object and merely brings them close together, then give and take will automatically happen. This explanation based on give and take describes science more adequately than theories of probability or random occurrence.

In the beginning, I pointed out that each person wants to become greater and greater in his life, and becomes angry if he cannot do so. Does that happen at random, too, or is it inevitable? We know now that it has to happen like that because the conscience is at work. Everything comes into the realm of subject and object, and is a collection of subject-object relationships. This means that "I" exists within a broad universe, and lives only within a broad purpose. Therefore, one's conscience always directs him to become bigger and greater. We have to be aware of the purpose for that.

This is explained through the four position foundation. In order to have circular action, there must be plus-minus, plus-minus -- not plus-minus, minus-plus. Can you name one thing that does not move or turn? When anything stubbornly refuses to move, it ceases to exist. Each cell is vigorously active, and the collection of these cells, which is you, is even more active. The whole universe if full of vitality. You can accept that, can't you?

Our conclusion is that this big universe moves with a certain purpose, not haphazardly. Even one of the billions of tiny cells in your body has plus and minus and is an inseparable part of the universe, and so it wants to become as great as the whole universe. Even a tiny cell will rebel if the large organism no longer wants to become greater. This is why each person has hope for greater happiness in the future.

If a person is restricted to living in one situation for the rest of his life, he loses his will to live.

The source of action

What existed before force existed? The action of subject and object. And where does action come from? Action derives from a subject and object, and the whole thing takes place because of the larger purpose of creation.

There are dual purposes here: one is to maintain oneself, and the other to become part of the large self, which is the universe. A man's purpose for finding a woman as an object is to preserve and perfect himself, and then become one with her, and then, their purpose is to have children. In this way, they stand in the same position as their ancestors.

Let us look at the example of our eyes. The eye has the purpose of self-existence, but also that of serving the whole body. The ear has to operate automatically, but it also helps the whole. Everything from particles to the largest creation has a right to exist, but if there was only the purpose of the individual, how could the universe be interrelated? It is because all individuals have dual objectives: one is to protect the self and the other to make sure the self combines with another self to make a bigger self. The theory of evolution understands the individual purpose of self preservation, but it does not grasp the ultimate purpose of the whole.

Conscientious scholars today have no answer for the question of how the universe is perpetuated or what its purpose is. Their conclusion is that it has no purpose, but just goes on and on and will perish at one point. But we know this is not true; something may seem to perish, but as it passes away, something else will be formed. This happens because everything has a purpose. The same principle applies to every aspect of the universe. Individuals gather not only to meet individual needs, but also for the purpose of forming a greater being. If someone wants to have great character, he must be available as an object to the whole universe as his subject. He must be worthy of it.

Today, white people tend to stay together, ignoring other races. But their true purpose is not only to be with whites, but to embrace all other colors as well. Individual purpose must always follow the purpose of the whole. Conscientious people wonder why big fish eat little fish, why some animals are carnivores, why the powerful eat the weak. They may see this as a chaotic situation. But according to the principle that the smaller things exist for the larger purpose, the lion is justified in eating the rabbit. This is the key to the whole problem. The small purpose exists for the purpose of the greater existence, which is ultimately the whole universe.

We exist for the larger purpose

Americans don't know that they exist for the purpose and betterment of the whole. Who says so? God says so. More objectively, the universe says so. Unification Church members are the most consistent people in all history because they know the individual should exist for the family, the family for the tribe, the tribe for the nation and the nation for the world. We not only think that way, but we live it. Why do we do that? In a sense it is for a selfish reason, because by going on to bigger and bigger levels we make ourselves available to become really big individuals.

Young people now do what I call the kisko dance; "co" means "nose" and "kis" means "kiss," so "nose-kissing dance." For whom do they dance -- America, the world, or themselves? It contributes nothing to the whole and limits them to the individual purpose, so it stops their development. It is even worse than a lion eating a rabbit--it is a sin. For the betterment of the whole we want to get rid of whatever harms the whole, but we know that kids won't listen if we just say outright, "You shouldn't do that for all the following reasons."

If I gave you some money and free time, would you go disco dancing? But if it were for your betterment and the world's betterment, then you would disco 24 hours a day, right? The Soviets are visibly closing in on the free world, and if disco dancing would halt their advance, we should disco 24 hours a day.

People today, from the lowest to the highest level, don't know what man is or who the individual self is. All their confusion arises from ignorance. First we must teach them, then demonstrate how to live, and then we can restore order in the world. This principle explains all phenomena from the past, and we have to apply it consistently all the time. You cannot learn this in school because the teachers don't know it. I am the first teacher of this knowledge. This is the beginning of a new culture. By knowing this, you can comprehend the Principle even better, and know why there are three stages, subject and object, how give and take occurs, and why there is a purpose. Now the Principle is no longer conceptual, but something you can put into action in every circumstance. Now you will never forget, because the Principle is you.

When you think of force, what do you think of? Action. And when you think of action, you immediately think of plus and minus, subject and object. When you feel powerful, you know that some give and take action is happening, and that your mind and body must be in harmony. You must be smarter than to think it begins with you, and remember that God, your Father, gave it to you and you resemble Him. You then remember that He has the whole universe under Him, and you are a small part of that universe; you are a small minus to the universe, which is the biggest possible plus.

God is a big plus and you are a small minus, but this small minus has the purpose of becoming as great as the plus. This is why you want to become great. This is perfectly logical, and something that stands to reason is reality itself. Each of us has an urge to become great, but until now you didn't know why God and the universe also wanted you to become great. They want to pull you up like a big winch.

If you go to the top of a mountain, you can actually catch up with God better. In other words, if you have a broader, deeper thought, God can love you and encourage you to go higher and higher. What is God's thought? His thought is to manifest power according to the Principle and to realize the ideal world. Will He do that by force? Is God going to make the world great because He has all knowledge? Could the strongest man on earth make the ideal world? Harvard professors are proud of their knowledge, but could they do it? What is the essence that can make the ideal world? True love.

Love is long, very long

The other day I paraphrased love as being "long, very long." You think you know English, but you didn't know love was long. Love should last a long, long time. How does God want to make the ideal world? If you ask God where He wants to be at any given time, He will say He wants to be at the center of the universe. If you ask which center of the universe He wants to be at--whether of knowledge or power--He will say He wants to be at the long, long center. Is this stretching the truth too far?

When I asked why you wanted to become greater and greater, you didn't have an answer. Now you know that you want to be great so that, based on love, you can become the companion of the center of the universe and be worthy of being His object. Though we know we are very small, we want to be object to the great universal subject in love. If God wants to be at the center, where would you want to be? At the center of love in the universe. When I seriously ask you where we are going, you have to have some answer. We are going to the objective of love on the universal level. Since God is going there also, we are bound to meet Him. Even though you become very knowledgeable, that will eventually pass. Power cannot last eternally either. But if you are pursuing love and find it, it will last a long, long time.

We have to have some perspective of life, some awareness of our purpose. When we have that in ourselves then we can go there. With this life perspective, you can know why the world has to be peaceful and how that can happen through love, and then your entire plan and idea can come to one focal point. Only a handful of people on the face of the earth know that they should be living with their purpose and direction taking them toward love. If that prevails in the world, then the earth can become peaceful.

Now, when I ask you who you are, you are in a position to answer for the first time, "I am the one who is supposed to go toward the purpose of love on the universal level.'' We know that all things exist for man because man has love. The animals and plants willingly sacrifice for man because he is reaching for the objective of love with God. You like steaks, don't you? Do you eat a steak for your own enjoyment, or do you think that the steak will help you get nearer the love of God? If it were for love, then the meat would be glad to be eaten and say, "Eat me quickly!" That meat also craves love. A stick of celery wants to continue its own life, but when you eat it you can say, "I assure you that through me you will come closer to God's love."

If a person is perfect in this respect, all things will want to tag along and be eaten by him. Money will want to be earned by him. Today, men chase money but the money runs away. If you become a person of original purpose, however, then money will follow you. If another person follows after money, the money will be scared, thinking, "A tiger is after me!" That person will end up in hell. Would you rather follow money or love?

The question of sacrifice

Is it good or evil to sacrifice your own life for the sake of the world? These pragmatic Americans call something evil with one side of their mouths and then call it good with the other side, twisting it around for their convenience.

Throughout history God has seemed to be unjust because it was good people who were sacrificed all the time; but being sacrificed is the best way, actually. What kind of person makes a good president? If a tyrannical, pushy man is the one who works best for the sake of the world and is the most effective in educating Americans and the world, then is it good if he is president? Or does a tyrannical person have no place? It is good if he is doing God's job. Is ML Carter very dynamic? The first thing a politician thinks of is how he is going to get reelected next term, and he makes compromises with justice and righteousness to get along. It should certainly be wrong if a president thinks more about his reelection than about what is right for America.

No matter what the situation is, my purpose is consistent. I work for the sake of God and humanity and never compromise. I keep telling Americans the truth. Americans don't like to hear bad things all the time, but if they have to hear bad things over and over in order to finally change, then the purpose of giving that advice is served.

The Unification Church is not fighting for the Unification Church; we are sacrificing the Unification Church for the sake of the world and God. That is what I have done all my life. That doesn't look very workable to pragmatic people, but actually it is the most effective way. A self-centered person doesn't understand that self-sacrifice is the best way of life simply because God and the universe always protect a person who is working for their cause. An explanation must be consistent, from head to tail, no matter how big or small the situation.

Would you prefer a leader who buys you candy all the time, or one who makes you into a person who is worthy to be object to this great subject, God? Do you think it is easy to convert a person away from evil and make him into someone who is worthy of being that object? It is even harder to do in America because here there is an adverse atmosphere of self-centeredness. I have to pluck someone out of that environment before I can teach him. It is a little less difficult with an Oriental, because that culture tends to consider the larger purpose more, which is God's way of thinking. Here the culture is not group-centered but individual-centered. You have to realize that you can't take individualism for granted.

Even unambitious people are excited and inspired when they join the Unification movement and realize what God's idea is, but the difficulty of everyday life is also great. It doesn't make sense that you can have only things that are extremely enjoyable, but not those which are extremely difficult. Any worthy man in the past has led such a life.

Sacrifice for greater love

You know your life should be filled with happiness and love, but you wait three years to be blessed and have no dating in the meantime. Then, you wait three more years after getting married, and even after you are together you do the hard work of witnessing. The women worry also about whether they will be too old to have children by the time they get married. On top of that, there are many Orientals in charge of your activities; plus you go fund raising and you receive no recognition. All put together, you are in a quandary deciding whether this is fantastically miserable or fantastically wonderful. But even when you are full of tears, you know this is the best way. Even if you have to risk your life a dozen times a day, this is still the best way, because it is the way of love.

I am no dumber than anyone else; I knew this principle before you did and have gone this way my whole life without compromise. There is no in between way for either you or me. I thought that probably no one else on earth would have courage or wisdom to do this, and that I would probably be going all by myself, but then I looked back after a time and found hundreds of followers straggling after me, trying to go to the same place. And there were many white people among them who were determined to give their lives! Then there were other white people who weren't happy with me and tried to persecute me. The important question is which side will God and the universe be on.

Now you know better who you are. Confucius said that whoever knows himself will be a success, and wise men have always accepted this. Should we let any circumstance divert us once we know who we are? Once you know, you should be able to laugh off the scorn of even millions of people. This is 1980. This is the year to take off and fly into orbit. You should be confident that you are masters of the universal thought that has been hidden all these thousands of years. There is nothing vague about this.

Now I can give you a little more explanation, which will make it easier to follow. Why do I train you on earth instead of later in spirit world? Why do you have to struggle on earth in order to learn? Of course, you have to restore yourselves, but you must love your family more than yourself because it is a bigger cause. Even though it is painfully difficult and you may not be able to carry it out on earth, you will be given credit for doing your best. Then, when you get to spirit-world the path will be open to accomplish it successfully there. When the family has to be sacrificed for the world and you try your best, even if you are not completely successful on earth, a crude road to finish it will be opened in spirit world. If you don't even try on earth, however, there is no road for you in spirit world later.

You are in hell when you find yourself with no avenues open at all; then you are living in complete isolation and are unable to go where you have to go. You can see ultimate happiness around you and it looks within reach, but, in reality, it is too far away to seize. If you can't get along with a certain person on earth, that relationship will carry on into spirit world and be hell. You . will know you could have experienced happiness with that person, but because you didn't make it happen on earth, you can't do it in spirit world. The most important reason why I work so hard pushing you and trying to inspire you to go the difficult road is that I know about spirit world. If you can unite and follow, then there will be at least a small road open for you in spirit world.

Your accomplishments in love are eternal

If you are successful in loving people of all races, all spirit world will applaud you and welcome you. Wherever you go in spirit world, spirit men will tag along. Our life here is short, but we can accomplish and settle much in order to claim happiness in spirit world. Your status in spirit world is eternal. This is one of the reasons why we suffer willingly. The purpose of a business is to gain profit by investing some money. If we invest very much pain, then we profit a hundred times more. In the lottery, one dollar can win thousands, but here there isn't even any risk and still we are guaranteed to win.

Taking one step after another, we lengthen the sections of the bridge of love. We are building it inch by inch, and though there are miles to go, we keep going. No matter what opportunities there are for you in life, you would rather follow me, right? Why? I don't give you money or time or power. You say it is for love, but have you seen that love with your eyes? I am like a parent nagging you to study after school, and pushing you to study again even when you have finished. You get frustrated, I know, but still I tell you to keep studying. That's love.

You might be comfortable if you didn't do it now, but for the sake of the greater purpose you choose to sacrifice anyway. That is goodness.

It can be good to spank a child if it is intended to secure his eternal well being. That is logical. True love is worth the hardship.

Now you know about the individual, so let us decide when we would like to be in that position. Ten years or a 100 years from now? Now sounds pretty close to "no." And "no" sounds close to "know." Do you know or not?

Can you go this path alone? Who do you need? Would you rather have a yoke on your neck to be sure you go the correct way? Should I just allow you to do whatever you want? Now we are secure and comfortable because we know the objective, but the problem is only half-solved. You also have to accomplish the goal, and you think you need someone to push you because you can't do it alone. You feel you can be a champion if only you had a trainer. A trainer is someone who gets after you and nags you all the time. At some point, you'll get so aggravated that either you'll confront your trainer and give up, or you'll become the champion. That is the reality.

Don't appoint only one trainer, because you will have free time when he is away, which is not good. Appoint a dozen trainers, one Chinese, one Korean, one Japanese, one American, one German, and so forth. Then wherever you go you will bump into a trainer and he will chase after you. Perhaps you could tolerate one person kicking you, but what about 12 people kicking you at one time? If you are determined to survive, you will be a champion after they get tired of kicking you.

This is no ordinary life, to be lived at whim. It is most serious, not only for our generation but for all history. All Unification Church members know they each have a spirit self that lives eternally in spirit world You have never been to spirit world, so you are persuaded through logic that it is so. Because you start at the lowest part of life there is no place to go but up. The thousands of people outside the church who study us can't figure us out, because they don't know about the spirit world. To some I look ordinary, to some deceptive, to some great. Even many intelligent people all have different opinions about me. They can only conclude they don't understand me.

Training in religious life

Am I going my way by accident? No one is the world has any idea what the world will be like even next week, but we know how the past was and what direction history will take. Our path is basically a religious life, and who is the most strict, most serious of trainers? That's Reverend Moon. This is a training ground and that's why you sit on a cold concrete floor for hours and hours. You are here to be trained, not just to enjoy a sermon. You do that for years and years, and people wonder if you do that because you are scared.

Our training is conducted in the most painful way. We have no such thing as comfortable training. Why? Because we want to shorten our period of training. You have just begun to know a few things, and you have to meet the challenge and go over it. You only have a few years to do that, so I am pushing you to speed up. Even at this moment I am pressuring you. Throughout the '70s you had some complaint, wanting to know why life had to be so difficult, why the hardship couldn't be spread out. But starting at this moment you should give up complaint. Starting this year you should look for the difficult jobs to do.

The members usually feel that fund raising is our most difficult activity. If the fiancée of an MFT [Mobile Fund Raising Team] member writes to say there is an opening in his office and why doesn't the MFT member come to do that easier job, the fiancée is actually acting on behalf of Satan, blocking the other person's training. What he is actually saying is, "Become a third-rate champion." What he should say instead is, "MFT is too easy, so go. to Cambodia to fund raise." Is this illogical? We have to develop according to the Principle for all these things.

If someone asks you for proof of how much I love humanity, you can tell them that I have matched thousands of couples of all races in the best possible way. That's proof of having loved mankind. And even afterward I continued to train them and to care about them as I would my own children, planning how they will support and educate their families in the future. I have no preferences or prejudices; I have loved black people as much as white people and yellow people. When I go to spirit world I will visit hell and no one there will oppose me; I will go to the area where white people are, and no one will accuse me, because they will know they are the ones who did not listen. In heaven white people will want me to stay at their house and sleep in their own bedrooms.

There are 12 pearl gates to heaven, and I can pass through many of them. Why 12? Because that represents 120, and also represents 360 degrees, encompassing every angle. Also it symbolizes 12 different types of personalities. How can you pass through the gates? Only when you tag along with me! There are guards here who will challenge you and ask, "Who are you?" Then you will say, "Reverend Moon happens to be my father." They won't be satisfied with that, however. When they ask for proof, you can say, "Don't you know the Principle? The Principle says so." If he still doubts you, you can say, "Don't you think I look like Reverend Moon? I did the same things he did, so I should look like him by now." If the guard thinks you look like me, then he will let you in.

Challenge yourself to love

You said you wanted to start the strictest training now, but actually it will last for the rest of your life, and you have no idea how long your life will be. If you have hated black people in the past, you should fund raise in the most difficult place possible, where you can only earn a few dollars, and then invite the ugliest, fattest black grandmother to go out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Then, over lunch, you can say, "I have a confession to make. I have hated black people, but now I want to love them." You can tell her how you felt in the past, but when you joined the Unification Church and met Reverend Moon, you worked to train yourself as a champion of goodness. Now you repent, and as a sign of apology you sincerely brought her out to dinner When you beg her with tears to eat the dinner you buy, you will have indemnified your hate in the past.

If someone has hated white people in the past, then he also has to repent. Whatever you have bound in the past, you have to unbind now and indemnify it. If a man has been a playboy in the past and made many women sorrowful, he has to find some situation where he can apologize to one woman representing all of them. If a woman has married several times, then she has to apologize to a man in the same way. Everything you have done that was unprincipled, you have to indemnify. That is your main task in 1980, to repent and then forget about the past. Don't let it drag you down, but pray to heaven to help you do away with it. Then look for the difficult thing and tackle it. That will be your best and fastest training.

If you are trying to find some loved ones, more value is added if you go a difficult way. It is not as valuable if you find one in an easy way, and you cannot feel as much value even if you try. But if you go through difficulty, you feel the value even if you try not to.

We all say we love and follow God, but when you say it and I say it, there is an entirely different quality in our words even though we say the same thing. The main difference is that I have gone through tremendous suffering while you have not. Never forget that how we go the path of true love is the real question. Whether you get a passing grade or flunk the course is determined by what difficulties you have persevered through. Are you going to be a failure or success?

Now when you say "myself" you don't think in isolation, but in the context of parents, grandparents and God, all flowing like a big river. When you say "I" their image immediately appears in front of your eyes. You have to feel that the perfection of the world comes through yourself. When the four position foundation is formed, a central point is needed, which is God. The center of the family is love. In three dimensions the four position foundation has six points, with one in front and one in the rear, plus one in the middle, which is the seventh. Thus, the number seven is the number of perfection, but that is formed only after adding the one point of love.

The number 12

A straight line denotes one, and when it is cut in half it actually has three in it. Thus, the four position foundation has the number 12 in it at the same time. The number 12 represents the entire spirit world; for instance, the 12 pearl gates referred to in the Bible. Jacob had 12 sons, Moses led the 12 tribes, Jesus had 12 disciples. The number 12 was necessary to fulfill the important requirements of the universe, so at crucial points they had to satisfy the number 12.

We know that Jesus was the ideal man, and, as such, he had to be able to get along with 12 different types of people. These 12 actually represented people of 120 nations of the world, meaning, in fact, all elements of humanity. This included even the Judas-type of person.

The 12 types are composed of the spring, summer, autumn and winter natures. We need winter-type people just as we need the season of winter. If the world had begun in an ideal way, then the spring-type culture would have been established, but because of man's fall, a summer culture was started instead. Mankind did not see the blossoming of Adam and Eve; man's evolution started from summer instead of spring, with the ancient civilizations in their warm climates. In the 20th century, we entered the autumn culture, when everything ripens. Now the winter-type civilization, centering on the Soviet Union, is trying to invade this culture, even though it knows that it is destined to go through the springtime eventually.

All the autumn leaves have dropped off the trees and are withering now, and only the civilization that has life in it can remain. The winter civilization actually has no place, either, and eventually has to be drawn into the God-centered spring civilization. We call that spring culture the centrally-harmonized civilization, or roundly-harmonized civilization. All the summer, autumn, and winter civilizations will oppose us as we try to go to the spring civilization, which is true life, but we will pull them with us. That's the course of history and the dispensation, so it has to move forward.

No matter how strong the communists may boast they are, when the cosmic spring comes, the ice has to melt. That cosmic spring centers on the warmth of love. When love visits, everyone opens the door of his mind. There is no area love cannot pass through. Just as Jesus followed a pattern, so must we. Each individual must condition himself to pass over a certain type of peak. In Western culture, 13 is an unlucky number, but, actually, it is a good number and we must cross over it. Americans are not ignorant people, but they don't know this important fact. Note that it was Jesus plus his 12 disciples, making 13. Also, Jacob plus 12 sons, or 12 gates to reach God. If you are not successful with the number 13, then when winter comes you will die of the cold.

Americans are confronted by communism now and can't wriggle out of it. They are afraid of communism, wringing their hands and wondering what to do, but not the Moonies. You have been taught that you have to go over the winter to enter the spring, so you will just swallow communism and digest it. America needs a leader who has intelligence enough to know this and to lead the nation in the right direction so it can gain victory over communism.

As America perseveres, it can conquer the number 13 and stand right beside Jesus. We are bearing the cross of mankind, just as Jesus did. Now the Moonies are doing it in place of today's Christians. The letter B is like the number 13 stuck together; everything that starts with B is connected with 13. That's the quality you have to have to survive: be a believer who is brave, bold and bright.

America must win the blessing

America is facing collapse from every angle, and the only thing holding it together is the Unification Church. It is incredible but true. The most profound reason we fund raise is so that somewhere along the line we can get the signatures of 12 different people, representing 120 countries. This is exactly what America is one nation composed of 120 different nationalities of people. When a person gives you a donation he is actually loving you and doing the same work you are. Therefore, God will give him some blessing. Then, America, where the money will be spent, will also be blessed. All things will benefit from our fund raising. We do home church in order to find the 12 different types of people. Eventually you have to get their signature of approval. For the time being take my word for this and act on it, and later see whether you can find any evidence to the contrary.

Of course, home church is difficult. If you go knock on the door of the most unpleasant person, you know he will yell at you. You may not want to see his face, but you knock anyway and he yells at you. If you go back three times, I can guarantee that his voice will become lower. After four or five times, he will want to know why you come, and wonder what kind of person you are.

The moment he smiles at you will be the moment the walls crumble and the 12 gates open for you. If you seriously work for that goal, then when the 360 homes of your home church area welcome your cosmic spring will really be at hand. You can know that one day your home church members will be waiting outside to take you to lunch. Some day, the worst person will be waiting to invite you to dinner and to sleep in his house. That will surely come to pass.

That's our objective, and until that day comes you will keep knocking on their doors. We talk about hope and faith, and what higher hope is there than to look forward to the day when they welcome you? When you go around and around knocking all the walls down, you will eventually arrive at the central point you should occupy. Then you will be a successful number 13. At that moment, you will have finished historical indemnity centering on yourself. You will have achieved something no one ever dreamed of achieving and will occupy the central position with God's approval. That's when your rocket of love will take off to the center of the love of God.

I know that many of you, especially the women, study yourselves in front of the mirror and wish that maybe your nose or mouth or ears were different. But I am telling you that they make almost no difference. Forget it. If you are running as fast as you can, then you are beautiful; no manicure or makeup will make you beautiful. You don't have to have position or a degree. If you don't have anything, it is still fine.

How fast are you going to go -- like an airplane, a rocket, a bullet? Will you really run in the 1980s? In the 1970s, your mind and body, your eyes and ears, were all going in different directions. But in the 1980s, are you going to assemble everything in one direction? Our only focal point is love. Your eyes will focus on love, your ears hear nothing but love, your mouth speaks about nothing but love. If they go in single file, which should go first? Your mind, then your body -- eyes, ears, nose, limbs and so forth.

If you fly as fast as you said you would, then your arrow cannot be pulled out of God's heart. Do you think God will want to pull it out because it's painful? No, God will push it in deeper. You are just thinking about God's heart now, but one day you will be living in it. When that happens, whenever you want to do something God will want to do it too. That's the sole objective we will strive for in the 1980s. We will not look back or to one side, but just go for the goal. Will you do that this year?

Chapter 18 - Ceremony for the Total Dissolution of Resentment

Chapter 18
Ceremony for the Total Dissolution of Resentment
May 1, 1975--Chung Pyung Lake, Korea

We must turn everything around, centering upon God, because that is the path of restoration. To turn everything around, we must go in the reverse direction from the past in which man fell, centering upon Satan. We must perform a ceremony of indemnity so that we can stand in the position of bride and bridegroom, form a family centering upon an original man and an original woman, and enter the national level by forming tribes and races connected to this family.

How shall we do this? There should not be any resentments against fallen man remaining on God's part. God may work to restore fallen men; however, mankind cannot truly go back to God while standing in the same position from which he caused God sorrow. Therefore, we must perform a ceremony of restoration to resolve that grudge. Furthermore, True Parents also cannot hold any grudge or resentment if they are to stand in the position of parents for the three historical ages--Adam's age, Jesus' age and the age of the Second Coming. All resentment against the world or our enemies must be resolved. God's grudge can only be resolved through those standing in the position of parents. God's grudge can only be dissolved when True Parents appear and dissolve their own grudge. Then, after the dissolution of these resentments, finally, all the resentments of the clan, tribe, nation and world can be resolved.

Restoration of the national foundation

Since the time of Cain and Abel, the history of restoration has been preparing the foundation on the worldwide level upon which restored Adam and Eve can come. A man grows from an infant to a child and then to a youth and to an adult. Likewise, in the developing ages of restoration, the path of history has been opened by the sacrifice of many sons and daughters of God. When the national foundation is prepared, the person who becomes the Messiah must appear as a representative of the national foundation based on this standard. This providential history of restoration was centered on Israel. The person who came to gain the sovereignty centering upon Israel was Jesus, the Messiah.

Following the death of Jesus, Christianity has been working to restore this foundation for the Messiah a second time. But Christianity has only been able to lay a spiritual foundation. The mission of the Lord of the Second Coming will be to connect the spiritual foundation of Christianity to a new physical foundation. This is the mission of the Unification Church.

Therefore, up until 1972, we took the lead in Korea to set a spiritual standard by becoming the root of this nation. We had to set a heavenly example and direction regarding all national matters. The years 1973 and 1974 were the time when we needed to connect that national, physical standard with the. spiritual foundation of world Christianity. ... Since 1975, we have mobilized the entire movement in a very short period. We held the Day of Hope banquets in January, the International Blessing in February, and the One World Crusades in April. As a result of these events, I have become known to many distinguished and prominent Koreans.

This period has been one of international blessing. Certain historical indemnity had to be completely paid by the end of April this year on the lunar calendar! which is May on the solar calendar. During this period, I also appeared for the first time in front of the nation of Korea. Blessed families ultimately must appear in front of the nation and entire world, and afterwards all the members of the entire Unification Church must also appear before the world.

What kind of phenomena can be expected as a result of these big revival meetings? The entire nation must become one with us. This has been a most significant time period. If we look back at the situation centering upon Judaism, we see that the Jewish people and the Roman sovereignty united to kill Jesus. But, this time, it went the opposite way. This time, the Unification Church and Korea became united while Christianity remained opposed. This is historically very important. That this kind of thing could happen meant that we were going beyond what was needed in accordance with the standard of the Principle. The police did not even understand why they were helping us. People came from all nations of the world. If we had not been welcomed on the national level, it would have violated certain conditions. If something were to have happened, if anyone had been beaten or shed blood, for example, it would have become a world political problem. This can become the kind of thing whereby the nation itself is accused by the embassies. Therefore, the police had to protect us to protect themselves. The fact that Korea protected us symbolizes that we completely met the national standard and went beyond it by the principle of the restoration through indemnity.

Today, our movement celebrates its 21st anniversary. This is the last period of the second seven-year course. It is April on the lunar calendar and I, as an individual, am going beyond 30 years of my ministry. This is the period in which we must perform the ceremony of the dissolution of resentment.

Dissolve the resentments of history

We must first dissolve the resentment of God. Next is the dissolution of resentment of True Parents. We must also solve the resentment of Mrs. Won Pok Choi, who is celebrating her 60th birthday. Mrs. Choi stands in the position of a mother and true woman in the fallen world. In this ceremony she will establish the condition to indemnify all the failures of women in- history. So the spiritual world and the fallen world up until today must all be indemnified centering upon Mrs. Choi.

In the original-world, parents would not have been responsible to pay indemnity because good, perfect parents would-not have laid a condition for the fall. As a man, I have been preparing everything up until now; however, since a woman still could not stand alone, everything must be indemnified at one time centering upon this condition by Mrs. Choi. There are many historical resentments to be indemnified. For example, there have been many religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Confucianism, and many good soldiers and loyal subjects throughout history. Even now, there are good soldiers fighting for goodness, and loyal subjects united together in many nations. Also, there have been many philosophers and others who did not believe in any religion, but who took a conscientious position. Also, there is a Cain world where people are connected from Lucifer to Judas and Nero all the way through to the Communist Party today. We must gather all of these people, good and bad, and open a path through which they can be subjugated and can follow the Principle. We must gather them to one point and open such a path. Today we- must perform this significant ceremony centering upon Mrs. Choi. The liberation of True Parents and the liberation of God begins upon the standard in which all grudges are dissolved.

Liberation of spirit world

Additionally, there are spirits on this altar who believed in the Principle and then went to the spiritual world. We must dissolve the resentment of the spirits of these members as well. For instance, there is the late President Eu. We must dissolve the grudge of President Eu and those who believed in the Unification Church on the earth. This is the altar upon which we can connect with those who were accused for believing in the Unification Church, and pay indemnity for them. Upon this altar we must perform the dissolution of the resentment of Christianity, religious people, philosophers, conscientious people, good soldiers and loyal subjects, children of the Cain world, and the angelic world. We must fulfill the dissolution of resentment, placing Christianity on the East, the angelic world on the West, good soldiers, patriarchs and loyal subjects on the South; and the Cain-type satanic world on the-North. Today is the very day which marks the total dissolution of all resentments in history. Because of this ceremony we can overcome many things. Christianity and many-other religions walked their path yet could not complete a ceremony like this.. From now on, the principle of heaven is clearly established and the spiritual world can not just act as it wishes. In performing this kind of ceremony, many evil spirits, which were very active up until now, are no longer so free to act. Following the Principle, those in the spiritual realm can pay conditions of indemnity through a person on the earth who has the same level of conscience. The order has been created, and from now the Constitution of the Nation of God is set.

After three years, Korea and the United States, which is the representative nation of the democratic world, must be connected. After this is done, nobody will be able to oppose the Unification Church. Up until now, evil spirits have taken all kinds of measures in order to dominate this world. But from now on that direction will be changed so that the side of goodness can perfectly digest and conquer everything.

By 1977 or 1978, if a substantial national foundation is created in the United States on the same level as that of Korea today, the world will be completely involved in God's dispensation. After the creation of the worldwide foundation, the next opponent will be the Communist Party. One can go to the world level only after the creation of the foundation of the nation. Judaism failed and Christianity re-indemnified it and set the spiritual standard. Today, we are going beyond the national standard after indemnifying the spiritual standard and going up to the physical standard. Centering upon this basic point, we can now go into the world just like Christianity did 2,000 years ago centering upon the 120 disciples of Jesus. In the Unification Church today, three members are going to each of 120 nations. This evangelical work to 120 nations is the strategy through which the four position foundation centering upon Christ will be spread to the entire world. Through this, the foundation centering upon the national standard will come to have a reciprocal relationship with the horizontal world foundation. When such a relationship is created, all the spirits can come to assist the entire world. In other words, a foundation will be created for all the spirits to freely work on the earth as their domain. Do you understand? Let us pray.

Beloved Heavenly Father, we know the sorrowful fact that we could not accomplish the great work of Your creation on the earth. How much did Adam's and Eve's failure give grief to You and how hard You have worked in order to resolve this sorrowful resentment. You made all the sacrifices by leading many saints. You led the way throughout the long history on the earth so that the standard of the True Parents could be set. You set the standard of True Parents, in this land of Korea, centering upon this Unification Church. Thinking about all of this, once more, I am deeply grateful Son Your love. The son and daughter who are here, the two of us, are called in front of You. They fulfilled their responsibilities and came to stand in this place.

When I traced Your sorrowful heart in this course of restoration which has been full of resentments, and when I thought of the most sorrowful fact of the failure of the human ancestors Adam and Eve, I pledged to inherit Your heart, to change the path on which they betrayed You and to give devoted service to You. Since the day I was born, I have followed Your will, and in my ministry, the days and months of 30 years have passed. During this period there was an internal grief in Your heart and in the mind of Your son which could not be spoken to anybody, could not be shown to anybody. I have wished for the day when I could go beyond the limits of race and dissolve your resentment by all means, to dissolve the resentment caused by the miserable crucifixion of Jesus on the cross.

I am very grateful for the surprising fact that the very day my wish can be fulfilled is May 1, 1975. This day marks the-21st year of the creation of this Unification movement, and this is the time to finish the second seven-year course, the course of indemnity for world Christianity. This is also the place when 30 years of history is coming to an end centering upon Your son. Thinking about the fact that all of this has been carefully prepared in Your course of restoration, I have no words to express myself.

Heavenly Father, You grieved when You had to greet the fallen human ancestors You grieved when You sent Jesus to accomplish Your will, and yet he was crucified. You grieved when the many Christians who followed Your son were killed, and when many religious people had to sacrifice themselves. God, I know how great Your sorrow was to have seen all of these things. The angelic world was left behind and could not help in the perfection of Adam and Eve. I know You have been sympathizing with all these miserable people whose resentment has not been resolved yet. Father, this is the family of True Parents which You have been seeking and the body of True Parents which You have been seeking. This day, here is Your son and Your daughter in front of You, Heavenly Father, and Your children have gathered at this place, centering upon Your son and Your daughter, and we are praying here; so please accept this prayer.

I am grateful for this day when I can offer the lost foundation centering upon the family in front of You, and centering upon the foundation of this nation and race. I pray this-day will become a day to accomplish the dissolution of the resentment of the True Parents and to dissolve the resentment of the angels as well as the resentment in Your own mind. The grudges of God, of True Parents, of the angelic world, of Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, and all the religions which were working behind each race in the entire world are all connected to this dissolution. I am grateful for this day and for this ceremony which allows the dissolution of the resentment of the Father, of the True Parents and of Mrs. Choi. Now we have the authority to dissolve all the grudges of all religious people on the earth. Now on this joyful day, a group is born who can establish the sovereignty of the nation of the Heavenly Father. Please unite other conscientious people, philosophers, good soldiers of each nation, civilians of each nation, and all those many spirits who helped each nation go the path of goodness in order to advance into the Heavenly Kingdom. I sincerely wish You will permit this day to become the day of dissolution of all resentments for which they have been longing.

We have been able to achieve the liberation of the True Parents, the angelic world, the religious world, the conscientious world, and the good soldiers and loyal subjects, but I know that there is also the miserable Cain world, which has opposed God, opposed religion and opposed conscientious people throughout history. They opposed God centering upon Judas and the emperor Nero, and now they oppose God centering on the Communist Party. I know that I cannot judge them from the same place of Your judgment today when all resentments are being dissolved on the cosmic level. Father, forgive them by the dignified and victorious authority which- You have bestowed on the True Parents so that these people can find the way to contribute to You, to the True Parents, and to the many religions on the earth.

Please make this an opportunity to love our enemies, to end our resentment against those who nailed God's heart, crucified Your son Jesus and killed many people whom You loved. I know that the gates of hell can be opened and the path to liberate hell can be prepared by spreading Your heart of love and by liberating our enemies. Please make this a time when the people on the Cain side, who are in the special domain of your grace, can raise themselves to a position to revolt against the evil world, to pledge loyalty to heaven, to dominate all the evil spirits in the evil world, and to pledge to go the way of Your will. I pray the same for the good spirits of children who have been loyal to God and who have walked this path of death. Please make this a time for them to be filled with joyfulness by the special pardon of heavenly grace at a time when the sovereignty of the world is under the control of evil spirits. Let them repent and bow their heads down in front of True Parents, in front of the good angelic world, good religious people, good soldiers and conscientious people. Let them pledge to fulfill this responsibility in front of God in this special time under God's dominion.

Beloved Heavenly Father, I sincerely pray to accomplish Jesus' prayer today at this time, the prayer by which Jesus offered his true life on the cross. The True Parents who are standing here went through a history in which they received the opposition of their race, all of Christianity, the satanic world, and the entire nation in their 30 years of public life. I ask you to forgive and resolve all the resentment of the True Parents and of the many people who sacrificed themselves up until now. I ask you to forgive the Cain world, not to make them enemies, but to let them stand in the position to spread God's Principle completely. Let them become the shadow of the substance, to go wherever the substance goes--just like a shadow can not exist without a substance.

Father, I wish to dissolve all the scars of Your mind by fulfilling the standard which Jesus desired. I know that Jesus had resentment within himself too, walking the path of death alone. I know Your resentment cannot be resolved unless Jesus 'forgiveness for his enemies is accomplished on the earth. I pray that Jesus' liberation can begin at this time, and the liberation of Christianity can begin at this time. I offer all the existing things--man and all things of creation, including Lucifer and the many evil persons in the satanic world--as your belongings at this time, in the name of True Parents. I sincerely ask You to receive this offering. Many saints who are serving God in the spiritual world, and many good religious people centering upon the 24 religions who are sitting on God's imperial floor at this time, together with True Parents, are sincerely asking You to respond to the appeal of True Parents. I sincerely ask You to forgive all these sorrowful events of history. I know that this is a very solemn time which enables us to prepare for a new turning point in the midst of the confusion of this world. This ceremony enables us to heighten Your victory.

Father, it is now 8:50 a.m. on May 1, 1975. At this time, please declare this moment to the entire cosmos and the world. I sincerely wish for You to declare it in Your name and rejoice in the dissolution of the resentment of the angelic world. Rejoice in the dissolution of the resentment of True Parents, and rejoice in the dissolution of the resentment of the religious world which you have been trusting up until now, centering upon the True Parents. Rejoice in the accom- plishment of the desire of conscientious people and philosophers, and forget even the resentments of the miserable satanic world and rejoice in their liberation. Now, this son and this daughter, following Your declaration, declare the day of the total dissolution of resentment in this substantial world in the name of God and in the name of True Parents. Because all things correspond to Your Principle, all nations, all people, all the spiritual world, all good spirits, and all good people are now able to correspond to the Principle. God, please forgive all evil people as well; those who are waiting for Your embrace. They can go into Heavenly Father's bosom by establishing one standard of merit in the domain of Your grace, through this liberation at this time.

Now, we are going to have our ceremony to accomplish these conditions. Heavenly Father, please perform it with Your love, with Your joyful heart, by spreading Your authority, using goodness, chasing the evil out, and subjugating evil in front of goodness. Please accomplish everything on the racial and national level-which You have been trying to accomplish by the restoration of indemnity centering upon Cain and Abel. By doing so, I sincerely wish to claim one day when even the communist world will bow its head down in front of the happiness of God and respond in heaven's victorious position. Today, Vietnam was subjugated by the communist camp. I pray that this becomes an offering representing the satanic world and that it will become a starting point to re-indemnify the communist world so that they can surrender in front of God and the world, starting from Korea.

Now I declare the significance of this day in the name of God and in the name of True Parents and the angelic world by mobilizing all the good spirits. I pray that all the spiritual world can be mobilized and all conscientious people can be mobilized so that this declaration will be set firmly like iron. Centering upon God, at Chung Pyung Lake, on this very day, at this very time, in this very place, the entire spiritual world is paying full attention, the entire angelic world is paying full attention, God is paying His full attention, and the True Parents on the earth are paying full attention. All Christianity, all religions, all good nations, all loyal subjects are paying full attention, and the communist world is paying full attention. I offer this on this very day, expecting only that Heavenly Father shall embrace this offering in his bosom. So, please receive this. As I leave it all to you, Heavenly Father, I sincerely wish You to receive this as Your victory, and I declare it all in the name of the True Parents. Amen.

Chapter 17 - The New Future of Christianity

Chapter 17
The New Future of Christianity
September 18, 1974 -- New York, New York

Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to be here tonight. Thank you very much for coming. We are gathered together in this impressive setting of Madison Square Garden tonight in the name of God.

My topic tonight is "The New Future of Christianity." But before I begin this evening's message, I would like to make one personal plea. I did not come here to repeat what you already know. I have come to reveal something new. I want to share with you a revelation from God.

There is only one God, one Christ, one Bible. Today, however, in the Christian world alone there are more than 400 different denominations, all looking at the same Bible from very different points of view, with many different interpretations.

What we are interested in is not the human interpretation of the Bible, but how God interprets the Bible, and what God's will really is. Therefore, no person by himself is capable of satisfying us. That information must come from God, in the form of revelation.

And I want to share that revelation with you tonight. Since this message came from God, and since it is from God's point of view, the content naturally may be different from human understanding. Therefore, it may be very new to you. But what we need is new ideas -- God's ideas because man has exhausted all of his own ideas already. That is the reason for my coming to talk to you tonight.

So I ask each one of you to open your mind and open your heart, so that the spirit of God can speak to you directly.

For 2,000 years, Christians of the world have been looking forward to one great culminating day, as prophesied in the Bible -- the day of the Second Coming of the Lord. Since this has been the promise of God, the Second Coming of Christ will definitely be fulfilled.

Why is the Lord coming a second time? He is coming to consummate the will of God. Then what is the will of God? Do we know clearly what God's will is?

God is eternal, unchanging, and absolute. And He has one will, which is also eternal, unchanging, and absolute. In the beginning, God had a definite purpose for creating the universe and this world. That purpose was the reason for creation. And God began the creation of the universe and man to fulfill that purpose.

According to the Bible, after the first man and woman were created -- Adam and Eve -- God gave them a commandment. That commandment 'Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.' (Gen. 2:17)

God asked them to obey His commandment. God was implying that by Adam and Eve's obedience to the law, His purpose would be fulfilled. However, God made the consequence of disobedience very clear. He said, "The day that you eat of it you shall die." The fruit of disobedience was death.

However, Adam and Eve disobeyed God. The result was the fall of man. Spiritual death came to mankind, and the purpose of God was not realized. The fall of man means their deviation from the original state that God intended. Adam and Eve departed from the fulfillment of the purpose of their creation. They made a wrong choice, creating the opposite of what God originally intended.

After their disobedience, God had no choice but to expel this man and woman from the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden is a symbolic expression of the Kingdom of God on earth. Adam and Eve no longer deserved citizenship in God's Kingdom, so they were cast out into the ungodly realms, the living hell -- which was their own creation.

Kingdom of Heaven on earth

If Adam and Eve had obeyed God, they would have brought the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. What would that kingdom be like? Adam and Eve were created sinless, with the potential for perfection. And they were to grow into perfection by obeying the law of God. While they were growing into fully perfected man and woman, their relationship was to be that of brother and sister. They were expected to set the true tradition of brotherhood and sisterhood.

What is perfection? Perfection is man's total union with God. A man is supposed to be the temple of God, in which the spirit of God dwells. Such a man is divine, as God is divine; that man is holy, as God is holy.

Jesus was the first such perfect man. This perfection is the state that Jesus was speaking of when he said,

'Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me.' (John 14:11)

When you become one with God, His divine power is yours, and you shall be perfect as God is perfect. Therefore, Jesus set as man's goal to be perfect as God is perfect when he said,

'You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.' (Matt. 5:48) God created one male and one female. Why? After their reaching the state of perfection, God wanted to bring them together into one heavenly couple, through the blessing of heavenly matrimony. God intended to begin His Kingdom with Adam and Eve as the first husband and wife.

If that had become a reality, then God's blessing to be fruitful and multiply would have been fulfilled. He would have given them the power to multiply children of God. And those children would have been sinless and perfect. What else could they be? Sin would never have been introduced into the human race. By having children, Adam and Eve would have become the God-centered True Father and Mother -- the True Parents of mankind.

If Adam and Eve had formed this first God-centered family, from them would have come a God-centered tribe, a God-centered nation, and a God-centered world ruled by God alone. Then perfection would have reigned from the beginning to eternity.

Where did God create Adam and Eve? Up in the air, out in space? No, right here on earth. Therefore, the prospering of Adam's family should have brought the realization of God's ideal here on earth, and God would have become the center of mankind. This would have been nothing other than the Kingdom of God on earth, in which God would have dwelt with men and women.

If that had been accomplished in the beginning, there would be no great divisions of races and languages. We would all belong to the one race of Adam under the one tradition of Adam. And Adam's one language would be our universal tongue. And indeed, the whole world would be one nation under God.

So, in God's plan, all men are supposed to be born into the Kingdom of God on earth. We are to enjoy the heavenly life on earth. And then when our physical earthly life is over, we are to be elevated into the Kingdom of God in the spiritual heaven, where we shall live for eternity. That was God's original plan.

There could be no Satan, no evil, and no hell in that world. Indeed, God did not create hell for His own children. No good father would construct a prison for his newborn child. Why would God need a hell for His children? Only heaven was God's original will. Because of sin, however, people lost their original value and became human trash. Hell is like a trash can. But it was necessary only after the fall of man.

Kingdom of hell -- paradise lost

Then let us further examine the state of the fallen people and the fallen world. We read in John that Jesus says,

'You are of your father the devil.' (John 8:44)

By the fall, man was brought under the false fatherhood of Satan. Man changed fathers. We left our true father, God, and united with the false father, Satan. The first man and woman became the children of Satan. Under the false fatherhood of Satan, Adam and Eve united unlawfully as a couple without God's blessing or permission. And when they multiplied children, they all came under the same false father. They were all born as the children of sin, not the children of God. Therefore, the multiplication of sinful children from one generation to another has brought about this fallen, sinful world.

Because God is not at the center, this is a world of sin, a world of mistrust, a world of crime, a world of war. And we, the nations and societies of this world can destroy each other and feel no pain. This is the kingdom of hell on earth.

The master of this world, indeed, is not God, but Satan. This is why John 12:31 indicates that Satan is the ruler of this world. We know this universe was created by God. We know God created us. But God is no longer the master, because people changed masters. Man betrayed God and united with a false master, Satan. This Satan became the father of mankind.

The fall of man has brought great grief to the heart of our Heavenly Father. God lost everything when His people turned against Him. That is why we read in Genesis,

The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (Gen. 6:6)

God was grieved because the exact opposite of His will had become the reality. If God's intention had been fulfilled, He would have been joyful. If the consequences of the fall were the result of God's own plan, why should God be grieved to His heart? Why would He have been sorry that He had made us?

Salvation is restoration

Almighty God is a God of love, a God of mercy. His heart is compassionate and He grieved at the living death of His children.

He knows no person is capable of breaking his chains and getting rid of sin by himself. He knows that only one power can bring people into salvation -- God Himself. And God, in His mercy, is determined to save this world.

What is salvation? Salvation is simply restoration. What does a doctor do to save his patient? He restores the patient to normal health. That is a cure. What would you do to save a drowning person? You would save him by bringing him out of the water and restoring him to dry land. That is a rescue.

By the same token, God's salvation of man is simply to restore man from an abnormal, deviated state to the original state of goodness.

So, salvation is equivalent to restoration. God is going to restore the kingdom of hell to the Kingdom of Heaven.

God made His determination clear in the Bible:

'I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.' (Isaiah 46:11)

God did not say He might do it. He said He will do it, showing His absolute determination to restore man and the world to the original design.

How? By the Messiah. To restore mankind, God sent His only son, Jesus Christ, into this world as the Savior -- as the Messiah. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ came into our world as the author of life. He came to transform all sinful people into Christ-like people. He came to restore the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Therefore, Jesus Christ proclaimed as his first gospel,

'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (Matt: 4:17)

With the coming of Jesus Christ, people were truly at the threshold of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Preparation for the Messiah

However, before God could send His Son to restore the world, He had to prepare the way step by step, starting with one individual and expanding to a nation, in order to establish a foundation of faith upon which the Messiah could come.

After all, this world had been Satan's world. If the Messiah were to come to this earth without a prepared foundation, the satanic world would destroy him. So God worked diligently and carefully to establish one nation, one sovereignty over which He could have control. The nation of Israel was the result of that preparation for the Messiah.

God prepared the nation of Israel as the "landing site" for the Messiah. Upon Israel's foundation of faith, God could send His ultimate champion, the Messiah.

Likewise, Christianity today is the parallel landing site of the Messiah for his Second Coming. And Christians are supposed to be forming a foundation of faith for the return of the Messiah in the final hour of fulfillment.

Today, as never before in our troubled world, the Messiah is our hope! The mission of the Messiah is restoration -- to bring fallen, suffering humanity out of this world of evil and restore man into the original perfection and goodness of God. He is to destroy Satan's evil sovereignty over this world and establish God's sovereignty.

Jesus Christ came as the Messiah of 2,000 years ago for this purpose -- to restore God's Kingdom. Today we are waiting for the Second Coming of Christ. The purpose of that Second Coming is precisely the same -- the restoration of God's original Kingdom. That is the one purpose and one will of God.

We Christians are today's chosen people of God. Christians are Christ's co-workers. So we are in a position to prepare a foundation for the Lord, to welcome and accept him when he comes, and to participate in his mission to destroy Satan from the face of the earth, and bring all mankind to salvation.

But today, Christians are not sure about the will of God. We are more interested in our own personal salvation, our own heaven somewhere, and the guarantee of our own little niche up there. But that is not the way God intended Christians to be.

Where are you, my David?

God is looking for His champions among the Christians of the world today. And the work of God needs a sacrificial spirit. How many Christians are now saying, "Use me as a lamb on Your altar, and out of my sacrifice save this world"? God is seeking a self-denying spirit. God is searching for the bearers of the cross for the 20th century. And today's Christians are deaf to that call.

Instead, Christians today are crying out for "my heaven," "my salvation." What about God? What about the rest of the world? Will you be able to keep your small piece of heaven when the rest of the world is crumbling? No. If, on the other hand, the whole world were saved, would your own salvation not already be included?

Today, if the Christian churches persist in the same individual-centered way, the spirit of Christianity is bound to decline. Before we cry out for our salvation, let us cry out for the fulfillment of God's will. We must liberate God from His sorrow, His grief. When we have solved God's problem, man's problem will automatically be solved. Then Christian fire will truly burn for the sake of the broken heart of God, not for ourselves.

In their 2,000 years of history, Christians had great opportunity to bring the entire world to God. But Christians simply did not clearly know the will of God. They did not act when opportunity knocked.

That same opportunity is knocking once again. This time the opportunity has come to America. If today's American Christians recognize the will of God in the present day and act upon it, we can turn the world upside down and right side up, and bring heaven down on earth. The hour of the Second Coming of Christ is at hand, yet we are missing the signs of the times.

Instead of continuing to ask and pray, 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,' (Matt. 6:10) we can act upon God's will now, and make that heaven a reality right here in New York, because we have already arrived at God's scheduled hour of fulfillment.

Each one of us is part of the body of Christ, so when Christ comes we are the extensions of his living body. If each one of us is willing and ready to nail his body to the cross in order to have our world live, then we shall indeed turn this world into the Kingdom of Heaven. To live and die for God and Christ -- this is the privilege of being a Christian!

Remember, God's will is to save the whole world -- not just Christians, not just churches. There is a universally known verse in the Bible, which we learned as children in Sunday school:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The emphasis there is on the word "world." God so loved the world, not just the church, not just the Christians, not just one particular people, but the whole world. For that reason -- to save this world -- the Messiah is sent.

If you asked our Lord the question, "Are you the savior of only the Christians?" he would answer "No! I am the savior of all mankind."

If you asked God, "Are You the God of the Christians?" God would say, "No! I am the God of the universe, the God of all creation, the God of all people."

Two thousand years ago, people were awaiting the coming of the Messiah, but for very self-centered reasons. They thought that the Messiah was coming as a sort of military conqueror to avenge them and defeat the Roman Empire, and to reward Israel with great glory and power in an earthly sense. And they simply missed the whole point.

On the contrary, the Messiah was coming to Israel to lead the people as a sacrifice to reach out to the rest of the world, to bring the entire world into God's salvation.

God determined to restore the entire world, and to bring all people into goodness and perfection. If God could not do that, He would be a defeated God. Defeated by whom? By Satan! Then God would not be God.

Imagine yourself in the position of God. When God looks upon the Christian world today, I do not think He is pleased. He foresees a great battle to be fought and won. God must have a confrontation with the formidable power of the enemy, the power of Satan, the power of sin.

For that, God needs a modern day David to confront this Goliath, Satan. Do you not hear God's cry, "Where is my David? Where are you, my David?" And God expects today's Christians to respond, "Yes, my Lord! I am Your David. Your will be done!"

But the Christians of this world seem to be in deep sleep. And the handful who are awake are busy fighting among themselves. The time of harvest has come in this cosmic autumn, but God has no workers to send out to the fields.

Ever since the fall of man, God has been waging a divine war against the power of Satan. That war has not ended. The final battle is yet to come. Christ is coming for the second time, as the commander in chief, to wage that final battle. And that hour has arrived. Yet, alas, no heavenly soldiers are ready. Christians are asleep.

So far, God has only been able to engage in "guerrilla warfare" against Satan, not total war. However, God has been preparing for one great day, a heavenly "D-Day" -- like the D-Day of the Normandy landing -- when God can launch an all out offensive. That day is the day of the return of Christ. That D-Day of God is at hand! The Bible is the record of God's patient preparation leading mankind into that final battle. The fulfillment of the Bible is the coming of the Lord - - the return of Christ for that D-Day.

The Bible is a coded message

What is the Bible, more precisely? The Bible has been a book of mystery. However, the Bible contains God's message to you and me.

The Bible does not use plain language, but is written in symbols and parables. Do you know why God has presented the Bible in symbols and parables? Why did He not speak the truth clearly?

God has had to deal with the world of evil. Throughout the ages, God has hand picked His workers, or champions, out of this evil world. Abraham was such a champion. Noah was such a champion.

And God's champions were always in the utter minority in the evil world. If God revealed His strategy too openly or plainly, the enemy would use that information against God's champions. Thus, the Bible was written as a coded message, so that only God's agents or champions could decipher it.

Let me make an analogy. To protect her security, America sends out many agents overseas to collect vital information concerning potential enemies. When the home headquarters is communicating with these agents overseas, particularly in enemy territory, would they communicate openly and plainly? No. No one would be that naive. They would communicate in coded messages -- secret messages -- so that the enemy could not decipher them.

Throughout history, righteous people have faced nothing but suffering on this earth, simply because they were in enemy territory, and Satan did not want to have God's agents prosper. Whenever Satan's forces discovered God's representatives, they tried to destroy them.

We must realize that God has had to give His instructions in coded messages. Thus the Bible is written in symbols and parables. In a sense, the Bible is intended to be mysterious. Then how can we know the true meaning of those symbols and parables?

It is simple, in a way. If you are an agent dispatched by your headquarters, and you want to decipher a coded message, then you must either have a code book, or communicate directly with your home headquarters.

By the same token, the meaning of the symbols and parables in the Bible can only be clear when we communicate with our "home headquarters" -- God. This is truly the only sure way we can know the ultimate meaning of the Bible.

Two thousand years ago our Lord Jesus Christ brought the blueprint for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. However, he could not speak plainly about his plan even to his own disciples. Jesus spoke in figures and parables. Why?

Jesus knew the adverse circumstances in which he had to work. There was political pressure from the Roman Empire. There was the ruling monarchy, who opposed any change. And there was a strong religious system and tradition. These could all be directed against the building of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus came to kindle the fire of revolution in people, which would in due course change the structure and the life of the entire nation. But he could not speak plainly of any of this even to his own disciples. Instead, he had to speak in figures and parables, saying,

'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.' (Luke 14:35)

If you attempt to interpret the Bible literally, word for word, letter for letter, without understanding the nature of the coded message of the Bible, you are liable to make a big mistake.

Therefore, in this day, at this hour, what the Christian world needs is a revelation from God. God must reveal to us His plan; He must tell us His timetable, and give us instructions as to what to do at this time. God indeed promised that by saying, in Amos, 'Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.' (Amos 3:7)

Tonight I am standing here at Madison Square Garden not according to my own will, but in obedience to the divine will of God. God has called me as His instrument, to reveal His message for His present day dispensation, so that there may be a people prepared for the day of the Lord.

Tonight I am going to concentrate on the divine revelation concerning the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent -- the vital issue of the Second Advent -- the most important question of our time. And in order to understand this more clearly, we must first know the circumstances of the coming of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.

Jesus did not come to die

There is one historical puzzle that not been solved.

For 4,000 years before the coming of Jesus Christ, God had prepared the people for the Messiah, as I explained earlier. Through His prophets, God had forewarned the people to be ready for the Messiah. God was working to build up expectation, and there was indeed great messianic fervor in Israel. And at the appointed hour, God fulfilled His promise. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to his own people on time.

Then what happened? History is the witness We did not know him. We rejected him, rebelled against him, and finally crucified him on the cross. Why?

The Christian churches say, "Well, the answer to that question is, simply, God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross. The crucifixion was the predestined will of God from the beginning."

Then let me ask those Christians, "What will you do when Jesus Christ returns to you today?" All Christians undoubtedly will answer, "We will receive him! Welcome him! Unite with him! Follow him!" Let me further ask, "Will you crucify Christ when he appears?" Your answer must be, "No!"

If that is so, then what about the people of 2,000 years ago? If they had accepted Jesus -- as you would today -- would they still have had to crucify him? No! It was a mistake! It was in ignorance that we crucified Jesus Christ.

It was God's will that His people accept the Messiah. But we crucified him instead. And then Christians "passed the buck" by saying that was the will of God. Ridiculous! This is not acceptable to our logic. Something must have gone terribly wrong. What was it?

Ignorance killed Jesus

The people did not know who Jesus of Nazareth was. They did not know him as the Son of God. If they had clearly known Jesus was the Messiah the Son of God, they would not have crucified him.

He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. (John 1:11) None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (I Cor. 2:8)

If they had only known who he was, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. It was a mistake. It was ignorance and blindness that killed Jesus Christ!

Christians of the world have not realized the truth about what actually happened in Jesus' time. If God's only purpose in sending His Son was to have him nailed on the cross, then why would God spend the time to prepare the people in the first place? It would have been much easier for God to send His son among the disbelievers, or even among savages. They would have killed him more quickly, and salvation would have come faster.

Slaves to the letter of the Old Testament

Then the question is, why did the people not know who Jesus was? Believe it or not, the first reason why God's people did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah was because of the Old Testament. This may be surprising to you. But the people interpreted the Old Testament literally. They did not realize that the Bible was in code. They did not look for a code book. Instead, they took the Bible literally, word for word, letter for letter. In other words, they became slaves to the letter of the Old Testament.

Let me give you the evidence. The book of Malachi in the Old Testament has a parallel purpose to that of the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. It clearly shows the timetable and the last minute description of how the Messiah would come. In Malachi, you will find these words:

'I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers' (Mal. 4:5-6)

Who was Elijah? He was a great prophet of Israel who had lived approximately 900 years before Jesus Christ, and who had ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire in a whirlwind, according to the Old Testament. So people believed that Elijah would literally return from the blue sky in a chariot of fire and announce the Son of God: This is what people expected.

But did Elijah come? The problem was, Elijah did not return in the manner people expected. The people never heard anything about his returning miraculously. However, one day they did hear an extraordinary declaration. A young man from Nazareth, whose name was Jesus, was being proclaimed by his followers as the Messiah, the Son of God. That was indeed an incredible announcement.

And what was the people's immediate reaction? "Impossible!" they said. "How could Jesus of Nazareth be the Son of God? We have not heard anything about Elijah." No Elijah, no Messiah.

In order to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, they would have had to disregard their 4,000 year old tradition and throw their Bible away. But no one was willing to do that.

People at that time truly misunderstood Jesus, the Son of God. They said to him,

'It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God' (John 10:33)

And they picked up stones, ready to stone Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Furthermore, when Jesus performed many mighty works and miracles, people did not honor Jesus. They said instead,

'It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.' (Matt. 12:24)

What a tragedy! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the prince of peace, was belittled and relegated to the prince of demons!

Pontius Pilate, the governor from Rome, did not want to crucify Jesus, because he could not find any fault in him. However, Jesus' own people were the ones who were shouting, "Let him be crucified! Let him be crucified!"

People whom God had prepared to receive him wanted Jesus to be killed, and to have the criminal Barabbas released instead of him. Was that the will of God? No! Jesus Christ was the victim of the ignorance and blindness of his own people. And they misread the prophecy -- they misread the Old Testament.

Imagine that Elijah had come in a supernatural manner, in a chariot of fire from the sky, as people expected. It would have created a great sensation. And imagine Elijah appearing in front of the multitudes and proclaiming, "This man, Jesus of Nazareth, is indeed the Son of God." Then I am sure everyone would have knelt down and worshipped him right there. Then who would have dared to crucify Jesus Christ?

However, that sort of miracle was not the meaning of the prophecy.

Malachi's prophecy of the coming of Elijah was indeed an obstacle to Jesus' successful ministry. When Jesus' disciples went out all over Israel teaching the gospel and proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God, the people repudiated their words, saying, "If your master is the Son of God, where is Elijah? The book says Elijah must come first."

John the Baptist was Elijah

Jesus' disciples were not well prepared to answer this question. As a matter of fact, they were not learned in the Old Testament. After all, they were lowly fishermen of Galilee and tax collectors. So the embarrassed disciples one day decided to go to Jesus to ask for his help in this matter. An account appears in Matthew:

And the disciples asked him, Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?' He replied, 'Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come.' ...Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. (Matt. 17:10-13)

This was a real shock to the disciples. And then they understood, according to the Bible, that Jesus was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Was John the Baptist Elijah? Yes, Jesus said so. But the people were never convinced. They said, "Outrageous!"

Let us imagine we can transpose these events to our time. John the Baptist of 2,000 years ago was a person of tremendous influence, enjoying great prestige all over Israel as a great man of God -- just like Billy Graham of today, a great Christian leader.

Let us say some unknown young man suddenly appeared and began proclaiming himself to the world as the Son of God. As a student of the scriptures, you would ask him, "If you are the Son of God, where is the promised Elijah?" If this man said, "Do you not know that Billy Graham is Elijah?" what would be your reaction? You would undoubtedly say, "Impossible! How could Billy Graham be Elijah? He did not come out of the blue sky. We all know he came from North Carolina!"

You could not accept that, could you? Precisely this same kind of unbelief confronted our Lord Jesus Christ. People could not accept John the. Baptist as Elijah, simply because he did not come from the sky. The people of 2,000 years ago were stubborn in their belief that the prophecy of Elijah's return must be fulfilled literally, that he must come from the sky. They were the victims of the letter of the Old Testament.

John the Baptist, man of failure

Yet Jesus Christ continued to preach with power and authority in spite of scornful public opinion. The people could not dismiss such a man lightly. They wanted to be sure of themselves. So they decided to go to ask John the Baptist himself and settle their questions once and for all. They asked John,

Who are you?' He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ' And they asked him, 'What then, are you Elijah?' He said, 'I am not.' 'Are you the prophet?' And he answered, 'No.' (John 1:19-21)

John the Baptist denied everything. He said, "I am not Elijah." He even denied the title of prophet. Everyone knew and recognized him as a prophet of God, but he said, "I'm no prophet." Why? He evaluated the situation and knew that Jesus Christ was treated by his own society as an outcast. Jesus seemed to be a loser, and John decided not to side with Jesus. He thought it would be much better to deny everything.

By doing so, John the Baptist pushed Jesus into a corner, making him seem a great impostor without defense. After John's denial, Jesus had no further recourse on this point.

Then why was Jesus crucified? First, he became the victim of literal interpretation of the Old Testament. Second, Jesus was rejected and finally crucified because of the failure of the mission of John the Baptist. We can read in Matthew that John the Baptist, waiting in prison to be beheaded, sent two of his own disciples to Jesus to ask the following question:

'Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?' (Matt. 11:3)

Is this the question of a man who has faith in Jesus as the Son of God? John the Baptist had earlier testified to Jesus at the Jordan River:

'I have seen and have born witness that this is the Son of God' (John 1:34)

Yet this very same person, with the very same tongue, was now confronting Jesus by asking, "Are you really the Messiah, or shall we go and look for somebody else?" How disheartening that question must have been to Jesus! What a man of little faith John was!

The mission of John the Baptist was very important to the fulfillment of the mission of the Messiah. God sent John specifically,

. . . to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. (Luke 1:17)

That was John's responsibility as the forerunner of Christ.

Jesus relied very much upon the success of the mission of John the Baptist. When this very John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to ask him, "Are you really the Messiah?" it was more painful for Jesus than if he had stabbed him with a knife. Anger overwhelmed him. Jesus refused to answer yes or no to that impossible question. Instead Jesus said,

'Blessed is he who takes no offense at me.' (Matt. 11:6)

This was Jesus' consolation to John when he saw that John was failing. Jesus was really saying, "Poor John, man of failure. You no longer have faith in me. You are taking offense at the Son of God. I am sorry for you, John."

And then Jesus spoke to the crowd about John in indignation, saying,

'What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings' houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet' (Matt. 11:7-9)

John was more than a prophet, because he came to bear witness directly to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was born for this extraordinary mission. God entrusted that glorious responsibility to John. What an honor for a man to be called "more than a prophet" by Jesus! Yet John failed to live up to this honor. Therefore, Jesus said in Matthew,

'Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.' (Matt. 11:11)

John had fallen to the point where even the least in the Kingdom of Heaven was greater than he. The meaning of Jesus' statement has remained mysterious. Christians have not understood its true significance because they have not realized that John the Baptist was a man who failed his mission. Tonight we know the true meaning.

John the Baptist was the greatest among those born of women because of his mission, which was to testify to the Son of God. All the prophets in the past had the same mission. But the prophets who came before John had borne witness to the Messiah with a distance of time between them and the Lord.

John was born as a contemporary of Jesus Christ, so he had the privilege to bear witness to the living Christ when he appeared in person. So far as his mission was concerned, John the Baptist had the greatest, most glorious mission of all. Thus Jesus said he was the greatest among those born of women.

However, in carrying out his mission, John was the very least; he was the most miserable failure of all. All the prophets who had lived before him were watching from the spirit world. They knew who Jesus Christ was. But John did not. He doubted. He became skeptical and finally blind to Jesus' identity. In the end, he failed to maintain his own testimony to the Son of God. He became a man of failure and therefore the least of all in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I will give you another indisputable proof of the failure of the mission of John the Baptist. The people said to John,

'Rabbi, he. . . [Jesus] who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him.' (John 3:26)

Then John answered,

'He must increase but I must decrease' (John 3:30)

Christians have interpreted this to mean that John was truly a humble man and a great prophet. They believe that he felt in all humility that Jesus must increase, while he himself had to decrease.

On the contrary, this is proof of the arrogance of John the Baptist. If John had taken Jesus Christ seriously as the Son of God, he would have no choice but to become one with Jesus and follow him wholeheartedly, rain or shine. He would have risen or fallen together with Jesus, bound by the same destiny. This passage shows that John did not in fact follow Jesus. He took an independent course and deserted Jesus. He did not, indeed, take Jesus seriously.

John the Baptist was finally beheaded. He could have been a glorious martyr had he been beheaded for performing his ordained mission: witnessing and proclaiming to the world that Jesus Christ was the Son of God! But he was beheaded merely for becoming involved in the love scandal of King Herod's family. That affair was none of John's business. Attending the Son of God was his sole responsibility. But John deserted this divine mission and suffered a meaningless, even shameful death. This truth must be told, however painful.

Therefore, Jesus said of John,

'From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force.' (Matt. 11:12)

This means that because of the failure of the mission of John the Baptist, the kingdom heralded by Jesus Christ suffered and was left open for competition. When a champion of God fails in his mission, someone else must take up that mission and put forth great effort to accomplish it. Thus, men of violent faith -- like Peter -- took John's position by force of their own merit.

However, had John the Baptist been a man of great faith, what would have resulted? He would have indeed become the chief disciple of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. If Jesus had been king, John the Baptist would have been prime minister. That was the position that God ordained for John.

In that case, then, the 12 apostles, the 70 disciples, and the 120 people chosen by Jesus all would have come from the ranks of John's own followers. John would have served as a mediator to bring unity and harmony between the chosen people of Israel and the Son of God. Who would have dared to crucify Jesus under those circumstances? No one! The crucifixion would never have occurred.

I am sure that many people who read the Bible must have wondered about John, "If he was such a great men, why did he not become the chief disciple of the Son of God?" Jesus himself indicated the mission that John the Baptist came to fulfill:

'For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come' (Matt. 11:13)

John the Baptist represented the consummation of the Old Testament, the law and the prophets. He was the prince of the old age. Jesus Christ came as the prince of the new age. Had he been supported by John the Baptist, he could have stood upon the firm foundation of the Old Testament Age. Then the new age could have blossomed in the fertile soil of the accomplishments of the old age. The Son of God could have established his glorious kingdom at once. And John the Baptist would have been the cornerstone of that kingdom.

Had John the Baptist followed Jesus, the distinguished leaders of that society would have been the first to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Then who would have crucified the Lord of glory?

When God sent His only Son to this world to establish His kingdom on earth, don't you think He wanted to be followed by the most able people of his age? Do you think that God wanted only. the outcasts of society to follow Jesus? Not at all! The simple failure of John the Baptist broke the link between the Son of God and the people. And as a result, only fishermen, tax collectors, harlots and lepers followed Jesus Christ. This brought great grief to the heart of God.

If the Lord is returning to the world today, is it not most logical that all the leadership of Christianity -- the bishops, the cardinals, the pope, and all the evangelists and great ministers of the world -- should become the first group to welcome the Christ? If they followed the Lord and became his first disciples, the establishment of his kingdom would be infinitely easier.

You may say, "Reverend Moon, by what authority are you speaking? What makes you so sure?" I do have the authority to say these things. God showed me the truth. I met Jesus. Jesus himself showed me these truths. And I met John the Baptist, too, in the spirit world. He himself bore witness to the truth of this testimony. After these extraordinary spiritual experiences, when I returned to the reality of this world, the same Bible I had been reading took on a whole new meaning.

Even if you cannot accept these things as the truth now, you must at least suspend judgment. One day we will all know the truth. Eventually we are all going to die. Every one of us will end up in the spiritual world, where truth is like the sunlight. No one can escape it there. On that day we shall all see the whole truth.

However, blessed is he who can be humble enough to accept the truth while he has the opportunity here on earth. Your knowledge of the truth and of God here on earth will determine your eternal life.

Jesus expected on the clouds of heaven

There a third vital reason why Jesus was not accepted as the Messiah. Two thousand years ago the people expected the Son of God to come on the clouds of heaven, according to the prophecy of Daniel:

'I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man' (Dan. 7:13)

But Jesus Christ did not appear miraculously on the clouds of heaven.

He was born of a woman Mary, the wife of Joseph. The people said, "Well, how could this Jesus be the Son of God? He is a mere man, Just like you and me." This was another overwhelming reason why the people rejected Jesus.

Some might object that Daniel's prophecy was not intended for the first coming of Jesus Christ, but rather for the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent. But I say this is not the case, because Jesus testified that all the prophecies and the law given prior to John the Baptist were intended to be fulfilled in the time of Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:13).

So the prophecy of the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven was intended for the coming of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. In those days there was no New Testament, and the thought of the Second Coming of the Lord was not even in the mind of God.

This prophecy of Daniel posed much difficulty for the ministry of Jesus. For instance, we can see the apostle John warns in the New Testament,

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of the Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. (II John 7)

This is what John was saying 2,000 years ago about those who disbelieved in Jesus Christ, rejecting him simply because he was a man in the flesh. They did not accept Jesus, but continued waiting for a supernatural appearance on the clouds. John condemned these people in the worst terms, saying, " such a one is the antichrist."

These historical truths have remained hidden from the Christian world. Today, for the first time, all these circumstances of Jesus' ministry are being brought to light.

Yes, our Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill the mission of bringing God's kingdom to earth. But we did not understand him. We committed the great tragedy. Then later we claimed that was the will of God. How ironic!

The conviction that Jesus came to die on the cross has become the very foundation of Christianity. But this mistaken belief has been piercing the heart of God again and again for the last 2,000 years. God's heart was broken when Adam rebelled against Him, and again when His Son was nailed to the cross on the Mount of Calvary. We have sadly misunderstood both God and Christ.

Why, then, has this truth been revealed at this particular time? Because the time of the Second Coming of Christ is near. And God does not want Christians to commit the same mistake made at Jesus' time.

Only with the revelation of the clear truth from the Heavenly Father can all the Christian churches become one. Yes, truth makes us one. If we know the truth, that truth will liberate us from our mistaken beliefs and disunity. And the plain truth of God has now been revealed.

Crucifixion -- secondary mission of Jesus

The crucifixion was not at all the original mission of the Son of God, but represented an alteration of his intended course. It was a secondary mission. It was decided on the Mount of Transfiguration. An account of this appears in Luke.

And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure [his crucifixion], which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. (Luke 9:30-31)

When Peter, Jesus' chief disciple, was informed by Jesus that he would suffer. in Jerusalem and was to be crucified, Peter violently protested, as we read in Matthew:

'God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you' (Matt. 16:22)

Then Jesus lashed out at him saying,

'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.' (Matt. 16:23)

Christians often quote this particular passage as proof that Jesus came to die on the cross. Many explain, "Look what Jesus said. He said he came to die. So that is why he rebuked Peter and called him Satan, because Peter opposed Jesus' going to the cross."

But that interpretation misses one vital point. Jesus rebuked Peter after he knew that God had changed His plan and altered Jesus' mission. Since the people rejected Jesus, God knew that Jesus could not carry out his primary mission, the establishment of the kingdom on earth, which required the cooperation of the people.

At that late point in his ministry, God then asked Jesus to fulfill only the limited goal of spiritual salvation. Jesus therefore began preparing for this secondary goal. And poor Peter knew nothing about this change in the mission of Jesus Christ.

Jesus called Peter "Satan" because Peter's seemingly comforting words had no relevance to the will of God at that point. Peter spoke from ignorance and blindness. But Jesus could not risk losing this secondary mission -- for then his coming would have been completely in vain.

Accepting Jesus would have brought God's kingdom

Let us consider what actually would have happened had Jesus been accepted by the people of Israel. Indeed, he would have become the king of Israel; he would have united his disciples with all of the descendants of Abraham, 12 tribes of Jacob, and all the Arab tribes as well. All of them would have become one family of the Son of God.

Jesus Christ would have set up a heavenly sovereignty centered upon the nation of Israel. The constitution of the Kingdom of God would have been promulgated in his time. An invincible nation would have been established, with the sovereignty of God spearheaded by the last Adam -- Jesus Christ -- as king. Even the Roman Empire would have been humbled before God's kingdom. This is the prediction of Isaiah:

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Is. 9:7)

After Jesus' death, his disciples marched toward Rome barehanded, suffering and shedding their blood. And within 400 years, the Roman Empire collapsed before this weaponless army. Had Jesus Christ not been crucified, but personally commanded this holy army, the entire Roman Empire would have come under the sovereignty of God during Jesus' own lifetime.

In those days, the great Roman Empire was the hub of the world. God's plan of salvation was to restore the whole world. Thus, God prepared Rome in a central role so that once the kingdom came to Rome, it could be spread easily to the whole world. Had Jesus been able to establish his kingdom in the Roman Empire, then through Rome's power and influence, people in every corner of the globe would have heard his gospel while he lived on earth.

Thus, in his lifetime Jesus would have established the Kingdom of Heaven on earth as a reality. The nation of Israel would have been the glorious center of his kingdom. Then there would be no divided Christianity as we have today -- no Roman Catholicism, no Presbyterianism, no Methodism, no Church of Christ. None of these would be necessary. You no longer need a vehicle when you have reached your destination.

You and I would already be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. There would have been no bloody history of Christianity -- no martyrs. And there would be no reason for the Second Coming. A doctor is unnecessary if there are no patients to cure.

The sad reality, however, is that Jesus Christ was met with rebellion. Without the obedience of Adam and Eve, God could not fulfill his ideal in the Garden of Eden. And without people's cooperation, Jesus Christ could not establish his kingdom on earth.

Crucifixion brought only spiritual salvation

So Jesus focused on his secondary mission, spiritual salvation. Due to the sin and blindness of the people, God permitted His son to be a sacrifice. That was the significance of the crucifixion. God allowed Jesus to die on the cross as a ransom paid to Satan. In exchange, upon Jesus' resurrection, God could claim the people's souls, though redemption of the body was not possible.

Therefore God's victory was not in the cross but in the resurrection. The resurrection brought the salvation Christianity offers.

At Jesus' crucifixion, Christianity was crucified as well. At the hour of the Lord's tribulation, no one remained faithful. Everyone betrayed Jesus. Even Peter denied Christ.

But with the resurrection, Christianity revived as well. Then for 40 days, Jesus rejoined and cemented the shattered fragments of Christianity. That was the beginning of the Christianity of today.

Yes, our salvation does come from Jesus' victorious resurrection. This is the victory of Christ, and Satan's power can never influence it. But the body of Jesus Christ was given up as a sacrifice and a ransom. In giving up his body, Jesus also gave up the body of mankind. Our salvation is limited to spiritual redemption, because the redemption of the body remained unfulfilled 2,000 years ago. And our world still suffers under Satan's power. Sin rages and dominates this world through our bodies.

Therefore, Paul shouted out in anguish,

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Rom. 7:24-25)

Paul was living in the grace of the Lord. Still he confessed that he could serve God only with his mind, and his flesh served the law of sin. His body yearned to be redeemed; he still anguished over sin.

And so it is for us. By accepting Christ, we receive spiritual salvation. But our bodies serve the law of sin under Satan's domain -- until Christ returns and liberates us from the bondage of sin. The Lord of the Second Advent alone can give total salvation: spiritual salvation and redemption of our bodies as well.

Christianity's power is limited to spiritual salvation. Unlike the nation of Israel, Christianity has no physical base, so God's dominion in Christianity is over only a spiritual kingdom.

Therefore, our great hope is the Second Coming of the Messiah. This is the hope of America, the hope of the world. America -- this unique Christian nation -- must awaken now and ready herself for the day of his coming.

American Christianity stands in the spiritual position of Israel 2,000 years ago. America is destined to serve as the Messiah's landing site for the 20th century. God wants to reach out to all people, and has chosen to reach out first to America and through her to the world.

America's role parallels that of the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago. As Rome was the hub of the world then, America is the hub of the world in modern times. Jesus set his eyes on Rome. And when Christ returns, he will set his eyes on America.

Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

In our ignorance, we Christians have missed the true spirit of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. There he told his disciples:

'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with me' And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt.' (Matt. 26:28-39)

He prayed this way not once, but three times. He was sorrowful even to death. Many in the Christian world suppose Jesus prayed this way out of human weakness, shrinking from his mission of dying on the cross. Nothing can be further from the truth!

Under Roman tyrants hundreds of thousands of Christians were martyred. They never said, "Please let this cup pass from me."

Simon Peter, when he himself was about to be crucified, told his persecutors, "I am not worthy to die in the same manner as my Lord. Do me a favor! Crucify me upside down." Even he did not say, "Please let this cup pass from me."

When Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was being stoned to death, he did not say, "Let this cup pass from me." Rather, he died peacefully, praying for his tormentors.

Such bravery is not limited to the Bible, Nathan Hale, a young officer captured in the American Revolutionary War, said as he was about to be hanged, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." He did not say, "Please let this cup pass from me."

Do you suppose that the Messiah, the Son of God, was weaker than all these people -- especially if you think he came for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for world salvation? No! Were that the case, he would be unqualified as a Messiah. We have not understood the Lord Jesus.

The prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was not uttered out of any selfish concern or fear of death. Jesus Christ, our Lord, was ready to die a thousand times over if that were the only way to bring about the salvation of humanity.

Jesus' concern was for his mission. He grieved at the suffering of his Heavenly Father He was in turmoil because he could foresee the terrible consequences of his crucifixion. Jesus knew well that his crucifixion was not God's ultimate will. He knew his death would postpone the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven another 2,000 years, and that in the meantime humanity would suffer terribly.

He knew that millions of future followers would have to suffer, shedding their blood and being martyred as he had been. He knew Israel would be forsaken and desolate. And most of all, he had longed to bring victory and glorious fulfillment to his Father's throne in heaven, not to return alone through the crucifixion. He had hoped for a triumphant homecoming.

So in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus made his final desperate plea to God: "Even at this late hour, is there any possible way that I can remain on earth to fulfill my mission?" If we are to become true followers of Christ, we must fathom the grief and anguish that Jesus Christ suffered.

Furthermore, had the crucifixion been the full will of God, then Judas -- Jesus' betrayer -- should be regarded as a hero and awarded a heavenly medal, because somebody had to hand the Son of God to the enemy to be crucified. Yet, Jesus said of Judas,

'Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.' (Matt. 26:24)

And why should Jesus shout on the cross,

'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' (Matt. 27:46)

If his crucifixion had been the will of God, Jesus should have been overjoyed. He would have shouted, "God, I am honored! Rejoice, Father, I am victorious!"

Christianity today has maintained the traditional view that Jesus came simply to die on the cross. This is how Christians have rationalized the murder of the Son of God!

How the Second Coming will be fulfilled

Today, people cannot believe anything unless it is logical. God is truth, and truth is logical. There can be no perfection in ignorance.

Christian prayer alone could not lift Neil Armstrong to the moon. Scientific truth was necessary. I myself was once a student of science, and I know that God is also the God of science. God's message has to be scientific, logical, and convincing to men of the 20th century.

Let me come now to the apex of this evening's talk by discussing how the Second Coming of Christ will be fulfilled.

We read in the Gospels,

'They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.' (Matt. 24:30)

And in Revelation we read:

Behold, he is coming with the clouds. (Rev. 1:7)

But on the other hand, Paul wrote, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." (I Thess. 5:2)

One prophecy envisions the Lord appearing with the clouds of heaven, and the other sneaking in like a thief in the night. These two prophecies are somewhat in conflict. If he comes as a thief, he cannot at the same time appear in the clouds. Shall we just choose one prophecy and throw the other out?

The people of 2,000 years ago did not know the message of God was in symbols. In interpreting it literally, they made a grave mistake. And when we Christians read the New Testament, we must not make the same mistake. We must read the Bible in the spirit of God, and discover the true meaning of its symbols and parables.

Two thousand years ago everyone expected Elijah to appear from the blue sky, but he did not come that way. Likewise, they expected the Messiah to come with the clouds of heaven, but he did not come that way either. Today, Christians await the Lord of the Second Advent's arrival on the clouds. But do you have any guarantee that such expectations will not be disappointed this time?

Let us be humble and open minded enough to accept both possibilities -- his coming on the clouds of heaven, and his coming as a thief at night. If you fix your mind only on the Lord's coming on the clouds, and it turns out that he comes as the Son of Man in the flesh, you will most likely commit the same crime as the people 2,000 years ago.

However, if you are humble and capable of accepting the Lord as the Son of Man in the flesh -- which is the only way he could come as a thief -- you win either way. You will be assured of meeting the Lord whichever way he comes.

If you could miss the Lord at all, it would be only if he came as a thief. If he comes on the clouds, you have no worry. Every eye would see him then. The television networks would make sure of that!

But I must advise you that God will not send His Son literally with the clouds of heaven. If you are gazing up in the sky and waiting for the Second Coming of the Lord, you will be disappointed. He will come, once again, as a man in the flesh.

This is God's revelation. Let me testify to it by reading the significant prophecies of the Bible. In Luke we read,

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he [Jesus] answered them, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed.' (Luke 17:20)

Everyone would see the clouds of heaven. But Jesus said we would not observe the kingdom's coming. Did the people see the coming of the Messiah 2,000 years ago? No, they did not, because he came as the Son of Man in the flesh. Next let us examine a most extraordinary statement of Jesus Christ.

Most people ask, "Does the Bible really say that?" Look in Luke, where Jesus said,

'But first he [the Lord of the Second Advent] must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.' (Luke 17:25)

If the Lord is coming with the clouds of heaven, in power and great glory, with the trumpets of angels, who could dare reject him or cause him suffering? Would you? These are Jesus' words: He will suffer and be rejected, because he is coming as the Son of Man in the flesh. At first, people will have a difficult time recognizing him as the Christ.

Christian churches and devout Christians are expecting the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. They are all looking up, waiting for his appearance. But if that expectation does not come true, and the Lord appears unexpectedly as the Son of man in the flesh -- as Jesus came to this world the first time -- then what will happen?

At first people will reject him and cause him suffering. There will be no faith on earth. There will be no initial acceptance of Christ. Many Christians will pick up stones to throw at him. Many Christians will call him a blasphemer, a heretic, a man possessed by demons. Those were the very charges brought against Jesus 2,000 years ago.

In Luke we read,

As it was in the time of Noah, so will it be in the days of the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27)

This is the description of the days of the Son of Man. And this will happen when the Lord comes as the Son of Man in the flesh.

The coming of Jesus as a man will herald the Kingdom of Heaven. But nobody will heed him. In fact, people will laugh at him, ridicule him, and persecute him, and do all kinds of evil against him.

And in the meantime, the world will continue in its usual way, in carnal business -- eating, drinking, marrying -- until the day the Lord is lifted up to the throne of judgment. When the world recognizes him as the Lord of Judgment, it will be too late! The ark will be closed. The judgment will already be at hand.

Now, I want you to consider another passage:

'I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?' (Luke 18:8)

Jesus questioned whether there would be faith on earth when Christ returned. Why?

History may repeat itself. Two thousand years ago tremendous faith existed. People prayed in the synagogues morning, noon, and night. They constantly read the Scriptures, writing them on their lapels, reciting them every day. They kept the Ten Commandments and all the laws. They brought their tithes to the temple. They fasted and fasted.

However, when the Son of God appeared, they failed to recognize him, and condemned him to the cross. Did Jesus find any faith? In the sight of Jesus Christ, there was absolutely no faith on earth.

So when he returns as the Son of Man in the flesh, there also may be no faith on earth. Millions of Christians and thousands of churches may never see the Son of Man coming, because it will be in the flesh.

Now, finally, let us read Matthew,

'On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast our demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers."' (Matt. 7:22)

What does this mean? Why should these devout Christians, who are calling on the name of the Lord, be condemned as evildoers? What wrong will they have done?

Throughout history many crimes and sins have been committed in the name of the Lord, in the name of God.

There is no better example of this than what happened in Jesus' time. The people who plotted to kill Jesus Christ -- and finally succeeded in crucifying him on the cross -- were the very people who had faithfully followed the word of God day and night. But when the Son of God came to them, they committed the worst crime in history. They killed God's only Son, and they did it in the name of the Lord!

By the same token, when Christ comes to us once again as a man in the flesh, how can we be sure that the Christians of today will not be the first ones to cast stones at the returned Christ? Today we have the same responsibility as the people of 2,000 yours ago. No matter how great our works or our prayers, when God sends His Son, if we do not recognize him and unite with him, he will say to us, "Depart from me, you evildoers."

If it is ever true that history repeats itself, then the Christians of today could become the worst enemies of the returned Christ. They may attempt to crucify him once again in the name of the Lord.

However, even though the initial rejection and persecution may be very severe, Christ is not returning to be crucified again. The Lord of the Second Advent will be victorious, and will finally be elevated to the throne of judgment, and shall judge the world as the Lord of Judgment.

When he is lifted up to the throne, then every eye shall see him. It will be unmistakably clear to everyone who he is. And those who have previously accused and rejected him will wail and mourn because of the evil they have done to him. But it will be too late. The Lord will say to them, "I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers."

The Lord is coming. And he is coming as a man. Yet, he is also coming with the power and glory of God. And he will judge the world. Only the meek will be blessed. The arrogant will see the unquenchable fire.

Meaning of the clouds of heaven

Then what is the true meaning of the "clouds of heaven"? Let us note once again that the Bible is written in symbols. Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches." This is, of course, a symbolic expression.

By the same token, the "clouds of heaven" has a spiritual meaning, not a physical one. For instance, we read in Revelation,

The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. (Rev. 17:15)

The Bible indicates that water is a symbol for the multitudes of fallen mankind.

What are clouds? They are vaporized water. Water is often impure, dirty, with many foreign elements in it, but when such water is evaporated into clouds, it leaves its impurities behind. Thus, those people who are vaporized and purified from among the waters of mankind are symbolically in the position of the clouds of heaven.

Jesus is coming among those prepared people, God's people. He is coming among the consecrated, reborn Christians -- those who are purified, elevated, cleansed from sin. They will form the foundation of the Kingdom of God when Jesus returns to earth. This is the true meaning of the clouds of heaven.

God's purpose fulfilled

First Adam and Eve: God actually intended His Kingdom on earth to begin with the first Adam and Eve. If they had been truly obedient to God and achieved perfection, God would have united them in heavenly matrimony and established the first family on earth according to His will. This family would have become the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God on earth, with Adam and Eve as the True Father and True Mother of all people. The Garden of Eden is the symbolic expression for that kingdom. And this world would have been the world of joy for God.

Second Adam and Eve: Although the first Adam and Eve failed, God's ideal remained the same. God determined to realize that original kingdom and fulfill the world of joy. And 4,000 years later in biblical history, God intended to restore that Kingdom of God on earth through another perfected Adam. Jesus Christ was that perfected Adam.

Paul called Jesus the "last Adam," or the second Adam (I Col 15:45). He came as the perfected Adam 2,000 years ago in place of the first Adam, who had failed.

The restoration of Adam alone could not bring a kingdom. There had to be a bride, a mother -- another Eve. So God intended for this perfected Adam -- Jesus Christ -- to restore his bride, the perfected Eve. This would have been the restoration of the first family, lost since the Garden of Eden.

Third Adam and Eve: Because of the rebellion of the chosen people of Israel, however, this never happened. Nevertheless, God is determined to fulfill His will. Thus, He has promised the return of Christ.

Approximately 2,000 years have passed since Jesus Christ's death. And now, God is once again ready to send His son -- in the capacity of the Third Adam. Throughout history, God has always fulfilled His goal at His third attempt. It is true that the number three is the number of perfection. This time, God will definitely fulfill His age old ideal by blessing the perfected Adam and Eve in heavenly matrimony, thus laying the foundation of the Kingdom of God on earth.

This ultimate condition is prophesied in the Book of Revelation as the marriage supper of the Lamb. And the Lord of the Second Advent is that Lamb, that perfect Adam. The Lord is coming as perfected Adam, and he will restore perfected Eve. Then they will be lifted up as the first True Parents of mankind. At last, God's joy will be complete.

Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus said to Peter,

'I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' (Matt. 16:19).

The error was made here on earth. Sin was committed here on earth. So the error must be remedied and sin eradicated here on earth. Jesus asked us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'' Earth is the problem. That is why Christ must come back to this earth.

Many Christians believe that at the end of the world, God will destroy everything. The sun will be darkened, the stars will fall, and the earth will be burned up. A mere handful of Christians will be lifted up in the air, to spend the millennium with Christ.

If God did that, then He would become a God of failure, His original will forever unfulfilled. He would be relinquishing this earth to Satan. Then Satan would actually become the victor, and God the loser. This will never happen! God is almighty. He will not give up on this earth. It was meant to be, and it shall be, His kingdom. This New York shall be His kingdom, too.

You can be the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven if you meet the coming Messiah. He is your hope, my hope, and the only hope of America and this world.

If we fail to see him, however, then Christianity will have no hope. Christianity will decline. Its spiritual fire will be extinguished. The churches will become the tombs of the old legacy. Our world then will be doomed.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have come here to Madison Square Garden tonight in obedience to God's command. The Bible says,

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that T will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.' (Acts 2:17)

We are living in such an extraordinary time, at the birth of a new age! Heaven is quite near. And if you earnestly call upon God, He will answer you.

You must urgently ask Him, "How can I know if Reverend Moon is telling the truth?" Do not let me or anyone else answer that question for you. Let God answer you directly.

So go in peace, and please ask God earnestly, sincerely. Confront God in prayer. God will reveal the answer to you.

The new hope for mankind is the Messiah. And that "great and terrible day of the Lord" is at hand. It is up to you whether that day will be great or terrible. If you meet the Messiah, for you that day will be great. But if you fail to meet him, then for you that day will indeed be terrible.

God bless you. Thank you for your attentive listening.

Kamsa hamnida! Thank you, and good evening.

Chapter 16 - The Standard Bearer of Tradition

Chapter 16
The Standard Bearer of Tradition
May 10,1974--Tokyo, Japan

In a family, the one who inherits the tradition of the family is not an old man but a young man. Those who inherit the tradition of the country are also young people. This was true in the past, and it is true today as well, that those who inherit tradition are young people. For example, in the country of Japan, if no one inherits the Japanese tradition correctly, then Japan's prosperity will be undermined in the future, and Japan will naturally head in a more difficult direction.

Who should assume responsibility for the world and for the establishment of the ideal world? From the viewpoint of God's dispensation, it is God's earnest desire that young people should take responsibility to establish the tradition of God for the new world.

When we look back to the Old Testament Age, such old men as Noah, Abraham or Moses were setting the tradition. Jacob was an exception. When the era changed to the New Testament Age, we find the central figures were young people, like Jesus and John the Baptist. They were the ones who desired to inherit the tradition of heaven. They tried to substantiate this tradition in the world during their 20s and 30s. If the ideal tradition of God's nation centering upon John the Baptist had been established, then the tradition centering upon Jesus could have become the standard tradition for the coming world.

Young people are not influenced that much by society once they choose their own direction. If they decide something in their minds and hearts, they do it without hesitation. They tend to put my teachings into practice immediately. Young students especially have a strong desire to establish themselves as God centered people.

Certainly, God's hope must rest with young people rather than old people. Therefore, it is the principled point of view that the Completed Testament Age begins centered upon young people.

The purpose of tradition

We must understand clearly the purpose toward which the tradition is aiming. Before we save our country, we must save our own relatives. Before we save our own family, we must save ourselves. So, first of all, our goal must be individual perfection. If God's hope is with young people in the Completed Testament Age of Unificationism, it is no mistake to say that you were chosen as the center of God's hope to fulfill His main mission for today, and set the central standard of tradition. This is true not only in Japan. Most of the overseas members of the Unification movement are young people. In America, the average age is between 23 and 25. If these young people offer their lives for this purpose, and if they live their daily lives with total commitment, the new tradition will certainly be built by following this kind of life.

Japan can have a new hope for the future if she has this kind of young people. At this time, of course, Japan desires prosperity for herself. But if she has a burning resolution to create a better world tomorrow; and if she goes beyond the nation, hand in hand with young people of Asia, with one international heart; and if her policy remains internationally oriented over a long period of time; then she will not decline but prosper among the Asian nations and will naturally emerge as a central nation on the worldwide level. You have a mission to inherit such a tradition, and you must also build up the tradition when you inherit it.

From this point of view, we of the Unification Church need to have an educational system that can direct the education and ideals of young people toward an international outlook.

Those of you gathered here are all young people. You are still pure and have hearts that have not been corrupted by this world. You should have a new resolution in your heart. If your minds and bodies are united with new resolution and confidence, and if you become perfect men and women who are loved perfectly by God, how greatly can God rejoice! The highest and greatest desire of God, who created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, is to find a perfected man and woman, a son and daughter who can realize God's purpose of creation, and who are qualified to be loved by God eternally. God must have centered all of His hope in His son and daughter in the garden, and dreamed about the future development of their world. But all of His hopes and dreams were destroyed by the fall. After that, in the course of the dispensation of salvation, God lived through the history of the old generation age, through the adult generation age, and came to welcome today's age of the generation of youth. How much hope did God have for Adam and Eve before their fall? When we think about this point, we can realize that today's generation of youth is precisely what we would expect for the Completed Testament Age.

The tradition of loving and being loved

It is natural and principled for you to love God in the same way that He loves you. So when you long for God as the vertical center of your life, and when you are loved as His son or daughter, then a tradition of love can begin. You cannot make a start toward individual perfection unless you establish this tradition. The family is composed of individuals, so first of all you must be loved by God as an individual. But not only that, you should welcome God as your Parent, and return with filial piety the love that you received from Him. You have not even reached the starting point of individual perfection until the reciprocal love of parent and child is established on the vertical position.

You speak about it often, but what is individual perfection? It is to establish the absolute vertical parent and child relationship through faith. You as a child will also come to love God in the same way as God loves you. God and child are inseparable since love is established in such a reciprocal relationship.

You should not cry for yourself. Cry for God. You should do things in order to establish the harmonious subject-object relationship and a unified sphere. You enlarge the sphere of your activities in order to strengthen this subject-object relationship. By doing so, God's dominion is expanded into a larger sphere of His dominion.

When you come face to face with your husband or your wife, you enlarge your sphere of dominion to the level of the family. A man for a woman, a woman for a man -- this relationship of a man and a woman is not simply a relationship for their own selves. The family is the central sphere of heart where the members are horizontally strongly connected, centered upon God. In the relationship of husband and wife, a wife can love her husband, whom God loves, the same as God loves him. A husband can love his wife, whom God loves, the same as God loves her. When they can fully embrace this relationship of loving and being loved centered upon God, they become one.

God is not lonely when Adam and Eve love each other. He feels the power of His own love. The relationship of absolute love and oneness of Adam and Eve is the substantial realization of elements within God's inner mind. Therefore, when He looks at them, they do not repel Him, but together they form the attraction of positive and negative elements.

Absence of the tradition of true love

The tradition of genuine happiness centered upon this kind of family was never established on earth because of the fall of the first human ancestors. We know this very well. It is an undeniable fact that we are born as the descendants of the fall. So, when we think in this way, we cannot say that our parents are parents of goodness. If this concept is enlarged, the race also has not inherited the standard of goodness. Being descendants of the fall, we are in a realm whose origins were not from God, but from Satan. It must be the desire of all fallen people to change from this realm of death.

We cannot easily solve this problem by our own efforts. Even if we wish for liberation, we, who are dominated by Satan, do not have wisdom superior to that of the archangel. It is absolutely impossible for us, who have less power than Satan, to overcome this situation. The natural conclusion would be that the human race must remain in the eternal realm of death. So, if there is anyone who can change this situation, it must be none other than the good God who is the enemy of Satan. The numerous saints were God's hands of salvation reaching down to this miserable human race. When this foundation of saints sent by God is enlarged, the families, societies and nations of this satanic world will be displaced. Therefore, it is natural for Satan to give his utmost effort to try to destroy God's saints, sages and prophets. We are very familiar with the history of the prophets, saints and righteous people who came to this world, were persecuted, and in some cases killed. From that foundation of death and sacrifice, God has been carrying out His providence, enlarging His sphere from the individual to the spheres of the new family, clan, tribe and world. For that purpose, God established religion.

Christianity as God's foothold

In modern times, religious spheres have created cultural spheres on the world level, and God's desire is to unite them together into one. It is God's dispensation to mobilize a movement that unites this world of religious and cultural spheres into one, and brings them back to God's ideal world of goodness. The one who is sent to complete this plan is the Messiah. Conversely, this plan is messianic thought. But when the Messiah comes, he cannot accomplish these things alone. Since the Messiah is coming, the interracial foundation corresponding to this messianic ideal must be created. Christianity is a unique religion in that it developed its cultural sphere throughout the world. Why could Christianity become a world religion? Why not other religions? Theoretically speaking, it is because Christianity is the religion that best represents God's will and internal heart. Christianity has penetrated to the core of God's will and heart, and preserved this until the present time. God loves Christianity, and since God is a world level God, it is natural for Christianity to develop throughout the world. God desires love. According to Jesus, God is not the Lord of Judgment of the people in heaven and earth, but the Father of Love. There is no religion other than Christianity which understands God in this way.

"Oh God! I am the only son of God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, unique, absolute and infinite." By these words, "only son," you would be qualified to become a messiah for all humanity. What kind of' position would you have if you said you were the only son of God? Because God has a heart of love, you would be the only son of God when you gain that love first. Isn't that so? Suppose there is someone who can touch the core of love which is deep within the Father's mind, and can move God. Who would be that person? [The only son!] From this point of view, Jesus was the one person who was qualified to occupy God's heart completely. Because all people desire God's heart, one cannot teach them the world of God's love unless he has the experience of occupying God's internal heart. Therefore, this is the qualification of the Messiah.

Experience God's love first

Jesus is God's only son. Furthermore, when we are saved, even though the circumstances are different, we also can become God's children. When a branch is grafted onto a sweet persimmon tree, that branch can become the sweet persimmon tree. After you are saved by Jesus, he does not remain as your Savior, but becomes your brother. Jesus becomes the bridegroom, and you become the bride. This tradition of Jesus started from brotherly love. This is a cosmic declaration. This is not the tradition of brotherhood we have seen in the fallen realm so far, but a new tradition. You are the very people who are doing this. So at this point, we need to implant the new heavenly tradition of brotherhood. This is not merely a theory; we are advancing this historically You must build the new tradition of brotherhood and also the new tradition of husband and wife. By doing so, the tradition of brotherhood is born, and the tradition of bride and bridegroom is born. Then when a couple is able to inherit the tradition of love from God, their children will be entirely loved by God. Since these children are not born within the realm of the fall, but are born within the unfallen realm of God's love, they are not in the position to be claimed by Satan. Therefore, they are sinless. Through this birth of sinless children, Christianity was to have determined the tradition of parent-child relationship.

The time during which this promise was made was the time of the New Testament. The promise of the Old Testament was not fulfilled, therefore, a new promise was given in the New Testament. This was a promise that we shall become true children of God by becoming true brothers and sisters and inheriting true love. And that promise will absolutely be accomplished at the time of the Second Coming. What does Unification theology call this age? It is called the Completed Testament Age.

God does not just make promises. He has advanced the Completed Testament Age in order to fulfill this wonderful promise. So, many children like Jesus should be born, and many brides and grooms who are like Jesus should be born. Many families must emerge with ideal spouses such as Jesus would have been--who can raise perfect children. God's ideal world begins here. But from what point does all of this start? It begins from the individual.

Adam and Eve fell before they reached perfection, being motivated by their hearts to sin. They took a step away from God's direction and His commandment by following the dictates of their hearts while their hearts were still immature. Young people of the Complete Testament Age are not influenced by their surroundings no matter how much it is corrupted by Satan. If they are influenced, then Satan, who is the final master of the corrupted love, will corrupt the heart of all humanity in the world to come. For that purpose, Satan uses his final wisdom.

The communists say, "Sing, dance and enjoy love!" Then, what happens? Destruction. Satan is trying to destroy man by creating this kind of environment.

Therefore, the organization that the communists hate the most is the Unification Church. They tempt people through their propaganda--"sing songs, dance and make love!" But those who do not give in, no matter what they say, are the young people of the Unification Church.

To see God directly with your eyes

You must first of all stand face to face with God and inherit His vertical love. Since God is the God of dual characteristics, He created man because He cannot receive stimulation by being alone. Joy is produced only through reciprocal relationships; therefore, stimulation from outside of God's being is necessary. He needs the stimulating sphere of His objects. And one can receive love from God, who is the highest being, only when he stands in the position to reciprocate. If he does so, he can become a substantiation of God's internal character. When God feels sorrow, man must also feel sorrow. In this way, man and God will be inseparable. These are unchangeable facts, no matter how much you may doubt them. You have been created to be inseparable from God. Therefore, the perfection of the individual means the establishment of the absolute vertical relationship between you and God.

God is invisible. This invisible God created Adam and Eve in order to bring about His substantial image. God exists within the minds of Adam and Eve, and when Adam and Eve become perfect and fully receive God's love, God becomes the internal father and Adam becomes the external father. The external form reflects the internal form. God sees His own form in man. Then God, as the father of humanity, takes the form of Adam. And Eve becomes the mother of humanity. Adam and Eve are God's substantial forms in the universe, and they become parents of humanity and of the created world, which resembles them. Thus, through the form of Adam and Eve, God let people know His existence throughout history. Then there can be no doubt about the existence of God. He is always visible. If the fall had not taken place, God would immediately appear if man called him. If man reaches this level, who could say that God doesn't exist? [No one!] If you show your utmost sincerity, the same sincerity is returned. This is a universal principle. So, who has to prove that your parents are your parents?

Then what God is desiring to do is to substantiate His form in this last stage of the Last Days. He is trying to show Himself again as a perfect man who is completely restored heartistically and vertically. This man we know as the Messiah. In the Completed Testament Age, God manifests Himself to all people in the form of the True Parents, who come in the place of the perfected Adam and perfected Eve.

Therefore, the Unification Church has a power that is greater than any secular power. Through the Unification Church, our members can see the living God directly with their eyes, and experience Him with their senses. Do you understand? How many of you believed in and saw Jesus in the past? A very small percentage. Unless you had faith for 20 or 40 years, you could not see the crucified Jesus. In the Unification Church, however, you can see him if you listen to the Principle with sincerity for one week. What a great difference this is! A cosmic revolution has begun. We could not find a way to see Christ throughout thousands of years of history. But through the Principle, we have discovered a way to experience him within a week. This is truly the great miracle of the Unification movement.

Behind this miracle, there is a 6,000 year period in which God has been advancing human culture. All of the indemnity and sacrifice of 6,000 years is concentrated on this point in time. This fruit of this victorious course is the relationship of the love between parents and child.

Look at the world with the same sorrow as God

If you are anxious to see God or to see True Parents in a dream, the only way is to work for God with your whole heart. You must have the type of God-like heart that is willing to shed blood for the sake of all people. You must have such a heart that you would even forget sleeping, and cry with me. This is the closest path to reach God. The teaching of the Unification Church is that we should sacrifice smaller things for God, for humanity and for the greater purpose. God wants to restore the cosmos to His dominion. This is done by the principle of always serving the greatest purpose. Accordingly, the individual lives for the sake of the family, the family for the clan, the clan for the race, the race for the nation, the nation for the world, the world for the cosmos and the cosmos for God. You cannot become a child of God unless you fight for God with the goal of victory for God on the cosmic level by achieving all these standards. You cannot become a child of God unless you have the confidence and desire to work for the sake of God and for the sake of the cosmos. You understand this, don't you? [Yes!] It is not a trivial matter.

Each of you can become a person who has such vertical experiences. In the present situation, when God has not yet established His nation, if you can call upon God and feel the same sorrow He has, and if you can look at Japan and the world with such Godly sorrow, keeping your mission and your commitment to Him, then you are truly a son or daughter of God, even if you are alone.

You should keep your mind occupied with the absolute desire and determination to fulfill God's will. If the providence is prolonged for years, decades, centuries, we cannot imagine how great God's agony would be. We must maintain a course toward victory. If you remain a joyous child, doing your best while sacrificing for God, you can save Japan and dominate this country's spiritual future. You may not get much attention in this world, but when you go to the spiritual world, you will be the one revered by all people as the representative of God. God is expecting you to become this kind of young person. You must set the tradition for the future. God desires that we become such people who can substantiate His ideal in this world. Such people must be the young people of the Unification Church.

Jesus walked the way of the cross with dignity

In the tradition of the Old Testament Age and the New Testament Age, we must become children who can shed blood, and even die, to console God's heart: In the history of God's providence, who set the tradition to open this path in the world? It was Jesus. At Gethsemane, the reason why he prayed with such agony as to shed blood was to leave God's true tradition on earth. Jesus was the very person who pioneered this path and set this tradition for the first time. Religion is the way by which we inherit the tradition of Jesus correctly and expand it to the public world. Christianity was formed by inheriting the tradition of goodness and by passing on this tradition to future followers.

Christianity teaches a realm of heart, which is also a realm of hope heading toward one goal. In order to enter this one realm, we must go back to God. So we as Unification Church members must just go back to God. We can never understand the realm of Jesus' heart unless we go back to the realm of God's heart. That is also the only way we can ever understand the tradition of Jesus or Christianity, or inherit the tradition of hope for the future. The path that the Unification Church has been walking until now has been to go back to God and to rekindle the spirit of the churches with a new understanding of the reality of God and His providence. Do you understand? [Yes!] First of all, we must establish this vertical relationship and become an ideal man through receiving guidance from God.

Mankind lost three things at the fall. Adam was to be God's son and Eve to be God's daughter. But they lost their childlike heart toward God. And they lost the love they had as brother and sister centered upon God. Eve killed Adam spiritually. Despite the fact that he was her elder brother, Adam was attracted to Eve and could not resist her. They became people of evil, not a brother and sister of goodness. The husband and wife of goodness became the husband and wife of evil through the fall. They lost the realm of God's heart and love in one instant. How can they restore this lost heart? For a man to take responsibility to restore this, he must have the heart of an elder brother. Thus, he must enter into the world of the heart.

In the realm of heart, then, you are children to me. It is through the fall that man lost the three hearts, namely, the heart of brother and sister, the heart of parents, and the heart of children. Accordingly, perfect restoration is impossible unless we heartistically experience these three things and resurrect them.

Saints should shed tears for God

The horizontal restoration of God's heart begins through indemnity. The Unification Church, which was founded for that purpose, can never be understood by merely studying it. People cannot understand why the Unification Church was founded, why we go in crazy directions, and why you members work with one heart. Do you work in accordance with my heart? [Yes!]

Men are in the position of archangels. Therefore, the courageous men of the Unification Church must be able to miss me with tears. Otherwise, they are not the saints of the Unification Church. You must be like a child with tears in your eyes. I ask this not for my sake, but for the sake of God.

I love you, centered upon God's love. You love God, you love me, and you love each other. With this foundation of love, you can love all people of the world.

You should love other members as you love me. My desire is that you love others more than I do. If you do so, you can love each other as brothers and sisters more than your parents love you as their children. If this tradition is spread throughout Japan, this country will never perish, even if God wanted it. Don't be a person whose achievements are on the theoretical level, but rather a person who puts his heart into his work. As a group, you should love each other like brothers, like sisters, like parents. If you are that type of person, even if you tell your friends not to come see you, they will be so eager to see you that they would come anyway. I am like that. My close friends and classmates were all drawn to me. Why did they come? They had no one else from whom they could seek advice. You must inherit the realm of God's heart. You have the theory, and when you practice it, you can become one with God. You must establish such a tradition.

Those brave Unification soldiers who wish to work toward this purpose once again with resolution and who wish to revive this tradition of God among all people, please raise your hands. I believe you.

Chapter 15 - The Future of Christianity

Chapter 15
The Future of Christianity
October 28, 1973--New Orleans, Louisiana

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming tonight. My topic this evening is, "The future of Christianity."

Tonight I am going to speak about some new revelations from God which are very vital to the understanding of all Christians. I will also frequently mention the chosen people of Israel. I am sure there are many Christians and Jewish people in the audience. I dearly love all Christian brothers and sisters, and I have high esteem for the Jewish people. I beg you to understand before I begin that what I will say in no way reflects my personal feeling. I am only bearing witness to the truth.

Sometimes testimony to the truth is a painful task. Yet it is a mission that it is my duty to fulfill. The content of my message tonight may be contrary to your previous understandings. Some things may be very new to you. May I ask you to think over seriously what you hear.

Unless I had something new to reveal, I would not come here to speak to you at all. Why should I come if only to repeat the things that you already know? I would like for you and me to spend this time together in open mindedness so that the spirit of God can speak directly into our hearts. Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matt. 5:3,5,6)

Tonight I humbly ask you to be the poor in spirit. I ask you to be the meek, and I ask you to become those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Then we will all see the Kingdom of Heaven, and we shall all be satisfied. Now let us begin.

Christians, and Christianity itself, have a final hill to cross. Biblical prophecy states that Christians must pass through the end of the world and face the judgment of fire at the great and terrible day of the Lord. The Bible says we are going to see many extraordinary phenomena, in heaven and on earth, as the end comes near.

When Jesus promised his Second Coming, he conveyed a feeling of great imminence. From the day Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, Christians have been watching for his return to earth. For the last 2,000 years of history, it has been the hope of every Christian to see the returning Christ. But this extraordinary event has never occurred. Many people tired of waiting. Some finally decided this Second Coming would not happen literally. They came to think, "This is just one of God's methods to keep us alert."

Tonight we must clarify the meaning of the end of the world as the Bible prophesies it. We must also know how the Lord will reappear when he comes in the fullness of time.

We should first of all understand that God did not create the world to end. He always intended the world of goodness to last forever. The God who does not create for eternity cannot be an almighty God. The present world must end, however, because the fall of man initiated a history of evil. The end of the world is necessary because we have not achieved God's intended world of goodness. Instead of becoming children of goodness, we have in reality become creatures of evil.

The wrong direction of history

Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden. They were not at that time in a position to have a clear understanding of the will of God. They entered into a state of confusion and made the wrong choice. They were confronted with either obedience to God, which would have brought about the good world, or obedience to Satan, which did in fact bring about their fall. Between two clear choices, Adam and Eve made the wrong one. They brought evil into the world. God's original intention was to create His ideal world--a good and prosperous world He determined to last for eternity. But man fell, the good world of God ended abruptly, and human history started in the wrong direction.

The history of mankind is therefore a history of evil. God sowed good seed, and He intended to harvest a good crop. But Satan stole His crop before it was ripened and reaped a harvest of evil. Human history is a crop of weeds.

Then what does the end of the world mean? Just what is going to end? Evil is going to end. God will put an end to all evil. Out of God's new beginning will come a new opportunity for man. And the goodness God intended in His original ideal can be made real.

In the garden of Eden man fell into evil instead of developing his goodness. Man was subjugated by Satan and became the child of sin. Therefore the Bible says:

'You are of your father the devil. . .' (John 8:44)

If the fall of man had not occurred, then the true ruler would be God. But He is not today the king of this universe, because Satan is sitting upon God's throne. God has to remove all results of the fall of man before He can truly reign over the world.

Now I will give you clearly the definition of the end of the world. The end of the world is the moment in history when God ends evil and begins His new age. It is the time of the cross junction between the old history of evil and the new history of good.

In light of this definition, why does the Bible predict extraordinary heavenly phenomena as signs of the end of the world? Will the things predicted really occur? The Bible says:

'Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken' (Matt. 24:29)

What does this mean? What are we to expect?

First of all, please rest assured that these things will not happen literally. God will not destroy anything in the universe. God often expresses His truth in symbols and parables, and these biblical sayings will be accomplished symbolically. Secondly, God has no reason to destroy the universe. It is not the universe, but man who has committed sin. Only man deviated from the original plan of God's creation. Why should God destroy the animals, or the plants, or anything in creation which fulfilled His purpose as He intended? God would not destroy those innocent things.

The Bible there says,

'A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever' (Eccl. 1:4)

But in Revelation we read:

'Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.. .' (Rev. 21:1)

That new heaven and new earth refers to the coming of a new history of God, a time of new dominion. After you buy a house, won't you move in your family and possessions? Then you will say that you have a new home, and you are the new master of the house. In the same way, when men of God occupy this universe, it will become a new heaven and a new earth.

We know that when winter ends, spring begins. But can we say at precisely what point spring starts? Who can pinpoint the exact instant of transition? You cannot know because the passage from one season to another takes place imperceptibly, quietly. The end of winter is similar to the beginning of spring, so there is no discernible moment of transition.

At what moment does the old day end and a new day begin? Although the change occurs in darkness, there is no doubt that we do go from one day to the next. The change is unnoticeable at first, but it is also inevitable and irrevocable. Although three billion people live on earth, not one among them can point to the exact moment when the old day passes and the new day begins. So we understand that from the human point of view we cannot always know the precise moment things happen. But God knows when winter passes into spring, and God knows when night opens into day. And God can point to the transition into new history.

Our step into new history is like a glorious dawn emerging out of the blackest night. The crossing point between good and evil is not obvious. You will not notice it when it happens, but it will definitely take place, just as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow.

God's servants and prophets

Then how can we know when the end is approaching? God will not hide this moment from man; He does not suddenly bring judgment on the world without warning. God will announce the coming of the great and terrible day through his prophets. Amos 3:7 says,

'Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.'

God chooses His instrument and through him God announces His plans. This has been the case throughout Bible history.

The person to be chosen as God's prophet must be one of the people living in our evil world. But he must be a man of faith who can demonstrate that he is worthy to be used by God. He must show absolute faith. To do this he must give up all worldly success and completely separate himself from this evil world. He must purify himself by cutting off all evil attachments. He will not be popular in the evil world. God is absolute good and therefore the exact opposite of evil. That is why evil always persecutes a man of God.

Noah was such a man chosen by God and scorned by the evil world. God instructed Noah to build a ship. He sent Noah to the heights of a mountain instead of down by the riverside or to the seashore. God's command was so ridiculous in the eyes of the evil world that many people laughed at Noah. He was ridiculed, not because people thought him a particularly funny man, but because he followed God's instructions so faithfully. The eyes of the world could not understand the way of God. In this manner, with such implausible instructions, God could test the faith of the man he had chosen as His champion. This is what happened in Noah's day.

And at the time of Abraham it was no different. God called Abraham, the son of an idol-maker, and commanded him, "Leave your home at once!" God does not allow for any compromise. God takes a position where evil can be totally denied. In no other way can good begin.

God has said He will start a new history, in which no element of evil will remain. God demands complete response from man. Those who follow God's direction must begin from absolute denial of the evil world. That is why Jesus Christ taught:

'He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.' (Matt. 10:39)

He also said,

'. . . a man's foes will be those of his own household.' (Matt. 10:36)

You may ask, what kind of message is this? This is God's way, to choose His own people and put them in a position where they will be rejected by evil. Otherwise His champion can do no good for God. From the point of view of God's standard, then, modern Christians have been having a very easy time. This is very strange, because there is no easy way indicated in Christian teaching. I wonder how many Christians are really serious about following the path of God? God's demand is absolute. It allows for no middle ground.

Then how can we know clearly the path of God? Let us examine the history of God's providence. Today we are anticipating the end of the world. God has made previous attempts to end the world. For example, the time of Noah: That was a crossroads in history, when God wanted to bring an end to evil and begin the world of goodness. Noah was the central figure chosen in God's dispensation. To better understand Noah's mission and the meaning of the end of the world, we want to know more fully how the evil history began.

In the garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve a commandment. That commandment was the word of God. Then Satan approached and enticed them with a lie. And that lie was the word of evil. Adam and Eve were in a position to choose between the two words: The truth was on one side, and a lie was on the other. They chose the lie.

Because this was the process of the fall of man, at the end of the world God will give mankind truth. The words of God will come through His prophet. When man accepts the words of God he will then pass from death to life, because truth brings life. Man has died in a lie, and in truth he will be reborn.

The judgment of words

Therefore judgment comes by words. These words of God's judgment will be revealed by His chosen prophets. This is the process of the ending of the world. Those who obey and listen to the new word of truth shall have life. Those who deny the word will continue to live in death.

God chose Noah to declare the word. Noah's announcement was, "The flood is coming. The salvation is the ark." The people could have saved themselves by listening to Noah's words. However, the people treated Noah as if he were a crazy man, and they perished--because they opposed the word of God. According to the Bible, only the eight people of Noah's immediate family became passengers on the ark. Only these eight believed, and only these eight were saved.

God had said to Noah,

'I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth.' (Gen. 6:13)

Did this actually happen? We know the evil people perished, but was the physical world demolished in the process? No. This passage was not literally fulfilled, and God did not destroy the earth. God did eradicate the people and destroy evil the sovereignty, leaving only the good people of Noah's family. This was God's way to begin to restore the original world of goodness through Noah.

If God had fully consummated His restoration at that time, then we would have heard no more about the end of the world. Once the perfect world of goodness is realized, another end of the world is not necessary. Nothing could then interfere with the eternal reign of God's perfect kingdom.

But the very fact that we anticipate the end of the world today is proof that God did not succeed at the time of Noah. What happened to Noah after the flood should be fully explained, but I cannot spend too much time on that subject tonight. To make a long story short, once again, sin crept into Noah's family through his son, Ham. God's flood judgment was thereby nullified, and evil human history continued until the time of Jesus Christ.

With the coming of Christ, God again attempted to end the world. Jesus came to start the new Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Thus, the first words Jesus spoke were, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Indeed, the time of Jesus Christ's ministry was the end of the world. That great and terrible day was prophesied by Malachi, about 400 years before the birth of Jesus:

For behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evil-doers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch! (Mal. 4:1)

Was the judgment of Jesus Christ done by literal fire? Did the day come at the time of Jesus when everything literally turned to ashes? No, we know it did not. Since these things prophesied did not literally happen at that time, some people say that such prophecy must have been meant for the time of the Second Advent. But this cannot be the case.

John the Baptist came to the world as the last prophet; Jesus said:

' . . . all the prophets and the law prophesied until John . . . ' (Matt. 11:13)

The coming of John the Baptist should have put an end to prophecy and the Mosaic Law. This is what Jesus said would happen. The purpose of all prophecy before Jesus was to prepare for his coming, and to indicate what was to be fulfilled up to the time of his coming. These prophecies are not for the time of the Lord of the Second Advent. God sent His son Jesus into the world, intending full and perfect salvation to be accomplished. The Second Coming was made necessary only by lack of fulfillment at the time of the first coming.

Why then was the time of Jesus the end of the world? We already know the answer. It is because Jesus came to end the evil sovereignty and bring forth God's sovereignty upon the earth. This was the end of the Old Testament age and the beginning of the age of the New Testament. Jesus brought the words of new truth.

How did the people receive the gospel which he brought? The Jewish leaders accused Jesus and had him crucified. They were prisoners to the letter of the Old Testament and could not perceive the presence of the spirit of God in the new truth. It is ironic that Jesus fell victim to the very prophecies that were to testify to him as the Son of God. By the letter of the Mosaic Law he was judged a criminal. Blindly the people nailed him to the cross.

At the time of Jesus many learned people, many leaders of churches, and many people prominent in society who were well versed in the Law and the prophets were waiting for a Messiah. How happy they would have been to have their Messiah recite the Old Testament exactly, syllable by syllable and word by word! But Jesus Christ did not come to repeat the Mosaic Law. He came to pronounce a new law of God. People missed the whole point. And Jesus was accused. The people of Israel said to him,

'We stone you for no good work, but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God.' (John 10:33)

The Bible states: "And they reviled him (one of Jesus' disciples), saying,

'You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.' (John 9:28-29)

This was the way they looked at Jesus. Those people who diligently obeyed the letter of the Mosaic Law disobeyed Jesus Christ. The most devout of the Jewish faithful were the first ones to be judged by Jesus.

Now at this time I would like to clarify the meaning of "judgment by fire."

We read in the New Testament:

. . . the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! (II Peter 3:12)

How can this fantastic prophecy come true? Will it happen literally? No. The statement has symbolic meaning. God would not destroy His earth, His stars, and all creation without realizing His ideal on earth. If He did so, then God would become the God of defeat. And who would be His conqueror? It would be Satan. This can never happen to God.

Even on our human level, once we determine to do something, we see it through to its completion. How much more so will God almighty accomplish His will. When God speaks of judgment by fire in the Bible, He does not mean He will bring judgment by flames. The significant meaning is a symbolic one.

Let us now consider another biblical passage which speaks of fire. Jesus proclaimed,

'I came to cast a fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!' (Luke 12:49)

Did Jesus throw literal, blazing fire about? Of course not.

The fire in the Bible is symbolic. It stands for the word of God. This is why James 3:6 states,

". . . the tongue is a fire . . . "

The tongue speaks the word, and the word is from God. Jesus himself said,

'He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day." (John 12:48)

In contemporary society, the word of the court executes judgment. The word is the law. In this universe, God is in the position of judge. Jesus came as the attorney with authority to oppose Satan, the prosecutor of man. Satan accuses man with his words, but these are false charges. Jesus champions the cause of believers, and his standard is the word of truth. God pronounces the sentence: His love is the standard, and love is His word. There is no difference between the earthly court and the heavenly court, in that both conduct their trials by words, not by fire.

So the world will not be burned up by fire when it is judged. The Bible

". . . the Lord Jesus will slay him [the evil one] with the breath of his mouth. . ." (II Thess. 2:8)

The word of God is the breath of his mouth. Jesus came to slay the wicked by the word of God, and

". . . he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked." (Is. 11:4)

What then is the "rod of his mouth?" We take this symbol to mean his tongue--through which he speaks the word of God.

Let's resolve this point completely. Look to where Jesus was instructing the people: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." John 5:24) Men pass from death to life by words of truth. God will not send you the Messiah to burn you up. He will not send you the Messiah to set your houses afire or destroy your society. But if we reject the word of God spoken by the Lord, we leave no choice open except to be condemned by judgment. Here is the reason why.

In the beginning God created man and the universe by His word-logos. Man denied the word of God and fell. Spiritual death has reigned ever since. Through His salvation work, God has been recreating man. Man fell by disobedience to God's word, and man shall be recreated by obedience to the same word of God. The word of God is given by the Lord. Accepting the word brings life out of death. Such death is the hell in which we live. Thus the word of God is the judge, and it will bring upon you a far more profound effect than the hottest flames.

If Israel had accepted Jesus

Now at this time we can examine another important point. What would have happened if the people of Israel had wholeheartedly accepted Jesus Christ? Imagine the nation of Israel united with Jesus. What would that have meant? First. of all, Jesus would not have been killed. People would have glorified Jesus as the living Lord. They would have then marched to Rome with the living Christ as their commander-in-chief, and Rome would have surrendered to the Son of God in his own lifetime. But in the sad reality of history, it took four centuries for a band of Jesus' disciples to conquer Rome. Jesus never won the chosen people of Israel, and he never gained the support he needed from them. He came to erect the Kingdom of God on earth, but instead he had to caution his disciples even to keep his identity a secret because people did not accept his legitimacy as the Messiah, and he therefore lacked the power to be the king of kings.

Today we have much to learn, and we must not believe blindly. We must know the hidden truth behind the Bible. Jesus was crucified, not by his own will, but by the will of others. Rejection by the chosen people of Israel killed Jesus Christ.

Right now I am making a bold declaration. Jesus did not come to die. Jesus Christ was murdered. Let me repeat: Jesus Christ was murdered, and his own people had him killed. Even the Roman governor Pilate wanted to release Jesus. He did not find any fault with Jesus. But Christ's own people rejected him and forced Pilate to release Barabbas instead. What a pity! What a tragedy!

This may be shocking and astounding news to you, but if you are only surprised, then you have missed my purpose. I am revealing these things because of my duty to bear witness to the truth.

It was the chosen people of Israel, the chief priests, the elders, the scribes, and the faithful, who shouted at Pilate's court. "Crucify him!" Saint Paul said,

"None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (I Cor 2:8)

The people living at the time of Jesus Christ made a terrible mistake. But do you think they were so much more ignorant and less aware than we are today? No, not at all. They learned the Old Testament word by word and memorized the Mosaic Law. Based on their understanding, Jesus did not meet the qualifications to be the Messiah.

The Jewish people were in a very difficult position. If they wanted to believe the Law and the prophets, they had to abandon the Law of Moses as they understood it. Four thousand years of tradition had been based on the Old Testament. It was very, very difficult for people to just wake up one morning, turn away from the Law, and totally accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Because people had their eyes riveted to the letter of the Law, the spirit of the Law simply passed them by.

Let us look into the Old Testament and examine the prophecy of Malachi:

'. . . I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. . .' (Mal. 4:5-6)

The people of Israel knew God's promise clearly. They knew it by heart. And they expected the coming of Elijah before the Messiah appeared. When the Messiah did come, naturally they asked, "Where is Elijah?"

Elijah had been a prophet who performed miraculous works about 900 years before Christ. And it was written he ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire. Since Elijah ascended upward into heaven, he was expected to return from heaven. Did such a miracle happen before the coming of Jesus? Did the people hear any news about the arrival of Elijah? No, they did not. But what they did hear one day was the voice of Jesus Christ declaring, "I am the Son of God, the only begotten Son of God." And Jesus spoke not timidly, but with authority and power. Such a man could not be ignored.

The question of Elijah

This presented a great dilemma for the people of Israel. They immediately asked, "If this Jesus is the Messiah, then were is Elijah?" They earnestly expected the Messiah at that time, so they were also waiting for Elijah. They believed he would come straight down from heaven, right out of the sky, and the Messiah would come soon after, in a similar manner.

So when Jesus proclaimed himself as the Son of God, the Jewish people became puzzled. If there had come no Elijah, then there could be no Messiah. And no one had told them that Elijah had come. The disciples of Jesus were also confused. When they went out to preach the gospel, people persistently denied that Jesus could be the Son of God because the disciples were unable to prove that Elijah had come. They confronted this problem everywhere they went.

The disciples of Jesus were not educated in the Old Testament. Many learned people rebuked them when they went out to preach, asking, "Do you not know the Old Testament? Do you not know the Mosaic Law?" The disciples were embarrassed when they were attacked through the verses of the Law and the prophets. One day they came back to Jesus and put the question to him:

'. . . why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?' He replied, 'Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands' Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.' (Matt. 17:10-13)

According to Jesus, John the Baptist was Elijah.

This was the truth. We have determined the truth according to the words of Jesus Christ. But the disciples of Jesus could not convince the elders and chief priests and scribes of this fact. To those men, the idea was simply ridiculous. The only authority that supported such a notion was the word of Jesus of Nazareth. That is why the testimony of John the Baptist was so crucial. But alas, John himself denied that he was Elijah when he was asked! His denial made Jesus seem to be a liar.

Read the Bible: 'And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' . . . And they asked him, 'What then? Are you Elijah?'

He said, 'I am not.' Are you the prophet?' And he answered, 'No'. (John 1:19-21)

John himself said, "I am not Elijah." But Jesus had said, "He is Elijah."

John made it almost impossible for the people to know that Elijah had come. But Jesus declared the truth anyway. He said,

' . . . if you are willing to accept it, he [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come' (Matt. 11:14)

Jesus knew that most people could not accept the truth. Instead they questioned the motivation of Jesus. In order for Jesus to seem like the Messiah, Elijah had to come first, so the people thought he was lying for the purpose of his own self-aggrandizement. The Son of God became more and more misunderstood by the people.

This was such a grave situation. In those days, the influence of John the Baptist was felt in every corner of Israel. But Jesus Christ was an obscure and ambiguous figure in his society. Nobody was in a position to take Jesus' words as the truth. This failure of John was the major cause of the crucifixion of Jesus.

John the Baptist had already seen the Spirit of God descending upon the head of Jesus Christ at the Jordan. At that time he testified:

'I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.' (John 1:32-34)

Rumors about Jesus

Yes, John the Baptist bore witness, and he did the job that God intended for him to do at that time. But later on, doubts came to him, and he finally succumbed to the many rumors circulating about Jesus. One such rumor called Jesus fatherless, an illegitimate child. John the Baptist certainly heard that rumor, and he wondered how such a person could be the Son of God. Even though he had witnessed to Jesus, John later became suspicious and betrayed him. If John the Baptist had truly united with Jesus Christ, he could have moved his people to accept Jesus as the Messiah, for the power and influence of John was very great in those days.

I am telling you many unusual things, and you may ask by what authority I am speaking. It is the authority of the Bible, and with the authority of revelation. Let us read the Bible together, and see word by word how John the Baptist acted.

'Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?"' (Matt. 11:2-3)

This was long after he had testified to Jesus as the Son of God. How could he even ask, "Are you he who is to come as the Son of God?" after the testimony of the Spirit to him? Jesus was truly sorrowful. He felt anger. Jesus refused to answer John the Baptist with a straight yes or no. He replied instead,

'Blessed is he who takes no offense at me.'

Let me paraphrase what Jesus meant: "John, I am sorry that you took offense at me. At one time you recognized me, but now you doubt me. I am sorry your faith has proved to be so weak."

After this incident, Jesus spoke to the crowds concerning John. He put a rhetorical question to them:

'What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings' houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, "Behold I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee."' (Matt. 11:7-10)

What Jesus was saying here was this: "John, you went out to the wilderness to see the person more than a prophet--the Messiah, the Son of God. You have seen everything but missed the vital point, the core of your mission. You indeed failed to recognize me and failed to live up to God's expectation. It is God who expects of you 'to make ready for the Lord a people prepared' You have failed."

Jesus concluded:

'Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he' (Matt. 11:11)

Conventional Christian interpretations have never fully explained the meaning of this controversial verse.

The missions of prophets through the ages were to prepare for or testify to the Messiah. Prophets always testified from a distance of time. John the Baptist was the greatest among prophets because only he was the prophet contemporary with the Messiah, the prophet who could bear witness, in person, to the living Christ. But John failed to recognize the Messiah. Even the least of the prophets then living in the spiritual world knew Jesus was the Son of God. That is why John, who was given the greatest mission, and failed, became less than the least.

Jesus said, 'From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force.' (Matt. 11:12)

John the Baptist was the chosen instrument of God, destined to be the chief disciple of Jesus. He failed in his responsibility, and Simon Peter, by the strength and force of his faith, earned that central position for himself on his own merit. Other men stronger and more violent in faith than John the Baptist fought relentlessly with Jesus for the realization of God's kingdom on earth. The devout men who righteously followed John the Baptist could not become the 12 apostles and 70 disciples of Christ, as they were to have been. If John the Baptist had become the chief disciple of Jesus, those two together would have united all of Israel. But the truth is that John the Baptist did not follow the Son of God.

One day John's followers came to him and asked,

'Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him' (John 3:26)

They carried concern in their question: "Look at all the people going to Jesus. What about you?" John the Baptist replied,

'He must increase, but I must decrease.' (John 3:30)

Usually Christians interpret this passage as proof of John's humble personality This is an incorrect understanding of the meaning of his words. If Jesus and John had been united, their destiny would be to rise or fall together Then Jesus could not increase his reputation while John's own prestige diminished! The lessening of his own role was what John feared.

John once stated the Messiah was the one '. . . whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. . .' (Matt. 3:11)

Yet he failed to follow Jesus even after he knew that Jesus was the Son of God. John the Baptist was a man without excuse. He should have followed

Responsible for the crucifixion

God sent John as a forerunner to the Messiah. His mission was clearly defined,

'. . .to make ready for the Lord a people prepared' (Luke 1:17)

But because of John's betrayal, Jesus Christ had no ground upon which to start his ministry. The people had not been prepared to receive Jesus. Therefore, he had to go out from his home and work all by himself, trying to create a foundation on which the people could believe in him. There can be no doubt that John the Baptist was a man of failure. He was directly responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

You may again want to ask me, "With what authority do you say these things?" I spoke with Jesus Christ in the spirit world. And I spoke also with John the Baptist. This is my authority. If you cannot at this time determine that my words are the truth, you will surely discover that they are in the course of time. These are hidden truths presented to you as new revelations. You have heard me speak from the Bible. If you believe the Bible you must believe what I am saying.

We must therefore come to this solemn conclusion: The crucifixion of Jesus was a result of the rejection by the Jewish people. The major cause of their rejection was the betrayal of John. Thus we have learned that Jesus did not come to die on the cross. If Jesus had come to die, then he would not have offered that tragic and anguished prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus said to his disciples:

'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with me' And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.' (Matt. 26: 38-39)

Jesus prayed this way not just once, but three times. If death on the cross had been the fulfillment of God's will, Jesus would certainly have prayed instead, "Father, I am honored to die on the cross for Your will."

But Jesus prayed asking that this cup pass from him. If his prayer came out of his fear of death, such weakness would disqualify him as the Son of God. We have witnessed the courageous death of many martyrs throughout Christian history and even elsewhere people who not only overcame their fear of death, but made their final sacrifice a great victory. Out of so many martyrs, how could Jesus alone be the one to show his fear and weakness, particularly if his crucifixion was the glorious moment of his fulfillment of the will of God? Jesus did not pray this way from weakness. To believe such a thing is an outrage to Jesus Christ.

The prayer of Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane did not come from his fear of death or suffering. Jesus would have been willing and ready to die a thousand times over if that could have achieved the will of God. He agonized right up to the moment of death, and he made one final plea to God, because he knew his death would only cause the prolongation of God's dispensation.

A tragic misunderstanding

Jesus wanted to live and fulfill his mission. It is a tragic misunderstanding to believe that Jesus prayed for a little more earthy life out of the frailness of his human soul. Young Nathan Hale, in the American struggle for independence, was able to say at the time of his execution, "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country!" Do you think Jesus Christ was a lesser soul than Nathan Hale? No! Nathan Hale was a great patriot. But Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Think this over. If Jesus came to die on the cross, would he not need a man to deliver him up? You know that Judas Iscariot is the disciple who betrayed Jesus. If Jesus fulfilled God's will with his death on the cross, then Judas. should be glorified as the man who made the crucifixion possible. Judas would have been aiding God's dispensation. But Jesus said of Judas,

'The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.' (Matt. 26:24)

Judas killed himself.

Furthermore, if God had wanted His son to be crucified, He did not need 4,000 years to prepare the chosen people. He would have done better to send Jesus to a tribe of barbarians, where he could have been killed even faster, and the will of God would have been realized more rapidly.

I must tell you again, it was the will of God to have Jesus Christ accepted by his people. That is why God labored in hope and anguish to prepare fertile soil for the heavenly seed of the Messiah. That is why God established His chosen people of Israel. That is why God sent prophet after prophet to awaken the people of Israel to ready themselves for the Lord.

God warned them and chastised them; He persuaded them and scolded them, pushed them and punished them because He wanted His people to accept His Son. One day the disciples asked Jesus,

'"What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent"' (John 6:28-29)

The chosen people of Israel did the very thing God had labored to prevent. They rejected the one He had sent.

Jesus had one purpose throughout the three years of his public ministry: acceptance. He could not fulfill his mission otherwise. From the very first day, he preached the gospel without equivocation, so that the people could hear the truth and accept him as the Son of God. The word of God should have led them to accept him. However, when Jesus saw that the people were not likely to receive him by the words of God alone, he began to perform mighty works. He hoped that people could recognize him through his miracles.

'Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.' (John 20:30-31)

Jesus gave sight to the blind and made the lepers clean. He healed the lame and blessed the deaf with hearing. Jesus raised the dead. He did these things only because he wanted to be accepted. Yet the people said of him,

'It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.' (Matt. 12:24)

What a heartbreaking situation! Jesus soon saw the hopelessness of gaining the acceptance of the people. In anger and desperation he chastised them: 'You brood of vipers! . . . ' (Matt. 12:34)

He did not hide his wrath, but exploded in anger.

'Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.' (Matt. 11:21)

And he wept when he drew near the city of Jerusalem.

'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!' (Matt. 23:37)

No hope of avoiding death

Who has ever understood the broken heart of Jesus? He said, 'Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes.' (Luke 19:42)

By that time Jesus knew there was absolutely no hope of avoiding death. Yet he pleaded with God in Gethsemane, and he pleaded with God on the cross: 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' (Matt. 27:46)

Thus Jesus died on the cross, not of his own will, not of the will of God, but by the will of men. Christ was destined to return from that moment on. He will return to consummate his mission on earth. Mankind must await his Second Coming for the complete salvation of the world.

Many people may now ask, "What about the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the death of Jesus on the cross?" I am aware of those prophecies, such as Isaiah, Chapter 53. We must know that there are dual lines of prophecy in the Bible. One group prophesies Jesus' rejection and death; the others, such as Isaiah, Chapters 9, 11 and 60, prophesy the glorious ministry of Jesus when the people accepted him as the Son of God, as the king of kings. For example:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. . . (Is. 9:6-7)

This is the prophecy of the Lord of glory, Jesus as the king of kings, and prince of peace. On the other hand, we can read:

'Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.' (Is. 53 4-5)

This is the prophecy of the suffering Christ. It is indeed the prophecy of the crucifixion.

Then, once again, why did God prophesy in two contradictory ways in the Bible?

It is because God has to deal with men--fallen men-- in His dispensation. And fallen man is wicked and untrustworthy and possesses the capacity of betrayal.

Man stands between God and Satan

In a way God fears man, and Satan fears man also because of man's ability to betray. God is absolute good, and He never changes His position; Satan is absolute evil and he never changes his position either. In this respect God and Satan are similar. However, man is a mixture of good and evil. Man stands between God and Satan and has the ability to change. Therefore, man is unpredictable. One day a man may profess his untiring faith in God and desire to serve Him; and the next day the same man may curse God, unite with Satan and become his slave.

Since God did not know how man would respond to His providence for the Messiah, He had no choice but to predict two contradictory results dual prophecies, each possible depending on man's actions. Thus the faith of man was the factor determining which one of the two prophecies would be fulfilled:

In the case of Jesus, if the chosen people of Israel demonstrated faith and united with him, then he would be accepted. The full realization of the prophecy of the Lord of glory would result.

On the other hand, if the people rejected the Messiah when he came, inevitably the second prophecy, that of the suffering Christ, would be fulfilled. And history shows that the chosen people took the second way. Therefore, the prophecy of the suffering Lord became reality instead of the prophecy of the Lord of glory. Thus the crucifixion and the story of the suffering Christ became the course of history.

Since the prophecy of the suffering Christ became fact in the time of Jesus, the prophecy of the Lord of glory has been left unfulfilled. And this is the prophecy which will be fulfilled at the time of the Lord of the Second Advent.

I would like to also observe that the Bible does not provide much record of the life of Jesus prior to his public ministry, except for the story of his birth and a few accounts of his childhood. Haven't you ever wondered why?

For 30 years Jesus lived in great rejection and humiliation. There were many events and circumstances which grieved and agonized Jesus. He was a truly misunderstood person--in his own society and even among his own family. Nobody, absolutely nobody, treated him as the Son of God. He was not even accorded the common respect due to any man. His society ridiculed him. God's heart was very deeply grieved by Jesus' life. If I revealed just a glimpse of some of the situations of heartbreak and sorrow in the life of Jesus, that obscure figure, the man of Nazareth, you would not only be shocked and stunned, but you would burst into tears of sorrow.

God did not wish mankind to know the tragedy, the heart breaking reality of the humiliation of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus was neither his will nor his fault. The death of Jesus was murder, and his body was taken by Satan. Our salvation in Christianity comes not from the cross but from the resurrection. Without the resurrection, Christianity has no power The crucifixion itself was a criminal act of faithlessness. However, the resurrected Jesus brought new hope, new forgiveness, and a new power of salvation. Therefore, when we place our faith in Jesus Christ of resurrection and unite with him, our salvation comes.

Please ask seriously in your prayers for a final answer on these matters. Ask either Jesus Christ or God Himself. If Jesus had lived and fulfilled his primary mission of bringing the Kingdom of God on earth, Christianity would never have been what it is today. The purpose of Jesus' coming was for the salvation of the world. The Jewish people were to be God's instruments. However, salvation was not intended only for God's chosen people. For every soul upon the face of the earth, Jesus is the savior. He is the savior of all mankind. Since Jesus left his mission uncompleted, he also left us the promise of his Second Coming.

Then let us examine when the end of the world will come. This is very important to us. The gospel says that in the last days God will separate the sheep from the goats. What is the difference between these two kinds of animals? Sheep recognize their master, the shepherd, while goats do not follow a shepherd. Today you know that our world is divided into two opposing camps. One is the democratic world, the other is the communist world. Our free world says, "There is a God." We accept our shepherd. The communist world says, "God does not exist.?' They deny their master. Thus the free world may be symbolized by sheep, and the communist world by goats. At the time of the formation of these two conflicting ideological worlds we can know we have come to the end of the world.

How will the Lord of the Second Advent come? Our position as Christians exactly parallels the position of the elders, scribes, and priests at the time of Jesus. In those days, the people were waiting for Elijah and the Messiah to arrive in the clouds of heaven. Why did the people think this way? Why did they hold this kind of belief?

They were simply following the Bible prophecy written down in Daniel 7:13:

'I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.'

Because of the great prophet Daniel, the people of Israel had every reason to expect the arrival of the Messiah with the clouds of heaven. Christians are expecting the arrival of the Lord of the Second Advent in the same way today, from the clouds of heaven.

John said, '. . . many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.' (II John 7)

The Bible says that many people were denying the appearance of Jesus Christ in the flesh. And John condemned those people as the antichrist. But let us not forget the Old Testament prophecy of the coming of the Son of God in the clouds of heaven. Unless we know the whole truth, we, like the people of Jesus' time, become victims of the words of the Bible.

Then, may I ask, what would you do if the Lord returned to earth not in the clouds but as a man in the flesh? What would you do? I am telling you, the Lord of the Second Advent will in fact appear as a Son of Man with flesh and bones. The first thing you may want to say is, "Reverend Moon, you are a heretic."

How God looks at the world

It is important to know on which side God will be and how God fulfills His plan. It is not important whether a man or his views are considered heretical or not. It does not matter how I look at the world or how you look at the world. It only matters how God looks at the world. And in God's view, we once again find in the Bible a dual prophecy concerning the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent. Revelation 1:7 definitely prophesies the arrival of the Lord of the Second Advent with the clouds. However, I Thess. 5:2 states:

'For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.'

There are then two opposing prophecies. What shall we do? Would you simply choose the prophecy which is most convenient for you?

Perhaps the Lord will appear with a loud noise in the clouds of heaven, because the prophecy says so. But on the other hand, the Lord might appear like a thief in the night. If he comes in the clouds, he surely cannot slip into the world unseen like a thief. Tremendous attention would surround the spectacle of his coming in the clouds. I cannot imagine how such a thing could be hidden from your eyes.

Then just what is the truth? We have a crucial question before us. What is the truth? When you see the signs of the Last Days, the Bible urges you to go into a dark room and pray. Who can tell you the time of the Last Days? The angels do not know that day. Jesus said not even the Son of Man knew when that day would. arrive. Only God knows the time of the Last Days. That is why we have our answer from God. I am not saying you must believe me not at all. I am just revealing what I know to be the truth, but you must verify this truth with God.

In the Last Days, the Bible says, do not believe just anybody. Do not believe me, and do not believe your church elders. Do not believe your ministers, and do not believe famous evangelists. Heaven is so near, and you can be lifted up by the spirit so high, that you can speak with God and receive the answer directly from Him if you are earnest enough.

There are many ministers in New Orleans, many clergymen, and many church elders. How many of them are really listening for the voice of God? These ears of ours do not mean much, nor these eyes serve any useful purpose, unless we have spiritual ears and spiritual eyes. Jesus said, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear' (Matt. 11:15)

And he said to his disciples, 'But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear' (Matt. 13:16)

He was not referring to physical sense organs.

When you use your spiritual senses and listen for the word of God, you will find His direction and guidance. But it is not easy to become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. It is very difficult for a foreigner to become a citizen of the United States. How much more difficult it is to remove ourselves from our earthly life and transfer ourselves into the Kingdom of Heaven. But we can achieve this very thing.

We know that even after Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, they were still able to communicate directly with God. Do you think that after the days of the Old and New Testaments, God has for some reason become deaf and dumb? No, God is very much alive, and today we can talk directly to Him. God can speak to you, and you can have a direct confrontation with Him.

The book of Acts of the Apostles says that in the Last Days, ' . . . your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams . . . ' (Acts 2:17)

We must know the truth. We have to know how to apply for citizenship into the Kingdom of God. We have to know when the Lord will come, and how he will arrive.

Even with clear guidance in our lives, there is still the chance of failure to reach the goal. But today people have no guidance, and no direction people feel confident to follow.

Let us look to our Bible and clarify how the Lord of the Second Advent will appear. In Luke 17:20-21, Jesus was asked by the Pharisees how the Kingdom of God was coming. He answered,

'The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; . . . the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.'

Jesus then told his disciples, 'The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it'

But if the Lord comes in the clouds of heaven, how could we not see it? Revelation 1:7 says, '. . . every eye will see him, every one who pierced him . . .'

What can this mean? Why would we not see him? The only way we might miss that day is if we look for the Lord to come from one direction, and he appears from another direction in an entirely unexpected manner, just as Elijah did at the time of Jesus. This is the reason you may not see the Lord at the time of his Second Coming.

Who would dare deny him?

Another mysterious prediction was given by Jesus Christ himself. He declared about the Lord at the Second Coming: 'But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.' (Luke 17:25)

If Christ at his Second Coming appears in the glory of the clouds of heaven, who would dare deny him? Nobody would cause him suffering and pain.

The only way this prophecy can be fulfilled is if people expect his return from the clouds and he suddenly appears as a humble man in the flesh. Do you not think that Christian leaders of today would make the same mistake that the priests and scribes and elders committed at the time of Jesus? Yes! They may very well deny him and reject him, because the manner of his coming would be very difficult for Christian leaders to accept. However, in this way the Bible will be fulfilled. He will First suffer and be rejected by this generation.

Jesus once asked a most important question: 'When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?' (Luke 18:8)

How does this question concern us today, when Christian faith covers the face of the earth? It is because although we do have faith today, it may be mistaken faith--a belief which expects the Lord must come on the clouds of heaven. There are few men on earth with the kind of faith ready to accept the Son of Man even appearing in the flesh. If this were not the situation, the Bible would not be fulfilled. Please note that Jesus did not say there would be no believers, but he said there would be no faith.

Jesus also said, 'Not every one who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers."' (Matt. 7:21-23)

This prophecy cannot be realized if his Second Coming is on the clouds of heaven.

At the time of the Second Advent, people will again be crying out, "Lord, Lord." At the same time they may be in the process of trying to crucify the Lord of the Second Advent himself if he appears in a manner different from their own expectations. They will then be the worst evildoers.

This is the Bible. Those who truly have eyes will see. Those who truly have ears will hear. Throughout history, God has sent His prophets before the time of fulfillment. He warns the people of His plan. No matter how devout Christian faith is today, no matter how many millions of people are in the Christian churches, they and their churches and their world will be doomed to decline once they fail to accept the Lord, however he may appear. This was the tragic fate of the people of Israel when they denied Jesus Christ, regardless of their righteousness otherwise.

We must therefore also be open to a new message. Jesus Christ did not come to repeat the Mosaic Law. Just as Jesus revealed himself with the new truth, the Lord of the Second Advent will reveal himself with God's new truth for our time. That truth will not be simply a repetition of the New Testament.

The Lord will not appear miraculously in the clouds of heaven. Why? Because God is sending His Son to restore the things that once were lost. The first ancestors lost the Kingdom of God on earth. Satan invaded the world and took Eve to his side, and then Eve took Adam away, leaving God alone and separated from people. All people have therefore suffered under the bondage of evil. God must send a new ancestor for humanity, to begin a new history.

Adam must restore a new Eve

The work of God is restoration, always in the opposite direction from His original loss. This means that God first needs to find His perfected Adam, and Adam who instead of betraying God will become one with God. And then Adam must restore his bride in the position of Eve. Perfected Adam and perfected Eve, united together, will be able to overcome Satan and expel him from the world. In this way, the first righteous ancestors of mankind will begin a new history.

God's first beginning was alpha. This was invaded by evil, so He will restore the world in omega. Jesus is referred to as the last Adam in I Col 15:45. God wanted to bless Adam and Eve in marriage when they were perfected. As a heavenly couple, they could bear children of God. This life was not realized in the Garden of Eden. That is why Jesus came in the position of Adam. God intended to find the true bride and have Jesus marry. The True Parents of mankind would have begun in the time of Jesus, and they could have overcome and changed the evil history of the world. Since that hope was not fulfilled by Jesus, after 2,000 years he is returning to earth as a man to complete in full the mission he only partially accomplished. The Kingdom of Heaven on earth will be established at that time.

The new history of goodness will thus begin. With the truth of God and True Parents for mankind, a new alpha in God's history will begin and continue for eternity. The ideal of God is to restore the first God-centered family on earth. With this one model as a center, all the rest of mankind can be adopted into this family. We will become like them, and the first heavenly family will be expanded, multiplying into the tribal, national, and worldwide kingdom of God on earth.

The Kingdom of Heaven is to be literal and tangible. Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and said, '. . . whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' (Matt. 16:19)

So accomplishment on earth must precede fulfillment in heaven; the Kingdom of Heaven will be first achieved on earth.

At this time only an intermediate place in the spirit world is open. That is called Paradise. Jesus and his disciples dwell in Paradise, and even they cannot actually enter the Kingdom of Heaven until it is established on earth. One reason for this is because the Kingdom of Heaven is prepared not for individuals, but for the family of God for the father, the mother, and God's true children.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe my message is absolutely clear and simple. God intended to begin the history of goodness in Adam. But Adam fell. God worked to restore history and begin anew in Jesus Christ. But the people of his time lacked faith in him and did not give him a chance. Therefore, the promise of the Lord of the Second Advent will be fulfilled. He is destined to come to earth as the Son of Man in the flesh. He comes as the third Adam. He will take a bride and thereby bring about the most joyful day of heavenly matrimony, referred to as "the marriage supper of the Lamb" in the book of Revelation. He will fulfill the role of True Parents. True ancestry from God will be established and heaven on earth can then be literally achieved.

We cannot doubt that Christianity today is in a definite crisis. This is a crisis parallel to the time of Jesus, when the established religious institutions failed the Son of God. We recognize this crisis of our time; but we can also see through the haze to the brightly shining day of new hope.

The end of the world is at hand, not only for Christians but for all people throughout the world. The new history of God will begin with the arrival of the Lord. Blessed are those who see him and accept him. It is the hope of Christianity to recognize, receive, and accept the Lord of the Second Advent. The chance has arrived for all of us. The greatest opportunity in any man's lifetime is now knocking at our door. Please be humble, and open yourself to great new hope!

This is the time for unprecedented spiritual awakening. I want you to open your eyes and ears to perceive the truth. This is my hope, that by sharing this message with you, we might unite to prepare for the glorious day of the arrival of the Lord. Let us see the God of history, let us understand the God of providence, and let us embrace the living God in our own lives.

Today is my last day in this city. I hope you will investigate these matters thoroughly. There is opportunity in New Orleans to come to our church and study, or attend our workshops and explore the truth of the Divine Principle. I would not have come here if I did not bring with me new things to tell you. I am revealing new truth. This alone should be a compelling reason for you to look into the depths of this message.

I hope that, as I said in the beginning of our evening together, you will consider these ideas seriously, and pray to God. He will answer you.

Thank you very much.