Sun Myung Moon
May 20, 1984
Excerpts
Sunday Service
Belvedere
May 20, 1984. True Parents with the older children and their spouses. Front from left to right: In Jin Nim, Ye Jin Nim, Un Jin Nim, Hoon Sook Nim, Nan Sook Nim. Back from left to right: Kook Jin Nim, Jin Sung Nim, Hyo Jin Nim, Father and Mother, Hyun Jin Nim and Jin Whi Nim.
The meaning of the title is that heavenly love controls everything. We all know that the human fall occurred because of the misuse of love. The love of God is the center of the universe and all the creation came about as a manifestation of this love. God's urge to love brought about the creation. If no fall had occurred, the world would have been centered upon God's love and God's love would have had total dominion over all things. Since God created the world out of His love, once God's love is consummated, the purpose of the creation is consummated.
Nature: God's Classroom of Love for Man
As you know, according to the Principle of Creation, the creation of all things was done in gradual phases, beginning with the mineral kingdom and progressing through the plant and animal kingdom and culminating in human beings. What is the essence of nature? Nature is the museum of the love of God; it is the place in which God manifested his love, and through it we can perceive the love of God. Nature is the realm of generation and regeneration. A little insect, for example, may exist for less than a year, but its eggs will hatch and the new insect will carry on. The cycle continues.
Did you hear the singing of the birds this morning on the lawn? They were singing love songs to one another. Nature is our textbook. When I heard those birds, I felt inspired to sing a love song to Mother. Everything in creation exists in pairs -- the cats, the birds, the insects and so forth. Nature is our classroom of love -- it is the holy temple which God created in order to teach people how to love. Everything you eat -- vegetables, rice, bread, etc. -- wants to become a part of your body when you have a loving attitude. They want to gain a higher place of love, but when you eat them with a selfish and hateful mind, they revolt against going into your stomach. They don't want to be a part of anything other than love.
Just as the things of creation gladly give themselves up to become part of a loving human body, we humans also willingly die for love. The popular theories of random selection and evolution are completely off base. The truth is that the lower forms of creation willingly sacrifice themselves to the higher beings for the purpose of fulfilling higher love.
I want you to know that love is the most holy and supreme impulse. If you can lay down your life for the sake of your spouse, you are the greatest lover. Likewise, those parents who give their lives for their children have the highest love. Therefore, we must learn the lessons of love from nature. You should naturally want to go out every day and look at the sky and the birds and animals in order to perceive new lessons of love.
Your home must be one of love, not only for your family but also for the things of nature. All the creatures, including the insects, will want to become a part of your "love orchestra." You will have plants, animals, flowers and insects dwelling together in love.
Sadly, the values of American society have become so materialistic. Even when people look for potential marriage partners they often think first of how much money that person makes. In some cases an ambitious young woman will marry an old, rich man because she knows he will die within a few years and she will inherit his wealth! Or perhaps a woman will marry solely in order to claim half of a man's property when she divorces him! If a woman has that kind of thinking, she is filthy inside even though she may look gorgeous on the outside. I feel such a strong urge to reach out and clean up the kinds of things that happen in Hollywood. So many degraded and ugly things need cleaning up there.
Only Love Is Greater Than Life Itself
The universe welcomes those men and women who consider love the supreme value. Does anyone here think I am wrong in saying this? Love is almighty; it is greater than life itself. There are no adjectives large enough to describe love. It is absolute, unchanging, beautiful and sweet; yet none of these words encompass love. Throughout the history of literature and poetry, what is more praised -- love or life? Or are power and money the focus of poetry? No, love is most praised. The reason is very simple, yet perhaps most poets don't fully understand it.
God put the most holy place [the sexual organs] of men and women in the location on the body that was safest and most protected. Particularly women's most holy places are well protected. Therefore, when you women sit down in a careless way it is very ugly to behold. You must sit in a way that maintains the protection and dignity of your holy place.
From this fundamental point of view, the true standards of courtesy, etiquette and protocol can be derived and can endure. The permanent standard of protocol is derived from the permanent value of love. In order to change that ethic or protocol, love itself would have to be changed and no one can do that.
In the fallen world women are abused by men, who want only to gratify themselves sexually; that is far worse than the animals. Love relationships should be done in a beautiful, even artistic way. Engaging in love should be like giving and receiving the most precious gift. Imagine if you were receiving diamond jewelry. You would relish so sweetly the unwrapping of that gift, carefully pulling off the ribbons one by one. The scotch tape and the paper would be taken off one by one. Ultimately, after the process of unwrapping, you would see that diamond.
You Unification Church members should know how to relate to the beauty of nature and how to enjoy being in creation. Even when you are all alone, you can feel the thrill of seeing a lovely flower. You can watch the fish in a bowl as they vigorously chase after each other and you can say, "They are running after love and they never tire of it." Tell yourself, "I will never get tired either because I am running after love." Salmon can teach a beautiful love lesson to humanity because they experience only one love and then they die. They give their lives to love, to hatch their eggs, and then they die. Their lives are consummated by the fulfillment of their love, and they have nothing more to live for.
Now you can understand the concept of love that I am speaking about. When you get up in the morning, why not time your walking with the rhythm of the birds singing? Birds jump around and sing and then they kiss each other. They are great teachers of love. God assigned them the mission of teaching clumsy men how to love!
The Beauty of Marriage
When a husband and wife are truly in love, having a disagreement will not hurt anything; in fact it will increase their loving feelings later. After they clash with each other, they will embrace that much more strongly. Do you couples experience these kinds of things?
So now you understand that your most holy place belongs to your spouse, not yourself. You were not born for your own sake but for the sake of others. As long as your terminology is "we" and "us" the universe supports you, but as soon as you think in terms of "I" and "me" the universe will turn against you. Eventually you would be expelled from the universe.
This is the beauty of marriage -- it pushes people to think always of themselves in terms of another. Likewise, living in a family requires us to think in terms of "we" -- the children think of their parents, the parents think of their children, each child thinks of the other brothers and sisters. But often this is not the case in American homes; for this reason many American families are heading toward destruction. But what about the Unification Church? Are we heading upward or downward? We are rising.
A day such as this -- the Day of the Love of God -- has never before been declared. People simply have not imagined that the love of God was supposed to have dominion over all creation. If you could choose between reading a difficult and complicated philosophy book or a poem about love, which would you prefer? Quite simply, people enjoy the sweetness of love over everything else.
The message I am giving to you today is not only for this particular Sunday but is of universal importance. It is the foundation for all understanding and that is why I have spoken so clearly about it today.
I want you to understand that the human fall wrought total destruction upon God's dream of love and degraded the most holy experiences into the most shameful experiences. Original love was supposed to be man's ticket into heaven; but on the contrary man purchased his ticket to hell through illicit love.
The fall of humankind perverted that ticket to Heaven into a ticket to Hell. We must cleanse the love of the world and stop the multiplication of the consequences of the fall.
Due to the fall, human beings must stand in shame before the lowest forms of creation. The supreme creation of God was degraded to a point far below that of the animals, plants and minerals. However, Americans and people in general today think that they can continue to pursue a degraded form of love and enjoy greater and greater prosperity, but that is not the case. From God's point of view, the way of life in secular America today deserves a judgment worse than fire and brimstone. Furthermore, the consequences of America's actions pervade the rest of the world. Thus the degradation of morality has spread worldwide.
America must kneel down before the rest of the world and repent in shame for fostering immoral values. Everywhere men and women have been exploited by the promotion of this immorality. I came to America to ignite a moral revolution and stop this nation from falling into destruction. People proudly point to all kinds of laws and there are many different levels of courts, but what are these courts accomplishing when the nation is pervaded with corruption? I came here as an emissary from God, to turn this nation around in the right direction. But instead of receiving God's messenger, the power of this nation was turned toward prosecuting him. For this, I am sorry to say it, but I know this country will be punished. Even now I am praying to God to withhold his judgment and give us a little more time to turn this nation around to repentance.
I am not, and never have been, the enemy of the American people. I do not believe that American people of conscience will be judged by this court decision. It was the U.S. government that took the enemy position to me. I have great hope that the people will rally to oppose the government's actions against me. The particular government which persecuted me will not remain forever, but the ideal and the teaching I have brought to America will stay and prosper, eventually to create a righteous government here.
Korea
If Korean Christianity had united with me in 1945, I would not have had to go through all these legal battles. The end of World War II was a unique time in human history. Korea was closely allied with the United States and the leadership of Korea was Christian. If Christianity had united with me then, the entire nation could have been united. This was the first and only time such an opportunity arose in history. It was the opportunity for Christianity to redeem the world.
The Messiah should have appeared once Christianity was ready to take dominion over the world; that was the ideal time for the Second Advent. That special time was the point toward which God had been working throughout the two thousand years of Christian history; such an opportunity has never arisen before or since. God knew the value of this opportunity; thus, He wanted the United States, centered upon Christianity, to take the worldwide position of a twentieth century empire like the Roman Empire. Through this nation, the world could become Christian and that is why the United States had the position it did.
At that dispensational time, I was in Jesus' position; established Christianity was in Judaism's position; and the United States was in the position of the Roman Empire. The Korean nation was in the position of Israel. All these elements comprised God's side. That was the historical parallel. Once Korean Christians recognized the Messiah and united with him, all these steps could have been fulfilled within seven years. Before I reached the age of 40, the entire worldwide dispensation would have been fulfilled.
True Mother would have come out of the Christian realm. Perhaps she would have been a British woman. It could be. Why not? Once the worldwide foundation had been accomplished, I would have picked the True Mother on the world level. Imagine if the royal princess of England had become the Rue Mother. I am only interested in one thing: how to restore the world.
It is because our movement was rejected by Korean Christianity that our boundaries became so limited. If we had been supported, the Korean movement would have immediately become insignificant because the movement would have become worldwide and universal, with no boundaries. Let's say that the True Mother had come from Great Britain, the source of English-speaking culture. The United States is in the position of child to Great Britain. It would have been very rapid and easy for America to humble itself to Britain.
With such circumstances, God's providence would have progressed very rapidly. The Messiah would have had dominion over the world. Even in the face of total opposition, I was able to create a worldwide foundation. Imagine how much I could have accomplished in seven years if I had been given the proper welcome. Do you think I am capable of that? Communism would have been stopped at that time; it certainly would not have come as far as it has.
However, all these were destroyed when established Christianity opposed me. That is why communism was able to grow rampantly and conquer over two-thirds of the world at this time. If I had been supported and accepted by Christianity, what leading powers of the world would have opposed me? This Christian nation of America would not have opposed me; Judaism would not have opposed me; neither would Christianity or the free world.
The United Nations was created in ignorance of what should be the guiding principles. The United States should have taken the governing position of righteousness over the United Nations; however, they gave up their world leadership.
I am sure that some agencies of the U.S. government must be interested in knowing what Reverend Moon's first message is, after the Supreme Court's rejection of our suit. I am happy to let the CIA or the FBI or anyone else get recordings of the things I am saying about the United States. This nation and world can never be ruled properly by Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, or any party. Only through the guidance and inspiration of God's principles can anyone give proper leadership to this world. Reverend Moon, inspired by God, has a plan by which he could inspire the leadership of this nation. If they would follow these directions for seven years, I know this nation could be completely cleaned up.
Brothers and sisters listening to the Day of the Love of God speech on May 20, 1984 in Belvedere.
It Is Time for the Unity of Christianity
Even under continuing opposition and persecution, I have continued to love this nation. We held a special day-long organizational meeting yesterday at East Garden to fulfill God's wishes at this time. I want to create an organization in this country that truly represents God's forces, greater than the Republican, Democratic, or Communist parties. We need an organization that God can rely on.
This sort of organization was supposed to have been inaugurated 42 years ago, at the time of Christianity's great opportunity. However, I had to begin from the very bottom to erect a new foundation through the Unification movement around the world. Now, we are announcing the inauguration of this organization. It is time for the unity of Christianity. At last the unification of Christianity is happening.
I was in Korea at the time of my indictment. The U.S. government was hoping that I would not return; they were shocked to see me walk into the courtroom and proclaim, "I am not guilty." Why did I return to America? I cannot abandon my mission to unite Christianity with the Unification movement.
Jesus Christ was not supported by his own disciples; he was rejected by Judaism and the chosen nation; he was crucified by the Roman Empire. Thus I am in the position to restore these failures of two thousand years ago. I wanted to go through the court battle, which is the modern day crucifixion launched by the U.S. government. None of my disciples have fled; Christianity has united in support of me, rather than cursing me; eventually the public opinion of this twentieth century Roman Empire will come to support me. By going through this, I am restoring all those historical failures.
After all this time, the New York Times has finally spoken the truth about me! As they put it, the U.S. government has won the battle but has lost the war. Public opinion is coming to the side of Reverend Moon. More importantly, the Christianity of the United States is rallying to my side. All these things have happened through the court battle.
When Jesus was crucified, he received no support from his disciples, or Judaism, or the chosen nation, or the Roman Empire. But when the U.S. government crucified me, it was different. The Unification Church became united and solid as a rock. Christianity turned around and supported me. Korea, in the position of the chosen nation, has been swept with indignation and many people have united with me. For this reason, at the end of April we achieved our goal of seven million people in IFVOC.
Japan is reaching 7.5 million membership in IFVOC. Ultimately the United States, which links Korea and Japan, will have forty million members of IFVOC and CAUSA will have seventy million people worldwide. American public opinion will see me as a hero.
The purpose of this organization is not political; its purpose is for the salvation of the United States and the free world. Those seventy million people will be united, not for any political purpose, but as God's force to stop the spread of worldwide communism and bring about a new, moral world.
According to the law of indemnity, I have indemnified the persecution of Jesus which occurred on the national level; I came to restore on the worldwide level what Jesus was not able to do two thousand years ago. Because of this achievement, this is an historical moment upon which God and True Parents have declared the Day of the Love of God.
What Matters Is Historical and Public Opinion
The final stage was supposed to have taken only seven years, but because of the rejection of Christianity it took 21 years. During that time, I moved onto the worldwide level. Today it doesn't matter what any U.S. court, including the Supreme Court, declares. What matters is what history and public opinion say. This is the ultimate court in which I shall be vindicated. Thus the fact that people around the world have rallied to my support is the real victory.
Most saints and religious leaders have never been able to walk the path I am walking while they were alive; only after their deaths did they make their greatest achievements. But now I am going over this ultimate hill, still alive and strong. This is a tremendous victory in itself. I want you to understand that the True Parents could not install themselves on the perfection level. Because the human fall occurred during the perfection level of the growth stage, the True Parents appeared there as well. From there we have waged the worldwide battle.
Due to the rejection of Christianity, the seven years had to be prolonged to 21 years. But if the Christians had accepted me right after World War II, my mission would have been accomplished in seven years. During the 21-year period, I indemnified two thousand years of Christian history, as well as the two hundred years of American history. This is why I held an important rally during the bicentennial year in America; that was our showdown on the worldwide level.
I love America and my heart is not for revenge. I am still looking forward to this nation's salvation. My duty is always to love Cain.
Il Jeong One Heart Prayer Session
I am saying to God, "Please postpone your wrath and punishment upon the United States and let me take responsibility for their wrongdoing. Even if I go to jail, I want to be responsible for their wrongdoing, I want to be responsible once I am free."
At the moment I learned of the Supreme Court's decision I prayed to God to hold back His judgment. I immediately declared to God that I would have no sorrow for myself but for the nation and the world. I asked Mother and the children to be totally united and have a special prayer and pledge. Furthermore the older Blessed couples and leaders of the movement pledged themselves to be totally united with the True Parents and True Children.
Yesterday I held a meeting of the worldwide leadership, lasting all day and night. We created a special organization as well as a chain prayer session called Il Jeong. Il mean one and Jeong means heart -- the one heart prayer session. It started all night last night at the East Garden holy ground. The focus of the Il Jeong is this: that we shall take responsibility and repent for the wrongdoings of America and the free world, ultimately to bring salvation to them.
If we do not do this, there is no way that God's goal after World War II would be fulfilled, even at this late hour. The era of just paying indemnity is over; everything we accomplish from now on becomes a plus. We can build our tower of victory. Whatever we do will give God more power and dominion over the world. Centering upon the spirit of the love of God, all these things will come about; not upon a spirit of vengeance. We can post this sign: "The Love of God Will Govern," because, after all, we are entering into the direct dominion of God.
We can do this only because the True Parents are at the center. By the fall of Adam and Eve everything was lost to the satanic world. Thus the wrong and bad parent took over the world. But now the True Parents have brought the original love of God, with which they are wiping up and cleaning out all illicit and filthy things of the fallen world. This new era is beginning with the court battle, which is my time of crucifixion.
Immediately after his crucifixion, Jesus descended into Hell and stayed there for three days. He restored his power of dominion through the love of God. By the same token, I must descend into the hell of this earthly world in order to establish the dominion of the love of God here. Then I will resurrect.
I am making the declaration that Jesus was in the parental role in spirit world; now True Parents are on earth, centering on the original love and claiming God's dominion over all humanity and all things by overcoming all the power of Hell, both on earth and in spirit world. This is the declaration ceremony.
Day Of The Love Of God
On May 16, 1984, at 12:54 a.m. I declared the Day of the Love of God. This is the turning point upon which original love will begin to govern the world which has always been governed by satanic love. I have already set the condition, so there is no possibility for Satan to invade or accuse this victory; he has no power to infiltrate my conditions in any way. Before this turning point, all the hard work you did was to pay off historical debts. But from today forward, every drop of sweat and blood and all your hard work will add to our tower of victory.
Until now, God's side did not have such a position in the world and Satan could always take everything away from God. But now God will take everything from the satanic position into the heavenly position, with no strings attached. I will never return to Korea or anywhere until we have achieved unification -- first of all, internal unity of the Unification Church movement; and the external unity of the Unification Church and the Christian world.
Until I accomplished this foundation, I did not feel I had accomplished my mission. But now I see that the Unification movement has become solidly united, centering upon the True Parents. Furthermore, the Christian community has united solidly with me. For this reason I now feel free to go anywhere and work any place else. I do not look at the American people as my enemies; I see them as restored and original people. When I look at them in that way, the more opposition they give us, the greater victory it becomes for Heaven.
The government is the servant of the U.S. people and American public opinion is supporting me at this time. Therefore America is not lost, and I look at it with the eyes of true, original love. It is only a matter of time in which America will surrender to justice and the truth about me; the free world as well. Even those who have been my archenemies will turn around and say, "Reverend Moon, we misunderstood you but you are a living and loving saint, special throughout human history." Once that condition has been established, the entire world can be educated within forty days. This is the satellite age, after all.
For this reason, we must not delay even one more minute. If you delay, you will create the opportunity for Satan to invade and weaken you, so you must march forward right now! In order to accomplish our goal, we must accomplish the goal of forty million. Remember what the Christians of the first century had to endure. They were forced to hide within the Roman Empire in the catacombs; they were captured and fed to the lions in the Coliseum. When we think of those glorious martyrs, we know that no matter how hard our work becomes it never approaches their level of sacrifice. There is no way we can excuse ourselves.
Are You Ready?
In order to prevent satanic infiltration within our movement from now on, I will ask you several questions that I want you to answer from your heart. Are you ready?
The first question I direct to True Mother: Are you ready, unto your life, to give your total love, loyalty and dedication to the ideal of God and True Parents, so that we shall achieve this goal at any cost and at any sacrifice?
Mother said, "Yes, Father:"
Now, because of Mother's clear and loyal answer, Satan has no way to infiltrate this holy family, even if Mother makes a mistake.
The next question I am asking to the four Blessed children here, led by Hyo Jin, the eldest son. I ask them if, from now on, the are totally united with the concept and ideal of the True Parents. Are they willing to faithfully execute their duties as True Children and to accomplish, unto their lives, the goals of Heavenly Father and True Parents?
Hyo Jin answered clearly, "Yes, Father."
So from now on, even if you make a mistake and do the wrong thing it will not affect the destiny or mission of the Unification Church. This pledge was made upon love.
Now I ask all the Blessed couples, headed by the 36 couples, this question: Do you pledge to unite totally with the True Parents and the True Children? Will you fulfill the goals of the True Parents even unto your lives, fighting as gallant soldiers of heaven? Will you bring the victory, on the foundation of the original love of God?
The congregation answered, "Yes, Father"
So far all your mistakes and wrongdoings have been paid for by the True Parents, but after your pledge this is no longer the case. From this time on, you will be taking responsibility for your own mistakes. In other words, no matter what mistakes you make, they will not become a hindrance to the True Parents' dispensation in the world. Your pledge was that you would not be a burden to the True Parents or the Unification Church, but that you will become their champion.
The Day of the Love of God was never an established fact before, so all your misdemeanors were suffered by the True Parents. But from this day forward, things are different. All the things that members did wrong in the past always came back to me and people accused me. But that will not be happening any more. The time has come for you to be the responsible ones. This is a day of liberation for the True Parents. The responsibility is now upon your shoulders, not mine.
Today we have gathered together the Unification Church leaders from all around the world, including more than 120 countries. Upon this occasion, will you pledge your life for the fulfillment of the dispensation of God? If so, please raise your hands and say, "Yes, Father." Thank you, Amen. By making that pledge, you gave liberation to me and Mother.
The Love Of God Prevails
At this hour I declare what I have already declared in prayer: that there shall be no more fear of death. That fear shall be overcome by the power of God's love. When Heung Jin passed away, I overcame the sorrow that people normally feel when a beloved son dies. By the power of God's love I proclaimed January 3 the Day of the Victory of Love. On that day, I declared our total liberation from the fear of death.
Likewise I am saying today that the love of God has overcome any fear of imprisonment. That is why I proclaimed today as the Day of the Love of God -- only the love of God prevails and shall have dominion over the world. The turning point has been reached. We shall see the rejuvenation of joy in the Unification Church. Within Christianity, God is providing us with this great momentum.
I have already said this at East Garden so I would like to say it officially today. Let this declaration go out to the world from the True Parents. From now on, from a hundred battles we will win a hundred victories and nothing less. Every move we make will bring us the victory. The indemnity era is over. We are beginning to build our tower of victory. Today is the day of declaration of this significant message, along with the Day of the Love of God.
This declaration is not only a horizontal one. It has been made in the eyes of God and the spirit world as well. The entire universe -- heaven and earth -- are listening to this declaration. We have our slogan for the year -- Creation of the Fatherland -- and this is our goal here on the physical earth, centered upon the original love of God.
Everyone please stand up. Make up pairs by holding onto one person's hand. Raise your free hand above your head. We are going to pray and you will receive a blessing from God and True Parents. You are standing in pairs because you can only be blessed in the sight of God when you have created a pair. You must create a circuit by which to receive the blessing from God through True Parents, that is what you are doing symbolically now.
A good day will come because you have made a good turning point. In the meantime, let us really work hard and sweat to hasten that good day. Everything will be harvested into Heaven. So far, all that good work went to pay indemnity but from now on, everything will be incorporated into our tower. Now you know the term Il Jeong. This is the Day of the Love of God. January 3, 1984 was the Day of Victory of Love. Today, I was finally able to declare the Day of the Love of God itself.
By the Seunghwa of Heung Jin -- his elevation and ascension -- a new gate was opened in spirit world. Now spirit persons can be united to work actively with the earthly realm! By today's declaration, the heavenly gates are all opened up by the power of True Parents. This power will penetrate all the way to hell in spirit world; by the same token, it will go all the way into the most hellish places here on earth, including prisons.
When Jesus was crucified, he went into Hell for three days and opened the gates there. By the same token, by today's declaration I am opening up the door of the earthly hell for three days. Everything shall be indemnified and this will bring the new turning point.
There is just one thing I would like you to know -- through the crucifixion of Jesus, everything was lost. But by this declaration of the Love of God and the victory of the True Parents, everything is restored.