Sun Myung Moon
July 20, I984
Translator, Col. Bo Hi Pak
East Garden
East Garden, July 20, I0 p.m., Father waves goodbye to his family, leaders and members. Front left: Noon Sook Nim and Jin Whi Nim.
"This is a glorious and victorious, historical day," Father said in his last address before he left for Danbury prison. Two hundred members from the New York area had come to East Garden to see Father off.
The message he gave on that evening was most powerful and hopeful, truly inspired by the living God Himself. Mother mentioned on the following Sunday that this speech should be our guide until we win the victory.
My faith will not change, wherever I go! When you say your faith will never change, it means that your mind will never change. By the same token, the world that I am pursuing will not change either. Wherever I go, whether to a high place or a low one, my life will be the same life.
Since we do not have much time today, I would like to give you a very short and simple lecture. The work of God is to make unity. If there had been no fall, then men and women would all have their minds and bodies united. Then with the unity of men and women, the ideal would be achieved. However, the world in which we live has not become one yet. The world is nothing more than the extension of individual men and women -- the macrocosm of men and women. Almost no one you ask could claim that their mind and body is always united. Therefore the world in which we are living is not the world God wanted. It is the fallen world.
Since there are no individual men and women united perfectly in mind and body, there are no families which are perfect, no societies, no nations and no world which is perfect. Whenever a person becomes completely united in mind and body, God wants to deal with that person as one individual. When men and women become united, then God becomes the subject or center of the two. If a certain tribe becomes totally united, then God becomes the center of that particular tribe. Therefore, it makes no difference how large the population becomes, God wants to be the center and subject of everybody.
The Unified World
At that point, the unified world comes into being. Within the unified world we would have unified nations, unified communities, unified tribes, families and so forth. Do you think God would like to travel around the world to sight-see once that unification has been achieved, or would He like to do that at some intermediate stage, say, the level of unified tribes or nations? What do you think? Certainly God would want to wait to travel the world until it is completely unified. God knows that Reverend Moon understands His mind.
What is the path I am walking? My ultimate mission as the son of God is to bring about the unity of the entire world. I want you to understand that if there had been no fall, God would never have had any problem in visiting this world. People would have become perfected and would have automatically welcomed and attended God. It would not have mattered how many billions of people were born; they would all have been incorporated into the unified world.
If Adam and Eve had not fallen, they would have automatically created that unified family, clan, tribe, nation and world. If that was the reality, then God would be free to travel throughout the world in total joy, experiencing unified families, tribes, nations and the whole world. Wherever He would go, He would have unity and He would have His people.
But because of the fall, division came into being on every level. Barriers came into the world on every level. God has to deal with a divided world. That is the tragedy of God and man. God is not at the center of this compartmentalized, divided world; instead, Swan is at the center and is running it. Incredible conflict exists on every level of this world, first of all on the level of individual mind and body. The mind and body oppose and conflict with each other. Throughout history, no one has come to eliminate the roots of conflict in this world.
There is conflict between individuals, between families, between tribes, and between nations. There is conflict between East and West. Satan is the champion of division; he knows precisely how to divide the world. Therefore, a Godly man must appear who has the power of bringing unity, according to God's will. If such a man should appear, with the ability to bring about unity and overcome the power of divisiveness, how much joy would that bring to God!
Many saints lived throughout history and they were always unifiers; they tried to bring unity in the face of adversity and never allowed themselves to become divided. Among the many saints, the greatest of all was Jesus Christ. Jesus was the son of God and he came to unite the world, with the greatest power of unity that anyone had ever seen. He brought unity among different races and cultures. Even his enemies, the forces of Satan, could be brought into unity by him. I want you to understand that Jesus prayed for his enemies on the cross because his purpose and mission was to bring unity to everyone.
However, when Jesus was bearing the cross he was a single, solitary person. Jesus was alone. Judaism as not supporting him; the chosen nation was not supporting him; the Roman Empire was not supporting him. But today, what am I doing? I came in this modern day to bring about unity. I am a unifier -- casting fire to bring about unity. Thus, no matter what we face, we will succeed. The forces of Satan are trying to divide the Moonies; they are trying to divide Christianity, but they cannot do it.
Tears of Unity
The entire world is watching the Unification Church and Reverend and Mrs. Moon. Many people are curious about Mrs. Moon and how she is taking the recent turn of events.
Also they are wondering if the Unification Church is shattered into pieces. But on the contrary, under these difficult circumstances, the Unification Church has found itself most powerful. If Mother sheds tears, they are not tears of tragedy or defeat; they are the tears of unity, tears for bringing hope to the future. God's method has always been that of being hit, and then restoring it, over and over again throughout history. Thus, we can sometimes weep knowing that our tears will bring greater determination, greater hope within ourselves to allow us to march forward to the great victory. But if we become defeatists we will never become the people who can receive the ultimate blessings from God. Those ultimate blessings can come only to those who endure being hit and never falter, just continuing to move forward.
Even if I were opposed by the entire United States, I would never be defeated. I am ready to receive the blessing that goes far beyond any blessing of the United States. We are growing every day. Today we are greater than yesterday; tomorrow we will be greater than today. If God provides the way for me to bring about the unity of the 4.5 billion people of this world, I will not hesitate an instant to take that path.
When the Supreme Court rejected our review on May I4, I never wavered in asking God, "What way are You willing to lead us?" Since then, in the past two months virtually all of Christianity has become united. Today I am going the road of incarceration and I am asking God, "What is Your next chapter for me? Let Your will be done and bring the unity of all humankind, centering upon the True Parents." I know that no matter where I go, I will find people who will follow; strangers will follow, even beyond the Unification Church. All the unified families, tribes, nations and world will all follow after me.
When I walk over the hill, the unified world will be waiting there to welcome me. Billions of people will become united into one. There is a way for the dwelling of God to be with mankind. For the first time, unity between God and man will be achieved.
Therefore I walk the road of the cross with hope and a totally victorious mind. Here we are together, people from all different cultures, five different colors of skin. You must follow me in the manner of unity. All you blessed couples must follow with your entire family united. All the members throughout the world must follow in unity; that is the only way you can follow me. Because of this historical day, there is great hope for unity, starting from Mother and myself, the East Garden family, and the entire membership of the Unification Church, as well as for the rest of humanity. Because of this day, unification will become a reality. It will continue to grow, further and further.
This is a glorious and victorious, historical day. For that reason, I don't want you to send me off in tears. If you have tears automatically streaming down your face, they must not be tears of tragedy; they must be tears of determination, telling me, "Trust us. We are going to bring a hundred times greater victory in the days to come." I want you to understand that if you have sadness in your heart today, there is only one way to alleviate it. On the day that I return, you must be able to share with me about all the many people who became united. That is the only way you can heal your sadness.
I am going the road of confinement for the purpose of unity. Inside the prison I will work even harder to bring about greater unity within the Unification movement and the Christian community. Also I am working to bring unity between the Unification movement, the Christian community, and other religions. That is the purpose of my going to prison today. Therefore, I want all of you to unite. When you are united, every door will be opened to you. That is the God-given territory of ours.
When Jesus was crucified, he went into hell and opened the doors there first of all. Today I am bearing my cross, but I will not die; I will open the doors of hell as a living person. From that point on, resurrection and Pentecost will come. That is the way I understand today's meaning.
Become Unifiers
The living God never dies. Therefore, my cross will only bring unification and victory. The doors to I20 nations will be opened from today forward, depending upon how much you move. Today I am going as a champion, to bring the unification of all of humanity, as well as the unification of heaven and earth.
You are the children of live Parents; thus you must inherit my spirit and tradition. That means you must also become unifiers. Become united among yourselves and help others to unite. Our mass weddings, such as the six thousand couples, are symbolic examples of my work of bringing unity between people from all the six continents, with different languages, cultures and skin colors. The Unification Church members are one in mind. Our goal is to fulfill the will of God. The will of God is to bring the unity of humankind. We are marching toward that goal!
The road of suffering will have no power over me. With my determination, I confront all difficulties and shatter them. I am opening up the highway to the horizon and beyond. All the way to the victory. Even unto my life, even if the time comes to give up my life, it will be given up for the unification of humankind. Then God would erect a monument to me as the champion of unity. Certainly anyone who died under those circumstances would be launched like a rocket directly into the bosom of God's heart. So do not worry.
As Jesus was hanging on the cross, he never told people to weep for him. Instead, he told them to weep for their own children, their own people and nation and the world. Jesus could see the misery that would come to the world, so he told people not to cry for themselves or for him but to cry for their posterity. I want you to understand that today there are only a few people here listening to me today, but there are many people around the world who are shedding their tears in prayer, pouring out their hearts for the sake of East Garden.
Have I been waging a battle for an impossible dream? No, I knew that the entire world would eventually rally around me in this battle. It is a dire emergency. From now on, you can go out and shout to the world and everyone's heart will be melted. Their consciences will be awakened. You can unite them with your heart.
As we are working for greater levels of unification, we will have greater levels of success; we will not decline. Make your determination to become the catalyst for the unity of the world. This is your moment of commitment. The Unification Church is not alone in the world. There are many other people and groups who are siding with us now. The time has come that people will stop mocking and scorning you for being Moonies. Now you will be admired and you will be recognized as having a great leader. This is our own time of unification. We must stand up and move forward and achieve our goals.
When morning comes in the east, a beautiful sunrise comes. I want you to understand that the Unification sunrise is now coming to the world. Now its sunbeams are becoming stronger and stronger and we will march forward forevermore. First we must ignite the sun of the individual; then the individual ignites the sun of the family; then the sun of the nation and ultimately of the world and the universe. This is how we will grow. Thus there is no time to rest and certainly no time to weep and despair. We have only one road to go -- the road of determination and marching forward. Why is that? It is because we are the champions who must liberate God. From that point of liberation, we can take our dominion over the creation. I know that from that point forward, the Kingdom of God on earth shall become a reality. That is the goal toward which I am marching.
So far, we have prepared a container; now we are preparing something to put into that container -- the results, the victory. I am on the forefront of the marching lines, carrying that container. I am merely standing in the front of that line and my body behind me is going the same direction, with the same purpose. We share the mission of world unification. That is the job we must do. I am going to open the doors of hell, so while I am doing that, you must take care of this world. Unification is your sublime duty and your goal. This is the beginning point for our march.
Those who are going to march according to my instructions, please stand up and shout Amen!
You Blessed children who have been participating in the workshop during these past few weeks have an especially important mission for this time. You are going to be united with the live Parents' children; be totally united and do not think about anything else.
Act Honorably and Responsibly
I have one piece of advice for all of you members. I know that you are feeling a desire to go to the prison and be near me, however we must conduct ourselves in an absolutely orderly fashion. Therefore, no one must come to the prison without having the express permission of Mr. Hyo Yul [Peter] Kim, who has been given the special duty of being near me. His telephone number and address will be available. You must never come to Danbury without permission because if anything unusual happens, it becomes my responsibility. Also, it can cause some shame to me. I want to be proud of you, so I want you to act honorably and responsibly. Do you understand?
I want you to understand that I am going to prison on the worldwide level at this time. I have already gone to prison on the individual level, the family and the national level. This is my destiny. That means you cannot visit me in the individual capacity; I am now on the worldwide level. Jesus told his people, if you want to follow me, follow me with your cross. Therefore, if you want to follow me, you must bear the worldwide cross. Once you are victorious with the worldwide cross, you can come to visit me. After you have been victorious in carrying your own cross, then I will be able to come out. I want you to understand that.
When I was in the North Korean prison, my mother came to visit me. She walked many hundreds of miles to visit me, all the way across the peninsula. The moment she saw me, she began to cry so strongly. At that point, I shouted out to my own mother, calling her by her given name, not 'Mother,' "I am not just your son. I have only come to this world through you. I am the son of God. I want you to think of me on that level; think that you have met the son of God. You must listen to me -- you gave birth to me, so you should be as great as your son. You cannot be a coward or weak. You must walk forward and be courageous, encouraging me."
Today I am saying the same thing to you. Do not ever behave in a weak or cowardly fashion. You must be proud and courageous. Even without your encouragement, I will follow the highest possible road of the son of God. Thus, instead of trying to come and visit me, go out to the battlefield. Go out and bring unity to the world. Do not waste your time coming to the prison. Bring the victory for God in the world. Even if you were killed by a runaway truck while working for God, that would be far greater than trying to come to see me in prison.
Therefore, only with permission can you come to visit me. That is the one instruction from me that you must obey. Will you obey?
Think of it, citizens from the entire world will want to come to visit me. How can I accommodate everybody? I only have one body. In two days, the people in Danbury are already overwhelmed by the presence of Moonies. Most prisoners are visited only once a month. So if you come every day and make a scene and are reported by the media, that is not what I want at all. I do not want you to spend your energy in that fashion. Also that would bring an enormous burden upon the prison officials and that burden would fall upon me. Don't you think so?
Holy Ground in Danbury
You can come to visit the holy rock at Belvedere. I will eventually instruct Mr. Kim to dedicate some area in Danbury as a holy ground where you can go to pray, but do not go near the prison. I do not want you to be stupid. Be wise.
Mother will probably come every other day to visit me, so you can find out about my situation from her. Also those who accompany Mother can share their experiences with you. Do you follow?
If you feel such a strong desire to come to visit me, here is a method. Close your eyes and open them. That is one visit. Do it anytime you want and you can visit me, even a thousand times. I thank you for your one thousand visits.
Now the only job remaining for you is to go out and fight the heavenly battle. Bring unification -- that is your job.
We will have a crusade. Thirty thousand video tapes of the Divine Principle will eventually be distributed. How many ministers are you going to contact and bring together? Even those ministers who are not members of our church are going to bring together ten churches, so you have to do at least ten times more. That means you must contact one hundred ministers. That is your responsibility. If you have fulfilled that responsibility, then I might allow you to come to see me.
Show your determination by standing and giving three cheers of Mansei.