Sun Myung Moon
October 20, 1973
Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
Twenty-one city speaking tour in the United States
Photo date and location unknown
Ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for your coming tonight. I thank God for this opportunity because I have been looking forward to visiting this city and meeting all of you.
Because we speak different languages, even though I can speak, from your standpoint I am dumb. Also from my standpoint, even though you can hear, you are deaf. In order to correct this, we need the man standing next to me as my interpreter. However, as you know, interpretation from one language to another is not an easy task. So this man beside me really needs your sympathetic understanding.
My topic tonight is “God’s Hope for Humanity” This subject is vast in nature and rather complicated in content. I will try my best to stay on the central point of my topic.
God and human beings are subject and object partners
If there is a God, God definitely needs human beings. God created all things, but in creation, human beings occupy the most precious and distinguished position. It is therefore very important for us to have a clear understanding of the relationship between God and ourselves. Historically, there have been many theories concerning this relationship. Varying opinions, theological concepts and academic schools abound, however the true, living relationship between God and humankind remains an unsettled question.
Since this relationship is so fundamental to life, our understanding cannot proceed until we have clarified this question thoroughly. As we pursue the answer, we discover that there are two main perspectives that we might take. One view is from God’s standpoint, and the other is from our point of view. A variety of religions have developed through developing these two perspectives, and there must be one principle common to all religions, one that can clarify the relationship between God and ourselves. God wants us to understand this truth in the ultimate sense.
As someone living on this earth, what do you consider to be most precious? If somebody were to ask you this question, I’m sure your answers would vary. Some might say, “Power.” Some would undoubtedly say money, Money is everything.” And others would suggest, “Wisdom or knowledge.” Then are those elements—power, money, knowledge—the most important things in life? If we take time to reflect on this question, we can conclude that there is ultimately no one who will claim these as most precious. What, then, do we hold as most precious? When we look into this question deeply, other thoughts emerge. We soon come to the conclusion that the most precious thing is love; love is the most precious thing in life. And second to love, life itself is most precious. If we have love and life, we need one more thing—an ideal. These three elements, love, life, and an ideal, are not just precious and profound in value, they are the very things that make our lives worth living.
While it may seem like an expression from a fairytale, it is understandable that we need to emphasize the notion of unchanging, unique and eternal love. No one wishes for love to change. Regardless of whether we are teenagers, middle-aged adults, or senior citizens, we all wish for love that is eternal. Also, in the same way, with respect to life, there is no one who wishes to live for a short period of time and then just die. We wish for life to last forever, to be unchanging, uniquely special, and absolute.
The goal of your religions is ultimately for salvation and eternal life. If there were no belief in eternal life, we would not have religion. Religion is necessary because it is through religion that people can strive toward the ideal of love. Thus, love, life and an ideal are the most precious things to us, and we cannot help but strive for eternal life.
Furthermore, we see that the words “love” and “ideal” are without meaning by themselves. Love exists only when there is someone to love and someone to be loved by. In the same way, an ideal is something to be shared with someone. Love and ideals come alive as soon as there is a reciprocal and complementary relationship of giving and receiving established. We are in the object partner position and always need someone to be in the subject partner position. Love and ideals will bud and blossom into full flower only when two elements are in a relationship as subject and object partners.
Are we the cause, the source of the universe, or did someone create us? How can we be the cause of the universe when we do not even create ourselves? It is obvious that we are resultant beings. We are the products of some cause. Therefore, a cause that is in the subject partner position has to exist. There must be a cause for our existence. This subject partner, or cause, then, is the essential reality. We must be as certain of this as we are of our own existence. Whatever name you choose for that cause does not matter. The most important thing is that there is a causal being. And we call that being, “God.”
Let us put our question to God. “What is the most precious thing to you, God?” The reply will be no different from your answer and mine. God will answer, “Love, life and my ideal are the most precious things to me.” Does God need money? God created all things. Everything belongs to God anyway. God does not need money. Does God need power? God is already the source of all power. What about knowledge? God is omniscient and the source of all knowledge. Yes, God is all these things, but God cannot have love, life and the ideal alone. God needs to share, to give and receive with someone in a reciprocal relationship. Even almighty God cannot experience the value of love, life and His ideal when He is alone. That is why God created human beings to be object partners.
Now I shall ask, “Why do we act the way we do?” The answer is simple: because God acts that way. All human traits originate in God. Why are we the way we are? Because God is that way.
We are mirrors reflecting the characteristics of God. God is just like you and me. God is the origin. Therefore, our love comes from the love of God. Our life comes from the life of God, and our ideals come from the ideals of God. We feel these are the most precious things because God felt these were most precious first. God is the subject partner of love, the subject partner of life, and the subject partner of ideals. We are the object partners of love, the object partners of life, and the object partners of ideals. Therefore, if God is absolute, we are to be absolute. If God is unchanging, we are to be unchanging. If God is unique, we are to be unique. If God is everlasting, we are to be everlasting. Our eternal life is not a fantasy. It is reality. Since God is eternal, human beings were created to be eternal. Otherwise, we would not reflect the nature of our eternal God.
Human beings are God incarnate
If there is a God of love, life and ideals, and that God does not manifest all these qualities in human beings as His object partners, then God has defeated the very purpose of creating. God either projected God’s own full value in the object of creation, or created nothing at all. God is the subject partner to human beings, and we are the object partners to God. An object partner is the full reflection of the subject partner. So we are the visible form of God, and God is our invisible form. Subject and object partners are one in essence. God and human beings are one. Human beings are God incarnate. Otherwise, we would not be able to reflect God’s full image. God could not realize joy, the purpose of the creation. When we as object partners are not perfect as God is perfect, we cannot reflect the full love, life and ideal of God. So human beings, the object partners of God, are as important in value as God.
If I made excited gestures and shouted to an empty auditorium, I am sure that anyone who saw me would wonder, “Is that man crazy?” Although if there were someone listening and responding, some object partner there to receive my words, even one small child in front of me, and I poured out my heart and soul to that person, then I would be considered normal. The sole difference is the presence of a person as an object partner.
What I am trying to illustrate is the value of an object partner. As we are the object partners to God, we are placed in a position equal to God. Thus, people share the same value as God and are just as important as God. Even though God is most high, and noble and mighty, God too has to have an object partner. Otherwise God feels no joy. Joy comes when you receive stimulation from the object partner. Not even God can be joyful alone. Please realize that God created us and the universe for joy. However God’s joy remains dormant until God gives and receives with an object partner.
Until now, through Christianity we placed God so high up in heaven, and pushed people so low in hell, that there has been an unbridgeable gap between us. A wide and raging river has separated us from God. We do not dare to reach out to God as a living reality. We have been unable to realize that God is so close, so real, and so approachable, that we can even dwell with God. We are supposed to be the living temples of God. Yet conventional Christianity has been unable to make that a reality.
No matter how wealthy and famous you may be, unless you have someone with whom to give and receive, so that you can share your joy, your sorrow, your opinions and your ideals, you are just a poor person.
We feel joy and sadness because God’s heart can feel joy and sadness. Not until this time in history did we ever believe that God could feel sorrow. And God can feel excitement and indignation, just as we can. We, the object partners of God, have this ability to experience emotion because our subject partner, God, has the same capacity for emotion. God is the first personality, and human personality comes from God. How then can we become true object partners to God? By our efforts and hard work alone? No. There is but one way to come together in oneness with God. That way is through love, through oneness in love with God.
Let me illustrate. Suppose there is a famous man. Opposite him is a woman who is unassuming and meek and without beauty or education. However, once this great man and this humble woman establish a circuit of giving and receiving in love, she will immediately achieve his level of prestige. Let’s say the man’s name is Jones and he falls in love with this woman and marries her. She then becomes Mrs. Jones and returns his love with all her heart. Whatever power, authority and prestige Mr. Jones enjoys, Mrs. Jones would share in every respect. Now, what does this teach us? Once we have a relationship of love with God and become one with God, our value increases instantly to the level of God’s value. And love such as this is everlasting, unchanging and unique.
The alpha and the omega
Now is the time when we have to fulfill this fundamental relationship between God and humankind. The subject and object partners must be one just as cause and effect are one. Therefore, the Bible says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev. 22:13) Within God, two are one. God is the beginning and we are the end. He is the first and we are the last. And the relationship between God and humankind is a circuit, because the beginning and the end come together in oneness.
Peace, happiness and joy are the fruits of harmony in love. Therefore, in God’s ideal of creation, the relationship between God and human beings was planned to be one of harmony in love, harmony in life, and harmony in ideal.
Thus we know that God is the subject partner and we are the object partners. We also know that the object partner is just as important as the subject partner. We now want to know precisely what our position as God’s object partner means.
When God created human beings, God gave us wisdom and ambition. Wisdom gives us the power to compare, and ambition gives us the power to strive for the best. If there are two choices before us, A and B, we will automatically compare them to determine which is better. Our human desire leads us to choose, and our ambition does not let us rest until we have attained ultimate fulfillment.
Let me make another analogy. Let’s say there is a most handsome man and most beautiful woman. They are not only attractive, but also all-powerful and all wise. You would be anxious to have some kind of personal relationship with this great man and woman. What would you want it to be? Would you like to be their servant? No, in your heart you know there is a position better than that of servant. Would you like to be their friend? No, you would still not be happy. Would you like to be their adopted child? Will this position bring you complete happiness? No, I don’t think so. You would still crave a closer position. There is one relationship beyond which there is nothing more intimate. That is to become a true son or daughter of this man and woman. With this relationship you will have reached the ultimate fulfillment, and you cannot desire anything more.
Why, then, do we want to become true sons and daughters? It is because that is the position in which we receive this man and woman’s love most fully. There is no closer or deeper relationship in human society than that between the parents and children. Once you have your parents’ love, you possess everything they have. Every joy of the father, all the power of the mother, all their skill, wisdom, ambition and desire will be yours. In receiving the love of a father and mother, there is no procedure; there is no paperwork or ceremony necessary to grant those things to their son and daughter. The parents and children are automatically one. This principle applies throughout humankind, and it applies between God and us.
The true child of God
Then, what kind of relationship would you like to have with God? Would you be content to be just a servant? Or would you prefer to be a friend? Would you rather be an adopted son or daughter, or would you like to find a way to become God’s own child? I know you would be satisfied with nothing short of the ultimate position as sons and daughters of God.
God’s ultimate purpose in His creation of human beings is to give to us all God’s love, life and ideal. You are to occupy the entire love of God, to the depth of His heart. By becoming God’s true sons and daughters your desire will be fulfilled. That is your ultimate destiny. Then you will be saturated with the love of God. You will be filled with joy and feel overwhelmed by a total satisfaction with life.
There is no limit to this joy. True happiness has no end. When you are standing in the love of God, every cell in your body jumps for joy. You breathe in and out with the entire universe. In this state your life is fulfilled. This is how God means for us to live; enraptured in love and joy. And through our joy, God receives joy. The joy of humanity is the joy of God; the joy of God is the joy of humanity.
Early in my life I was called for a mission as God’s instrument. I was called to reveal God’s truth, as God’s prophet. I committed myself unyieldingly to the pursuit of truth, searching the hills and valleys of the spirit world. The time suddenly came upon me when heaven opened up and I was privileged to communicate with Jesus Christ and the living God directly. Since then I have received many astonishing revelations. God told me that the most basic and central truth of the universe is that God is the Parent and we are God’s children. We are all created as children of God. And God said there is nothing closer, nothing deeper, nothing more ultimate than when parent and child are one; one in love, one in life, and one in ideal.
Love, life and the ideal are the central point where parent and child meet. Once we unite, at that point God’s love is our love, God’s ideal is our ideal and God’s life is our life. There is no relationship where you can have the eternal unity of life, love and the ideal other than in the parent-child relationship. This is a fundamental reality of the universe.
How do we come into being in this world? The father and mother become one through their love, and bring together their lives and ideals. Their love precedes our birth. Love is the force that unites. Husband and wife become one in love. This means the husband’s love, life, and ideal become the wife’s, and the wife’s love, life, and ideal become the husband’s. This is the way that two live as one, and two become one flesh. Upon this foundation of oneness in love, a new life can be generated.
When a child is born, that child is the manifestation of the parents’ love, life and ideal. When you look at your own child, you are actually seeing another you. You are looking at the fruit of your love, the fruit of your life, and the fruit of your ideal. You are looking at your second self, another visible form of yourself.
Now let us expand this truth to a universal scale. Man and woman were created as God’s son and daughter. God wanted to be reflected in human beings. Therefore the Bible says, “God created humankind in His image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:27)
Humankind is created in the likeness of God. In other words, human beings are God incarnate. Humankind is the mirror of the living God, and God’s every virtue, characteristic and quality is reflected in this mirror. God surely wants human beings to reflect God’s love, life and ideal. We are the fruit of God’s love, life and ideal.
The state of perfection
How wonderful, how simply wonderful it is to live this perfected life of God! This is the true life of joy unequaled by any earthly joy. Once you reach this state of perfection you do not need prayer. Why would you? You meet God face to face and you live heart to heart with Him. You converse with God. You no longer need religion and you do not need a Savior. All the things of religion are part of the mending process, the process of restoration. A person of perfect health does not need a physician. The person in perfect union with God does not need a savior.
Life in union with God is the one great way to live life with God, you living in God and God living in you. This was the spiritual state of Jesus when he said, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 14:10) God and human beings will embrace in one all-consuming love. This is the state where God is made the living reality. You no longer believe; you know. And you live the truth. If you really experience this love in oneness with God, then you have tasted the supreme experience of life. There are probably many Christian leaders among you, yet how many of you have had that wonderful experience, receiving the profound love of God?
God made us to live a life of intoxication. We are meant to live intoxicated by the love of God. Since we lost this original capacity, people seek unnatural, artificial intoxication, getting drunk on alcohol or deadened with drugs. The perfect person, however, is created to be intoxicated in the love of God. There is nothing that can go beyond this feeling of joy. Every cell in your body will explode with joy. Your eyes and ears, the tissues in your face, your arms and legs, everything will be newly alive in a rapture of joy. Nothing else can ever match this quality of joy. This is the plan of God’s original creation. When you say, “Heavenly Father,” do you really have a living and vibrant feeling of God’s presence? Don’t you want to hear God answering, “Yes, my child”?
Here is my gift to you tonight: I want you to realize that the true relationship between God and human beings is that of a subject partner and object partner. You are God’s sons and daughters. Once you have achieved unity with God, nothing can trouble you. Neither sorrow, nor loneliness, or sickness or anything else under the sun can discourage you. God is the ultimate security. You could pay many millions of dollars and still not have that kind of security. It is priceless. No money can buy it. This is the total experience of life. We are meant to live with God.
Your life is therefore the most valuable thing in this universe. That is why Jesus said, “For what will it profit them, if they gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Or what shall they give in return for their life?” (Matt. 16:26) Jesus is talking about life with God. Life without God has the value of a burned-out light bulb. A life without God is death.
Jesus Christ is the one person who lived God’s ideal in its fullest realization. He was the first person of perfection ever to walk the earth, and he came to restore the true relationship between God and humanity. But after Jesus’ crucifixion, Christianity identified him with God. This is why the gap between God and humankind remained. Jesus is a man in whom God is incarnate. But he himself is not God. Paul’s first epistle to Timothy in the Bible says, “For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human.” (1 Tim. 2:5) The dwelling of God within Jesus was a complete reality. He said, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 14:10) Jesus is, indeed, the only begotten Son of God, yet God does not want Jesus as the only son. All human beings are created to say, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” This is everyone’s fully attainable goal.
God’s view of good and evil
Our first step in becoming the true sons and daughters of God is to clearly comprehend God’s view of good and evil. What is goodness and what is evil?
We are not concerned with a man-made definition. God defines the eternal standard of good and evil. The sharp definition of good and evil existed at the time of His creation, long before evil ever came into being in the Garden of Eden. God’s view of good and evil will never change. God is eternal, His law is eternal, and His definition is eternal and unchanging, despite the passage of time.
All of our human traits originate in God. We recognize that there is some human tendency for selfishness. This is natural because at one time God Himself was self-centered. This fact may surprise you, but you must understand that before God created man and the universe, He was completely alone, with no one to care for except Himself. However the very instant that God initiated creation, His full concept of life emerged. God now lives for His counterpart, not for Himself.
What is creation? Creation means nothing more than the Creator, God, projecting Himself into a substantial form. He made Himself incarnate symbolically in the universe, and He made Himself incarnate directly in man. When the spirit takes form, this is creation. God invested Himself in the creation. God’s investment of energy is the creation.
The book of Genesis in the Bible makes creation sound simple and easy. Genesis gives us the impression that God’s creation is accomplished through the magic of His words. God simply says, “Let there be a world” and presto! The world comes into being. Then He says, “Let there be man” and poof! Adam and Eve come into being.
But now it has been revealed that it was not this easy at all. God invested all of Himself in His creation. He did not reserve even one ounce of energy. Creation was His total labor, His total effort of giving all of Himself. When God put His entire heart and soul into the creation of His object, He was investing 100 percent of Himself. Only in this way could He create His second self, the visible God.
Therefore, after His creation, God no longer existed just for Himself. God began existing for His son and daughter, Adam and Eve. He exists to love, He exists to give. God is the totally unselfish existence. God cannot exist alone. “Love” and “ideal” only take on meaning when partners are in complementary relationship. God initiated creation and made an investment He cannot lose. When God poured all of His love, life, and ideal into His second self, in a sense, He had to realize a profit. God knew that when He invested all He had one hundred percent, His object would mature and return to Him many, many times over the fruits of love, life, and His ideal. His object, humankind, is everything to God. The life of the object attracts God. God wants to go and dwell with His object, with humankind.
Let us look at an illustration. Suppose there is a great artist. If he works at random without feeling, he cannot create anything worthwhile. To create the masterpiece of his lifetime, the artist must put all of his heart and soul into his creation. That is the only way for him to come up with a great work of art. If an artist works in this way, his art becomes his life. God is the greatest of all artists. When He created His masterpieces, man and woman, He poured His heart into the process. He poured His soul into it. He poured all of His wisdom and all of His energy into it. God wished only to exist for Adam and Eve, and all mankind. He saved not a single ounce of energy when He created them. In this way, humankind has become the life of God.
Goodness is total giving
God set the pattern for the universe. In the ideal existence we live for others. The subject exists for the object, and the object exists for the subject. God’s definition of goodness is total giving, total service, and absolute unselfishness. We are to live our lives for others. You live for others and others live for you. God lives for man and man lives for God. The husband lives for his wife and the wife lives for her husband. This is goodness. Here unity, harmony, and prosperity abound.
Would you, as a man, be disturbed if I said that you were created for a woman? Perhaps some of you are proud of your masculinity and would not want to hear this. But this is the principle of God’s creation, and you must not be sorry to hear these words. Man lives his life for his partner, not for himself.
Let us assume that one of you ladies is a beauty queen. No matter how beautiful you are, your beauty is not for your own gratification; it is for the delight of men. We are created to live for each other. This is the very reason for our existence; we exist for others, for an object, for a counterpart. This is the principle for all human relationships in our society. Parents exist for their children, and children exist for their parents. Then both parents and children, when they give unselfishly, become united in a circular motion.
This circling motion is the motion of unity. When you give and take, the give and take action creates a circular motion. Circular motion alone can be eternal, because there you will find no end. Therefore, all of God’s creation is based on a pattern of circular movement, since He created for eternity. Even our faces are round, although there is one central vertical line. Our eyeballs are round, and there are upper and lower lips, which make up a round mouth. The sun is round, the moon, the earth, and all heavenly bodies are round. They are each rotating on their own axes and revolving around others. Everything in this universe has complementary give and take action between subject and object. Give and take action occurs between arteries and veins, and so the blood circulates through the body. Human sickness is the state where the balance of give and take action is broken, and normal circulating motion is stopped. Without having this give and take action between subject and object, without abiding by this principle, nothing endures for eternity. All existence that is based upon God’s principle is a good existence.
Then, what is evil? Evil is the emergence of selfishness into this world. God’s principle of unselfish giving was twisted into an ungodly principle of selfish taking. The ungodly position of desiring to be served, rather than to serve, was thereby established. The origin of evil is Satan. He was in the position to serve God, but instead he posed as another god and subjugated man for his own benefit. God is the absolute positive force in this universe. Then Satan posed as another positive force. Two positives naturally repel each other. Satan is a fallen archangel. He left his position as a faithful servant to God and man, and he challenged and competed with God. His motivation was selfishness. Out of his selfishness comes the origin of evil and sin.
What happened is this: Eve fell from her position as God’s first daughter, becoming the first victim of Satan and transforming herself into a creature of selfishness. Together Eve and Satan then successfully brought Adam into their selfish world. Through this tragic event, God was isolated by man in the Garden of Eden. Human history started on the wrong footing, without God. The foundation for the evil history of man was laid, and Satan was established as the ruler of this world. Selfishness came into being at the beginning of history, and now our world is rampant with killing, lying, and stealing. All of these actions in the evil world are motivated by selfishness. Evil subjugated others for its own benefit, while good sacrifices itself for the benefit of others.
Since the fall of man, God’s work has been the restoration of original goodness. God wants to destroy the world of evil and recreate the world of goodness. We have lost our health. We have become sick people. The salvation of God is, therefore, the restoration of man to a healthy state once again.
God sowed the seed of goodness, but before He could gather its fruit, Satan invaded with his evil seed and harvested his evil fruit. For this reason, God must sow the seed of goodness once again. To do this job God needs certain tools. The religions of the world have served as these tools for God. Throughout history, good religions have taught God’s way of life, centered upon sacrificial love and duty. Thus Christianity may be considered the most advanced and progressive religion because it teaches this sacrificial love and duty in supreme form.
Jesus came as a savior, but his teaching was, “The Son of man came not to be served but to serve.” (Matt. 20:28) Jesus taught that the greatest love in this universe is to give one’s life for his enemy. The teaching of the Bible is contrary to the common rule of our worldly society. It is exactly the opposite of the way of this self-centered world. The Bible teaches complete giving and total sacrifice. “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 10:39) It seems almost foolish to think seriously about living this way in man’s evil society. However, once you know God’s principle, you discover that there is actually no wisdom greater than this.
You reap as you sow
Jesus Christ’s teachings were hitting the very core of this fundamental truth. The more you give the more you receive. God rewards total giving with total love, and total sacrifice with total life. Giving creates room for God’s love to enter. The more room and the greater the vacuum created by your giving, the faster you will be filled by the flow of God’s love.
To be treated well you must first treat others well. You reap as you sow. Sow evil to reap evil; sow goodness to reap goodness. Your concern should be how to give, and how to give well. As for the return to you, you must trust in God. He will take care of it.
Let us take an illustration of a good man and a bad man. Let us say there is one man who has ten friends. Day in and day out this man is unselfishly serving his ten friends. People cannot help but love this man. He can become the very best friend to ten people. Then his influence will spread to the relatives and friends of those first ten people. By giving and serving unselfishly this man becomes prosperous. He is a center of harmony and unity because he lives God’s principle. Unselfishness brings prosperity. Here is a good man.
But suppose, on the contrary, this man said to his friends, “You ten, bring everything to me; you are here to serve me.” If he spoke this way to his friends three times, everyone would end all connection with him. They would want to have nothing at all to do with him. So he would be left all alone. Isn’t that true, even in our society? It is universally true. A self-centered doctrine, a self-centered philosophy, a self-centered way of life will fling you head over heels down the tragic road of self-destruction. However, if you live your life in service to others, you will find prosperity. It may seem that such a route would lead you to ruin, but it will not. The only reason it may not always bring prosperity to you is because you do not give to the very end. In the middle you suddenly become skeptical. You change your heart or pity yourself, and so you shrink from God’s law of total giving. A good result never materializes. Total giving is the way of prosperity, because it is the way of God.
If any individual sacrifices himself for another individual, he becomes a hero to others. If one family is sacrificial for the well-being of another family, then that family becomes a heroic family among all families. Peoples and nations who sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others become champions of nations. A man who gives his life for his parents is a pious son. A man who gives his life for his king is a loyal subject. And a man who gives his life for all mankind is a saint.
Jesus Christ proclaimed this very truth you are hearing tonight. He strove for the fulfillment of God’s truth on earth. He came not to satisfy his nation’s selfish purpose, but to achieve salvation for the entire world.
God intended the chosen people of Israel to serve as the prepared instrument of the Messiah for his mission of world salvation. The people of Israel did not know this. They conceived of the coming Messiah as an invincible military conqueror who would restore the political empire of King David for the glory of the Jews. How wrong they were!
God’s purpose is not the salvation of any particular man, church, or nation. God’s purpose is to save the whole world. Therefore, the true church would give itself as a sacrifice for the benefit of the world. Yes, true Christians must be willing to sacrifice their own lives for the salvation of the world and all mankind. However, Christian teachings today are self-centered. Christians are seeking their own personal salvation. Christians are crying out for “my salvation” and “my heaven.” This is contrary to God’s truth and contrary to God’s ideal. We must steadfastly give, love, sacrifice, and live for the sake of others.
We must all work for the ideal way of life. I exist for my family, my family exists for our society, our society exists for our nation, our nation exists for the world, the world exists for God, and God exists for you and me, for all mankind. In this great circle of give and take there is harmony, there is unity, and there is an eternal process of increasing prosperity. Furthermore, since in this circuit all existence will fulfill its purpose of creation, there is abundant and profound joy. This is the kingdom of heaven, in which feelings of happiness overflow.
In this world, selfishness ruins everything. Selfishness in the family causes disharmony, which then erupts into bitterness and strife. Everyone wants to be served, instead of serving others. Wives tell their husbands what to do and then seek to be served. Husbands want to be served by their wives. Parents expect service from their children, and the children take their parents for granted. This is demonstrated in our families, in our societies, and in our nations.
In this world today, nations exist solely for their own national interests. They plot, connive, cheat, and lie. They destroy other nations for their own national benefit. Is there even one nation on earth, which pledges to God, “God, you may use this nation as your sacrifice and as your altar, if that is the way you can save the world”? Tell me, where is such a nation? Where?
It is a recognized fact that when America demonstrated the spirit of service and sacrificial duty in the world, and went out of her way to help others in their need, when America gave lives, money, and a helping hand, she enjoyed a golden age. But now America has a selfish attitude. Its domestic problems today are very difficult. America’s situation is chaotic. Today there are greater divisions, more corruption, and graver problems choking this land.
I am not criticizing any people or nation. I am merely proclaiming the heavenly truth that all mankind is seeking.
I started the Unification Church. If this Unification Church exists solely for the benefit of the welfare of the Unification Church itself, then it is doomed to perish. I founded the Church so that I could give my life, my heart, and my soul for the advancement of the salvation of the world. Among this audience there are many members of the Unification Church. Their great desire, their only motivation, is to serve others, to save this nation and the world.
Jesus did not teach his disciples laws of retaliation. He told them, “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matt. 5:39, 41) You never have to retaliate; all you have to do is give completely and totally, and then God will return to you more and more abundantly.
When Jesus was crucified, Roman soldiers pierced him. And Jesus prayed for his enemies, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Even at the moment of death on the cross, Jesus was so earnest in forgiving. His very last act was motivated by his love for his enemies. He was the supreme example of a paragon of love. The example of Jesus Christ is the absolute standard for all mankind. Just imagine an entire nation composed of men like Jesus. What would you call it? The kingdom of heaven on earth; it could be nothing less.
Jesus Christ was lord over all life because of his unparalleled form of loving, giving, and sacrifice. He will remain the Lord forever. In the same way, no one in this universe surpasses the total giving and loving of God. So God is God forever. He reigns over all creation.
Look at the decline of Rome. The entire Roman Empire collapsed in front of an army with no weapons, the army of Jesus Christ. By what means did the Christians conquer Rome? They conquered by love, sacrifice, and total giving, up to the cost of their very lives. History is a witness that no empire can withstand the army of sacrificial love. And this history shall be repeated.
Up to now in our lives we did not know clearly the definition of good and evil. We could not be certain where to commit ourselves, when to act, what to serve. This has been the source of the greatest confusion in human lives. We must not become Christians who merely crave their own wellbeing. As Christians, we must live the life of Jesus and give ourselves totally for the benefit of others, so that others might have life. This is God’s way.
This present world is evoking the wrath of God. It truly deserves His uncompromising judgment. But God is love, and He is long-suffering. God is suppressing His anger because He wants to save us. He is giving us a chance to change. He is waiting.
I know that Western culture is characterized by individualism. However, selfish individualism is doomed. Sacrificial individualism will blossom. Individuality in itself is good. God gave each one of us a unique way to serve. But individualism without God can only build castles of sand.
The quiet revolution
I can see a great change, a great new surge of revolution coming to America— not by fire, not by bullets, but by God’s truth kindling a revolution in men’s hearts. I have come here to ignite this spiritual revolution. I do not need to demonstrate in front of the White House or in Lafayette Square. The answer does not lie there, but in the hearts of men, in the quiet revolution from selfishness to unselfishness.
Can you imagine how wonderful the ideal society will be? Individuals will belong to their families, the family will belong to the society, the society will belong to the nation, the nation will belong to the world, the world will belong to God, and God will belong to you. He who gives the most will know God most deeply.
Some young people might say to me, “Rev. Moon, you are coming here repeating the same old stuff!’ But that is not at all true. I am speaking, not from theory, but from life. I am telling you that we are all here to live the truth, as Jesus lived the truth. This is not a theory, a philosophy, or a theological doctrine. It is the ultimate truth of God—not to be talked about, but to be lived. When man makes this truth live, it is going to bring about the greatest change upon the face of the earth. Although in one sense you know the truth of the things I have been saying, still nobody truly believes them. Since nobody believes the truth, nobody ever lives it. This truth is as old as God, yet as new as the twenty-first century. You must live the truth. If the revelation of the Divine Principle has made this age-old truth real in your heart, then you have in effect discovered a brand-new truth. The Divine Principle is touching the hearts of millions of young people, showing them the way to our very real God. People throughout the world are learning that God is absolute and perfect, and the perfect God demands perfect human beings as His object. Jesus said, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48) He is dearly indicating that our standard of value is the perfection of our Heavenly Father. Otherwise we cannot be God’s objects and God cannot accept us.
All of us want to be perfect. All of us want heaven on earth, but we ask, “How can it be done?”
We wonder if it is at all possible for man to be perfect. Some contend, with apparent justification, that all one has to do is merely look at man to see the gross error of such an aspiration. We point to the sin and suffering inherent in all things, even in the things that are most holy. We say, “Only God is perfect.” However, when we fully comprehend the design for man in God’s concept of creation, we will understand that perfection is within our grasp.
In God’s ideal of creation we were designed as temples of God, temples of the spirit of God, where God is master. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16)We were designed to be God’s temples. When we attain this status, we shall cease to possess a will that is corruptible. Limitations or laws will no longer be necessary, for His will is our will. With His spirit dwelling in us completely we shall move only as He dictates. We shall then be perfect, because the force that is guiding and directing us is the perfect force.
When man achieves this ultimate goal he is in perfect union with God. He is no longer living on the human level alone, but on the God-like level. He takes on God’s qualities because the Spirit dwells in and possesses him as a perfect temple; he reflects God’s virtue and power. Thus man can be as perfect as Heavenly Father is perfect. This was the original pattern, which God intended for humankind through Adam.
Marriage is the most important means of establishing God’s kingdom on earth. Adam and Eve were God’s first children. They were born of God, grew up in God, and would have matured into perfection in God. God intended to make Adam and Eve one in heavenly matrimony. Then they would have borne sinless children and become the true mother and father for all mankind. They would have been the first “king” and “queen,” establishing the heavenly kingdom on earth.
Has such a kingdom ever existed? No. Instead, history started in the wrong direction. From the evil first step, Satan has been the god of this world. It has, therefore, been God’s purpose of restoration, His purpose of salvation, to restore the perfected nation so that He can truly have His kingdom upon the earth. For this God needs a model. Who can set the criteria of perfection on this earth? To meet this need the Messiah comes.
Jesus Christ came as the Messiah. He was to be the model of perfection upon every level: the individual, family, tribal, national, and worldwide levels. He came to establish a perfect world in his lifetime, not over a period of centuries.
Before God sent His champion Jesus Christ, He prepared the field with the chosen people of Israel. They were the foundation for the Messiah’s coming. The people of Israel could have perfected themselves and their nation if they had united with the coming of the Lord. The kingdom of God would have been a physical reality at that time.
The mission of Jesus
However, his people did not accept Jesus. Instead of welcome, he met rejection at every level. Jesus was denied the opportunity to take a bride in the position of restored Eve, and to establish the first Godcentered heavenly family. Instead, the people of Israel nailed him to the cross. Read 1 Cor. 2:8: “None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” In this way, the mission of Jesus Christ was left undone on earth.
The history of God’s providence is a very sad story. To comfort the heart of God and fulfill His work, we must clearly understand His process of restoration.
When God created man, He placed Adam and Eve, man and woman, in the Garden of Eden. They both united with Satan and became sinful, thereby leaving God isolated. In the process of restoration, God must restore both Adam and Eve. Jesus came as the sinless Adam, or perfected Adam. His first mission was, therefore, to restore his bride and form the first family of God. All fallen generations would have been grafted onto him as the true olive tree. God-centered families, tribes, and nations would have been restored in this way. Perfection would have reigned. The sinless state of God’s kingdom could have been a reality for the last two thousand years. This is why 1 Cor. 15:45 says Jesus is the “last Adam,” the second Adam.
Jesus came, but he was crucified. He was not given the chance to restore his bride. This is why Jesus promised his second coming. Jesus Christ must come again to consummate the mission he left undone two thousand years ago. Let me repeat: Jesus was a man, not God Himself. When he returns to earth he will come as a man in the position of the third Adam.
Let us understand more fully the significance of these revelations in the book of Revelations, where there is the prophecy of the marriage of the Lamb. God intended Adam and Eve to come together in heavenly matrimony in the Garden of Eden. Since it was not realized at that time, God intended Jesus to fulfill this marriage in his time. However, it was not realized by Jesus either because of the faithlessness of the chosen people.
Jesus was the second Adam. It was God’s Will for him to be blessed in heavenly matrimony with the second Eve, his restored bride. They would have become the True Parents for mankind. In this way all mankind would have found life by grafting onto them.
Jesus cautioned the people, “You are of your father the devil.” (John 8:44) Because of the beginning point of human history, we were born as Satan’s children. Through the restoration of True Parents we will be reborn as children of our Heavenly Father, God, with full salvation.
God’s Will was denied fulfillment in Jesus’ time. That is why he is coming again as the third Adam. The marriage supper of the Lamb will take place. True Parents for all mankind will be realized in our time. God will bring forth His true family upon the face of the earth. All people will be made new through their True Parents. All will be made capable of bringing sinless children into the world. This will be done when Jesus Christ reappears. The kingdom of heaven on earth will then begin. This will be the day when the dwelling of God is with men. God will be full of joy. His own son, as perfected third Adam, will initiate an entirely new history upon the earth. On that day, we shall become living images of God. God will bring His kingdom on earth.
I pledge to you from the bottom of my heart that the realization of all this is at hand, in the fullness of God’s time. The ultimate realization of this ideal has been the hope of God, as well as the hope of humanity.
Thank you very much for your attentive listening. You have been a most gracious audience. Thank you.