Angelika Selle
April 16, 1984
On April 16, 1984, our True Parents celebrated their 24th Holy Wedding anniversary. Most of the True Children and around thirty representatives of our movement were on hand to attend a breakfast at East Garden in order to celebrate with True Parents. April 16th also marked the hundredth day since Heung Jin Nim's ascension.
Around 7:00 a.m. True Parents came down and were welcomed with warm applause. They were dressed casually. Everybody stood around the table with Father and offered a prayer. A beautifully decorated anniversary cake was sitting on the table, the candles lit, and Father and Mother in unison blew them all out at once. Kwon Jin Nim and Sun Jin Nim then presented two bouquets of flowers to Father and Mother. It was a very special and momentous day.
After the breakfast dishes were removed, Rev. Kwak explained about the meaning of True Parents' Holy Wedding anniversary:
In order to understand the meaning of this day, it is necessary to understand the significance of True Parents. They are necessary in order to: (1) restore all of past history. (2) solve humankind's problems and today's world situation, and (3) to establish the ideal world of the future. Because of this fundamental role of True Parents we have to investigate their personal lives and the content of the dispensation.
A couple of times Father taught us that if someone is most deeply concerned about God and all humankind, prays constantly and asks Him what the most important thing is to Him, after three years of prayer, this person might receive two simple words: True Parents. I think Father himself came to this conclusion after three years of intense prayer. Furthermore, he himself realized it.
Rev. Kwak also summarized Father's early ministry. God had specially prepared spiritual groups to recognize and to follow him, but they failed. Grandmother Hong, Mother's physical mother, was a member of one of these Christian spiritual groups. The leader of this group recognized that there was something extraordinary about Grandmother Hong's daughter, and offered a special prayer over her. Because this spiritual leader later failed to recognize and accept Father, and this leader had prayed in this way over her as a child, symbolically, Mother inherited the blessing and foundation of that group.
Rev. Kwak explained:
In my understanding it is God's responsibility to send the Messiah, but it is the Messiah's responsibility to educate and raise his own spouse. Therefore, Father's utmost concern, in addition to his dispensational course, was always how to create God's real daughter.
Father's and Mother's married life, however, was never "normal" or simple, because of their incredible historical mission.... Their life was always in public view as they built step by step the family foundation up to the worldwide foundation.
Therefore, even if we see Father and Mother laughing, we should always know about their sorrowful situation, and when they show excitement, we have also to catch their sincerity and seriousness.
True Parents' lifestyle had no blueprint; they had to build the God- centered family tradition totally from scratch.
Then Father shared his heart for about three hours. He expressed how difficult it was to finally establish the heavenly four position foundation (family) since that is precisely what Satan hates most. On every level -- Old Testament, New Testament and Completed Testament -- Father had to pave the way from the indirect dominion of God to the direct dominion. Father said,
Satan occupies the middle area. He always controls the indirect dominion. God's problem, therefore, has been how to connect the direct and the indirect realm. For that purpose, God cultivated religion throughout history.
True Parents' responsibility is how to go from the indirect dominion to the direct dominion. Satan always protects his dominion very strongly from the individual to the universal level. I always stood between God's side and Satan's side. To be not accused by Satan is taking the position of indemnity.
The Goal of the Completed Testament Age
Father has been knocking down walls and overcoming Satan on every level. Finally, in 1960, Parents Day was established, which also marks the beginning of fallen man's restoration.
Father explained that the main goal of the Completed Testament Age is the God-centered family and the realm where Satan cannot claim anything. Once that family is established under God, Satan has no power; therefore, the True Parents' family and all Blessed families are an incredible threat to him. This can be seen very clearly in the strong opposition and resistance which met each Holy Blessing up to the 1800 Couples. After the 1800 Couples Blessing, which marked three times six, the end of the satanic era, hardly any opposition was felt for the following great Blessings.
Father said:
Why was that? What is Satan most afraid of? The God-centered Blessed family. Once a family is formed, united in love, granted by True Parents and Heaven, Satan can never relate to that heartistic domain. It is beyond his reach.
Father stated that it would eventually be so obvious to the world that our Blessed couples are happier than anyone else -- even though there might be hardship in the beginning -- that people would voluntarily want to stop their fallen way of life with drugs, free sex, alcohol, etc.:
This contrast is what God is trying to show so that people will join the Unification movement even without understanding the Divine Principle. There will be a day in the near future when grandfather, father and the eldest son and daughter -- three generations -- will recommend to their children to join our movement.
Unity between God, True Parents and Abel
Father also spoke about the vertical unity between God, True Parents, and Abel. When those three unite completely, they can easily pull Cain to the heavenly side. In the ideal, the first-born and his parents should become completely one to draw along Abel (the younger one), but in restoration that process is reversed.
In a recent morning service at the World Mission Center, Rev. Kwak shed more light on this topic:
After we unite completely with Father, he is no longer our Abel, but our Parent. However, if there is no heartistic unity between him and us; he is still our Abel. If you are completely one with True Parents, they become your Parents, and you automatically become Abel. You need True Father and Mother, not Abels.
Father said during the celebration at East Garden:
Because Adam and Eve went completely to the satanic side. Cain was also totally on the satanic side, and together they pulled Abel by force and violence and by all illegal means toward evil; and they have been doing this throughout the Old and the New Testament times right up into this Completed Testament era.
Another way of looking at it is that centering on Parents' love Cain and Abel become harmonious. That is the purpose of religion and God's dispensation
Father next extended that concept to the worldwide level.
If Korea, which represents Adam, Japan (Eve), and America (Abel) unite harmoniously, Germany (Cain on the heavenly side) will follow easily, and that will be a condition for the rest of the world to follow. It would also mark the transition from the indirect to the direct dominion, if these four countries become united.
Father also spoke about Mother, the tremendous job she has been doing -- giving birth to fourteen children within twenty years! With the foundation she has, nobody has a right to think or do anything against her.
Later that day, Father asked Nora Spurgin to connect with the thirteen American wives of the 43 Couple Blessing and invite them to a forty day workshop, and mentioned that he has a special mission for them.
After Father finished speaking, he called upon individuals to sing songs. It was a nice, intimate atmosphere. Outside, heavy rain drummed on the sun porch's glass roof and streamed down the outside of the glass walls. Inside, everything was warm and cozy, like a close, small family. Father and Mother ended the singing with some Korean songs.
To our surprise, that wasn't yet the end. Mother invited everyone to stay for a wonderful Korean-style lunch. It was amazing how this 24th anniversary of our great 'Rue Parents was celebrated in such a modest way. From Heavenly Father's point of view, they surely deserved the biggest banquet! Rev. Kwak later indicated that a huge celebration would, in fact, be given to them on their 25th anniversary next year.