Sun Myung Moon
October 9, 1994
Excerpt
Absolute Faith and Absolute Love
Unofficial Translation
Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han 2011
For failing to make his symbolic offering, and falling asleep, Abraham was told by God, "Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved." This mistake in making the symbolic offering became the cause for the tablets of stone to be broken and for Moses to have to lift up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. These failures were the conditions by which Satan could obtain the authority to crucify Jesus on the cross. You must know this clearly.
Since Satan was given all these conditions, Jesus had to face temptations while he was conducting the 40-day fast in the wilderness in order to set up his foundation. What was symbolized by stone? Satan told him to change stone into a loaf of bread and to eat it. In other words, he demanded that Jesus must not think he was the master of the resurrected history, after establishing a foundation for historic liberation -- risking his life to indemnify all conditions of accusation brought on by all the failures committed by all the ancestors.
"Moses broke the tablets of stone after trying to lead the hungry crowd of Israelites. Because of this, Moses could not stand in the master's position. You must hunger for the bread, so forget about restoring Moses' failure of breaking the tablets through indemnity from this reversed position. Command these stones to become loaves of bread and eat them." said Satan. What does this mean? Jesus stood as the representative to save the dying race and nation. Satan tried and tempted Jesus wagering all of history for this moment. Do you know this?
Next, Satan brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple. Jesus came as Chief Priest, so he was the lord of the Temple. Satan brought him to the pinnacle of the Temple and challenged saying, "You were chased away from the nation of Israel, who is unfaithful. This is like falling from the top of the temple. What are you?" Am I wrong? In other words, he is telling Jesus, "You have no place to go. So you went out to the wilderness and are hungry. That is your miserable reality. This is the same as falling off the pinnacle of the temple. Don't you feel resentment and regret? Then, how can you now climb up to the top of the temple and fulfill your responsibility as chief priest?" This was what was going on.
Then, what did Jesus say? He said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." Since God visited His son through the temple for the liberation, he will unify all religions of the world and create the foundation of Heaven centering on the authority of His son to liberate this world. This is already determined, so don't even try to ridicule me. Jesus gets rid of Satan, saying, "What are you telling me, Satan? I am following the path of God's providence. I am going to take over the pinnacle of the temple. Why are you blocking me, you wicked one!" Even though this is right, do you think it was easy for Jesus to show up Satan? At one place, in imagination, he debated and exchanged one question and one answer representing Heaven. However, if he failed to respond to Satan, Jesus, who came as the substantial object of all historical conditions, would have been ruined at once.
What was the third temptation? Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all things under heaven and all their glory, saying, "You will fall down and worship me." In reply, Jesus ordered saying, "You, wicked one. Why do you still tempt me? The Master of Heaven and earth is God and Christ. You shall worship the Lord, your God." Satan attacks you using the past mistakes as conditions of accusation. Why am I speaking about this story? Since you are chosen to be representatives of the history of restoration, you must indemnify by yourself all mistakes that are entangled in the history around Jesus. That's why I speak about this story.
You should make what I talked about your objectives in life. Then, you can be victors as the substantial objects. Centering on Heaven, you should work in the world like a horse that can run a thousand miles at one time. You should become such a victor. But if you fail to live up to the word of God, you cannot be forgiven. If you fail, there waits the course of restoration a thousand times harder. You should know this fact. Do you understand what I am saying? This is historical fact.