Sun Myung Moon
January 1, 1975
Excerpt
Seoul, Korea
As you know, since we set up the slogan "Let us safeguard the unified front" in 1972, we have fought against Satan desperately in order to bring victory to God. I have come back to Korea to connect the victory that we made in America, a country representative of democracy, for the past three years. We are connecting the spiritual standard of victory on a worldwide scale. And now we should connect the substantial standard on a worldwide scale in Korea.
Now we must establish the kingdom of heaven. Then how can we actualize the kingdom of heaven? The standard for establishing the kingdom of heaven is not decided by the human imagination or an idea, but it is decided by God's principle of creation. The fallen world became hell, but the world before the fall was the kingdom of heaven.
God is absolute and His will cannot be changeable. Even though man fell, His will is unique and unchanging and absolute. So, the Absolute, Almighty God has been restoring fallen man through the stages of servant of servant, servant, adopted son, children, and parents, according to the reversal pattern of restoration. The purpose of creation must be actualized. Through the actualization of the purpose of creation the kingdom of heaven can be established.
What is the standard for the establishment of the kingdom of heaven? After the creation of all the things and beings, man was to grow up without falling, as brother and sister, and they were to come to the position of husband and wife centering on God's love. The children who are born through sinless parents will become sinless sons and daughters. What is sin? Sin is anything which makes a condition with which Satan can accuse. On the foundation of a family with which Satan has no condition to accuse, and in which all evil conditions are eliminated, the base for the kingdom of heaven can start. Through the multiplication of this basic family of goodness, a tribe, society, nation, and world of goodness can come about. We must not only talk about the kingdom of heaven, we must establish the kingdom of heaven.
When we examine the course of restoration, we can find that there have been always problems and difficulties in the growth stage, in the second process of the providential period: in Adam's family the second generation, Cain and Abel, conflicted; in Abraham's family Isaac who was in the growth stage had to be offered to God as a living sacrifice. Likewise, in the 6000-year history of God's providence of restoration as a whole, the New Testament age has been a dividing period on the worldwide scale. At the end of this New Testament age the two worlds of Communism and democracy came about: the former denies the existence of God and the latter is founded upon God as its basic core. In the course of the providential formula these two worlds must be united into one.
Christianity has developed on a worldwide scale without a central point. In the world there are many Christian countries, but there is no single nation which has Christianity as its central point and substantial basis on earth, physically and spiritually. Some people might mention the Vatican; the Vatican is a mere religious form, it has no substantial basis, no land. So without having any central point as an earthly basis, Christianity has developed spiritually and expanded its base from the spiritual family to the spiritual tribe, society, nation, and world. Because there was no central axis, Christianity has been divided into many parts and many different denominations and sects.
Today the democratic world has entered the stage of perfection in external form, but it does not have a substantial basis. Even the United States of America, a country representing Christianity, does not set aside an annual national budget to allow Christianity to lead the whole world. In that sense the United States is not a true and perfect Christian nation. If Jesus had spiritually and physically established a country like America without being crucified, the president of that country would have been quite different from those of today's democratic world. When the purpose of religion is accomplished, God can exercise a great political influence on this world.
However, today God is trying to influence the leaders of the democratic world through good and conscientious people. He is not interfering with the political world directly. The democratic world was prepared in order that good religious and conscientious people could develop a free nation when they meet the greatest central figure, the Lord of Second Advent, so that the rulers of the fallen world can be changed. The United States is a good example of this. Having many different races and nationalities, this country can move forward to a better and good goal on the heavenly side when she has a greater leader. The present democracy is not a perfect one.
The mission of democracy is to be engrafted to the heavenly way of politics. He does not have the mission of the root of a tree. If there had been no fall of man, this world would not have been like the present democratic one. Today's American democracy is not perfect; it has many defects. Many people are influenced only by the power of gold and by false advantage. The leaders who are controlled and influenced by the power of money can have dominion over the power of money itself and over the majority. Thus they easily become corrupted. They must transcend the power of money and cry to find the right direction which can lead to the original world God intended. If they do not find a new view of the direction and purpose of a new world, they will soon face the last days of democracy.
I was concerned about the Watergate Crisis and published a statement on it. I was very concerned about the Korean issue before the last General Assembly of U.N. so much. Why? I had to stop the downward trend of the democratic world. The issue of the dissolvement of the U.N. forces in Korea signifies the internal fall of the democratic world and the Watergate event the external fall of the democratic world. Those two events are the Symbols of the last days of the democratic world.
None of the leaders and rulers of this age, no matter how wise and great they may be, can resolve these problem issues. It is no wonder that no one dares to cope with these difficulties of the corrupted Christian society and the falling democratic world. No one has a new idea with which the present confusing race and society can be strongly re-united and become stable. That is the destiny of the world, but the world is becoming more chaotic and more confusing. A new answer must be brought from Heaven.
The Communist world will be declining within the three years from 1974 to 1977. Now all the Communist countries-North Korea, Red China, Russia, and so on-are aiming to attack the United States. They are more and more caking the offensive against the U.S., which does not want to fight. In the history of the conflict of good and evil, evil used to attack the good. The good never attacked the evil first. The one who attacks the good first must perish.
In fact, those who are attacking the democratic world ideologically and substantially are Kim Il-Sung, Mao Tse-tung and the Soviet Union. In the democratic world the religious people must unite into one to defend against Communist aggression. The government and its people must cooperate and unite into one. The church is an Abel, and the government a Cain. When Cain and Abel become one, they develop together towards a better goal. That is the formula. Towards a better goal and a higher dimension, the government and the church must be united into one.
The world is becoming more confusing. God is striking the evil world to make it more confused, but on the other hand, He is dealing with the world on the side of good to make it prepared for a new age. When do many good patriots appear? In the time of peace and prosperity? No. They come in the time of chaos and confusion. Externally the world is declining, but there must also be another dimension which encourages people internally, giving them new directions and hopes. The individual or the group that can really lead people out of that declining mainstream of the confusing world must go in a reverse course, not the usual course.
Now in America many things are becoming corrupted. We are denying all these corrupting trends. We should make a new boom far better than the satanic boom of the present world; we must deny and overcome the trends of fallen men, showing stronger counterproposals. That is our mission. When an individual is in a depression, he must deny that feeling of difficulty and make a breakthrough in order to develop new strength in himself. Religion, society, and the world must follow that same pattern. In spite of all the confusion and chaos, God is working through people who are transcending their evil surroundings to make a new world through chem.
In establishing the kingdom of heaven we must first of all be united with God. We must be in the position or state prior to the fall. If Adam and Eve had been united with God, even just before the fall, they would not have deviated from Him. But leaving God alone behind them, they went their own way. That was the fall. Therefore, when we have difficulties we must bring them to God just as we bring joy and happiness to God before enjoying them; we must try to solve them centering on God.
God is a God of uniqueness, eternity, unchangeability, and absoluteness. In order to be one with God, our faith in God must be unchangeable and absolute. But in the beginning man did not believe in God's absolute word. Man took the absolute word of God as a relative one. Our life in faith should be unchangeably pure. If you believe in God, that belief must not be changeable. If you believe that God is with us, that belief must not be shaken in any situation or at any time. What else did man do wrong at the time of the fall? They did wrong with their bodies, their behavior was wrong. Therefore, our behavior must be standardized from the beginning to the last; all our conduct and activities must be centered on public and official principles. And also our mind and body must be one.
What is the ideal of man? Man feels happy when he has ideal love. But to whom does this love belong? Love is common property: both the subject and the object own love. Then who is the original owner of that love? That is God. But even God Himself cannot have real love and feel real love when He is alone. If we have unchangeable faith, with our mind and body united, and our heart one with God, we will establish the kingdom of heaven. But when standards are changed, Satan comes in. He has changeable elements, and when we waver in our faith, he brings us his changeable elements and nature.
In the Old Testament age man offered God material; in the New Testament age man has offered his body; now man must offer his mind as offering. According to the principle of creation of heaven and earth, after creating all things, God created man's body and then man's mind. Man became the microcosm of the whole world. In the process of restoration or re-creation, the word has been given to man: the Old Testament age was a period of the word, the New Testament age was a period of practice based on the word, and the next age is a period of actual living centered on the word. If Adam and Eve had not fallen, they would have achieved these three periods at the same time, in their own lives, and they would have been able to gain material, the body, and the mind at once.
Originally man was to have dominion over all things after he reaches perfection. However, he began to have dominion over all things before his perfection. Because of his fall he was not qualified to have dominion over all things; therefore, all things that man has dominion over do not belong to man himself. They are, in fact, the property of Satan. So what is the offering? The offering is to make a small condition to restore all things. In order for the offering to be accepted by God, man must put all of his love and heart into the offering, more love and loyalty than the amount of Satan's attachment to it. Then Satan cannot claim this offering which is completely united into one with man. If Satan or an evil being claims this kind of offering, man loses between three and seven times as much.
The more a religion is persecuted, the more developed it becomes. The heavenly strategy in regard to Satan is to be struck and persecuted, and then to regain and restore what was lost. Satan likes to hit and persecute; however, he loses in consequence. The true religion is recognized and approved after being persecuted and oppressed. None of the prophets and saints and sages have been welcomed by the people from the beginning.
There are "chosen things" -- like chosen people of Israel -- which are offerings. The offering represents all things. The man who is in the position of a true offering must be totally accepted by God. Even if he dies, he must die on God's side. Jesus' offering of himself was accepted completely by God. He died on God's side. The offering does not resist at all: it always obeys its lord. If Isaac had resisted the will of his father, Abraham, he would not have been a true offering to God. But he totally obeyed.
Unless we subjugate Satan, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven starts in the place where Satan surrenders completely. Satan is arrogant; he is selfish; he is a self-centered being. When you see something from a self-centered viewpoint, you are not on the heavenly side. If you hear something for your own profit and desire, that attitude is one of Satan's.
Through making the successful relationship between Cain and Abel, we become the champions of service. Without serving persons successfully in the Cain position, you cannot become true Abel-position persons. Cain and Abel must become one centering on God.
This is the principle of "unification of material things." All things will be given to God, and from Him they will be distributed again to all men according to the standard of give and take action with God and men. The mind and body and heart of mankind also will be returned to God.
When I want to eat something delicious in a good restaurant, I do not eat alone. I cannot eat alone, but I invite those who have been hungry and those who have missed good food for a long time, and we eat together. Then I can be indemnified and satisfied. I go to see good places with other people, but not alone. This is the principal formula of the original human mind. Our original mind tells us to be humble and to enjoy things together. So when you have food, you must chink first for whom you eat.
The kingdom of heaven begins from you as an individual. The purpose of the history of restoration is to seek out one man, an unfallen Adam. The perfected Adam is to work for the perfection of the individual, spouse, family, tribe, race, nation, and world. One perfected man is a model of all. Therefore, the very beginning of the kingdom of heaven is even from you. The perfection of yourself is the most important thing.
You must witness to people without any self-centered desire. You must witness to people just because you like people. First of all, you must love people with your genuine heart. You must like all kinds of people: children, young men, old men, and so on. Those who do not like people are not qualified to become good religious leaders. Do you really know how much God loves people? If He did not like man, fallen man, how can he exercise His providence of salvation? Your eyes must love to see people. Your eyes should not try to find out bad things from people, your eyes must feel good even when you meet bad people. Then you yourself will become a good person spontaneously.
When you like to serve the whole, when you know heavenly truth and try to be happy at all times and in all situations, you will automatically become a happy person. Our mind knows where we are situated: whether on Satan's side or on God's side. We must not make any small condition with which Satan likes to have give and take action. For the actualization of the kingdom of heaven, we need individuals of goodness, families of goodness, societies of goodness, nations of goodness, and a world of goodness. We must spread it to every corner of the world.
You might think you are working for the Unification Church and for God. But I want you to know that the Unification Church is not indebted to you, God is not indebted to you at all. It is you that are indebted to the Unification Church and God. The Unification Church International is waiting for your arrival in order for you to begin your worldwide course of service. The Unification Church in every country is waiting for your coming in order for you to go through the national course of restoration and to pay indemnity.
For you, one individual, all these surroundings have been prepared. So you are indebted to all. You are now going to pay back all that you are indebted for. So you must be willing to risk your Jives for that.
You should be like a good Abel. A good Abel is more faithful, dutiful, and loyal. You must become a central figure in the surroundings where you are situated, and feel you yourself are responsible to restore chose surroundings to the heavenly side. During these seven years, we must go straight ahead only with absolute faith, loyalty, and heart. If you like to pay back your debt, in what position will you work? In the position of servant of servant first. You must be determined to become like a servant of a family, of a nation, and of the world.
You must serve with this spirit. Wherever you go with this spirit, you will be able to lay a foundation for the kingdom of heaven. You will actualize the kingdom of heaven.