Reverend Sun Myung Moon
February 13, 1965
Probable Translator Bo Hi Pak
I am the very person Col. Bo Hi Pak so gloriously introduced.
Behind The Blessing Of God Is Suffering And Hardship
Everyone of us living here on earth would adore the blessing of God, and everyone of us wants to have that blessing of God to be related with one individual. Then the person who receives the blessing of God wants to have that blessing become an influence upon his neighbor, society, and his beloved country. So, tonight I would like to take up the subjects "What is the procedure or process to be followed until the blessing of God comes to us?" In other words, people take-up the word "blessing" so easily, but they forget that behind this blessing is a great journey of suffering and hardship.
Conditions Make Man Eligible
The person who gives the blessing is God. The person who receives the blessing is man -- you. In the fallen world, God could not bless a person unless he made a certain condition to make himself eligible; to enable him to obtain the blessing.
An Example Is Noah's Mission
A good illustration can be found in the time of Noah. Before he received the blessing, Noah was given a commandment which he fulfilled faithfully for 120 years of long suffering in which he exercised great and untiring faith. He made a condition. This was not for 12 months or 12 years. It was 120 years! Even more, the place where he built the ark was not the seashore, it was the top of a mountain. The very moment God gave His command and everything Noah, did could be viewed with skepticism and doubt by all men. It looked like a crazy idea! To the people of that age, it sounded like an unthinkable dream, so they all continued with their usual daily enjoyment -- drinking -- eating -- marrying -- and God was forgotten. But for Noah the command of God was absolute. No one truly understood the heart of Noah. He was all by himself. Even his wife could not comprehend, nor could his children understand their father, You can imagine what the relatives said!
Man's Response Sets The Condition
The situation which Noah found himself in demanded that he give up all human relationships. He had to cut off all relationships in order to stand and fulfill the new command of God. He could not love his wife and children more than he loved the command of God, For Noah, there was no other choice but the absolute, unshakable, rocklike command. We can well imagine the attitude of the people toward him. For the time being, his wife would have gone along with him because he was her husband.
Initially the children might cooperate with their father because I he was their father. But only initially. Before too long, even though it does not appear in the Bible, I know that all the family left Noah alone. They began to reject his program. The whole family began to turn against the master of the house. If he had so little cooperation from the close members of his family, can you imagine the persecution he endured from the outside world? As the days went by, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, old grandfather Noah became known to the world, as a crazy guy. In time, only Noah alone stood close to God. The rest of the world went farther and farther away from Him. So, from God's standpoint, He had only one choice. There was no other way, no other foundation upon earth, except to rely and depend upon the faith of Noah. God had to seek a foundation. That foundation was so persecuted by the world, and the world so rebelled against it and Him, that a condition was created. God used that foundation in delivering His judgment,, and the world had no excuse.
Man Must Be Victorious Before The Blessing
This is merely one example. Before God blesses anyone with a mission and responsibility here on earth -- an individual, a family, a tribe, a nation, or a world, whatever the level may be, God will ask that very one to bear all kinds of hardship. He must struggle and win through in this battle. This is the first requirement before the blessing.
Another Condition: An Individual Must Be Free Of Satan's Accusation
God ordered Abraham to leave his beloved homeland, Ur of Chaldea. There was no other way for Abraham except to follow the instruction of God and go to an unknown land, a place he did not know -- but still he believed. Because of Abraham's faith, God could choose him as the center of His dispensation. God must free a chosen individual from every accusation of Satan. Rather, the individual must free himself from Satan's accusation. This condition God seeks first. This time, in the dispensation at the family level, the principle was the same.
Unbearable Hardship May Be Necessary
After he received the blessing of God's promise, but before the true blessing was rendered, Jacob had to go to the land of Haran, the symbolic land of Satan. He had to make the sacrifice, he had to work hard under unbearable hardship for 21 long years, After Jacob returned from Haran to Canaan, the symbolic land of the Kingdom of Heaven with the title of Israel which means victor, he and the 70 members of his family had to depart for another journey of suffering in Egypt. This was trial and tribulation on the tribal scale. They suffered for 400 years in Egypt.
Individual Success Paves The Way To The National Foundation
Upon this foundation of suffering alone, God could launch the greater dispensation of the restoration of Canaan under the leadership of Moses. The cause of suffering and trial was expanded to an even greater scale. The people of Israel progressed through the way of suffering and hardship toward the establishment for the foundation of the coming of the Messiah. But these chosen people did not know why they had to launch into another journey of suffering before the universal world restoration could be centered on the Messiah. If the people of Israel had known the truth and had established a tribal foundation, then progressed to a national foundation, then followed the Messiah and united with him, the history of the world today would have been much different. Since the chosen people of Israel failed their mission, since they crucified Jesus Christ, we have been moving toward the national and universal foundation only spiritually. Christianity, which was established at the time of the failure of Israel's mission, inherited the mission of suffering and tribulation.
Christianity Has To Fulfill The Conditions In Place Of Israel
Christianity had to move into the Roman Empire, the satanic land. Christianity suffered bravely with the spiritual world restoration. It is almost a pity to know this heavenly dispensation which has been revealed to us. Jesus had not been crucified as a sacrificial offering on Calvary. His army with the living Christ at its center would have marched upon the Roman Empire within 40 years. An even greater battle would have been won, not only spiritually but physically. At that time, the Roman Empire was known as the Roman world. The Roman Empire was the symbol and the center of the entire world. If Jesus' army, having the living Jesus at its center, had conquered the Roman Empire and again gone through the trials and tribulations on a world-wide scale, world restoration would have been manifested.
Dawn Of The New Age
History is primarily repeating itself. History is moving toward another judgement day, another day of the consummation is exactly the same as it was at the time of the First Advent.
United States - The Modern Roman Empire
In the meantime, God has not been standing still. He has been working toward better conditions, better atmosphere, better circumstances, for the new, dynamic, religious focal point. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of organization, freedom of religion -- all have been accomplished to enable the new religion to be born. Therefore, democracy was born as the new form of government in which the world of freedom could be established. We must be solemnly aware of this fact: Today the United States of America is in the same position as was the Roman Empire 2000 years ago. The Rome of the 20th Century should not be like the Rome of the first century, where only culture was their pride. The Rome of today should not only strive for sovereignty over other nations. The blessing of God is absolutely official. The blessing does not belong to individuals, nor families, nor nations, nor the world.
The Blessing Belongs To The Cosmos, The Entire Universe
We should know, brothers here in America, that up to today, until God brings His greatest blessing upon this land, how much heaven has suffered already to enable this moment to take place. Great ideologies must be born here in this land. The whole world is one brotherhood. This great ideology must be born today.
We Must Do What God Does For Us, Share The Blessing With All Men
Let us look at the recent history of the world. After the victory of World War II, the world trend has been toward independence of all nations and all people, At the dawn of human history, true world history was broken by the battle between the brothers Cain and Abel. Cain destroyed his brother. Since this was the tragedy of human history, now, today, in the era of the restoration, brotherly love must be established on a world-wide scale, The members of the Divine Principle movement, the brothers and sisters of the Unification Church, must find the way that heaven has walked to give us the blessing with sweat and tears and blood, Therefore, it is our responsibility to do the things that God did for us, We are ready to share tears and sweat and blood for our fellowmen. We must share our blessing with all men, If America fails to give itself to the world, if you fail to give your tears, sweat and blood in the service of the world, all nations will rebel against us and we will know ourselves for failures.
No Need To Give Up Anything -- But Use What You Have
So you must take the initiative and set an exemplary pattern in giving yourselves for the rest of the world population, Your beloved President, the late John F. Kennedy, established the New Frontier spirit which is very symbolic of this age. Not only that, he initiated the Peace Corps which reflects the Age of Heaven, the heavenly dispensation. There is one difference between the ancient method of blessing and that of today, In ancient times, in order to receive the blessing of God, one had first to give up everything and leave for unknown lands. Today we are not giving up anything. Rather, we take what we have and go with it, giving together. This is good!
The One Principle Of Giving Yourself Well
There is one principle to giving yourself well. You must bear the love of the Father, the heart of the Father, and take on the role of a servant. Your heart must be the Father's heart, but your body must be a servant's body. Go to humanity and give yourself! What is the most precious thing you have? Give that without regret, Among your most precious possessions are your tears, your sweat, and your blood, Give your sweat for all creation, your blood for heaven, and tears for all humanity,, This is the motto of the Divine Principle movement, We must give this freely to them so that we can establish the rapport or circuit of heart.
Seek For Those Who Are Lost
Furthermore, we must stand in the position where we can seek our children who have been lost. We must seek the true children who have been lost, the true brothers who also have been lost, the true family, true nation, and true world which have been lost. We must recover and restore all this.
Help Others To Receive The Blessing Rather Then To Worry About Your Own
When you restore the true things, you cannot do it in an easy way, Truth cannot be found easily. Whenever you take the easy way, you cannot find happiness, We have lost the heavenly blessing to the satanic world. For example, since the satanic world has belonged to Cain, Abel must restore through Cain. Jacob had to serve through Esau. Jesus had to restore through the chosen people, That is, giving service to them. This is the formula for restoration. Therefore, those who are entitled to the blessing should help those who are not entitled to the blessing. You can push your neighbor ahead of you. You cannot take the best seat. You must serve through them, pushing them so that they can reach their goal.
We Are Closer To The Ultimate Fulfillment
There is one wonderful illustration. In order to reach the final ultimate goal of restoration, the blessed land of the United States cannot strive to the goal all by itself. You must push all the men of poverty, all of suffering humanity ahead of you. Today we are coming closer and closer to the ultimate fulfillment. I feel that more and more of the budget of the United States should be and will be spent for the noble purpose of helping the rest of humanity around the world. The situation in Vietnam is again a good illustration. It seems to be none of your business, but you are really committed, This is the Age, this is the way you should help all the problem areas. You must take up the responsibility as your own, You must serve!
A True Son Must Be Ready To Act
Would you like to be a son or a daughter loved by God? God has paid a tremendous sacrifice. His path, His way was to give up everything to find you who could fulfill this ultimate goal. God has sacrificed His most precious possession, Even God who gives so much of Himself, has taken on so much suffering Himself, Then what about us? We are going to be the recipients of the blessing, Should we not be ready for sufferings and trials? In order to be a true son or daughter of God, we must awaken to a new realization, we must be ready to commit new actions.
The Chosen Pioneers Must Be Exemplary And Sacrificial
When you realize the ultimate purpose of God and the coming blessing, can you give up freely what you have -- your property, your heart, your home, and your family, and ultimately yourself for the world? And how about your children? Your wife or husband? Finally even your own life? No matter how difficult the procedure may be, God has walked the path before you and has fulfilled without compromise. If the 180 million people of America today are ready to give the most precious things they have for this one noble, sacred purpose, the world will be restored at once. The situation today is not the most favorable we might have expected. Therefore, those who are chosen as pioneers in the Divine Principle Movement must create an exemplary path for the rest of your brothers and sisters in this country.
God Thinks Of Himself Last -- We Must Follow The Same Pattern
The path I have walked up to this moment is exactly the same. A long time ago, I gave up my parents. When I was in prison, my parents visited me and asked me to relinquish my mission from God, to deny my mission. Although it was like cutting me with a knife, I rejected them. Right after the liberation in 1945, I was with my family in South Korea. Since I knew God's command, I knew it was a most unfavorable condition. I had to depart, leaving my whole family behind, and go by myself to North Korea which was occupied by the Communists. God in Heaven always thinks of Himself last. He is always thinking first of you here on earth, His interest, His worry, His heart, His concern rests on earth, forgetting Himself. I must follow the same pattern as the Father. So the nearest and dearest things to me must receive the last attention, The mission comes first.
The Ultimate Answer To Heaven And Earth
I have a wonderful brother who really loves me. He has had some spiritual experiences. In fact, he is the one in my family who even dimly understood my mission, But, more than anyone else, no one knew better than I the mission of the Divine Principle, and the significance of this new movement which contains the ultimate answer to heaven and earth. Even though I loved my family, my mother, my brothers. I could not give this wonderful truth of the Divine Principle to them first. I could not reveal it to them. The four directions must be chosen before the center can be installed, Therefore, in order to meet the standard of God, before my immediate family, I must have concern for my neighbor, my world, They must be the first recipients of the Divine Principle. not my immediate family, The surroundings must be decided before the center is established.
Our Leader Served Strangers
I served my neighbor exactly as I had served my mother and father. I served strangers in this way in order to establish the foundation for the society and national level restoration. Under this principle, I cannot only care for my own country. Even under the most adverse conditions and persecutions, my prayer and my concern was not in Korea. I did my best to send out missionaries to Japan and America. For example the missionary to Japan . . .
(Col. Pak reinforces here: The diplomatic relationship between Korea and Japan was not normalized at the time the missionary was sent to Japan. The passport could not be okayed. The missionary sailed in a small sailboat to the shore of Japan and landed there illegally.)
Who Could Come To The United States?
You can well imagine the difficulty we had in sending one missionary to the United States. In our situation at that time, it was impossible to think of anyone we could send to America. But under the circumstances, I worked day and night to find a solution so that someone could be sent to sow the Divine Principle here.
America Must Follow The Principle
The principle for this dispensation of the restoration is to work from the outside to the inward. So this America, in order to be blessed and glorified by God, should work from outside to inside, not from right here. This is your responsibility. In this respect you have a long way to go. This is your grave and vital responsibility. For the world, for the restoration of America, for the restoration of the universe, it is not the problem of my family nor the problem of my pride. There is nothing I would not sacrifice. Awakening must come to America! Dawn must reveal new horizons on this land. In every state.
This Is Your Responsibility
You must expand your horizons from state to state. Even though you are in limited numbers, you are the ones to fulfill this responsibility.
You Can Save Freedom
If America fails to respond to its responsibility, do you know what you can expect? Through the Communist regime, which is in the Cain position while you are in the Abel position, the entire free world will be made to suffer. If you can fulfill your responsibility in this country by doing this vital mission, you can save democracy. You can save freedom. The Communist world Will be self-destroyed automatically.
The USA Represents The Western Civilization
Today, from the view of the heavenly dispensation, the position of Korea is to rely upon the United States as far as financial responsibility is concerned. Just as 2000 years ago this was the relationship between the Roman Empire and Judea. There is historical logic and reason why a nation like Korea is the one to start the re-creation movement. You can see the parallel between this and 2000 years ago, when the great ideal was revealed to the miserable nation of Israel. It originated there and was intended to expand to all the world. From the light of the dispensation, we can see that the United States has been the symbol representing Western civilization. Through study, research and analysis, this country has gained what it has today. Upon this scientific foundation today's civilization was built. This I would call outward civilization.
With Spiritual Gain Material Desires Decline
The more knowledge you gain, the more entitled you are to win the world. However, outward things cannot be the total of human requirement. Inevitably, there must be an inward element, This inward element must be united with the prosperity of the outward civilization. We should strive for inward civilization. As I said before, the more scientific knowledge you gain, the more entitled you are to win. But on the contrary, the more you gain religious or spiritual knowledge, the more inclined you are to lose material possessions, In other words your endeavor for scientific knowledge, analysis, research, all this know-how, brought well-being to mankind. This is outward. But those who thirst for inward civilization, spiritual or religious endeavor are bound to lose outward things. Do know why? The reason is simple. Spirit is not material. For the loss of these possessions, one nation must be chosen among the Asiatic countries.
The Crossing Junction Of Unity
From the historical point of view, now we come to the stage of unity between the two -- East and West. They should unite at this time, spiritual, and physical achievement, uniting them into one total civilization. From this point,, the world will become abundant both spiritually and physically. The many nations in the Orient are looking to you for outward success. At the same time, America must look to them for inward success. This is exactly what the Divine Principle movement means, We are at the crossing junction of unity.
Solemn Responsibility
As I mentioned in the subject, in order to fulfill the blessing of God you must overcome trials and tribulations firs. Now this is your solemn responsibility. Since you know all this, you must be ready to respond to the great call, to be ready to give to the most suffering people of the world what we deem most precious. I say again, this means not only giving within the freedom ranks, the free world, but our giving must be expanded even to within Communist territory. Final victory will be won there, too, when even Communists bow and surrender to us, to our giving, to our love, and respond to our sacrifice. Then truly, truly, God will be establishing His Kingdom. That Kingdom will start right there.
Commit Yourself To The Great Cause
Of course, I love Korea. But I know my mission is more than Korea. My mission lies in the world. My prayer, my concern has been concentrated farther than Korea to the world. By the same token, brothers and sisters here in the United States should not only be concerned about the problems here in America. You should not only give to those here in America; not only bear the cross for those here in America, but do this for the entire world. Cry your cry, not for America, but for the world. Shed your tears not for America, but for the world, Give your sweat and blood not only for America but for the world. You love America because you love the world. That is the justification of your love. Our horizon is even greater than that. When you say love the world. you include the spirit world. Therefore you love the universe, When you make these two worlds, spiritual and physical, into one unit, the ideal of God will be realized. His heaven will truly be on earth. This is your awesome responsibility. Since you realize the gravity of your responsibility, you must really awaken and ream yourselves. You must recommit yourselves to the great cause. You must start from the individual, but your goal must go beyond the individual, beyond the nation, beyond the world, up to the cosmos, the universe.
The Tears Of Civilized People Are Needed
Where did you set your standard of faith? Do you desire the greatest blessing? I know you do. Are you willing to take up the cross? Do you know what Jesus said? He said, "He who loves his mother, his father, his wife, his brothers and sisters, his children more than me is not worthy of me. To come with me, you must bear your own cross." Jesus Christ, of course, was a pathfinder. He opened up the territory, the new way. In order to be adopted as a true son and daughter of God, those who followed his path must walk the same way. The time has come when the tears of civilized people are necessary. The tears of the millionaire are needed, The tears of the men of talent, the men of knowledge are needed. And their sweat. And even their blood. This is the only way we can expedite the restoration of the Kingdom of Heaven.
You Are The Pioneers
Now you must be ready. You must stand upon this path so that you can courageously set forth upon the fulfillment of your responsibility. You think you are living individual lives. But please, give your action, your individual life meaning! That meaning is applied to the restoration of the universe. You are the pioneers who will open up this evil world, these satanic surroundings, who will establish the path, moving courageously so that you will be entitled to be called a true child of God. This is my talk, given to you for the New Day, for the new realization of the new task which is given to you.