Sun Myung Moon
November 11, 1977
Manhattan Center
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
As you all know, today is Children's Day. Since the first celebration in 1960 seventeen Children's Days have been celebrated, making this the seventeenth anniversary.
If there had been no fall of man at the outset of human history, all celebration days -- God's Day, Children's Day, Parents Day and the Day of All Things -- would have been combined into one. But as you know, the fall of man occurred and from that time human history has been the work of restoration. Everything cannot be done at once in restoration; instead there should be a precise, step-by-step process of restoring one thing at a time.
Through the Divine Principle you know that we must restore the standard or criterion for the true man and woman which was lost through the fall of Adam and Eve. Since Adam and Eve were the very people who fell, God could not work directly through them for restoration, but focused instead on their children and descendants. Unless God's standard of goodness is understood by mankind, there is no way for man to be restored. Therefore, the providence of restoration has concentrated on one thing: the restoration of the true son who has not been touched by the fall of man.
Restoration has proceeded step-by-step through history. First of all, because of the fall of man human beings fell even lower than the servant position. Therefore, God first sought to restore the servant level, then the level of adopted son and finally the true son who can be recognized and heralded by the entire universe.
Once sinful, fallen man is restored to the level of true son of God, he will be elevated to true parenthood, the world of the heart of God. Presently we are going toward our ultimate goal and destiny, the heart of God. This is the basic pattern or formula of the providence of restoration, to be accomplished not only on the vertical but also on the horizontal level. In servanthood we stand on the outer circle of God's universe, and as we move toward the center we come to the adopted son's position, the son's position and finally to the true parents' position.
Religions of the world have been the tools which God used to fulfill His entire master plan of restoration. There have been many religions throughout history, but each has its specific role to play in the plan of God. For example, some religions are used to bring man up to the servant level, to the adopted son's level and another to the level of true son and true parents. Therefore, different religions have emphasized being the servants of God, or the adopted sons of God, or finally the sons of God and parents of mankind. Horizontally speaking, religions also occupy different territories while tending ultimately toward one unified world and one unified religion.
Let's look at the history of Judaism and Christianity, both of which have gone through several definite processes in their development. Judaism is the religion that restores man up to the servant level, while Christianity restores man up to the adopted son's level; at the time of the Lord of the Second Advent mankind will enter into the true sonship of the Lord. This is all basic Divine Principle. The history of the world of religion is all God's external work. Internally the one basic direction comes from God's urgent desire for His sons and daughters to achieve the level of total restoration, the standard of being untouched by the fall. Where then can God find His son who has achieved the level of perfection, to whom the fallen world will be absolutely foreign?
The Providence of Cain and Abel
We have to look at history in reverse, going back to the point where sin was committed by Adam and Eve. In restoration, everyone must go back to his parents, grandparents, and so on, all the way back to the very level where Adam and Eve were committing sin, and then beyond the moment of sin to the realm where sin was never known. There you can taste the true love of God. In purity you can deserve the love of God. Only through that process can the true son of God be born, but do you think it would be easy'?
After Adam and Eve fell God began the restoration with their children, Cain and Abel. If there had been no fall, there would have been no difference in the positions of their sons because all of them would have been the children of God. However, the children of Adam and Eve were the result of collaboration between Satan and Adam and Eve, and were related to Satan instead of God.
The original hierarchy of creation was reversed by the fall, with Adam and Eve coming under the angel instead of God. Even Satan could not deny that Adam and Eve were originally the children of God, however, and he could not deprive God of them outright. The love of man came to be centered upon Satan instead of upon God by Satan's diverting that love to himself, and as a result the positions of Cain and Abel became polarized, with one representing Satan's love and the other representing the love of God.
According to the history of restoration, Abel was supposed to be the savior of Cain. Cain could not go directly back to the side of God, but had to go across a `'bridge," in his case, Abel. By Cain's coming through Abel to be restored to God, the condition would be fulfilled for God, Adam and the archangel together to be restored into their original positions.
No one can return to his original position by himself. You Unification Church members should know very clearly that you are cast in the role of Abel, but that you cannot return to God without taking Cain with you. God will not accept you alone. When Abel wins the heart of Cain and unites with him, they serve in a savior's role together. Only in that position can the true parents' role be restored.
This particular principle concerning Cain and Abel is apparent in the world today, which is divided into two: the Cain world, which is communist and denies God, and the Abel world, the free world, which accepts or fears God. The struggle of Cain and Abel in the Garden of Eden is mirrored in the fact that the communist world is more than willing to annihilate the entire free world. There is only one way the Abel world can survive this murderous intent, and that is to hold onto God. The problem today is that the free world is forgetting the true way of salvation, seeking to find solutions without God, and there are none.
We have definitely come to the last days of human history, but if the Abel world forgets the way of salvation at this important juncture and tries to save itself without God, it will inevitably fall victim to communism. In that case there is no hope, for it will definitely be slain by the Cain world. That is the present world situation.
Who will bring this world to the ultimate realization that salvation resides in God and nowhere else? Young people whose ages are approximately equivalent to the age of Adam and Eve before the fall represent the generation before the fall. These young people should rise up to take on this mission of awakening the world. America should proudly stand as a model nation of Christianity, but instead America is now going through rampant moral degeneration. Why is this immorality so prevalent?
Many American young people today are even more corrupt than fallen Adam and Eve. At least Adam and Eve felt shame in the garden of Eden, having the decency to hide their naked bodies with fig leaves, but today young people lack that basic decency, doing all kinds of things even out in the streets and parks. At least Adam had a sense of repentance, for after he realized he had committed sin he wanted to be restored. But today in America there is a lack of shame and repentance. Shame is not necessarily bad if it leads to constructive change.
The Abel world is being attacked in two ways, with the communist world constantly encouraging moral degradation, as well as constantly planning the external destruction of the free world. The world as a whole is becoming corrupt to a degree far worse than Adam and Eve themselves were degraded. It is clear that the trend of immorality in America is leading this nation into decline and destruction. There must be some power that can reverse the tide of degeneration and stop the destruction. That movement is the Unification Church. We are going to reverse the tide, and to do that we must be tougher than any communists here on earth. We are not only fighting the ungodly force of communism, however; we must bring ourselves into purity and eliminate the way of life that evokes the wrath of God. That is our dual mission.
As members of the Unification Church, we must first become far superior to the communists, and second, we must restore and preserve absolute purity. We must not waver but walk unyieldingly to our one goal, the love of God. Man collaborated with Satan, becoming his victim by uniting with him in love, and in order to liquidate this fallen condition we must restore ourselves and love God purely.
The Qualifications of a Child of God
Until you meet God's qualifications and can be recognized as truly being His children, you are not entitled to have the love of your wife or husband. You absolutely must set one condition of totally dedicating yourself to God, and before that time, thinking about your own love and your own future is not acceptable to God. You must be recognized by God as loving Him more than anyone else-more than your own parents, more than your own siblings and even more than yourself. After you have achieved that qualification, you can begin to organize your God-centered family.
What is the first qualification you should have? The strength of your loyalty to God must be superior to the communists' loyalty to their ideology and you must become better people than they. Second, each of you must make the condition of giving your genuine heart to God and God alone. In the true world of Adam and Eve there is only one single-minded way of life, which is loving God. That is the supreme destiny and mission of man, and neither the angel nor anyone else would be able to disrupt it. As a result of the fall of man all kinds of competing thoughts came into the human mind, but God wanted man to be single-minded instead.
Even thinking about yourself means diverting yourself from loving God. You must love God to the degree that you can even forget yourself, that you are no longer aware even of your own heart. Jesus said that unless a person loved him more than anyone else in the world, that person was not worthy of him. This extreme statement derives from the principle of loving God more than you love your own family.
Has there been anyone who loved God this single-mindedly? The world has not seen human beings who were born to love God and to live in single-minded service to Him. Instead man has had to go through the process of restoration in order to finally reach the point where one man can be given by God to serve as an example. In that sense the fallen world has now come to its last days.
That one man is not appointed on the basis of human recognition. He is given by God to ultimately restore the parents' position and become the true parents of true mankind, to lead the world into the fulfillment of the Cain and Abel process. To do this he must awaken the Abel world to follow his own example, which is to totally love God. Then he will lead the people of God to subjugate the satanic world, in this case the communist world. His purpose is to bring both worlds together and return them to God.
There is an old saying that evil people must follow the example of good men. Why should that be? The good man is in the position of Abel and the evil man in the position of Cain, and to be saved Cain must follow Abel. For this reason, religion has constantly emphasized performing good deeds as an example for the world to follow.
What is the definition of a good man? Some might say, "I never harmed anybody. My conscience is clear. I am a good man." Others might say, "I am a good man because I have a good home. I don't steal from anybody, and my wife and I don't fight too much." Some might even say, "I am a good man because I am an American. I am a number-one citizen in the world and everyone should respect that fact."
What is the true definition of a good man and where is the origin of good and evil? At the end of your finger or on the top of your head? Good and evil originate in you, for you have both dwelling within yourself. Can you look at God face to face and say, "God, as much as You are good, I am good too"? Everything starts from you, and you can be good as well as evil. Therefore, it is up to you to make yourself wholly good. Evil can be illustrated by describing a powerful conqueror who wants everyone else's well-being to be sacrificed for his. You know that such a person is evil. For the good man there is no "myself," but only God and humanity; for their sake there is nothing belonging to "me." There is no self to serve. Such a person is wholly good.
The goal of religion in history has always been the subjugation of self, with holy men constantly teaching others to not allow their bodies to be used as contact points for evil. That is why good religions in history have always emphasized giving and self-sacrifice. Unification Church members should become foremost in that public-centered, selfless way of life.
Did you go out to sell the paper this morning? Do you have mixed motivations in selling? You can go out with bundles of papers because you want to buy breakfast, which means you are selling newspapers for your stomach. Is this good or evil? An ordinary newsboy might say he has to sell papers to help his mother or brother, which is good, but in a limited way. What if he bought some food for his family's breakfast by selling papers, but on the way home he decided he was even hungrier than his family and instead of taking the food home he ate it himself? His original motivation was good, but the final actions were evil.
Suppose there is another person who sells newspapers in order to serve his neighbor next door. His motivation is higher than the first person's, but if his father takes the money and scolds him for helping the neighbors instead of the father, then even his good intentions can end up with a less meaningful result.
I want you to know that greater good can be generated by loving more distant things. Why are you serving a greater good when you serve those far away from yourself? The road of restoration is designed that way by God because that is His way of life. God is thinking in this fashion: Give yourself for the benefit of your family, give your family for the benefit of society; give your society for the benefit of the nation and give your nation for the benefit of the world. Finally, give the world for the benefit of the entire cosmos.
When he knows this is God's principle, the pious son will parallel the feeling and work of God. The attitude of the loyal citizen who dedicates himself to the purpose of his nation corresponds to God's spirit, and on another level there are holy men, or saints, who give their lives for the sake of humanity. Good parents should teach their own children in this fashion: "My son, you must love your neighbors more than you love me. Love your country and the world more than you love me. Serve God and humanity." If any parent teaches his children in that fashion then he is certainly a good parent. Children of such parents will become greater, more universal beings of eternal goodness and they will secure true prosperity. By using this one formula you can evaluate the goodness of parents.
In history there have been many kings, both good and evil. A good king was one who taught his subjects that they must serve other people, giving their energy and sacrificial devotion for the benefit of the country more than for their own king. Furthermore, the good king emphasized, "Even more than you love our people you must go and love the people of the world and God." The king who thought to sacrifice his own country and kingdom for the sake of the entire world was a good king in the sight of God.
A saint lives for the ultimate purpose of God and humanity. No personal desire can distract him, for nothing else is of greater importance to him, and he can give up his family, his own country and even his own life in dedication to the purpose of God and humanity. The patriot is greater than the pious son and certainly the saint is greater than the patriot. Which would you like to become? Those saints who founded the great religions have one thing in common-they gave up everything for the sake of their service to God and humanity. Their unchanging teaching was to love God and love mankind. The saint is the one who can say, "I love God and humanity more than I love my own wife, my own children and my parents."
Put yourself in the position of God looking down upon the earth at His own children. Would you like to see your son taking care of and loving only his family; or would you rather have a son who took care of only his society, his nation, and world; or a son who could serve the entire universe? God wants to have a son who will love God and humanity most of all. There is no greater son than that.
America as the Abel Nation
Frankly speaking, is today's America a good or an evil country? America has been a great nation because many of its people sincerely wanted to serve the world. Americans have given love and assistance to other nations and American soldiers have died defending other countries. Recently, however, America has gradually become selfish, and now more than ever before America is emphasizing solving its problems before trying to help the rest of the world. This is exactly like the person who intends to serve his neighbor, but ends up serving only his parents, or worst of all, himself.
No matter what America says to me, my warning is this: "As long as this nation only intends to serve its own selfish purposes, it is standing against God's prime principle and cannot flourish, but will only decline. America has been disturbed by my warning, saying all sorts of unkind things about me, but I am unconcerned. I care deeply about America because I know that once this nation declines the entire world will decline. Korea does not control the world's destiny, but if America is ruined then the world will have no more hope.
With this concern in mind I came to America to kindle a spiritual revolution. Do you Americans want to be people whose foremost concern is just America, or would you like to become universal citizens, having your foremost concern focused upon God and humanity? Young people in America are dying spiritually, being corrupted by moral degradation of all kinds. I am trying to turn these young people around to become saints in the eyes of God, trying to bring a revolution to this degraded, dying generation.
Today America faces many troubles. For example, one reason the American steel industry is unable to compete with the prices of Japanese and Korean steel is the labor situation here. Workers want to work less and get paid more, but why are the workers acting this way? Many unions are influenced by a power that wants to see America decline. Because of their own selfishness in trying to look after themselves, they are putting formidable power into the hands of communism, being used themselves as tools to eventually bring this great nation down. To save the situation in just this one area a quiet revolution from selfishness to unselfishness is needed.
Religious People Must Champion God's Cause
Even though Abel was killed by his brother Cain, Abel had made an offering to God and was holding his face up to God. As the Abel nation today America will be set upon by communist nations, but as long as America keeps trust in God and tries to serve God even while it is being attacked, no power can actually destroy it.
In the eyes of the world you Unification Church members are miserable and pitiable. I want to ask one question: Are you confident that with our own power and influence we can bring the free world and the communist world into unity? Can we ultimately liberate God and bring humanity together to the throne of God? In order to save Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel should come together. That same principle also works on the worldwide level. Jesus was Abel on the national level, and if Cain, which was Israel and Judaism, had responded to Jesus and become one with him then on the foundation of the nation Jesus could easily have emerged as the True Parent of mankind. Then he could have erected a permanent worldwide kingdom on a base that was God-centered and guided by God's principle.
Bringing the Kingdom of God here on earth on a national and then worldwide scale was Jesus' only goal. With this in his heart, what would Jesus have preached? Would he have said, "Brethren, I am a son of God and I have many gifts and blessings for you. If you unite with me, I'll give you good homes, good lives and abundant blessings. I will even make you powerful kings and queens in the world." Wouldn't he have said instead, "Brethren, even if you and I must be sacrificed, God wants to save the world. Let us become champions for the salvation of the world."
The principle of restoration between Cain and Abel works on the individual, national and worldwide levels. The scope may be different but the principle remains the same. With the knowledge of this principle would you say that Jesus came to die or to achieve some other mission? What did he want to do? Jesus came to liberate God by taking the position of Abel to win Israel, which was Cain. Together with Jesus, Israel would have become the Abel nation and would have been able to win the rest of the Cain world. Then the Cain world could have presented itself before the throne of God and our Father in Heaven would have been liberated from His sorrow and grief and emerged as the Parent of mankind. That was the purpose of Jesus' coming.
Today many Christian churches believe that a happy God is sitting up there on His throne. If this is so then what kind of parent is He? How could He be happy while His sons and daughters are being corrupted and thrown down into hell every day here on earth? God has been the prisoner of a broken heart and needs to be liberated. For that reason God is desperately longing for the emergence of one man as the Messiah who can liberate the world and bring Him ultimate Liberation.
Why did you come to the Unification Church? You are here to liberate the heart of God and to liberate mankind. The purpose of your being here is to take care of the world and make it the world God hoped form God is in trouble. Look at the world. Every day the communists proclaim that there is no God, and even some Christians have said that God is dead. Someone has to come out and say, "God, don't worry about it. Let me take care of the world. Let me give them an answer and show them that You are not dead."
Christians are supposed to be doing this and people of all other faiths as well, but they are not. Therefore, we are called to stand before God as His representatives. Once you are truly motivated to do this, no power under the sun can stop you because your authority comes from the highest, most supreme power. Your parents may be tugging at you, but even if your nation pulls at you there is still no power to stop you. You must be proud of having such commitment and perseverance. We are not ordinary, pious children to our parents nor ordinary patriots nor ordinary men of goodness. No, we are here to serve the ultimate purpose of God and humanity by giving ourselves to mend His broken heart and liberate Him from His sorrow. That's the job we are here to do.
Do you have confidence you will finish the task? If you American members are maligned by the government or FBI, will you look around for some place to live an easy, relaxed life? Or will you look for a place that's even tougher than America? Whether or not you are an American wouldn't matter if the people in the government chased you out. What would be your final farewell message to America? When Jesus was pushed out of this world, he said, "I will come back." I hope each one of you would leave America with the final words, "I will return m" Would you really do this? If you did so, I guarantee that you would become a son or daughter of God. Such a person would be bigger than the world and would have the power within himself to unite the communist world and the free world.
Some people say that I am a dangerous man because I say that I will conquer the world. But to those people I say, "Why not conquer the world in the name and love of God?" This is not just my personal ambition at all. This is God's ambition and in this battle I will be on the front line. If America adopted this way of life it would not decline or be ruined but would become a savior nation to the world. America could liberate God's sorrowing, broken heart, and liberate the spirit world as well. America would become a country that could even liberate hell.
We want to make America that kind of country. After living this way of life you will see history testify to the effect of your presence in this country. People might not know at this time, but history will know. If the Moonies don't do it then Sunnies will do it. The third level belongs to Kingies. After becoming Kingies you won't need a country, for anywhere you go in the world will be your country. There will be no more boundaries and no one will exclude you from their nation out of prejudice. The only people who are actually able to claim this country as theirs are the Indians because they came here first. The Indians are of Asiatic origin, and as such could be called my cousins.
I know very clearly what the communists' strategy is. They are trying to promote racial war, one of the most effective strategies for the communist takeover of any continent. For example, they agitate among Indians by saying, "You know that the white people are your enemies." With propaganda like this they try to divide the races and incite open conflict. A mediator is definitely needed in this struggle. I can say, "You Indians are my cousins. Don't be hostile to white people, for they are your brothers." To black people I can say, "I am a friend of yours, and white people are also our brothers m" As an Asian I can win the confidence of all races, and with the truth all humanity can be persuaded that racial hatred is not the true way of life.
I don't think any white person could reconcile all races, coming on the foundation of the poor record white people have in dealing with other races. Black people might not do too good a job either, for no matter what blacks may attempt, too much distance exists between white and black. But I come from Asia, being neither white nor black. People may be suspicious of me now, but they will find out who I am and unite in friendship.
The Attackers in History Were Always Defeated
Today we learned the definition of goodness. If you understand what goodness is and if you are a clever man or woman, then you know what our way of life should be. Whatever you eat, you consume for God and mankind, not for yourselves. As you go out and work, whatever you do is for the sake of God and humanity. In going out fund raising, you know that every penny is going for the purpose of God and humanity.
You know what your way of life should be, and even when you come up against obstacles, if you are doing your work with 100 percent effort for the sake of God and mankind then God will smile upon you. When you are absolutely dedicated to living the life of God 24 hours a day, day in and day out, there is no moment of your own. When all moments belong to God and humanity, you are heroes in God's world.
Don't be a small-minded person. Push out your chest and jump off your launching pad, like Apollo 11 going up into the vast universe. We are all destined to be launched, and our first objective is to reach the moon and become Moonies. Our next destination is the sun, and then we are Sunnies. Our third destination is the heart of God, and then we are Kingies. Jesus also proclaimed that in Christ each person should be king. Conventional ministers might think that I speak blasphemy, but you can find this in the Bible.
History has been nothing more than the struggle between Cain and Abel on different levels and in different arenas. History in its entirety all boils down to one thing: the struggle of Cain and Abel, of two powers confronting each other and trying to unite. In first joining the Unification Church you become small Abels, and later the center of Abel families, the Abel society, Abel nation, Abel world, Abel spirit world and Abel cosmos. We are the family that represents the entire world, but this family is not here to secure only its own prosperity; it has a mission to benefit the larger family, the nation and the world.
We shall not try to avoid being a sacrifice to save the world. Sacrifice is something with which to chasten oneself, and humbling yourself for the sake of others is the best condition you can make. Selfishness brought the fall of man and unless you have the courage to chastise and give yourself for the benefit of others, you cannot bridge the gap between the fallen world and the realm of sainthood. Through sacrifice you can most quickly achieve the goal of God.
Communists are always belligerent and warlike, but the tendency to invade and infiltrate is all a result of the fall. It is not God's way, and as a result all invaders ultimately fail. In both World Wars the attackers were defeated. World War III is a global struggle between the communist ideology and the free world; the communists keep invading, but ultimately God's law is going to apply here also.
Is the Unification Church attacking anyone? In reality the Unification Church is being attacked by America. America has already attacked me, and when I receive that kind of persecution the Church as a whole receives persecution. Who is better in the sight of God? The answer is simple. Our opponents are attacking us for the purpose of their own selfish benefit, yet even in this circumstance we are not resisting for our own sake, but for the sake of God and humanity. That's why we are good.
The persecutors have done us much damage, but the day will come when they will have to try to indemnify their actions. However, since the evil they have done is against me and the Unification Church, they have incurred a debt they cannot fully pay, even if they were to use all this nation's resources. They have done eternal evil.
We will tell them, "You cannot repay the debt or indemnify completely what you have done, but what you can do is bring Satan as your captive." Once Satan is taken, we can control him and then our work is done. Then we can liberate mankind and God. The best strategy is to allow ourselves to be attacked, and I know that as individuals you have been beaten and as a Church we have been beaten. The whole nation has come against us and the whole world has spoken out against us. Because this is how the world will ultimately become indebted to us, receiving persecution is God's best strategy.
At some point God will not be able to tolerate such evil behavior any longer and He will stand up in our defense. Then the spirit world will also say, "We cannot stand it. The world is doing too much against Reverend Moon and the Unification Church." Later on some of the good people of this world will say, "What did Reverend Moon do wrong? Why do they do those evil things to him?" Perhaps even the Harvard Divinity School will have a kind of academic demonstration to support Reverend Moon.
Persecution is not necessarily bad for it stimulates and attracts all kinds of wonderful opportunities. One thing is certain: I will always move forward relentlessly, and even if the entire world tries to stop me I will pull the world along behind me. What I predict will come to pass. You will see that my words will become reality.
If we are able to save Russia by winning champions here in this nation, then America will automatically be saved. That's why I clearly announced after the Washington Monument Rally that our next goal is to go to Moscow. At this moment our brothers and sisters are working underground in satellite countries, where many of them are suffering in prison. When you think of our brethren over there can you ever say, "My mission in New York is so hard"? For the sake of our brothers and sisters who are suffering we must liberate mankind from the yoke of communism.
Most allegations against me are communist-inspired
We must also liberate Christianity and Judaism. We are called anti-Semitic and I have been called the anti-Christ, but these accusations are far from the truth. We have one concern, which is that God's will be done. We want to raise up people who are so committed and dedicated that they can even liberate the USSR. In the name of God, you and I will oppose any policy that will give unlimited advantage to communist countries. Whether he is aware of it or not, President Carter has done many lenient and foolish things, which only aid the goals of the communist countries. I don't like it. Is he naively trying to win the hearts of communists? This administration is on the wrong course and you will see that it will be oppressed by increasingly difficult problems.
The negotiations regarding the Panama Canal seem to be a goodwill gesture, but if America was caught in global conflict with the communists and the Panama Canal was in communist hands, our link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans would be gone. If I were to see President Carter I would confront him with several painful truths. When I met President Nixon I did not comfort him, but gave him painful advice which was difficult for him to take. If President Nixon had taken my advice, however, America would not be as it is today and Nixon himself would not be in his present situation.
Many times I was appalled by Nixon's policies. The Nixon Doctrine did not bring benefit but only tragedy to America, as it withdrew American power from Asian territories. The proposed withdrawal of American armed forces from Korea was not suggested first by President Carter, but by President Nixon. America has become a sanctuary where the communist powers can freely organize to undermine this country.
Because of the communist threat I hoped that President Nixon would remain strong and stay in office as President. In the American presidency is vested vast power which can be utilized to contain the spread of communism. Therefore, the weakening of the United States presidency only enhances the strength of the communists and that cannot be allowed to happen. If the power of the presidency is weakened, FBI and CIA activities against communist infiltration are also weakened. That would only provide further sanctuary to communist power. Trade unions are becoming powerful organizations and will become an even greater danger to democracy in the days to come. Workers are increasingly motivated by self-concern and do not care too much about the destiny of the nation. What can the Administration do? It will be increasingly immobilized by one trouble after another.
I will not budge in my stand against the communists. I will not yield or compromise, but will continue to march on. I know that my name is constantly mentioned inside Russia and other communist countries because the government publicly criticizes me as a capitalist running dog of the United States and the South Korean governments. I can appreciate that because it shows that they know the strength of my spirit and commitment. The only people who do not know about me are the leaders in the free world. They don't know or appreciate who I am; at least the communist leaders know about me.
Who started the rumor that I am an agent of the KCIA? The communists. Who started the rumor that I am brainwashing people? The communists. They deliberately spread this slander in order to destroy me. Whether they know it or not, it is clear that most people in the free world media are only tools for spreading the lies of the communists. They tried to characterize me as a political person, for instance, by saying that my Watergate campaign was political. Anyone who says that should read the Watergate statement. All I said was, "Forgive, love and unite," and if that is political then all of Christianity is political because that is the fundamental teaching of Jesus Christ. When I visited President Nixon in the Oval Office at the White House, the first thing I did was ask the President to sit down and pray with me to Almighty God. I was trying to tell the President that he must be humble before God and kneel to ask His guidance. I told him that he would find the solutions to his problems in no other way. You can see that my visit truly was not political.
The media does not tell the truth about us because many people want to see me destroyed. What they are doing is really political, but they rationalize, "He disturbs our peace. We have a wonderful thing going and we don't want him here." They have their own political goals and in order to achieve them they write as they do. The idea that I am a KCIA agent is absurd. The KCIA is so small that whatever they might say to me would be so trivial that I would never respond. The truth about this will one day come out. I am telling you all this today because I want you to know how I feel so that you can become a part of me.
Fulfillment of the Cain-Abel Providence On The Family Level
When Cain slew Abel, that particular dispensation collapsed and God had to wait until the time of Esau and Jacob before it was fulfilled on the family level. The restoration principle here is rather simple; the younger brother in Abel's position should restore the birthright and win the right to hold the elder brother's position. At the time of Esau and Jacob, Isaac was in Adam's position and Rebecca in Eve's position, while their children were in the positions of Cain and Abel. Because Eve was the source of evil, Rebecca's position was to make restitution for Eve's sin by assisting her own son, Jacob.
The Bible records some puzzling events regarding Jacob. In order to restore the birthright, Jacob did some cunning things and told outright lies. He was dishonest, lying to his father and tricking him into blessing him by saying that he was Esau. Such deeds are not honorable, but even so God permitted Isaac to bless Jacob. Why? The Bible just reports the actual events, and theologians cannot explain the apparent paradox. No one can resolve this question without knowing the principle of restoration, which originates in the basic elements of the fall of man and God's will for restoration.
Eve fell by denying her Father, God. She also denied the role of the father which belonged to Adam, who was to be her husband, and then Eve united with Satan and fell. In restitution, the process has to be reversed. Rebecca was in Eve's position, Isaac was in God's position and Esau was in Adam's position. To reverse the process of the fall, Rebecca deceived Isaac and Esau so that Jacob could obtain the birthright of the elder son and thus assume his rightful position in God's sight. Jacob was in Abel's position, and with Rebecca's help he succeeded in making Esau, as Cain, surrender. In the sight of God this reversed the original act of Satan. Satan had to be subjugated in order to complete the process of restitution, and because goodness was reversed by the fall of man, we must reverse things in order to return to the right way. Jacob won the first victory in the dispensation of God; therefore, God gave him the title of Israel, which means "victorious." Jacob restored for the first time the birthright of God's son, meaning that Abel was victorious on the family level.
Jacob was victorious over the position of fallen Adam and Eve by staying on the side of God. We cannot go into detail because it would take too long, but for the first time in history the birthright of God's son was restored. The younger brother was brought into the elder brother's position and the elder brother was brought into the younger brother's position. Cain and Abel were united for the first time, with Cain humbling himself before Abel. Jacob became the first man acceptable in the sight of God, and the forefather of God's people.
It is significant that Esau and Jacob were twins because twins are closer than other brothers, being born at the same time. Cain and Abel were born at different times, and their positions were brought into closer unity through the twins, Esau and Jacob. Even after Jacob consummated his responsibility and was given the blessing of Israel, the dispensation still had to grow to maturity. There was a certain part of Jacob's life which was not purified: the time from conception in his mother's womb until the age of forty. This span of time still remained in Satan's realm and thus God wanted to repeat and perfect Jacob's dispensation.
This was done through Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, Jacob's fourth son. Judah was the heir of God's direct lineage. Tamar sensed that her husband was supposed to be the direct heir of Israel's lineage, but he died at an early age without leaving a son. According to custom, his brother was supposed to marry Tamar, but he also died and Tamar still did not have a son to carry on the lineage. She looked at the youngest brother of her husband, but he was not given to her as Judah had originally promised. When Tamar saw this, she disguised herself as a prostitute and deceived her father-in-law. Eve had deceived her husband to fulfill selfish purpose, but Tamar deceived her father-in-law for God's purpose. This was the fundamental difference which enabled God to work His providence through her.
In the relationship with her father-in-law Tamar conceived twins, Perez and Zerah. Just as Rebecca had experienced her two children struggling inside her womb, so did Tamar. Rebecca had protested to God and He answered that she must endure it because two nations were in her womb, of which the younger would become greater. The same answer was given Tamar. When the time of delivery came, Zerah's hand came out first from his mother's womb. To distinguish the two children, the midwife tied a red string around the child's wrist, foreshadowing the appearance of the communist ideology before the time of the Lord of the Second Advent. An amazing thing happened, however. After the first child put out his arm, a struggle began inside Tamar's womb and as a result the younger brother was born first.
You can see how meticulously God worked to successfully complete His dispensation; finally the birthright of Abel was fully restored in the history of Israel. Through Tamar, restoration was completed to include even a child in his mother's womb, which is as far as restoration can go before the Messiah comes. Since that time the tribe of Judah has always stood in the priest's position, and when the people of Israel came out of Egypt it was Judah's tribe which carried the tabernacle.
These events laid the foundation for the Christ to be born free of sin. Through Jacob and Tamar, God had restored the birthright up to the time of the mother's womb, and as a result the Messiah could be conceived through a faithful woman who came out of that particular lineage. Many people want to know, if the preparation for the coming of the Messiah was finished at the time of Tamar, why Christ wasn't born in the next generation. The answer is simple. The Messiah must come on the national level and Israel had not reached the national level in Tamar's day. Time had to elapse to allow the nation of Israel to develop, and by the time of Jesus the nation of Israel had been established.
Rebecca and Tamar were courageous, unselfish women. Their motivation was not their own enjoyment but purely the service of God, and they gave up their lives for that purpose. One more woman was required to fulfill God's extraordinary dispensation and that was Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary was in the position of Eve and Rebecca and Tamar and she went through exactly the same process: Mary had a fiancée, but she was disloyal to him and to her father, and conceived a baby without their knowledge.
Jesus as the Second Adam
Mary was faithful to God. By the conditions already established and the indemnity already paid, Satan had no claim to the heavenly baby conceived in her womb. There was no room for Satan's invasion. For many thousands of years God had prepared the foundation for Jesus so that he could be a Messiah from birth. Satan had no power over the baby Jesus because even his mother's womb had already been sanctified. Jesus was born as the elder son, not just in respect to Israel, but to the world, past, present and future.
From the very beginning Jesus was different from anyone else, and was able to proclaim, "I am the only begotten son of God." This is truly a formidable statement, and it meant that he was the first embodiment of the love of God, the first on earth to win the love of God. After a labor of many thousands of years, God could finally see His son born on earth. Did God want His son to be a champion, or to be killed? God's real heart in regard to the birth of Jesus has never been known to the Christian world, which has thought that Jesus only came to die. That is total nonsense. Jesus was God's only begotten son, and no father wants his son to be killed.
Since Jesus came as an Abel to the world, the nation of Israel and its people should have united with him without any reservations. Indeed, Jesus was supposed to have become the king of Israel, then the king of many nations and finally king of the world. Could he have accomplished that all alone?
From the beginning God intended to have His kingdom in the Garden of Eden. The invisible God wanted his son, Adam, to be king and Eve to be queen, and to multiply children so that their offspring numbered like the stars of the sky and the sands of the sea. They were to be prosperous, and their children were to be kings and reign over all the world. If Jesus indeed came to restore the same position which God intended for Adam, do you think that he had to live alone all his life? God created Adam as a man and Eve as a woman to become a couple and form a family. Jesus came to restore Adam, and naturally his first responsibility was to restore Eve, his own bride.
What was in Jesus' mind as he was crucified? His people, his nation, God? Why did he not want to die? Foremost in his mind was the thought that he must leave behind a bride, the mother of mankind. But, knowing his crucifixion was near, Jesus left a prophecy for the future that he would come again and take his bride at the Second Advent.
The true bridegroom and bride were to form the true family together with their children, and that family then multiply into a society, nation and world. However. since the time of Adam many children of the fallen lineage have been born, and God had to provide a way to restore the already-existing world. Each person was to be grafted onto Jesus, the tree of life; then all could share the true life and love of God. In this way God intended to restore the entire world, and all mankind would become one people, the race of Adam. God never intended to have many different nations or races. God sees only one race.
Today many Christians believe that the Lord is coming a second time, but they believe that he will come on the clouds of heaven. If Jesus' goal was restoration of the physical family and the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, how could he ever achieve that goal by coming on the clouds with a spiritual body? That is nonsense. Christ will not come on the clouds of heaven. The role of the second Messiah is that of Adam, and since the first Adam failed and the second Adam, Jesus, was not given the chance to fulfill his mission, a third Adam is needed to fulfill that same goal on earth. This time God will do it.
The truth of God is logical. Do not ever think that I devised my own theory, or that what I am saying is my own idea. It is God speaking, and the entire spirit world speaking. In the spirit world you will see how this is the truth. I am merely the person through whom the new revelation has come. I am the first one to discover the true identity of Satan and the crime he committed, how evil he was and how he murdered Adam and Eve. I can now say to Satan, "You have been disguised all through history, but in front of me you can no longer hide. I know who you are and what kind of crime you committed m" For the first time in history someone has really confronted Satan.
No matter how terrible his crime, as long as a criminal is not detected, he can pretend that he hasn't done anything wrong. Once his crime is detected, however, he must surrender. This applies to Satan as well. So far Satan has been an unknown criminal who could walk around in broad daylight, even parading in front of God and sneering, "Look at that guy. How dirty he is; he cannot be your son." Satan has been accusing man over and over again before God. Now the son of God must prosecute Satan before God and present proof of Satan's crime.
People say that I am a heretic because I claim that the Lord is not coming on the clouds of heaven. If you think I am a heretic, go yourself and ask Jesus how he wants to return. Today all mankind, and particularly the Christian world, are in darkness, knowing nothing about the will of God, nothing about the heart of God or the dispensation of Jesus' time. They oppose us out of selfish motivations and this must be changed, for God cannot accept it. Ask God yourself. He cannot tolerate it any longer.
Jesus as the Tree of Life
In the spirit world you will be able to see whether I am a true leader or a false prophet, but I am glad that the time will soon come when even without dying anyone will be able to see the truth. You will be able to meet God or Jesus Christ and ask them who I am. Ask Abraham, Jacob or anyone else in spirit world and they will tell you. The time is coming when they will testify here on earth.
We must be humble, never arrogant. We must feel the heart of God and all Christians should do the same. We must not be proud because of our Unification Church. We must be proud for God, however. Our label is not important and it is not our goal to create another denomination. Our goal is to unite all the denominations of Christianity, not to make another sect. Who is going to unite all those stubborn people? Not Reverend Moon and not you; God is going to do it.
Jesus was murdered. Why would anyone who came to this world to be killed want to come back? No one would come back under those circumstances, but Jesus must come again because he left his mission undone. Jesus is a man and as a man he is capable of marrying a woman. Christian ministers are shocked to hear this idea, but ask them, "You believe that you are a child of God, but would you be happy if everyone treated you as half a man? It is natural to you that people treat you as a whole man and that you marry and have children. Why wouldn't those feelings also be natural to Jesus Christ?"
Christians say that we are heretics, but I tell you that this is not just ordinary heresy. I am a super-heretic in their eyes, and the amazing thing is that God likes this super-heretic. Children have been born all over the world since Jesus died. Even though they are sinful children, they are still children of God and need to be restored, but there has existed no tree of life for them to physically graft themselves onto.
If you want to know Jesus clearly and correctly, you must understand that he is not just the Messiah or savior; after his crucifixion Jesus had to come back as a spiritual parent. He is your spiritual father who is capable of giving you spiritual rebirth. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he brought down the Holy Spirit, which is the spiritual mother. Eve gave birth to sinful children, but the Holy Spirit comes to give man spiritual rebirth.
Through the power of love a father and mother create new life, and it is the same in the rebirth process. Each person must go back to the origin and be born again, beginning as flesh and blood and bone in our Father. You were created as a result of love, but sinful love. So you must go back to the body of Jesus in a sinless, sacrificial life. If you love Jesus and know that he is your spiritual father, then you must want to bring yourself inside his heart and be born again as his flesh and blood. That's the desire you must have. Through sacrificial love you can go back to the origin, the very source of your life. Once you were flesh and bone of your father. If you love Jesus so much that nothing else in the world matters to you, you can absolutely give your heart and soul to trim. At that point the Holy Spirit can come to you and give you rebirth; then you are reborn as a spiritual son or daughter of Jesus. That is the whole process of rebirth in Christianity. It is the essence of Christianity. but it will elevate a person only to the level of adopted son.
Man was not created in spirit alone, but with a body. The ultimate step left to be taken is to be born again, not just in spirit, hut in spirit and body together. For that purpose Jesus' body is needed and he must return as a living person in flesh. So far Christianity has offered only the possibility of rebirth in spirit. Now in the New Age, when Jesus comes back as the Second Messiah, we shall be given the power to be born again in the body as well. Each person needs this physical rebirth before going to spirit world. Furthermore, the requirement to enter the Kingdom of God in heaven is that you become elevated as sons and daughters of God, loving the world as God loves the world.
According to the Bible, Jesus is not coming by himself but is also bringing a myriad of spirit men. All spirit men need to be born again in spirit and body as well as men on earth. When the Lord appears here on earth, the spirit world will want to come and unite with the body of Christ so that they may be born again in spirit and body. Because that is their ultimate hope, even those in spirit world are eagerly waiting for the day when the Messiah comes. When Christ achieves his goal here on earth, they all can be resurrected to the ultimate heaven. Not only men and women on earth but also spirit world will love Christ and follow him and serve him with their hearts and souls.
All mankind wants to become part of the blood and flesh of Christ, the True Parents. How can that be done? You can become flesh and blood of the Messiah by giving your unselfish, sacrificial love to the world. Your actions in loving the world will lead you deep inside the flesh and bone of the Messiah. If what I am telling you is truth, then at the end of the world there will be a new religion centering on one man and all the citizens of the world will want
to love and serve him, disregarding everything else. Once that magnetic force of love appears on earth, the place where the messianic role is being fulfilled can be recognized and the opportunity to live Jesus' prophecy will be at hand.
Jesus said that those who loved husband or wife or father and mother more than Jesus were not worthy of him. That idea can actually be lived in our lives. There will be one living person here on earth for whom we can give that kind of devotion and still want to give more. Even if you are killed for that dedication, you will not regret it. Certainly the love of God is more valuable than your life. You can forget eating and everything else in your desire to meet that person. Nothing else will matter to you, even if you die.
Become a seed in the physical body of the Father and obtain rebirth. When people become one with the Messiah to that extent then he will draw the attention of the world. The day will come when he will take his bride in what the Bible calls the marriage supper of the lamb. At that moment the entire spirit world and the entire earth will know their resurrection, for that is the gate through which they will all pass; they can be reborn through the first heavenly bride.
You might have everything under the sun, including a Ph.D. and a billion-dollar fortune and a wealth of knowledge. But if you cannot find the true gate to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, if you cannot find the True Parents here on earth, you are actually a poor person and have nothing at all. The Messiah comes on earth as a physical person in flesh and blood to meet his bride. Together they will celebrate and declare in heaven and earth the true sonship and true parenthood under God. That is the day of resurrection, the day of hope. The very purpose of the Messiah's coming the second time is to declare to the world the true parenthood of mankind here on earth and forever in the spirit world.
The Old Testament and the New Testament will pass away. What the world needs is the True Parents as the true source of life. The true children of mankind will be grafted into that family of the true father, true mother and true children, and around them the world will be reorganized into God's lineage. That day must come before you can truly have Children's Day. Before you declare yourselves true children, you need the assent of three persons: God, True Father and True Mother. Today is Children's Day, but before it is fully celebrated, the day of resurrection must come.
If you want to become true children of God then you must be different from people of the past. You must say to God that you are no longer pursuing ordinary, secular goals. "I am Your son, and day in and day out my goal will be to fulfill Your will and be Your representative and grow to be worthy of possessing Your love." Those are the words of true children of God, and nothing will change them.
Children's Day was declared in 1960, on October 1 by the lunar calendar. On that day, before God and with Satan observing, the True Parents declared Children's Day to the world.
You must be the son who can transcend the level of family, nation and world and overcome all obstacles. You will be the single-minded champion of God. The day you make such a covenant with God is the real Children's Day.
Become a tree of life in your own right
We are upholders of the new ideology of "Godism," which means the absolutely God-centered ideology and way of life. You will each become a tree of life in your own right, and people of the world will come to be grafted to you and find resurrection. If you achieve this perfection? you will have the power to resurrect others, and everything you do will be for the sake of God and humanity. You will marry for the sake of God and the fulfillment of His will. You will bear children, not for yourself, but for the sake of God and mankind. You will eat and earn money and build houses and teach others, all for the sake of God and humanity. Nothing is excepted from this standard.
Your heart should be the dwelling place of God and the True Parents, and the dwelling place of all men in the spirit world and here on earth. Your heart must be that wide. Your love will become so intense and strong that you can embrace God, the True Parents and mankind not only here on earth, but in heaven as well. Are you that kind of person?
The solution of history has been given, creating an explosion of all history, allowing everything to become solidified; there will be no more problems after this. In a few moments I have described the 6,000 years of biblical history, from Adam to the present time, and each of you must walk through this history as I have done. Put yourself in the position of Adam's family, but be an Adam who will not fall. Relive the history of Cain and Abel, being the Cain who does not kill his brother and the Abel who is not killed by Cain. Walk down the path of Noah, having his faith, but not making the mistakes he did. At each step of history put yourself in the center of that historical event and become the person who can make restitution.
Finally you will come to the time of Jesus. Then you can declare to God and the world, "I shall stand even taller than Jesus, work harder than Jesus and achieve more than Jesus did in his own time." That's not arrogance because you have advantages that Jesus did not have. Jesus had only a small country, but you have the world and the universe available to you. You can say, "I can love this world and universe that Jesus was not able to love in his time." Furthermore, Jesus could not marry and have his own physical children, but you will marry in the name of God and form a godly family. You can give God's children to this world. Jesus never experienced being a grandfather, but you will each become grandparents for God. You may not know how and why you came to this point, but you know that this is the way you are going to love.
The world has given us the name Moonies, but we have ourselves the name Sunnies. We start out as Moonies, and when we become Sunnies other people will become Moonies. After becoming Sunnies we have one more rank to achieve, the rank of Kingies. Then you will be given your certificate as a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of God.
Even though I may be ugly, I am more ambitious in terms of the love of God than any other man who ever walked on earth. Every part of my body is directed to the realization of that goal. My eyes want to see that goal; my ears want to hear that goal; my mouth wants to speak of that goal; my nose wants to smell that goal. My brain is thinking of that goal, nothing else but that one goal. I know one thing will be obvious in the future-no man could be as crazy as I am in regard to God. Everyone has been longing for the true Children's Day for a long, long time. You did not just arrive here at random. You have gone through every kind of hardship, difficulty and persecution, but you have broken through barriers and have won the victory stage by stage and now you are here.
It is wonderful to know we are here at the meeting of True Parents and true children. For that reason alone this is a historic day. Furthermore, Children's Day 1977 is extraordinary because this is the first Children's Day since the year one of the Kingdom of God on earth was declared. The year of 1977 is a gigantic turning point, and I want you to feel deeply honored to be a member of this group.
Even if I were to die now, I would not be a failure. I am not in Jesus' situation facing crucifixion. The entire heavenly kingdom will open up and escort me down a red carpet to the very throne of God. I can lift up my head before God and say, "God, You know what I have done. I am entitled to the Kingdom of God in heaven. Let me open the door for the billions of people to come." You also will be like that. You are going to be heirs of that philosophy and way of life.
Today's sermon has been an extraordinary message. You know clearly now how fortunate you are to be sitting right here as members of the Unification Church, and how fortunate you are to be sitting right here on Children's Day as true children, facing the True Parents. This is not accidental. No money can buy this treasure and glory. This is the meaning of the day which you are celebrating. You are now a representative of God, our Father.
I have been walking this path throughout my entire life. I have come under intense persecution, stood against the current and faced every kind of pain that you can name. You, however, are standing on the foundation that I am erecting and you can win an even more extraordinary victory than I have. You can be true representatives of God and your glory will be even greater than mine
If you are living this ideology, if you feel it to the bone, then everywhere you go God will be with you and the True Parents will be with you. They will guide you step by step and you will never be alone. When Joshua and Caleb succeeded Moses' mission, God gave them one most important command: "Be strong and of good courage." God wanted them to be bold for the chosen nation and for the remaining mission. I want to give you the same command: Be bold and strong. Be strong and courageous for your mission.
How about me, am I bold and strong? I am tough and courageous only because of God being there with me. For the sake of God there is nothing I cannot do, and no pain can stop me or hardship demolish me. When I was condemned to prison in North Korea, I did not pray, "God, I am going to prison. You must come and help me." Instead I prayed, "God, thank you for this new opportunity. Through this ordeal I want to discover more of You. I want to become more like You. I will be bold and strong. Don't worry about me.
Today we are free. We are not in a prison camp, so without any restriction we can give our utmost. What a precious opportunity we have! I gave up my life a long time ago. America is a dangerous place for me, like a jungle filled with savage civilization, but God is here and His will will be done.
Today is Children's Day and you are celebrating this day as true children. Those who volunteer and pledge to God that you will become men and women just like the True Parents, raise your hands. May God bless you. Let us pray.