Sun Myung Moon
January 1, 1979
Excerpt
Home Church And The Completion Of The Kingdom Of Heaven
Unofficial Translation
In history we can see the inevitable polarization of these two conflicting parts -- Cain and Abel. There is a conflict between the mind and body within each person, as well as opposing elements in the home and society. We see this great separation in our world today, with one part being called the free world and the other the communist world. This separation stems from the confrontation of two ideologies -- idealism, a God-accepting ideology, and materialism, a God-denying ideology -- and their final clash on a worldwide scale is now at hand. Anyone who follows a materialistic or secular way of life is gradually engulfed by the satanic ideology. On the other hand, if anyone who lives a God-centered way of life based on a God-affirming ideology and pursues a religious life that denies desires for the secular way of life, he will be drawn nearer to God while moving farther away from the secular world.
In this conflict of good and evil on the worldwide level, what is the focal point and front line? The front line is always the place where the chosen one and his opponent face each other. The front line is always where the mind and body come together. You actually stand on the foremost front line because within you there is a struggle between mind and body. Serving God and practicing the religious way of life has been the way to place you at front line of the battle between God and Satan. Thus, this life of struggle at the frontline was the way of religious people.
There are numerous conflicts and wars on a large scale within and between societies, nations and the world. You should realize that the root cause of the great conflict is found within all human beings. This struggle between mind and body is the worst and most evil conflict that men face. I want you to realize that there is always a battle raging within yourself between your visible five senses and invisible five senses. When you go out to Broadway in New York City, you confront all kinds of temptations that appeal to all five senses of your body. Your physical five senses will entice you to enjoy all secular pleasures of your body while pulling you away from God. However, your spiritual five senses will try to protect and keep you from the temptations. Whenever you go out on the street the world there is bombarding you like machine gun fire, and unless you maintain a firm defense you will not be safe in today's world.
You should recognize that there are many invisible satanic forces constantly aiming at you at all the times. This is why the religious way of life has always begun with the denial of all physical desires. Since there is always much temptation in the world, religious people have isolated and secluded themselves rather than be exposed to it. This one explanation verifies that you are in the showdown battle of hell and heaven.
You are always at the starting point of either heaven or hell. You must decide which path you will go. There is always a tug of war between the visible self and the invisible self, and temptation is always trying to pull you in one direction, while God's truth is trying to pull you in the other. Each person is caught in the middle and usually goes a zigzag course, being pulled from one side to the other. This is a very realistic analysis.