My fellow citizens, distinguished guests, fellow colleagues working to defeat communism here at home and abroad, ladies and gentlemen:
I would like to express my deep appreciation that so many of you have come here today to participate in this rally, contributing your time at this most busy season of the year.
Korea is the focal point of God's providence
The title of my message is "God's Will and Korea." In it I want to clearly show that Korea is the focal point of God's providence, and that the key to the solution of the problems of the world today is to be found on the Korean Peninsula.
Looking at the situation of the world at this time, all of us feel disappointment. In spite of humanity's cherished hopes for freedom, peace, and security, the world is becoming more and more confused every day. There seems to be no hope for the future of humankind. Despite the constant efforts of world leaders, the problems of the world are becoming more complicated and more difficult to solve.
No religion or philosophy, and no political ideology, whether democratic or communist, has proven capable of solving any of these problems. The reason is that none of them understands the Will of God. Because human history is the history of God's providence of restoration, no fundamental solution to world problems is possible without understanding God's providential Will.
God is promoting His providence for the world by focusing on the divided Korean Peninsula. Therefore we must understand the significance of its division. The Demilitarized Zone on the thirty-eighth parallel, which divides the peninsula, is the line of confrontation between the communist system of dictatorship and the free world system of democracy, between the left-wing forces on the side of evil and the rightwing forces on the side of goodness, between materialism and idealism, and between atheism and theism. From the standpoint of ideology and socio-political systems, we see that the world today is divided between the democratic world and the communist bloc, with the United States and the Soviet Union as their respective leaders.
The case of Korea is paradigmatic; it presents in a condensed form the division of the world. Put another way, the situation of the world is an expansion and elaboration of the situation in Korea. Herein lies the deep significance of Korea in God's plan. God's Will is first to accomplish the unification of the Korean Peninsula, which represents the world in microcosm, and then, by applying the same method to the world, accomplish the ideological and sociopolitical unity of the whole world.
The thirty-eighth parallel and the confrontation between Hebraism and Hellenism
The thirty-eighth parallel is providentially significant in another way too; it marks the separation and confrontation of two civilizations. One is the Judeo-Christian culture inherited from the Hebraic tradition of Israel; the other is the communist civilization, which is a debased residue of Hellenistic culture. Had Jesus been able to go to Rome, he was to have united Hebraism and Hellenism. Jesus was to have been the center for their unity, but because he was crucified, the center for their unity was lost. As a result, Hebraism and Hellenism have coexisted in history. They developed along parallel lines, sometimes one predominating and sometimes the other, without being truly united. Today they confront each other across the Demilitarized Zone. It is God's Will that these two currents should unite on the Korean Peninsula. Understood in this fight, this fine of tension is of great providential significance.
Geopolitically speaking, Korea is at a disadvantage because it is surrounded by four major powers. Providentially though, Korea has the advantage, in the sense that success achieved here can quickly be expanded throughout the world by the major powers. Thus we see Korea's position as the focal point of God's providence.
How does God intend to accomplish the unification of the Korean Peninsula? He will establish a central figure, and he will promote His providential Will by putting God's love into practice. God's love starts with love of neighbor, extends to love of country, and expands to love the entire world. God's love is to love our enemies even on the worldwide level, transcending national interests. God's love is to pray for one's enemy and if necessary be willing to sacrifice one's life for the sake of the enemy. Jesus, who two thousand years ago came as the Messiah, was the very hero of this love. Jesus loved his enemies even to the point of allowing himself to be crucified.
The thirty-eighth parallel is a national level cross
As you know, two thieves were crucified with Jesus. The thief on the left accused Jesus, while the thief on the right testified to Jesus and defended him, admonishing the thief on the left. Thus, the thief on the right came to represent the side of goodness, while the thief on the left came to represent the side of evil, and in this way the crucifixion was the focal point in the confrontation between God and Satan. There is deep providential significance in the fact that Jesus, who was the way, the truth and the life, and who loved even his enemies, suffered on the cross with good and evil on either side. This reveals the principle of reconciliation and unity, centering on God's love. It teaches us that the struggling and warring sides can be reconciled and united through sacrificial love. We can also learn from this the lesson that if we practice God's love no matter how difficult the situation, we can lead any sinner to repentance.
We must also understand that the two thieves represent seeds that bear the fruits of good and evil that will confront each other at the consummation of human history. The appearance in the Last Days of the right wing, or the free world, as the side of goodness, and the left wing, or the communist world, as the side of evil, originated at the crucifixion of Jesus. Moreover, this confrontation between the two thieves is the prototype of many subsequent conflicts and struggles. The designations "right wing" and "left wing" actually have their historical origin in the thieves on the right and the left of the cross.
The thief on the right, as he was dying, testified to Jesus and opposed the thief on the left. Consequently, after his death, he was resurrected and entered into paradise. This indicates that if the United States, standing as the thief on the right, maintains to the last moment a strong stance against communism, standing as the thief on the left, then it will receive God's approval and will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven on earth.
The actual situation of today's conflicts and struggles, whose prototype was the opposition between good and evil at the crucifixion, is intensely expressed by the current Military Demarcation Line across the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, the thirty-eighth parallel separating North and South Korea represents the cross that the Korean nation must bear in order to providentially redeem the divided world. The Korean nation corresponds to Jesus on the cross, even as it is the foundation for the Second Coming of Christ.
The Korean people are the offering of providential history
Why in working His providence did God put the Korean nation through the way of the cross? He did so to call its people to their mission. God called the Korean people because they have a tradition of reverence for God and because they have overcome long trials by the exercise of moral purity and their peaceloving spirit. God called them to become the sacrificial offering of providential significance for the purpose of saving humanity in the Last Days.
The Korean people, who have gone through hardships for several thousand years, have now become the sacrifice for the salvation of the world. As they bear the world-historical cross of the division of their nation, they will continue to face countless trials, which they must overcome.
The Korean people must realize that this is a glorious blessing for the Korean nation and at the same time a fearful and heavy burden. If they fulfill their responsibility as people who offer themselves as a sacrifice, they will receive a glorious blessing. If they do not, the heaviest misfortunes will befall them. A people will meet with misfortune if it is unable to fulfill its responsibility. A mission of providential significance, to be a sacrificial offering, has been laid on this nation's shoulders. In order to fulfill it, the Korean people have to practice love, and at the same time they need to know the truth of God.
Jesus, as the incarnation of love, said that he is the way, the truth and the life. He was the incarnation of love and truth when he was crucified. This means that love and truth are necessary to reconcile the good and evil sides and lead enemies to come together in repentance. The truth refers to God's teaching of love, not secular truth. God's truth is sent to earth as revelation and comes through providential persons. God's truth is the absolute truth, an all-powerful key capable of solving even the most difficult problems.
Godism and the unity of love
I have encountered the living God through a lifetime of prayer and meditation, and have been given this absolute truth. Its remarkable content clarifies the hidden secrets of the universe, human life and history. When this truth is applied in society, social problems are solved, and when it is applied in the world, world problems are solved. The unanswered questions of religion are also resolved through this truth. In particular, when it is applied to evaluate communist theory, it brings to light communism's falsehoods and sets up a critique and counterproposal.
This is a new and previously unknown view of life, of the world and the universe, and of the providence and history. It is also a principle of integration that can bring the world into a unity while at the same time preserving the unique characteristics of all religious doctrines and philosophies. I have named this truth Unificationism or Godism, and have initiated the Unification movement and the Victory over Communism movement on a worldwide scale. They are now spreading like a wildfire.
So far I have explained that the practice of God's love and the truth of God are necessary for the reconciliation and unity of all. The reunification of a divided Korea will surely be accomplished if we embrace those on the side of evil with love, while helping them understand the errors of their thinking by means of the truth that we on the side of goodness understand.
The principle of living for others is the way of Heaven
Now I will speak more concretely about love. To love is to bring benefit to one's counterpart rather than oneself. Love is established when there is a mutual relationship between subject and object partners. Love emerges from one's counterpart. Love cannot exist if there is no counterpart. All created beings are designed to benefit others; each exists for the sake of the other. Not only human beings, but also animals, plants, and minerals exist for the sake of others. Even entities at the atomic level exist for other entities.
Also each of the heavenly bodies moves for the sake of other heavenly bodies. In light of their physical structure, men exist for the sake of women, and women exist for the sake of men. Likewise, parents exist for the sake of their children and children exist for their parents.
This principle of existence for the sake of the other applies to one's school, to one's place of work, and to the nation. However, love must not be limited by the boundaries of a nation; people need to love the world beyond their own national borders and love their enemies on a worldwide level. Therefore, the principle of living for the sake of others, that is, the principle of love, is the principle of Heaven or the way of Heaven. If we practice the principle of love even in the midst of hardships, then we will be sustained by the power of the universe and will never perish. If a person lives a comfortable life without observing this principle of living for others, he or she will soon decline. The saying, "The one who disobeys Heaven will perish and the one who obeys Heaven will prosper" is a truth rooted in this heavenly principle.
Korea is bearing the cross on the national level. No matter how difficult it may be to unite this nation, Koreans have to practice living for the sake of others, as individuals, as families, as a society, and as a nation, in accordance with the way of Heaven. Let us unite with the center of truth and expand this to the international level. If we do this, we will hasten not only the unification of the Korean Peninsula but also the salvation of the entire world. This must be the lifestyle of Koreans, to be in accord with God's providential Will. Not only will this promote the unity of North and South Korea; this method of unity will become the formula for the whole world to follow. Through this movement of love and truth, all the difficult problems of the world will be solved, humankind will be liberated from its long nightmare of sorrow and confusion, and everlasting happiness and peace will come for all.
Our homeland, Korea, has been deceived and made to suffer throughout history. There is no better way for us to go than to depend on God.
Spearheading the worldwide Victory over Communism movement
So far the Unification Church, the members of the Victory over Communism movement, and I have been making incredible efforts abroad to establish a victorious foundation on a worldwide level. Today I have returned to this country hoping that this victorious foundation may be connected to Korea, and that Korea may make a great leap onto the world stage.
I hope that especially you leaders of the Victory over Communism movement in Korea will be at the forefront in the fight against communism. I sincerely hope that you will extend your kind cooperation to members from other countries in order to make the connections of this foundation more secure.
Finally I pray that God will bless your families, our homeland, and the world.
Thank you very much.
