Our Present Position

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
October 7, 1979
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

The topic this morning refers to our present position in relationship with God. People in general have a yearning to possess a high place and wide influence. When you go to such places as the Himalayan mountains or the vast Pacific Ocean, you enjoy their greatness. It is not easy to occupy a high place or have wide influence, however, because you have to get there first.

Personalities of people in the world are something like the zigzag of the mountains, with high and low positions and all kinds of ups and downs. There is great variation. Nations are the same. Some are high, others low, some are narrow, and others wide and open. Some countries have broad, monotonous plains, and others have jagged heights. National characters can be described accordingly. A person's character can reach a medium height, or go all the way to the pinnacle. Which is better? This is not an easy question to answer. It is possible to have a pinnacle so sharp that there is no room for anyone to stand on top, or a pinnacle with just enough room for one person. It is not easy to decide which of these is preferable.

The best choice would be flexibility-to be wide when we want to be wide, and to be high when that is best. The question is whether we have that kind of potential for flexibility. I am limited to a space of less than six feet, but in that limited area there is some intangible quality flexible enough to be wide and tall. What is it? In your mind you can go as high and wide as you like.

We can talk about a small mind and a large mind, but there is no yardstick to measure them. However, a narrow-minded person thinks of small things, and you can certainly recognize a broad-minded person. Levels of thought can be as big or small as you want. A mind can be so small that there is no room for even one person there. On the other hand, you can make your mind so wide that God can fit into it with room left over. People have that kind of capability.

Although we may be limited to a physical space, we do have that capability of being as big or small, as high or low as it wants. If we have wide, broad minds, what kind of things would we want to fill them with? With material things? What about filling them with life? Next, fill them with love. There is nothing more wonderful than thoughts filled with life and love.

Who else in this universe is in a position comparable to that of human beings? God has a mind and His thought are probably the biggest. What kind of mind and thought does God have? They are filled with life and love. Of course, all religions strive to receive God's spirit, but what is the point of receiving it? All that effort is directed toward gaining a God-like mind and thought so that people can be filled with life and love.

Suppose we draw a circle representing God's mind, and it contains thoughts about man. Do you think it would have a wavy pattern, or flow in a straight line? If we say that God's thinking is wavy, or up and down, does that mean He likes certain people more than others one day, or likes one race more than others? When you love a person don't you sometimes love one eye more than another, or one arm more than the other? Is each part in an equal position?

When your mouth laughs loudly is the rest of your body weeping? No, when your mouth laughs the rest of your body responds together and rejoices. Now do you think God's thought about man would be up and down or a straight line? Now you all say it would be a straight line.

Are all people good, or are there sometimes bad apples in the barrel? God can always love a good person, but does God love even evil people? Does that mean they are both the same? Doesn't God's thinking about good and evil people go up and down? As the leader of the Unification Church do I blindly value everyone the same? Sometimes bad apples have to be spanked and good apples praised, treating each according to its value. Where does that characteristic come from? It comes from our ancestors, meaning that God works the same.

We can conclude that God works in a straight line as far as justice and public equality are concerned. God intended all people to be good, so there is no difference, but only a straight line. But our world is not equal. World affairs go up and down, and there are all kinds of upheavals and convolutions. There is a central line running down the middle, and above that line God can intervene, while below that line is an area God cannot touch. One area belongs to the good side and the other area to the evil side. Thus, there are two realms in our present world.

Human society and also spirit world work just the same. Therefore, in spirit world there is a Kingdom of Heaven and at the same time there is a kingdom of hell. God is all-good and He recognizes that there are bad things in the world, but He is determined to transform all evil into goodness. Thus, He has always remained good and He is needed by everyone, even the people in the dungeons of hell.

What is a good person in our world? Can we say a good person is one who lives with a God-like mind? There are many "beautiful people" among the movie stars in Hollywood. Are they more inclined toward good or evil? Why? They have fame and wealth, so why are they disposed toward evil? Why don't we have high respect for them? Maybe many people there spend money for good causes, but generally speaking God-centered morality is absent in Hollywood. The incredible movie scenes reflect the promiscuous nature of their lives. People can get divorced as easily as they throw out an old pair of shoes.

Maybe "kissco" dancing is a better name for disco dancing. Is it most likely on the good or bad side? What's wrong with it? In many cases the dancers have fun, but don't think of anything else-not their parents, or town, or nation. Most likely they are not on God's side.

What are good people? Imagine I went disco dancing. When I started dancing would God criticize, or want to join me? We can resolve that the criteria of good and evil depend not on external appearance, but on internal motivation, on the reason why people do certain things.

Music, dancing, and drink are not inherently bad. If your internal character is totally centered on God every day, and you are serving a great purpose, then every action stemming from that motivation is good. As I already said, God takes responsibility for evil people as well as good people. In some cases maybe wine or dancing would be needed to help get them out of hell. You need bait to catch a fish.

Is saving souls a good purpose? Does that mean we can turn our church centers into disco halls? An important question facing us is how to deal with our present society. Would God just draw a line and say that activities like dancing automatically sentence a person to hell? In order to win disco people into heaven, God might have a heavenly disco place. Would it be good or evil for us to have a disco hall then? We could show that dance is not inherently good or evil, but can help enhance man's understanding of God. It doesn't have to lead to lustfulness and promiscuity. Once people taste heavenly dancing, they won't enjoy their old disco again.

Good and evil can look just the same. I am known as a religious leader, but suppose I were to organize a nationwide martial arts network that fought against street gang activity. Would it be considered evil for a religious leader to do that? Suppose God heard me making a plan to combat gangsters and organized crime this way. Would He protest that this was not a dignified activity for a holy man? Does a holy man have wings to fly around with? A holy man has the ability to convert evil people into good people.

You may know that Japanese communists are among the most belligerent and violent activists anywhere. To help contain their activity I had some of our members open gun shops around Japan. We demonstrated our determination and ability to deter them. The communists were scared by this, so they started accusing me of not being a religious man but a gang leader.

I investigated the modern martial arts and found they had certain deficiencies, so I researched a traditional martial art known as chung do su, or Art of Righteousness. I trained some of our young people in Japan, and with that method they were able to defeat black belts in karate after six months of training. Whenever we have Victory Over Communism rallies, the communists try to break them up. At one time they succeeded, but now that our young people know chung do su, they don't dare interfere.

If you have power and capability but you are restrained and persevering, then people respect you. People don't follow me because of my short temper and my hatred of unrighteousness, but because I can restrain my temper and do good things. God needs good people to be His tools to restore evil people into goodness. He needs representatives here on earth to carry out His work.

As you know, Soviet Russia is conducting an enormous espionage campaign, and the American CIA spies on them in turn. What is the difference between the two organizations? The Russians work for Russia's benefit, while the Americans work to benefit America. There are also spies who infiltrate to listen to me, but their goal is not to help us build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Their goal is to find a way to stop me.

My purpose this morning is to show our present position in relationship to good and evil. The understanding about what is good and what is evil is hazy in today's world, so we need to know which side we are on. We should be able to distinguish good and evil in our world. A good man can go to the dungeons of hell for God's purpose, but his quality and value will not be changed by doing so. The important thing is whether he goes down there to bring the people up. He may look the same as people in the evil world, but his motivation is to influence the world of evil to come back to God.

The Bible says that after the Crucifixion, Jesus spent three days in hell before he ascended into Heaven. Was he still the savior during those three days? Did he go there because he was attracted by life there? He went there to bring hell into his realm, which is Heaven.

Has America welcomed me? Not only was I not welcomed, but the government has tried to get rid of me. Is it good or evil that in spite of their plans I organized young people here? From the viewpoint of evil I am a bad person. Your parents dislike me the most because they think I took you away from them. Do you love me? Are you cleaning up your lives because of what I have taught you? But your parents think you are not normal because you don't go out on dates. Which direction is easier to fulfill? Why didn't you follow the easier instruction and get boyfriends and girl friends?

How do you know I am a good man? You cannot explain it, but you feel good to be here, even though it is so early in the morning. When you don't live up to my expectations, you feel depressed and weighed down, but when you follow them you feel light-hearted and free. If you live three years this way and then look back at your old life, you realize how much you have changed. You can think about the whole world now and mankind, not dwelling on trivial things. You have noble thinking now, and your mind has widened. You white people have changed so much that now you want to have a black husband or wife, whereas before you would hardly have considered such a thing.

Is your thinking centered on gaining benefit from other people, or how to give them some benefit? It is not easy to think about how to give to other people. Why is it so good? Why doesn't God give us something easy to do, instead of always asking hard things of us? God's thinking is public-minded, and the other way is selfish, private-minded. When you stand on the public side you are on the good side. This has always been true-whether in the past, present or future.

When you say you have good parents do you mean that they exploit you? Or do they give unconditionally to you and expect nothing back? Do good friends take advantage of you, or try to help you?

That principle is illustrated here in this room. You are cramped by sitting so close together and your legs are tired by now. If you didn't care about the other people around you, you would stretch out and lean on others so you could feel more comfortable. But instead you realize that your neighbors' legs may be even more tired than yours, so you invite them to lean on you. Which is better-the person who stretches out and hears 100% of my speech because he is comfortable, or the cramped person who only hears 50%? The second is best because he is already living up to my words. The other person may have heard every word, but is not living it. God knows that though such a person is hearing, he is not really listening.

Without clear criteria, it is difficult to judge whether some action is good or evil. There is much confusion in the world on this point. Suppose I went every day for a week to study disco dancers in order to understand them, and someone spotted me and called the newspapers. The next day it would be in the headlines. People would criticize me for making you work hard while I go enjoy myself at the disco. How would you feel upon reading such an article would you leave? Maybe you wouldn't leave, but you would start going to discos yourself

In many cases people don't understand why I do certain things. If I make a movie, people just wonder why a religious leader spends so much money. Their viewpoint and mine are entirely different. I see that a clean-up job is needed in Hollywood and a moral revolution needs to be kindled among the youth, so if a movie will serve that purpose then it is God's tool. I have paid much attention to Las Vegas, the gambling capital of America, because some day that has to be cleaned up too. If religious people run away from evil, who will take responsibility for cleaning it up? Who will build the Kingdom of Heaven in the evil world if they run away? Someone must face it.

Many people advised me not to buy the New Yorker Hotel because it is on Eighth Avenue, but I decided to get it so we could start cleaning up that area. Do you applaud me because you feel good about this? Our beautiful sisters can learn martial arts and line up on Eighth Avenue. As soon as a man approaches to solicit them, they can put their karate into action. In this manner, Eighth Avenue would be cleaned up very quickly!

I am convinced that the martial arts need to be organized in this country. In Japan there are many martial arts organizations but they fight among themselves, so I am mediating to make them a force of goodness. I did that long ago in Korea. Sometimes my reputation suffered and people insisted I was a gangster, but I accept that title on the condition that I be called a heavenly gangster. We have created a karate studio at Barrytown and Belvedere. You never heard of a seminary offering karate so that the students could combat evil. I know that our men must be ready to use their strength to protect goodness in case of emergency.

I prepared myself to do any sport, and even now I am perfectly fit. Because you are Moonies you feel glad that I am pushing America, but the rest of the American people don't like it. Whether we have a good life or not, we are going to stop America from crumbling and revive it on God's side.

What is our present position? Is the Unification Church only religious, or is it involved in everyday life? Are we still the Unification Church even when we are in the bottom of hell? We do not deal with just good people. I send you out to the worst places where people will persecute you and where evil is really working. That is our real stage. You go to worldly places for witnessing and fundraising, but actually you are spying on that world so that in a few years you will know how to save them. I am working with you to learn the reality of evil so we can have a working strategy to win.

We have intelligence and experience. We get to know the evil society, and then we create a ladder for it. We must witness to people from all walks of life. You might go to Hollywood and witness to movie stars, gamblers, drinkers, for they are also part of humanity. The mere fact that we are in Las Vegas does not mean we are gamblers. Why would we go to a place of prostitution? Only to save the people there. That's how the Unification Church thinks.

Our present position is to be everywhere. First, we must be strong, arming ourselves with truth and commitment. Then we shall be champions of God who are ready to go anywhere. Suppose such a champion goes gambling and wins $100,000 every night. Many gamblers ruin their families by their compulsive gambling, so the first place all that money should be spent is to restore those people and help mend their homes. When that gambler appears before God, would he be sent to hell because he gambled? What would God's verdict be?

God's way of thinking is revolutionary and entirely different from that of most religious people. Unless God thought in an extraordinary way, how could He dream of saving the entire world? He's not interested in having a small heaven and a big hell. He is planning to turn the whole world around.

I would like to see you becoming fabulous actors. I am also interested in creating a school to teach the best form of dancing. I am planning to create the best acting college in Hollywood, where our members can become the best film stars. They will be great movie stars, but God-centered men and women who are not swayed by temptation. You can imagine that I am thinking about many things. Many other projects that are already being fulfilled as well. In five or ten years when you see the result you will wonder when I started all that. You are simply going ahead with your responsibility now, and during that time I am doing everything.

Now you realize that I am not interested in just spiritual work, but that I am creating a solution in all the smelly, crumbling areas. I am creating a solution. I am doing work which no head of state of this world can duplicate. Even in martial arts we don't want to take second place, so we are creating our own champions. I am also planning to create sports teams, but only the best. A Moonie soccer champion will still be kicking the ball even if his leg is broken!

It is my standard to excel and be number one in every area. We are interested in catching a lot of fish, and we have received criticism even for that. Last summer I set a new record in catching tuna and also for catching the biggest tuna on the East Coast. It was a huge battle to catch every tuna and bring it aboard. When the tuna was finally drawn near the boat, I was the one to harpoon it. Many people question how a religious leader could do such a thing. But I see the tuna's blood a sacrifice to save Americans who are destined to die because of their sin. The fish will die in their place.

In the Old Testament era the animals which were offered on the altar were killed by the chief priest. I offer the tuna for the sake of humanity, to help pay the debt of sin. I never, ever think I am catching tuna to help feed my family, or to earn money for them, or for sport. Whatever I am involved in, I have 100% unity with God, with total vertical harmony. If that is my attitude, then what kind of men and women do I want you to become? I want you to become central figures in all walks of life, but always God-centered people.

Who is the best member on a 10-person fundraising team? It is the person who gives more service in the most sacrificial way, and who strives to make unity. The person who is always giving orders is less likely to be in that position than the person who strives to carry them out. What about the person who complains about having to do the work?

When you look at yourself in the mirror, demand that your eyes repent for giving any dirty looks to people, and that your mouth repent for any harsh words it said, and your ears for wanting only to hear good things. Ask your brain if it is thinking of itself, or for God and others. A selfish mind is narrow, but a broad mind thinks for others and for the mission.

What is the place of the Unification Church? We are here to take responsibility for all the bad things in America. We want to change them for the better. If we can turn the dirty, smelly places into heaven, people will have to respect us. When we bought Belvedere and East Garden, there was much criticism in the community, and people felt the town was losing its beautiful landmarks. But now they see that we are doing a beautiful job of taking care of these properties. Our philosophy is to get a piece of property and make it better.

America is crumbling because most people think they will take responsibility only for good things. No one is interested in improving the bad areas. If God is truly determined to save the world then will He deal only with good people, or will He go to the worst possible place as well? It is a simple philosophy: if the worst place can be changed into heaven, then everything else is taken care of.

When I came to America I said I would help all the people who were struggling with problems, whether free sex, drugs, family problems, whatever. In 1975 Barrytown was a training center for members from all over the country. Whenever I visited the leaders they would wail about how many low-standard people were smoking marijuana and stealing, worrying that this was not how a training center should be run. But I told them if America didn't have so many such people, then I wouldn't be here. I came to America to help save those people.

Many of you were in trouble in the past, like human trash, with no goal in life. Today you are revolutionaries, completely turned around. You will receive more and more assistance as spirit world intervenes to help people overcome temptation. There is a story about one chain smoker who heard Principle and decided to join. But he just couldn't overcome his desire for smoking, and would sneak out for cigarettes. One day he sneaked out and put a cigarette in his mouth and then his whole chest throbbed with pain. He exclaimed to himself, "I never knew smoking was that painful!" And then he could quit.

One person wanted to be a member and follow God's way, but had a hard time overcoming his drinking habit. One day he had a drink secretly and then hiccuped all day long, advertising that he had been drinking. The Unification Church is a mysterious place where things like this happen. Without knowing about spirit world, people think there is brainwashing going on here because they hear about things like this. They can't understand how such drastically good changes in people's lives can happen otherwise.

Another mysterious thing is that even if you leave the Unification Church you cannot extract the Principle from your mind, and you will see it working everywhere. Then you have to come back. We are really turned around. There are couples who were living fallen lives in the world, but then they realized God was working in the Unification Church and joined. Then for seven years until they were blessed they had no physical relationship with each other, even though some of them still shared the same bed. Was I spying on them to make sure they did that?

This is why we can confidently say that we can change the world. Our job is to be responsible for the worst situation. When you get a mission in a terrible place, would you say that even though you love me, you simply can't do such a mission? Is your love conditional? If you really feel that the Unification Church is created for saving this world, you will ask what is the most troubling, difficult mission and then volunteer to go there.

What is the worst problem in the world today? Why is it communism? God is the living Father of mankind. If someone tells your children that you don't even exist, and your children deny you are their parent, how do you feel? When you realize that that person is telling your children to deny you simply so he can destroy them, then that person is truly your enemy.

This analogy applies to communism. It says that there is no such thing as God, so communism will be the master and ruler of mankind. God is our Father, but communism is trying to throw Him out the window. Therefore, communism is the greatest evil in the world. The Unification Church has declared a war against communism in the name of God, and saying, "We know God." I have truly won the reputation of being the greatest enemy of communism, and the communists know this better than anyone.

We are making a movie about General MacArthur, and so far there has been no publicity about it in the free world. But the communist press has already accused it of distorting history. Kim Il Sung even sponsored a week of rallies against the movie. The State Department and Pentagon are very naive and never think what the communist motive might be in trying to stop that film; instead they tiptoe around, trying to be careful. The communists know very well who their most threatening challenger is, and they know the impact this film can have on them.

The Japanese communists thought they could deceive the world, but they fear the Unification Church and Reverend Moon because they know we cannot be deceived. We created a committee in Japan for the study of communism. Thinking we were promoting communism, they came to listen to us, but then they found out exactly how wrong they were and since then they have opposed us. We have mastered communist theory. Communists have studied the Principle so they can rebut it, but they are confused by our emphasis on spiritual values and spirit world. They cannot master the Principle!

A letter was received in one of our Japanese centers from someone who had been a prominent member and had left. He confessed he had been sent by the communist party to study the Principle and develop a complete rebuttal. But he said he realized Divine Principle was the truth, and his conscience wouldn't permit him to stay and spy any longer. So he wished good luck to the church, and finally left. What can the communists do if their spies are converted by us?

Without question the worst problem faced by the world today is communism. How can we win against it-with fists? No, only with the word of God, and the heart of love. The communists believe that the end justifies the means, and that if a lie is repeated enough it will become the truth. We must teach them that truth is always truth and a lie is a lie. We have become the most formidable organization working against communism. Our International Federation for Victory Over Communism is working in Asia, Europe, and America and will weaken international communism.

This summer our CARP members were working at the University of Southern California. A communist youth group staged a rally with about 500 people to demonstrate against Reverend Moon and the Unification Church. Only 80 of our members were there, led by Tiger Park. He told the members to stand back and watch him. He strode up to that opposition rally and challenged the leader to come out for a showdown. The group fought among themselves over whether the leader should go out or not. Tiger Park grabbed one of the organizers in front and held up his clenched fist and asked him, "Do you see my fist?" In the face of this determined confrontation the rally melted away. We are winning a fearsome reputation among communist youth in the world.

The second worst crisis for God in the world today is the weakening of Christianity. It should have been God's main force but in the last two decades it has rapidly declined, so it needs to be revived. Today Christian churches are mostly recreation halls with bingo and dances.

We not only teach our own members at the Unification Theological Seminary, but we also invite eminent theologians from all over the country to visit. We offer them an open invitation to study Unification Theology and question it and criticize it. Many theologians thought the Unification Church had no theory, and thought they would teach us about theology, but everyone who comes to Barrytown is amazed that we have such a deep teaching.

We are qualified for accreditation to offer a Masters degree, but because of government harassment we have not received it from the State of New York. But so many visiting scholars have seen the quality of our school that our students are accepted by many leading universities into their Ph.D. programs-this includes Harvard, Yale, Drew, University of Chicago, and so forth. The students and some of the faculty at these universities are shocked that Moonies are enrolling there, and they are very curious. But after a while our students win their respect, and now are demonstrating their leadership abilities.

Our students are making their professors study again. If they don't come to class prepared, our students challenge them with sharp questions. If they don't want to be embarrassed, the professors have to study ahead of time! Now we have conducted Unification theology seminars for leading theologians at 18 different universities, with our students presiding over the visiting professors. This is unheard of at those schools. These famous professors are the heads of the intellectual communities in their areas. We are attempting to turn the heads of the academic world so the body will also turn.

Without really knowing what is going on, some ministers warn people not to mingle with the Unification Church, but we are confident that we have the commitment to revive the established churches. The louder the ministers shout against us, the more young people drift away because those ministers have no power. Do you have confidence you can revive Christianity?

Now our seminars are being offered to the legal profession. Soon I want to organize a judicial federation as an arm to crack down on communism when it violates basic human rights. In a few years we will have our own Ph.D.'s. They are graduating from seminaries of many denominations, and because they are well grounded in these theologies as well as the Divine Principle, no one will be able to compete with them. Established Christian churches have always tried to destroy the Unification Church, but we have never attacked. We are only trying to revive them.

The third greatest problem of the world is the moral decline, particularly among youth. Who will clear it up? Do you have confidence we can do it? This problem has been Satan's best weapon so far in stopping the realization of the heavenly kingdom, but all three of these problems operate in conjunction with each other. The communists work to corrupt the youth, promoting drug traffic and encouraging immorality by proclaiming it as a "right." The Unification Church has a confident answer for all this, and we are not just talking about it, but acting on it.

So far we have proven we can prevail over communism and revive Christianity, and now we are tackling the moral problem. Unification theory is being taught in all walks of life in Japan. I have been misunderstood and hated by the powers of the world, but this lonely man has proven that God's solution works. We must work harder than the communists. We should be burning with greater zeal than Christian leaders, and living with God-centered morals. If we are no better than the people we are trying to change, how can we say we will save them?

My strategy is to reach young people under 30 and teach them heavenly discipline, training them to tackle these problems of the world and win. We can travel from one side of the world to another. If our Japanese Church hears that we need 100 members here, they will arrive the next day. If I ask you to leave for Europe or Africa tomorrow, you will. We cover the entire world, but we are one movement, one family. Our stage is the entire universe, but our minds are even bigger. We will solve all these three problem areas, liberating America, the world, and ultimately liberating God. Have you ever thought we would liberate God, instead of God liberating us?

We will take over God's mission so He will have nothing to do except watch. You may be sitting here on a cold concrete floor, but you have the confidence that when you move, America and the world will move. I come from humble origins in the Korean countryside, but I am telling America that I will move this nation. When I go to Britain, it doesn't even take six months for the whole country to begin talking about me. The government knew that nationwide controversy would start with my arrival, so they tried to keep me away. They didn't know, however, that there are many small Reverend Moon there who will also stir up heavenly trouble!

Whether I am here at East Garden or away in the mountains, if I give a direction would you act on it at once? If I told 1,000 of you to surround the White House, fasting and praying for 40 days, would you do it? My way is not the communist way, but God's way. We have the power to do anything, but disciplined by God's spirit, so our way cannot go wrong. We will tackle each task fearlessly and boldly, and we will flourish.

If you have a black husband or wife, you feel you can be a savior to Africa, a true father or mother to that continent. If you have an inter-racial marriage you can be greater than me because that is one thing I haven't done. I want you to have that credential, and be proud for that.

You can tell God to watch you liberate Him. Unless you make noise, how will God know you are doing anything? You have to tell America what you are up to, or it will not pay attention. Why has America reacted so strongly to me? It is because I have such a fervent interest in this country. This nation can't help but respond.

It doesn't matter whether I live for many more years or die now, as long as you become junior Reverend Moons. You can have the confidence to turn this nation upside down for God. Can you do it? A little sister on the front line must have confidence that even though she is unknown, when she stands up, America will also stand up and be saved. Make your minds big like God's mind and fill them with life and love. Wherever you go, life and love will overflow. Moonies are powerhouses, intense and hot, and when our circuits are hooked up the world has to jump.

Why did you come here instead of staying with your own families? Many members are wondering how they ended up here because they are scared to move forward and scared to stay put. I feel sorry for them. There is no such thing as two ways- there is only one choice and that is to go forward. The Unification Church way of life is not just ours, but the universal way of life and God's way of life. If a spanking is inevitable, you might as well get it over with and let other people be inspired by your example.

Maybe you like the Unification Church but have decided you still don't like people of other races. Is that your position? White and black make a beautiful mixture. When you are teaching someone, you should feel you want to convert them into the best possible man or woman. To do that you must make a wholehearted investment. Am I investing myself in America? In every respect I am investing totally-materially and economically, of course, but most importantly, with spirit and heart. I am holding nothing back.

You are either here to take advantage of me or to be directed by me. Which one? That means you are willing to respond to my call? If your lips say yes, do your eyes bear witness and your heart echo it? You are willing to be directed by me because you know it will be used for the purpose of God and mankind for salvation. You welcome that, don't you?

I tell you to live and die for the sake of your country because otherwise America will not be saved. That determination means you will give everything, without reservation, for the sake of this country. The person who is ready to die doesn't care about hunger, lack of sleep, or hard work. As long as he is still alive, how can he complain? Suppose you are martyred. Would you wonder how that could happen to you and complain that you worked so hard while I lived in East Garden?

You are a different person now. You can tell the sun that you are here to liberate God. If you climb to the top of a mountain, you can say you are the first one to climb that hill with the heart of liberating God and the world, and the mountain will know you are its friend. When I first came to America I went to every state and dedicate a holy ground, offering a special prayer. I told nature at each place that I would be back, and I could feel the creation welcoming and cherishing me. The entire universe will be your friend.

Will you ever be lonely? If you are in chains in jail, you will not be lonely if the entire universe is your friend. When you are a dynamo of the spirit of God, even if you don't say anything, still people will be brought by spirit world to comfort you. Have you seen me in dreams and visions? If you live this life 100% then you will be like me. Your position and place is that of a master, not a servant.

When you are witnessing or fundraising you feel hope to convert this nation. In years to come many people will seek your advice and you can influence the leaders of this nation. That is a realistic hope as long as you live this way. Today we have churches in 127 countries, but think of 25 years ago when I was living in a mud hut in Pusan, talking about these very things. The people listening thought I was really crazy.

Now that I am saying these things at Belvedere no one thinks I am crazy. You can see hope, and you know this is the only alternative remaining for the nation and the world. My crazy words turned out to be true. You are persecuted now, but in time you will be honored by the world, and leaders of nations will invite you to come help them. Will you start working when that times comes, or will you start now?

Today is the day to begin, here in New York in your home church area. Will you be a freight car or a locomotive? A locomotive is smoky, hot, and noisy, so everywhere you go, there will be noise and smoke and controversy. You have to receive persecution; that is our daily diet. People may think you are weird and they are curious about how you live. That curiosity is a good thing and through people's interest you will become famous. Then you can exercise more influence for God.

My name is well known, isn't it? Even elementary school children know my name. When my 11th child was born, it was announced by all the wire services and all the major newspapers.

Whether they like me or denounce me, no one ignores me. Among Moonies I am the best man, but among anti-Moonies I am the worst man on earth. Who is right?

I knew that I would prevail even without your help, but with you it is much easier. Will you be defeated or victorious? Our mission is to liberate God. It is the most difficult mission. You may shed much sweat and blood, yet feel you haven't done enough. Even when you give every possible service, you still feel you have not done enough. Do you think God will embrace you, saying, "My child, I know you love me and I love you"? If you drop from total exhaustion, God will embrace you, and in the dark of night even your dirty hands will glow. You will experience many mysterious things.

A pious son wants to take over his parents' difficulties and liberate them. A loyal subject takes over the problems of the kingdom, sacrificing himself to solve them. What is the starting point? It is the point of love and truth. You have to know what is good and what is evil. If you know it, then you will act on it.

Today is October 7, a good number. Can you pledge you have changed today and want to liberate God? If so, raise your fist with mine.

God bless you.

Day of the Victory of Heaven

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
October 3, 1979
World Mission Center, NYC, NY
Translator, Bo Hi Pak

When you hear "Day of the Victory of Heaven", the meaning of it might not be very clear in your heart. Therefore, this morning we are going to make the meaning clear.

To make a long story short, the fall of man meant the defeat of God. How? God was unable to possess the position in which He could govern the entire world and have true dominion. Consequently, God has not truly controlled all things of creation nor man. Finally, God has not had dominion over love.

Among these three things, what would be the central point? Love is the key and central factor to have dominion over men and all things. Once you possess love, you can actually possess all things and man because love encompasses everything God's history after the fall of man has been one of struggle to regain the position where He could have dominion over love. There is no doubt that the ruler of this fallen world is Satan because he has dominated all three precious things of this creation.

As a result, history has developed as a course of restoration of the lost dominion. In order to re-establish God's dominion, God's side must demonstrate a quality that is superior to any on the satanic side. Thus, a movement must inevitably appear which will show the way toward the restoration of God's position. To accomplish this end the people in that movement will deny their families and world, and even their own lives to serve God.

With what weapon and strategy will God defeat Satan? God's tool in history has been religion. What is the essence and depth of religion? God's prime purpose in establishing religion is simply to bring men to a level where they love God more than anything else under the sun. In order to possess God's love you must become a man of God first. There are many religions in this world, but how many people are really striving to become men and women of God? What about Christians today? Many religious people believe in a certain faith in order to receive some benefit, such as a place in heaven. That is not how God intended to fulfill His purpose for religion, however. The essential intention of religious people must be to restore men and women who will do their utmost to serve God above all else. This is the standard which must be established.

If love is the key factor in religion, what will be the standard and who will set it up? Should men or women set the standard? Let's broaden the question -- should individuals set the standard, or a nation, or religion, or what? In order for God to establish the domain of love, more than a nation or society is needed -- one individual is the key., Who is going to bring that standard, a man or woman?

Restoration follows a process which is reverse that of the fall. Who brought the fall by initiating the fallen action? Women initiated the action by which God lost His love, so who will God use first in restoration? I will ask you a difficult question to help you answer: did men or women give birth to Jacob and Jesus? Women initiated the fall so women are in a position to initiate restoration. This is why it was women who were ordained by God to take action to bring these men to this world. If Jacob, for example, had not had cooperation from his mother, the history of Israel could not have taken place.

What did Jacob's mother do? In order to fulfill the will of God, she went to the extreme of deceiving her own husband and her eldest son, allowing Jacob to be in a position where he could fulfill his mission from God. Have you ever heard of someone trying to buy the birthright from his elder brother? From a secular point of view, Jacob's mother was a liar and Jacob himself was a swindler. The Bible records these things very clearly, as well as the fact that God glorified and blessed them, and this has been a puzzle for Bible students.

Satan is the master of this world, so this satanic world is in the elder brother's position of holding sovereignty. If you confront Satan and inform him you have come to take over his world, will he just drop it and leave it to you? Instead, you say that you will take back the world in the same way that Satan first stole it. It is only logical -- Satan took the world without God's permission, so you don't need Satan's permission to take it back to God.

How did Satan take the world? First, he lied to his own Father and to Adam, deceiving father and son. Furthermore, through Eve Satan deceived the husband. In the process of the fall, God and His daughter were separated when she became a betrayer. In restoration the reverse way is necessary, so God and His daughter must be united; in other words, women should be united with God. Satan and woman united in the fall and took Adam and all things of creation away from God. In restoration God and woman unite to take the husband and all things of creation back to God.

That was the position of Jacob and his mother, Rebecca. Here woman and son united with God to cut the fallen tie, which in this case was to the husband and son on the satanic side. Now you understand why that process was acceptable in the sight of God. Their first task was restoration of the birth right of the eldest son. Why was this necessary? The elder son's position is always that of master or dominator, which was the right and authority bestowed on the eldest son. In biblical history the family heritage always passed from elder son to elder son. Since the elder son's position was stolen by Satan, God used Jacob to restore that position by taking it back.

By restoring the elder son's position Jacob could restore dominion over all things and over men. Since Jacob totally united with God, once he could take the position of elder son he completed God's sovereignty, ending the satanic rule. By Jacob's cutting off the satanic line, restoring the elder son's position to God and creating a tribe and people, God finally had a territory and people He could claim. This is why God gave the name Israel to Jacob, which means victor.

Because of the failure of men, God was always in a position as a failure. Now for the first time God won a victory, through Jacob, and set up a foundation on earth. Through Jacob God expanded His territory further and further, add ultimately that family grew into a tribe, a people and a nation.

Because restoration between Esau and Jacob was completed when both were in their forties, or middle age, Satan could still claim that, although he had to admit defeat on that level, God had not changed the foundation. Because Jacob and Esau grew up in the satanic world for forty years, Satan still had some claim. This period from birth-to the age of forty remained in Satan's hands, even though the birthright was restored after that age. Therefore, another step of restoration had to be taken, beginning with the mother's womb.

God's representative was not born in the elder son's position. Jacob assumed that position only after he was forty, so another battle remained which had to be won in the mother's womb. This dispensation was conducted through Jacob's son Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar, and the whole course had to be accomplished in a period of three generations. Tamar was destined to be responsible for an unusual dispensation specifically asked for by God.

Tamar's story has always been incomprehensible to scholars. According to Jewish custom, when the elder son died the second son would marry the widow. When Tamar's husband died, however, Judah's second son refused to marry her. The third son was too young to take the role of her husband. Knowing that she must bear a child, Tamar thought of a scheme to have a child by- her father-in-law and thus continue the lineage. This put her in a position to deceive both her father-in-law and his sons. Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and enticed her- father-in-law to have a relationship, out of which she became pregnant.

According to Jewish custom at that time, a woman caught in adultery, such as a widow who conceived a child, was supposed to be stoned to death. Tamar already knew what would happen to her if she had a child, so she wisely took the precaution of asking for Judah's ring and staff, which would prove later that she was not just acting as a prostitute, and thus save her life so she could fulfill God's dispensation. When Judah learned that he was responsible for her pregnancy, he protected her and saved her life. This was not a. joyful act for Tamar, but an act of risking her life. She performed such a dangerous duty simply to fulfill the destiny given her by God.

Centering upon God's mission, Tamar won the heart of her father-in-law, who was in a position of potential enemy who could have her killed. Yet Judah protected her, uniting with the mission of father. Therefore, the children in Tamar's womb could stand on God's side. Judah was the fourth son of Jacob, and out of the tribe of his descendants Jesus was born. In Jewish history Judah's tribe traditionally carried the tabernacle. They held this sacred position because God bestowed it on them, but most important of all, Jesus was born into this lineage.

Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, and Tamar conceived twins who stood in the same position. The closest kind of relationship among brothers and sisters is found between twins. Even in the mother's womb twins truly exchange feelings; if one cries then the other feels some sorrow.

Two brothers, Perez and Zerah, were struggling inside Tamar's womb. At the time of delivery the brother who was later named Zerah reached his hand out of his mother's womb. In order to clearly mark who was first born, the midwife tied a red thread around his wrist. This was representative of Cain, and ultimately foreshadowed the satanic force of the Last Days, which would eventually emerge as Communism before Jesus' birth the Roman Empire held that position. After the red thread was tied on, however, a great struggle took place in Tamar's womb, in which Perez fiercely pulled Zerah back in and was born first himself! Thus, the name Perez means "he who pushed aside."

You can see that at that time the victory won by Jacob over Esau was consummated in the mother's womb through Perez and Zerah. Now restoration was complete in that lineage and there was no room for Satan to exert any claim. , even from the time of conception in the womb. That family tree continued uninterrupted for 2,000 years down through the birth of Jesus. As you can see, God prepared a foundation which was totally cleansed from the root, so that at an opportune time God could have a sinless son out of that lineage, over whom Satan could have no claim.

The restoration of the birthright was first carried out on the family level, and that particular family expanded-to the national level. Years after Jacob won over Esau, Jacob and his family eventually had to flee to Egypt, where over the generations they developed into a great tribe. Why were Jacob and his family sent to Egypt, which was enemy territory? Since that family was given the blessing of being called Israel, all the various elements of that family had to be totally united, but that had not been done. There was still room for Satan to accuse them of not being united. This was manifested in the fact that Jacob loved his eleventh son, Joseph, very much and the ten older brothers were jealous. Instead of thinking of Jacob's happiness or mission, they were envious of Joseph and tried to kill him, eventually selling him into slavery in Egypt. Even though he was first a slave, Joseph became respected and loved by the Pharaoh and eventually became prime minister. When a seven year famine struck Canaan, Jacob's family was eventually saved by Joseph when he gave them assistance in Egypt.

When Jacob struggled with Esau he had to flee to Haran, and returned 21 years later to be re-united with him. When Jacob's sons were not united, the younger son left home and went to enemy territory, where eventually the whole family was reunited. In Egypt they grew in prosperity into twelve tribes of 600,000 people. During this period God allowed the Pharaoh to be very cruel, forcing the Hebrews to unite totally with each other. No one today knows why the Pharaoh could be allowed to be so cruel to God's chosen people. Because the Pharaoh was so cruel, however, the Hebrews became united under the leadership of Moses and were ready to obey God's order through Moses.

When the Hebrews came out of Egypt they took as many of the riches of the Egyptians as they could. This was one of the few dispensational moments that God allowed His people to strike a blow at the satanic side. This very rarely happens. At the conclusion of the Exodus the Hebrews entered Canaan, but again there was more division and lack of unity. Because they did not realize their mission and remained divided, God again used external forces to torment them and force them to awaken. I cannot clarify everything today, but eventually God used even the Roman Empire to chastise them just before Jesus' arrival.

The Romans worshipped many gods, but the Jews and Christians worshipped only one, and the two ideologies inevitably clashed. God made the Roman Empire strong to achieve one goal the unity of the Jews, and a fierce determination to free their people from oppression. God always uses that strategy, so that by allowing an enemy to become strong, His people are forced to unite. In the development of Christianity the early believers suffered terrible persecution. I visited the underground labyrinth of rooms in Rome known as the catacombs, where the Christians gathered secretly in the early days. They were deeply united because opposition was so strong.

God used the Roman Empire to unite the Jews before Jesus came, and after the crucifixion God used the Roman Empire to make the Christians unite. Under those adverse conditions God's people had to give up everything for the sake of God, so that there was no other-.reason for them to exist. Then they could have total oneness with God and with each other. In this way God's dominion over all things, over man and over love could be restored. When God's people were totally united, they would all move as one under His direction for wholesale restoration. All this is historical fact, but this perspective on history has not been known until now.

After 4,000 years of biblical history since the fall of Adam and Eve, the time finally arrived for the birth of the Messiah. This meant that for the first time in history God could finally send His true son in His sinless lineage, in the mother's womb. Because that lineage had already been cleansed, Satan could have no claim on that sinless baby boy, and on this level Satan was defeated. This event was the first of its kind in history, and any people who united with this messianic child could also be made sinless and elevated into heaven. By uniting with the true child of God they would be linked to God, and dominion over all things, men, and love could be restored directly.

The Roman Empire ruled the nation of Israel externally, but the Messiah was to rule it internally once the Jews united totally with him. God wanted the Jews, whom He had trained for 2,000 years, to unite with Jesus so they would be as one. Jesus came to fulfill all of that. Jesus was already destined at his conception to be the son of God. Upon his birth God expected the whole nation to bow down to him.

At one time I was buying clothes at a New York store which was run by a Jew. He asked me if I was Reverend Moon, and then wanted to ask me a question. He asked, "If the Jews are the chosen people whom God loves the most, why did God allow so much suffering to fall upon them? Can you answer me?" I replied, "The answer is rather simple, but explaining it fully would require one hour. Could you give up one hour of your business time to listen?" He said he couldn't possibly do that, so I told him maybe we would talk another time.

I want you to know that it is God's will that all religions be united into one. You know restoration takes place according to the law of indemnity, and that God's purpose is the restoration of all mankind. Some people, like Jesus, are in the position to sacrifice for the sake of the world. The Jews as well are in a position to help God restore billions of people around the world. Their sacrifices must not remain in vain; they served an important purpose in the history of God for the sake of restoring all the multitudes of people in history.

Among the religions of the world, the Jews have suffered the most because God's loved ones are always in a position to be a sacrifice. Because God allowed such suffering to come to the Jews, God expected them to be the strongest, most understanding and most united religious people. Who shall play the central role in uniting all religions? God handpicked the Jews and trained them for that role. This is my explanation of the suffering of the Jews from the dispensational point of view-; their oppression was not a punishment from God, but was the same glorious sacrificial role that Jesus was given in order to complete the restoration of mankind.

After World War II the Jews had a great opportunity because they suffered the most. They should have become flag bearers and champions of God, calling for unity of all religions, including Christianity, under God's banner. If those two had united then the unity of all other religions would only have been a matter of time. The problem has been that Jewish thinking was always nationalistic, while God's thinking was universal. The Jews should embrace all people of the world for their salvation, and in that case they would have won a true victory for God after World War II. But as long as they have narrow thinking they will face more and more problems. Once they liberate themselves to see from God's perspective, their whole situation will become different. If they think self-centeredly then God will leave and look for some other champions elsewhere.

I want you to understand that because of this failure of religions to unite, Communism could rise after World War II. In the event that they take over the free world, the first group of people to be annihilated will be Christians. The worst bloodshed, never seen in history, will take place and touch all people of the world. The genocide of the Jews in World War II will seem small in comparison as millions and millions of people will die in that bloodletting. God will require the toughest kind of unity to be forged under those circumstances.

Pope John Paul II visited New York recently and received a wholehearted welcome, but do you think he could have been given such a welcome under worldwide Communist rule? No, the Pope and all Catholics, Protestants and Jews together would have been killed at the outset. What about the Unification Church? We would be the first to go. In that respect all religious people face a common destiny. My proclamation is that we must unite and go beyond the level of denomination and the boundaries of religions. I established a movement to unite religions, but instead of being united, Christians are uniting with Communists to accuse and oppose us. What seems to be unanimous opposition to me, however, is being split by you who crossed over the line to unite with me. You are the people who saw the Will of God and want to give your lives to it and fight for this goal.

All of this has been a tangent because I thought about that Jewish merchant, so let's go back to the main topic. Yet it is necessary that you know this common sense truth.

The nucleus of God's dispensation is given to the chosen people through the Messiah, who brings the true meaning of restoration to the world. Should God send a man or woman to be the Messiah? Could the Messiah be born of a man? Of course not. "Man" is a short, simple word, but "woman" is a bigger word; that "wo" means "Wow" or "wonderful," so women are "wonder people".

Who was chosen to fulfill that most extraordinary dispensation in the sight of God at the time of the Messiah 2,000 years ago? Her name was Mary. "Mary" and "marriage" sound quite alike. In God's sight the first woman in the position of bride was Mary. She was a culmination of all God's work through 4,000 biblical years of history, the pinnacle of this dispensation, and her responsibility as this chosen woman was to pass through a course representing all of history.

In the process of the fall three deceptions took place. Eve deceived God, her Father, as well as Adam, her husband and God's son. When God summoned Mary to take up her great responsibility, she was already engaged to be married. This was significant because the fall took place during the period of Adam and Eve's engagement. Mary conceived Jesus without having any relationship with Joseph, so there was deception of her husband-to-be involved. When the angel came to Mary, he told her she would conceive a son whose name would be Emmanuel. How did she react upon learning of this incredible mission? She could have refused, saying she was already engaged and that her fiancée would be angry, that she would be stoned if she conceived a child. The mission presented to her was a life risking one.

Her husband-to-be was involved, as well as her own and her husband's family, and the Jewish people. She was given a mission to conceive a child out of wedlock and faced condemnation and death. But did she refuse? She answered the angel, "I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." She knew people would revile her, so her determination was that she would willingly die, but not until after she had borne this son. She was clever and thought that the best way to protect herself would be to win Joseph's heart. But could she go to him and claim she was carrying the Messiah in her womb? She faced incredible difficulties, but I don't want to take the time to go into detail.

Ultimately, because Mary made up her mind to give her life for the mission of God, God cooperated to help her. *An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to fear taking Mary as his wife. Joseph was also a man of God, and where another man might have dismissed this as but a funny dream, he took it seriously. He turned his back on the external appearance of the situation and accepted it as God's will. He took Mary as his wife, knowing that she was carrying a child that was not his.

Do you think that naturally he would ask her whose baby it was, since after all he had saved her life? Could she reply that she conceived through the Holy Spirit and expect Joseph to accept it? If the Pope was in' Joseph's position would he believe her? Would Billy Graham believe his wife if she told him that? That kind of conversation between Joseph and Mary could have led only to a great argument, with Joseph accusing that even though he saved Mary's life she still was not being honest with him. Though this is not exactly what took place, do you think there was no tension in that family when Jesus was finally born? At first the community would think he was Joseph's son, but it was impossible to keep secrets. - Any conversation between Mary and Joseph must have been overheard, even by the birds or insects, and I'm sure rumors spread quickly that Jesus was an illegitimate child.

More children were born to Mary and Joseph, and they all knew that somehow Jesus was different. The Bible does not speak directly about this, but the fact is that when Jesus was a boy there was a great deal of tension, and even Mary was distant with him at times because she was a victim of the everyday situation. Jesus was lonely as a child and often left the house to be alone. Once his parents even left him behind in Jerusalem for three days, only coming back to look for him later. How could parents leave a young boy behind that way? There were not many happy days in that family.

I'm sure many of you have grown up with a step parent, and even in an open society like America's today there is tension between a step parent and step children, so imagine how much more difficult it was 2,000 years ago. In this sense Americans are in a position to be sympathetic with Jesus' position; more young people are experiencing the same kind of suffering Jesus went through.

Satan took Eve away through deceit of father, husband and son. Mary, in the reverse position, willingly faced difficulty and misunderstanding in order to do the will of God. In spite of her mistakes, she was a great woman for she accepted the call and strove to fulfill it.

This is the background of the circumstances under which Jesus was born. He was destined before his birth to be the Messiah, but he was not accepted by the people. He was rejected and crucified. God worked unspeakably hard to bring this one son of His to the world, guiding a course of incredible history. After all His effort, do you think His Messiah came only to die on a cross at the age of 33? Was that God's will? The Messiah was born as the elder son of the universe on God's side, having sovereignty over all things. Jesus was sent to the world as the representative of God's personality, God's love and God's entire creation.

After 4,000 long years of struggle, one person, Jesus, could be born as the representative of God in totality. Christians today must repent for not knowing that the crucifixion was not the will of God. The path of the cross was not God's primary will, and the cross is not a pleasing symbol to God at all. Because this is what I teach, people call me a heretic, but let them go ahead. This is the hidden history that only God can reveal, and until now it has not been known to anyone on earth. If men continue in this ignorance, they are destined to be destroyed, but instead God has chosen me to reveal the truth for the first time in history.

If I am truly a God-sent champion to reveal truth God has never disclosed in all history, then any religious leader or believer who opposes this work shall inevitably decline. Look at how Christianity, which has prospered for 2,000 years and spread throughout the entire world, is faltering and crumbling in the thirty short years since World War II. It cannot be a coincidence.

What happened after Jesus' crucifixion? God's dispensation was divided, with one side a physical dispensation and the other a spiritual dispensation. Jesus remained the parent on the spiritual side. The Trinity of God and the Adam and Eve, or male, and female spirits, are represented by God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Hence, Jesus fulfilled the position of parent of mankind spiritually. His body was killed, so he was in a position to be a husband spiritually. The Holy Spirit is in the bride's position, but has never had physical form as Jesus once. did. In the end, however, the Holy Spirit will take physical form as one woman, who together with a physical man will become True Parents to mankind. Together they shall be the channel by which mankind can return to God. Only with the installation of True Parents who are both physical and spiritual can the Kingdom of Heaven on earth be formed which can finally be lifted into heaven. Therefore, the Bible and the Divine Principle teach that the Kingdom must come first on earth and then be opened in heaven: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

God created both man and woman, not just one or the other. Could Jesus be the parents of mankind all alone? The inevitable question is whether Jesus should have taken a bride. Then he would have had children, right? If his lineage had continued from generation to generation, would such a system as the Papacy have been needed? Of course not. Jesus' descendants would have been the center of the living Kingdom on earth. If Jesus had left heirs on earth would there have been unity or not? Nothing like that happened, so the natural conclusion is that Jesus must come again. In order to fulfill this mission could he come as a celestial body on the clouds?

Based on Jesus' spiritual heritage, the entity we know today as the free world was formed. What is its purpose? It exists as a foundation for the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent. The center of that free world today is America, a nation which contains the essence of the Christian world in Europe. People of all denominations who lacked freedom of worship in Europe came to America, and the founding spirit of this nation is "In God We Trust." When the Pilgrim fathers came here, they came to make a better world centered upon God. They were outcasts in Europe, and because their consciences could not accept the government oppression there they wanted to make a better world somewhere else. God opened a new horizon to them in their search, and led them to America. They fled from Europe, determined to make a better country.

Did they have a joyful, lighthearted departure from England? No, they were outcasts fleeing their own country. The Mayflower was a tiny, rickety ship and they sailed without any assurance of what their destiny would be, realizing that they could very likely all die at sea. That was the strength of their determination when they set sail.

The Mayflower is a symbol of men who value their faith above their life, men who don't mind risking their lives to find freedom of worship. Because of the strength of their faith, America rose to incredible prosperity in the short time of 200 years. The people in this nation were determined to make a better nation than any in Europe, and believers and immigrants of all kinds came from abroad, creating a melting pot of faiths, races. and nationalities in this one nation. America is a movement of unification under God.

There were many thousands of Indians in this country when the Europeans came, yet God sided with the white people and allowed them to push the Indians back and settle this country. Indian opposition to the settlers was quite necessary, however. If the Europeans had found this bountiful land all free and idle for them to use, selfishness and division would have been more extensive among all the different groups and they would have more easily forgotten God. God allowed the Indians to attack so that the white minority would have to unite. In the end, however, the white people made a great blunder. They should not have ruthlessly massacred the Indians but should have made the same unity with the Indians that they made among themselves.

The law of cause and effect cannot be avoided in history. America is an extension of Great Britain, which means that Satan is more interested in America's fate. Thus, America is in a position to indemnify what Britain did wrong in history. The British had done great evil over the centuries, particularly in Asia and India. They aggressively developed the opium trade in the Orient in order to bring out ton after ton of gold for themselves. Official policy gave no consideration to the well being of the Asians, totally unconcerned that whole groups of people became addicts as long as the British could keep getting gold. Someone today has to pay for that sin. America is paying that historical debt, and young people here are plagued by drugs. White people crippled the lives of Asians through the effects of opium, and now the same evil is plaguing America.

No other race in the world trusts the word of white people when they say they bring salvation because, especially in recent history, their actions have always brought greater evil and distress to other peoples. Look, for instance, at the plight of the boat people since America's blunders in Vietnam. If Asians, however, come forward to say there is hope in the world, other people will listen to them. There is an unbridgeable gap between white and black people today, so a mediator must come and that can only be yellow people. It is historically sound to say that God will bring hope to the world from Asia.

Do you hear any Orientals proclaiming hope for all mankind today? No Filipinos, Vietnamese, Chinese or Japanese have come forward. The only voice crying in the wilderness is Reverend Moon's and I am proclaiming the solution to the problems of the world. But I am not just shouting like a crazy man; this message is logical and truthful. America needs that voice and should listen, but instead of accepting me this nation is trying to suppress this movement. That is the reality.

Someone might be skeptical and want to know why, if I am destined to save this world, I didn't come to America sooner instead of waiting until I was fifty. The answer is that a foundation was necessary on the national level. Since Jesus lost his physical body and the national sovereignty of Israel was subsequently destroyed, that position must be indemnified and restored. Both spiritual and physical things must be restored on a national basis. Until then the world dispensation could not be started.

Unity between spirit and body must start from one individual, then be expanded to one family, one tribe and one nation, then to the world. It is impossible to jump to the world level without following each of those steps. Before coming to America and the world stage I had to liquidate the debt of history. All the sins committed by men and women of history had to be solved before I could come.

Jesus was opposed by his family, tribe, nation and world, and before I came to the worldwide level I received the same persecution. In order to indemnify the past I had to receive the same persecution, yet win. I came as the world champion of goodness, yet I was treated in the worst possible way, as was Jesus. From Satan's point of view the Messiah is the worst person in the world and he never wanted to look at Jesus, but from the heavenly standard the Messiah is the best. Satan doesn't care how much the Mafia grows or how much drug addiction spreads, but he can't stand to see my work growing in America and the world.

If Satan is to survive he cannot allow me to prosper, so he began an all out attack against me, mobilizing even the Communists. He was even successful in getting religious people and well established public figures to unite against me. No matter how righteous religious people may have been, if they oppose the central figure on God's side they automatically put themselves on the satanic side. The ultimate showdown, however, must be done on the worldwide level. My work in Korea, Japan and Asia was only preparation. To make the final showdown I had to come to America, and you know the. history of what I did after that.

I arrived on December 18, 1971, but the real battle and offensive began on April 30, 1973, the day I was granted permanent residency in this country. On that. day I was given legal permission to stay here, which meant I was allowed to begin the battle. It was all culminated roughly 3 1/2 years later on September 18, 1976 at the Washington Monument Rally. That was a gigantic heavenly offensive on the worldwide level. During those years I created a God-centered nation on the worldwide level and God centered people on the worldwide level; everything I did in those years was on the worldwide level.

The ultimate goal is that centered upon the love of God you restore dominion over all things of creation and all people. In every respect the standard of God's people must be superior to any satanic standard. How can we prove that we have set that standard? If you have a great chunk of gold, will you put it in your pocket, or rejoice that it will serve the purpose of the Kingdom of God? When miners found gold during the 1849 gold rush they killed each other to keep that gold for themselves. But in the heavenly standard we rejoice that it can be used for Kingdom-building, not for ourselves.

The purpose of MFT is training to prove to the secular world that our standard is higher. If we earn $100, we want to give $101; that's the way we think. Then that money shall come under God's dominion, without restriction. Adam and Eve lost that standard, so men and women, you and I, should restore it. Some people might say they like the Unification Church and the Divine Principle, but they don't like to fund raise. Is it right for people just to want to enjoy some benefit for themselves? Unless you set a standard higher than Satan's side, you have no way to represent God's dominion over all things and all people.

When you join the Unification Church, the first thing you do is fund raising. You must liberate yourself from the old selfish way of thinking about money, giving up the concept that money is for your benefit. On MFT you might think you are tired and want to use the money you earned for a big meal at a nice restaurant, or for a taxi instead of walking, giving the leftovers afterward for God's mission. That is not the right way to think. Adam and Eve never had a car, so we walk too. The excuse that you need vans for fund raising is not acceptable. Unless you keep the highest possible standard in fund raising here in America, how can you win on the worldwide level?

This way of thinking is rather fearful, but it is not my thinking it is God's thinking. If you live this absolute standard, Satan is the one who will be trampled and have to bow down to you. That is the victory God wants to gain. If there is anyone who has the right to complain, I am surely the first one. Have you suffered as much as I have? There is absolutely no suffering that I have not gone through.

Satan has mobilized every technique to oppose heaven's forces and there is no method he hasn't tried on me. When he opens his big guns against me, I squat down and hunch over and just take the beating. The enemy encircles me, but since I am down so low their fire ultimately hits each other instead of me. The government and religious leaders thought they were firing at me, but they have discovered they are firing at each other instead. I take their fire calmly, but they are fighting among themselves over me. That's God's strategy, and no one can outwit God, right.?

It is inevitable that a controversial giant shall emerge around whom all four billion people in the world shall gather and start barking at each other. In the end they will conclude either that he is the most precious visitor sent by heaven, or the worst criminal. I cannot be halfway or mediocre; I must be either completely good or completely evil. The world is divided over this, saying both that I am the best and the worst. Where do I stand? You recognize that I am a controversial figure in the world. In one thing I have unquestionably won the championship: I am the King of Controversy! That is one thing no one can dispute, young or old. Mother and my children also believe that.

Either I am extremely evil or extremely good, but which side am I on? You are just saying I am on the side of good, right? When the entire world hits you, will you divide or unite? You are not so dumb that you will divide? Are you United? I see all kinds here -- yellow, white and black skins, and all colors 0 f hair. Are you united? Will God say He cannot forgive me because I took His love and all the young, people, or will He be excited and encourage me to do more?

What a wonderful goal we have! For the first time in history we want to create one race of mankind -- what we call the love race or Adam race -- with all colors of skin as brothers and sisters and no national boundaries. If I were living in the remote countryside of Cuba, and called all the Moonies of the world to come see me, would you come? Even if your parents and all your relatives opposed you? Even if the US Government refused to let you go? Would you swim across? Sharks might get you! The one principle of life or credo which would bring you is what is in the Bible: "Those who would lose their life for my sake will find it."

Do you think there will be years of greater controversy to come in the future? No. The year of most heated worldwide controversy was 1976. Everyone was watching the Washington Monument Rally, including nations and US Government agencies, hoping Reverend Moon would sink down. Only one group of young people was insisting that I would go up instead. The problem is which side God stands on; He stood on my side and because of that support vie won the victory. This hectic battle will continue until 1980, but a culminating point must come and it will all be finished.

Without the help of God would it be possible that one man coming from a mountain village in Korea, not understanding the language or the culture, could go to a foreign land and stir up the entire world in 3 1/2 years? Is that an ordinary or an extraordinary thing? Furthermore, that battle was not fought in an obscure place, but in front of the US Congress. It was a modern-day confrontation between David and Goliath. I predicted in those days that we would prevail, but when I spoke like that in 1976, 1977 and 1978, did you believe me 100%? Only a few of you said yes. Most of you were not sure.

After all these victories were won, God declared the Day of the Victory of Heaven, forty days after the victory at Washington Monument. All the 6,000 years of biblical history were won at that point. On the foundation of that victory I proclaimed the year one in the history of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, on February 23, 1977. From that point on the defensive battle was finished and now everything we do shall become a monument to that victory.

The battlefield since that day is home church, where we are deeply moving into society. In home church we are winning on the level of family, people, nation and world, and the home church victory represents all victories. Home church is your divine altar to offer yourself as a living sacrifice for God. When you make a righteous offering there you are inheriting all of heaven. Your 360 home area is your world, your place of love, service, worship and prayer. There you care for the people and teach them, awakening them from darkness to light. Ultimately you shall be recognized as their tribal messiah. You shall be a master in three ways: master of love, master of all things, master of people. It all comes together in home church.

Since your home church represents the world, when you win there you can go all over the world and there will be no national, racial or cultural boundaries confining you. Home church. is where you should do your utmost. I know you have been working hard in all your missions, but the culminating point of service to be recognized as sons and daughters of the True Parents is found only in home church.

If you are united into one then our opposition shall cease, slowly but surely. As long as there is division, however, there will continuously be enemies coming against us. The Communists will continue to pressure the free world until it awakens and becomes one.

Now you can clearly understand the meaning of the Day of the Victory of Heaven. This is the historical day which marks my victory over Satan and payment of all the debts of the world, just as Jacob struggled with the angel at the ford of Jabbok and finally won. I have restored the name Israel , which means victor, on the worldwide and universal scale. That is the meaning of this day.

We have laid a firm foundation for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Even if all of us except one person were to die, leaving that one person to carry the banner, he would succeed in building the Kingdom of Heaven. But we will not die; we shall win and the Kingdom of Heaven shall be a reality, not a dream. Since the Day of the Victory of Heaven, unity between God, Adam and Eve, and the archangel has taken place. In the garden of Eden they were all divided, but here they are united and restored.

Adam and Eve represent the physical kingdom of God on earth, while the archangel represents the spirit world, or Kingdom of Heaven in Heaven. All three united together create the unity of the Kingdom of Heaven both on earth and in spirit world. Now that the foundation is laid on earth, all the spiritual power that had been confined-to heaven can freely work and intervene on earth as well. This is why you can act boldly and strongly -- the entire spirit world and angelic world is behind you. There is no way you can be alone and weak.

Unless you have a bold and dynamic trust in God and True Parents and demonstrate your faith by your achievements here on earth, you will not be respected when you go to spirit world. I want you to understand the true meaning of this day. Before this day was declared, the spirit world was in the subject role and here on earth we were in the passive role. But the establishment of the Day of the Victory of Heaven reversed these roles and now people on earth are the masters over the spirit world. We are in command, not the spirit world.

From now on, those who join the Unification Church shall be fierce fighters who will do more work than the old timers. I want you to understand this very clearly because unless you do very well you shall be in the position of Cain, not Abel . Who is Cain? He is the one who doesn't want to go to the front line. That is why I push out all the Abel forces to the front line, as in CARP. If you just want to sit relaxed and idle, your foundation will be lost and you will find no position in the Kingdom. This is why the Bible clearly predicted that those who were first will become last, and the last become first. This is why I had my first disciples from several decades ago in Korea come to America and sent them to the front line. That's the only way they could survive. The front line is the place of survival.

What is the gift the Day of Victory of Heaven brought to you? What will home church bring to you? God's providence has prevailed in heaven and it shall prevail on earth; the priority has been reversed from spirit world to physical world. A new age has dawned. Why do we proclaim this new age? The old history has been terminated and the new age has begun. The direction of God's work has been changed from heaven to earth, and God will dominate directly. The highest of-the satanic positions has been taken over by the heavenly side.

We should work with the spirit of going 24 hours a day plus one more hour. Since it is physically impossible to have 25 hours, you have to run faster. There is no time to sit down and eat in relaxation. There is no time to take all your clothes off and relax in bed; just lean against your bed standing up and sleep a little bit. That is the kind of tradition you must build. You will become pioneers of the new age if you live this way, in the ultimate age which is dawning in the Kingdom-of Heaven on earth.

Rebecca, Tamar, Mary and others really gave up their lives to serve God. Do you think I did that too? Would you inherit that tradition too? From this time on God is with you. Home church is your life giving duty, and unto your life you should do home church. It's not a lukewarm approach, or merely a technique -- it is a matter which will decide your life or death. Without home church you have no way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven. In home church you will indemnify everything that was lost in history -- all the things of creation, all the love and heart which was lost, all of God's personality which has been lost.

Shall we renew ourselves on this anniversary and make a new beginning? Those who feel, "Today we must make a pledge never to shame the Day Of the Victory of Heaven, raise your hands. Now the emphasis has shifted from heaven to earth. God's spirit is coming down and the emphasis of spirit world has shifted to earth. We shall not get behind those in spirit world but lead them. That should also be your pledge on this day. Raise your hands and show me if you determine never to shame the Day of the Victory of Heaven but to lead the spirit world and angelic world and win the victory. God bless you.

The Necessity of the True Parents

Sun Myung Moon
September 30, 1979
Excerpt
God's Will and the World
Let Us Know Ourselves

Sun Myung Moon Unknown date

There is one more training course left -- the training of the spirit world. You have to know how to deal with and serve the spirit world and liberate it. You should be in a position to love the spirit world, and no one can make you realize this except the Messiah. That is the most important training remaining before you can love God.

The Messiah comes as director of training, setting the example of how to love people, the world, and spirit world. Then you can pass the ultimate test. Before the coming of the Messiah, the spirit world was divided, with no harmony or cooperation anywhere in the midst of all that complexity. When the Messiah comes, he will create unity, and barriers will go down. It is one of his qualifications that he must fulfill this while he is on earth. He is the one man on earth who has the power to control the spirit world.

The True Parents are those who represent not only this physical world but also the spirit world and God, under whom you practice love. If you go to spirit world without knowing the Messiah, it might take several million years to learn to love people there. But when you accept the Messiah while on earth, you can accomplish many millions of years of work in a short time. By obeying the True Parents here on earth, you are entitled to receive recognition for loving all spirit world and obeying its rules. The True Parents represent not only this physical world but also spirit world and God, and by obeying God's representative you demonstrate your obedience to God. By loving them, you can pass every level. Now you know why unity with True Parents is necessary. They represent the heart of God, so that by loving True Parents you have already loved God and the spirit world. That is the culmination of loving all parents -- nature, your physical parents, and God.

Until True Parenthood was installed, all love was divided and there was no harmony. Now, by loving the True Parents you are in a position to love them all. If you fail on other levels but in the end you accept the True Parents, you have demonstrated your loyalty and love to indemnify all the past. Everything culminates in that supreme accomplishment. If you are given a paper signed by the President of the United States, it has power everywhere in the land. In the same way, if you pass this final level of loving True Parents, you pass every other level as well. That is why it is an absolute necessity to have True Parents.

By fund raising, you inherit the material wealth of the universe. By witnessing to the people of the world, you inherit the condition of loving your own physical parents. When you love True Parents, you are inheriting the world of God and his love. We can conclude that by practicing loving the True Parents, God's representatives on earth, you can practice loving everything you need to love on earth. Here you can finish all the qualifications you need to be entitled to the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven. You have that center here in the Unification Church.

Reasons Why the Unification Church Exists

Sun Myung Moon
September 30, 1979
Excerpt
God's Will and the World
Let Us Know Ourselves
Tarrytown, New York

Sun Myung Moon, November 4, 2011

You have your own physical parents, but ultimately you have one most important parent who created you -- God. Your parents were the tools God used to create you. The journey in search of the True Parents begins by loving nature, which is the first parent, then loving your physical parents, and then to the ultimate parent, God, who is our creator. God is the ultimate destination, our eternal Parent. The moment of death, which everyone now fears, is actually the moment of fulfillment. If you live your life in the right way here on earth, then your life leads ultimately to the one common Parent. Then the moment of death actually liberates you to live with that parent for eternity. He is the True Parent to us all, who has true love with no end. Life with Him is what we call the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven.

The principal atmosphere of that world is supreme love. That love is not selfish, but is based on sacrifice and service. Because it is based on that universal law, that supreme love flourishes. The Kingdom of Heaven in spirit world is our ultimate destination, and our physical life here on earth is only a workshop. No matter how long you live, it all nurtures you to enter eternal life in heaven. When I discovered the core truth of the universe, this is what I found. Earthly life is merely preparation for eternal life, and it is here that we pass or fail. With that realization, I then prayed to know the basic principle of the universe, and the answer came -- the parent- child relationship is the backbone of the universe. That is the relationship you have with the creation, with your parents, and with God. The central theme of that relationship is love.

While we are here on earth, we are attending the most important workshop of all, learning this principle so that we can ultimately reach our destination in heaven and enjoy our parent-child relationship with God for eternity. This is why the Unification movement exists and -- why I am leading you. Life on earth is training to make a relationship with God for eternity. 

The Public Purpose under the Universal Law (II)

Sun Myung Moon
September 30, 1979
Excerpt
God's Will and the World
Let Us Know Ourselves

You eat breakfast every morning, don't you? Where do the animals and plants come from that comprise your meals? In order to have food, you have to ruthlessly cut down different plants, then chew them up with your teeth and swallow them. The vegetables in your salad bowl won't protest, however, because they know the universal law and think that they are there to serve a greater purpose. With that attitude they can thank you for eating them so that you can serve the public purpose. There is a harmony of purpose here.

The food on your plate has a certain appreciation of what you live for and is willing to serve your body. That's the only way there can be harmony between you and your food. Otherwise, your food would hate you for eating it and resent hearing you laugh. The key point is that your food accepts you only because it knows you are living for the public purpose. Food will resent the laughter of a greedy person who wants to eat it.

If you are not living for a public purpose, then sometimes your food will stage a demonstration against you in your stomach. Then you get sick or even die in some cases. Under the universal law, goodness should flourish and evil should decline. Now you know precisely that the direction of goodness includes service and sacrifice, but until now that definition has been hazy in history, lacking a focal point.

Let us examine whether that definition is right or wrong. Everything in this world exists in one of two classifications, and even the tears trickling from your eyes can be either good or evil. Your ears and eyes could serve in two ways. If your eyes want to look at the world to find a person in need so that you can go and serve him, then your eyes are serving a good function. On the other hand, if your eyes are trying to spot someone's weakness so you can exploit him, they are serving an evil function.

There are all kinds of music in America, but who is it played for? Disco and rock music in themselves are not good or evil, so what purpose they serve becomes the main consideration. If they serve the public purpose, then they are good. If music and dance are used only for personal physical pleasure or for getting money from others, then they are serving an evil purpose. Is it likely that disco music is played for an unselfish, public purpose today? That's the reason I would not favor going to discos. If dancing and listening to that music will help resurrect people from darkness to light, then go right ahead, all 365 days a year. Do you have that confidence? Would it be correct to think that this. is just my idea, and that once I disappear it will no longer apply because it is not universal?

There are two great examples of how this universal law is unchanging through the past, present, and future. Jesus Christ lived a most miserable life on earth, but on the cross he could forgive his own enemies. When he died, he looked like a defeated person, in the secular sense. But his ideology has practically conquered the world in the last 2,000 years, and history is counted from the year of his birth. On the other hand, the Hitlers and Napoleons who thought they could conquer the world with military might have appeared successful temporarily, but have their accomplishments remained? No, because they, too, are under the dominion of the universal constitution, and that activity was unacceptable.

The saints in history are those who lived up to this principle and completely practiced this way of life of goodness. Saints are those who belong to God and at the same time to mankind -- people who live on the universal level. People are proud of any connection they may have with a saint, whether they are relatives or come from the same nation, and so forth. Why do they want to be proud? Because the saints exemplify the most basic principle of the universe.

Let Us Reflect on Our own Values

Sun Myung Moon
September 30, 1979
Excerpt
God's Will and the World
Let Us Know Ourselves

Sun Myung Moon and Hyung Jin Moon, November 1, 2011

Knowing ourselves is probably one of the most important things in our lives. When you say "us" or "I" you have a certain identity in mind. For instance, there are around 240 million people in America who would say, "I am an American." However, one could be either the lowest possible American, a very noble American, or in between. How do you think of yourselves?

Apart from being American citizens, what else are you? You are children of your parents. In this country your parents might be descended from many combinations of nationalities, and when you investigate your family tree there may be many variations. Your lineage may be a proud one or a humble one and your ancestors honorable or dishonorable. Your parents' lineages might even have conflicted with each other at some time. As a member of the Unification movement you can ask, "Who am I?"

Again, there are basically two types. One person might be part of the backbone of the movement, while in the case of another person, it might not make much difference whether he is here or not. You may have come to some realization about whether or not you are a person of importance here.

It is always true that each person has the viewpoint that he is the center of each situation because each person thinks that he has some value or importance. Everyone also has some ambition or aspiration, and there is no limit to what man can desire. Do you feel that you are important? Do you have some aspiration in life? In this regard are there differences between races, or between people of the past, present, and future? No, each person is the same here. You can conclude that you want to be important and be recognized, and that you want to better yourself every day. This is a common human aspiration.

Let us determine whether we are good people or bad people. In the category of good people there are many different classifications or levels. It is important to know who determines whether one is a good or bad person; will you do it, or will someone else? Is that the individual right of a person, or will the majority opinion decide good or evil? Goodness must be determined from the public point of view, and whether a person is good will be decided by his contribution to the overall well being. Someone may pride himself on his good looks, but if he is missing one finger can we say his appearance is perfect? From the overall point of view, a part is missing Value is derived from the entire point of view, or point of view of wholeness or perfection.

A good person is one whom the whole can recognize as being good. Suppose I think I am the best in my family. My parents might think I am good, but if my little sister thinks I am terrible then something is lacking. Who determines whether you are the best in your family? It is the consensus of family opinion that decides. How can you be admired by all your family? When you serve them unselfishly and make them important to you, then they will respect you.

Nature is Our First Parent

Sun Myung Moon
September 30, 1979
Excerpt
God's Will and the World
Let Us Know Ourselves
Unofficial Translation

Before the entire world comes against you, I will train you myself by pushing you to go a very rigorous way of life. When I do, I will treat you mercilessly and cruelly as if I am acting on behalf of Satan himself. Will you accept it? Not only that, but God will be harder on you than I am. Why can you accept that? It is because you know that by passing the worst possible test, you can inherit the deepest love of God. To receive that unique love, you feel you can bear any heavy burden. Will the people of this conviction look gloomy and unhappy, or will they be the most exuberant, rain or shine? Why do you have to take up this duty and go through the narrow gate of this life I am describing?

God created all things and made them with His dual characteristics. Not only are they connected to Him vertically, but to each other horizontally. God is Spirit and the created world is material. The substantial world is horizontal while God and the spirit world are vertical. God's invisible dual essentialities were manifested in visible form, so everything is made in the image of God. Where do you belong here? Each man is a microcosm of the universe. Your body is made of all the elements of the world. Nature supplied the entire ingredients that make your body, which means that the universe made you by giving itself. If nature demanded that you repay everything that nature loaned you, would there be anything left of you? You can feel that the universe gave you birth and made you.

Therefore, nature is your first parent. Do you feel good that you are a microcosm of the universe? All the universal formats or formulas can be found in you. You could accurately say that you are a small walking universe that can move, whereas the cosmic universe is stationary. Since you are able to move and act, then you can govern the universe. The universe would want you to exercise dominion over it, so your first duty would be to love nature. Then, wherever you are, you can love the creation and appreciate it.

Since you feel such an urge to love the grass, trees, and flowers, the birds and running water, how can you not love your fellow man? When you lie on the beach, you can feel that you are lying in the bosom of your parent, or that when leaning against a tree you are leaning against your own brother. Would nature protest you for doing that? Or, would it sense that you truly love and appreciate it? All things exist for you. When you observe it, you can take pleasure in them for that reason. As a man, you are the only begotten son of the universe, and as a woman you are the only begotten daughter of the universe. Then how much love would be possible between the two?

Have you ever had a conversation with the sun, saying that you love it and singing a song of love for it? Many of the people who think of themselves as poets don't even appreciate the depth of this truth, and their poetry is superficial and shallow. Am I telling the truth, or only pretending so?

Love the entire nature as your parent

Your second parents are your own father and mother. They represent the universe and labored to bring your life into being. Men and women can feel that they are the center of the universe because their parents, representatives of the universe, brought their physical life to this earth. Your parents represent not only father and mother but all mankind -- teachers, neighbors, and relatives. When you serve your parents, you are actually serving mankind, not just two particular people. By doing so, you will be loved by all mankind. This is the historical background out of which we can say that our virtue as sons and daughters is to serve our parents with filial piety. Your immediate family and neighbors represent a microcosm of mankind; your sisters represent all women and your brothers represent all men. Therefore, your family is a microcosm of mankind.

The true people are those who look at all people as one family of man. If you are a true man or woman, when you see a senior citizen, you look at him as your own parent or grandparent. Other young men and women are your own brothers and sisters. If you are a true man, then you love not only your own family but also all mankind. It is against the Principle to care only for your family and not the rest of the world. If you happen to be white, then it is a most exciting adventure to become a member of your black family, or to find senior citizens and young men and women whom you love as much as your own grandparents and brothers and sisters.

If you see someone in dire needs, you want to fill their needs because they are not just your fellow man, but your brother or sister. Here in America, when parents become old and can't take care of themselves, do they go to their children's homes or to senior citizens' homes? Which choice is ideal? Would a grandmother be happier to live with her grandchildren or be visited by them in a senior citizens' home?

Are you willing to accept your grandmother into your home? Would you do it in reality, or are you only saying yes because you are here? As a new wife, would you rather go to live with your husband's family with many in-laws, or to live only with him? If you want to live up to the public law of the universe, then you want to go live with his family.

You have your own physical parents, but ultimately you have one most important parent who created you -- God. Your parents were the instruments that God used to create you. The journey in search of the True Parent begins by loving nature, which is the first parent, then loving your physical parents, and then to the ultimate parent, God, who is our creator. God is the ultimate destination, our eternal Parent. The moment of death, which everyone now fears, is actually the moment of fulfillment. If you live your life in the right way here on earth, then your life leads ultimately to the one common Parent. Then the moment of death actually liberates you to live with that parent for eternity. He is the True Parent to us all, who has true love with no end. Life with God is what we call the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven.

The principal atmosphere of that world is supreme love. That love is not self-centered, but is based on sacrifice and service. Because it is based on that universal law, that supreme love flourishes.

Let Us Know Ourselves

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
September 30, 1979
Belvedere, Tarrytown, NY
Translator: Sang Kil Han

Knowing ourselves is probably one of the most important things in our lives. When you say "us" or "I", you have a certain identity in mind. For instance, there are around 240 million people in America who would say, "I am an American." However, one could be either the lowest possible American, a very noble American, or in between. How do you think of yourselves?

Apart from being American citizens, what else are you? You are children of your parents. In this country your parents might be descended from many combinations of nationalities, and when you investigate your family tree there may be many variations. Your lineage may be a proud one or a humble one and your ancestors honorable or dishonorable. Your parents' lineages might even have conflicted with each other at some time. As members of the Unification Church we can ask, "Who are we?" Again, there are basically two types. One person might be part of the backbone of the Church, while to another person it might not make much difference whether he is here or not. You may have come to some realization about whether or not you are a person of importance here.

It is always true that each person thinks from the point of view that he is the center of each situation because each person thinks that he has some value or importance. Everyone also has some ambition or aspiration, and there is no limit to what man can desire. Do you feel that you are important, and do you have some aspiration in life? In this regard are there differences between races, or between people of the past, present, and future? No, each person is the same here. You can conclude that you want to be important and to be recognized, and that you want to better yourself every day. This is a common human aspiration.

Let us determine whether we are good men or bad men. In the category of good men there are many different classifications or levels. It is important to know who determines whether one is a good or bad man; will you do it, or someone else? Is that the individual right of a person, or will the majority opinion decide good or evil? Goodness must be determined from the public point of view, and whether a person is good will be decided by his contribution to the overall well being. Someone may pride himself on his good looks, but if he is missing one finger can we say his appearance is perfect? From the overall point of view, a part is missing. Value is derived from the entire point of view, or point of view of wholeness or perfection.

A good person is one whom the whole can recognize as being good. Suppose I think I am the best in my family. My parents might think I am good, but if my little sister thinks I am terrible then something is lacking. Who determines whether you are the best in your family? It is the consensus of family opinion that decides. How can you be admired by all your family? When you serve them unselfishly and make them important to you then they will respect you.

What is the basic formula for being recognized by public opinion? Two key elements must be there: sacrifice and service. Will you become a good person if you expect others to serve and sacrifice for you? You have to be the center of sacrifice and service. Will some of you protest this?

This is an important congregation because it is a miniature of the world, with all nationalities and races represented here. If this representative group can agree that this is the principle for determining who are good men and women then this must be the principle that will work for the entire world. One category of people will agree that service and sacrifice are good and they will try it; others think they will mull over the issue, while yet others will agree that this has always been their way of life. Which group do you belong in?

If you feel you have been practicing this way of life, are you in a position to be recognized as a man of goodness by the entire world? Do you practice service and sacrifice by expecting service from 240 million Americans, or by thinking that you must serve 240 million Americans? Obviously you must do it. Now that we have agreed on the definition of a good man, would you want to become the best man within the limited scope of America, or on the worldwide level? America is a microcosm of the world; do you love all the races and nationalities here? Could a man of racial prejudice be described as a good man? If he dislikes black people then would only blacks think he was guilty of prejudice, or would people of his own race also criticize his attitude? Is this a racial judgment or a universal one?

We must recognize that there is a universal principle involved, regardless of what race you are. You can see that the universe has certain fundamental laws, and anyone who violates them will be judged accordingly, regardless of his race or stature. What is the spirit of that constitution of the universe? It aims to preserve or uphold the men and women who try to live for others. It would also try to eliminate people who try to take advantage of others and benefit only themselves. This is why we can say that good people are those who exist for the sake of others, and good deeds are those actions which benefit others.

If a person is brought to trial and convicted of violating the constitutional law, would he feel good? Often a convicted defendant reacts strongly to the judgment of the court, demanding to know what is wrong with him when there is so much wrong with society. Normally a court will not reverse its decision just because the defendant objects. If even a human court won't do that, will the universal court reverse its decisions?

There is always room for mercy in a righteous legal system, but in order to be entitled to receive it a person must show his sincere repentance. Repentance is the key word. This is why Jesus' pronouncement was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." What should we repent for? Very simply, we must repent for all those actions which violated the rule that says we should live in sacrifice and service for others. This was Jesus' first teaching.

The essence of Christianity is to seek repentance for the sin of greediness and selfishness. Sin can be defined as violation of the universal law of service to others. Even stealing a dress from a big department store chain is wrong. That dress has value which comes from the person who prepared it, and the person who steals it nullifies that public value. That is the sin. Another person might realize that he tells lies all the time, but his conscience doesn't hurt him. The motivation for lying always involves hiding something to take advantage of others; otherwise, there would be no reason to lie.

Everything is embraced by this universal principle and every deed can be judged accordingly. Imagine a person who sees an ugly woman on the street and knocks her down, thinking that he can't stand to see her, and that he is also doing a service to other Americans who wouldn't like to see her. If that is his motivation then is his deed a sin? That individual might try to justify his deed but the universal law will not. Universal law would decree that no matter how ugly that person might be, she is just as valuable as everyone else because she is made by the Creator. Therefore, no one has a right to knock her down.

Everything about this principle is consummated in two key words: sacrifice and service. In our human courts today is there any judge who would uphold a conviction that a person did not live his life in service and sacrifice to others? What law judges deeds of sacrificial service? Such deeds are not governed by the law of the nation but are upheld by public recognition. If a person gives sacrificial service to his nation then his country will honor him with a medal and national acclaim.

Perhaps someone will complain that this universal law about service doesn't fit him and want to know why he can't be given a citation and still enjoy his life. Would the society which honored selfish, greedy people endure very long? If that way of life prevailed then no unity and harmony would be possible. If the creator enforced selfishness as the universal law that law would apply not only to all humans but also to the whole material world. Then each tiny cell could claim that everything in the universe exists solely for him and that no other cell has any rights. That kind of attitude would bring nothing but division and destruction.

Universal law doesn't work like that, however. No one denies that the cells of the eye are important, but those cells exist for the benefit of the entire body. The purpose of the whole precedes the existence of the eye, so the eye must obey the universal law of the entire body. That eye should obey simply because the universe upholds this point of view and that way of life is the one which will flourish.

You eat breakfast every morning, don't you? Where do the animals and plants come from that comprise your meals? In order to have food you have to ruthlessly cut down different plants, then chew them up with your teeth and swallow them. The vegetables in your salad bowl won't protest, however, because they know the universal law and think that they are there to serve a greater purpose. With that attitude they can thank you for eating them so that you can serve the public purpose.

There is a harmony of purpose here. The food on your plate has a certain appreciation of what you live for and is willing to serve your body. That's the only way there can be harmony between you and your food. Otherwise, your food would hate you for eating it and resent hearing you laugh. The key point is that your food accepts you only because it knows you are living for the public purpose. Food will resent the laughter of a greedy person who wants to eat it.

If you are not living for a public purpose then sometimes your food will stage a demonstration against you in your stomach. Then you get sick, or even die in some cases. Under the universal law goodness should flourish and evil should decline. Now you know precisely that the direction of goodness includes service and sacrifice, but until now that definition has been hazy in history, lacking a focal point.

Let us examine whether that definition is right or wrong. Everything in this world exists in one of two classifications, and even the tears trickling from your eyes can be either good or evil. Your ears and eyes could serve in two ways. If your eyes want to look at the world to find a person in need so that you can go and serve him, then your eyes are serving a good function. On the other hand, if your eyes are trying to spot someone's weakness so you can exploit him, they are serving an evil function.

There are all kinds of music in America, but who is it played for? Disco and rock music in themselves are not good or evil, so what purpose they serve is the main consideration. If they serve the public purpose then they are good. If music and dance are used only for personal physical pleasure or for getting money from others then they are serving an evil purpose. Is it likely that disco music is played for an unselfish, public purpose today? That's the reason I would not favor going to discos. If dancing and listening to that music will help resurrect people from darkness to light then go right ahead, all 365 days a year. Do you have that confidence? Would it be correct to think that this is just my idea, and that once I disappear it will no longer apply because it is not universal?

There are two great examples of how this universal law is unchanging through the past, present and future. Jesus Christ lived a most miserable life on earth, but on the cross he could forgive his own enemies. When he died he looked like a defeated person in the secular sense. But his ideology has practically conquered the world in the last 2,000 years, and history is counted from the year of his birth. On the other hand, the Hitlers and Napoleons who thought they could conquer the world with military might have appeared successful temporarily, but have their accomplishments remained? No, because they too are under the dominion of the universal constitution and that activity is unacceptable.

The saints in history are those who lived up to this principle and completely practiced this way of life of goodness. The saints are those who belong to God and at the same time to mankind, the people who are living on the universal level. People are proud of any connection they may have with a saint, whether they are relatives, or come from the same nation, and so forth. Why do they want to be proud? Because the saints exemplify the most basic principle of the universe.

The topic today is Let Us Know Ourselves. What kind of people are you? You have some guidelines for evaluating your own deeds now. Perhaps you have a hand that wants other people to work for you. Perhaps your body doesn't want to work at all for others but wants the rest of the world to work for it. Normally you have a rebellious attitude if someone gives you commands, but in the heavenly world you can think instead that you are linked to the universe through that person.

In that respect do you like me? Why? Because you know I am a mediator through whom you can leap forward to greater well-being. What kind of man am I? Some people describe me in the worst terms, saying that evil people like Hitler and Stalin paid their own people to work, but Reverend Moon is the worst because he doesn't pay anyone and yet he still makes them work hard. They say I am the worst because instead of giving you money I send you out fund raising! If I am as evil as they say, why don't you leave? Am I evil or not?

I can accept the charge that I am ready to push you harder than any dictator in history, but the issue centers around what my purpose is. My purpose is to let you work for something greater than yourself and greater than your nation; it is for the world and for God. Mine is a totally unselfish motivation. While you work hard to raise funds I am working harder than you to raise even more funds, and then when they are pooled together it is spent for the public purpose. Each of my actions is within this principle of living in sacrifice and service for others.

I am not only doing this myself, but am pushing others to live for the public purpose as well. Does that make me an evil or good man? Parents sometimes seem very cruel when they push their children to study, but their motive is not to benefit themselves but to strengthen their children. These parents want their children to be future leaders and have a good impact on the world. Are those parents good or evil? Another kind of parent would let his child do whatever he wanted. Though that may sound wonderful to the child, it is better for a parent to be firm and push his child to mold his character in a God-centered way. The leniency that seems wonderful on the surface actually reflects the fact that the parent doesn't care about the public purpose.

Teachers can also be classified in two ways. Students as a rule just don't like to study and they want the teachers to leave them alone. There are two kinds of wives as well. One kind nags her husband about where he has been and how much money he spent and why he doesn't spend more time with his children. The other kind decides she will just have fun on her own while her husband is away. In this case the nagging wife is serving the public purpose.

Some husbands are strict with their wives about not going out without first getting permission, and about caring for the children and the house. Another kind is lenient and feels that each of them should do as they please. Should the first kind of husband be criticized in this case?

Which person is more likely to be on the side of good, the person who has ten supervisors or the person who has none? Supervision can seem like a burden, but the discipline and demands of the supervision can push you to accomplish more. My policy is that Unification Church members can't afford to do only one thing at one time. That is only average; I want you to tackle hundreds of things at one time. Sometimes I give so many instructions at one time that the American members are immobilized and don't know where to move. But even the smallest Oriental members will run like ants, jumping from mission to mission, and somehow bring the result.

You know how to evaluate good and evil now. What kind of person is God? God is the master and center of the public law of the universe. One thing can be said: God exists solely for the sake of others. He is the supreme public person in the universe. God is the creator and the originator of the two basic principles of service and sacrifice. Let us call these distinct characteristics A-type blood. If both your parents have A-type blood, most likely you will too. In the same way, if we are created by God then His principles must become ours as well.

Since God is proclaiming that way of life, everything should come under that way of life as well. That's the way God designed the universe, and anything that goes against that principle will receive pain. When we establish give and take with God by living that way, it brings harmony and energy to life. Whoever is linked to that kind of give and take shall enjoy eternal life because there is no end to it. Why do we have to live the life of sacrifice and service? Ultimately it is in order to have give and take with God and plug into His energy.

Why should we become one with God? By doing so you will enjoy eternal life. He is the source of power; God is the highest, so by uniting with Him you become highest as well. God is absolute. By uniting with Him you also become absolute and in that unity you will be protected because no one else will have the power to harm you. In unity with God, His power and energy become your power and energy and you become a child in His image. There are all kinds of love, but none better than the love of God, which shines like the sun. You then become the recipient of that love.

The sun radiates warmth and light, and when you are part of the sun of God's love you also become a life-giving element which can bring harmony and life wherever you go. Such a person always brings life and energy and melts ungodly things. Many of you first came to the Unification Church to discredit the doctrine. You were like a cold chunk of ice, but when you heard the Divine Principle you began to melt into water. Is that true or not? If this is true then this is an historical event.

What technique do I use to inspire you this way? Am I a hypnotist or magician? There is no magic here, only universal law at work. All I have to do is teach this law. Sometimes I seem very cruel when I ask you to go out and work for the universal cause, but is it for the sake of good or evil? It is for goodness so big that it is the size of God.

I don't have any assets of my own except this universal law. Furthermore, I aspire to work harder and suffer more than anyone else for this cause. God knows very well what principle I am living under. If Satan complains to God that I have been permitted to acquire too much success and prosperity and he wants me to demonstrate what I have done to deserve it, would God hesitate to let Satan test me? It is because Satan is trying to deter me that I have faced incredible persecution and torture in communist prison camps. But did I change even when I had to go through all that?

Is it true that the entire world has persecuted me? Hasn't America welcomed me with red-carpet treatment? Don't many heads of state want to welcome me to their countries? Christians and Jews are supposed to be our friends, but are they? Do the Communists call me their friend? I think that in all of history there has never been one individual who was persecuted by the whole world or who has suffered more opposition than I have. Have I crumbled into many pieces because of this opposition, or am I getting stronger than ever? Even outside people should come to the conclusion that I am not lukewarm or mediocre; either I am really evil or really good.

I am Oriental, but even white people are telling me I am good. It is a puzzle to the world and they can't figure it out. Do you really believe I am good? That is why people think I have brainwashed you -- it is too incredible for them to believe. Is that what I did? All you have done is link yourself up to the universal principle, but even you yourselves don't realize when you changed. You used to be just like people in the secular world, but as you followed this way of life you covered a great distance and changed a great deal.

These days each faith has its pride. The Pope is visiting many nations and millions of people gather to see him. Are their cheers for the Catholic church, or for the salvation of the world? If that sound is for the sake of the Catholic church, it is not good enough. But if that gathering is intended to help God and man together to save mankind, then it is good. If they gather to strengthen their resolve to sacrifice themselves more for the public good then such gatherings are good.

Are Unification Church members a good group of people? What is good about us? We don't gather for the sake of the Unification Church, but for the liberation of God and mankind. What we do is for the supreme good. If we only gather to receive God's blessing and privilege then we are not good people. We gather to give ourselves for the liberation of mankind and God, so we are a God-centered church. In that case the leader who founded it must be good as well. The more ardently we pursue the goal, the more success and prosperity is bound to come. My philosophy and ideal is to live for the liberation of God, not just mankind or spirit world. No one ever spoke of that goal before.

Are these empty words or am I really doing it? There is no night or day for me because I am always working for that goal. Were you lucky or unfortunate to meet me? Indeed I am ambitious and greedy and ruthless, but I am applying all these characteristics for making each of you a God-centered leader. That means I will push you out to untold hardship and difficulty with an iron will to let you be a winner, not be defeated. Even if someone threatens to poke your eyes out unless you renounce this Church, you can reply, "Even if you destroy my eyes I will not change. They are being sacrificial for the sake of goodness." After you feel this way, then you can say ouch. Then God will receive that pain as well.

When you are ridiculed and mistreated you naturally feel pain. But if you are serving the absolute goal of the liberation of God, then everything that you bear shall be borne by God as well; your own death will be felt by God as well. He will acknowledge that you died for Him and for mankind. Then God and mankind will bow down to you because you made your sacrifice on the most divine altar.

Those who are here for the first time, raise your hands. Do you think I am speaking truth or not? Did you come just to watch, or do you want to be a part of it? This universal principle must be taught to American youth who are in darkness and confusion today. Is the light we bring necessary for America? Night or day, the answer is still yes. If I don't fulfill this duty then God must find someone else who will. This is the only course left to America and someone must do it. Otherwise, there is no hope.

The person who tries to fulfill the will of God every day is not going to be glorified by Congress but will be persecuted and ridiculed by the people instead. His duty must be fulfilled in that position. Sacrifice and service must be the credo of our life. Would a beautiful woman be willing to give up her attractiveness for the law of God? Imagine the most handsome white man and the most ugly black woman being blessed together in marriage, giving themselves to God at the altar. That is the most dramatic thing you can imagine. They will probably be the happiest and most attractive couple under the sun. They will open the door to historical heaven and God will be liberated by their marriage. God is truly life and love, and He is looking for this kind of dramatic marriage.

When I look at your eyes I feel a certain vibration, and it is not yet 100 per cent pure. If the best looking man has the confidence that he can accept the worst possible wife from among the women and still be the happiest man, then this gap will be closed. When the two extremes can unite and be happy, everything in between will be overcome and all people encompassed by those extremes can become happy couples. When a couple representing two extremes reaches heaven they will enjoy total freedom to go anywhere and meet anyone they want.

That is the Unification Church spirit, the spirit of the founding nation for the Kingdom of God on earth. Before the entire world comes against you, I will play Satan's role and be vicious and cruel and ruthless. Will you accept it? Not only that, but God will be harder on you than I am. Why can you accept that? It is because you know that by passing the worst test you can inherit the deepest love of God. To receive that unique love you feel you can bear any burden.

Will the people of this conviction look gloomy and unhappy, or will they be the most exuberant, rain. or shine? Why do we have to take up this duty and go through the narrow gate of this life I am describing? God created all things and made them with His dual characteristics. Not only are they connected to Him vertically, but to each other horizontally. God is spirit and the created world is material; the material world is horizontal, while God and the spiritual world are vertical. God's invisible dual essentialities were manifested in visible form, so everything is made in the image of God. Where do you belong here?

Each man is a microcosm of the universe. Your body is made of all the elements of the world. Nature supplied all the ingredients that make your body, which means that the universe made you by donating itself. If nature demanded that you refund everything that nature loaned you, would there be anything left of you? You can feel that the universe gave you birth and made you, so nature is your first parent. Do you feel good that you are a microcosm of the universe? All the universal formats or formulas can be found in you. You could accurately say that you are a small walking universe who can move, whereas the universe is stationary. Because you can move and act you can govern the universe. The universe would want you to exercise dominion over it, so your first duty would be to love nature. Then wherever you are you can love the creation and appreciate it.

Since you feel such an urge to love the grass, trees and flowers, the birds and running water, how can you not love your fellow man? When you lie on the beach you can feel that you are lying in the bosom of your parent, or that when leaning against a tree you are leaning against your own brother. Would nature protest, or feel that you truly love and know it? All things exist for you, so you can appreciate them for that reason. As a man you are the only begotten son of the universe, and as a woman you are the only begotten daughter of the universe. Then how much love would be possible between the two?

Have you ever had a conversation with the sun, saying that you love it and singing a song of love for it? Many of the people who think of themselves as poets don't even appreciate the depth of this truth, and their poetry is superficial and shallow. Am I telling the truth, or only seeming to?

Your second parents are your own father and mother. They represent the universe and labored to bring your life into being. Men and women can feel that they are the center of the universe because their parents, representatives of the universe, brought their physical life to this earth. Your parents represent not only father and mother but all mankind -- teachers, neighbors and relatives. When you serve your parents you are actually serving mankind, not just two particular people. By doing so you will be loved by all mankind. This is the historical background out of which we can say that our virtue as sons and daughters is to serve our parents with filial piety. Your immediate family and neighbors represent a microcosm of mankind; your sisters represent all women and your brothers represent all men. Therefore, your family is a microcosm of mankind.

The true men are those who look at all people as one family of man. If you are a true man or woman, when you see a senior citizen you look at him as your own parent or grandparent. Other young men and women are your own brothers and sisters. If you are a true man then you love not only your own family but also all mankind. It is against the Principle to care only for your family and not the rest of the world. If you happen to be white, then it is a most exciting adventure to find your black family, and to find senior citizens and young men and women whom you love as much as your own grandparents and brothers and sisters.

If you see someone in dire need then you want to fill their need because they are not just your fellow man, but your brother or sister. Here in America, when parents become old and can't take care of themselves, do they go to their children's homes or to senior citizens homes? Which is the ideal? Aren't you just like all other Americans who think old people should go to senior citizens' homes? Would a grandmother be happier to visit her grandchildren or to visit in senior citizens homes?

Are you willing to accept your grandmother into your home? Would you do it in reality, or are you only saying yes because you are here? As a new wife would you rather go to live with your husband's family of many in-laws, or to live only with him? If you want to live up to the public law of the universe then you want to go to live with his family.

You have your own physical parents, but ultimately you have one most important parent who created you -- God. Your parents were the tools God used to create you. The journey in search of the True Parents begins by loving nature, which is the first parent, then loving your physical parents, and then to the ultimate parent, God, who is our Creator. God is the ultimate destination, our eternal parent. The moment of death, which everyone now fears, is actually the moment of fulfillment. If you live your life in the right way here on earth then your life leads ultimately to the one common parent. Then the moment of death actually liberates you to live with that parent for eternity. He is the true parent to us all who has true love with no end. Life with Him is what we call the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven.

The principle atmosphere of that world is supreme love. That love is not selfish, but is based on sacrifice and service. Because it is based on that universal law, that supreme love flourishes. The Kingdom of Heaven in spirit world is our ultimate destination, and our physical life here on earth is only a workshop. No matter how long you live, it all nurtures you to enter eternal life in heaven. When I discovered the core truth of the universe, this is what I found. Earthly life is merely preparation for eternal life and it is here that we pass or fail. With that realization I then prayed to know the basic principle of the universe, and the answer came -- the father-son relationship is the backbone of the universe. That is the relationship you have with the creation, with your parents, and with God. The central theme of that relationship is love.

While we are here on earth we are attending the most important workshop of all, learning this principle so that we can ultimately reach our destination in heaven and enjoy our father-son relationship with God for eternity. This is why the Unification Church exists and why I am leading you. MFT life is training to make a relationship with God for eternity. Any money we raise comes out of nature and we value it accordingly. You can tell the money that after it has longed to be used for God's purpose it has finally come to the right place because you will connect it to the True Parents and God.

Wherever you go in the world you face certain difficulties and persecution, out of which you gain greater value for your work. If everything came easily then it would have little value. You desire to link whatever money you have, whether large or small, to True Parents so that it will have true value. All things have been fervently waiting for this relationship and you are the mediator who will make it happen. No matter how old and distinguished and socially accomplished you are, you still need to make this link with nature and restore material for the sake of God.

Another important part of our mission is restoration of men. When you see other people, you can think that they have been waiting a long time to be restored to God. Now you can go to them because you know the way and purpose of life. You can be the mediator to bring them to God. By reaching out to people you are actually serving your parents as well, and having you as their children they shall be glorified and saved. By finding the strayed sons and daughters of America, you are serving your own parents in addition to loving them, and together you can come to the True Parents.

When you truly live this noble life there are no parents who will not welcome you. As much as you practice loving the people of the world, you can certainly love your own parents and brothers and sisters to that degree. You love them as representatives of the True Parents and as someone who was commissioned by God. They have that value. No family would reject such a child, but would bow down.

There is one more training course left -- the training of the spirit world. You have to know how to deal with and serve the spirit world and liberate it. You should be in a position to love the spirit world, and no one can make you realize this except the Messiah. That is the most important training remaining before you can love God.

The Messiah comes as director of training, setting the example of how to love people, the world and spirit world. Then you can pass the ultimate test. Before the coming of the Messiah the spirit world was divided, with no harmony or cooperation anywhere in the midst of all that complexity. When the Messiah comes he will create unity and barriers will go down. It is one of his qualifications that he fulfill this while he is on earth. He is the one man on earth who has the power to control the spirit world.

The True Parents are those who represent not only this physical world but also the spirit world and God, under whom you practice love. If you go to spirit world without knowing the Messiah, it might take several million years to learn to love people there. But when you accept the Messiah while on earth you can accomplish many millions of years of work in a short time. By obeying the True Parents here on earth you are entitled to receive recognition for loving all spirit world and obeying all its rules. The True Parents represent not only this physical world but also spirit world and God, and by obeying God's representative you demonstrate your obedience to God. By loving them you can pass every

level. Now you know why unity with True Parents is necessary. They represent the heart of God so that by loving them you have already loved God and the spirit world. That is the culmination of loving all parents-nature, your physical parents and God.

Until True Parenthood was installed, all love was divided and there was no harmony. Now by loving the True Parents you are in a position to love them all. If you fail on other levels but in the end you accept the True Parents, you have demonstrated your loyalty and love to indemnify all the past. Everything culminates in that supreme accomplishment. If you are given a paper signed by the President of the United States, it has power everywhere in the land. In the same way, if you pass this final level of loving True Parents, you pass every other level as well. That is why it is an absolute necessity to have True Parents.

By fund raising you inherit the material wealth of the universe. By witnessing to the people of the world you inherit the condition of loving your own physical parents. When you love True Parents you are inheriting the world of God and His love. We can conclude that by practicing loving the True Parents, God's representatives on earth, you can practice loving everything you need to do on earth. Here you can finish all the qualifications you need to be entitled to the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven. You have that center here in the Unification Church.

The people of the world just scoff or ridicule you, but in front of them we are proud of being Moonies. Your voice of pride shall be stronger than the voice of negativity, both here and all over the world. If anyone is reluctant to speak up as a Moonie, I will not speak up for him in front of Heaven. Tomorrow is the first of October. These nine months of 1979 have been months of indemnity for everything so far, and it is culminated with the birth of the new baby, Hyung Jin.

We know ourselves -- we are Moonies and proud of it. We rejoice over what we are, so when we deal with the world we shall be strong and bold. Don't be intimidated by the world, but be proud and quietly say, "You just wait and see. In a few years you will find the truth. The time will come when you will understand, and in the meantime we are proud." As long as the people misunderstand us we will just tighten our belts and work harder to bring the victory. If you move forward and I am pushing behind you, there is no way you can fail.

Spirit world is pushing behind us. You know that the intervention of spirit world is becoming stronger. Is there anything to be afraid of? How proud we are to have found the truth and be children of the True Parents. In the morning when you stand in front of the mirror, greet yourself and say, "You haven't been too proud of yourself. Now you are proud of being a Moonie."

Those who pledge today as a new beginning to walk proudly on the streets of New York and be central people to bring this city back to God, raise your hands. Thank you very much. Let us pray.