Hak Ja Han
December 19, 2014
Message at American Clergy Leadership Conference
Las Vegas, NV USA
Photo July 30, 2015, location unknown
I am glad to see your faces here today. I have missed you. Seeing you, one question popped into my mind: When we ask ourselves whether the nature of this meeting is public or private, when we think about Heaven's providential work, what would our relationship be with the central figures?
You all have the title of minister of religion, isn't that so? Minister of religion… That is not an easy job. Am I right or wrong about that?
God is love. When you look at human history, you must all already be aware that this fallen world began from Adam's mistake. God will fulfill what he originally desired, no matter what. This is why he has been working throughout providential history to save human beings in the fallen world.
It took him four thousand years to begin the people of Israel, the chosen people. We are well aware of all the indemnity conditions that this people and the central figures had to make during these four thousand years, in order to carry out restoration.
Heaven persevered and raised the people of Israel so that they might establish their own nation. When it was accomplished, he sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the only begotten son, whom the people of Israel had eagerly awaited, came. When we look at the Bible, we see that Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit. There were also priests and others who were close to them. There were also the magi from the east who came to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Jesus Christ was born from suffering…. Four thousand years had passed before Jesus Christ was able to come. Why, then, did he have to leave the earth when he was just thirty-three years old? Not many religious leaders throughout the two thousand years of Christian history have pondered this question.
This is the issue: whether those with the position of religious leaders have understood Heaven's providence and have therefore stood in a public position, or whether they have sought their own salvation above anything else. The world is celebrating the coming Christmas week. Are there any among you who asked why Jesus had to choose the path of the cross even though so many people had endured hardships in order that he could be born?
It was because of the circumstances at the time… The well-renowned people of the time failed to fulfill their responsibilities. Yet, when Jesus was about to depart this world, he promised he would return. What did he say he would do after returning?
What is the Marriage Feast of the Lamb? [See Revelation 9:6–9] It meant that he would come back and have a family; he would become a parent. Jesus was meant to have become a True Parent at that time.
Then how was it that the people of Israel, whom Heaven had prepared through so much suffering and hardships, failed to carry out Heaven's will? At the time, there was a great empire, the Roman Empire.
That is why the people of Israel clung to Heaven desperately. God did what he promised he would do. If the people of Israel at the time had fulfilled their responsibilities and become one with Jesus, what do you think would have happened?
America today has a great responsibility, which is why True Parents spent forty years in America, time in their lives that was as precious as gold. They endured a difficult path because they are the True Parents, because they are the parents that must embrace the world.
The history of America, as we know it, began from the sixteenth century when the Bible was published in English and Puritans fled their country seeking religious freedom, escaping the restraints that confined them. They wanted to serve God freely. This is why they risked their lives in order to reach the new continent. That was 1620. They arrived at Plymouth Rock, on the Mayflower. Isn't that right?
They fought against hunger and bitter cold, but they did not forget to conserve the seeds they would need for the coming spring, for the future. They thought about their descendants. So when they arrived on the new continent, the first thing they did was build a church, in which to worship God. The next was a school in which to educate their children, and then finally they built their houses. You surely know these things well.
God… He blessed those who stood with him and made effort.
There are many nations in the world, but the United States became the central nation in the world, the nation that represented the free world. Its beginning was noble and commendable.
However, America is gradually forgetting God's providence. God sent Rev. Moon here because he was worried about this country. In order to save this nation -- a nation that looked like a democratic nation yet was slowly being conquered by the communist world -- with its family breakdown, youth problems and crisis of ideals… Rev. Moon said he came to this nation as a fireman to put out a fire, as a doctor to cure sickness.
Many who listened to the voice of True Mother speaking to 3WW ACLC pastors their conscience joined this movement and were grateful to have done so. However, it is true that as the movement became larger, people who did not know God's providential will felt threatened. However, True Parents were leading the movement. Even worldly parents wish good things for their children. Would our Heavenly Parent think only about himself and abandon his children?
In the end, the United States put Rev. Moon in prison in Danbury.
Yet, he forgave because he was the parent.
The reason I wanted to meet you so much is to tell you that you must now reveal the truth. The history of God's providence has been developing stage by stage. Yet, some people still live in the Old Testament age and some in the New Testament age. Are ministers of religion not the ones to educate and lead such people?
However, you should not just remain quietly in one place and think only about helping and saving them. As you have seen from the video just now, providential history has moved beyond the Completed Testament. Now we are in the history of Cheon Il Guk. What, then, should you do in such an age?
You are not people that concern yourselves just with matters to do with the physical world. You all know the spirit world exists. The spirit world is our ultimate destination.
We cannot live in our physical bodies for hundreds of years. However, there is a world that is eternal. If we are to go there, we must rid ourselves of everything that is wrong and that is of this world. We must shape our minds, our bodies, our families, tribes and nations so that we can be welcomed in the eternal world. No matter how nice the place you stay in is, you will be lonely if you are the only one there. Do you understand? You are the ones that should lead your beloved families, your tribes and your nation. This is why you must now reveal the truth. This world is still full of problems left unresolved.
People of the world live in a state of insecurity, not knowing what could happen to them the next day. The beautiful natural world is being destroyed through the fault and wrongful actions of human beings. We live on earth for a hundred years or so, but our descendants will take our places in the future. You, the parents, should make a resolution that you will leave your descendants a better environment, so that they may come to the eternal world after living joyful lives on earth.
Therefore, you must reveal the truth to your flocks about True Parents, who were supposed to appear in front of the people of Israel two thousand years ago. True Parents, the ones whom Jesus promised would come two thousand years after his untimely departure, have come to earth as the returning Messiah, and have completed and perfected the providential history of restoration through indemnity.
Moreover, you are children of True Parents who have given you new life. You should think of your True Parents, and of the seven billion people on earth who do not know the True Parents yet.
True Parents came to America and invested much so that they could embrace the entire world through this nation. Las Vegas, notably, is called Sin City, but it can surely serve as the city where visitors can come to learn about the True Family movement, the purity movement, and about practicing true love. Once they do, they will go back to their home nations, where these movements will automatically spread throughout the world.
Then, do you think perhaps the world might transform into one world centering on our Heavenly Parent within our lifetimes, instead of taking centuries or millennia? You are the pioneers of Cheon Il Guk who need to advance constantly in order to welcome that day.
You are the proud leaders of religious congregations. Do you understand what I am saying? I ask that you take the lead in this movement.