ORDER NUMBER
76-12-19
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
THE BENEFIT AND GRACE
OF THIS TIME IN HISTORY
December 19, 1976
Belvedere, New York
Translator-Bo Hi Pak
According to the Divine Principle no one in spirit world can be
admitted into the Kingdom of God apart from the merit of people here on
earth. Those in the spirit world are people of the past, while people
dwelling here on earth are contemporary; therefore, through people here
on earth the past and future can be linked. Where will the complete
Kingdom of God be fulfilled first? Right here on earth, nowhere else.
The word "perfection" implies a need for more than one element. For
instance, perfection can be obtained by a man and woman together, but
even those two are not sufficient; God should be dwelling between the
two of them. We can conclude that a party of three can reach perfection.
The realization of man's ideal, the ideal of the Kingdom of God, cannot
be accomplished by God alone, by man alone or by woman alone. All three
components are needed to create this eternal, perfected Kingdom of God.
The place where perfection is decisively obtained is right here on
earth. Furthermore, we can specify what the focal point of perfection is:
the family. When you think of the words "Kingdom of God," the first thing
that must come to your mind is God, and second, you yourself unified with
your family. Three components are always included there. The Kingdom of
God without God is nonsense, but even if you are also there it cannot be
heaven unless you have your ideal spouse. We come to the conclusion that
when we go to the spiritual heaven, those who will enjoy a position closer
to God will be the people who lived the ideal family life here on earth.
If we grab a person and ask, "Where would you like to go? What is your
destiny and purpose of life," that person will say, "I would like
to fulfill the ideal." Then what is that ideal world? There are two
qualifications: the ideal world must be unchanging, eternal, and at the
same time must have an absolute standard. Furthermore, no matter how
much that world is eternal and unchanging and absolute, unless God is
dwelling there it cannot be heaven. I don't think anybody would say that
gold could be the central component of the ideal world, even if that
world contained a mountain of gold. When you think of gold you always
relate it to material greediness and if gold made up the Kingdom of God
then as soon as people got to heaven they would stake out what was
theirs: "This pile is mine and this is also mine. This is my area;
don't even come in."
Then let us suppose that the Kingdom of God is a world in which knowledge
is most important. People would just be greedy for knowledge because that
would determine how much of the Kingdom of God they could possess. That
would not be a happy world either; just look at the academic world of
distinguished scholars and you will see that they never unite. There
is never harmony between them. Even power and authority will not bring
the harmonious Kingdom of God. Only one element will make up the true
Kingdom: love.
Are we talking about love that will change at least twelve times a day,
morning, noon and evening? No, "unchanging" means there is no end. Should
that love make a straight line or a circling movement? The harmony and
love we are talking about is not just between men and women. It is a love
between parents and children, between brothers, between neighbors. That
kind of love moves in a circling motion. Each give and take action between
two elements will have the same distance and quality of love, and when we
continue that action it will make a sphere. Love's character is absolute,
unchanging and eternal, so whichever route you travel, whichever direction
you send your love, there is never any repulsion or contradiction there.
Think of the characteristic of electricity, which travels wherever
there is conductivity. If there is resistance then the electricity
does not travel because it is blocked, but if there is no resistance
then electricity can travel in every direction without limit. There is
conductivity in the true love between husband and wife, between parents
and children, between neighbors and between God and man.
Because parental love most closely resembles
God's love, it is closest to universal truth
Sometimes we witness a quarrel between a husband and wife and normally
the essence of their fight is rather simple. They complain to each other,
"Why don't you love me more? Why don't you care for me enough?" They will
not fight on the subject of loving their children because they are united
on that. There can be quarrels when there is a lack of love, but no one
will complain that they are receiving too much love. Did you ever see your
father and mother fight with each other simply because they loved their
children too much? However, one of them may complain, "Why don't you pay
a little more attention to your child?" A mother and father understand
that they are supposed to love their children beyond themselves. That
is their standard and if one of them does not meet that standard there
can be a quarrel. In this respect, can you see which bond of love is
stronger-that between husband and wife, or between parents and children?
In the many different channels and circuits of love the greatest of all
is the love between parents and children. It is like a trunk line, and
no love is more sacrificial or more beautiful. Why is that? The simple
fact is that a husband and wife normally quarrel over apathy or lack
of attention, but concerning their children they will quarrel this way:
"Why don't you love your children more than yourself?" However, I don't
think that is the case here in America. In America no other love is
greater than the "between-you-and-me" type. Isn't that true? Here in
America it is a common belief that love between men and women is most
important, but you people are not so dumb as to believe that.
We must come to the one important principle of the universe: Parental
love is closest to the universal truth because that is the love between
God and God's own children. We come to the important conclusion that the
ultimate, true love is an unselfish one. Selfless love is closest to
the love of God. Anyone in this world will surrender before unselfish
love. However adamant or stubborn a person may be, he or she will be
subjugated by unselfish love. It is truly an historic conclusion that
unselfish love is the supreme love.
Unselfish love won the heart of the past, wins the heart of the present,
and will win the heart of the future because no one will disagree with
it. I proclaim today that no power can destroy unselfish love. Someone
may take a weapon and try to destroy it, but when they confront unselfish
love they will completely melt. God has almighty power so He has the
right to ask man for the kind of love He likes.
Definitely the supreme form of unselfish love is the love God would
prefer. Then what is the love of God? God's love is eternally selfless
and sacrificial. Perfect unity is possible under that love alone, and
it is simple once we practice it.
If we make our individual effort to achieve that unselfish love then
the world is already on its way to being united. The person who has
this greatest love of God will certainly become the central person,
the master of unity. The person who possesses more of that love will
become the central person of the God-centered world. Even though I was
not born in America, I have practiced the love of God more than anyone,
including the President of the United States. Then could I be in the
position to have the most warmth and rapport with the American people?
God has one weakness
People can be pulled by love, as though by a magnet. They are irresistibly
drawn to love. There are all kinds of love in America right now,
but which one is truly closest to the love of God? If someone rejects
the love that only thinks about America's benefit and centers instead
upon the true love of God, then his conscience is at ease. You are
seeking to attain the perfection of love, but is your search within the
limits of the United States, or does it go all the way up to God and the
universe? That is a foolish question. No one wants love that is limited
by national boundaries. You want to be free to go all the way to God,
right? True love can transcend the barrier of nationality and go beyond
the world. If you are a white person, should you seek your mate only
within the white race? People say to me, "Why do you bring white people
and match them with Asians? Why are black people matched to white people?"
Such people do not understand the true meaning of love.
Who is right, me or my critics? I am right because my interest is not
limited by the boundary of the United States and not bounded by one
race. Whose side will God take? When I go to visit another country I
will not go to visit the family that lives only among its own people;
I will go to the home where there is an international marriage, Oriental
with Occidental, black, white and yellow. God is colorblind.
Furthermore, He would rather see the broad beau of a mixture of
colors. God will give first prize to a beautiful combination instead of
to the flat, simple color.
Is the Kingdom of God the world where power and muscle are most
important? After all, who is God? If He really wanted to, just one punch
from Him would shatter the entire universe! Even acquiring knowledge is
not that important to God. To the person who is proud of his knowledge
God would say, "You know quite a bit. I admit you have the title of
'walking encyclopedia,' but who made that encyclopedia? I made it!" The
power of knowledge doesn't impress God at all. Money talks in this world,
yet it doesn't talk to God because He created all the wealth and material.
God does have one weakness, however. There is one thing that He cannot
accomplish alone: the fulfillment of love. No matter how big God is,
when someone brings a little chunk of love, God's eyes will pop out. He
doesn't haughtily say, "All right, bring that love to me and I'll receive
it." He will throw away His throne and crown and run after it.
It's very humorous, but there is a great deal of truth in this scene. No
matter what power a president or a king has, if there is no love in his
life then in the sight of God he is a very poor person. Let's analyze
deeply the meaning of life. When Jimmy Carter becomes President of the
United States what does he need most-the Presidency and power, or true,
eternal, lasting love for his own life? Which one is most critical?
The shape of love
What is love? Can you see it with your own eyes? What kind of shape does
love have, square or round? The shape of love is like everything you see
in this universe combined together. The roundest thing in the world is
love. The squarest thing in this world is love. The sharpest thing in
this world is love. The longest thing is love and the deepest thing is
love. The capacity of love is so big that everything can be drowned in
love. Nothing can go beyond it. It is never so small that my fingers
will stick out of its boundary. Love is such that even Almighty God can
be drowned in love. Which part of you spots love first? Which part of
you radiates the power of love? Every part. Love permeates everything
because love communicates with the whole universe. As soon as you touch
love you will melt entirely.
Love is almighty and omnipotent; when love shows itself in the form of
power, nothing is more powerful. When love shows itself in the form
of knowledge, no knowledge is greater. Where there is love there is
the greatest power, the greatest knowledge and the greatest value. Love
possesses all these qualities. The taste of love is something like every
emotion and all excitement combined together. People have the desire to
be totally caught up or intoxicated by their experiences, and some find
this in drugs, but it is possible for a man to be drowned and intoxicated
by love.
Once a person discovers the way to be intoxicated in the love of
God, even though you urge him to try drugs, alcohol or whatever, he
would refuse. Those things are flat compared to the taste of the love
of God. The love of God is precisely like electricity, which can be
conducted by any part of the body. If the love of God touches your mind,
your mind will jump. If it touches your emotions, they will jump. If
it touches your ears or your eyes, they will jump.
Have you really experienced God's love that vividly? Feeling the love of
God is similar to receiving an electric shock; when it hits a person he
may appear unconscious but inside he is actually trembling with ecstatic
joy. Even if you haven't had this experience you can reason that it must
be true. Once you feel the living, active love of God you want to close
your eyes, but your eyes cannot close. Your whole body is so activated
that you cannot stop reacting to that love. God is almighty and can do
anything, so certainly He wants everyone to be part of such an explosive,
gigantic, dramatic love, not love which is flat and pale-tasting like
3-day-old beer.
Put yourself in the position of God. You are capable of doing
anything. You want to create love of such magnitude that when it moves
the entire universe will be excited, not listless. When God laughs
He wants to have the entire universe laugh in the joy of love. Such a
joyful love cannot be created by selfish people. When you totally release
yourself in giving, you can taste such love; that's God's love. Some
sisters are thinking, ''Father, didn't you promise us that after the
Washington Monument victory we would have a blessing? I'm getting old
you know." I want to ask you sisters if you are people who are giving
or only receiving love. Your answer is so weak that I cannot hear it!
I know that all of you are going out fund raising early in the morning and
perhaps you imagine that when you get blessed you can take it easy. Is
that your frame of mind? Perhaps you think instead that your getting
blessed will give you added vitality and more reason to work harder than
before. You must want your love to be a giving, sacrificial love and
then when you get blessed you will have added reason to give more. If
your husband is a very weak person and needs a great deal of help then
you know that you have been chosen by God to assist him. You must feel
that you are honored to be chosen for that. Suppose your husband is an
old man in a senior citizens home; then you can think that your love is
going to rejuvenate him, making him youthful again. Sometimes senior
citizens cannot think clearly or even take care of themselves in the
bathroom. If your husband is in that condition then you can experience
seeing your love recreate him. Are you serious in thinking this way?
Maybe God will give you a husband who only has one eye. If you have the
love of God then his handicap doesn't matter. In God's sight the woman
who can hand down the tradition of true love is the wife who can love
her husband to the degree that she could take one of her own eyes out
and give it to him. That is the kind of love which will be inscribed
in the heart of God. Will you expect your husband to be your servant,
wanting only to sit and enjoy his love and adoration? Is that type of
love recorded in God's heart? I think you know that is not true love.
Since I have already used the women as an example I don't need to explain
this to the men, do I? Why is marriage needed? Not for you to be selfish
and comforted but to give. God's nature is to give more and more love,
similar to traveling down a one way street. If the wife is thinking
of how to give more love to her husband and he is thinking the same
about his wife, these two are creating power which will propel each
other and make the marriage revolve. That relationship is not passive,
coming from only one partner, but coming from both sides. At the same
time God and the universe will be helping to make the marriage move;
your love is not your love. It is the of God
Each person must first live for everyone else
In the Kingdom of God everyone eagerly gives his full amount. Parents
are giving to children and children are giving back to parents. Each
husband is giving, each wife is giving, God is giving, and all of mankind
is giving. In this torrent of give and take of truly sacrificial love,
therefore, the whole universe will be turning.
There are all different ways to turn but only circular movement creates
perpetual movement. The gigantic universe is circling, the nation is
circling, the family is circling-millions of circling motions comprise
that Kingdom of God. You yourself are turning within the bigger circle,
just like a heavenly body. You can go right into the center to the heart
of God, and when you reach His heart you will grab His love and come
out again to transmit it. You can see heavenly harmony when two people
love each other, which is why the Bible said that the people who can
harmonize are the citizens of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.
The stubborn person who pursues his own selfish goals is actually a
foolish person because he would be cast out of this circle and ultimately
fall into the dungeons of hell. The person who is only trying to be
recognized by others will be rejected by society. Heavenly citizens must
have training in the unselfish way of life, realizing that even food
and rest is not for themselves. If you have disciplined yourself so that
your entire way of life is not for yourself then you are perfected.
We come to the fundamental question: For whom were you born? For
yourself or for the sake of others, for the world, for God? The make-up
you women wear is not to serve your own purpose but to serve men's
purpose, right? A giant man is not strong for himself but for the sake
of a woman. God actually made us not to serve our own purpose, but to
serve others' purposes.
Why should an eye be made the way it is? An eye is made to perceive
for the sake of the body. Your senses are all made to perceive others
and to relate to others. The definition of "saint" is very simple from
this point of view. A saint is the one who sees not for himself but
for the sake of the world, for the sake of God. His point of reference
is not himself and he finds no joy in selfish living. Since that kind
of person is perfectly harmonized with the universe, the entire world
will protect him and nurture him. Wherever that person goes, the entire
universe will encircle him and he will be followed by prosperity. Once
your motivation centers on yourself then you are in effect cutting off
everything surrounding you and becoming an isolated, lonely person. Then
you are not only a lonely person, but you become an enemy of the world.
What I am teaching is the absolute truth, the central principle of the
universe from the beginning to the end of time. When you hear this do
you feel good or bad? You are giving me all kinds of answers here. Some
people are willing to say yes, but inside they are not sure whether they
can live up to it or not.
History has seen many great religions and great teachings, but all those
doctrines put together point out one simple truth: when you practice the
unselfish love of God, you achieve everything. That one truth resolves
every question that man has ever sought an answer for. People may
disagree about whether I am good or bad, but at least one thing is sure:
I am pouring my entire heart and soul into changing young people and
making them unselfish for the sake of the world. You can decide whether
our ultimate destination is heaven or hell, but without a doubt we are
trying to become people who practice the eternal law of God. I don't
even care if our destination is hell or heaven. Wherever we go we will
create heaven! There can be no other way.
Women's beautiful hands are usually neatly manicured but I want them to
be rough and ugly from working for the sake of God and humanity. Do you
want that? How can I believe that you want that? (If you don't believe
us, look at our hands now!) All right, I see your hands and they truly
look like hands
that have worked for the sake of God and humanity. Those hands will
become museum pieces in the Kingdom of God. That's the way of life we
have chosen.
Do you receive persecution for
the sake of God and humanity?
Why did I come all the way from Korea to America if I had to suffer so
much? Why am I being criticized and why have I been so persecuted by the
press? Why should I do these crazy things? I am merely practicing the
one law that I'm preaching today. I want to give myself for the sake of
the world. Because America is a microcosm of tee world, by unselfishly
giving here in the face of persecution I can work for the good of the
entire world.
Do you love me even though your parents oppose me? That's why you are
crazy! This morning you were taught the concept of the Kingdom of God,
making this the hour of decision. What kind of world are you heading
toward? Have you unshakably decided that this is your goal and your way of
life? Do you think our movement will be destroyed if you try to practice
an unselfish way of life? No power under the sun could destroy such a
movement. If ever a power emerged to destroy us then the whole earth
and God and the spirit world together would block it. We are protected
by the power of God.
I know that in Japan, Korea and America there are people who seriously
want to kill me, but I have never sought revenge against them or thought
to kill them first. Even though I have prayed for God's mercy on them,
those people who adamantly hate me have always diminished. I do not
think of anyone as my enemy; those who live a negative way of life
always-have their futures blocked. Even though we seem to have hardship
and persecution, our future is always open. That is the way our Church
has grown and become prosperous. The important thing is not whether we
are persecuted, but whether we are receiving this persecution for the
sake of God and humanity. If we are, then we are protected and nothing
can destroy this movement or stops us. However, if we are receiving this
persecution and criticism for our own purpose then that is a different
story. This is a simple criterion, isn't it? Even in selling peanuts
on the street, if your thoughts dwell on God and humanity then you are
doing something holy and sacred in the sight of God. Every blessing will
be shifted in due course from those who intend to serve themselves to
those who serve others. That's God's rule.
I know that some members feel a certain emptiness inside, thinking
indignantly, "I joined the Unification Church several years ago and I've
been working very hard, but Father hasn't recognized me and even the
President of the Church hasn't recognized me. None of my leaders know
me." Anyone who seeks honor and recognition for himself is not truly a
Unification Church member. The indicative point is that this member is
complaining in his heart, "I feel left alone." That is self-centered
motivation. If you are truly unselfish then you don't care about being
recognized by the Church because you know that ultimately God in heaven
will recognize you.
Some day after long years of hard work for the sake of America and for
the sake of the world, I will pack up and go back to Korea. I will not
resent America for not appreciating me. I don't necessarily want to be
recognized by the American people; I just want to do the right thing and
then I'll take off. Perhaps there is one more thing I may do. If I wish
that after all the time I have spent here that I could have done more
for the sake of America, then generations later Americans will have to
bow down to that spirit. You don't have to seek your own recognition;
God will bring you recognition.
Whatever destiny holds in store, whatever consequences I face, including
suffering in prison, I have no anxiety; I have already suffered many
times in prison. The important thing is whether my actions are for the
sake of God and humanity. That is sacred and is the most noble deed
of all. History will record me simply because of my suffering and
unreasonable persecution. When you have a record of memorable deeds
and things to respect and love, it gives added incentive for future
generations to plunge into the work of God.
If you consider my deeds in America ever since I came to this country then
you know that undoubtedly the work I have done will be passed on. The
spirit I left, the reasons I did everything, the places I touched in
this country, all will become history.
The New Yorker and the Manhattan Center are definitely historic places
because I poured out my sweat and blood to resurrect them. The Tiffany
Building which we are purchasing for our newspaper company will also
become an historic place.
Mother and I are going to visit all the major states to secure an
appropriate center. A couple of days ago we went to Boston and yesterday
we went to Philadelphia to look for a building. I gave my whole heart
and effort in those places because history will truly record them as
museum pieces in the Kingdom of God. I am not doing all this to secure
my own wealth or to increase my luxury or for my own satisfaction. I am
doing this for the sake of posterity and for the sake of this nation.
from now on God will only respond to prayers offered for the sake of
the world
Your work and my work are different in degree but the purpose and the
principle behind it all is precisely the same. I have a covenant between
God and myself and no matter how hard it may be to fulfill, I have no
complaint. The year of 1977 is dawning now and it will be an extraordinary
year. The pledge we must make as members of the Unification Church, is,
"This is going to be the year that I will never, never complain."
I have received opposition and persecution from the very beginning
of my ministry in Korea, then in Japan and now here in America and all
around the world, but my work and this movement will not decline. We will
continue to prosper and move forward to great glory because we are living
the Principle. I'll give you one important declaration: Even if we work
with this kind of spirit but still you and I decline and are destroyed, we
need have no regret because in that case there is no God. As long as there
is God, we are bound to be successful and win the final victory. There is
no other possible eventuality. There are people trying to set roadblocks
before us but the more roadblocks that are set, the more God will send
champions to push them aside. Under persecution we will grow and prosper.
Even President Nixon could not endure 1½ years of criticism. In
comparison, the press has been attacking me for 4 years, yet I am now
emerging as someone of importance here in America. Have your heart
and mind become weak and tired, or strengthened with an iron will to
go on? Don't you feel, "I am a solider and champion of God; I will
move forward and bring the great victory to His throne"? Is that your
determination?
Now you have a realistic picture of the Kingdom of God. Many elders,
deacons and ministers in the Christian churches are praying for God to
bless their church, but that is not our prayer. God will not respond
to such prayers any longer. God will respond only to the prayers of His
children with this spirit, "Accept me as a living sacrifice. Thy will be
done, for the sake of the world and humanity." God told me personally
that He loves to receive such prayers. Therefore, my prayer has been
and will be, "Father, please accept these beautiful young members of the
Unification Church as a living sacrifice on Your altar, to save the world,
humanity and all nations."
Since I love you, I want you to be blessed with the greatest heaven
of all, but there is only one way to get it: Persevere in this way of
life. Be a willing sacrificial soldier for God's kingdom. I do not teach
you to work only eight hours a day. For the sake of God and humanity
I want you to accomplish extraordinary things, even working 24 hours a
day. If any nation comes to tell me, "You are violating our labor law
by working your people too hard," that nation will be violating the
heavenly principle. I have no concept of time, no concept of night and
day. You will never be destroyed by not having that concept either. You
now know how to recognize the true man, the true saint.
Spiritual advancement is affected
by the providence in each era
What is meant by the title of this morning's message, "The Benefit
and Grace of This Time in History?" No greater benefit can be given
by a philosophy than to make a way of life for God and humanity. The
work of restoration is expanding in three stages-formation, growth,
and perfection. First is the Old Testament era, then the New Testament
era and finally the Completed Testament era.
The first stage is the era of the servant while the New Testament stage
is the era of the adopted son. The Completed Testament era is for true
sons and daughters and continues beyond that into the family level. From
that point on the Kingdom of God will become a reality.
Why must Jesus return a second time? Simply because he was crucified
while he was still single. When God created Adam and Eve He created
them to be husband and wife so as the second Adam, Jesus Christ cannot
accomplish the Kingdom of God on earth all by himself. Jesus certainly
pursued individual perfection, which he accomplished, but he could not
establish the perfected family because of the crucifixion.
After the time of Adam and Eve 4,000 years of history lapsed until the
time of Jesus Christ. Could God bless families in that period? The
servant stage is equivalent to the angelic world since no families are
blessed in that world. How could a servant deserve a family before God
has blessed His true children? The Messiah comes to bring mankind from
the servant era through the era of adopted sons to the era of true
sons and daughters, all at one stroke. During the Old Testament era,
no matter what anyone did, he could not be elevated to the level of son
or daughter of God.
In the providence of God, John the Baptist was the first to be in the
adopted son's position, while those before, like Noah and Abraham,
were in the servant position. Jesus Christ came as the son of God and
in God's original plan the transition from the era of adopted sons to
the era of perfected sons and daughters was to come during the time of
Jesus. John's unity with Jesus could have brought mankind into that
era. Because of the crucifixion, however, Jesus could not actually
fulfill the son's role on earth, but only an extension of John the
Baptist's role as adopted son. That is why for 2,000 years Christianity
has been the religion through which mankind could become God's adopted
sons. In the Christian churches even ministers refer to themselves as
God's servants. In a way it is true, because from the servant position
it is their goal to be elevated to the position of adopted sons.
The second coming of the Messiah is inevitable but until then,
no matter how hard you work or how great you are, you cannot have a
heaven!! family. Until the Second Coming, paradise in the spirit world is
the highest level anyone can attain. Paradise is like the lobby or place
for people to wait until the doors of the heavenly kingdom are opened.
The ministry of the Lord of the Second Advent will indemnify all of
history, setting up the conditions step by step for the establishment
of the first heavenly family. The Messiah has the right to set up the
family of God, having as his central purpose the reorganization of all
mankind from fallen families into heavenly families. The true family is
the essential element, and on that foundation the Kingdom will expand
from the level of society to nation and then the world.
This year, 1976, the Unification Church is passing from the level
of family construction to the worldwide level. Christianity: has
concentrated on the perfection of individual men. yet even that was
never fulfilled. But in the Unification Church we are talking about the
perfection of the family. Which is ultimately the final layer on the
foundation for world restoration. That's where we are today For 6,000
years God has been seeking to establish one family of heaven and now
the Unification Church has not only established the- cornerstone of the
family of heaven, but has laid the world-level foundation.
The base we have erected has the kind of value that not even many
thousands of years of work has been able to accomplish. You are actually
no greater than any of those great saints in Christian history; you are
far from it. Then why are you receiving such benefit? Simply because it
is the grace of history that you are living in the particular moment
when hen you can join the central force of heaven. By doing so, your
grace and benefit are assured.
It is an astonishing thing, but in the spirit world the man!- billions
of people who lived here on earth remain single, no matter v hat family
life they had on earth. I want you to know an even more astonishing
fact. Through the work of the Unification Church we have not only
organized the heavenly family here on earth, but we are opening the
door to the family kingdom up in the spirit world. We are undertaking
the astonishing revolution which has been God's goal
since the fall of Adam and Eve, but which was never achieved in history.
By joining with the True Parents you can live in that new era of
the family in heaven. The blessing you all seek and cherish is not a
cheap thing. Only because of the hard work of Jesus' spiritual ministry
for 2,000 years and the sacrifice of many saints can we erect this new
foundation. The people who lived in the era of Judaism have been waiting
for 6,000 years for this day of fulfillment. Think of the sacrifice
the Jewish people made even under Hitler alone, when six million Jews
were exterminated.
It is the very Jews and Christians who oppose us now who should benefit
by our fulfillment, yet they are totally ignorant of that. If they
continue to oppose us then you are the ones who will ill inherit their
blessing. You are the ultimate result of God's hard work for 6,000
years. Each one of you represents the resurrection of your ancestors
and through each of you your family and all your ancestors will be
blessed. If you fail your expected responsibility, it is not just your
failure. The most significant consequence is that your entire ancestry
will fail with you. Not only that, your children will also fail because
of you. You are historic beings and you occupy most critical, pivotal
positions. If you face this awesome responsibility and do everything
you can in trying to fulfill it then you will be entitled to receive
enormous heavenly blessing.
It is a continuation of the trend of history that while the rest of the
world is crumbling, the Unification Church is the only strong, growing
force. The historic mission is upon your shoulders and God is asking
you to be responsible for the past, present and future. My goal is to
link you with the Kingdom of God. The short cut to get there is to have
the personality I described this morning, the heavenly personality that
truly practices God's love.
You don't have to have a sophisticated knowledge of the
Principle. However, you must know this one simple thing and practice it:
I am not existing for myself but for the sake of my family, for the
sake of my society, my nation, the world, humanity and God. You must
know that you are born for the sake of God. You must set up a covenant
between yourself and God and then live up to God's expectation.
My life is really not mine. If I live my life on earth in that manner,
there is no death any more. I will be elevated to the Kingdom of God
on the family level, social level, national and worldwide levels, to
the highest part of the universal level, because I practiced living for
them here on earth. In that way, you too are free to go everywhere in the
Kingdom of God and you will not be alone; you will be surrounded by your
family, society, nation, and the world. You will be honorably elevated
to the throne of God, accompanied by this great escort. No other saint
has a family yet, but my family will be there and the Unification Church
families will be there. We are making these two worlds into one. We are
given a short life here on earth, but by completely giving ourselves to
that duty at this particular moment of time we become entitled to the
historic blessing.
I will give you an analogy from tuna fishing. A giant shiny tuna will
not necessarily bite only tasty bait. Sometimes a tuna will bite very
humble, smelly bait. By the same token,we may be like smelly, humble
bait in the sight of God, yet God is putting us down into the fallen
world as bait. The world is the tuna. If the world will bite us, it can
be pulled into the Kingdom of God. There is only one such opportunity
for this in history.
It is God's amazing grace that you happened to be here in this forty
years' time out of all the eons of history. You hit the bullseye. All
you have to do is realize the mission in order to get the historic
blessing. The benefit of this time is absolutely great. I want you to be
entitled to win that blessing. Do you want to do it? God bless you. Let
us pray.
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