ORDER NUMBER
77-03-13
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
WHO WAS I?
March 13, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
The topic of my message this morning is "Who Was I?"
Throughout the entire history of mankind the problem has always been
"I." You are citizens of this nation but that category alone does
not adequately describe who you are. You can trace your family tree,
searching deeply into the root of your heritage to your grandfather,
your great-grandfather, and continue all the way to the origin of
human existence. When you say "ancestors," you always think of your
grandparents, and perhaps your great-great-grandparents, but beyond that
you have little concept of your ancestry. It is not real to you.
As we read about the thousands of years of human history we find that
some people were evil and some good. As we took around at our society and
nation we find that today also there are good people and evil people. It
follows then that there were good and evil people both in history and in
your ancestry. What kind of ancestors do you have? Can you be completely
confident that you have no evil ancestors, or do you have a mixture of
good and evil in your past? There are so many kinds of personalities;
in your lineage there may even have been some traitors who betrayed
the nation.
Actually you have two family trees: your father's and your mother's.
These two entirely different family trees merge in you. In addition,
your mother's tree and father's tree both have two lineages, and each of
your grandparents also have two lineages. As we look far back in history
your entire lineage can be seen to spread over a great area. You are the
fruit of a vast family tree. Just to understand this tangled mixture of
family trees is too tedious for us; we do not even want to bother. When
we look at our present world we know that what is happening today on the
horizontal level is a repetition of what has happened throughout history.
Who are you and whom do you resemble? The simple answer is that you
resemble your father and your mother. However, you are the product of
both your father's and mother's entire lineage, and every cell in your
body contains some component of your entire ancestry.
In the back yard of East Garden there is an apple tree that is probably
20 or 30 years old. When it bears apples they represent 30 years of
growth, not just the current year. We can say that the fruit is 30
years old. In the same way you are historical beings. Your "I" did not
just pop out of heaven. "I" is linked to the past, the present and the
future. When we dig deeper and deeper to find the ultimate cause of
the universe, we will see that our lives are connected to the origin,
which is God. Since God created mankind and the entire universe, then
"I" must be in the image of that particular God.
If there is a God then He must be good. Therefore we too, should be born
good in the image of God. However, from the beginning to the present time
there have been so many evil deeds and sins committed that we are now
quite separated from God. There is a large gap between God and our present
selves. We are the extension of God who is good, but our extension of
Him is stained and dirty. When God looks down upon the posterity of His
own family tree He wants to get rid of all the dirt. You do not even
need to know the Bible to see that there is a gap between God and us
and that we have been stained.
How did we become stained?
What has made us so dirty throughout these many years of history? Were
we born as sinful people to begin with, or have we just slipped into
filthy places and become stained? Certainly we have slipped into filthy
places, but does anyone like dirty things? When we look into the past,
have there been more people working to cleanse sin or to multiply it?
What is the origin of this dirty situation? Actually it begins from
"me," and I can say that I received it from my parents, who received
it from my grandparents, and they from my great-grandparents. Sin is
inherited from our ancestors, who are contaminated by sin. Then what
made our ancestors dirty?
The essential truth is that our ancestors thought of themselves as
being the center of everything; their own egos and selfishness are what
stained them. If our ancestors had sought to make themselves clean,
they would have emptied themselves and lived in sacrificial service to
others. If they had found something more precious than themselves then
they could not have become stained. But what could be more precious than
themselves? They had to realize that they were resultant beings. Our
ancestors should have recognized that there was an Original Being in
the position of cause and subject, and that they were the reflection of
that cause. They had to recognize first that there is a God who is the
eternal subject of all humanity, that He is good, and that they had to
live for Him. If anyone in history had consciously lived for God and
for His purpose, that person could never have stained himself.
God and nature are universal
God is the center of the entire universe. He is not a small, local God; He
is universal, and the reflection of that God is the entire universe. God
is the subjective cause and the entire universe of creation is His
object. God is in the center of the entire spirit world, while we men
are the center of this visible universe, the physical world. Man has
inborn traits that qualify him for this position, for instance, the
desire to excel others and to stand out in the world, to be respected
by all mankind. Do we have that ambition?
To become a person who is recognized worldwide you must become a person
who lives and breathes the worldwide situation daily. Think of it, when
you have bread in your mouth whose bread are you eating-your own bread or
the bread of the world? If your food represents the entire world, which
is more precious, you or that bread? If you are existing solely for your
own selfish and egoistic purpose while your bread is representing the
entire world, which is more precious? At every breakfast you should say,
"Mr. Bread, sir, I salute you." Why do you laugh? You laugh because you
feel it is impossible for the bread to be more valuable than you.
Think of the air that you breathe; it belongs to the universe and is
in a universal position. Did you buy this air? Is it yours? When you
breathe this air do you ever think about whether you are even qualified
to breathe it? Have you ever thought of air in this way, "I'm breathing
somebody else's air. Do I have a right to breathe it?" Or do you assume
you have a right to breathe it?
Think of a glass of water; does it belong to you? Have you ever had the
power to create one drop of water? The water belongs to the universe. The
water and the air do not belong to evil or self-centered persons; they
belong to the universe and to those of universal purpose. What about
sunlight? Are the sun rays yours? They are in a universal position. If
you are centered only upon yourself and you breathe this air and
dominate nature for your own enjoyment, all these things will abhor
being subjugated by you.
Sometimes we see people outside protesting against us. Have you ever
thought of the water demonstrating, saying, "I belong to God and to
the universe; I don't want to go into the body of this self-centered,
egoistic individual. I protest! I'm not going!" Do you think water has
sufficient reason to protest against evil people? How about grains of
wheat, sunshine, and air? Do they have cause to demonstrate?
The most powerful things in existence in this universe are not the
things that are man-made. The sun's rays, water, air-these are some of
the most powerful things in the universe because without them none of
us can exist even for two minutes. Have you ever thought of this? This
nation has the atomic bomb, but compared to the power of sunshine,
air or water, the bomb is a peanut. Suppose the atoms of the air got
together with a plan to change this evil world by having a revolution.
Air has the power to change the world because within minutes everyone
would have to surrender or suffocate.
Are all of these natural things individualistic or universal? Even one
bird or small animal belongs to the universe and is a universal being.
Have you ever thought about things in this way, about whether you even
deserve to have all these things? Do you serve as a subject of these
things? Do you have the right to possess and enjoy them?
You must become universal
All your surroundings belong to the universe. Unless you make yourself
a universal being and become tied to the universal cause, God, you must
realize that all nature around you will not want to be possessed by you
or be of service to you. You must become their subject first by making
yourself a universal being who is connected to the original cause. Then
you are in a position to care for, love, and enjoy the universe. If you
make yourself a universal being, connected to the fundamental origin of
the universe, then the sunrays will want to come and warm your body. Water
will want to get into your mouth and air will want to go into your lungs.
When nature is willing to serve you, that air, water and sunshine are
far better than any tonic or medicine. The person who deserves the honor
of the service of all nature will not catch colds or be seriously ill;
he will be healthy for his entire life. Would you like to be someone
recognized by the world as a worldwide person? What if you are clumsy,
tall and very ugly? Even then you still have the right to become a
person respected worldwide by making yourself into a universal man and
by connecting yourself to the original subject of the universe.
Let us say that among several friends you have one who is always giving
you a hard time, continuously nagging you to pay more attention to
him. When you look at that person his face is ugly, always trying to snap
at you, complaining that you do not pay enough attention to him. Such
a person would come to you and then turn around and kick you. Would you
want to be around him?
Compare that kind of relationship to your relationship with the
universe. There are two kinds of people. Some continuously nag, "Why
didn't the sun come out today? Why is the world so dirty? Why couldn't
God make me happier?" Such people have only complaints toward God
and nature. Will nature like them? Nature will turn around and kick
them instead. Such people may try to make themselves happy by going
to the health spa and exercising, but everywhere they go they will be
surrounded by enemies; the air will shove them, the water slap them,
and the sunshine bum them. That kind of person will never be healthy.
The entire natural world has but one universal mind, and as a result
the relationship between you and nature should be thought of as the
relationship between you and your neighbor. What makes your friend happy
or unhappy? Your answer directly applies to your relationship with nature.
Why did our ancestors not leave us a clean, pure heritage? Why did they
leave us an evil history? The answer can only be that they did not obey
the universal law of service, that they violated the divine law of the
universe, desiring to make everything serve them: "The world is mine
and must come to serve me." That basic attitude is the worst violation
of universal law.
In order to become lords of creation we must possess universal character
and comply with universal law, meaning that we must become unselfish
people, existing solely for service to others. We all want to become
recognized as a center of the world, recognized by the universe. In order
to do that we ourselves must recognize the value of the universe; we must
live in the concept that we are here solely to serve the world. Unless
you have that personality you certainly cannot become a central person
of the world or the universe.
God is the center of the universe, the spirit world and physical world
together, because He is perfect and exists solely for the sake of
others. By living in that way God is making Himself the center of the
universe. I am sure you understand.
We come to the one absolute criterion: Those who serve themselves,
trying to take everything for their own benefit, will produce only evil
results. Those who willingly and lovingly give for the benefit of others
will bring wholesome results, and add benefit to the side of good. What
kind of persons were your ancestors? By only thinking about themselves
and their own families, they did not expand their personality to the
national or worldwide levels.
No matter what you have previously learned, irregardless of how good or
well-spoken a person may appear, if he seeks to use everything for his
own benefit he is evil. The person who thinks of the difference between
his own children and other children is not a universal person; if his
children are universal beings then all other children are also universal
beings. His wife is precious because she is a universal being; therefore
all other women are also important and precious. In this respect we have
not liberated the selfishness of our egos. That godly way of life has
not been clear.
What is a saint?
You want to become a good person who is respected worldwide, isn't that
true? A saint is a person of worldwide respect. What is a saint? First,
saints recognize God as the first cause of the universe and are primarily
religious leaders, like Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed. They recognize God and
try to live in service to God; their aim is to serve the entire universe
and mankind. This service is their outstanding trait. Actually, saints are
the type of people who want to make themselves the subject of the whole
universe, becoming respected on the worldwide level by serving the world.
Which comes first, the universe or history? Does the universe
come within history or history within the universe? Do you want to
become an historical or universal person? Do you have confidence to
become a universal person? What kind of God do we have, universal or
historical? When you make yourself a universal person, are you making
yourself a friend of God? All the saints of history were friends of
God, the type of people who lived their lives thinking entirely of the
well-being of the universe, the well-being of humanity and ultimately
the well-being of God. Let me then ask: Who are you?
Think about the question, "Who am I?" Compare your personality to
the personality of a saint, who lives for the divine purpose of the
universe and humanity and God. How small you are or how big you are
depends on whether or not you live on that level. If there were a certain
academic standard to meet to become a saint, then what level would you
be? Kindergarten?
Even to reach kindergarten at the university of saints is not easy.
What kind of student are you? Are you well-groomed and behaving correctly,
listening to the teacher, or are you a sloppy, inattentive student,
dressed in smelly rags? What kind of standing do you have? Most of you
have a very poor standing, even in the kindergarten of saints. You are
so smelly that when the teacher comes to teach he just can't stand to
be in the classroom and runs away.
With such a poor standing, can we come out and demand that God recognize
us? Can we claim to be His son or daughter and ask for treats or some
allowance? Do we deserve all His wonderful things? Do you think God will
instantly respond to that kind of student? Actually you know what kind of
God He is and what your standing is. The right thing for you to ask is,
"God, please don't come now because I am not quite ready. I want to wash
myself and go to the laundry first and get myself prepared for you."
What kind of prayer do you offer? Have you been humbly praying, "God,
I know the truth; I am striving but I am not quite ready to meet you.
Give me a little time to grow. Let me perfect myself a little further
and I will be ready for You some day." Has that been your prayer,
or have you been praying, "God, why don't you come? I am a member of
the Unification Church; I follow Reverend Moon and I deserve your love!
Give me your power and let me conquer the world." When we fully realize
where we are, that kind of prayer is quite a joke.
We come to the most important conclusion that we were not born for
ourselves. God created us to be the center of the universe, the center
of His whole creation. God bestowed upon us the responsibility of taking
care of the world and truly becoming respected as the lords of creation.
The more you serve, the more you become the central, subjective
figure. Young people today simply think, "Why should I be foolish and
worry about serving others; I'm going to live my own life." That seems
to be very clever thinking, but actually it is violating universal law
and is not clever at all.
If a wealthy father has many children and wants to write a will to divide
his inheritance, which child will inherit the most? The child who really
has the caliber and ability to use this material for the benefit of others
and who has a sense of service deserves to receive more. By serving others
you will become a central person, This principle is never going to change.
America many decline but this law of the universe will not change. No
matter how powerful the communists are, even if they have conquered most
of the world, if they violate this law they will decline. By following
this principle you will become a strong, powerful, influential person, and
you will remain in that position as long as you adhere to this principle.
Think about Hitler. He was arrogant, proclaiming that the German race was
superior to all others and had the right to conquer the world. He felt
that the entire universe should come under the German race. Joseph Stalin
believed that communism was supreme and that the entire world should be
subjugated by that ideology.
What is my position? Some of our critics say that I am worse than Hitler
or Stalin. They can only say such things because they do not see the real
content of my ideal, my heart or my ideology. However, the content of
my philosophy is entirely different from Hitler's or Stalin's. I teach
that you must go and serve the world.
Love your opponents
The Washington Post, New York Times, and all the media have committed a
tremendous crime by unjustly attacking me and reporting allegations that
I am evil and corrupt. Even so, I have never responded to that by seeking
retaliation of a tooth for a tooth or evil for evil. Not at all. I only
have a prayerful mind to forgive them. I can foresee that some day all
the media shall become the instruments of God. There is hope that in
the future the media will become of service to God, however inadequate
and evil they are now.
Because the Unification Church has come under fire many parents have come
against us, uniting with the deprogrammers and kidnappers. We are the
focal point of much controversy, but if we turn around and fight back,
there will be chaos in this country and all over the world. Revenge is
not my way. Go ahead and take the beating. Love and embrace those who
come against us and serve them. Eventually you will win because that
is universal law. You are going to be victorious. The living proof of
this is that under such extreme and continued persecution, our Church
is growing and moving forward. Why is that? We are embracing the entire
universe; the entire creation, and therefore universal law must defend
us. No one can prevail against us. We are invincible.
All the saints and great men of history have gone the same path that we
go now. They were persecuted by their contemporaries and even killed;
however, the universal law embraced them and lifted them up to become
saints, respected by the world.
My own conviction is this: As long as God and never perish. Do you
members love me? What do you like about me? Your own fathers and mothers
criticize me, saying, "Why did you take our sons and daughters to make
them slaves?" Then why do you like me?
I know one secret principle that others do not know: In order to serve
the world, you take the servant's position, but if you continue as a
servant, then God will lift you up to become a master of the universe.
I know this secret. American young people are bright and clever, and if
they know this secret they can change within one week. That is happening
in our church and you yourselves have experienced this.
We are redirecting our individual purpose 180 degrees to the purpose
of serving the universe; that is why people outside say that I am
brainwashing you. Is this brainwashing good or bad? Is it true that I
am worse than Hitler or Stalin? I do not care what I am labeled as long
as I can turn you around to become universal people. As far as serving
America and loving this nation are concerned, I am certainly not one
inch behind the greatest American leaders. I am not indebted to America;
rather America is now indebted to me. America eventually has to honor that
debt, and if America does not pay, then you must pay as representatives of
America. Do you mind? The way that you can re-pay that universal debt is
to turn around and serve this nation so that you can change this nation
around. If you continuously live this principle, then within the next
ten years those people who are opposing us today will look very shabby.
I am a strong man, but what makes me strong? I am not strong in terms of
destruction or dictatorship, but rather I am strong in my conviction. My
conviction is that I am living the universal law and working to bring
young people under the same law. We serve and live together under the
same divine law, and together we shall be victorious.
By doing this I have become famous and controversial, but does that mean
that I am an evil man? There is one criterion. The world may think of
me as evil simply because they do not understand, but we are convinced
about the most important thing: God knows me; God loves me, and God
thinks that I am Serve the universe good. That comforts me and is all
I need. My other comfort is that you young people know me.
If you want to become the center of the universe, the center of the
world, you have to have the desire and hope to serve the world and
the universe with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.
Accomplishing that will make you the center.
Actually I am asking you to become a slave of the universe. This is not
easy, but if you do so, the universal law and God will elevate you to
the master's position. Parents who love their children in actual deed
become servants to their children. No matter how dirty a child is,
the parents just change his diapers.
The true husband is like a servant to his wife; she may not even ask
for anything, but he knows what she needs and voluntarily serves her
with a loving heart. The true husband's actual position is almost like
a servant. The wife's position toward her husband is also that of a
servant. If you want to live a true life-as husband, wife, society, or
nation-you must live the truth of service. By living and serving others
you become true. In what kind of world do you want to live, a world where
we serve each other or a world where we grab everything for ourselves?
When people are trying to serve each other they create the power of
unity and harmony. God Himself lives that way; God is pure and genuine,
but something went wrong with human history and it became stained by
sin. For 6,000 years God has been tirelessly working to cleanse man's
sin. He did not do this for just one year or for only one of you, but
for thousands of years and thousands of generations, from your oldest
ancestors down to the present generation.
God has been working extremely hard for you and for your ancestors yet
so many people in the world are insisting that there is no such things as
God. How blasphemous! What heavy grief it brings to God! Imagine that one
day you had an accident and an intimate friend took you to the hospital
and saved your life. How would that friend feel if the next morning you
woke up in the hospital and said, "Who are you? I don't know you." Your
friend would feel lonely and rejected.
The relationship between God and man is exactly the same. If you really
knew what kind of God He is and what He has been doing for you, would
you be happy or not? The mere fact that God exists is assurance that He
cares for you and struggles to make you happy. We must realize that we
are indebted to God and to the universe.
That feeling must penetrate to your bones. If you want to become a godly
person then you must first feel how greatly you are indebted to God. Next
you must feel that you want to re-pay this debt in the shortest possible
time. If you move in that direction then you will become a saint.
You must live in repentance: "Mr. Air, Mr. Water, I am sorry; I have
been unjust to you. Mr. Food, Mr. Sunshine, I repent to you." Repent
to your parents and above all, repent to God. Looking down on you God
will say, "You're crazy! You don't have to repent." But how God will be
comforted! Which is better, the repentance coming only from your lips,
or the repentance that wells up from your heart, accompanied by an escort
of tears?
We are sinners
Let us now consider what kind of sinners we are. What kind of sin has all
mankind committed? We have been destroying the ideal universe, the ideal
society, the ideal home, and the ideal individual. Mankind has even been
destroying the ideal of God. Even in our secular, satanic society you
are called a gangster or a terrorist if you destroy one family. How much
more is it a sin when we destroy the ideal individual, family, society,
nation and world, and even God? The sin that Adam committed by the fall
is that very sin; he not only became fallen himself, but he destroyed the
ideal perfected individual, the ideal home, the ideal society, the ideal
nation and the ideal world, and he even imprisoned God. Adam was supposed
to be the king of kings, in the position of visible God. Since the fall
God could no longer exercise His power; instead, His influence and work
have been limited because of the rebellion of men who turned against Him.
In dispensational history, who killed Abel? You killed Abel because
your ancestor did. Who brought misery to Noah? You are the one because
your ancestors did. Who brought suffering to Abraham, Moses and Jesus
Christ? You, because your ancestors did and you are the fruit of your
ancestors. Who put Jesus Christ on the cross? You.
Who was Jesus Christ? He was to be the king of kings, and he was
supposed to be the True Parent of mankind, the Savior and liberator of
all men. Yet you nailed him to the cross. Can there be any greater sin
than this one? You are part of that sin because your ancestors committed
that crime. Is there any greater sin than killing the one man of God,
the one king of kings, the one True Parent who was given by God? You
murdered him. Is there any greater sin than this?
Ever since that time mankind has been apathetic, claiming, "It's none
of my business; I didn't do it." That has been the world's attitude for
2,000 years. However, when an arrow hits a tree branch, not only the
branch but the entire tree is affected because the branch is a part of
that tree. By hitting that branch you are hitting the whole body. If
your ancestors killed Jesus, then are you a murderer or not?
The king of kings was to appear only one time, yet you killed that
person. God sent the True Parent of mankind only one time and you
killed him. For that act everyone deserves to die and suffer in hell.
You must feel this to the bone. When you look at your hand, you can say,
"This hand has committed the most bloody murder." You must feel that
there is nothing that you can do to repay this sin, that you could give
up anything, even chop off your arm or leg, or pull out your eyes. Even
then your position is still unforgivable. You need to feel that this is
the kind of sinner you are.
Feel repentance, shame and gratitude
Repentance must be accompanied by shame. You must feel the shame of
your position before you can enjoy the sunlight, the trees, the grass,
or the flowers, thinking, "Nature is so pure but I am so dirty." This
is not hypothetical thinking; in this fallen world the person who feels
that shame to the bone is closest to God.
A deep realization of this shame must be followed by a sense of
gratitude; every little thing that God bestows upon you fills you with
gratitude. Even when you see one bird in spring or the little spring
flowers you should say, "God, thank you for this beauty. Thank you for
this sound. I don't deserve this or have a right to enjoy this but you
are now freely giving it all to me. Thank you, God."
Finally, God will call your name and you will feel absolutely
flabbergasted. "God? Did You call me? Can I be called by You?" You feel
how inadequate you are but when your hear the voice of God calling,
you are completely fascinated and inspired, and you respond to the
fullest degree. With such a pure heart you have every right to respond
to God. Since you are an historical being, the entire weight of history
is upon your shoulders. You must be able to feel man's history of sin
and shame, and take the responsibility of it upon your own shoulders,
for the sake of your entire ancestry living within you.
The sense of shame is followed by gratitude, and then by volunteering
before God, "You called me and there is nothing that I cannot do. Give
me the worst kind of dirty mission and I will undertake it. All my life
is for You; I will do anything You want, whatever Your will is."
You are entitled to heaven after you go through this course, but actually
even after you are elevated to the highest possible heaven you will
still have no power to lift up your head. Then God will command you,
"My child, lift up your head and look straight at me." On that day you
can lift up your head. That is the way to become the ideal man and to
achieve the ideal. Compare this ideal level to the present Unification
Church members' way of life. There is a great deal of difference. What
I am teaching you this morning is not just my reasoning, theory, or
logic. We are talking about actual day to day life.
I love nature. I talk to the trees and waters and I have a freer
communication with nature than anybody. Most of my life was not lived
with smiles but in a vale of tears. There has never been any one who
has cried more than I have. Even now, there is not too much to smile
about in the course of each day. There is little laughter and much
seriousness. Look at the world: The world is trying to tear me apart, but
God is waiting. God is silent. How could I seek revenge? It is impossible;
it is not my way. I understand precisely how God feels and I know that
God embraces me, even though I do not ask Him to do so. I do not pray
for such protection from God, but still I know that God is with me.
"Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand"
Who are you? You are sinners and you must repent. When the Son of God
appeared in Israel 2,000 years ago, his first words were, "Repent, for
the Kingdom of God is at hand." The Kingdom of God will never become a
reality unless people repent. That is the first order of business.
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, shouted out first,
"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This teaching is eternal;
from my heart and soul I shout it out to you now, "Repent, for the Kingdom
of God is at hand!" The difference between the Biblical teaching and
what you are hearing today lies in the fact that you know why we should
repent and you know precisely who you are.
Where is the place for repentance? Where should we go to repent? This is
something we have to think about. It cannot be a beautiful, comfortable
place, but should be a lowly place of suffering. In such a place you
can experience realistic repentance. This is why I went down to the slum
areas to repent for the sake of all humanity. I went to laborers' places,
to the mines, to the docks, and even to prison. In those places I could
realistically repent for the sins of the world. I never thought that I
was too good to go to such places. I only thought, "Father, thank you
for giving me this place where I can realistically repent. My repentance
can become real because the suffering of the world comes with me."
When you are treated roughly by the world, please accept it with
gratitude; remember that suffering is the ideal place for your
repentance. When you go out selling peanuts and people curse you, shout
at you, and even spit on you, thank God saying, "Father, you are giving
me this place to repent because I am a sinner. I deserve to be spat upon
to be hit, to be cursed."
If you live this way of life for three years you will be purified and
accepted in God's sight. Even in the Unification Church arrogance is the
worst enemy. People think, "I am a member of the Unification Church. I
know the truth. I belong to Reverend Moon. I will work for three years
and then have a blessed family, and then the world should come and bow
down to me. I should be seated on a throne." If you think that way, how
poor and miserable you are; what a poor standing you have as a member
of the Unification Church!
Right here in our church there are two ways of life. If you are an
arrogant person, then regardless of how many years you are in the
Unification Church you will end up in hell, while the humble person
will end up in heaven. Are you saints or sinners? The sinner belongs
to hell and only because of God's special dispensation are you held
back from going there. Only through His love is there a way for you
to turn around and accept God and return to Him. This is His grace.
Therefore we should be deeply repentful first and then thankful.
You must feel the pain of God and of all history. Your repentance must
come deeply from your own heart and soul, and the expression of your
repentance should be in tears, crying out with water streaming from your
nose and mouth. Repent first and then be thankful. Through that process
you will be cleansed.
You may feel that I am beyond all laws and that I can do anything,
but that is not true at all. This same law is binding me right at this
moment. I still have so much further to go and so much more to do. Can
you understand? I want you to realize that you are anchored to sin. I
am trying to lead you, but this anchor to the satanic world is holding
you back. There is a line connecting you to the satanic world; you must
be courageous and cut it.
Historically speaking we are born of Satan and automatically belong to
hell; we are the citizens of hell. But only because of the love of God
and by His special dispensation do we have hope to turn around and go
to heaven. Through repentance we can achieve that. We must know that
each individual has to go through the process of repentance.
Where do you repent? You must find your place of repentance. It is not
in a holy or luxurious place; instead it is going to be in a place of
suffering. Do you want me to go with you in repentance? Do you want
everybody to get together and repent? Would that make you feel good?
That is not God's way. Repentance comes only through a lonely path.
You must plunge yourself into the satanic world and there seek out your
repentance by yourself.
Become heavenly princes
Do you really know who you were and who you are now? Do you know your
position? First through repentance and then through gratitude you are
elevated to become princes or princesses of heaven. Your goal is not
just to become heavenly citizens, but to transform your sinners' position
into that of heavenly princes or princesses of God. That is the way you
can be with God and with me all through eternity. Who are you? You are
princes and princesses of Satan now. It is because of the love of God
that through repentance and the process of rebirth you can become the
heavenly princes and princesses of God. Do you think that task is easy?
Compared to the process of becoming President of the United States,
your process of coming from the sinners' position to that of princes
and princesses of heaven is far more difficult. Those who come into
our church are candidates for the position of princes and princesses
of God. When you come in you will be given unprecedented discipline,
training and testing to see whether you deserve to become princes and
princesses of God. Can you accept this? I want you to pass that test with
an A+ and thereby become the princes and princesses of God. Thank you.
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