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When we use the word "historical," it means something that stands out and remains in history. For example, World War II was a historical war. Democracy came to mankind in the historical process. Furthermore, the birth of communism is a historical event because of its impact on human history. With the same reasoning, we can consider nations, organizations, and events to be historical. Furthermore, we can say that persons and peoples have been historical. Finally, we could say that religions have been historical.
In this sermon today, I would like to focus on religions which have been historical in this sense. Four major religions have flourished in this world-Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Confucianism. Christianity is the major religion of Western civilization and culture, while in the Middle East, Islam flourishes. Confucianism is predominant in the Far East, and Buddhism is strongest in Southeast Asia and China.
In each case, a religion arose in one specific area and then spread out to become a worldwide religion. However, all these religions are threatened today by the emergence of communism which denies God, the spirit and the value of religion. Every religion has begun to retreat in the face of this threat. In the past, the God-accepting way of thinking predominated, but then atheism arose, and now atheistic communism has been pushing religion off the planet; a new era has dawned.
Theism and atheism have each struggled to gain control over mankind, but now atheism is becoming more aggressive. Will the atheistic view win? When we base our thinking on absolute materialism, how much can we say about human dignity or value? What can our real philosophical base for asserting human value be? Matter is always limited; therefore, a materialist cannot rise above the material to embrace metaphysical values. Thus, the materialist denies the existence of any spiritual realm. He will claim that the spirit is merely a by-product of matter.
The spirit is beyond matter and has the essence of eternity. Therefore, when we talk about the spirit we are talking about something permanent and eternal that is not dominated by the material world. If we believe in the spirit world, we have to determine its source and its subject. That is, we must pursue God and absolute spirit. That is the bottom line.
Therefore, before we talk about the spirit world, we have to talk about whether or not God exists. Furthermore, what kind of God is He? Does God govern historical and contemporary processes, or is He governed by them? The Absolute Being must be the absolute subject; He must be in the position to govern and have dominion over all things.
We come to the conclusion that if God exists, He must be the starting point of all things from which all other things began and developed. When you pursue an understanding of spirit world, you plunge into a limitless area. But when you confine yourself to the material world, your universe is very narrow. Human beings are not just material; we are also spiritual, and the spirit always goes beyond the material. When we limit ourselves to the material we become a trivial person, but when we consider ourselves as a spiritual being, then our human potential becomes limitless.
Now let's talk about love. Is it material? Are the mind and the conscience material? If they are not material, then can they spontaneously evolve out of material? Can material just create these non-material things? When we try to limit our human existence to the material level, we are reducing ourselves to a very small area. This is why so many philosophers throughout history have tackled the crucial question of the existence of God.
Let's consider whether we can track down the existence of God logically. If we can understand something I 00 percent, then we should also be able to reproduce it. Let's consider the conscience-can you reason it out 100 percent and then create it? What about the spiritual phenomena in the world-can they be created by human beings? Can you create love? Can you create an ideal by reasoning it out?
When we talk about ideals, conscience, love, and ultimately God, we are talking about things which go beyond human reasoning. Therefore, a certain amount of faith is required in the process of knowing them. Without faith, you cannot track them down even if you have 100 percent reasoning power. By relying on the power of reason alone, you virtually deny the eternal and absolute nature of certain things.
Why am I speaking of this? Why do we need religion? Is religion a necessity for God, or for human beings? If it is necessary for human beings, then was religion created especially for their sake? Among people there are such groups as women and men, Oriental and Western, black and white, old and young, and so forth. What people need in religion differs according to their culture and region. In one geographical region, one kind of religion would arise, while in another area another kind of religion would arise.
It is true that religion is a necessity for humans beings, but it is not entirely horizontal and man-made. It must have some vertical connection, something which transcends the past, present and future. In other words, the subject and origin of religion must lie elsewhere than in human beings. There must be a certain underlying pattern or formula for religion. The religion which conforms to that formula would be welcomed by people of the past, present and future.
Do you think God has need of religion? Does God have to go to church? Let's make the assumption that God does need religion. If so, what kind of religion does He need? When we talk about a historical religion, do you think it becomes historical due to the needs of human beings, or the needs of God? Where can we find the correct answer to this question?
Can some human being tell us why a religion becomes historical? Even though I may say that a certain religion is the historically model religion, others could say that that was just Reverend Moon's opinion. In other words, they would have their own skepticism about my answer. The answer to that question must come from an absolute source and thus we must go to the Absolute Being. A truly legitimate religion can only come into existence when the Absolute Being says, "This is a religion which I approve off' that is, only when a religion is needed by both God and man can it become a historical religion.
The perfected religion must be agreed upon by both God and human beings. That is, it must be completely approved by God and at the same time it must totally serve the needs of people. Those are the criteria for a historical religion.
Who initiated the existence of religion, God or human beings? Let us refresh our memory about the Divine Principle. If man had not fallen, then no sin would have come into the world, so human beings would not have needed religion at all. Then do you think God originally planned for religion to exist? No, God originally wanted human beings to be completely free of the stain of sin and thus not to need religion.
Does God Himself need to receive eternal life? No, He is eternal. Does He need greater power? No, He has all power; He is an absolute being. But what is God's desire? Does God desire something sweet or something bitter? What is the sweetest thing to God, His "candy"? What kind of God do we have.-a personal God or a mechanized, super-computer type of God? When you talk about the ideal of God, you must accept that God is a personal God with personal characteristics. That is the first and most important criterion.
When you say that God is a personal God, you are actually saying that He can see and hear, speak and smell, but most important, that He has feelings, or emotions. When a man speaks to his beloved, he will use all kinds of beautiful words, such as, "Your skin is as soft as a cloud,' or "Your voice is like music,' end so forth. What kinds of words, then, do we use to describe God?
Let us describe God's eyes. Would you say they were gigantic and monstrous? Or would you say they were charming and loving, warm and shining? God's eyes must be the most perfect eyes, so when He smiles with His eyes, all the universe wants to melt in that warmth. And when He gravely fixes His gaze, then everyone would want to bow down before such dignity. God must possess such eyes.
Every one of God's senses must be perfect because God Himself is perfect. His nose must be perfect in its lines; His ears must be soft and tender. Imagine something totally perfect. With such perfection within Himself, along with all power, what could He desire? Could it be something to eat, like a McDonald's hamburger? Or does He want to go sightseeing somewhere? What does God want? Do you suppose that God is attracted to power or knowledge or wealth? He certainly has all the power, knowledge or money He could want. There is no craving like that which God needs to fulfill.
Would you describe God's eyes first as eyes of authority, or perhaps eyes of wisdom? Or maybe they are eyes that shine with wealth. Even with all these qualities, there is something lacking. Not everybody is looking to God for these things. There is only one quality that will satisfy all people-eyes of universal love. Do you agree with me? We could ask God, "Do You agree with us?" and He would answer, "That's right"
This description could be applied to other parts of God as well. Does He feel content to have hands of power, wisdom or wealth, or does He want to have hands of love? Yes, He wants hands of love. This can be applied to every aspect of God, such as the way He moves. God wants nothing other than the expression of love in everything He does.
God is a personal God and His essence is that of love. Because God is the God of love, He can be the center of all emotion. He can express His true joy and true satisfaction, centered on love. In this respect, does God need religion? No, He doesn't. If God could fulfill His ideal of love in His relationship with people, He would have no need for religion. God only needs religion when the ideal of love has not been fulfilled. Religion is necessary only for the purpose of facilitating the fulfillment of that ideal.
When we analyze love, we see that it can be fulfilled only when there is a relationship between two parties. There must be a subject and an object. If this is the principle by which God created the world and human beings, then all expression in creation must be the expression of His love and the desire to fulfill His love. The creation must be a symbolic manifestation of God's desire for love. To put it more simply, God created the world as His object, with Himself as subject.
All forms of creation are made in such a way as to stimulate the love of God. This is why we read in Genesis that God said, "It is good,' after each day of creation. Was He saying that because He was so impressed with the value of gold and diamonds? No, it was because God was building the fulfillment of His ideal of love day by day. Each day of the creation brought Him nearer to that fulfillment. That's why He was pleased and said each day, "It is good"
Don't you think God was very happy, smiling from ear to ear, as He observed His unfolding creation? On the final day, God created man and woman and said, "Behold, it is VERY good" He was very happy to be able to say "very good" It was not money, knowledge or power that made God say "very good,' but it was the possibility of the fulfillment of His love.
It was man and woman who were the object of God's love. That means you! Have you ever really felt that God was looking at you or touching your face and hair, saying, "It is very good"? Have you ever thought that you were God's very good object?
Multitudes of theologians have come and gone, but none has ever thought in this manner about God's purpose of creation. Many theologians have described God as a God of power and might, who created the universe in order to demonstrate His power. That is like some big muscle man showing off for others-many people have actually thought that was the reason for God's creation.
But when God tells us that He created for the fulfillment of His love, everyone in the world is involved, because we are all the objects of His love. Everybody is involved in the love affair with God. Love makes everybody smile, regardless of the age of the person, whether it is a man or woman, a boy or girl. Love can melt everyone. Why did God create this world? The goal and purpose was not so much for wisdom, or for power, or for dignity or anything else. He did it for love. Do you like this conclusion?
If someone asks, "What is the purpose of your life?,' how will you answer them now? You were born for the purpose of the fulfillment of love. Once we understand the purpose of God's creation, then we can talk about the purpose of our own lives. That is the second most important question one can ask, after the purpose of creation. We know that the purpose of our lives is the perfection and fulfillment of our love. Why should we fulfill love? By fulfilling love, you come to possess all things.
Which is the more valuable-the entire universe or the Creator, the subject of love? Certainly, the Creator is most important. All people have the innate desire to possess the things of the universe, even the entire universe. People want to make this their world. That is what we call ambition or desire. What about God? Certainly, God has the same ambition. He wants to possess everything.
Yet though people have that innate desire, most are ignorant of God's original purpose of creation. Thus they cannot claim dominion over the world. It is only by understanding that God created the universe for the fulfillment of His love that one can learn to become a person of true love. Then you will automatically gain possession of God's creation. Do you understand?
The way to own the whole universe is to become the center of love. The men and women who fulfill the love of God, having give and take with their subject of love- God-and enjoying the total union of love with Him, will inherit all of His creation. Whenever someone is fulfilling love, the entire universe comes under that person and will follow him. Even God feels the desire to be united with such a person.
Suppose you are completely united with God, the subject of love. Then what will you have? You will have everything. You will be fulfilled completely. Once a person achieves that relationship with God, then God's joy will be limitless. He will feel like erupting in an eternal laughter of happiness.
The desire of human beings to possess the entire universe is not a wrong one. It is given to us by God. The problem is that people simply do not understand how to achieve it in the right way. The only way to achieve that ambition is by uniting with the love of God, fulfilling one's own love. The universe is nothing but the manifestation of the love of God; thus it automatically becomes one with you, once you are one with God.
If you have become the subject of love when dealing with all the rest of the creation and the object of love when you relate to God, then God can accept you. There is no other type of relationship that God can deal with. When any person fulfills and completes his love, that person becomes the center of attention, the center of joy and harmony. All people want to be near him.
Love is something that does not need to be explained. You don't have to say, "I love you and this is why and how.." Once you fulfill your love, it can be felt automatically. It is like magnetic power, only stronger and much more powerful than any magnet. Everybody likes that love magnet- whether they are black, white, yellow, young or old. Love sparks with every person and it is beautiful to behold.
This is the true privilege and dignity of human beings, the privilege and dignity lost at the time of the fall. Some people have sought to restore the rights and dignity of man through the use of force, for example people like Hitler or the communist dictators. They have tried to restore people at gunpoint, but that will never work. Such people are totally mistaken. There is no way the world will follow the power of brute force. The world will follow nothing other than the source of love. You must become a magnet of love and then the world will be attracted. Only in that way can one gain dominion of the world.
Even if I had invented this idea and it had nothing to do with reality, it would still make you feel good, wouldn't it? Even if it were a lie, it certainly would be a fantastic one. If God did not exist and someone made up all this theory, that person would have to be a great genius. Furthermore that genius would be bound to gain dominion over the entire world-even without God. You can be enthusiastic with this philosophy and you cannot fail to win the world. If Reverend Moon had just made up all these ideas and God was a fiction, it would still be only a matter of time before he convinced the world. Such is the power of this philosophy.
What will happen since God does exist? Let's imagine that I went before the throne of God on one of His bad days-perhaps He had a cold and didn't feel good and I happened to go before Him. Maybe I would ask, "God, isn't this Your truth and the expression of Your heart?" No matter how bad a mood God might be in, He would have to agree with me.
Thus, we come back to our original question about religion: Why is religion needed by both God and man? There is one single reason: the fulfillment of love for both God and man. Only together can the love of both be fulfilled. No methods using brute force or military power can possibly succeed in fulfilling this love. Therefore God's dispensation must go through the religion centered on love.
We were conceived and born out of the love of our parents. Parental love is the beginning point of life for everyone. Thus which comes first, love or life? Yes, love comes first. Love brought union which brought creation. Today most theologians are confused about the basic purpose of God's creation. They talk about the creation without understanding its purpose. For most, the conventional theology is to see God as the Almighty Creator and man as His creatures, with no ability for the two to become one. They think that God and man must remain separate and that there is very little in common between them. They talk about God but they do not see God as an absolute necessity in man's daily life, and thus they cannot come up with an absolute ideal.
Love is the source of the creation, the source of life. You were conceived in the love of your father and mother; you were born as a baby and grew up in the love of your parents. They changed your diapers and fed you every day, which is an expression of parents' love.
Mother has had many babies and often, when they were almost ready to be born, they did a lot of "exercising" within the womb, kicking and punching. That caused a lot of discomfort to Mother and many nights she simply could not sleep. But I never saw her complain and say to the baby, "You stop that! It's my time to rest now" Even though she might not sleep for an entire night and could only sit up in a chair, she felt joy for the life moving within her. She always looked forward to the birth. That is because of love-that life was conceived and was born because of love; a child is meant to grow up in love.
Isn't that the most desirable way to be born-to be welcomed and loved unconditionally by your parents? It is human nature to desire that; all people are born with a craving for that kind of love. The experience of being loved and embraced within the bosom of one's mother and father is like the training ground for being embraced within the bosom of God's universal love. The love of our parents is merely the "workshop" in which we learn how to be embraced by our universal Parent, God.
However, human beings forget about this beautiful purpose of love. Instead, many husbands and wives fight and then divorce. The ugliest thing is a fight between a husband and wife. Sometimes a woman will scratch the face of the man with her nails. Sometimes the crimson-manicured nails of a woman are like a warning, "This is my weapon" In that way, she can scare the man.
Within true love a woman doesn't need a manicure or a lot of makeup or fancy clothing. True love permeates one's being and communicates itself. True love is the true makeup, and thus you don't need to worry about special cosmetics and so forth. When a baby messes up his diaper, it is not beautiful-that diaper is the smelliest thing in the world! But for his parents it is a joy; that is because of love.
The embrace of one's parents is the preparation for the embrace of God, ultimately. When a child is old enough, he or she goes to school. That is like the "embrace" of society, in which the child broadens his understanding and becomes better prepared for the embrace of God. Thus, the true society will be one in which people's activities are motivated by their urge to help others, to embrace others. That is the kind of society we must build, not one in which receiving money is the motivation.
In school the teacher is in the position of parent to the students, and the students are in the position of brothers and sisters to each other. The extension of parental love exercised by society is the second training ground for the ultimate fulfillment of love.
When boys and girls are in their late teens, they are virtually all poets and artists-everyone has an overflow of emotion. They appreciate nature and the singing of the birds, the whisper of the wind-everything reminds them of love. Their hearts are overflowing with the urge to embrace all of nature. It seems that the whole universe is singing for their sake and their love.
Therefore, young men and women do not like to stay home. They want to go out and do things; they want to be active all the time. In their later teens, boys and girls are very interested in each other. To each, there is nothing more beautiful than the opposite sex. An interesting thing is that when children are younger, they only want friends among their own sex. The girls don't like boys so much, and the boys don't want to have anything to do with girls. But as soon as they reach a certain age, all of a sudden their eyes start to turn in a different direction.
Every sense is stimulated in the search for love-the heart palpitates and the whole body is ready to shoot like a guided missile to the object of love. The target for the female missiles of love is boys; the boy's target is girls. They are eager to experience the clash of a head-on collision.
The amazing thing is that, although they have a head-on collision, they are not shattered into a thousand pieces. Instead they come together in perfect unity and head upward toward heaven. They are like missiles moving horizontally that collide and then become one, moving vertically. Only the power of love can do such a thing. They become a vertical missile with two parts-one composed of the woman and the other the man. This two-part missile never wants to separate, either. This is the ideal husband and wife.
Why did God make a world which requires that men and women marry? It is because He wanted to expand the horizon of love beyond the individual on the horizontal level to the couple on the vertical level. Each man represents the entire masculine world; each woman represents the entire feminine world. When they come together, they represent the universe and the total image of God. Thus they become the total object of the love of God.
Marriage is not just the unity of one man and one woman but of the male character and the female character. In other words, by loving your spouse, you are loving the entire realm of masculinity or femininity. Thus the woman seeks to understand the man and the man seeks to understand the woman. The unity between the male and female world takes place in marriage. Each couple represents the harmony of the entire universe. That kind of couple is what God has been longing to see here on earth.
It is beautiful to see a young man and woman get married and then grow old together. Eventually the wife can say, "My darling, in the process of living with you and loving you, I have earned these gray hairs" And the man can only say, "Thank you, my dear. My hair, too, has turned gray after all these years of sharing love" Each can say, "This elderly skin of mine has changed in the process of giving my energy in loving you" Such a loving elderly couple is beautiful to behold. They can look forward to an even greater fulfillment of their love in the spiritual world. They will be rejuvenated into the state of permanent youth when they are elevated into the next world.
As people live in this world and unite with each other horizontally, they practice becoming the objects to God's love. Then the day of departure from this world comes which we call death, but it is not really death. Rather, it is the point of transformation and elevation into the permanent world. That is where the love of God is complete; there you become grafted into the vertical love of God.
You will not only have give and take between husband and wife; you will also have give and take with the origin of love-God. God will never come into you until husband and wife are completely united together. It doesn't matter what sort of external form your relationship takes but only whether you are completely melted into one. Only then do you totally represent the image of God so that His love can flow into you.
The Divine Principle teaches about the dual essentialities of God. When a man and woman representing the dual essentialites unite totally in love, they totally represent the dual image of God. How wonderful and dramatic that is! When you are totally united in love, even though you grow old, you will be elevated into the realm of the love of God and that vertical love will come into you, and you will be rejuvenated to the point of teenagers again! That is the point of vertical youth.
Your married life is a horizontal love life and you will grow older, but then you will be transformed into youths again, vertical teenagers. Without doing this, you cannot become a master of this world because there is no way you can connect with God as your true subject.
This is a beautiful truth. You are born as the princes and princesses of love. You must become kings and queens of love and create the kingdom of love. That is God's ideal and that is the true purpose for your being born. Human dignity and value is that great. We were born for the perfection of love. Do you follow?
Therefore, nothing should become an obstacle in our pursuit of this love, not even death. We were conceived in love, born in love, and we grow up in order to fulfill that love. Ultimately we are transformed into the ultimate love relationship with God. That is the purpose of life. When you get older you can think that the time for the ultimate maturity of love is near and it can be an exciting thing. Old age need not be gloomy at all but rather a time of looking forward to a new rejuvenation of life with God. How exciting that is!
There cannot be perfection of love for a single man or woman. It is only as a man and woman together, centered upon God, that you can look forward to perfection. Furthermore, women are supposed to bear the fruit of children. God gave you the equipment to do that. There are some women who do not want to have children because they don't want their slim figures to be distorted. Such a woman considers it her privilege to forego childbearing, so any man who wants to be her husband will have to go along with her in that. But that is not really freedom. That person is violating the universal law of God.
Are the things I say convincing to you? You can ask your ancestors in spirit world if they knew about the things I am telling you and they will tell you they never heard them before. So you can be their teacher.
If there is a religion that God wants to see, it must have the clear purpose of fulfilling God's and humanity's desire. That religion alone will become the historically highest religion. We talk about a utopia or the ideal world, but what is it really? Can you remove love from the ideal world? Is it a place of 24-hour disco dancing? I want you to clearly understand the definition of the ideal world: it is the world in which people are intoxicated with true love and live in everlasting joy.
The two essential factors in such a utopia are men and women. What is Reverend Moon, then? He is the utopian pioneer and champion. Thus you must listen to me and follow my teaching in order to build a utopia. Starting from the top leaders, if you become the best followers then everybody will join together and do the same.
Religion is like a railroad track that can carry people on the way toward utopia. No matter what people may say about the Unification Church and Reverend Moon, it doesn't make any difference. The Unification Church has the clear goal of utopia centered upon God. The utopian religion is the Unification religion. Therefore, do you think you are in the right place? But perhaps you think, "Is this the utopian life? I don't get to eat the kinds of foods I like or do the things I enjoy, such as dancing"
What is the utopia for a true mother? It is when she is caring for her children, serving them meals and giving them their baths. While she is doing that, she doesn't have any time for herself, but that is her true utopia because she is expressing her love. In the utopia, everything is done because of love.
Don't ever think that utopia is something unreal or fantastic. Instead, we must convert the everyday things of life into the utopian way; you can only do that through love. I can promise you women that once you are elevated into the eternal world, you won't have to do such things as laundry or housework. Of course, things have to be done in spirit world but you can do them just by thinking. Suddenly, just by your thoughts, all your clothes will be cleaned and pressed. That's wonderful!
However, the qualification for that world can only be gained here on earth. You are entitled to that kind of power by practicing the love of God here. The Unification Church way of life is a basic training ground to entitle each of you to the eternal utopia in spirit world. Look at the way gears work: even though a gear may be small, when it meshes into another one it can turn a very large wheel, like the transmission in a car. The most important thing is that each gear meshes properly into the next.
You can be like a small wheel or gear that turns the huge wheel of spirit world simply by listening to and following my directions. Historically, Reverend Moon is the alpha-the first-in discovering as well as teaching this truth. Likewise, I am the first to practice this. The Unification Church is truly a historical religion and we are going to live the highest, most honorable career. That is the creation of the true utopian way of life.
The Unification Church has the new terminology of "True Parents" No religion in history has ever spoken these words before. This terminology did not arise arbitrarily but rather it has a deep historical background. Furthermore the need for True Parents is completely logical and clear.
You encountered the True Parents during your lifetime. Do you think that is comparable to visiting Africa, for example, and suddenly discovering a diamond mine or a vein of gold? Discovering the True Parents is much greater; through them, you have discovered the universal "love mine" This is an incredible blessing. The True Parents have come only once to this earth and you have met them.
My sermon is not being given just to the people here at Belvedere today. Rather, it is a historical declaration that people of the future will be eternally grateful for. Intellectual people, philosophers and so forth will be so grateful for this truth. Right now my words are being recorded, and in the future my voice will be listened to by millions of people and scholars. These statements will be studied and pored over by people who stay up all night long because they are so eager to understand them.
Meanwhile, some of you are sitting here with bored faces. History will listen to this message very differently. This type of message is so valuable, you should feel that you are sitting on a razor's edge-if you nod off even slightly you can be cut in two. People in the future will fight for the ability to hear this extraordinary message.
These words should not be weighed and dissected by your critical minds. There have been many cases of discourtesy to this greatest message of all, and they have come from within our own movement. Think of yourself: how much have you felt love and respect for the True Parents? The love of True Parents is not any type of love that you have ever known before; it cannot come within your grasp. You must become fundamentally changed, newly-awakened men and women.
Many of you intermingle freely with the secular world and bring your mistaken and confused minds to Belvedere on Sunday mornings to listen to me. That is totally unacceptable. Do you think this seat in Belvedere can be compared to a place at the White House or the Versailles Palace?
The historically highest career is your goal; this is the whole purpose of your training in the Unification Church. If you were a student at Harvard University, you would have to be very faithful to your studies. If you wanted to get a Ph.D., you would have to gain the approval of your professors and exhibit mastery over your material. You would have to be able to present yourself properly.
At this time, you are in the position of applying for a Ph.D. course with the True Parents. Do you think you can just treat this half-heartedly or lightly? Could such an attitude possibly win you a Ph.D.? You must be fully aware that this is a fearful place, in a way. It is definitely a place of responsibility and the consequences can be very grave if you do not fulfill that responsibility. Thus I used the word "historical"
You will not be seeing me all the time in the future. All of humanity is looking forward to meeting the True Father. It will not be much longer that I will come and speak at Belvedere. Your ancestors in spirit world are very proud of you for merely being here. However, if they see that you are not serious and are even dozing off, they will be totally disappointed. I want you to understand that this is a historical place. Not everyone can come here, but only those who face the opposition of the world with perseverance and absolute faith in the True Parents.
The Unification Church is something that is far beyond your comprehension; therefore you must follow me. The church will not change but rather you must change. The concept and essence of love will never change for eternity; God will not change it. Utopian love must be tested in hell; that is why you must suffer. From the very bottom of hell you must rise up into heaven.
Those who do not like the activities of the Unification Church, such as witnessing and fundraising, will become like the chaff that falls off the grain. The grain and the chaff will be divided and the chaff will be blown away in the wind. There is absolutely no compromise with the Principle; those who do not meet the criteria will become like the chaff.
Are you going to be grain or chaff? Does that mean you go the easy or the difficult way? It is so difficult that it requires your very life. As Jesus said, "He who loses his life for my sake will find it" Without that attitude, you cannot go all the way.
This is your destiny as the descendants of the fall. Unless you shed the "skin" of the fall and take on a new skin, you cannot enter utopia. How can you remove that fallen skin? It is far more difficult than for a white man to become a black man or vice-versa; it is an incredibly difficult thing to get rid of your fallen nature.
God has been harboring His ideal of love which has not been fulfilled so far. The Unification Church is the only hope of God for the fulfillment of His ideal. We are in the process of doing that. Without going through this process, that ideal cannot be fulfilled. No matter how difficult it becomes, you must clench your teeth and go forward.
I want you to understand, therefore, that the Unification Church is the historically highest religion, and the way you are living is the historically highest career. My teaching is always directed toward achieving this goal-that every one of you can fulfill this historically highest career and achieve God's ideal of love. Do you understand?
That is our goal and our path. Sometimes you get tired and you feel weak. That is the point of your showdown and that is where many people crumble. You have to go down below that point and rebound; that is how you reach true love. From that most desperately suffering point, if you still love God and yearn for the True Parents, you will rebound. God is not at the highest places; He is at the lowest places in the bottom of hell. Thus you must go down there, too. The deeper into suffering you descend, the greater the amount of universal love you will find and be embraced by.
Immediately after the Washington Monument rally, instead of deciding to take it easy, I declared that our next goal was Moscow. That is a most difficult and far away goal. Do you think I will stop after the Moscow rally? After that, I will organize a rally in hell, in order to liberate it. Do you think that will be easy? If you get so tired and discouraged in your activities in America, how can you win the battle in Moscow or the communist countries? It is not easy to liberate Hell, either.
Look upon everything in your life as training for the future, including this three years' IOWC work. This is not even on the level of dress rehearsal for the battle, yet you think you are ready to enjoy the banquet of victory? That is the attitude of a thief. You have to rush to the forefront of the battle. You must become people of the greatest strength and pride because you are the soldiers and pioneers for the true utopian world. Remember that it will not be easy; tackle it because you know it will be difficult.
We are not doing this for any sort of power, money, or wisdom, but we are doing it for the sake of the love of God. Do you understand? Because of that love, you can persevere. God wants you to fulfill the utopia that Satan and the satanic nature will not be able to even approach.
The Unification Church is an easy place to enter, but becoming a true Unification Church member is not an easy task. To reach down to the essence of this church is very difficult. This is the toughest training course anywhere. It is where we are separating ourselves from Satan. Knowing this fact, can you complain?
I know some of you have physical difficulties, such as wives who are getting older and children who have many different needs. Those daily concerns are a reality. However, at this time there is only one way to go. The road to utopia is the way which is more public. That is exactly what I have been doing; I am doing what I am preaching.
Certainly you want to enjoy your family life, but the most important thing is that we have not yet established our heavenly nation and thus we have no sovereignty. We are still in the wilderness and are on the front line of battle. Do you understand? We must create our country.
We are marching on the road of the historically highest career. You must not pull yourself away from this main road. Certainly, you have the right to go away; you can do that. But later your children and your grandchildren will see you and know that you betrayed the True Parents. Your very tombstone will weep for that.
Become the champions who are determined not to leave behind any shame for history to record. Be proud and fit to charge bravely forward into the enemy camp, winning God's victory. We suffer now, but the reward of suffering will be great. We may see greater suffering in the future, but there is even greater love ahead of us.
It is not easy to love one's enemy; that enemy will not love you back. But you can love him on the basis of this understanding. Love the enemy nation for the same reason. Until you do, you cannot march into the heavenly utopia.
You must steadfastly declare the name of Reverend Moon, no matter how much rejection or opposition you encounter. None of you leaders must have any hesitation about telling everyone that you are witnessing for Reverend Moon's cause; you have nothing to be ashamed of. When you teach the Divine Principle, you must declare that it is the word and message given by Reverend Moon. Tell them that it is not your own theories or someone else's, but that Reverend Moon brought this message of salvation for the world. When you declare that and then teach, spirit world will move.
The True Parents are the center of love, and therefore the utopian world must be centered upon the ideal of the True Parents. Unless you introduce the True Parents to the world, how can the world find love? Say, "I am proud to be a Moonie, a disciple of Reverend Moon!" Anyone who hesitates to make this declaration to the people he meets, or who covers up the author of the Divine Principle, is not worthy to witness. Before you write anything for the people to read, write, "I'm a Moonie and I'm proud of it"
Challenge the people to tell you everything bad that they have heard about the Moonies and then show them the truth; give them something good for every point. Within one hour, you can demolish their opposition. Never be cowards! God would like to proclaim the name of Reverend Moon to the world, so why do you hesitate? There is no valid reason. We need to create a special Moonie flag that we can wave, saying, "We are proud to be Moonies"
We are not going to be mistreated forever. To fulfill the goal of utopia, the way of the Principle is the only way to go. Have pride and strength; know your honorable position in the world. If you do that, no matter where you go, you will not be destroyed. But those people who have hesitation in their hearts will not last very long.
We are living the historically highest career and our goal is the heavenly utopia. Let us march forward together. God bless you!