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The word 'Providence' means the history of God and men working together for God's purpose. Therefore, the very first step in understanding the Providence is to understand God. Unless we know about God, we cannot know about the Providence, and providential history means nothing to us.
Behind each of you in this room there is a history. You are the fruit of that history, as well as the foundation of contemporary history heading toward the future. You are dwelling in the center of past, present and future.
If we merely existed on the human level, we could not aspire to anything beyond ourselves. We could not imagine anything higher or greater than the human being. There are multitudes of human viewpoints. Standing on the same mountain, ten people can see from ten different angles. They can look down on a river and see various parts of it, for example. Everybody has his own personal world view, national view, and universal view. Yet all people have it in their nature to look forward to something better in the future. People in the past were hoping for something better to come, perhaps greater prosperity or a higher, more noble standard.
So people have within themselves the desire to achieve something higher than what they have at the present time. This striving upward extends to the realm of ideals. Human beings are striving for the highest, most noble of ideals, and therefore the yearning for God is truly a natural expression of human nature.
What about God? If God truly exists, what is His aspiration? If God is also striving for a higher and nobler goal, there would seem to be no possibility for man to achieve an encounter with God. The question, then, is whether God's ideal is a straight upward line, or does it make a circling motion and come back to the original point? If God just moved upward higher and higher in a straight line, then no ideal could be achieved.
The smoothest motion is of the absolutely circular shape. No matter how huge our universe maybe it is at least a depth and width of 21 billion light years-it must have a spherical shape. That is most important. When you travel from one point, you don't plan to go out and keep on going and just disappear. It is most satisfying to come back to the original point.
In any circle or globe, no matter how gigantic, there must be a center or core. Everything within that globe has to be existing in a harmonious relationship with the core. If someone is pulling that core from one position to another, what happens? The entire globe has to move as well.
If you could grab God, what would you like to do with Him? Would you want to penetrate God, shove Him away, or destroy Him? Wouldn't you want to embrace Him, completely encircling and possessing Him? Suppose you covered up God, creating a globe with Him as the core and yourself as the outer covering. What next? Would God just stay imprisoned in the middle, or wouldn't He cover you up, too, creating another layer of relationship? Then you would cover Him up and the process would continue. That is a relationship of many layers and one in which you will find true happiness. Don't you agree?
If those layers upon layers are heavy, pressing against one another, that would be suffocating. Therefore, it is important what kind of layers you create-are they oppressive layers or harmonious layers? Everybody likes harmony. That is the source of joy and fun.
Almighty God is so gigantic, He is beyond your imagination. Compared to God, each one of us is smaller than a tiny ant. How can someone as small as that harmonize with a giant being like God? What sort of element makes that possible? Actually, it's not the size of the beings that determines whether they can harmonize. It doesn't matter how big one person is or how small the other. There must be some other aspect, some element that brings them together into absolute harmony.
Let me ask you: would you rather eat a delicious meal or go out to work? Even though somebody said 'work,' I know everyone would prefer to enjoy good food. What about wearing nice clothing? Wouldn't you rather feel comfortably dressed than have to wear rough clothes and go out to fight? Nobody really likes the idea of struggle. Yet life is full of it, particularly in the work arena where we must struggle every day to make more money. Companies compete continuously for business and dollars.
Fighting itself is not an enjoyable thing, but there is an element of joy when you are fighting for something good. Through fighting we can either improve something or destroy something. Two different kinds of results can be engendered. What about a fight between two sides which are both good? What will be the result? Can goodness still be engendered when there is conflict between two parties of goodness? In order to advance toward some higher goal, that process is necessary.
Let's look at the recent 24th Olympics in Seoul, Korea. Champions from around the world came together there. Just to be able to attend the Olympics, those athletes had to go through a tremendous process of competition, fighting to achieve the position of best in their nation. Is that kind of fight a good one or a bad one?
What about those who were defeated and eliminated from the competition? Imagine the sadness of people who worked, trained and struggled for four years in order to compete for the Olympics. They worked so hard, yet they were defeated in just a few minutes. That's the end for them. Those men and women are bound to be heartbroken and miserable; yet they serve a great purpose. Those who are defeated are the ladder or stepping stone for those who eventually win. Without the defeated, there can be no champion. They can say, 'You won the gold medal because I came in second. I served a purpose, so I am a part of your gold medal.' When a competitor thinks like that, he won't feel so bad.
Therefore, the most important thing is the ultimate purpose for which you work or fight. When you are working for a great and noble purpose, you will have much competition; there will be lots of winners and losers. It is a huge ladder you have to climb. However, once you achieve that ultimate goal, the whole process can be regarded as good. Anybody who is fighting and giving sacrificially for a cause greater than himself is part of a good process, even though there is inevitably struggle and conflict.
Contrast this to someone else who is working for a self-centered goal, trying to achieve his own selfish or criminal ideal. In order to achieve it, he fights and struggles. In that case, the whole process, including the struggling, is evil.
We just witnessed the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections. Dukakis and Bush and their respective parties had been in the process of struggle for the past 18 months. If either candidate had been working only for the good of his own party, then that would have been self-serving, and the struggle would not have been a worthy one. But as long as both candidates are working for the benefit of the whole nation, then the process is a good one. George Bush won, but he is not the Republican president. He is the president of the United States.
The point is that when you are pursuing a greater and nobler purpose, fighting for that purpose is a good fight. But any fight that is for selfish purposes is an evil fight and creates a downward motion. When I came to this country, I engaged in tremendous struggle and confrontation. When I struggled with the United States of America, it was not for the purpose of bringing this country down. It was only to improve the well-being of the world and therefore this country. That is why my fight has been a good and noble one.
Looking at my incarceration in Danbury prison, the United States might declare that it won the fight against Reverend Moon. However, from the greater Providential point of view, the United States is the loser and Reverend Moon is the winner. That is because I was fighting for the greatest purpose of the world and the ultimate advance of this nation, while the United States was opposing me. Who is Cain and Abel in this struggle?
What is the most important commodity or element in the world? Is it the almighty dollar? Money is very important and good, so is it greater than the nation and the world? After all, with enough money, you can just about buy the nation and even the world, right? What about the importance of knowledge? The more you know, the better equipped you are to pursue your goal. So knowledge is a tool, not the goal in itself. Then there is power. That must be the most important thing.
Look at George Bush. He has the greatest position of power in this country. Suppose he decided to go out to the velvet-green lawn of the White House and show off his power. Imagine that he shouted, 'I have the greatest power, so I demand that all you blades of grass turn brown and die!' Would the green grass obey George Bush? Suppose he sent a declaration to the birds, 'I am commanding that no more creatures should fly through the air!' Would the birds obey? Of course not. Then what kind of power is that?
Even though we recognize the limitation of all these temporal things, still human beings pursue money, knowledge and power. What about God? What does God pursue? He doesn't need money, knowledge or power, since He can create those things at any time. Is there anything in this universe for which God says, 'I want that so badly, I am going after it with all my might'? Is there something which God works hard every day to obtain? Do you think God has some purpose and daily goal? Surely He has something, or otherwise His life would be dull.
Look at yourself. If you had nothing to do and just sat around every day, you would be a bored, unhappy person. You want some goal to achieve, and so does God. God made Life with a purpose and with meaning. What is it that God has been doing every day throughout history without resting? That is what we call the Providence.
If you pull one particular string, you can pull God in any direction you want. When you pull that string, even God becomes helpless. What is that string of God's vulnerability? If there is such a thing, you want to know about it, don't you? What we are talking about is TL-True Love, with capital letters. When you just talk about love, it is often a cheap word. Americans say, 'I love this thing, I love that. I love my cat.' But God is not talking about cheap love. There are a lot of husbands going to work every day, kissing their wives and saying, 'I love you, darling.' The wife says, 'I love you, too, dear. Have a great day.' But how deep is the root of their love?
The root of love must be digging deeper and deeper, as well as blossoming higher and higher. What is the importance of a woman loving her husband, or a man loving his wife? If that love is not connected to anything greater or higher, then it doesn't serve any true purpose. The love of men and women must be connected to the love of the clan, the extended family. Is that the end of it? No, beyond that there is a greater tribe or community, and the nation. So the tribe belongs to the nation, the nation belongs to the world and the world to the cosmos.
The true center and root of the cosmos is God; therefore, true love has to be that deep, reaching the ultimate core which is God. Each of us has to reach GTL-God's True Love. Husband and wife are saying, 'Darling, I love you,' but that does not go beyond the horizontal level. No true love has ever before existed between husband and wife. Why is that? It is because no true husband or true wife has ever existed. How could there be true love?
What is true love? What is a true husband or wife? The true husband and the true wife are each directly connected to GTL. When God says that their love is true, then God's True Love will be with them. But when we try to claim that our love is true by our small human standards, God will not be able to follow that. No matter how intensely a husband and wife may love one another, if they fail to love their country, then they cannot belong to GTL.
What about the country? We have to have a true country, as well as a true husband and wife. Every level has to be connected to GTL. Therefore, you must become men and women who can connect with and communicate directly with Gods' True Love. That has to be your foundation and position; without that, you cannot move about freely.
God's True Love is the greatest of all pluses, so all the rest of the universe, including all the true husbands and wives, will be together as the greatest of all minuses. The true man is loved by his true wife, his true community, true nation, world and universe. That's the kind of man we are talking about. The same applies for true woman.
There are two kinds of members of the Unification Church: the true ones and the not-so-true ones. What is a true member of the Unification Church? True members are connected all the way from the bottom to the top with GTL. True members say, 'We have to give love to our country in this national campaign, so let's do it!' The other kind says, 'Well, I don't care about America or the world. I'm just a Unification Church member.'
Let's say one member is working for the sake of the world. Then I ask him, 'What about working for the sake of the universe, for God's sake?' Suppose he says, 'Oh, no, I don't need to. I'm already working for the world.' Is that a good enough member? Are you that type? True members are connected to the root and all the way to the top of GTL. Can there be flowers or trees without roots? Why do they need their roots? As long as the root is intact, they can maintain their life. The cycle of the seasons-from blossoming to bearing fruit, and so on-can continue. That's the circular motion of their life.
Imagine two different women. One is beautiful to look at, sitting inside a room on a lovely chair, clutching artificial flowers. She looks like a doll, but she has no root. Then there is another woman who is out working in the garden, digging up the dirt and laying out fertilizer. She and her clothing stink, but she is holding a bunch of real flowers and enjoying their fragrance with a smile on her face. Which woman represents the true woman? Certainly, it would be the second one.
Let's get back to this question: What does God want and like the most? Now you have a very good idea. You and God both have the same desire: to hold onto something precious and never be separated from it. Once you unlock the secret of what God considers precious, you can hold onto that and also be connected to God forever. Of course, we are talking about GTL-God's True Love.
No matter how much you have been preached to, it hasn't really come into your very bones. This is the problem. Even though you may think you understand true love, I am talking about something much deeper. That true love is connected all the way to God, not just to husband and wife, not just to the clan, the tribe, nation or world. It must go all the way to God. That must be our goal.
If there is truly a true love, then God wants to hold onto it. Likewise, all people want to hold onto it because we have the same desire. True love is the goal of God and the goal of man.
True love is spherical and everything is contained within its parameters. Even my smelly foot belongs to true love. True love doesn't say, 'You stinky old foot, get out!' Smelly feet are like fertilizer to true love. Even Satan himself can be encircled by true love.
Christianity and all the world religions have been talking about the greatness of love. Love is the most altruistic impulse. When you know the depth of true love, you can understand the meaning of Jesus' command: 'Love your enemies.'
Do you think you can occupy God's kingdom? True love has been in existence for millions and millions of years. God created this universe which is so gigantic you can't even imagine it. Yet you small guys and gals who were born in the present time can say, 'I'm going to occupy God.' Can you occupy that infinite, universal God and His True Love? Yes! As I said originally, it doesn't matter how big one side may be or how tiny the other side is.
God created this universe for a reason. What was it? Was it for His own selfish purposes? God created for the purpose of experiencing joy, but what is the core of that joy? Simply, God created everything for the sake of the fulfillment of true love.
What is involved in the fulfillment of true love? Did God create the universe for the primary goal of receiving true love, or for giving it? Yes, giving true love comes first. In English, you always say, 'Give and take,' not 'Take and give.' That's good, but while your mouth is saying 'give' first, your hand is taking first. That is the primary problem of America today-taking rather than giving. America should give itself for the sake of the world. The citizens of this great country don't understand this point. The government doesn't understand it, either. Maybe President Bush should change his name to 'Push,' which is equivalent to give. When you push out, you are giving of your effort and self.
The Principle of True Love requires giving before receiving. Then there can be multiplication and growth. But when there is taking and selfishness, there is shrinking and, ultimately, total loneliness. The person who always takes finds himself alone, while the one who gives is surrounded by others. When you give, it eventually comes back to you, along with interest. A person may leave his home and go off to a foreign land, as did Abraham in the Bible. But once he fulfills his goal, where does he go? He goes back to the original point, to his home.
By giving, you grow and prosper. This simple secret is not understood by most people. Why is that? It is because they do not understand God's purpose of creation and how He created. Almighty God poured Himself out into His creation, giving every ounce of His energy. Giving, as we said, produces growth and prosperity. That's why this universe is so vast. Anyone who lives parallel to this Principle of Creation will therefore prosper and grow.
What are God's ultimate goals? True love is God's goal, and in order to achieve it, He needs a partner, an object. Love requires a circuit-two, not one. Can true love be shared between two women? No, that is sisterly love. Only a man and a woman can create the circuit of true love because they represent the two extremes.
In the relationship between man and woman, can they just take love from one another? Is that the first step? No, if two people try to take from each other, their relationship will fall apart. But when they give, they create a vacuum within themselves and the force of the universe will fill them up. Thus they will have greater and greater power. The process of giving to one another pushes them into circular motion. What is the axis of their motion? It is true love.
Anybody who makes giving his life's guiding principle will find the entire universe as his ally, supporting and protecting him. But anyone who consistently takes from others will be making an enemy out of the universal power, finding himself isolated and rejected. God's way is giving, while Satan's way is taking.
When you American women get married, are you thinking primarily about giving love or receiving
it? More and more Western men are rejecting the typical American woman in favor of the Oriental woman. Why is that? Many American women want to control and take from their man. They say, 'You must take care of me and love me.' On the other hand, the Japanese and Korean women say, 'I will serve you. I give myself to you.' The root of true love is eternal giving-without end.
According to the laws of the physical universe, power which is expended will dissipate and decrease. But true love power is increased when it is output; it multiplies and becomes greater and greater. This is why true love is such a secret and why so many people don't want to practice it. They need to understand that the True Love Principle is the only way to bring prosperity to themselves and to humanity as a whole, now and forever.
Look at the histories of all the major religions. Each started out small and none was established without going through persecution. Yet as each religious group practiced the True Love Principle, it grew and developed.
As you know, I was incarcerated in Danbury prison for 13 months. That was a totally unjust imprisonment representing a vendetta against me and the Unification Church. However, it made history. Now, when Korean and Japanese members come to the United States, they feel they must go to Danbury and offer a prayer. Otherwise, they have no purpose in coming to America. That feeling is growing and increasing.
When I first went to Danbury, there was tremendous hostility toward me on the part of the government, as well as the prison officials and even the inmates. They did many shameful things and tried to embarrass me. But what happened? Day by day, the people in the prison changed their attitude toward me. Eventually, they were all melted. Why is that? It is because I live the Principle of giving. In every way, I gave of myself in the prison. By the time I was released, the inmates gave me a tearful, heroic send off.
What was the result of Danbury? Did I decline or prosper there? Because I practiced the Principle without deviation, the results were total prosperity.
Think about it. Look at this humble horse stable here at Belvedere. Why do you suppose we haven't replaced it with a great temple? This is the starting point for our great prosperity. This humble stable could not be exchanged for the Versailles palace in France. In the future. millions of people will come here to sit and pray and shed tears because this is where true love was taught by the True Parents.
The only thing which Almighty God needs is love. In order to attain that love, He requires an object. Thus He created the object of true love. Think about how serious God was when He created man and woman. Was He just entertaining Himself by creating, like enjoying a hobby? No, God was creating people who would become equal partners with Him in true love. Would that urge of God to share His love be less than or stronger than men and women yearning for each other? It is even stronger. In human society, men have sometimes challenged one another to duels to the death in order to obtain the love of a woman. Think about how much more serious is God's determination.
God is the root of all love; that root is therefore most dedicated and serious. In common Christian understanding, God simply said one day, 'Let there be light,' and snap! It happened while God laid back and rested. Then He said, "Let the oceans arise,' and so on, and the rest of creation happened without much ado. God is seen as rather complacent about the act of creation. But, I tell you, God invested every ounce of His great energy-every bit of Himself was poured into the act of creating this universe.
God was creating human beings in His exact image in order that we might be His partners of love. We were given the capacity to accommodate God's almighty love. God certainly wanted to enjoy a full return on His investment, so how seriously would He have given Himself? The resulting man and woman were His supreme form of creation. God's expectation was that man and woman would give of themselves fully and freely and would eventually become one through the power of love. God's own power was the force driving the love power.
Man and woman were supposed to give of themselves totally, emptying themselves out, holding nothing back. Thus they could swap positions with each other. They would give more and more, swapping positions, then give more, changing positions again and moving back and forth in that process. That is how their circling motion was to continue. What was to be the center point of that circling motion? Their axis was to be true love.
Without an axis, turning motion becomes chaotic. So husband and wife must be centered upon the proper vertical axis between God and man. There is only one vertical axis, not two, creating that gigantic circular motion between God and mankind. Yet within that larger sphere are all the smaller, parallel vertical and horizontal lines. Different cultures, geographical locations and so forth have their varying spheres, but they must all be aligned with the central axis of the universe. The basic rule is that each vertical line should be always parallel with the central one. Horizontal lines should be always parallel with the central horizontal line.
Should East and West harmonize or clash? Which of the two is plus, which minus? Actually, it doesn't matter which takes the plus or minus position.
Your mind and body represent the vertical line and the horizontal line, respectively. In other words, your mind is your vertical self and your body is your horizontal self. So two selves combined into one gives you your true self. Both the mind and the body have desires and goals to achieve. Your mind desires something greater, nobler, higher along the vertical line, while your body seeks for acquisition along the horizontal line. When your vertical desire grows in accordance with your horizontal desire, that is fine. But the problem is that the vertical desire stops and the horizontal desire grows all out of proportion. That is where evil comes in.
In relation to the universe, God is the Master of the vertical line, while the universe itself is the horizontal God.
We could give another definition of true love. It is where the vertical, mind-centered love and the horizontal, body-centered love cross at 90 degrees. Why 90 degrees? That perfect right angle can fit anywhere in the circle. Suppose it were just one degree off, say 91 degrees. Is that okay? No, it will not fit properly within the circle, so it is not good enough. True love must be absolutely perfect, with no room for deviation.
Minus and plus must go to the center to be united. You cannot set the place of unity arbitrarily. Your horizontal line must be aligned perfectly so that it crosses the vertical line at 90 degrees wherever it goes. That is the law. Only at this perfect juncture point does True Love become acceptable. No deviation from that can be acceptable. This 90 degree crossing point is called the definition of true love. This is exactly how God wants His relationship to be with man and woman-the 90 degree true love relationship. Once that happens, nothing can separate you. You will know nothing but expansion of joy, prosperity, and development of your love.
Centering upon God at the vertical line, man and woman come toward each other along the horizontal line and finally meet at the center. That is the original line of the Principle of Creation. Perfection or maturity of human beings means they have reached the center, they understand God's True Love and this vertical line. You are meant to grow through your childhood to that level of completion.
When a boy grows to a certain age, we might say he experiences the love awakening. He comes to the poignant realization, 'God created me to meet a woman.' The same thing happens to a girl: 'I was created to meet a man.' However, where are you supposed to meet each other? Only along the central line. That central vertical line is actually the line of eternal life. Only God's True Love makes your life eternal. Therefore, unless you meet one another at that GTL line, you cannot enjoy eternal love and life.
We might represent human life along a horizontal line. You are born at the end point of the line and move toward the center as you grow up. God is moving down along the vertical line, seeking to make His rendezvous of love with you. When a man and woman have both grown enough to come to the central point and they meet one another there, God is also coming right down to that point. There is the meeting between man, woman, and God. God is the center of the love relationship. Eventually, God is the core, like the bone, and Adam and Eve encircle Him, like the flesh. In that relationship, there is no power that could ever intervene. That is when man and woman truly become the temple of God. In this relationship, everyone is fulfilled. Eve finds her love fulfilled and so does Adam, and so does God. The center of all of them is GTL-God's True Love.
Now we move on to other questions: what kind of creativity does God have? The center of the Unification Church teaching is that of True Parents, so who and what are they? These are questions that need to be answered.
God represents your vertical parents. In other words, God is the vertical true love parents. Where exactly is God? This is the great agony for all of fallen mankind: where can we find God? Our greatest point of need is to find our central point of vertical true love. What about the True Parents? They are the central point of horizontal true love. If there had been no fall, every man and woman would
have been perfected in true love. Everywhere they went in the universe, both in the physical world and spirit world, they would have been welcomed and would have fit perfectly with their 90 degree love.
Everything in creation is made in the pair system-from man and woman, to male and female flowers, to plus and minus relationships in the mineral kingdom. Therefore, God's vertical love is expressed throughout the creation. Every aspect of creation has to follow that law and parallel the vertical line; otherwise, it cannot exist. The entire creation is like a reference manual for man and woman. Everything exists for the purpose of supporting the true love between man and woman.
In a way we can call the creation a museum of true love. It teaches men and women God's True Love Principle. Watching the birds, or observing the bees flying from flower to flower, seeing male and female creatures relating-all of this is the world of God's love in action. When you see all this, you can realize that God is trying to teach us something important. You can be proud because human beings are the only part of creation that is aware of God and connected to Him as well throughout eternity.
Everything follows the true love way, but the rest of creation doesn't have eternal love. Only man has that ideal, vertical, forever love. Looking at the creatures, man can think, 'You are only here for a short time, but man is God's partner, so we can enjoy love forever and ever. How wonderful!'
When you have this attitude toward nature, everything is lovable. You want to touch the grasses, hold the flowers, stroke the trees and the birds because they are all part of the creation of God and are practicing God's true love in their own temporal way. The center of true love in the universe. Is man and woman because only man and woman can go on with true love for eternity. That is why we have dominion over the creation with true love. You can communicate with anything and everything through true love. There is nothing you cannot understand and appreciate.
God is the King of wisdom. When He created, He made all things capable of communicating with each other, particularly with man. So God could sit and look at His beautiful world, the singing birds and the roaming animals, the blossoming flowers and fragrant plants, and He could rejoice: 'Hurrah! All of them are the expression of my true love centered upon my true object, man and woman.' That is how God really wants to enjoy His creation. Do you understand?
Therefore, the truth is that having True Parents on the earth is the hope of mankind. God is invisible, but God's love can be everywhere when True Parents can come to the earth. They are like the body of God through which the true love for the universe can be disseminated.
I am just getting warmed up and we haven't even touched our topic yet!
In order for you to be a recipient of both vertical and horizontal true love, God has given you a mind and a body. Vertical unity with God comes about through your mind, and with your body you can achieve horizontal unity with true love. When you say you are the ideal self, that means you are a container capable of receiving the vertical true love from the vertical True Parents-God-and the horizontal true love from the True Parents on earth.
What is God's position? Who are the True Parents? The simplest way to understand it is to say that God is like your mind and True Parents are like your body. God has given you both True Parents-the spiritual True Parents and the physical True Parents. You were born into these two worlds and are the result of these two loves. When you practice true love by giving and living true love, then God is with you. You become God's temple. God absolutely stays with you.
You cannot leave God or True Parents. You need both. You must attend God as the vertical True Parents; you must attend True Parents as the horizontal True Parents. Amen! Both are combined with one forever. We can never separate mind and body. Only through God and True Parents can we talk about eternal life.
So which is first, love or life? Love comes before life-our life was conceived and created as the fruit of our parents' love. That means we also participated in the parents' love. Do you know what I mean? We were meant to participate in the original true love. Our original ancestors-Adam and Eve-were supposed to have originated true love on the horizontal level. We could stand at the center point of vertical love and horizontal love, connected with the beginning point through love. Thus we would participate in the original vertical love of the parents.
You simply cannot deny your father or your mother. By the same token you cannot deny your God. You wouldn't be here today without God, your father or your mother. The truth is that if the human fall had not occurred, your physical parents would have been your True Parents as well. You cannot be separated from your parents because they are your starting point. Your life is a joint venture between three parties: your father, your mother and yourself.
If the fall of man had not happened, our life cycle would begin with love and end with love. Your life began with the love act of your father and mother. You dwelt within your mother's womb for nine months, receiving nourishment and love from her. Then you were born and began to grow up through the love and guidance of both your father and your mother. As you grow in love centered upon God, you are supposed to become an embodiment of true love. You can go on to give birth to your own children and then the same process will be repeated, with you in the parent's position. Again, God is the center. You were conceived in love, you will end your life in love, and love continues for eternity.
The family system is the most important institution of God's true love school. In the family you go through your life pattern, experiencing love and obtaining eternal life. So the True Parents are teaching you about the truth. Is the American secular way of life today, including the perverted 'gay love,' parallel with that teaching? No. Furthermore, when their parents grow old, many Americans simply send them into an institution, like a human zoo, where they can wait for death. Can that be the right way?
Who is the oldest person in the universe? It is God! God is your vertical parent. Can you send God into a senior citizens' home? What about the True Parents? No, you have to serve and attend your parents as training to serve your eternal, vertical parent, who is God. With that proper kind of training, you can go to the spiritual world and easily inhale the atmosphere there, which is love.
For many American men, practicality and pragmatism are the only considerations. Many men think, what a burden women and children are. I don't need that. All I need is a small apartment and a simple life. I don't want to be bothered with a family.' But that sort of 'pragmatism' stops a person from growing, from learning how to breathe spiritually. You've got to breathe the air of love when you go to spirit world, so when you stop the development of your love in the physical world, you stop living.
The way of true love centers on others. The family situation provides a person with the environment to learn how to love others. On all sides- front and back, up and down, side to side-the relationships within the family teach you how to love all the different kinds of people.
The family is truly the building block of the Kingdom of Heaven. When your family is strong, you are able to love the nation, world, universe and God almighty.
Think about your own family. What is the degree of your crossing point between vertical and horizontal love? Some may have a 50 degree angle, some 19 degrees! That's a big problem! That is why you have the Principle to learn how to be set free. The truth shall set you free.
God gave the truth to the world through the Messiah, the representative of God on earth. So we might say that God's image, His personification, is within the Messiah.
The fallen world lost God's image and therefore restoration became necessary. The fallen world is full of enemy relationships on every level Adam and Eve fell into an enemy relationship; Cain and Abel were supposed to be loving brothers but became enemies instead. That enemy relationship was the seed for the rest of the human race. Therefore, at the end of world history, the same enemy relationships will be seen on the world wide level.
Among the nations, there is an Adam nation, an Eve nation, a Cain and an Abel nation. Since these enemy relationships came about through illicit love, an illicit love situation on the world level shall also appear. What is occurring all over the world? Men and women are becoming enemies, instead of loving partners. Husband and wife, brothers and sisters, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, parents and children-all are becoming enemy relationships.
This is particularly true in the American family today. Where can we find a true father, mother, brother or sister in the American home? People are living with stepparents, stepbrothers and sisters, half-siblings and all sorts of strange relationships. Satan is trying to divide and conquer the world with the same seed of illicit love. Does the American government have the power to solve this social dilemma? What about the military? No one seems to know what to do about the American family breakdown.
Many people have followed the so-called sexual liberation movement, believing that everything should just be free and easy. All kinds of tragic things are happening because of that attitude. Love was supposed to be the point of the creation of eternal life, but once love became corrupted, it began leading man toward corruption and death.
Everywhere we look we see despair in the world today. What shall we do about it? We have two options: either we just give up on the world and let them go to hell, or we work to restore everyone to life and hope. There is really only one option: we must restore the world.
Suppose you were not a member of the Unification Church but were listening to my words as an objective American. Would you agree with what I am saying? Anyone would recognize the truth of this.
It is bad enough that America is going down so badly, but also the rest of the world is following its lead. The entire world is declining because of immorality. What is the satanic weapon to destroy this world? It is none other than illicit love, although the people of the world don't know that.
Look at the phenomenon of AIDS. That disease is telling the world something very important. God is giving us a warning through that terrible disease. True love goes in only one direction: toward goodness, toward others. Satan tries to make fallen, selfish love look bright and attractive so that people will follow that. American people think, 'Oh, we are going the way of love.' But now that AIDS has come along, people can see where fallen love will take them. God has proclaimed to them, 'You continue your destructive ways and then who will protect you?' Even God doesn't know that answer.
Our mission is to become strong and march forward to reach out to all of humanity. We cannot take rest. Every person is our brother or sister. So the Unification Church members have the biggest mission. Our job today is to create out of this divided, chaotic, fallen world a true Adam country, true Eve, Cain, and Abel country. That is the Unification Church mission. Instead of being separated and enemies, the nations should be united as friendly brother and sister countries.
What is the prescription for healing this world? It is true love. Since Adam and Eve separated and became enemies through illicit love, the Adam nation and Eve nation should be united through true, unselfish love in the process of restoration. In order to create the truly united Adam nation and Eve nation, you have to plunge into this chaotic, sinful world. You must win the battle there and then go back to create the Adam nation and Eve nation.
That is precisely what the Providence is all about. That is why I came here to America in the first place. I was certainly not well-received here. The United States has been the enemy nation to me but I came here and have stayed here for this long time. Why? It doesn't matter whether America loves me or not. I came here to restore this country, no matter what. To do that, I brought along the 'contingency troops'-individuals from the Adam nation, the Eve nation, the Abel nation and the Cain nation. All together we came to bring about the showdown, the confrontation here in the United States.
The United States has been the enemy to all those other nations. By coming here and loving the people more than their own countrymen, those individuals are practicing the standard of true love. Otherwise, they would not be able to return to their own nation and re-create it.
Japan and America were the bitterest of enemies during World War II. Many Americans, including Dr. Durst, felt it was virtually impossible to deal with the Japanese. Likewise the Koreans-their culture is so different! The differences are still there even now, after they have been in America for so many years. By the same token, I brought German people to work here in America. I knew that Germans didn't like Americans and vice versa, mainly because of the World War II experience. But now individuals from those enemy nations are becoming brothers and sisters, loving each other truly. The United States is like a small world, a microcosm. That is why this nation must be the battleground and why we must win the victory here first. Otherwise, I cannot go back to establish the true Adam nation.
Satan is cunning and clever. He knows he is evil, that he is the Devil. Yet he is protesting to God, 'I was originally Your archangel. Your son, Adam, was supposed to love me, so You and Your true children, Adam and Eve, have to love me now to get into Heaven. That is the original way of Principle.' So Satan uses Divine Principle to accuse Adam I know that very well. Thus I came to America to love the enemy country. In order to enter Heaven, you must have the power and capacity to love even Satan.
Jesus was well aware of this particular truth. That is why he could say of the Roman soldiers who pierced his side as he hung on the cross, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'
I know well how important it was for me to love this enemy nation of America. If I am truly the son of God, representing Him in the True Parents' position, then I must love the enemy in order to open the gates of Heaven. I came to the United States to love this nation. That is the precise reason I returned here after the indictment was made. I did not have to return from Korea, since Korea and the U.S. do not have an extradition treaty, so I had no legal reason to do so. All the lawyers were telling me, 'No, Reverend Moon, don't come back.' But I packed up my bags and came back the next day.
Why did I do that? It is because my mission is to save America, not to be comfortable here. In a way, I welcomed going to Danbury prison because that is where the worst sort of Americans are assembled-criminals. I knew that if I could love them- the worst of the enemy people-then I was truly loving my enemy.
Satan had claimed control of this nation; it was truly his principality. But I climbed up on top of Satan and declared, 'Get out of my way! I am going to love America and you cannot stop me. I will open the gates of Heaven here.' Once I fulfilled the standard of loving this nation in such a way, I could go back home to Korea. Satan could not follow me there.
Everyone who has followed my path has been accused and persecuted. The Japanese who came over here were certainly not welcomed. The Europeans, likewise, were not welcomed. Even you Americans who became my followers were rejected by your own people. But because all those people united with the True Parents and purely and sacrificially devoted their lives to loving the United States, they were victorious. After making the condition for that victory, where must they go?
The Adam and Eve countries used to be enemies, but God's power is grafting them into one. In that way, there is salvation for the Cain and Abel countries. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fell and through them the fallen nations arose. Now God must bring together not individual Adam and Eve but the nations representing them and unite them in true love, thereby restoring the fallen act of Adam and Eve in the Garden. When that happens, it is a condition for the restoration of the world. I did not come just for the restoration of the Adam and Eve nation but for the sake of the world.
The Korean peninsula was divided by the 38th parallel. North Korea represents the satanic kingdom, under Kim Il Sung. On June 25, 1950, they launched their attack against the South, trying to take over the entire peninsula for communism. The whole country was ravaged. However, with God's help, South Korea was not destroyed and freedom was restored. What happened afterward? Two extreme poles came to exist-north and south. One is satanic and communist, and the other is democratic and freedom-centered. Thirty-eight years after the war, South Korea became the host of the Olympic games. On September 16, 1988, 160 nations came together, including virtually the entire communist world.
Sixteen free nations participated to save Korea's freedom during the Korean War but, at that time, they failed to unite the country. During the Seoul Olympics, 160 nations came together in harmony. 16 nations represented the national level, while 160 represented the world level. The 16 nations failed on a national level, but the 160 nations succeeded on the worldwide level. Both the free world and the communist world-the two polar extremes-came together in unity in South Korea.
It was historic that the second generation of the communist world and of the free world came to Korea. During the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, 600,000 of the first generation followed Moses through the wilderness. One by one, they all perished. Only the second generation was able to go in to the Promised Land. All the elder sons of the Egyptians were killed by the plague, while the second generation on the side of God was saved.
The nations of the world have their own embassies in Korea, and they were taking care of their countries' athletes. From the heavenly perspective, those athletes represented Abel, while the embassies and governments represented Cain. On the part of Korea, the True Parents were in the Abel position and the government, represented by President Roh, was in the Cain position. So Cain and Abel on both levels needed to find unity.
I invited all our missionaries from the 120 nations to Korea so that they could serve their embassy and their athletes. Those three parties would be united under the True Parents' auspices.
What happened? The model course of Jacob occurred this time at the Olympics in Korea. Jacob worked desperately hard for 21 years and amassed a great fortune: then when he returned to his home, he gave it all to Esau, his elder brother. That is how he won his heart. By the same token, in the position of Jacob, I gave everything gained in the United States to my Esau. That actually happened, both symbolically and in reality, on the worldwide level.
First of all, when the 160 nations' athletes had come to Korea, they were given all the McCol they could drink. At first, they were rather reluctant, saying, 'We don't need the Unification Church's soft drink.' But once they tasted it, they said, 'Oh, please, may we have two or three truckloads brought to our embassy?' The ambassadors were pleading with our people, 'You must give us more so we can serve our athletes!' Not only that, they were also giving it to their staffs and families at the embassies.
Our missionaries worked hard to cheer on and support the athletes. Sometimes the athletes felt lonely; during the games, no one from their embassy was actively cheering for them and supporting them. But then suddenly they would see someone waving a huge flag from their home country. Brazil, Argentina, Zambia, Zaire-the champions from those countries and others were wondering, 'Who are those people up there waving my flag?' Then they found out they were Reverend Moon's people. Some African and Latin American countries did not win even one bronze medal, and there was no one to cheer them up. But thanks to Unification Church people, they could feel appreciated. They automatically felt united with those missionaries.
What does all this mean? The Unification Church missionaries united with their own countries' champions and also with their embassies. In this way, the True Parents and all those parties were also united.
I particularly wanted to concentrate on the athletes from communist countries. Those athletes were writing letters and telegrams home saying, 'There were some large cheering teams here from the Unification Church!' The communist contingent was shocked.
This was just the first stage. We also held a great program at the Little Angels School. We invited all the athletes, their coaches, and embassy officials to a performance of the Universal Ballet Company, the New York City Symphony, and the Little Angels. All who attended were completely melted by the performance, particularly of the Little Angels. Furthermore, every guest was presented with a special gift: beautiful material for suits and dresses, and also scarves and neckties. Some of the athletes had never seen such a fine necktie in their life.
Among the Soviet delegation in the audience were many KGB agents. Right now, those KGB agents are wearing suits made from material given to them by Reverend Moon! They sent word to their superiors and their government, 'The city of Seoul is full of Reverend Moon's people and they are giving out beautiful gifts.' Every country's government learned through their embassy the same thing: 'It is amazing! The Unification Church people are the only ones who are really taking care of us.' Unity and harmony were created in this way.
In the audience during the Little Angels' performance were coaches and medal winners from Russia, the United States, China, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, and so on, sitting side by side. Later on, they were all invited up to the stage where everyone joined hands and sang, 'We Are the World.' While they were on the stage, the Little Angels presented each nation's coaches and medal winners with a specially-designed Little Angels medal. The recipients were saying, 'This is better than an Olympic medal!'
Can you imagine such unity and harmony between representatives of 160 nations? This is a new launching pad for world peace. In the position of the universal Jacob, I was able to give gifts to those in the Esau position. Even though my own church members were thinking, 'Father is giving too much away,' I unselfishly opened my heart to the communist champions.
I made a very incredible proposal to the Soviet delegation: 'We will give you a gift of 2,000 cars to take home. But there is one condition-you have to drive these cars through North Korea and Manchuria to get them home!' They were practically salivating, wanting those cars so badly. But they could not convince Kim Il Sung to let them drive across North Korea with 2,000 brand new automobiles from Reverend Moon. Therefore, they asked if they could take them home by boat, but I told them no. Perhaps someday when Kim Il Sung changes, they might come back to claim their automobiles!
The 24th Olympics in Seoul was a heavenly celebration. It was actually a celebration of the 6,000 years of God's providence. Who was the center of this celebration? It was the True Parents. The new age has been ushered in. The indemnity is established for unity between the Adam nation, Eve nation, Cain and Abel nations. It is the new foundation for eternal world peace. The tactics of Satan are always to divide and conquer. Every level of relationship-from individuals and on to nations- has been one of division and enmity. But now for the first time we have paid the indemnity and restored the enemy relationships into harmony and brotherhood.
There will not be another Olympics held in Korea for a long time. The incredible dispensational will of God was for this event to take place in 1988, with the True Parents at the center in their own nation.
During my stay in Korea, there were three major providential accomplishments. First of all, I held a ceremony signifying the time of transformation into providential unity. Cain and Abel have always fought throughout history, but now that has been restored in this transformation. The chain of command has been restored. Another transformation which took place is that the Unification Church and True Parents have now moved from the suffering period to the commanding period. We are no longer going to just suffer. We are going to be in command of the situation and transform the world into goodness.
The second major accomplishment was the ceremony on October 3, 1988. On that day, the Korean nation celebrated the foundation of its nation 4,321 years ago. On October third, we declared Foundation Day for the Nation of the World of Unification. This is not a secular nation but the heavenly, unified nation of the world. This means that spirit world and physical world are one. At this morning's Pledge Service, my prayer was dedicated to this. The restoration of each nation has become possible. Beyond communities and societies, nations can now be restored into the one heavenly world community.
The third event which took place was the Blessing of 6,516 couples on October 30, 1988. The most amazing characteristic of that Blessing was the international matching between Koreans and Japanese. Korea and Japan were enemy nations for a very long time, and the emotional wounds have never been healed. By this mixing up, the two countries can become one. The emotional strains and hurts are being removed.
This Blessing was a huge event. The entire nation of Korea was watching. Likewise, the Japanese government couldn't believe what was happening. By the time they figured it out, it was all over. Koreans and Japanese were matched in 99.9 percent of the couples. They could not speak to one another, for the most part; they could just use sign language. The only way for them to stay together in the crowd was to hold hands. In fallen history there was never such an event. Only in God's history could such a thing be possible. Another amazing point is that everyone joyfully and faithfully accepted their match-100 percent. That was a great miracle and victory in Korea.
The fall of man brought individual separation and enmity and ultimately enemy nations. This Blessing brought two enemy nations together into one through the couples. They are going beyond their own countries. No longer do they even think of themselves as part of Korea or Japan. The Heavenly Kingdom is the only nation they belong to. Satan has no more business with them. They have a higher foundation of true love, and since Satan can never follow the true love way, he has to say good-bye!
Today is an extraordinary Children's Day. During this year of 1988, we made tremendous providential accomplishments in Korea. I wanted to come back to America to celebrate Children's Day with you.
One of the most special aspects of the Olympics this year was its theme song, 'Hand in Hand,' signifying breaking down the walls between races, nations, and cultures. We are going to make that song a reality together, you and I. Mansei!
Let's start something new: in the past you have clapped your hands together horizontally. Now you can clap up and down, vertically, when you are applauding vertical love. This is just the beginning. Let us pray.
(Dr. Pak prays.)
One final message I want to give you: Everything centered upon true love will be prosperous and victorious. That includes husbands and wives, nations, communities, and the world. It includes your own mission as well. You must remember this. It is the rule and way of life of the Unification Church. Amen!