Inaugural Assembly Interreligious and International Peace Council

The New Elimination of Boundaries and World Peace

Founder's Address
Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon

New Yorker Hotel
New York City, NY, USA
October 3, 2003

Respected guests, over the past 50 years, as humanity has experienced many trials and wars, both locally and internationally, it has placed its trust in the United Nations as the only institution that could address these issues on a global scale. However, the world we live in today has reached a point where the United Nations, as it currently exists, cannot successfully address this enormous challenge. Likewise, although the United States has emerged as the world's lone superpower, it does not have the capacity to deal with the crises that we confront today. We must conclude that political, economic, and military power, by themselves, cannot meet the critical challenges of the day.

Today I would like to take this precious opportunity to speak on the topic "The New Elimination of Boundaries and World Peace" and convey to you Heaven's message for this age. Truly, this is a joyful, historic, and providential declaration before the hundreds of billions of human beings now living on earth and in the spirit world.

Today, on every level, boundaries cause division and conflict. If we can eliminate all the boundaries in this world, a world of peace would inevitably come about. We must recognize who owns those boundaries. Clearly, it is not God. It was the devil, Satan, who first created boundaries. Wherever a boundary exists, there is always the devil and his cohorts. This is a result of the Human Fall, when the first human ancestors switched their lineage, and good and evil began to diverge from each other. When we look at the division between the East and the West, we see that different cultural spheres have led to antagonism at their boundaries and that the devil is encamped there. It was Satan, not God, who created boundaries, by digging all sorts of traps and enmeshing people in racial discrimination and evil cultures, histories, and traditions. God's desire is for a world of goodness and unity — a world of oneness in which all humanity lives as one great family. Boundaries have no place in such a world. In a world without boundaries, there can be no enemies. The concept of "enemy" entails the existence of boundaries.

When we love our enemies and make oneness with them, the boundaries between us will collapse. That is why God's strategy and tactic has always been "Love your enemy." There can be no greater strategy for peace than this. Throughout history, this incredible fact has escaped humanity's understanding, and it has yet to be grasped even in modern times.

Today, I tell you clearly that God's strategy and tactic for human salvation is to love your enemy. You and the members of the Unification Church who have followed me until now are the representatives of history as well as of the current world who now know Heaven's incredible secret. Our responsibility now is to inherit this principle, put it into practice, and become a true human being. If you accomplish these things, you are sure to become a key player in bringing about a world of peace.

Respected guests, when and where are boundaries formed? Boundaries first take shape within ourselves. They form in places where our hearts find something disagreeable, where our bodies find something disagreeable, where we find our own actions to be disagreeable, and where we find our own words to be disagreeable. When, in response to our five senses, our mind and body are in disharmony, boundaries of all sorts come into being. Please take a moment to consider all the different kinds of boundaries, both large and small, that fill our lives.

If you are determined to practice the maxims "Don't have enemies" and "Don't create boundaries," there may come a time when you will need to pluck out one of your own eyes. This is because it is possible to have two kinds of eyes. If you have an eye that says, "This is nice, and that is nice, too," and likes everything it sees, good and bad, then a huge boundary will form in that eye, separating how that eye sees the world from how God sees the world. The same is true with our hearing. On the one hand, we like listening to words of goodness and truth, while on the other, we also listen to the evil words of the world and conform ourselves to them. When we do this, we create boundaries in our ears.

When I initiated the Unification Church, I did not forbid our members from listening to popular songs even though many Christians banned such music. The issue is not whether the music is a popular or classical piece, but whether the person singing a particular song is able to digest its content correctly. Good and evil are not determined by genre. The question is whether singing a particular song eliminates an existing boundary or creates a new one. If a person is able to build a bridge of true love that is pleasing to God, then it does not matter what kind of song he sings, whether it is a popular song or even a song whose words are in some exotic language.

From this perspective, the fact that the boundaries found in your environment are the result of sensations received through your five senses as well as everything that has been passed down to you through the ladder of historical tradition means that it is not by your own choice that you find yourselves belonging to Satan's domain. In other words, if there were no boundaries in our lives, we could stand on God's side. Please remember that Satan is a king who has used every means possible to create boundaries in our lives, and that God is the King who hates boundaries more than anything else.

As you know, the Korean peninsula where I was born is still divided between North and South near the 38th Parallel. Those who like having this division along the 38th Parallel are on Satan's side, while those who offer their lives to fight for its elimination will become the champions whom God finds most pleasing. If all 70 million Koreans were determined not to leave this division in place, even at the cost of all their lives, then the unification of the Korean peninsula would be accomplished automatically. But this will not be an easy task.

Wherever such a "38th Parallel" exists, Satan is the owner; and wherever a "38th Parallel" is eliminated, God is the owner. For this reason, the members of the Unification Church who have followed me have carried on a reform movement to digest and remove all of humanity's "38th Parallels," that is, to eliminate all boundaries.

When the day comes when everyone feels desperate to have exchange marriages for their children — that is, choosing their sons-in-law and daughters-in-law from enemy nationalities — everything under heaven will automatically be unified as one. Respected guests, this message from Heaven is my gift to you today. Let me remind you again: Wherever there is a boundary, that is where you will find Satan's kinfolk living; wherever people live in harmony and peace without a "38th Parallel," there you are certain to find God's kinfolk — true people of goodness who have inherited God's lineage.

Respected guests, I am now very interested in pursuing projects to open up a new world of tourism and hobby industries. There are many places throughout the world where people would like to go to live and pursue their leisure activities. Such areas — whether they are near an international border or in a desert area — should be owned peacefully and in common by all humanity through a new international and interreligious organization that would be on par with the United Nations. To accomplish this global task, I have already proposed to everyone who follows me that we collect a Total Living Offering Fund. This entire fund will be placed under the Interreligious and International Peace Council, which will stand at the level of a new international organization like the United Nations.

We see in the Bible that during the Old Testament age, animals symbolizing all of creation were sacrificed in the place of human beings. These were cut into two parts and their blood was drained. The left part represented Satan's side, while the right part was on the side of Heaven. This is how the struggle over ownership had been historically carried out. Then, Jesus, God's only begotten Son and first-born, came to earth and shed his blood. In the end, Jesus' physical body was claimed by Satan, while his heart returned to God in the spirit world. Because of humanity's disbelief, Jesus, too, was divided into two on the cross.

After going to the spirit world, Jesus said he would come again, because he must recover his substantial body. His death was a terrible tragedy. The mind and body of Jesus, God's only begotten Son, became divided and, because of this, the spirit world and the physical world remained divided. At the beginning of history, men and women became divided against each other, as were mind and body, and Jesus came to unify all these. Toward this purpose, he claimed the spirit world's right of ownership, but he must come to earth again to claim ownership on earth as well, and make everything one. What will he do when he comes? He will marry, establishing the true lineage and thereby creating a true family.

Satan, who seized the physical body of Jesus, God's first-born, continued to hold possession of the earthly world, while God held the heavenly world. After going to the spirit world, Jesus spent 2,000 years preparing the path. While he worked in the spirit world to focus the world of the mind on the goal of unification, he was working in the earthly world by establishing the foundation for Christianity. However, Christianity became divided between Catholicism and Protestantism, which were in the roles of the struggling brothers, Cain and Abel. These adversaries continue to fight each other today. The first-born, in the position of Cain, came to be on the side of Satan, and the second-born, in the position of Abel, came to be on the side of Heaven. Within this paradigm, history has developed through continual fighting, as people adopted ideas and concepts that resulted in the creation of increasingly more boundaries. Liberation must be brought to this situation.

The Lord who comes again will unify the heavenly kingdom and establish a unified country on earth that fulfills the ideal of the biblical nation of Israel. He will also perform a new model of marriage that creates oneness for the first time between heaven and earth, and between man and woman, who have been fighting each other for thousands of years. This is what Christianity refers to as the "Marriage of the Lamb."

Historically, the period immediately following the Second World War was an excellent opportunity to unite the heavenly world and the earthly world centered on Christianity. The Christian cultural sphere stood in the same position as if it had unified the entire world. It was the best opportunity for Jesus, who had become a victorious supreme leader, to return to the earth, together with the Holy Spirit, centering on the unified Christian cultural sphere on earth. Then, with himself as the groom and the Holy Spirit as the bride, he could have initiated a new marriage that would have brought resolution to all of humanity's problems. Everything in God's creation would have become a peaceful Kingdom of Heaven. This is not a vague or ambiguous notion.

When you look at God's ideal of creation, who was supposed to be the first couple ever to be married? It was Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve fell, and this resulted in humanity becoming enslaved to thousands, even tens of thousands, of boundaries. But when three things happen — the walls that originated with Eve are torn down to make the land flat, the positions of Adam and Eve before the Fall are restored, and they are married anew — then this would be welcomed not only by our ancestors but also by God. When such a world is brought about, this will be the Kingdom of God on Earth.

This has never happened in human history. Until now, human beings have been slaves, entangled and tormented within countless boundaries. They have lived their lives groaning in agony. If we can only find the answer to the question of how to abolish all boundaries, this will also be the first step toward human peace. Until this moment, humanity has lived in ignorance of this. Now, for the first time in history, I have appeared on this earth in the capacity of True Parent. I am teaching this answer, and giving the new Holy Marriage Blessing, in the presence of God, to all good men and women for all to see. Even if there were a million boundaries in the world, it would not be a problem for me. They can be eliminated easily. How can this be so? It is possible because of true love. Unless a person knows God 100 percent and stands in the same position as God, it is impossible to resolve such a situation.

In the spirit world, there is hell and heaven. If we compare heaven to the daytime, hell is like the night. How can a person who has not experienced both day and night exercise control over the borderline between heaven and hell? There is no way. Only a person who knows the content can naturally come to exercise control. Only the person who knows with certainty the content of hell can wipe away the darkness.

God is omnipotent and omniscient, so He is able to wipe away the darkness. The problem is for us to come to know God. How well do you know God? Does He like money? Does He like power? Or is He only interested in knowledge? If God were like this, we could not be certain about humanity's eventual liberation.

It is only when we know God completely that we can banish Satan completely and bring total resolution to the issue of boundaries. We need to know what God has that can be used to resolve the age-old problem of boundaries. This is important. If God is the owner of the universe, should there not be a neighborhood and a country where this owner lives? If we are to know God, then we must stand in the reciprocal position to God and go in search of that country where we can become members of the royal family.

All environments, though, are cut off by various kinds of boundaries, so it is by eliminating these boundaries that we can go about creating a world that God will find pleasing. When that happens, all creation will want to receive God's direct dominion. They will want to be liberated from the rule of the devil, which has brought persecution, agony, and the weight of countless boundaries.

Respected leaders, it is most important that we know God with certainty and know the heavenly world, or spirit world, with certainty. Just do this, and no matter the time or the place, you will be able to figure out how to adapt and deal with any situation.

God definitely lives in the heavenly world. How can it be, then, that the world in which we live is divided by thousands and tens of thousands of boundaries? It has become such a nonsensical world, because not only is there no one who knows God correctly and knows the heavenly world, but also there is no one who knows the content of the tradition of the heavenly world. When we come to know that content with certainty, a realm of liberation will appear in the spirit world and in the earthly world. All we need do is become a true person who is knowledgeable about all the secrets of the heavenly world and capable of immobilizing Satan. Then we will come to know how to live in a culture and tradition that lets us be as one body with heavenly law. Such a person is a true person who embodies "true love that lives for the sake of others." This is not a person who seeks selfish love for his or her own sake only, but a true person who makes it possible for his or her partner to become an owner of true love. A true person sacrifices everything for the sake of his or her partner and makes it possible for the partner to dance and live within true love. Such a true person becomes an heir to the heavenly world and is protected and loved by the heavenly world. Satan cannot lay a hand on such an heir to the heavenly world.

When we go beyond feeling anger at the sight of someone being killed and instead live for the sake of our enemy with true love, then we can rule the world of the enemy, and Satan automatically withdraws. The world of the enemy will come to respect and attend you. If you live for the sake of those around you and give them true love to a greater extent than you would your own children or parents, Satan will automatically withdraw. God will come and fill that position instead and repay you thousands and tens of thousands of times over.

What did I say is the secret to forcing Satan to run away? In the presence of a true person who is determined to live for the sake of others in true love, die for the sake of others, and love for the sake of others, Satan, no matter how determined he may be, will have no choice other than to forfeit his boundaries and run away. Even if he runs away, he cannot do so without first tearing down the boundaries. What will happen then? Because Satan has left, a process of eternal life will unfold in which all those countless numbers of people who were sent straight to hell will turn around 180 degrees and rise up into the heavenly kingdom. The blessing of eternal life will be given. By becoming a true person who knows God with certainty, knows the spirit world with certainty, and can practice "true love for the sake of others," which is the traditional philosophy of the heavenly world, you become qualified for the first time to refer to God as your "Father." It is only in this position that the link in the lineage between parent and child is established, and it is only through this heavenly lineage that the logic and tradition of eternal life are decisively and inseparably attached to you.

Eternal life is an essential attribute of true love. When God created the universe, He did so with the standards of absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience. Please understand that God pours out His true love for eternity regardless of how the world may change or pass away. So it is impossible for there to be any existence that is not subject to God's governance or does not attend God as the absolute, unique, unchanging, and eternal owner. When human beings, who were created to have eternal life, become God's sons and daughters, and stand in a position of oneness with God, His Kingdom becomes our kingdom and God becomes a personal God for each of us. When, in our daily lives, we are one with God, the traditional owner of the heavenly world, and there is no room to doubt that we are His son or daughter, then it will be only natural that we enjoy eternal life and immortality. That is why there is truth in the paradoxical statement, "Those who seek to lose their life for the sake of Heaven will live, and those who seek to live for themselves will die."

In eliminating boundaries, we must address the boundaries within the United Nations. We must also eliminate religious boundaries, ethnic boundaries, and the boundary between hell and heaven. Boundaries were originally created by false parents, so no one except the True Parents can eliminate them. Even God cannot do it, because He did not establish them. Satan absolutely will not do it. Who can bring an end to the conflict between Satan and God that has continued throughout history? Because this is something committed by the false parent, only the person who comes as the True Parent of humankind can set it right.

Distinguished guests who are concerned about the world and cherish the desire for peace among humankind: In this time, which is the final fruit-bearing season in human history, Heaven has sent me to this earth as the Savior, Messiah, returning Lord, and True Parent of humankind. I received Heaven's command at the young age of 16, and have followed it ever since. My life of more than 80 years has been focused on just one thing — to complete the Kingdom of God on Earth and in Heaven according to the desire that God has treasured since the beginning of time. I have experienced all manner of persecution so unimaginably intense that the six billion people on earth today would not be able to endure even if they joined their hearts together as one. Even in the midst of that, I stood on the standard of absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience to God and completed all restoration through indemnity for the sake of humankind. The power of Satan has now been completely eradicated from the earth.

Now a new world is opening up for humankind. I have already founded the Federation of Island Nations, the Federation of Peninsular Nations, and the Federation of Continental Nations in the spirit world and the earthly world. Not only that, while you were unaware, humanity has already entered the third year of Cheon II Guk (the Kingdom of God). Not only has the lost realm of the first Israel been restored, but I have also completed the declaration before God and the cosmos of the start of the "Fourth Israel Nation." In the spirit world, the leaders of the five great religions and 120 billion new blessed families have formed a oneness based on my absolute standard and are standing at the forefront in the effort to build a world of peace.

Your mission now is to engrave into your memory the meaning of my declaration today regarding "The New Elimination of Boundaries and World Peace," return to your communities, and be the first to practice true love in your family, society, nation, and world for the purpose of building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven. I believe that you will devote your full efforts to the Interreligious and International Peace Council, which we have formed together here today as a body on the level of a new Abel-like United Nations.

I hope that each of you will make a determination to live for the sake of liberating true love and that God's blessing may be with you as you return home. Thank you.