Christianity and the Cross

Rev. Michael Jenkins
MWJenk@familyfed.org
Monday 14 April 2003

Dear Family,

Following Father's direction is the core of our life of faith. The direction he gives is not just a reaction to current affairs but is based on God's direct revelation and many years of preparation.

The victory has already been won completely by our True Parents. Through the Coronation of God's Kingship the way has been secured to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. The Holy Wedding and Blessing of our True Parents on the third and final dispensational level opened the way for the world to enter the Cheon Il Guk (Kingdom of God on Earth) and on that day True Parents were coronated as King and Queen of all Blessed Families. This foundation and authority is so vast that we do not yet understand its meaning. As we also received the Cheon Il Guk blessing on February 6th our authority and inheritance is directly linked with our True Parents. To the degree we are one in heart and action with True Parents will determine the degree in which their spirit, power and authority manifest through us.

Central to the building of the Kingdom of God is the establishment of God's sovereignty through the securing of one nation. That one nation is the Fatherland. Central to the unification of the Fatherland is the unity of the Mother nation of Japan and the Elder Son Nation of America. Our central purpose now is to secure the sovereignty of the unified Fatherland under God's dominion.

To build and expand God's Kingdom on Earth the religious foundation that God established must be unified as one. Therefore the central religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam cannot be united by simple means. The unity that is now coming within Christianity is based on profound vertical and horizontal indemnity conditions set by our True Parents. These conditions allow these three special religions to unite. From God's standpoint Christianity has been prepared by God to play the central role.

To set the condition for this unity Father has prepared all the way since 1945 for this time. So much of the focus of True Father's indemnity was centered upon saving Christianity. This was the reason he came to America in 1971. America represents Christianity on a world level. The 50 state tour was a most important foundation upon which Father could truly expand the one unified body of Christ. Now Father is emphasizing the United Federation of Churches to represent the oneness of the body of Christ. This has been established. The core of this Federation is the American Clergy Leadership Conference. Both of these were established by True Parents at Cheong Pyeong Heaven and Earth Training center with 120 important Christian leaders in May of 2000.

In 2001 the 50 state tour vastly expanded the ACLC into thousands of clergy who had been touched. This tour set the condition for America and Christianity to stand in unity with True Parents as the Second Israel. The 144,000 blessing "grafted" the leadership of Christianity into the blood lineage of God. The partaking of the Holy Wine and the subsequent April 27th blessing secured the condition to fulfill the prophecy of the book of Revelation in which the 144,000 of all the "tribes of Israel" were "sealed" before the living God. This was done as a result of great sacrifice by True Parents, the National Messiahs representing the Father nation, the Japanese Missionaries representing the Mother nation and American Blessed Central Families (Unification and Christian) representing the Elder Son nation.

The subsequent blessings were expansions of that foundation. July 3rd went from the first to the second generation of Christians. September 14th in Manhattan restored the September 11th tragedy and took the blessing beyond the 144,000 to the Muslim and Jewish world's religious leaders. Because this was done in America it meant it was done on a world level. The December 7th blessing on Pearl Harbor day allowed for a reconciliation between Japan and America as former enemies. It opened the gate for all former enemies to reconcile - Black, White, American Indian and Muslim, Christian and Jew. In conjunction with this providence the IIFWP performed and initiated blessings in all of the major countries of the world fully embracing all of the world religions. In Rev. Kwak's recent address to the Council of Affliliated Organizations, he stated that in all of True Parents' ministry and work in every area of man's endeavor and profession, True Parents' central role and ministry has been to bring the change of blood lineage and the blessing of marriage.

Now a blessing movement is naturally growing throughout America and the world. Soon there will be a blessing in Korea. Then the blessing of marriage movement will begin to occur regularly in America centering on True Parents.

To allow Christianity to play the central role to heal and unify the world, Christianity centering on ACLC is being asked to fulfill another condition. That is to take down the cross. As ACLC/ UFC was founded by 120 pastors, 120 clergy have been secured through the Divine Principle four day and one day convocations, that will now at this time, representing Christianity, Take Down the Cross.

Through the power of the teaching of Divine Principle and the preaching of the principle through our lecturers, Rev. Jesse Edwards and Bishop Stallings and several other key ministers as well as Dr. Chang Shik Yang's testimony concerning Father's life, the "scales" have fallen off of many eyes. There is a deep acceptance growing based on the solid rock of God's word in the Bible as revealed and "decoded" by the Divine Principle. Because this acceptance of True Parents is firmly rooted in the "Word" I can report with confidence before the True Parents of Heaven and Earth that victory is secure. Based on the Divine Principle, clergy are coming to understand and accept that Father was chosen to manifest the Second Coming, that Jesus anointed and chose him.

Why do they believe? We have to attribute much to True Parents' course of indemnity, especially sending Dae Mo Nim and Heung Jin Nim into the spirit world to break down the walls and unify all religions. Because the spirit world has completely changed and is accepting and supporting of the Principle, we just have to teach clearly and the religious leaders' original minds spring into life. The spirit is pouring out on all flesh as was promised in the book of Acts 2:17.

Also, the Principle is now being expressed through the preaching of the clergy which, through their decades of fighting evil with the power of the resurrected Jesus and the scriptures, they are able to bring forth a flowering of Biblical support for the Principle in a way never imagined.

Therefore brothers and sisters, the cross is coming down. It cannot be reversed. Destiny is upon us and the Second Israel has responded in the affirmative.

The amazing thing about following Father's direction is that you don't see the result right away. It's like planting the seeds. When we were directed to proclaim the revelations of Jesus and the saints concerning Father being the Messiah, it planted a seed. It looked as if, for the first few months, that all the key ACLC ministers would just collapse and fall away. Fortunately Rev. Jesse Edwards and Bishop Stallings, Bishop Johnson and a few others would not be moved away from their support and faith in the anointing of Jesus on True Parents. Because of that, they suffered greatly but they overcame. The September 14th blessing was the first major event that came after the Clouds of Witnesses. Through the blessing activity together with our New York family centering on Rev. Dong Woo Kim and the New York Clergy, the first breakthrough came.

Now I'm happy to report that on this last series of DP convocations, almost every single minister who left us has now come back "home". It's truly amazing. Bishop Stallings and I can't believe what we are seeing. Some of our worst persecutors have come back to the ACLC saying "count me in". Why is this happening? Because Father knows the way we must go. Though the "way" is painful, it is the shortest way to secure God's Kingdom on earth.

Now the ACLC is strong in faith, beyond anything I've ever seen. Then on top of it, a most important Christian leader came through the gate, the Rev. Dr. E.V. Hill. Because of his immense preparation, he is a man who is totally comfortable to be in an uncomfortable, unpopular position, as long as he is sure that God is in it. Therefore once he knew that Jesus was behind this, he couldn't stop witnessing. We are now just hearing of dinners he had with key Christian leaders where he testified that Father Moon knows the Bible, that's where his authority and power comes from. It's from the Word.

Today Dr. Lonnie Mcleod, a pastor and theologian in New York stated that the power of the Rev. Moon and the ACLC is in the Word. "It's so powerful that its changing my ministry. I cannot follow denominational opinions and traditions when I see that the Word of God in the Bible is telling me differently. We must follow God's Word and that's what Rev. Moon is doing."

Father said of Dr. Hill when they first met, "Dr. E.V. Hill, I can see that you are a man who believes in Jesus is such a way that you are like a rock. When God sets you down some place it's like setting down a gigantic rock. Once you are set, I can see that no amount of human effort or opinion will turn you over. God truly loves that kind of leader." Dr. Hill was happy at that moment. Soon he would make the inevitable journey to go to the other side. His going home (Seung Hwa) was just 40 days ago. Why? Because God needs him in the spirit world with Jesus to help direct the outpouring of the spirit at this end time. We know that Dr. Hill is appearing to many key believers at this time and directing them.

This brings us to another reason we discovered that Christian leaders are accepting True Parents: because of dreams and revelations. Many will not tell when it first occurs but later when they feel more secure, minister after minister is coming forward to us and saying that "such and such" happened in my dream, or 20 years ago God revealed what was taught today. They then reveal that that is why they are sure that it's true. Rev. Edwards, Dr. McGhee and many other key leaders have shared that this is how they knew in their "heart of hearts".

That's why Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter replied in Matthew 16:16-17 "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

Brothers and Sisters, flesh and blood is not revealing Father's identity to the clergy and the Ambassadors for Peace and the heads of state. It is the spirit of God which is revealing it, based upon the condition of faith that the Blessed Central Families and the Second Israel show at this time. We must have Absolute Faith in True Parents. Your faith will determine the outpouring of the spirit and the assistance that we receive from heaven. However if we had not testified and followed Father's direction, the clergy would have these revelations but would not have known what they mean. We must testify and teach the Divine Principle. It has power. We must serve with a spirit of love.

The cross is coming down. Then the Second Israel will go to Jerusalem to set the conditon of embracing and loving the elder brother. Together they will lift up Jesus. On that basis they will know True Parents and the Muslim family can be liberated from the pain and resentment caused by the failure of the chosen people to demonstrate true faith and lift up the Lord.

Dr. Yang shared that Father is emphasizing now that we must understand that the reason for the war in the Middle East and the enmity there must be traced back to the origin. The origin is the fact that the chosen people rejected Jesus. If they had accepted him, Jesus would have first unified his cousins in the Arab world and together they would have assimilated Rome under spiritual authority. From that foundation Jesus would have built the True Family and the Kingdom of God on earth.

Because the first Israel failed, then Christianity came about and divided and went through martyrdom. Because the first Israel failed, the Muslim faith had to be founded by God. If Israel had succeeded, there would have been no Christianity and no Islam. This is Father's emphasis at this time. This is why it is so important that the Second Israel of Christianity fulfill its role and mission as the Second Israel by a chosen few representing John the Baptist, fulfilling the condition of believing and following True Parents. Please pray strongly for our key clergy. They are restoring the failures of history. We as disciples of the Lord are restoring the first disciples' roles.

The key condition for the next phase of this unity will be fulfilled on Good Friday. When 120 faithful in the "upper room" will take down the cross. As with the day of Pentecost, when 120 gathered the spirit moved on the disciples, Father said when Christianity takes down the cross a massive revival will break out in Christianity. 120 founded ACLC, now 120 set the condition to remove the cross and lift up Jesus in the resurrection.

This will lead to the unity of Christianity, Islam and Judaism and soon a massive "family" movement that will bless marriage removing the stained blood lineage from the earth. This will be the true solution to the conflict within the individual and the wars among nations.

Thanks America and all the nations of the world. We are one!!

MWJ