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<h1 class="page-title">Category: <span>Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</span></h1> </header>
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<article id="post-1130" class="post-1130 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<h2 class="entry-title">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-final-warning-concerning-good-and-evil.html" title="Permalink to THE FINAL WARNING CONCERNING GOOD AND EVIL" rel="bookmark">THE FINAL WARNING CONCERNING GOOD AND EVIL</a>
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<div class="entry-meta">
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:42:36+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-final-warning-concerning-good-and-evil.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:42:36+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">December 26, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator – Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>We all know that today is the final Sunday of 1976 and that 1976 has been a most important year. In this year both the Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument Rallies were consummated. I know that in the history of the Unification Church there could have been no more important or critical year than 1976. This year was the peak of the public ministry of the Unification Church on a worldwide level. This year of 1976 also marks the end of America’s first 200 years and the beginning of its third century.</p>
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<p>From the providential point of view, heavenly history is also moving into a new phase of accomplishment. My personal ministry of 30 years was consummated in 1976, and 1977 marks the dawn of a new level in my mission. In addition, 1977 will be the second year of the third seven-year course, with five more years remaining. In the next five years world history will change tremendously and a new phase will emerge. In all aspects of the dispensation, this is the time we must ring the bell of the final warning to good and evil.</p>
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<p>If there had been no fall then there could have been no evil. All of God’s creation would have prospered under His dominion, under the protection of His law and love. Internal conflicts which result from the division between man’s mind and body are not part of man’s original state. Without the fall there could have been only unity between mind and body, but instead two separate worlds resulted, one world centering upon the body of man and the other world centering upon man’s spirit.</p>
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<p>The external world which centers upon the body has been under the dominion of Satan. The internal world centering upon the spirit has been on the side of God. In differing degrees, each person belongs to one of the two worlds. In most cases people find themselves belonging to the external world, pursuing satanic goals which have nothing to with the internal spiritual life. We must always evaluate how much time and effort is spent on that external purpose. All the five senses are in constant contact with the external world which is under evil dominion. We are engulfed by that environment. The evil-dominated external world is constantly approaching us, creating an atmosphere which we cannot avoid.</p>
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<p>Most people devote comparatively little time and energy to contact with the spiritual aspects of the world. Man’s relationship with one world is very great, while contact with the other is very small. This particular reality shows how much Satan has influence over man. Because this external world is under Satan’s dominion he has complete influence over human life, whereas God, who has spiritual dominion, has very little influence over human life. There is staggering contrast in this reality.</p>
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<p>How can we describe the proportionate impact of these two worlds-one to ten, one to five, one to three? There is actually no comparison since one figure is vast and the other figure is negligible. On a balance scale one side would be all the way up and the other all the way down. Always God’s side has been way up high because it is so small. Under these circumstances we come to one important conclusion: Without the power of God the small bit on the side of goodness would have been demolished a long time ago. Yet there are still good people who are pursuing good goals, pursuing the spiritual side of life. At this juncture of human history we can say that God must have been assisting the side of goodness in a special way because otherwise it would have been wiped out a long time ago. Under those circumstances could God ever relax?</p>
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<p>Those who pursue the side of goodness always have extraordinary assistance coming from God. To receive God’s help, however, you must be in exactly the right place because it comes to a specific spot, like a drill. Even though the power of God is there, it will have no effect if you move slightly to the right or left. Even those who are pursuing the side of goodness are unstable. Because they are not concretely established, the slightest mistake can jerk them out of contact with God. God has had to contend with that kind of narrow margin all through history.</p>
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<p>Because God’s tiny minority of people is still unstable there are always breathtaking circumstances in restoration. God can be sure of nothing. God has been raising up many champions for His cause prophets and saints and holy men-but He is always in a tense position, not knowing when His people may lose contact with Him. God is always in a position to worry and be anxious.</p>
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<h3 align="center">A perfect man can translate<br />
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his noble goals into a way of life</h3>
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<p>A triangle illustrates the ultimate direction of the dispensation of God, with an extra central line as the center of God’s dispensation. Each individual takes a position on the horizontal line, striving to move forward and also up toward the top. Everyone has a conscience, regardless of whether he is religious or not. The conscience always works vertically, striving toward enlightenment on the side of God. Your conscience is like a piece of metal being pulled by a big magnet. Therefore, that vertical line is always straight and contact with this great universal conscience also forms a straight line.</p>
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<p>Is it true that everyone is searching after a higher goal? Sometimes well-to-do people do not feel the sting of conscience so sharply, but people who have suffered have greater sensitivity in that way. This is why the Bible said that the rich find it difficult to reach heaven. Everyone likes to feel that they are advancing or making progress because the conscience is always seeking betterment. People tend to want to jump forward. As soon as you become aware of a higher goal, your conscience wants to strive after it. Are you educated in that way or is that an inborn trait? It is a natural phenomenon because God bequeathed this trait to man. Thus there is always hope that man can elevate himself, even though he has fallen down to the dungeons of hell.</p>
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<p>Having the ideal and desire alone does not make any sense. Each person must express that ideal in noble deeds, which initiate his horizontal movement toward the center. The invisible ideal must be given visible form through actions. You cannot deny that you have a mind, even though you cannot see it. Since the mind is there, craving a higher order or goodness, don’t you think the mind would want the body to act just like the mind thinks? ]Mat desire of the mind is also a natural trait. That tendency shows that man has room for higher achievement and the potential for reaching perfection. It is a part of God’s principle that the mind and body should unite.</p>
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<p>The mind is headed straight up, going toward heaven, while at the same time the body is moving horizontally toward the center. This is the way of human life. At what point can man’s mind and body be united? At the point where the vertical and horizontal lines cross each other. The closer you move toward the center, the closer you will be to the central trunk line of God’s dispensation. At the same time, the more you move toward the central position, the higher become your goals and your ideals. The evil man is the one who is farther away from the viewpoint of God; his ideals are narrow and very materialistic.</p>
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<p>Each one of you is positioned somewhere along the two lines; you cannot avoid it. Here on earth you may wonder what your situation is, but when you go to the spirit world you will know precisely. After going to the spirit world your movement or advancement is greatly slowed down. You cannot deteriorate further or advance quickly. Even though not everyone can fulfill the ideal 100%, it is far better at least to possess a noble ideal. That is not the end of it, however. The man who has a high goal and can translate that goal totally into his way of life is the perfect man.</p>
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<p>None of you are out on the fringes of these lines; otherwise you would not be here. Ultimately there will be no more distance between the central point of God and yourselves. Your line will reach straight up all the way to the highest goal, the dwelling of God. After you eliminate your horizontal line your vertical line will continually be heightened.</p>
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<p>If God’s position is at the top of the vertical line, where can God go? God has come down to the point where He and you will become one because you are both operating on the same vertical line. This is also the only way of life a perfected man can possess. Once you reach that point you have come under God’s direct dominion. That is the man God is seeking. Once you reach the central point where God can have perfect dominion over you, you can never deviate from that position.</p>
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<p>A short horizontal line represents the individual goal, while the wider spheres represent the family, tribe, nation, world and cosmos, all built around the same central line. Every person’s destination is the same, the central point or line that comes under the complete dominion of God. We each have a different length of horizontal line, but it is possible for each one to advance higher and higher to the central point of the family, clan, society, nation and world.</p>
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<p>Whether poor or rich, young or old, man or woman, each person always desires to become a central figure of the universe. The consciousness of the universe is always with us and thus each person envisions himself as its center. If anyone does not think that way then he is no longer a human being. Throughout history people have asked what man’s destination is. Many people think of themselves in terms of an occupation or a life style, but that has no meaning at all. We definitely have a destination, the central point of God, because that is the place where we become one with God.</p>
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<h3 align="center">The closer you get to the center,<br />
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the more arduous is your life</h3>
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<p>As you get closer to the center, does life get tougher or easier? That process is analogous to the stretching of a rubber band. Reaching the highest goal is like stretching it out all the way, and the more you stretch it the more effort it takes. It takes greater and greater energy to stretch it further and further. That is the way God’s dispensation works.</p>
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<p>Many people in history struggled to reach 100% perfection, but at certain points everything broke down and their efforts were nullified. When a taut rubber band snaps the reaction is very great, isn’t it? The tension of the rubber is greater when it is stretched. That parallels the experience of religious people who worked to advance toward the center. They may have been successful up to a point but when they failed they became even more miserable than secular people. This is the course that we travel every day in the Unification Church. Can you tell how much more distance there is to reach the center? You can feel whether you are getting closer to the center because each yard and each inch gets tougher.</p>
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<p>Everyone together is needed to make the final push to the center. Can it be done if some people linger to one side, expecting to share the reward after the work is over? Unified effort is needed. That is why everyone’s energy has to be assembled and united in one disciplined effort. Can anyone leave for personal reasons just before the final push? There will be only one time in history, that one emergency moment when the final effort is so important that God will declare a total emergency. Man must come under God’s command to push through this emergency successfully.</p>
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<p>Put yourself in the position of God. Do you think God would sit by and enjoy watching everyone’s efforts or would He declare it to be His emergency also? Our emergency is His emergency. I think at that moment His eyes and mouth would strain open and He would add all of His own power to everyone else’s.</p>
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<p>You single men and women cannot understand this experience yet, but when any mother is about to give birth to her child a mighty effort, a total emergency effort is needed. If her husband is there watching then he too is making a great effort in the delivery, even though he is not going to have the baby! Would the delivery of the new world, the Kingdom of God, need at least as much energy from God as a mother giving birth to an actual baby?</p>
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<p>Making a mistake at the critical point would result in the heavenly dispensation crumbling to the ground. Is this real to you? At the moment of the final push, therefore, the final warning must certainly be given because that one effort will decide whether good or evil will stand or fall.</p>
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<p>Compared to the universal goal today, the rubber band didn’t have to stretch too far to encompass the dispensation at the time of Cain and Abel. But the dispensation of Cain and Abel still ended in failure. Even under that small amount of pressure the whole dispensation was shattered. At the time of Noah the dispensation was a little bigger, but he too failed to accomplish entirely and the dispensation had to begin again. His mistake seems trivial to man’s eyes, but the most critical moments are not lost by grand failures which we can anticipate. Some small moment of relaxation can bring complete failure.</p>
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<p>Moses was called to accomplish an even greater mission. Moses was a great man, yet sometimes he could not overcome himself. He had to think of nothing but God and his mission; any impure element invading his thought would inevitably bring failure. At the time of Jesus as well, little things produced gigantic failures. John the Baptist, for example, knew who Jesus was and all he had to do was declare his knowledge to the world. If John the Baptist had fulfilled that responsibility then there would have been no crucifixion. There could have been perfection and fulfillment instead.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Why can’t we relax before reaching the center?</h3>
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<p>Christianity also has the mission of reaching the final goal. Christianity has advanced a certain distance, but the tragedy is that after 2,000 years Christians believe that they have covered all the ground and come to the central point. They do not see that there is still a great distance to go. Christians are saying this is the final day, the end of the world, which means we are very close to the central point. This is the final emergency and we all have to be united into one to push to the final goal, but Christians are protesting that they have fulfilled their responsibility.</p>
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<p>Whether they like it or not, someone must push all the way to the center. Since Christians do not know God’s plan, someone must come to tell them the truth and give them the right direction. That is the purpose of the Unification Church. Do you know how we should go? You know it, and you know it well. Through the Principle you know the way of life that will enable us to reach the central point. You gave up your own life and family and everything you had because you know that this principle will get us there.</p>
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<p>If you are off to one side trying to create your circle of perfection, then no matter how perfect a circle you can construct you will still fall short of the true center because God is not at the center of your circle. Ultimately whatever you accomplish will decline and be destroyed. No matter what the sacrifice, we must get to the true center. Even though you may not yet live this completely, you still know that we cannot relax until we reach the center.</p>
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<p>If you know this, can you just decide to relax and enjoy watching everyone else work, planning to enjoy everything afterward? Or would you rather push together? Was Washington Monument or Yankee Stadium more difficult to accomplish? Since 1977 is closer to the end, should it be an easier year than 1976? You probably expected to relax more in 1977, but after knowing this principle, can you take it easy in 1977?</p>
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<p>The important thing to realize is that enormous pressure has been built up in the rubber band. You cannot casually let go because all the pressure will come crashing down upon you. No one can simply move back. Even if you have no more strength to move forward you still cannot leave, but you also cannot just sit and die. There is only one way to go. The moment when God starts the countdown for the final push will not come at a convenient time, nor can you ask God to postpone things until a better time. It does not work that way. The time may come at 5 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock in the morning, or midnight; you never know. Everyone must still be alert to recognize the crucial moment.</p>
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<p>Suppose the moment for the final push to the center has come and everyone is pushing but you people are dozing. No matter how hard you have worked, even if you laid a foundation for a thousand years, you would have nothing to do with those who are victorious. No matter how hard you may have worked, once you have missed that crucial moment you have missed the whole thing. If someone who lived an evil life is somehow awakened and participates in the final push, then he has the merit of having helped while you have not. That particular contribution is so great that the vital opportunity to help must not be missed. That one occasion in all of history is God’s greatest emergency.</p>
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<p>We pushed all the way to Washington Monument and we moved ourselves another step higher. Our March to Moscow is the next goal; do you think that an easy push will make it?</p>
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<p>Suppose all you women are helping when suddenly in the midst of the struggle you realize your clothing is all torn. Could you ask God to wait while you get fixed up? In the middle of an emergency there is no such thing as dignity or poise and ceremony. If a house is on fire you don’t go through introductions with the firemen. You have to get the job done. Is this realistic to you?</p>
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<p>All kinds of things are being said about us, that we are not a religious but a political group, that I only use you to make money, that we kidnap and brainwash children, and so forth. Those people who are really concentrating on the final emergency do not hear all these things because these things don’t even make sense to their ears.</p>
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<p>In the heat of the final assault you may be responsible for firing a machine gun at the enemy. If some obstacle is in the way then you have no time to negotiate about clearing it away. From God’s standpoint it may be necessary to get blown up yourself if that is the only way you can accomplish your mission.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Nothing is more important than<br />
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sounding the final warning</h3>
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<p>I feel that in our way of life in the Unification Church the opportunity for heroic action is always with us. Each one of you will have an opportunity to become a hero. Would you like such an opportunity? The emergency of the heavenly dispensation will continue for the next 4½ years.</p>
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<p>I want you to know that in the free world the Unification Church will never be destroyed and never decline, even if the free world itself is destroyed. However, our job is not the free world; our job is to handle the communist world. The communists’ goal is world domination. By proclaiming materialism to be the universal center they are trying to usurp the position of God. From the viewpoint of God, however, communism has completely deviated from the center.</p>
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<p>If we are going to guide the world back to the true center then we must have stronger determination and conviction than the communists. Even though they follow an evil ideology, the communists’ discipline is very tight. Core members are instructed to cut their own tongues out rather than confess any information to an enemy who captures them.</p>
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<p>In North Korea an association has been organized for Party members who have killed their own fathers for being “reactionary.” They felt it was their duty to kill their fathers for not following the Party line. We are the ones to liberate them from such satanic thinking. Do you think I am teaching that you must kill your own father? What is stronger than killing your own father if he does not share your point of view? By loving him and by giving yourself as a sacrifice he can open up to you and then can come to the truth himself. This is a stronger, more constructive measure than murder.</p>
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<p>The communists like to work at night, as though the night time were their day time. They always think of themselves as being underground and the important meetings are held and important instructions are given at night. They love to work in darkness, and even when they torture a person they do it at night, not during the day. I have personally experienced their tactics. “Underground movement” is actually a communist term because they operate in darkness and underground. God is putting His hope in us to liberate the communists.</p>
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<p>In this world today, what could be more important than sounding the final warning to the people? My own destiny and my own death is just a small matter in comparison. A disease may kill only one person, or even several hundred, but those who are contaminated by the evil ideology of communism kill millions of people. Do you think we need to warn Americans about the coming menace of communism?</p>
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<p>All over Asia nations are facing the grave threat of communism, as well as in the Middle East, Africa, South America and North America. Everyone of us must see the red light flashing. In many cases Americans lose hope and vision and don’t know what is the right thing to do. Instead of being victorious they just throw up their hands and pack up and leave. In your opinion is America moving forward toward the center or retreating? Meanwhile if the pressure of this final emergency contributes the final blow to America’s collapse then America’s decline will start a chain reaction involving the rest of the world. When America retreated from Vietnam, tragedy came to all of Southeast Asia. Now America is contemplating similar actions in Korea and Japan and even thinking of eventually withdrawing troops from NATO.</p>
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<p>America should move forward aggressively but America is moving backward instead. That is why I have come here, to proclaim that America must march forward and not retreat. Is God on the side of the retreating force or the marching force? Even though America has mistreated and misunderstood me, at least one thing has been achieved: We have let America know that I am not an opportunist who is seeking glory, but someone solid like a rock who is standing up for righteousness.</p>
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<p>Do you Unification Church members have the reputation of being strong like a rock? Are you just meager individuals, or are you really strong? Actually we are just ordinary people without outstanding features. But one thing is different. We are absolutely plain and simple but when we hear the name of God we are ignited and become crazy for His sake. That’s the difference.</p>
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<p>In the name of God nothing matters, whatever the work that needs to be done. Nothing bothers me. I can fund raise, I can clean, I can witness, I can labor with my hands; I can do anything and go anywhere. There is nothing I cannot do. You members are saying, “God, what’s Your worst problem? I am not a great or especially well-educated person, but if You have a great big headache I want to bear it. Let me try.”</p>
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<p>I am the champion among those with guts. I have nothing special in the worldly sense, but my particular conviction is to ask God to let me take care of His headaches. Even though it could be most dangerous, wouldn’t you like to have that kind of guts?</p>
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<p>The world situation is like a big bomb that is set to go off, the fuse is lit and burning and in a few seconds the bomb will explode. If the Unification Church members happen to find that the bomb is not in the right position then even though only a few more seconds remain, they would immediately rush out to move it. We have the conviction to accomplish God’s will even if it means blowing up with the bomb.</p>
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<p>If there were sufficient time we would move the bomb to the center and then return to a safe area, but what would you do if there were no such time? There are only two methods. First, you grab the bomb and race to the goal and then blow up with it, or second, you could speedily move the bomb and quickly move away. Which is our way?</p>
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<p>We have a readiness in our hearts to become a sacrifice for the sake of the world if necessary; “I can blow up together with the bomb if that will ensure that the rest of the world will live. That is my great honor.” That is not the best method, however. The best method is to move like lightning, in what the Germans call a blitzkrieg. The kind of person who can be a force like lightning has to be very alert starting in the very early morning. If you are groggy as though you had lost your mind then you will never become such a person. Shall we go that route and move fast to accomplish the mission?</p>
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<p>Our mission is the final “mission impossible” in the sight of God. To accomplish it we need discipline and training. I’m sure you have come to understand the sense of urgency in the schedule of God. We must time the “bomb” correctly to explode at the right time, but survival is another mission and emergency.</p>
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<p>You have to practice that quality and concentrate your sights on the goal. Always look at the particular goal you are going toward and practice day and night. You have to make a mock-up situation to practice in. Do soldiers at war have time to take off all their equipment and relax? Or do they keep their uniforms on and just rest a little bit, always being ready to go? If you were in the middle of the combat zone would you put your equipment away or always have it nearby?</p>
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<p>If this is the final battle which God is anticipating then a serious emergency lies ahead. If we can meet the time schedule and reach the center at God’s designated moment then all of heaven and earth will truly be completely re-oriented and can then be re-created. If that tremendous upheaval is influenced by the side of good then no one will be able to deny God. People won’t have to be convinced that God is real because everyone will see God. The time will come when no one can deny Him.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Whatever you wish will be fulfilled</h3>
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<p>Since the Washington Monument Rally a great deal of spiritual activity is taking place. The spirit world is like a bomb with the fuse all ready and primed; all they are waiting for is our signal. The present communist leaders in Russia and China are in the position of first generation and center on the material world, but their children, the second generation, will suddenly see the spirit world. After the Exodus from Egypt only the second generation Hebrews were able to enter Canaan. Paralleling that event, God’s target in the communist world is the second generation and He will work through them. When the present leaders of communism are taken to spirit world, like Chairman Mao, their nations will be in turmoil.</p>
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<p>September 18 is a most significant day. That is the day Chairman Mao was entombed in a mausoleum while I was lifted up at the Washington Monument Rally. Chairman Mao has been called a giant of a leader in Asia, but now that he is dead his nation is in upheaval. On the same day Mao was buried, God told the world at the Washington Monument Rally who it is that will bring hope to not only the yellow race but to the entire world. Even compared to the work of America’s great leaders, no one has accomplished as much as I have. As soon as the news broke in Japan that the new Prime Minister would be Mr. Fukuda, news broadcasts in New York showed film clips of the Day of Hope banquet in Tokyo several years ago. Mr. Fukuda spoke highly of me and we embraced in a gesture of unity and good will.</p>
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<p>I really keep the FBI busy trying to keep track of me. After the Washington Monument Rally their biggest question was what in the world I would do next. Everyone is trying to find out. I have emerged as a controversial giant and whether my image is good or bad does not make any difference at this point. Even Satan is saying, “What is Reverend Moon’s next move? Where should I take my big guns?” But most important is that even God is asking, “Where are you going next?”</p>
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<p>My plan is simple and clear; I am inexorably moving toward the absolute center of the universe. Everyone is watching us and if we make blunders and fail we will really disappoint the rest of the world. We cannot afford to do that. Once we capture the greatest victory of all everyone will know that we did it. Do you want to disappoint them or surprise them?</p>
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<p>After Washington Monument I know members were overwhelmed, thinking, “I don’t know how we ever did it.” Does it seem like that was your greatest possible accomplishment or can you do far more? Do you want to have me praise what you are doing now or do you want me to push you out so you can do more?</p>
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<p>Have competition among yourselves. The winner will be the one who does the most extraordinary things. While others are sleeping, that person will work. When most people walk one mile, that person will walk two miles. Words come easily, but it takes real determination to put them into action.</p>
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<p>The final warning has been issued and the final race has started. From next year on we are going to fly like bullets. God wants you to move at lightning speed. I already mentioned that you are carrying dynamite and you need to move like lightning. God is not necessarily looking for you to sacrifice your lives but for you to bring victory and success.</p>
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<p>Whatever your wish, it will be fulfilled. Which would you prefer, to go ahead of me so I can take it easy, or for me to work hard with you, or for me to go ahead and have you follow behind? If you insist on going ahead of me then I will insist on going ahead of you and we will have competition.</p>
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<p>I invite you to compete with me but you actually have greater advantages. You are younger than I am and I am in an unfamiliar culture and do not speak the language here. Because a great deal of physical danger surrounds me I must take certain precautions, but because you are Americans you have the right to be protected and can freely come and go. Certainly you can surpass me with all those advantages. Next year are you going to go beyond my standard or are you going to fall behind me? I would love to surrender to you; I want you to win.</p>
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<p>It is my joy to give all my time for the sake of America and for the sake of the world, knowing that the time I invest will be many times rewarded in building the Kingdom of God. Will America decline or prosper if I do that? It is my choice to take that route.</p>
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<p>I am planning how to spend my time most efficiently so I can be running all around America in 1977. 1 don’t want to waste time waiting in airport lobbies for even thirty minutes. I asked Mr. Salonen to make special arrangements with the airlines so that as soon as we board the plane it can take off. That is not good news for you because it means I will be popping up all over the United States to push you and give you a hard time!</p>
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<h3 align="center">The next four years are God’s final emergency</h3>
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<p>Since the final warning has been issued let us push forward to the center. I have a complete plan for the shape the Unification Church will have in 1980. By then we will need a great many pilots, not just for small planes but for 747s or even greater. How wonderful it would be for all of us to travel in our own planes with our symbol on their sides. If there is a blessing in Korea in 1980 would you want to come in the usual way on the airlines, or would you rather take off in a big plane with me and go right into the stadium for the blessing?</p>
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<p>If we push harder and harder here in America until 1980, some great things are bound to occur. The first issue of our newspaper will come out in five more days. When the news spread that I was starting a daily newspaper in New York people laughed, thinking that I don’t know anything about the newspaper business. They were convinced that I would get into a great deal of trouble and go bankrupt in three months. I am not saying anything; you just wait and see what happens. Do you know that we already have our own daily newspaper in Tokyo? Next year we will have a newspaper in London also. Would you do it even if I didn’t want to do it? It takes lots of money. Our movement needs money to expand all our activities, but creating a newspaper is like throwing money to the air.</p>
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<p>We have to hang on, however, because a newspaper usually takes about two or three years to become prosperous. What will you do if we run out of money in the meantime? It is very easy to say you want to earn the money. There are more expensive projects to come before 1980. We need our university here in America as well as Japan and England.</p>
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<p>We are going to set up our own opera house in the Manhattan Center and later create the same thing in Tokyo and London. We are going to be contributing much to the world of entertainment. When the superstars of the world know that I have established our work all over the world and that we have the manpower to make things happen, they will come and try to negotiate to perform in our halls. When they realize the importance of what the Unification Church is doing they could donate some time and raise a great deal of money to help the world.</p>
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<p>Without going into too much detail, there are many layers to the plan which I am unfolding now. Your hands may get rough and callused from working on the front line and you may think nothing is being accomplished, but you will later see how the eternal foundation is already being accumulated for you and posterity.</p>
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<p>When we have our fleet of 747s I will take you all over the world, stopping to work a little bit in one place and then taking time to appreciate the beautiful scenes of that area and then flying to another place. That is not a dream. It is within reach now. Our way of life in the future will be something like this; we will have breakfast in New York, lunch in London and dinner in Tokyo! It is not something out of reach. We can do it. I have promised this in a public meeting and I will make it happen.</p>
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<p>Everything I promised I would do in America 3½ years ago when I first came has been done. I am giving you this pledge for four years from now. Compared to the amount of work I have already done in the last 3½ years, the goal for the next four years is very small. When I came there was no foundation and I had to start out from scratch.</p>
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<p>Wherever you go, when you enter a Unification Church center do you feel you are in someone else’s church or in your own church? Wherever you go you will have a great big home. Once I acknowledge that you are a person of accomplishment then you will be given royal treatment when you walk into a church. What you have now doesn’t matter, even if you have only one change of clothing. The important thing is whether your devotion is recognized by heaven. Then you will be given everything you need.</p>
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<p>Today’s message is about the final warning concerning good and evil; the showdown of good and evil is at hand. At this time we give our pledge to go straight forward to the victory for the sake of goodness, in the name of God. Are you ready to run? Our goal for next year is to win one member per month. This is my covenant with you. When I promise something I will deliver, and when you promise you must deliver.</p>
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<p>Up to this moment I have been responsible for everything, going in the forefront and pulling you. But next year, 1977, will be different; you are going to the forefront as mature leaders now. I want you to take the role I have filled. In the third seven-year course we will go right over the top. The destiny of this nation and the world dispensation hinges upon what we do. This is not just a private matter. I plan to leave for Las Vegas today, not to take a vacation, but to go see top performers who are coming to perform for the Christmas season. I want to see for myself who has the qualification to be a heavenly superstar and perform in the Manhattan Center and in our halls in Tokyo and London.</p>
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<p>From this time on certain groundwork has to be laid. I have a plan for constructing fishing vessels, but it is being delayed for lack of manpower and proper leadership. This four year period will be the most hectic time for our movement. While we are rapidly rising up the rest of the world will be rapidly crumbling.</p>
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<p>Knowing that God is with us 100% and the entire spirit world is with you 100%, the mission we are undertaking is certainly not impossible or difficult. Our resolve this morning is to bring the final victory. Shall we begin? Those who will begin this morning by saying Yes, raise two hands way up high. Let us pray.</p>
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<article id="post-1128" class="post-1128 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/gods-will-and-christmas.html" title="Permalink to GOD’S WILL AND CHRISTMAS" rel="bookmark">GOD’S WILL AND CHRISTMAS</a>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:41:57+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/gods-will-and-christmas.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:41:57+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON<br />
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SPEAKS ON</h2>
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<h1 align="center">GOD’S WILL<br />
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AND CHRISTMAS</h1>
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<h3 align="center">December 25, 1976<br />
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Manhattan Center<br />
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Translator — Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>Today is Christmas, 1976, and people around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. In the history of the Unification Church the year of 1976 was a most critical and extraordinary year and today we have ample reason to be grateful, especially as we gather together for the first service in this holy place, our Manhattan Center.</p>
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<p>We are not an ordinary group. There are many Christians in the world but the Unification Church and this particular gathering have a special meaning and purpose in God’s dispensation. It is most important in celebrating this day of Christmas to know the purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Without knowing that purpose clearly this celebration is meaningless, so this morning I would like to deliver a message on the topic, “God’s Will and Christmas.”</p>
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<p>When we ask if God’s original intention for this world has been completely fulfilled, the obvious answer is no. The will of God was thwarted because of the fall of man. Through history fallen mankind has been searching for the ultimate fulfillment of the will of God and the purpose of creation. As this providence has been advancing on many different levels of the individual, family, society, nation and world, God’s original will or blueprint has never| changed. All the while that unchanging goal has been there for man to accomplish, waiting for man to catch up.</p>
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<p>God is eternal, unchanging, absolute and unique; therefore, the will of God is also eternal, unchanging, absolute and unique. God cannot yield His original standard or give up His principle because of the failure of men. He cannot compromise or deviate from His original goal no matter how much sacrifice we men have to pay. He cannot come down to the level of men; men must go up to the level of God.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Realization of the ideal hinges<br />
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upon the perfection of one man</h3>
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<p>As soon as the fall of man took place, God’s will focused on the goal of restoration. God Himself is destined to save mankind, to show people how to get out of the fallen state and into the original ideal of creation. That is the providence of God’s salvation,</p>
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<p>or restoration. Throughout history men have not been in a position to save themselves; salvation comes instead from a higher place. This is why a savior must come to save mankind. As yet no individual has successfully showed God’s original ideal of creation to the world.</p>
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<p>Without having individual perfection or salvation there can be no family salvation, no social, national or world salvation. God has been thinking about how to establish one central champion who will give mankind His clear message and show the way to salvation. In the mind and heart of God that one man is the key because that one man’s victory will bring not only his own individual perfection, ‘out will open the way for family perfection, social, national and world perfection.</p>
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<p>God knows this world is evil, and He cannot abruptly send His champion without having prepared some foundation. God’s first task is to prepare the foundation on the individual level by working through central individuals, and then to prepare the family, social and national levels. This is how God came to prepare the nation of Israel. The chosen nation of Israel had the mission of receiving the Messiah and had been expecting his coming for 2,000 years before Jesus came.</p>
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<p>Jesus Christ came for the will of God, to transmit God’s will to the chosen nation of Israel. God was moving in a certain direction and Jesus Christ was moving parallel to that direction, so certainly the people of Israel were supposed to move in a way parallel to Jesus. If all three had been moving parallel in one direction, God’s ultimate will could have been fulfilled in that nation. God and Jesus were united and all that was needed was to have the people of Israel unite with Jesus. After man’s having fulfilled on the national level, expansion of that fulfillment to the worldwide level would have been assured.</p>
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<p>As you know from the Principle of Creation, the perfection of Adam would not only have been the perfection of an individual but would have brought the perfection of the family. That would have expanded into the perfection of the clan, society, nation and the world. Therefore, one man of perfection could have brought world perfection. Then there would be only one ism necessary for all man kind-Adamism. Under Adamism the individual would prosper, the family would prosper, and the society, nation and world would prosper.</p>
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<p>The true forefather of mankind is that individual whose perfection represents not only his own success, but the perfection of the family, nation, world and cosmos. Today’s world would be entirely different if that had been accomplished by Adam. We would not see all the disgusting sights that we witness every day. Neither would we see the language barriers and the national barriers separating people. Furthermore, every individual would understand the perfection of man and would also live in complete unity between spirit world and this world. Every individual could clearly map out his own way of life to reach the ultimate Kingdom of Heaven. The problem today is that man does not possess the living God and no one has given him true direction. Mankind lives random, wandering lives. In the original ideal this would never be; everyone would be guided into perfection in a way perfectly parallel with the will of God and no one could live outside that will.</p>
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<p>The realization of the Kingdom of God hinges upon the perfection of one man. That one man will bring the perfection of the Kingdom of God here on earth, and thereafter will erect the Kingdom of God in Heaven. The citizens of the Kingdom of God will start their lives here on earth and after they consummate their lives here will automatically be elevated into the Kingdom of God in Heaven, where they will continue as families.</p>
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<h3 align="center">God’s work begins here on earth</h3>
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<p>If there had been no fall the situations here on earth and in heaven would have been perfectly parallel. On earth there would be the individual, family, society, nation and world under God and the same would be seen in the spirit world. One united world would have occurred. It is God’s will to see perfection come first here on earth; God never intended to have His Kingdom established in spirit world and then copied here on earth. Christians commonly think that the heavenly kingdom in spirit world is the perfected kingdom but that is not true.</p>
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<p>Without perfection here on earth no perfection can be obtained there. There was always a blueprint in the mind of God, the original plan that always has been and will always remain perfect, even though the physical realization of these plans has never yet been seen. Jesus prayed, “Thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus knew the perfection of God’s will in Heaven and he brought that will to earth, coming to establish perfection here so that mankind would bring the kingdom into heaven. That was God’s plan.</p>
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<p>God has not yet seen the perfection of His original plan here on earth, however, even after the coming of Jesus Christ. Because of the crucifixion Jesus could not accomplish the full purpose of his coming, the perfection of Adam’s level. It was not at all God’s original plan to fulfill the ideal by killing the Messiah. If that was indeed God’s method then just sending him to a nation that was unprepared to understand him would have been sufficient. Sacrifice is sometimes necessary, but God did not intend the sacrifice of human life as the key to complete salvation. Because of the crucifixion Jesus Christ was not allowed to reach the fullest degree of perfection and no family, social or national perfection was obtained. Therefore, it is most logical that the Messiah must come a second time.</p>
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<p>What will Jesus do when he comes? Will he come to wipe out the world? The word “judgment” is frequently misunderstood to mean that God will wipe out everything in anger. That is not the purpose of the Messiah’s coming a second time. The whole purpose is to fulfill the mission that was left undone 2,000 years ago, to work for individual, family, social, national and world perfection. Judgment is the constructive work of God to see the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God here on earth.</p>
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<p>Because the work of God is realistic and physical, the Messiah’s coming on the clouds in the sky does not make sense. By interpreting the Bible literally many Christians anticipate Jesus’ appearance in the sky, but that could not be so. People perceive God as being supernatural, someone who could perform even the miracle of bringing Jesus on the clouds. Why would Christianity be necessary in that case? Why would faith be necessary? Why didn’t God use supernatural power to build up the Kingdom of God in the first place? Why has He had to wait for 6,000 years to accomplish this?</p>
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<p>I want you to know that God’s will in sending Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago perfectly parallels the coming of Adam in the garden of Eden. The Lord of the Second Advent will come for the same purpose. In other words, God’s will, Adam’s purpose, Jesus’ purpose and the purpose of the Second Coming are all the same. Truth is unchanging, being the beginning and the end. The will of God cannot be changed or tarnished by time but will be the same forever. God has a formula and when it is fulfilled God will seal it. That particular formula is still there, unfulfilled; God is waiting for man to fulfill that pure, unadulterated standard.</p>
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<h3 align="center">God never detours</h3>
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<p>God has been working tirelessly for 6,000 years to accomplish one thing: the perfected Adam. God has been working to see that man as a model for mankind. Out of all the multitudes of men, the world has still not met that one man who is perfect in the sight of God. Yet no matter what, God’s will is marching on. God promised a Messiah when Adam failed and if that Messiah cannot fulfill in the fullest degree then God will send another Messiah. That is the messianic concept. The Messiah’s ideal is perfectly parallel with the ideal of God and therefore we can say that God and the Messiah are one.</p>
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<p>For God and the Messiah to become one, what must the Messiah do? To answer that you must know why God created man. Was man created for himself or for someone else-for woman? If any man thinks he was born for self-glory, he is absolutely wrong. God created man for the sake of woman.</p>
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<p>What kind of man was Jesus? Was he man or woman or in between? What is a true man? Is the President of the United States automatically a true man? The true man is one who perfectly fits God’s framework, meaning that if God is round, that true man is perfectly round and if God is square, that true man is perfectly square. From day to night, from eternity to eternity he will not deviate from that standard.</p>
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<p>Once he becomes a true man in the sight of God, will he waver and change or will he stick to God’s one principle goal? Will the true man say, “Well, I will try this for ten years and if it doesn’t work I will change”? Or will that man not change for ten years or one hundred years or for eternity? When there is danger to his life will he exclaim, “I definitely don’t want to be in this situation. I must take cover”? Why not? If he deviates in any way then he is no longer like God because God never changes. Paralleling this, will you try first for a year or so and then see what happens? Would a true member of the Unification Church give up or change?</p>
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<p>I want you to know that God is straightforward. He will not detour but will go ahead regardless of what happens. When God moves and there is an enemy roadblock, God knows that His advance will ultimately smash all opposition. God knows that it is the other side which will be shattered. Therefore, the true man and the true member is fearless, having the courage to clash with opposition and knowing the other side will eventually fall away. He will always take the adventurous way, not avoiding anything in order to seize the advantage. You must live that way every day. God is eternal; therefore, I am an eternal being. God is unique; therefore, I am unique. God is unchanging; therefore, I will never change. God is absolute so I am going to be absolute. That is the way you must think every day.</p>
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<p>How do we know Jesus was a true man? He didn’t write a big sign on his forehead or get a Ph.D. He didn’t have any extraordinary size or power. Why do we know him to be a true man? We know Jesus was a true man because his way of life was parallel with the will of God and fit perfectly the description of God’s way of life. We know that Jesus Christ was born solely for the will of God, that he lived solely for the will of God and that he died solely for the will of God. At the critical moment of Jesus’ death on the cross he died as a Messiah and with the dignity of a Messiah, not as an ordinary man, a sad man or a man taking cover. He deeply felt, “Even though the Roman Empire opposes me now, it shall receive my mercy. Even though the Israelites oppose me, they shall receive my mercy.” Therefore, Jesus had room to forgive them, room to pray for them and to embrace them.</p>
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<p>Jesus could not give up the will of God by resenting their adamant opposition to his efforts to save them. Jesus certainly could not abandon his mission at that moment by hating the people. He was a true man because he perfectly lived the life of God. He was a walking God. There was no separation between God and Jesus, and because no one can destroy God no one can destroy Jesus Christ. The crucifixion was not his destruction; God manifested the power of resurrection so that the world could see that Jesus was never destroyed.</p>
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<h3 align="center">What attitude is needed<br />
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in order to receive the Messiah?</h3>
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<p>Since the fulfillment of perfection was not obtained in Israel, God prepared the second Israel as the foundation upon which the second Messiah could come. That foundation is the work of Christianity. We must know that Christianity is the second Israel in the sight of God. The ultimate goal of Christians the world over is to receive the Messiah. They talk about this, but the most critical question for them is how they are going to meet the Messiah. Many Christians think that the Messiah will command extraordinary miracles to happen which will solve all the world’s problems in one moment, instantly making the world the Kingdom of God. This is their ambiguous understanding but this could not possibly be so.</p>
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<p>When the Messiah comes the second time he will start from the very bottom of man’s situation and advance step by step to the height of the Kingdom. He brings the pattern which the rest of the world should follow and he will not compromise with the world. He will initiate the final showdown between good and evil. According to that standard, are modern day Christians ready to be lifted up to the Kingdom of God in heaven as perfected men and women? Not at all. They must transform themselves and change to fit into the pattern that the Messiah will bring; as the second Israel, Christians are to be the first people to change themselves into that model.</p>
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<p>Even today there are people who think that the fall of man was in the plan of God. How ridiculous! If God had planned for evil and sin, He could never be a good God. God never intended the work of salvation to be needed; He originally intended only the garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve becoming the embodiment of perfection. A man of perfection does not require salvation. God would far more prefer to have man without any need for the dispensation of salvation.</p>
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<p>How well do you know the will of God? Many Christians are convinced that God’s will for them is to seek only their own chunk of heaven, and they could care less about the fate of the rest of the world. Meanwhile the nation and the world are crumbling and instead of feeling responsible, they expect God to handle everything. That is not true Christianity.</p>
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<p>After the fall of man God’s efforts focused on the work of salvation. I want you to know clearly that His target is the world, not just one man, one race, one people or one nation. God intended the Messiah to accomplish the fulfillment of perfection, not to create a multitude of denominations. He still is determined to achieve that one ultimate goal of perfection and unity between men, even if this may mean the sacrifice of the churches.</p>
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<p>I have seen what the Kingdom of God is like in the spirit world and ultimately you too will see that God’s Kingdom is not organized in the same divided way that religions are here. Such separation is truly contrary to the will of God. The conflict and division between religious people has been carried over into spirit world and brings grief to God. Yet that has been conventional faith.</p>
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<h3 align="center">How can you become true sons<br />
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and daughters of Christ?</h3>
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<p>We believe in Jesus Christ as the savior and Messiah simply because we want to become the son or daughter who can fulfill the will of God. Jesus died for the sake of his mission, not just to acquire his own chunk of heaven. Don’t ever worry about your own heaven, but worry about bringing down the Kingdom of God to your society and to this world. If you are like that, when you say to God, “I don’t want to go to the Kingdom of God,” God will chase after you and personally install you in the highest position in His Kingdom.</p>
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<p>Jesus never complained to God about the rebelliousness of the very people he had been sent to save and never ceased caring about them. That was not Jesus’ heart. Jesus knew clearly that his mission was not just the salvation of Israel but of the world. God would be most pleased to hear Jesus pray, “God, Your goal is world salvation. Please use me and Your chosen nation as Your sacrifice to fulfill Your work.” Jesus became a son of God simply because he was perfectly united with God in will and in heart. Because of that oneness Jesus Christ could willingly die for the rest of the world.</p>
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<p>How can you become the true sons and daughters of Christ? By becoming perfectly one with Christ, one with his spirit and one with his heart. If you are perfectly united with Jesus Christ you can be a willing sacrifice for-the salvation of the rest of the world. The true Christians are those who are willing to sacrifice themselves, their own church and their denomination for the fulfillment of the will of God for world salvation.</p>
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<p>A true Christian could not pray for God’s help and blessing for only his family. After knowing the truth of God’s situation we can only pray, “God, I am ready to be Your sacrifice. Use me as Your instrument; fulfill Your will for world salvation through me. If necessary please sacrifice my family, church and nation.” Such people will create the Kingdom of God.</p>
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<p>Those who pray only for their own chunk of God’s blessing will end up in hell. If you search closely you will discover that this is true. If God’s sole concern is world salvation, do you think He would support the person who was interested only in himself, his family and his church, or would He side with the people who were most involved in world salvation?</p>
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<p>Put yourself in God’s position for a moment and look at the American churches. Not only are there a great many churches, but they are pursuing very different purposes and goals. White people organize together, black people organize their churches and yellow people organize their churches. Do you think this is a very beautiful thing for God to behold?</p>
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<p>Absolutely not! If any Christian leader would call for his people to unite with other races then he could be considered a true Christian leader among his people.</p>
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<p>Since we know the overall will of God, we can understand the world which can meet that standard. Could a perfected man be influenced by Satan? Even if Satan is standing right next to that man he is completely powerless to influence him. Satan could sneakily flip him over in his sleep, but upon awakening that man would realize what had happened and just flip back to his right position. It is a waste of Satan’s energy to meddle with a perfected man.</p>
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<p>Can Satan test God? God never told Satan that he could not try to test God, but Satan is not that dumb. He knows very well that no matter how much effort he makes, testing God is a waste of his time and energy. A man of perfection is just like God and Satan knows that testing him is a waste of time. When you become a man of perfection, Satan is powerless to influence you. You stand aloof of Satan’s temptations.</p>
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<p>Are you Unification Church members such men and women? How can you become that kind of person? The solution is simple: don’t worry about yourself but think 100% of God. Decide that you will be as unchanging as God and cultivate that quality. Then you will graduate from temptation and Satan will have to testify that you have graduated out his sphere of influence. Satan will grudgingly acknowledge you.</p>
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<p>Satan even tried to tempt Jesus Christ. After offering three temptations to Jesus, Satan came to the conclusion that he had no power over him. If even a little bit of selfishness, a little bit of ego, remained in Jesus’ heart, Satan could have hooked it and pulled Jesus down to his dungeon.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Satan cannot grab any nation<br />
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or person who serves the world</h3>
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<p>Which is the majority in the Unification Church, those who have graduated from the temptation of Satan, or those who are still susceptible? That is the key question of our Church. There are many ways for you to be tempted, but you must remember that while I certainly push you and send you out, I am having you do it not for me or for yourself, but for the sake of God, humanity and the world. I have never asked you to earn money for me. Wait and see who will be the winner in the sight of God, the Unification Church or our opposition.</p>
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<p>I know very well that there are terrorist groups who think that by eliminating me they can destroy the Unification Church. How wrong and ridiculous their thinking is! If I were killed, God would raise up millions more like me to continue in His work. How are you members different from conventional Christians? Why are you here? You are handpicked by God and you joined this church to give yourself for the sake of God and humanity. The Unification Church sign at the door is insignificant and unnecessary. The significant thing is our purpose for being here. If there were no church at all under the sun but every person was eager to live for God and humanity then the Kingdom of Heaven would quickly come. No churches would be needed. That is the kind of world God wanted to build in the beginning. Adam failed so the coming of the Messiah became necessary. Jesus was not given a chance to succeed so the Second Coming became necessary. No one else in the world accepted the job so God raised the Unification Church to take up the task.</p>
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<p>If you find something good, don’t put it in your own pocket but think of God and humanity. Go to school to become champions for God and humanity. Go out and even fight for that purpose; that is the fight of righteousness. You do not have to know all 66 books of the Bible to know that God wanted to erect such a world and that you are chosen to help do that. If you give yourself for the sake of God and humanity then you already know the Bible to the fullest extent. You know more of God than anybody else.</p>
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<p>If you become that kind of person you have already transcended the Old and New Testaments and Satan will not find any handle to grab you. There is only one way Satan could hook you; he must say, “1 love God more than you do. I love humanity more than you do and you must follow me.” If that were the case then Satan would no longer be Satan but would already be working for God. When you worry about a thousand things before you concentrate on</p>
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<p>God, Satan has many hooks to manipulate you with on every level. How foolish to expose yourself in such a way to Satan’s manipulation!</p>
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<p>The nation will also be tested. For example, at one time America was trying to serve the world, but America has again become isolationist, giving its own domestic interests priority. Can Satan hook this nation or not? If America’s 220 million people were united together to give themselves for the sake of the world, how great America would be. God has poured down the power and material blessing America needs to do just that. All this country lacks is the determination to do the job. America is in a position to lead, like a locomotive pulling a train, but if the locomotive is damaged then all the cars behind will be helpless. If one passenger foresees the danger to the locomotive, should he pull the emergency brake, even over the protests of other passengers? As long as the others do not know about the problem they will oppose and persecute him.</p>
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<p>That is the job I have been doing in America. I know that danger is coming to America and that this locomotive should be kept intact at any cost. Even if there are repercussions locally from stopping the train so abruptly, such as disruption or fire, the greater tragedy still has to be averted. We are the champions to apply the brakes to stop the train and prevent the tragedy. If someone on the train pulled out a pistol and shot you, would you still pursue that mission or would you give up? If you were literally dying, what would your last words be? Would you just feel miserable, or would you shout, “Brother, sister, take my mission and go on”?</p>
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<h3 align="center">By inheriting the heart of Jesus<br />
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you can do anything</h3>
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<p>In this world there are so many churches which are celebrating the birth of Christ right at this moment. They are having services and celebrations, and we are the only group representing the true heart of Jesus which was filled with grief. This is the only group dedicating itself to go on with the mission of Jesus until it is fulfilled. I want you to know that under God’s grace Christianity has been prospering for 2,000 years, but in less than two decades world Christianity has declined. Do you know why? Because of you; because of the Unification Church.</p>
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<p>God is now raising this group up as His new champion, and in order to minimize opposition God is withdrawing His spiritual power from other groups. No matter how glorious the external church building is, with stained glass windows, plush carpets and a beautiful organ, the very important spiritual element is missing. No matter how great a theologian or evangelist emerges to revitalize the spirit of Christianity, it is not there because God has already shifted to another dispensation, centering on a new ideology and revelation. Any movement or church or individual who opposes this ideology will decline.</p>
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<p>Before arriving at this particular level of achievement I had to go through certain courses to indemnify history. I am certainly an individual with my own will and naturally have the human desire to take care of myself. By understanding that kind of human tendency I evaluated all the many kinds of human desires and interests surrounding me. Then when I must make a decision about how to do the will of God, there is no kind of situation which I am unfamiliar with. I have evaluated every possible situation.</p>
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<p>With all that experience I came to one ultimate truth; the more you seek after your own benefit, the more your future will be blocked and will finally crumble. No matter how difficult it seems, when you are absolutely centered upon God and humanity nothing can block you. Any opponent will be shattered in any confrontation. I know this through my own experience.</p>
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<p>Some people think, “Oh, Reverend Moon is a successful man; he has lots of money and lots of young people follow him. He receives tremendous respect so he must be very happy.” Whoever says that truly does not know me at all. Every day I receive reports from all over the world. Do you think most of the reports are happy reports of success or are most of them heartbreaking? Every day I hear about someone who was arrested or who was tortured by communists, or about some extraordinary persecution, some church which has fallen apart or some nation or some missionary who is in trouble. If I were an ordinary man I just couldn’t take the</p>
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<p>burden. I would have run away a long time ago.</p>
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<p>Even America is not friendly. The press scrutinizes me with a biased outlook and parents are suspicious. We are in a fish bowl with everyone staring. If I were an ordinary man who had my temper-and I am a man of temper, no question about it-I would have lashed out at them long ago, or else shriveled into nothing. But that is not the kind of person I am.</p>
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<p>You seem to be doing a most difficult job, going out fund raising and witnessing, but at least you have no overwhelming responsibility there. If other people respond then you have achieved something for God. If they don’t respond, however, it’s still all right and you can go on to another person. But I cannot take that position.</p>
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<p>Ten years ago I was known as being penniless and today I am called a millionaire. But honestly speaking, I personally have no more money than I had ten years ago. Ten years ago the scope of the movement was smaller than today and so the scale of concern and worry was smaller. Today I can’t put off critical work for lack of money because our movement has come to the stage where unless we take emergency measures a whole nation might crumble or Asia might disintegrate. I can’t avoid tackling problems just because I don’t think I have the physical, mental or financial capability. Regardless of what my capability is, once the problem comes I will never avoid it. I will grab it and solve it! That’s why God needs me and that’s why the world and America need me.</p>
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<h3 align="center">My secret comfort</h3>
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<p>I always have one secret comfort in any adverse and difficult position. I always remember that my Father in heaven has felt much greater suffering than I do and His is a much greater burden than mine. He has been weeping as he has faced a thousand times more emergencies than I have had. He is my Father and I must be like my Father. That is my secret and comfort.</p>
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<p>God has come to me many times, saying, “You are my son. I thank you.” God’s comfort is sweet and nothing in this world can deter the power that comes from such comfort. Since I am being comforted by Heavenly Father I can go on. Anyone among you who can follow this way with 100% public-minded dedication shall also be comforted and I shall always stand side by side with you in spirit.</p>
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<p>Since I cannot know everyone’s situation I am praying to God, “Heavenly Father, please listen to them and help them. You must comfort them as much as you have comforted me. Father, you must do this for me!” This is why many extraordinary spiritual situations develop in the Unification Church. I am sure that in prayer many of you see visions and hear voices and receive special inspiration in your hearts. That is because God is directly reaching you as He reaches me.</p>
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<p>The nation of America was created primarily by the Protestant movement. We’re closely watching the direction in which America is moving. I will give you this prophecy about the Papacy and the gigantic nation of America: As long as they are parallel with God’s will they will prosper, but as soon as they separate themselves from the will of God they will be shattered. If they don’t understand the will of God but oppose it out of ignorance then a great tragedy will come to this country and all the Christian communities of the world.</p>
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<p>God is a living God and His goal is world salvation. Certainly God must be doing something to gather a group of people whose hearts can be ignited, who can become God’s new champions and undertake the mission to save the world.</p>
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<h3 align="center">God’s three headaches</h3>
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<p>The evil power of communism is creeping into the churches. The communists’ most vicious tactic is to infiltrate in the disguise of priests, pastors and ministers. The propaganda of the communist ideology is being spoken in many churches today. These priests are proclaiming that Jesus Christ was the first communist because he blessed the poor and chastised the rich. The communists are wolves in sheep’s clothing. If this is the world of reality then God needs you and the movement of the Unification Church in order to liberate all the churches of America and to eventually liberate the communists themselves. The living God and the living Jesus want to see this.</p>
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<p>Many Roman Catholics misunderstand me so much that they want to destroy me and many church leaders have called me a heretic. But at the same time I desire to reach out and embrace them, not only to liberate them but to give salvation to all. God’s greatest headache today is communism and God is looking for the people who will be responsible for defeating communism. Who is going to rebuild the Christian churches? After all, God has chosen them to be the foundation, the champions of the Kingdom. Who is going to re-ignite them?</p>
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<p>A third headache of God is the moral degradation of the youth of the world, particularly the youth of America. Many of them are dependent on drugs and have become morally degraded by their practice of free sex. Who is going to rededicate these young people to the righteous cause? Do you think the Carter administration can be responsible for God’s three headaches? No! The present government may very well be deceived by the communists and certainly they have no determination to stop communism. The American government cannot elevate American Christianity to heightened prosperity. The entire free world, the Papacy and all the churches together cannot unite to bring the necessary spiritual prosperity. Unless some champion can solve the three headaches of God, this world is facing doomsday.</p>
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<p>You and I are here to tackle the three major headaches of God. The will of God is the liberation of the world. Our God-given solution to these problems has been working, and all we have to do is reach the rest of the world. The communist elements are focusing their attack on me and church-goers who want to enjoy the prosperity and luxury of their churches don’t like me either. Those who want to see the young people corrupted also don’t like me.</p>
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<p>No matter how strong our opposition may be, God’s determination is stronger. As long as that is true you have nothing to worry abut. We members of the Unification Church solemnly declare that we will tackle this mission of being champions of God. We are joining in the spiritual revolution and will heal the corrupted youth; we will bring the solutions to the Christian community. We certainly have the answer to communism. We join together for the liberation of the world and the liberation of mankind, but that’s not all. We are gathered together to liberate the heart of Jesus and of God Himself. No Christian churches today are proclaiming this goal. Nobody outside our church is teaching this purpose. As long as we continue on our march, we are the only hope of the world, the hope of Jesus and the hope of God, and no one can destroy this movement. We can only win and prosper in due course.</p>
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<p>We are gathered together to participate in the historic mission in which Jesus and God will take delight. That is truly the spirit of Christmas and we are celebrating in that spirit. We are not in darkness. We know the truth and we have already begun the march toward the goal. The only remaining question is how far you can march. Can you march from the east coast of the United States to the west coast toward Asia, the Middle East, Europe, across the Atlantic Ocean and back to the United States? Can you march around the world? As members of the Unification Church, you must pray, “Heavenly Father, give me longer arms so I can embrace the world, so I can lift up the world to Your throne. I know that Your goal is world salvation and my arms are reaching out to the world, but they are not long enough, Father. Please lengthen my arms and strengthen my feet so I can lift up the world. I am taking Your responsibility.” Anyone who tells God, “You know that I have given myself; I cannot reserve anything. Everything is for You. Please accept it and do Your will” knows that God’s eyes will fill with tears and that God will come down and embrace such a person.</p>
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<p>I am trying to live up to that every day. I know the embrace of God, but how much will I feel closer to Him when I’ve completed my mission! How much delight God will take after the world is His again. This is my goal and direction and you are here to join me in that pursuit. If you die in such a struggle then your death is never in vain because you are not living for your own sake.</p>
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<p>As long as the Unification Church has that goal we will never be destroyed. Rest assured, no power can destroy you. If you are always busy with your mission then God is always behind you, pushing like a tailwind. Don’t turn around to face God because He will not want to see your face until the final victory. This is the true Christmas.</p>
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<p>In the name of God and in the name of Jesus Christ we are celebrating the true Christmas. The year of 1976 is over and our determination is that the true spirit of Christmas will go on through the third century of America, from 1977 to the ultimate fulfillment of the glory of God. Let us join together on this Christmas day to pledge ourselves to God by raising both hands. Thank you. Let us pray.</p>
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<article id="post-1126" class="post-1126 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<header class="entry-header">
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<h2 class="entry-title">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-benefit-and-grace-of-this-time-in-history.html" title="Permalink to THE BENEFIT AND GRACE OF THIS TIME IN HISTORY" rel="bookmark">THE BENEFIT AND GRACE OF THIS TIME IN HISTORY</a>
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</h2>
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<div class="entry-meta">
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:34:14+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-benefit-and-grace-of-this-time-in-history.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:34:14+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">December 19, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator-Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>According to the Divine Principle no one in spirit world can be admitted into the Kingdom of God apart from the merit of people here on earth. Those in the spirit world are people of the past, while people dwelling here on earth are contemporary; therefore, through people here on earth the past and future can be linked. Where will the complete Kingdom of God be fulfilled first? Right here on earth, nowhere else.</p>
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<p>The word “perfection” implies a need for more than one element. For instance, perfection can be obtained by a man and woman together, but even those two are not sufficient; God should be dwelling between the two of them. We can conclude that a party of three can reach perfection. The realization of man’s ideal, the ideal of the Kingdom of God, cannot be accomplished by God alone, by man alone or by woman alone. All three components are needed to create this eternal, perfected Kingdom of God.</p>
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<p>The place where perfection is decisively obtained is right here on earth. Furthermore, we can specify what the focal point of perfection is: the family. When you think of the words “Kingdom of God,” the first thing that must come to your mind is God, and second, you yourself unified with your family. Three components are always included there. The Kingdom of God without God is nonsense, but even if you are also there it cannot be heaven unless you have your ideal spouse. We come to the conclusion that when we go to the spiritual heaven, those who will enjoy a position closer to God will be the people who lived the ideal family life here on earth.</p>
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<p>If we grab a person and ask, “Where would you like to go? What is your destiny and purpose of life,” that person will say, “I would like to fulfill the ideal.” Then what is that ideal world? There are two qualifications: the ideal world must be unchanging, eternal, and at the same time must have an absolute standard. Furthermore, no matter how much that world is eternal and unchanging and absolute, unless God is dwelling there it cannot be heaven. I don’t think anybody would say that gold could be the central component of the ideal world, even if that world contained a mountain of gold. When you think of gold you always relate it to material greediness and if gold made up the Kingdom of God then as soon as people got to heaven they would stake out what was</p>
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<p>theirs: “This pile is mine and this is also mine. This is my area; don’t even come in.”</p>
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<p>Then let us suppose that the Kingdom of God is a world in which knowledge is most important. People would just be greedy for knowledge because that would determine how much of the Kingdom of God they could possess. That would not be a happy world either; just look at the academic world of distinguished scholars and you will see that they never unite. There is never harmony between them. Even power and authority will not bring the harmonious Kingdom of God. Only one element will make up the true Kingdom: love.</p>
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<p>Are we talking about love that will change at least twelve times a day, morning, noon and evening? No, “unchanging” means there is no end. Should that love make a straight line or a circling movement? The harmony and love we are talking about is not just between men and women. It is a love between parents and children, between brothers, between neighbors. That kind of love moves in a circling motion. Each give and take action between two elements will have the same distance and quality of love, and when we continue that action it will make a sphere. Love’s character is absolute, unchanging and eternal, so whichever route you travel, whichever direction you send your love, there is never any repulsion or contradiction there.</p>
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<p>Think of the characteristic of electricity, which travels wherever there is conductivity. If there is resistance then the electricity does not travel because it is blocked, but if there is no resistance then electricity can travel in every direction without limit. There is conductivity in the true love between husband and wife, between parents and children, between neighbors and between God and man.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Because parental love most closely resembles<br />
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God’s love, it is closest to universal truth</h3>
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<p>Sometimes we witness a quarrel between a husband and wife and normally the essence of their fight is rather simple. They complain to each other, “Why don’t you love me more? Why don’t you care for me enough?” They will not fight on the subject of loving their children because they are united on that. There can be quarrels when there is a lack of love, but no one will complain that they are receiving too much love. Did you ever see your father and mother fight with each other simply because they loved their children too much? However, one of them may complain, “Why don’t you pay a little more attention to your child?” A mother and father understand that they are supposed to love their children beyond themselves. That is their standard and if one of them does not meet that standard there can be a quarrel. In this respect, can you see which bond of love is stronger-that between husband and wife, or between parents and children? In the many different channels and circuits of love the greatest of all is the love between parents and children. It is like a trunk line, and no love is more sacrificial or more beautiful. Why is that? The simple fact is that a husband and wife normally quarrel over apathy or lack of attention, but concerning their children they will quarrel this way: “Why don’t you love your children more than yourself?” However, I don’t think that is the case here in America. In America no other love is greater than the “between-you-and-me” type. Isn’t that true? Here in America it is a common belief that love between men and women is most important, but you people are not so dumb as to believe that.</p>
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<p>We must come to the one important principle of the universe: Parental love is closest to the universal truth because that is the love between God and God’s own children. We come to the important conclusion that the ultimate, true love is an unselfish one. Selfless love is closest to the love of God. Anyone in this world will surrender before unselfish love. However adamant or stubborn a person may be, he or she will be subjugated by unselfish love. It is truly an historic conclusion that unselfish love is the supreme love.</p>
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<p>Unselfish love won the heart of the past, wins the heart of the present, and will win the heart of the future because no one will disagree with it. I proclaim today that no power can destroy unselfish love. Someone may take a weapon and try to destroy it, but when they confront unselfish love they will completely melt. God has almighty power so He has the right to ask man for the kind of love He likes.</p>
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<p>Definitely the supreme form of unselfish love is the love God would prefer. Then what is the love of God? God’s love is eternally selfless and sacrificial. Perfect unity is possible under that love alone, and it is simple once we practice it.</p>
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<p>If we make our individual effort to achieve that unselfish love then the world is already on its way to being united. The person who has this greatest love of God will certainly become the central person, the master of unity. The person who possesses more of that love will become the central person of the God-centered world. Even though I was not born in America, I have practiced the love of God more than anyone, including the President of the United States. Then could I be in the position to have the most warmth and rapport with the American people?</p>
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<h3 align="center">God has one weakness</h3>
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<p>People can be pulled by love, as though by a magnet. They are irresistibly drawn to love. There are all kinds of love in America right now, but which one is truly closest to the love of God? If someone rejects the love that only thinks about America’s benefit and centers instead upon the true love of God, then his conscience is at ease. You are seeking to attain the perfection of love, but is your search within the limits of the United States, or does it go all the way up to God and the universe? That is a foolish question. No one wants love that is limited by national boundaries. You want to be free to go all the way to God, right? True love can transcend the barrier of nationality and go beyond the world. If you are a white person, should you seek your mate only within the white race? People say to me, “Why do you bring white people and match them with Asians? Why are black people matched to white people?” Such people do not understand the true meaning of love.</p>
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<p>Who is right, me or my critics? I am right because my interest is not limited by the boundary of the United States and not bounded by one race. Whose side will God take? When I go to visit another country I will not go to visit the family that lives only among its own people; I will go to the home where there is an international marriage, Oriental with Occidental, black, white and yellow. God is colorblind.</p>
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<p>Furthermore, He would rather see the broad beau of a mixture of colors. God will give first prize to a beautiful combination instead of to the flat, simple color.</p>
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<p>Is the Kingdom of God the world where power and muscle are most important? After all, who is God? If He really wanted to, just one punch from Him would shatter the entire universe! Even acquiring knowledge is not that important to God. To the person who is proud of his knowledge God would say, “You know quite a bit. I admit you have the title of ‘walking encyclopedia,’ but who made that encyclopedia? I made it!” The power of knowledge doesn’t impress God at all. Money talks in this world, yet it doesn’t talk to God because He created all the wealth and material.</p>
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<p>God does have one weakness, however. There is one thing that He cannot accomplish alone: the fulfillment of love. No matter how big God is, when someone brings a little chunk of love, God’s eyes will pop out. He doesn’t haughtily say, “All right, bring that love to me and I’ll receive it.” He will throw away His throne and crown and run after it.</p>
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<p>It’s very humorous, but there is a great deal of truth in this scene. No matter what power a president or a king has, if there is no love in his life then in the sight of God he is a very poor person. Let’s analyze deeply the meaning of life. When Jimmy Carter becomes President of the United States what does he need most-the Presidency and power, or true, eternal, lasting love for his own life? Which one is most critical?</p>
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<h3 align="center">The shape of love</h3>
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<p>What is love? Can you see it with your own eyes? What kind of shape does love have, square or round? The shape of love is like everything you see in this universe combined together. The roundest thing in the world is love. The squarest thing in this world is love. The sharpest thing in this world is love. The longest thing is love and the deepest thing is love. The capacity of love is so big that everything can be drowned in love. Nothing can go beyond it. It is never so small that my fingers will stick out of its boundary. Love is such that even Almighty God can be drowned in love. Which part of you spots love first? Which part of you radiates the power of love? Every part. Love permeates everything because love communicates with the whole universe. As soon as you touch love you will melt entirely.</p>
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<p>Love is almighty and omnipotent; when love shows itself in the form of power, nothing is more powerful. When love shows itself in the form of knowledge, no knowledge is greater. Where there is love there is the greatest power, the greatest knowledge and the greatest value. Love possesses all these qualities. The taste of love is something like every emotion and all excitement combined together. People have the desire to be totally caught up or intoxicated by their experiences, and some find this in drugs, but it is possible for a man to be drowned and intoxicated by love.</p>
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<p>Once a person discovers the way to be intoxicated in the love of God, even though you urge him to try drugs, alcohol or whatever, he would refuse. Those things are flat compared to the taste of the love of God. The love of God is precisely like electricity, which can be conducted by any part of the body. If the love of God touches your mind, your mind will jump. If it touches your emotions, they will jump. If it touches your ears or your eyes, they will jump.</p>
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<p>Have you really experienced God’s love that vividly? Feeling the love of God is similar to receiving an electric shock; when it hits a person he may appear unconscious but inside he is actually trembling with ecstatic joy. Even if you haven’t had this experience you can reason that it must be true. Once you feel the living, active love of God you want to close your eyes, but your eyes cannot close. Your whole body is so activated that you cannot stop reacting to that love. God is almighty and can do anything, so certainly He wants everyone to be part of such an explosive, gigantic, dramatic love, not love which is flat and pale-tasting like 3-day-old beer.</p>
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<p>Put yourself in the position of God. You are capable of doing anything. You want to create love of such magnitude that when it moves the entire universe will be excited, not listless. When God laughs He wants to have the entire universe laugh in the joy of love. Such a joyful love cannot be created by selfish people. When you totally release yourself in giving, you can taste such love; that’s God’s love. Some sisters are thinking, ”Father, didn’t you promise us that after the Washington Monument victory we would have a blessing? I’m getting old you know.” I want to ask you sisters if you are people who are giving or only receiving love. Your answer is so weak that I cannot hear it!</p>
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<p>I know that all of you are going out fund raising early in the morning and perhaps you imagine that when you get blessed you can take it easy. Is that your frame of mind? Perhaps you think instead that your getting blessed will give you added vitality and more reason to work harder than before. You must want your love to be a giving, sacrificial love and then when you get blessed you will have added reason to give more. If your husband is a very weak person and needs a great deal of help then you know that you have been chosen by God to assist him. You must feel that you are honored to be chosen for that. Suppose your husband is an old man in a senior citizens home; then you can think that your love is going to rejuvenate him, making him youthful again. Sometimes senior citizens cannot think clearly or even take care of themselves in the bathroom. If your husband is in that condition then you can experience seeing your love recreate him. Are you serious in thinking this way?</p>
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<p>Maybe God will give you a husband who only has one eye. If you have the love of God then his handicap doesn’t matter. In God’s sight the woman who can hand down the tradition of true love is the wife who can love her husband to the degree that she could take one of her own eyes out and give it to him. That is the kind of love which will be inscribed in the heart of God. Will you expect your husband to be your servant, wanting only to sit and enjoy his love and adoration? Is that type of love recorded in God’s heart? I think you know that is not true love.</p>
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<p>Since I have already used the women as an example I don’t need to explain this to the men, do I? Why is marriage needed? Not for you to be selfish and comforted but to give. God’s nature is to give more and more love, similar to traveling down a one way street. If the wife is thinking of how to give more love to her husband and he is thinking the same about his wife, these two are creating power which will propel each other and make the marriage revolve. That relationship is not passive, coming from only one partner, but coming from both sides. At the same time God and the universe will be helping to make the marriage move; your love is not your love. It is the of God</p>
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<h3 align="center">Each person must first live for everyone else</h3>
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<p>In the Kingdom of God everyone eagerly gives his full amount. Parents are giving to children and children are giving back to parents. Each husband is giving, each wife is giving, God is giving, and all of mankind is giving. In this torrent of give and take of truly sacrificial love, therefore, the whole universe will be turning.</p>
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<p>There are all different ways to turn but only circular movement creates perpetual movement. The gigantic universe is circling, the nation is circling, the family is circling-millions of circling motions comprise that Kingdom of God. You yourself are turning within the bigger circle, just like a heavenly body. You can go right into the center to the heart of God, and when you reach His heart you will grab His love and come out again to transmit it. You can see heavenly harmony when two people love each other, which is why the Bible said that the people who can harmonize are the citizens of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.</p>
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<p>The stubborn person who pursues his own selfish goals is actually a foolish person because he would be cast out of this circle and ultimately fall into the dungeons of hell. The person who is only trying to be recognized by others will be rejected by society. Heavenly citizens must have training in the unselfish way of life, realizing that even food and rest is not for themselves. If you have disciplined yourself so that your entire way of life is not for yourself then you are perfected.</p>
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<p>We come to the fundamental question: For whom were you born? For yourself or for the sake of others, for the world, for God? The make-up you women wear is not to serve your own purpose but to serve men’s purpose, right? A giant man is not strong for himself but for the sake of a woman. God actually made us not to serve our own purpose, but to serve others’ purposes.</p>
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<p>Why should an eye be made the way it is? An eye is made to perceive for the sake of the body. Your senses are all made to perceive others and to relate to others. The definition of “saint” is very simple from this point of view. A saint is the one who sees not for himself but for the sake of the world, for the sake of God. His point of reference is not himself and he finds no joy in selfish living. Since that kind of person is perfectly harmonized with the universe, the entire world will protect him and nurture him. Wherever that person goes, the entire universe will encircle him and he will be followed by prosperity. Once your motivation centers on yourself then you are in effect cutting off everything surrounding you and becoming an isolated, lonely person. Then you are not only a lonely person, but you become an enemy of the world.</p>
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<p>What I am teaching is the absolute truth, the central principle of the universe from the beginning to the end of time. When you hear this do you feel good or bad? You are giving me all kinds of answers here. Some people are willing to say yes, but inside they are not sure whether they can live up to it or not.</p>
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<p>History has seen many great religions and great teachings, but all those doctrines put together point out one simple truth: when you practice the unselfish love of God, you achieve everything. That one truth resolves every question that man has ever sought an answer for. People may disagree about whether I am good or bad, but at least one thing is sure: I am pouring my entire heart and soul into changing young people and making them unselfish for the sake of the world. You can decide whether our ultimate destination is heaven or hell, but without a doubt we are trying to become people who practice the eternal law of God. I don’t even care if our destination is hell or heaven. Wherever we go we will create heaven! There can be no other way.</p>
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<p>Women’s beautiful hands are usually neatly manicured but I want them to be rough and ugly from working for the sake of God and humanity. Do you want that? How can I believe that you want that? (If you don’t believe us, look at our hands now!) All right, I see your hands and they truly look like hands</p>
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<p>that have worked for the sake of God and humanity. Those hands will become museum pieces in the Kingdom of God. That’s the way of life we have chosen.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Do you receive persecution for<br />
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the sake of God and humanity?</h3>
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<p>Why did I come all the way from Korea to America if I had to suffer so much? Why am I being criticized and why have I been so persecuted by the press? Why should I do these crazy things? I am merely practicing the one law that I’m preaching today. I want to give myself for the sake of the world. Because America is a microcosm of tee world, by unselfishly giving here in the face of persecution I can work for the good of the entire world.</p>
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<p>Do you love me even though your parents oppose me? That’s why you are crazy! This morning you were taught the concept of the Kingdom of God, making this the hour of decision. What kind of world are you heading toward? Have you unshakably decided that this is your goal and your way of life? Do you think our movement will be destroyed if you try to practice an unselfish way of life? No power under the sun could destroy such a movement. If ever a power emerged to destroy us then the whole earth and God and the spirit world together would block it. We are protected by the power of God.</p>
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<p>I know that in Japan, Korea and America there are people who seriously want to kill me, but I have never sought revenge against them or thought to kill them first. Even though I have prayed for God’s mercy on them, those people who adamantly hate me have always diminished. I do not think of anyone as my enemy; those who live a negative way of life always-have their futures blocked. Even though we seem to have hardship and persecution, our future is always open. That is the way our Church has grown and become prosperous. The important thing is not whether we are persecuted, but whether we are receiving this persecution for the sake of God and humanity. If we are, then we are protected and nothing can destroy this movement or stops us. However, if we are receiving this persecution and criticism for our own purpose then that is a different story. This is a simple criterion, isn’t it? Even in selling peanuts on the street, if your thoughts dwell on God and humanity then you are doing something holy and sacred in the sight of God. Every blessing will be shifted in due course from those who intend to serve themselves to those who serve others. That’s God’s rule.</p>
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<p>I know that some members feel a certain emptiness inside, thinking indignantly, “I joined the Unification Church several years ago and I’ve been working very hard, but Father hasn’t recognized me and even the President of the Church hasn’t recognized me. None of my leaders know me.” Anyone who seeks honor and recognition for himself is not truly a Unification Church member. The indicative point is that this member is complaining in his heart, “I feel left alone.” That is self-centered motivation. If you are truly unselfish then you don’t care about being recognized by the Church because you know that ultimately God in heaven will recognize you.</p>
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<p>Some day after long years of hard work for the sake of America and for the sake of the world, I will pack up and go back to Korea. I will not resent America for not appreciating me. I don’t necessarily want to be recognized by the American people; I just want to do the right thing and then I’ll take off. Perhaps there is one more thing I may do. If I wish that after all the time I have spent here that I could have done more for the sake of America, then generations later Americans will have to bow down to that spirit. You don’t have to seek your own recognition; God will bring you recognition.</p>
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<p>Whatever destiny holds in store, whatever consequences I face, including suffering in prison, I have no anxiety; I have already suffered many times in prison. The important thing is whether my actions are for the sake of God and humanity. That is sacred and is the most noble deed of all. History will record me simply because of my suffering and unreasonable persecution. When you have a record of memorable deeds and things to respect and love, it gives added incentive for future generations to plunge into the work of God.</p>
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<p>If you consider my deeds in America ever since I came to this country then you know that undoubtedly the work I have done will be passed on. The spirit I left, the reasons I did everything, the places I touched in this country, all will become history.</p>
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<p>The New Yorker and the Manhattan Center are definitely historic places because I poured out my sweat and blood to resurrect them. The Tiffany Building which we are purchasing for our newspaper company will also become an historic place.</p>
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<p>Mother and I are going to visit all the major states to secure an appropriate center. A couple of days ago we went to Boston and yesterday we went to Philadelphia to look for a building. I gave my whole heart and effort in those places because history will truly record them as museum pieces in the Kingdom of God. I am not doing all this to secure my own wealth or to increase my luxury or for my own satisfaction. I am doing this for the sake of posterity and for the sake of this nation.</p>
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<p>from now on God will only respond to prayers offered for the sake of the world</p>
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<p>Your work and my work are different in degree but the purpose and the principle behind it all is precisely the same. I have a covenant between God and myself and no matter how hard it may be to fulfill, I have no complaint. The year of 1977 is dawning now and it will be an extraordinary year. The pledge we must make as members of the Unification Church, is, “This is going to be the year that I will never, never complain.”</p>
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<p>I have received opposition and persecution from the very beginning of my ministry in Korea, then in Japan and now here in America and all around the world, but my work and this movement will not decline. We will continue to prosper and move forward to great glory because we are living the Principle. I’ll give you one important declaration: Even if we work with this kind of spirit but still you and I decline and are destroyed, we need have no regret because in that case there is no God. As long as there is God, we are bound to be successful and win the final victory. There is no other possible eventuality. There are people trying to set roadblocks before us but the more roadblocks that are set, the more God will send champions to push them aside. Under persecution we will grow and prosper.</p>
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<p>Even President Nixon could not endure 1½ years of criticism. In comparison, the press has been attacking me for 4 years, yet I am now emerging as someone of importance here in America. Have your heart and mind become weak and tired, or strengthened with an iron will to go on? Don’t you feel, “I am a solider and champion of God; I will move forward and bring the great victory to His throne”? Is that your determination?</p>
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<p>Now you have a realistic picture of the Kingdom of God. Many elders, deacons and ministers in the Christian churches are praying for God to bless their church, but that is not our prayer. God will not respond to such prayers any longer. God will respond only to the prayers of His children with this spirit, “Accept me as a living sacrifice. Thy will be done, for the sake of the world and humanity.” God told me personally that He loves to receive such prayers. Therefore, my prayer has been and will be, “Father, please accept these beautiful young members of the Unification Church as a living sacrifice on Your altar, to save the world, humanity and all nations.”</p>
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<p>Since I love you, I want you to be blessed with the greatest heaven of all, but there is only one way to get it: Persevere in this way of life. Be a willing sacrificial soldier for God’s kingdom. I do not teach you to work only eight hours a day. For the sake of God and humanity I want you to accomplish extraordinary things, even working 24 hours a day. If any nation comes to tell me, “You are violating our labor law by working your people too hard,” that nation will be violating the heavenly principle. I have no concept of time, no concept of night and day. You will never be destroyed by not having that concept either. You now know how to recognize the true man, the true saint.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Spiritual advancement is affected<br />
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by the providence in each era</h3>
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<p>What is meant by the title of this morning’s message, “The Benefit and Grace of This Time in History?” No greater benefit can be given by a philosophy than to make a way of life for God and humanity. The work of restoration is expanding in three stages-formation, growth, and perfection. First is the Old Testament era, then the New Testament era and finally the Completed Testament era.</p>
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<p>The first stage is the era of the servant while the New Testament stage is the era of the adopted son. The Completed Testament era is for true sons and daughters and continues beyond that into the family level. From that point on the Kingdom of God will become a reality.</p>
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<p>Why must Jesus return a second time? Simply because he was crucified while he was still single. When God created Adam and Eve He created them to be husband and wife so as the second Adam, Jesus Christ cannot accomplish the Kingdom of God on earth all by himself. Jesus certainly pursued individual perfection, which he accomplished, but he could not establish the perfected family because of the crucifixion.</p>
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<p>After the time of Adam and Eve 4,000 years of history lapsed until the time of Jesus Christ. Could God bless families in that period? The servant stage is equivalent to the angelic world since no families are blessed in that world. How could a servant deserve a family before God has blessed His true children? The Messiah comes to bring mankind from the servant era through the era of adopted sons to the era of true sons and daughters, all at one stroke. During the Old Testament era, no matter what anyone did, he could not be elevated to the level of son or daughter of God.</p>
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<p>In the providence of God, John the Baptist was the first to be in the adopted son’s position, while those before, like Noah and Abraham, were in the servant position. Jesus Christ came as the son of God and in God’s original plan the transition from the era of adopted sons to the era of perfected sons and daughters was to come during the time of Jesus. John’s unity with Jesus could have brought mankind into that era. Because of the crucifixion, however, Jesus could not actually fulfill the son’s role on earth, but only an extension of John the Baptist’s role as adopted son. That is why for 2,000 years Christianity has been the religion through which mankind could become God’s adopted sons. In the Christian churches even ministers refer to themselves as God’s servants. In a way it is true, because from the servant position it is their goal to be elevated to the position of adopted sons.</p>
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<p>The second coming of the Messiah is inevitable but until then, no matter how hard you work or how great you are, you cannot have a heaven!! family. Until the Second Coming, paradise in the spirit world is the highest level anyone can attain. Paradise is like the lobby or place for people to wait until the doors of the heavenly kingdom are opened.</p>
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<p>The ministry of the Lord of the Second Advent will indemnify all of history, setting up the conditions step by step for the establishment of the first heavenly family. The Messiah has the right to set up the family of God, having as his central purpose the reorganization of all mankind from fallen families into heavenly families. The true family is the essential element, and on that foundation the Kingdom will expand from the level of society to nation and then the world.</p>
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<p>This year, 1976, the Unification Church is passing from the level of family construction to the worldwide level. Christianity: has concentrated on the perfection of individual men. yet even that was never fulfilled. But in the Unification Church we are talking about the perfection of the family. Which is ultimately the final layer on the foundation for world restoration. That’s where we are today For 6,000 years God has been seeking to establish one family of heaven and now the Unification Church has not only established the- cornerstone of the family of heaven, but has laid the world-level foundation.</p>
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<p>The base we have erected has the kind of value that not even many thousands of years of work has been able to accomplish. You are actually no greater than any of those great saints in Christian history; you are far from it. Then why are you receiving such benefit? Simply because it is the grace of history that you are living in the particular moment when hen you can join the central force of heaven. By doing so, your grace and benefit are assured.</p>
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<p>It is an astonishing thing, but in the spirit world the man!- billions of people who lived here on earth remain single, no matter v hat family life they had on earth. I want you to know an even more astonishing fact. Through the work of the Unification Church we have not only organized the heavenly family here on earth, but we are opening the door to the family kingdom up in the spirit world. We are undertaking the astonishing revolution which has been God’s goal</p>
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<p>since the fall of Adam and Eve, but which was never achieved in history.</p>
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<p>By joining with the True Parents you can live in that new era of the family in heaven. The blessing you all seek and cherish is not a cheap thing. Only because of the hard work of Jesus’ spiritual ministry for 2,000 years and the sacrifice of many saints can we erect this new foundation. The people who lived in the era of Judaism have been waiting for 6,000 years for this day of fulfillment. Think of the sacrifice the Jewish people made even under Hitler alone, when six million Jews were exterminated.</p>
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<p>It is the very Jews and Christians who oppose us now who should benefit by our fulfillment, yet they are totally ignorant of that. If they continue to oppose us then you are the ones who will ill inherit their blessing. You are the ultimate result of God’s hard work for 6,000 years. Each one of you represents the resurrection of your ancestors and through each of you your family and all your ancestors will be blessed. If you fail your expected responsibility, it is not just your failure. The most significant consequence is that your entire ancestry will fail with you. Not only that, your children will also fail because of you. You are historic beings and you occupy most critical, pivotal positions. If you face this awesome responsibility and do everything you can in trying to fulfill it then you will be entitled to receive enormous heavenly blessing.</p>
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<p>It is a continuation of the trend of history that while the rest of the world is crumbling, the Unification Church is the only strong, growing force. The historic mission is upon your shoulders and God is asking you to be responsible for the past, present and future. My goal is to link you with the Kingdom of God. The short cut to get there is to have the personality I described this morning, the heavenly personality that truly practices God’s love.</p>
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<p>You don’t have to have a sophisticated knowledge of the Principle. However, you must know this one simple thing and practice it: I am not existing for myself but for the sake of my family, for the sake of my society, my nation, the world, humanity and God. You must know that you are born for the sake of God. You must set up a covenant between yourself and God and then live up to God’s expectation.</p>
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<p>My life is really not mine. If I live my life on earth in that manner, there is no death any more. I will be elevated to the Kingdom of God on the family level, social level, national and worldwide levels, to the highest part of the universal level, because I practiced living for them here on earth. In that way, you too are free to go everywhere in the Kingdom of God and you will not be alone; you will be surrounded by your family, society, nation, and the world. You will be honorably elevated to the throne of God, accompanied by this great escort. No other saint has a family yet, but my family will be there and the Unification Church families will be there. We are making these two worlds into one. We are given a short life here on earth, but by completely giving ourselves to that duty at this particular moment of time we become entitled to the historic blessing.</p>
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<p>I will give you an analogy from tuna fishing. A giant shiny tuna will not necessarily bite only tasty bait. Sometimes a tuna will bite very humble, smelly bait. By the same token,we may be like smelly, humble bait in the sight of God, yet God is putting us down into the fallen world as bait. The world is the tuna. If the world will bite us, it can be pulled into the Kingdom of God. There is only one such opportunity for this in history.</p>
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<p>It is God’s amazing grace that you happened to be here in this forty years’ time out of all the eons of history. You hit the bullseye. All you have to do is realize the mission in order to get the historic blessing. The benefit of this time is absolutely great. I want you to be entitled to win that blessing. Do you want to do it? God bless you. Let us pray.</p>
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<article id="post-1124" class="post-1124 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/boundary-line.html" title="Permalink to BOUNDARY LINE" rel="bookmark">BOUNDARY LINE</a>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:33:28+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/boundary-line.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:33:28+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">December 5, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator — Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>As Americans, when you hear the words “boundary line,” you probably think immediately of the boundary lines between the United States and Canada or Mexico. However, within the United States there are boundary lines between the counties, townships, villages, and also between individual properties. The major continents of the world also have boundary lines between them.</p>
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<p>Why do we need boundary lines? We have boundary lines to delineate different ownership and to delineate defense lines and thereby prevent aggression from the outside. As Unification Church members, you may say that we don’t have boundary lines, that we don’t have to defend anything, that we are really free, but this is not so. Within our own way of life there definitely are boundary lines that we cannot cross. If we cross over certain boundary lines in our way of life, there will be consequences. We may be held in another territory or by another master, or something terrible may happen.</p>
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<p>Regardless of whether you are in the free world or the communist world, there are always certain inner boundary lines, just as there are invisible lines between territories, or sovereignties. In the free world, people think that there are imaginary boundary lines, or different ways of life that divide the communist world and the free world. But for the communists this is not so; they feel that their boundary lines may be bent into the territory of the free world to make small beachheads which can be expanded in order to enlarge the communists’ territory.</p>
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<p>Throughout history there has been a never-ending war between the side of God and the side of Satan. The battle between God and Satan has been waged in religious wars which are the pattern of all wars. Actually religion creates a boundary between the satanic territory and God’s territory. The world of God started with the primitive religions and advanced into highly moral religions. The development of religion creates a base upon which God can stand, which means that even God Himself has a boundary. God is almighty; He can do anything He wants, but there is a certain line that God has determined He will not cross. There are certain things God will never do. It is not acceptable in the sight of Almighty God to cross that particular line. If He crossed that line, He would first have to defend that particular action. However, since putting up a defense is far more difficult and risky than remaining within the line, God will never cross that line.</p>
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<p>According to the Bible, God gave a commandment to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. They could eat of the fruit of every tree except the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That was the boundary that God imposed on man. When Adam and Eve did not take that boundary line seriously and violated it, there were grave consequences. Now too, we sometimes do not have such a clear understanding of the boundary line between Satan’s side and God’s side, but we must be serious about this boundary line from this time on. In many cases we lack concentration. We decide to go one place but listen to something somewhere else, and our attention becomes divided. That kind of moment is the most vulnerable time for man. Then instead of having a straight boundary line, we have a very complicated one.</p>
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<p>In military operations one must always determine the vulnerable point because it is so critical to strategy. Many times situations have a triangular shape. This is very critical. If, for instance, the right-hand point of the triangle represents your eye, then you must guard that point. That is where you would place a cannon because Satan would be watching your boundary at the vulnerable point where it is sticking out. If your mind, however, is sticking out like another point of the triangle, then it would be very, very vulnerable to attack. You would have to have another cannon ready to go at that point, needing two cannons in all to defend yourself. Furthermore, having a wide distance between the two defense points is not good because it increases vulnerability and weakness. If you have a long, exposed boundary line, the defense needs and the expense are greater. With a short line of defense you can concentrate your energies with no problem.</p>
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<p>There are people in religious life who have everything straight, all five senses focused, but there are others who look at one temptation, listen to another and think of even another. This makes them vulnerable in all areas; such people are very difficult to defend. A short straight line between two points is the best defense. However, some people have a boundary line that is so complicated that it cannot even be drawn, and there are many people whose boundary lines change many times even during the course of one day. Each of you has a certain type of boundary line. We bring that boundary line everywhere we go throughout our entire lives; we cannot leave it behind. What kind of boundary line do you have? That is the key question.</p>
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<p>Think of it. Those straying away from the main line are in danger. What does this actually mean in our way of life? There are two major areas of vulnerability, external and internal. Externally, temptation comes from many areas. The number one element of temptation is probably money; the second, knowledge, and the third, power.</p>
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<p>Then what corresponding weaknesses do you have that makes you vulnerable to being pulled or tempted by money? Greed. Actually greediness is not necessarily bad, nor is ambition; I am speaking of self-centered greediness. Let’s say there are boundary lines for money, power, knowledge, or whatever. A self-centered person will cross those boundary lines to reach out for the money, knowledge, or power for his own sake. Self-centered ambition is always dangerous because it is most vulnerable to temptation.</p>
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<p>There is another kind of ambition that is not self-centered. For instance if I am at the center of my family and I am ambitious to serve my family, then I will be protected by them, and if my family is ambitious to serve the society, it will be protected by the society. The same principle applies in the society’s relationship to the nation and the nation to the world. This is a public-minded, selfless kind of ambition. When you have this kind of righteous, God-centered ambition, instead of crossing the boundary line and being tempted to fall, you push the entire boundary line outward to embrace all those things-money, power, and knowledge-within the area of safety. Then you can possess them as well. By living this way of life, you can mend the boundary line and extend it.</p>
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<p>Instead of part of you sticking out and making you vulnerable to attack, once you have pushed out the whole defense line or boundary line, you will be safe no matter what you do. This means that a selfless, public-minded person has many protective layers in case Satan attacks him. The nation will defend him, the society will defend him, and his family will defend him. It is very difficult, even impossible, to reach him. A public-minded, totally selfless person is protected by the family, society, nation and world because they all benefit by him. But a person with a self-centered ambition is always vulnerable because he is always extending himself past the layers that would protect him, thus always exposing himself to attack. This is why all religious teachings throughout history have emphasized a totally selfless or public-minded way of life. There has never been a noble teaching in history that emphasized selfishness or self-centeredness. It would be impossible.</p>
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<p>As a selfless, public-minded person, you have many shields around you; therefore, no one can attack you. But when you are on selfish ground you are like a naked body; you can be attacked even with a tiny needle. Actually, if you make yourself into a public-minded, totally selfless person, it’s fine to think more about money, knowledge or power because they will all benefit humanity.</p>
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<p>God is the same. God has a certain claim and principle that forms a certain boundary line. What kind of “ism” is God’s? Let me ask you: Is God following Americanism and interested only in America? No. Which is bigger, Americanism or Godism? Godism is for the total well-being, not just partial well-being; while Americanism seeks only for the protection of America. In reality Americanism may actually be more for the protection of white people, segregating the black people due to prejudice. People always have prejudices about their local characteristics. Therefore, even within the United States there are many invisible boundary lines: the German-American boundary line, the Italian-American, Swedish-American, or Russian-American boundary lines. There is always an invisible line protecting a certain group of people. Godism, however, has no prejudices. god is always barging right through all the boundary lines, saying, “Break it up! We don’t need it!” Do Americans like that?</p>
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<p>Then, are the ones entitled to the Kingdom of God in heaven those who follow Godism or Americanism? Those who just follow Americanism cannot break through the boundaries and therefore cannot be entitled to the Kingdom of God in heaven. The person with no boundaries, save for the ultimate boundary of God which he makes his own, can travel freely in the world of God, and eventually end up in the Kingdom of God. But a person who has many boundaries and divisions is headed down to the dungeon of hell because in reality he is by himself.</p>
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<p>You can now immediately tell by a person’s way of life who deserves the Kingdom of God and who is headed for hell. There are narrow-minded people with so many different boundaries, so many dislikes and likes. They say, “I don’t like that kind of man; I don’t like that kind of woman. I don’t like that kind of child.” They don’t like anybody. But there are also people who are open-minded and who welcome everybody. These people can comfortably go either to the top or come under foot. They have no boundaries. What kind of person are you going to be; what kind of “ism” are you going to live?</p>
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<p>You have heard a very secret teaching this morning which justifies even greediness, depending on which side you stand. What kind of greediness do you have? From this basic guideline, you now have the knowledge and power to evaluate and judge which religion and ideology and personality are truly God-centered. Through this one principle you can judge.</p>
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<p>Let us compare the two ideologies of communism and democracy. Which one is closer to God? Communism has deep-seated prejudices. It tells people to hate the rich and the capitalists, to protect only the poor and the laborers. There are built-in prejudices right there. In the democratic ideology there are no such built-in prejudices. Democracy does not alienate laborers or farmers; it has room for everybody: rich people, poor people, intelligent people, ignorant people. The communists in Berlin actually need a wall to hold on to their people. If a nation wants to put a strong wall up to prevent people from leaving, it already demonstrates a built-in weakness in its ideology. The free world does not need walls to keep its people inside. From this principle, just with common sense we can tell that the free world is closer to God’s ideology. When communists come to take over a certain territory, the first thing they do is to purge those not in line with their ideology. They just cut them out. The rich people, the intellectuals and the religious people are all purged when communists take over a nation. They do not think to liberate people by changing them or to bring about some kind of harmony.</p>
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<p>Communists also have a deep-seated prejudice concerning religion. They say religion is an opiate of the masses which they cannot allow. In Russia they say, “We have churches and religions; everyone can practice his own religion.” But this is not true. Actually when you look into it, this is merely a front. There is no religion there. They also say, “If you believe in God or you want to operate a church, go ahead, but within the boundary of the communist ideology.” How can one practice religion, how can one worship God within a boundary where God’s existence is denied?</p>
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<p>Religion has a very definite boundary, a definite line of principle. The religious boundary is universalism, a cosmic boundary. Religion is guiding man to acquire a gigantic personality enabling him to perceive and embrace everything under the sun. Therefore, philosophers and prophets in history have always said that religious teachings are timeless and without boundaries, and that they can embrace all the different cultural backgrounds in history. There are no boundaries in religion. Did the saints and founders of the great religions pursue pan-Americanism, pan-Asianism or pan-Africanism, or were they really following more cosmic ideologies? The greater the saint, the more widely he is embraced. The teaching of the greatest saint can be embraced by all men throughout the world and throughout history.</p>
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<p>Now with the same principle, let us evaluate which religion is superior and see if there is a religion even greater than Godism. If there is, then even God will come under that religion, and will become a member of that church. You would not have to go too far to meet Him; just come to Sunday service and God would be there. Let me ask you a very elementary question about the Unification Church. Are we a religion or not? The outside world is so confused. They say that we are a political organization, or a cult, or a fly-by-night business enterprise. The world does not say that we are a religion.</p>
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<p>Actually our Unification Church is a very ambitious religion. We probably have the greatest ambition of all because we are searching after an ideology greater than Godism. Have you ever heard of God’s Heartism? When we say “heart,” we mean the give and take relationship of heart. Heartism cannot be composed of God alone; it cannot be consummated by God alone, even though He is the almighty creator. It can only be fulfilled together with us. In a way that means we have outranked God, doesn’t it? We can do something God cannot do. Since we really seriously pursue God’s Heartism, we can say to God, “God, you and I are equal; you need me and without me you cannot be fulfilled.” Isn’t this a great thing’? Don’t you feel good?</p>
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<p>In history, no one has ever proclaimed as gigantic an ideology as God’s Heartism. Actually no proper word exists to explain our “ism.” It’s not quite Godism. “Theocracy” does not quite explain it. We are talking about “God’s Heartism.” Would you like to be a person who knows God, someone who can say, “Good morning” to God, and God would say, “Hi Joe! ” Or would you like to become a person who not only knows God but also who loves God and whom God loves’? God would say, “Joe, I love you.” Actually, in the morning when you meet the God you love, you do not really need to say, “Good morning.” People in love do not need the formality of a greeting. In the morning you just automatically become one. When lovers meet after a long separation, they just embrace each other in ecstasy. Would the husband say, “Wait! You must greet me first?” No! That formality is not needed.</p>
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<p>In the world of love there is no boundary because love is the most powerful force in the universe. It can go beyond any boundary. Even hell has no boundary which can withstand the power of love. According to Scripture, after the crucifixion, Jesus Christ spent three days in darkness. Where did he go? He went to the dungeons of hell and preached the gospel for three days.</p>
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<p>Satan, the master of hell, might have said, “Jesus, you strayed into our cage. I’m going to lock the door; you are my prisoner.” But that is impossible; Satan had no power to bind Jesus there. Jesus Christ, the complete manifestation of the love of God, said, “Love your enemy.” Therefore he can even turn Hell into heaven, so going in and out of hell is no problem for him. Let’s say there is a boundary in the Kingdom of God. If there is a person who truly loves God with his heart and mind and soul, will God say to him, “You cannot come in here; you have to have a passport, or you must bring a gift. You cannot come to the throne of God.” Will he be stopped at that point? No.</p>
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<p>In this universe, love is the most powerful force. But there are different kinds of love: selfish and unselfish. For instance, a couple may be in love and not care about God or humanity or even their neighbors. They just want to be happy and survive. There is also the kind of love in which people say, “America is number one. I’m concerned about America’s well-being, but that’s all. I don’t care about Africa, Asia, or South America.”</p>
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<p>There are all kinds of love. Love is everywhere on every level, and it has every motivation. What we are talking about here, however, is the one kind of love that belongs to Godism or to God’s Heartism. Once you completely perfect yourself in that love, then you will be completely free in this universe and no boundary will stop you. Everything in existence is within Godism, within God’s Heartism. Then everywhere you go will be your home. Somebody may try to stop such unselfish, public-minded love from sheer ignorance, but no obstacle can stop it. The particular love in Godism is powerful enough to break through all the boundaries of the past, present, and future. Therefore, no matter what is trying to block the march of that love, it will still have historical consequences and will affect the past, present and future. That love exists before history and after history.</p>
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<p>What does God love most? What does God want you to have’? Almighty, omniscient God doesn’t particularly care for power or knowledge or wealth. The one thing God cares for is love because without it He cannot be consummated; His happiness cannot be complete. With love alone the entire universe becomes His. In Godism there is no boundary at all because love transcends time and space. If lovers are far apart, say one is in England and one in America or one in Korea and one in America, it doesn’t make any difference because the feeling is there and distance will not affect it. We didn’t know this great secret of the universe, but now it is unlocked.</p>
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<p>Where are you headed now’? Which kind of love are you craving? You can search for that love everywhere; why did you come here? There are many churches out there; they may have that love. They have very plush carpets and comfortable chairs, but here you sit without even a chair. Why did you come here at 6 a.m. on a cold morning to sit on a hard cement floor? It is not good for women particularly to sit on a cold, hard floor for a long time. But we are here every week, because we want to form the highest possible relationship with the highest possible love. I may not be such a handsome person that you can enjoy looking at me four or five hours every day, but the important thing is the truth that flows out of my mouth. Through it your spirit is uplifted; every hour you are elevated to a higher plateau, to a deeper understanding of the highest possible law or truth.</p>
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<p>During this hour we are breaking up all the boundaries. Each hour, each minute that I speak, you are breaking another boundary and going up higher, right to the arms of Heavenly Father! That’s why, even though it’s difficult to wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. to come here and you may complain in your heart, once you come you know it is worthwhile. If you knew in your heart that you were in a losing game you would not come.</p>
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<p>Imagine how much I have been thinking throughout my life. I have been a thinker all my life; if there were an easier way to go to heaven, then I would not even have to tell you about it, I would just go there first. If Communism were able to bring one to heaven and I knew it, I would have become the number one communist! If Americanism were the source of supreme happiness, I could have made myself welcomed by the 220 million people of America a long time ago. I don’t have to be opposed; I don’t have to be criticized. I don’t have to take this route. But after an entire lifetime of thinking, I know well that no matter what the communists threaten and no matter how the free world opposes me, I cannot change one bit of my way of life or my conviction. This is the only way, whether you like it or not, and all men have to go this way at one time or another in order to get to heaven.</p>
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<p>God’s Heartism goes even beyond Godism. A relationship with the heart of God is the very core truth of the universe. Once you live that Godism, once you reach that Heartism, then you no longer live in a world of boundaries. God’s Heartism is so gigantic that it can liberate even Satan and hell. I am proclaiming God’s Heartism as the first and final “ism” of the universe. You can wait a thousand years or ten thousand years, but nothing greater will come. Once you accept this ideology as a strong way of life, your victory is secure. It doesn’t make any difference where you are.</p>
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<p>If you are inside a prison cell, do you think that Heartism will be defeated? Never. Whoever insists on putting such a man in jail will indemnity that a million times over. Soon, history will tell the nation that put him in jail and gave him hardship to bow down and apologize century after century, from the sovereign down to the most humble person. If this “ism” is that great, do you think that would happen? God-centered love alone shall dominate the entire universe, and even control God, who is so vulnerable to love. God-centered love alone can unite the world. No matter how difficult it may be, no matter how severely divided it may be, the world can become one under the banner of such love.</p>
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<p>I began to speak about boundaries around an hour and a half ago. Within that time what kind of person have you been transformed into? Did you become a narrow person or did you break up your boundaries? Two hours ago when you thought that you might marry a person of another race maybe you did not think you could love such a person. But now, two hours later, you are entirely different, saying, “It doesn’t make any difference!” No atomic bomb can be more explosive than this. No power of any government or head of state will be greater than this power of love. At this very moment, the greatest of all revolutions is actually taking place in this [fall. Do you realize that? This is the absolute truth. What we have is a tremendous treasure that no money can buy. Once the world knows this particular truth the entire world can come alive and become one.</p>
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<p>Would you like to let the world know this truth and unite as quickly as possible, or slowly? When you consume something, it always decreases in quantity. Can the same principle be applied to the love of God? With the love of God, the more you give, the more you receive, and you become a giant. The more you give the more you receive, not only from God but also from people; your one investment derives benefit from both ends. When you give love to the world and humanity, there is not just a horizontal return, but a vertical harvest too. All other things are different.</p>
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<p>For instance, no matter how much money you have, when you spend it, it decreases, and no matter how perfect the knowledge you have may be, the more you pursue it, the more you will limit yourself into certain areas. You finally just make up more boundaries. Similarly, the more you use power, the more enemies you make and you actually limit yourself. Beyond money, knowledge, and power you must want to achieve the love of God, and there is nothing you cannot sacrifice.</p>
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<p>Now that you know the truth, can you sit still? Let’s go out and spread love, give it away. White people must go all over the world, even to the black continents. Black people must go everywhere including to white continents. You must spread so much love that the entire universe will be filled with your love, and you will reap the fruit of all the seeds of love which you sowed. Then will you be rich or not? When you invest so much you will receive more back, something like a stock certificate. You will have stock certificates of love.</p>
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<p>Do you really love me? How can I trust you? You have been searching all over the world. You have touched upon Americanism; you have touched upon Communism; you have touched upon other ideologies, but you have found here the greatest of all ideologies. That’s why you are here. Now after hearing this teaching you know what you are living for.</p>
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<p>Once you are following God’s Heartism, it means you must make a constant effort to become like God. I ask you, have you been that way? Will you be that way? Why do you like fund raising? It is because we want to give for the sake of the world. We earn money in the most difficult way, with sweat and blood, but it’s not for ourselves. It is to give to the world.</p>
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<p>When you fund raise, I am sure everybody has experienced a few people who said, “I’m glad I gave two dollars to you. Come back and ask again.” Since nobody easily pulls dollars out of his pocket, you must be very good salesmen. In many cases you meet people who give only reluctantly, and there are even more scornful people who will not give you even a penny. They give you a dirty look, spit at you and almost kick you, saying, “Why is a good girl like you doing that? Go and do something worthwhile.” They preach at you; they do everything except give. The important thing is that you receive this mistreatment from society not for yourself but for the sake of the world. That is my way; it is the greatest way of all. Your own suffering is rather small and narrow, but the purpose is so gigantic and universal. Therefore, it will be rewarded a million times over in due course.</p>
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<p>I am in the same position. You are mistreated by the people in the street, and at the same time I am mistreated by America. People misunderstand my motives, and are trying to put up legal difficulties and kick me out. Yet under these circumstances I am still teaching the young people. I am giving myself completely for the sake of America, and in due course this nation and the universe will have to reward me and our movement a million times over. Your parents sometimes come and oppose me, but contrary to their understanding, I am raising their children to make them saints and historical people. The showdown is over and the victory has been decided. You know the value of the eternal truth you have been hearing. Therefore, even when your parents misunderstand me, you defend me, trying to persuade your own parents. You do that because deep in your heart you know it is not for yourself. You know how shameful it is historically for your parents to oppose me, how miserable it is for the sake of your ancestors and posterity. Therefore, you want to somehow remedy and reconcile things so that these evil attempts cannot be successful.</p>
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<p>God is determined to make one world out of this divided world. No other power can do it except the power of love. In religion, particularly in our church, people are talking about love as the central truth. This automatically proves that there is God because only God can come up with such solution, and only God’s love can unite the world, not power, knowledge, or money.</p>
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<p>In the latter part of the twentieth century, I emerged as a controversial figure, creating very much turmoil, but young people gathered around me because they discovered something very precious. The greatest ideology has been revealed through me, and you know it. That is why I am destined to remain controversial until we change the world completely. If you become a person receiving and utilizing this love, and you use your life as a bullet in God’s war, then you will make yourself one of the strongest people on earth. Nothing will be able to destroy or deter you. You are standing in that precious position today. Today we are having a revolution to break up all the boundaries of the universe. It is our task to spread it. In the end only love will remain strong and prosperous. Thank you.</p>
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<article id="post-1122" class="post-1122 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/self-reflection.html" title="Permalink to SELF REFLECTION" rel="bookmark">SELF REFLECTION</a>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:32:49+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/self-reflection.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:32:49+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">December 1, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator — Mrs. Won Pok Choi</h3>
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<p>Today is the first day of December, 1976. We have only one month or 31 days left and we will be entering a new year. This year is the culmination of providential history, and we are crossing over the crest of the history of providence. Back in Korea, even before coming to the United States, I contemplated my having to cross over the crest of providential history here in America. I feel that we are now crossing over that crest; we are on that summit. Now the question is how to go on from this point.</p>
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<p>When I look back at the 30 odd year history of the Unification Church, I very much doubt that we have gone a straight course. In Korea, Japan, and the Western world, we have had members from many nationalities and races who have gone a zigzag path. When I reflect on those 30 years of Unification history, I recall many people who just touched our movement and fell away. Among them were people guided to our movement by spirit world. They were taught by the spirit world and were meant to find the fruit of their past here, but somehow they fell away.</p>
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<p>When I think of them, I realize how difficult the path of our Unification Church is because those people were determined, devoted people, who were resolved to go this way. When I think that those unforgettable figures fell away, I have to reflect upon them, and I also reflect upon the whole of our movement at this time. I remember well that when they entered this movement, they thought that it was the true way and that they would dedicate their lives to it. I am sure that upon falling away they searched for another movement of higher dimension, but not having been able to find one, they are now wandering in darkness.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Those who have gone away</h3>
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<p>Among them were young people who wanted to go back to school, to go back and restore their sweethearts, or to go back to a worldly career. Recently I hear from those people that they long for our movement and are anxious to return. Having gone through so many years outside our movement, they are disillusioned more than ever, but they are too ashamed to return.</p>
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<p>I am going to describe the most miserable of those people, both young and old, who have fallen away. They are those who were once the most exemplary persons in our movement. All the members envied them and made it their goal to become like those people. Because of their ardor and exemplary conduct they were like the light of the movement. But they fell away and are now groping in darkness. While in the movement they thought highly of our theology and their goal was to practice what the Divine Principle teaches. They had left everything secular and were wholeheartedly devoted but they fell away.</p>
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<p>When those people who have turned their backs on our movement look back at their past days here, their shame makes it impossible for them to come back. That is the most miserable feeling of all. They thought that in the outside world they would find a place of higher dimension and greater warmth of love. Since they could not find any such place, however, they have lost hope and think back to their days in our movement and say, “Because of that person and because of this and that I had to leave.” They want to justify themselves. They think they have left, but somewhere in their hearts the Principle and our way of life are so deeply implanted that they cannot ignore them. They confess that when they think of our movement they suffer loneliness and despair. They long for the days when they took everything for granted in our movement.</p>
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<p>Right now you people do not feel that. You take everything for granted and think the day to day routine in our movement is the natural way. You do not feel the comparison between your life here and their lives in the outside world. But if you could put yourselves in the position you would be able to cherish the blessedness of being here. I know there is a group of ex-members getting together and talking about our movement because they find themselves unable to belong to other associations or churches. The established churches are open, waiting with outstretched arms for them to come back, but somehow they cannot go to them.</p>
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<p>Here too, I open my church door wide, but they cannot stand the shame of meeting early members who are now much more advanced than they. They are preoccupied with thinking, “The church members might think ill of me; Father will wonder about me.” These thoughts torture them. Even though we would welcome them with warm hearts as usual, they would not receive it that way. We would console their hearts and try to make them at ease in our movement, but still they would feel that deep in our hearts we resent them. Some may try to start all over again and go along the road of our movement, but they would imagine skeptical eyes all around them.</p>
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<p>They would find that there are already many blessed couples and that all these dedicated members are so spiritually advanced. Compared to them they would feel worthless and perhaps they could not quite overcome those ordeals. Some of them think of coming here to the United States or any country other than Korea since the members here might not know that they had once fallen away. Even though they do this, they may find older Korean members here, as well as Japanese and European members. When I think of those people I urge you to feel the blessedness of being in our movement. Put yourselves in their position, and then build a stronghold in your own minds so that you will not fall away.</p>
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<p>We can say that if you leave, there is no place in the whole world where it will be easy for you to settle because not only this world but also the spirit world will know that you have left the Unification Church. The reason I am telling you this is because once you fail in our movement, not only this world but the whole spirit world will recognize you. It will be very difficult to escape that situation. You will actually feel like you are in prison.</p>
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<p>For instance, imagine you were a young man full of hope and desire, but you failed at one point and were put in prison. Every moment in the prison cell would be filled with suffering as you contemplated your past. You could never forget your failure. You would think, “If I had not done this, I would not be in prison.” Repentance and regret would torture you constantly. You would say, “I should have done this and this to obtain my goal in a decent way, and then I could have been successful. But because of my one failure I am now in prison being tortured like this.” in a self-centered way; they are always proud of their past.</p>
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<p>Now let me talk about you who are still in our movement. You are still here going towards the goal, but when you look back into your own past, maybe 5 or 10 years or more in this movement, you ask yourselves, “What have I done during those years?” You know only too well how the Divine Principle is teaching you to do certain things, but you have not been able to put them into practice.</p>
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<p>If your history in the movement is longer than most members’, when you reflect on yourself the torture will be greater. You do not grow spiritually by taking everything for granted, just repeating the same things every day. Maybe you do not have a burning desire or ambition to carry out your mission; maybe you are just lukewarm. If you go on like this for 10 years or more, when you look back into your past, then you will feel much repentance and regret.</p>
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<p>We also see another kind of person in our movement. These people always struggle to go ahead of others. On the road they fight hard and take responsibility on their shoulders. Among those there are also two types. Some are proud of themselves, and looking back they judge others and say, “I am doing this for those people; what are they doing?” But there is still one more kind of person. They do their utmost yet still are ashamed of not being able to do more. They think, “What has our Father gone through? I can’t copy him; I can’t follow him closely enough.”</p>
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<p>Out of all those types of people, I find that the only ones who survive to the end are the people who always do their utmost and then still think they are far from being dedicated. They struggle hard, always with self reflection, always evaluating themselves.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Four types of members</h3>
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<p>If I reiterate, there are four types of people. First, there are those who have already fallen away. Second, there are those who are in the movement, but who are still really somewhere between the outside world and the movement, who just go through the everyday routine, taking everything for granted. The third kind are in the vanguard and struggle hard, but in a self-centered way; they are always proud of themselves for having accomplished so much. Finally there is the fourth kind, who struggle harder than anyone else in the movement, but still feel that their lives fall short of the standard. They repent and reflect and re-evaluate themselves all the way through. Both God and I would choose the last type.</p>
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<p>Let us think more about the fourth type. They are the people who really know the path of restoration. They know that on the path of restoration they have to go through the individual level, then the family, clan, tribal, national and worldwide levels. Only then can they reach the spirit world and God. They know they have to go through a more and more difficult way all the time because the levels get broader and higher, but they are determined.</p>
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<p>For instance, members in Korea always have to meditate on how to go over the worldwide level of things while still in Korea. If not in a substantial way, they must at least think of crossing over the worldwide level in a symbolic way. So even though they are in Korea the whole time, whatever they do they are doing for the people of the whole world. Those kinds of people always pray hard and go the sacrificial way for the sake of other people.</p>
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<p>The same thing applies to you here. You know you are dedicated to our movement, but there are four types of people here and from now on your way in the Principle will count. You must determine what kind of people you are going to be. I hope you are determined not to fall away because you are vulnerable to the temptation of the outside world if you remain lukewarm.</p>
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<p>The year 1976 in our movement has been an historical year. Starting from 1974 we have gone through the successes at Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument. We are excited and proud of ourselves, but now when we look back to those events we must meditate on what those successes brought us.</p>
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<p>Do you really feel to the bone that our Washington Monument success brought us great change for the better? There is no question that those events have been the most successful, not only in the history of the Unification Church but in my own history. Have you really felt that to the bone? If you really have, then you must have been very dedicated to making those events successful even at the risk of your lives, otherwise you could not feel like that. Did you really feel, “Oh, if I don’t work harder, if it should be a failure, how will it affect our movement?” Were you desperate enough to think of that as a life-and-death event?</p>
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<h3 align="center">Can you be proud before God?</h3>
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<p>Among those who say yes, I know there are also many types of people. Several hundred people are here and perhaps several hundred kinds of people. Perhaps you really did your best, thinking that in the sight of God, in the sight of all humanity this historical event could be fatal, that if you failed there would be damage to the whole providential history. If you were that desperate, then I am proud of you. Then you could think of it as your own success as well as God’s success and the success of the True Parents. Are you confident that you can go before God and say, “I did my best for Washington Monument. I’m a victor. You can be proud of me God!” Can you say that?</p>
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<p>Think of things from the standpoint of God: He has been struggling hard all through 6,000 Biblical years, wanting to have His people win over the satanic world. How anxious He must have been to have His people win over Satan, and how happy God must be over our victory. Maybe there was a boundary line and God saw us cross over that line to occupy another sphere of life. That kind of moment must exist in the providential history.</p>
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<p>If that line was the Washington Monument Rally, what would have happened? At that moment the gravest person must have been God. He was completely serious. The True Parents also knew that this was the summit, that we had to go over that line in order to make our success really solid. Without your knowing it I was so totally serious. Isn’t it natural that I was far more serious than you? And I know that God was even far more serious than I was.</p>
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<p>When I look at you from this viewpoint, you do not seem as serious as I was or as God was. Then, how can you be proud of yourselves? Before whom would you want to boast-before your brothers and sisters or your friends, before the governors and presidents and kings of countries, before God? The point at which God can be proud of His people is so high. If you have not reached that point, how can you be proud of yourselves before God?</p>
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<p>Not being as serious as I was, can you really be proud of yourselves before God? Do you really understand what I mean? The reason I am telling you this is that you must reflect upon what kind of people you are now after the Washington Monument Rally. Are you lax and did you settle down into a routine again, or are you carrying forward that excitement, spurring yourselves to move ahead? I want you to have more than enough power to break through any obstacles which lie ahead, but you look lax and blank. I want you to be re-awakened to the fact that 1976 is the most difficult, most eventful and most meaningful year in the whole history of the providence. Having gone up and up the slope, we will soon conclude this year. If this is the summit then you cannot go higher, and somehow you have to descend. Once you cross over the summit, you can see many kinds of people. Some are just wandering about, but some are dashing forward in a certain direction.</p>
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<p>Somehow I find people lax now after Washington Monument. We must be very alert upon entering the last month of the year, not in complete relaxation. If you really understood that you are before God, if you understood that you are before the True Parents, how could you be lax? Who knows, this moment may be the only moment that you can meet with God; would you want to let it slip past? If you doze off then the person who is to be your mate, the love of your life, may just pass by without noticing you.</p>
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<p>We can see roughly three types of people here. Some have just barely managed to come and think that their just being here is sufficient, so they doze off easily. Others struggle hard to listen, but after a few moments they go blank. Finally some listen with keen attention and are ready to carry out whatever I say.</p>
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<p>There are ups and downs and successes and failures in your life. But when do the failures come? You must understand this. Right after some excitement, right after a success you tend to become lax. It is at that very moment that Satan will attack and you will fail. Let us think about ourselves. When we first began this kind of meeting you were all excited and enthusiastic to listen to me, and you kept your eyes wide open all the way through. But as time went by these meetings became routine and now you always take them for granted.</p>
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<p>Recently I have been thinking of shipping all the members on the East coast to the West coast and of bringing those people who have been missing me to New York. Some 80 Japanese members left for Japan and now they are writing to me, saying, ” When I was in the United States we could at least come to see you every Sunday morning. Now we miss your talks; we miss seeing you, and we miss our brothers and sisters.” In my mind I ask them, “When you were here, were you like that?” If they had worked with that zeal and enthusiasm all the way through then I would not have sent them back. If they had been resolved to carry out whatever I told them to do, somehow the way would have opened for them to stay here.</p>
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<p>We can safely say that everyone needs training. Somehow suffering is necessary and struggling hard is the way to train and discipline yourselves. Do you think God is not particular about some things, that He likes just anything? What kind of people do you think God will love? People who are not dedicated, far from being perfect? I am very serious to teach you God’s message, and I want to remold you into perfect people. Consequently I like those people who struggle harder than other people. That is very natural isn’t it?</p>
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<p>Sometimes I see members 3 or 5 years old in the movement taking things for granted, and then there are newcomers whose bright eyes are wide open to see me and to absorb everything. What kind of people would I be drawn to? Suppose only older members are in front but in the rear is one newcomer who is here for the first time, and he is all alert, saying, “Oh, that’s Reverend Moon! Oh, how blessed I am to hear him.” Which one would God be drawn to?</p>
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<p>You have been hearing so many precious things from me and have not been putting them into practice. In that sense you are just thieves, stealing something precious and never using it or multiplying it. That is why the Bible says, “The kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence will take it by force.” That means those who struggle hard will win it. Those who are apt to doze off should sit where it is cold. Even though they may have come earlier than other people, if they doze off, what good is it? If I see the same person doze off three times or more then it is not erased from my memory, and at the time of blessing I remember, “Oh, this is the girl who was dozing off all the time! ” Would you want to have that kind of image planted in my mind?</p>
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<p>Dozing off is one thing, but there are many more things God would hate to see in you; for instance, some members stay behind while others go out witnessing. Your attitude and spirituality in witnessing is being evaluated by God. Don’t you see that what you have done here will be recorded and you will not be able to escape it when you are in spirit world?</p>
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<p>Can you claim to be entitled to heaven? If you argue that you should be able to enter the kingdom, then with one press of the button your past history will be seen. Maybe you could not bear to look at it because you will have nothing to say against it. You are making your own record, your own history. You may sometimes think that what you are doing is not being noticed, but look at nature-the sun is always shining upon you, making you conspicuous in the sight of humanity.</p>
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<p>My topic this morning is “Self Reflection.” Recently I have been meditating and praying, and I found the spiritual atmosphere in our church these days is not quite what it should be. We cannot let these New York members go on like this. Instead of shifting all these members to the West coast and those on the West coast to the East coast, I shifted their leaders. I meant to have them live in a better way. Our motto should be, “Let’s struggle harder than at Washington Monument.” If you are prepared with that attitude, raise your hand.</p>
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<p>However, the result of your work in New York is not too good I’m afraid. After Washington Monument you are back in New York, but is your spiritual standard ascending or descending? Before coming here this morning I already sensed the spiritual atmosphere, among you. Whenever I stand before you, I am drawn to you if your spiritual standard is high, and as I walk here my legs are very light. But if the atmosphere is the other way around, my legs are heavy, and I feel so low spiritually. Sometimes, meditating on what to say, I become confused, and without your knowing it I struggle hard. When I speak, you fill the vessels which you have created of yourselves-round, crooked and of every shape.</p>
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<p>If a situation like we have now continues for 3 weeks in succession then a great problem will arise. We cannot go on like this. I want Dr. Bergman to alert you, and Mr. Kamiyama to really discipline you. If you conclude 1976 this way, we will not have brought the year into fruition. We must restore the excitement and zeal which we poured into the Washington Rally.</p>
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<h3 align="center">We have another summit to cross</h3>
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<p>We won successes in Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Washington Monument, and a few minutes ago David Kim said we won a great success at the Science Conference. What is the use of it if you are lax like this after the success? We are still traveling on the road toward the final success. We still have another summit to cross over. Where did you say we were going after Washington Monument? Is it any simple thing for us to go to Moscow? It means that you will have to win over the communists. Without your knowing it there are many communists trying to undermine our movement; therefore we must be fiercer and stronger than they.</p>
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<p>You must be able to clear yourselves of all your negative feelings and downcast spiritual atmosphere and stand again in the face of difficulties. Without spurring yourselves forward you will be vulnerable to temptations from the outside. You must have more hope and more zeal for the future.</p>
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<p>When I look at the future of America, I see dark clouds hovering over this nation. Who will break through this stalemate? We are the ones to do that, but with a spiritual attitude like this you cannot carry out that mission. We must put you in training again before beginning anew. If you see any member here whom you think cannot be challenged to this, they can even be sent to some other center.</p>
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<p>This is the hour of self reflection and I have named four types of people from the past in our movement. Those who have fallen away were those who did not have their spirits alert all the time. I know that many young members here are thinking of getting blessed. Somewhere in the next year there may be a blessing and you are all preoccupied with that. Which of the two is more valuable, the whole world or your blessing? When you think of things in a self-centered way you have nothing to do with the whole of humanity. We are in a life and death battle against the whole nation. The whole nation is coming against us, and only after winning that battle can we contemplate the blessing. There is a law about being blessed, and only after going a certain course of indemnity are you qualified. Some of the couples have started their married life, but if they do not meet the standard of the blessing, their descendants will be faced with troubles. Being blessed is no simple matter.</p>
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<p>I am having the national leaders make a list of those who were already married when they came to the movement. If I bless them they may be happy, but 1 have to shoulder the indemnity for them. After I bless them, can they live a better married life than they used to in the outside world? That is the question. But again I must tell you that there is a more important thing than blessing.</p>
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<p>What is our goal up to the year 1978? We must win 30,000 members. Do you think it is an easy goal? If you fail to reach that goal by then, I may have to leave this country. How much is 30,000 compared to the whole population of the United States? 1/7,000th. After winning 30,000 members we will have won only I out of every 7,000 Americans! It is most extraordinary thinking when I say that I can turn this country upside down with 30,000 members.</p>
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<p>Would I person be able to influence 7,000 people? We must make it possible and it is a tremendously difficult job, I know. That is the least possible foundation on which I can make a miracle happen here. In the ordinary sense would that be possible at all? When you think of that, how anxious you should be to win members! How many years do we have left until 1978? 1 want you to be really serious.</p>
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<p>Upon leaving Japan, I ordered the Japanese members to win a certain number of members. Not having reached that standard, they are now going through much, much difficulty. If they had won that number of members, somehow I could have managed to have them turn Japan upside down. How many members have each of you brought since coming to the movement? Those who have brought more than 5 members, hold up your hands. How many years have you been in the movement? If you are 4 years old in the movement and have brought only 5 members is not acceptable; our standard is 1 person per month. Why did we set that as our goal?</p>
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<h3 align="center">Your personal course</h3>
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<p>In the Principle the number 7 is very important. We have to go through 7 stages or 7 years. In our movement we have to go through at least a 7-year course. We talk about 3 years of public ministry, but unless I recognize that period, you will not have finished it successfully. If we multiply 3 by 2 it makes 6, plus I as the Sabbath Day after the whole creation makes 7.</p>
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<p>You must indemnity the 6,000 Biblical years, and upon entering the new era, you will have indemnified 7,000 years of history. In our course of indemnity we fake seriously the 7-year course on the personal level. After 7 years, 70 years in our movement will be the goal. The next goal is 700 years and then we will fulfill 7,000 years. Islam came because Christianity was a failure after 7 centuries. Therefore any one religious movement must be able to win the whole world to God in 700 years time at the longest. No one here can live to be 700 years old; however, in your life span you will ideally go through 70 years.</p>
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<p>Until we have restored the whole world, our path will be that of sacrifice. In making a sacrifice should the offerings on the altar be divided or united? Offerings are to be cut in two. That is why Christianity and other higher religions have advocated celibacy, even without knowing the reason why. In our movement that 70 years will be narrowed down to a 7-year course and without going through that course you cannot indemnity the 7,000 years.</p>
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<p>The number 7 must be indemnified in the family, between the parents and the children. Jesus had to go through 3 years of public ministry, and if he had lived, he would have gone through 3 more years plus 1, making his mission a success. He should have concluded his mission as the Son in 3 years and then as the True Parents in 3 more years.</p>
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<p>In your first 3-year course you can complete the mission as a son or daughter and then in 3 more years you can build a family. In order to indemnity that formula in the Unification Church you have to go through at least a 3-year course in the beginning. In those three years of his public ministry, Jesus should have been able to locate 3 very dedicated, sacrificial sons from among the disciples. With those people dedicating their lives to him he would not have died on the cross, and he could have started his family. nose disciples correspond to Noah’s family with 3 sons and 3 daughters-in-law, making 8 members in the family. Those disciples would also have been in the position of archangels ministering to his own immediate family.</p>
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<p>In the Principle, you must bring at least 3 spiritual children into the movement or else you are not entitled to be blessed. That corresponds to your being able to win 3 disciples, as Jesus should have done. Jesus’ 3 chief disciples should have been willing to sacrifice their lives for his sake.</p>
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<p>You must be able to win and raise those spiritual children of yours. After completing the 3 years alone you can start family life. After the blessing you will set up another condition of 3 years. Why do I set up that period of time? In our movement we are the central figures to go through the indemnity course which has been unfulfilled in history. Couple by couple you have go through 3 more years of dedicated living, and then each of you will cross over the number 6. Then, being recognized by God, you can start married life; it will be the start of the number 7. This is the firm formula you have to go through, so you must understand the depth of it.</p>
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<p>For the 1800 couples I shortened the time to 21 months. But even if I become more and more generous I cannot go any shorter than 7 months. After the blessing the already-married couples will have to go through 7 months of abstinence. It is not because they have met the qualification to have that short period of time before being re-united, but I can give them the right to do that because I have paid the indemnity.</p>
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<p>Are we going through that formula or not? Without knowing this you have been wondering why we have to go through 3 more years of abstinence even after being blessed. Starting from the day You joined the movement, you have to go through 7 years to accomplish the mission left unaccomplished by Jesus. He should have had 12 and then 72 dedicated disciples. Added together, those make 84 disciples. He could not have died on the cross if his 12 disciples and 72 apostles had been united in firm oneness.</p>
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<p>From then on the channel to the heavenly kingdom on earth would have been open. With only 84 as the solid foundation the kingdom of God on earth could have been erected. Do you realize that? This is not any vague fantasy; this is a real formula. We want to meet that standard in 7 years so that we can accomplish what was left unaccomplished by our predecessors.</p>
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<p>Each year has 12 months, and 7 years multiplied by 12 is 84. In those 7 years if you bring 1. person per month that will make 84. So in this movement our goal is for each one of you to bring in 84 members in 7 year’s time. Those of you who win 2 persons a month will accomplish this in 3½ years. And perhaps you can do much, much better than that. Do you understand now why I gave you the formula of I person per month? It is not something I fabricated to make you work; it is the God-given formula which you have to go through for yourselves, your descendants and all mankind.</p>
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<p>Not having been able to accomplish that on earth, Jesus has to come again to accomplish it through some group in the physical world. That is God’s formula, and without that being fulfilled we do not have the foundation to erect the kingdom. Corresponding to Jesus’ 12 disciples you must be able to bring at least 12 spiritual children into the movement, and your next goal is 72 more. Those are going to be the outer circle.</p>
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<h3 align="center">I have paved this way for you</h3>
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<p>At all cost you must be able to win 3 spiritual children. That is why I blessed 3 couples in 1960. Before I was blessed by God, I had to win those 3 spiritual children. Those 3 couples were engaged first, and on that foundation I could receive Mother. That was my formula to follow.</p>
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<p>The number 12 was the foundation of the 36 families. The 36 couples were chosen representing 12 in the past, 12 in the present, and 12 in the future. The first 12 couples are called Adam’s family, meaning from Adam to Noah. The next 12 are called Noah’s family, from Noah to Jacob, and the third 12 are called Jacob’s family, from Jacob to Jesus. By my setting that up, this world is connected with the spiritual world and the past with the future. You can read in the Bible that there are 12 pearl gates in the heavenly world, and that in this world there were 12 tribes of Jacob flourishing in God’s lineage. Unless those two are linked with ourselves in between, the providence cannot move on.</p>
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<p>Centering on the 36 couples as Abel, the next level of 72 is in the position of Cain. The 120 couples are the outer level of the family, representing the whole world. In the days of Jesus too, 120 apostles were the foundation to spread the message all over the world. The 430 couples represent the whole cosmos, including the spirit world; they also represent the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt, and their start towards Canaan. In addition the 430 corresponds to the 4300 year history of Korea, the chosen nation. The 777 couples substantially represent the whole cosmos. Through these significant blessings we have improved and developed providential history step by step.</p>
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<p>Including the 1800 couples we have gone through seven stages. Now that I have blessed seven groups, I do not have to bless any more groups myself. In this way we have organized tribes under God. I have paved the way for you to go to the end of the world, but you still have to lay the foundation for your own tribe. That is why I say the blessed couples are the messiahs to their own tribes. You will accomplish something on your own up to the national level and then you will be connected to the foundation that I have laid.</p>
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<p>These are not just empty words or some manmade, fabricated formula. If you do not accomplish this much in your lifetime, then you must do it with more difficulty in the spirit world. If Jesus’ own relatives and tribe had cooperated with him he could have accomplished his mission centering on them. Because of their disbelief, however, his mission was not fulfilled. Therefore you must be able to win that number of people from the outside world and lay a foundation on which you can build your own family and tribe. If Jesus had been able to win 12 disciples from among his relatives and 72 apostles from his own tribe, things would have been much, much easier. Instead, he had to bring his 3 and 12 disciples from the outside world.</p>
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<p>The same principle applied to me. I, too, could not bring anyone from my own clan into the movement. I had to leave my own family-my parents, my brothers and sisters-and go out into the satanic world. Without loving those people more than my own relatives I could not have accomplished my mission. Now that I have laid the foundation, you can be blessed and build your own family; and you can also bring your own relatives, people from your own blood lineage; therefore restoration will be much easier for you.</p>
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<p>Sooner or later you can go back to your native country and town and bring in your relatives as your 3 spiritual children, your 12 disciples and your 72 disciples, making the total of 84. If you really understand the importance of having at least 84 disciples, you can plead with your relatives, “If I don’t do this, my spiritual life will be ruined and our family cannot be restored back to God.” You can plead with them with tearful eyes and a warm heart, and they will be drawn to you. I have already paved the way, more for your sake than for mine.</p>
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<p>Unless you do greater things than Jesus did in his lifetime, you cannot reach the summit. That is the heart of the Principle; I cannot change it because this is the God-given formula. If you feel that without doing this you will be spiritually dead for eternity, you will be serious enough. This is the reason why I am telling you to bring in at least one person per month. To make it easier you can go back to influence the hearts of your relatives. You will not be able to lift up your face if you pass away without being able to restore your own relatives. You should not want to get blessed without fulfilling all these formulas. I could not marry until the age of 40 because of the conditions I had to fulfill. Before that I went through many experiences in prison and with people who rebelled against me. After untold difficulty and persecution I barely laid that foundation by the age of 40.</p>
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<p>Do not ever dream of getting blessed in an easy way. If you are serious, you cannot say, “I just cannot witness to the people.” If you keep writing to your family, calling them on the phone with enthusiasm and energy, you will have no excuse for not being able to fulfill this condition. Even those blessed couples here, if you fail to bring in 84 members in your lifetime, you will have violated God’s law and will not be qualified for the blessing. Because of the blessing the gate to the heavenly kingdom is open, but if you are not qualified then you cannot go through. In the future, I may have to drive those blessed couples out into the field to witness again.</p>
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<p>I must restore the world; you must restore your relatives</p>
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<p>I must restore the whole world to go into the kingdom, and as individual members you must restore your relatives. You have to cross the individual level and then go through the level of the family, tribe, clan, nation, world and cosmos. You have to begin by witnessing to three members, and then it will increase to 12, 72, and 84. Only after you restore 84 disciples will you be connected with the foundation that I have laid. Then you will inherit what I will have done. By following me you will be led into the heavenly kingdom. Then you are going to be citizens of the Kingdom of God on earth. As your spiritual children lay that foundation our scope will be widened to cover the whole world. With this important and serious task ahead of you how can you be relaxed? You must do your 5%.</p>
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<p>In the face of so much difficulty and persecution 1 have paved the way for you. Since there will no longer be so much persecution as an obstacle, can you say you cannot go this way? After we have laid the foundation on the national level, you will not be able to escape laying the foundation on your own. Until now, when I have blessed couples I shouldered the indemnity for them. With your cooperation I will lay the foundation on the national level and then will acknowledge that what you have done is connected to my foundation. Only then can you really build your own kingdom.</p>
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<p>Centered on me and my family, you will receive the heavenly heritage, but only by winning 84 people. Now do you realize the importance of winning at least I person per month? You do not have to spread it out over 7 years. You can finish it in 7 months time or even earlier, the earlier the better. What about bringing 7 members a month into the movement? Then it will only take I year to bring 84 people. The sooner the better. This is a most serious matter. If you really knew the importance of this formula I would not have to encourage you to witness all the time like this. If you really understood, you would not beg me for permission to go back to college to study or for the blessing or for anything.</p>
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<p>May I repeat-in the Unification Church you must go through 3 years of public ministry on the individual level, then 3 years more for the family level foundation, and I more year as fruition, the Sabbath. The 7 year course is the primary course you must go. If you complete the 6 year course in a wholesome way, the final year will be no problem at all.</p>
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<p>My course in America is similar. After the first 3 year course in America the second 3 years of the 7 year course-1974, 1975, 1976-are most important. We were successful in Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument in those 3 years in America. A mathematical formula is always there in the course of restoration. To accomplish these formulas, I had to go through great difficulties. With this serious matter ahead of you, you can never think of building your own families. You are not entitled to be blessed and I will tell you why.</p>
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<p>Have you gone through the first 3 year course, and those who are blessed, have you gone through 3 years after the blessing in a wholesome way? In Japan the 777 couples went almost 5 years after the blessing starting from 1970. The 1800 couples had to go through only 21 months. Maybe somewhere in the future the couples will have only 7 months. Those married couples who came into the movement will be blessed and I will give them the least period of 7 months of separation, but they had already experienced living together, so in spirit world their level will be different from you who are being blessed as single men and women.</p>
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<p>Originally I was supposed to bless only virgin men and women, not those who have had sexual experience. In fact, those who have held the idea of free sex are not entitled to be blessed by me. If you are blessed by me with all those scars and defects, you must be more dedicated and sacrificial in our movement. Do you really understand what I mean? You do not really understand the depth of everything. If I had not had to accomplish this formula I would not have had to go through so much difficulty in restoring the 6,000 years of Biblical history.</p>
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<h3 align="center">My first 7 years</h3>
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<p>Before you can say you will follow me or that you love me, I want you to bring 84 spiritual children. Only then do you really belong to me. That is the core of Principle. Knowing this can you ever doze off? During the first 7 years of my ministry, I did not even take off my clothing to go to bed. I did not use a table to eat; at best I would use a tray, but most of the time I ate on the floor. Until I was able to accomplish the whole of my mission I felt as though I were a sinner before God. For those 7 years I fasted on my birthdays. With the great mission still ahead of me, I could not express love toward my parents or my brothers and sisters. During that period of time I could not talk about God’s message. You know Sung-Jin, my eldest son from another marriage, whose mother opposed our movement; I felt disqualified to call him my son and I never once held his hand. I deeply felt like a sinner; you must understand that.</p>
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<p>With the gravest of all missions ahead of you on the individual level, how can you enjoy your food or rest? Before accomplishing this mission you cannot claim yourself, or your family, clan, nation or the world; you cannot even claim God as your own, and certainly not the True Parents.</p>
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<p>Without being able to accomplish his whole mission, Jesus’ claim over the whole world and over God was lost. Jesus’ mother failed to accomplish her portion of the mission, so as you read in the Bible, he once said, “Who is my mother … ? Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my mother.” And he said, “Woman, what have you to do with me?” I can say the same thing to you. What have you to do with me? Can you really say you are a member of the Unification Church without being able to carry out your own mission? In the truest sense, no.</p>
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<p>You have to bring in at least three spiritual children as a base, then 12, 36, 72, and 84, going through the individual level, family and tribal levels. You are connected with me only after laying your foundation of 84 spiritual children. Starting from today you must be desperate to carry out that formula. If you fail to do that in this world, you will have violated God’s regulation, and you will have to do that even in the spirit world.</p>
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<p>Having failed to do that, Jesus was put on the cross. If I had failed to do this, I would have gone to something more terrible than the cross. If you cannot carry out that much on earth you will have to do it in the spirit world. The whole of humanity can be saved in the future by following my pattern. You must feel the blessedness of being taught this principle.</p>
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<p>For these 7 years you are something like a criminal facing capital punishment, but by going through the prison term of 7 years and meeting that standard you will get rid of the sin and be brought back to life again. You must be very serious to understand the heart of this matter and carry it out; I want you to really understand. You must not just take everything for granted in this movement. Until now you have been going through an everyday routine, but starting from now I want you to become deeply serious.</p>
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<p>Things will be much, much easier from now on. Once public opinion is favorable then it will be easy for you to go back to your families and bring them into the movement. You can do the job in a much easier way at the soonest possible date. You can bring people by the hundreds. After creating a good environment, after fuming the public opinion to our side, then I will send you back to your relatives. That will correspond to Jesus going back home to restore his relatives after finishing his public ministry. Sooner or later, all across the world people will think the Unification Church is within God’s will. Then public opinion will be turned to our side.</p>
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<p>Since coming to the United States I have pretty much made the public aware of us. I hear that in Europe too people everywhere know my name. Because of the controversy they are a little confused, but deep in their hearts they think, “This couldn’t be a bad group of people. They’re all clean-cut and so enthusiastic in doing what they believe is right.” Once they find that we are the group carrying out God’s will they will turn to our side at once. In a way I welcome the notoriety and controversial publicity. Without that, it would have taken a hundred years for our group to become known.</p>
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<p>Only last year, I sent out missionaries to 120 countries. Because of the bad publicity, all over the world they are going through the same things we are, but we will all cross over the summit at the same time. If public opinion becomes favorable in the United States, their foundation will be laid too. Because the United States is the leading nation of the world what happens here will be spread all over the world. If America begins to think that our movement is part of God’s will, then public opinion all over the world will change. I can foresee that from next year on public opinion will be turned to our side. After that our witnessing will be very easy. If I were you, I would bring 84 members before things get easier. If I were you I would bring that number of people in a week’s time. Why don’t you bring a hundred or more members to the workshop and have 84% of them be fruitful?</p>
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<p>What we are doing here is laying the foundation for you to work easily. I told you to bring at least 30,000 into the movement by the year 1978. That is the minimal number through which we will lay the foundation for you to work on. If you are so serious as to risk your life to do that, 1 person per month is not so difficult. Maybe you will accomplish that number in 3 years, and if you struggle on you can bring in tens of thousands of members in several more years. Whoever is in the movement must be able to bring in 1 person per month at least. Do you really understand? If you are a forgetful person, when you go back this morning why don’t you just fasten something on your wrist so that you will remember how many you have brought and how many you are supposed to bring in?</p>
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<p>This formula applies to everyone. How can you say, “I am fund raising, so how can I witness to the people?” Sooner or later you have to meet the quota. You can witness by writing or phoning your family. Sooner or later you will be shifted and the MFT members may be witnessing later. As long as you are on MFT, why don’t you write and call the people you knew and lay a foundation so that you can witness to them?</p>
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<p>How old you are in the movement will not count, only how many members you have brought to the movement. If you are old in the movement but have not been able to bring many members, you are a failure. You lecturers must have had to lecture on this kind of central matter, but it looks as though you yourselves have not been hearing it. After building your own family, you must be responsible for your 84 children and have them connected with you as your family. What will you do if you are not qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom? Jesus is spiritually working in this world because his mission was left unfinished. Without being able to do greater things than Jesus did, how can you get blessed? It is no easy matter to get blessed.</p>
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<p>During the first 3 years you must lay the foundation on the individual level; in the second 3 years you will lay the foundation for the family level, and with 1 final year you will complete the 7 years. In his lifetime Jesus had only 3 years of public ministry. If he had not died on the cross he could have laid the foundation on the family level, and by setting up his family he could have completed his mission. With I more Sabbath year added he would have accomplished the 7 year course in a wholesome way, representing all the years of Biblical history. But after 3 years didn’t Jesus lose all of his disciples? Even his 3 chief disciples left him. While Jesus was on the cross being tortured all the disciples ran away. Therefore, in the course of indemnity you must be able to raise your 3 spiritual children so that they will be ready to die with you. At least 3 very dedicated spiritual children is your minimal responsibility.</p>
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<h3 align="center">If Jesus’ disciples had not left him…</h3>
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<p>If Jesus’ 3 chief disciples had banded together and offered to die in place of him, he should not have gone to the cross. Even if Jesus had not been released, if his 3 chief disciples had died on the cross with him, then all 4 could have been resurrected, and at that very moment Jesus could have ascended into heaven. Through those 4 being resurrected on earth, all the spirit world could have descended from that moment on, working through the hearts of the people and making it easy to restore the whole world.</p>
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<p>Because that foundation was not laid at the time of Jesus there has been a great gap between this world and the spirit world. Up to the present only those who excelled the 3 disciples of Jesus and were ready to be martyred for the sake of God’s will could be contacted by the spirit world. Because of the failure of Jesus’ disciples, those people had to be martyred, shedding blood to indemnity what the disciples failed to accomplish.</p>
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<p>After you bring 3 chief disciples or spiritual children, you will have laid the foundation to be blessed and to have your own family. But you must multiply those 3 into 12 in the course of time, and most importantly, you must be united. One of the 12 disciples betrayed Jesus, but your 12 disciples must be so dedicated that they would die with you, and in complete unity with them you must multiply the 12 into 72. The 3 spiritual children will be the first, or formation stage; the 12 will be the growth stage, and the 72 the perfection stage. That is the course you have to go at all costs in 7 year’s time.</p>
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<p>Each of your fingers has 3 joints, so these 4 fingers have 12 joints. The thumb denotes God, with the 2 joints representing God’s dual characteristics. One hand represents the 12 surrounding the entity of God, with His dual essentialities. The 12 months of 4 seasons each encompass the whole law of nature. The right hand represents heaven and the left hand represents earth, so with 2 hands united, the whole world will be encompassed. In Christianity up to 12 denominations are allowed, but no more, and out of the 12 possible denominations, 3 should be the core ones. But now how many denominations are there? Because of rupture and division there are far too many. In the final days we must be able to organize 12 tribes, and through their cooperation bring the whole of Christianity into strong, harmonious oneness. All nationalities and all 5 races must be brought together.</p>
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<p>Do you really understand what I have taught you this morning? Until you have accomplished your responsibility, you are not in a position to eat on a table or change into your pajamas to go to bed, or even to eat 3 meals. You must feel like sinners until you accomplish that much. You should not celebrate your birthday if you have not accomplished that much. I have willingly gone through the same course on my own. For 7 years I fasted on my birthday; for those 7 years I would go with 2 or 3 hours sleep at the most. That is the formula in the Unification Church. If you mean to follow me then you have to go through the same thing, not for my sake, but for you own sake.</p>
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<p>I have accomplished my mission. Having won the victory at Washington Monument, even if I die now I will be a victor, not a failure. If you carry out the instructions I give you, you are sure to win the victory. I have done my part, so if you are really able to shoulder the cross on your own, I can take my Sabbath. I am thinking of resting for awhile, but then some of you may think that since I am resting, you should rest for a few days too. However, my position now is similar to having received my doctorate, and you are still in kindergarten; then how can you act like 1 do? Can you say, “Wherever Father goes I will go, and whenever Father rests I will rest with him.” Can you do that? I brought my eldest daughter, Ye-Jin, to Washington last weekend for the Science Conference. She was there for the first day and heard me speak, and then she hurried back home because she had to study for an examination on Monday. That is the attitude you must have. With your own task unfulfilled, you must not act like I do.</p>
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<p>Now you have different missions-fund raising, security, and so forth-but you must fulfill this condition sooner or later. In the future there will be many members just flooding into our movement even without our witnessing to them. We will witness to the people through television and radio programs, and many, many young people will come from that to join our movement. Who will be their spiritual parents? They will belong to me. I will be their spiritual father, but if you are really dedicated and sacrificial in your public ministry then I will be more than willing to distribute them to you. If you love them more than yourself then I can give them to you as spiritual children, and I will be responsible for them in the spirit world.</p>
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<p>Members who win more than 84 children will want to give them to other brothers and sisters. In the position of Abel, you want to give everything extra to others. Up to the present the disputes between Cain and Abel have been caused by being greedy, but by giving to each other you will be united very easily. If the children are united, then you can be received by your parents. The same thing applies between you and God.</p>
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<p>I want you to be ready to give out the members you bring in. Then we can create our own heavenly kingdom in this nation, and with 3 such nations restored, other nations will be easily won to the heavenly side. Japan, Germany and the United States were once enemy nations, but if they can be united under God’s will then the rest of the world will be easily united. Together those 3 nations can easily feed the rest of the world. That is why I sent teams of 3 missionaries, one from each of those nations. if Korea were included there could have been 4, but the situation in Korea was too difficult to allow that.</p>
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<p>After starting in Korea I went to Japan, creating our movement there, and now I am in the United States. The European nations are the old world nations, in Cain’s position, the elder brother’s position. Of the European countries, Germany represents Adam on Satan’s side, while on the worldwide level Korea is in the position of Adam on God’s side. If those two nations plus Japan and America cooperate with each other, then it will be easy to restore the whole world. From Korea, the Adam nation, we carne through Japan, the Eve nation, and now we are in America, the archangel nation. Next we are going through the old world, restoring Germany as the most important nation in Europe. Having restored the Adam nation on the satanic side, we will connect it to Korea. Those four nations are crucial in God’s will.</p>
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<p>Each of them represents either faith, love or hope. Germany represents faith. They are a strong people; the physical stature of the German people and their industrial prosperity, show that they are a people of strong faith, will, and clarity of mind. At the Olympic Games in Canada, West Germany and East Germany together set a world record excelling Russia. When you visit Germany you will find that even the women look strong. They are very industrious and diligent.</p>
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<p>The Koreans, Japanese, Americans and Germans all have different characteristics. It is very interesting that God chose those four nations as the champions for His will. Therefore we are concentrating our efforts on those four nations-Korea, Japan, America and Germany. We will see that the restoration of the world is not too far ahead.</p>
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<p>We must be desperate in working for the rest of 1976, 1977 and 1978. By the conclusion of the third 7 year course in 1981 the communist world should decline rapidly, but the outcome lies in our hands. If we fail to lay the necessary foundation by the year 1981, you will see the communists still ascending. Then the whole democratic world will be endangered. In the coming 2 year’s time we must bring 30,000 members at least, and I urge you to bring in more than that.</p>
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<h3 align="center">The Jews have an important role</h3>
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<p>Jewish people have played a major role in the American government. Kissinger is Jewish and their are several more Jews in very important positions. President Carter, however, might replace them with others in the major roles of government. There is a kind of invisible tension between the Jewish people and other groups.</p>
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<p>Recently at the United Nations Zionism is an issue. If the Jewish people insist only on Zionism and try to carry it through, sooner or later a great tragedy will come. If the communists take over the whole world, a greater tragedy than that of Germany under Hitler will occur. There would be more purges and more death. Without taking a worldwide view beyond national and racial barriers, the Jews will be endangered by the communist power.</p>
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<p>But we can see that Christian society is crumbling. I can already see a battle emerging between the Jews and the Christians. If the communists decide to support one of the two parties then that group will be the stronger, and destruction will spread in the near future. Before that happens I have to smooth away racial and national boundaries here in the United States. I am working for the sake of the Jews and the Christians, but they are the ones who oppose our movement.</p>
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<p>Recently the Jews feel threatened by the fast growth of our movement, thinking that if they leave us alone, we will over-run the whole country, endangering their prosperity. Therefore, it is possible that the Jewish people will sooner or later band together to oppose our movement. If we cannot prevent fighting between Judaism, Christianity and the Unification Church and bring those two into oneness with us then the whole world will crumble, beginning with the United States.</p>
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<p>Judaism cannot bring unity between the three, nor can Christianity as it now stands. Only the Unification Church can unite the three, but we must first be prepared for opposition, because the communists will be infiltrating behind the scenes. To oppose the other two, the Jews or Christians may be willing to utilize the communists, who are desperate to destroy the Unification Church. If the Jews and Christians ever band together with communists to fight against us, the situation will be so serious. We are on the verge of life or death during the coming 2 years, so we must be wise enough to make a real breakthrough in those years. At the soonest possible time we must spread the ideology through which you young people have transcended religious, racial and national barriers. The Jews should play a central role in this.</p>
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<p>If we do not win 30,000 members in 2 year’s time, we cannot do the job. Without me here you cannot dream of doing the job. What we are going to do in these coming 2 years is very urgent; we all have to be working dynamically and almost explosively, with all our energies invested. With just I more month left in the year 1976 1 really urge you to understand this formula and to be ready to accomplish your mission of bringing at least 30,000 members in these coming 2 years. This is why I am talking to you like this morning.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Now we will lay the internal foundation</h3>
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<p>My topic this morning is “Self Reflection.” When we look back over this year we see that all our energy was used in those 3 great events culminating with Washington Monument. In the meantime we have not been able to witness to people too much. For these past months we concentrated our efforts on creating a favorable environment externally, but from this moment on we will concentrate our effort on the internal work of witnessing to the people.</p>
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<p>You young people in the movement must be sympathetic with the youth outside who have become decadent, who are ruined by drugs and immoral life. During the time of my work in the United States young people seem to be increasingly influenced by religious ideas. I can clearly see that. I have learned from statistics that bookstores have sold more religious books in the last 3 years than any other kind. Heaven knows that we have created that good tendency. Several more years in that direction and we can change the whole nation. If we continue like this, doing explosive and dynamic things, then the world will be different by the year 1981.</p>
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<p>You must understand that these coming few years are going to be more important than Washington Monument or anything else that we have been proud of. The success or failure of our movement and the whole restoration of the world will depend upon what we do in these 3 years ahead.</p>
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<p>So far we have harvested external successes, but from now on we have to lay the internal foundation. The external is in the Cain position to the internal. We have gone through the external level as the indemnity course, but what we set on the internal level will be for our sake, and it will be our foundation to work on. The external things will flow away, but the internal things will accumulate to accomplish the goal. That is why I am telling you that we must struggle harder than we did for Washington Monument. From this moment on, wherever you are and whatever you are doing-eating, praying, sleeping-before you do anything you must think of one person per month, and try to fulfill it.</p>
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<p>These years concluding the third 7 year course are most important. Being prepared like this, we will do explosive work in witnessing on a large scale. Self reflection is most important, but if you fall into despair thinking of what you have done in the past, you miss the point. Through self reflection you must be encouraged to do more than you did in the past. We were successful at Washington Monument, but have we been successful in the whole nation of America? Not as yet. Only after doing that can we think of going to Moscow.</p>
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<p>From now on I will travel a lot from center to center. Actually, your position is to do that for me, but since you are not capable of doing that I will take up the job. In fact; after Washington Monument I thought I should study English so that I would not need an interpreter. But the situation demands that I visit and encourage you. Since that is more important than studying English, I have to do it. Even if I would try to study I would not be able to concentrate. If any one of you could take up my job so that I can be reassured then I could concentrate on studying.</p>
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<p>I am so serious that I must tell you again and again about the importance of your mission, about having to fulfill God’s formula. For the year 1976 we have harvested three great successes-Yankee .Stadium, Washington Monument, and finally the Science Conference. But as I said before, after those victorious events, a more important task is at hand and if you are lax and proud of yourselves, contented and satisfied, we will not be able to go higher.</p>
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<p>We are creating a newspaper. We have to make it greater than the New York Times as soon as possible. That will take time, but I want to do it quickly. Are you anxious to bring The News World to that standard? If I had 10,000 capable members then I could certainly do it within one year. I hear that the New York Times is using 4,000 people. If we had twice as many people for our newspaper we could reach that standard in a year, but now we have only 130 members working on the paper. Did you know that we bought the Tiffany Building for the newspaper? It is on Fifth Avenue, two minute’s walk from the Empire State Building. It is a big, beautiful building, but too big for 130 people.</p>
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<p>Even though I want to pick more members, there are not enough available who are capable of doing the work. We can bring money somehow, but if our people cannot do newspaper work then even though we put them on the staff they would have to leave because of their lack of ability, and we cannot use outsiders. For the fishery, too, we need several thousand people. Where can we get that number of people? We must use people according to their aptitude, not just anyone. I am ready to establish a university, but without having 10,000 members on the MFT we cannot do that. We need that many people to raise the necessary money, but where can we get that number of people?</p>
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<p>If we mobilized 10,000 IOWA members then we could influence the whole world. If we have 30 jumbo planes arriving would Kennedy Airport be able to handle them? All the other planes would have to hover in the air while our planes land one after another. Wouldn’t the big newspapers carry our story? Without being able to do that, we cannot turn the world upside down.</p>
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<p>I am not dreaming impossible dreams; sooner or later I will be doing this in reality. I want those who left their universities to join our movement to be able to go back to school, but first I must win so many members that you will not have to work by that time. I must educate and train you to be world leaders in the future. After establishing our own universities, I will hire top level professors from all over the world, perhaps some who attended our International Conferences on the Unity of the Sciences.</p>
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<p>I cannot live on this earth forever. I am now 57 and in 13 more years I will be 70. Without me on this earth, who will take up the job? If you fail to meet the standard needed by 1981 then the restoration of the whole world will be delayed or damaged. Some unknown hands brought you to this movement and now you are with me. You must be a coworker in our movement. We are already a controversial group, but we must fulfill our responsibility. You have been accused by many people; have you felt challenged to fight back and win? We have some resentment because we are persecuted and opposed while we are doing God’s will, but we must be determined to carry out our mission and show people that we are on the side of God.</p>
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<p>Since you gather here every Sunday I will reeducate you, or if that is impossible, I will shift you from East to West and from West to East. I am very serious. I am encouraging the Japanese members to work harder; I have instructed Mr. Kamiyama to reorganize them in such a way that they will work as hard as before Madison Square Garden, all ignited and fervent in their witnessing.</p>
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<p>They must recreate the atmosphere they had before Madison Square Garden, and lay the foundation for the Japanese who will follow. The Japanese who are not doing a good job will be sent back to Japan. I am encouraging you American members to work harder than the Japanese members from now on. You must be ready to take up the job they have been doing. Following their tradition, you must be responsible for this nation. About 150 Japanese members must be mobilized to sell our newspapers. There are so many things to be done that you may have to get up at 4 o’clock instead of 6 o’clock. Will you Americans be defeated by the Japanese?</p>
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<p>We must excel the New York Times in every possible way. In the coming two years, 1977 and 1978, we must have branches of the newspaper in the eight major cities from my last tour-Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Philadelphia. You must expand our newspaper all over the nation and up to 50 or more people must be stationed for that purpose in each of the 50 states. With a handful of people like this, how can you carry out all those things? We need at least 200 people for one branch. For 8 such branches we would need some 1600 members. Without bringing in more members we cannot carry out these important missions. What I have declared, however, I will bring to pass. If you fail to do the job, I will pay people to do the job. At all cost I must move forward.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Family witnessing</h3>
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<p>From this day on, the first of December, you must have a new resolve. First, you must be able to witness and bring in one member per month. Mr. Kamiyama is going to make a chart for every month, and the statistics will be put up starting from today. Day and night you will be praying hard, striving hard. Each day each one of you should have a list of 12 names or households that you are determined to visit. You must plan to bring 36 people a year, and then you can win at least 12. Why don’t you include your brothers and sisters? Don’t choose elder brothers or sisters first, but younger ones who admire you. After you have won one of your elder brothers or sisters, too, then together you can work better to win more members of your family. With a well-organized strategy you can do that.</p>
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<p>With 3 of you united, there is nothing you cannot do. Three brothers and sisters can work together and make money to invite your parents, say from North Dakota or Chicago during the winter months, to some warm place like Phoenix or Nevada. Then you can arrange for a very capable lecturer to drop by. After quite a bit of talking, you can invite him to lecture to your parents. Then your parents will be easily attracted to our movement.</p>
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<p>Why don’t you raise some money and have a big birthday celebration for one of your family members and invite your whole neighborhood and all your relatives? Then during the toast or after-dinner speeches you can invite our lecturer to introduce the Principle. If you invite a very capable lecturer then people might really be interested in listening to him.</p>
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<p>Mr. Kamiyama will provide good lecturers if you can gather some 10 to 50 people. With three members working together, you can invite a camp full of people for the workshop from every level of society. There are several hundred people here and if you carry out the quota of one person per month, we will have to expand this place to accommodate them all. Shall we do that?</p>
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<p>Without your being able to save yourselves, you cannot dream of being able to save America; our lifetime goal is 84 members. Are you going to fulfill that number in I year’s time, 7 year’s time, your lifetime, or what? In a while I will bless those who have fulfilled 84 members, even if they have been in the movement only one year or less.</p>
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<p>My topic this morning has been “Self Reflection.” You must look back into your past and restore the failures into successes. If you go out with determination to win victory in the years ahead then our movement will be a great success. I urge you to fulfill the goal.</p>
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<p>Some years ago, I instructed Mr. Kamiyama to lend our books to neighborhood people. They will read the books and then we can hear their comments, witnessing to them in that way. I gave this instruction after my long years of experience, so I want him to continue that project. One person will be responsible for 120 households, lending books for them to read.</p>
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<p>Every 3 to 6 months you will move to another neighborhood and have those people read the books. After awhile, out of 120 households you can select 40 ‘A’ class, 40 ‘B’ class, and 40 ‘C’ class households. After the classification, you will concentrate your efforts on the ‘A’ class people. You can win quite a few members out of the ‘A’ class people, and then with those people you can re-visit the ‘B’ class households. If you can win members out of the ‘B’ class, you can bring them when you witness to the ‘C’ class people again.</p>
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<p>You can have a close association with those 120 households, closer than with your own relatives. Through your coming in and out and having the members of other households visiting each other, your people will get well-acquainted. By having those people influence each other you can win them.</p>
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<p>List the names of the major figures in those households on a card. In the other column write the date and how many people were brought into the movement. Under the date record how many hours you worked with that family. Everyone, including staff members at national headquarters, should be doing the same. Whenever you find time, you will be witnessing to people. If you are responsible for a certain area, maybe you should rent a room in one of the households and just come to work in your office at headquarters every day. You must always carry the card with you. In the New York area there are 180 witnessers and altogether 500 members. Having 120 households for each person means some 60,000 households will be contacted. We will start doing that right away. Suppose you win one member out of those people. If you have him or her do the same thing, then the membership will multiply many times.</p>
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<p>Male or female, young or old, before eating, before going to bed, you always have to look at the card. If your whole day’s work was a failure, then even in sleeping you must be calling their names at least. Why do you think the cards are necessary? As a reminder or encouragement? Before saving other people, you are being saved. After that, you are saving other people, and America as a whole.</p>
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<p>One person will have 10 Divine Principle books to lend out. If you are not a good lecturer you can read the Divine Principle to them and your zeal can influence them. Suppose there are 3 members living in one household; 3 multiplied by 120 makes 360, so there is one person’s birthday every day, all through the year. You will have feast after feast in every household and you can invite other families. At those events you can give them some talks. Sometimes for a change, you can invite them out to a beautiful place in the country. Maybe you can rent a whole church and invite them there. Then you can have a workshop and invite lecturers, and it will be easy for you to bring in members. After one full year, all those people will be good friends of yours and you will have a foundation laid to sell newspapers. We will start doing this right away.</p>
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<p>If we carry these projects out, we will meet the membership goal in the next 2 years. If you are resolved to do that, hold up your hands. Let us pray.</p>
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/childrens-day.html" title="Permalink to CHILDREN’S DAY" rel="bookmark">CHILDREN’S DAY</a>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:32:05+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/childrens-day.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:32:05+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG</h2>
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<h3 align="center">November 22, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator – Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>We all know that one of the important celebrations of our church is Children’s Day. Today is actually the 16th anniversary of Children’s Day. Those who are attending their first Children’s Day, please raise your hands. Quite a few.</p>
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<p>If Adam and Eve, the ancestors of mankind, had not fallen, there would have been only one day of celebration, one day in which we would celebrate Children’s Day, Parent’s Day, God’s Day and Day of All Things. That one day would be a most joyful day in heaven and earth, bursting with goodness, a day of celebration not only for people, but also for the things of creation, including insects, birds, and so forth. That would have been the beginning of joy, the beginning of happiness. That day would have seen the beginning of love.</p>
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<p>Because of the fall, however, everything is upside down. The day of joy vanished for God, for Adam and Eve, the parents of mankind, for the children of God, and for all things of creation, and all now dwell in a world of despair and unhappiness. The world started out instead on the satanic side, with Satan as king of the universe, and from that time on the mission of God became the work of restoration. God has to restore all the lost things back into goodness and perfection.</p>
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<p>Restoration take several stages: First, the servant stage, then the adopted sons’ stage, the true sons’ stage, the stage as children of God, and finally the parents’ stage. Since you are born into the satanic lineage, you must somehow change your lineage or you cannot be accepted as God’s children. This is man’s destiny. There is only one way you can change your lineage; you must first become adopted children on God’s side. Then let us analyze the meaning of “adopted son.”</p>
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<h3 align="center">The providence of the adopted son</h3>
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<p>An adopted son is indeed higher than a servant. In God’s sight, His adopted son should be superior to His servant, and although Satan is the king of the fallen world, God’s adopted son should be superior even to Satan. Who is Satan actually? He is the fallen archangel Lucifer; therefore he is in the servant position. Logically God’s adopted son should be superior to the angelic world.</p>
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<p>Unless you become convinced and determined that we are going to conquer the entire satanic world, you are not qualified to be called the adopted son of God. An adopted son will determine that he will give himself totally to the service of God and mankind, yet even then he is not quite at the level of being God’s child. Therefore the dispensation of God is first to create the realm of the adopted son.</p>
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<p>What is the dignity or authority of an adopted son? By becoming a son of God through adoption he is eligible to inherit from God, but we must realize that God adopted children only because He does not have His own children. God’s fervent desire is to have His own children eventually. Therefore an adopted child must feel that the things he inherits from God do not really belong to him, but should belong to God’s own direct children. This awareness should be there with the feeling, “God, please have that day come quickly when you can see your own children, so that I can give all my blessings to them. They are the ones who deserve this blessing, not me.” Unless you become adopted children first, you have no way to connect yourself to God’s direct children. The realm of adopted children bridges the gap between the angelic world of the servant, and the world of the direct children of God.</p>
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<p>During the Old Testament era, mankind could come from the dungeon of hell back to the position of servant, before going into another stage. For 4,000 years during the Old Testament era God worked through the prophets, teaching them His word and bringing them up to the servant level, living in the hope that soon the day of the Messiah could come. That was God’s hope all during this period.</p>
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<p>God was preparing for one extraordinary person who could raise those at the servant level to become His adopted sons and eventually His direct children. The adopted son of God must not be married. God’s own children have never yet seen their wedding, so how could adopted sons have that blessing first? There are many Christian sects and denominations that emphasize remaining single to serve Christ. That tradition endures because they are still on the level of adopted children.</p>
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<p>John the Baptist was in the position of adopted son during the Old Testament era. John remained single and until the age of 30 went out to the wilderness to proclaim the truth. He alerted the people to be ready for the glorious day of the coming of the Messiah. The life of John the Baptist certainly fits the description of the role of adopted son. His mission was to nurture and prepare the people and bring them to the Messiah; after first uniting them together in oneness he was to bridge the gap between the Messiah and the people. He was to be like a guide to the true gate, the one through whom the people could know who the Messiah was. Even the rabbis and religious leaders of the Old Testament era were supposed to respect and love him, becoming one with him so that eventually they would go with him at the time of the Messiah. John the Baptist won a reputation as a man of God with integrity, a prophet.</p>
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<p>When John would proclaim to the world, “Here is the Messiah! This is the man we’ve been waiting for throughout history,” then all men were supposed to follow him without any reservations and accept that person as the Messiah. That was the plan. However, contrary to God’s plan, there was a separation between John the Baptist and the Jewish people. The man in the position of adopted son was definitely to guide the nation of Israel to the Messiah. There should not have been scorn between Israel and the Messiah, with the people saying, “We are the real Judaism, and you have nothing to do with us.”</p>
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<p>The coming of the Lord is taking place once again. The Pope’s position is as the leader of established Christianity. Should he say, “I cannot listen to some strange person. Let’s have our cardinals and bishops examine whether this person is really the Messiah. They can test him and find out.” That will not work! The Messiah is not appointed by the Pope, cardinals or bishops. He is given accreditation only by God.</p>
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<p>Now you know clearly that John the Baptist came in the role of an adopted son. Next we must consider what the difference is between an adopted son and a true son. This is a very key question. Does an adopted son have two ears and two eyes and a true son have four ears and four eyes? What is the difference? Actually a true son and adopted son look the same. The only difference is that an adopted son is born of satanic lineage, while a true son comes from a heavenly lineage as God’s direct heir. The true son of God cannot be born through a satanic lineage. This difference is very important. If Satan can claim, “That child is conceived in my bloodline,” then that person cannot be called a child of God.</p>
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<p>What are you then? In the Bible there is an analogy of the wild olive tree and the true olive tree. Even though you want to come to the side of God, you are still regarded as a wild olive tree, born of satanic lineage and coming from the wild world. Satan has a right to claim a wild olive tree, and the entire fallen world is like a wild olive tree.</p>
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<p>God needs a certain foundation in order to proceed with His work of dispensation. In order to have that foundation, God established religion and chose a people. Even God has no freedom to chop satanic olive trees off any way He wants. He had to create His own realm. Even though there were only wild olive trees in the world, God chose some to claim as His own, and in that way God could do anything He wanted within that particular realm. God needs His small, chosen area to work in and cleanse through religion, and then to eventually expand to the worldwide level. That time when the entire world is ready is truly what religion calls the Last Days, the final day of fulfillment.</p>
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<p>The world was in such complete readiness twice in history. The first wag the time of Jesus Christ, when in the sight of God preparation for the coming of the Messiah was complete. The second time is the time of the Lord of the Second Advent. When the preparations are ready, God will send one true olive tree of heavenly origin, or heavenly lineage. That one person comes without any contamination from the satanic world and then the branches of the wild olive trees will be grafted into the true olive tree.</p>
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<h3 align="center">How do we know Jesus is the son of God?</h3>
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<p>That is the total picture of God’s concept of restoration and salvation. The wild olive trees are cultivated so that when the true olive tree comes God can chop them and graft the wild olive tree branches onto the root of the true olive tree. That’s how fallen man can become a true son of God.</p>
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<p>We have now learned the basic principle of how we become true children of God, but how do we know Jesus Christ is truly the son of God? What is the proof? As far as the actual work of religion is concerned, Buddha did a far greater job, as he had many more disciples in his own lifetime. The same is true of Confucius. Mohammed also was a much more accomplished religious leader than Jesus. What is the criteria for us to say that Jesus is the son of God? We must know it clearly.</p>
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<p>The explanation begins with the same principle: Jesus was the son of God because he came out of the heavenly lineage, whereas the other saints, like Buddha, Confucius, and Mohammed, did not come from that heavenly lineage. No matter how much they accomplished, they didn’t have the same qualification as Jesus Christ.</p>
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<p>Let me give you some explanation. All ancestors of the fallen world go back to Adam and Eve. There is a law of restitution or law of indemnity in the universe: Unless we pay back the damage that was done, we cannot be restored into the original position. Adam and Eve fell because they united with Satan instead of uniting with God. Eve rejected God and her future legitimate husband, Adam. That is very critical and important to understand.</p>
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<p>For this reason restoration must begin with women. A woman caused the fall, so women must reverse the process of the fall. Since Eve rejected God and her legitimate husband, Eve should reject Satan and satanic relationships in restoration. All religions are based upon this principle and the ultimate purpose of religion is the restoration of women. It can be seen that in general women are more fervent in religious persuasion, while men close to them often take a satanic role. Such men are usually hard on devout women, and this has been men’s role in religion. When women try to follow the religious life and the directions of God they always face difficulty coming from two sides: both Satan and man do not want them to go. Women of faith are destined to pass through that ordeal in order to restore the position of Eve.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Jacob and Rebecca</h3>
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<p>The actual work of restoration started 2,000 years after Adam and Eve, at the time of Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob. When you read the story of Jacob in the Old Testament you can read about Jacob’s mother, Rebecca. What she did was rather cunning and very extraordinary. God is in the father’s position, with Adam in the son’s position. Eve was connected to God and Adam. Rebecca came from satanic lineage and was in the position of fallen Eve, while Isaac was in the father’s position, and Esau in the position of son. But Isaac and Esau were on the satanic side, so Rebecca could restore herself in the sight of God by rejecting those in the position of her satanic father and satanic son.</p>
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<p>The Biblical account of these events is very short and does not give us a full explanation of what happened. Why was Esau on the satanic side? There were twin sons, Esau and Jacob, but Esau was the firstborn. Originally the firstborn is always the son of God. But from the Principle we know that restitution means the second son should be restored to the firstborn position, and the firstborn should be brought down to the position of second-born. If there had been no fall, this would not be necessary. However, Satan took the firstborn, the first creation; thus God always claims the second-born and by raising him into the position of firstborn, God can restore the heavenly birthright.</p>
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<p>This is why there is a tradition throughout the Bible of God blessing the second-born. Even in Egypt, all the firstborn sons were killed while the second-born were not. When Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons, his right arm by custom was supposed to be on the head of the firstborn, but he crossed his arms so that his right arm was on the second-born instead. Joseph said, “Not so, my father. This one is firstborn; put your right hand upon his head,” but Jacob said, “Nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he.” Satan claimed the first world, in which we live. When the Messiah comes he will bring the restored world, in the second-born position, belonging to God.</p>
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<p>In the garden of Eden Eve was dishonest with God and her husband. In restoration, Eve must be in the position to disregard her satanic father and satanic son. That is why Rebecca could only be restored by deceiving both Isaac and Esau. As older son, Esau belonged on Satan’s side. Jacob was on God’s side as the second-born, which must be restored to the position of firstborn. Through the Divine Principle we can now understand what Jacob was doing by trying to win the birthright of the firstborn. Even before their birth Esau and Jacob began fighting inside Rebecca’s womb; they didn’t even wait until they were born. Rebecca prayed to God, “If it is thus, why do I live?” God said, “Two nations are in your womb… and the elder shall serve the younger.”</p>
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<p>Fallen history is truly the struggle of Cain and Abel. In the garden of Eden they were brothers, born at separate times. During their struggle Cain slew Abel, but 2,000 years later that Cain-Abel struggle began inside the mother’s womb. Rebecca acted in an extraordinary way, using cunning tactics and even deceiving her own husband in order to bring the second-born, Jacob, to the position of God’s son. At the time of Cain and Abel, the showdown did not advance God’s dispensation. At the time of Jacob, however, God won His first foothold and for the first time God had a little foundation here on earth. By helping Jacob, Rebecca successfully rejected her satanic father and satanic son and restored Eve’s position. Jacob won by overcoming Esau and claiming the birthright, and thus the second-born took the firstborn position. Upon that victory, the history of the chosen nation could begin.</p>
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<p>So far theologians have had difficulty understanding why God favored Jacob; Jacob’s actions would be unacceptable to our moral standard, and in today’s world Rebecca and Jacob would be considered swindlers! However, what they did was not for their own gain. They were put in a position to fulfill a role in restoration, and without their condition being fulfilled God’s history could not have started. They were chosen to act a very difficult role. In the sight of God, Jacob was the first person to be triumphant and to set foot in the history of God. Before that time, there was not even a history for God.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Jacob and Esau</h3>
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<p>After winning the birthright from his elder brother Esau, Jacob had to run away from danger. Jacob went to Haran and suffered for 21 years. Isaac, Rebecca, and Esau were still living as one family, on the satanic side of life. After successfully helping Jacob, Rebecca was in a position to restore Esau and Isaac to herself. Isaac and Esau were hostile because they had been deceived, and Rebecca acted as a shield for Jacob by winning their hearts. Esau was so mad that he wanted to kill Jacob and Rebecca tried to soften his heart and soften his father’s heart. Do you think she communicated with Jacob in Haran? Definitely. Rebecca encouraged Jacob, “You go right ahead and don’t worry. I’ll take care of this side; you keep on going and do a good job.”</p>
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<p>In Haran, Jacob worked very hard, but his uncle Laban was vicious and took advantage of him, deceiving him more than ten times. While enduring these difficulties Jacob had to create his family. Jacob worked very hard to get married; his uncle promised to give him one daughter in exchange for seven years’ labor, but then Laban did not give him the girl he wanted.</p>
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<p>Because Laban was on the satanic side he did not want to immediately give up the daughter that Jacob wanted. He wanted to delay the heavenly schedule so he made Jacob work another seven years to marry his second daughter. Jacob would have come under satanic dominion again if he had decided to just be content with the first marriage, which had been arranged by Laban, who represented Satan’s side. Jacob had to go on until his goal was achieved. After seven years of hard labor Jacob earned Rachel, the daughter that he originally wanted as his bride. Twelve children were born to the two wives, and their descendants later became the twelve different tribes of Israel.</p>
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<p>For 21 years Jacob was a sojourner who suffered away from his home. Having been triumphant in Haran, he needed to return to his home to face a final showdown with Esau. Unless he could triumph in that situation no decisive victory could be won.</p>
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<p>On the way back to his homeland, Jacob had to cross the ford of Jabbok, and there he struggled all night with an angel. That struggle stemmed from the fact that Jacob’s showdown involved two families. When Jacob went to Haran he was single, but he returned to Canaan with his family. At the same time, Esau also had his family.</p>
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<p>What was the difference between the two families? God and Jacob’s family were on one side as one force, while Satan and Esau’s family were another force. As the time for confrontation approached, Satan was in a position to challenge Jacob first, spiritually. For this reason the angel was chosen to challenge Jacob at the ford of Jabbok. Satan could challenge Jacob from both directions: spiritually through the angelic world, and physically through Esau.</p>
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<p>Jacob had to wrestle very hard with the angel at the ford of Jabbok, all night long. Jacob thought, “You cannot stop me, because I have 21 years of hard work behind me, and now I’m going back to fulfill the final chapter of the dispensation that God has given me. I will win. Now nobody can stop me.” All during his 21 years of suffering Jacob was with God. He felt the presence of God was with him, and in difficult times God guided and comforted him. There were many trials and tests given by Laban, but every time that victory came, Jacob knew that his power came from God. He knew that he was protected by God, that he was chosen by God. His wrestling with the angel was so vicious that the angel dislocated Jacob’s hip, but even then Jacob had no intention of giving up. He hung on, struggling hard, and the angel knew he could not defeat him. At Jacob’s demand he blessed Jacob.</p>
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<p>For the first time in history, a man fought against an angel and won victory. By winning over the angel, Jacob established two conditions. First, because the defeated angel represented the spirit world, Jacob could now have dominion over the spirit world. Secondly, because Satan is a fallen angel, Jacob now possessed a condition to win over the satanic world. When the angel gave up, be gave Jacob a blessing, and gave him a new name: Israel, which means “victorious one.” Jacob truly established victory and was in a position to inherit the satanic world. This meant that whatever Jacob’s course, the entire spirit world would assist him because of the condition he set. He really conquered spirit world by winning over the angel. He also nullified satanic attack, because spirit world had already surrendered to him. Spiritually, the battle was won. Now Jacob could go with his family for the ultimate physical confrontation with Esau.</p>
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<p>What was Jacob’s strategy? His mind concentrated on one thing: to fulfill the work of God. He did not even care about his possessions. Jacob had won much wealth in Haran, but he gave it all to Esau as a gift. After Jacob bought his birthright, Esau was very, very angry, always intending to kill Jacob. But over the years his heart had been softened by their mother, and when Jacob sent him the fruit of his 21 years hard work as a gift, Esau’s heart was melted.</p>
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<p>Actually we can see Esau’s character here. He was a very pragmatic man not caring much about ideals or about God’s dispensation. All he worried about was his stomach and his fortune, which is why he sold his birthright for a bowl of beans. When he received all those beautiful gifts he smiled from ear to ear. A wonderful thing happened, Esau welcomed Jacob, and embraced him. “I do not question the past; you are my brother. I accept you.” That was a beautiful momentous event.</p>
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<p>What was the result? The family was united. Even though God’s champion, Jacob, was a sinner, he was triumphant because the entire family was united under the dominion of God. For thousands of years Judaism and Christianity have not known the dispensational meaning behind this.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Tamar</h3>
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<p>Through Jacob’s victorious restoration the first family of Israel was established. However, we must notice that by that time Jacob and Esau were around the age of 40. Though victory had been won by Jacob, a gap of time remained between the time of their conception in their mother’s womb until their age of 40, a gap which Satan could still claim. By taking advantage of this gap Satan could still work in many ways to block God’s dispensation. To proceed with His plan, God needed one more dispensation at this point, which was fulfilled through Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The coming of the Messiah was predicted to be through the tribe of Judah because through him God was able to close the gap of time between the mother’s womb and Jacob’s age.</p>
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<p>Judah’s daughter-in-law was Tamar. When Tamar’s husband died, her desire was to leave a child to continue his lineage. According to tradition in Israel, if a husband died without leaving sons, his brother should play the role of husband so that the wife could conceive a child. However, the brother of Tamar’s husband was reluctant to do that. He was punished, and died also. The second brother of her husband was very young, yet when he came of age Judah did not give him to her in marriage.</p>
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<p>Tamar knew Judah’s family was God’s chosen family, but there seemed no way to leave children behind. However, Tamar conceived an idea to deceive her father-in-law into taking her husband’s role. Her act is recorded in the Bible. She disguised herself as a prostitute and set up a little cottage, and tempted Judah as he passed by one day. He was indeed tempted, and without knowing that the woman was his daughter-in-law there was an affair, and she conceived.</p>
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<p>Normally when you read a story like that in the Bible you might throw the Bible away: “What kind of book is this?” But that is an external view. Look at the event from God’s side. When we know the Principle of God we know why these things are inevitable. Tamar’s role was just like Rebecca’s, taking the position of Eve, and like Rebecca Tamar conceived twins. During Rebecca’s time the Cain-Abel struggle began after birth, but at the time of Tamar the struggle began right inside the mother’s womb.</p>
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<p>She conceived two worlds inside her womb; one was Satan’s world, the other was God’s world. Here restitution means bringing the younger son into the elder son’s position. They were very historic because the two children represented Cain and Abel, Satan and God. Satan’s side, the eldest son’s position, was crushed by God’s side, the position of second son, even before they were born.</p>
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<p>Go back and read this chapter in the Bible, and you will see the similarity of events concerning Rebecca and Tamar. Two children fought inside their wombs. Each mother was upset, going to God in prayer, “God, what are You going to do with me? My children are fighting even before they are born! ” God answered Tamar, just like He answered Rebecca, saying, “Two nations are inside your womb, and the younger must be greater than the elder.”</p>
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<p>Certainly the showdown would come at the time of birth. How does the firstborn become firstborn? By coming out of the mother’s womb first. Certainly the Esau-type baby, representative of Satan, wanted to come out of Tamar first. He struggled to come out first, and pushed his arm out. When the child’s arm came out, the midwife tied a red thread around his wrist. Zerah was this firstborn and the red thread on his wrist predicts the rise of communism at the end of the world. However, at that moment, the second born, Perez, pulled Zerah back inside the womb! After Zerah’s arm was pulled inside the womb again, Perez came out first.</p>
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<p>This was the Cain-and-Abel struggle taking place right there in the mother’s womb. The elder son was pushed aside by the second-born, who then came out to the world as firstborn, and the victory of Jacob over Esau was completed inside the mother’s womb. from that time on, the gap in time from the mother’s womb to the age of Jacob was claimed by God.</p>
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<p>Through these events Judah’s tribe came to hold a very special position in the sight of God. Because the Cain-Abel struggle over dominion was determined in the mother’s womb, there was no way Satan had a condition to claim a baby inside the mother’s womb through this tribe of Judah. This is why Jesus Christ could be conceived only in Judah’s lineage. God always planned that Satan have no power to claim a baby inside the mother’s womb, and the act of Tamar completely dissolved the claim of Satan from the mother’s womb to maturity. It was truly a tremendous, joyful victory for God.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Mary</h3>
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<p>However, all these events were merely preparation. The true child of God’s lineage was not yet conceived. After that event another 2,000 years of the history of Israel passed. Why did God have to wait for the Messiah for 2,000 more years? God needed the foundation of a nation because the Messiah’s work can only be triumphant through one sovereign nation. Not just the family, but the nation of Israel had to be formed. From the victorious foundation of the family, the formation of a tribe and a nation took 2,000 years. Then the time was certainly ready for the advent of the Messiah. Thus the victory at the time of Jacob came through three levels: Jacob’s level, Judah’s level, and Tamar’s level, and after 2,000 years on the national level, the substantial act of bringing in the son of God took place.</p>
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<p>Jacob’s victory represents the victory of the individual, family, and tribe, but not a nation. Once God was successful on the national level, and could actually bring His son into this world, then all the nations of the world could come into God’s kingdom. That was the plan.</p>
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<p>Again, women had the major role in the dispensation. This time Mary was chosen as the champion, and her role paralleled the roles of Rebecca and Tamar: she was in a position to deceive the satanic father and the satanic son. Mary’s husband, Joseph, was in the position of satanic father. Why was this so? When Eve fell in the garden of Eden, Adam was in the position of fiancé; he rejected his God-given fiancée, and in a way married Satan. Joseph and Mary were in the position of Adam and Eve before the fall, in the relationship of engagement. In the garden of Eden, Satan took the engaged Eve away from the side of God. By the same token, this time God was taking Mary out of her engagement on the satanic side.</p>
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<p>Mary was taken for the purpose of God and conceived a child. Think of it, when she was carrying this baby it became known to her husband, even before they were married. How about Joseph’s family? His father and mother must have thought, “That’s incredible! l just couldn’t tolerate that situation in my home. How could she have a baby without even marrying my son!” I’m sure they thought that.</p>
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<p>However, no matter what Joseph thought about her, or what Joseph’s father thought about his future daughter-in-law, the important thing is what Satan would do. Do you think Satan had a claim over that baby? Satan did not, because his claim had already been abolished at the time of Tamar. When the angel came to Mary and explained her mission, Mary was literally shocked. Almost instantly she wanted to refuse that role because she knew the consequences of it. But when the angel told the story of God, Mary accepted in faith; she was ready to become a sacrifice, whatever suffering she might face; “I shall be Your instrument. Don’t worry about me, but do Your will .” That was her faith. Just like Tamar, just like Rebecca, she committed herself for the sake of the will of God.</p>
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<p>Thus, one daughter was hand-picked by God and used as His instrument. Coming on the foundation that God had laid out 2,000 years before, Mary conceived God’s child, a child who had no connection to Satan. Only in that way could God claim an unstained lineage. That is why Jesus was truly God’s only begotten son. He was the first one in history who could perceive the entire love of God and who could inherit the entire love of God. He was born with that authority, and for the first time in history God had a foothold on earth. “Now I have my son, not an adopted son, but a true son. My only son is on the face of the earth.” If the people of Israel had worked with him they could have become like him-true sons and daughters of God. The day of hope had arrived for God, the day of hope had arrived for mankind.</p>
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<h3 align="center">We must be champions of the truth about Jesus</h3>
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<p>The will of God was for the child to be prosperous while on the earth; His child should multiply like the stars in heaven and sand in the ocean. However, for 2,000 years people have been thinking that Jesus came to die. That was absolutely contrary to the will of God. Jesus was the only son of God and he came to prosper, and erect the Kingdom of God here on earth. The death of His son really struck God, shattering His heart. God deeply grieved the death of His only son, yet people keep saying, “Your son came to die.” Their conviction pierces the heart of God every day. ‘The moment of the crucifixion was the most heartbreaking, miserable moment for God because He did not send Jesus to die on the cross. When Jesus said, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” God refused to answer and was almost angry at Jesus, “I don’t want you to die. I won’t answer.”</p>
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<p>I am the first one after all the history of Christianity to speak for the agony of God. America, a Christian nation, has terribly misunderstood the will of God, terribly misunderstood the purpose of Jesus’ coming. For instance, was Joseph in a position to have husband-wife relations with Mary? Indeed not. Mary was just an instrument of God and not divine at all, but today, particularly in Roman Catholicism, Mary is revered as being almost divine.</p>
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<p>Today you must become a champion of the truth you have heard. You know the meaning of the Old Testament, the meaning of the coming of the Messiah, what went wrong with the chosen people and the chosen nation. We must bear testimony to the truth. All mistakes were committed because of ignorance, but from this time on it cannot be tolerated and permitted, because God has revealed the truth to the world. After the crucifixion of Jesus the Christian foundation could only be a spiritual one, but initially God intended a physical foundation as well.</p>
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<p>Therefore, Christianity has only spiritual parents. Jesus is in the spiritual father’s position, and the Holy Spirit is in the spiritual mother’s position. We are given rebirth by following a spiritual father and spiritual mother, but we can only receive spiritual salvation. Therefore, the Christian tradition has been denying the physical world that should have been the foundation of Christianity.</p>
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<p>What about the Unification Church? We are the new Christianity and we need to build the Kingdom of God in both the spirit world and the physical world, because that was God’s original intention. The Unification Church is making new history. We are not just pursuing the age-old Christian doctrine of spiritual salvation. We are laying down the cornerstone of the physical Kingdom of God.</p>
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<p>At the outset of this message I said if Adam and Eve had not fallen there would have been only one day of celebration, marking the beginning of all joy. Because of the fall there was no day of joy for God; therefore, we have been restoring the joy of God step by step: Parent’s Day, Children’s Day, Day of All Things, and God’s Day, the major celebrations around the year.</p>
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<p>This new ideology is a revolution in the religious world. Beginning in Korea, I persevered under persecution and laid the foundation. Then I moved on to Japan, and now have come to America. In the sight of God and from my observation the victory is won. The time will come when the Christian hierarchy in the outside world must come to the Unification Church to study and research. Do you know why? Because God has revealed this truth; it is not a Unification Church truth. Everybody all over the world needs this truth. We are not just teaching about God, but about the God of history, God of the present, God of the future, the unchanging, eternal, almighty, loving God. Once young people know His heart they could never leave this church, even if we chased them away. Some people denounce me and oppose the Unification Church without even studying the Divine Principle. That is not even courteous, is it? It is really crazy, like trying to shoot someone in the dark.</p>
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<p>Jesus Christ alone is the begotten son of God, not Buddha, not Confucius, not Mohammed. Therefore, it is legitimate that Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but by me.” Are we accepting this Messiah? Why don’t you stay in your own church? They also believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah so why should you come to the Unification Church? That is another key question. But let’s discuss that at the next celebration because that would take at least three more hours. Furthermore, I want you to have something to look forward to! But I want you to know one thing. Even though I die, this movement will not perish; this ideology will not deteriorate even one iota. This work is from the truth given by God, and the march of that truth will go on to eventually flourish and cover the entire world.</p>
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<p>There is another most important conclusion. You are participating here not so you can become a servant of God or an adopted son of God, but because you are given the way to become a true son and daughter of God. I want you to know that you have a guarantee to reach perfection. There’s nothing more you can expect than that.</p>
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<p>Christian history is the history of adopted sons, but that era is over. Unification Church history begins a new era in which we are not becoming adopted sons of God, but true sons and daughters of God. We are transforming our world by transforming mankind into true children of God, and transforming this world into a literal Kingdom of God here on earth. The 200 year history of America is now ended, and as America is moving into her third century your era of becoming true children of God is opening. Do not worry about the existing churches. You are the princes of peace.</p>
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<p>I want you to know that you are in another age of universal pilgrim fathers; that’s why you are here. A new America is in your hands, and you can make it work or you can let it die. Your responsibility is great.</p>
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<p>The destiny of America is in nobody’s hands but yours.</p>
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<p>We are not going to discard Christianity at all. We are here to unite Christianity in one spirit. Christianity needs enlightenment in spirit and truth, and we have it. This Children’s Day in the Bicentennial year of 1976 is very meaningful. We pledge together, not as adopted children, but as true children of God, to rise up and conclude the task that God has given to us and to America. I want you to compete with two most important people in history. I want you to compete with Jesus Christ and me, and I want you to win. Can you do it? Thank you. Let us pray.</p>
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<article id="post-1118" class="post-1118 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-age-of-judgment-and-ourselves.html" title="Permalink to THE AGE OF JUDGMENT AND OURSELVES" rel="bookmark">THE AGE OF JUDGMENT AND OURSELVES</a>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:31:30+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-age-of-judgment-and-ourselves.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:31:30+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">November 21, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator-Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>When someone speaks about judgment we normally think of court proceedings. In a court one always finds a judge, attorneys, a defendant and a plaintiff, plus the people who attend on the side of the defendant as well as the accuser. How does judgment come about? Law is prerequisite for judgment and anyone who violates the law is liable to be accused and tried. Every nation has a constitution and legal system that is intended to preserve order and peace within that nation. Any citizen who violates that particular law is judged accordingly.</p>
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<p>The spirit of the law is to unite the people of a nation centering around the sovereignty or government, so that together they can bring about the betterment of the nation. This same thing applies to organizations on all different levels. Certainly a sovereign nation, society, or organization like our Unification Church must have regulations or laws that bring harmony for the purpose of accomplishing some recognized goal.</p>
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<p>In a family, for example, there is generally some law, even though it is unwritten. Obedience to the law will bring harmony between the parents as the center of the family and their children. That unity brings the family into greater happiness. According to their own virtues or particular morality, the parents establish certain principles by which they want to mold that particular family. If the children are obedient then those principles are actualized.</p>
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<p>The same standard can be applied to a corporation. The president or chairman of the board has a certain vision and goal for that corporation. Through obedience to his standards, the people of that corporation can establish a harmonious relationship and fulfill the corporate goal. The same thing is also true of the Unification Church.</p>
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<p>The Unification Church was founded by Reverend Moon, who has an ideal for guiding the church toward a certain goal. That goal is clear in my mind and the standards that are maintained have the purpose of bringing all the members of the Unification Church into harmony for the fulfillment of the founding ideal. Each one of you in the church is striving to unite around that standard and ideal and become one with me in harmony. Such obedience to the standard unites the founder and followers. They become one as they march toward their goal.</p>
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<h3 align="center">By obeying the true law you can become one<br />
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with the cause of the universe</h3>
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<p>What should the true way of life be? First of all, you must become true men and women by following the true word or true law. If that law is true then it should not be applicable on only a small level, but universally applicable, penetrating the levels of the family, society, nation and world. If there is an eternal universe, that law must be true on all levels of existence.</p>
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<p>The logical conclusion is that if there is a God then that law which eventually creates true men and women is also true for the heart of God. To find that kind of law, that kind of true word, we must find the true cause behind that law. Through obedience to that law we can certainly become one with the creator or cause of the universe.</p>
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<p>Where shall we members of the Unification Church go? Suppose the founder said that your ultimate destination is to go to Korea and we all went. We could not discover the ultimate cause of the universe merely by arriving there. Without further direction after our arrival everyone would be confused and eventually drift back. With such an outcome it would be far better to not even begin that trip. It would be a wasted effort.</p>
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<p>Here in America certain officials, particularly in the State Department, are suspicious of our activities. Three and a half years ago I came to this country barehanded. In 3½ years the Unification Church has become a formidable movement, not only here in America but all over the world. The officials are worried about what will happen if I keep going this way, at this speed. We are very excited with each day’s advancement but each day our adversaries feel more threatened.</p>
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<p>The completion of the Washington Monument Rally brought our movement to a pinnacle of success, demonstrating our strength and power. People are now asking, “What is next? What is Reverend Moon up to now?” If Washington Monument was our ultimate goal then from that point on the Unification Church would decline. However, my goal is certainly far greater and is not circumscribed by politics or business. My goal is to educate and give spiritual guidance to those in political positions. Historically, the role of the prophet is always to give advice to those in governing positions. If that is my ambition then you must become a leader in that way as well.</p>
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<p>We are working very hard, even doing peculiar-looking things. You had prayer service at 5 a.m. and then remained for worship at 6 a.m. You work hard at fund raising and in all your various missions. Why? We have to experience every level of human life. This is really training for many great things to come.</p>
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<p>Have you experienced a 7-day fast? When you had that experience did you realize how precious a piece of bread is? Did you really learn? Bread crusts are generally thrown away, but when you are fasting that first slice becomes absolutely precious. Normally when you go into a room and there are masterpieces of art and beautiful furniture you study them all, but when you are fasting you are no longer interested in such things. You are fascinated by a piece of bread and even if flies may be on it you are more interested in that piece of bread than those flies are! You laugh and enjoy this kind of conversation because you have experienced such a thing. Through such common experience there is harmony among our family members.</p>
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<p>Life in prison can be the bottom of human misery. If a person hasn’t experienced the situation he cannot really understand how a prisoner feels who is counting the days until the end of his sentence. A prisoner’s longing for freedom is even more intense than the longing of lovers for each other. You do not laugh at this because you have not experienced it. When I speak on this subject it is foreign to you and you are silent.</p>
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<p>Life experience is what counts. No matter how much knowledge a person claims to have, if he has not lived through a particular part of life his knowledge is worth nothing. For thirty years I have been living under constant criticism. Society has come against me, nations have come against me and the entire world is worried about me. You will never understand the loneliness of persecution until you are standing in that position.</p>
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<p>In a small way we have a harmony of understanding. Practically every day the New York Times and Washington Post are saying distorted things about us. We are going through this together. Just being a Moonie has become almost criminal, as though society is trying to torment and segregate us to an unreasonable degree. Not only me, but all my followers are becoming victims of persecution.</p>
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<p>In your heart you believe in the Unification Church, don’t you? You know you are following the truth to which you can dedicate your life, even though your own parents don’t understand. They can’t understand why you follow someone from the obscure nation of Korea who doesn’t seem to have any good ideas. You have everything you need right here in America. The newspapers echo this sentiment as well as the fabricated stories about my life, and a vicious circle is created, snowballing into greater persecution. Certainly the Unification Church as a whole has become the target of world criticism. We are now sailing through a hurricane of persecution.</p>
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<p>If I am the captain of our ship, who are you sailors? There can be two kinds of sailor: One can help the captain to accomplish the mission but the other may become incapacitated by seasickness and be a burden instead. It is obvious that we don’t prefer having heavy winds and storms. Sailors really hate to see the wind rise because it threatens their lives.</p>
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<p>Some Unification Church members comment that I never wince in the face of all this criticism and persecution. They sometimes say, “Maybe he likes criticism.” No one likes persecution, including me. I only know through experience that I can continue on and overcome it. But you are not experienced sailors. You are still very green, right? Therefore, when a breeze comes along you worry, “Oh, maybe it’s a hurricane! Maybe our boat will turn upside down!”</p>
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<p>Because persecution has come not only to me but to you, you can begin to experience the feeling of my position deep in your heart. We are being persecuted for following the truth, but if you continually rise above the persecution and become able to speak the truth under any circumstances, then you will become a sailor that God can count on.</p>
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<p>In its way persecution is a blessing. Only those who rise above persecution can be trusted by their fellow man and by God. The one who can be successful even under persecution is indeed a capable person. When human beings face utmost difficulty they develop tremendous capability to conquer any situation. In an emergency they experience a flash of courage and wisdom that gives them some direction for handling the situation. This is the tremendous potential of human nature.</p>
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<p>When surrounded by enemies you may see no route to safety, yet under those circumstances you find some miraculous opening. There is always a way. Nothing is that final. When you muster all your energy you can follow your inspiration and break out.</p>
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<p>On their way back to Japan I took some Japanese brothers and sisters to Las Vegas to show them a certain aspect of American life. In watching a show, I felt that I have lived all my life like an actor on the stage. The showmen in Las Vegas have a contract with the hotel, but I felt, “I am a showman contracted by God and the United States of America is my stage.” Right now the entire United States is suspicious, of me. Surrounded on four sides, I am pondering’ how to break through this barrier.</p>
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<p>In Las Vegas the audience watches every move the actors make. Here in America my audience is 220 million American people, including the President, Senators and Congressmen, even high school and elementary students. The Washington Post is always telling everybody what is happening on the stage. Thus far the spectators have been told that I am a villain.</p>
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<p>You may idolize a certain actor, but when he happens to be in the role of villain you don’t have much sympathy for him, do you? On the Las Vegas stage, however, the villain turned out to be a hero. Instantly the audience had their hearts moved toward that particular actor. In the same way, the time will come when I will be revealed to this nation and to the world, not as a villain but as a hero, a true champion of God. Right now it seems there is nobody on my side. First there was persecution in Korea, then in Japan and now in America. Because American news spreads all over the world no one seems to be siding with me anywhere else either. At least one thing has been accomplished, however. I am known by everyone.</p>
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<p>What are your particular roles then? The media is certainly centered on me-what I do, where I travel, just about everything. What would happen if I suddenly died? Will the show we are in be stopped by the mere fact of my death? Will you be the show-men then? You say, “Yes, Father, I will be the showman,” but nobody will trust you because you have not demonstrated your qualification through your actions. A promise is cheap, but a deed holds great value. If you can go ahead while everyone else is collapsing then you can certainly be trusted. Isn’t that true? I am asking a very serious question. Suppose I had to die, would you go on? If that is your determination then the battle is actually won.</p>
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<h3 align="center">The truth is most important,<br />
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not the person proclaiming it</h3>
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<p>I went through incredible suffering in Korea. Three governments tried to obliterate our church and the existing churches brought us untold hardship. Yet not only did we survive but we rose above those circumstances and established the international foundation. In Japan also we went through incredible hardship. At one time the leading political party tried to eliminate our movement, yet now they see that Japan’s only hope to overcome the aggression of communism is Reverend Moon’s ideology. America too, will follow the pattern. Please wait just a few more years. America’s opinion will change.</p>
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<p>Did I come to America to be defeated? Do you think my victory represents only the victory of the yellow race over the white race? Maybe white people wouldn’t like that. My victory does not represent one race or one particular nationality, but will transcend race and nationality, creed and language.</p>
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<p>What is important is the truth, not who proclaims it. If a white man creates a machine gun and a yellow man creates a machine gun the important question is not who made which weapon but which machine gun is the best. What we need in battle is the most effective weapon. Those who disregard this criterion and stick to certain prejudices will be defeated in battle. is it right to say, “I don’t want to eat that grain because a black farmer grew it”? That is absolutely wrong. We have to move the world beyond these attitudes.</p>
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<p>Now that we have seen victory at the Washington Rally, what is our next goal? The word “Moscow” is actually a shortened form of “must go.” That means we must go, right? I’m sure the diplomats from communist nations will just collapse in laughter when they hear this. “Reverend Moon, you’re out of your mind! You’re crazy!” But I am utterly serious. There is an historical foundation and an unseen cause which compels me to speak.</p>
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<p>When I came to America in 1972 I first spoke publicly at Lincoln Center. However, up until the moment that I signed the contract even the Unification Church members couldn’t believe that I was serious about my plan, saying among themselves, “That’s ridiculous. People won’t come. How can he do such a thing?” People outside our church were even more scornful. On the second Day of Hope tour I spoke at Carnegie Hall and again we were spoken of as crazy people.</p>
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<p>When we moved up to the next stage, Madison Square Garden, people said, “He is really nuts.” On September 17, the night before the speech, I had a banquet at the Waldorf Astoria. When we announced that we would like to have prominent Americans come to hear me speak on the following night, people said, ”Reverend Moon, please don’t do it. No one will come.”</p>
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<p>That evening a prominent CBS reporter brought a camera to the waiting room to interview me and said, “Reverend Moon, personally I don’t think people will come, but do you think you will be successful tomorrow night?” I said, “Just wait 24 hours more and see with your own eyes. More people than you ever imagined will show up to listen.” He said, “Reverend Moon, I don’t think that is true. I have experience and my calculations say that only a few people will come.” But September 18 proved the CBS computer wrong. I think God has a different kind of computer. He wants to have a decent success and have us move on without further problems. If there had been no rain at Yankee Stadium, we would have had an overwhelming success June 1.</p>
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<p>The Washington Monument Rally was originally scheduled for 1977. Having a gigantic international-scale rally in Washington, D.C. only 2½ months after the big event at Yankee Stadium would normally be unthinkable. Any good organizer would say that this was truly a crazy idea, but it is the beauty of the Unification Church that we can conceive a crazy idea that everyone projects as a disaster and then produce a great victory.</p>
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<p>Our campaign in Washington wasn’t even in gear for the first 2½ months after Yankee Stadium. The campaign itself was only forty days. Twenty-one days after the countdown started a report came to me that the most people we could possibly bring was 8,000. When that report was given all the assembled leaders turned pale and felt completely panicky. Then I smiled and stood up, announcing, “After hearing your report I announce to you that the Washington Monument Rally will be an overwhelming success.” Everybody was shocked! They didn’t know how to respond.</p>
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<p>The Washington Monument Rally was a very crucial showdown. My rise or fall depended on that one rally. That is why your leaders were very panicky at that point in the campaign. But I know and see invisible things. Regardless of the reports I knew that it would be an overwhelming success. How did I know? I know another world besides our world of reality. Even though you Unification Church members are but a handful of people, I know there are millions of people working with us in spirit world.</p>
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<h3 align="center">My strategy is not shaped by this world alone</h3>
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<p>My strategy is not an ordinary one. Man’s strategy usually considers only the reality of this world, but my strategy depends upon the realities of two worlds. This is why I do not plan my tactics in an office but out on the high sea. There I am dealing with the unseen world. The present power of humans is truly limited. If you depend only on what you see, you are exceedingly limited in what you can do. Knowing that principle has kept me alive this far. By all normal calculations I would have been dead a long time ago.</p>
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<p>The Washington Monument victory was won under countless adverse conditions. Yet even under those circumstances we could win a victory. Suppose the free world had supported me. I could move on to Moscow in three years with such support. That is not an unrealistic goal. Do you guess that is possible or do you know it as fact?</p>
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<p>Our tradition has been established and we can measure the future by the scale of the past. I’m not trying to be boastful but I have ability and power. The most important thing though is where my ability and power come from. I have experienced everything. I have tasted every human misery, including the life of a beggar. When I was a laborer I was the best laborer. I was a factory worker and I have also created factories. I created every aspect of the Unification Church today with my own hands.</p>
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<p>I love logic and I have studied science, but more than anything else I am a searcher for spiritual truth and I have acquired spiritual wisdom. Throughout my entire life I have slept one fourth of what people usually do. I ate half of what normal people ate. In my entire life in Korea there was no moment wasted, no recreation and no relaxation. Before taking the departing Japanese members to see a show in Las Vegas I had never experienced such entertainment.</p>
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<p>I have experienced the despair of gamblers. I have convinced prostitutes to live a pure life again. I can relate to farmers and blue-collar workers and factory workers because I know how they live and think and feel. I can also relate to businessmen because I have started businesses. The work the Unification Church is doing in America is not happening by whim. There has been meticulous planning in all my work and now I am reaping the results here in America.</p>
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<p>I know the thinking of theologians and scholars. When I first announced the plan to have a Science Conference every year, many members said, “Why waste your energy and money? Scholars are individualists who rarely change their opinions.” But the Science Conference has been a success each year and is still expanding.</p>
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<p>As a member of the Unification Church aren’t you learning a great deal about life? Many members are on the MFT, which is the very kind of life I lived some years ago. You have chosen this path as your way of life. It was no one else’s decision. Since you have chosen to follow my philosophy and my way of life you must go the same route by facing the same difficulties and experiences. Those who accuse people working in the name of God will be gathered together in one group and those who serve God will form another group. Either group could collapse or be destroyed or go marching on. Which is our way? Will we be dissolved?</p>
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<p>Even if we die we will die in battle, trying to accomplish God’s goal. I have no time to pay attention to persecution and I am not bothered by it. I pay as much attention to it as I would to a neighbor’s fly coming into my house to visit. Eternal righteousness is on our side. Do you have that kind of conviction?</p>
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<p>Why should we work as hard as we do? Because of God. God is almighty, but He has been persecuted and cursed by people who insist that He is dead. Many champions of God have been murdered throughout history yet God has been silent, almost as though He were ineffective and weak. God must almost close His eyes to the reality of this world. Do you know why God cannot show His wrath? If He were ever angry and decided to judge the entire world, not one human soul would remain on earth. No one is now entitled to live above His judgment. If God were to be lenient about that then Satan could justifiably accuse each person. Not one could remain above Satan’s accusation.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Can you rise above the judgment of God?</h3>
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<p>The historical ambition of God is to raise up one perfect man of God who can take care of the world. God is waiting for that one man to appear, the man the Bible promises will be the second Messiah. This one man that God is looking for will be able to completely rise above the accusation of Satan and be victorious over all human struggle. He is the person who will inherit all of history through taking responsibility for all of mankind.</p>
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<p>We must prepare ourselves to become the coworkers of this man. The Unification Church is indeed the movement that will directly take this role.</p>
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<p>The path and direction of the Unification Church is parallel with the direction of God and we are living a God-centered way of life. If there is a group of people ready to advance God’s timetable, God and the Messiah will indeed come to those people. We must educate ourselves about God’s providence and in the direction of God’s will. We must also educate ourselves about the Messiah’s mission so that we can be ready when he comes.</p>
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<p>It is not God’s way to have the individual going in one direction, the family going another way, and the nation and world going yet another. In this conviction we are different because our way of life and our point of view start with the individual but then continue through to the universal level. We have to go through seven stages, including the spirit world. In following one vertical line of growth we can truly meet God. Unless you are victorious in the sight of God as an individual, you cannot build your family. The world does not understand this principle.</p>
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<p>There is always a test to pass at each level before you can advance further. Who is testing you? It is not God but Satan and the satanic world who test you. Satan is in the position of prosecutor while God is in the position of judge and you are the defendant. Jesus Christ is your lawyer. There is a court of judgment on every level of your advancement and finally God, the universal sovereign, has His own court. No one can escape from defending himself there.</p>
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<p>One of the most important truths we are learning in the Unification Church is the law of indemnity. We now know that the amount of indemnity we must pay depends upon the seriousness of a crime. We also know what crime is most evil in the sight of God and what indemnity is needed for each level of commitment to God.</p>
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<p>What is the mission of the Messiah? He is the one who bears your burden and your indemnity. That is why he is the savior. If you take over the burdens of someone else’s life then you are that person’s savior. If you save a family from disaster then you are a savior as far as that family is concerned. That family is absolutely indebted to you and you stand above their law.</p>
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<p>The person who lifts off the entire burden of the Unification Church is above the law of the Unification Church. That person is praised by the Unification Church wherever he goes because the church as a whole is deeply indebted to him. If he came to my suite at the New Yorker I would stand aside and say, “This apartment is your home.”</p>
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<p>If there is a person who can be responsible for all the burdens of America and liquidate all the sins of this nation, then American law cannot touch him. If there is a person who feels he is able to be responsible for all the past, present and future sins of humanity, then that person is indeed the savior of mankind and stands above the laws and regulations made by mankind. Isn’t that true? The Messiah is that person. He has the power and authority to liberate even hell.</p>
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<p>That is not all: The Messiah can even liberate God. Can God judge a person to whom He is personally indebted? If He were liberated, God would not even go to the courtroom or make one pronouncement against that person. If God can be liberated He doesn’t have to judge. Under those circumstances no courtroom or judge or prosecutor is needed.</p>
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<p>In the city of Jerusalem, Jesus was sometimes angered at the immoral behavior of the people. He even overturned the moneychangers’ tables in a moment of violence. By normal standards he should have been arrested and no civil court would have vindicated him. But under the law of God Jesus had not committed any sin. Civil law is not heavenly law.</p>
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<p>Do you want to become a person who will be judged in God’s court or become a person who can even rise above the court of God? What kind of person must you become to rise above God’s judgment? Become a savior by adopting the savior’s way of life as your way of life. You can be a person who can give salvation to the world and who can say, “I will be responsible for the world and all of humanity. I will give my entire life and soul and energy for that purpose.” Then you are indeed walking side by side with the Messiah.</p>
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<h3 align="center">We can depend on no one else<br />
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to defend God’s world</h3>
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<p>Unification Church members from all different races and countries are gathered together here in Belvedere. What kind of movement are we? What kind of people will be created right here? I am going to create the kind of person who can rise above the judgment of God and give his life and soul to the salvation of humanity. That was Jesus’ way of life. It is my conviction and philosophy, and it shall become your way of life also. Can you do this? In this respect I am a very precious guest in America, bringing a most significant commodity to this country. The American people might think, “We gave so much to Korea that Korea is indebted to America materially and spiritually.” But I see that this has now been paid back many times over by the spreading of this philosophy.</p>
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<p>America did give tremendous aid to Korea, but money and sacrifice can always be paid back. Yet what is presently happening here in America? The young people of America are dying. I came to lift up the young people and give them new life. This is indeed the most precious, priceless gift that anyone could receive or give. Can you put a price tag on such a gift?</p>
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<p>Why am I doings this? America is not the goal, the world is the goal! America is indispensable for world restoration, however. I chose America as the base for this movement but my eventual goal is the salvation of the world. I have not violated heavenly law nor have I violated any civil law. My conscience is clear in the sight of God. I can stride boldly forward to meet God without shame. When I go to spirit world I am indeed an attorney for the defense of suffering humanity. I have the power to truly prosecute the prosecutor, Satan. The day will come when we can all prosecute Satan, revealing his crimes and commanding that he not bother mankind anymore. That will be your day of victory.</p>
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<p>Our goal now is Moscow, the symbol of communism. Even just the name “Moscow” sounds formidable, doesn’t it? Look at the past, though-did you ever think about mankind or the world or about becoming a savior? In the past all you thought about were your own desires, perhaps getting a good education, making a good salary and eating good food. Without knowing the truth our goals are shallow and limited and self-centered. Mankind has been like little ants in the universe.</p>
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<p>What kind of husbands do you women want? Men who have conviction and a philosophy like mine, or men with the philosophy of an ant? If you want to meet husbands with my philosophy, then you must make yourselves worthy to receive them. When you are on the MFT working hard you may not even have a chance to clean your underwear, but you think, “The day will come when I can get married and then I will wear beautiful clothes and have all kinds of beautiful things.” If you want to become that kind of bride and get dressed up and parade around then you shouldn’t ask for a man like me. A man like me will never give you such things. On the very day of the wedding he will take you fund raising and witnessing, all in dusty clothes. Do you still want a husband like me? A husband like me will also bring you out to the battlefield and will want to fight the battle together with you. Do you still want that?</p>
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<p>If the communists come to destroy the Unification Church with guns then we will have to fight with guns too. We can’t be their helpless victims and be defeated by their bullets. Do you think God will win such a battle for you? If the time comes to fight the satanic force, I will never hesitate to become the commander in chief and lead the heavenly army into battle.</p>
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<p>Do you think the Defense Department can safeguard God’s world? Don’t trust it too much. You can only trust the heavenly forces that are dedicated to God’s purpose. Our young people should be trained in every way physically. In a final war against the satanic force it will be a life or death battle. In order to safeguard the heavenly side we may need to become soldiers. It is Satan’s nature that once he feels he is in a superior position he will attack.</p>
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<p>Is it a crime to defend yourself and the heavenly nation? You should not have some naive concept of Christian love. That does not apply in a confrontation with Satan’s forces, which are determined to destroy God’s world and God’s people. If God has no power to defeat a satanic attack then He is no longer God. As God’s force, we shall be able to defend ourselves and to defend the godly world. We are a different kind of religious leadership.</p>
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<h3 align="center">I am confident and peaceful<br />
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at this moment of showdown</h3>
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<p>This morning’s message is how to rise above judgment. If you become a person who can rise above judgment then wherever you go and whatever the world will to say you, you will rise above it and God will recognize you as being righteous. You will never be destroyed.</p>
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<p>We know that our battle is not going to be easy. Even your own parents oppose you but that is simply because they do not know the truth. Once they understand the truth they will apologize to you. Americans have been vicious and slanderous, but I want you to know that the time will come when heavenly law will prevail and even this nation will bow down to the truth. If that is not true than I am a poor man, no different from any other villain. This is the secret of the Unification Church and with this knowledge we can go on and be victorious. We will step, upon the accuser’s shoulder and finally even rise above the law.</p>
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<p>The person who will rise above the judgment of God will have the power of judgment delegated to him. Are you going to be subject to the judgment of God’s court or be a person whom even God will praise? In doing this you will rise above death itself. You know what kind of men and women you are and whether you are righteous children in the sight of God. If you are equipped and trained and committed to this way of life, becoming leaders and going all over the world, America cannot decline.</p>
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<p>I come from a foreign country, not even speaking the native language of America. I use an interpreter, yet still I can communicate and inspire people as I do you. How much more can you lift the people up, coming from their own culture and speaking their own language?</p>
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<p>We are the only people under the sun who think about living this crazy way of life. There are no other men and women who are following such a philosophy. We are a peculiar, lonely group, yet this is God’s way of life. Therefore, God has to be on our side. He has to be our champion.</p>
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<p>You are very small and unassuming and you may look miserable and pale. In many cases Unification Church members look very shabby and people think the Unification Church will disappear tomorrow. But as long as God is on our side we will never be destroyed. Furthermore, we will win and be victorious. I have lived that way much longer than you have and I have not only survived but prospered and been victorious all of my life. That is our future. You must have faith in it.</p>
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<p>Do you really want to become that kind of champion? If you have that conviction then even though you appear small and unassuming you are truly princes and princesses of God. In the sight of God you are very, very precious individuals. Who is your tester? Not God but Satan. Satan has set up the barriers almost like an obstacle race. There is the family race, the society race, the national race, world race and so forth. When we break down the barriers we can create a highway so everyone can run immediately to the goal.</p>
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<p>We have already broken down the barriers on the individual, family, society and national levels. Now we have come to the final worldwide barrier. Once the final obstacle course is won even the communists cannot stop us. America is now posing a big obstacle here, saying, “No, you cannot go any further.” But I am insisting, “No! Open the way. Don’t block the way to the world!” I am deeply confident, calm and peaceful, no matter what the accusers say to us. Please be patient and see.</p>
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<p>Don’t look at me as a Korean for my background is of God. If I were only Korean then I would not have left Korea, and furthermore, there would have been no reason for the Korean government to accuse me. I am not just an Asian because even Asians have come against me. I am a mysterious, unknown person. One person will say, “I thought Reverend Moon was a religious leader.” Then I turn out to be a big businessman. When I meet politicians they admire my awareness of political situations, even though my ambition is not political. Some people say, “Reverend Moon is a gangster, a dictator,” but then all of a sudden I turn up among eminent scholars and those scholars are listening to me. If I became an actor I would be an excellent actor.</p>
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<p>When I taught Sunday school many years ago I had wonderfully deep communication with the children. Sometimes I would make them burst into laughter and sometimes make them cry. I could change their mood in moments. I am a sportsman also. There is no sport I cannot win at. When I go to sea I am a record-setting fisherman. When I go to the mountains I am a number one hunter.</p>
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<p>Look at Mother. Is she a happy woman or not? No, not quite. I am leading a most difficult life. It is impossible to keep up with my pace. When she takes time to rest at night I am always walking around and working in our room. I have no concept of the time, even at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. Mother has a hard time keeping up with me. Do you want that type of husband? If you really want that type of husband then wait a little bit. I will go after the brothers and make them into such husbands to give to you.</p>
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<p>Right now we are facing a showdown. The newspapers keep saying there is some investigation going on and legal battles coming up. Let them do that. Eventually this final roadblock will be pushed away. Using their power, government officials accuse individuals of fabricated crimes if they want to. Did you ever hear me say, “We need money. Get a pistol and rob a bank and bring money”? Actually there are robbers and murderers of innocent women and children walking around in broad daylight. Why then is the American legal system being used to interfere with our religious work?</p>
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<p>I don’t mind serving time in American prisons if necessary. American prisons are heaven compared to the prisons where I suffered under communism.</p>
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<p>Nothing can make me feel fearful. Nothing can stop this movement. I was jailed under the imperialistic Japanese government because we were organizing work for Korean independence. That prison experience was a difficult life but my most severe prison experience was in North Korea, where the prisoners were purposely worked to death. But I survived even under that system.</p>
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<p>Are you afraid of prison? You have no reason to go there. You have violated no law, neither heavenly law nor civil law, because that has never been my instruction. But if anyone ever has you imprisoned for some imaginary crime, don’t be fearful. Imprisonment is the way the heroes of history have walked.</p>
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<p>Let me ask you, if I ever ended up in jail in America under some fabricated sentence, would you run away? Communists know that I would never resort to violence, that our movement would never go beyond the boundary of God’s truth. Therefore, they take advantage of our situation.</p>
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<p>My philosophy is this: I have no enemy. People come against me now because they don’t know me, so I will be patient. It will take a longer time, but through educating people I will turn them around. That is my method. That is our way of life and our work. Even the worst kind of enemy shall be made our best friend. We fear nothing. Our goal is to rise above judgment so what should cause us worry?</p>
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<p>Those who can pledge their loyalty and obedience to heavenly instruction, who can liberate the communist world and even hell, raise your hands and pledge yourselves to God. Let us pray.</p>
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<article id="post-1116" class="post-1116 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-responsibility-of-cain-and-abel.html" title="Permalink to THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CAIN AND ABEL" rel="bookmark">THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CAIN AND ABEL</a>
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</h2>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:30:50+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-responsibility-of-cain-and-abel.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:30:50+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="entry-content">
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">November 1, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator — Mrs. Won Pok Choi</h3>
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<p>People today do not know that they have to travel the road of indemnity. In every human community a person who has committed a mistake or crime must compensate for it in some manner, including imprisonment. Even among friends, if you mistakenly say something that will harm another person, you must compensate. This also applies in the case of a married couple, and in the everyday world even some small thing may be incentive for them to get divorced.</p>
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<p>You cannot just ignore some mistake without apologizing to the other person. Before you start seeking divorce you must clarify what the error was; when one party can apologize to the other then forgiveness can be offered. This must be done before the situation can be forgotten. Even after a war among nations the victor judges the other and seeks compensation for the damages of war.</p>
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<p>If you just bury some anger in your heart without apologizing or speaking out to resolve it then it will multiply as resentment and remain within you forever. In every area of human relationships you must not try to cover everything over and persevere with resentment still growing in your heart. You must take it out and analyze it and one of the two must apologize to the other or make some compensation.</p>
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<p>The same applies to the human fall. In the beginning man rebelled against God and ever since then people have been committing crimes or causing suffering to others. In order to solve the problem we must analyze what the root of the sin was because if it is just covered up the situation will never improve. Certainly for man to restore himself back to God’s standard the root of sin must be revealed and we must find out whether Adam, Eve or the archangel caused the crime. Otherwise the problem of sin cannot be solved.</p>
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<p>Man committed a mistake in the beginning and he cannot continue indefinitely without apologizing or compensating. Mankind must be able to analyze it and say who committed the mistake and then undo every wrong that has been committed. We know that man caused the crime and that down through human history mankind committed many other mistakes, all of which can be traced back to the human ancestors who sinned in the beginning. Only by compensating for all those mistakes can we return to the original position of life.</p>
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<p>We can say that the first human ancestors committed their mistake on the individual level, but down through history families, tribes and nations have also committed crimes. What would God think of the person who offered to compensate for all the mistakes committed on the individual, family, tribal, national and worldwide levels, taking the responsibility on his own shoulders? Would God deny that person or place His hope in that person? God urgently wants man to be restored because His purpose of creation must be realized. If God remains within the Principle He cannot annihilate man and re-create him all over again. Instead He has to restore man and in doing that He has to work through men alone.</p>
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<p>What would you do if you took responsibility for all the mistakes and crimes of history? Do you think that you are in that position now or just trying to be in that position? There are many members assembled here but as I see it no one here can confidently say that he is in the position to take full responsibility even on the individual level. In that case your attitude must be to please God, wanting Him to shift all the responsibility to your shoulders, regardless of any difficulties. Are you in that position?</p>
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<p>In shouldering the cross you are not supposed to sleep. You can only compensate for everything by staying awake night after night, working hard. You must not even doze off. Even though you feel physically exhausted you must keep your eyes wide open and be radiant inside. If you at least try to keep your eyes wide open when you are desperately sleepy, you can be forgiven.</p>
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<p>The reason I am telling you this is that there are several people here dozing off. Now one of those sisters has her eyes wide open again! According to what I have said, those who dozed off with their eyes wide open would not have guilty consciences. Whatever mistake you have made must be resolved, but if you are iron-hearted and don’t feel conscience stricken then you will find no way to be forgiven.</p>
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<p>If you propose to take this responsibility, would you rather cover the individual, tribal or national levels? How can you take the responsibility on the worldwide level? Are you really that confident? You must be serious in answering; this is a serious question.</p>
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<p>I will talk about the responsibility of Cain and Abel in light of what I have said.</p>
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<p>In our movement the newcomers are apt to feel that they are in the position of Abel to others. Before going any further we must know the definition of Abel. Are each of you in the position of Abel? Some of you said yes but without confidence. Is Abel or Cain destined for heaven? You are right in saying that both are, but Abel will play the role of guide to the heavenly kingdom.</p>
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<p>There must be one Abel who can take responsibility for the whole world and then alone can he claim that position of Abel even on the family or individual level. He must be recognized by all people as representing them as their central figure. You are all in the prime of your life, being in your twenties, but you cannot become this Abel simply by claiming the position. Since there are many accumulated crimes all through human history, who will decide who Abel is? First God will, and then among men a person with a knowledge of the particulars.</p>
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<p>Do good spirits know what crime the first human ancestors committed? The central figure on earth must be recognized by good spirit men in the other world and then the angelic world must recognize this person’s qualifications. Next even Satan must recognize that person. This must be the first time you have heard that Satan plays a role in recognizing this position.</p>
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<p>If Satan accuses God’s chosen man of not being qualified for the job, that person cannot assume the role. Even Satan knows that this person must have certain specific qualifications in order for him to be Abel. When accusation is given by Satan God cannot insist upon that person having the responsibility. God is in the position of judge of course, but if the prosecutor keeps accusing the defendant of a certain crime, can the judge be justified in acquitting that person? Satan is the prosecutor who is always accusing. Who will be the lawyer to defend that person? Good spirits and angels will do the job, so his defense is not entirely in his own hands.</p>
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<p>Are you confident to say before God, the good spirit world, the angels and even Satan that you are qualified to be this Abel? You may be safely able to say that you are on the side of Abel, being a little better than an evil person, but you cannot quite claim the qualifications for being Abel. In order to be selected as Abel you must first be summoned by God and be able to say, “Here I am God. I’ll do the job.”</p>
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<p>When God finally summons a person, wouldn’t his ancestors and the rest of the good spirits be happy? They would not oppose him because they are anxious to see that position filled. They are all prepared to help such a person when he comes along. Even after answering God’s call that person cannot assume his position all of a sudden but must go through a certain amount of indemnity to qualify. It would be wonderful if he could take that position without having to pay indemnity but that is not possible because Satan is there to accuse.</p>
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<p>You can claim to be a good person but once you commit some kind of mistake you must beg forgiveness from the person you have wronged or from those associated with him. Otherwise you will not be forgiven. In order for you to remove the condition to be accused by Satan you must be able to resemble God. God alone cannot be accused by Satan so you must be able to resemble God and put yourself in His position. There is one way to do that; if you are utterly obedient to God and become one with Him, you can put yourself in the position of God to Satan. You know the definition of indemnity conditions, but are you on the way to pay that indemnity or haven’t you started yet? When will you be finished with it? Are you entitled to go to heaven while you are still involved with paying indemnity? You know the answer well. You must look into yourself and decide whether or not you have finished with indemnity.</p>
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<p>Cain represents the side of Satan and Abel represents the side of God. I said that Abel is put in that position when he is absolutely obedient to God and one with Him so wouldn’t it be simple for God to set that person up as president of a certain nation? That person might be proud of himself but what about Satan? Would Satan just approve or would he accuse and tell God that He can’t do that? Even God cannot ignore Satan at that moment. If God were able to do that He could have done it 6,000 years ago. In the face of satanic accusation God cannot easily say that a person is liberated from sin. There are conditions to go through if you want to become president.</p>
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<p>On every level the president who is designated by God must excel those presidents on the side of Satan. Only then could he claim to be on the side of God. He must excel those predecessors who have done good things and loved their people as though they were their own children. There have been many such persons in the past. To be qualified for the presidency or for sonship on the side of God it is natural that he must excel those on the satanic side. Could God ignore Satan’s protests that God’s chosen person hasn’t met the standard?</p>
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<p>After picking a person God will leave him in Satan’s hands to be tested. Satan will try his best to find fault with this person, torturing him and blocking his way. That person must be willing even to die in the course of his struggle, never having resentment but only praise for God. How long can Satan test a person? You know that everything can be prolonged to a period of forty years, so if that person fails to be recognized by Satan by that time he will lose his qualification. At that point Satan will protest to God that this person still belongs to him and not to God and God cannot deny it.</p>
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<p>In brief, the person in the position of Abel must go through the road of indemnity to the point where he can even die. We claim that we are Abel to the outside world, but since the first Abel was killed, what is the qualification of being Abel here in the Unification Church? Is it only on the spiritual level? We need to talk about the providence of Cain and Abel because Abel’s being killed prolonged that dispensation.</p>
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<p>While Abel was still alive he had not yet fulfilled the qualifications for that position, but if he had not been killed he could have saved his whole family and they could have reached the level of having nothing to do with sin. Abel died with that part still left unaccomplished but because he was killed for the sake of God the way was left open for an Abel in the future to accomplish the mission he left undone.</p>
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<p>Because he was invested in his mission and was killed along the way Abel is qualified to come down spiritually and help qualified people to come to that level. Individuals and families are needed in the position of Abel. The first such person on the family level was Noah and his family. Noah was told to build a boat on top of Mt. Ararat, a task far from common sense. Why would God give such a crazy command? The most important reason is that God wanted to remove accusation by Satan. How many people could have done Noah’s job? If you were in the position of Noah wouldn’t you have been skeptical? But Noah was utterly obedient to God’s command and began to build the boat on the mountain. Why would God have to ask abnormal things of Noah? Simply because Satan would have to surrender if Noah fulfilled God’s exorbitant requirements.</p>
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<p>God anticipated Satan saying, “You think Your servant is obedient and loyal, but wait and see. He will not last more than several decades, or at the longest he will endure 100 years.” Knowing that, God decided to have Noah spend 120 years building the ark. Satan was confident that Noah could not endure that long, and naturally Noah’s wife and children and neighbors would all be scornful of him. They would have been unusual people to not act like that.</p>
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<p>Was God foolish to push Noah like that? With His wisdom God judged that he had to go through the indemnity course and He gave orders to Noah accordingly. Without knowing this principle we can’t understand why all the good men on earth have gone through so much difficulty and persecution, even being martyred. Now you can clearly understand the situation. Without the human fall the difficulties of indemnity would not be necessary.</p>
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<p>We can draw the conclusion that God Himself could not act normally because the human fall threw everything into abnormality. We know that God could not protect Abel from being killed and in Noah’s case God would not give encouragement but left him alone to spend many years building the ark. Was it normal for God to require Abraham to offer his only son, Isaac, who was born after Abraham was over 100? God blessed Abraham, saying that his descendants would be numbered like the stars of the heavens, but did it seem He would keep His promise? Would you call this God a normal God?</p>
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<p>Look at the case of Moses. Moses was a murderer who killed an Egyptian who was torturing some Israelites. Why would God choose such a person when there might have been many other righteous people? We must clearly understand what is righteous and unrighteous in God’s sight.</p>
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<p>The Jewish people are dispersed to every comer of the earth and are still going through difficulties. At the time of Moses they were persecuted by the Egyptians but Moses was raised by the royal family and saved from slavery. A normal person would have been content with his life in the palace, but Moses ventured to protect his people by killing an Egyptian. For 400 long years the Israelites had suffered in Egypt and in Moses’ sight the time had come that they could be liberated. He knew that his people needed a great leader who could fight the Pharaoh and he thought he was the only one who could do the job.</p>
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<p>Moses had seen many instances of Israelites being killed or tortured without reason and he thought that it was righteous for him to protect his people, even by killing the Egyptians. He chose the responsibility of leading this persecuted people. Common sense told him that he could lead a gorgeous life in the palace but he chose to be with the Israelites and go through the difficulties of guiding these people into the land of Canaan, even in the face of rebellion. He lived completely in the awareness of this mission.</p>
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<p>After his forty years of luxurious life in the palace he spent forty years in the wilderness. During those forty years of traveling with the Israelites in the wilderness Moses was never once resentful against God. In the face of tremendous difficulties he would praise God and try his best to lead his people. It was because God saw the possibility of such character in Moses that He called him from the palace. Only after fighting against the royal power with his own hands could Moses liberate the Israelites.</p>
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<p>John the Baptist also lived for many years out in the wilderness, subsisting on locusts and wild honey. His life was completely contrary to a normal existence. Jesus Christ also lived a totally different life from most people in that age. If Jesus had lived to be forty, things could have been different.</p>
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<p>God originally chose the Israelites as the center of His providence but because they did not fulfill their position Jews have been dispersed all over the world. Christians also had to go through a course of difficulties and persecution, beginning with the Roman Empire. After persecuting the early Christians the Roman Empire surrendered and Christianity won a spiritual victory. People have come to think that God is cruel, if indeed there is any God at all. People wonder how a real God could leave His people alone to struggle against an evil power and go through so much misery, but without some knowledge of the indemnity course they could not understand.</p>
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<p>In order to win the world back to God’s side a person must appear who can go through the indemnity course from the individual level through -the family, tribal, national and worldwide levels. Who has been victorious in the history of indemnity, God’s side or the other side? When would God’s side be victorious over all those things? God has been anxious to send a sinless leader whenever the foundation for the Messiah was finally laid.</p>
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<p>The Messiah must undo all the mistakes of history, from the individual level to the worldwide level. Jesus Christ was killed before he could do that on the physical level. Although he initially carne to the Israelites his mission embraced the worldwide level; in his lifetime he should have advanced to win the Roman Empire and then open the way to reach out to every comer of the earth. Because his mission was not fulfilled on both the spiritual and physical levels Christians are waiting for the Lord of the Second Advent to come.</p>
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<p>The Christian world is the foundation on which the Lord will come, but until now Christians have been teaching he will come on the clouds. In the Unification Church we claim that the Lord of the Second Advent will come in the flesh, but it is difficult for people to accept this; we are saying things entirely opposite to what they have believed. Naturally we are opposed for saying such things. The most bitter opposition to endure is not from atheists or ordinary people but from these Christians who severely persecute us.</p>
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<p>God is anxious to have His prophets come to earth and reveal His secrets in the latter days. Everyone who came to foretell the future lived an abnormal life; people in the Old Testament hardly ever believed the prophets God sent and persecuted them without exception. God expects Christians to lay the foundation for the Lord of the Second Advent to come, but if they do not accept the Lord or his ideology then God will not continue to work through Christianity and Christians also will be fated to go through the worldwide level of persecution. A new group must emerge from Christianity like new buds on a tree and go through persecution by way of indemnity on every level. When this group confronts the worldwide level of indemnity you can know that the final goal is close at hand. Now is that time.</p>
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<p>In our movement we have to link together each level of all things, restoring what was previously a failure. If Christianity had cooperated with our movement, we could have reached the goal in seven years’ time but instead it was prolonged to 21 years. My real mission finally started at the age of forty.</p>
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<p>Before the age of forty I had to endure persecution and fulfill indemnity conditions up to a certain level. You must clearly understand that the history of the Unification movement has been one of persecution for the purpose of indemnity. In Korea and Japan our Church was persecuted by the government and now we are going through the same thing in America.</p>
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<p>Now that we have been victorious spiritually on the world level we must indemnity all those levels horizontally, never being frustrated and never vacillating but always acting on God’s plan until we are recognized.</p>
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<p>I have carried out my mission without any example from history to follow. You have clearly seen what took place during the Washington Monument campaign. That kind of thing could have easily been done with the cooperation of America, but even in the face of persecution from almost the whole nation we won a victory because God was on our side. How do you view me compared to the presidents of the United States, for instance? Could they do what I have done?</p>
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<p>America and most other democratic nations are retreating before the threat of communism but I am proclaiming that we will have a big rally in Moscow and I am unshakably confident that I will annihilate the evil ideology of communism. Have you ever seen such a person? The communists are deriding me but I am more than confident.</p>
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<p>I have no weapons to fight with but the Korean government is scared of me; they think that if I ever wanted to be the President of Korea that I would be able to do it. In the United States the State Department is fearful of me and the communists oppose what I am doing. Am I such a fearful person? I have nothing but my own two hands to work with yet people are fearful nonetheless; they sense that God is working through me. I am talking about uniting the whole world with my bare hands. Can anyone believe that? You are crazy because you believe that.</p>
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<p>To repeat, you must start by placing yourselves in the central point and going through indemnity on the horizontal level of individual, family, nation and world. In the providence of God Korea and America correspond to Israel and the Roman Empire. The United States is giving aid to Korea but Korea is reciprocating by giving aid on the spiritual level. Koreans envy the material wealth of the Western world, especially America, but America is now inclined to be influenced by the spiritual life of the East. If Christianity alone were to unite with us then the cooperation of East and West would bring the final victory on God’s side.</p>
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<p>Korea is the only nation which is completely divided in two. Germany is divided into democratic and communist states, but there is already some communication between them. Korea is truly the front line in the battle between Satan and God, with South and North completely divided and not even communicating with each other.</p>
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<p>All the communist powers are keenly aware of the battle in Korea. On the spiritual level we have almost reached the worldwide goal but the confrontation of good and evil is now taking place on both the spiritual and physical levels in Korea.</p>
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<p>In general the American media is not sympathetic to the government of President Park. Americans think of President Park as a dictator but he has never murdered or killed anyone, while Mao Tse Tung killed 150 million, Kim 11 Sung killed three million and Stalin killed seventy million people. The Americans who criticize President Park even believe that Mao is the hero of this age, having organized a great revolution. These people never think about the situation South Korea is facing. With an invasion from North Korea being an imminent possibility, how could President Park be expected to leave the situation alone, not keeping his nation prepared and alert? Communists the world over know that if President Park could be removed from office that the North Koreans could easily invade the South and take over. Recently Americans have accused me of being connected with the KCIA but nothing is farther from the truth. I may be a running dog for God, but not for the KCIA or anything else!</p>
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<p>Now that the day of heavenly victory has been set up on the 4th of October we will never be in a defensive position. We will take the offensive from now on. We are going to create our own newspaper and later I’m going to establish our own university. We are going to create more performing arts groups on a very high level. The world of art has influenced the media and subsequently influenced public opinion in a negative way so I’m going to educate our people and restore the world of media and art to God’s side.</p>
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<p>We are now at the transition point, crossing over from abnormality to normalcy. The misery and difficulty we have gone through has been abnormal but from now on our way will be smoother. Just wait until the end of our third seven-year course and from then on we will be materially blessed and can enjoy our life in a heavenly way.</p>
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<p>We are restoring the 2,000 years of Christian history within 21 years; if I had failed it could have been prolonged to 210 years. Even the idea of that is horrible. I had to go through this condensed indemnity course in 21 years, winning a certain standard in Korea, Japan and now in the Western world. All this culminated in the success at Washington Monument after Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. Wait a little while longer and you will see how the second generation here in America will be inspired by our movement.</p>
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<p>There have been tremendous barriers of resentment and hate between the races but now that we have laid the foundation this far God can forgive all of that. What I am doing is always in the name of God. I can tear down the racial barriers because I have made the condition of winning victory in the face of opposition from people of all races.</p>
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<p>The whole world may be against me now but after overcoming that level I can send missionaries even to the communist world. You can now see that the whole world has spoken out in protest against our movement, but in a little while you will see worldwide victory. The day will come when the Washington Post and the New York Times will understand the mistakes they have made. According to the law of indemnity they must compensate by apologizing. When that happens the whole population of the world will pay attention. Now the State Department is investigating what I have done but let them go ahead. They will find no incriminating evidence because there isn’t any.</p>
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<p>Have I done anything wrong to you? Would you call me evil for having you come here at 4:00 a.m.? You people are used to living in luxury and relaxation but now you go out selling flowers and witnessing to the people. America has been a selfishly individualistic country up to the present, but I am teaching you to be sacrificial people who work for the sake of the whole world. Is that a bad thing or a good thing? You are accustomed to sitting on soft chairs and enjoying comfort but here you sit on a hard floor and your legs get numb. In the established churches the congregations listen to their preachers for 15 to 20 minutes at the longest, but I have you sit three or four hours or more.</p>
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<p>White people usually want to marry among themselves, but I am mixing blacks, whites and Orientals in marriage. Despite the fact that Americans don’t like me, I am always sure that God likes me. Even when people persecute me and call me names I don’t feel resentful but pity them instead. What I want to do is to make them understand because I know that by winning any Cain to Abel’s side we can find the Heavenly Kingdom. Only after having fulfilled the history of Cain and Abel can we open the door to heaven.</p>
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<p>Our purpose is to save each Cain at the earliest time. When I say we are going to take the offensive, don’t get excited and be ready to crush anyone. Now that I have laid the foundation on each level and have paved the way, you can just follow my way to reach the goal,</p>
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<p>Once public opinion is turned around and people come to think that I am a good person things will suddenly change and the people who still oppose us will be converted by our friends. The day will come before long; be confident. This opportunity will never always be here so why don’t you concentrate your efforts on laying your own foundation on the individual, family, tribal and worldwide levels, for your own sake and for your descendants?</p>
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<p>Until now Abel has been in the vanguard of the whole group, but from now on it must be Cain who leads the way and faces the difficulties. Are you ready for that? With the month of October gone you must be prepared to take up my responsibility. In that case I can leave everything I have won to you; you will inherit all the work that I have done without having to go through the same indemnity and without accusation from Satan.</p>
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<p>I will leave all I have to you but in order for you to be qualified to inherit that spiritual wealth you must be desperate to sustain any level of your mission. Until now we have paid indemnity for the past and most of the time I have done that. From now on whatever you do is going to be for the sake of yourself and for the sake of your descendants. Because of God’s love you can lay the foundation for yourself and your offspring. Whatever you win by struggling will be yours.</p>
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<p>Until the end of the third seven-year course I want you to work with all your effort, investing every ounce of your energy. In doing that you must realize that you are laying your own foundation and taking responsibility so that I will not have to worry about you. Remind yourself that we have only 3½ years left. Why don’t you concentrate all your energy on what you are going to do to accomplish your mission?</p>
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<p>Ultimately the providence of Cain and Abel will be accomplished and that kind of thing will be finished. Satan’s work will be no more. It sounds like a dream but we will make it true. For the coming 3½ years you must realize that you are going through the Cain-type indemnity. Why don’t you invest your whole self during that time? I will trust you and see if you can do it.</p>
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<p>Once the work of Cain and Abel is finished we will see the communist world crumble and the power of evil diminish. Young people will abandon the life of drugs and immorality and be attracted to this way of life. The spirit world will be united with the physical plane and more and more spiritually attuned people will testify to our movement and ideology without our having to witness. You will not always have this chance so why don’t you concentrate on your witnessing now?</p>
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<p>Up to the present it has been the Abel figure or chosen people who have gone through the indemnity course, but the coming three or four years are the period of time when Cain figures can pay their own indemnity. This is the best chance of your whole life. You represent the whole population of the world in doing the job when other people do not know. You must feel privileged to do your very best in that period of time. Can I trust you?</p>
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<p>May God bless you.</p>
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<article id="post-1114" class="post-1114 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-day-of-the-victory-of-heaven.html" title="Permalink to THE DAY OF THE VICTORY OF HEAVEN" rel="bookmark">THE DAY OF THE VICTORY OF HEAVEN</a>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:30:06+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/the-day-of-the-victory-of-heaven.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:30:06+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">October 4, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator – Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>Seeing your beautiful faces this morning makes me joyously happy. Thank you for coming. Yours are the most brilliant young faces in America. In your faces there is hope for tomorrow and for the future of mankind. Your faces and your hands will decide the destiny of the world.</p>
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<p>Today is October 4, 1976. Even though the Washington Monument Rally was held on September 18, the campaign continued through yesterday. Today is actually the formal termination of the Washington Monument campaign, and it is truly a momentous and joyful day.</p>
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<p>You know through the Divine Principle that the number nine is the number of perfection and also represents the end of the satanic world. When you add one to nine you get ten, which represents the number of heaven and means returning to God. The number one represents God. You know, too, that the number four is very significant in the history of restoration because it represents the heavenly four positions which have been lost and must be restored. Therefore, throughout history the number four recurs again and again: 40 days of fasting, 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, 4,000 years from Adam to Jesus, and so on. Today, the fourth day of the tenth month, is a day which is meaningful in numbers, and it is also meaningful for me personally because on this date in 1955, I was found innocent and released from prison in South Korea.</p>
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<p>Thus today we express our heartfelt gratitude to Almighty God for the two liberations which are represented by October 4: my own liberation from prison, and the liberation for all mankind represented by the tremendous victory at Washington Monument, won on the foundation of my 3½ year crusade here in America. Let us thank God for these victories, and I would also like to thank each one of you.</p>
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<p>From this day on, October 4 shall be celebrated as a holy day in the history of the Unification Church. The name of the day will be “The Day of the Victory of Heaven.”</p>
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<h3 align="center">The dwelling place of God</h3>
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<p>I would like to explain to you why we celebrate the victory of heaven today. If Adam and Eve had not fallen, they would have grown to perfection and united as one with God. The dwelling place of God would have been here with us on earth, and the world would have been one of happiness. The happiness of men and God would have expanded to the angelic world and to all the things of creation. We would have seen the realization of God’s unified ideal world in which God, man, the angelic world and the things of creation were all united together in joyful oneness. Men in that perfected world would not have had to struggle to learn of God’s existence, because God would have been so real. There would have been complete harmony between men, the angelic world and all the things of creation. That was the beautiful world God originally intended.</p>
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<p>If men had become perfect, they would have understood all kinds of things which are presently mysteries: the meaning of a bird’s or insect’s song, of the whispering of the trees or the rushing of waters. There is meaning in every sound in creation, and we would have been able to understand and interpret each one. God created everything in the universe, and every single bit of it would sing in concert with every other part, a universal orchestration of the joy and ecstasy of God. That was the purpose of creation.</p>
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<p>When we think of laughter we visualize a facial expression. We know someone is laughing by looking at his face. God’s original intention, however, was for the whole body to laugh. The hands and feet and even the tiny pores in the skin and the little hairs were supposed to laugh together in concert. And the internal or real man inside was the most important part of the person to laugh. The mind, which corresponds to heaven, and the physical body, which corresponds to all the things of creation, were to resound together in laughter, and when a man laughed it would have meant the entire universe was laughing. When a man walked, it would have represented heaven and earth walking hand in hand, and when a man sang and was happy it would have meant heaven and earth sang together in joy. Wouldn’t you like to sing like that?</p>
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<p>Today in this fallen world you can see people laughing, but they are often crying inside. Only the mouths laugh; the rest of the body cannot respond because there is no joy inside to bubble out in laughter. Have you ever experienced a really joyful laugh? Did you ever think that when you laughed, all of heaven and earth laughed with you? Have you ever danced so joyfully with laughter that all of heaven and earth could respond?</p>
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<p>The universe is so sensitive to the power of love that when you give love you can move the entire universe, just as someone can attract your attention by pulling just one tiny hair on your head. When we love or speak words of love, the entire universe responds. Do you like love? When I speak of love, everyone smiles or laughs, isn’t that true? No one cries. Real love brings laughter and dancing, and all of heaven and earth responds with joy.</p>
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<p>God created song and dance and laughter as expressions of love. Once love comes into being, everything comes together. Unfortunately in today’s degraded world although there are all kinds of songs and dances, they do not represent God’s original concept of love and joy. This world is numb, dead to those feelings. People cannot respond to God’s love or joy. Thus there is no interaction among men, heaven, and the things of creation. These are dreadful consequences of the fall.</p>
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<p>To understand how far man fell, you must understand God’s original concept of creation. God was in the position of the father, the angels were His servants, men were His children, and the things of creation were there to serve mankind. But because of the fall all these relationships were severed. God, the angels, men and the things of creation became separated instead of connected. Perfection was to have begun from the level of the servant, and upon the foundation of the perfection of the servant the son could be perfected, and after the perfection of the son the children would become perfected, and on the basis of that the father could emerge and God could dwell among them. That should have been the process of perfection, and it would have centered on love.</p>
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<p>But man fell instead. How far did we fall? We fell to a level below that of the things of creation. We fell from the principled world to the unprincipled, unlawful world, with a great distance to go to reach restoration. We must earn our way back to our original position.</p>
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<h3 align="center">We must rebuild the foundation of all creation</h3>
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<p>The fall destroyed the structural foundation of all creation. There was no longer any foundation for the angelic world, or for sonship, daughtership or parenthood. Thus we have to rebuild all those foundations stage by stage, starting in a world where God, man, angels and the things of creation are all separated.</p>
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<p>Man caused the separation. Man was the fallen factor, and therefore man must take responsibility to bring these things together again. Without God’s mercy and power however, fallen man has no ability or power to recreate the original world. In His mercy God initiated His work of salvation to enable man to come back to his original position and to renew his relationship with Him. Ever since the fall it has been God’s will that man be restored or recreated. That is the meaning of God’s work of salvation.</p>
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<p>Man fell to a level below that of the things of creation, so in the first stage of restoration, the Old Testament era, man could elevate himself by offering sacrifices. He could approach God through the unfallen things of creation. By offering sacrifices and heeding the words of God’s prophets, man could elevate himself from the unprincipled world to the world of the servant. The Old Testament era was the 4,000 year period of preparation of Israel as a foundation upon which God could send the Messiah. The territory of the chosen nation of Israel represents all the things of creation, and the people of Israel represent the angelic world. Through the victory of the Jewish people in establishing the nation of Israel, mankind was elevated to the level of servant. Upon that foundation the Messiah could come to establish a pattern whereby men could rise from servants to sons of God.</p>
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<p>But what happened? The Israelites rejected Jesus and crucified him, and the foundation was lost. The people and nation of Israel were an altar upon which Jesus came as the son of God, a living sacrifice. But because of the disbelief of the people, the entire foundation was lost and a new foundation, Christianity, had to be erected.</p>
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<p>After Christianity came into being it began moving toward Rome, the center of a great empire, in order to bring the people of Rome to God. Though the resurrection of Jesus Christ brought spiritual salvation to mankind, the physical world has remained in the hands of Satan. Therefore a split between the realms of physical life and spiritual life developed in the Christian world. This is the internal cause behind the political doctrine of ” separation of church and state.”</p>
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<p>Christianity is the religion of sonship which is not yet perfected. It is the religion of adopted sons. If Jesus had been accepted by Israel in his lifetime then all of mankind could have been lifted directly from servanthood to the sonship of God. However, due to the failure of Israel at that time, an intermediate step was established: that of the adopted sons of God. Consequently there is still one more step which was not accomplished in those days.</p>
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<p>God is anxious to complete this final step, and has been laboring to prepare an adequate foundation for its accomplishment. When Christianity moved from Israel to Rome, the Roman Empire was given the opportunity to lay that foundation. However, when Rome did not respond, the focus of Christianity was shifted to Great Britain. Great Britain did not respond either, and finally many Europeans who received religious persecution fled across the Atlantic to America and established a Protestant nation. This is America’s heritage. The last 200 years of American history are an encapsulation of 2,000 years of Christian history. This year, 1976, America celebrated its Bicentennial.</p>
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<p>The Indians were the first ancestors of this land, but they have their roots in Asia. Thus, when I came to America I did not feel that I was coming to a foreign country but to the home of my cousins. We may ask why God allowed the white people to prosper at the expense of the Indians. Compared to the Indians, the white people who came from Europe to America seeking religious freedom were miserable, weak people, but they were God’s elect. They represented God’s central effort at that time and were persecuted while trying to do God’s will. When they came to America the Indians originally embraced them, but after later conflict, different tribes rejected them and tried to push them out. Again God’s minority was rejected.</p>
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<p>However, the pilgrim fathers from Europe were in Abel’s position in God’s sight, while the Indian majority in this land was in Cain’s position. If these two had united in oneness America’s history would have been glorious from the very beginning. However, they did not unite, and Cain slew Abel. Since God stands on the side of Abel, God had to assist the immigrant minority from Europe.</p>
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<p>Now the course of events is reversed. I have come from Korea, not as a Korean or an Asian, but in Abel’s position, representing God’s side. This time the majority in America is white and is rejecting me for the most part. On which side will God stand this time? I do not represent only the yellow race. In this congregation we have all races united together in support of me. You are not supporting an Asian-you are supporting God’s Abel. The entire world will respond when it sees that the real hope for tomorrow begins by siding with God.</p>
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<p>As you know, the history of restoration is the history of indemnity, and unless the price of indemnity is paid then nothing can be restored. The most sorrowful event in the history of God was the death of Adam through the fall, and second, the crucifixion of His own son Jesus. God’s goal is to restore the entire world, not just one nation; therefore, these two events have to be indemnified on the worldwide scale. This is God’s plan.</p>
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<p>God chose America to be His foothold or foundation. Taking the position of the Roman Empire of 2,000 years ago, America was to have been God’s sanctuary. Early Christianity finally prospered in Rome, and in the same way America is the representative Christian nation today. Christianity has expanded to the worldwide level and people from all the races of the world came to this country and have been living together as a nation of all nations, a microcosm of the world. The Roman Empire did not begin as a God-centered nation, but God prepared America from the very beginning to be a God-centered country. Meanwhile, God chose Korea to fulfill the same role as Israel of 2,000 years ago. Together America and Korea are to consummate human history.</p>
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<p>The situation 2,000 years ago was very different since Israel was oppressed by the huge Roman Empire for Rome’s own advantage. Today, however, America is in a position to assist Korea instead of conquering it, and Americans have even died trying to protect Korea. This is the fruit of God’s labor for 2,000 years. Can America withdraw its assistance from Korea? If America severs its relations with Korea then all Asia will quickly fall to communism. America cannot abandon Korea.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Jesus’ mission must be consummated in our time</h3>
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<p>The mission of Jesus must be consummated in our time, and the Unification Church was born for that mission. Korea regained independence from Japan in 1948. If the sovereign nation of Korea had united with the spirit of the Unification Church and accepted me, then Korea could have fully united with America and a glorious history would have begun at that time. In order to be successful, Jesus had to win his own family and nation, and then prevail over the Roman Empire. By carrying out that pattern the kingdom of God could have been established 2,000 years ago.</p>
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<p>Likewise, in the age of the new Messiah the Korean people should be the first to accept God’s champion, in order to indemnify and restore the failure of Israel. Following God’s pattern, the Messiah should then come to America, which is serving in the position of the Roman Empire of 2,000 years ago. The American people represent the population of the world and the American nation represents the territory of the world. When this parallel sequence is fulfilled then history will be consummated.</p>
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<p>If Judaism had accepted Jesus 2,000 years ago and united with him, then he could have completed this course successfully. In the same way, if modern day Korean Christianity had accepted the Unification Church, then mankind could have quickly gone through the entire course, all the way to the final goal. However, that was not done; Korean Christianity rejected the Unification Church.</p>
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<p>When the Jews failed to accept Jesus they became separated and scattered. In the same way, if modern day Christian churches fail to recognize God’s work they will rapidly decline and become divided. The Unification Church and I have to pay the indemnity for the failure of the Christian churches in Korea. For 33 years I have been paying indemnity on one level after another, gradually accumulating a new</p>
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<p>foundation on the worldwide level. Originally I was supposed to fulfill my mission while in my 30’s; however, I had to begin all over again because of the rejection of the Christian churches and another 30 years was needed to pay the necessary indemnity. Korea was liberated in 1945, and the period up to 1978, two years from now, will represent 33 years of work. These 33 years are equivalent to the life of Jesus Christ. This 33 year period is the time to indemnify and completely redo his course on earth.</p>
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<p>At the age of 30, Jesus initiated his public ministry, which lasted three years. My life in America since 1972 is 3½ years, paralleling Jesus’ public ministry. For 30 years I worked in Korea to pay the indemnity for the failure of the Christian churches. On the foundation of that victory I came to America and stage by stage I have been laying the foundation for the worldwide level of restoration.</p>
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<p>My first major victory was at Madison Square Garden, September 18, 1974. That represented spiritual victory. In order to bring that American victory back to Asia, I organized the IOWC and we conducted an unprecedented campaign all over Japan and Korea. After the spiritual victory here in America was linked in a physical way to Japan and Korea, I brought it back to America in order to win physical victory on the worldwide level. In short, the spiritual victory went back to Asia, and returned here as a physical victory. I am sure this is somewhat difficult to follow but this has very deep meaning.</p>
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<p>Upon returning to America with a condition for physical victory, I commenced a war. Two thousand years ago Jesus’ foundation was lost and he could only work defensively. However, a foundation was now laid which allowed me to take the offensive, starting with Yankee Stadium. The final, most dramatic offensive was Washington Monument.</p>
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<p>Our assault on America had the effect of a shock wave. Everybody was startled and now people are getting organized to retaliate, demanding, “Is there any way to get rid of Reverend Moon?” Even the American government is trying to work out something with the Korean government, paralleling the events of 2,000 years ago when the Roman and Jewish governments plotted together to crucify Jesus.</p>
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<p>In the sight of God, the victory at Madison Square Garden represented the worldwide victory on Adam’s level. Yankee Stadium represented a victory on Jesus’ level. Since Jesus was crucified, our Yankee Stadium campaign was conducted in the face of much danger. During that campaign I received more threats on my life than ever before and there were many threats of bombing and violence to the church. I knew all along that the most crucial moment would come at Yankee Stadium because Jesus actually died and then was resurrected. Likewise I was symbolically killed and then resurrected at Yankee Stadium.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Crucifixion and resurrection on June 1</h3>
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<p>The rainstorm on June 1 was truly the dispensation of God. Because of that storm an even greater catastrophe was averted; the rain changed the minds of those who had plotted something most tragic. Our enemies thought, “Well, Reverend Moon has already faltered; this rain will stop his rally. Even God has judged him. No one will come; the program will be cancelled and he will be a complete failure.” Therefore they cancelled their plans for disturbance, but we did not cancel our plan.</p>
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<p>At that time I witnessed the profound way that the law of indemnity works. I was not aware that a storm had come, but at the very moment that the heavy rain began to fall outside a very mysterious thing happened. A huge poster with my portrait was hanging in my waiting room, and suddenly it crashed to the floor. Nobody had touched it; it fell for no apparent reason. There was chaos at that moment, and then I knew that something extraordinary was happening outside. The leaders fled in and Mr. Kamiyama cried out, “Father, forgive us! Awful things are happening outside and we may not recover for the rally. What can we do?” Everybody was in despair.</p>
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<p>But then another miracle happened. In the pouring rain the Go-World Brass Band struck up and all our members began singing, “You Are My Sunshine.” It was a protest to God, “Give us sunshine!” At that time came the most ardent, intense prayer ever offered in human history. Then what happened? Everybody in Yankee Stadium responded, even non-members, parents and guests from Korea and Japan. Nobody wanted to take shelter. In the pouring rain everyone responded, singing together. That paralleled the moment of judgment that took place in Pilate’s court 2,000 years ago, when Jesus was sentenced to death. At that time the people had been outside the court screaming, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” That moment in Yankee Stadium was my moment of crucifixion. God had nailed me down but you, the disciples, never ran away. Furthermore, the people united with you in support of me. This was the complete reversal of Jesus’ course. Instead of demanding crucifixion of the chosen one, the people cried, “We’ll win, Father! God, let him win!”</p>
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<p>During the crucifixion there were three dark hours in heaven and earth. In the same way, I went through three dark hours at Yankee Stadium. But what happened? The miracle came and God answered your prayer. Immediately after that crucifixion in Yankee Stadium resurrection came. The rain stopped and the sun came out; the people arrived and instead of being cancelled our rally went on to have even greater impact. At Yankee Stadium we tasted crucifixion; we tasted the three dark hours, and then we truly tasted resurrection and the joy of life.</p>
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<p>We won the victory at Yankee Stadium, yet something was lodged in your hearts. There was some emptiness since we could not bring a full house for God. Every one of you decided that day, “Father, give us one more chance. This time we will truly bring a total victory.” The period between Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument was an intense period, indemnifying the 2,000 year dispensation of Christianity. It was as though you had received partial salvation at Yankee Stadium; the physical salvation was lost and you gained only spiritual salvation. However, you were all determined, “Father, at Washington Monument we are going to have a spiritual and physical victory that will represent a total victory. Give us that opportunity.” With that commitment work began for the Washington campaign.</p>
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<p>Two thousand years ago a black man assisted the work of God in a peculiar way. Simon of Cyrene bore Jesus’ cross on the way to the Mount of Calvary. The Washington Monument Rally was equivalent to the perfection stage in the final dispensation. Therefore, I knew there would be many black people who would respond to me. To begin with, the population of Washington is predominantly black, but there was a deeper reason why primarily black people responded to our work.</p>
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<p>I am sure you remember vividly what we accomplished in Washington. While we were working many observers were debating the outcome of our rally. They were looking for one thing: “What will happen this time? Will he succeed or be defeated again? What will happen to Reverend Moon?” In Washington we were in the Abel position, with the rest of the city in Cain’s position. But instead of hating Cain as Abel did, we loved him. We visited the people two and three times, sincerely inviting them to come. We did our absolute best to lead them into salvation, into new hope and understanding. Then what happened? A victory happened. There were many who expected to see a complete fiasco, even with violence and killing. I am sure they prayed for bad weather and all kinds of disturbances. Instead everything ran beautifully, the most disciplined and orderly demonstration that the nation’s capital has ever seen. That was the victory that occurred.</p>
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<p>People could see for themselves what the Unification Church did in Washington. Though they were not necessarily Christian or even religious, people of conscience knew that I had been unfairly treated. In the eyes of the citizens and the government our rally was responsibly handled in the most amicable, glorious way. We won many, many friends who may not join the Unification Church but who will fight for us out of their sense of justice.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Our victories in Washington</h3>
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<p>We won a triple victory. More than 300,000 people came; this was one victory. Delivering my message was the second victory, and the peaceful, orderly procession of events was the third victory. But an even greater victory came after the rally; that night we cleaned up the entire Monument area and completely de-postered the city. In all the history of Washington and America no one has seen any group carry out a promise so precisely as you carried out my promise to clean the city. The next day the government and media alike praised us. They even praised me. WMAL Television said, “We don’t know much about Reverend Moon’s religion, but we know one thing, Reverend Moon is a man of his word.”</p>
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<p>The decisive judgment was made that no organization like the Unification Church has been seen in the 200 years of American history. My leadership is something they cannot understand and could never duplicate. This was their verdict, and it was in our favor. The Washington police were apprehensive as they contemplated the possibility of many anti-Moon demonstrations, as well as racial violence. They predicted violence and worried about how they would handle it. But no violence came, not even a single incident. They were amazed. Who in the world could control such a gathering of all races? Black, yellow and white responded together to this one man; the authorities had never seen anything like it.</p>
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<p>Some eminent scholars came and concluded that the Unification Church cannot be compared to any other religion, that it is indeed the only religion which truly has the power to unite all the religions of the world. Having black, yellow and white gathered in oneness with me is in itself a victory for us to celebrate. This is now happening on earth because this unity has preceded us in the spirit world, the world of cause. Nothing can happen here unless it first happens there. Throughout the entire spirit world whites, blacks and Orientals are now all united together in support of me. This is why this most beautiful, historically unprecedented scene of unity could happen here now.</p>
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<p>The world of Cain attacked and persecuted the world of Abel, but under those adverse conditions we rose above the persecution and won the victory. From this time forward we will be advancing at super speed. On the very day of the rally another providential event occurred. September 18 was picked as the date for the funeral of Chairman Mao Tse-tung of China, the principal leader of the ungodly world, who imposed the rule of communism on one billion people. It is most providential that the hour of his funeral was set at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the same hour that the Washington Monument Rally was to begin. Chairman Mao, representing the side of Satan, was buried underground at the same time that the champion on the side of God was raised up at Washington Monument.</p>
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<p>The next day the hot news in the media was our rally. Even the Washington Post had to recognize us with a big picture on the front page and several pages of coverage. It took us two hours to read the whole article in the Washington Post on September 19. Our articles began on page one and continued through the first section. Then we found the article of Mao’s funeral buried way down on page 18.</p>
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<p>Thoughtful citizens and government officials were shaking their heads, thinking, “I just can’t understand the secret of Reverend Moon’s power.” If they cannot see God they can never understand my secret. But they also say, “This organization has formidable power, drive, and sense of conviction. Perhaps this group will change the destiny of the world.” Through the victory at Washington Monument the Unification Church has been firmly established on a universal scale. Nobody can disregard us anymore; they must recognize this extraordinary group and recognize my leadership.</p>
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<p>Our victory represents Jesus’ intended course of sealing his victory in Israel by going to Rome to make a proclamation there before the Senate. There were several consequences of our victory. First, Jesus’ sorrowful heart was vindicated, and because of that, the grieving heart of God was liberated. There have also been many righteous men and martyrs, men of justice whose hearts have been filled with grief and suffering. These people were lifted up too, vindicated and liberated. Finally, my own ardent struggle of 33 years and my own grief were resolved and liberated at Washington Monument.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Liberation of spirit world and<br />
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forgiveness of past sins</h3>
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<p>Through the victory in Washington we fulfilled the conditions needed to liberate the sorrow of the entire spirit world and the physical world together. I declare today that the time has come for the total liberation of the spirit world and the forgiveness of past sins.</p>
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<p>In the spirit world there are no national boundaries. Korea, Japan and America do not exist in the spirit world; however’ there are different realms based on the different religions. Those who believed in Buddha are in Buddha’s realm and those who believed in Jesus live in the Christian realm, and so forth. Throughout man’s history individuals in spirit world have always lived in distinctly separate realms and have never harmonized. They surrounded themselves with walls, waiting for the day when the new Messiah would come to the earth and declare their liberation. Only then could they break down the walls and finally unite into oneness. They have been waiting throughout history for this day, but it could not be declared until the sorrowing hearts of God, Jesus Christ, and the True Parents were vindicated. There has been no such day in the past. Today, however, through the victory of the Washington Monument Rally, all the past sorrow of God, Jesus, and the True Parents is vindicated, and today I declare the liberation of all the spirit world. Even at this moment the barriers are broken down.</p>
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<p>Now spirit world has formed one world of unification; the territories have merged and everyone can communicate freely, traveling back and forth. Since the spirit world is in the subject position, this unity will eventually be reflected here on earth. According to the Principle, if the three levels-God, Adam and Eve, and the Archangel-had united together there would have been no fall. Now here on earth that unity has been established between God, the True Parents, and the members of the Unification Church, who are in the position of the angelic world as well as of children. This unity was not made on the level of one small nation; we have achieved this unity on a worldwide level. This is most significant.</p>
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<p>What is the significance of this unity? Simply this: Satan no longer has the condition to attack Adam or Adam’s family. This means that Satan no longer has any power to defeat the Unification Church and the True Parents. Satan may still attack, but now God is in a position to exact a penalty for that, and blessing will be withdrawn from the satanic side accordingly. From this time on our battle is still going to be hectic but the consequences will be very different. We must press the battle and work hard, and then we will see the blessings of the other side shifted to ours. God will transfer the blessing from the other camp to ours.</p>
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<p>The wind has changed. In the past Satan was constantly attacking and God’s people were always on the defensive. But from this time on Satan will be on the defensive and God’s side will begin to attack. If Satan’s side attacks us it will have to pay a tremendous penalty, and ultimately we will win.</p>
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<p>The entire spirit world is now completely united behind us. The consequences are many, and at this juncture of human history we must understand clearly how to conduct ourselves to avoid being hurt by conditions we might make for Satan; from this time on we should not violate any heavenly laws. As we gather fresh determination to win new battles, our standard must always be to go beyond the intensity of our work for Washington Monument. Then we will always be victorious and the heavenly spirit world will always assist us.</p>
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<p>We must not lose our momentum, but rather surpass the intensity of our campaign for Washington Monument. Then God and the spirit world will always assist us. If our standard drops, then Satan will have a condition to interfere. When your physical resistance is lowered then harmful germs can easily invade your body; likewise, if your spiritual resistance is weakened, then Satan can easily invade.</p>
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<p>Today we are celebrating the Day of Victory of Heaven. Our pledge should be that we will maintain the standard of effort that was established by the Washington Monument campaign. As long as we do that then God can be with us all the way, and the entire spirit world will come to assist us without reservation. Can you understand this?</p>
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<p>You are privileged to attend this celebration, and you were privileged to have participated in the campaign for the Washington Monument Rally. It will probably be the greatest honor bestowed on you. But our final qualification to be here today will be our determination before Heavenly Father to maintain or surpass the momentum of the Washington campaign. Then we can qualify to be a part of this celebration. If you pledge this to God and heaven and earth, please raise your hands. Thank you.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Liberation of the communists</h3>
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<p>From this time on we solemnly declare that we have an additional goal. That next goal is Moscow.</p>
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<p>There will still be many people who are jealous of us and who will accuse and persecute us, on the governmental level as well as the individual level. Do not worry about them. They may try to stop us, but in the end they will come with us. We have to leap beyond their interference. Instead of the free world, communism is our target from this time on. The time will come when the entire communist world will unite together trying to block me; this is the enemy we are going to face. So far the North Korean government has mostly ignored me and the Unification Church, but now they are no longer ignoring us. Recently their official government radio program broadcasted that I am the enemy of mankind and should be ousted by the American government. They are also warning President Park that I will overrun his government. But on the contrary, the U.S. State Department and the Korean government should not worry; my ambition is not to take over their position or to control them. My ambition is to save the world, not just this nation or Korea, but all the countries of the world. My ambition is to give the blessing of God to all of them.</p>
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<p>Today communism presents a global crisis for everyone. But the nation of America is retreating as communism advances; even Judaism and Christianity are retreating. No one will confront communism face to face with a plan of action and the conviction to be victorious. I alone am pushing forward like a bulldozer, heading fearlessly towards communism. Soon the free world will discover that only one champion is fighting communism: Reverend Moon. Our opponents will continue to criticize my actions, but soon they will realize that I am their only hope to stop the advance of communism. While their mouths are criticizing, their hands will be applauding.</p>
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<p>Inevitably we will gain the reputation of being the worst enemy of communism, and the communists themselves will spread it. Communists all over the world will agree that their worst enemy is the Unification Church and that Reverend Moon is the worst rascal and villain. Let them say that. The worldwide Cain and the worldwide Abel will stand face to face. Are you ready?</p>
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<p>Our weapons are not bullets or guns, but the Principle of God. Our purpose is not to destroy the communists but to save them, to liberate them. This is our job. When we have the truth we do not need a sword. The myriads of spirit men are our greatest allies and our strongest weapons. They can go anywhere and since they do not need a passport to get into Moscow they can easily descend to influence the children of the present communist leaders.</p>
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<h3 align="center">The second generation</h3>
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<p>During the Old Testament era the elder son always represented the satanic side, while the second son was in the position to receive God’s blessing. God chastised the faithlessness of Israel during the Exodus by destroying the first generation in the desert; however, the second generation was permitted to enter Canaan. In the same way, even though the communists are evil in the sight of God, their second generation will be drawn to God’s side. God will not punish them but will work through them to destroy the ideology of the first generation.</p>
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<p>The more intensely we wage war against communism, the more powerful will be our assistance from the spirit world. The children of the present communist leaders will speak in tongues, see visions and talk to God and to Jesus. Then they will ask their parents, “Why do you say there is no God? I talked to Him last night.” I am sure there are some newspaper reporters listening to me now and probably laughing inside, “He must be crazy to talk like this!” But I want to tell anyone who thinks this that they are blinded by their ignorance of the spirit world. They can say I am crazy, but I am telling you the truth. This is the reason that I have the power to stand fearlessly against worldwide communism. Without this knowledge I could not dare to speak out, but because the spirit world is with me, I confront communism fearlessly.</p>
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<p>Even if I were killed in the battle against communism, in the future my statue would be erected in the very heart of Moscow by the children of the communist leaders. I am not just expressing unfounded feelings; I have the power in heaven and earth to declare this. I know the truth about both worlds while the communists do not even understand the truth about this world. Thus I am the only one in heaven and earth, in the east or the west, who can proclaim such a bold message.</p>
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<p>So far everything that I have prophesied has come true. When I first came to this country to work 3½ years ago, I unfolded my plan for the future. At that time no one believed me and even our members were shocked by my plans. But I do not blame them because without knowing the spirit world they had no way to understand; do not worry, I sympathize with them.</p>
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<p>The ground that we have covered from that time up to the Washington Monument Rally is far greater than the remaining distance to Moscow. Here, in historical Belvedere, I am declaring to you that the final Abel of God’s world, the Unification Church, is confronting communism, the final enemy of God. Shall we retreat from this battle? Those who say, “I want to march on,” raise your hands.</p>
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<p>Only if Cain and Abel are united together into oneness can the parents’ position be restored. Only after Abel and Cain unite together through our own activities and together we serve True Parents can they be lifted up. God’s Abel on the worldwide level is the Unification Church, and we will eventually liberate Cain, or communism, and come together in harmonious unity. Then the True Parents will emerge on the worldwide level, and God will emerge as the Father of mankind.</p>
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<p>Now we are in the third seven-year course which will terminate in 1981. Until that time we must maintain our momentum as we go on to achieve this final victory. You must have absolute faith and conviction in that victory. If the American government and particularly the State Department heed my advice, then global problems will be solved in the shortest time possible, and peace can be established.</p>
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<p>God always claims the second generation. Your parents and grand-parents are the first generation, or on the level of the first sons. Because you are the second generation, God is primarily claiming you young people to do His new work. Without knowing this truth many parents and the media are puzzled, asking, “What is Reverend Moon’s attraction? What appeal does he have for these bright young people of America?” This phenomenon is difficult to understand without knowing God’s mind; it is because God is pushing the second generation of America to this new movement that you are joining.</p>
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<p>Single members, raise your hands please. Practically all of you here are single; this is phenomenal. This is the work of God, not my work; I could never have done this. If we believe in that power of God, why should we worry? No matter what people may say, trying to persecute us and even kill us, the same power of God that pushed you here will push millions of young people into this movement. If the older generation remains negative toward us, they will be chastised and will suffer the judgment of God.</p>
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<p>The first generation is opposing us in a fanatic and tragic way, but at the same time they are desiring the success of you, their sons and daughters. Knowing this truth strengthens my conviction. Many people of the Washington Post and the New York Times are highly critical of us, but once their high school and college-age children hear the Divine Principle those children will defend us to their own parents. This time will definitely come and that is why I am not concerned about the media. God will assemble the second generation to help in my work. The more criticism and threats I receive, the more jubilant I am. I have marched forward under persecution all my life, and prospered all the way. God has made all of this possible. Knowing that God and the spirit world are with me gives me power under any circumstances. Nothing can deter me; I can continually march on.</p>
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<p>If someone working against us is listening to my speech and trying to record my words to use against me, I ask them to please think twice. Do not judge me too quickly. I am speaking here on the basis of the deepest conviction. I also say this to the communist world</p>
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<h3 align="center">Our new dimension</h3>
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<p>We are entering a new dimension. The same power of God which has assisted the Unification Church until now will continue to move us upward to a higher dimension. When we involve ourselves in greater things we will reap greater victories. We are discovering God in our lives. God is not a concept to us; He is our way of life. We find God in our society, nation and world; we know that God is everywhere.</p>
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<p>Some people say, “There is no God,” but that is the most foolish lie under the sun. Shall we go ahead or not?</p>
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<p>If any communist is listening to my speech today he must be laughing inside, thinking, “What a crazy handful of people. You have a few thousand people compared to two-thirds of the world’s population and one-third of the world’s territory which communism has already conquered. Yet still you are trying to wage a war against global communism! ” Let him say that. I say what I do because the communists are the minority when we count the spirit world together with us.</p>
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<p>Spirit world has many advantages. First of all spirits are not hampered by language or territorial barriers. In spirit world Chinese or Japanese or Americans or anyone can travel without visas. That is the way they will work on earth. Today I can declare that the entire spirit world is completely mobilized and free. Raise your hands if you have ever seen the True Parents in dreams or visions. Almost everyone. If anybody was trying to research this phenomenon in the encyclopedia, they would find no explanation. The spirit world can come and speak to you of truth because there are no barriers.</p>
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<p>I am sure that some of you wanted to attack us when you first visited the Unification Church, but as you listened to the Principle you gradually changed your opinions. How much faster can those with a welcoming heart from the very beginning be converted into champions for God!</p>
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<p>Spirit world is now besieging people on earth. To them the world is small, almost like the size of an ice cube. A treasure chest has been opened but most people are unaware that a new treasure has been discovered and a new power has been released. Spirit world has opened up, but nobody realizes what has happened.</p>
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<p>This world is God’s world and we are His champions; the time will come when God’s philosophy, conviction and way of life will be expanded to the worldwide level. If there were any better way to go to heaven then I would have gone that way a long time ago, but this is the only way to go directly to heaven, and I am inviting you to come together with me. Once you decide then do not hesitate. Commit yourself 100% and fly to the goal like a bullet.</p>
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<p>I was faced with an impossible task when I initiated all these gigantic works. But today every American knows about me. If I were white then most white people would not be concerned about me. But I am Korean and no American can afford to ignore me. People have at least been curious when they heard about me, and those who are concerned for this nation must have thought seriously about whether I am good or evil. There are a thousand different levels of understanding. Even you people here understand very little; how much more difficult is it for those who have no relationship with us? Therefore our job is to educate the world.</p>
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<p>In this situation it is best to be either hot or cold. Those who are lukewarm and just ignoring us are the worst off. Students who oppose their professor often receive high marks simply because they were interested and paid attention to his course. We are often confronted with ardent opposition, but once our adversaries know the truth they can quickly turn around and become great champions for God’s cause. I have a special interest in how the people of America will respond in the future.</p>
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<p>Once the American people know what I have done since coming to this country they will truly bow down in thankfulness, realizing how my deeds have been so misunderstood. So far the truth is not yet known: everything I have done was absolutely for the sake of this country and these people. Members of the older generation are unconditionally opposing us without knowing the truth, but ten or twenty years from now their children and grandchildren will come to understand me as the man who truly saved their lives. You are stubborn young people, aren’t you? Usually you never listen to anybody, and I am sure it is not easy for you to sit here and listen to me. This in itself is a miracle.</p>
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<p>Today we have pledged solemnly before Almighty God that our next goal is to have a victorious rally in Moscow in the name of God. In order to do stat, we will have to mobilize all the youth of America. That is your job. You must go out and reap a harvest of conscientious, righteous young people. Then we will all unite as one great force and ready ourselves to save this free world, and we will create an opportunity to hold a rally in Moscow.</p>
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<p>America is the younger brother of the European countries; therefore we will mobilize this nation in order to save them. Religiously speaking, the European continent is predominantly Roman Catholic, while America is predominantly Protestant. The Catholic nations are being ruthlessly attacked by communists and are being taken over one by one. As their younger brother, America is in the position to bring them salvation. For this reason we must decisively act to unite Christianity.</p>
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<p>We must also save Judaism and the people of Israel, as well as the millions of Jews who are scattered around the world. If the communists take over the world, the Unification Church members will be their number one target, but the Jews and Christians will not be far behind. We are in a position to unify Christianity and Judaism in order to save them. Once Judaism, Christianity and the Unification Church are united, then communism will pose no threat. Do you have confidence in this?</p>
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<p>America is a Christian nation, a beautiful land of fertile ground and high spiritual values. But the ungodly ideology of communism has come creeping into this land little by little, enticing the beautiful youth of America and drawing them to Satan’s side. The communists brag that they will not need to fire even one bullet at America. They are using more effective weapons to take over this nation: drugs and immorality. American young people are the victims of drug abuse, many even dying from its effects. I am determined to wipe drugs out of America. Many of you have been liberated from drugs, and we must do the same for millions of American youth.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Does your commitment transcend death?</h3>
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<p>What does the Unification Church stand for? Our moral standard is very high because it is God-centered; we do not use drugs; we do not smoke or drink, and we do not tolerate free sex. These are all the weapons of Satan. Satan is scared as he sees how the Unification Church is bringing young people to God’s side, one by one. He is losing them to us, the people who completely oppose him.</p>
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<p>Today, in the name of God, the True Parents, and all the people of the world, we are now rededicating ourselves as front-line soldiers in this new battle for the final victory of God and the heavenly kingdom. Shall we commit ourselves to do that? Have you ever seriously thought that some day you might be struck by a communist bullet? You have to think about it. What would you think if that happened? Would you regret how foolish you were to follow me? Or would you say, “God, my blood will not spill in vain; my blood will cleanse the world for You to take it over. Even though I falter, my spirit will continue on with You, and fight on to the very end.” If you are this type of person then even though you drop dead, at that very second you will be lifted up to the highest realm of heaven. You would not have to wait for your application to be processed. More than anybody else I understand this principle very well.</p>
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<p>For us there is no death; we conquered death a long time ago. Our lives, our minds and souls, our everything is in the hands of God. Why should we worry? He has a plan and He has already established when we should live and when we should die. What if something goes wrong with God’s computer and you die prematurely? When God discovers it He will come down and lift you up saying, “Don’t worry. You will have eternal life, and furthermore, I will personally take over your mission and finish it for you.” How glorious!</p>
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<p>In the eyes of those around him, Jesus was a miserable failure who was crucified. But God came down to Jesus saying, “My son, do not worry. I will take over your mission.” That promise became God’s work of Christianity. In the same way death is unimportant to us; we will live forever anyway, so we can do whatever God orders us to do, even if it means being shot to death. As martyrs we would be elevated as heroes in the kingdom of God. Even though we could not preach Divine Principle any more on earth, our deeds would preach to millions of generations to come, inspiring them and lifting up more patriotic and God-centered people than you can imagine.</p>
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<p>There is a final chapter to be written in Unification Church history, and there will be martyrs recorded there. Who will become a martyr? No one knows but God. We must be willing to just obey the will of God. Righteous parents would want to have their children honored by God. With this conviction and faith, and with an intensity that surpasses the Washington Monument campaign, we will go on to our final victory. Can you do it? I am closing my eyes so I cannot see your response to this question. If your conscience says, “I can do it,” then raise your hands. Thank you. It is difficult, isn’t it?</p>
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<h3 align="center">In the era of the True Parents,<br />
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God will dwell with all men</h3>
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<p>Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, the separation between the spirit world and physical world stretched miles wide. Even though the people in spirit world wanted to descend to the earth to intervene in the life of the physical world, they could not do it because between the two worlds lay a chasm which was in the hands of Satan. Adam was supposed to be in the father’s role, but because he failed then all his children failed. Spirit world could not freely descend until the mission of the father was consummated here on earth, and he could open a path to the spirit world. This is the rule of heaven.</p>
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<p>God’s plan was to work on the individual level with Abel, then with Abel’s family, tribe, nation, and the Abel side on the worldwide level. No one could bridge this chasm during the 4,000 years before Jesus’ coming. Jesus came in the role of the father of mankind, and in him the spirit of God was manifested through a perfected man for the first time. At that time God wanted to pioneer a breakthrough in history. Because of Jesus’ crucifixion, however, this pioneering task was accomplished only spiritually. That is why the Second Advent became absolutely necessary. The position of the True Father must be established in order to pioneer complete salvation from the individual level to the worldwide level, as well as to open the pathway to the spirit world.</p>
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<p>All the wrongdoings and mistakes of the past, including the mistakes of Judaism and Christianity must be indemnified. The Unification Church thus has a mending mission. By paying indemnity we are mending the mistakes of history in the shortest possible time. You call me the True Parent. Why? Because for you my role is that of a true parent, true father, or Adam. I must mend all of the past mistakes, and step by step bring about wholesome restoration from the individual level to the worldwide level. This was symbolically consummated at Washington Monument, so that the individual failure’ family, tribal, national and worldwide failures were mended. Thus I opened wide the highway between this world and the spirit world, so that anyone can ascend or descend without restriction.</p>
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<p>The perfection of Adam and Eve would have allowed God to dwell with them. In the same way God wanted to dwell with Jesus when he consummated his mission. In the era of the True Parents the consummation of their mission will allow the dwelling of God to be with all men. This is the point of this detailed explanation.</p>
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<p>Now your ancestors can come down freely on the highway between the spirit world and the physical world. Our ancestors in the spirit world are our allies and will help us witness to others. They will come down in an unprecedented avalanche, like Niagara Falls. They will pressure their descendants, “You must become a champion. Go out and witness. You must do more.” They will not only come down to you, but to their descendants who are not yet members, directing them to go to a workshop, or to meet a person from the Unification Church. This phenomenon will happen increasingly.</p>
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<p>In the wake of the victory of Washington Monument a far more jubilant victory celebration is being held in the spirit world because they have now been liberated. Now they can freely come to the earth and work with you, their own descendants. From this time on, when you go out on your mission you will receive all kinds of spiritual experiences visions, speaking in tongues and special dreams. Not only you but many people outside our church will experience these things.</p>
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<p>We must sway three countries to God; once God can influence at least three nations, the whole world will tumble into His arms. Presently in the spirit world there is a great deal of competition. Because good spirits can descend first, the country which has more good ancestors will be benefited first, directly affecting the destiny of that nation. We are not just mobilizing Christian spirits, but even Jesus himself, as well as Buddha, Confucius and Mohammed. Taking a father’s role they will come down to their own followers on earth. Not many people understand these things precisely, but I can clearly testify to them because I am the pioneer who opened the pathway. What I have prophesied has been fulfilled.</p>
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<h3 align="center">You can mobilize your ancestors</h3>
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<p>In your prayer from this time on you can command the spirit world in the name of the True Parents, and in the name of the Day of the Victory of Heaven. You can insist that your ancestors in the spirit world must come down to co-operate with their descendants and bring them into salvation. They are supposed to obey, and if they do not you can warn them that they are in trouble. You can give a command like this because you are the direct heirs of the true Adam. Spirit world, including the angels, is in the servant position; the sons of Adam have the authority to command those in the spirit world and they must obey you. Even though they lived 1,000 years ago and are your elders many times over, those in spirit world will listen to you.</p>
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<p>But you must never ask for a legion of angels or spirit men to attack anyone opposing us. Would that be a real prayer? That is not the prayer of a parent. You must have mercy upon our enemies and pray for them. They are Cain and it is Abel’s responsibility to love and unite with Cain. Until we are united with Cain, we are not in a position to survive and prosper. The New York Times and Washington Post have criticized and slandered me, yet when I have some money to spend for advertising I always go to them. We can forgive them. I always maintain the position of a true son of God, the position of victorious Abel.</p>
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<p>We do not really have any enemies. Even though people may curse us and persecute us, we can sleep well. We do not have much time to sleep, but when the time does come, we sleep well because we have no one to curse, no one against whom we are seeking revenge. God will take care of it all.</p>
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<p>I will tray on: special prayer-I will ask God to mobilize all those spirits who were martyred in the name of God. Uncounted millions of Christians died under the tyranny of Nero, for example, or as the victims of communism. I can mobilize those innocent people who were murdered, commanding them to stir up the communist world, for instance, to turn those nations to God’s side. In this way we can reduce the sacrifice and casualties on the side of goodness. God’s camp should not suffer too many casualties. You cannot give this type of command yet because you are still operating on the individual or family level, and this does not qualify you to demand such a thing. But the descent of your ancestors is definitely possible, and you can ask for that.</p>
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<p>The important thing is this: once you seek out the help of the spirit world you must be responsible for yourself and your ancestors. If you falter and fall away, your ancestors will be trapped. In that case your children will suffer because they will have to indemnify your failure.</p>
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<p>You have one simple mandate from God and from the True Parents: to have absolute unwavering faith. Press forward and work more intensely than in the Washington Monument campaign. Then the power of God and the assistance of your ancestors will come with you. Any amount of spiritual assistance you require will be no problem. You will only prosper.</p>
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<p>This morning I had a special spiritual ceremony from 7 to 8 o’clock to seal these things, and they are yours. October 4 is the Day of the Victory of Heaven. Never be discouraged. Cheer yourself up, and pull yourself together. Go forward until we secure the final victory.</p>
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<p>Thank you.</p>
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<article id="post-1112" class="post-1112 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-speeches-of-rev-sun-myung-moon-1976">
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<a href="/blog/2018/06/11/perfection-and-gratitude.html" title="Permalink to PERFECTION AND GRATITUDE" rel="bookmark">PERFECTION AND GRATITUDE</a>
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<span class="author vcard" >By <a class="url fn n" rel="author" href="#" title="View all posts by Fami1yfed">Fami1yfed</a></span> <span><time class="onDate date published" datetime="2018-06-11T15:29:24+01:00"> <a href="/blog/2018/06/11/perfection-and-gratitude.html" rel="bookmark">June 11, 2018</a> </time></span><time class="updated" datetime="2018-06-11T15:29:24+01:00">June 11, 2018</time> <span class="bl_categ"> <a href="/speeches/categories/rev-sun-myung-moon-1976.html" rel="tag">Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1976</a> </span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<h2 align="center">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
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<h3 align="center">October 3, 1976<br />
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Belvedere, New York<br />
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Translator – Bo Hi Pak</h3>
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<p>The ideal of God’s creation was for Adam and Eve to reach perfection and enter into the realm of happiness where they and all their descendants would experience the deepest appreciation of life and God’s blessings. The fall of man has prevented Almighty God from seeing that day of perfection, however. Because the day of perfection has not been seen, there has been no real day of appreciation or gratitude either. Even God has never had a day of gratitude because there has been no perfection. Certainly mankind and creation have never seen the day of perfection and the day of gratitude.</p>
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<p>Who is responsible for this grievous situation? Not God or the things of creation, but man. Man is the creature who failed and fell. Man’s fall was his defeat, and for man to advance to perfection and occupy the place of gratitude the first thing he must do is be victorious over evil. To be victorious man must wage a battle against evil, fighting on every level to recover the true individual, family, nation and world. After victory on each level man will attain perfection and reach the place of gratitude.</p>
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<p>What kind of failure was brought by the fall? Because of the fall, man is relegated to a realm outside of God’s Principle. Adam and Eve fell from being the prince and princess of God and from having God as their King. From being God’s precious children Adam and Eve became the servants of Satan living in an unprincipled world. After the fall man’s value became less than that of God’s own servants. No matter how much man might try, there is no way for him to attain perfection or gratitude by living in that realm.</p>
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<h3 align="center">There are four kinds of words surrounding man</h3>
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<p>Why was man defeated? Did he lack power? Did he lack judgment? Not at all. The first cause of the fall of man was his disobedience of the word of God. What will play the most vital role in the process of restoration, of man’s returning to his original place? Nothing external like money, power and knowledge, but instead the word of God. Therefore, throughout history man has been destined to search for the truth of God, and furthermore to believe in and fulfill that truth.</p>
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<p>Because of the fall there are several kinds of words being spoken. Since the fall Satan continually speaks to man and therefore, we must be aware of the lies which originally persuaded man to fall. Words are also spoken by men who have become servants of Satan. At the same time words are spoken by God and also by men on the side of God. You must be able to distinguish between these four different kinds of words that surround man. What determines which side you are on? The words you speak determine where you stand. Each one of you inevitably follows one of these four kinds of words, thus establishing your position.</p>
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<p>What is the real difference between the word of God and the word of Satan? Do you realize that out of four men speaking on the Divine Principle, two could be men of God and two could be men of Satan? There is some internal factor distinguishing diem. Is this thought surprising to you? How could a man of the satanic side even be speaking of the Divine Principle? There is no visible boundary line between God’s camp and Satan’s camp but a boundary does exist nonetheless.</p>
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<p>In order to understand this, consider whether you have ever been able to pinpoint the exact moment in time when today becomes tomorrow. No one can do that. The transition from 11:59 to 12:00 is invisible. Likewise, somewhere within you is an invisible boundary that puts you either on the side of Satan or on the side of God.</p>
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<p>You must be absolutely certain of the criterion needed to distinguish the satanic side of man from the heavenly side of man because, as small as you are, you are the center around which the boundary is formed. On your left-hand side you have a connection to hell and on your right-hand side you have a connection to heaven. Individually you form the boundary between heaven and hell and no one else but yourself determines where you are. Many people may think that heaven and hell have nothing to do with them, thinking that heaven is somewhere up in the sky and hell is somewhere down below. Perhaps they associate heaven or hell with their parents, blaming their parents for their troubled situation, but this is not the case. Heaven and hell are within you.</p>
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<p>Your two eyes usually move together in one direction and your two legs walk together toward one destination, but suppose that each tried to go its own separate way. It would not be much fun, would it? Yet this very tendency describes human behavior most of the time. Your mind should be united and moving in one direction, but instead your mind is divided. This makes your entire life miserable because you wander around, vacillating between crossing the boundary of good and evil, heaven and hell. You may start out as a person on the side of good but some temptation crosses your path and you wander into the evil camp, then repent and return again to the good camp. If another temptation lures you away at the right moment, you’ll be trapped on the side of evil at the moment of death.</p>
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<p>Former President Nixon contributed much to humanity and to America during his life of public service, but in the public mind it was all nullified by the Watergate crisis. The things Nixon did for the sake of America and the world were justified because they were unselfish deeds done for the public good. On the other hand, the decisions made in the Watergate situation were self-centered and done for his own advancement and benefit. Selfish decisions, no matter how small, cannot be forgiven. In my case the entire world has been affected by the controversy and criticism generated about me by my enemies. However, as long as I remain public-minded and my motives continue to be unselfish, no matter what may happen I cannot be uprooted.</p>
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<p>Final judgment is based on a single, simple formula: whether or not a person is motivated by selfish or unselfish desires. If my deeds are supremely selfless and for the sake of the public good then the sacrifice and what appears at times to be defeat will turn out to be a greater victory. For example, I am accused of brainwashing the youth of America. Suppose;, however, that the end result of the brainwashing was the emergence of truly unselfish men and women, living their lives for the sake of God and the world. For doing that I will receive blessing from God and my work will be a victory instead of a defeat. On the other hand, suppose the purpose of brainwashing was to sacrifice young people for my personal benefit. Then certainly I would deserve all the present accusation and persecution and more.</p>
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<h3 align="center">The true man can be a slave to heaven</h3>
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<p>People claim that I enslave the good and beautiful young people of America, but if by doing that young men and women become dedicated, committed people for the sake of God and humanity, willingly living for a purpose far beyond themselves, then what I do is justified in the sight of God. Patriots and saints all go through that process, the greatest example being Jesus Christ, who became a perfect slave to the will of God. For the will of God he wept, prayed, agonized and finally gave his life on the cross. He was the Messiah and savior and was enslaved by God in order to bring the resurrection of mankind.</p>
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<p>If you wholeheartedly serve your parents then in a way you are enslaved by them, yet society does not consider that slavery! It is a pious deed to glorify and praise your parents. The same principle also applies to the patriot.</p>
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<p>During the Revolutionary War many men were captured by the British army, tortured, threatened with death and actually killed, but they never betrayed their nation and the principles they upheld. They are recognized as being patriots for their loyalty, but weren’t they enslaved by the nation even to the point of death? I want you to understand that when you enslave yourself to the unselfish cause of working for God and humanity, you become a hero and great leader. The one criterion God has given throughout history is whether or not a person’s purpose is selfless and public-minded.</p>
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<p>There are two types of men-those who live as the servants of God and those who live as sons of God. Which type would you prefer to be? In most cases you would prefer to live as the son of God, but I want you to know that the person who lives for God with the dedication and commitment of a servant will certainly be greater than those who only dank of themselves as sons and refuse the role of servant. Even so, the person who is a son of God and yet ascends in the shoes of the servant will not only be greater than the son of God, but will eventually win the heart of God completely; he will even control God Himself and inherit His entire fortune.</p>
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<p>If your brother proudly boasts that he is your parents’ son while you look at the value of your life in terms of sacrificial service to your parents then eventually you will become the head of the family. That principle is true throughout God’s entire universe.</p>
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<p>What criterion does God use to choose which religion will be His champion? God is looking for the religion which teaches people how to be His son and daughter yet also to serve the purpose of His kingdom. What kind of religion should we live? We must inherit the sonship of God yet be willing to enslave ourselves to God. By trying to pursue this standard, the Unification Church is certainly not heretical but truly the central religion of God on earth today.</p>
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<h3 align="center">The most important standard for leadership is unselfishness</h3>
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<p>Now you must make one important decision: Who is Reverend Moon? Am I a fraud? Is my teaching going to lead all mankind towards service to God and humanity, the life in which God is the center? Or will the members of the Unification Church be forced to serve only my private purpose instead of the work of God? If you see that I myself live for service to God and humanity then this teaching is right and good. If the Unification Church is moving forward for the benefit of God and humanity then we are in the center and mainstream of God’s work and this is a genuine religion.</p>
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<p>I am pushing each one of you to totally enslave yourselves to the purpose of God and humanity. This is actually the opposite of making you a slave for it is from among you that heroes, patriots and saints will come. As your sacrifice and greatness become apparent it will become more and more recognized that you follow a good leader who can be approved by heaven and earth. Sometimes I may force you out in an almost cruel way and at other times strongly discipline you, but this is not for my own benefit or for any selfish purpose. It is only to make you greater in the sight of God. Thus these are merciful and loving acts.</p>
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<p>There are many statesmen in the world today but even so it is very difficult to find even one truly dedicated, unselfish person among them. This year there are many candidates running for all the various offices throughout America, and in evaluating each candidate one must ask what his true purpose is in seeking a political office. Often his selfish desire to hold office is much more important to him than his concern about what happens to America or to the rest of the world. The leaders America needs won’t be found among people with such attitudes, yet it is often those people who are elected and occupy the most important offices of the nation. Since they are not God-centered and unselfish they are not the best people to represent and lead the nation.</p>
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<p>I am not demeaning democracy by saying this. I am saying that even under a seasoned and sophisticated system of democracy the most important factor is not the system itself but the spirit of those who serve in the system, for they must go beyond their own personal interest and the level of their own party. ][f they recognize some greater devotion, dedication and God-centeredness in an opposing candidate then they must have the moral courage to admit that and support him, regardless of party differences. Only with that kind of spirit can we find truth.</p>
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<p>In the Unification Church we evaluate leaders by precisely this standard, valuing those who will benefit the nation, world and God, but trying to enlighten those self-centered and selfish candidates who think only of themselves, their own party and their own nation. In light of this, our work is focused on educating leaders as well as the general public and on lifting up a new set of moral standards. This is the reason I have sent missionaries into all echelons of society. Is that wrong? I want you to come to know all kinds of people, including our opponents and their criticism. In addition, I want them to know that you are not meeting them for the benefit or fame of Reverend Moon but for the sake of this nation and the world.</p>
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<p>Our young people are going onto Capitol Hill with burning zeal to appeal to the politicians and leaders concerning the salvation of this nation and the need for them to become unselfish and God-centered. Each of you can be nobler and greater than those politicians themselves and your deeds can be the most patriotic deeds in the sight of God. This nation needs our movement, doesn’t it? Because only religious people are equipped to educate people about these values, you are the ones to mark the dividing line or the boundary between good and evil.</p>
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<p>If America were to initiate a war for the sake of its own selfish interests then that act would be the height of wickedness and evil. Yet sometimes an act of war may be inevitable for the sake of God and humanity and may be carried out with a totally unselfish motivation. Throughout the history of this fallen world there have been many wars that God has had to wage, for example the wars of die Old Testament. When taking an unselfish viewpoint, killing or engagement in war has sometimes been inevitable and is justified in the sight of God.</p>
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<p>Criminals are sometimes sentenced to death and the government of the nation is responsible for their deaths. Does the nation itself become criminal then? Should it be held guilty for executing those people? If the execution was carried out for the benefit of the society or nation and the world then no crime has been committed. If one evil man harms many lives then the termination of that person’s life cannot be regarded as a crime.</p>
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<p>In examining history we find that sometimes God has killed men. Can we then accuse God of being a murderer, even insisting that He cannot be God? God makes His decisions only on the most public-minded level and these decisions sometimes include killing. Such acts are absolutely not to advance His own selfish cause but only the unselfish cause of mankind.</p>
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<p>We are concerned with the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on earth, which many people equate with unrestricted freedom to do all kinds of crazy things. Is that the Kingdom of God? No, the world of God is a world of discipline and order.</p>
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<h3 align="center">I expect everything to block my way.</h3>
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<p>I receive instructions from God day to day and sometimes we must carry out what may seem to the world an evil act, but no matter what the world may say, we must go the way that God leads. When God instructed me to hold the Washington Monument Rally I organized everyone for that task and we won a victory, didn’t we? The next target after Washington is Moscow, but it is not at all like Washington. In the process of getting there we won’t be received as friends. However, even if we must penetrate past bombs and cannon, and even if the entire Unification Church is demolished, leaving but one person to go through to the final goal, still we must start out. I’m sure that while we are going through this endeavor the entire world will criticize me, saying that I am the worst dictator that the entire religious world has ever seen. For whom would such a sacrifice be made? This price would be paid solely for the sake of God and for the sake of the world. Anyone who loses his life in this campaign will shine before mankind for eternity. This would never be for my sake or even for the Unification Church, but for the sake of all mankind.</p>
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<p>I know so well that even though you may be sacrificed and die before you reach Moscow, your death will not be in vain. It shall be glorified and the blessing that you shall reap will be many hundreds of times greater than that of those who survive. You shall be remembered as a great patriot and hero in the Kingdom of God on earth.</p>
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<p>I am the one leading the final emergency push, even if it means going to the place of sacrifice and death, knowing that history will honor you. In the past there were many patriots and great saints, yet their cause was not the building of the Kingdom of God here on earth. If you die in pioneering the path of that kingdom, you will be the greatest soul who ever lived and you shall be remembered as a hero in that kingdom. I will go to your tomb and bow down to you. All of heaven and earth shall bow down to you for giving your life for the same cause to which we are all committed.</p>
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<p>When I came to America only several short years ago I feared nothing, especially not controversy. I have forged ahead toward the final goal, with only my sense of justice, my love for God and my conviction in God’s ideology giving me power to continue. When I came to America I had already determined that I was ready to pay any price, including facing government investigations and the worst kind of criticism and even prison. I expected everything to block the way, but I also knew that nothing could stop me. Suppose America finally deports me or even publicly chastises me. I do not fear either one. If that should happen then in the name of God millions of people will rise up to finish my task.</p>
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<p>Perhaps the State Department thinks that I am the problem and that by kicking me out of the country the tension will be solved. Nothing could be further from the truth. If I am deported from America you will all become Reverend Moons. If the State Department proceeds to kick all of you out of the country then God will raise up millions more like us. As long as we are standing side by side with God and doing His will then absolutely nothing can stop our march. If we are ever persecuted like that would you still be able to inherit my mission? If ever such a situation occurred, would you be relieved to have the controversy subside, or would you determine, “That outrageous act makes me 1,000 times stronger! I will become the greatest champion of all and complete his task!”</p>
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<p>Why are you really ready to complete the task? It is because you are aligning yourself with the justice of God, the justice that will not be tarnished by history, the justice of eternity. This justice will eventually win. Those who can determine that no matter whether America comes against us or even the entire world comes against us, they will be champions of the Unification Church, continuing on even in my absence, raise your hands. There are so many Reverend Moons sitting here that you really do not need me nor does America need me! If I leave for Europe, you have no problem. If I leave for the Far East, Korea or Japan, America will be no problem. As long as you are so determined, I am already victorious and there is no place I cannot go.</p>
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<p>Presently the free world is submerged in confusion and chaos, having almost no distinction between good and evil. Without knowing what is good and what is evil they don’t know how to act. The conclusion we draw is this: Justice upholds the man who remains God-centered, working for the will of God, the purpose of history and the benefit of humanity. That which is just will remain and ultimately be victorious. That is truly a public life. On the other hand, anybody who lives for himself, regardless of what he may do or say is on the side of Satan,</p>
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<p>The public-minded person is the one who stands before God and humanity. The selfish-minded person is the one who pushes himself away from God and mankind. The public-minded person accepts the suffering of God as his own and the suffering of humanity as his own. On the other hand, the self-centered person disregards the suffering around him and is concerned with only his own amusement.</p>
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<p>The criterion that determines whether you are going to hell or heaven is whether you are living for the sake of God and humanity or willing to sacrifice others for your own glory. The greater your unselfishness and public-minded activity the higher you will be in heaven. The greater your self-centeredness the more terrible your hell will be. The person who thinks, “I don’t care about God or His suffering or humanity. I just have time to worry about myself,” will find himself in the deepest dungeon of hell. On the other hand, those who suffer in service to mankind and are willing to sacrifice themselves for others will constantly move toward the highest heaven. Do you now understand the criterion of good and evil, heaven and hell?</p>
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<h3 align="center">Who is Abel?</h3>
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<p>Now it is 7:30 and my stomach is giving me the message that I need a good breakfast. But the important thing as you are having breakfast is for whom you are eating. Are you merely satisfying your own stomach or are you eating breakfast for a greater purpose? Some might ask how your stomach can be God’s stomach and mankind’s stomach. When you take a meal you should pray, “This meal is for the sake of God and the sake of humanity. In taking this food let me be of greater service to God and man.” In that case, the meal in front of you will smile before going into your stomach.</p>
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<p>Everything functions within this principle. Your eyes see, but for whom do they see? Is your vision for the sake of God and humanity? Maintain the desire for your eyes to see the things that even Jesus Christ could not see. People might say you are a heretic to have this desire, but on the contrary, this is the heart of the children of God. Furthermore, have the desire that your eyes will see what even God has not seen. Will God say, “How can you presume to talk in such a way?” No, He will say, “My son, I hope that your eyes are better than mine.”</p>
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<p>What I want you to understand is that it is not your deed by itself but the motivation behind the deed that will direct you toward heaven or hell. Even if I were to suddenly die here in America and be buried in some unknown cemetery, there will be millions and millions of people in the future who will come to bow down and shed tears at my tomb, because I have given my life to God and humanity. People will come regardless of nationality and race and creed. Looking carefully at your present motivation you can know clearly if you will obtain heaven or deserve hell.</p>
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<p>Who is Abel? Abel is the unselfish person who dies for the sake of God, for mankind, and for his family. ‘nose selfless people throughout history who gave their lives and maintained the fire of God’s justice are the very reason that this world still exists. Moses is an example, and also Noah, who for 120 years persevered despite the criticism of all his people. Noah upheld his faith and loyally obeyed the word of God. Abraham was another public-minded person. When God asked him to leave his homeland he did so, traveling toward an unknown destination, solely in obedience to the word of God. On Mount Moriah Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his own son in order to fulfill God’s direction. It seemed to be a crazy act but knowing that it was God’s order Abraham was ready to go ahead. Even Isaac did not rebel but readied himself to die for the sake of God, as meek as a lamb.</p>
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<p>Jacob suffered in a strange land, enduring 21 years of his uncle’s harsh treatment for the sake of his own family. Later in history Moses rejected his opulent life as a prince in order to become a champion for his own people, disregarding the difficulties awaiting him. Jesus Christ lived the supreme example of a sacrificial life and in 2,000 years of Christian history there have also been countless martyrs. They are the people who have loyally upheld the work of God, living with one criterion for their lives: to obey the word of God and to serve humanity. They could reject all Satan’s lies in this world and uphold God’s word under adverse conditions, becoming the people who could speak for the side of God.</p>
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<p>The fall of man was the result of man’s failure to obey God’s word. We are here to absolutely uphold and obey the word of God. What type of men and women are centered upon the word of God? They are the people who give their first priority to God, to mankind and to the world, and their last priority to themselves. We members of the Unification Church are not living for the present moment but for the future, going far beyond the comforts of the present. We are pursuing the ideal of the world where the word and ideal of God will blossom. We are not living for our personal ideal but for the ideal of God. Certainly this is not an easy way of life. We are not sitting idle and waiting for tomorrow; with our own hands we are constructing tomorrow’s world.</p>
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<p>When God thinks of tomorrow and dreams of His own ideal, He must look toward the Unification Church. If men look toward an ideal and a better world then they must look toward the Unification Church. As founder of the Unification Church I am the center of much attention and controversy and everyone is scrutinizing me. Some observers are using binoculars and others are wearing tinted glasses. I don’t care what color glasses they wear as long as they are looking at us.</p>
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<p>All the spirit world is watching us as well as God. Members of Congress are watching, the reporters of the Washington Post and New York Times are watching. All are asking, “Where will he move next?” It is funny to see what is happening; if they hate me, why don’t they just ignore me? They just cannot forget about me! Although they join with the crowds in criticizing me, somewhere in the depths of their hearts they feel something else. They reject me but the depths of their original minds keep whispering, “No, no you need him. Where else is there hope?”</p>
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<h3 align="center">A leader can only be approved by heaven if he pushes himself the hardest.</h3>
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<p>Is it clear now that you have four choices? Will you listen to the word of Satan or the words of the men on Satan’s side, or will you listen to the word of God or the words of men on the side of God? Would you prefer to listen to the word of God, even before my word? My hope is that you will reach out to God My desire is for you to sincerely want to fulfill some direct instruction from God that even I cannot do. If each one of you will fix your determination this way, then think of what kind of America we will be able to see three years from now. America will truly be a God-centered nation, leading the world in the right direction. Will that be your determination today? I can only hear a handful of people saying yes. How about everybody, can you determine this? You had to be asked this question twice before giving the answer. That’s no good. Without hesitation you should be able to give a confident answer. Even if it’s short but terse, if your yes is given immediately it demonstrates a willingness. That is the best.</p>
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<p>You can find each of the four types among your friends, leaders or new acquaintances: those who speak the words of Satan or the words of Satan’s side, those who speak the word of God and those who speak the words of God’s side. Always remember that Satan’s lies are very sweet, while the word of God is bitter and sometimes very painful to accept, pushing you into the sacrificial role. If the word is bitter yet good for you then you know that it is truly the word of God because it is never easy. It will make your eyes difficult to open, your hand crippled and your whole body sick. The word of God will push you to the sacrificial role. It is terse and unmerciful and may go something like this, “Go out today and die for God.” There is no sweetness, yet this is the closest to His will. Can you understand this?</p>
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<p>In the Unification Church your leaders may sometimes be really crazy, going from place to place, without sleeping or eating, chasing you and pushing you out, watching you and chastising you sometimes, and then with a hard word pushing you out more. Such a leader may truly be working beyond his own mind, truly doing the work of God. I keep thinking about how I can drive you, how I can push you to the point where you have no moment to think of anything but God and His mission. I am trying to push you to become a truly public-minded person. Can you welcome this without feeling resentful?</p>
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<p>You must have mercy upon me, realizing what a tough job I have of working to bring the yellow race, the white race and the black race together into one new breed of men, trying to push them out to sacrifice themselves for God. What a tough job! Have you ever thought about that? I have the toughest job. You are the driven and I am the driver. Which position is easier? Actually it is easier to be driven because driving others for the sake of God is nothing like the eight hours a day labor of the everyday world, where there is time to eat and sleep.</p>
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<p>To win God’s approval to drive others a leader must work far harder than those he drives and prove himself worthy. After this desperate struggle by both the leader and those he leads, the joy and happiness they share with God after the victory has been won cannot be described with any words, laughter or tears. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can describe that joy. Embracing each other in ecstatic joy, even standing in dirty water in a ditch or a septic tank would be like heaven to them because their joy would convert any place into a holy place.</p>
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<p>In a setting like that you can become a child of God and truly be heavenly brothers and sisters. The inheritance of the heavenly kingdom is not found on a throne, but only at the bottom of hell. When you descend into hell to taste its misery but then overcome that misery, then you can inherit the Kingdom of God. Then you can feel the joy of heaven.</p>
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<p>When you go on your mission, be someone who is ready to speak out directly for the sake of that city or town, even if it means getting on people’s nerves and having them turn against you. In this way you will become the true leader of that town. Now look at the youth of America. Are they working for a heavenly purpose? We are striving for that and they are not yet they are criticizing us! The more our opposition attacks us the faster they will decline, while the more we are accused, the more we will prosper. I am convinced that the greater the hurricane that pushes us forward, the quicker we will reach our goal. We have chosen to travel this road and those who do not wish to do so should leave now because they will only be hindrances.</p>
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<p>What benefits do you derive by remaining here? You have no money in your pockets, your clothing is old, and you gather at 5:00 in the morning and sit on a hard cement floor! There is only one church like this under the sun. Why don’t you join a church with wall-to-wall carpeting, stained glass windows and worship services at I 1:00 in the morning instead!</p>
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<h3 align="center">You have weaknesses which I have experienced, so I understand you</h3>
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<p>I know better than anyone the road we must travel. It has been a very painful, exhausting and agonizing road that I have walked for thirty years and the only reward I received is criticism and opposition. Probably you face the same criticism and nobody is sympathetic with you. Your parents, your brothers and sisters and friends all say you are crazy and they ridicule you. Do you still mind? Then truly you are crazy, aren’t you?</p>
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<p>Throughout history there have been many people crazy for themselves, crazy for their own families, crazy for their own glory, but it has all been a self-centered craziness. How many crazy people have there been solely for the sake of God? Not too many. If there are a few who are crazy for God, we will never leave them alone until the goal of God is achieved. That craziness is a glorious craziness.</p>
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<p>If I am the crazy one in the sight of God then I’m the glorious one. My craziness will turn my parents, family, this nation, the world and the spirit world all around 180 degrees, heading from hell into heaven. Suppose a loved one is sick and you sacrifice yourself totally for the sake of curing his illness. Once you have bestowed that kind of love then your relationship will never be broken. That is truly the oneness of love.</p>
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<p>Actually I have the disease of craziness for the restoration of mankind. I am helpless to cure my own disease, but God and mankind will cure me. If you really know me you will not be able to leave. Those who leave do so because they do not know me as well as you do. Nobody has chained you here but you have stayed because some power binds you. You are the physicians, the black, white and yellow people gathered together to cure me by achieving my crazy goal. When I am cured, which means when the Kingdom of God is established, I will have a great big banquet and I will invite God and all the black, white and yellow people. There will be a crazy kind of music and a crazy kind of dancing at that heavenly banquet.</p>
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<p>Those who have not swayed even one bit, please raise your hands. You are greater than I because I have tried to get out of this. I looked for something better, but the end result was that I came back here because there is no other road to go. I know so well how you suffer and agonize and that is why I overlook your mistakes and forgive you all the time. You have human weaknesses that I have experienced myself and I understand you. I am a man to be pitied and I deserve mercy. You also are very pitiful people, chosen by God for a peculiar mission. We have to stay together and comfort each other. All of us come from different cultures, races and nationalities, but we transcend all these things and are united in heart. That is our way of life.</p>
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<p>While doing all these difficult tasks you get really tired, but even so God wakes you up over and over again, pulling and tugging you. That is God’s role. Then who is the most miserable and pitiful person? God. When you know this, you may have no more energy to go on, but you still march forward. That is the road of restoration and there you are united in heart with God, in a relationship that becomes deeper and deeper. On our path of restoration there will be lots of tears, without which you cannot consummate this way of life. You will actually shed the tears of God and taste His sorrow and misery.</p>
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<h3 align="center">Many people wonder how they can imitate my accomplishments</h3>
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<p>In the last 3% years since I came to America I sacrificed everything and devoted every ounce of energy, not just for my own sake or for the Unification Church, but for the sake of God and all humanity. Recently I went to Montreal and had lunch with the members there. One man who has been a member of the Unification Church for eight years vividly remembered my arrival in America on December 18, 1971. At that time I did not have a visa to enter America from Korea, so I came to Canada instead. Our members in America were very persistent in asking the State Department, “Why won’t you issue a visa to Reverend Moon?” Ironically, officials kept telling them that I was a communist in 1968 and so I was undesirable in this country. Finally it was proven to them that I have truly been crusading for the victory over communism and they couldn’t resist any further. That was the beginning of my actual ministry in America.</p>
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<p>At that time the Canadian members asked me to stay in Canada, but I told them that according to God’s plan I must achieve certain goals in the next 3% years in America, since America is the focal point of world restoration. The eight year member confessed that four years ago he doubted me and couldn’t trust my words. He thought at that time that I was a very crazy person. Now everything has been accomplished as I said and he is willing to hear my plans for the next 3% years. He has no doubt that they will be accomplished also.</p>
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<p>When my achievements in the last 3% years are reviewed will I be considered a man of success or a man of failure here in America? Even those who adamantly oppose me recognize that I succeeded in my goal. Those people who supported us all along will exclaim, “I told you Reverend Moon would succeed!” Every American, particularly the leadership in America, would like to do what I have done and have loyal young people behind them. Even if they don’t admit it verbally or in print this is the way they feel and eventually they will come to our side. Through my work a large foundation has been laid that will expedite our victory by leaps and bounds. A mood and atmosphere has been created in which we can achieve great success.</p>
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<p>Ambitious young people of America look at me closely and wonder what the secret behind my power is. They see I have a philosophy and conviction, that I have young people and organization, discipline and money. They think if they learn my secret that somehow they can do the same. In the future the people who want to influence the world will study and research my methods. Those who want to become great businessmen, religious leaders, social leaders, even great industrialists will study the Unification Church. A fresh new wind will blow across the nation, particularly in the academic world of universities and colleges. Even though America’s intellectuals generally are very critical of me, inside they are intrigued by me and are curious enough to research this giant new phenomenon. You will see one dissertation after another being written about me.</p>
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<p>How could I organize a most disciplined campaign consisting of people from the six continents of the world? There was not even a common language in which they could converse yet everyone worked as one unit. Behind each one of you there are many invisible influences pulling; your family ties pull you, your cultural ties, your personal interests, your educational ties also pull you, but when I say something you are pulled another way in spite of all that. What energy is there? Even though I have created controversy all over the world, I have made an impact on human history because there is an invisible yet irresistible power working behind me and behind each one of you.</p>
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<p>The Yankee Stadium campaign was held on June 1, and three months later we held the Washington Monument Rally. Actually we did not begin to work in the Washington Monument campaign until 40 days prior to September 18. Even the government cannot hold two big events like that only three months apart. They plan years in advance.</p>
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<p>Organizing the Washington Monument Rally was far more difficult than running ten senatorial campaigns in ten different states. People who study sociological movements must admit to the discipline and organization that the Unification Church has. Normally after a campaign victory there is a celebration with drinking and dancing, but the Unification Church is different. The very night of our greatest victory we changed into our working clothes and cleaned up the Monument grounds. No one had ever seen anything like it before. The morning of September 19th people were astounded. The impact was tremendous.</p>
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<p>In Washington people were saying that I was a man of my word. They now know that once I say I will do something, I will accomplish it. Eventually they are bound to believe whatever I say I will do. What I am saying is that together we will build the Kingdom of God on earth. People must believe it because I am a man of my word.</p>
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<p>In the sight of God what I have achieved in America in 3½ years is an extraordinary achievement. Many ministers insist that I am a heretic and they don’t accept my theology, but they are beginning to think they must adopt my methods. The Washington Post has been negative towards us in its articles yet during our campaign we ran twelve full page ads in that paper. No other campaign in history has ever run twelve full page ads in the Washington Post. The Washington Post became famous because of former President Nixon and Watergate; now it will become famous because of Reverend Moon. The Washington Post was influential in Nixon’s decision to resign, but it will never be able to push me away. The entire world will look at the two sides, the Washington Post and Reverend Moon, and wonder which one is the righteous one.</p>
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<p>The Washington Monument grounds are at the center of the nation’s capital, with the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and the White House on each side. It is one of the most beautiful park areas in the world. My desire was to gather hundreds of thousands of people there and speak to them. Billy Graham, a white man, spoke at the Lincoln Memorial on Honor America Day and Martin Luther King, a black man, spoke there and now finally a yellow man, Reverend Moon, has spoken there in the name of God. This will be remembered for generations.</p>
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<p>After God’s victory there, the Washington Monument symbolizes God’s hope. I made a proclamation of the truth and by our upholding that philosophy America will never decline. Initially September 18 shall be a great day of celebration by Unification Church members but eventually by the entire United States. The day will come when September 18 will be declared a holiday in Washington. There may appear to be no tangible results since September 18, but spiritually we have laid a great foundation to bring future prosperity and the blessing of God.</p>
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<p>What I said at the Washington Monument was a prophecy, and people will be watching to see how it will be fulfilled. My message was simple, that Judaism, Christianity and the Unification Church must become one and also that Judaism and Christianity have not achieved that goal but that the Unification Church would not fail. I have the conviction that the restoration of the Kingdom of God will be brought about by our efforts.</p>
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<p>Now is the time for gratitude. The topic of today’s sermon is “Perfection and Gratitude.” Gratitude will come after perfection. To reach perfection we must be victorious, rising above every level of opposition. The people who gathered together at the Washington Monument should be regarded as champions of the world. In addition many people from spirit world descended to assist in the Rally. In this way past and present were united and all horizontal elements were assembled together on that day which will alter the world in the future.</p>
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<p>The Washington police warned us that there was always an unpleasant incident whenever there were more than 100 people gathered together. That’s why on September 18, they were amazed that our rally was so peaceful, with not a single accident on the Monument grounds. All of us are deeply grateful to Almighty God. God is grateful because His victory was achieved in Washington. The fall of man occur-red when Adam and Eve and Lucifer lost the word and the love of God, and ever since God has been looking for the men and women who can restore all of that.</p>
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<p>The Washington Monument Rally was a victory on the perfection level, so now we can move into the realm of gratitude. You must stand as the men of God. When you speak the word of God, you must be the embodiment of the word and the love of God; then you can be restored from the satanic realm.</p>
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<p>What is your next goal? Where do you go from here? Your final destination is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Would all of you who are unmarried want to go to your wedding or to the kingdom? You have to marry because that is how you will enter the Kingdom of God. I’m sure that pleases you. What can qualify you to live there? Simply this: Living in the image of God by having God’s words become your words and God’s love become your love. That is your first goal, and your next goal is to have a God-like mate. I am tailing the people of the world that they must go to the Kingdom of Heaven, which means that they must love the universe and mankind and bring mankind into God’s kingdom. That is God’s desire. Anyone who can do that is a man of God and is ready to be blessed and become a candidate for the Kingdom of God.</p>
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<p>After the Washington Monument Rally you all felt that I would be so happy that I would have a blessing. In itself such thinking was not good or evil, but who was at the center of your thinking, you or God? We marry for the sake of God and mankind. At the time of blessing the man or woman next to you represents all of mankind as well as all the sons or daughters of God. If you are able to love your husband or wife as a son or daughter of God then you are entitled to become a husband or wife. Until that time you are not ready for the blessing.</p>
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<p>When you marry do not look at your spouse as merely your husband or wife and expect to be loved and served by him. You should see your husband as the representative of all the men of the world, and also as the representative of the sons of God. You must love your spouse as God loves him. You must love him as you love mankind. In your marriage you are setting a new tradition of God, leaving your footprints as a public-minded couple. If we say that the right leg represents the husband and the wife is represented by the left leg, then it’s clear that you must not become a cripple. You should be a balanced couple.</p>
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<p>Shall I keep on talking? You are just waiting to hear when there will be a blessing; that’s why you want me to continue! Those who want to get married, please raise your hands. Now those who want to build the Kingdom of God on earth, raise your hands. Which desire is stronger? You are determined to build the kingdom first. That means on your wedding day you will be marching towards it. After it is built on earth we will keep marching with our families. You must know the priorities.</p>
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<p>Now your task as members of the Unification Church is gratitude. You must be thankful that you were able to participate in the Washington Monument Rally as people living on earth. That is the first condition of gratitude. Secondly, you can be grateful not only to participate but to labor and shed tears and give your whole heart and soul for this work. The Washington Monument Rally was our victory which includes God, mankind, True Parents and all of you. When you shout monsei the spirit world and all mankind and also God will participate because that victory also belongs to them.</p>
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<p>The fireworks on September 18 symbolized the beauty and unity of the entire heaven and earth together. Each set of fireworks represented a continent of the world, symbolically joining them together in one display. God knows that the Washington Monument Rally was the only festival and the only fireworks display given in His name, and in reality God is actually the one who did it. Anyone who praises God’s own work certainly deserves God’s blessing. Nobody watching the fireworks rejoiced more than the Unification Church members and when God looked at us, He beamed from ear to ear. The Washington Monument Rally was so historic that even if God shifts the blessing from America, He will still bless us. In this respect the Washington Monument Rally was the supreme victory among victories.</p>
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<p>One outstanding characteristic of the rally was the overwhelming number of blacks and Hispanics who came. The white people who refused to come did so because of arrogance. Because God abhors arrogance, He will bless the humble people who came. Much persecution will come to me but the humble people will rally around me and protest against this discrimination. The white members of the Unification Church bear a double burden: You must pay your own individual indemnity and you are also responsible to pay the indemnity of the white race. In the future when I am worn out and the Japanese and Korean members are worn out you white members should aggressively forge ahead to restore the white race. You know how much the Japanese and European members have worked and suffered here in America. You know how much I have suffered in this country. We have no reason to come and suffer in a foreign country. You are indebted to us and the time has come to repay the debt by asking me and the Japanese and Europeans to step back so that the Americans may take a major role in the restoration of this nation. When the white people who are opposing the Unification Church see only white people defending it they will stop their opposition. But if they don’t stop, what will you do? People should not regard me as merely a private individual from Korea. God does not want to see the races divided, with some opposing me while others support me. If the white people oppose me to the end, the outcome could be tragic. God cannot retreat.</p>
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<p>I am making a tremendous effort to prevent a separation of the races. The members, particularly the white members, must become humble and not only indemnity your own sins but the sins of your whole race.</p>
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<h3 align="center">If you have made a serious commitment to God then you have nothing to fear</h3>
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<p>After we achieve God’s goal and liberate all of mankind we will finally come to perfection. We want to go to Moscow and have a worldwide rally but to do that we must become stronger than the communists and demonstrate God’s power. Communism denies God and that ideology must not continue. To achieve the goal of our rally in Moscow, we must be more determined than ever before to keep marching toward supreme perfection. We will confront communism in a head-on collision, and I know that even now the communists’ goal is to eliminate me. They have already taken over two-thirds of the world’s population so of course America is being shaken by communist activities.</p>
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<p>We are only a handful of people compared to the communists, but there is a way to win. Communism is a self-centered ideology, but the Unification Church stands in the name of God and the power of God is our power. God will decide the final outcome. Once you become one with God you are greater and stronger than the communists, but if separated from God then you are as small as peanuts.</p>
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<p>Our situation is analogous to David and Goliath’s. We don’t have weapons and we are like the humble shepherd David, but we do have the word of God as our weapon. Whether in America, Korea or the Middle East or Russia, we will clash with Satan’s forces and we’ll win. No matter what happens to me I will go. Soldiers from sixteen nations fought and shed blood defending Korea. In the future fight against communism, Unification Church members all over the world may shed more blood than the United Nations soldiers did in Korea in 1950 and 1951. We must go on regardless. If we feel threatened by the difficulties ahead and retreat then this world has no hope for a new tomorrow. The destiny of heaven and earth is in our hands. We must march forward with that conviction to the ultimate perfection, until the third seven year course is consummated in global victory.</p>
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<p>Three and a half years ago when I came to the United States I clearly mapped out certain goals and now all these goals have been accomplished. Now I am setting new goals for the current seven-year course, one of which is to forge ahead to Moscow and be victorious in a global confrontation against the ungodly ideology of communism. We cannot die without that mission being accomplished. We have been hand-picked by God for this sacred task. If you have that kind of serious commitment then there is nothing to fear about giving your sweat, blood and even your lives because you have already conquered the fear of death. If you die in this battle you will go to the highest position in the Kingdom of God in heaven.</p>
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<p>Of the people who died in battles throughout history, 80% ended up in hell because they were afraid and had no power to overcome death. This is the first time in history that God has had an army like the Unification Church. There is no racial barrier here. Everyone’s blood is red and all our hearts are united as one with God. The most hectic time is ahead of us. The day of perfection and gratitude on the worldwide level of history is calling you now. Will you respond? Will you mind postponing the blessing until then? You must feel that in order to achieve that goal there is nothing you cannot sacrifice, including the blessing.</p>
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<p>This is a gigantic task and I have many more hectic days ahead of me. Since we need money we have to create more resources, whether building factories or fishing or fund raising. Fund raising in the name of God is nothing to be ashamed of at all. Unless for some heavenly purpose, I don’t want to spend even one penny of the money earned in that way. I don’t want to spend anything without heavenly meaning. I want to increase the money you earn in order to do bigger tasks. I want you to have participated as a coworker in this work.</p>
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<p>In the near future we have to mobilize at least 10,000 members for the IOWC all over the world. God wants to have our IOWC land in one country in thirty jumbo jets, mobilizing to shake that nation. Could you postpone your marriage in order to tackle this task?</p>
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<p>Everyone is scrutinizing what I am doing and thinking and saying, but my attention is focused upon the final task of liberating the communists. America’s opposition to me is peanuts compared to the future opposition of the communists on a worldwide scale. The day will come quickly when global communism will move against me with force. If the U.S. will not awaken and champion our cause then the communists will annihilate this country. That kind of battle is what lies ahead of us.</p>
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<p>l get much advice to be more diplomatic and quiet, but there’s no time for that. We have a little time at the moment to ready ourselves and still we need manpower and money to wage the large battle. The time will come when we’ll make an even bigger noise. We must earn the necessary money with our sweat and blood. While other people rest, we will keep on going night and day on our power and energy. Can you do it? It is not for my sake or your sake but for the sake of God and the sake of humanity that we must push ourselves forward.</p>
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<h3 align="center">We will create the economy that will restore the world.</h3>
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<p>When I ask you members who are not United States citizens to go back to your own countries, will you be willing to tackle the missions there? You cannot say that you want to stay in this country. We are a great peoples’ movement, going from one corner of the earth to the other. Our Tong-Il factories in Korea are known to build very accurate and sensitive machinery and I would like to see that fame and tradition expanded to every comer of the earth. I want to set up an economy that can rebuild the world. The money we are earning now is nothing compared to our goal.</p>
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<p>Do you want to participate in the creation of the economy that will restore this world? I am now starting our fishing industry and with that purpose in mind I experimented with the tuna trade this summer. No matter what time of day or night or what type of weather there was I went out to sea. If the sea was rough the captain of the “New Hope” used to ask whether we were going out, but now he knows I will go out no matter what the circumstances.</p>
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<p>The members who finished at the Unification Theological Seminary and now have their master’s degrees may work at sea. The captains of our boats may have Ph.D.s. Don’t laugh. It is that kind of condescending attitude that has caused the decline of America’s fishing industry. Unless I resurrect it, the fishing industry in this country will die. I will contribute to America by restoring the dying marine industry. We are now negotiating to buy a mother ship, but it is not for a pleasure cruise to the Caribbean. It is to catch the treasures of the sea. I don’t like the smell of fish but we have no choice. Fishing is the area in which we can create a great economic foundation for God’s work. Catching fish is not our goal, but the liberation of the communist world. That is why we must advance. Do you agree? If you unmarried women don’t want to be blessed to fishermen you should leave now. If you don’t want to marry a sailor then you will have to marry someone outside our Church.</p>
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<p>There is a vast treasure lying in the sea, waiting to be harvested by our hands, but right now the American fishing industry is dying because American young people do not like the hard work of going out to sea. When they go out to sea for three months, they return to find that their wives have left them and their money has been squandered and they never want to go out to sea again. If they are not married then still they are not interested in going out because sometimes the weather is so brutal. You women who marry fishermen must be proud of them for working for God and mankind.</p>
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<p>I have experienced how the sea will make a man more reverent. At sea you need faith in God because you must totally rely on Him. Furthermore, when the men go out to sea they will not forget their families. In my own experience I thought of Mother and my children more at sea than at home because at sea I never knew what would happen in the next moment. At sea I love and pray for my wife and children more than anywhere else. When the “New Hope” docks and Mother and the children are waiting and waving to me, I feel as though I have met God at that moment. The women who can love their husbands when they return from harsh work at sea will be the most superb, exemplary wives in the sight of God.</p>
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<p>l have been a champion in creating factories and churches in Korea. Many nights while you rested I could not sleep because I have had a vision of all the consequences of the future. You have fund raised very hard in the past and you will probably do more, yet what do you have to show for it? I feel responsible to provide an economic foundation for you and your families. This is my ambition and I want to achieve it within ten years. In Korea I bought houses for many early members of our Church and in the future I would like to take the responsibility of buying houses for all the black, white and yellow people. I am the only one in history who is doing this, but it isn’t easy.</p>
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<p>I will persevere until the day of my death for the total consummation of God’s will and my life will be a life of hardship. The world is not sympathetic, and even you are not sympathetic with me, but one thing is certain: God knows my situation. When I seriously pray and ask God for His confirmation, Heavenly Father always answers, “You are my loving son.” The love of God is there. God and the spiritual world are pushing me to succeed. Do you ever have such experiences with God directly?</p>
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<p>A while back there were 82 traffic accidents reported in one month in our movement. Many vehicles were damaged but not one single life was lost, even in the severest accidents. It was a miracle that people were unhurt. That shows that God truly does love our members because they are performing important functions in pioneering God’s work all over the world. God knows our members are absolutely needed and as a special grace He protects them in impossible circumstances. God will never overlook those who follow His will.</p>
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<p>We achieved victory at the Washington Monument Rally and Madison Square Garden and in a different way at the Yankee Stadium Rally, but I never thought that the Unification Church did it or I did it; God made those victories possible. I was ashamed to hear people praising my leadership as the cause for victory. Heavenly Father did it all. There is one secret to victory and that is to be crazy to fulfill God’s will. Then your mission will be a great success.</p>
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<p>No one can raise his head in front of God because no one can keep up with His pace. I want you to know that God is working harder than anybody else. Every day there must be tears of gratitude and tears of repentance and tears of sympathy for God and the True Parents. God knows that as His children you are the only ones who can understand His heart. During the last three years nobody truly knew why I went to sea so many times. Only God knew that I went to hide the tears I was shedding. I am walking the road of tears, shedding more tears than anyone else.</p>
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<p>I often get utterly tired, but I never mention it. Sometimes I get sick but I never say one word about it. I resist the temptation to sleep and shorten my rest as much as I can. No matter how hard you are working, I am working harder. I will not be indebted to you.</p>
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<p>We need vast resources and manpower to build the Kingdom of Heaven. Who will be responsible? By speaking the word of God, I will move the hearts of men; that is the way to acquire manpower for God. We will build the resources we need with our own hands. During the period of four years remaining before this seven-year course ends, you must cry out that you will never be indebted to me. You should want me to be indebted and grateful to you. Then we will certainly achieve our goal.</p>
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<p>When I look at your radiant faces I sometimes feel that I am a sinner. I can hardly open my eyes and look at those members who wear very humble clothing. Inside I am crying, asking you to keep on working for a little while longer. There are many treasures to be restored for the sake of the world, but I certainly will use them for you also.</p>
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<p>This is the third day of the tenth month and the first Sunday of October. It is a very, very precious day. We want to declare on this meaningful day that our goal is to liberate communism and go beyond. We want to define our goal clearly and declare that we must go to Moscow, When we achieve that goal, eternal gratitude will begin. Those who agree with this proclamation, please raise your hands and pledge to Almighty God. Let us pray.</p>
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