26.2.14

Words for the day - THE STANDARD OF THE UNIFICATION CHURCH

REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON

THE STANDARD OF THE UNIFICATION CHURCH

August 10, 1986
Belvedere
Translator - Sang Kil Han

[This speech was not given a title by Father. The title was derived from the contents by the editors.] Even when I do not speak at Belvedere, you should be attending Sunday service here regularly. You should understand that Belvedere is a special place. It is no ordinary setting for church gatherings. What should I talk about today? In my talks I do not focus on just the individuals present, but I speak for the sake of the four billion people on earth, as well as all those in spirit world. I explain how people should live-all people, including those who do not understand the providential way. I show the path which all mankind must take and the standard which everyone should understand and fulfill. I have to speak about such things, because people do not know how the will of God is progressing or what God has in store for them. In this respect, the members of the Unification Church are very different from members of any other church. People in ordinary churches tend to become discouraged and little by little drift away from God's will. Not only Christians, but secular people in the democratic world as well are straying further and further from the way of God's will. Unification Church members have the responsibility to rectify this situation and to supplement what is missing. Although you might think you are living the way God expects you to live and that your standard is that of the [Unification Church, the real standard lies beyond. You do not represent the true norm of the Unification Church. Do you understand exactly what we should do to fulfill God's expectations for us? You might assume that Americans are living in a way that is simply American, but that is not true. The way America is going, it will continue to deteriorate and eventually perish. When you look at the younger generation of Americans today, you can see the decline. Many are like living corpses. The democracy which Americans have been so proud of has produced people who are drowning in drugs and have lost all sense of direction. If this trend continues, surely the nation will perish. People totally lack a basic philosophy of life. Anybody can see this immediate danger. Are colleges and universities such as Harvard and other Ivy League schools doing enough? Are they really capable of directing America's future? The answer is obvious. People lack a national perspective or any goal beyond individualism. They focus only on their personal well-being. We understand clearly that the United States does not exist in isolation. This country is a symbol for the world. The world follows in America's wake, regardless of where it leads. The American way of life is so promiscuous and filled with evil, but still the world emulates its trends and fashions. Americans must realize that this country does not exist just for itself Who will apply the brakes to this way of life and initiate a new trend? This is the most serious question. The only group capable of doing such a thing is the Unification Church. As you know, the only way to stop a fast-moving automobile is to apply the brakes very hard. At that time, the most important part of the car is the brakes. The brakes must remain strong and not give way. You may not realize all the things I am doing now. You may not know about the meetings with politicians, congressmen, retired generals, journalists and other top leaders of America. These leaders are very aware that the only hope for guiding this country forward lies with the Unification Church. They understand it as clearly as we do and they look at us very hopefully. But are the people inside the Unification Church maintaining that standard? That is the question we have to keep asking ourselves. We are really in the midst of a bloody fight, even though you cannot see the blood. This is the peak of the cosmic battle. One of the key strategies for winning the victory is to gather people together. You may not be aware of what has been going on recently. At this very moment, a group of prominent journalists is visiting Red China on a World Media Conference fact-finding tour. This is the first time China has opened its doors for such a thing. You know what happened when they visited Russia. Such meetings will have a strong impact on the path the world will take. They literally influence the way the world will go. We are holding meeting after meeting, convening these vitally important gatherings all throughout the year. This very morning there is a great assembly in Germany of people of all religions. You haven't been aware of that. At least those present here at Belvedere this morning should be conscious of what our movement is doing on a daily basis. You should know what is going on every day on the worldwide level. These meetings will decide the world's future. You should live according to that standard. This is all the more reason why you should not focus so much on whether I come to speak to you at Belvedere. Of course, you benefit individually when I come, but besides that, in your heart and mind you should want to come to Belvedere every Sunday morning and pray for the sake of the world, including True Parents. Don't just inquire whether or not I will be speaking, and then stay away if you think I am not coming. Such an attitude has no place in our way of thinking. Indeed, I have spoken to you so much. I have given you so many important words of guidance. More than 120 volumes of my speeches have now been published. They cover the important aspects of our times and the future, of God and all people. You should live up to their contents. The message of these volumes is progressive. It proclaims a goal, which we are now approaching and which you should be aware of. Do you know the books I am speaking about? There are now 126 volumes, and they will continue to be published as long as I keep speaking. These documents will be studied by scholars in the future. They will get them from the library and pore over each word of my sermons. After I started speaking in the West, the great majority of those speeches were given at Belvedere, or if not at Belvedere, in the spirit of Belvedere. You should always remember how special a place this is. Whenever you are sitting here, you should reflect on the meaning of Belvedere. If anyone asks a question of you as a member of the Unification Church, you should be able to answer like a true authority on my words because you are the ones who have listened to me directly. You will be more of an expert than all the great scholars and professors who may study my words in the future. Do you understand that I have now become very famous among the scholars of the world? Only a couple of weeks ago many world-renowned scholars from America, Japan and elsewhere went to Korea and spoke in 206 cities throughout the nation. They spoke about Reverend Moon and Unification Thought and were very well-received by the people of Korea. Those scholars are proclaiming that only through the Unification Principle and Unification Thought can the world have hope for the future. These scholars, members of the Professors World Peace Academy, increasingly feel that they should be the ones to lead the world at this time. They don't believe that politicians or economic experts can do it. Even though you may not understand it so clearly yet, I am very serious about guiding this country. The way the United States goes during the next six months will decide the real fate of this country, and to a large extent that of the world. This is what I am facing now. Who is playing the main role? It is you. But do you, the real actors, even realize that you have that principal role? In fact, this is the qualification to attend sermons at Belvedere: to be in the mainstream of the dispensation. Not everyone is qualified to come. Therefore, whenever you come here, you should understand the nature of your qualifications, as well as your responsibility. You must realize that distinguished scholars eagerly anticipate the reports about my speeches at Belvedere. Therefore, Unification Church members should not think you are meeting the standard of the Unification Church just as you are. Rather, you should always strive to reach a higher standard. You should struggle very hard to keep up with the norm which I am setting. You must understand that you are the main group who is responsible to uphold that standard and not assume that you have already reached it just as you are. You must not say complacently, "The Unification Church is the place where people with standards such as mine attend." Let's say that you have been in the Unification Church for five or six years. What do you know about God and the world? How well do you understand God's dispensation? For that matter, even if you have been a member for 20 years or more, you do not know everything. However, you should be improving every day as you make daily effort. At times you are tempted to criticize the Unification Church, pointing a finger at this or that, calling some things reasonable and others unreasonable. But the Unification Church is not susceptible to such criticisms. If this were the kind of church that could be criticized by people with standards such as yours, it would have vanished long ago. It could never have survived. You don't understand about the real Unification Church. This Church has survived full-scale opposition, not just partial resistance. It has weathered the most severe circumstances. But in order to survive such criticism, could I just sit tight without doing or saying anything? On the contrary, I have had to engage in terrible, desperate struggles. The United States has been closely observing Reverend Moon and the activities of the Unification Church, but it has no yardstick for measuring us. Both the CIA and the KGB have studied us and tried to describe us, but they have failed because they have no instruments with which to evaluate us. All they have are the limited ideals of democracy and communism, and they are baffled. They carefully observe each step that the Unification Church and Reverend Moon take. But before they realize what is happening, we are far ahead. While they are still trying to fathom one activity, we have crossed over to another side. They watch our daily steps, but we're always way ahead. A great change has come about in the United States, which many leaders already recognize. I haven't been sitting around doing nothing. People may observe my speeches and activities from a purely external point of view and report that I spend my days playing pool and fishing, but what I am actually doing is somewhere else, beyond their measure. People have suddenly noticed important victories being accomplished in the United States and wonder when Reverend Moon did it. That is why I say they have no means of measuring me. I have been painstakingly at work, day and night, without people being aware of it. Now tremendous changes are taking place in Japan and the United States. Through the power of God evil politicians may lose their office and good, God-centered ones can be elected. You will witness such things, even during the coming year. More bad congressmen will lose their seats and good ones will take their place. Do you understand? Actually, I don't think any of you understand it very well. Many leaders of America comprehend it far more deeply than you do. My recent tax case wasn't just a tax case at all. Influential people knew that unless something was done to contain Reverend Moon and the Unification Church, we would come to wield enormous power, so they tried to stop us through the tax case. I have fought against not only the visible people within the government, but also the "invisible people", those at the core of the secular forces hostile to God. Even you Americans do not realize how this hidden government behind the visible government works. Can the CIA control it? Even President Reagan, who is free to do what he feels is right, is influenced by these people who wield their power in invisible ways. You know how the office of the President of the United States became isolated and virtually powerless in the past. Nobody wanted to listen to the President or respond to him. That office was an object of mockery. That is the kind of situation that developed here in the United States. Our task is to guide people along the right way. When the CIA realized what I was accomplishing, they were very surprised. "When did Reverend Moon make this kind of foundation and begin working on these projects?" they asked. Somebody must have done these things. Was it you, the members of the Unification Church? Apparently not, since you don't remember doing them. All you did was to look around. You find it very hard to follow in my wake. You were mostly concerned about how hard it is to maintain your family and individual life. At best, you worried about your family, but never beyond that to the world situation. So somebody must have carried that load on his back. You might reason that it must have been me. Here at Belvedere, I may speak about things which are not at all evident now, but 10 or 20 years in the future you will clearly see them. They will become manifest in the world. This is the significance of Belvedere. When I was in Danbury, I took the time to read my own words and I gave instructions for the publication of a book containing specific speeches. That book is God's Will and the World. As I was reading my speeches, I could see the consistency between what I spoke in the past, what I feel in the present, and what I will be talking about a few years from now. All is directed toward one focal point. I want to call your attention again to the importance of that book. While I was in Danbury, I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading. As I examined my own words, I selected the more important speeches to be compiled in a series of books which will contain the focal point for the future. Have you read God's Will and the World? Are you still reading my words? As you read, the first step is to understand the words and the next step is to carry them out, to act on what you understand. Are you doing that? While you read, you should realize that the directions given in my speeches will result in significant changes in the future. The lives of a lot of people depend on the accomplishment of certain points in that book. Whether people act on them can make the difference between life and death. If Heaven is to be realized on earth, it must have a constitution. Who will draw up the Constitution of Heaven? Are you going to do it? Do you think the politicians and lawyers who formulated the U.S. Constitution will return and draft the Constitution of Heaven? Do you think they are capable of doing that? The Constitution of the United States is not infallible. Issues are constantly being challenged and debated, so it is far from perfect. How much more important is the Constitution of Heaven! It cannot be designed overnight. Day by day, year by year, the basis of that constitution is being established. You must understand that. We are doing things in reverse order. The constitution of this country was written before the government and nation were formed. But before our constitution is written, the Heavenly Kingdom must be organized. In order for our constitution to take effect, we need a country. Do we have that country now? Where is Heaven? All we know about Heaven is what Jesus said: "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you" That is true, but it is not the complete reality. There are enormous contents beyond that statement. But when Jesus was facing such total opposition from the world, how could he say all that he knew about Heaven? He was so alone. Jesus revealed only the blueprint of Heaven, so to speak. But can the blueprint build the building? Today is no ordinary day. The tenth of August was the day I went to another prison [in 1946, in Pyongyang]. This is the first time you knew of that, isn't it? Even the American Church leaders do not know such important dates. How ignorant you are about many things! How serious I feel! I do many things, but during all these years, I have never even spent ten minutes speaking seriously with Mike McDevitt, the head of East Garden security. Those security guards may be living in the same place with me and accompanying me 24 hours a day, but do you think they understand what I am doing, what I am thinking, what I am accomplishing? Do you think they know such things? All by myself, I have gone this course. Even Mother doesn't understand everything at the time I am doing it. Only later does she understand. Everyone, even Mother, finds it difficult to catch up with me, let alone go ahead of me. You can imagine how difficult it would be to go in front of me! So can you say, "I understand things. Father. This is right, and that is wrong"? In one important point, the work of restoration is different from other tasks. In the world, people normally set a schedule and announce what they are going to do and when it will be done. But I cannot disclose the schedule in advance. Only after I accomplish the restoration can I announce it. That is why you rarely know what is in store for you, even in the next moment. In Korea, for instance, people adamantly and persistently opposed me in the past. Nothing I tried to do for the sake of Korea met with cooperation, only opposition. But today virtually everyone, from the common people to the leaders, understands that without Reverend Moon they cannot even think about Korea's future. In the past many people criticized and attacked my name, but today they cannot do so without someone else attacking them! It has come to the point that people scold and even beat up my critics for their irresponsible words! In Japan many people, from common people to congressmen, feel they must defend my name, my thoughts, and all my words and actions. Now scholars and ministers in the West are rising up to take the same position. Many groups of American ministers have gone to Korea. In a few days another group will arrive. During their stay they visit the Holy Ground. In the last group of about 200 ministers, many burst into tears at the Holy Ground in Pusan. They repented and made a redetermination to support Reverend Moon and Korea. Their standard is now even higher. They are more eager to do God's will than many of you! How can you allow that to happen? They have been doing God's work under the banner of Christianity all their lives. Do you have such a long internal tradition? At best, you have been following God for the past ten years or so. How can you catch up unless you make your own redetermination? How can you exert a good influence on the world after living for God for just a short time- compared with the ministers who have been following God all their lives? Reflect a bit on the things I have just outlined. Do you feel that my thinking is complicated? American leaders are now becoming aware that they need Reverend Moon and the whole contents of what I offer. But by the time they really know that they need me, they will no longer find me in this country! I will continue to teach them, so that they realize that they need me, but it is not for my glory. I will not stay around to receive their praise and glory once they understand. I am not doing this for my own honor. This is something I must do for the sake of God's will. Glory belongs to a different page, or a different book. Perhaps the next generation will be the ones to receive the glory. I do not expect to receive it myself. Do you understand? If you don't understand, why should I come all the way to America and work here? What does America have to do with an Oriental man, Reverend Moon? The earliest American settlers virtually annihilated all the Indians, who are of Asian descent. As an Asian, I came here to love people and make them more aware. I came to make the Americans more loyal to their country than the Indians were to their own land. A few years have gone by, and what I have done here America can never be erased from history. The Danbury event can never be forgotten. Who could delete that bad record? Your power? Not even the whole of the United States or the Western world could do it. Only Reverend Moon and God Himself can wipe it clean. Although the incident itself cannot be erased, people have already come and knelt down to me to apologize for what they have done. Do you understand? You are the ones who are standing at the forefront, on the front line. You should realize this and, on behalf of the United States, be ashamed for what it has done and try to make compensation. How many more days remain before we commemorate my release from Danbury? I woke up this morning filled with reminiscences of being at the halfway house, going back and forth every morning and night. When I first went to Danbury, the staff and inmates there received me very coldly. All these memories have come back to me. Of all the races, do you think the white people have been warmer or colder than the others? If God didn't exist, and if there hadn't been any significance to all my experiences, my life would have been unbearable. So you cannot look at me without feeling ashamed for failing to live up to my standard-even though you have been following me. In other words, you are greatly indebted to me. You cannot repay that debt on your own power. The United States itself owes me so much. To publish The Washington Times alone costs $7 million every month. What is the purpose? To set America straight. Yet this country has not even been friendly toward me. President Reagan's own administration put me into prison. Why does our movement sacrifice so much money to do good for this country? People in this nation have been ambivalent about the situation in Nicaragua, for instance, but our movement has been clearly presenting the truth. The documentary film, "Nicaragua Was Our Home" shows the truth about the situation there. The U.S. government did not prepare that documentary; they understand that our movement did it. The American news media know what is included in that documentary, but so far they have not printed even one bit of it. What kind of situation is prevailing in this country now? If we had not helped the United States in this way with the Nicaraguan issue, this country would have looked very bad in the eyes of the rest of the world. The communists have suffered an obvious defeat on this issue. That is why they have moved their target to South Africa now and have retreated from the heated focal points in Nicaragua and South America. Of course you did not realize this until I pointed it out to you. I haven't mentioned to you before what I have been doing here and in Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. It took the Korean government 40 years to begin to understand the value of my work and its impact on Korea. The United States will probably follow the same pattern. I have come a long way, don't you agree? What height have I reached now? Near the top? Who is more fearsome: Mikhail Gorbachev or Reverend Moon? People are in awe of me, not because I am going to hurt anyone, but because I am making the most significant impact for goodness on the world and on history. Indeed I have achieved a great deal in a very short time. I have accomplished everything without any bloodshed. On the other hand, Gorbachev's foundation is communism, which has murdered at least 150,000,000 people in order to stand where it is today. How about the U.S. government: how many people have they killed, particularly in their early history? In contrast, I have always been persecuted and beaten by others. This has been going on for more than 40 years, but I have reached this level without retaliating against anyone. Now the world has reached the crossroads. Which way will it be: democracy, communism, or Godism? American young people look on with excitement and shout out their desire: "Godism" Communism has revealed itself as being upside down and inside out; people recognize that they can expect nothing good from communism. Democracy has been tried, but it too has been exhausted. Godism is the one alternative which the people of the world will view and say, "Surely, this is the solution." However, people have only scratched the surface of Godism; they haven't plumbed it to the depths. It will take many more years to do that. People have just started paying attention to Reverend Moon. They will have to study the 120 volumes of my speeches in order to find out what Godism is all about! Even these 120 volumes are not the end; they will be added to as I speak more and more in the future, according to what is needed at the time. Do you know that the more I speak, the more clearly the message is expressed? That is because we are getting nearer to the goal. Once we arrive, everybody will know what I am up to, without my having to explain it. Ten years ago, I could have spoken something like what I am explaining now, but I didn't do it because I had not accomplished it yet. Now that I have achieved these things, I am telling you about them. You must understand this. Even if all of you were to leave today because the lifestyle is too difficult, it would not substantially affect my work for God's dispensation. If I started a speaking tour of the United States, how many ministers do you think would come to hear me? You said many. As a result of that, do you think many new Unification Church members would emerge? Those who are better educated, more eager, and enthusiastic would become the new members. Then would you, the older, senior members, say, "I was once enthusiastic like that, but forget it! Don't do it?" You are living now as if that were the case! I don't feel that the Unification Church members in the United States today are sufficiently capable of bringing America back to life. You must know that I am thinking that. I don't feel that members such as those sitting here are adequate. How much have you loved America, God's will, and the world? At best, you are faithful on the individual level, but you aren't even trying to be faithful to the country. You think that you are already burdened, but it is only with individual matters. How can you take on the load of the country and the world? If someone adds to your load, will you run away from it? Be candid: would you, or wouldn't you? Actually, I haven't really started training the members in this country yet, including Dr. Durst and the top leadership. The future of America is something which really worries me. I am very concerned about it. Do you suppose that this physical life will last forever? Sooner or later you will shed this body; that is definite. If there were no such thing as the spirit world, none of our efforts would matter. But do you really know that the spirit world exists? Do you think that life in the spirit world is short or long? How much longer than life here? The center of the spirit world is God. Since you have never seen God, do you feel this is all too ambiguous? Should you put yourself or God first? Do you think first of God or yourself? Should God be someone who pleases you, or should you become the kind of person who pleases God? Do you say, "God must become the God whom I can like? Do you think that people in the spirit world can lead a chaotic and individualistic life? Or, even though you have never gone there, do you assume that it is far better organized and more lawful than anything here on earth? Yes, it is very naturally and neatly organized. You must have some idea about the spirit world. Take the Unification Church as an example. Before it emerged here on earth, do you think it existed in the spirit world? Now that it has appeared here on earth, do you think it will also be in the spirit world in the future? Chronologically, of course, the Unification Church is the youngest; so should it be relegated to the last place in the spirit world? Or do you think that even though the Unification Church is the last to emerge, it will rise to the top of the system in the spirit world? As Unification Church members, you may make that claim, but do you think the spirit world will agree with you? Will the spirit world welcome or reject Unification Church members? Let's say that here on earth there is a town in which a lot of people live. Suddenly one day a new person appears shabbily dressed and looking like a beggar. Will the town officials say, "That stranger looks like a beggar, but since we believe he is really a great man, let's put him in a position of authority in the town"? Would the townspeople go along with such a decision, or would they resist it? Naturally, they would oppose it. When you go to the spirit world, do you want to go to the dark, dreary place called Hell, or are you going to go to the very bright, nice place called Heaven? This is reality we are talking about, not a metaphor. You have to have some qualification in order to go to the bright place. There are some great, good people who have lived for the sake of others or for the sake of their country. One example is George Washington. You can also think of famous founders of religions or other great presidents of the United States. All these well-known people will be in the spirit world. There have been quite a few people who have led a public life, shedding their blood and sweat for others. Now you are proposing to stand above them. How do you plan to do it? How can you be entitled to the highest Heaven? What certificate will you produce when you go to the spirit world? There are many people in the spirit world-not only famous people but also billions of lesser-known people Everybody can observe the same place at the same time, so they will all be looking at you, wondering how high up you will go. You Moonies should be able to describe your plan and say what it is you have that justifies your going to a high place. You absolutely need a certificate. Without it, you can, go to the place you desire. What about a Ph.D. degree? Will that qualify you for a high position in the spirit world? We know that such a diploma is nothing more than a piece of paper there. You need something more to qualify you. This is not a simple matter. Since I know this clearly, I have worked without ceasing but still I feel I have not accomplished enough. I have literally fought my way through the layers of opposition which must be penetrated and surpassed; you also must do that. The layer of opposition is in the fallen realm. You must rise above it to get your qualification. You may think this is a worldly matter, but it is an eternal matter. If I had chosen the secular way of life, I could have made a good living. In fact, I could probably have risen to the top in any area of activity. You have to enter the spirit world alone. Even though you have a spouse and children, you cannot go there with them. Everyone goes by himself to the spirit world; no one is accompanied. You can imagine what a challenging adventure it is! This is the spirit world we are headed for and all of us are bound to go there. People who know nothing about it and haven't made preparations don't have a chance. This is why God sent me as a teacher during these last days: to show people on earth what the spirit world is like. Do you think that all the people in the spirit world' including the leaders and top people, know and understand' me? Yes, they do. How do you know that? It is rather simple: because never before in history has anybody gone through such terrible persecution to attain God's goal. In the history of religion, I have been the most persecuted person of all, in the past or present. So I am the champion in that area. The people in the spirit world know that. Is it true? East and West, all races and colors of skin have opposed me. Likewise, all religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, have come against me. The spirit world can compare these circumstances with what Jesus faced. He also was persecuted on earth before going to the spirit world, but the boundaries of Jesus, persecution were more limited and it was on the local level, not the world level. It is clear that Reverend Moon is by far the most persecuted religious person in history. Even your physical parents realize this, although they might oppose you. Everyone in the world knows that the most controversial religious figure on earth is Reverend Moon. So in that respect, am I number one, or number two? By a large margin, I am number one. People in the spirit world had never truly respected anyone on earth. But when they see me and the standard I am living, they feel respect and they bow down. What else do I have to be proud of? What element within Reverend Moon makes people say, "Please rise above us"? It is the fact that I know God better than anyone else; I know God thoroughly. What matters most in the spirit world is what God thinks about a person-and God likes me very much. If you were God, do you think you would admire me a lot? You can check within the realms of Islam and Buddhism, but you won't find anyone there who knows more about God than I do. Other people may not recognize what is good about me, but God always wants to accompany me; He doesn't want to be separated even one moment from me. Because of me, God can be excited and hopeful about life! The quality of mine that God loves so much is my heart; my desire is the same as His. I am always thinking about how to digest the communist and democratic worlds. Even if God felt that there were some things in me He didn't like so much, and He looked around elsewhere, there would be absolutely no one else who could meet His expectations. So God kept coming back to me! Later He decided, once and for all, "No matter what faults you may have, I am with you." You can only imagine this, but you have a good capacity for imagination. Have you met anybody like me? Do you know anybody else who has done anywhere near what I have accomplished to turn this world around? I have a lot of very large mental pockets in which I keep the various problems of the world. The United States has tested me and tried to fight me, as have Germany, Japan, and Korea- every country has tried to fight me. Now we are on the verge of crossing the summit; they are all about to decide to give up fighting Reverend Moon. American leaders in the spirit world might wonder who should be given a higher place-Reverend Moon or George Washington. Should it be George Washington? He was certainly a great leader in his time, but what I am doing is applicable to all of history, not just the problems of one century or one generation. At this time, many people in the fields of politics, academics, and other areas want to meet with me. I have received literally hundreds of requests from people asking to visit me at East Garden. Did you know that I have not granted any of those requests? But do you think Dr. Durst calls in advance and gets permission to come? No, he just walks in-as if it were his own home. Apparently he has privileges! What privilege is it? It is love. Where do you think I will sit in the spirit world: at the top or at the bottom? Actually, I don't want to sit up at the top; I would be content to remain at the bottom of Heaven. But somebody would come and pull me by the feet, and I would be drawn upward, upside down, all the way to the top! However, nobody in the spirit world would protest and say, "Why are you raising him up like that?,, They would applaud. Do you think this is true? Or perhaps you think this is just a "red lie,, as we say in Korean-the worst kind of lie? Those of you who are seated here listening to me, do you think your presence here is a coincidence, or is it an historical event? When you came here today, did you expect me to speak in this manner? Compare your situation to that of a good Catholic nun, or a pure Buddhist monk, people who have lived their whole lives in celibacy. They pray all their lives, never marrying, never working just to make money. Perhaps they wept so much in their prayers that they created ponds of tears. How many of those people were privileged enough to have met the Messiah on earth? None of them. But look at you sitting here. What have you done to deserve this place and this privilege? Have you ever stopped to think about it? What do you expect to achieve by joining the Unification Church? Earthly attainments are not the most important goal; we are most concerned about where we will reside for eternity. You don't fully understand the things I have done here on earth. For one thing, I have brought together in marriage people from totally different races and nationalities - even from enemy countries. That is truly the greatest achievement here on earth. I have also married people from different religious backgrounds. This has the greatest significance in the spirit world, as well. Just naming a few of the things I have done astounds the spirit world. These are accomplishments which the spirit world has been craving for literally thousands of years. Now you are in a better position to decide. Because of the merit of my accomplishments, do you think the people in the spirit world can relegate me to a seat at the bottom of their realm, or do I have to sit up at the top, whether I like it or not? Is it because I can speak so convincingly that I somehow manage to persuade people to agree with me. How to rise in the spirit world, once we get there, is an important issue for all people, whether they are members of the Unification Church or not. Somebody may say, "Well, I have qualifications: first, I graduated from Harvard; next, I am a citizen of the greatest nation on each. Therefore, I should stand at the top of the spirit world,, Do you think the spirit world would approve? No, such considerations are far from their way of thinking. What, then, would they approve of ? You say a clean, pure mind, but that by itself is not enough for the spirit world to send you up to the very top. Having a pure mind doesn't automatically guarantee your entrance to Heaven; you must go through the proper process. Are you aware of that process? You need a document certifying that you have fulfilled certain criteria and are eligible for Heaven in order to satisfy the spirit world. This point is easy to understand. Even coming to the United States, which is a far from heavenly place, you have to show a visa and a passport. If they question your qualifications just to enter this country, how can there be a free pass in spirit world? More processing is required there than when entering the United States. Have you ever set out for Belvedere with an attitude of self-examination, asking what qualifications you have for coming so freely? Have you thought, "I am going to Belvedere today, but later I must satisfy all the conditions on the form and live up to the standard which Belvedere deserves"? Dr. Durst may acknowledge you and say, "He deserves Heaven" and sign your form. But who else must sign the form? Satan, of course. He has to sign it even before Dr. Durst does. If Dr. Durst alone signs it, you cannot be admitted to Heaven. True Parents also must sign it. Those who are already in the spirit world did not have the chance to know True Parents. Those of you who have a mustache or beard, do you think they will become your certificate? I have never approved of anybody wearing such things. If I don't wear a mustache, can you sit proudly and confidently in front of me? This law has not been spelled out yet, but you should know it by now. This is the University of Heaven, not just a church. Every university charges tuition. What is your tuition? Everything I am talking about here at Belvedere must be fulfilled. Every point, every clause must be satisfied. Otherwise, you cannot go to Heaven. Do I tell you to do something without having done it myself? No, everything I ask you to do I have already accomplished. I never speak about something until I have done it myself. True Parents have nobody to counsel with. No matter how great an individual may be, I cannot seek advice from him, simply because it is contrary to Principle. I cannot consult with Dr. Durst, for example. Why? Because no one within the lineage of the fall is qualified to be a consultant to the lineage of God. The fallen archangel was the very villain who brought about the fall. Do you understand? As I already said, we are on the verge of going over the hill of opposition. At this point, people can no longer harshly criticize me. We went beyond that long ago. Now you have many responsibilities. Should you focus on working hard just to take care of your family, or on obtaining the certificate to go to Heaven? Which area should you pay the most attention to? We never know when we might be called to the spirit world, so we have to fulfill the criteria before we arrive there. Some of you might be involved in a traffic accident on your way home today; you never know. Can anyone say, "Since I got blessed and started my family, I can automatically go to Heaven,,? That is an oversimplification. The Blessing did not take place above the satanic realm, but beneath it. We have to go beyond that, or we cannot reach Heaven. Therefore, we must not place first priority on ourselves; the will of God must come first. From now on, if you don't work by that standard, your children cannot attend the Little Angels School the way everybody has been doing so far. That cannot happen. The parents, the blessed couples, are very important. By the same token, if I had simply stated all these ideas without ever implementing them, how miserable you would have been! Now I can rest. Almost everything I must do here has been accomplished. If I got drunk somewhere and slept all day long, still you could not complain. Maybe I will do just that, to find out what the satanic world is like! Then perhaps I will go to ten different movies in one day, but nobody could complain. You might reason, "Since Father goes to ten movies a day, maybe I can go to a couple, but that assumption doesn't follow. I have passed all the criteria, but you haven't" Do you understand? From now on, perhaps I should take frequent naps during the day. Do I say that because I am so sinful? I have never taken daytime naps in my life because I knew I had to pave the road for all mankind. Now I have grown older and I am approaching the age of 70. Like everyone else, I had a time of youth, my golden youth. But I never enjoyed that time in any normal sense. Instead, I was persecuted, tortured and imprisoned throughout those youthful years. If I had forgotten about the sins of the world, I would not have had to endure such things, but I never did that. Therefore, I passed through all my persecution. You can understand that, can't you? Do you think I am a person with no capabilities? I have many talents, but I chose the path of persecution and suffering. Even though my temper is fiery and I really hate to lose when I play a game, I have lost in life hundreds of times. People have stomped on me over and over. All this happened simply so I could pave the road. You who have come to the Unification Church know clearly what you must do, don't you? You know what I have done, and you know what kind of lifestyle I expect you to maintain. As members of this church, you must transcend the national and world standards. To do that, we must unite and work very hard. You may be old already, but which must come first: marriage, getting ahead in the world, or preparing for the spirit world? Which of these three pursuits should you consider first? Getting ready for spirit world should have priority. Your reason tells you this is true, but do you really feel that way? Why are we here on earth? How should we live? We should learn to live by the same rhythm or tempo as the spirit world. If we don't, we will be unable to live properly when we go there. When you Unification Church members go to the spirit world, you will definitely be challenged by people there. The things that I have said are recorded in the spirit world. People will challenge you: "Have you done such and such? What if you haven't done most of it? You will be ushered to an in-between region, an interim area, not Heaven. Then you might say, "I wish Father would come to the spirit world soon, so we can be together." But that is not necessarily what will happen. Simply because I go to the spirit world doesn't mean you will be able to follow me. You must satisfy all the requirements I have given you. Where will the Unification Church ultimately go? What is its final goal? Here on earth, we must live in a heavenly manner before we can connect to the heavenly life in spirit world. But is there any Heaven on earth at this time? No. All the outside world is controlled by Satan. We cannot find Heaven anywhere in this world. We must set the record of having lived in Heaven on earth as a condition for dwelling in Heaven in the spirit world. What do we call that Heaven? You have answered correctly: home church. In home church, we are making Heaven on earth, centering on God and True Parents. Everyone without exception must get the certificate from home church. Do you realize that in a short time we won't have to witness so hard? Why? Because very soon the time will arrive when people will come to the Unification Church on their own. Then why do we go to people's homes and witness? Those who have been working on home church raise your hands. We must continue doing home church. During the five years from 1978 until 1982, I gave you the concept and in many different talks explained why you must do home church. When you have done home church you will receive your passport through that work. That is your privilege. At this time the United States has approximately 70 million families. Divided by 360, that makes only about 200,000 home church areas. That is all. It's not really so much. In other words, soon all the home church areas will be taken by others, and you will find no home church to work in. I spoke about this to you first; you have heard it first. But if I spoke about this concept to ministers, what do you think would happen? Can you challenge them? There are some 300,000 ministers here in the United States. They are professionals and you are laymen. Do you think you can compete with them? Unification Church members have to get this idea straight. Since I already explained it, I expected it to be carried out. I haven't talked with you about it and checked up on you. I haven't been saying, "You have to witness and do this and that." You should judge yourselves. You need your signed certificate, don't you? How badly do you need it? More desperately than everything else. It is more important than if you go to some good school. Do you know that? The final criterion you need to pass is home church. If you do it, your children will accompany you; but if you don't, they cannot. Do you understand? These are not just my words and I am not trying to threaten you. When you go to the spirit world, nobody will have to explain this to you; everything will be apparent. Those of you who understand clearly that you need this certificate, please raise your hands. I assure you that it is absolutely necessary. I have been working, as you have all seen, to get the certificate as True Parents. Likewise, you have to get your own certificate. If you do home church correctly, you will be able to follow me through all the barriers and various stages of restoration which I have established. As I already told you and you well know, the Blessing takes place at a better position than what Jesus had when he was crucified. That means you should be literally in a better position than Jesus himself before you are allowed and granted the Blessing. Did Jesus receive or give the Blessing? No, he didn't. I received the Blessing, and I can give it. That is how Heung Jin could be blessed spiritually. Do you understand? Without his Blessing, traditional Christianity and the Unification Church could not be linked. If you remember, it was after Heung Jin went to the spirit world that Christianity came to be connected with the Unification Church. What did Jesus need to be qualified to receive or give the Blessing? Zachariah's family should have united with Joseph's family, and together they should have served Jesus. On that tribal foundation, Jesus would have been able to get married, but that didn't happen. The Cain tribe, John the Baptist's family, and the Abel tribe, Joseph's family, should have come together. Their unity could support the parents. But since Cain and Abel could not unite, the parents could not be established. That is the Principle. Both tribes came against Jesus, and thus he was crucified. He never received the marriage Blessing. We have to indemnify this very situation, so the Blessing must come on the foundation of those two tribes. Do you follow me? Jesus didn't have that kind of foundation, so it was lost. We have to remake it during these last days. With such a foundation, you can build a marriage. That means you must have the highest standard. Do you know why we are in a better position than Jesus? Not because we are greater than he, but because our foundation is far more established than his. Therefore, you received the Blessing. You must go to home church. In the same position as Jesus, or Joseph's family, you have to make unity with John the Baptist's or Zachariah's family. Husband and wife together will have 720 homes, 360 each. The number 72 refers to all tribes. When they become one with you, the next step is to return to your own tribe, your relatives, and do a similar thing. Then you will really be tribal messiahs. What will happen next? You will be freed from all satanic accusation. You will be truly heavenly persons. This is clear, isn't it? Do home church and win the Cain position. Then you can go to your relatives, who are in the Abel position. Once you have accomplished home church, it is likely that your family will welcome you. Actually, I also followed this formula. The communist world is like the Cain family, and the democratic world is like the Abel family. I must do this "home church" work, so to speak. This is the formula for restoration. An individual cannot be restored by himself; he needs a family. We get blessed and have a family, but we don't have a foundation to sit on, do we? That is what we are making, in a reverse way. This is easier for you to do now, because you can take advantage of my foundation. I have become known throughout the world and have received much support. Therefore, your task has become that much easier. The spirit world is not a vague place. We have to make our own very tangible earthly Heaven. Then we join Heaven in heaven. Do you understand? Home church is very important, so I am planning to renew your home church assignments as of August 20. Then that will be the last time I will ever say anything about home church here in America. After that, it is up to you. This year things will be a lot easier. Many people will ask us to come and talk to them-more so than before. Up to this point, I have taken parental responsibility. Once the parent fulfills his responsibility and assigns you an area, it is very possible to do it. I wouldn't have told you to do it otherwise. When you go to the spirit world, whom will you seek? When you reply, "Father" you should have at least a minimum of conscience. If you call yourselves children, you cannot criticize your father or run away when he tells you to do something. You must not complain to other people. I never want you to suffer without purpose. I am telling you to suffer because it is the short cut. Even if you are not totally capable, as long as you endure hardships, you can achieve your goal. But from now on, you won't even have to suffer as much. Who will persecute you now? Everybody will be able to see that you are doing something that is good. By 1988, the President and the people in general will understand enough about our Church to say, "Follow their teaching." The President himself and righteous senators and congressmen will speak out and testify about how good Reverend Moon and the Unification Church are. Who will have the power to oppose us then? How much easier the task will be! When that time comes, we can accomplish all our home church work in about six months. Since you understand every idea I speak about, don't you think that if I were able to speak on national television, all the American people would also understand? Once they understand, do you think you will be able to keep up with them? If you don't lay the foundation now, the opportunity will not return. What is home church? It is the passport to the Kingdom of Heaven. Without it you cannot enter Heaven. The people in spirit world won't let you! How can you do home church in the spirit world? You cannot. There is a famous statement in Scripture that the last shall be first and the first shall be last. There may be cases in which people who join the Unification Church late will do better work than those who joined earlier. In a sense, we are destined to pioneer the way. We cannot be just followers. We have no choice: it is pioneer or else. Only after home church is done will the real registration of Heaven begin. According to Principle, we first have to live in Heaven on earth. There is no other way. You have to be prepared to take up the cross of all the problems in your home church area. This is the heart that both Jesus and I have had. In order to become the king of a tribe, you must start by carrying the cross. A tribal messiah is the same as the king of his tribe. All my life, I have been going the way of the cross. If you don't accomplish home church, you cannot follow me. You need that certification for Heaven. I know this situation clearly. I am not dumb. I have been doing this for 40 years. This tenth day of August is a memorable day, a special day, on which I talked once more about home church. If you do the job right, not only your immediate family but also all your relatives will be liberated. Isn't that exciting? Not only your visible relatives, but all your ancestors in the spirit world - the Smith family, the McDonald family, the McDevitt family - all will be liberated. If you do home church right, the spirit world will come and help you. You will see it happening. From 1988 on, there will be a vigorous, bustling home church. I won't have to be here. I have already taught you everything you need in order to carry on. I have given you a patent, so to speak. You have to pay royalties for the rights to use a patent. How much would you have to pay for the right to do home church? If you had all the diamonds on earth, do you think you could buy it? That is why the spirit world really cannot comprehend why you are wasting all these golden opportunities. Now you know, because you see the whole picture. This is not just a concept. You have the physical champion of indemnity with you, Father. I have accomplished everything. All you need to do is to learn and follow. When you follow me, you will get the certificate. Let us pray.

24.2.14

Words to live by - HIGHEST OWNERSHIP, REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON

REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON

HIGHEST OWNERSHIP

June 22, 1986
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

Whether from the East or the West, whether in the past or the present, all people want to possess or own things. Has anyone ever acquired ownership of the highest, ultimate things? The first man and woman-the original ancestors of mankind-must have had a very strong desire to gain that highest ownership, but they could not. We must understand why they did not achieve that goal.
Had the first ancestors achieved ownership of the highest things, their descendants would have inherited it and enjoyed it throughout history. The question is, why could they not achieve such ownership and through what process did they lose it? It was because of the fall of man.
Few people nowadays have a clear concept of the fall of man. If there had been no fall, and no such concept had come into being, then there would have been no evil, so we would have no need for a standard to distinguish between good and evil. If history had progressed according to the theory of evolution, as many people today believe, then there actually should be no such thing as the difference between good and evil. Whatever is a reality in our present time would have to be justified because it is the result of the evolutionary process.
It is only when we establish the existence of a purposeful Creator that we can establish a standard for good and evil. The minds of all men and women are always aspiring to achieve something higher. That is basic human nature. When you achieve a higher plateau you are elevated into a higher position, and your sphere of influence becomes larger and greater. The ultimate human aspiration throughout history has been to achieve one united world community. Is this present world the one for which all forty-four billion people who have ever lived have aspired, or is there something else we have to think about?
Religious teachings have indicated that there are both a physical world and a spiritual world which together comprise the cosmos. It is universally true that whatever is sown will be reaped. Division and discord have come into the world because of the fall; likewise, each person suffers from division between mind and body. When we say that we are destined to return to ultimate fruitfulness, what does it mean? It means that we are destined to be restored to the state where the fall had not taken place, or the position in which original man and woman would have dwelled.
God created the cosmos first, and then Adam, and then Eve. The fourth and fifth entities were the children- Cain and Abel-but they were engendered after the fall. The fallen Cain and Abel were never a part of the original scheme of creation.
The cosmos, Adam, and Eve-numbers one, two and three-were the initial, Principled creations of God. He created them centered upon the fulfillment of love, but then what happened? That love was infiltrated by evil and division came about. Cain and Abel became a symbol of division, because of the fall. That is the way history was sown and that is the way history is being reaped. The restoration had to begin, therefore, from the fallen Adam and Eve.
Division occurred in the first family; from the beginning, the mind and body were divided. Since then, the family became divided; the community became divided; the tribe and clan were divided; the nation was divided; ultimately what we see today is a world divided. Instead of one world we have, basically, two worlds. This is the worldwide manifestation of that original seed of division which was sown. Now we are reaping those seeds on the worldwide scale.
Each person has a mind and a body which are divided. The world of the mind could be called the theistic world, while the world of the body is the materialistic world. There is division and struggle between these two worlds, instead of harmony and unity. That struggle began from day one, from the day of the fall of Adam and Eve-the first ancestors of mankind.
When do we expect to see all these divisions healed and unity to occur? If Satan's invasion was the cause of the division, when do we have unity? It is when we chase out Satan and invite God in. Satan's weapon was satanic love, or self-centered love. We have to invite God in, therefore, and use God's love as our weapon to chase out Satan.
The love of God, which involves concern for the whole, is entirely opposite to satanic love. Although we observe the problems of mankind on a large, worldwide scale, the root of the problem lies within individual men and women. The United States of America is a gigantic nation with a Christian heritage. Thus the love of God, which is selfless love, should be the binding center of this nation. But what we have now is the opposite: self-centered love is prevailing in this country. Instead of God's love binding people together into one, selfish love is dividing people. That is why all kinds of perversions of love have occurred.
Do you think that most people in the United States today feel a relationship between themselves and the world? Do they have a poignant feeling of patriotism toward America? What about children-do they have strong feelings of filial piety toward their parents? Is there a commitment between husbands and wives to permanent, eternal and sacred love? All of these levels of relationship have become divided and secularized, almost like matters of business, or contracts.
Although the desire of each individual is to enjoy the highest ownership, the power of selfish love is always bringing division, rather than unity and harmony. Under those circumstances, can we ever obtain the highest ownership? The whole problem of the world can be boiled down to each individual-the self. That one self is the battleground where each of us must obtain the victory.
The Unification Church is looking forward today to achieving a worldwide victory. We have to transform and change the fallen world from the bottom up. Satan is the master of the fallen world. He got hold of each individual; not only every individual is divided, but so is the entire world. Therefore, the solution has to start with the individual. The individual was originally conceived in the love of God, according to His original concept of creation, which was total goodness.
There are two types of individuals: man and woman. That means one is a representative of Adam and the other is a representative of Eve. Unless we transform the satanic world and all the satanic elements within it into something entirely new, we certainly cannot hope to become the original, Heavenly Adam and Eve. No matter how much you may struggle to rid yourself of the shackles of Satan, you cannot do it; you are always swimming in the same pool of water. Thus nothing short of an ejection is needed; we have to eject ourselves from this old world, but we need incredible momentum to do that.
Although the self wants to eject from the fallen world, it does not exist in isolation; it is connected to the family, clan, tribe, nation and world. The most important credo by which to eject is to achieve victory over yourself; then you have to prevail over the family and then the clan, the nation and the world. This is the way to restoration.
When we look at human history, we see that there have been all kinds of philosophies and ways of thinking, but the most important of all these has been religious thought. Philosophy has changed and evolved at different times in history, striving toward modernity in each era. Religious thought, however, has always stayed with certain fundamental, unchanging principles and concepts. Philosophy changes because it is a product of human thinking and it exists on the horizontal level; it always changes along with the changes of human society. But religious thought is based on God, who is eternal and unchanging; for that reason, it has a fundamentally unchanging quality.
There is one common principle which has guided religious thought throughout history and that is self-denial. Humanist philosophy has not had this thread running through it. Through religion, people are taught to set themselves apart from this world. That is why religious teaching has always engendered struggle and even bloodshed. The power of the nation, or the government, in every age has been the major obstacle in this self-denial process. Therefore, we have to go beyond the nation in order to achieve the level of the world.
The ultimate religion must recognize no national boundaries; it must go beyond nations, skin colors, and cultural idiosyncrasies and work on a global basis. A religion such as that must ultimately arise. Many national governments and sovereignties throughout history have persecuted religion, but behind all these was Satan. Satan has used whatever tool he could, particularly government power Satan is always opposing your improvement, your self-denial process, but God's force is propelling you forward, giving you strength to do it.
We call this time the end of the world. What is the meaning of the end of the world? What is going to happen? When the autumn comes, the harvest begins. The farmer goes out and harvests the fruits. What kind of fruits-good or rotten? World history has come to its own autumn harvest. What is the good fruit of the world today and what is the bad fruit? This world has produced predominantly bad fruit, but individuals within that world are looking for something good; they don't want to accept the world's evil.
The owner of evil is Satan and the owner of goodness is God. The forces of Satan have to be shrunk, so they must go from the world level to the nation, then to the clan, family, individual and finally disappear. How about goodness? It must start from the original, tiny seed and go up; the process is exactly the opposite. Good must go up and evil must go down. God has been looking for the good fruit which can prevail in history-in other words, the individual who can gain victory over the evil history.
What kind of individual are you? Do you first think, "I am an American,,? Or do you say, "I am a white woman"? Or "I am a black man"? Do you define yourself in such a way? Your skin color, your nationality and so forth are all part of your satanic baggage-they don't matter. The important thing is the contents, what is inside the bags.
Every seed contains two pieces, covered by a thin skin. Nestled between those two pieces is the tiny embryo, the beginning point of new life. The world itself is divided into two pieces, like a seed. But no matter how big the pieces are, this world has no embryo. Who shall be in the position to bring that embryo to the world, to provide the source of new life? God is the first cause of life, the one who provides the embryo. No matter how big and powerful the world which was initiated by Satan may become, it doesn't have the source of true life; it has no embryo.
Today in the fallen world the two pieces are the communists and the democratic blocs. Searching both of these worlds, can we find an embryo there? The true embryo is a genuinely good one; it will ultimately transform the whole world. The two Darts of the seed provide the nourishment for the embryo, enabling it to grow. By the same token, the world will provide the nourishment for the embryo and enable it to spread through the entire world.
For a seed to grow, it must be planted in soil and given a certain amount of moisture and heat; it needs a favorable environment. The environment must provide warmth. The embryo cannot germinate unless the heat of its surroundings is greater than its own temperature. The heat we are talking about is love. Human life germinates in love; without its warmth there can be no growth.
We could say that one side of the seed represents the father and the other represents the mother; between the two, the new individual is formed. Can we just rip out one of the sides and replace it with another part at whim? But that is what is happening in American homes today; the father and mother do not remain intact.
What about the democratic world and the communist world-are they achieving harmony and unity and giving nourishment to the embryo on the world level? Centering on humanity, are they one? No, absolutely not. For that reason, we cannot put any hope in that world.
Therefore, we have to eject ourselves from that world and land within a new world. That new world has to begin from a new germination, which springs from a new embryo. We must become that new embryo. That is what our job is-to eject from the old world and its shackles and become a new embryo.
The embryo is in the plus position, while the rest of the seed is in the minus position. The minus part must sacrifice itself for the growth of the embryo and nourish it. Adam and Eve, for example, were created as the embryo of the world and the universe itself provided their nourishment. The embryo doesn't grow only to the size of the seed; it is meant to burst out and become much greater and larger than the seed. Self-perfection of the whole seed comes when the embryo grows; even though part of the seed must sacrifice itself for the embryo, it will become something far greater than the seed itself. Thus every component of the seed feels its own fulfillment when that happens.
We are living in the time of harvest, and we have gone beyond the level of the nations. The entire world has opposed the Unification Church, including the United States, Korea, Japan, and Europe. Every power has tried to stop us. Satan does not want to see us move to the world level, so he has tried to hold us down to the national level. That is because the highest authority of Satan is the nation, or national power.
Once the world becomes united, the significance of the nation will be diminished. God's original plan was for men and women to possess the world, not just the nation. Each individual's ownership goes from one level to an other higher one-from individual all the way to the world-in his struggle for goodness. Suppose there had been no religion throughout history. Without religion, there is no power by which people can break their shackles on the levels of clan, society, and nation. Without the religious concept, which is based on love, there is no way the barriers between White and Black can be broken down. East and West cannot come together; neither can North and South-nor can those differences between wealth and social standard find common ground. These barriers can only be broken down through religious principles and the power of love.
Satan does not like any attempt to bring the world together; he truly hates to see such a thing. That is because a united world is God's original ideal. It is the satanic desire to have many sovereignties, many divided nations-Satan loves that because he loves division. The divided situation is always on Satan's side.
Our goal is to see ultimate unity, but today we see two worlds-one of democracy and one of communism. They will never become one on their own. Satan would never allow that because he knows it would mean his end. Thus we have to be powerful and apply pressure and energy in order to unify these two worlds.
Reverend Moon is Satan's worst enemy because I am the one who can break through all his barriers. Satan has become defensive toward me. He says, "Reverend Moon, you can be nice and comfortable. Why should you always try to struggle between mind and body? That's baloney. Enjoy the world. I will give you power." What do you think-should Reverend Moon have division within his own mind and fight within himself?
A struggle within an individual signifies the worldwide struggle because once the battle is won on the individual level, it will ultimately be won on the worldwide level. Once unity is achieved, it will penetrate like a bullet, going through all the walls, all the way to the worldwide level, and Satan knows it.
Anyone who tries to follow Reverend Moon will meet all the forces that Satan can mobilize to stop him. Some of Satan's best allies in that effort are the parents who say, "Hey, you are my child! Don't go near that Reverend Moon." This is the front line of struggle. The battle begins with the individual. When Reverend Moon won the individual victory, he moved right on to the family level. If Reverend Moon's mind and body are divided, that would reflect in the division of the family as well. In order to engender the battle on the worldwide level, Reverend Moon came to America because this is the center of the world.
How far has Reverend Moon come, really? Today I have the reputation of being the one man in the world who has the solution to communism. As we have said, the two opposing camps in the world are the democratic world, the basically theistic camp which accepts the existence of God, and the communist world, the atheistic camp. In the theistic world, however, there is a prevailing trend toward secularism and humanism, which is basically atheistic. So the two worlds together have put up a barricade to Reverend Moon's forces, saying, "You cannot go any further." Reverend Moon has penetrated, however, making a spiritual beachhead.
Reverend Moon has not only brought a solution to communism; he has also solved the problems of secular democratic society. Within Reverend Moon there is something you cannot find in the communist or the democratic world-there is an embryo, a new beginning. Neither America nor the communist world knows what Reverend Moon knows. There is something completely new, and special; something brand new and priceless.
We are about to break through with that brand new force, that embryo. It's almost like a rocket launching. You've got to have great power for the initial thrust. That initial thrust of the rocket engine will blow the two worlds away! The rocket will take off and the two worlds will be left behind. The Unification Church has the solution to the divisions between East and West and North and South. Can the United States solve these divisions? What about communism? Can it digest this theistic, democratic world? No, it cannot. But then, once they accept Reverend Moon, they will find the power, the solution, the embryo that can truly liberate the agony of communism and the free world.
North and South, East and West-it's a gigantic world, but here in the center is the core, the nucleus of genuine pure love. That is what will grow into the family, and then into the clan, tribe, and nation. We have already encompassed the national level. We have grown into, and must go beyond, the national level.
Do you have a simple concept of the United States? Why not? We do not have a simple teaching but a providential one. When we even speak of America, we also mean there are other nations. Thus since there is more than one nation, they are under the satanic domain. God never wanted to see more than one nation. Two nations always come under Satan because it means division occurred. When the division occurred between North and South, that was a manifestation of the satanic nature. East and West divided and that was the same.
Any movement that does not bring East and West and North and South into one is satanic because that division must be conquered. There are people who claim the supremacy of their group over other peoples. For instance, some claim the supremacy of the Anglo Saxons; others claim Jewish supremacy. But they are automatically put tiny themselves in the satanic camp because they are promoting division. The Unification Church is one, promoting one nation under God. That is the overriding principle and teaching of the Unification Church. Only one nation-is that clear?
Do you Americans think, "Reverend Moon comes from the Oriental culture? If so, you are allying yourself with the satanic camp because you are thinking in divided terms. I am not Oriental, not at all. How can I prove it? Because Korea, an Oriental nation, gave me the most persecution of all. After forty years of struggle, the Korean people are finally coming to the realization that Revere end Moon is a most important man for them. They have asked me to stay there. But today in America, people are still looking askance at me. So far, only the American Moonies have given a true welcome to Reverend Moon. The rest of the nation hasn't. But will that embryo grow, or stay the same?
Are you growing? What about you blessed couples? Now that you have your spouse and children and so many more responsibilities, have you forgotten about everything else? If so, you are bringing yourself down to the satanic side. That is because you are saying, "The church is one thing and I am different." Thus there are already two entities and such division is satanic. No matter how difficult it may be, you should say, "I will go this way, crossing into Canaan, even if I must carry my family and tribe on my back. The church and I are united into one." God gave Moses that one mandate: one nation under one God. But the Israeli people thought differently and therefore Satan invaded.
We must give everything we have for the sake of others. How can we prove that within our way of life? Well, our marriages prove that. We recognize no boundaries between nations, cultures or languages. "Fallen" means fallen love, which is Satan's love. On the other hand is God's side and God's love.
The love of God brings total give and take and exchange between people. Those who have international marriages have sometimes complained, "Oh, Father, we have found this so very difficult!" But I wanted them to be difficult! If they were easy, what would be accomplished? Nothing. What would be your credit? Nothing. With the international family, you can kick the international Satan-with one kick. I want to give you that kind of weapon, so you will have that capacity. In a way, those international marriages have been a greater burden and more responsibility, but also greater credit and prestige. With no common language, different cultures, food and customs, how can you expect such a marriage to be easy?
As I have said, there is only one subject and that is true love. Any other element can be absorbed under that love, no matter how difficult or huge it might be. Unless you are united, you remain as two separate entities and you are inviting satanic separation. If you take your Blessing lightly, it means it is a fake-the fake International Wedding. If you come to the Unification Church and try to exploit God, taking advantage of Him for your selfish benefit, it is just no good! Is that clear?
America will change its attitude toward Reverend Moon and will come to welcome me. Most recently, the special documentary film called "Nicaragua Was Our Home" was shown across the country on the public television stations. The program says, "This program was sponsored by Reverend Moon and CAUSA International. CAUSA is bringing a critique and counter-proposal to the ideology of Marxism-Leninism.," This is the most authentic proclamation of what Reverend Moon is doing for the sake of this country and particularly for the sake of Nicaragua. Therefore, who is taking the truly subjective role in solving the problem of Nicaragua? Is it the United States government, or Reverend Moon?
What do the American people say about this activity by Reverend Moon? Do they welcome it? What about the U.S. Congress-are they ashamed or not? The American people will say, "We cannot let Reverend Moon take responsibility for Nicaragua like that. We cannot be shamed in such a way." The U.S. Congress is opposing the Nicaraguan aid bill, while the President is trying to get it passed. That means the President and Reverend Moon are both working for the same goal-to get the Congress to capitulate to this bill.
I know that when I announce certain things in conferences the American members say, "That's just Father's Oriental thinking. We Americans will get together and digest Father's words in our own way." You have your own separate meetings, but that is satanic because it means you are separated from me. There is one big difference between the Japanese and American people. When I give a mandate to the Japanese, they don't think about it. They just plunge in, like diving into the water. Then they come back and say, "Father, it worked." Sometimes they say, "Father, it didn't work," but they always jump into the water first. When the mandate is given to the American people, they say, "Hmm. ... well, let me consider it." Some Americans think, "The Japanese way is savage and uncultivated. We are more cultured and sophisticated and we don't do things like that." Which one is satanic in that case-the American side or the Japanese side?
When I first came to America and New York and walked down Fifth Avenue, do you think I was overwhelmed and awed by the American culture? No, I was thinking, "I am ready to launch the struggle." Looking at Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building and so forth, I was standing there and thinking, "All by myself, I am fighting against this power." That was eventually manifested in the court battle. Who actually won that battle in the sight of God? American people have come to realize, "Reverend Moon is needed here." That was the victory. New, fresh air is blowing over this country and people are thinking, "We made a mistake. We need Reverend Moon here."
Suppose there is a couple in which the husband is following my directions absolutely, and the wife is following him. Or vice versa: the wife is following me and the husband follows her. Whoever follows me in that situation is the subject. Anything else is satanic. So ask yourself which side you are standing on, God's side or the satanic side. You can evaluate yourself. Unless I had this clear, absolute concept, with not one iota of haziness, I would not have survived this far. There have always been temptations coming toward me-temptations of money, love, knowledge, prestige-all kinds.
Because of this attitude, I could even visit the house of a prostitute and, instead of that place prevailing over me, I could help to clean it up. That is the way I work. Wherever I go, I try to think how I can cleanse the surroundings, leaving more goodness there than I found.
Even if I became drunk on alcohol, I would only do it if that could be victorious in some way for the sake of God. Suppose I collapsed at some point; I would not want to fall backward but instead my dead body would fall forward, in order to advance. That principle applies to my children as well. Do you understand?
In a sense, you are entering the home of Adam and Eve in this restoration process, but you are in Cain and Abel's position. It is there that you come under True Parents. The Cain people say, "Oh, I don't need True Parents. I can manage on my own." That attitude of separation is satanic. It is even more hellish if Cain says, "I don't need my brother.,, We must become one horizontally and then vertically. Abel is the subject and Cain is the object. East and West, North and South-all become one within this horizontal concept of unity. Then the vertical unity is established with the Parents, centered upon the love of God. When this horizontal unity is consummated, vertical unity is possible and can be consummated. Then you become a true Adam-and Eve; you consummate the ideal of Adam and Eve within yourself.
You can inherit from the True Parents the virtue of the true Adam and Eve and you become one. Thus you become like the second generation of True Parents. Who shall prevail over the world? You? Who did it for you? Only the True Parents have the power to prevail over the world, simply because they alone are in the position of original, restored Adam and Eve. The false parenthood brought the evil society and the fallen world; goodness can never come through that. Only when the world finds the True Parents can there be victory over the satanic forces. Is this concept very clear to you?
Are you primarily a U.S. citizen or a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? That Heavenly citizenship is your pride. No amount of money can buy it for you. Heavenly Kingdom citizens must go first through the gate of the Blessing. That is why the Blessing is so precious- it gives you that qualification. Without your spouse, you cannot become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven because pairs together must be given citizenship. This is absolutely, logically correct.
What is our title today? "The Highest Ownership.,, What is the highest ownership? We own the entire cosmos because it belongs to our Father. What belongs to the Father belongs to the children. Thus we own the True Parents; ultimately, we possess God centered upon true love. Your own individual problems can never be solved without true love. The same is true for your family problems, as well as the problems of the nation and the world.
The highest ownership can be put into three categories. First of all, you own the God-created cosmos, which is spirit world and physical world together. Then you possess the original Adam and Eve's position, which is the True Parents, position. Then ultimately, you own God Himself. The dwelling of God is with you. That is the highest ownership.
True love never changes; that original heart of the love of God remains for eternity. The True Parents inherited that true love of God. The heart of the True Parents, no matter what happens in the world, will not change, not even one iota. For the past forty years, I have encountered one incredible situation after another, but I have always overcome them, one by one, and prevailed over them all. I went to communist labor camp, where death was everywhere, but that never stopped me from pursuing my goal. My mind was not changed even one little bit.
When you are sitting thinking, "I am so tired today. I just don't feel like doing anything," that is Satan whispering in your ear. That is when you must jump up and say, "What am I saying? God is with me; True Parents are with me." God is waiting for you, one step ahead of you. Therefore, when you reach out to take just one step forward, you meet God. Immediately, energy will come; bubbling enthusiasm will return. That most crucial moment is when you have the choice to turn around or go forward. If you think, "I want to lie down," and you just do that, you are not moving forward to the place of God, but backward to the place of Satan.
Your marriage does not belong just to you or exist for your own self-indulgence. You must marry because you want to advance the one, united world. You have your spouse because together you can get there first; you have children because you want that one world to flourish. That is the reason. Marriage is ultimately for the sake of God. We evangelize the world in order to accomplish that one world quicker. There are four billion people on the earth. How many people die every year without meeting the True Parents, without knowing God?
When you engage in business, you need some capital. In this great and glorious undertaking of the providential will, you also have to have some capital. What is your capital? What do you have that you can invest? One life-that is what you have. Since the love of God is at the center of your life, that capital can be accepted. As long as that love is there, you will be unchanging; that means you can join the club, in a way. It is an absolute necessity.
This pioneering task is not just for here on earth. If you don't do it here, you shall continue in the spirit world. But there the road is completely arduous because there is no place where you can be taught like this-no Belvedere. Once I am elevated to spirit world, I won't have to do anything further here on earth. True Parent's ideal is to see God's ideal realized. Once the True Parents, ideal becomes true and returns to the bosom of God, then God's work is done. For that reason, the satanic population growth does not bring joy to God.
Do you think the blessed couples should be using birth control or abortion? How many children can you multiply without birth control? Until they fill the earth. That is the way God wants the earth to be filled. The fallen population is meant to decrease while the Heavenly population should grow. That is what God wants and what I want to see. Mother is an excellent example of this. You know how many children she has given birth to.
You know now where we are going and where we are. No matter how difficult it may be, you must single-mindedly set out for the providential goal, striving toward the highest ownership of cosmic True Parents and God Himself. No matter how much suffering you endure, how much poverty you may go through, I know one thing: you will end up in the highest place in the Kingdom of Heaven. That is because you have the highest ownership. You will be the richest people in Heaven. Actually you don't have to suffer that much, because God did not design that all of you would have to go through the way that I went. I was able to prevail over the world and I set the pattern for you. Now you know where to go, how to go and what the goal is, right? One united concept, one victory, one world.
When you walk down the street, think, "I am walking toward that providential goal." Sometimes you may go into a bar, but you absolutely must not go there in order to assist the satanic world; you must do that only if in some way you are able to increase the Kingdom of God, such as by fund raising.
One concept, one mind-no matter what you do or where you go, there should be no deviation in your mind. You must be one person, with one mind dwelling with true love. When you have one mind, it needs to dwell only on true love.
The world is quickly changing in favor of God. Very soon the climate of society will become more favorable toward the Unification Church and Reverend Moon. In Korea, even the congressmen come to my talks about Unificationism; likewise in Japan. Among the primary providential nations, Korea has about 270 members of its legislative body; Japan has 511; the United States has 535. Suppose all the lawmakers of those three countries moved toward the Heavenly side. In any nation, the existence of two or more parties has been used by Satan as a means of keeping the country divided, but imagine if those two parties worked to unite the country. At the fall of man, two "parties" came into existence, and we can see that sort of system existing now within our society. That could not change until the True Parents came. Nobody else could change it.
What we need is both vertical and horizontal harmony. In the United States, the leader of the Democrats and the leader of the Republicans engage in all sorts of fighting; they practically curse each other. That is not harmony. It is more like the dialectic. When there is constant confrontation, there is no way the one world can be realized. Only when there is vertical and horizontal harmony between all parties can one world come to be.
How can this be applied to your life? Firstly there must be unity between husband and wife-that is horizontal unity. Then you must be vertically united with the True Parents. Should there be division and fighting between the vertical and horizontal planes? No, there should be one love uniting the husband and wife and uniting the True Parents and the children. Do you follow?
Anything that tries to contradict this way of true love will be pushed out by the environment and the spirit world. In other words, in time they will be regarded as foreign elements by the environment. In secular America today, there is division between parents and children; they are in contradiction. Also, men and women- husbands and wives-are in contradiction, struggle, and confrontation. God cannot dwell in such a situation. The family system is breaking down. It is a very unhappy situation-the family feeling is ice cold. There is a cold, chilly feeling between the parents and children, husband and wife.
In the Unification Church we are trying to come to the center, both vertically and horizontally. In one point, unity is formed. That is because true love is at the center. Everybody comes and unites in that center. You can go out from that center but you don't feel alienated; you can always come back and recoup, like returning to the "filling station" of love again and again. True love alone can make this possible. It's not only the little child who is lovable and cute. In this concept, the elderly grandmother is also beautiful. A grandpa may have very rugged skin with a long beard, but the little child will go up to him and kiss and hug him. That is a beautiful sight. Can we see such a thing frequently in the average American home? Not very often.
Does anybody like a contradictory system? Raise your hands if you do. Within the Unification Church, we have learned how to come together. We have many meetings and gatherings. In that way our intensity grows. When you feel lonely, then meet together. When you feel a lack of energy, meet. The more meetings in the fallen realm, the more destruction occurs, whereas on the heavenly side the more energy and harmony is created.
I was told that you were very lonely when I was in Korea for the past six months. You wanted to go to Belvedere, but because the True Parents weren't there, you weren't so inspired. Why is that? Reverend Moon is an Oriental man so why should you miss me so much? You can't explain it precisely in words, but your mind is pulled toward me. Even ex-Moonies say to me, "Reverend Moon, I love you very much, but it's those guys around you that I hate." But that is an evil viewpoint; it is having two minds. You cannot survive like that. That is why they became ex-Moonies; they had two minds, so they dropped out. Basically, however, they still feel pulled by the magnet of the True Parents.
The ultimate ambition for the human heart is that of true love. Therefore, women definitely need men; men definitely need women. All human beings together are born for the sake of reaching out and acquiring the love of God. That is the very reason for our existence.
No matter how great a religion you might proclaim, unless you reach out to gain the true love of God, you can never acquire true happiness. It doesn't matter if you are a renowned philosopher or a religious thinker, unless you reach that particular destination, you cannot be happy. A loving husband and wife gain possession of the entire world. We shall transform the world so that it welcomes and embraces that concept. That is the mission of the Unification Church.
If you can say, "The mandate given this morning is going to be my life's goal," raise your hands and pledge. God bless you. Let us pray.