The Path to World Peace in View of God's Will

Founder's Address ,,Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon, Assembly 2001 , The Search for Solutions to Critical Global Problems , Global Violence: Crisis and Hope  October 20, 2001,  New York, NY Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations Honorable Chairman, world leaders representing various fields, Ambassadors for Peace, leaders from the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, leaders of Non-Governmental Organizations, ladies and gentlemen. Today, at this transitional point in human history, leaders from the world over who are concerned about the future of humanity have gathered here in mutual consideration of how to resolve the crisis facing the Earth. The tragedies that took place in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania on September 11 truly shocked the entire world. Along with the concern over peace and safety, we came to reflect upon fundamental and serious questions of modern civilization and future of humankind. Resolving the Root of Conflict Throughout history, human beings have continuously aspired for world peace. However, that dream has never been realized. We can look back at the end of the Cold War, at which time fierce political and military conflicts and struggles concluded. Many people expected that the long-awaited era of peace and stability would arrive based on the foundation of highly developed science. Nonetheless, we came to realize that conflict, hatred and selfish desire are imbedded deeply within each of us and are still active. These are creating ever more serious disasters in new shapes and forms. Violence wreaked upon innocents is certainly an inhumane criminal act, and it must be stopped. However, what can eradicate those inner conflicts and struggles, and resolve the fundamental human problems at their root? Where was the seed of hatred, conflict, and struggle sown, and how did it come to be rooted deeply within us? The seed was planted in the family of the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve. The conflicts and struggles that resulted have continued from generation to generation until the present time. Then, where is the path to resolve those conflicts and realize peace on Earth? Historically, human beings have been attempting to overcome conflict and pursue peace through economic, political, diplomatic and military means. However, such methods obviously do not provide fundamental solutions, as we are still struggling with many unresolved problems. There is but one fundamental way and it is simple. It is to restore the family that the first human ancestors lost; that is, the ideal family of God. That is the family with God at its center, the family that has achieved perfection in true love both vertically and horizontally. God exists as the Original Being of true love and the invisible True Parent of humankind. However, love cannot exist alone. It exists in relationships and it can bear fruit only through relationships. That is why we were created as God's children, through whom He sought to realize His true love. The Three Blessings of God The First Blessing of God to human beings, "be fruitful" (Genesis 1:28), called God's children to become the object partners of His true love by becoming true persons. When we love someone, we want our object partner to be better than ourselves. Thus, in love, God, as the Father, wants His children to be better than Him. That is why God repeatedly invests Himself in human beings, the object partners of His love, and nevertheless constantly forgets about what He has already given and desires infinitely to give love more and more. This is so because love has its origin in the desire to live for the sake of others for eternity. God then bestowed the Second Blessing, "multiply," (Genesis 1:28). The first human ancestors were to have grown to maturity as the children of God. After having reached perfection, as one with God in heart, they were to have become True Husband and Wife. Then, they were to have become substantial True Parents to their children, inheriting and passing on true love, true life and true lineage from God. As such, God's ideal of creation was to perfect true love both vertically and horizontally, beginning in the first family of our common ancestors. Since God's love is absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal, that family also was to have become the absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal family, centered on true love. Human beings would have become substantial embodiments of love, totally united with God in heart. They would have enjoyed perfect freedom, happiness and the realization of all ideals. Then they would have become the Lords of true love whom all beings in the universe would have loved and welcomed. This was God's Third Blessing (Genesis 1:28). This is the Blessing to create a living environment in which we can experience joy and happiness, having dominion over the creation. This includes the care for and preservation of the world's ecological balance as true masters of the creation. Not Power or Knowledge, but True Love Tragically, our human ancestors could not inherit the Three Blessings of God and establish the family of true love. That means they failed to become true persons, true spouses, true parents, and true Lords centered on true love. Instead, they disobeyed God, and He expelled them from the Garden of Eden. As the fallen human ancestors, they became false spouses to each other, with false love that has nothing to do with God's Blessings. They gave birth to children and those children multiplied to populate the world of today. Since the fall at the beginning of human history, human beings have not been born on the foundation of true love, in the attendance of God. Instead, we have lived in conflict and struggle between our own mind and body. This conflict manifested as a tragedy of hatred and murder between two brothers, Cain and Abel, in the first family. That was the miserable reality of a family that left God. A family built upon the basis of human relationships alone cannot become a family of the original ideal of creation. An ideal family must connect to God vertically and have a true person as its pivot. Under the true love of true parents, among siblings who own and share a common vertical pivot, the family finally can establish the relationships of ultimate harmony and peace. We can experience true love within an ideal family that bears good fruit. The family is the original and best school of love. Power or knowledge can never create true love. The Loss of God's Blessings Honorable world leaders! What do you feel when you look at the reality of human society and at the youth of the contemporary world? Do you feel hope for a bright future? I believe that you experience agony over the increasing rates of crime, violence, drug abuse, immorality, corruption, teen pregnancy and so forth. These arise out of a confusion of values and foretell darkness enveloping our youth. How did we arrive at this point? Better school systems and social improvements would have delayed the onset of these problems, but these endeavors do not address the fundamental cause of these problems, which is the breakdown and loss of families. This breakdown is a product of the time we are in, a time when humankind is harvesting the fruit sown by the loss of the first family of true love. The destruction of the foremost school of true love leads to the phenomena of family breakdown, with enormously destructive side effects. This breakdown not only causes personal anxiety but also leads to manifold problems on the national and worldwide levels. Of particular concern is the emotional instability of youth, which leads to changing life goals, spiritual wandering, and even deviation from healthy lifestyles. World leaders who are concerned over the future must take very seriously the real problems of youth avoiding marriage, rampant divorce, and so forth, which destroy the fundamental foundation for families. Having lost the First and Second Blessings, humankind does not understand how important it is to perfect one's individuality. As a true individual we can experience sacred and eternal conjugal love. Most of today's youth are not educated in a thoroughgoing way about the importance of keeping purity before marriage and reaching individual maturity through true love. Thus they do not understand the value of true love, which is the fundamental root of joy, happiness and all ideals. The tendency to make light of trust and fidelity between husband and wife, and to ignore the sacredness of marriage, is an internal cause of indescribable disasters and tragedies for humankind. True love has no place in the so-called free sex culture, in which people seek only the physical love between a man and a woman as the cardinal but momentary pleasure. The rapid spread of HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) threatens the very existence of the human race. It is said that there is no safety zone against the AIDS virus. A greater terrorism than that over which the entire world is now trembling is before our eyes, allowing us no safety zone. Once contracted, its victims must give up their dreams for happiness, ideals, and life itself. Unless we resolve this catastrophe plaguing our planet, how can we claim that we are world leaders? Nor have we taken responsibility for the Third Blessing endowed by God, to "have dominion over the creation." This requires that we take care of all creatures with true love. What would happen if the natural world were to rebel against the abuse and misuse it suffers at the hands of human beings who lord over it? Are not those symptoms beginning to appear? Before the natural world punishes our intolerable arrogance, we should stand before nature in true love as people of restored integrity. Steps to World Peace Respected world leaders! Now is the time for humanity to voluntarily repudiate pride, ignorance, selfishness and hatred. Let us follow the laws of Heaven and humble ourselves before God. Ever since God called me at the tender age of 16, I have committed myself totally to the realization of world peace, which has been God's deepest wish. And at this time, I would like to set forth several crucial steps that are necessary for us to take in order to bring peace to the world. First, we must live for the sake of others. A self-centered life not only causes discomfort to others, but also violates the laws of Heaven. Living for the sake of others, on the other hand, is the way we can resemble God. Loving our family, our community, our nation and the world is the way to inherit God's true love. It is the way to live in accord with the fundamental order of the universe. Only through practicing true love can we become true individuals, true parents, true teachers and true Lords. Only then can we finally become the leaders who can bring about peace on Earth. A life of living for the sake of others is the first gate to peace. The path to peace ultimately must be based on "Godism" or "Head-Wing Ideology," the teaching that can reconcile and embrace all sides in a conflict, from the thought to the fruit, by dealing with the starting-point of conflict in the relationship between Cain and Abel. How can we break the chain of hatred and violence we perpetrate against one another? Returning hatred in response to hatred only leads to more hatred, terror and destruction. This is certainly not the path to peace. We can touch, embrace and educate conflicting parties only by true love. True love that places God in the center disregards national boundaries; therefore it is international. True love transcends the high walls dividing religions and races; therefore it is interreligious and inter-racial. True love centered on God's ideal of living for the sake of others can generate the power to touch a person's heart and spirit. By true love alone can the various reasons and causes of conflicts on Earth be overcome, whether the confrontation is between right and left, front and rear, above and below, or inner and outer. By true love alone can we establish a world of eternal peace. Marriage as an Instrument of Peace Second, the family is the fundamental unit for building peaceful nations and ultimately a peaceful world. As I already mentioned, the root of conflict originated in the first family. Therefore, until the family of the True Parents appears, it is impossible for us to enter the era of world peace. The international Blessings that I promote worldwide are not the wedding ceremony of a particular religion. They are a movement to save all nations and the world. We teach youth to keep their purity before marriage and, when they reach adulthood, to marry under the Blessing of God. However, as a condition to receive the marriage Blessing, they first must pledge to their spouse that they will maintain absolute trust and fidelity as husband and wife. Thus, the Blessing is a holy movement to build true families and lift up true parents who live centered on true love. Families built upon such an ideal and such an education have no need to feel threatened by the AIDS virus. For them, preventing AIDS is easier than preventing a cold or flu. If we educate the youth of the world in this vision and practice it, we will completely eliminate the AIDS epidemic. We will eliminate the scourge of family breakdown as well. Further, these families of true love will serve as the cornerstone for peaceful nations and a peaceful world. In particular, if individuals of enemy nations, who have lived in discord throughout history, come together in true love as in-laws, their reconciliation will bring nations and races together. It is a high wall to overcome. Nevertheless, here is the supreme formula for bringing true peace to the world: bring together children from enemy families and nations for the "Exchange Marriage Blessing." These interreligious and international families can build a realm of Blessing, perfecting true families of true love that both Heaven and Earth desire. From that point will begin the world of eternal peace that God and all humankind have desired. A Challenge to Religious Leaders Third, inter-religious reconciliation and cooperation is an essential condition for world peace. I have campaigned tirelessly for interreligious harmony and dialogue. I always have devoted a far greater proportion of my funds for that purpose than for the growth and development of the Unification Church. Do you think that practicing such sacrificial love with an unchanging heart is easy? By no means! But we cannot expect world peace unless religious people reconcile and cooperate. World peace is the original ideal of God. Therefore, religious leaders and believers should be the guides who lead people to peace. If religions only emphasize narrow-minded denominationalism and fail to teach true love for God and the universe, we will never free humankind from the horrors of war. In the face of this global crisis, religious leaders have to practice true love, humbly following God's Will, walking hand in hand beyond the boundaries of their own religion. The inner power of religion touches our hearts and can recreate us as people of peace. It can cultivate our ability to practice self-control from within. It can overcome historical hatreds and resentments among us. This is the root from which arises true peace and stability. If religions demonstrate love for each other, cooperate with each other, and serve each other, putting the higher ideal of peace ahead of particular doctrines, rituals and cultural backgrounds, the world will change dramatically. Beyond National Self-Interest Fourth, I once again emphasize the proper role of the United Nations in realizing world peace. As a representative organization for world peace, the United Nations has made many contributions. Last year, I presented my proposals to solve the fundamental problems plaguing the planet Earth, given that the world's circumstances have changed and the complex situations in which nations find themselves today are unlike those at the time of the United Nations' founding. One of these proposals was to establish a special body that would discuss and evaluate the religious, spiritual and moral dimensions of world problems. The United Nations must serve the world and God's ideal of creation effectively. To do so, it must transcend the power of politics and national diplomacy, which reflect the motives of nations seeking their own self-interest. Only then can it truly protect the human rights of all peoples and nations and build world peace. This is not limited to the United Nations. Maintaining order in the world and protecting public prosperity and peace will be difficult as long as political sovereignty operates on the principle of national self-interest and ignores or undermines moral and spiritual values. What is required is that high-level leaders ground themselves spiritually and morally upon God's ideal and govern according to universal principles. No political power or earthly authority should stand above God and the laws of Heaven. Moreover, the United Nations should to listen to and embrace many of the views of the Non-Governmental Organizations. This is the reason we established WANGO. I encourage all NGOs, while not losing your original founding spirit, to dialogue and cooperate with one another. I request that you continue serving the world, be unselfish and stay free of corruption. Our Historical Quest Respected world leaders! A person who only talks about world peace without practicing it is not a true leader. Given the current world situation, we cannot leisurely wait for the arrival of world peace while sitting down. Each of us, the Ambassadors for Peace and everyone else, must create world peace by all means. Let us all take active roles as leaders in the movement for peace. I wish and hope that, centered on the Peace Embassies, all international organizations including the United Nations will participate actively in the movement for world peace and ideal nation. It is our historical quest. International organizations: let us be united as one in mind and heart. Let us become pioneers for world peace, by first building ideal families of true love and living for the sake of others. May God bless you forever. Thank you very much.

The Life of Jesus as Seen from God's Will, and God's Warning to the Present Age, the Period of the Last Days

REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON 20th Anniversary of the Washington Times Banquet  Washington Hilton, Washington, DC May 21, 2002 Respected Guests from America and Abroad: Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of The Washington Times has a particularly gratifying meaning for me. The memory is still fresh in my mind how, in May 1982, I made the final decision to publish The Washington Times in response to Heaven's direction. This took place while I was being unjustly tried in a New York federal court, in a prosecution motivated by both racial and religious bigotry. At that time, Communism was sweeping the world like a giant, angry wave. Even America had no effective means to deal with it. I followed the supreme Will of Heaven, which told me that America, the final fortress of the democratic world and a Christian country representing the Second Israel, must be protected from Communism. It is also the Will of Heaven to build the ideal world of peace that God is seeking, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven, through Christianity. It was certainly not my intention to set up a newspaper company just to make money. Over the years, more than a billion dollars have been invested in The Washington Times alone, but I have never regretted this nor felt enmity toward anyone. That is because this was a way to practice true love toward Heaven and humankind. Already, more than thirty years have passed since I came to America. I have reached the age of 82, and I feel that the time is coming for me to return to my homeland. Before leaving, I would like to convey clearly to America, the nation in the realm of the Second Israel, and to all humankind a message concerning the actual situation of God and the spirit world. This is not just a message given from me as an individual. Heaven is giving its message and humankind must observe it in this age. Until now, humankind has been living in a state of ignorance about the Will of Heaven. First, humanity has not known about God and second, we have not known about the spirit world, where we all eventually must go, whether we like it or not. Now, we have entered the last days of human history. In the spirit world, numerous religious leaders, beginning with the founders of the four great religions, have accepted the Unification Principle, which is my teaching, as the truth of the highest dimension. They have completely mobilized and are returning to the Earth to resurrect by bringing their disciples and descendants to form new, true families through the blessing of marriage. Particularly for the sake of America, a Christian country representing the Second Israel, the four founders centering on Jesus have each chosen 120 of their historically famous disciples in order to establish a unified front. Now, through their return to Earth, they are furthering the work of the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in order to bring complete peace on Earth. They are proclaiming that humankind has no future unless we practice true love, or "a life lived for the sake of others," which is the True Parents' philosophy. Therefore, I would like to take the opportunity I have to give a commemorative address today and deliver a most valuable message to America and humanity on the topic, "The Life of Jesus as Seen from God's Will, and God's Warning to the Present Age, the Period of the Last Days." Jesus' Love on the Cross, and Its Legacy If we examine Jesus' Providence of the cross, we see that Jesus, the thief on the right, the thief on the left, and Barabbas sowed the seeds of history. The principle is that what is sown will be reaped. So the first to appear were the right wing world and the left wing world, that is, the democratic and the Communist realms, reflecting the "right thief type" and the "left thief type." Centering on Jesus' cross, Islam, the "Barabbas type," appeared next. Reflecting Barabbas, who received good fortune because of Jesus, Islam originated as a force resisting Christianity. Having been thus sown, history entered the age in which the form of the world was bound together in four major blocs. Gamal Abdel Nasser of the Arab bloc dreamed of uniting the Islamic realm into a unified Arab state. Christianity, meanwhile, is leading a new worldwide trend proclaiming, "Let's unite all religions." As we observe these currents, we see that history, which was sown in tragedy, is now appearing as the fruit of good centered on God for the first time. In the Last Days, such phenomena will become even more pronounced, as that which was sown in the beginning reaches fruition in its exact original form and is harvested. It was inevitable that this would come about because of the laws of the Providence. That is, unification is accomplished in accordance with True Parents' philosophy of true love. If the democratic world is internal, then the Communist world is external. If the right wing is internal, then the left wing is external. For this reason, the Messiah who is to come has no choice but to appear upon the internal foundation of the democratic world, which respects God. He must carry out a movement that absorbs the external environment and unifies the various cultural spheres centering on the mainstream Christian cultural sphere. Such a movement is carried out at the end of history. Such a thing cannot be looked at as circumstantial. The nature of the original cause leads to such a result. The Merit of the Thief on the Right When Jesus was crucified, he died along with the man on his right, who was not only a thief but also a murderer. If that thief had not been there, Jesus would have lost his relationship with the Earth and humankind. Even though he himself was near death, the thief on the right defended Jesus. In human history, who took Jesus' side? It was not Peter; it was not Jesus' father or mother; it was not the nation of Israel and it was not Judaism. It was only one person: the thief on the right. One individual alone maintained this relationship. While facing death, he transcended death and placed all his hopes on Jesus. That was none other than the thief on the right. You need to know that were it not for the thief on the right, Jesus would not have been able to resurrect and resume his providence on Earth. As Jesus was bringing to a conclusion four thousand years of history and the more than thirty years of his own life, there was only one person who connected with Jesus and attended Jesus as the one who embodied his most fervent hopes, even as he accompanied Jesus on the path of death. That was the thief on the right. The fact that the thief on the right has this position means that he surpassed the disciples. He was superior to Peter. This is so because although he did not know Jesus' teachings, his nature directed and empowered him to attend Jesus at the moment of death, until he breathed his last. Peter, John and the others of the twelve disciples, by contrast, knew Jesus' teachings and even pledged to become new persons, but ultimately were not able to achieve it. You have to know that, for this reason, the thief on the right became a central character in human history, a man who represented the Earth and salvaged the future. We need the right to inherit this history. We must inherit the tradition and foundation of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, and beyond, and represent the historical sacrificial offering. Only then can we confront Satan, shouting, "In the course of history, you lost to Noah; you lost to Jacob; and were you subjugated by Moses! I stand on the foundation of all their victories and have inherited the entire tradition of providential history. So be gone, Satan!" Only then will Satan retreat. If you simply pray, "Be gone, Satan," it will avail you nothing. Do you think that Satan, who has been accusing people for six thousand years and has trampled upon God's providence and devastated the providence of restoration, is going to retreat just because you say he should do so and you believe in Jesus? Certainly not. You need the ability to say, "I am without a doubt a person for whom God has sought through His historical heart. I am a person who has been grafted onto the sacred and holy body of Jesus." Your name must be recorded on the book of inheritance that Jesus received from God. God's book of inheritance records those who inherited God's heart experienced through the four thousand years until He could send Jesus to this Earth. Then, instead of defeating Satan on the cross, you must be able to subjugate Satan and be victorious over him without being hung on the cross. You must take on a body of flesh and be resurrected in substantial form. Only those who are thus recognized as substantial inheritors can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus' Death Gave Christianity Only a Spiritual Foundation Until now, Christianity has not been able to pursue the Kingdom of Heaven both on Earth and in the spirit. Christianity has had no choice but to yield the physical world, attending Jesus as the spiritual Messiah and setting spiritual salvation and a spiritual Kingdom as its goals. The people of Israel had a nation and possessed national authority as the chosen people, but worldwide Christianity today is in the position of the second Israel only as a spiritual nation; it has no national authority. Christians have no country. We stand in the realm of the second Israel with only a spiritual foundation, not a physical foundation. Because Christianity was not able to accomplish the original Will of God, who must bring about a Kingdom on Earth that is of both spirit and flesh, there is no other way except for the Lord to come again. I want to make one declaration to you here today. The crucifixion was not God's victory. Instead, it was Satan's victory. You will remember that Jesus said to those who arrested him in the Garden of Gethsemane, "... this is your hour - when darkness reigns." (Luke 22:53 NIV) You need to know that the cross was the place where the nation that God had prepared for four thousand years was lost, the place where the religious faith of Israel was lost, and the place where the followers of John the Baptist, the twelve disciples, the thief on the left, and everything else was lost. You need to know that Christianity was not there on the cross. When did Christianity begin? Jesus resurrected after three days and spent forty days meeting the disciples he had lost, who had turned against him. The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, and you need to know that it was only then that Christianity began. Christians for the past two thousand years have believed in Christianity without knowing that it came into existence not by the principle of the cross, but by the principle of the resurrection. If you realize this fact, then you must repent. Because Christianity began on the foundation of Jesus' resurrection, Christianity has been strictly spiritual. What would have happened if Jesus had not died on the cross? In that case, the nation of Israel would have followed Jesus' teachings, stabilized and endured. Judaism also would have remained as it was. Jesus knew that if he were to die on the cross, multitudes of people in future ages would have to follow him on the way of the cross, and that they would not be able to do so without shedding blood. Many Christians would have to suffer, and even when the Lord came again he would have to go the way of suffering. You need to know that this is the reason that Jesus had to pray as he did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Christians today say that Jesus prayed for deliverance because he had a physical body and feared the pain of death. But was Jesus such a trivial Messiah? Certainly not. What, then, did Jesus mean by saying, "It is finished," when he committed his spirit on the cross? Jesus had come with the mission to save both spirit and flesh, but he realized that he could not completely fulfill God's Will in a world in which there was no foundation. So, he offered himself completely in order to establish a condition for spiritual salvation and allow that providence to begin. Having completed that, in the end he said, "It is finished." You probably have never featured this even in your imagination. Christianity and Judaism should realize even now that the Lord, who tried to demolish Satan's nation and do away with Satan's kingship, and to accomplish God's will and restore humanity, died a tragic death. When they realize this, they should repent and become one. They should become one and prepare to receive the Lord on his return. Truth must conform to reason. The time has come for all Christians to throw off the age of blind faith and move ahead into a new age united as one, to sort out this world and bring it to salvation. You need to know that the time has come in which the term "unification" is essential. Jesus' Three-Day Suffering Course What does it mean that Jesus suffered pain during the three days following his death? Heaven, Earth and Hell all remained in the realm of death. For Jesus to gain authority over Heaven and Earth, he needed to encompass the depths and heights of this realm of death. For this reason, in order to pursue the connection of life and go the path that could comfort God, Jesus needed to prevail, even if it meant descending into the lowest environment such as Hell and suffering pain. Because Jesus passed through Hell, he prepared a path by which it was possible to make a new beginning toward Heaven. Though he was cast out and isolated on Earth, and finally forced to go the way of death, he was able to leave a path of hope for future generations. That is the reason Jesus had to go on his three-day course. Jesus did not go to Hell for three days just to look around. He already knew about Hell. He needed to go there, pass judgment and pave the way to go from the world of death to the world of life. In this way, he laid a foundation of victory on Earth, which is the world of death and Hell, and established a starting point from which it is possible to reach Heaven. Even on the Cross, Jesus Was Concerned for Heaven and Loved His Enemies In the eyes of the religious establishment, Jesus was a heretic, and in the eyes of the nation, he was a destroyer of the religious law. His own clan rejected him and chased him out of his home. The group surrounding John the Baptist rejected him. So he went into the wilderness, but there Satan pursued him. That was not all. Eventually, the entire country mobilized to force him to go the way of death on the cross, the path of Golgotha. Jesus, though, shed tears for the nation that was rejecting him as a traitor. The Jewish establishment treated Jesus as a heretic, but he shed more blood and tears for them than did any priest. Not a single person of that age would stand on his side, but Jesus was a friend of that age. He was rejected as a traitor, but he was the greatest patriot. He was rejected as a heretic, but he was the most faithful believer. Jesus walked a wretched path, the path of the cross, where people ripped his clothing, drove him on, and forced him to the ground. That was not all. Evil men whipped and beat him. In this situation, if Jesus had been like Elijah, he might have said to the people, "I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left." (1 Kings 18:22) But when Jesus left his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and went to pray, he said, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Luke 22:42) This was his greatness. He understood that his body was a sacrificial offering for the nation, a sacrificial offering for humanity and a sacrificial offering for Heaven's Providence. Because he understood this, Jesus, while not denying his own sorrow, was more concerned about how great a sorrow God must have felt. Jesus had appeared for the sake of the nation and he was concerned how great God's sorrow was to see him rejected as a traitor. Jesus was the prince of Heaven, the central personage of the entire universe, and the Messiah. If he chose, he could have fallen prey to self-pity and asked why he should go the miserable way of the cross. He could have set the entire universe in motion to breathe a deep sigh of despair with him. But he understood that his position was not to sigh in despair. Instead, he even went so far as to feel apologetic toward Heaven for having been rejected. Jesus bore the responsibility to rally the religious establishment, rally the nation, build the Kingdom of Heaven and return the world to the Father's bosom. Yet when he was forced to abandon that mission and walk the way of the cross, he did not feel enmity toward anyone. He did not pray, "Let this cup pass from me," out of a fear of death. Rather, he prayed this because he knew that his death would add to the grief of the nation and to God's grief. Jesus knew that if he died on the cross, there would be an even heavier cross remaining for the future generations of humanity. It would mean that the sorrowful history would not end. He knew that the path of Golgotha would not end with him. He knew that the path of death would not end. And he knew that if he went the way of Golgotha, those who followed him would also have to go the same way. Jesus knew that an even more difficult course lay beyond the cross. As he was made to wear a crown of thorns, and the nails were hammered into his hands and feet, and his side was stabbed with a spear, Jesus knew that these events would have impact far beyond his own death. When he turned to Heaven and said, "It is finished," he did not mean that the path of the cross for the world was finished. He meant that Heaven had received his heart's tearful plea of concern over the cross. We need to know that Jesus comforted Heaven by taking upon himself all the mistakes committed by the prophets and patriots and offering himself as a living sacrifice. And even beyond that, as he neared death Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) God had a mind to pass judgment immediately, judgment that was even greater than that of Noah's time. But Jesus died clinging to the nation, clinging to the religious establishment and clinging to the cross. For this reason, God could not abandon humanity but held on to us. Because this bond of heart existed between Jesus, the future generations of humanity and the remaining people of Israel, God has been unable to abandon the religious organizations and people of succeeding generations who have turned against Him. Instead, He has clung to them. Meaning of the Bread and Wine that Jesus Shared with Us I am sure you are well aware that God, who had been carrying out His Providence of restoration for four thousand years, could not complete His Will in Heaven and on Earth simply by the Providence of having Jesus resurrect. So He established a new testament in His word, and through it He has worked His providence to bring together His will in Heaven with that on Earth and establish the promised original Garden. If we look in the Bible, we see that Jesus said the wine and bread that he gave us were the promise and new covenant. After Jesus was on Earth, we received his flesh and blood, and these represented the life of the perfected whole that must be accomplished. At the same time, they represented the providence in its entirety. What does the fact that we received Jesus' blood and flesh symbolize? This is not just the flesh and blood of Jesus as one individual. In a larger sense, these signify Heaven and Earth and, in a smaller sense, they signify the core and the individual body. Also, the flesh symbolizes the truth and blood of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us all this without condition. What has been blocked between God and human beings? Heaven's Will should be manifested on Earth and everything on Earth ultimately should be connected to Heaven's Will. In this way, Heaven and Earth will move toward a single goal. This is what is blocked. Jesus established a new promise before he departed, so after his death the necessity of human beings, that is, the disciples who followed Jesus, connecting the spiritual and physical worlds remained as a condition. Had Jesus not died, Heaven and Earth would have been connected through him. Because he died, Jesus came to represent the conditions in Heaven and the Holy Spirit came to represent the conditions on Earth. Respected guests, the time now has come. Heaven's time, for which God has been waiting six thousand years and Christians have been waiting two thousand years, has come. It is the time to build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven on an inter-religious, international and inter-organizational footing. Heaven's fortune has finally arrived. Jesus, Peter, John and the other disciples, plus thousands and even tens of thousands of religious leaders in the spirit world are now of one mind and one body and they are descending freely to the physical world to attend True Parents. Without a doubt, the Unified Cosmic Nation of Heaven's Will and the Kingdom of Heaven in which Heaven and Earth can be as one in eternal peace will settle on the Earth. Now is the time for America, the Christian country representing the Second Israel, to stand in the forefront. I declare to the world that America has the responsibility to guide all the world's people. But it must not do so with weapons; it must do this in truth and love by living for the sake of others upon the foundation of true love, true life, and true lineage. Finally, I hope that The Washington Times, UPI, and other major media will accept this lofty command from Heaven and take up the task of educating humankind, taking a stance beyond religion and ideology. Please note that I have distributed to you a pamphlet containing messages from leaders in the spirit world. I ask that you read this carefully. Thank you for your kind attention. May God bless you and God bless America.

The Kingdom of Heaven: Who Will Enter It, and How Will They Get There?

REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON SPEAKS ON The Kingdom of Heaven: Who Will Enter It, and How Will They Get There? Closing Banquet Address The 7th World Culture and Sports Festival January 29, 2001 The New York Hilton, New York, New York Honorable former and present heads of state, distinguished religious leaders, and representatives of world leaders. I sincerely acknowledge the hard work you have invested to make this Seventh World Culture and Sports Festival shine ever more brightly. I am also grateful that you have shown appreciation for my work and vision, and that you have promised to give constant support for it in the coming days. In return, I would like to give you world leaders a precious gift in words this evening. I speak from the truth found through immense suffering on a journey begun in my youth. This journey has brought me to the boundless world of Heaven. Tonight I will speak about the principles of the spirit world that we enter after death, a world no one can ignore. I would also like to introduce some aspects of life in the Kingdom of Heaven, the realm everyone desperately wants to enter. As a result of the Fall, the first human ancestors could not wed each other with God’s blessing. They fell while they were still growing up, by disobeying God and committing adultery with Satan. Satan became an adulterer, and our problem lies in the fact that they inherited Satan’s blood lineage. According to the principles of creation, man is to enter the Kingdom of Heaven after he lives the life of the Kingdom of God on Earth. We live the Kingdom life on Earth through establishing the unity of mind and body, the unity of husband and wife and the unity of children. By inheriting God’s lineage, we were supposed to connect this directly to the spirit world. How? The very moment a true bridegroom makes love with his true bride for the first time is the moment that the perfection of husband and wife is achieved. The palace of love on Earth, that is the center of Heaven and Earth, begins in that first moment of making love. Through this love, the original palace of love is created for the first time. The life and blood lineage of humankind begin from that point of love. From the same point, a nation is born. The veritable Kingdom of God in Heaven and on Earth too begins with the opening of that door of first love. When a man and a woman become one through love and create children, they substantiate the invisible God in visible form. Love is the power that can combine and commingle blood. Then what is the axis for this mixing of blood? It is the place in which the love organs of husband and wife meet and make the first love. That is a power station, the very plant for the generation of the power of true love, the power of true life, the power of true lineage, the power for the Kingdom of God on Earth through the true family, and the power for the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Thus, the wedding of Adam and Eve, who were in the position of God’s substantial object partners, would have been God’s wedding. They would have brought God’s liberation and freedom, and God Himself would have sung and danced. Knowing this should fill us with awe and terror over the holiness of the first love. When the first love is corrupted, we destroy the palace of love, the palace of life, the palace of lineage and everything that was to have blossomed forth. This is the dreadful reality of the Fall. Through it we lost the Kingdom of God in Heaven and on Earth. Heaven and Earth turned into Hell. Throughout history, man’s love organ has symbolized the worst of slander and curses, because it destroyed Heaven and Earth. God’s ideal of love was to have settled perfectly beginning at the place of first love, through the marriage of the man’s love organ and the woman’s love organ. That point, centering on man-woman love, establishes the perfected object partner of God. That point is the nucleus of the universe. If the axis connecting God with the love organs of man and woman is broken, the entire universe shatters. Since the marriage of man and woman is the original spring of love, it becomes the original palace of love, the original palace of life and the original palace of lineage. Our longing for freedom and happiness springs from there. What’s more, all individuals, families, tribes and peoples originate there. The foundation for peace and the Kingdom of God in Heaven and on Earth take root in love. Through the union the love organs, man and woman are blended completely. This love relationship produces the fruit of good or of evil. We must comprehend the infinite value of our love organs. The way of Heaven teaches us that whether we are a man or a woman, we must never misuse them. Incited by Satan’s false love, Adam and Eve committed adultery and became a false couple. As false parents they formed a false family and transmitted sin to their children. The providence of salvation is a providence of restoration. We have to root out that very mistake of misusing love and restore true love. Through God’s true love, the restored Adam should take the true parents’ position and engraft humankind to himself. A man and woman perfected through true love shall establish a true family with God’s blessing. Man is to build an ideal family and perfect his spirit self while living on Earth. We then enter Heaven in the spirit world. Our original hometown is the Kingdom of God in Heaven, where our spirit lives in God’s love for eternity. The Fall closed our spiritual senses. This is why we do not know about our spirit self or about Heaven in the spirit world. Unlike animals, we possess a spirit self. We should know about the world of Heaven that we inevitably will enter. The family is the school, the training center in which we can perfect our heart. Family life guides us to master ourselves for the sake of sharing love with others. Thus, the family is the base upon which we can build the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven is where we are intoxicated in the service of God as our King and Master. We can enter there, but only as families. The ultimate ideal of all living beings is to become the object partner of God’s true love and live with God. To ascend to a higher place in Heaven, live as God lives, investing your life for the sake of others. The one who sacrifices himself for the sake of his family, his family for the sake of his tribe, his tribe for his nation, his nation for the world, the world for Heaven and Earth, and Heaven and Earth for the sake of God, is the closest one to God. He or she will stand as the object partner of God’s true love. God, the Creator of the universe, has been sacrificing Himself for the sake of the universe more than anyone. Thus, to encounter Him and live with Him, we need training through a true love life, a life lived for the sake of others. Although God is the King of knowledge, the King of power and the King of wealth, He does not ask us to bring Him those things. God is waiting for the one who lives for the sake others in the spirit of true love here on Earth! Distinguished world leaders! Many people rattle off words about God’s absoluteness, omnipotence and glory. Nonetheless, through my lifelong search for truth, I have found that to be way off the mark. God lost His loving children as a result of the first ancestors’ Fall. If your children are imprisoned, can you live in glory? God’s heart is in the deepest pain. What’s more, God had to give Satan the beautiful creation that He made for His children. From the moment He lost His object partner of love, the God of true love became the God of loneliness. God was never in the position to exercise His power as the Lord of the universe. God never had the chance to display His authority as the Creator of all things. Meanwhile, fallen people often boast of themselves for nothing. Even though He is the owner of all that has breath, God was never able to reveal His pride. Being the author of the principles that guide the universe, how can God move freely in the fallen world, the world of non-principle? Humankind, living with all degrees of distrust and disobedience, even ignore God and mock God as non-existent and dead. God has endured this long history in a heart of agony. Truly, His waiting has seemed endless. This tragedy transpired because Adam and Eve fell while they were growing up, and became false parents. Out of profound respect for their freedom and responsibility, God did not intervene directly to rectify their mistake. For that reason, we find in history that the Lord has appeared as the second Adam and the third Adam, in order to indemnify the mistake of the first Adam and perfect the ideal of true parentship. In this way, everything should be restored. Until then, God waits anxiously. This is the real story behind history: it was a providence of restoration to liberate God’s aching heart. I have done my absolute best to fulfill the mission of True Parents. I paid no attention whatsoever to my welfare or status. To build a church was not even my goal. I had but one goal: to walk all the way to liberate God’s heart from pain and help Him realize His wish. In other words, I have invested myself totally to set God free from agony, to establish Him as the Lord of the universe, and to set the foundation for humankind to serve Him as the King of the cosmos. Do you think that this task is easy? I had to make Satan surrender both in Heaven and on Earth. I had to tear down all the walls and even bring Hell to an end. We cannot liberate God’s heart through true love unless we prepare all people on Earth and in the spirit world to receive God’s blessing in freedom. Satan has to recognize this work officially, and it has to accord with the law of the universe. Satan has enjoyed his ruling power over nations in this world. Therefore, we are challenged to set conditions through victories that transcend nations and the world itself. Dear world leaders! This is a day to rejoice. I have set these conditions and on the 13th day of January this year, I held the coronation ceremony for the Kingship of God in Korea. That was the greatest day of celebration in all human history. We liberated God’s heart for the first time. He could start His new history based on the might and power of true love. This is the dawn of the new age, in which humankind in Heaven and on Earth can attend the liberated God in gratitude. From now we will easily witness the living God and often notice helping hands from the spirit world. I urge you to study about the spirit world with greater eagerness and to receive the God-centered blessing so that you can build a true family. I also encourage you to prepare for your eternal life through living unselfishly. The time has come that people who work hard will feel the hand of Heavenly fortune, with which the limited power of human beings cannot compare. Those who live the life of a filial child, a patriot, a saint and a divine son or daughter before the living God, with a humble and self-effacing attitude, are the most fortunate. At the advent of the era of God’s Kingship, I pray that you will promote God’s Kingship. May we work in partnership to build the world of heart and culture transcending nations. May God’s Blessing be with you always!