Children's Day

We all know that one of the important celebrations of our church is Children's Day. Today is actually the 16th anniversary of Children's Day. Those who are attending their first Children's Day, please raise your hands. Quite a few. If Adam and Eve, the ancestors of mankind, had not fallen, there would have been only one day of celebration, one day in which we would celebrate Children's Day, Parent's Day, God's Day and Day of All Things. That one day would be a most joyful day in heaven and earth, bursting with goodness, a day of celebration not only for people, but also for the things of creation, including insects, birds, and so forth. That would have been the beginning of joy, the beginning of happiness. That day would have seen the beginning of love. Because of the fall, however, everything is upside down.

The day of joy vanished for God, for Adam and Eve, the parents of mankind, for the children of God, and for all things of creation, and all now dwell in a world of despair and unhappiness. The world started out instead on the satanic side, with Satan as king of the universe, and from that time on the mission of God became the work of restoration. God has to restore all the lost things back into goodness and perfection. Restoration take several stages: First, the servant stage, then the adopted sons' stage, the true sons' stage, the stage as children of God, and finally the parents' stage. Since you are born into the satanic lineage, you must somehow change your lineage or you cannot be accepted as God's children. This is man's destiny. There is only one way you can change your lineage; you must first become adopted children on God's side. Then let us analyze the meaning of "adopted son."

An adopted son is indeed higher than a servant. In God's sight, His adopted son should be superior to His servant, and although Satan is the king of the fallen world, God's adopted son should be superior even to Satan. Who is Satan actually? He is the fallen archangel Lucifer; therefore he is in the servant position. Logically God's adopted son should be superior to the angelic world. Unless you become convinced and determined that we are going to conquer the entire satanic world, you are not qualified to be called the adopted son of God. An adopted son will determine that he will give himself totally to the service of God and mankind, yet even then he is not quite at the level of being God's child. Therefore the dispensation of God is first to create the realm of the adopted son.

What is the dignity or authority of an adopted son? By becoming a son of God through adoption he is eligible to inherit from God, but we must realize that God adopted children only because He does not have His own children. God's fervent desire is to have His own children eventually. Therefore an adopted child must feel that the things he inherits from God do not really belong to him, but should belong to God's own direct children. This awareness should be there with the feeling, "God, please have that day come quickly when you can see your own children, so that I can give all my blessings to them. They are the ones who deserve this blessing, not me." Unless you become adopted children first, you have no way to connect yourself to God's direct children. The realm of adopted children bridges the gap between the angelic world of the servant, and the world of the direct children of God. During the Old Testament era, mankind could come from the dungeon of hell back to the position of servant, before going into another stage.

For 4,000 years during the Old Testament era God worked through the prophets, teaching them His word and bringing them up to the servant level, living in the hope that soon the day of the Messiah could come. That was God's hope all during this period. God was preparing for one extraordinary person who could raise those at the servant level to become His adopted sons and eventually His direct children. The adopted son of God must not be married. God's own children have never yet seen their wedding, so how could adopted sons have that blessing first? There are many Christian sects and denominations that emphasize remaining single to serve Christ.

That tradition endures because they are still on the level of adopted children. John the Baptist was in the position of adopted son during the Old Testament era. John remained single and until the age of 30 went out to the wilderness to proclaim the truth. He alerted the people to be ready for the glorious day of the coming of the Messiah. The life of John the Baptist certainly fits the description of the role of adopted son. His mission was to nurture and prepare the people and bring them to the Messiah; after first uniting them together in oneness he was to bridge the gap between the Messiah and the people. He was to be like a guide to the true gate, the one through whom the people could know who the Messiah was. Even the rabbis and religious leaders of the Old Testament era were supposed to respect and love him, becoming one with him so that eventually they would go with him at the time of the Messiah. John the Baptist won a reputation as a man of God with integrity, a prophet.

When John would proclaim to the world, "Here is the Messiah! This is the man we've been waiting for throughout history," then all men were supposed to follow him without any reservations and accept that person as the Messiah. That was the plan. However, contrary to God's plan, there was a separation between John the Baptist and the Jewish people. The man in the position of adopted son was definitely to guide the nation of Israel to the Messiah. There should not have been scorn between Israel and the Messiah, with the people saying, "We are the real Judaism, and you have nothing to do with us." The coming of the Lord is taking place once again. The Pope's position is as the leader of established Christianity. Should he say, "I cannot listen to some strange person. Let's have our cardinals and bishops examine whether this person is really the Messiah. They can test him and find out." That will not work! The Messiah is not appointed by the Pope, cardinals or bishops. He is given accreditation only by God. Now you know clearly that John the Baptist came in the role of an adopted son. Next we must consider what the difference is between an adopted son and a true son. This is a very key question. Does an adopted son have two ears and two eyes and a true son have four ears and four eyes? What is the difference? Actually a true son and adopted son look the same. The only difference is that an adopted son is born of satanic lineage, while a true son comes from a heavenly lineage as God's direct heir.

The true son of God cannot be born through a satanic lineage. This difference is very important. If Satan can claim, "That child is conceived in my bloodline," then that person cannot be called a child of God. What are you then? In the Bible there is an analogy of the wild olive tree and the true olive tree. Even though you want to come to the side of God, you are still regarded as a wild olive tree, born of satanic lineage and coming from the wild world. Satan has a right to claim a wild olive tree, and the entire fallen world is like a wild olive tree. God needs a certain foundation in order to proceed with His work of dispensation. In order to have that foundation, God established religion and chose a people. Even God has no freedom to chop satanic olive trees off any way He wants.

He had to create His own realm. Even though there were only wild olive trees in the world, God chose some to claim as His own, and in that way God could do anything He wanted within that particular realm. God needs His small, chosen area to work in and cleanse through religion, and then to eventually expand to the worldwide level. That time when the entire world is ready is truly what religion calls the Last Days, the final day of fulfillment. The world was in such complete readiness twice in history. The first wag the time of Jesus Christ, when in the sight of God preparation for the coming of the Messiah was complete. The second time is the time of the Lord of the Second Advent. When the preparations are ready, God will send one true olive tree of heavenly origin, or heavenly lineage. That one person comes without any contamination from the satanic world and then the branches of the wild olive trees will be grafted into the true olive tree.

That is the total picture of God's concept of restoration and salvation. The wild olive trees are cultivated so that when the true olive tree comes God can chop them and graft the wild olive tree branches onto the root of the true olive tree. That's how fallen man can become a true son of God. We have now learned the basic principle of how we become true children of God, but how do we know Jesus Christ is truly the son of God? What is the proof? As far as the actual work of religion is concerned, Buddha did a far greater job, as he had many more disciples in his own lifetime. The same is true of Confucius. Mohammed also was a much more accomplished religious leader than Jesus. What is the criteria for us to say that Jesus is the son of God? We must know it clearly.

The explanation begins with the same principle: Jesus was the son of God because he came out of the heavenly lineage, whereas the other saints, like Buddha, Confucius, and Mohammed, did not come from that heavenly lineage. No matter how much they accomplished, they didn't have the same qualification as Jesus Christ. Let me give you some explanation. All ancestors of the fallen world go back to Adam and Eve. There is a law of restitution or law of indemnity in the universe: Unless we pay back the damage that was done, we cannot be restored into the original position. Adam and Eve fell because they united with Satan instead of uniting with God. Eve rejected God and her future legitimate husband, Adam. That is very critical and important to understand. For this reason restoration must begin with women. A woman caused the fall, so women must reverse the process of the fall. Since Eve rejected God and her legitimate husband, Eve should reject Satan and satanic relationships in restoration. All religions are based upon this principle and the ultimate purpose of religion is the restoration of women. It can be seen that in general women are more fervent in religious persuasion, while men close to them often take a satanic role. Such men are usually hard on devout women, and this has been men's role in religion. When women try to follow the religious life and the directions of God they always face difficulty coming from two sides: both Satan and man do not want them to go. Women of faith are destined to pass through that ordeal in order to restore the position of Eve.

The actual work of restoration started 2,000 years after Adam and Eve, at the time of Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob. When you read the story of Jacob in the Old Testament you can read about Jacob's mother, Rebecca. What she did was rather cunning and very extraordinary. God is in the father's position, with Adam in the son's position. Eve was connected to God and Adam. Rebecca came from satanic lineage and was in the position of fallen Eve, while Isaac was in the father's position, and Esau in the position of son. But Isaac and Esau were on the satanic side, so Rebecca could restore herself in the sight of God by rejecting those in the position of her satanic father and satanic son.

The Biblical account of these events is very short and does not give us a full explanation of what happened. Why was Esau on the satanic side? There were twin sons, Esau and Jacob, but Esau was the firstborn. Originally the first-born is always the son of God. But from the Principle we know that restitution means the second son should be restored to the firstborn position, and the first-born should be brought down to the position of second-born. If there had been no fall, this would not be necessary. However, Satan took the first-born, the first creation; thus God always claims the second-born and by raising him into the position of first-born God can restore the heavenly birthright. This is why there is a tradition throughout the Bible of God blessing the second-born. Even in Egypt, all the first-born sons were killed while the second-born were not. When Jacob blessed Joseph's two sons, his right arm by custom was supposed to be on the head of the first-born, but he crossed his arms so that his right arm was on the second-born instead. Joseph said, "Not so, my father. This one is firstborn; put your right hand upon his head," but Jacob said, "Nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he."

Satan claimed the first world, in which we live. When the Messiah comes he will bring the restored world, in the second-born position, belonging to God. In the Garden of Eden Eve was dishonest with God and her husband. In restoration, Eve must be in the position to disregard her satanic father and satanic son. That is why Rebecca could only be restored by deceiving both Isaac and Esau. As older son, Esau belonged on Satan's side. Jacob was on God's side as the second-born, which must be restored to the position of first-born. Through the Divine Principle we can now understand what Jacob was doing by trying to win the birthright of the first-born. Even before their birth Esau and Jacob began fighting inside Rebecca's womb; they didn't even wait until they were born. Rebecca prayed to God, "If it is thus, why do I live?" God said, "Two nations are in your womb... and the elder shall serve the younger." Fallen history is truly the struggle of Cain and Abel. In the Garden of Eden they were brothers, born at separate times. During their struggle Cain slew Abel, but 2,000 years later that Cain-Abel struggle began inside the mother's womb.

Rebecca acted in an extraordinary way, using cunning tactics and even deceiving her own husband in order to bring the second-born, Jacob, to the position of God's son. At the time of Cain and Abel, the showdown did not advance God's dispensation. At the time of Jacob, however, God won His first foothold and for the first time God had a little foundation here on earth. By helping Jacob, Rebecca successfully rejected her satanic father and satanic son and restored Eve's position. Jacob won by overcoming Esau and claiming the birthright, and thus the second-born took the first-born position. Upon that victory, the history of the chosen nation could begin. So far theologians have had difficulty understanding why God favored Jacob; Jacob's actions would be unacceptable to our moral standard, and in today's world Rebecca and Jacob would be considered swindlers! However, what they did was not for their own gain. They were put in a position to fulfill a role in restoration, and without their condition being fulfilled God's history could not have started. They were chosen to act a very difficult role. In the sight of God, Jacob was the first person to be triumphant and to set foot in the history of God. Before that time, there was not even a history for God.

After winning the birthright from his elder brother Esau, Jacob had to run away from danger. Jacob went to Haran and suffered for 21 years. Isaac, Rebecca, and Esau were still living as one family, on the satanic side of life. After successfully helping Jacob, Rebecca was in a position to restore Esau and Isaac to herself. Isaac and Esau were hostile because they had been deceived, and Rebecca acted as a shield for Jacob by winning their hearts. Esau was so mad that he wanted to kill Jacob and Rebecca tried to soften his heart and soften his father's heart. Do you think she communicated with Jacob in Haran? Definitely. Rebecca encouraged Jacob, "You go right ahead and don't worry. I'll take care of this side; you keep on going and do a good job." In Haran, Jacob worked very hard, but his uncle Laban was vicious and took advantage of him, deceiving him more than ten times. While enduring these difficulties Jacob had to create his family. Jacob worked very hard to get married; his uncle promised to give him one daughter in exchange for seven years' labor, but then Laban did not give him the girl he wanted. Because Laban was on the satanic side he did not want to immediately give up the daughter that Jacob wanted. He wanted to delay the heavenly schedule so he made Jacob work another seven years to marry his second daughter.

Jacob would have come under satanic dominion again if he had decided to just be content with the first marriage, which had been arranged by Laban, who represented Satan's side. Jacob had to go on until his goal was achieved. After seven years of hard labor Jacob earned Rachel, the daughter that he originally wanted as his bride. Twelve children were born to the two wives, and their descendants later became the twelve different tribes of Israel. For 21 years Jacob was a sojourner who suffered away from his home. Having been triumphant in Haran, he needed to return to his home to face a final showdown with Esau. Unless he could triumph in that situation no decisive victory could be won. On the way back to his homeland, Jacob had to cross the ford of Jabbok, and there he struggled all night with an angel. That struggle stemmed from the fact that Jacob's showdown involved two families.

When Jacob went to Haran he was single, but he returned to Canaan with his family. At the same time, Esau also had his family. What was the difference between the two families? God and Jacob's family were on one side as one force, while Satan and Esau's family were another force. As the time for confrontation approached, Satan was in a position to challenge Jacob first, spiritually. For this reason the angel was chosen to challenge Jacob at the ford of Jabbok. Satan could challenge Jacob from both directions: spiritually through the angelic world, and physically through Esau. Jacob had to wrestle very hard with the angel at the ford of Jabbok, all night long. Jacob thought, "You cannot stop me, because I have 21 years of hard work behind me, and now I'm going back to fulfill the final chapter of the dispensation that God has given me. I will win. Now nobody can stop me." All during his 21 years of suffering Jacob was with God. He felt the presence of God was with him, and in difficult times God guided and comforted him. There were many trials and tests given by Laban, but every time that victory came, Jacob knew that his power came from God.

He knew that he was protected by God -- that he was chosen by God. His wrestling with the angel was so vicious that the angel dislocated Jacob's hip, but even then Jacob had no intention of giving up. He hung on, struggling hard, and the angel knew he could not defeat him. At Jacob's demand he blessed Jacob. For the first time in history, a man fought against an angel and won victory. By winning over the angel, Jacob established two conditions. First, because the defeated angel represented the spirit world, Jacob could now have dominion over the spirit world. Secondly, because Satan is a fallen angel, Jacob now possessed a condition to win over the satanic world. When the angel gave up, be gave Jacob a blessing, and gave him a new name: Israel, which means "victorious one." Jacob truly established victory and was in a position to inherit the satanic world. This meant that whatever Jacob's course, the entire spirit world would assist him because of the condition he set. He really conquered spirit world by winning over the angel.

He also nullified satanic attack, because spirit world had already surrendered to him. Spiritually, the battle was won. Now Jacob could go with his family for the ultimate physical confrontation with Esau. What was Jacob's strategy? His mind concentrated on one thing: to fulfill the work of God. He did not even care about his possessions. Jacob had won much wealth in Haran, but he gave it all to Esau as a gift. After Jacob bought his birthright, Esau was very, very angry, always intending to kill Jacob. But over the years their mother had softened his heart, and when Jacob sent him the fruit of his 21 years hard work as a gift, Esau's heart was melted. Actually we can see Esau's character here.

He was a very pragmatic man not caring much about ideals or about God's dispensation. All he worried about was his stomach and his fortune, which is why he sold his birthright for a bowl of beans. When he received all those beautiful gifts he smiled from ear to ear. A wonderful thing happened, Esau welcomed Jacob, and embraced him. "I do not question the past; you are my brother. I accept you." That was a beautiful momentous event. What was the result? The family was united. Even though God's champion, Jacob, was a sinner, he was triumphant because the entire family was united under the dominion of God. For thousands of years Judaism and Christianity have not known the dispensational meaning behind this.

Through Jacob's victorious restoration the first family of Israel was established. However, we must notice that by that time Jacob and Esau were around the age of 40. Though Jacob had won victory, a gap of time remained between the time of their conception in their mother's womb until their age of 40, a gap, which Satan could still claim. By taking advantage of this gap Satan could still work in many ways to block God's dispensation. To proceed with His plan, God needed one more dispensation at this point, which was fulfilled through Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The coming of the Messiah was predicted to be through the tribe of Judah because through him God was able to close the gap of time between the mother's womb and Jacob's age. Judah's daughter-in-law was Tamar.

When Tamar's husband died, her desire was to leave a child to continue his lineage. According to tradition in Israel, if a husband died without leaving sons, his brother should play the role of husband so that the wife could conceive a child. However, the brother of Tamar's husband was reluctant to do that. He was punished, and died also. The second brother of her husband was very young, yet when he came of age Judah did not give him to her in marriage. Tamar knew Judah's family was God's chosen family, but there seemed no way to leave children behind. However, Tamar conceived an idea to deceive her father-in-law into taking her husband's role. Her act is recorded in the Bible. She disguised herself as a prostitute and set up a little cottage, and tempted Judah as he passed by one day. He was indeed tempted, and without knowing that the woman was his daughter-in-law there was an affair, and she conceived. Normally when you read a story like that in the Bible you might throw the Bible away: "What kind of book is this?" But that is an external view.

Look at the event from God's side. When we know the Principle of God we know why these things are inevitable. Tamar's role was just like Rebecca's, taking the position of Eve, and like Rebecca Tamar conceived twins. During Rebecca's time the Cain-Abel struggle began after birth, but at the time of Tamar the struggle began right inside the mother's womb. She conceived two worlds inside her womb; one was Satan's world, the other was God's world. Here restitution means bringing the younger son into the elder son's position. They were very historic because the two children represented Cain and Abel, Satan and God. Satan's side, the eldest son's position, was crushed by God's side, the position of second son, even before they were born. Go back and read this chapter in the Bible, and you will see the similarity of events concerning Rebecca and Tamar.

Two children fought inside their wombs. Each mother was upset, going to God in prayer, "God, what are You going to do with me? My children are fighting even before they are born! " God answered Tamar, just like He answered Rebecca, saying, "Two nations are inside your womb, and the younger must be greater than the elder." Certainly the showdown would come at the time of birth. How does the first-born become first-born? By coming out of the mother's womb first. Certainly the Esau-type baby, representative of Satan, wanted to come out of Tamar first. He struggled to come out first, and pushed his arm out. When the child's arm came out, the midwife tied a red thread around his wrist.

Zerah was this first-born and the red thread on his wrist predicts the rise of communism at the end of the world. However, at that moment, the second-born, Perez, pulled Zerah back inside the womb! After Zerah's arm was pulled inside the womb again, Perez came out first. This was the Cain-and-Abel struggle taking place right there in the mother's womb. The elder son was pushed aside by the second-born, who then came out to the world as first-born, and the victory of Jacob over Esau was completed inside the mother's womb. from that time on, the gap in time from the mother's womb to the age of Jacob was claimed by God. Through these events Judah's tribe came to hold a very special position in the sight of God. Because the Cain-Abel struggle over dominion was determined in the mother's womb, there was no way Satan had a condition to claim a baby inside the mother's womb through this tribe of Judah. This is why Jesus Christ could be conceived only in Judah's lineage. God always planned that Satan have no power to claim a baby inside the mother's womb, and the act of Tamar completely dissolved the claim of Satan from the mother's womb to maturity. It was truly a tremendous, joyful victory for God.

However, all these events were merely preparation. The true child of God's lineage was not yet conceived. After that event another 2,000 years of the history of Israel passed. Why did God have to wait for the Messiah for 2,000 more years? God needed the foundation of a nation because the Messiah's work can only be triumphant through one sovereign nation. Not just the family, but the nation of Israel had to be formed. From the victorious foundation of the family, the formation of a tribe and a nation took 2,000 years. Then the time was certainly ready for the advent of the Messiah. Thus the victory at the time of Jacob came through three levels: Jacob's level, Judah's level, and Tamar's level, and after 2,000 years on the national level, the substantial act of bringing in the son of God took place.

Jacob's victory represents the victory of the individual, family, and tribe, but not a nation. Once God was successful on the national level, and could actually bring His son into this world, then all the nations of the world could come into God's kingdom. That was the plan. Again, women had the major role in the dispensation. This time Mary was chosen as the champion, and her role paralleled the roles of Rebecca and Tamar: she was in a position to deceive the satanic father and the satanic son. Mary's husband, Joseph, was in the position of satanic father. Why was this so? When Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, Adam was in the position of fiancé; he rejected his God-given fiancée, and in a way married Satan. Joseph and Mary were in the position of Adam and Eve before the fall, in the relationship of engagement. In the Garden of Eden, Satan took the engaged Eve away from the side of God.

By the same token, this time God was taking Mary out of her engagement on the satanic side. Mary was taken for the purpose of God and conceived a child. Think of it, when she was carrying this baby it became known to her husband, even before they were married. How about Joseph's family?

His father and mother must have thought, "That's incredible! I just couldn't tolerate that situation in my home. How could she have a baby without even marrying my son!" I'm sure they thought that. However, no matter what Joseph thought about her, or what Joseph's father thought about his future daughter-in-law, the important thing is what Satan would do. Do you think Satan had a claim over that baby? Satan did not, because his claim had already been abolished at the time of Tamar. When the angel came to Mary and explained her mission, Mary was literally shocked. Almost instantly she wanted to refuse that role because she knew the consequences of it. But when the angel told the story of God, Mary accepted in faith; she was ready to become a sacrifice, whatever suffering she might face; "I shall be Your instrument. Don't worry about me, but do Your will ."

That was her faith. Just like Tamar, just like Rebecca, she committed herself for the sake of the will of God. Thus, one daughter was hand-picked by God and used as His instrument. Coming on the foundation that God had laid out 2,000 years before, Mary conceived God's child, a child who had no connection to Satan. Only in that way could God claim an unstained lineage. That is why Jesus was truly God's only begotten son. He was the first one in history who could perceive the entire love of God and who could inherit the entire love of God. He was born with that authority, and for the first time in history God had a foothold on earth. "Now I have my son, not an adopted son, but a true son. My only son is on the face of the earth." If the people of Israel had worked with him they could have become like him-true sons and daughters of God. The day of hope had arrived for God, the day of hope had arrived for mankind.

The will of God was for the child to be prosperous while on the earth; His child should multiply like the stars in heaven and sand in the ocean. However, for 2,000 years people have been thinking that Jesus came to die. That was absolutely contrary to the will of God. Jesus was the only son of God and he came to prosper, and erect the Kingdom of God here on earth. The death of His son really struck God, shattering His heart. God deeply grieved the death of His only son, yet people keep saying, "Your son came to die." Their conviction pierces the heart of God every day.

The moment of the crucifixion was the most heartbreaking, miserable moment for God because He did not send Jesus to die on the cross. When Jesus said, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" God refused to answer and was almost angry at Jesus, "I don't want you to die. I won't answer." I am the first one after all the history of Christianity to speak for the agony of God. America, a Christian nation, has terribly misunderstood the will of God, terribly misunderstood the purpose of Jesus' coming. For instance, was Joseph in a position to have husband-wife relations with Mary? Indeed not. Mary was just an instrument of God and not divine at all, but today, particularly in Roman Catholicism, Mary is revered as being almost divine.

Today you must become a champion of the truth you have heard. You know the meaning of the Old Testament, the meaning of the coming of the Messiah, what went wrong with the chosen people and the chosen nation. We must bear testimony to the truth. All mistakes were committed because of ignorance, but from this time on it cannot be tolerated and permitted, because God has revealed the truth to the world. After the crucifixion of Jesus the Christian foundation could only be a spiritual one, but initially God intended a physical foundation as well. Therefore, Christianity has only spiritual parents. Jesus is in the spiritual father's position, and the Holy Spirit is in the spiritual mother's position. We are given rebirth by following a spiritual father and spiritual mother, but we can only receive spiritual salvation.

Therefore, the Christian tradition has been denying the physical world that should have been the foundation of Christianity. What about the Unification Church? We are the new Christianity and we need to build the Kingdom of God in both the spirit world and the physical world, because that was God's original intention. The Unification Church is making new history. We are not just pursuing the age-old Christian doctrine of spiritual salvation. We are laying down the cornerstone of the physical Kingdom of God. At the outset of this message I said if Adam and Eve had not fallen there would have been only one day of celebration, marking the beginning of all joy. Because of the fall there was no day of joy for God; therefore, we have been restoring the joy of God step by step: Parent's Day, Children's Day, Day of All Things, and God's Day, the major celebrations around the year.

This new ideology is a revolution in the religious world. Beginning in Korea, I persevered under persecution and laid the foundation. Then I moved on to Japan, and now have come to America. In the sight of God and from my observation the victory is won. The time will come when the Christian hierarchy in the outside world must come to the Unification Church to study and research. Do you know why? Because God has revealed this truth; it is not a Unification Church truth. Everybody all over the world needs this truth. We are not just teaching about God, but about the God of history, God of the present, God of the future, the unchanging, eternal, almighty, loving God. Once young people know His heart they could never leave this church, even if we chased them away. Some people denounce me and oppose the Unification Church without even studying the Divine Principle. That is not even courteous, is it? It is really crazy, like trying to shoot someone in the dark.

Jesus Christ alone is the begotten son of God, not Buddha, not Confucius, not Mohammed. Therefore, it is legitimate that Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father but by me." Are we accepting this Messiah? Why don't you stay in your own church? They also believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah so why should you come to the Unification Church? That is another key question. But let's discuss that at the next celebration because that would take at least three more hours. Furthermore, I want you to have something to look forward to! But I want you to know one thing. Even though I die, this movement will not perish; this ideology will not deteriorate even one iota. This work is from the truth given by God, and the march of that truth will go on to eventually flourish and cover the entire world. There is another most important conclusion.

You are participating here not so you can become a servant of God or an adopted son of God, but because you are given the way to become a true son and daughter of God. I want you to know that you have a guarantee to reach perfection. There's nothing more you can expect than that. Christian history is the history of adopted sons, but that era is over. Unification Church history begins a new era in which we are not becoming adopted sons of God, but true sons and daughters of God. We are transforming our world by transforming mankind into true children of God, and transforming this world into a literal Kingdom of God here on earth.

The 200-year history of America is now ended, and as America is moving into her third century your era of becoming true children of God is opening. Do not worry about the existing churches. You are the princes of peace. I want you to know that you are in another age of universal Pilgrim Fathers; that's why you are here. A new America is in your hands, and you can make it work or you can let it die. Your responsibility is great. The destiny of America is in nobody's hands but yours. We are not going to discard Christianity at all. We are here to unite Christianity in one spirit. Christianity needs enlightenment in spirit and truth, and we have it. This Children's Day in the Bicentennial year of 1976 is very meaningful. We pledge together, not as adopted children, but as true children of God, to rise up and conclude the task that God has given to us and to America. I want you to compete with two most important people in history. I want you to compete with Jesus Christ and me, and I want you to win. Can you do it? Thank you. Let us pray.