Analysis of the Present Time and the Blessing [Part 1]

Throughout history, no religious organization has put as much emphasis as we do upon the Blessing, or marriage. This is a point of major contrast between Catholicism and the Unification Church. As you know, the Catholic Church has always promoted celibacy, while we are strongly promoting marriage. Other religions have their own concepts about marriage, but generally the tone is discouraging. One "ample is Buddhism, which exalts celibacy and discourages married fife.

Most religions have not put as much emphasis as we have upon the family, national and world levels of existence. They have mainly nurtured spirituality on an individual basis. They have also emphasized the spiritual aspects of life over all others. The Unification Church certainly emphasizes the spiritual aspects of life; we believe in the spiritual world and eternal life. But that is not all we emphasize. We stress the importance of this physical life on the earth.

The Unification Church stands alone among all the other religions. People who look at us from the more common religious point of view think, "The Unification Church is preoccupied with worldly things. They go out selling flowers and they are always so busy making money" Many consider us less spiritual than a religion should be.

On the other hand, those who embrace a secular point of view feel threatened by our activities. They observe the Unification Church moving into all different aspects of life -- the media, economy, business, publications, and so forth. According to those people, the Unification Church is very mange [?] as well as threatening.

The parents of Unification Church members observe that their children have changed their life styles dramatically and they don't know what to make of it. When you visit your family and relatives, they feel that you are somewhat different from the "good old days." The old level of rapport doesn't quite seem to be there and they sense some sort of gap between you and them. In the past, you might have spent your time casually voting your neighbors and relatives, but now you are spending all your time going out fund raising, knocking on doors for Home Church and trying to witness to people. Thus your relatives feel that your involvement in the Unification Church is very strange.

When Unification Church members go to school, they stand out among all the other students because their focus is different. Other students occupy themselves with dating and parties, drinking and smoking; but Unification Church students have a different life style. Unification Church people have different interests and values.

When the so-called Moonies gather together, people from all the races and nationalities freely relate with one another. Other people can clearly see that the Moonies really like each other. Furthermore the members of the Unification Church come from every sort of background.

Regardless of their pasts, the members come together on a new basis as friends.

People think Moonies talk about some strange things. They talk about the salvation of Korea, and it sounds funny because Korea seems to be doing nicely. Likewise, Moonies talk about saving America, but most people don't understand what we are talking about. They even feel offended that we should say such things. Of course, when the Moonies really get started, we talk about the salvation of the whole world as well as the universe! We talk about serving the highest sovereignty and not stopping at any smaller level, such as the society or nation.

Moonies talk about halting the spread of communism because it is the worst enemy of God and mankind. Yet, we never talk about "killing the commies" as some groups have in the past; instead we talk about "saving the commies" People dunk that what we are saying is incredible.

Looking at the Moonies from the normal, common sense point of view, we certainly appear to be a bunch of crazy people! We are talking about the salvation of the individual, family, tribe, nation, world, universe, cosmos-we are even talking about the liberation of God! When people hear these fantastic statements, they are convinced that we must have lost our minds.

From the viewpoint of most religious people, we are talking about very strange things as well. We are saying that it is good to break down the barriers between different denominations and religions and that we should all come together as one, united religion. That is certainly big talk! Reverend Moon is claiming that God's will is for all religions to come together.

Unificationists and Reverend Moon claim that we will unite all different people as well as eliminate the problems that plague society, such as racism and cultural barriers. To others it sounds crazy, but to you it is most wonderful. Do you have the capacity to take on all the persecution of the world, as well as digest the differences between all the religions and races? When you go out into the world, persecution assaults you from six directions, including the vertical directions of up and down. Will you still continue?

Why are we going this route? We ourselves need to understand why we must go this way. First of all, this is the historical destiny assigned to the members of the Unification Church; there is no one else at this time who can fulfill this responsibility. You are like a soccer ball. No matter how many times you may be kicked or in what direction, you have one goal. The more you are kicked, the more exciting and intense the contest. Furthermore, the more you are kicked, the greater is the chance that you will go into the goal.

The two teams in this soccer match are: God's team and Satan's team. Which side is taking the offensive in this soccer game? God's side is, so they should be the hardest-working, busiest team. They should be moving faster, dashing in one direction and then another. Satan's team is trying to move in and win the game, so Satan will always initiate the attack. God's strategy of defense is always being hit then moving into the counteroffensive position.

On the surface it looks as if God's team is being defeated. However, the battle has come up to the final championship level. The side of evil has always attacked the side of goodness first. This is true even in street fights. Satan's side not only attacks, but it is ruthless and tries to kill its opponents. Do you think God will take revenge and kill Satan and his forces? No, that is not God's way.

On the first level of confrontation, Satan inflicted heavy casualties against God's side, killing many people. Therefore, God could claim a victory because Satan violated the rules, so God's side could be elevated one step higher. These have been God's tactics -- He allows Satan to kill those on His side. Yet by doing so, Satan violates the Principle, and God and His side can climb one step higher toward the final victory. Each time Satan strikes out and kills more on God's side, then God is elevated one step higher. Step by step, this process has continued. God has not struck back, yet He is now facing Satan at the level of the final championship.

God's strategy is the opposite of Satan's. Satan will recognize at some point that God has come all the way up to the championship battle without ever killing anyone or even striking back. Satan will hurl the final challenge to God Himself God's strategy has been to allow Satan to attack the religious people throughout history; Satan has killed many good people. At this time the religion of the last days is in position for the final showdown with Satan.

Reverend Moon has the ambition to put the Unification Church in the position of the final challengers to Satan and to make the ultimate showdown with him. As God's champions, we will declare, "God's side has come this far in history without ever striking back at you, Satan, yet He has claimed the victory, based upon the Principle. You must have a grudge against God, Satan, because you think you handed over the victory too easily. So now you can come against us and do everything you want to do. Come on the individual level, the family, tribe, national -- any level of attack. Do it now, once and for all!" There must be that final declaration by God's champions. Likewise, God will declare that such a showdown must be the final one and Satan will accept it. God will say, "Satan, if you are defeated in this final battle, you must accept total defeat. You will be finished for eternity Do you agree?" And Satan will say, "Yes, I agree and promise"

Thus God knows that Satan is approaching his final battle. This is one battle that God cannot afford to lose, so He needs a real champion. That real champion is none other than Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Reverend Moon is the "super soccer ball." Wherever I go, every nation is kicking me, every society, everyone. That bell has had no idle moments but has been enduring constant kicking But when I see the goal for God's side, I just jump in. When Satan kicks me toward his goal, even though be a very close, this ball goes in the opposite direction and jumps into God's 908L Since this ball is completely aligned with God's victory, He will not be able to low the game. When God's side kicks the ball, it goes into God's goal; and then when Satan kicks it, it turns around and goes into God's goal again! God can't lose!

In the cosmic soccer game between God and Satan, the ball is a special one. As it is kicked around and continues to go toward God's goal all the time, it starts to grow. It becomes bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier Pretty soon, when Satan runs up and kicks it breaks his leg! Then he will be furious and say, "Why is this ball so heavy?" So he will cut the ball open and discover why it was so heavy-it was fail of Moonies! The more Satan kicks that ball, the more Moonies there are inside and the stronger and more united they become. That ball will become more and more substantial, no matter who lacks it; even if God kicks you, you will be solid.

That special soccer ball which has grown bigger and heavier from being lacked around will end up in the museum of the world and universe. Does that make you feel good? Those of you who have been lacked [?] by the world, raise your hands please. What is the effect of being kicked? Do you want to give up in defeat, or do you want to fly like a ball to the highest heights? I think that you don't want to be kicked like a soccer ball. Is that correct?

When the ball is being kicked back and forth between God and Satan, it receives some tremendous blows and looks quite ragged, but it never bursts. It just continues to go toward the goal. You must be like that Even though you may look weak or even fragile, you must be able to take a lot of kicking and never break. Even though somebody steps on you and completely flattens you, still you must not burst. You just have to spread out; then as soon as that person releases his foot, you must bounce back with such energy it knocks him off balance. That is the right way for a Moonie to be -- elastic and always bouncing back.

Even at this time, I am in the position of that soccer ball. As you know, just the other day I was called into court by a certain judge and was kicked in all directions. But this ball never burst. They may attack me but I can claim more victory through that. After I was indicted, my opponents thought "Finally, Reverend Moon is finished!" But they were very wrong! While I have been fighting this court battle, I have been doing many other things. For example, we have been organizing The Washington Times project; also, we presented the Inchon film at the Cannes Film Festival.

The producer of Inchon held a press conference at  Cannes and declared, "Reverend Moon has a plan to produce a morally elevating, God-centered movie and spend a billion dollars on it! Everybody was stunned and thought,  "Wasn't Reverend Moon demolished in court recently?" The wealthiest Hollywood producer wouldn't even think of  spending one billion dollars on one film. So many people are talking about Reverend Moon. Even while I am going to court,  people are wondering how I can be doing so many things around the world.

Just when people figured that Reverend Moon's energies  had to be depleted, I declared that we would hold a worldwide Blessing of 10,000 couples. I will officiate over a wedding of 2,000 couples on July I at Madison Square Garden! This is totally incredible to the world, people think  that only a crazy person would try to do these things.

Our activities here in America are not the end of the  road. Even when we go to Moscow, that will not be the end. We will go all the way to the Heavenly Kingdom, with these activities as our stepping-stones. After the Washington Monument rally in 1976, I declared that Moscow was our next goal, and I am sure that the rulers inside the Kremlin were very amused by that. However, they are not so amused anymore; they are taking Reverend Moon very seriously  now. Billy Graham recently traveled to Russia and became an unwitting tool of the communist leaders. But Reverend Moon will not do such a thing; I will challenge them squarely, face to face. I am sure that once the communists perceive me as a threat to them, they will want to kill me.

The communists have their own strategy. They are thinking to take care of Reverend Moon before he ever gets near Moscow. They are saying, "Lets make sure Reverend Moon never even gets out of the free world; let's clobber him there."

This court battle has arisen through the political maneuverings of people who want to dispose of Reverend Moon and finish him.

Thus you must realize that we are engaged in a vicious, intense battle. Whatever you do as Unification Church members, including martial arts or boxing, become a champion at it. But we are not pursuing these forms of fighting in order to behave like gangsters; we are doing these things for the sake of righteousness and the justice of God.

Will you women stand up for righteousness, too, or will you say to your husbands, "Oh, my beloved! I don't want to lose you, so don't go off to the battle!"?

Whenever something is about to blow into your eye, your eye closes instantly. In that case, your eyes defenses are quicker than any offense. You must become a person with such defenses, capable of reacting as swiftly as your eyes.

So far, I have spoken about what Moonies are. Why must you endure all of your struggles? It is because of the fall of man. Let this blackboard symbolize the universe. In the center, I will draw two small dots to represent Adam and Eve. The fall of man, in one sense, was a division between Adam and Eve, so they could never completely unite. Likewise their family became divided and the division extended to their tribe. The fall brought division all the way to the world level.

The eight members of Adam's family became divided. Thus there were eight different barriers. Within a clan of 100, there are 100 barriers; between 1,000 people there are 1,000 barriers. This is true all the way up to the present population of America, so there are 240 million barriers in this country. Each person lives within his own world with his own barriers. Who created those barriers, God or Satan?

Look at your body. Is there a barrier and conflict between your eyes and ears? Consider this example. With your ears, you hear your parents say, "Don't go to that particular movie," but still your eyes want to see it. In that case, there is a barrier. Is there a barrier between your mind and body? Certainly there is. Since you recognize the barrier between your mind and body, there must also be a barrier between your physical senses and your spiritual senses. They are not communicating very well.

If a thief steals something, his hand is reaching out even at the same time his mind is thinking, "I shouldn't do this." Thus there are barriers within individuals.

What about men and women? They are very different. Women usually enjoy quieter pastimes, while men like to go out hunting and mountain climbing. That is a barrier. What about eating habits-are men and women different? They are also different in the way they dress. When a man has a little money, he might say, "I can go hungry next week, but tonight I want to go to a nice restaurant:' A woman might prefer to go hungry so that she can spend her money on cosmetics or clothing, which she considers more important. There are a lot of barriers and differences between men and women.

America is the so-called melting pot of the world, but is it really true? Are all the different kinds of people here really melted together? No, there are tremendous barriers between different kinds of people in America.

Do you think that the ideal society would contain a lot of barriers between people? What power could break down the barriers between people and cause them to unite? Many Oriental homes have a low fence around them; the girls are supposed to stay inside their homes. But when the girls become teenagers, they are tall enough to look over the fence. Why? They are looking for boys! Here in the Western world the girls don't have to look over any fences; they can just freely broadcast their interest at any time and place. Don't you think that the subtle system in the Orient is more interesting for the boy-girl relationship?

God has been wanting to break down the barriers between men and women. He wants to link up people with a "love ladder." Do you think old people, the grandmothers  and grandfathers, would like to climb on such a love ladder?

That love ladder would link people from every position, beyond race and culture, beyond age; everybody would welcome it. Since Satan created the barriers, God has been  thinking about how to knock them down.

When two people are very much in love, they don't want any barriers between them, so they try to break down all of  them. They will dig a hole under any barrier that they can't break down! I visited Rome and saw the ancient catacombs that were dug underground by the Christians.

Satan sowed the first seeds of division, and he was the first  criminal. Then Adam and Eve responded to Satan and multiplied that evil. The motivation of that first act of sin was love. Satan is the author of false love, while God is the author of true love.

The action of fallen Adam and Eve, the false parents, was the beginning point of fallen human history. Therefore, we must begin history again with a new Adam and Eve. In order to turn from falseness to truth, everything must be done in the opposite way. In order to become a true Adam and Eve, you must do exactly the opposite from what the fallen Adam I and Eve did. Satan wanted to elevate himself, so the true Adam and Eve must be humble and willing to take the lowest position. All the religions, especially Christianity have taught man to become sacrificial, humble and meek for this reason. By going in the opposite direction from Satan, you can stand in the sight of God.

You cannot come close to God without going in the opposite direction from Satan. Another important characteristic of Satan is his self-serving and completely self-centered nature. The opposite is to be unselfish and self-sacrificing. I know you have resisted me when I tell you that you should give everything of yourself for the sake of others. You think that You will lose what you have and gain nothing, but I want You to know that You will lose nothing and will gain the most important thing-God. You will be standing on the side of God and He will be right behind you.

We are now creating the new Adam and Eve, the new families, clan, societies, nations, and world which are exactly Opposite from the old. We could say that we are building a new pyramid with the True Parents on top. The old pyramid was topped by the evil, false parents. How do we go from the old pyramid to the new one? Can we break down the barriers by violence and conflict? No, we cannot. It is only through the power of love that we can break down the barriers between this world and God's world. That is because evil or illicit love brought the fall of man in the beginning.

What is the difference between true love and illicit love? The difference is in the ownership. They are centered upon totally different philosophies of life. The person who tries to be humble, meek and sacrificial is behaving in a totally opposite way from those people under Satan. What is the goal of love-centered behavior? It is unification, or oneness. Instead of creating barriers, that kind of behavior creates harmony; through that kind of give and take, you create circular motion. The world of Satan is one of confrontation; the Heavenly world is one of give and take.

Unification can only come through God-centered, sacrificial give and take. Why is this true? That is exactly the opposite way from the satanic way, which is self-centered and arrogant. Unless we create the God-centered Adam and Eve, and this type of family, tribe, nation and world, there is no way we can eliminate the satanic pyramid.

This sounds very good, but the question is whether it is realistically possible. However, when you begin truly loving others and practicing sacrificial give and take, you will see for yourself that the barriers will start to break down. When you live Eke that, you will see that people will trust you and open all the doors of their hearts to you. They will want to confide in you about their personal matters. That is clearly an example of the barriers breaking down and the doors opening up. He who practices the truly sacrificial way of fife will find himself elevated into the central figure position.

I want you to understand that we are at war, but it is a unique kind of war. Our weapons are love, service and sacrifice and with those, we can win. This is truly and wonderful!

This tactic is one sure way to resist and win over persecution. You can melt persecution by love and sacrificial service for others, with the goal of unification. Do you think this is possible? What about the German people? Are they different and not under the same principle? How about the Anglo-Saxon "ladies and gentlemen"? The same principle applies to all people.

Reverend Moon has been living by this principle and it has worked. Look at the way the Korean nation has changed. At first they persecuted and mistreated me tremendously but I continued to live by the Principle. Now there is a widespread mood among the nation of Korea that their only hope is in the guidance of Reverend Moon. Another amazing transformation has been taking place in Japan. When I first went there, the media tore me apart, using many cheap and discourteous accusations. But now the Japanese consider Reverend Moon to be a great person. They are proud to claim him as an "Oriental man."

Here in America, people are beginning to recognize that Reverend Moon is the only person who is squarely confronting the communist ideology. They will soon want to claim Reverend Moon as a "part of the free world," and thus a part of them.

I have been walking this one-way street guided by the Principle. Some people say, "Reverend Moon, why can't you somehow be a little wiser? After all, you could be sneakier when you present yourself and the Church, since people are so completely negative against the Unification Church already." But I cannot do that. I walk a one-way street.

Many people felt threatened when I first came to this country representing not just the Unification Church of Korea, but the international Unification movement. Many people can do many things well, but there is one thing that no one can surpass me in -- that is in the practice of sacrificial, God-centered love. I have demonstrated clearly that I love America more than I love Korea. I have served this country first, giving my sacrificial best, because my goal is unification.

At this time many people are opposing us in America, but soon we shall become the central religion and ideology. This nation and world will benefit because of us and will become unified. Both the communists and Reverend Moon came to this country to wage an offensive battle, but our goals were entirely different. Communism came to take for its own selfish purposes; Reverend Moon came to give and serve and create the atmosphere of unity. With this message, it doesn't matter what people are saying today or tomorrow or next year Eventually the whole world will become united under God's love, through this love alone can the world become one. Do you agree with me?

Let's talk about the terminology of "True Parents," something which sounds strange to others. When you talk about True Parents, you are automatically denoting the existence of false parents. What are false parents? The parents who stand on the side of God are the True Parents; those who stand on Satan's side are the false parents.

The false parents are found on every level and have expanded to the tribal, societal, national and worldwide level. What about Mr. Reagan? What type of "parent" for America is he? Since he is the national sovereign, he is in the parental position. Do you think it is good that a parent keeps his position for only four years at a time and then someone else takes over? No, when you speak of parents, you speak of an eternal, unchanging quality. Therefore, no one can take the role of True Parents except those who were assigned by God Himself.

Adam and Eve created the first barriers; therefore, every succeeding echelon of society had its own barriers. But there is always the live seed of man's original mind, and through that God will be able to work. The original mind is not self-centered; it is public-centered and God-centered. That original mind is the door through which God will be able to penetrate into the fallen world, Satan's pyramid.

Who are the good people? They are those whose original minds are more alive than others. The degree of development of the original mind determines how good a person is. The person who wants to give and serve others the most is the one whose original mind is most developed. When you serve others, God can approach you. You must live for the sake of others. The more you do that, the more easily God can approach you and unite with you.

The original minds of all people in the satanic world are still alive and hoping to grow. Therefore, the fallen world has hope for restoration. In order to restore this world, you must have a way of life that is directed toward the sake of others. You must five for them and serve them sacrificially. Then you expand that standard.

Now you should understand why the Unification Church is always emphasizing, over and over again, that you must live for the sake of others. That is the only way you can expand your own original mind and that of others around you; that is the only way you can make room for God in this world. When you are really serving and living for others, you will exercise more freedom and have more flexibility in this life. You will be accepted by people around you, and you will encounter fewer and fewer barriers. Through this life style, God Himself will come and teach you bow to live. He will tell you, "Please serve and be sacrificial with true love and the victory will be won." Is this clear to you?

That is why I have been teaching you to live for the sake of others and asking you to follow my example, so that God can come and dwell with you. You will create the new world for God, and you will be the inheritors of that new world. You will be passing on true love to your descendants.

Let's suppose that there are ten members of a family living together. The person who serves the most getting up earliest and working hardest around the home, is truly living for the sake of others. One person might go to bed early while another stays up late every night, cooking or cleaning. Which is the more serving one? The person who wants to serve simply cannot lie in bed late in the morning or go to bed early at night. That person will want to sew buttons on the jackets of others or polish their shoes. Initially such a person will be taken for a fool, but eventually everyone will come to rely upon him and even bring him their personal problems. It will only be a matter of time before he learns all the secrets of the house. Even the master of the house will come to him. Therefore, he will be the central figure, without a doubt. Is this true or not?

Do you like Home Church, then? The principle of Home Church is derived directly from this. You must pin recognition from the tribe before you are recognized by the nation; thus your arena is the Home Church. Unless you are welcomed by the tribe, you can never expect the nation to welcome you. For that matter, if you are not even welcomed by your own family, how can you expect the tribe to welcome you? Is this correct?

The Bible contains a beautiful quotation: "Know the truth, for the truth shall set you free!' Now you know the truth and you will be freed. You will become the center of your family, your tribe, your nation; you will be elevated and promoted in that manna. So now do you understand that you must live for the sake of others?

The work of God within the fallen world is nothing other than to liberate man's original mind and expand it. The entire world may say that it is all right to live just for oneself-, the selfish way of life is always being promoted. But now God has declared that people must live for the sake of others.

There are many people from different nationalities working at East Garden. Some people evaluate themselves according to how long they have worked there -- whether it is five years or whatever -- but that makes no difference whatsoever. There are some people who think, "As long as I am fulfilling my particular responsibility, then your job has nothing to do with me. I don't care about anybody else's responsibility." That person may think he is very clever, but I can see through that sort of thinking With My Special "true love eyeglasses." I can see the truth within that person. There are people at East Garden who suddenly snap to attention and try to call attention to themselves whenever I walk outside the door. But as soon as I am gone, I know those people relax and take it easy again. The fallen world may live that way, but we must become different.

The members of the Unification Church are different you look very smart, with shining and intelligent eyes, yet your deeds seem dumb to others. The Moonies are going to the lowest levels of society and serving others. You look smut, while behaving in a seemingly dumb way; but it is not really dumb. The Moonies are the cure-all for society. People will come to feel that with a Moonie around, they don't have to worry. Furthermore, the Moonies are clever and whenever people have a question they can answer it for them.

Perhaps a truck driver will feel tired so even a small Moonie woman can come around and drive for him. Ordinarily a tiny woman would not even want to come near a truck, much less drive one. But for Moonies, doing something so out of the ordinary is merely natural. Liars not all. That tiny Moonie girl can also drive a bulldozer if she sets her mind to it. The only reason we do what we do is that nobody else wants to do it. We do what others hate to do.