ORDER NUMBER
83-01-01A
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
HOME CHURCH IS OUR LAND
OF SETTLEMENT
January 1, 1983, Midnight
World Mission Center
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
Father's Prayer at Midnight:
Our Loving Father,
The year 1982 is behind us and we are at the threshold of the whole
new year of 1983. The entire world is greeting this moment. Please
guide all people who are planning their lives for this year so that
their hearts will be in alignment with Your will. Let all religious
people be united and let their lives freely develop following Your
will.
In the midst of ordeals and persecution, the Unification members
throughout the world marched towards Your final dispensational goal
during 1982. Please remember those suffering children who are praying
with longing hearts for the year 1983 to be a year of hope.
Guide the Unification members through this year and towards the
time when the new history will begin. Let those who represent history
be loyal, on behalf of all historical figures. Also, guide them so they
dwell in the depths of Your heart. As soldiers who are establishing the
Kingdom of Heaven, may they dwell in Your heart as unforgettable
people, worthy of being called Your sons and daughters and deserving of
Your abundant love.
As our members bid farewell to 1982, a year filled with ordeals,
their hearts are tearful and their folded, prayerful hands are pointing
in the direction of New York and America, where the True Parents are.
These places where our members are gathered together are solemn places,
where ardent prayers are offered. Please forgive each individual and
receive the hearts of those who had given hopeful promise to bring the
victory in 1982, but who were unable to fulfill it. I pray and beseech
You to bless them, so that this new year will be a year of victory, one
which they will be able to go through and look back on with gratitude.
At this time all the Unification members, representing all mankind,
are making a new resolution: to be more deeply loyal and pious in 1983
and to be more united in one heart and one will. Let them pledge to
become brave soldiers on the advancing line of the salvation of
mankind. Let them determine to become victorious in securing both today
and tomorrow. Let them resolve to become unforgettable people in Your
heart. Please receive the resolution they are making at this time.
Ever since the day of infamy, the day in which the human ancestors
fell, You have been laboring in man's place. Laden with sorrow and
loneliness, You have been trying to restore the lost history which is
filled with many untold stories. In our place, You have voluntarily
taken the path of sorrow and agony, lingering ever behind the scenes,
watching over mankind and going through the historic path of indemnity
with all Your strength. We think about You and all the things You have
gone through and reflect
about the unrepented wrongs which our ancestors committed
throughout history. Please permit us now as Unification members to
pledge to You our loyalty and piety, on behalf of all mankind. This
group of people knows that to follow Your way means to take the path of
sorrow but they do not draw back. Neither do they mind enduring the
path of persecution and oppression.
The historic paths of Abraham and Jacob were alike as they followed
Your way. It was the same with Moses as he guided the journey of the
Israelites. Jesus knew Your will and he was supposed to have built the
victorious Heavenly Kingdom by subjugating the Roman Kingdom; but
instead he lost the support of the chosen nation and had to take up the
suffering path and under the name of Christianity extend it to the
whole world. We reflect deeply about these historical events.
Your will was prolonged for the two thousand suffering years of
Christianity, during which the efforts to recover all the years of
history have been stained with tears, sweat and blood and filled with
deeds which must be repented for. We are going through this lonely
journey with You and overcoming this sorrow. You have seen people who
prayed, even at the point of death, for that one victorious day in
which Your will can be accomplished. We are reminded of Your painful
broken heart, looking upon those people who are praying for the day in
which the world will realize Your will.
Today in this time of the last days, Christianity should have
fulfilled its responsibility so that the world could stand in the realm
of victory. Then, instead of following a path of sorrow, Christianity's
course would have been a glorious one of attending and revering their
Heavenly Father. Christian civilization, not just on the individual
level but also as families, as a society, as a nation, and as a world,
should have developed and taken shape, centering on the long-desired
sovereignty of Heaven. Then they could have returned glory and victory
and praise to You.
Again we reflect on the historical fact that the Unification
Church, which was chosen to carry out Your will, had heaped upon it the
burden of sorrow and obstacles called the way of historical indemnity.
Persecution comes from individuals, from families, and from societies
and nations as well. Now even here in the center of the free world,
America, these members gathered here who revere and follow You have
received rejection from religious people, those who are supposed to be
following Your way. We know very well that behind the tear-stained
sacrifices which we have made in order to pioneer and establish this
foundation, lies Your much more sorrowful history. Assembled here
together we are pledging to advance and progress and to be the kind of
church that will never disappear in despair, but will bring the
victorious day to the free world.
We are grateful for Your grace which infuses us with pride and
confidence to take up the worldwide pioneer mission of laying the
victorious foundation, upon which we can make a new settlement in this
new time period. In this building in the center of New York, we have
been the object of persecution, judgment and ridicule coming at us from
all sides. But from this day at the beginning of this new year, Your
children who are gathered here will be united in one heart and one body
and will restore Heaven's dignity and honor. As independence soldiers,
we will establish the sovereignty of goodness and bring about the
Heavenly Kingdom. As they rally together for this cause, please help
them to be proud and valiant before Satan.
Father, please have hope in the Unification Church. We are not on
the edge of twilight and facing the night, but rather on the verge of
dawn, waiting to greet the rising sun. Heavenly Father, I pray that
during 1983 You will settle on this earth and uphold all our work in
pursuit of the Heavenly Kingdom with dignity and authority and protect
it with a shield of victory. Please grant us the determination as we
greet this new year to create the foundation on which Your victorious
power can be manifested on this earth.
Please extend Your arms in blessing upon Korea, Japan, America and
Germany, those nations representing providential roles. I plead for You
to allow this year 1983 to be the boundary mark so that from now on in
those countries, people who oppose will be weakened in their opposition
and people on the side of goodness will prosper.
I ask for the entire spirit world to help make this year 1983 one
in which the Unification Church members, representing all the nations
on earth, will be united with their ancestors and march on together to
secure the worldwide victory. Let the entire spirit world be mobilized
to suppress the powers of evil which oppose this victory so we can leap
forward. Also let this beginning hour be one in which we command the
development of a new history. Countless religious figures and
righteous people have been longing for the day of victory on earth;
please allow them to participate in our efforts and work though their
direct lineage in order to fulfill their long-cherished desires. Let
them bring their descendants to this Unification banner, even though
their descendants may be unaware of their help, in order to realize the
victorious ideal world.
Korea, Japan, America and Germany and the other 127 nations are
stained with the tears of the ones You love, as they make indemnity
conditions with pleading prayers for the sake of bringing Your victory
on this earth. I pray that this new year will establish the foundation
for us to bring about the mobilization of tribes, nations and all
mankind.
This year's new motto is "Home Church Is Our Land of
Settlement." With this motto, we have a confident beginning
point. God, please declare this year as one in which You can take
command, mobilizing the saints and religious men, uniting all religious
groups on earth.
I believe and I know that from this beginning hour of the new year
the command will be given from Heaven and carried out on the earth: to
march toward the one victorious day and to establish the victorious
sovereignty of goodness and the victorious Kingdom of Heaven. Please
declare this. I pray for all this with gratitude for Your grace in
allowing us to pray these things. I bless and I pray all these things
in the name of the True Parents.
Amen. Amen. Amen
Most religious people in the world today think of God as an
almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent being who simply enjoys His glory, as
He sits upon His throne wearing His crown. That means they feel that
God has nothing to do with pain, agony and suffering. Yet still
Christianity calls God "Father" when they pray to Him. This
is a contradiction in the Christian faith of our time.
In the last days, those religions which are parallel with the will
of God shall remain, but those religions which are not will diminish.
What kind of a being is God? That is the most fundamental and important
question to ask. Does He truly have just a glorious position and enjoy
every minute of the day?
When we look at the histories of all religions, we see that there
was no real peace. Always religious people have had to endure
bloodshed, tragedy and suffering. Why have religious people throughout
history gone the road of suffering and martyrdom? It is because they
believed it was God's will for them to go that way. Another common
principle persists throughout religious history: any time a religion is
receiving persecution it prospers and doesn't decline. Also it is true
that during a time of persecution whenever religious people prayed with
sincerity, their prayers were more readily accepted and granted.
Another thing which is obvious in history is that whenever a
religion becomes established and settled, being respected and admired
by the society at large, God seems to turn away from that religion. It
starts to lose its deep fervor and enthusiasm.
Therefore we can see that God has remained with religions during
their periods of persecution but once they became comfortable, God
seems to have turned away from them. Why is that? God established
certain religions in history; people within them had to go through the
individual level of persecution. Again, the key question to ask is
whether those individuals who were persecuted were receiving it for
only themselves or for the sake of humanity. The particular individual
receiving persecution might be bearing it as a representative of 240
million American people, or 4 billion people in the world, or just as
one individual, representing no one other than himself. That is an
important question.
Whenever God ordains a certain individual to take on religious
persecution, that person must take on representative persecution for
the sake of the whole world, not just for himself. We can realize that
whenever God supports a religious person who is receiving tremendous
persecution, that individual must not be an ordinary individual but
must be representative of all mankind.
What is the reason why God permits persecution of religious
people? God tells them that by winning the victory over persecution
they can win the victory over the entire world. When God chooses an
individual and the world persecutes him, the world displays its evil;
if this were a good world, it would not persecute him. By winning
over the persecution coming from the evil side of the world, that
individual must be winning a victory for righteousness and for God,
not just for himself alone.
What is the definition of the evil world? The evil world is the
one which does the work of Satan. Since the evil world is controlled
by Satan, it is exactly opposite from the world which God intended.
Satan's desire is to safeguard every one of his children in the
satanic world and not to allow any to leave and go to God's side.
However, Satan knows that God's intention is to pull men out of his
hands and to bring them to His world, where He can create the opposite
realm from the satanic.
Those who are selected to be God's champions have to struggle very
hard against the satanic environment and be victorious over it.
Without that, those individuals cannot return to God's side. The
Bible tells us that man became a fallen creature; the people who were
supposed to be children of God transformed themselves into satanic men
and women. Therefore, the simplest definition of the fall is the
deviation from the original, healthy form to sickness. Satan is
always working very hard to prevent God from mending mankind back
into health.
Once a person is restored to perfect health he always has a
certain immunity. Even if germs invade, a strong, healthy body will be
able to resist them. That particular person with such immunity would
not be contaminated, even if he went to the Orient, Africa, or
anywhere Therefore, any satanic opposition toward you must be
worldwide and universal in scale; the larger the scale the better.
God has been seeking of an individual who will be able to struggle
against and prevail over all satanic persecution and become invincible
over the entire satanic world. How does the process of persecution
work? Persecution always comes through other people -from individuals
to other individuals. Satan also knows how to best mobilize his forces.
He has certain superior forces: people with wealth, intellect, power
and influence and he can use these kinds of people for his purposes of
persecution.
In the secular world, every nation has its own sovereignty through
which it exerts influence and power. Therefore, we can understand why
throughout history most of the persecution of religion and religious
people came from governmental and politically sovereign powers. Then
what would be God's tactic? Would He choose one champion who would be
opposed by governmental power, become a martyr and be finished? No,
God would continue to raise up more and more champions and go from the
individual level to the family level, to the clan, society and national
levels, etc. Therefore it is most logical that those people who have
been chosen by God to be champions must endure all different types and
levels of persecution-from the individual all the way up to the world
level.
A sign of the last days is the division of the world into two
distinct camps. One of those camps proclaims that God does not exist
and the other proclaims that He does. Today we see the existence of
the free or democratic world and the communist, atheistic world. The
world which accepts the existence of God is centered upon
Christianity, which started from the historical background of Judaism.
First, all of Christianity was under Catholicism, then Protestantism
began; now the new level of Christianity has begun, the Unification
Church.
Each level of religion had to resist certain types of
persecution. Judaism, for example, resisted national persecution;
Christianity has resisted worldwide persecution; and the Unification
Church is resisting universal persecution. According to history, that
would have to occur because any new religion which went beyond
traditional Christianity would be in the position to receive universal
persecution.
The history of the Jewish nation is recorded in the Old
Testament. They received persecution continually; they wandered about
and everywhere they turned, they received persecution. When
Christianity came, it was the religion of the world; therefore it had
the duty to confront worldwide powers. At that time, the Roman Empire
was that power; it represented the entire world and it persecuted
Christianity. The world of God's major activity during that time was
limited to the European and Middle Eastern locale. China and all the
far Eastern regions were not affected by those areas and they were
basically unaware of them.
Where is the Unification Church today? Is there any part of the
world which is unaware of us? No, we are receiving persecution from
the entire world, the truly universal level. There is no distinction
between east and west, north and south; every six continents have seen
persecution against the Unification Church. Just by observation of this
historical phenomenon in such a short time, we can see that the
Unification Church is truly the central providential religion of our
time.
The Unification Church today captures the essence of Christianity;
likewise, Christianity captured the essence of Judaism. What is that
essence, that center? It is the messiahship. Judaism has claimed
throughout its thousands of years that they are heralding the coming of
the messiah. Christianity says that the messiah has come but they are
awaiting the second coming. Unification Church today is claiming that
the second coming has occurred.
When Judaism was talking about the messiah, they had a vague
concept of the definition of that messiah. Christianity, even though
they believe in the first coming of the messiah, has an imprecise
understanding of the messiah. What about the Unification Church? Do we
have a clear concept of the messiah or a vague one? We have a clear
one.
Under what circumstances should the messiah come? Should he appear
after all the persecution has been endured, or during the persecution,
or before the persecution even begins? Look at the time of Judaism, the
time of Christianity, the time of the Unification Church. When did the
messiah appear?
If you say that the messiah should come before or during the
persecution, you are saying that he is supposed to be right in the
middle of the persecution. Ideally' the messiah should appear upon the
foundation of victory over persecution. If this is true, then all the
religions such as Judaism and Christianity should never dodge
persecution, saying, "I'm only interested in meeting the messiah
and being saved. Let somebody else suffer persecution." That is
the wrong attitude to have.
We must understand that it was God's plan to send the messiah only
upon the foundation of victory on the individual, family, tribal,
national and worldwide level. That was clearly God's intention. At the
last days, then, we must expect to see the appearance of one religion
which is saying, "Let us take on the burden of universal
persecution so that we can make the foundation to receive the
messiah."
What about you Moonies; do you like to receive persecution? You
could ask me the same question and what do you think I would answer?
The same as you: no. Do you think God likes persecution? I'm sure He
would answer with a big, huge, NO. That is natural. Why, then, do we
willingly accept persecution? It is for the sake of the salvation of
the world. You might ask why we have to go through this persecution.
Isn't salvation possible without it? No, we must go this way.
The world is like a sick patient. When God sees that sick patient
Lying on the bed, does He think, "Wonderful! I'm so happy!"
No, He suffers heartbroken anguish for the sake of His children. Were
the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve, the servants of God or His
children? They were His children. There was no phony artificial
relationship between God and Adam and Eve. He created them in His
image, as the bone of His bone, the flesh of His flesh.
Physical parents who must see their children Lying seriously ill in
bed feel more grieved than those children The sick patient doesn't
understand what is going on inside his own body; he only knows that he
is in pain. The parents who must watch him suffering will suffer even
more in heart.
Christianity today believes God is glorious and sitting on a throne
somewhere, but if God is truly the Parent of all mankind and His
children are sick in bed, how can He enjoy sitting on a throne?
Wouldn't God, as our Parent, forget all about the glory of His throne
and crown as He works to help alleviate the suffering of His children?
God feels the emergency so deeply, He would even kick His throne and
crown away and run down to embrace the world, still wearing His
pajamas, like a father in the middle of the night.
Therefore we can see that the general Christian concept of a
totally glorious God of joy is the wrong understanding. Judaism
believes in God and His glory; they also believe in fearing God and His
power. Christianity believes in a God of love, but one of total power
and glory. The Unification Church has come and is saying, "God is
a God of suffering heart because His children are dying." Is that
a right or a wrong concept?
What do you think the spirit world thinks? Are the people there
telling God, "You are the only one who cares about that fallen
planet, so You go down and try to help them. We just want to enjoy
ourselves here."? No, they have declared an emergency for
themselves as well, parallel with God's.
When you members of the Unification Church receive persecution, do
you feel regret or not? When people ask you, "What church do you
belong to?" do you try to dodge the question? When they say,
"Your church must have a name of some sort," do you answer,
"Well, it is an ecumenical church."? The fact that you are
laughing now means that you have done this. You said you don't like
persecution, but now that I have explained the meaning of persecution
you can accept it as a necessity. Through persecution, you can return
to God and receive the messiah; therefore, it is like a privilege.
Now that you have heard this, how will you respond? Perhaps you
will go out to the street on Eighth Avenue and proclaim,
"Everybody listen to me! I'm a Moonie and I welcome persecution!
Give it to me!" I have been discussing all the different levels of
persecution, from the individual to the universal. Once you have gone
over the hurdle of inviting the universal level of persecution you have
completed the test all at once. Therefore, that is the easiest way
out, in a sense.
Today we Moonies are living in the era of the universal stage of
persecution. Are you proud to be living in this era, receiving this
kind of persecution? Do you think Reverend Moon is dumb or wise, sharp
or dull? What will happen to Reverend Moon? He looks so dumb because he
goes everywhere and receives nothing but persecution. You may think he
is almost impossibly dumb because he wasn't satisfied to receive the
persecution of the entire nation of Korea; he had to go to Japan and
invite more. Even that wasn't enough-he came to America and asked for
more persecution, and the Americans gave him a big dose. That wasn't
even the end of it because then he said he would go to Moscow!
Our topic tonight is about the land of our settlement. God and the
messiah need to be able to settle somewhere on the earth. So far in
history God has been a wandering God and the messiah had to wander
also. There was no land for them to dwell in; therefore history must
come to that point of final settlement. When the messiah comes he must
settle; his immediate family will settle; his nation will settle down,
as well.
By the year 1976, the entire world was persecuting me: all
governments, all religions, all races, all the established powers. That
was the highest point of persecution. At that time everybody thought
Reverend Moon would be finished. But what has happened since 1976?
Reverend Moon has emerged step by step as a victor; more and more
people are seeing him as possibly the messiah.
It is obvious that any human's efforts could not have succeeded in
this way. Only with the assistance of God could we have come this far.
In the span of 10 years, Reverend Moon has established himself on the
basis of the entire world.
Satan has been the source of the persecution of Reverend Moon but
God has been the power which resisted that persecution and gave him the
blessing. Without God's blessing, I could never have come this far.
That means the Unification Church is a God-centered, true religion. We
have a philosophical and theological foundation which is universal.
What kind of a man is Reverend Moon? Am I fearful, or evil, or
good, or mediocre? There are two definitions of Reverend Moon-one is
Satan's and one is God's. From Satan's point of view, Reverend Moon is
the most fearful man the world has ever encountered. From God's point
of view, however, Reverend Moon is the man who pleases Him more than
anyone else in history.
We must come to the conclusion that there are two categories of
those who like Reverend Moon. One is God and the other is the Moonies.
What about the 600 million Christians around the world? Does God care
more about numbers of so-called religious people, or about the quality
of faith which people exhibit? God is more interested in quality than
quantity.
The greatest phenomenon in the advanced civilization of America
today is that the most clever young people are following Reverend Moon
and refusing to allow anyone to pull them away, even their parents and
families. It is truly a source of great interest and curiosity. When
Reverend Moon first came to America and proclaimed his message, most
people said, "That's OK, let him continue. America is the melting
pot, so within six months, we will melt Reverend Moon, too."
However, what has happened? Ten years later, American historians have
witnessed that, instead of America melting Reverend Moon, America is
being melted by him!
You are the children of this culture which has always taught you to
sit on chairs. However, now you have changed and you feel comfortable
to sit on the floor. I think you can sit longer than I can! I have even
heard that when some of our members go back home to visit, instead of
choosing to sit on a couch or chair, they tell their parents they are
more comfortable sitting on the floor. You have brought the "Moon
culture" to your homes in this way and your families cannot
understand what is happening!
Nobody seems to like you because the American establishment is not
accustomed to your new-found culture. You are making money and you only
want to spend it for the sake of your mission, rather than buying
things or putting it in a savings account. When the Christmas and New
Year holidays come, everybody else is thinking about having fun and
going to parties; but we Moonies look at the season as the best time
for fundraising!
It is very important in the American culture that young people date
and go out with the opposite sex. Many people also think that drugs are
fun and harmless. Often parents are urging their children to have lots
of dates and an active social life. But in the Moonie culture women who
are even 30 years old don't know anything about dating and social life.
Their parents think this is very strange. However is there any
Unification Church man or woman who cannot get married? No, we can all
get married-in one day!
From the satanic point of view, the Unification Church is just
impossible and Satan has declared this a time of emergency. However
from God's point of view it is a wonderful thing to see. God is pleased
to see that for the first time He has some people on the earth who will
not be shaken by Satan; He sees that He has some children of His own.
People who thought our movement was bad believed we wouldn't last
more than one or two years. However, after ten years in America
Reverend Moon and the Unification movement is going stronger than ever.
When people try to tell you that you are being brainwashed and used by
Reverend Moon, you do not respond by believing them. Instead, you
become angry with them and tell them off! No real Moonie will stand
still to hear such comments.
None of the efforts of the secular world will work on the Moonies,
so they came to the conclusion that you must all be brainwashed. When
the Unification Theological Seminary graduates seek their PhDs at major
universities, the first thing their professors do is give them an eye
test to determine if they really have the glassy eyes. They want to
determine if Moonies are really zombies and robots who cannot think or
talk for themselves. While those professors have been entertaining all
these sensational ideas, Reverend Moon has already embraced the entire
academic world, the scientific and theologians' world. There are no
really prominent and eminent professors any more who do not know about
Reverend Moon on very good terms.
Right now, some very highly esteemed theologians and philosophers
are gathered at the Conference on God, in Florida. That particular
group of scholars used to be afraid of Reverend Moon, but now they are
attending a conference sponsored by him and they are hearing talks on
Reverend Moon's ideology. Now when they hear the name or the teachings
of Reverend Moon, their heads are lowered in respect.
The American media managed to completely topple President Nixon
within a year and a half. The President of the United States
capitulated to the power of the media and got kicked out of the White
House. That is something the Washington Post is very proud of.
So they thought, "Reverend Moon will not last more than six
months." However instead of capitulating to them, Reverend Moon is
moving forward more and more strongly. All the attention of the media
only succeeded in making Reverend Moon famous. People magazine
listed Reverend Moon as one of the "25 Most Intriguing
People" for 1982.
Look at me now. Am I a good-looking, handsome man? When you look at
my Oriental face with your Western eyes, do you really enjoy it and
feel good about it? My face normally looks strange to Westerners. I
don't rely on appearances to be likable. Maybe many people don't think
I am anything special to look at. However, I know that you love me
because of something within me, not because of how I look. Isn't that
correct?
How do you and I know that is true? When you pray and meditate and
when you have dreams, sometimes you meet with me and Mother. I would
never visit with any of you in your dreams or prayers if our
relationship were not one of genuine care and love. How many of you
have met with me in your dreams or prayers? It appears that almost
100% of you have. How many of the hundreds of millions of Christians
have dreams and visions of Jesus?
You are truly a different kind of people; you are very strange in a
way. Therefore you feel the desire to marry someone from the Orient or
someone from another culture. This is very extraordinary for Americans.
The Unification Church families will be most colorful in the future. On
one bosom, the mother will hold a white baby, on the other she will
hold a black baby and the third child will be a yellow one! Suppose a
white woman had three children, one white, one black and one yellow. It
happened that the black and the yellow child loved their mother more
than the white child. Would the mother reject those children because
they were a different color than her and prefer the white child? No,
the mother's eyes do not see color; they only see love.
God looks at the earth the same way. Do you think He says, "I
prefer white children more, so you white ones can come to Me first,
then the yellow ones and finally the black ones."? No, God will
welcome His children according to the intensity of their love for Him.
White, yellow and black make no difference to Him.
Suppose you were an Oriental woman married to a white husband with
some black ancestors. You would be a mixture of everything in your
family! You might have one white, one yellow, and one black child! That
would be a beautiful, multi-colored family. In the recent Korean
matching, I matched many Japanese women to black African men; this
caused tremendous commotion in Japan. The parents are complaining
against me but I am telling them, "What is the problem? As these
men and women come together in love, mankind will be brought closer
together in love; furthermore, God takes great delight in this.
Therefore, I have no shame about it."
The majority of the couples in the recent blessing on October 14
came from Japan. This marriage caused a tremendous, earthshaking
response in Japan. Most people took it very favorably, saying,
"What a sacred way of marrying! What a beautiful way to start the
race of God!" Many parents were very pleased to see that their
children had gone to take part in that blessing; but then, their
daughters came back with a black husband. However, they had already
applauded the value of the blessing, so they couldn't take it back!
Many Japanese are thinking that Reverend Moon's mass marriages are
truly a wonderful idea. Even the government has resigned itself and
accepted it. Initially they thought that Reverend Moon was very evil,
but observing his actions they have changed their minds. They have
begun to accept that Reverend Moon must be a good man. People have seen
that instead of trying to take revenge on the American media, I have
created the Washington Times and invited all those negative
media people to take a better job with us, to contribute something of
value to the country.
1982 was an extraordinary year. The U.S. government tried to
destroy Reverend Moon in the courtroom, but instead of seeking revenge,
I have turned around and tried to do many things to help and save the
destiny of this nation. Many comfortable Washington political
bureaucrats who have had their beautiful offices inside big marble
buildings considered Reverend Moon and the Unification Church as
insignificant as peanuts. However, now they have found themselves
having to respond to the Washington Times; they are reading it
and trembling at some of the stories. They find themselves having to
take advice from the Washington Times!
Those who are dedicated to the destruction of the Unification
Church find the Washington Times the worst thing possible. They
are thinking, "Reverend Moon must be a genius to come up with this
idea. We were hitting him through the media and he responded by
creating the Washington Times!" Traditionally America has
been a basically conservative nation; recently, however, there has been
no effective conservative newspaper in the nation's capitol. When the
Washington Times first appeared, people just called it "the
Moonie paper." However, now conservative people in Washington are
calling it "our paper."
In the winter time, honeybees don't have the ability to find honey
so the beekeeper has to feed them with sugar. All winter long they
stock up on sugar, but once spring comes and the real honey appears,
the bees are so intent on sucking it they are not even aware if someone
comes along and tries to pull them away. They might even be pulled in
two pieces, but their heads would keep sucking the honey! Something
like that is happening now in Washington. People are reading the
Washington Times and are oblivious to being "hit" by
others; they are saying, "So what! This is honey!"
Actually, we are the happiest people under the sun. We are leading
the most exciting life. Now, during this Christmas season perhaps some
of your parents are worrying about you and thinking that you are
leading a terrible lifestyle. On the contrary, you are the most vital,
happiest people. Also we are very excited because we know that we have
the ability to mold the future for the nation and the world. We can
create a new moral society on the earth; we can put an end to
immorality and drug-abuse. Because of this, Moonies are people of great
confidence.
We consider the whole world as our stage. Many young people are
becoming victims of the drug culture; they try to deaden their senses
and obliterate the world's influence. But we want to contribute to the
whole world; we want to learn all the languages-French, Spanish,
Korean, Japanese, etc. This is because we want to be able to survive
and prosper wherever we go, anywhere in the world.
The most important quality we possess is that we are not doing
these things because we are being forced to; we are doing them
voluntarily and joyfully. How wonderful you are, even though your
parents may be thinking, "How miserable and fearful those Moonies
are!"
We have a hope and a pattern for the future; God is preparing it
for us. That is what our life is all about. Each of you is heading for
that goal which you must be qualified to reach-citizenship in the
Kingdom of Heaven. This means you must be willing to go through the
worst possible training period during your life on earth. Every day you
experience difficult situations for this very reason.
What is the uniqueness of Reverend Moon? After all, there have been
many religious leaders who went through the road of persecution because
they were obeying God. However, very few succeeded on every level.
Reverend Moon is the man who not only endured tremendous persecution
but who also won the victory on every level- individual, family,
society, national, worldwide and universal levels. This is what God has
been waiting to see throughout human history; finally He has found a
winner.
The key word is victory. Somebody has to sign the victory
certificate and who is that? Satan must be the one. That victory sheet
for God is the surrender sheet for Satan. If this is really true, those
of you here have really hit the jackpot. When someone plays
"Blackjack" at a gambling casino, the owner of that casino
never wants to see anyone get a "21" or blackjack. However,
if someone gets that, the owner is obliged by the rules of the game to
pay him for his chips. Satan is in the same position. However
reluctant he is to surrender, he will be forced to when you win the
victory.
At what point will Satan surrender? He will give you his absolutely
strongest persecution and if you endure it and show that your love for
God is stronger than his persecution, you will have won. Satan will
see that no matter how intensely he persecutes and punishes you, you
will never surrender and he will feel that he is wasting his time with
you. In such a case, Satan will leave.
What is Reverend Moon's uniqueness, then? I knew this secret about
Satan. I knew how to hit the blackjack against Satan. I brought this
secret to the different levels of relationship-individual, family, and
so forth-because the principle is the same, regardless of the level.
Satan surrenders only under one condition: that you love God more than
the worst persecution he can give you.
All of you are listening to this sermon. but so is Satan! He is
jumping up and down in frustration, crying, "Oh no, Reverend Moon,
you did it to me again! What will I do?" Once you know Satan's
secret, your way is very simple. You will become men and women who are
invincible and no one will be able to stop you. Regardless of what
anyone tells you, including your brothers and sisters, your mother and
father, your society, your employer, it won't make a difference in your
faith. Even if the communists try to kill you, you will be unmoved.
Therefore, once you know this secret, you can look at persecution
as a suspension bridge, across which you have to walk from Satan's
realm into God's realm. That bridge will carry you across the wide
chasm dividing them.
This is like a "blessed couples season," because we see
lots of couples talking very intimately with one another. One wife may
be saying to her husband, "My dear, you have been a member of the
Unification Church for ten years now. You have done your share. For a
change, let's just take a little vacation together." Then there is
the wife who gives her husband a motherly admonition, "Dear, you
didn't learn very much and Father says we must be very wise. Therefore,
why don't you drop everything and go back to college and get your
degree?"
You women, without your even realizing it, can be used as a tool of
Satan very easily. When you start talking about all the mundane,
practical things of your life, you can easily be led into complaining,
which can grow and grow. This kind of process is almost inevitably a
poison. At first your husband might resist your complaining and tell
you to stop. However, if you persist, after a while he will eventually
give in to you.
What do you say to that, you men? Will you be that kind of
husband? You husbands must be able to tell even your wife, "Get
behind me, Satan." What about you women? Can you also say to your
husbands, "Get behind me, Satan."? If you can agree to doing
that, even though you might have made mistakes in the past, God will be
able to forgive you and give you a new beginning at this new year.
Home Church is our land of settlement; that means Home Church is
the final stage of the providence. After I have received persecution
from all different levels and gained the victory over them, my
certificate of victory is Home Church. That certificate is given by
Satan as well as God; it must come from both sides. Home Church is the
place where you can inherit my victories and you can also conclude your
indemnity You can separate yourself from indemnity and find your final,
ultimate land of settlement. That is Home Church.
God called Abraham out of his homeland and told him to travel; he
had to live like a gypsy. Jacob also had to work throughout much of his
life in a foreign land, the land of Laban. Moses left his home and went
into the Pharaoh's palace. Christianity had to leave Israel and go to
Rome. The Unification Church today has had to leave its homeland. I had
to leave my country, just as many of you did. I left my homeland and
came to America where the persecution has been great; however, I have
not stopped my journey. I must go toward the ultimate goal of Moscow.
In 1976 I declared that the next goal was Moscow.
I am the front-line soldier against communism. Many people fee]
very uncomfortable when they hear that Reverend Moon's next goal is
Moscow. They think I am making very dangerous statements and that
someone might try to kill me. Even my close assistants have not
understood how we would be able to accomplish the goal of our Moscow
rally. Yesterday morning I sat at the breakfast table, surrounded by
church leaders, and I talked about how I planned to achieve the Moscow
rally. For the first time all those close leaders told me, "Now we
understand why you made that declaration to go to Moscow. It makes
sense, Father." I won't tell you the plan here because you will
think it's too simple and easy. Perhaps you will think you can just
relax and not work hard. Also, I can't release such information too
widely because there are spies who hear these sermons, not just our
faithful members.
You women, if I directed you to go to Moscow, would you go? Today
there is no country on the face of the earth in which there is not a
member of the Unification Church, including Soviet Russia and the
satellite countries. You may have noticed that one of your brothers
disappeared all of a sudden and you thought, "Maybe he was tired
and left the movement." In many cases, that person went to a
foreign country. Even some blessed couples have willingly parted from
each other for the purpose of serving in another country.
What about you? Are you only thinking, "We got the blessing
now. All we have to do is create the Heavenly four-positions, so I want
to relax and settle down now." Do you need an ordinary life now,
or do you need a mission? You must think, "Mission is first,
second, and third in my life."
I always go to the Holy Ground every day to pray at 5:00 in the
morning and sometimes earlier. It is not easy for Mother, but she
accompanies me. Mother has her own accomplishments; she is only one
woman and she has brought thirteen brilliant children into the world.
That is very extraordinary and I could easily become sympathetic toward
her situation for that reason, but I don't allow myself to do that. I
tell her, "You have your accomplishments, but I have my own
suffering, too. My path is equally and even more difficult. Therefore,
let us move forward without hesitation."
Sometimes I don't feel very well; I get headaches and soreness
throughout my body. Whenever that happens, I push myself harder.
Normally people say, "I need another two hours rest, perhaps a
whole day's rest, and I'll be Al right tomorrow." However, when I
don't feel well I push my body and say, "Get moving." What
happens? I find that my pains and headache disappears.
Those leaders who regularly come to East Garden come early in the
morning and stay until I go upstairs to bed. At night they often feel
very tired but they don't want to say so. Instead they say to me,
"Father, I think you must be very tired. Don't you want to go
upstairs and get some rest?" I answer them, "You rascals! Get
behind me, Satan!" Then I usually stay downstairs even longer than
usual.
Normally I go upstairs around one or two o'clock in the morning,
but that is not the end of my day. I often sit at my desk and read
reports and work on papers. Often I spend the entire night on that
chair. Five o'clock comes very quickly and I always go to the Holy
Ground to pray.
I can sleep at any time or place. If I sit down for just five
minutes, you will hear me snoring very soon. My body is always tired,
but I am still pushing myself. Many members think, "Father's body
is special. His bones are made of iron and his flesh is not really like
everybody else's." That is the way many people try to justify
themselves.
Sometimes my own children feel regret for not having received
unlimited love and attention from Mother and me; their hearts are
pained by this sometimes. I know they have every right to feel sad and
claim that they did not receive enough attention from us, but then what
have we been doing? We have worked hard and suffered for the sake of
the entire world and humanity, something greater than our own children.
Therefore I have no pain in my conscience. Since I have been pursuing
greater and greater accomplishments, my family has received care and
protection.
Reverend Moon doesn't have a land for settlement; he is still a
sojourner in a foreign land, living like a gypsy. I am still living
this way because God has not yet found His own land of settlement. When
God settles, Reverend Moon and the Moonies will settle with Him. This
is the most crucial segment of human history-the settlement of God,
Reverend Moon and the members of the Unification Church.
From 1945 to 1985 will be the forty years of wilderness for the
Unification Church. We are still marching in the wilderness toward the
goal of the worldwide Canaan. We shall move forward into Canaan and
leave behind this wilderness. These 40 years are the most crucial ones
for the Unification Church because it is the time period during which
we must pay every possible indemnity condition that needs to be paid.
We must be completely free of accusation from Satan so that he will
have no condition to claim against us.
Reverend Moon is like the elder statesman in the land of darkness,
but the dawn is coming. Now I am emerging in the new morning light;
this is the end of the 40 years. Right now a big contrast is clear
between North America and South America. North America is strongly
persecuting me; all the media use negative adjectives to describe me,
such as, "controversial Korean evangelist-industrialist," or
sometimes they say, "charlatan," and so forth. But now in
South America many people are looking at me as a source of new hope.
The media write about me as, "the internationally famous Reverend
Moon."
When one side of the globe is in darkness, the other is enjoying
the sunlight. While the U.S. is persecuting Reverend Moon, the Orient
is starting to see me as one of the greatest Oriental men who ever
lived. They are calling me a patriot and so on. Certainly the yellow
race is the most numerous throughout the world. Japan is giving great
pain to Western civilization because they are outdoing them in
everything, such as computers and automobiles. This is the result of
the natural turning of the universe.
The period of persecution against the Moonies is not going to be
permanent. That is the time of night and it has to turn toward the time
of light. The period of persecution will be approximately 40 years.
When the dawn comes, how long will the time of welcome last for the
Moonies? The showdown has been made, so we will be embraced for
eternity. It will be final.
Reverend Moon wants to bring all the victorious achievements to you
upon the foundation of Home Church. You will be able to receive this
inheritance whether you joined the church ten years ago, one year ago,
or just today. During World War II, some people fought from the
beginning to the end, while some joined only on the last day. Still
each person on the winning side could enjoy the victory at the end;
each soldier could call himself a veteran. The greatest of all
blessings is coming to all the members of the Unification Church, who
shall have the right to attend God, Jesus and the True Parents and
settle together in the land of Canaan. That is the privilege and honor
of the members of the Unification Church.
Because of the fall of man, all levels of love were lost and need
to be restored. You must love God first, before your husband or wife
and children. Home Church represents God to you, so you must love Home
Church first. Then you should love the True Parents and finally you can
love your spouse and children. Four types of love were lost: love for
God, love for true parents, true love between husband and wife, and
true love for children. These must be restored in the proper order.
In Home Church you must receive the welcome of everyone, including
Satan. In that way you will be granted the right to enter the Kingdom
of Heaven. This morning at breakfast, Mr. Pak told me that we need to
witness more to young people who will be committed members to replace
the older members. I told him that was important but Home Church is
more important. As the head of Washington Times, he should give
out his name card to people, especially when he travels back and forth
on the airplane shuttle. He could tell people, "I am responsible
for the new paper, Washington Times. Aren't you interested to
hear about Reverend Moon and the teachings of our church?"
Witnessing to people is doing Home Church, too. All the leaders should
think in such a fashion.
The accomplishment of this Home Church providence is a life or
death matter. When something is so serious, there is nothing you cannot
do; nothing should make you hesitate. Husband and wife should go
together with their children on their arms, visiting their 360 homes.
While you are winning the Home Church area, you will be winning
spiritual children as well. You must make your Home Church area a place
in which you have a free pass everywhere. You are taking God, the True
Parents, your husband and wife, and your children with you. This is the
gate through which you must be able to pass.
From now on there are no boundaries between spirit world and the
physical world. You can communicate freely back and forth. The land of
settlement is almost like Cape Canaveral, with rocket ships leaving
regularly.
God has been holding on to a small, leaf-like boat on the Pacific
Ocean, but He is finally finding some dry land. That is the kind of joy
which God feels toward Home Church. If you only talk about doing Home
Church but you never really get serious about it and do it, when you
die and go to spirit world you will feel much regret; but by then it is
too late. You cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven until you somehow
create your own Home Church base here on the earth. It might take
millions of years.
When you blessed couples spread throughout the world and become
very numerous, will you open your doors to welcome the True Parents and
True Children, night or day? By the same token, you shall be welcomed
in your Home Church area. You have to create the base for that kind of
welcome.
With this formula and tradition established, the Moscow Rally will
be absolutely no problem; in fact, it will be simple. The time has come
in which I must settle. I have done everything that needs to be done
for the sake of the free world. 1983 is going to be a crucial year for
you and for me; we are going to bring victory together this year. The
court battle shall be won during this year. Perhaps if you don't
fulfill what is needed and expected of you, God will have to leave you
behind because you will become like a roadblock.
Perhaps for a change I will mobilize all scholars. If the white
people cannot accomplish, I will use other people. Perhaps Oriental
people or some other ethnic group will have to come over here to work.
If that isn't successful, I will mobilize all the Korean people here in
America; they will be asked to provide the funds necessary for the
American providence.
Once I make up my mind to do a certain thing, it can be organized
within a short time. Will you accomplish your responsibilities, or will
you say to me, "I'm in a special situation, Father. I work for
the newspaper" or "My mission is different from everybody
else's."? That excuse will not work.
Now you know the slogan and goal for 1983-Home Church Is Our Land
of Settlement. We must dedicate our heart and soul toward the
fulfillment of this goal and win the victory. Last year's slogan was
Victory of Home Church. How much victory did you win? The slogan of the
previous year was Home Church Is My Kingdom of Heaven. How much of the
Kingdom of Heaven did you actually build and organize? Before that, we
had Home Church Is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Home Church
Is the Completion of the Kingdom of Heaven. However, throughout all
these years, nobody has achieved the goal. This year should not be the
same as those in the past. This year should be different. All you
leaders must be aware of the responsibility you are bearing to mobilize
everyone this year, without exception.
Without this attitude, you will not have your settlement but will
always be wandering like gypsies, not only in this life but also
throughout eternity. When you enter the spirit world, you will not be
able to be near me unless you succeed. In the Christian faith, no
matter how much they believe they can only go as far as Paradise. By
the same token, unless you fulfill a certain program here on earth, you
shall enter only into a paradise level of existence. In that place you
will receive all kinds of accusation from those closest to you-your own
spouse, your children, and so forth. They will complain, "Why
didn't you push me harder while we were on the earth? Because of that,
we didn't work hard enough for Home Church and we couldn't enter the
Kingdom of Heaven." I want you to understand that the accusation
of Satan is painful, but the accusation from your own spouse and
children is even worse. You cannot truly love and embrace your spouse
and children without doing your mission.
This is the reason I have given my entire life, day in and day out,
to accomplish my mission. This morning, since you know the truth and
you know the slogan, let us pledge to Heaven that we shall march
forward to the accomplishment of this slogan and achieve the victory
this year. Those who make that pledge, raise your hands and say Amen!
You have made so many pledges in the past, but this particular one
shall not fail. With that attitude of determination, raise your hands
again. Amen! Thank you.