(3) Sakyamuni Buddha

When my life ended on earth and I came here to this kingdom, I clearly saw that my works had been written from a very narrow and parochial perspective. When God created human beings, He was their only master and creator, but as their lives, circumstances, and living methods changed, they came to have new masters, one after another.

In human history, people have served many different gods other than God. Why, then are human beings unable to live independently, without serving a god? How did they come to have a desire for something ultimate? Why do they have feelings of nothingness and incompleteness in life? Why do they want to rely on a god? People had to seek God or other gods in order to solve these questions.

Whether on earth or in the spiritual world, how long do people have to live in separate groups? I have realized many times that this is not God's will. I also have seen that God does not always have a bright and joyful look. While considering many different aspects of God, I decided to meet some of the world's saints. I first met Sakyamuni Buddha in order to compare Christian and Buddhist perspectives on God.

Buddha was very gentle and humble. Before becoming a religious man, he had been a man of character He opened wide the door of conversation for me, and from our first meeting we could talk over many things in a bright atmosphere, without a bit of awkwardness.

First, I asked him, "I would like to hear about the God you have been sewing," and he answered as follows: "We human beings desire to be liberated from many dimensions of mental struggle about life. We want to be liberated from the human realities of birth, death, old age, and sickness and solve the problems of life." Although Sakyamuni put himself through many torturous ascetic practices on earth, still he could only conclude that humans are incomplete beings who can neither resolve nor escape from the agonies of birth, old age, sickness, and death. In efforts to solve this problem, he struggled intensely for countless days, striking his body and concentrating his mind, and yet no clear solution emerged. He had no interest at all in the world, for he thought that life in this world was but an instant, and thus the riches and fame, joys and sorrows of the world were meaningless.

He continued: "Today, many Buddhists admire me and worship me, but I am just like them, an incomplete and humble being, the only difference being that I discovered it before others. In order to bring myself to completion, up from a self with defects and contradictions, I struggled hard before others did. In this process, by the help of an unknown Buddha, I felt my mind spinning around and experienced a state of no self (emancipation). Through this, I came to see that the human being is an extremely small self emanating from a certain being. But if I express this by saying that we are a self emanating from some God . . .`' Sakyamuni paused for a short meditation and continued "Simply speaking, if we are small beings emanating from some God, I should be able to terminate this self and rise to the state of self-renunciation through spiritual cultivation and training. Then, when at that time I receive another being from God, from whom my being has emanated, I think my small self can appear as a small part of God." Buddha also explained: "If, through that emancipation, I solved my life's problems in some way, I think the reason lies in my having experienced in that state that I am a part of God who is being helped by Him. I believe that all human beings can experience that they are a part of God who can serve God and that they are being helped by God. When we have such an experience, worldly desires and individual greed diminish and disappear in our heart, and we come to have some freedom in which to think about the other world. Therefore, self-reflection is absolutely necessary for us."

My hearing these words of Sakyamuni led me to the following thought: what all people including Buddhists, Christians, and Catholics instinctively feel in common is the fact that the people seeking God are surely incomplete and limited. I believe that when we find God and live with Him in accordance with the desire of our original mind, we will be able to have eternal happiness.

When we are born to the world, we are not complete, with all of God's attributes. We need internal and external environments on many levels during our growth to perfection. However, we shaped ourselves in the wrong direction before we reached perfection.

Then, what is the original human image and the standard of human perfection, and what process is required for us to perfect ourselves in the original form? As you know, I have experienced both the life on earth and one in the spiritual world, and I would like to elucidate this issue on the basis of this experience.

For this, I wanted to meet Confucius, who is highly respected and admired by all people on earth. When on earth, he strictly observed the rules of propriety even in such minor things as taking a step. This intrigued me, and I asked him why he felt he had to live like this. Confucius opened his mouth only after a long silence. He believed that since he had not been born according to his wish, he should cherish everything around him as he respected his parents, and furthermore that his parents were also a precious inheritance from his ancestors. According to him, in our life on earth, we should respect and serve our elders in all matters, and love our juniors because they are to inherit our tradition. Since our vertical and horizontal human relationships are for the sake of sharing precious love, we should rely on one another in trust, cover one and other's defects, share things together and strengthen our friendships. Confucius feels that this is the natural human way.

On the other hand, exhorts Confucius, our natural environment is also a precious inheritance from our parents and ancestors, and so we should cherish and improve it so that we can again hand it down to our descendants pure and clean. All we have received from our ancestors, including our bodies, our thoughts, and our living environment, reflect their spirit. All of us have the responsibility to keep what we have received intact and pass it on to our descendants. Therefore, he continues, in heaven and earth, there is nothing that is without value. It is necessary for us to cherish them, and to do this we need to be educated in the rules of propriety. Serving our ancestors is no different from believing in and serving God.

This is the conclusion of Confucius.

Although I do not know when, where, and how Confucianism started, I concluded that this philosophy has something important for us. The human nature that seeks to use freedom within the limits of certain established norms, instead of living arbitrarily must eventually come from the nature to love and serve God. In this light, we can say that from the beginning, we are created in such a way that we live in an inseparable relationship with God. I believe that all human beings should live this way, and that this is very natural for them.

At birth, all of us are endowed with a unique character and we try to promote our unique talents throughout our life. I would like to introduce one person who did so very well.

He was born with a God-given voice, and could proudly present his talent before anyone. Such a person is best advised to be a classic singer. Developing his talent, he majored in vocal music, became a professor in this field, inspired the hearts of many people through beautiful songs, and lived in glamour and comfort. Hence he always felt gratitude for his talent. He thought he was lucky because he had not gained his fame and wealth through hard work but through inborn talent. In this affluent life, however, he was full of excessive arrogance, self- admiration, selfishness, and so forth, and had no regard for other people's situations. With his genius, he attained his goal in life.

One day, however a sudden misfortune was visited upon him. He contracted cancer of the larynx. Now he could neither sing nor keep his professorship. From that time on, he began to feel the vain transience of life and realized that human beings are extremely weak and helpless. He met many patients in the hospital, and his eyes opened to their troubles and to the difficulties of the people around him. He deeply felt his powerlessness and the emptiness of his life and painfully regretted having been so heartless toward other people.

As his health deteriorated, he felt that he did not have long to live; hence, resolving to dedicate his talent for the sake of others, he started going around singing, with all his strength, mainly to patients, lonely people and on the streets. Strangely, however every time he sang, he had new courage and felt less and less pain in his throat. Having this mysterious experience, and remembering his past, he went around many places to sing with all his strength. One day, in the middle of his singing, he experienced God. His body became hot like a fireball, and he felt as if he were flying in the air when God appeared in a voice saying, "Now your sickness is healed. Use your voice for the sake of others from now on." Then He disappeared in a flash like a white cloud. Thereafter, he turned into a street musician and comforted the hearts of passersby until his life ended on earth. Here in the spiritual world, he was surprised to see God again, and gained conviction that God can cure what is humanly incurable and do what is humanly impossible. He said that he was now living and sewing God in the place of God while thoroughly repenting of his having been so pitiless and arrogant towards other people.

When I heard this story, the thought came to me that no matter how brilliant a human being may be, he is but a small existence before God, and yet he does not realize it. If we are to be wise children of God, while on earth we should not show off our talents too excessively, but help others and keep correct faith.

We have but a very short stay on earth, and yet we live as if our earthly stay were forever. I have met someone who lived his whole life believing that God did not exist, and I would like to introduce him here. He was healthy and enjoyed riches and glamour, with nothing wanting in life. He thought, "What is the point of trying to find God?" He believed that people sought God because they had something missing in their lives, and thus he did not need God since he had nothing missing. Asking, "Where is God?" he enjoyed the bounties of his life until he came to the spiritual world.

According to him, when he concluded his comfortable life on earth and came here to the spiritual world, there was nothing prepared for him. Here, there was no one to take care of him, nothing for him to eat, and nothing for him to wear, and even all his friends despised and ill-treated him.

People around him kept ridiculing him, saying, "You do not eat this kind of thing, do you? You do not wear this kind of clothes, do you? You do not live in this kind of place, do you? So go and eat what you want to eat in the kind of place you like." So he was kicked out from everywhere and ended up having to live like a beggar, without knowing how long this kind of life would continue. When I asked him, "Do you know why you fell into this misery?" he answered by saying, "God is just and fair." He said that although he deserved the suffering here because he had enjoyed all the affluence and glory on earth, even now he still hoped to repent of his denial of God and lean on God. He said that after slipping into a situation of such want and difficulty, he became able to see his past mistakes, and that he would go after God if He did not forsake him, or even if He forsook him. He said that if he went before God, He would forgive him some day; he was confident that God is such a person.

In general, if we are too entrenched in the joy and comfort of the earthly life, we easily fall into a trap, without being able to get out. Hence, earthly things can easily be a deadly poison for us, and we should handle and relate to them properly. As you all know, the human being has a dual structure of the spirit self and the physical self, which are needed for the eternal world and the earthly life respectively. Think deeply about which of the two you will focus on in your life.

I, Augustine, have found a new truth here in the spiritual world. This is the Unification Principle. It was in a large lecture hall that I first came to hear the Principle. Since many people could freely come and hear the lectures there, I could listen to them without worrying about incurring any obligation. Seeing that the Principle was very logical and systematic, I felt urged to hear more. Later, I even arranged for private lectures. I sometimes asked new questions during a lecture. I found the Unification Principle very helpful. The content ranging from the Principle of Creation to the Principle of Restoration was deeply moving. I asked the lecturer where the root philosophy of the Principle came from, whereupon he explained the advent of the Messiah and His purpose and said, "The Principle came from the Messiah." He also explained to me about the earthly activities of the Messiah. At this time, I fell into no small confusion thinking, "If the Messiah came to the earth, who can save the multitude of spirits here in the spiritual world, and what can be done for the numerous people who dedicated their whole lives to faith and spiritual discipline in service to the Messiah without being in the right time for the benefits of the age? I struggled immensely in my heart because I was also a part of this unfortunate crowd. As I asked why not everyone could know and benefit from the Messiah's coming, I felt that the situation was so unfair and bitter, and I lost my calm. However, it was not just because of the advent of the Messiah that the Unification Principle greatly surprised me. I felt that the Unification Principle is a formula course for human beings, that it is too certainly true to doubt. But I could not easily accept the Principle view on the advent of the Messiah. After struggling over it for a few days, I offered a prayer. I went back, expressed my heart to the lecturer, and decided to hear again the explanation of the timing of the Messiah's appearance.

The lecturer's explanation helped a great deal. He said that, rather than feel bitter about having failed to receive the benefit of the age, I would live a much more valuable life and practice correct faith if I studied carefully about the Messiah who had come. As I heard this, I felt pain as if my heart were being carved out. I could not believe that the Messiah had returned, and wished that it were not true. "All these fluent lecturers of Divine Principle must be disciples of the Messiah, and what have I been doing so far to hear such news only now?" Thinking thus, I was intensely tormented by irresistible regret and pain.

Nevertheless, I could not deny even a bit of the Unification Principle, which had already taken deep root in my heart. The Principle of Creation explains about God, the process of God's creation, and the Universal Prime Force; Eschatology and Human History reveals God's regrets and laments over His having created human beings; and the chapters on the providence of restoration explain that all people are to return to the original form and that human history is God's providence of restoration. All these points are an utterly undeniable and absolute truth. Where can there be a truth that is clearer than this! After completely emptying my heart, I reflected on Rev. Moon's bloody battles in the physical and spiritual worlds until he discovered the Principle. I also felt very deeply that the Last Days of human history are near. Refreshing my mind, I started thinking beyond my bitterness to reckon the vast pain and sorrow of all humankind throughout the history of God's providence of restoration. I determined to accept as my eternal truth the Unification Principle and the words of truth spoken by the Rev. Moon. Firmly pledging to live as one of the youngest and humblest disciples of Rev. Moon, who has revealed the Unification Principle, I declared my conversion in the spiritual world.

The Divine Principle and Unification Thought are established on the basis of the new words of truth given by Rev. Moon. Unification Thought systematizes this content academically and in more detail based on the Divine Principle, and as such it can provide great inspiration to many people, especially intellectuals.

Whenever I study Unification Thought, I find myself deep in a marvelous academic realm. When I become immersed in the philosophical grandeur of Unification Thought, I cannot but be moved to insuppressible inspiration and joy.

For humanity, there seems to be no philosophy that is greater.

I have heard a passionate lecture by Dr. Lee, who systematized Unification Thought. Far from being an ordinary lecture, the lecture captivated my entire heart and mind with spiritual power, humility, love, and intellectual acuteness. He was humble, kind, sincere, and truthful.

Throughout the lecture he made it clear "I am nothing. This is the philosophy of the True Parents. Do not think that it came from someone's thoughts." He had both a sincere attitude of faith and special virtues.

While listening to this Unification Thought lecture, I realized many new things. I also felt fear and envy, thinking that Rev. Moon was truly a happy man to have such a disciple. Now that I had converted to the new truth of Rev. Moon, I wanted to work as a faithful and humble disciple of his, who could fully trust him and entrust everything of mine to him.

So I determined to thoroughly study and analyze Unification Thought and first of all become its lecturer.

When I asked Dr. Lee if I could become a lecturer, he said that I had to study hard and receive True Parents' recognition and approval. This reminded me of God's word, Augustine is too greedy. Humble is the position of Augustine.

So I made a firm determination, saying, "Now is too early for me. But when I diligently study and immerse myself in the Divine Principle and Unification Principle, carefully observing the characteristics of different lecturers, I will be able to eliminate all my defects, at which time I can finally be recognized by the Messiah, Rev. Moon. Waiting for that time to come soon, I will keep my place and sincerely maintain my faith. Keeping the stature of St. Augustine, I will live in preparation for the day to see the Messiah." This is the firm and immovable goal of my life.

I am living in incredible truth and boundless grace, which I could never imagine in the physical world. Having attained freedom in this truth and grace, I am living a happy life here every day. What is more amazing, however, is the Blessing ceremony in which those people who had left their physical bodies and come to the spiritual world participated.

What is the Blessing ceremony? It will feel quite unfamiliar to the one who hears about it for the first time. Simple speaking, it is a marriage ceremony. But in the Blessing ceremony, an honorable man and an honorable woman pledge to be husband and wife in God's presence. As you well know, Rev. Moon is the True Father of heaven and earth. Hence, the Blessing is a ceremony in which people pledge, in God's presence and with True Parents as the officiators, an eternal relationship as husband and wife in the spiritual world or the physical world.

In the Blessing ceremony, people on earth will be able to see only the people on earth, but the Blessing candidates in heaven can see both the couples on earth and those in heaven. The scene of the Blessing ceremony is truly beautiful and enchanting. I would like to introduce to you an aspect of the Blessing ceremony that I have experienced. During the ceremony, the officiator, Rev. Moon, suddenly changed into the shape in which God had appeared in the Garden of Eden before the human fall; God's rays spun in splendid and enrapturing colors and circled around Rev. Moon, whereupon he assumed God's body. Then, the whole scene of the Blessing ceremony was showered with brilliant light, as if floodlights of thousands of volts had been turned on in a dark room.

In this ceremony, God's light touched each and every couple. At this time, my wife was on earth and I was, of course, in the spiritual world. An earthly person would not understand what this means, but at one word from Rev. Moon, the ceremony site changed colors and structures, and the couples' ceremonial dresses changed. God's light touched all the people and their spirits became consecrated, after which their forms became different from those of the spectators. To illustrate by an example suppose there are two vessels, one of which is well washed and polished (the blessed couples) and the other cracked and stained. This was the Blessing ceremony. Although earthly people were unable to see or hear this at all, I saw it clearly. I would like people on earth to be clearly informed about this.

The Blessing is a ceremony through which God brings together an Adam and an Eve in the Garden of Eden when they become fully mature. I believe it because I have seen it clearly with my own eyes. I firmly believe that Rev. Moon is marrying honorable men and women as an officiator in God's body. So I am grateful to him for finding my spouse, and I sometimes go to the earth to see her. People on earth, now I am able to be on earth together with my wife. Although I am surely in the spiritual world, we are married. We were blessed and spent the first night together. Please believe this. I am Augustine, who has converted himself in the spiritual world. I am St. Augustine, frequently talked about by earthly people.

Please study the Blessing ceremony and who Rev. Moon is.

I, Augustine, will clearly tell all believers who he is. As your predecessor in the spiritual world, I will clearly tell you about the eternal and blissful life in the Heavenly Kingdom.

I think I am truly fortunate because I have achieved the greatest hope a human being can have. Among the vast numbers of humankind, I am able to serve God closely, understand God's providence correctly, and directly participate in God's providence; so who can be more fortunate than I? Here in the spiritual world, I have encountered a new truth, new providential facts of many dimensions including the internal and external worlds of the person, the mysterious creation of the world, the relationship between people and the natural world, love between God and people, the heartbreaking providence of restoration, how God was forced to leave the people in the Garden of Eden, the wrong beginning of human history, the archangel's domination of humanity as a false parent, and the pain of reordering the foundations of history. The Unification Principle contains secrets nobody has been able to divulge. This truth is really precious and incredible.

The one who has brought to light the Unification Principle is Rev. Sun Myung Moon. I have determined to serve him as the greatest teacher of human history.

Although we should not even dare to mention his name freely, I still would like to introduce the supreme teacher here for the sake of those people on earth who are longing to see him. I have always felt bitter to have missed the benefit of the age to receive the Messiah, and so I have eagerly studied the Unification Principle and intensely envied the Unification members. You cannot know how much I envied them, who could behold the great teacher on earth and live together with him. For quite a while I suffered intensely over this. But I have made a new determination after thinking that here there are still many who do not believe the teacher. I did this first of all to be liberated from my own greed.

Unification members are always filled with longing for their teacher. But how can I, who have never attended him, say anything about him? I, however, can convey aspects of him that I have discovered and that are difficult for people with physical eyes to see.

Here, God comes to people as light and expresses His love to them through luster of many dimensions. When God's light appears without notice, we all receive Him with longing and love. Rev. Moon, on the other hand, has a physical body. God appears as light and luster because He has no body, but Rev. Moon has a body, and I have clearly seen him wrapped around in light and walking upon glorious beams of light wherever he went. Perhaps there are few earthly people who can witness such a scene.

I have directly seen Rev. Moon in this state looking around the scene of the Blessing ceremony very thoroughly. His face is covered with a face of light, which, when he speaks, appears in many varieties such as blue and red. When I saw this for the fist time, it was immensely mysterious and stunning, and I simply watched it speechless, as if I had lost my entire consciousness. And I saw God protecting Rev. Moon in every place and at every moment by winding him with light, during which they two became one, sometimes separating and sometimes uniting. No words can express the beauty of this sight. It is wonder itself. Sometimes, God was groaning while sitting on the clouds as light and looking down on people, and every such time Rev. Moon's face dripped with drops of sweat like blood. This shows the complete heartistic oneness between God and the Messiah in their love and concern for humanity.

When I encounter such a scene, I feel my heart boiling with new spirit and hope, and I tighten my fists, saying that I also have a loving heart for humanity that is just as strong as anyone. I think that the Unification members on earth, who are living under the shade of the Messiah of humanity and True Parents, should possess the spirit of the True Parents and walk the path of pioneers for humanity, disciples of a true teacher, and children of the True Parents. I am very sad, however, that a great number of people on earth still do not realize the stature and value of the True Parents. But through this message I hope to be able to convey the reality to people on earth. The Rev. Moon as I have discovered him is not someone who can be judged by physical eyes, still less is he a teacher whom we should simply watch and adore. How happy the earthly people are, who can directly see their teacher on earth and receive his teaching and guidance! Lest you suffer the pain of regret in the future, cleanse your heart and escape from your tiny self. And study Rev. Moon. It will be difficult to judge him with your brain, however hard you analyze him, but those who make painstaking efforts to study him will be granted a chance to attend him. This is an ardent hope I myself have, the Saint, Augustine.

The Unification Realm of the Spiritual World must be quite unfamiliar to you. You have heard such names as the Heavenly Kingdom and Paradise, but perhaps there are few who have heard of the Unification Realm of the Spiritual World. Speaking simply, this realm can be called a Unification village, where eighty to ninety percent of the residents are members of the Unification Church, living together with the rest, who are nonmembers.

Here, I will skip discussing the Heavenly Kingdom or Paradise, and just talk about the Unification Realm of the Spiritual World. In this realm, mostly the people who have served and lived with the True Parents on earth before coming to the spiritual world are living together, doing activities and holding events just as on earth. In the spiritual world, the one condition of having lived with the True Parents on earth constitutes enormous merit. In the Unification Realm of the Spiritual World, there is hope and joy unavailable in other realms of the spiritual world.

There are special educational opportunities of various levels in this realm. This place is neither the Heavenly Kingdom nor Paradise, and yet its residents have the hope and joy to proceed to the Heavenly Kingdom in the future. For this reason, they are always lively and vivacious. In contrast, why do the residents in the other ordinary spiritual realms have no hope? It is because they receive education with no purpose or direction, and thus their daily lives lack vision for tomorrow. People of the Unification Realm of the Spiritual World are working hard to bring the truth of the True Parents to these frustrated people.

The people in the Unification Realm of the Spiritual World are living in waiting for the coming of the True Parents, and this sight always makes you feel fresh. What is interesting here is that when other ordinary people come into this realm and live together with the residents of this realm, the ordinary people become assimilated to the residents and change their ways of thinking. The people of the Unification Realm are always zealously witnessing to the novices who are encountering the Divine Principle for the first time. I tried to find out how these people, who had not attended the True Parents on earth, became admitted to this realm. Most of them did not live comfortably just for their own benefit on earth; they could easily embrace the Principle because they had already been familiar with living for the sake of others.

Also in the Unification Realm of the Spiritual World, many people come in and out, and many Principle courses, ecumenical seminars, and workshops are being held. Many religious denominations flock together here, and I could not easily recognize which religious sects they belonged to. We can say that this is a place of entry for receiving the True Parents. Since God's special attention and love is present here, everyone always longs to stay here. But just because people have received an education in the Principle, does not mean that they can automatically stay here. Also, even after receiving such education here, they are free to return home, just as on earth.

To be able to live in this place, you have to have lived a Principled life, as well as having lived with the True Parents, for those with a serious sin cannot abide here even if they have lived physically with the True Parents on earth. The Unification Realm of the Spiritual World is a place in which everyone in the spiritual world longs to stay and which manifests the glory of the True Parents. Also, this place is filled with love. If, while on earth, you set and follow your purpose correctly in attendance on the True Parents, you will be able to come here. I believe this is the wisest life you can live.

God created human beings, rejoiced while watching them, and hoped that they would grow up, become a husband and wife, prosper through the generations, and live happily in a garden of love. But the fall of the human ancestors misdirected human history, away from God's purpose of creation, and humanity has been journeying through the painful history of Restoration. In order to correct this, humanity needed to receive the Messiah and see the start of the history of rebirth through the Messiah. For the rebirth of humanity, the return of the Messiah is absolutely crucial. I converted in the spiritual world after realizing that the Messiah desperately yearned for by humanity is none other than Rev. Moon. I hope you pay attention to why I had this conversion experience and study it deeply.

Before the human fall, God had great hope for human beings. He had them freely rule over all things in the Garden and gave them boundless riches. God also gave them a commandment to keep during their immature period, and yet, unfortunately, they broke it.

God's hope towards people contained only joy and happiness, and no suffering, sorrow, sickness or pain. Having created all things for them, He desired that they would live and multiply, and enjoy the bounties of the world of God. Owing to their fall, however, their relationship with all things became severed, and so did their relationship with God. Human history has been moving in dark clouds, with the vertical relationship between people and all things severed. It has been continuing with its beginning and end hidden under a veil.

God, however, is an absolute, unique, infinite, and eternal being, and thus God's creation is unique and eternal. This is why God has been waiting until we restore our original nature. The one who has recovered the original human nature in the long trajectory of history is Rev. Moon. After inheriting the entire mission of the Messiah from Jesus at the age of sixteen, Rev. Moon overcame many deadly obstacles to achieve his mission and became enthroned as the True Parents. While drinking from the cup of suffering and endurance, he has been shedding his blood and sweat in sacrifice for the sake of the liberation of God and humanity. We should unconditionally kneel down to and obey Rev. Moon's word and teaching in order to return to our original form before the fall.

When you have a physical body, you will think that there is tomorrow, next month, and next year. But suppose that you have already shed your body and are a spirit confessing your painful stories to earthly people. How close this moment is to you! Even after a thousand or ten thousand years, will you have another chance to receive the Messiah?

Please pay attention to my, St. Augustine's, desperate and painful confession. In preparing an eternal abode, what dignity or what circumstances do you have to worry about? If you die in the spirit, you will be unable to enter this spiritual world. So you will have to hold on to Rev. Moon with all your life. He has had an eightieth birthday celebration. Serve him at least once while he is on earth and before you come to the spiritual world. The problem of your eternal life will not be solved except through him.

The first time I heard lectures from Unification members, I did not have even a bit of desire to convert because I was burning with jealousy and bitterness and reluctance to listen. But what else could I have done, for missing this opportunity would have meant death for me. So before coming to this spiritual world, receive the Messiah with all your might, overcoming and leaving behind everything that comes in the way. Forget about keeping your face or your dignity, and devote yourself entirely to testifying to and sewing the Messiah.

In general, fools hesitate over their useless pride. As you live in this age, if you only think about your pride and fail to receive the Messiah, you will end up being the worst fool of history. The Messiah is someone God has sent in order to restore for you the original human form before the fall. You will have to hurry. Pray about how many more years the Messiah will stay on earth. You will restore the original form when you receive, serve, and live with my Messiah and my True Parents. I hope that through this you can find a new life.

When human beings left God in the Garden of Eden, the history of human suffering and the history of God's sorrow commenced together. By deviating from God's direction, we came to breathe and live in the evil camp under Satan.

In daily life, all people came to live under the shadow of evil without being aware of it, and seeds of evil spread through the human lineage as this evil lifestyle became established as habit, practice, and tradition.

This is how human history has been moving. As history thus started with evil under the Yule of Satan, God's dream and hope to rejoice over people and the things of the universe were shattered into pieces.

Who has understood the fact that the relationship between God and people, the relationships among people, and the relationships between people and all things were cut off, and the fact that human history had a wrong start? We have been struggling to deal with our plight while having lost sight of the beginning, direction, and purpose of history, and human history has continued with no one able to bring light to fundamental human problems. It is Rev. Moon. the Savior and Messiah, who has discovered the heartbreaking story of God and people and the misery-ridden secret of human history.

While studying the Principle, I did not realize that his course of tribulation had to precede the revelation of the Principle to him. But he has triumphed over all challenges after going over the countless obstacles of the providence, and the Principle has come to us over such providential obstacles. The words of the Principle are truly a textbook of life to recreate the vast numbers of people. Human beings, whoever they are, should carefully study this textbook and live according to the truth revealed by the Messiah. You will have to change the starting point of your life. Now that our truth has been found and the master of the truth has appeared to us, we will have to straighten our lives in accordance with the truth.

Even if we were to go to the spiritual world tomorrow, we should still clean up and end our wrong life today. Before tomorrow comes, we must quickly obey this truth. If you are hesitating to receive the Messiah and the truth because of your pride, what can be more foolish than this? You are to depart from there tomorrow, and what is the need for hesitation and pride?

Throw away your pride and empty yourself of wrongful desire. Without settling into your present reality, fully dedicate your energy to preparing your eternal shelter and place of rest. Rev. Moon is a genuine teacher of the truth, the true master, and saving Messiah, the one for whom you have been so eagerly waiting. This can never be said to you too many times.

I, St. Augustine, have clearly conveyed this to you. I have made an honest confession of the fact that Rev. Moon is the Messiah of humanity.

The fall of the human ancestors gave a wrong start to history. Unless history is corrected, its course straightened, and human nature restored, we will continue to live in constant misery. Then, the spiritual world, our eternal abode, will fall into chaos and complication, and God and people will drift further and further apart, perpetuating the human tragedy. Hence, we have needed the history of the providence of restoration through which we can return to the God-desired original state.

The providence of restoration, however, must have a clear beginning and purpose rather than flowing aimlessly like a river. Already at the time of birth, human beings have a clear purpose and direction; likewise, human history should have a clear beginning. In order to achieve this purpose, a person was needed who could handle whatever challenges came before him, in other words, a hero who could accomplish the providence of restoration. Would it be easy to turn around the history of sin, which has been in progress up to now? The course of restoration is strewn with the sacrificial blood, sweat, and tears of numerous providential figures, and we can proceed to our original hometown because of the foundation of their sacrifice. Think about the time when Moses was leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. In the providence of restoration, there have been too many stories that were more challenging than this.

The path of restoration requires that we offer our lives. There needs to emerge a general commander of the providence who can willingly offer even his life for the sake of human salvation. This is none other than Rev. Moon. He has risked his only life for the sake of moving the providence forward. Only the True Parents of heaven and earth, the Messiah, and the Savior can be the true master of the providence of restoration. We have come to the ultimate conclusion of the providence; if we just follow the Messiah, even if we may be barely hanging on to him, we can be completely restored and return to the original form desired by God.

The Unification Principle contains many lessons for life, formulae for human living, and the absolute truth of the universe. Since the Unification Principle is the last truth for humanity, I, Augustine, again ask you all to carefully read it together. If you have a problem with a certain part of the Principle, try a fasting prayer to resolve your question. Also, investigate from many angles and pray about whether Rev. Moon is really the Messiah.

About this matter, I prayed and investigated countless times, and sometimes gave up, despaired, and struggled.

And finally, since the Unification Principle leaves no room at all for doubt, I decided that it was wisest to empty my mind and converted myself. I firmly believe that Rev. Moon is the Messiah prepared and sent by God and a True Parent of heaven and earth. I, Augustine, believe. Augustine has now realized and firmly grasped it. If there are people despising and persecuting Rev. Moon, they are only exposing their own ignorance in broad daylight.

Pledging to become a pioneer of restoration before them, I declare to serve Rev. Moon as the True Parent of heaven and earth and gladly offer all myself to him. Shouting "Long live the True Parents in the garden of restoration," I sincerely pray and pledge to become one of his precious comrades in labor. Before the incredible new truth, I strongly pledge by putting together my knees and my hands. I have announced my conversion to all the people on earth and in the spiritual world. I, St. Augustine, pray and plead with you to quickly receive and serve the Messiah.

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