Cheon Il Guk

Christian Nseka
February 22, 2009
Manhattan Family Church
New York, New York

Readings:

Had the Jewish people honored Jesus and united under him, the Roman Empire would have become the messianic kingdom under the reign of Christ. Hebraism then would have assimilated Hellenism to form one worldwide Hebraic civilization. Instead, when Jesus was rejected and this providence was frustrated, Hebraism remained under subjection to Hellenism. In 313 A.D., Emperor Constantine officially recognized Christianity by the Edict of Milan. From that time on, Hebraism gradually began to overcome Hellenism. By the beginning of the eighth century, it had formed two civilizations: Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholic Christianity.
Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 350

…toward the end of the period of persecution in the Roman Empire, after Christians had drunk the cup of persecution to the fill, Jesus increased the numbers of believers by moving their hearts with his power and grace. By stirring the heart of Emperor Constantine, Jesus led him to recognize Christianity in 313 A.D. Jesus inspired Theodosius I in 392 A.D. to establish Christianity as the state religion. Christians thus restored Canaan spiritually inside the Roman Empire, the satanic world.
Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 316

Good afternoon brothers and sisters.

Today, my sermon is about Cheon Il Guk. In this sermon, we will answer the following questions:

What is Cheon Il Guk?
Is there any difference between Cheon Il Guk and the Kingdom of Heaven?
Who is supposed to establish it?
Why do God and True Parents need Cheon Il Guk?
How will Cheon Il Guk come about?
Is Cheon Il Guk important to us?

Before we start, I would like to mention that this sermon is based on my personal understanding of Cheon Il Guk. So I invite you to feel free to talk to me after the service if you disagree with anything in this sermon.

What is Cheon Il Guk? Is Cheon Il Guk the same as the Kingdom of Heaven? Cheon Il Guk is not the Kingdom of Heaven. It is rather a national platform upon which God’s Kingdom on earth will be established. It is a precursor to God’s Kingdom on earth. It is any nation from or through which heaven can work for the fulfillment of God’s ideal. As pertaining to True Parents and Unificationism, Cheon Il Guk is any nation that holds True Parents (True Father and True Mother) as their national spiritual central figures, True Parents’ ideology as one of the national ideologies, and Unificationism as one of the national or central religions. It is also a nation in which all if not most of the citizens practice the teachings of True Parents. It is a nation made up of families and individuals of Cheon Il Guk.

Who is supposed to establish Cheon Il Guk? All of us. Each and every one of us has to contribute to the building of Cheon Il Guk. We are trailblazers for we are pioneering and setting the path that those who do not yet know True Parents will follow on the way to God’s Kingdom. It is also the path that our future generations will follow on the way to God’s Kingdom.

Do we have to be perfect to build Cheon Il Guk? No. Unlike the Kingdom of Heaven, Cheon Il Guk does not require perfection. Hence we don’t have to be perfect to build and enter into Cheon Il Guk.

How will Cheon Il Guk come about? Cheon Il Guk will come about by us walking the walk and talking the talk. We who believe in True Parents have to become extensions of True Parents at the individual, conjugal and tribal levels. And our families must become extensions of the True Family at the family, tribe, nation and world levels. In other words, we ought to become True Parents’ and True Families’ Ambassadors and reflect the heavenly culture, tradition and standard that our True Parents have been setting. We ought to reflect and promote True Parents’ ideology. And we ought to become the incarnation of the Unification philosophy, etc.

In simple terms, we build Cheon Il Guk by doing the best we can everyday. This means: to eliminate our fallen nature, to live for the sake of others, to develop absolute faith, to cultivate absolute love, to demonstrate absolute obedience, to create harmonious husband-wife relationships, to center our lives on the Divine Principle and True Parents’ words, to change the way we think, to change the way we relate to True Parents and True Children, to change the way we relate to our spouses and children, etc. In short, we are to become people who are striving for perfection.

Jesus said “…The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Now guess what? Just like God’s Kingdom, Cheon Il Guk is also within us. We have to cultivate it within us before we can substantialize it. We have to cultivate it within us before we can live in it. There will certainly be some confusion at the beginning as we start to substantialize Cheon Il Guk. This is because, though we all believe in True Parents, though we have studied the same Divine Principle, there is a difference in how we relate to our True Parents and in how we understand the Divine Principle. When the ideal of Cheon Il Guk is completely realized a couple of centuries from now, there will be no more confusion because it will be an environment ruled by absoluteness. And when that happens, that will be the Kingdom of God on earth. This means that 2013 is not the end but a transition year to the next stage in the providence of Cheon Il Guk.

Is Judaism a world religion? No, it is not. The fact that there are Jews all around the world does not make Judaism a world religion. Have you ever seen any Japanese Rabbi anywhere? How many West Indian Rabbis do you know? Within the eight horizontal stages of restoration, Judaism is still a religion at the level of race and people. Judaism is not a world religion because it never had a Cheon Il Guk. The Egypt of Moses’ time was supposed to be its Cheon Il Guk.

Is Christianity a world religion? Is Islam a world religion? What about Buddhism, is it a world religion? Yes, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism are world religions. Why are they world religions? Because they each had a Cheon Il Guk. The Roman Empire was the Cheon Il Guk for Christianity, the Ottoman Empire was the Cheon Il Guk for Islam, and the Maurya Empire (today’s India) was the Cheon Il Guk for Buddhism. On the foundation of their Cheon Il Guks, these three religions became world religions. Let me just say that the inherent power of a Cheon Il Guk determines how far and wide a religion will reach. This is why it will be best if America became the first and main Cheon Il Guk for True Parents and Unificationism.

Let’s talk about Christianity for a moment. Though there was Christianity in Rome and throughout the Empire before the year A.D. 313, it was nothing but a powerless powerful religion. I mean, it was a powerful religion for it proclaimed God Almighty and Jesus Christ, but it was powerless throughout the Roman Empire and the world because it had no substantial national foundation. In other words, Christianity was a powerful religion with no national physical base from which to manifest its power. Thus, it was powerless. As a consequence, Christians found themselves in situations where the power of their religion was used against them. Their faith in the Almighty was used against them. And last but not least, their faith in the Christ, the man who overcame death, led them to death, under cruel circumstances at times.

Upon the sacrifice of the blood, sweat and love of Jesus Christ and the faith and the blood shed by the many early Christian martyrs, the condition to make the Roman Empire a Christian Cheon Il Guk was finally realized in A.D. 313. This condition was successful because of two things: the unity of heart between Christians and Jesus Christ, and the recognition and acceptance of Jesus by the Roman Emperor, Constantine I.

In Divine Principle’s terms, there was harmony between the successful foundation for the Messiah established by Christians and the successful foundation for the Messiah established by Constantine. There was subject and object unity created in many different levels. It did not matter whether or not Constantine would have died for Jesus. All that mattered was that he recognized that Jesus and Jesus’ God were essential and central to his life, reign and Empire thenceforth.

But still, even after signing the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, the Roman Empire was still not a full-fledged Cheon Il Guk because Christianity was not its central religion. It took 80 years, from 313 to 392, for the Roman Empire to become the Cheon Il Guk that God and Jesus were longing for. The Roman Empire became a substantial Cheon Il Guk when Theodosius I declared Christianity the state religion in A.D. 392. On that foundation, Christianity could therefore become a substantial worldwide religion. God and Jesus finally had a substantial or a physical national platform from which to launch a substantial worldwide providence.

Is Unificationism a world religion? Somewhat. Though Unificationism is all around the world, it is actually a powerless powerful world religion, too. This is because, without Cheon Il Guk, without a nation with Unificationism as the central religion, our worldwide presence will remain ungrounded. It will be very difficult if not impossible for God and True Parents to substantially influence this world without Unificationism having a substantial national base -- Cheon Il Guk. This is why God and True Parents need Cheon Il Guks. This is also why Cheon Il Guk is important to us. Because without Cheon Il Guks, there will be no Kingdom of Heaven. This is why we must establish Cheon Il Guk or at least plant the seed of Cheon Il Guk wherever we are.

Why did True Father wait until the year 2001 to declare the Providence of Cheon Il Guk? The answer to this question is a sermon by itself. But in a few words, the reason is because Cheon Il Guk had to start after the providence of restoration through indemnity has ended. And that happened in the year 2000 when the True Children indemnified the providence of the Garden of Eden. That was the victory of the True Family as a whole. (I will explain more in a different sermon.)

This victory of the True Family is the only reason we are operating at the world level without Cheon Il Guk. Now we have to catch up to the True Family by establishing Cheon Il Guk. The establishment of Cheon Il Guk will be our victory. Therefore, our victory (Cheon Il Guk) combined with the victory of the True family will set a substantial foundation for the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Now, who built Cheon Il Guk for Jesus and Christianity? Jesus did not establish Cheon Il Guk for Christianity. Though according to today’s reading (Exposition of the D.P.) he did intervene by stirring the hearts of Constantine I and Theodosius I, I believe he was only able to do so based on the victorious foundation established by early Christians. This means that Jesus was able to intervene only when the early Christians -- apostles, disciples and others -- finally united with his heart, mission and vision. And their sacrifices combined with the victorious foundation established by Jesus, set the condition upon which Jesus and heaven could intervene.

Who built Cheon Il Guk for Muhammad and Islam? It was not Muhammad. It was his believers who built it centered on the victorious foundation of Muhammad. Same goes for Buddhism.

This proves that it is our responsibility, centering on True Family’s victorious foundation, to build Cheon Il Guk. Unlike the Buddhists, the Christians and the Muslims, we (Unificationists) have the chance to do it while our central figures (True Parents) are still alive. There has never been an historical moment as great as the one we are living in right now. Cheon Il Guk is the best gift we can give to True Parents.

What will it take to turn America into Cheon Il Guk? The question is not really about what it will take. It is rather about whether we are able to effectively use everything we’ve got to turn this nation in to Cheon Il Guk. We must effectively use our love, faith and dedication to God, to True Parents, to Jesus Christ, to the Holy Spirit, to the Divine Principle, and to the Gospel to turn this nation in to Cheon Il Guk.

Is four years enough time for us to turn this nation in to Cheon Il Guk? What are we going to do if President Barack Obama does not embrace True Parents and Unificationism like Constantine and Theodosius embraced Jesus and Christianity?

In our reality, being in this country, it is not whether or not President Obama embraces True Parents and Unificationism. Is George W. Bush gay? Nevertheless, gay-and-lesbian agenda prospered during his tenure. Didn’t it? Whose suggestion was it to stop offering prayer in public schools? Did it happen because President John F. Kennedy believed that prayer should be banned from public schools? No, it happened because an individual suggested and fought hard for that. Get my point? In this country, it is not necessarily about who is in the White House. Rather, it is about the will of the people.

So what can we do to make America a Cheon Il Guk by 2013? Looking back to the Roman Empire, what the Emperor Constantine did was to officially recognize Christianity. He did not make it a state religion. Nevertheless, his endorsement of Jesus and Christianity gave God, Jesus and Christianity the substantial national foundation they needed to move the providence to the world level. By the same token, the minimum we need to do is to get the Congress to officially recognize our True Parents and Unificationism.

If we all do what we are supposed to do, we can definitely turn this country in to Cheon Il Guk. It may not be a full-fledged Cheon Il Guk by the end of 2012, but it will be a Cheon Il Guk like the Roman Empire in A.D. 313, if not better.

Do you believe?

Those Christians who were being persecuted and cruelly murdered by the Romans did not know that they were establishing a foundation upon which the Roman Empire would someday become a Christian Cheon Il Guk. They probably felt like things were getting worse by the day. They probably felt confused to see everything that was happening to them. But what they did not know was that in all that, given their attitude and faith in God and Jesus, and given that they shed blood in the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of heaven, heaven compiled their sacrifices as condition for the building of Cheon Il Guk. Aju!

And today, we may not feel like we are doing anything for Cheon Il Guk at all, we may feel as if nothing is happening, we may even wonder if this country is really going to accept True Parents and become Cheon Il Guk. But fear not, as long as we keep our faith in our True Parents strong, as long as we stand strong and proclaim our True Parents’ ideology to the people of this nation, heaven will find a way, through our efforts, sacrifices and dedication, to turn this country in to Cheon Il Guk. Aju!

This is our time to do something great for God and our True Parents. Heung Jin Nim, Dae Mo Nim and the spirit world are ready and waiting for us the set the necessary condition by continuously moving forward. The time is now.

Jesus once said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20-21).

So if we love this country with the desire to make it THE Cheon Il Guk, if we sacrifice for this country with the desire to make it THE Cheon Il Guk, if we serve this country and its citizens with the desire to make America THE Cheon Il Guk, and if we do all that on the victorious foundation of True Family, it will not matter whether our love for America is huge or as small as a mustard seed, this country will become THE Cheon Il Guk. We have to move this mountain. Aju!

Can we make of America a Cheon Il Guk in four years? Yes, we can. This is first and foremost an individual responsibility. Each person will learn and know what to do and how to do it when one starts to do what he or she is supposed to do.

Hence the answer to the question “What should ‘I’ do to establish Cheon Il Guk?” will progressively unfold as one starts turning oneself into an individual of Cheon Il Guk. It is like walking. You will not see what is around the corner until you reach the corner. This means that you must take the first step in order to reach the corner. This explains what Jesus meant when he said, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them” (Matthew 13:12).

Just remember this: though any nation can become a Cheon Il Guk, the ideal of the Cheon Il Guk providence centered on our True Parents will be fulfilled faster and more effectively if and only if the United States of America becomes the first Cheon Il Guk. We are in this nation for a reason.

It’s time for us to come out of hiding. Let’s put this nation on the right spiritual track. The time is now. God is waiting, True Parents are waiting, the world is waiting, and America is waiting.

We have four years to make America THE Cheon Il Guk -- a nation that will progressively recognize our True Parents as its spiritual central figures, their ideology as its central ideology, and Unificationism as its central religion, if not one of its main religions. Let’s make America a victorious Roman Empire of the current era for the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth.

I just want to make one final point. Besides Korea, is there any other nation that can claim that some of the True Children are its citizens? Which nation is that? Can we say that it happened by accident? After Korea and Japan, the Unification Movement was established in Europe before coming to America. Am I right? Why did Father decide for some of the True Children to be born in America instead of Japan or any European nation? Whether we think we are in this country by our own volition or by God’s design, we have to contribute into making of this country God’s and True Parents’ Cheon Il Guk.

Building Cheon Il Guk is not only about the big things we do; it is also about the little things we do right. It is about each individual doing what he or she has to do and doing it right and exactly when it needs to be done. Let us reflect on that. Aju!

Thank you for listening.

Please join me in prayer.