New ERA Luncheon

Sun Myung Moon
October 4, 1980
East Garden
Edited

Does God have everyone's love? Has He ever truly experienced the kind of love He wants to experience? Did He ever really have the experience of original love? You are theologians. What do you think? Has God ever been satisfied, has His need ever been met? My answer to that question is NO. The fall of man came about too quickly, before the ideal of creation could mature or bear any fruit in reality. And since the fall, God has never truly seen the original form of love here on earth, He has never seen it in action, He has never experienced it. To this day, God does not enjoy true love.

What is religion, then? What are all those religions which have come and gone in history, and what are all these religions that are still with us today? There are so many fights among these religions. What is their purpose of existence? All of the world's religions are part of God's endeavor in history to find one true man and one true woman who would emerge out of them. Religion is like a field which true men and women come out of. That is the goal.

Then what is the concept of messiah? No nun, no saint, no soul here on earth has ever truly received the original love of God. So not only has God not experienced true love, but also man has never experienced the true love of God before passing away into spirit world. The original ideal of love that God wants to see flourish among men, among families, between husbands and wives, between parents and children, has never come to exist in reality. Also, true love has never existed on the level of the society, the nation and the world. Originally, love should grow through all of those levels and continue to blossom in the spirit world. That original concept of creation has never been realized. From the point of view of God who created all things, earth is a desolation, a desert full of incredibly tasteless life forms.

Why did God create man? What is the purpose of the creation of all things? God created man to receive and enjoy the love of God, to be the object that can respond to the love of God. But that man whom God created has never seen true love, never truly experienced love, never truly touched the love of God. In the course of salvation history, why is God so dependent upon men? Why cannot God Almighty finish with them all in one stroke? Because in order to gain the complete and perfect love that He wanted from the beginning, God needs the partnership of man. He cannot do it Himself. Therefore, if God disregards man, no perfection of love will be achieved. There is no way God can achieve His goal without man. That was the plan from the beginning. If that plan had been fulfilled the world would have been entirely different.

What is the purpose of the messiah? He is coming as a model of love sent by God to show individual men, families, societies, nations and the world the true form of love in action. That is why he has to come physically on earth, to show love in action here. We read in the Bible that in the eleventh hour of the crucifixion Jesus shouted out, "Eli, Eli... ("Oh my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?") Then he said, "It is finished." Today, Christianity simply interprets this to mean that the mission of Jesus Christ as Messiah is fully completed. For 2,000 years we have looked at that particular phrase in this way.

Christians have not known that this phrase of Jesus' has limited value and meaning. In the total concept, there is so much work that Jesus came to do which was left undone at the Cross and which has still not been done to this day. There are so many prophecies about the second coming of the Lord. If the fulfillment was so complete 2,000 years ago, there should be no reason for him to come again. Then why is he coming? The mission of the messiah 2,000 years ago and the mission of the messiah who comes today has not changed. The messiah still comes for the same purpose. It has to be pursued again, only this time to the ultimate fulfillment.

Theologians who study the Bible and the Will of God must be pursuing an ultimate goal. Otherwise, all their effort will be in vain. We are not competing to see who knows more about the Bible. This is not the place to show off our knowledge. Rather, our purpose as theologians is to find the love of God and to understand the true will of God so that we can then lead others to achieve this same goal.

What is Rev. Moon all about? Those of you who are meeting me for the first time can see that I'm not so handsome, just a normal man. But why have I become so controversial in our world today? Because I'm hitting right between the eyes. I'm not fooling around, or beating around the bush. I am striking at the heart, at the central power of the universe. Therefore both sides God's camp and Satan's camp are declaring an emergency situation. This is an emergency for both camps.

Unification Church is not only talking about, but also doing the things that threaten the very existence of Satan. So obviously it is an emergency for Satan and he has to mobilize. This is the reason that all of Satan's forces are attacking, knowing that Rev. Moon representing the individual, family, clan, tribe, national and worldwide levels is coming to strike them down at the very heart. One mistake, and Satan will collapse. His very existence is at stake. This is the focal point of the struggle.

Meanwhile, God's side is also in an emergency situation, because for the first time in history, the ultimate purpose of creation can be realized. God's entire camp is mobilized and jubilant over such happenings. But the satanic forces are coming against God's side and trying to knock them down before their own time is up. That clash with Rev. Moon and Unification Church at the center came in 1976. This was like a clash between God and Satan, and it was a victory for God. Therefore the satanic forces are mobilizing every ounce of their power, including secular and governmental power. After 1976, Unification Church was plunged into a situation of being persecuted and oppressed by the governments of all the free world nations. We have missionaries in over 127 countries, and they serve as lightning rods, taking upon themselves all the persecution and difficulties in their respective nations.

Probably in the history of religions, no other religious movement has attained such a worldwide scope in the founder's own lifetime, nor has any other religion received so much persecution on the world level. I don't think you can find any parallel to that in all of history. I have engaged in a lonely battle with heavy odds against me. By any objective standard, my chances were extremely slim. Yet we can find an analogy to this in biblical history, in the story of David and Goliath. Goliath seemed so formidable almost like a Superman but David fought him in the name of God and won. Today, I too am fighting in the name of God and for the sake of the true love of God. I am fighting for God's love to exist and flourish, and I am declaring war in the name of the love of God.

I am not just speaking to you about some theory today. I am speaking about a principle that has been working throughout history, ever since God created man. The spiritual world is a reality, it definitely exists. When I traveled there, I saw spiritual law in operation: Those people who gave more love, who lived unselfishly, who practiced loving their fellow man, their country and the world, are the ones who are occupying high positions in the spiritual world. Unfortunately, there are not too many renowned scholars in the hierarchy of the spiritual world. But after this session, scholars will be accepted in those regions as well. And when you go there, you will find that what I am saying is very true. Someday we will all get there. We will have an assembly upstairs and we will see the reality of what I am telling you now. This is not just an opinion or a theory.

Now I want you to become an authority on the love of God. That is your goal today. We must pledge ourselves to move toward that goal, toward the world of the true love of God. Whether you are Presbyterian or Methodist or Jewish or Catholic, it doesn't make any difference. Ultimately, we have to be united centering upon the realm where the true love of God prevails. That is the goal of your research in New ERA. The New Ecumenical Research Association is plunging ahead towards that goal. A revolutionary new theology has to be developed out of New ERA.

I understand that most scholars are very stubborn. When you get together you all stick to your viewpoints and never yield even one inch. But let us all here yield to this one goal: the world of the true love of God. Once you get there, you won't give a damn about your own viewpoints. I want you to become, not only scholars speaking about knowledge, but scholarly men who experience the love of God and speak about that experience. Anything that goes against the love of God will inevitably decline. God's love is like the sunrise. So think towards that goal, and direct your work towards it as well. Actually, anything that goes against this goal is heretical. That, and only that, is true heresy.

From the standpoint of what I have said today, reflect about yourselves for a moment and try to re-evaluate your work. Ask yourselves, "How much have I been working for the true fulfillment of the love of God? Has my work been only an intellectual game, playing with knowledge and words? And what is my position? Can I say that I am truly a child of God? How much am I a son or daughter of God?" You should re-evaluate yourselves on this point especially, and put your selves in a new position relative to God. You know yourselves very well. Nobody can deceive you, least of all, yourselves.

I myself practice this credo. I am a child in the sight of God. My relation to Him is very humble, very frank and open. I repent before Him and go through a self-analysis which reveals all my shortcomings. This is so rewarding to me. In this respect, I have never been alone. Even though many people see me as a lonely man, I am not lonely. I have the deep happiness of actively pursuing the greater love of God every day. With each new day I see greater fulfillment.

Here in America, there is one core problem. It is not the lack of people, nor resources, nor knowledge, nor theologians, nor philosophers, but the lack of an understanding of true love. This is the core problem of America. We are initiating a search for that true love, we are beginning research in that direction and we are pioneering that new road.

The principle is really simple and quite provocative. No one has expressed it in this way until now. But I know this principle clearly, and I am living it. I'm only sorry that it's so hard to express these thing through the medium of language. It is really agonizing for me. But having heard this message, the next time you become really exhausted in your work or in your research, think about what I have said to you today.

Think of me in that moment of exhaustion. For one thing is very sure. In that very moment I will not have stopped, I will still be going strong, I will be in action. Think that you can join with me in our common goal, that you can get into the action, too. Then I am sure you will receive the energy you need. This kind of effort is needed in your schools, your homes, by your society. It is absolutely constructive. I want you to succeed in making New ERA a great pioneer venture, bringing in a new era upon the earth. Thank you very much.

Amen.