The Words of Rev Sun Myung Moon from 1980
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The Words of Rev Sun Myung Moon from 1980 |
What is the purpose of God's creation of man and the universe? An interpretation of God's "Will" may look simple but it is exceedingly difficult. If we unravel God's providence for salvation, we see that God's purpose is the realizing of His ideal of creation. The purpose of creation was to be realized through Adam and Eve, ancestors of mankind. The ideal of creation was to establish an ideal family through the marriage of Adam and Eve who love and worship God as Father.
If after the husband and wife became perfect and had their own children, they were all united, parents and children, and established an ideal family centered on God, then God's Will was to be fulfilled, and a simple, homogeneous culture formed, centered upon Adam himself. In God's love, Adam was to multiply his own kind, to establish a nation, and to create a world that would fulfill Adam's ideal. If all these had been done, then there would have been a world connected by the Tree of Life all the way up to the loving God. In this world, then, all human beings would have been God's sons and daughters and would have been in the position of a Messiah.
All were to live as God's children, yet because of the Fall, they fell to a very lowly and miserable level of existence. This event neither God nor man can forget no matter how hard they try, and it is no doubt the most tragic event in human history.
A glance at this history will show that God's ideal of creation has not yet been fulfilled. There has never been an individual who may go to God in the state of perfection nor a family, nor a nation in that state. God is not a God of glory but of misery. In Christianity God is God of glory, yet at this moment God is tearfully watching sinful man and also is anxious to save him.
There must be some complicated reasons why the all-knowing and all-powerful God has not saved him.
According to the Principle of Creation, man was created to serve only God. But due to the fall of Adam and Eve, man has stood ever since in a position to serve Satan. When God found that Adam and Eve fell into a position to serve two masters, He began a history that divides into Satan's side and God's side. God's providence lies in the fact that because of Eve's fall a distinction must be drawn between her unprincipled love with the archangel and her principled love with Adam.
God continued His providence when the fruits of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, became the manifestations of unprincipled love and principled love, so that God positioned Cain on the side of Satan and Abel on His side. It was from this point that a history of division between the first son and the second son commenced. This is the work of sacrificial offering, considered very important in Christianity. God's condition for the possession of man was the sacrificial offering. God and Satan have continuously waged a battle over this sacrificial offering.
Why is it that in the case of Adam's family God turned down Cain's offering but accepted Abel's? Today's Christianity cannot answer this question. But the reason why God accepted Abel's sacrificial offering was that God positioned Abel on his side. According to the principle of restoration through indemnity, because restoration was made possible only in the opposite way in which man fell, God could receive Cain's offering only through Abel. As Cain must be united with Abel, before God, so Adam and Eve must be united in worshipping and serving God.
The idea of a Messiah originated in this situation. It is here that the providence of salvation began on its torturous course. God must work His Providence through a tragic history in which He must subjugate the first son who was on the side of Satan through the second son.
God unfolded a history of division through Shem and Ham in Noah's family and through Esau and Jacob in Abraham's family. It is a historical fact that in the history of providence centered on Abraham's family, Jacob, with the help of his mother, Rebecca, deprived (robbed) his elder brother Esau of his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup.
After he accomplished this, Jacob went to his maternal uncle, Laban, and worked for him for 21 years. At the end of 21 years, he received the blessing (physical) from Laban and the blessing (spiritual) from an angel at the river Jabock; after which he headed for Canaan. When Esau welcomed Jacob who had brought him many cattle, he, too, received the blessing through Jacob.
The history of God's Providence in which Jacob took over Esau's birthright was accomplished when Jacob was 30 years old, and this fulfilled the providence whereby a switch was made for Jacob and Esau in their mother's womb.
When Judah's son died, his family line was about to end. The history of God's blessings for three generations Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was to come to naught. But Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, seduced him, and gave birth to twins. To Rebecca who conceived Esau and Jacob, Jehovah said, "The sons in your womb shall become two rival nations. One will be stronger than the other; the older shall be a servant of the younger." In the same way, Tamar, who carried twins, was told: "The older shall be a servant of the younger." As they were born, the midwife tied a scarlet thread around the wrist of Zerah who appeared first, but he drew back his hand and the other baby (Perez) was actually the first to be born. The Bible tells us here that the second son takes away the birthright of the first son even in the womb. (Genesis 38: 29-30)
Tamar, who had become pregnant by her father-in-law, would have been stoned to death, as the customs then dictated. But she overcame all this because she was fulfilling God's Will, even at the risk of her life.
History of the tribe of Judah got started on this confusing note. Jesus was born the King of Kings, out of a long line that goes all the way back to these people.
Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, too, had a long, complicated story like that above. She deceived her parents-in-law as well as her husband. It was inevitable that she was the object of criticism from everyone, as she was supposed to have been a virgin. She found herself in a position where she was to be stoned to death. It may be assumed that in her relationship with Joseph there were frequent quarrels. In the eyes of the Jews, Jesus was an illegitimate child. Jesus, the only son of God, grew up in this tragic environment. But he came to the world as a Messiah who had the complete birth right in an Abelian Age on a national level. No wonder he could make judge mental remarks to Judaism and to the Israel government.
Although God sent Jesus as a Messiah to fulfill Adamic civilization centered upon God on this planet, the people of Israel killed him.
It was not God's Will that Jesus should be branded as a heretic and crucified on the cross. It was heartbreaking to hear Jesus cry out in anguish just before his death "Father, Father! Why hast thou forsaken me?"
Jesus came to this world to build a nation and world centered upon God's love. But Israel rejected Jesus' teachings, and as a result, history became a history of perdition. When the first Israel rejected Jesus, God continued His Providence through the second Israel, the Christians, on the world-wide level, for the last 2000 years.
Jesus' teachings were supposed to unite his people, but because he died upon the cross, he could not become the King of Kings. God did not send him to start just another faith. It was His Will to save the world through Jesus. Thus Christianity, which is the substantial body of Jesus, has the mission to save the whole world.
However, Christianity after the death of Jesus has been sectarian. God clearly declares: "He so loved this world that He has sent His only son." He did not send him because He loved one person or church in particular, but to save the world.
At the time of Jesus, the politics of the Roman Empire was corrupt. If Israel had welcomed Jesus, then his teachings would have spread throughout the Middle East and then moved on to India and to the entire Asia. Then those would have Christianized Europe and the entire world, resulting in world civilization.
But since Israel killed Jesus, Christianity began its history of indemnity in the Roman Empire, thus building a Christian civilization within that Empire. This expanded the foundation of the spirit world. If at this juncture the Roman Empire had united with Christianity and, transcending just one religion, tried to save the world, then it could have subdued and Christianized the entire world. As it was, it came to pass that during the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church became highly corrupt.
After this period, God continued His Providence through Henry VIII of England. God blessed England centered upon the Church of England. So during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, England laid down a solid foundation to conquer the whole world. No wonder the sun never set on the British Empire. However, England, which had such extensive colonies all over the world, failed to help these colonies, merely exploiting them for her own benefit. As a consequence, God's Providence of world salvation through England could not be realized. It is at this time that the Puritans of the Protestant Church, transcending one nation and one country, went to a new continent, America.
The American people must be united from this time on in their worship of God, so that they could successfully carry out their mission of saving the whole world for which task they should make sacrifices and serve other peoples. God made the Christian America win victories in WWI and WWII, so that she could emerge as a leading nation.
Consequently, if America as a super power should overcome God-denying Communist countries, then from that moment on God's Will would be accomplished. However, today's America is severely intoxicated by extreme individualism and materialism, and she cannot accept God's Will. America is morally fallen, so to speak, and even her blessed Christian Churches are on the way to serious decline. If Christianity cannot beat Communism, then Christianity will perish. It would perish in the most tragic manner, without any historical parallel. The fall of Christianity would result in the demise of America. World Christianity is indeed responsible for the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the world.
Again, in order to indemnify the history of England, an island country, the epicenter of the civilization moves on to another island country, Japan. Japan has modeled herself after England in legal institutions and even traffic regulation. This implies that God has blessed Japan in the place of England so that she can lead the world economically and save the world, too. But although she has emerged as a leading economic nation, yet it does not even occur to her that she should save the world. So the epicenter of civilization moves from there to the Korean peninsula which is very similar to the Italian peninsula.
I can say that Korea could supplant the Papacy in Rome. As in Adam's family Abel and Cain fought each other, so in the Korean peninsula the northern and southern halves are at loggerheads with each other. If in Jesus' time Jesus, Israel, and Judaism had been united, they could have laid down the foundation to take over the Roman Empire. As it was, they had to pay the steep price of hardship and humiliation.
The situation is the same for Korea. She would have to pay the same price too, if she failed to establish an Abel nation. The crux of the question here is that the brothers in the north and south must become one, centered upon God's love. In order to save the world, Korea must transcend all denominations and sects, and nationalism too. Because her problem is intimately bound up with the problem of the world, she cannot expect prosperity if she remains narrowly nationalistic just for her people.
In this light, we can now see that the Unification Church and established churches must be united, and in turn, they and the nation must be united. Then, and only then, will North Korean Communism fizzle out; and besides, Red China and even the U.S.S.R. will be subjugated. Thus Korea shall become a standard-bearer for world unity. In 1972, sensing what was to come. I went to America. For three years since 1972 1 aroused a world-wide controversy.
In 1975 I dispatched missionaries to 127 countries, tried to revive the tottering Christian churches, and began preaching with passion all over the world to launch a spiritual revolution. There was, of course, a lot of hostility and opposition to the Unification Church. In America alone, the U.S. Congress, established churches and Judaism vigorously opposed us. Since I knew that it is God's Providence that the persecuted are blessed, I never even for a moment looked upon any of these as my enemy.
Frankly, I prayed for them. I asked God to bless them. So we stepped up our evangelical work at the risk of our lives to restore the Garden of Eden full of God's love and peace. We worked day and night unremittingly.
Before I met you, my elder brothers, who are the ministers of the established Christian churches, I had met with 800 leaders of our country. I really had in mind my inescapable thought that if Jesus and Judaism had been united as one, there would have been one world under God, an historic event that did not take place.
It is God's Providence that the Unification Church and established Christian churches will be united, no matter what. If they are united with God's love, and also united with our country, then Korea will secure a new dominion over the world. It is along the 38th parallel that democracy and communism are confronted with each other. If the Unification Church, established Christian churches, and the nation become one, then Kim Il Sung can be easily defeated. If so united that is, the churches and the country then we shall have a very strong base for help from the U.S.A. and Japan.
Knowing that "we must all be united" is a very important lesson from history, I was very anxious to meet with you all. You of the established Christian churches are the elder brothers to the members of the Unification Church. Some among you pray for our destruction, but the Unification Church shall never perish. For 20 years now, the Unification Church has laid down a very solid foundation all over the world, so its foundation is, I'm afraid, more solid than that of the Korean Christian community. We of the Unification Church have a mission to help the established Christian churches. The reason is simple: you are our elder brothers. As the history of Christianity shows, if we don't unite, we may end up fighting a bloody battle, which we must avert at all costs. We must unite, after all. This we all know.
If it is God's Will. we of the Unification Church are prepared to hand over everything to you of the established Christian churches. I don't need or thirst for money, power and other things. If I need and want any one thing at all, it is to establish God's Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. That's all.
The final account of the world civilization will be settled in Korea. Japan is a country that has inherited the blessings that God bestowed upon the British Empire and America. But the civilization will flower in Korea. As Christian churches are united in Japan, so they should be united in Korea, putting a full stop to schisms and denominations. Sixteen countries shed blood to defend Korea, because God had chosen her to carry out His mission.
As in Jesus' time, Jesus, Judaism and Israel should have been united, so in our time the Unification Church, established Christian churches, and Korea must all be united. When we take a close look at the present situation in the Korean peninsula, we must realize that all religions must unite with the objective of victory over Communism. The solution to the problem of Korea hinges on the unity of all religions. I want to extend my sincere help to the established Christian churches. You, my elder brothers, should do the same to the Unification Church. If this comes to pass, then the Christian churches will prosper; the Unification Church will prosper; and finally, Korea will prosper.
If this does not take place, then the established Christian churches will perish. Whether this is going to be so or not, whether you do the right or wrong thing now, shall be judged by your children and grandchildren. Among younger people today, there are so many who prefer the Unification Church, which teaches them the living proof and presence of God, to the established churches.
What Jesus desires now is also what the Christian churches desire. It was, you remember, one world centered upon the spirit that he himself desired. Now, the history of mankind has been that of Cain and Abel; hence so much slandering, jealousy and struggles have existed.
At this historical juncture, the epicenter of world civilization has moved to the Korean peninsula. Our people should desist envy, jealousy and divisiveness, and become one. By being united, the Unification Church and the established churches will build an Adamic civilization in Korea, which is the third Israel.