Today we are celebrating the 23rd Children's Day. During the past 22 years the world has changed and the situation of the Unification Church has also changed and progressed quite a bit. Historians will testify that the period from 1960 to 1982 has been the most fluctuating, volatile and extraordinary epoch in the entire history of mankind. But there has been a providential reason for these historical events. We can conclusively state that history operates according to the providential will of God. How, then, is God's providence moving in our realm, in the reality of our human life?

Many nations have become independent since World War II. In contrast to previous history, the powers which gained territory during World War II gave the conquered people the right to independence; many colonies gained independence. These lands had been going through a period of development, progressing like children, but after a time of growth they became independent, autonomous nations. Providentially, parental nations need to be raised up on earth; therefore, brother and sister nations developed in order to usher in the parental nations and support them, and colonies had to be elevated from the position of slave nations to that of children nations.

As you know, the world has been developing toward two major blocs: the communist world and the free world. According to the Principle, one bloc is Cain-type and the other Abel-type. There is a sort of brotherhood among nations within each bloc. Those in the free world developed as brother nations, governed by a God-accepting, or theistic ideology. The communist nations also became brothers and sisters, but under a satanic ideology; they are creating another world under Cain-type, or satanic influence. Satan has always taken the belligerent, warmongering approach.

As you study history, you will see that whenever nations fight, they always lose ground; as these Cain-type nations continued to fight and lose territory, they came up with a proposal, an ideology that claims there is no God. Since Satan is a spirit, in effect he is denying himself by making such a statement. But even at the cost of denying himself, he wants to repudiate God's existence. Satan's ultimate ideology is atheism, God-denying communism.

History also indicates that Satan has always taken the initiative; he has always waged war first, he has always launched the first offensive. Whichever party takes the initiative in trying to knock the other down represents Satan and is always on the evil side. That is Satan's nature. Look at the three world wars. In World War I, the satanic side attacked first; in World War II, the satanic side attacked first; in World War III, the confrontation with communism, you know exactly who is taking the initiative.

Providentially speaking, World War I was the battle to acquire land, property and colonies; it was a territorial war. World War II was a war for manpower. Now the communist bloc and the free world are fighting to absorb more population under their wings, trying to gain people to support them. Continuing the style of World War II, in a sense, they are fighting for the people's support. The ultimate battle of World War III is the battle to take control of God. Communism denies God and is trying to eradicate Him from this planet; the free world affirms God's existence. Thus, World War III is a war of minds.

The current world conflict is an ideological conflict, centering on the existence of God: one side denies His existence and the other affirms it. One side will win. If all the religious communities of the world unite and affirm God's existence, we can make God manifest; we can prove His existence. But unless religions can play that role in these days, they will be demolished or extinguished.

As you look at today's situation, you see that the religious world is on the defensive; not only that, it is daily losing ground - Christianity included. Communism is gaining more territory, winning more people all the time.

I want you to understand that World War I focused on territorial gain, World War II on population gain, and World War III aims to gain God, to decide His existence.

Therefore, in light of this total picture, when is the most crucial time? It is now, because God's presence on this planet is in question. In the history of God and man, this is the most crucial time. If we cannot win this battle, the whole religious world will lose its reason, purpose and ground, and eventually be extinguished. Human history is reaching this point. This is God's perspective on human history.

Therefore, the past 20 years have witnessed tremendous change and fluctuation. These years have seen the most crucial battles in the war between God and Satan. World events and the changes that have taken place reflect God's emergency situation.

Of course, God's ultimate will is to bring the entire world into unity, but the two blocs keep fighting among themselves, weakening each other. Therefore, God had to make a new force emerge in the world during these past 20 years, a force that would be His champion, His task force. This is the Unification Church, created to do God's will. This new religious force is declaring to the world that land and territory belong neither to one bloc nor the other - but to God. Furthermore, all people of the world belong neither to one bloc nor the other, but to God. They are children of God. Finally, the Unification Church declares that God is the parent of mankind.

Many Christian churches have talked of God as Father, but without truly knowing what kind of Father He is. The various denominations - Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, etc. - call God Father, but what kind of God is He, and of which denomination is He the Father? Are there dozens, or millions of fathers? No. Just one Father. There is one God and one Father, but so many different denominations each claim Him as their Father. What a difficult time God has had! He doesn't know how to respond.

At the same time, each of the world's religions has been claiming, "God is our God" Is there a Muslim God, a Christian God, a Catholic God, a Buddhist God, etc.? Will God ration Himself out and decide, "Today I'll be a Muslim God, tomorrow a Buddhist God, and the following day return to Christianity"? No, that is not the way God wants to work. God wants us to join under one name. His contention is, "Unless you are united, unless you become one, you are not worthy of coming to Me and calling Me Father"

As you know, God's providential scheme is always focused on some central religion. You know that Christianity is that central religion. So God is saying, "You Christians have too many divisions, too many denominations. Because you are the central religion, you should be the first to become one" That is God's mandate for Christianity.

Just as the nations of the world became brother and sister nations after World War II, God wanted all religions to become brother religions. But selfishness was always the governing factor, even as history was moving toward brother nations. The United States accepted other nations as brother nations, for example, but always with the attitude, "I am the master; you come to me and listen to me" It should have said, "You are my brother; let me share with you,' but that spirit has been missing.

The victory of World War II brought virtually the entire world under the wings of the United States. If the United States had behaved truly unselfishly, it could have exercised its influence to help other nations around the world. It could have said, "I want to play the role of elder brother. This is the tradition or philosophy of the elder brother, so let's unite around it and become one family of God"

If the United States had done so, the world would never have reached the state it is in today. Other nations would have ceased struggling among themselves. Religious people would have said, "There is one God and one Father; therefore, beyond the distinctions of denomination or religion we are all one, and we should live in one true brotherhood" If that had been the concept of religious leaders, the religious community would never have fallen into its present condition.

When the United Nations was born after World War II, it was a family of nations trying to unite the world. Its hope was to live up to its name. At the same time, a world religious organization should have formed, with unity and unselfishness as its theme. Then when the Unification Church came forward with a new ideology, it would have encountered no opposition.

Thus when the political United Nations was formed, a religious United Nations should also have taken shape. Then the two forces should have worked together in pursuit of the one fatherhood of God and one brotherhood of man. When the new ideology emerged through the Unification Church it would have been accepted, because it would have been the very thing they had been seeking. The world's political and religious leaders did not know that God's ultimate will we. to unite the world and bring about one family of man; the, did not realize that God's ultimate plan was to bring al] nations and religions together under the one fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. Still, they would have con eluded that the world needed a new ideology, and they would have recognized the Unification Church and its ideology as the answer.

The United Nations was to have done the will of God from its formation. Atheistic, communist countries should have been barred from membership. They should have been told, "You are not entitled to be here; this is not your house" If the United Nations had taken this direction, centered upon the United States, a new providential history would have begun to unfold. But since the free world and the United States in particular failed to do this, the satanic countries took the offensive. Day after day, they tried to shatter the already-divided free world into pieces. Whenever you fail to live up to your responsibility, Satan inevitably comes and attacks you. This is an iron rule.

The satanic side first attacked religion, then the young people, trying to draw them away from the church, and finally the institution of the family. Communism and Satan know very clearly that if you remove young people and families from the churches, religion can only collapse. Satan has been bombarding the United States and it is about to succumb. The United States has been a key victim in Satan's strategy, and he has been very successful here. Since the United States did not succeed in winning over its brother nations throughout the world, internally it has become morally weakened. As a result, no one sympathizes with it or pays attention to it. "You deserve it," people say.

In the midst of all this, the Unification Church arose. It was supposed to have been accepted by the free world and by the world's religions, but that did not happen. Because the United States failed to fulfill its role, world religions have not been united. Therefore, the Unification Church has existed in a lonely situation, opposed by both world religions and the United States.

The United States, world religions and communism have Joined together to attack me, since I am a focal power. A central nation on God's side, the United States, is now working with the communists to destroy me. Satan knows the situation very clearly; the only real problem he faces in the whole world today is Reverend Moon and the Unification Church. So he is amassing all the help he can to destroy us. He knows that the rest of the world will then become his.

I am aware of how effective Satan's tactics are. However, instead of retreating or taking refuge somewhere, I walk right into the heat of battle. I head straight for the trouble spots and the war zones. First I dedicated myself to knocking down atheism, restoring the churches, restoring young people, and restoring families. Wherever Satan is trying to destroy something, I head there and try to make it whole.

My concept is completely different from that of the United States. This nation is focused primarily on itself and perhaps its neighbors, and principally on the white race. My focus is upon all people; I consider all races to be one family. My vision is global, and even beyond that. I can see the national situation, but at the same time I see the whole globe as one unit. So my standpoint is entirely different.

Because of its restricted viewpoint and narrow way of thinking, the United States feels uncomfortable about my presence here. That is why this court battle came about. They are trying every method to get me out of this country. They see that I am an Oriental, a Korean, but my actions are not just for the benefit of Korea or Oriental countries. They see that I focus on the well-being of this country and the entire world. I am trying to rescue the United States from its present position and lift it up to a higher plateau, a higher standard. I know that is the only way we can bring God back home, the only way we can welcome Him back to the United States.

The Unification Church has such a great name. Here all five colors can become one, all world religions can become one, and the entire world culture can become one. Our quest is the unification of heart and the unification of mankind. Don't you think the Unification Church has the right name?

After World War II, God gave the United States a great opportunity, but it did not seize it. Instead, it failed and lost territories, people and nations. What the United States lost, I have come to recover. The nations it lost, we want to restore; the people it lost, we want to restore. In order to revive America and bring this nation back to God, we need the spirit of General MacArthur. Therefore, we launched the "Inchon" movie project. The spirit of General MacArthur needs to come alive again in America, especially among its young people.

Because America failed its mission, first it lost God, then religions were divided, people were divided, and world unity never came about. This country has a great motto: "One nation under God" Do you think the motto should be: "Ignore the rest of the world and don't help it out; just eat well, sleep well and live well"? Is that what God is saying to the United States? Never. God wanted the United States to be one nation under Him and bring about one world under Him. That was God's mandate. When the United States failed to do it, God allowed satanic attack to come upon this country.

But we Unification Church members will never retreat even one iota, no matter if the United States or even the entire world comes against us. We shall move forward. We shall accomplish God's mandate. Can you join me in saying, "America has already failed, but we shall restore its failure"?

I knew that this critical emergency was coming up. The end of the fallen world is coming. To prepare for that time, I had to build up internal strength and lay an internal, spiritual foundation. Therefore, I established God's Day, Parents' Day and Children's Day, in order to give a new understanding about God. We must clearly know God. Your skin may be brown, white, yellow or black - it makes no difference. Whoever listens to this truth arrives at the same conclusion: "God is my living Father and the Father of all mankind" This is Unification ideology.

You are assembled here in this room because you have a historical responsibility. You came here to fulfill a historical task. Otherwise, you are unworthy to sit here. God automatically has to work with whatever church or movement proclaims to the world the unity of all races, religions, and nations - and not only proclaims it but seriously strives to accomplish it. This unity is the central theme of the new age, and those who labor to bring it about are the central players.

When we have this ideology of one race, one religion and one nation under God, we can say to God, "You are our Father" Then for the first time, God will respond, "Yes, you are my sons and daughters; you are my children" This is the only time God can call people His children. Furthermore, He will say, "Not only are you My children, but your race is My race, your culture is My culture, your religion is My religion, your country is My country, and your world is My world." Don't you think God will say that?

This is our starting point. No matter what people may say about God, we want to restore and protect the true God. This is our task - regardless of what communism, other religions, or other philosophies say. We stand for the true, righteous God, and we want to uphold and protect Him.

God hears all kinds of prayers every day. But among them all, He is listening for one prayer: "God, I have brought the entire universe into unity" When God hears that prayer, He will wake up and say, "Is that true?" He will question you about that statement. Such a prayer will arouse God more than anything else. Think about it.

All this time God has been listening to prayers from people of various denominations. He hears, for instance, "God, I am Presbyterian. You know how that Methodist church next door gives us a hard time. That black church across the street and the Mormon church down the road are not following Your will; they are satanic. Please give Your blessing to our church!" For 2,000 years God has been listening to such divisive prayers. How do you think He responds to them?

If someone at least prays, "God, I haven't quite united the world yet, but I have been working at it. Look, God, I brought this person in, this religion in, and this nation in, but I need a little more help" - God will quickly reply, "Oh, what do you need?"

Suppose God were looking at various eyeglasses to decide which to use. He might try on Presbyterian eyeglasses, Catholic eyeglasses, Muslim eyeglasses, Buddhist eyeglasses, etc., and not find any of them appropriate. But the moment He puts on Unification Church eyeglasses and sees the entire world through them, He will exclaim, "This is it!"

You resemble God. You bear His image, so can't you understand the way He feels? How many of you members of the Unification Church really feel that we are destined to fulfill this mission of unification? Will the task be easy or difficult? Even if people of all five races come together, united as solidly as a rock, resolved to live or die together, and if all the world's religions unite in devotion to this one cause, it still may not be enough. Our task is not easy.

Do you sometimes complain about your mission? Perhaps you say, "I don't like fundraising (or whatever it may be); let someone else do it, Father. I'd rather go some other way" Can you achieve the ultimate task that way? Suppose the entire mission were placed upon you, could you follow joyfully, willingly, voluntarily - even if the results were not guaranteed?

What an important mission we have! Did you enter this room thinking, "If I fail my mission, heaven and earth will be shattered,' or did you think, "Well, we might fail; but one way or another I shall endure. The Unification Church might be broken, but not me. I shall survive" Which attitude do you have?

On my part, even if I am shattered into a million pieces, I shall preserve the Unification Church and our tradition. Even if the church is smashed, its spirit of Unificationism must march forward. It must fulfill its goal on the worldwide level. That should be our pledge.

There is a new phenomenon in the Unification Church. After the July I Blessing and the Korean Blessing, members are saying, "Oh, my husband (or wife), my darling, we have to create something here" Before your marriage, you looked straight forward, without deviation, but now you are looking around in many directions. Is this new trend a good one? It could destroy our movement, the free world, and the entire tradition that God has been building! God married you so you could support each other and push each other toward the same goal. The mission has not changed even one iota.

In giving you the Blessing, did I want you to march forward more hesitantly or more strongly? Our goal is the world. It is still in trouble; its people dwell in darkness. We have to reach out to that world to save it and restore it. When we reach the end of the world, I will look at each of you and ask where your spouse is. If he or she has been away, I will tell you to join each other and stay together. Then I might not allow husband and wife to be separated for even five minutes! The important thing is what you are going to concentrate on now: being with your spouse or saving the' world. What is your decision? You say you want to save the' world, but I think your answer sounds a little reluctant! You didn't even want to say it!

The same thing happens all the time between Mother and me. God gave us each other for mutual support. I keep pulling Mother and she keeps pulling me - but in the same direction and towards the same goal. If Mother deviates from this principle, the heavenly dispensation will not work. If I say, "Let's go to South America ' she will reply, "Yes, Father" If the destination is Africa, she will say, "Yes, Father" If it is Korea, she will say, "Yes, Father; wherever you go" She deserves your applause.

Maybe a hundred years from now we will hold another gathering like this in the spirit world. I will announce a special banquet and invite those couples who devoted their heart and soul while on earth to the fulfillment of God's will. In the invitation, I will tell them, "I want to give a banquet for you couples alone" When you receive that invitation and accept it, you may wear anything you wish - any amount of rings, earrings, necklaces, etc., made of diamonds or whatever you like. You can have a diamond car, for instance! You will arrive at the banquet as a proud couple. Would you like to attend that banquet?

In order to be entitled to attend it, you should run to do your mission every day. Don't ask for personal favors. If your wife becomes too slow, urge her forward. You women can shout out to your husband to keep on running, even though you cannot keep up with him. As long as you encourage your husband, even though you collapse in his wake, I will give you credit for fulfilling the mission - because your mind and your spirit have gone all the way. What do you think? If your husband runs to fulfill the mission and you lag farther and farther behind, will you be sorry for yourself or feel victorious? Will you want your husband to push on and fulfill God's will even though you may falter behind him? Or will you call out to him, "Darling, I'm tired; come back and pick me up"? Actually, I have told you that individuals cannot go to Heaven by themselves, but only as couples, so you would have a good excuse to ask him to come back for you! But which kind of woman do you want to become? I am very grateful for those of you who raised your hands as the first type. You are great women!

You men, if your wife calls you to stay behind with her, how many of you would reply, "I have to go forward for the mission"? Thank you for raising your hands.

You see, what is most important is not the husband or wife, but the mission. At this one time in history, God has given us this special, extraordinary mission. The mission is everything. If you fulfill it, you gain everything: your spouse and your eternal future. If you lose the mission, you lose everything else as well.

We live on earth only once, and God has sent us at an incredible time of destiny. What a joy and what a privilege! What a great honor to live with this mission! Nothing greater is conceivable.

Since I know that mission, nothing else bothers me, including the United States, the free world and even communism. Not only that, but as I charge bravely forward into the enemy camp, they will ultimately surrender. The tougher the situation I face, the stronger, more powerful and more determined I become. I can do this because I clearly know the mission, the end result, and the extraordinary opportunity that is at hand. I do not want to lose that opportunity.

People sometimes receive special missions from the owner of their company or even from the president of their country. But this is not a presidential or a company order. It is an order from Heaven. Our eternal Father in Heaven is telling us, "You are chosen to do this mission" If it were just the president of a nation, you could leave the country; if it were the owner of a company, you could quit your job. But when God gives a mandate, since He is the Father of the entire world, where could you go to evade the mission? You might think you could escape it by dying, but not so. You will be picked up when you enter spirit world! If you succeed, you will be glorified.

This Children's Day is the day to make your pledge to God. There are three kinds of pledges you can make:

Well, Father, I will try to do it.

I'm doing it now.

Yes, Father, I have done it.

Which of these three pledges can you give this Children's Day? This is a very serious point. It applies to everyone, me included. Even I have not completely fulfilled the mission. I can say, "Yes, Father, I have done some portions of it, but others still remain incomplete" What about you?

This morning you may have suddenly awakened to your mission. But I would hope that all this time you have been living with a sense of mission and dedication. So far, you have been doing all kinds of things your way, complaining about why the church operates a certain way, protesting about being asked to do something. "I'm not born for that,' you complain.

Think about it. Has the Unification Church been walking your way, or have we been trying to go God's way? Ask your heart which way you have been walking. What proportion has been your way, and what proportion God's way? Half and half Can you answer that you are living 100 percent for God's will? Perhaps you came here expecting to celebrate a good holiday and enjoy the festivities, and now you feel like you have been hit by a sledgehammer! "I was knocked out again!" you exclaim. When I talk this way, do you feel discouraged, or do you resolve to do it with tears flowing down your cheeks? Are you holding your head up or down?

I always feel this intensity in my mission. I feel that I am in a tug-of-war with all the various groups that are trying to pull me their way. I feel one thumb hooked to the United States, another thumb to Russia and her satellite countries, and my fingers hooked to various religions and groups. I am trying to pull them all in my direction. The spirit world is like a cheering section, calling out, "Reverend Moon, go on!" Sometimes I feel like a fire engine sent to quench an emergency fire.

When I am deadly serious about this tug-of-war with the entire world, other things don't enter my mind. I ignore sleepiness, hunger, family affairs and secular matters. You should do the same.

For this reason I am unique and extraordinary. When God looks down on the earth, He cannot help coming to protect me. He has to, because He has no alternative. You too can motivate God to come to assist, protect and support you.

What direction are you taking? Suppose I disappear for a while - like Moses, who climbed the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, leaving the children of Israel down below in the desert for 40 days? Maybe you will do whatever you want. Maybe you will think that finally you have a vacation. Or would you determine to march across the desert to Canaan? The Israelites looked around for Moses, but he was gone. They must have said something like, "Oh, too bad. Darn it!" But suppose they had resolved instead: "Well, Moses has disappeared. He must be somewhere doing God's will. Let's become like Moses and go to Canaan"? Those of you who resolve to become like Moses raise your hands.

If that is your reply, I can leave the United States with deep confidence. If I am away, you will become additional Reverend Moons, able to march forward even faster, won't you? Theoretically, you younger ones should be able to go faster than me!

If you really made this pledge to me, I feel I have been a success. I have nothing to fear. Now there are many Reverend Moons who can restore the world! God knows very well that I have no rest. Day and night, morning and evening, I am always working and pushing you people. If God looks down and sees so many other Reverend Moons doing the same thing, think how comforted He will be! He will feel true joy for the first time.

Everything I have been doing in the United States has happened since December 18, 1971. That was the day I landed in this country to expand the providence in America. When I started the science conferences, many members - and even the leaders - complained about throwing money away to the scientists. Now after ten years of conferences, eminent scholars from around the world are begging to have an appointment to talk with me. But I don't have enough time. If I were to grant one request, it wouldn't be fair to deny the privilege to others. So I will see no one.

The academic community trusts and admires me, as does the theological community, because of the deep foundation which has been laid. Modern theology has hit a stone wall; theologians cannot break through it by themselves. I have pioneered opening up the wall and giving them new horizons.

My work has not ended there. I moved on to the news media. The fifth World Media Conference in Seoul, Korea, is another example. Representatives came from around the world and rallied around me, because they see me as the only hope for the world.

Somebody had to do it in order to bring all aspects of life into unity, in order to fulfill God's providence. No one else was doing it. We are uniting the academic community under absolute values. The Unification Church is uniting the theological community under one God as the rallying point.

This year we launched the World Youth for God crusade. Young people from many different religions - Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Confucianists, Buddhists, etc. - would never have found a common ground otherwise. Only we could unite them under a common theme, "World Youth for God" People have urged me not to abandon the effort. "Reverend Moon," they say, "you cannot give up because you are the only one who can do this" This is how I am bringing unity.

I knew that the ultimate satanic work of communism would be directed towards fomenting racial and religious wars. The only way to prevent such wars is to create one family of man, transcending race and color. The means of achieving this is the Holy Weddings. The power of the president of the United States could not accomplish true unity; certainly the power of totalitarian communism could not. Only God could bring the hearts of people together in unity, as a love race. What is the purpose? To bring all mankind together.

This group is still only a capsule, but it is a capsule that can be expanded to ten million, a hundred million, a billion people. What if a third of the population of the United States were Moonies? Would anybody dare persecute you or me? The Unification Church is bound to grow, because our vision is world salvation, beyond race and color. There shall be no limit.

I am not speaking of these gigantic things in a joking tone. This is absolute truth. There is absolute commitment behind these words. When I talked about such things 20 years ago, it sounded crazy. But impossible dreams have become a reality. In the next 10 years, our movement can accomplish 10 or 20 times as much as what we did in the past 20 years.

During the past 20 years, the news media around the world have come out and called me a bad person. But in spite of such persecution, the Unification Church has grown to its present worldwide scale. Once the news media and the world in general start to admit that I am right, that I am a good and just person, our rate of accomplishments will be multiplied a hundred or a thousand times.

In a long fence, when one post starts to fall down, it sets off a kind of chain reaction, and the whole fence may collapse. This is a shining truth, and a nation will inevitably come to recognize it.

North American newspapers describe me as "the controversial Korean evangelist," or as an "industrialist" But in South America the newspapers describe me as "the most famous international spiritual leader, Reverend Sun Myung Moon" I always expected it to happen this way. If one side of the globe is in shadow, the other receives the sunshine. If it is dark in North America, something may dawn in South America. Moreover, the Western world is entering darkness and the sun is rising in the Eastern world. In the beginning, Korea and Japan both persecuted me, but now even the Japanese newspapers no longer describe me as a Korean but as the "world-famous spiritual leader coming from Asia"

This is fair play. Things balance out. Whoever wants to live well in the secular life, eating abundantly, sleeping like a king, shall have the most miserable life in the spirit world. Those who devote themselves for the sake of mankind, for the sake of God's will - though they may look miserable here and suffer hunger - shall be welcomed to the most glorious heaven.

In a way, I have been the most wretchedly persecuted figure on earth. The world has given me all kinds of dirty titles; I have been imprisoned and tortured under the Japanese imperial government, communist North Korea, and even South Korea. I was virtually put to death. Nobody on earth has suffered like me. But in the spiritual world you will find me occupying an entirely different position.

Just like me, Moonies are persecuted all over the world. We are not on the sunny side of the globe yet. Do not regret it, however, because this will result in a glorious future. The most radiant heaven is reserved for you. I took up this way of life, regardless of what may entail, because it is right and just. There is no better way of life on earth. This was my decision. Is it also your decision?

As children, the best way to commemorate this Children's Day is to promise your absolute loyalty, devoting your whole life. Those who want to make this pledge before me, raise your hands. Thank you very much.

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