The Meaning of the Holy Wine Ceremony

Sun Myung Moon
February 20, 1977
Belvedere

You are about to participate in the Holy Wine Ceremony. We must understand the significance.

First of all, we must realize that we come out of satanic lineage: that is our origin and background. The Holy Wine Ceremony symbolizes the change of lineage from satanic origin to God-centered origin.

The process of the fall was from man to the created things, and the restoration process started with the things of creation, then reached man and finally God. Historically, this restoration process took place through three states the Old Testament era, the New Testament era, and the Completed Testament era. Our stained blood, our satanic lineage will be cleansed through such a restoration process. How can we restore the heavenly lineage of mankind? Only by way of finding True Parents. They are the center, representing God's lineage on earth. By being grafted to them, we can be restored to heavenly lineage.

In the Unification Church we celebrate four major holidays Parents' Day, Children's Day, World Day, and God's Day representing the restoration of True Parents, True Children, all things of creation, and the liberation of God. The Holy Wine contains certain elements which can cleanse all these symbolically. It includes elements of all things of creation, the body of Jesus Christ, and the love of the True Parents. The composition of that wine includes all the different elements of the universe. It took more than three years to create the Holy Wine. Three years of history was required in order for you to be blessed here and now.

Your faith is the important condition now. By accepting this Holy Wine as such a conditional material symbol, you are going to be transformed and be grafted into the heavenly lineage.

The entire spirit world knows the value of this Holy Wine. Spirits often appear and ask for a small cup of Holy Wine. "Would you pour a cup in my name on earth? Then our lineage will be cleansed in the spirit world." But Father will never allow this. Priority lies here on earth, not in the spirit world.

So receiving this cup of Holy Wine is an extraordinary privilege. You are going to be transformed into members of the heavenly family and belong directly to the True Parents, and thus directly to God. In this Holy Wine all historical symbols are included such as the eight members of Adam's family in the Garden of Eden, and the eight members of the family of Noah. By taking this Holy Wine you will be instantly changed into descendants of God, and in the future you will be in the position to disseminate this blessing to the world. You are receiving this privilege not just for yourself, but for the sake of the whole world.

To fulfill your role, you must stand in the position of Jesus. Just as he had his twelve disciples, you must gather your twelve spiritual children. Under that condition you will be given authority to expand this blessing to the rest of the world.

You are like the leader of a heavenly tribe. Centering upon you, a new family and a new tribe is going to be formed. In the future many spiritual children will honor you and respect you as their spiritual forefather. Just as Jacob had twelve sons, Moses twelve tribes, Jesus twelve disciples, so you are going to have your own 12, 72, and 120. In this way your own tribe will be formed.

You have all been in the movement more than three years. After your blessing you will continue your course for another three and a half years. In this way you will fulfill the number seven and meet God's requirement to consummate your mission.

You are not being restored into heaven as just a family, but you are going to organize your own heavenly tribe. In other words, this blessing today is conditional. You must fulfill it concretely in the next three and a half years. You stand here today as Jesus with twelve disciples. He had 70 additional disciples. All together, 84 disciples made up Jesus' heavenly tribe. Likewise, with your twelve disciples you will increase to 84 in seven years' time. Therefore, 84 is the key number in this dispensation.

This is the reason Father set the goal of each person finding one person each month. In seven years that will become 84 people. This is not just an arbitrary figure; it is a dispensational one. Each of you must restore into heaven 84 people in seven years' time.

If Jesus Christ had fulfilled the number 84, and brought all those disciples into complete unity and blessed them here on earth, he could have established the Kingdom of Heaven on earth 2000 years ago. But Jesus was not able to fulfill that. In your case, however, by going through this Holy Wine Ceremony, you will pass above the accomplishment of 2000 years ago. You have two special elements of merit. First, you are being grafted to the True Parents. For the first time you will belong directly to them and become an heir of the True Parents. Also, by fulfilling the condition of 84, you will be recognized in heaven and on earth as belonging to the royal family of heaven.

As you know from the Divine Principle, there were three stages of growth for Adam and Eve. Because they fell at the highest degree of the growth stage, that point will be the level to go over. Through this blessing you will be brought above the point of Adam and Eve's fall. However, you must remember there is still another stage to go, and you must fulfill the perfection stage.

Upon the foundation of this victory and blessing, you can achieve your own God's Day, your own Parents' Day, Children's Day, and World Day. You will be the ancestor of your own generation. Your course will be much easier than the path the True Parents went through, however. They had to wage a desperate battle against Satan until they could subjugate him. You will have smoother sailing because the True Parents have already conquered Satan. All you need is obedience and faith. You must fulfill all the required conditions and go through all the steps that Father has walked.

Noah's pattern became the pattern of Abraham and Jacob. Likewise, Jacob's pattern became that of Moses, and Moses' pattern became Jesus', and Jacob's dispensation had to be fulfilled by all the people of Israel. Moses' fulfillment had to be followed by Jesus' dispensation on the worldwide level. In the same way, you are going to follow the path of the True Parents. If you think the meaning of this ceremony today is just to start families, you are mistaken. The most important part is the fulfillment of God's dispensation.

Satan and God have been struggling both physically and spiritually, because the fall of Eve was both physical and spiritual. Both Satan and God have been struggling to win one woman as the center of their efforts.

Fallen Eve was never able to see true brothers and sisters, a true husband or a true father. She never experienced the perfection of these three relationships. Eve lost three levels of love of brothers and sisters, love of husband and wife, and love of father and daughter. Because of her fallen act, all these heavenly relationships were broken. Therefore, in restoration, Eve must restore these three levels of love. The Messiah comes to evoke the feeling of love and to bring true love as a brother toward all women in Eve's position. In other words, the Messiah is first a brother to Eve, and then he plays the role of spiritual bridegroom, and then father. He plays all three roles on earth in order to restore true love.

What is happening in the Unification Church is like a tug of war to win young people. Representing God, Father is seeking young people about the age of Adam and Eve before the fall, in order to turn them to God. But Satan is trying to pull these men and women to his side. A great spiritual battle is going on.

Once the True Parents have led a young person toward God, his physical family brothers and sisters, husband or parents all feel they are losing that young person. So begin to try to pull him back toward their own side. Thus a great struggle goes on. This is why the Bible says that your own family will become your enemy.

But God will never force you to return to Him. That's contrary to the Principle. It's through your own heart that you have become reborn in the sight of God. Satan, however, wants to capture people by force. This spiritual principle is reflected in what is actually happening. Some people try to kidnap and deprogram our members. Though they try to achieve their goal by using force, God will never do so. This battle is being waged on every level individual, family, tribal, national, and worldwide. At this time we are engaged in a tug of war on the highest possible level, the universal level.

Father came to America and began to pull her young people toward the side of God. This has produced a great deal of commotion. It's really controversial an Oriental man comes here, and many young Westerners are following him. God's side is winning, so Satan is becoming frantic and will try anything.

Now you have come to the position where Father will change your lineage in God's sight. Now you will become God's property, and Satan will have no way to claim you. You can be placed in the storehouse of God. Even if Satan were to kidnap you and put you in prison, you can have complete confidence that no one can really touch you: "Satan, you have no power over me because the True Parents have changed my lineage. I no longer belong to you. I belong to God."

Once you have gone through this ceremony and are blessed, you belong to the True Parents. Even if one spouse becomes weak in faith, unless that person has divorced his mate, has remarried and has children from that second marriage, Father can never close the door to him or her. As long as there is the slightest possibility of that person's return to the True Parents, the door always remains open. Once someone has received this Holy Wine, Father must always give him another chance.

For Father, there is no arbitrary stand. Everything for him operates according to the Principle. Every action has a meaning according to the Principle. Unless we take this point of view, make this serious commitment and become engaged in this tug of war, you must know that Satan, who has been controlling this world for 6000 years, will never go away. In John's Gospel, Chapter 3, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the water of life: Unless one receives the water of life, he cannot be reborn and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The water of life pours forth from a hidden spring, from an internal source. This is what we are concerned with today.

In the Garden of Eden, Eve was the beginning of the fall. In restoration, therefore, woman will be restored first. In this ceremony, the bride will be given the wine first, to cleanse herself, to turn herself around and be prepared to lead men toward God. Therefore, for three years after this ceremony, the husband should feel in a way obedient to his wife. His wife is most important because she initiated the restoration process. She serves as his key to salvation for three years.

America as a nation, is the symbolic representative of this particular dispensation. Here in America we have the tradition of "Ladies first." Women come first. Here men are like the fallen archangel, who should be serving women. This kind of relationship is a national characteristic in America. It is not bad. It is serving a heavenly purpose.

From World War I until 1988, for 70 years, America is fulfilling this role. Therefore, American women live very independently. They work, they earn their own money, they live in their own apartments. They don't want to bother with men. They would rather be their own bosses. Why does this situation persist? From a providential point of view, when the Messiah comes, women don't want to be hindered by men. Men have oppressed women; women have had historically a lack of freedom. Women in this country have gained freedom decisively, however, so that when the Messiah comes women will be the group of people who can be restored to God first. This is God's preparation.

The women in America will be first to discover the Messiah, listen to the Messiah, become obedient to the Messiah. And they are so influential. They have their own money, they have wisdom, and they have charm. Women have every weapon. They must turn and use their influence to win men. In the Garden of Eden, the woman tempted Adam to sin: "You must eat this apple." But in this age women will be restored first, and then tempt men to God, lead them to heaven. It is a different direction of persuasion.

At the end of the world, here in America particularly, men have become woman-hungry, because women are very independent, less attainable. Men are more prone to be attentive to women and are likely to be persuaded to the side of women, and thus to the side of God.

With this background, you can see that even though historical events may seem to have been occurring arbitrarily, it is not so. Everything has an historical meaning, a providential purpose.

Today Father is revealing to you heavenly secrets. It is only appropriate for God to reveal such things in His palace. In a way today you are standing in the palace of God. You are listening to the heart of the Principle. What has remained secret throughout history is revealed to you today.

No one knew these things. But Father has lived this Principle, and he is now sharing it with you. This is a most precious time. We have been like orphans, without parents. We have been wandering in the world. Now we are recipients of the love of God. We have received True Parents, and are being grafted into the tree of life. Now we are entitled to enter the palace of God. This is a heavenly celebration, a heavenly banquet. We are joining with the True Parents to celebrate this victory.

In this kind of holy banquet, however, no one may attend alone. Each one needs a mate. Even if your husband were crippled, or your wife were ugly, only because of him or her would you be entitled to participate in this ceremony. You must realize how precious you are to each other.

You are like conductors of electricity. Both positive and negative poles are needed to produce a spark. The source of electricity is God and comes to us through your True Parents. When men and women touch the True Parents they become positive and negative conductors. You couples are like circuits about to be joined. Soon the heavenly spark will occur between you.

Once you are joined in this heavenly circuit and such a connection is made between the two of you, this is heaven. There is no other way you can attain eternal love. A spark produces two things: heat and light. With your heavenly spark you couples are going to light the dark world, and you are going to burn up the iniquity of the world.

You are more than ordinary husbands and wives. You are important in the sight of God. Husbands and wives must never quarrel. One partner must never look down on the other: "Oh, my husband has no education" or "My wife is Oriental, and I am much better because I am Caucasian."

You must never think this way. Gold wire conducts electricity best. The next best conductor is copper. But electricity can travel in any metal. It doesn't matter whether you are gold, whether you are copper, or whether you are scrap metal. As long as the electricity comes to you, a spark can be produced. Don't think, "My wife is gold" or "My husband is copper" or "My wife is scrap metal." Never worry about that. The heavenly spark will still come. Whatever the material, as long as there is conductibility, electricity will produce a spark. You must have confidence.

Family squabbles are what Satan is waiting for. He is continually watching for a little gap between you. Satan will say, "That quarrel is mine. Family fights and divisions and differences of opinion belong to me. That is my victory." Peace and harmony belong to God. Fighting and division belong to Satan.

When you look at everything from the point of view of the Divine Principle, you can never be in the position to fight for the sake of your own ego, or to defend your own claims. Between husband and wife you can never do that. You can never treat your wife as just a little woman, or treat your husband as just a little man. This is shameful. When you become angry and lose your temper, at that moment you become a disciple of Satan.

You must always be grateful that God has given you the privilege to become whole through each other. If you lack one part you can never be perfected. Father asked many Western men, "What is your preference for a wife?" Most of them say they prefer Oriental women. American women become very much embarrassed by this. But they don't have to be. We are entering spring in the cosmos, and the minds of men are warming up. It is a natural tendency for men's minds to be turned toward the East, the source of this magnetic power.

Also, Oriental women have the virtues of meekness, humility and the ability to serve. Therefore, men know they can more readily become one with Oriental women. But Western women always tend to want to gain the upper hand, to become "plus." "Plus" and "plus" repel each other. So men know they are going to have a hard time uniting with a Western wife. So a clever man would say, "Father, would you please give me an Oriental wife?" Western women should take the example of Oriental women and try to learn from them. You must become superior in service. It is a beautiful thing to harmonize ourselves in one purpose.

Such a movement as ours has never been seen in history. Transcending all nationalities and all languages and all races, we come together on the common ground of the True Parents' love. We are truly becoming brothers and sisters under one God and our True Parents.

Two bridegrooms are here today whose brides are 8000 miles away in Korea. In the Unification Church this is not strange because in the spirit world there is no distance. So when God sees those couples, groom in America and bride in Korea, he sees them standing side by side. Adam and Eve were in a position similar to yours today. The only difference is one of time, of history. They were striving toward perfection. They would have brought the Kingdom of God here on earth. You stand in precisely the same position.

The goal of history has been that men and women could live here on earth with the True Parents, and standing side by side with them receive the Holy Wine, thus changing their bloodline into heavenly lineage. This is the ambition of every man in history and the dream of every woman. You are all hand-picked for this historical moment. It is a unique experience, far greater than landing on the moon. Only two men landed on the moon, but you 74 couples have a much greater privilege.

Conscious of this glorious opportunity, you can never think of becoming weak or of repeating the fall. It is impossible. You are roots which are going to be taken out of satanic ground and transplanted into heavenly soil through this wine ceremony.

The most important condition is your absolute trust in the True Parents. That will make each of you capable to conduct heavenly electricity. There must be no gap between you and True Parents. Then you can be welded into one.