The Messiah’s greatest burden, and God’s, is the human portion of responsibility. He has to work through us. He has to limit his power and authority in order to allow us our freedom and responsibility, our co-creativity, and our dignity before the creation.

Because of this, God, Jesus and True Parents have suffered. The prophecies that the Messiah would appear as a suffering servant are not inconsistent with the Divine Principle. In fact, the Second Advent chapter virtually foretells that he will be rejected and will walk the same path as Jesus, although he will triumph over it through the benefit of the age.

So let us remind ourselves of the meaning of the Messiah as the suffering servant, and realize how much it illuminates our relationship with our True Parents: "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5

Let us recall Jesus’ passion in the Garden of Gethsemane "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." Matthew 26:38 Jesus had the power to change his fate, as he testified at that moment: "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" Matthew 26:53 But he did not violate the principle of human responsibility, and relied on his disciples.

When we attend activities at Chung Pyung Lake, we confront the reality that we are in the same position as those disciples. The following text is from Heung Jin Nim’s message from spirit world, mediated through Mrs. Hyo Nam Kim ("Daemo Nim") on January 1, 2002. Father had this entire speech read to the congregation on the evening of January 31, at our opening session, and then again the following morning, February 1.

"God expected that Blessed Couples would make unity of heart with God and True Parents by living with absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. Satan cannot invade such Blessed Couples. But when the Blessed Couples acted in unprincipled ways, they made conditions for Satan to invade them. In fact, most Blessed Couples expected that the victory of True Parents would protect them; they didn't look deeply at themselves to check whether they had anything for which Satan could accuse them. They didn't reflect on whether any fallen nature remained in them. Therefore, at least from now on we must work hard to purify ourselves from evil and sin and be reborn as original, true children." Heung Jin Nim’s Message, Jan 1, 2002

Indeed, True Parents’ task is unbelievably difficult. God and Jesus gave him the weight of the entire world when he was 15 years old, and he accepted it. He kept it to himself for a number of years, but by the early 1950s, he had promulgated his messianic mission through the publication of the Divine Principle. In the current English translation, we have many expression of God’s mandate to our True Father, proclaimed publicly at the beginning of his course, For example, at the end of the Moses and Jesus chapter, we read, "Christ at the Second Advent is to … build the actual Kingdom of Heaven on earth." (EDP 282) It goes on to state "Christ at the Second Advent will begin by laying, both spiritually and physically, the family foundation for the Messiah. He will then expand its scope to the clan, society, nation, world and cosmos. When this foundation is secure, he will finally be able to build the Kingdom of Heaven." (EDP 286)

True Parents declared this to be conditionally completed at the Pal Jung Shik in 1989, but they have been working tirelessly to complete it substantially ever since, as the mandate and prophecy of the Divine Principle is not for a conditional Kingdom of Heaven, but for the substantial kingdom, or nation. The fruits of this labor were in evidence in Seoul recently at the "World Peace Summit." The representatives of world leaders were in attendance, including Wahid of Indonesia, Green of Guyana, Kemakeza of the Solomon Islands, Lech Walesa of Poland, Betty Williams of Ireland, and more. We also heard from the former mayor of Seoul, who is now governor of that province, Yong Nae Kim.

The mobilization of thousands of members from Japan and America to work throughout Korea at the time of the North Korea – South Korea crisis coincided with Divine Principle prophecy. Divine Principle states that the peaceful conclusion of the third world war is the precondition to the establishment of God’s sovereignty.

"The world wars have taken place to fulfill the worldwide indemnity condition to restore God’s sovereignty. …three final wars in which the heavenly, Abel-type world prevails over the satanic, Cain-type world. This is a condition to restore through worldwide indemnity Cain’s murder of Abel. After that, the world of God’s sovereignty can be established." (EDP 367)

The third world war, that war between communism and democracy, cannot be deemed concluded until the division of the Korean peninsula is ended (yes, then there’s Cuba, but let’s worry about that later). Divine Principle foretells that the resolution of the third world war is the precondition to the creation of the sovereign nation of God, which we call Cheon Il Guk. This was why we were in Korea, indeed.

While we are in the prophetic mode, let us draw from the endless resource of the book of Revelation. What strikes me as important these days in that book is not only the prophecies of the wedding feast and the 144,000, which we have been hearing a lot of over the past years, but the warnings given the seven churches. The Spirit is telling the churches that they are in danger of collapse, but is always holding out the invitation to "he who overcomes" to partake of the glory of God’s kingdom. That glory, as described in Revelation 5:10, is exactly what we are promised today within the advent of the age of the Cheon Il Guk: ‘"…with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." Revelation 5:9-10

In the verses preceding this, we have a description of Christ at the Second Advent, our True Parents; "…the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ Then I saw the Lamb, looking as if it had been slain… He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. …[the four living creatures and twenty-four elders] sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe ….’" Revelation 5:5-8

Here we have a striking admixture of the suffering servant Messiah, "the Lamb, looking as if it had been slain… you are worthy because you were slain," and the Lord of Glory, "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed." This is exactly True Father’s course. Our elder Dr. Frank Kaufmann testified to me that once, many years ago, he showed our True Father’s picture to a medium who knew nothing of him, and the medium’s response was, "this man should be dead. He has endured suffering the extent to which any man should have already died."

This has helped me realize the oneness of True Father and Jesus. To reach 1 billion Christians, we have to know the meaning of spiritual salvation. Divine Principle affirms spiritual salvation. True Parents came to earth on the foundation of spiritual salvation. Spiritual salvation was bought by the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross for our sins. We give that short shrift, and it rightly drives Christians crazy. There is no physical salvation without spiritual salvation. And there is no ultimate understanding of physical salvation until we deeply understand spiritual salvation.

In the oft-used term, blood lineage, we have to understand both words. "Lineage" gets more attention for us, but we need also to understand the value of the "blood." Unificationist preachers should be able to thoroughly convey the absolute value of the cross of Christ. Only then do we have the authority to call for it to be taken down and only then do we really understand the suffering sacrifice of our True Parents.

The main point I want to pursue is stated in verse ten, "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." This is what our True Father is telling us we have now become, as "owners of the Cheon Il Guk."

Father said that if we bring success on the tribal level, God would take care of the rest. God has to take care of the nation, world and cosmos, and He will. It is not within the human portion of responsibility. "Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?" (Job 38:33)

Communism and socialism are human attempts to organize society. They are miserable and tragic failures. Only God’s "invisible hand" can organize society, working through the myriad hands, hearts and minds of His true children. The "invisible hand" metaphor is Adam Smith’s, of course, from Scotland. But I see a parallel with the Confucianist doctrine that if the emperor’s family is at peace, then the entire kingdom will be at peace.

This shapes what hit me on the deepest level over my attendance at the seven-day workshop at Chung Pyung Lake. These are what I consider the highlights of my notes from talks given by our major leaders. Of course, these notes were taken in a condition of being sat upon and walked over by numerous sikkhu (family members), but I think they are fairly accurate, at least to the English translation coming through my headphones.

First, from True Father on the evening of January 31: "Can each family restore another family each year? Then if you bring four families with six members each, and each of them brings seven spiritual children each year for three years… People who sacrifice themselves will go to the Kingdom of Heaven. You don’t go there because you won an award… Visit each home and restore them to God."

The question about restoring families was the first thing that Father said. The numbers there represent Father’s idealism in multiplying the results that a fully energized, organizationally liberated membership could bring. And Father pointed out that awards don’t build the Kingdom, but true sacrificial love. Namely, visit people in their homes. Get local, get intimate, become friends, solve their problems. And "restore them to God." That means we should bring people, in their homes, into a life-transforming relationship with God through True Parents.

Next I will quote from Reverend Chung Hwan Kwak’s speech on the morning of February 2. After True Parents departed, Reverend Kwak asked us to remain with him. He shared very deeply, finally at the end calling us all for mutual forgiveness, as he asked ours and he bestowed his: "Many blessed families are failing. The providence is delayed. What shall we do? What is your excuse and justification? We neglected to do everything True Parents asked, because of old habits. We need to repent and reproach ourselves. Tell your children we can’t go on like this any longer. We need to redirect our lives. We need to educate. Recover our identity and bring our children back to the original course. We need to package our product with love and truth and help them see what we have is the best, and everyone will follow.

"Once we set the standard in one place, it can quickly expand to the world. Utilize technology for God’s will, to let people know that religion is the center."

About utilizing technology, he was referring, I believe, to the internet. As we all know, however, the Internet is just a tool. To say, use the Internet, is like telling a carpenter to use a hammer. Of course, using a hammer will get his job done a million times faster, but a good deal more goes into building a house than just using a hammer, and technology refers to all kinds of techniques. For instance, how to run a Bible study is a technique that can be learned. To grow a church, to reach people, Bible studies are a basic tool. How many of us know how to run an effective Bible study?

I repent because the Seminary does not teach its students this skill, or how to set up a rehab center, or open a church in a storefront, and so forth. So, to utilize technology for God’s will means to go out and learn all the spiritual techniques and methods that are bringing success. Over the past years, the Seminary is becoming such an institution. This has come through the introduction of field internships and stronger emphasis upon field education. It has come through the ministry concentrations. And it has come through the new "Discovery Course" that guides each student on a path of discovery, of God and self, of one’s mission and calling, and one’s purpose in life in service of God, True Parents and all humankind.

I hope that we all may realize that while True Parents are victorious, we have a good deal of work to do before that victory is substantial. It is not True Parents’ work; it is ours, using the tools they have given us. In this regard, the words of Reverend Sun Jo Hwang, President of our Korean church, are insightful: "We have been part of the providence of indemnity, but haven’t practiced true love. So this is grace, based not on what you’ve done, but what you pledge to do."

And finally, words of MrChung Pyungm, given on February 4, her one chance to speak with our group: "The owner doesn’t do because someone asks him to. He decides himself." This surely emerges out of her life experience. Did True Father direct her to begin her prayer ministry at m, given on February 4, her one chance to speak with our group: "The owner doesn’t do because someone asks him to. He decides himself." This surely emerges out of her life experience. Did True Father direct her to begin her prayer ministry at Chung Pyung Lake many years ago? Did he tell her to do thousands of bows and take ice-cold baths and make all the conditions that she made? I’m not privy to their personal relationship, but I’ve never heard anything that would indicate other than that this was her personal dedication, her own idea.

Did Father come up with the practice of ansu? Did he orchestrate the development of the Chung Pyung Lake complex? As far as I can see, these are the fruits of the personal ministry of Mrs. Kim, with the guidance of the spirit world. I respect her enormously for it. She was able to offer everything properly to Lake complex? As far as I can see, these are the fruits of the personal ministry of Mrs. Kim, with the guidance of the spirit world. I respect her enormously for it. She was able to offer everything properly to Chung Pyungather blessed her work and undoubtedly gave her guidance and goals. But Father never could have found a member out of the blue and just asked her to do those things. God chose Mrs. Kim, and Father worked together with the dispensation of God. ather blessed her work and undoubtedly gave her guidance and goals. But Father never could have found a member out of the blue and just asked her to do those things. God chose Mrs. Kim, and Father worked together with the dispensation of God. Chung Pyung Lake and the ancestor liberation process is her personal ministry. She is the owner. Consider again her words to our group, and the depth of her experience out of which they came: "The owner doesn’t do because someone asks him to. He decides himself."

Brothers and sisters, we stand before an open gate. How can we pass through? We pass through only when we bring substantial results in our families of three generational unity, in our clans and tribes and in our communities. We have more steps to take, as many steps as it takes to build the real Kingdom on earth. That will be the consummation of this third level of the blessing. As Rev. Kwak said, we cannot expect things to change until we change. Father’s first question was, can you restore another family each year? Let us help each other pass through the gates.

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