Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon
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Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon |
In 1960, before having my own Holy Wedding, I engaged three of the 36 Couples, and after my wedding, I then blessed these three Couples. That set the condition of restoring three children to God's ideal realm, just as Jesus would have done with Peter, James, and John. The perfect, inseparable, victorious foundation had been laid. (55-164, 1972.5.7)
What have I been doing until now? I blessed the Three Couples first. Did I bless them or not? I did. I would not have been able to hold my own Holy Wedding in 1960 if I had not first laid a foundation through these three Couples. Before receiving Mother in holy matrimony, I first found spouses for the chosen three, then conducted my own Holy Wedding, after which I blessed the three betrothed Couples. That was how I followed the path of the Principle. (89-243, 1976.12.1)
Those representing the three archangels and Adam's eight family members should be set in place before the new Adam. By establishing the three central children -- that is, three spiritual children -- and having them marry, the eight family members would be organized and Adam then could come before God with his family and the three archangels. That is why I first designated three sons and three daughters, the first three of the 36 Couples, and betrothed them before holding my own Holy Wedding. This was all done according to the Principle; it was brought forth through the establishment of a foundation that could not be accused in any way. Since the original Adam lost his family, the new Adam must restore the family. (126-49, 1983.4.10)
When you look at my family, you can see that I have children in the vertical position. On the horizontal foundation, who among the True Children represents the position of the horizontal Abel? It is Heung-jin. He is the second son. In order to establish the 36 Couples, people representing Jesus' three main disciples had to be secured, restoring the number three. The first three, the archangel-type couples, fulfilled this role. After the number three had been regained, 36 couples representing Adam's family, Noah's family, and Jacob's family could come forth. The first of the three Couples, who themselves represent the 36 Couples, was that of Kim Won-pil. Providential history cannot allow just anyone to stand in that position. He must have a suitable ancestral background aligned with the dispensation in the spirit world; otherwise, he cannot stand in the position of the eldest son. The one who fulfilled these requirements was Kim Won-pil. The one who occupied the position of the second son was Eu Hyo-won and the third was Kim Young-hwi. (169-109, 1987.10.29)
Centering on the three representative couples, twelve had to be raised up. These twelve were to be entrusted with a historic mission; however, only twelve would not do. In addition, twelve couples representing the past and twelve couples representing the future were chosen to establish the 36 Couples. The 36 Couples are the compression of all the disconnected ancestors of the two-thousand year history of ten generations from Adam's family to Noah's family, another ten generations from Noah's family to Jacob's family, and Jacob's twelve sons. (89-243, 1976.12.1)
The 36 Couples consist of three groups of twelve. The first group symbolizes the Old Testament Age of marrying without God's permission. The second group symbolizes the New Testament Age of wishing to be married in God's chosen land. However, with the death of Jesus on the cross, this wish was not fulfilled and so the age became one of the bride awaiting her groom. The third group symbolizes the Completed Testament Age, an era of perfection, and of wishing for the beginning of God's family.
Today we are passing through the providence of restoration symbolizing Jacob's victory. Accordingly, I need to restore through indemnity the era of the servant and the realm of the adopted child and realize the era of the true child. The 36 Couples were established in order to restore these three eras symbolically. (God's Will - 165)
Of the 36 Couples, the first dozen are already married couples who represent the Old Testament Age. The second dozen symbolizes the era of Jesus desiring marriage without achieving it. The third dozen, representing Jacob who overcame every hardship and became victorious, symbolize the Completed Testament Age. In particular, the 36 Couples under my leadership form the victorious foundation upon which the Old, New, and Completed Testament Ages are indemnified in my lifetime. Furthermore, the historic significance of the Blessing of the 36 Couples is that those three eras were indemnified horizontally within my generation through their victorious perfection. (55-165, 1972.5.7)
From a providential point of view, the first dozen of the 36 Couples is in the position of the restored Adam's family. As Adam's family, including Cain and Abel up to Noah, makes up the number twelve, twelve couples had to be appointed in order to indemnify it. The second dozen signify the restoration of the period from Noah to Abraham, symbolizing the generations extended to twelve to include Isaac and Jacob, who had to indemnify Satan's invasion of Abraham's family. Jacob had twelve sons in order to restore through indemnity in his generation (horizontally) for the first time in history the indemnity conditions accumulated (vertically) through those twelve generations; that is symbolized by the third dozen couples. The 36 Couples, who have been called on the basis of the victorious individual level foundation achieved by Jacob, symbolize the Old, New, and Completed Testament Ages. (55-165, 1972.5.7)
The 36 Couples represent 36 generations. They are in the position of restored ancestors who have remedied all the mistakes committed in the course of God's providence of restoration. They are also in the position of indemnifying Jesus' twelve disciples representing past and present, that is, the Old and New Testament Ages. In principle, the Completed Testament Age cannot begin before the Old and New Testament Ages are properly concluded; accordingly, in order to resolve all this, the 36 Couples had to be established. (54-293, 1972.3.26)
Based upon my individual victory, I needed to lay a horizontal foundation to restore the family and therefore blessed the 36 Couples. Wasn't the victorious foundation first laid by Noah's family? The second twelve couples represent that tradition.
Next, what does the third group of twelve couples representing Jacob's family signify? This group was composed of virgin men and women. From here, a perfect foundation must then be laid on earth after everything has been restored through indemnity. Only then can the horizontal expansion in all directions take place from these twelve couples.
The 36 Couples represent the positions of the twelve tribal elders of the three ages. Based on Jacob's foundation, they represent the three eras of formation, growth, and completion. All must unite. (47-199, 1971.8.28)
The 36 Couples are chosen to represent countless good ancestors entrusted with missions in the providence of restoration and, as their resurrected incarnations, have the responsibility to substantially restore on earth all that they had failed to achieve vertically throughout history. You must know that the 36 Couples represent the world's 3.6. billion people. (40-185, 1971.2.1)
Humanity can be divided between those who have formed families and those who have not. The latter can be subdivided into two groups and one of those groups is made up of people who had relations as they pleased with the opposite sex, but who failed to form a family. We can therefore divide humanity into three groups: those who married, those who related to the opposite sex but did not form families -- of which there are many nowadays -- and finally, virgin men and women. Such are the relationship entanglements that exist in the world today.
In other words, viewed vertically, people live on three levels: matrimony, engagement, and celibacy. The second category of people reflects the state of engagement between Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They would be able to form a new family. In order to restore through indemnity all these different types of people, some representatives must be called to form families, according to God's dispensation. That is how the 36 Couples came to be established. (58-183, 1972.6.11)
Jesus established the twelve disciples in order to represent and restore the three eras of Adam's, Noah's, and Jacob's families, but could not achieve his will. In order to restore this failure through indemnity, I established the 36 Couples. This is how the process of restoration has been substantially developed. As can be seen from this, I have carried out every single task conscientiously and wholeheartedly. (23-62, 1969.5.11)
Christ at his Second Advent must restore through indemnity the position of Adam's family. Accordingly, he must establish families who can represent Adam's, Noah's, and Abraham's families as ancestors. In order to do so, he must first restore three sets of twelve couples to respectively represent the three providential families of Adam, Noah, and Abraham, and raise them up as the vertical ancestors. (22-215, 1969.2.6)
The 36 Couples signify the resurrection of our historical ancestors. What then should be the work of the resurrected ancestors? Humankind has horizontally multiplied on earth through six thousand years of vertical history. They must all be brought together. Twelve generations must be indemnified in order to complete vertical indemnification. Everyone on earth is connected to each other through these twelve generations. For those living on earth, the realm of formation corresponds to married couples who formed families, the realm of growth corresponds to those engaged couples who never formed a family, and the realm of completion corresponds to virgin men and women. (122-97, 1982.11.1)
The 36 Couples are all related to the number twelve. The ten generations from Adam to Noah add up to twelve by including Cain and Abel. The ten generations from Noah to Abraham also add up to twelve by including Isaac and Jacob. In the same way that Jacob's family expanded horizontally through his twelve sons and took root on earth, the Unification Church also had to establish 36 couples.
Adam's, Noah's, and Jacob's families are represented respectively by the first, second, and third group of twelve couples. Through them, everything in history and every event that occurred in the Old and New Testament Ages can be brought together with the Completed Testament Age. As representatives of the spirit world, they are connected to each other as the ancestors on earth. As such, every one of the 36 Couples can stand in the position of being an ancestor. (164-269, 1987.5.17)
Who are the 36 Couples? The first group within the 36 Couples consists of those who had married as they pleased, who were brought into the presence of God, and connected to Him through the Blessing. Next, the second group of couples consisted of those who were engaged but who did not marry before the Blessing. Matching and blessing people is not something I do casually. Why? Because these couples are for the sake of the salvation of all humankind. The third group is for virgin men and women. All already married couples should absolutely obey the first group of the 36 Blessed Couples. You will understand this more clearly when you go to the spirit world. The second group should absolutely obey the third group of couples.
When the time comes for God's will to be accomplished on earth, it will be the third group of the 36 Couples who will become the center. You are hearing this for the first time from me. So for whom would the Lord come first? He is not coming to see the already married couples. He is not coming to see people with failed relationships from the past. He is coming to find virgin men and women. (148-284, 1986.10.25)
There would be no place for you to stand had I not blessed the 36 Couples. Did you know this? When we expand from the 36 Couples, the whole world will be connected to them. If we were to consider the already married couples as the formation stage, the second group would be the growth stage, and the third, completion. That is why we refer to the three groups of couples as Adam's family, Noah's family, and Jacob's family. Jacob's era finally ushered in that of the horizontal expansion of the family.
We are entering the era of world-level expansion through the twelve tribes. There should be twelve tribes rooted in me, just as there are twelve pearly gates in heaven and twelve months in one cycle of the earth's seasons. These tribes must be in harmony with each other. Just as there were twelve brothers in Jacob's family and twelve disciples of Jesus, there are 36 Couples around me, twelve of whom are represented by virgin men and women. With these twelve as the core, next come the couples who formed relationships as they pleased, and then finally the couples with families. There is no way to enter heaven unless these couples have set the condition of unity. (148-284, 1986.10.25)
The couples made up of virgin men and women whom I matched and blessed are standing on a level upon which they can connect to me directly. Hence, from this day onwards, when it comes to establishing the family structure, the center will always be the couples who were blessed as virgin men and women. Bearing this in mind, all of you must recognize the order of family groups from now on. Among the three groups of the 36 Couples, the third is central. (31-284, 1970.6.4)
The 36 Couples must pave the way for the overall providence, starting from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Jacob and his twelve sons. This is not to relive the history of the past, but rather substantially and horizontally restore through indemnity at this time the mistakes made by our ancestors. The struggle to bring this about took place at the time of the Blessing of the 36 Couples. I did not bless them out of ignorance of what is going on in the world, but rather took responsibility for this great work because God's circumstances are much more desperate than those of human beings and His will is much greater than theirs.
I blessed the 36 Couples because I had to restore through indemnity God's historic grief over losing His children, and because I was in the position of having to horizontally restore in substance the vertical providential history, in order to restore and establish the origin of the ancestors and the standard they had tried to set. (16-60, 1965.12.26)
What is the responsibility of the 36 Couples? They are to satisfy all historical indemnity conditions up to the present time. In other words, they must become the perfect protective fence that can exclude Satan completely. Hence, these couples should practice the new tradition and ideology that are completely separated from Satan. Rooted in these traditions, the 72 Couples and 120 Couples must expand that base. Considering all this, you should realize the importance of the responsibility of the 36 Couples. (28-60, 1970.1.3)
In the spirit world, the Blessing received by pure single men and women is very different from that received by already married couples. There are three levels in the spirit world, just as today's society is divided into upper, middle, and lower classes.
Among the 36 Couples divided into three groups of twelve, respectively representing Adam's, Noah's, and Jacob's families, which group is the most precious? It is the third. In the future, you will have to serve them. At the moment, we are not distinguishing them from each other because the time to do so has not yet come, but that does not mean they are the same. They are very different. (30-189, 1970.3.22)
I put all my money into buying gold wedding rings, clothes and every other item needed by the brides and grooms of the 36 Couples Blessing. Why did I do that? The 36 Couples were not even asked to pay their Blessing fees, were they? I brought together other people's sons and daughters and married them in circumstances far superior to those I would have granted my own children. However much secular society opposed me, I accomplished this with dignity. The Blessing was conducted in three phases. If one were to do such a thing in this world, would one get anything in return, like land or money? Would one get anything at all? Think about it: if I cared about such trifles, would I ever engage in the activities I do? However much commotion Korea and the established churches made, however much uproar the United States and the whole world made, I did not waver once. That is how I have come this far. (126-299, 1983.4.28)
In 1961, the 33 Couples Blessing Ceremony was held amid great confusion and chaos. We finally had to have someone stand guard at the door before we could go through with the ceremony. Nevertheless, I did everything I had to, regardless of how much noise the protestors were making. The parents of the 33 Couples came swarming about the place, shouting all kinds of insults at us and creating a continuous uproar. Some went so far as to send dozens of anonymous letters to the court of justice demanding I be sent to jail; as a result, I had to appear in court on several occasions. There were twelve people in particular who worked frantically to destroy the Unification Church, sprinkling coal dust all over the place. The Unification Church grew amid such turmoil. We had to lay the groundwork for victory in the same place that people were opposing us. We undertook the daunting task of establishing the foundation for victory amid fierce opposition from all sides. (23-317, 1969.6.8)
At the time we were going to hold the Blessing for the 33 Couples, I sent out invitations in my name to the parents of the brides and grooms as follows: "Dear father, mother, on such and such a date, your son/daughter will be getting married at Cheongpa-dong church. Please note that you can attend the ceremony only if you are dressed in holy robes of such and such a style; otherwise, you will not be welcomed." That invitation created havoc among the parents; you can't imagine how much noise they made over this, crying, "How on earth can such a thing happen? Who dares to send parents invitations to the wedding of their own children?" Well, they can make all the noise they want. Once I have decided to do something, I see it through to the end. Even if they had called the police on me, in the end everything would have worked out the way I wanted it to, rather than how they wanted it. (162-321, 1987.4.17)
When the 33 Couples were being blessed, they had to treat their own parents as the fallen archangel. None of them informed their parents about the wedding. At the last minute, because there was no other choice, I sent the parents invitations about a week before the wedding and included many conditions, such as the need to wear holy robes and so on. Then the parents hurled insults at me, shouting that I had no right to take their children away from them and have them married. They caused a terrible scandal, but it could not be helped. Think for a moment about how unpleasant that must have been for the parents. In the end, we had to close the iron gates and block them from entering at all. Such were the actions we had to take in order to make the condition to separate from the fallen archangel and protect the situation. (90-124, 1976.10.21)
Among the 36 Couples, there is a leader whose father was well-known. Being a respectable gentleman, he thought very little of me. In fact, he regarded me no more highly than any man on the street. When the time came for me to bless his daughter, I sent him a notice. He came to attend the wedding because he wanted to see his daughter get married and he walked up to the gate very proudly. We informed him that if he wanted to attend the Unification Church wedding, he needed to be dressed in holy robes. He was dressed in his best suit and so was at a loss when we stopped him from entering the gate. He insisted on coming in anyway because, after all, it was his daughter's wedding, but still he was blocked by us. In the end, he had no choice but to go to one of our members and beg him to loan his holy robes. Ultimately, he did attend his daughter's wedding, dressed in the borrowed holy robes. (75-216, 1975.1.5)
At the time of the 33 Couples Blessing, do you think the brides and grooms could easily notify their parents of the Blessing? Would the parents have liked it if their children had discussed with them the prospect of getting married in a church they opposed? Don't you think they wouldn't? That was a foregone conclusion. If they were to come to the wedding, they would have been an eyesore on what would otherwise have been the couple's happiest day. Knowing this, should I have notified them in order to give them the opportunity to meet their prospective son- or daughter-in-law beforehand? Since they had to be notified at least, we sent them invitations to arrive on the eve of the wedding, as follows: "Your son/daughter is going to be wedded in holy matrimony, so please favor us with your attendance." (61-313, 1972.9.3)
My revolutionary course of action completely overturned existing marriage traditions. It overturned the traditions of Christianity and of Korea. How so? It denied the fathers and mothers. Did I ever discuss with your parents the prospect of you receiving the Blessing? No, because the Blessing is a heavenly command. I am the subject. At the time of the 33 Couples Blessing, we stopped parents from coming to the wedding, telling them they would be allowed to enter only if they wore holy robes. There was such an outcry about this. It was the revolution of revolutions. It completely overturned everything. (213-17, 1991.1.13)
On the occasion of the 33 Couples Blessing, wasn't the first phase conducted at dawn? Families of the brides and grooms were outside, struggling to get in, shouting, "Set my father free!" or "Set my daughter free!" These words made me out to be a thief who had stolen somebody's father and somebody else's daughter. They were making me out to be a thief and shouted at me, "You, Moon! Come out! You have destroyed our family and made our daughter a raving lunatic!"
When wanting to get married, the proper thing to do is to get permission from the parents; yet in our case, we sent wedding invitations to the parents and told them to wear holy robes if they wanted to come. That was unheard of. I knew that. Had I not, I would have gone through with the Blessing with a heart as light as a feather, but I had to conduct it aware of all this and that was the most difficult part of it. Don't you think so? If not, I would have heard the insults shouted at me and wondered why. Instead, I held the wedding, knowing that they would curse me for it. I persevered with it to the end, knowing all these things. Indemnity could not have otherwise been paid. I could not just close my eyes and do a haphazard job. (211-332, 1991.1.1)
The 33 Couples were wedded in three phases: the first at dawn, the second during the day, and the third at night. Their parents came to say, "Let my son out! Let my daughter out!" Such was their protest. From the standpoint of God's will, since human history started from false parents, I had to guide the proceedings as a true parent. Not only their parents, but also the government opposed us. I had to go to court and place a deposition before holding the wedding. No one knows what I have been through in carrying out my work. There was not even a tiny spot for me to stand on. There, I was risking everything. (91-259, 1977.2.23)
Do you want me to tell you an interesting story? When I was holding the 33 Couples Blessing in Korea, a man came to see me. His son-in-law is here with us today, by the way. The man claimed that both his daughters had been hoodwinked into becoming Unification Church members. He was a school principal and had already chosen two teachers specifically as his future sons-in-law, and so did not want to allow his daughters to participate in the Blessing. However, all I told him was, "If you want to oppose, go ahead. Both your daughters, however, will be blessed by me!" (22-261, 1969.5.4)
When I was choosing the 36 Couples for the Blessing, do you think I discussed the issue with their parents? I brought together other people's children and married them at my own discretion, without discussing it with the parents at all. No doubt the parents would have not only cursed me, but beaten me with sticks if they had had the chance. Had we been Israelites of old, I would have had my clothes torn off and been stabbed to death. Nevertheless, I accomplished it all in the blink of an eye, before the parents had the faintest idea of what was going on. I brought together Satan's children, made them into God's children, and married them. In my work of completing the course of restoration, amid the heavenly fortune of the cosmos, whom should I discuss such matters with? In carrying out the Blessing, whom could I possibly have consulted?
Everything had to be carried out at my own discretion. The 36 Couples are the ancestors. In fulfilling the love through which they could become ancestors, should they have consulted their physical parents? This was a matter to be discussed with God. (18-207, 1967.6.8)
The 33 Couples Blessing had to be conducted in the dark of night, behind locked doors. During the ceremony, we heard all kinds of shouts like, "Let my son go! Let my husband go! What do you think you are doing with other people's children?" People were outraged because traditionally they arrange their children's marriages; yet here was the founder of the Unification Church marrying them off on his own. The families protested so vehemently because they were fathers and mothers from the satanic world. Since God's children were snatched away by Satan, I snatched them back from his clutches and restored them through indemnity. Through the Blessing, I had to regain the sons and daughters lost throughout history, restoring them through indemnity. Hence, I concluded the ceremony hurriedly. I had no choice, as I was trying to accomplish restoration through indemnity. (19-120, 1967.12.31)