Book Nine - Blessed Family
Chapter Three - The Providential Significance of the Blessed Couples
Section 2. The 72 Couples

2.1. Significance of the 72 Couples Blessing

Did everything until now go wrong just because of the first ancestors' failure to fulfill their responsibility? No. They did err, but the brothers Cain and Abel also did wrong. Thus, the 72 Couples were established to stand in the position of the brothers, Cain and Abel, in front of the 36 Couples. The establishment of the 72 Couples meant the establishment of the horizontal foundation on earth laid until Jacob's generation, restored through Cain and Abel on the family level. Thereby, all the families of the direct ancestors up until this time could be manifested on earth in the form of resurrected families. Through this, an important center was established. Through twelve couples from the 36 Couples, the form of the tribes of Israel could finally take shape. Establishing the 72 Couples made it possible for the historical foundations of the ancestors to be manifested here on earth. (47-200, 1971.8.28)

As God's will in His providence was to organize families based on the model of the two sons in front of the ancestors, then twice thirty-six, that is, seventy-two couples, were established. In the vertical course of history, what had not been fulfilled in Adam's family should have been completed by the families of Cain and Abel, but they failed to set the condition of indemnity. Yet, through the 72 Couples Blessing representing Cain and Abel's families, the prolonged vertical providence could be successfully consummated at a point of intersection on the horizontal. The establishment of the 36 and 72 Couples meant that the national Cain-Abel-type foundation could be entirely substantiated on earth -- in other words, the horizontal restoration of the vertical family model. That family is the model to restore Adam's family. (16-62, 1965.12.26)

The 36 Couples established the standard of having restored all the failures of the original 36 generations and thus became ancestors themselves; however, having the 36 Couples as ancestors is not enough. Where did conflict begin? It began between Adam and Eve's sons Cain and Abel, who thus destroyed the world and made it the way it is today; that is to say, one in which all their descendants are in constant struggle with one other. We must restore this through indemnity. In order to do so, we must set the condition that the sons and daughters of the 36 generations have united before God without a struggle. Hence, I established the 72 Couples, thus twice the number 36, to represent the Cain-Abel division. Through the establishment of the 72 Couples, historical foundations of the ancestors were laid, upon which Cain and Abel could come together, not to fight, but to form a four-position foundation. In this manner, the absolute standard through which we could guard ourselves against Satan was secured. Do you all understand the seriousness of the position of the 72 Couples? (19-120, 1967.12.31)

The 72 Couples were established on the basis of the 36 Couples Blessing. They symbolize Cain and Abel's restored families centered on Adam's family. In order for Adam and Eve to stand in the position of perfected parents and ancestors of humankind before God, Cain and Abel must completely unite. The 36 Couples symbolize Adam's family and are in the position of ancestors; only when they stand on the foundation of Cain and Abel's united families can they attain the position of parents. The 72 Couples are twice the number of the 36 Couples because they are in the position of Cain and Abel. (55-167, 1972.5.7)

Who are the 72 Couples? Some translations of the Bible state that Jesus had seventy-two disciples, and others, seventy. Originally, 72 is the correct number. Centering on the twelve tribes and the number six (six united representatives per tribe), two times six is twelve and one times six is six. Multiplying them gives us seventy-two. If it were seventy disciples, the numbers would not have added up properly. Hence, the correct number is seventy-two.

The 72 Couples are like the children, the descendants of the 36 Couples, while the 36 are the central couples as well as the ancestors. Our view is that our ancestors failed to fulfill God's will because Cain and Abel, the two sons in the first family in history, failed to become one in heart, thus deferring the fulfillment of God's will. In view of the fact that the foundation of the family, in which the brothers Cain and Abel should have united, was not established, who then are the 72 Couples? Seventy-two is thirty-six twice. Thus, the 72 Couples representing the children of the 36 Couples comprise 36 Abel and 36 Cain couples. They are the representative couples chosen to restore through indemnity that which the historical ancestors failed to accomplish: the complete unity of Abel and Cain. (84-144, 1976.2.22)

The 36, 72, and 120 Couples are a team; they cannot be separated. The 36 Couples refer to the successive generations of ancestors. The 72 Couples represent their children. The 120 Couples signify the high priests of nations in the world and represent the twelve tribes. They are the branches of these tribes that have spread out into the world. The matter at hand is to unite the ancestors Cain and Abel and the twelve tribes. That is the great work of restoration. (82-237, 1976.1.31)

Each person is the fruit of the past, the center of the present, and the beginning of the future, and is therefore the meeting point of three eras. When you multiply the three separate eras by the number twelve, you get the number 36. Thus, you arrive at the 36 Couples and since the children in the position of Cain and Abel must be restored centering on these 36 Couples, it follows that the 72 Couples must come next. (34-262, 1970.9.13)

The question that always comes up in a family is whether the parents and children can completely unite. Within his family, Adam should have become one with Cain and Abel. In order to become a family that can stand in God's presence in complete unity, the parents and the two sons must set the condition that they become one. Otherwise, they cannot enter God's presence at all. This is where the 72 Couples, as double the number of the 36 Couples, come in. They were established to organize the tribes that Jesus would have restored through the families of his twelve apostles and 72 disciples. In other words, the 36 Couples and the 72 Couples correspond respectively to the twelve tribes of Israel and Jesus' 72 disciples, and so they are in the position of restored representatives who can lead Israel. They also represent the restored basic numbers that God had sought to reclaim through Israel. (54-293, 1972.3.26)

What are the 72 Couples? In order to restore the family completely, Cain and Abel families must first become one. In order for Adam and Eve to be restored before God perfectly, they must stand on the foundation of unity between Cain and Abel. The position of Adam and Eve is that of parents. In order for them to stand in front of God in perfection, the Cain-Abel foundation must be restored. Since the 36 Couples need the foundation of the united families of Cain and Abel to stand as ancestors, the 72 Couples, who were chosen as twice in number to the 36 Couples, came into being.

The 72 Couples correspond to Jesus' seventy-two disciples. As they succeed in laying a foundation of indemnity on earth, God's providence can expand. Through the unity of the 72 Couples representing Cain and Abel with the 36 Couples representing Adam and Eve, all providential requirements for the family have been met, and the restoration of the family has been completed. Such is the significance of the Blessing up to the 72 Couples. With the accomplishment of the 72 Couples Blessing, a God-centered foundation was achieved on earth for the first time, both horizontally and vertically, and thereby, a central standard was set up. Thus, the vertical foothold -- a central point that should be determined through God's providence -- can be established only when the 36 and 72 Couples are united as the perfected victors of history. Once that central point is determined, the victorious realm of the central ancestors desired by God will finally have been fulfilled. This perfect foundation must be developed horizontally on earth. (55-167, 1972.5.7)

Why was Jesus unable to establish the Kingdom of Heaven? It was because his clan and twelve apostles didn't help him. He attempted to build a bridge that would connect with the nation through his clan, twelve apostles, and seventy disciples, but it collapsed. He therefore could not establish the foundation on the family, clan, or church level during his life on earth.

The next problem was that the seventy disciples did not unite with Jesus. They represented the twelve tribes and the seventy elders of Israel. The correct number, actually, should be 72, not 70. If six people were chosen from each of the twelve tribes, the total would be seventy-two. Hence, in the Unification Church, we have the Blessing of the 72 Couples. In the Bible, there are seventy-two in the New Testament and seventy in the Old Testament. The correct number is 72, not 70. (67-327, 1973.7.22)

The history of restoration is that of Cain and Abel. Consequently, if two people representing Cain and Abel are placed before representatives of the first ancestors, the condition can be set through which all mistakes committed by our ancestors can be indemnified. What was the fundamental mistake? It was that Cain and Abel failed to unite.

Originally, the foundation of faith and the foundation of substance were to be laid by Cain and Abel. As they failed to do this, the conditional offering through which it can be completed and brought into line with the expanding horizontal foundation on earth was the Blessing of the 72 Couples. (75-148, 1975.1.2)

Before God's Kingdom can be realized on earth, the ideal family has to be established. Jesus' three main disciples and twelve apostles represent the three periods of formation, growth, and completion. They are, in turn, represented by the 36 Couples. The 72 Couples representing Cain and Abel, who fought on the family level, have to restore them. They can also be regarded as the representatives of seventy-two races (74-270, 1974.12.31)

Humankind is comprised of people who are similar to Adam by marrying as they please, or those following the type of Jesus in awaiting marriage, or those following the type of Christ at his Second Advent. The latter must restore all three positions. In the first place, a family following the type of Noah's family must be restored because Noah, like Abel and Jesus, occupies the position of the second son on God's side. The 72 Couples are the restored forms of Cain and Abel who had been divided. (22-216, 1969.2.8)

The mistake Cain committed by not being obedient to Abel, which led to their fatal conflict, has not been indemnified by providential figures of the past, and so the process of restoration has been prolonged until now. In order to restore this mistake completely, the foundation of Cain's obedience to Abel must be indemnified before each ancestral couple. The 72 Couples, therefore, came into existence for this purpose. The number 72 is double the number 36. (22-193, 1969.2.2)

The purpose of establishing the 36 Couples lies in restoring thirty-six ancestors. Thus, the spiritual and physical worlds can unite around the 36 Couples. The 72 Couples stand in the position of Cain and Abel before the 36 Couples. With the 72 Couples Blessing, the Unification Church was in a position similar to that of Jacob, who set out on the journey for Egypt with seventy-two family members. (13-125, 1963.11.16)

The Blessing is the permission for creating a new Israel. When a Cain and an Abel couple are placed before each of the 36 Couples, the result you have is the 72 Couples. (12-47, 1962.9.10)

The standard of unity of the three generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be surpassed in three years. I burned the candle at both ends when I blessed the 72 Couples this year. Out of them all, I am satisfied with only a few. (12-50, 1962.9.13)