Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon

Volume 7

Chapter 1: The Path In Search of the Original Homeland

July 5, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
Luke 15:11-32

Prayer 1

Having struggled hard in the darkness, we have gathered once again this day, longing for the Father. Please enable our minds to abide with Yours now. Please enable our minds and bodies to move as one with You.

Heedless of Your own limitless toil, You endured much to accompany our ancestors throughout the different eras and centuries. We also know that You took many pains to open up a new path for our ancestors. Nevertheless, our ancestors trampled underfoot the meritorious deeds of Heaven, which were accomplished with such toil. They became shameful by causing Your heart concern. Please forgive them.

We have learned that the sins of our ancestors are a matter of great and lasting regret. We know that the rueful deeds of the Fall have caused countless human beings to fall into misery for six thousand years. We are afraid that we might inherit the wayward minds of our ancestors, who throughout history betrayed and grieved the heart of the Father. We are in the final days, when we must go over the hill of regret due to the Fall and tread down the bitter resentment our ancestors left behind. We must rise up. Please allow our minds to be stimulated by Your mind now. Father, I ardently wish and pray that You will allow us the hour of glory when our bodies can represent Yours.

Who is to make the tearful appeal, having harmonized with the Father’s heart? Who is to fight representing the Father’s situation? Countless people are living on this earth, and each person lives in their own respective style. However, there are very few people who know that the Father has been going through the history of sorrow again and again because there has been no region or person who could reciprocate with Him in the matters of the heart He keeps within His bosom. Since we now know this sorrowful and bitter inner heart of the Father, please let this be the hour when we relieve our minds and unburden ourselves, grafting everything onto Him.

Father, let this be the hour when we allow absolutely nothing of ourselves. Let us rejoice only where we have been grafted onto the Father. We cannot help but appeal to the Father with all our hearts now.

These humble people have knelt down this day in honor of the heavenly emotion. My Father, You who understand our pitiful situation, You who have accompanied us and fought in miserable circumstances for us, please receive us. We have prostrated ourselves before You with concentrated minds. We are aware that we must belong to You and be governed by You. That is why we have come forth, heedless of the long years we have toiled along life’s journey to attend You with our hearts and souls. That is why we have come, patiently scaling even the difficult and regrettable peak of danger.

It was to leave history behind that we came forth to endure this path. We are aware that You have never ignored those who sought You; You did not reject Your enemies; You took pains to put those who asked in the position of Your friends. Father, today we wish to ask with all our minds, to seek with all our hearts, and to bind with You, offering all that we have. Therefore, please look at us with compassion. Please realize our demands; please realize the objectives we seek and our wishes as we knock at Your door. Hear our entreaties, Father. I pray this from the bottom of my heart.

The one thing we unworthy people eagerly look forward to is to have a moment in which we can rejoice with the Father’s mind. That is all we ask. That is all we have and all of our life. Father, please look with compassion at Your sons and daughters who are gathered here in this hour.

Father, please set us upon the path of life and guide our steps upon it. We appreciate that You have guided us in enduring difficulties until today, that You have helped us forbear persecution and have taken pains to work through us. You have taken us in hand that we might not leave behind bitter regrets; You did this even when we fell down. Today, many sons and daughters have gathered here to offer their hearts and devotion once again to You. Father, please be good enough to visit each mind personally. Please be present in their hearts. Please, if possible, graft heavenly life into theirs.

It is high time we fulfilled the mission of the final days, to march forward against the enemy with the bitter pain of God deeply penetrated in our hearts. Father, reveal Your authority and appear to us with the power of life.

Since we are trying to alleviate Your grievous resentment at the risk of our lives, please allow us to go forth with the principles of love. Allow us to be brave soldiers who can step forward before the Subject of love and fight the enemy. Father, I ardently pray and wish that by doing so, we may become the children who have such life that all of creation on this earth can recognize our abundance and commence life in the restored garden.

Please allow us to repent for being self-righteous about our faith. Let us have the mind to reflect on our conduct and repent. Let us put aside our high hopes and repent; let us put aside the part of us that mocks the inner heart we have sought. Father, when we do so, I sincerely wish and desire that we may come to the glorious state of denying all that we have and giving it all to You, calling upon You. We desire to attain this through Your guidance.

Father, please look at the Korean peninsula with compassion. Many nations have trampled upon this land throughout all different eras. This land has been left to the mercy of its enemies. We know that the thirty million people of this nation harbor the bitterness of such a bloody history in their hearts. Father, please let Your heart be uppermost in theirs. Let the circumstances of these people be tied to your circumstances. Guide the people to want what You want. Please don’t let us be resentful about the sorry past. Beloved Father, I pray sincerely that we may be Your concerned sons and daughters who can beg You to usher in the time of Heaven that approaches so nearly.

Father, You have visited this nation above other nations because it has a heavenly history. Please do not let the time come when Your footsteps turn from us in lamentation and sorrow. Father, I pray from the bottom of my heart that You will not let us be the land and the people who leave behind sorrow and regrets.

The 2.7 billion people of the world lie in slumber, not knowing that You are preparing the moment of happiness through enlightenment. We know that we have the mission to awaken these people. We have the mission to build a new ideal Kingdom of Heaven by surmounting the complex human condition. We have the mission to build a land of bliss. Today, we unworthy, imperfect and insufficient people have knelt down on our knees, our minds fraught with awe and reverence, and with guilty consciences. Please bestow the wonderful grace of Heaven upon us through our appealing hearts in this hour. Father, it is my sincere wish and desire that You will manifest Yourself in this hour and get rid of all that is not of such a heart. When we offer all that we have to You, we hope You can acknowledge us as Your successors.

Father, the members in Seoul and the district members have gathered before You to build a new altar. Please look at Your young sons and daughters with compassion. Allow us to know Your situation, which You cannot speak about, although You have so many words of counsel and comfort for us. We have gathered here as Your sons and daughters. We cannot help but inform You, Father, of our sorrowful hearts. We are being hounded this way and that on account of the heavenly will, with no regard for our sorrow, our loneliness, our oppression and despair.

Allow us to unburden ourselves and talk things over with You today. Let us reveal all our circumstances to You and reach a mutual understanding. Father, I ardently wish and pray that You will allow this to be a time when we shed all the circumstances of our difficult pasts before You. By becoming people in whom You can take delight, we pray to be able to vow: “I will be a pure, sacrificial offering for the sake of this path even at the risk of my life.”

We understand that the heavenly will cannot be accomplished by words alone; nor can it be accomplished only by devotion. We long to have minds and hearts that deeply resonate with Your will. We long to make frantic efforts for the sake of Heaven, forgetting everything else. We want to bow our heads with awe-stricken hearts that there is a moment and a place wherein we can sing glory to the Father with such longing hearts. Thus, Father, I pray that You will visit us in this hour, knowing how sincere our intentions are and how ardent our hearts.

We know that one who has not gone the path cannot know it; that the words of a man without experience are lifeless. We know that You drove the Korean people into their miserable circumstances today that we might know Your pitiful circumstances. We know You are lonely and dejected. We also know of Your sorrow and great indignation that You have no choice but to allow us to be persecuted.

Please come and visit our minds so that they may become Yours today. We have come to this place because we want to become people who attend You in our hearts. We want to be able to cry together with You. We regret our past mistakes because we have come to know You, Father. We feel deeply sorry about our pasts. We are dejected. Father, Your position is such that You must accept us and forgive us regardless of how we behave and how waywardly we do things. We must regret having left behind a history of bitterness that needs to be restored. Realizing our state, please guide us to be able to go forth clinging only to Heaven. Let us not cease in the life of hard struggle today or tomorrow. We know that You know our state very well. If we can eschew everything and control our own minds, please allow us to be the living sacrifices offered before Your dignified presence.

Please bestow the gift of new life upon Your sons and daughters who are appealing, prostrated before You, throughout the country today. By sending them to the wasteland, let them light a lamp of life. Father, I ardently wish and desire that You can receive their respectful homage in this hour and that they can appear as beacons of light and glory.

Each of their circumstances is different. Through one of Your miraculous works, let their circumstances become the same. By ruling over this hour, please get rid of everything that is not of You. Allow us to make this an hour the triune God can take delight in. I pray all these words in the name of the Lord. Amen.

Prayer II

Father, You know our heart before we tell You. We realize that the Father is present in person with us this hour at least. Please allow us to feel that this is when Heaven attends to everything that concerns us.

Father, You went through the toilsome historical course. Please manifest Yourself before our eyes today. Refurbish us with new words. Relate to us with a new heart. We want to cleanse everything that is inadequate and offer everything we have with a child-like mind in the dignified presence of the Father. Please let us lay bare before You all the formalities, doctrines and concepts which influence us from this world. Allow us to have child-like, meek and humble minds. We are trying to offer ourselves to You, having equipped ourselves with humble, malleable minds. Please receive us. Triune God, please move us.

Father, please do not tolerate any elements of satanic opposition to Heaven within us. Let our victory be a shield against Satan. Please do not let Satan invade in this hour. I pray with the most sincere possible heart that You will allow this place to be an altar which conducts blessing as we respectfully bow before You with blissful hearts as heavenly soldiers watch over us. Let this altar bring our whole lives to victory.

We entrust everything to You, Father. Please let us lay bare all of our opinions and hearts before You. I pray in the name of the Lord that You will let this be the hour when everything we have is converted to the Father’s. Amen.

Prayer III

Please look with compassion upon Your sons and daughters who are bowing their heads in this hour. Who is going to be a leader among them? Who is going to represent Heaven and the words of truth? This congregation wants only the Father, so please manifest Yourself personally. Allow us to experience Heaven through our hearts. Allow us to experience Your circumstances, which we cannot help but feel. Please work in us so that we cannot help but have repentful hearts before You.

We know that when people gather, things may get entangled among them in spite of efforts to disentangle them. However, we also know that gathering together centered upon Heaven has a softening effect on the mind. Please arouse in us a deeply reflective mind which can repent for our past mistakes and long for a new day through the works of indemnity, repentance and inspiration. This can untangle at the deepest level all the entanglements of the sinful tribes of humanity. Please allow the miracle of re-creation to take place in this hour by our repenting from a deeply reflective mind. Father, I offer this wish from the depth of my heart.

Since I am about to deliver the words, please extend Your hands of love and protection over those gathered here in this hour. We know that the minds of the receivers and the mind of the deliverer must act as one, in unity. We do not want to be impatient for the happiness of the body; nor do we wish to live only in the mind’s intoxication. We want the garden where there is nothing but heart. We want to live there forever. Father, I pray with a most sincere heart that You will allow a connection of heart to explode within the depths of each of us even as we live to make such a condition, and that it may dwell in us more deeply.

Father, many words have been delivered to Your sons and daughters before. Our path is to carry out the responsibility and mission, unified by these words. Father, please be with us and protect us so our path will not be blocked. Please let these words help in harvesting fruits for the Father’s inner heart. If not, Father, I sincerely wish and desire that You will allow us to fear leaving behind regrets before Heaven because of the words received.

Since this is a holy day, please bestow the grace of blessing upon all. I know that there are many sons and daughters building secret altars, appealing to Heaven, clinging to Your heart for the sake of the will. Please bless them, too.

We are the throng of people who struggle hard, embracing the lonely heart of the Heavens. Even the numerous spirits in the spirit world, who look forward to the day when the payment of indemnity alleviates their resentment, are connected to us. Father, please allow their concerns to come to a good result because of us.

Please guide us not to call upon You without correcting the deficiencies which put us below the standard of heart which the triune God looks for and waits eagerly for. Please raise us in this hour to be the happy people who can call upon the Father from a position of having made up our deficiencies. Since we are not in such a state of grace, I earnestly hope and desire that You will guide us in this hour to become sons and daughters who can attract the Father’s heart of compassion and mercy by being meek and humble as children.

Please bless the members who are scattered throughout the country on this day. Since they are also appealing to You, solicitous of Heaven’s time, please grant the grace of life to them. Earnestly soliciting this, I pray all these words in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The title of the sermon I want to offer is “The Path in Search of the Original Homeland.” I will speak upon this topic.

People in Search of Their Original Homeland

The people of this world are impatiently waiting for peace. Furthermore, everyone without exception wishes to enjoy freedom. Everyone wishes to live in a free society, a free nation and a free world.

Without peace and freedom of mind, I can never have true happiness. If a man wishes to walk the path of the true life, he will want to enjoy true happiness and will praise the blessings of liberty and true peace.

Assuming you want to walk the path of the true life, what position are you in? The final days are when you have to be clear about whether you are acting in concert with this desire or not. That is my opinion.

Today, everyone without exception, be they great or small, say with one voice that this is not a world of peace. Although they shout for freedom, they admit that the world is not a free environment where they can live with love. For that reason, we cannot deny that we have not the happiness we desire so in our minds.

We know too well what we are like, what society is like, what the world is like, what history has been, and that this is the reality now.

Since we must acknowledge that this is true, no one can dispute that we are not in the original homeland where we can rejoice. We are not able to live in the garden of the original homeland where we can sing the praises of happiness. We are not able to live in the world of the original homeland where we can move and have dominion as we please.

We wait impatiently for happiness, peace and freedom. At the same time, our minds and the environment push us. You may feel this quite acutely in your life.

The world of the original homeland that we wish for has not been attained on the internal or the external level. Humanity is unable to live in that world. For that reason, humanity today is making frantic efforts to search for the original homeland. We must know clearly that this is humanity’s situation. Great men as well as fools must struggle hard to seek the original homeland. You must realize that no human being can escape the historical current of wandering on the path in search of the original homeland. That is why I speak on this topic.

Where Can We Find the Path that Leads to the Original Homeland?

Sages and wise men have come to this earth and pointed out the way to live. They have said, “Go this way,” or “Live according to this principle.” So saying, they would establish a direction for people. It might be a philosophical way; it might be a way established by the ideology of a sovereign power. It might be a social and moral view. It might be a religious direction which tried to connect the eternal ideology to the external world. The ideology would instruct: “Individuals must go this way; families must go this way; personal relationships must be based on this.”

All such ideologies must prepare for the time of happiness that the comprehensive, cosmic ideology will point to. Otherwise, they will depart from the heavenly way when it is established through elucidation.

If that is the case, how can we find peace and freedom and the world of happiness on the paths religions, codes of conduct, or philosophical ideas have led us to? Human feelings are universal. The feelings people had several thousand years ago are the same as those which will arise a hundred million years from now. The world of feelings does not change.

Do you ever wonder if a world in which mankind has the same feelings and attains the garden of happiness is possible on earth? Do you ever wonder if there is such a social standard or religious rite through which man can taste such happiness? If there is no such thing, where is God? If there is no such thing, God cannot be with humanity.

There are heavenly laws which unfold the dispensation by directing humanity to pursue goodness. This is done by setting up ethics and moral principles. There is no doubt that Heaven definitely directs all that is related and connected to us. Furthermore, the day will come when all people take a cheerful view of this in their hearts. The time will come when we say loudly and in unison that this is our happiness, this is our peace, and this is our freedom. If that does not happen, neither God nor any great man of thought will have anything to do with us. You must know this.

When we study a person, it is possible to analyze him or her both internally and externally. When we study the situation of society, we also learn that there are social organizations we know about and ones which we do not know about, although they are planned and they exist. Everything develops both internally and externally.

The same principle applies to man. Man is influenced simultaneously by external as well as internal circumstances. Therefore, the world has to become the environment in which people have mutual understanding and sing of happiness in communion with one another. The path of our lives leads us to wander about in search of such an environment.

Many sages and wise men have come and gone in history. However, no one found the victorious motto and sang on his own life path, appealing to the world: “People of the world! Go this way!” No one has said, “Rely on me, and live this way with my heart and love.”

Although Jesus talked about love, he left without being able to shed light upon the happiness, peace and the ideology of freedom which are centered upon love. “Follow me, believe in me, and come to me,” Jesus said. However, he could not say, baring his heart, “Let us act in concert with my heart and live, singing, centered upon the heavenly emotions.”

For that reason, although many prophets have come and gone in the course of history, no one has brought the message which could bring happiness centered upon heart, which could unify the world centered upon freedom and peace, connected with the heart of Heaven.

Where does humanity eagerly yearn to be? In the world of the original homeland, as I said before. It is the world from which you never want to return. It is the world you never get tired of, even after seeing it numerous times. It is the world where the touch you once felt never disappears; the world where you could laugh forever. It is the world where once you found the master, you could never let him go. Such a place could exist.

The Reality of Those Who Long for the Original Homeland

This is where individuals with heart can live. This original homeland is to be introduced in the final days of human history. If not, this world will not be saved. You must realize that the time is coming when an ideology or doctrine should be established which can introduce the whole thing on a logical basis. We long for the world of the original homeland where we can live forever as brothers and sisters and a family in the garden.

Is there anyone among you who can say, “I have found such an original homeland”? No. Therefore, we are destined to seek it. Jesus came as the Savior and showed the way to the original homeland, yet he could not bring the garden of the original homeland into reality and invite us to live there together with him. God is leading humanity forward, unfolding the dispensation. He says, “Let’s go to the garden of the original homeland, the one we wish for and live for.” But He cannot say, “Come live there together with me” yet. Since God and Jesus are so destined, so are each of you living on earth today.

Members of the congregation, breathless from your journey, has anyone ever had such a day of happiness? Has anyone had such a day and sung out of joy? No, no one. Has God ever enjoyed such a day? No. Is there some kind of principle that can lead you to such a day? No. Even Heaven has not enjoyed such a day. This is the situation of Heaven and earth.

The man of conscience, who cannot live apart from the fate of Heaven and earth, must feel and experience God’s heart as he seeks the way. Your mind may be sincere in its pursuit of happiness, yet the further you walk, the more happiness itself is moving a far distance from you. It might seem that you have arrived at the end of your hard journey, ardently wishing for freedom, peace and happiness. Yet in the light of reality, your mind is full of indistinct contents and happiness is at a far, unreachable distance.

We must become the independent people who can withstand the course we sooner or later must go and sing of the original homeland of happiness. We must usher in the day when we can call the whole cosmos to unite with us, sing with us, and rejoice with us. That is the goal of history and the purpose of religion. The Creator Himself has such a goal in mind. Humanity has not yet been able to overcome this providence; therefore, everyone has to go this way.

Since both the great and the foolish must go this same path of human life, we must not brag about being great or having a fine environment. We must not vaunt ourselves for having influence. Even with all of that, we still have to go the path of human life. We still cannot attain the world of the original homeland, even with all of those things. Why? Because today’s humanity must pursue a certain direction.

Heaven has unfolded the dispensation in this way. We have been taught which direction to take through righteousness and truth, not through emotion. Heaven could not teach us the actual emotions of happiness we could feel in real life, the peace and freedom we could actually attain while living. The providence of God has held these things out to human beings as a dimly perceived hope.

Whether we are great or foolish, sorrowful or happy, we may have freedom for a day or a year throughout our lives. Yet since one cannot escape the human fate, happiness, peace and freedom remain a vague hope. This is the way Heaven looks at it.

What Jesus Could Not Achieve on Earth

Because of this, everyone is in a pitiable state. The time has come for a man to stand before humankind and teach them how pitiable they are. This is needed. The time has come for a leader who can command the people to be concerned about themselves. The time has come for a leader who can shed light on how lamentable it is to be in such a pitiable state and how the people must weep over this, clinging to Heaven and earth. He must lead them to think about what their end is, where are they going, and how they can triumph over the ever-changing environment and reach the end of the journey.

Revolutionary new cultures have appeared during certain historical periods. The people who led them had a new ideology, a new purpose, new happiness, and new freedom. These people toiled to stop the patterns of the times in which they lived and to shed light upon the pitiable state of man. They were people of mission who influenced their respective times and were needed during a specific era or age.

Our era is the age of a new world. Therefore, something new must appear which can galvanize the people of the world and say, “You should be an example for humanity. You should feel sorry for remaining as you are and not knowing where to go.”

Jesus came two thousand years ago and said that he was the son of God. The Jews, who took pride in being the chosen people, could not apprehend the appearance of the Messiah, in spite of the fact that they had eagerly awaited him. They had received the benefits of numerous prophets in their long historical course of four thousand years. Yet only after they sent Jesus to the cross did they realize that he was the Messiah, and they were placed in a sorrowful position.

We call Jesus the Savior. What kind of savior? A confident savior who could say, “I will take your sorrow upon myself.” He said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) We should be grateful for those words. Those were the words of the greatest prophet, for the sake of humanity.

If there are young men and women who were anxiously trying to understand themselves, with sorrowful hearts, they should step forward before those words with their hands lifted high. They should say, “Thank you, Jesus, for having come and said those words before leaving two thousand years ago. God, thank you for giving us those words through Jesus.” They should be grateful for the spirit and direction of those words.

Now we need a central figure who can take charge of this nation and this world. We need someone who can release that burden of heart. Because such a need exists, Jesus promised he would come again.

What did Jesus not accomplish? Though he came to bear all the burdens, all the crosses of humanity, he could not bear the burden of the hearts of humanity alone. That is why the people of the world today are eagerly waiting for the day when they can entrust the burden of heart to Jesus, saying, “Lord, we welcome you.”

We have inherited the historical misery. Someone must come who can block our way and block the way of the world in which we live, someone must block the flow of history, saying, “Recognize your sorrowful situation. Recognize how pitiable you are. Recognize your lamentable state.”

We are walking a course of life that we cannot comprehend. Therefore, we live in fear which originates from our ignorance of what is going to happen to us. Where is the end of our journey? We are walking a course of life that we cannot explain. We are being dragged forward without discretion. You must go the course, knowing that you may run into a rock or go over a cliff. How will you feel? You will be sick to your stomach. Among you are people who have lived forty, seventy, eighty years. Some of you might brag that you have attained happiness, but no one has overcome the true life path. That is why we are all pitiful.

The One We Must Find

Now we must find someone who can link his own pitiable circumstances with those of the world. My sense of loneliness must become connected with the world. My sense of being stifled and wanting, which for some unknown reason penetrates deeply in my mind, must become connected with the world. The time is coming when this worn shimjung will get connected with the world.

We must find the one who can elucidate the whole thing, someone who can take charge of my misfortune, my pitifulness, my loneliness and my resentment. Going a little further, we must find the one who can introduce the world of the ideal that I long for, the one who can let me enjoy fully and forever the heart I have wanted to feel in the world of happiness, peace and freedom. We must find the one who can let that heart, which is associated with eternity, bring happiness to everything in the corporeal world. If someone has met such a one, his life would be a successful one.

I know and believe that Jesus and God let us feel so, and that we can experience them in the sorrowful world. You should stop in your tracks if you think you know all there is to know. You should search for the one who teaches the secret method by which you can withstand what you must go through.

In order to do that, one has to overcome the circumstances he is faced with. He must go beyond his own hope, be well aquatinted with the circumstances, and be able to understand the heart. When our problems are resolved by God in reality, then we can believe in Him without anxiety.

Only when you are equipped with the ideology of such a heart can you stave off the emotion felt in such a world. You can do this even when you run up against grief in the weary course of life. If there is something which grows stronger when struck and beaten, which can resist betraying Heaven, something that is felt through the relationship of heart, it will not be taken possession of even if driven into the bottom of hell. Such a position must surely exist.

God’s dispensation is directed toward one place, the original garden. That is why the providence of God who rules over history has come to establish the one standard through a course of many twists and turns. Compelled to follow this, human beings have to go through much suffering. Only after that are they able to stand before the one standard. That has become the standard all creation has to attain in the corporeal world. We must know this. We are pitiable people who have to go this course.

What does the term “the original hometown” remind you of? My beloved parents are in the original hometown. My beloved village, my beloved house, and my beloved brothers and sisters are there. If we leave our hometown and go to a far-off foreign country and stay there, then the boundary of the original hometown expands. My country itself becomes included in the boundary of the original hometown. What is more, seen from the viewpoint of the universe or the macrocosm, this whole world can become my original hometown. As your bounds grow greater, the boundary of the original hometown also becomes larger in proportion. You may well experience this in your life.

The Original Hometown We Long For

What kind of place is the original hometown we long for? It is not the same place you mean when you speak of your hometown. The original hometown is the original hometown of the mind, that place of shelter for my heart, where my mind can take pleasure, the nest of the world of the heart. You must know that.

We say that God has been unfolding the providence of salvation. If Heaven was to restore me and restore humanity, I would say to God, “Please restore me on the condition of my heart rather than my circumstances.” Why is that? Circumstances can change, while shimjung has only one condition. For that reason, I think the man who seeks the true view of faith would ask for this.

Jesus said, “Where is the Kingdom of Heaven? It is in your mind.” Where is our true original hometown? It is in the mind. Because the Kingdom of Heaven has a historical connection with the mind, we long for that original hometown in our minds. Because our emotions are unbreakably connected with our minds and are in a tangle, we long for that original hometown. Therefore, we must lead a life worthy of the original hometown, which can be connected with the original mind in the course of life. We must feel the garden of the original hometown.

Who would live in the original hometown? The original hometown is not where we live today. It is a place that can be likened to the garden of true happiness that history longs for, where true peace and true freedom begin. Think about it. Who is going to be there? The lofty, great and dignified God will be there. The Lord whom we have eagerly awaited will be there, too. The Holy Spirit will be there and the numerous meritorious retainers who have come and gone in providential history. Don’t you think so? What is more, there will be incomparably loyal subjects; there will be filial sons and daughters and virtuous women without peer. If you cannot feel something of the ideology of that world by expanding the bounds of your mind, you won’t be able to connect with it.

That is why numerous sages have taught moral principles to pitiful, fallen human beings: moral principles like the three fundamental principles and the five moral disciplines in human relations. Moses introduced the Ten Commandments. Numerous ascetics toiled to pioneer such a life. Any religion or ethical system or ideology which does not expand the field of man’s mind on the path leading to the original hometown will disappear from this universe. Even if they persist, God will brush them aside.

You are on your way to finding that original hometown. You are longing for it. Since we human beings are looking at the original hometown on the distant shore, we must be somewhere along the course. What kind of path leads from hell to the Kingdom of Heaven? It is the path in search of the original hometown. You must know that it is this path. If there are people among you who have reached the age of seventy or eighty, you may feel concerned and anxious about your age, asking, “How far am I from the garden of the original hometown?”

What kind of place is the original hometown? We mean such a place that welcomes a man who comes in search of it with extended hands of bliss. We long for such a place.

On your way to finding the original hometown, you may at times be in a situation where you have been wronged. You may have reason to feel bitter grief in your heart or feel unbearably vexed. However, since you have stepped forward in search of the original hometown, you must realize that such situations are inevitable. You can’t turn around from that path. Besides, you won’t be able to ignore all the great historical achievements established by your ancestors. You won’t be able to ignore the achievements of the founders of religions and ethical systems who made efforts to cultivate this path.

We must go on. We are fated to go on and cultivate the path of life before losing our vigor. Do we have the center of heart and mind with which we can have an unchangeable, dignified mien? This is the question you must ask yourselves today. Jesus referred to this directly when he said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is in your mind.”

The Attitude of the Man in Search of the Original Hometown

The parents and brothers and sisters we long for live in the original hometown. There are mountains and streams we are dying for a sight of. The original hometown is such that not all creatures will welcome us in our eagerness to see it. On the way to see that place, you will feel that your life is sorrowful and that the path of your life is miserable. Yet since you are on your way to see the original hometown, even if you feel you have been wronged and feel vexed, even if there is a moment when you have to decide between life and death, you must not forget to think of the original hometown, shedding tears. Thus, you will not fall down. This is the path of our life. We must not forget that.

All sages in the world of mind and ideology wandered the path which leads to the original hometown. To find that world, they forsook all humanistic reasoning and severed all connections, even with the surroundings to which they were emotionally tied. Then they struggled hard. All of them struggled hard to walk this path; not to mention our ancestors, those prophets and sages who walked on behalf of Heaven, and Jesus, who came to resolve this. He set the goal of finding the original hometown after coming to a perfect understanding of it.

Jesus was not forced from the path by opposition. Jesus did not seek the silent mountains and streams to pray because he was afraid of rejection and oppression. Jesus did not fear the Roman tyranny and the path of the cross. On the path of life he had to go at all costs, he was prepared for such situations. He had to endure, and he was ready for every tyranny, every cross, every lonely path and pitiful situation he had to face.

Jesus felt the shimjung of the original hometown. Jesus was the Messiah, who had to assume the position and exercise the rights of the welcomed central figure of that original hometown. Therefore, the more he longed for the original hometown and felt the nearness of that world of the mind, the more miserable a heart he felt.

We must know that if some kind of an enemy exists, Satan, then there will be a fierce battle to the end in the course of going this path.

The democratic camp has arrived at the worldwide level with a new world of ideology which ought to seek the path of the original hometown. Therefore, unwanted spears and swords will block the way. Even if they block the way, the democratic camp must go over them bravely, keeping in step with the direction of the fate of Heaven and earth.

Therefore, the democratic camp must now take a resolute, worldwide step. Individual nations also must take resolute action. The people, all organizations of society, and all individuals will have to make courageous decisions. By doing so, you must be self-confident as you walk the path leading to the original hometown. Heaven will require this kind of man and call for such a family, such a society, such a nation, and such a world.

Let’s say that the day of the Second Advent we long for is coming. Let’s say that the day of our ideal is coming. What kind of day will it be? Seeing you who have come to restore the heavenly love dragging your wounded legs, tired and shoved about, struggling hard on the path leading to the original hometown, how will Heaven relate to you?

Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever thought about it? I had this kind of a thought: “I wish to see the moment when pitiful God can laugh. I wish to see the Father who knows my heart of adoration and desire for Him and who sheds tears holding onto me.” Hearing that, how would God feel in His heart?

Heaven will weep bitterly, clinging to the man who is wounded in a miserable environment, wronged and mortified while going the path of life. If such a man walks forth on the path in search of the original hometown for the sake of the Father rather than for his own good, Heaven will weep bitterly, holding him.

The True Nature of Man Is to Live in Intoxication

We are wandering in search of the original hometown. We are people who lie at anchor on the course of fate we cannot help but go. However much one might boast of himself, there is no one who can proudly say, “All people! The whole of the macrocosm! Act in concert with my words.”

Where can we turn our steps which seek the original hometown today? The original hometown is the place where the parents of true love are. It is the affection-filled nest of true love. That is the place where we are to stay and rest. That is the world of peace, overflowing with happiness and hope. It is the garden of freedom. The stronger your admiration for that place, the greater your mind will burn with indignation on the earth. You will resolve that you will live cleanly in relation to the earth. The historical men of the past were the people who lived that way. Even in the world today, there are people who run a thousand miles, not noticing the distance, in search of their lost parents. There are people who go seeking their loved ones, despising a distance of ten thousand miles. If you have less determination than that in going the path which leads to the original hometown, you should have a guilty conscience. For a moment, an hour, a period of your lifetime have you ever wandered in search of the path leading to the original hometown? You should not allow yourselves to be irresponsible. Only when you can leave behind a responsible life can you gain your honor before the heavenly principles that re-created the history of the original hometown and established the will of the providence. Don’t you think so? The ancestors who lived such a life became historical figures. The ascetics who lived in such a manner formed religions. Therefore, we today should also long for the parents of the original hometown, the mountains and streams of the original hometown, the family and world of the original hometown. Such a time has come.

Communists today are dreaming of the worldwide original hometown, but centered on a materialist concept of history. It won’t work.

Ladies and gentlemen, we should not send away the man we met in the world of the internal shimjung (where external circumstances do not matter). It does not matter if he is black, white or yellow. If we find a man of such a world, if we found a man who belongs to such a place, then we will be able to live intoxicated, aloof to external things like eating and clothing. Any ideal or thought will be evaluated and judged according to such a man. It will be judged according to his standard.

The great point of Christianity is the emotion that can lay the heart bare, and the bitter tears that seep out of you after you start believing in Jesus. This emotion has formed Christianity in the course of history. In order for Christianity to enter into a stage of reform, there has to be a man who can connect to this shimjung. There has to be a man who is unchanging. If a thinking man can control his vivid emotions by the intoxication of an idea, if he can find something that establishes eternity, transcending time, he will be a happy man. He will be the man who stood the test in the historical view of the Heavens and earth. He is the successful candidate who can wield the heavenly principles with the heavenly heart.

In studying the original nature of man, we find that man to be intoxicated. Think of a great, world famous scholar. A man who says, “Oh! I will study in this manner and become a scholar like so and-so,” cannot become such a scholar. It doesn’t work that way. If one continues to study hard, intoxicated with it, without knowing it, he will become a world figure. That is how it should be.

Without intoxication, we cannot discover any rules or formulas greater than those we already have.

The True Leader

Since we call Jesus the Savior, what kind of a central figure was he? He was not intoxicated by human circumstances. He was a man who was intoxicated with God’s shimjung of love, with the historical shimjung, the shimjung of the period and the shimjung of the future. He was totally engrossed in it. He was completely taken up with it. Heedless of whether he was chased or cornered or killed, he said, “Father, please do according to Your will.” There should be men like this. Yet looked at in the usual way or from a rational point of view, Jesus was a crazy man, a lunatic.

Whom is man seeking, longing for and wishing to meet? It is a leader who introduces to him the world of the heart, the world of happiness, peace and freedom. Such things are necessary. If there is a leader who can show the direction to those of us who are going the path of life with shimjung today, he will be a true leader. The person who goes the path of life with such a shimjung should exist on the earth.

Earth and Heaven, our ideology and reality, are in opposition. The mind and body are always fighting, having become each other’s object of struggle. That is because of the Fall. We cannot deny this.

Because of that, if a man has sought the worldwide ideal world, he will not be able to settle down in the world that has been formed on the earth. He cannot experience a comfortable life while coming through the course of history. Look at any of the great names; they all are in the same boat.

Seen in this light, Jesus, who is in spirit world, is also a pitiful man who clings to the earth and prays, “Father, please forgive humankind.” Why is Jesus a supplicating figure, not a figure of sheer glory? Because of his untimely death, he could not complete the path of life he had to go through on the earth. Thus, he is destined to come back again. That is why he is in paradise.

Although Jesus was intoxicated with God’s will, he could not experience that intoxication with humanity. That is his lamentation.

What is different about the day of his return? The difference lies in the fact that humanity, centered on the will, can be intoxicated in their hearts while relating to Heaven. Jesus is seeking this. This is the situation Jesus is in, and you should know that.

One may praise oneself: “I have studied a lot and I know a lot! This is enough for me to get by anywhere I go. I can be called a teacher and establish the authority of an instructor.” But such a one should not brag. By contrast, there may be people among you who concede, “I haven’t learned much, and I am ignorant and awful.” But all of us are the same in the course of life. There is no such a thing as one being great while the other is foolish.

Why is that? All men are the same in that they move based on shimjung. The mind of a president who loves his or her child is the same as the mind of a mere laborer who loves his or her child. You must know that the more humble a man is, the stronger his loving mind toward his wife and children. He feels strongly in his mind that he himself is insufficient. He feels sorry in his mind for not being able to fulfill the duty of a parent and a husband toward his children and wife. But the man who thinks he is great would say, “I do all I can…”

Which is more lofty in heart? Men on the lower end are more lofty. So don’t brag about yourselves.

You should be intoxicated by such connections and by the shimjung of the original nature, saying, “Thank you.” Jesus told us to go that way. He also told us to pray ceaselessly. Why did he tell us to pray ceaselessly? He said so in fear of our diverging from the right way. For the one who can go the path of the will with confidence, heedless of day and night, prayer is not necessary.

Why did Jesus go up to the Garden of Gethsemane and pray? Why did he go to the Mount of Olives and appeal to Heaven with his lonely shimjung? If he had been able to share joy with humanity, moving together with them centered on shimjung, would he have had to go to the Garden of Gethsemane and appeal to Heaven? He did so, didn’t he?

One Who Is Close to Heaven

Is there any one who has confidence in going the path of life in search of the original hometown? If anyone knows how to go the path of life with confidence, intoxicated in their heart, let’s see who you are. This is judgment. If God exists, I believe He will call such people out on the day of judgment.

History will back up the person who went with confidence along the path of life, intoxicated. Jesus confidently went the path, bearing the cross after a life intoxicated by the will of God. On the national level, people who knew the fate and direction of the nation and went over the path of death prepared to sacrifice themselves, intoxicated in their efforts to fulfill their responsibility, were called loyal subjects and patriots. We cannot deny that such people change the course of history. The course of seeking the heavenly love responds in the same way.

Who can stop the mind that longs for the original hometown? Who can stop the yearning shimjung that seeps out of my mind? No matter how dignified one is, no matter how knowledgeable, one cannot reject this mind that pursues something new.

Only when one waits eagerly and sincerely for such a thing and speaks from intoxication with such an emotion can he or she lead a doctrine or thought.

If there is a leader for humanity, what kind of a person will he be? He has to be a man with confidence in the course of life. He will be a man who goes forward intoxicated with God’s shimjung, having raised himself with confidence not only before humankind but before God and all of creation as well.

If there is such a man, intoxicated with such a shimjung, everybody will wish to go to him and rest, leaning on him. If there is a man with such content of character, everybody will want to worship him. Why? Because our original nature perceives that it is fated to go such a path. Our original mind realizes that the path is to be taken without fail. Our mind cannot help but always lean toward it. Therefore, please don’t get disappointed. Please don’t brag of yourselves, either.

Those who know the pitiful and miserable situation people of our kind are in, and who weep bitterly upon seeing them falling down are close to Heaven’s side. If there is a man who, seeing his brothers and sisters becoming stragglers in the course of life, frets, “When will you come?” he will be a heartistic leader. Such a leader is in demand among church members today; the sheep are looking for their shepherd.

For that reason, Jesus shed tears for humankind. “Come to me,” said he, shedding tears. Sighing for grief over Jerusalem, Jesus spoke out of his sorrowful heart, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (Luke 13:4)

The Successful Man in the Course of Life

Are there young men and women today who are trying to embrace this nation? Is there any man who has the mission to lead the nation, opening up a path for it to go forward? Is there one who feels responsible for that mission? If there is such a man, he should look at the real condition of this struggling nation and know that the tears Jesus shed appealing to Heaven are historically linked to it. He should appeal to Heaven for the sake of this nation, as Jesus appealed for his.

This is the historical trend of thought today. This is the future outlook of the nation. Since we cannot deny that humanity is looking forward to the time when we are united to the heavenly ways, we must realize that we are struggling hard on such a course. Therefore, we must be able to have confidence in the course of life we go. We cannot do without it.

If there is a man who goes running with that confidence, having the shimjung that yearns for the original hometown of hope deep in his mind, he will say, “Mountains! Obstruct my view. Seas! Cross my path. Enemies! Make your appearance. Who is going to block my passage?” Even if the winds of persecution blow, it will last only for a time. Even if the arrows of trial come flying, it will be momentary. Even if the fear of death sweeps over, it will be transient. If there is one who, knowing this, runs to overcome this passing time, forgetting about his own short life in order to seek the time of greater value, he will be a success in the course of life.

Looking at your journey, the Father should be able to weep. The Father turned away His face when Jesus was being crucified. He didn’t look away because He was joyous. He turned away His face because at that moment, Heaven’s bones were melting. Jesus was thinking of the will of the original hometown even while facing death, and he feared that he might not be able to fulfill his filial duty. He was concerned about the parents of the original hometown. Because Jesus’ heart was of such a standard that he could connect to Heaven and earth, he resurrected, advancing through the line of death. The same condition applies to you, too. Without such a heart stirring within you, you cannot surmount the world of death. You cannot sing in triumph. You cannot become princes of victory.

If we think we should attend such a person today, we must strive to do so. Since we ourselves are not connected to and intoxicated by such a shimjung, we must strive to attend one who is. Since numerous ancestors in the course of history struggled hard, and God also has had a tough struggle in directing history, how can we expect to stand still?

To open up such a path Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7) If the providence of Heaven were comfortable and easy, why would we need such words?

People walk the weary path of life, believing that the path they take is the right one to their destination. But later on they realize that they have walked in the opposite direction. This is the sorrow of Heaven. While the direction the parents wish their son to take is something like this, the son, having turned profligate, walks in the opposite direction and then loses his rights. We should understand the hearts of the parents who watch this son’s miserable situation. Parents watching their son in such a situation would weep bitterly.

God’s Toil to Guide Man in the Right Direction

The direction that man is taking and has taken in history is not the direction of Heaven. It is the opposite. For that reason, Heaven more than once blocked the way in order to put humanity to rights. God set up the familial standard by raising up Noah. Even if Heaven had to annihilate the whole of humanity, Heaven blocked everything that was not right and tried to lead Noah’s family in the direction of Heaven. However, owing to Ham’s mistake, Heaven could not restore Noah’s family.

What about Abraham? Heaven had led Noah out to restore the original hometown. Noah was pitiable. Abraham left the mountains and rivers of his homeland, Ur of the Chaldeans, and wandered about to find the blessed land of Canaan. He was pitiable, too, wasn’t he? Not only Abraham, but Jacob and Moses were in the same pitiable situation. How would God have felt in His heart after driving Moses out of Egypt into the wasteland of the wilderness in order to restore the people of the original hometown? Nobody knew the heart of God, who was more grieved, more mortified, and more deeply pierced with lamentation than Moses was when He drove the Israelites out from Egypt. Who would have known that such was God’s heart? If Moses, who was leading the nation out, had gone forward unchanged, intoxicated in God’s heart, the incident of striking the rock twice would never have occurred. We know the lamentable fact that because Moses could not connect with Heaven’s heart, at that moment Moses himself blocked the way of the nation.

Heaven drove Noah out to restore the original family. He, too, was pitiable and fell short. So was Abraham, whom Heaven drove out to establish the land of blessing.

What happened to Jacob, who was pining for the land of the original hometown? When death came near in Egypt, his dying wish was that his bones be buried in his hometown. How much pining for his hometown does that show? He did not want even the water trickling down from his decomposed remains to be left in the enemy’s land. You must know that Jacob felt such precious pride in being of the chosen people.

Let’s look at Moses again. God drove Moses away to restore the original nation. How much do you think God wished to live in that nation? However, Moses could not realize the will.

The people who were raised up to do so could not uphold the will of God and failed. God’s intention was to restore the whole of the world by building a people and a nation after restoring the family and mountains and rivers of the original hometown. Yet even with these failures, the will emerges in its own way, outfitting itself conditionally for a bigger scope.

Even if the realization of the will of God was to be delayed, Heaven sent the Messiah to straighten things out and build an original nation. But then what happened to that Messiah?

How ardently do you think Jesus wished to establish the heavenly sovereignty for God on this earth? Yet how did the Israelites treat Jesus? The Israelites were to build a nation of original nature centering around Jesus. They were to become the heavenly soldiers marching toward Satan and his minions and to be the elite soldiers of Heaven. What did they do?

Jesus’ death was a forced separation, an unreasonable parting. I think of it that way. Therefore, the fathers of our faith have absolutely nothing to be proud of. The chosen people were not supposed to kill Jesus. Jesus’ path was not supposed to be like that, a path of arbitrary separation.

If the Jewish People Had Attained Heartistic Unity with Jesus

The grievous resentment over the unreasonable death of Jesus has remained on this earth. That is why Heaven has dealt with man through a heartistic ideology from Jesus’ death until now. The reason that the Jewish people have been able to gain victory in the world is because of the heartistic connection of looking forward to the one future time. If the Jewish people had attained heartistic unity by centering upon the people who were in search of and looking toward the heavenly goal, a doctrine of cosmic significance, which could have had a greater impact on the heart of man, would have emerged. If this had been the case, a unified world would have definitely been accomplished through the Israelites. I believe so.

But where did that kingdom, that nation of the original hometown that was to be built around Jesus, go? Where did it go? Where did the land of Canaan go? Where did that original hometown go? Where did the land and the holy temple where Abraham received blessing and made sacrifices before God go? Where did Adam, over whom God could have a direct dominion, go? Where did Noah, whom God selected with his family inside the ark, disappear to? The world of the original hometown, the heavenly haven, does not exist. That is why it is written in the Bible that we are like orphans and widows.

There is a legend in Korea about a man named Saht-gaht Kim. He wore a conical bamboo rain-hat and wandered about, a lone traveler, throughout the whole extent of Korea. He was considered great. So even if you who are walking this course of life appear miserable, you must become men of character. You must become those who can sing of the cosmos with Heaven, who can be paired with Heaven along with all things in the universe. Your loving shimjung must match the heavenly emotion. If I had met such a man, even if he was reduced to beggary and carrying an empty can, I would have attended him with my utmost devotion.

We human beings have repeated the history of sorrow. We have bound up, beaten and destroyed ourselves many times. The same thing happened at the time of Noah, and also at the times of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. This is the final period of history today, when it is forewarned that human beings must work out their destiny, fulfill their mission, and open up the path of life. Where will God drive humanity to? In the time of Jesus, God drove humanity to restore the kingdom of the original hometown. From now on, God is driving them for the sake of the world of the original hometown He wishes for.

To build and govern the world of the original hometown, it is said the king of kings would come. He is the Lord whom we eagerly await. If a man were to fall down in the course of life yet drag himself on and then die for the sake of restoring the kingdom of the original hometown, he would remain as a loyal subject and meritorious retainer in the kingdom. Heaven will surely raise him up. That was why Saint Paul abandoned all of his social authority and walked the path of miserable death without a single human tie. He could do that because he was confident that such a time would come. Since God is confident that such a time will come, He has come forth unfolding this dispensation. You know that your life is fated to go this kind of path and that you must go this path with confidence. Are you confident? Are you sure?

The Ideal Garden of the Original Nature

The place we must go is the original hometown that Noah and Abraham were looking for. We must find the people of the original hometown that Moses was looking for, and the kingdom of the original hometown that Jesus was looking for. Since God and Jesus have been fighting for the world of the original hometown, are you connected with that world? Do your emotions flow with that world? If not, the day when you receive the seal of a failure in human history will come to you.

We pine for the world of the original hometown. We long also for the ark of Noah. The two great camps of the world today are coming near the moment of striking the reefs and are being confronted with a difficult situation where they have to choose between life and death. We have learned through the Divine Principle that good and evil each had a starting point. Since good and evil were begun with the placement of God, their resolution also should be attained with the placement of God. That is the hard and fast rule. This falls under the same rule that in order to find a thing that was lost, one must go to the original place where it was lost.

The garden of the original nature is the ideal garden. It was a world where people were mutually complementary, a world where brotherly and sisterly feelings could be connected everywhere in the universe. It was not a world where there was nationalistic sentiment. It was a world where people could discuss matters, transcending all such problems as racial discrimination, national sovereignty, etc. It was a world where people could convene without differences in economic situations or cultures. They would convene with heart.

Let’s suppose that there is a family with two sons. The elder brother is the president and the younger brother is a laborer. Still, the elder brother cannot demand of his younger brother, “Hey, you rascal! Since you are a laborer, why don’t you come to my house and do manual labor?” If he is a true elder brother, he will lament that his younger brother is not on the same level as he and be inclined to hold the younger brother in high esteem. That is the true elder brother’s mind. Because God longs for this kind of familial ideology in the home of the original hometown, humankind also longs for such a home in the original hometown.

This is the historical elucidation point, the humanistic elucidation point, and the providential elucidation point of the fate we have to go without fail. What gap is there between that standard and myself? If the gap is wide, we must lament at the top of our voice. We should pray, “God!

Please forgive me. I didn’t know anything at all. I didn’t know the flow of history, the direction and purpose of the providence that history points to. I didn’t know that the path of life is tortuous. I didn’t know about the mental suffering of the prophets and sages and of my ancestors and their inner hearts. I didn’t know the path Jesus went. I didn’t know the path God has come either. Please forgive me for the sin of ignorance!” We should pray, “One can be forgiven, even if he was in a position of knowledge. Yet I didn’t know. So please forgive me all the more.” Men must pray like that, without any condition whatsoever. That is why men are taught in religion that arrogance works against you. Men are told, “Be humble. Keep your place. You are your own enemy.” Why is that? Because I am in debt. When we raise our eyes quietly and look at ourselves again with this shimjung, we find our own hearts revolting. As we experience emotion along with Heaven, looking from the historical perspective, we feel our hearts revolt. As we look at that historical sorrow and the curtains of adverse fortune that are blocking the way, we shake in our shoes.

The Father has come forth enduring many such crises. Even while meeting their ends after many such crises, the prophets and sages emerged fighting, longing to restore the freedom, happiness and peace of that kingdom and world. I think that way. I think it is natural that the Unification Church receives opposition today.

Yet we must have a scheme in our minds, saying, “If you want to persecute me, go ahead,” with the firm conviction that we have to cultivate this path. Jesus, too, went out with an awe-inspiring attitude. Because of that, when he appeared before Judas Iscariot and the others, they all hung their heads before him. Jesus’ aspect said, “If you want to challenge me, go ahead.”

In the world of shimjung, there is no place you cannot reach, no matter how far it is. Don’t you agree? Suppose that there is a certain hooligan who is trying to stop the love between parents and children. Can he succeed? No, he can’t. This is the place where man feels with automatic, natural emotion. Therefore, this place cannot be invaded by Satan, no matter how hard he tries. Satan’s interference here would put him in serious trouble. Satan would pay dearly for it. The man who feels such emotion on the path of life will go to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Words Jesus Could Not Say

We are striving on the course of life in search of the original hometown. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) But I’d like to add one more word to this. That is “I am the love.” Jesus left out this word. Thus, if there came a man who can connect to Heaven’s heart, who can say with confidence, “God, I am the love, and the truth, and the way, and the life; no one meets with God but by me,” no one would be able to put him on the judgment stand. No one would be able to say, “Hey, you rascal! You are betraying Heaven.” God is eagerly waiting to see many such sons and daughters emerge on this earth. This why we hold Jesus in such high esteem.

We the Unification Church believers have come here today. We have experienced every inch of the surging waters in the course of life. We have wandered about, searching for Heaven while being pushed here and there. I need a place where I can entrust my body, entrust my mind and entrust my heart. Since the original Adam is the central figure to all things in the Garden of Eden, how would they think of him? All things under the sun are to say to Adam, “Please, quickly become my master.”

What kind of a being is God that we human beings call on Him? God is the being who is in the position where everything can say to Him, “Please be my master.” That is why we call Him God. Otherwise, how could He govern all of creation?

Humanity today should be able to say, “Since I wish to offer to You everything I have, God, please be my master.” We should become the people who have built the history, the providence, and the character to do so. If you meet a man like that on this earth, you must say to him, “Please have dominion over my body, my mind and my shimjung. Please be my master.” Only then will you have the mind to attend the master as he has pined to be attended. You should become people like that.

Where We Wish to Be, Where We Wish to Live, Where We Wish to Go

If the body, mind and shimjung of each of you in our Unification Church today change into such a state through the truth, this truth will come to rule over the world in time even in the teeth of opposition.

If there is a place where you wish to be, where you wish to live and where you wish to go, that is the place of the original nature. The members are brothers and sisters to each other. You must have the mind to yearn to see a member if he or she is missing. That mind should seep out of you. You must be able to cry out for a member and take care of their wounds. You have to be like that. You must become people who can cry with a full heart if one of us gets wounded.

What kind of place is our home in the original hometown? It is the place where the Father can cry for me, taking hold of me. It is the place where Jesus, too, can cry. Heaven tries to relate to human beings with every kind of relationship. Heaven relates from the position of a companion, from the position of a friend, from the position of a bridegroom. All this is in the word “Heaven.” That word awakens our gratitude and reverence.

Since the Lord and Father is crying for us, seeing how unworthy we are, we feel overwhelmed with awe. Thanks to such a Father, I can more than forget all the wounds I have incurred in the course of my life. The emotion that sings of the unthinkably great love of the Father should take precedence over everything. Only then can people go to the Kingdom of Heaven. Don’t you agree?

Members of the congregation! Students who go to a foreign land for the first time will come to miss their hometown by the end of school. If their minds are pure and of the original shimjung, then they may be able to picture the place: the village and mountains and rivers. Hometown is where they can, upon their return, reveal all of their past hardships. They can shed tears, holding the hands of their mothers and brothers and sisters, sitting up all night, unaware of the passage of time.

We have not been able to dissolve the bitter resentment which originates from having to go through the restoration process. Have we ever had a moment when all things in the universe could shout for joy “Hallelujah”? Have we ever had a moment when we could say, “Oh, Lord! Father!” in our course of life? You should have such a moment. You certainly need it. Without it, you must know, Heaven cannot help but be sorrowful and pitiable.

Ladies and gentlemen, happy is a man who has many people who can cry for him, holding him. Why do we say it is good to have children? It is because when the parents are in difficulty, the children shed tears and cry together with them. Isn’t that right? Also, they rejoice when the parents rejoice. For that reason, the man who has people around him can share both his sorrows and joys.

Ladies and gentlemen, please don’t boast of having friends. It is not easy for them to cry for you when you die and cry together with you when you are sorrowful. The people who can do that are your parents. Heaven is parental.

A leader who is responsible for the ideology of the path of righteousness should know how to cry for the sake of the flock of sheep. He should have a mind that takes pity on them, weeping bitterly. Thus, when the flock of sheep make a full confession to the leader and thus start having opulent feelings of joy, those people are the happy people who have met the true shepherd. That is why we like Heaven. Therefore, we must know that the day will come when all historical sages and wise men and Heaven can receive us in great delight. The day will come when we will appear with victorious contents in our tired bodies. We should be able to usher in such a day, esteeming it a great honor. We have to move forward, feeling grateful for the day, able to forget all of our own faults on that day, wishing to realize completely the hope that we had waited so eagerly for. You must know clearly that the people who will experience that are the people who go the way of righteousness today.

Prayer

Father, we stepped forth on the path You commanded us to go, not expecting it to be difficult. Only afterward did we realize that it is a difficult path. Only after we walked the path for a while, expecting it to be a path of joy, did we realize that it leads to a crest of tears.

Father, we have sorrow, and we wish to grieve holding onto You. We have come to realize that if we grieve holding onto man, we will easily get disappointed. We have also realized that if we march on believing in man we will get hurt.

It is You, Father, who have been immutable. How happy was the moment of weeping, holding onto the Father! Jesus, too, sought the mountain path to cry, taking hold of the Father.

To the Unification members gathered here today, denomination does not matter. Form does not matter. We want to be the people who know how to cry, holding onto the Father. We want to be Your true sons and daughters who know how to cry for You, knowing the heart of the Father who let the Jesus He raised up before humankind cultivate this path because the course of life is sorrowful and desolate.

We have come to realize above all that Heaven is being lashed ruthlessly, is receiving harsh persecution, and is being subjected to all kinds of unfair treatment. How can we make excuses for ourselves? How can we complain of our own sorrow? Since we have realized that there is no reason for us to feel sorrowful centered on ourselves, please feel compassion for Your sons and daughters here today. We have learned that the necessity of going the path in search of the original hometown is pitiable, unfortunate and miserable. Father, we are aware that You cried before we started crying, holding onto us, and that You were struck before we started getting struck. We are also aware that You suffered before we started to suffer; You felt pain before we started feeling pain. You fell down before we started falling down.

How badly has Heaven longed for the sons and daughters who know this and know they are lacking even after walking on and on toward Heaven in silence? How badly has Heaven longed for those who can call Him Father with their heads bowed down before Heaven? Through this word today, please allow such feelings to be stirred up in our shimjung. Allow such feelings to be stirred up when we relate to this nation, this world and Heaven. We know that only when such feelings are stirred within us can we say that we have total faith from the level of the individual to the level of the realm of the whole worldwide ideology. We will be in the position of Heaven, having the very best shimjung for the sake of setting up our own ideology. I ardently beseech that You will let our minds be stirred so that we can proceed, cultivating the path of the environment like this.

I ardently solicit and wish that You will allow us to be the children who criticize ourselves, thanks to this word today. Let us feel sorry in the course of life we must go. Let us live intoxicated with happiness. Let us uphold the Father’s glory with bowed heads, placing high value on connecting our individual bodies with Heaven.

Since this gathering leaves You in full charge of us, I ardently desire and wish that You will have dominion over our lives and our whole way of living, including any ideology we possess. That way, we will not run counter to the Father’s shimjung. I pray all these words in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 2: The Father and I

July 12, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
John 14:1-19

Prayer

Father! The arrogance of the Jews about being the chosen people, an arrogance Jesus faced all the thirty years of his life, was mitigated in Jesus’ heart by the desire to realize peace and freedom for the Israelites. The painful four thousand years of history it took to send the true son to the Israelites and the blood spilled in the process are deeply embedded in the history of the Israelites. It is eternally tragic that the Israelites of that time could not create a relationship with God in spite of God’s sufferings, blood and sweat.

Today we know and believe in Jesus. Yet there is no one who realizes the misery of Jesus’ heart as he was driven from one village to another, hounded out of one place after another, struggling. No one in history has known Jesus, who appeared representing the heart of Heaven.

As they waited for the Messiah, the Israelites fought and endured for thousands of years with the hope of receiving him. They were longing and wondering when the Messiah would appear. But they were so involved with their own interests and overcome by their environment that even when the object of their dreams did appear, it was as if they were deep asleep, unaware of God’s heart. We have the responsibility to liberate the pained sorrow that is deeply embedded in the Father’s heart. As we recollect such a sorrowful history, allow us to take on and liberate the sins of Israel who did not recognize Jesus. Allow us to repent and be responsible for the mistakes of Israel which brought sadness to Jesus.

Jesus spent thirty sorrowful years of life. Even though he gave everything in the three years of his public life, who has ever understood his heart and his many untold stories? No one. Even the disciples, who shared every aspect of their lives with Jesus, who shared sadness in times of sorrow and loneliness in times of desolation and who called Jesus their teacher, did not know. Sadness and a sense of futility came to the heart of Jesus when he looked at the disciples, who still wondered and questioned who he was after three years of his endeavors. They should have been pleading to God with desperate hearts and worrying about the teacher who was going to walk the path of death. What greater sorrow is there than this? What is more painful than this?

There may be Christians who revere and serve Jesus in his revealed authority, but there is no Christian who wants to cling to the footsteps of Jesus as he was trodden down and pushed around.

Father, we cannot help but plead to You with blood and tears that many sons and daughters may appear who can hold onto the miserable heart of Jesus and go forward.

Father, You are alive and steering the course of the history. We know that You are mysteriously showing us the way. Father, do not let us long for the Jesus of the past. We sincerely pray that You will allow us to strive to testify to the Jesus of the era.

Please allow us now to comfort the heart of Jesus, who had to be called back to You. Let us bow our heads to such a heart. Please allow us to fulfill the dream Jesus desired. Father, we sincerely pray that we can be filled with the heart of Jesus, who had to take responsibility for all of humanity two thousand years ago. Let us be the sons and daughters who establish a relationship with his heart.

Please allow these sons and daughters to repent. They have struggled on with lonely hearts in the world of death. Father, I sincerely pray that You may whip them on with the force of life so that all the wrongs of the past will be renounced and this may be a time when a new relationship is created with Heavenly Father.

Father, how desperate is Your heart in wanting to talk to mankind? How much have You desired to restore humanity and to find joy? Allow them to open their hearts at this hour and revitalize all their senses so that everything of Your world can be felt and they may long for Your heart. I sincerely pray, my Father, that this may be a joyful hour when they can be immersed in the will of goodness, to call to You and be remolded and reborn with the words.

Father! Please do not allow this time to be spent in vain. As Your words are shared, I pray that there will be no gap between the giver of the words and the receivers. Please allow penitence and humility to be felt now. Many have gathered here, but I sincerely pray that they may become one, one altar and one living offering.

Please bless the many other altars that have gathered this day, representing humanity. Your sons and daughters are sincerely beseeching, unrecognized and in miserable situations. Please be the counsel of their deepest heart. I pray that You will create a relationship of blessing with them so that their lives may be resolved. Please guide the remaining hours. We leave everything up to the Father. Please let this hour never be invaded by Satan. I pray these things in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The title of the words that I would like to reflect upon together with you is “The Father and I.” On a greater scale, this becomes “The Father and Us, God and Humanity.” I will speak briefly upon this topic.

Out of all the sadness in this world, there is probably none greater than that of children losing their beloved parents. Likewise, there is probably no greater sadness than parents losing their beloved children.

The Problem of Fallen Mankind

Christianity tells us that mankind fell. This is a fact that cannot be denied when we look at or speculate upon society. It can be conjectured that the society we see today resulted from a sinful cause. We are standing on the course of history, which is the result of that cause. Furthermore, we cannot deny that we are struggling because we ourselves are also results of it.

What can be the problem of all problems? It is the agony of losing our parents, who should never have been lost; it is the agony of trying to find the lost parents, the agony of not having parents in spite of one’s right to have them, and the agony of not having children in spite of one’s full right. These are the greatest problems.

We say there was a Fall, but this involves both mankind and Heavenly Father. We cannot help but accept the fact that it involves us, too. We are certainly not ideal. When we accept that mankind has fallen, we cannot deny that a Fall cannot occur without a reciprocal relationship. When we do not feel good, it is because we have the inner potential to be better. When we desire to be greater, it is because we have that potential within us. Such a relationship interconnects each person to everyone else.

We may have a lot of confusing problems, but there is only one fundamental problem in our hearts. It is the fact that we have lost our parents. Mankind’s loss of the parents and Heavenly Father’s loss of His children has to be recovered. It is our foremost priority to reestablish that lost relationship, to regain the lost happiness, to repossess the lost joy.

What will solve all these problems for us? We acknowledge the evil history, we acknowledge that we are living in a sinful world, and we are struggling due to the conflict between our mind and body. This cannot be solved by any systematic philosophy, ideology or conceptual faith. The only way is through the heart. The world of the heart has no before or after, no highness or lowliness. It has no beginning or end. The situation can only be solved through heart.

What is mankind’s sorrow? The sorrow is that, due to the Fall, the true master was lost from Eden. Mankind could not sing and live with eternal happiness in the ideal of creation of all things of Heaven and earth. Mankind could not sing along with the heart and life force of all created things.

The Relationship of God and Man

What kind of being is the Creator? He is certainly the owner of our bodies and minds. He is also a being who can stand as the subject or master of our ideals and emotions. Furthermore, He is the subject or master of our hearts. Such a God is absolutely necessary for us. We absolutely need Him. It is not a conceptual need based on consciousness or human relationships. The sorrow is that we have lost such a master.

Besides being an owner and the Creator of all things, God is furthermore in the position of the Father of humankind. He has elucidated the relationship, saying, “I am your Father, and you are my sons and daughters.” He wants to find joy in such a relationship. We have to realize that this is the focus of Heavenly Father’s life, the focus of His ideal, and the purpose for which He created humankind.

Christians call God the Father. Although we were created to stand as sons and daughters in front of the Father, humankind lives miserably due to the Fall. What is the reality of Heavenly Father, who wants to call mankind His sons and daughters? What is the situation of mankind, created to be God’s children? The reality is that they cannot call each other “Father” or “son.” The Fall is the fact that they are placed under the dominion where the father cannot respond to the call of the son and the son cannot respond to the call of the father. The course of history has been passed down in order to rid us of this sorrowful reality. If Heavenly Father exists, it is His work to fight to destroy this sad reality and get rid of it.

It is easy to call Him a father, but it is difficult to experience Him substantially as a father. It is possible to sense that He is the Father through our understanding, but it is difficult to attend Him in a substantial way.

Why is this? It is due to the Fall. Reality sank to this level because of the Fall. We will feel how distant we are from such a Father when we acknowledge that we are struggling in this environment, trying to fight, not wanting to die in such a situation. We long for a guide to appear in this world who will lessen this gap. We long for a world leader to appear who can bridge the gap and pave a smooth path. That guide will guide not only our minds and bodies but our hearts as well. He should not change periodically or possess only revolutionary contents. He would have to be an eternal and absolute guide.

Since you have not even imagined such a guide, you should repent today and criticize yourselves for being caught up in mere concepts. You have to realize where you stand. You should re-evaluate your self-worth and critique your position in relation to the grand course of Heaven.

If there is something that fallen mankind can be grateful for, it to be reintroduced to the Father we lost. If there is something Heaven can rejoice over, it is in finding the lost children. If an individual appears who can reestablish these lost relationships, he could liberate God’s historical effort.

Something Fallen Mankind Should Long For

God does not will that humanity perish. Instead, He has gone forward with the will of the providence to show us the way to live. Thus, a figure who can restore the relationship of father and son, which both God and humanity desire, absolutely must appear. In looking back through history, this is undeniable.

We should criticize our sinful, struggling selves. We have to be indignant over this reality as well indignant over the Fall. Then what should we long for? We should long for our original parents who were lost. A lonely path of sacrifice will open up for those who are sincerely longing to find the original father who was lost. If such an individual, such a group, and such a movement exists in this world, then Heavenly Father, who is searching for His children, will work with such people. Wanting to regain the father and son relationship, He will hold on to such people.

If we have not heard of this from people throughout the thousands of years of history, they are to be blamed. If holy sages throughout the course of history have not introduced such facts, they also should be blamed. If such contents could not be found in the words of the sages who have lived to fulfill the will of God, it would be permissible to deny that God exists.

God, who works the providence to restore mankind, wants to live within us and wants us to reside within Him. Thus, Jesus told his disciples, “I am God’s begotten son and you are my brethren.” He also said, “Where I am going is not of my own will but of the will of the Father. The nation that I want is not my nation but the nation of the Father. The people I am looking for are not my people but the people of the Father. The place I want to live in is not with my family but with the family of the Father. The nation that I can be proud of is not my nation but the nation of the Father.” He also said, “God is the Father and earth is the Mother.” Toward mankind, he said, “I am the bridegroom and you are the bride.”

We can acknowledge God’s existence if these valuable propositions remain within heavenly law. Religions have been established to usher mankind in the right direction. From this perspective, the religion that can reveal the proper relationship between father and son, husband and wife, and between siblings would be the final religion. We cannot deny that Christianity possesses these qualities. We have to be grateful for this.

Although numerous sages have come and gone throughout history, they have only revealed God conceptually and vaguely. They did not bring the answers as to how to substantially experience God. Jesus called the invisible God “Father” in spite of the mockery of the Jews. He overcame hardships and showed concern for God in spite of heavy persecution. This shows that Jesus had experience and knowledge like no one had ever had before. He stood in a position to clarify the universal frame of mind and the frame of mind for life, which no one had ever known.

Jesus illuminated this through his heart rather than through his circumstances. Since he illuminated it with his substantial self, he was the Messiah. If someone like that appears, even if God did not send him, that person should be acknowledged as the Messiah. Heavenly law works in such a way.

Jesus was sent by Heavenly Father. Jesus did not come to this world to work beneath sin and evil. He came as the central person who could liberate all the sorrows and resentments of history caused by the Fall and sin. He came to solve all problems, starting from where God’s heart could still abide to where it could no longer flow. Jesus wanted to connect the love of Heaven to this world. He said, “I am the bridegroom and you are the bride.” We should then acquire the position of children, bear the heart of a bridegroom and bride, and ultimately reach the position of the parent, which is what Jesus called Heavenly Father.

The Relationship between the Father and I Which Must Be Reestablished

It seems as though all the world’s Christians call Christ the bridegroom and assume they are the bride and can stand boldly in front of him. But this does not happen so easily. This does not happen through circumstances. It is only possible with an unchanging heart. Such a heart is not only one’s own heart; it has to be the historic heart of God as He strove for six thousand years, the heart that can transcend the present reality into the future. Heaven will only respond when we become the bride of such a heart, when we will live for Heaven, acknowledge the value of the subject and proclaim, “Oh, Lord, our bridegroom!”

We only treasure the words they left behind; we do not treasure those individuals who kept and live by the words. It is an historic sadness that people valued the promised, expected Messiah, but could not treasure him when he came as the embodiment of the word. The word seemed acceptable to them, but as a person, he was no different from any other person.

Unless we rethink such historical incidents, clear up our own sorrowful situations and elucidate the relationship of father and son which is supposed to be reestablished, neither hope, nor the Kingdom of Heaven, nor the ideal world will exist for us.

How can we explain the relationship between the Father and I when we are individuals who have received the blood lineage of sin? We cannot escape the bridle of sinful history. We live within the realm of sinfulness, unable to overcome it. Because we cannot accomplish these things even with effort, it is said that we are to believe in our hearts. This is the Gospel Christ passed on. He said to believe in our hearts, not through conditions.

Instead of being well-versed in the words of the sixty-six books of the Bible, you have to understand the heart of the Father behind it and what He wanted to reveal. You also have to understand the heart of the Father who did not want the Fall to take place. Instead of the bitterness due to the Fall, you have to understand the heart that desires to regain the lost Father and the heart that wants to restore humanity so that people no longer remain in such a situation. That will be your assignment. You have to transcend the gap if you wish to call God “Father” and become His sons and daughters.

God never told mankind to read the Bible at all times. Jesus did not even say to listen to his words all the time. He said to pray ceaselessly. During the three years of his public ministry, Jesus spoke many words. But until now, he has not said to live only by his words; he longed for us be concerned about his substantial self.

Because the world of the heart has no limits of distance, we can call even the greatest and most holy God “Father.” When He is called “Father” and sought after with a heart that is filled with the love between father and son, He would not be able to shun you. He would not say, “Your hands are not of Me, your body is not of Me, and your heart is not of Me.” When the heart is brought into oneness with Him, we become the Father’s extension. We are the extension and the Father’s second self. That is why the Bible said our body is a temple of God.

Then the question is: how do we go about unifying the heavenly nature of Jesus as he called God “Father” and our own nature? The unification of heart is more important than the question of similarities or differences of our natures. Thus, the words of Jesus, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20) are precious words indeed.

The world of heart transcends time and space. Here, there cannot be such a word as revolution. That is why we can attend Jesus who passed away two thousand years ago as the Jesus of today. We can establish a relationship with him today. What should this relationship be based upon? It is not just words, and it is not just for a conceptual notion that Jesus carried the cross and died for me. It is possible only with heart.

The World of Jesus’ Heart

From this perspective of heart, Jesus was an eternally sorrowful person. Nobody knew that his tears were shed representing mankind’s tears; his grief represented Heavenly Father’s grief. No one understood that the tribulations of his three years of public life were suffered for mankind and for Heaven. No one knew that he died in humanity’s stead to erase the bloody stain left in the heart of Heavenly Father.

When Jesus made his final prayer to God, he said, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39) This was a prayer that transcended all circumstances. This was a prayer that overcame the world. Jesus thought that since he belonged to Heavenly Father and Heavenly Father belonged to him, his sorrow was the Father’s sorrow. Thus, he did not feel wronged by his own death. Instead, he felt oneness of heart with God who had striven even more than he had, who was more pained than he, and whose wrongs were even greater. Jesus could overcome his difficult path so confidently because he knew that God maintained the will of saving all people in spite of such pain. Jesus united in heart with God, centering on the will of saving humanity in spite of his imminent death on the cross. He died trying to fulfill that will.

It is easy to say we believe. The question is can we fathom the essence of and reach the position where we can relate through heart? If God does not search for someone to connect with in heart, there would be no such thing as true love.

The voice of Jesus calling on the Father, and his words toward the miserable children, all originated from the heart of God. They were spoken through Jesus. Have you felt a desire to call on him as the Lord and cling to him as if he were in front of you as you read the Bible? Have you experienced a heart of wanting to say, “Father, I belong to you; my body is Yours, my mind is Yours. Even my longing heart is Yours. There is absolutely nothing that belongs to me except that which belongs to You”? If not, you have not yet stood in the position of children.

When Jesus prayed through the nights, forgetting about sleep, he prayed with a heart of gratitude, knowing that the Father was with him. Throughout his thirty years of life, he lived with a heart which could overcome everything in spite of persecution and the difficult course of the cross which lay before him. That is why Satan could not invade him.

The world of the heart cannot remain divided. The world of reality has room for many exceptions, but the world of the heart cannot become two. In the heart of the four thousand years of history, there cannot be anything other than the relationship of father and children. There cannot be any other argument. We should realize that Jesus’ word is the word of the Father and his desires are the Father’s desires.

The Most Precious Thing for Jesus

You should not be boastful that you go to church and live a life of faith. I have felt and seen that the people who can connect in heart and be grateful to Heaven and earth are in a higher position when they go to the spiritual world than the people who take joy in thinking they have a faithful character just because they have lived decades of a life of faith. This is true even if the people of heart do not know the word.

Thus, the way to Heaven is to lose everything. It is a path that entails losing everything of this world. You have to throw away everything, including the sinful world and your sinful self. What is the only thing that should be kept? It is the heart that allows you to call Heavenly Father “Father.” Only with such a heart can you meet the Lord, the bridegroom. This is a universal truth that can encompass even the cosmos. In this day, there is absolutely no need for any ideology. God could be with Jesus because he had such a heart. That is what we need.

Jesus owned almost nothing. His only clothes were the ones he wore. The only thing he had was probably the staff he used. Even if he did possess many things, what would have been most precious? If there is anything so precious that it cannot be exchanged even for the whole universe, it is the desperate heart which can call on God as the Father. We should realize that this is the total value of Jesus.

Where Is the Resting Place For Humanity?

Paul said even the words would pass. He said that out of the three things, faith, hope and love, that the greatest was love. Paul felt Heavenly Father’s desperate heart of love for mankind, torn and saddened while trying to find the lost ones throughout the tribulations of history. Paul realized Heavenly Father’s loving heart as God sincerely hoped that he would overcome the environment of severe persecution on the left and on the right and where the hostile arrows of the enemy flew at him.

Thus, Paul said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom. 8:35) What he said is correct. All of Jesus’ words and life testified to this. Because God had dominion over Jesus, who had such a heart, He could resurrect Jesus from death. History brought about revolutions in society amidst various tribulations. Heaven went through those tribulations, too. The only thing that can engulf this sorrowful history, stained with sin, is heart.

That is why history today is leading into the realm of the ideology of Jesus. This cannot be denied. If there is an individual who can transcend the present history to remain until the time of the new ideal world, that person will be the person who has the heart to call Heavenly Father “Father.” Furthermore, that person would be able to call Jesus the bridegroom and older brother. Jesus said, “You are my friends and brethren.” We should feel like this.

If there is a gift that can be given to mankind in the last days of history, it is for all of humanity to be able to call Heavenly Father “Father.” It is not only to understand God’s historical character with our hearts, but to feel it and make it our own. If that happens, humanity will receive the new world.

The heart of mankind belongs to Heaven. Jesus brought the Gospel and said to love him more than anyone else. He also said he was the son of God, the bridegroom, and that we are the bride. Does this sound contradictory? Yet we must be grateful for such words. Doesn’t his saying so mean everything when we have to walk the sorrowful path of restoration, that God is our father and that we are the bride? Jesus lived with such a heart from birth; he spoke with such a heart, and he fought with Satan for decades with such a heart.

The True Relationship between Parent and Child

The resting place of mankind is not a private world. It is where the heart flows. It is the world of heart that transcends national boundaries, where one feels just right. If today’s humankind cannot transcend the historical realities with the consciousness of such a world of heart, God’s ideology of unification cannot be accomplished. Then the advent of Jesus would have been in vain. Then the relationships of the bride and the father are meaningless. When the heart is truly felt, race is not a problem. Ideology is not a problem. When such a heart is felt, all these can be overcome and we will be joyful. In the last days of history, that will be inherited.

Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven is within us. What does this mean? The fact that eternal Heaven is in my mind means that Heaven starts from my heart. That is why we should have a connection of heart when we relate to Heavenly Father.

When God becomes our Father and we become His children, His body and our bodies are one. The Father’s flesh and blood are my flesh and blood. Even the world acknowledges that. Why does a parent love his child? It is because the child is an extension of the parent. It is as if one is loving oneself. Parenthood means the blood line is connected.

From the perspective of heart, God and Jesus were one. When God’s artery moved, Jesus’ artery moved. Their hearts beat as one. Isn’t that so? Is there any parent who says, “I love you” first and then goes on to love the child? Is there a child who says, “I love you” first and then loves the parent? The movement of love is automatic because the blood is connected. Such a world transcends logic as we know it.

Paul said in Romans 8 that we are adopted children because of the Fall. You should not be so proud. Fallen mankind is in the position of adopted children. Adopted children have a different blood lineage.

Therefore, Heavenly Father is longing for a child who can get rid of the adopted blood lineage and receive the blood lineage that originates from His heart. Then the child will be naturally loving in His eyes. The Father should love me even if I do not say that I love the Father. I should have the heart to admire Heavenly Father without having to speak it. I would fight for the Father without having to say so. Such a heart is not felt in the fallen mind.

Jesus was different in this respect. If he called on the Father, Heavenly Father would reply even if He was in sadness. In Jesus’ calling “Father,” God felt such a heart that it transcended the prayers of millions of people. Such a call and reply exist within the natural relationship that transcends the sorrowful history, centering on God’s purpose of creation. This is a situation in which nothing else matters, where no one can deny it, and no condition can prevent it. Have you been in such a situation?

When you are in such a situation, even your cells can feel it. You may say, “This young man is speaking nonsense,” but I don’t mind what anyone says. The heart and touch of love are the essence of the existing world and have the quality of the whole. That is why you long for Heavenly Father.

When you pray in such circumstances, the deepening of night is no problem. You transcend consciousness of hunger or weariness. The world of love is such that its internal emotion surpasses thousands of times what people perceive with their physical bodies. Would that not be the case? The hour in which Jesus was praying quietly to Heavenly Father on the Mount of Olives, dragging himself in after being persecuted, was an hour of happiness no one else knew. The moment he called out “Father,” his whole self was absorbed into the world of the heart. He could wish blessing upon his enemy because in communion with the heart of God even death on the cross could be forgotten.

This world should witness people calling upon the Father with such a heart and Him loving those people as His children. Jesus was like this, but he could not get across the lifestyle of the world of the heart. Although he introduced it, he must come again because the content of heart was not made into a reality.

If you want to reach the unifying point of heart where you can call Heavenly Father “Father,” your body has to be the body of Heavenly Father. Your blood has to be the blood of Heavenly Father. When you have reached such a state, you will be a holy temple. When you become a holy temple, your mind and body are not yours. They belong to Heavenly Father. You are not your own origin. Because everything began from Heavenly Father, it has to end with Heavenly Father. Therefore, your existence is not yours but the Father’s.

When you have entered the realm of heart where your flesh and blood take the place of God’s flesh and blood, you will unconsciously shed tears when Heavenly Father is grieving. Those of you who have come here for the first time may ask how in the world such a thing is possible, but it is. The world of the heart surpasses by thousands of times the value of all existence. We will transcend awareness when we connect with such a world.

What Should You Do after Becoming Sons and Daughters of the Father?

To reach such a state, you should have the same blood lineage. You should feel as if your own flesh and blood are the Father’s flesh and blood. As you become the Father’s son or daughter, you should share the common will. What is that will? It is to restore the fallen world. It is to create a world in which a good person who has liquidated the sinful history of mankind can live within the bosom of the Father. Therefore, our body should inherit the Father’s flesh and blood, and our mind should bear the Father’s will to establish His nation. We should feel the Father’s heart in our life. If not, you cannot stand as a child of Heavenly Father. Isn’t that so?

When a father grieves, his son should grieve. When a father suffers, his son should suffer. When a parent lives a difficult life, the child should go through the same thing. Isn’t that so? If one is truly a filial child, that person would live according to the will of the parent. You have to realize that only when you are connected in flesh and blood with the Father, only when the will is shared, only when the heart is prepared for one’s daily life can you call Heavenly Father “Father.” Heavenly Father is still working in order to show this to humankind.

You should not forget that Heavenly Father has striven greatly to fulfill such a relationship, even if mankind was not aware of it. God is struggling in the extreme to pull us from the position of adopted children to real children whose hearts are connected to His. We may have many wrongs done to us and may possess much sadness and indignation. But such sadness, indignation and wrongs are not comparable to those of Heavenly Father. No matter what kind of wound may have been inflicted upon us, it is not to be compared to Heavenly Father’s. Heavenly Father has experienced greater pain throughout history than any of us. He has grieved along with history more than any of us. He has borne a thousand times more than our indignation. He has been wounded more than any of us. We should realize that such is Heavenly Father.

The Reason Satan Could Not Accuse Jesus

Jesus knew God as his father, but what kind of father did he know Him to be? When Jesus wore the crown of thorns, he felt that God was wearing a crown of thorns that was a thousand times more painful than his. When he was being nailed to the cross, he realized that God was experiencing his pain thousands of times over. Even when the spear pierced his side, he accepted it as if it were deserved since he knew that Heavenly Father had continued to struggle for His children in spite of pain much greater than his.

That is why he could not hold a grudge and sorrow in his heart. He was determined not to leave a grudge and sorrow in his heart in front of humanity in spite of his pain. Although he was in a position to hold unimaginable rage and vengeance toward his enemy, he could not do so when thinking about what Heavenly Father had endured. Jesus had to overcome his own sorrow because he had come to save sorrowful humanity. He had to overcome his own pain and death because he had come to resolve the pain and death of mankind. Because he was like this, Jesus was the Savior. Because mankind had already lost its life, he had to be in a position never to condemn God even if he lost his life or had to give up all desires. We should realize that Jesus was able to become the savior of life who had taken on God’s heart because he accepted this.

Satan was unable to accuse Jesus because he had no heart of vengeance, no indignation, and was not dominated by the historical sorrow. What kind of being is Satan? He accuses you by putting forth the historical sorrow and blocks you when you are caught up in private matters. Yet Satan still could not accuse Jesus because Jesus had nothing to do with the sorrows of this fallen world and the universe. Satan, who even accused God, threw up both hands and gave up.

It was not empty talk when Jesus said to love your enemy. Satan cannot accuse the one who cries and worries about the eternal death of humanity more than about his own death. If he does, Satan’s own being will be destroyed. Satan cannot have dominion over such a person. Only God can have dominion over such a person. Although Satan may at any time accuse within the realm of faith and hope, he cannot touch one iota of the realm of an unchanging, sincere heart. Because the Kingdom of Heaven transcends everything connected with Satan, it has nothing to do with him.

We call God our Father and Lord upon Jesus’ merit. We are unworthy to do so. Even now we are struggling within the realm of sin, and we cry over the small sorrows in our life. When we look at today’s society and this world, the trends bear out the historical sorrow and are surrounded by fear. What controls my emotions in such a world? Fear. What overwhelms my life? It is justice that is in tatters. God wants to establish the new world and uphold true justice, yet there is no one to accomplish this. We have to realize that God, as always, is still searching for such a person.

The Position of the People of Korea from the Providential Perspective and Their Path to Life

Although the people of Korea may not know God, we have to realize that He was always there in the history of this people. Whenever there was a righteous-minded, loyal subject who was sacrificed in order to uphold righteousness, we have to understand that God remembered him and walked on the foundation and heart of such a person and his race.

We are an indebted people. This race is the most indebted among all the indebted races. Heavenly Father desires to save the miserable people and has the heart of a parent who laments over the fallen children. He would feel more sympathy in looking at an unfortunate race than a race that is well-off.

Our people have nothing special to be proud of. The people had nothing. They were all robbed and lost everything. If we have hope of having anything back, what I desire is for the young people to possess the desperate heart of Jesus. Let the desire that burned inside of him as he wandered, the desire to call Heaven “Father” burn within them. When they become such people, no other race will be able to dominate them.

This world deserves to be forsaken and many ideologies are bound for destruction. Yet when many sons and daughters who have become such people appear in front of Heavenly Father’s heart, who looks on with sympathy, this world will be rejuvenated. If such young people, such a group and such a race exist, then they would be able to rule the world. It was the same in the age of Jesus. There was a great deal of confusion in the trend of faith under the Roman oppression, and everything was shaky. The people’s spirit had been crushed. God sent Jesus during such a time of sorrow.

The sorrowful and painful fact is that Korea became the object of sacrifice, the focus of conflict between the two great opposing camps of democracy and communism. This is the sad reality. We have no friends. Both camps are standing face to face with our race as the sacrifice in the middle. This race, which was supposed to establish the blessed nation, is going through a life of danger and risk as a sorrowful race. One thing that we have to keep in mind is that we have to be sons and daughters who can unite with the heavenly direction, knowing that Heaven has provided for the environment and has supported this race. This race will survive if we can establish a relationship with Heaven. Jesus, who had nothing externally, was able to introduce the world of hope which overcame this world and drove this world toward the realm of his ideology. Something must have been there to establish the heartistic bond with Heavenly Father. It must have been the one absolute standard which mankind has no choice but to submit to in search of the heart and the mind. Today the people of Korea are undergoing a confusion of faith. At this time, when there is no value to one’s character, when people live in fear, and when this whole race is being pushed out in confusion, what can we hold onto?

The Path Korea Must Take

Jesus came to this world as the son of God, but he had to go through thirty miserable years of life. He walked the path of three painful and tumultuous years of public ministry. Yet he was a brave warrior who demonstrated a confident spirit which could overcome anything that stood in the way. He possessed a burning heart that would have easily restored the whole race of Israel at that time. Such a warrior is needed in today’s age. Instead of fighting against the people every time they drove him into difficulties, Jesus prayed for them through long nights on the mountain of Gethsemane. Such a big-minded character is admirable.

Jesus took the path of solitude and went into quiet places in order to call on the Father during times when the nation faced persecution. The path to life for this race is the same. There has to be the heart. You should be able to forget all human conditions, even forgetting about eating or clothing, and call on the Father as His sons and daughters. When there are such sons and daughters, this race will be closest to Heavenly Father in the world of heart, even if the people are sacrificed and trampled on. Do you think God will then treat you badly? No parent would ever not accept a child with a heart that connects the past, the present, and the future. If people are like that, God is even more so. Is there a human being who does not embody God’s attributes? God is like that. Therefore, mankind is the same.

This miserable race is searching for the heart of God to find the path to life. Even in this situation, one should be able to show gratitude to Heavenly Father. There is a world of difference between people who denounce Heavenly Father even in a free situation and people who show gratitude to Heavenly Father with tears even in a difficult situation.

Now that we have a father and son relationship with Heavenly Father, no matter how challenging and manifold the difficulties and persecutions that block our path, they are not even comparable to the course that Heavenly Father walked for six thousand years. So when you are injured while working for the will of God, do not look at your own injury and cry. Rather, comfort Heavenly Father who has had greater pain inflicted on Him. The Father is someone who will come to you with tears when you are injured, forgetting about His own pain. We are truly unworthy of this.

Now we should really accomplish something. This race is losing its national spirit. What can this race be proud of in front of Heaven? There is nothing that it can put forth before the world and this age. The heart of God has never been attained. Who has ever deeply felt this world of the heart? It is someone who experiences difficulty. It is someone who calls on the Father, enduring his own difficulties. We have to realize that we need to have conditions with which we can be close to the Father who has borne historic sorrows.

That is why we have this difficult environment. After all, this race need not feel sorrowful. We should be sorrowful if Heavenly Father did not exist. But He does, and there is no need to feel sad. Even if this nation is the most miserable nation in the six thousand years of history, it would have moved Heavenly Father deep down to His bones, more than any other nation, if it had remembered Him. If there is a movement that will establish the relationship of father and son in this nation, the new world will open up. As Heavenly Father has firmly promised us, and as Jesus’ great purpose was to teach us, where would God go without us? We have to start out with such a conviction.

The One Life that is Greater than the Universe

God is not a God for America, nor a God for England. He is not a God merely for the democratic world. He is our God and my God.

Heavenly Father longs for believers, the brides who can be a part of the world of the heart of the historic Father and sing of its value. Wouldn’t that be so? Such an individual cannot be bought even with billions of dollars. Such a person cannot be bought with earth or Heaven. Jesus has said that such a person has value greater than that of the cosmos.

Fortunately, today we were given a talk on the relationship between father and son from Heavenly Father. But the question is: how much have I attended the Father? How filial have I been? We have to relate to Heavenly Father as a filial child on the individual level and as a loyal subject on the national level. Isn’t that true? The traditional three bonds and the five moral disciplines in human relations in Asia all make sense. They are to teach this concept. Filial piety and loyalty towards Heavenly Father is the same thing. One cannot be filial to Heavenly Father if one does not first become filial toward one’s parents. One cannot be a loyal subject toward Heavenly Father if one does not first demonstrate loyalty to the nation. This world is the same toward Heavenly Father. The content is different, but the world of the heart is the same.

Unification members! For us, denomination means nothing. Our name means nothing. This church building and our houses mean nothing. People are the issue. The people with heart are the real issue. There are billions of people in the world, but only one person draws your heart. Isn’t that so? It is the same for God. What is the first thing that God, who moves all things of the cosmos and dominates the great universe and the created world, still desires? More than a multitude of people, He longs for one individual who can give all his heart and then forget about his giving. Wouldn’t that be true? Heavenly Father dreams of one such person more than He dreams of a mere multitude. Therefore, Jesus was sent after four thousand years. And after six thousand years, the Second Coming is one who comes in place of Jesus.

Where are the sons and daughters who long for and call to Heavenly Father as “Father”, who wander in search of the other children? The day God finds such sons and daughters is the day of hope and the day of liberation. In religious terms, such a day is called the feast day of the lamb.

The True Christian of the Last Days

What kind of person is a true Christian? It is not someone who dances with joy. It would be someone who prays with concern for God. He or she would not pray for themselves but would pray for the sake of God. That person would not worry whether he or she would become the bride or not, but would worry about whether Jesus, the bridegroom, is happy or not. The person would not pray asking God to send him or her to Heaven, but instead would pray, asking to free God of His sorrow. The person would not ask for his or her value to be acknowledged in Heaven, but would hope that God’s value may be acknowledged in this world, even through his or her own death.

We have to totally change today’s understanding of faith. It has to be changed fundamentally. Do people want to go to Heaven by believing? What are they going to do in Heaven? Are they going to steal from God again when they are there? That is like being joyful after losing the heavenly essence. The essence is the heart of giving. Even fallen minds can perceive such a nature of love. The pit of death awaits those who are striving to receive. The realm of resurrection of life awaits those who are struggling to give. Jesus was someone who struggled for thirty years of his life to give. Jesus endeavored to give during his three years of public ministry. In the end he even gave himself. You have to realize that the Messiah was the prince who strove to give and give again.

Those who are following such an example must repent and see how much of an offering you have made yourself in order to liberate God’s sorrow in your lives. Such a person has no concept of Heaven or hell. Such a person would say, “Who cares if I go to Heaven or if I go to hell?” When God wants to resurrect such a person, even Satan has to agree. Here the historic standard of life gets established.

Today’s Unificationists need the words of the Bible in order to console the Father who is filled with sadness. You also need a teacher. But I do not want you to go forth just looking at the teacher. I hope that you yourselves will establish the bond of relationship with Heavenly Father’s heart, with the teacher as the center. God will never desert you when you pray for this nation with heartfelt pleas, when you strive to introduce God’s heart to it, and when you become the offering. God will not give up on us.

When we think about God, we know that He is the master of all things. But have you seen His deeds? As the subject of love, was He ever able to say “I love you” to mankind? Never. Although He was in a position to own everything, He was never able to claim mankind as His own. And although there are numerous people in this world, and although there were the Israelites who were prepared for four thousand years, Heavenly Father was never able to raise them up as His own sons and daughters or as warriors who could defeat Satan.

There are many Christians in the democratic camp today, but God has not been able to place them as generals in command of an offensive attack against Satan. He also wanted to have Jesus command the angelic world to establish a relationship with this world, but that could not be achieved. God gave mankind the ideal of the bride, and He sought to find such brides. But He could not find one person who could stand as the proud bride in front of Satan. We are truly sorry in front of Heavenly Father.

The world calls the leader of the Unification Church the ringleader of a cult. That’s fine. I just want them to receive all the blessing. I don’t want to give excuses or explanations. This is not the time to fight over such things. Our lives are busy, and what is more urgent is how we are to be recognized by Heavenly Father.

We are all miserable, we are all the same. There were times when we called on the Father and all pledged to die together if we had to. There were times when we called on our Father with tears. We had to stand in such a position representing this nation. Although there may have been times of sorrow, we have to go this path as the Father has led us. We should be grateful and feel unworthy if we can’t feel this historical sorrow. We should be grateful that we can feel the traces of our ancestors’ tears and blood, to tread together down this sorrowful valley. Even if this body may be ripped to pieces or fall down, we have nothing to feel sad about. We have to realize we are the Christians of the last days who have to find and walk this path of heart again.

It is fine to be called a cult or to be misunderstood. None of that can be an obstacle for me. I am here to clarify the heavenly concept. I am telling you now that God will by all means pull us forward along with history if I can share that heart, kneel down in understanding of such a heart, and speak with the heart to raise up the people who will cry with that heart.

The Faith of Mary Magdalene toward Jesus

Judas Iscariot chastised Mary Magdalene, who was a prostitute, as she knelt and poured three hundred denarii worth of oil on the feet of Jesus and washed them with her hair. When he did so, Jesus defended her. Mary was not acting unreasonably. Because she was concerned for the heart of Jesus, who was to be killed, an aspect of God’s pained and indignant heart was reflected through her. Therefore, Jesus predicted that her name would remain wherever the words of the Gospel spread.

When Mary wanted to hold Jesus, who had resurrected from the grave, Jesus prevented her out of concern that the resurrected self might be stained. In other words, Jesus stopped her because he wanted her to be more joyous in meeting the Father than in meeting him. He wanted her to be more glad for the Father than for him, and more glad for the hope that humanity might again be reborn than happy to see him. It is sad that the Jesus we believe in today came and went with such a regret filled heart. That is a sad thing.

We have to let this be known to the Christians of the world today. What is needed is not someone who takes pride in his own faith, based on Jesus who was glorified by history. There is a need for people like the woman who searched for Jesus on the mountainside of Calvary, who can take pride in Jesus even if they themselves are trampled on and pushed out by history. There is a greater need for people like Mary Magdalene than for the twelve disciples who walked their own separate ways, denying their knowledge of Jesus.

To Become the Sons and Daughters the Father Desires

In believing in Jesus, have you ever made God cry? Have you ever made Jesus cry? Have you ever shivered, holding onto the crying Father who said, “How difficult it must have been for you to walk this path that I have gone through. How difficult it must have been to find Me in My sorrow”? Have you held the hands of Jesus who cried as he called out for you? If not, don’t say anything. Do not be proud of anything.

The people who were ridiculed and cast out will be the princes and princesses of the Kingdom of Heaven. Even if everything is lost, we should long for the heart and will of the Father. When you are able to find meaning in your life, meaning in the church, and meaning in society, while you long for those, God will not send you to hell even if you try to go. God will claim such people.

The topic of today’s talk was “The Father and I,” but we are unworthy to use the word “Father.” We should experience the times when even saying the word “Father” makes us feel unworthy. We should have the attitude that says, “Father, how can a lowly person like me call you Father?” There is no need to say anything else. The right of ownership of the cosmos will be decided as you call out “Father” with your body and mind united and a desperate heart. Heavenly Father is longing for such Unificationists.

It is fine to follow the path of a teacher, but that will all pass. One thing that I want to convey to you, even if I die or disappear, is that you should transcend race, humanity, and the world to cry with the heart of God. I want to die seeing such a sight. You should realize that only then do you have the authority to oversee the cosmos and the realm of hell.

From now on, we should be proud of our Father. What kind of Father is He? We have to introduce the Father who has labored in historic endeavors. We have to boast of our Father. We have to introduce the Father who has fought, holding onto this age. We are to introduce the Father who has longed for us and who had to fight for us. But if the heart is not laid as a foundation in conveying this, everything is just wild fancy and rash acts.

We should exalt the Father. We have to exalt the historic Father, the Father of the age, and the future-oriented Father with our heart connected to His. Thus, you should be able to exclaim, “Father, is this not Your will? Your will is my will. Oh, Father, You who have found us like a parent who could not forget his own blood, You are my Father!”

Heavenly Father longed to live with us for six thousand years, but Satan came in front of Him. Heavenly Father longs for the brides, the figures who will understand His heart, and speak out, “Hey, you Satan, you have no place to rest your foot in this world. Hey, you and all the forces of evil, just look at my Father,” and get recognition from him. He would have to say, “You are right. What you are saying is true for eternity.” Wouldn’t that be so?

Jesus’ body was killed, but his heart was never killed. His body was invaded by Satan, yet the world of heart was not invaded. That is why Heavenly Father brought forth the ideal of the bride, and He is looking for the bride who possesses the loyalty of the world of the heart. Thus, you should be able to call on the Father and the Lord with the heart of the bride.

We should be grateful that the saints of the past strove and that Heavenly Father and the world have endeavored to find the sons and daughters of the direct lineage to create the relationship of father and children. Furthermore, you should say a word of apology to the ancestors, to numerous spirits, and even to Satan, and become figures who can protect this land. Only then will you become God’s sons and daughters. God wants to hear such sons and daughters call Him “Father.” Aren’t you also like that? When there are sons and daughters whom God truly loves, He does not want to hear the physical father say to such children, “Hey, So and So, you are my sons and daughters.” Wouldn’t that be true? He doesn’t even want to hear that they belong to a certain nation. “They are My own sons and daughters and they belong to My nation.” He doesn’t want them to be called the people of Korea or America. Such a thing is ridiculous to Heavenly Father, who has the ideal of the heavenly world. God is searching for us from such a standpoint.

God was unable to live with the individual, with the family, with society, with the nation, and with the world. How much must He have endeavored to work backwards from finding the world to finding us today? Not only does He have to find us, He has to take us along with Him. It is difficult enough to find us, but it is more difficult to drag us along. The Lord comes in order to take even the historic last days along with him.

I urge you to clearly understand this and become God’s proud sons and daughters, the brides and bridegrooms who will stand heart to heart with Jesus. He professed that we are not of this nation, the heavenly family is not of this nation. His society, nation, and the created world are not of this fallen world.

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Chapter 3: Man Is an Explorer in Search of Truth

July 19, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
John 10:1-18

Prayer

We have listened to the words You have granted. Although many people in this world stand in the face of death, in reality they are preoccupied with praising themselves and boasting to the universe.

Can anyone show himself off and elevate his own value in this kind of a world? As we silently search our hearts, we cannot deny that one who does stands in a false position.

Father, what do our minds long for today? Toward what should we direct them in order to be elevated? This is the moment to realize that our minds and bodies cannot be our own. This is the moment to understand that we are in a miserable situation where we cannot be proud of ourselves.

Please allow us to realize at this moment that we are not the final arbiters of the value of our minds and bodies, that we did not make ourselves and that we are pitiable beings who cannot reach our destination. We did not cause our own lives, nor did the ideology that leads our minds in the direction of goodness originate with us either. Please allow this hour to be the moment when we realize that they originated from something other than ourselves.

Father, today is the moment when we should feel that we must disdain ourselves, we who were so busy making excuses to save face. Please allow us to realize at this hour that the true self whom Heaven and earth, the world and humanity, the society, the family, and myself are looking for is a victor who can conquer himself and who can ignore and stamp out the arrogance that makes him want to elevate himself and stand out.

Jesus said, “Forget everything and follow me.” He also said, “Those who are willing to die will live; those wanting to live will die,” and “Those who want to rise up will go lower and those willing to go lower will rise.”

When we understand the content of these words, we realize that we have to throw ourselves away. We have fallen ancestors and we cannot break away from the bondage of fallen history.

Therefore, our course of life is a pitiable one. The living environment is so chaotic that we live in a confused state, unable to distinguish good from evil. Heavenly Father has labored to pioneer the path of life in such a land. Numerous saints have come and gone in this land in order to bring the ideal of the true person, the true ideology, and the true cosmos to humanity.

Most of all, the time has come for us to long for the holy embodiment of Jesus Christ, the heart which flows out of him, and his desperate ideal. He wished blessing upon all people even as he perished as a criminal on the cross, he who had come into this world as the Messiah of all people.

I sincerely pray that You will forgive us. We have praised ourselves and disdained the creation and all things and have elevated ourselves to disdain Heavenly Father, although we should be disdaining ourselves.

If we want to move toward a truthful heart and true goodness, please allow us to realize that we are debtors in front of Heaven and earth, and that we are a sinful race which has been violently scarred throughout the course of human history. Father, the only things we need are the hearts that can seek for You and the loyalty that can seek out our true selves. Please allow us those things.

We cannot deny that the life course that Jesus led was a sorrowful path of tears. We also realize that every page of history is bound together by bloody battles. Therefore, I sincerely pray, Father, that You will allow us to realize that we cannot clarify anything in history when we uplift ourselves, and that we are like a failure who does not have anything to show throughout the ages.

We therefore believe that we need a true leader who possesses true life and a true heart. He is the savior and Messiah God sends for humankind. Please allow us to reflect upon ourselves in this hour: to reflect upon whether we possess the faith and loyalty to stand in front of the Messiah. In receiving the Messiah, we know that Heavenly Father desires for humankind to possess the greatest of enthusiasm, the greatest of loyalty, and the greatest whole-heartedness. It requires the greatest sincerity and a desperate heart which has nothing to do with Satan. Although we may not stand in such a position, Father, I sincerely pray that You may guide us to become humble sons and daughters who can kneel down and long for the blessing of redemption with the heart that longs for such a position.

Father, how can we respond to the words given to us? Father, please be with us. Although we have listened to many words, walked many paths, and lived through many situations, we stand in front of You empty-handed, having nothing to return to You. Father, do not drive us away but have pity. I sincerely pray that in this hour we may empty all of our minds and bodies so that only the Father will have dominion over us and only the Father’s blessing can fill us.

Please allow the heart of the giver and the hearts of the receivers to be one. I sincerely pray that this may be the hour when those hearts can harmonize into one so that the Father’s heart can be felt and the Father’s blessing can be directly received. I pray all these things in the name of the Lord. Amen.

As you know, this is an age of civilization. This is the final age when a certain ideological concept or ideology has to prevail. You know well that we are part of such an age.

Then how are we to live in this reality? We do not have anything special to show for ourselves, and we also do not have anything to advise people with through our accomplishments. You should realize that the past must have been the same since the present is such. You should be concerned that the future might also be the same.

Mankind Has Sought Truth

Having left behind a legacy called the Fall, mankind has gone through a course of untold stories. Mankind has been dragged on until now, unable to escape the course of the history of complicated stories that take different forms from age to age. Going through the course of history, people have lived on until now, unable to find the essential point that they really sought regarding the mind and body, ideology and heart. So many predecessors have gone through that. And while numerous people in this world today are also searching for that certain truth, they are wandering without a clear understanding of what truth is.

In order to find that source or answer, our ancestors struggled until now, welcoming a path of blood and tears, welcoming the valley of death, and welcoming the miserable situation of being driven out. Yet one cannot but acknowledge that the destination they were searching for and the resting place they sought with all of their hearts has not yet been found, either in this world where humanity dwells, or in Heaven, which works for the world providence.

The topic of today’s speech is “Mankind Is an Explorer in Search of Truth.” I will speak on this subject.

As we all have heart, the fact that we desire our heart to be entrenched by something, as we did in the past, as we do in the present and as we will in the future, signifies that there is a substantial being who is the source of truth. Using religious phraseology, this is saying, “There is God.” When such a conviction is within you, you can clarify everything centered on God, including your being, your daily life, your whole life, and everything connected to your heart. This is what mankind, especially the people of religion, would seek as their highest goal.

That is why we always have to think about what is true, no matter what. We cannot deny that we have to find out what is true if we want eternal life. That is why the people of the past have moved toward this goal, people of today are moving towards this goal, and people of the future will surely move to fulfill this goal.

As God exists, He would want mankind to sing about a true person. He would want mankind to live happily with the true person. He would want to live together joyously with that true person Himself. When such a day comes, when people live with a common mind, a common heart, and a common life, no one will desire otherwise or stand in denial.

When there is a person who transcends race, ideology, and worldly thoughts for a truth he will live with, act with, and have the confidence to overcome death with, then no one of any nation or era will deny that this person is the substantiation of the truth human history has sought. This person is the evidential substantiation of the truth this age is seeking, and the original substantiation of the truth the future seeks. Humanity has been searching for that true person.

Although there are billions of people in this world today, no one can answer definitively that they have found such a substantiation of truth to live with, to fight side by side with, and to rejoice with. There is no clear answer, although you may look through the principles of philosophy or the holy books of religions. Whether you search your body, your mind, your heart, or in all ideologies, you cannot be absolutely confident that you have found the truth which can awaken you anew and have become one with it.

Then is this all an empty theory or fancy? How is this problem to be solved? This is the final question that today’s humanity must find an answer to. The relationship between the truth and myself, both of which are in need of clarification, should be a relationship of inseparability and indistinguishability. If the truth we seek is Heavenly Father, then we should harmonize with Him as if He were us and we were Him. If Jesus is the truth, then we should be harmonized into oneness with him.

At this point, all our emotions and awareness should move together as one. We will see the image of redeemed mankind, the image of the true sons and daughters Heavenly Father is looking for when that touch or trace of the truth is felt from within and is transmitted to all of the created world and to all people. Then all can move and feel in unison and sing together with the cosmos.

Fallen Men and Jesus

When we look at humanity bathed in the sorrow of the Fall, when we look at ourselves, unable to cut away from the fallen lineage, and when we acknowledge that we are all descendants of fallen ancestors, we may ask what the Fall is. It is to be fallen away. The Fall is a state of being in conflict with the ideal that our mind desires.

Because people are fallen, they want to avoid things they do not like, things that make them sad, and things that are difficult to do. Yet they cannot escape from sadness, pain and difficulty because they are fallen. Everything is intertwined and tangled up with history.

We surely have second selves that move according to the true heart, in contrast to our own selves which are in a miserable situation. The time will come when we have to call forth those selves to criticize ourselves harshly.

Many saints and sages who have come and gone in history have pled with history and its reality and looked to the future. They advised us to open our hearts wide, to seek for goodness, the rightful purpose of heart, and to possess a body that can respond to the original mind and act according to it.

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is in your heart.” He also said, “With that heart, connect to God’s heart. Possess the character that can connect to that heart, and the bridegroom who represents the center of Heaven will come.” But today we have to understand that this is where the problem lies.

We realize that there was no champion who could hold onto the clear standard of conscience and control his own body while facing these problems. There was no one who could unite with the laws of Heaven and the heavenly heart to have dominion over not only his own heart but the hearts of all men.

That is why Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is in your heart. He has said to love him in order to go to Heaven. Afterwards, he said to follow him, bearing your cross, and to throw away all the things you own. He said the ones trying to live will perish and the ones wanting to die will live. He also said that those desiring to possess will lose everything and those wanting to lose will gain. Those wanting to rise will go down and those wanting to go down will rise. The question is, then, what is the purpose behind these seemingly paradoxical sayings of the Savior?

You all have a mind and a body. Yet it is truly regrettable that the mind, the body, and the heart are not as they should be.

Our ancestors established the standard of conscience when they came to this land and taught us to conquer the physical body. Yet no one was able to establish the standard of victory of dominating the physical body centering on the mind, even after six thousand years of human history. Who will be responsible for this sorrow? What are we to do when no one has the certain center where the body is dominated by a mind that is one with the deep heart of Heaven? Heavenly Father possesses the deep, heavenly heart. How is the mind of mankind to be conquered so that it can stand forever in front of Heavenly Father’s heart? This is the important problem that must be solved.

Jesus said, “I am the bridegroom and you are the bride.” The standard of heart that qualifies us to be the bride is not the standard of conscience entrenched in human affairs; nor does the standard of conscience change as the times change. The standard of conscience does not compromise with human morality in this world. This world’s people do not know the bride. Who is the bride who can stand in front of the man who is the bridegroom? It should be someone who can yearn for the heart of the bridegroom. After having deeply felt it, the individual should head in the proper direction of establishing the eternal standard of conscience and body. Jesus is not able to stand as our true bridegroom if we do not meet such standards.

The Purpose of God’s Providence and the Phase of Mankind

Human civilization has developed, following the flow of history. That civilization has now become this world of the twentieth century. Yet it has no contents whatsoever that can solve the problems of our bodies, minds and hearts. Although many complex structural appearances and complex environments have come about internally and externally, we know all too well that they have not touched our minds and hearts. People could not unite centering upon them. They were not the standard of heart Heaven and earth could rejoice eternally with or which could bring Heaven and earth together.

This age today is heading against the direction the mind and heart seek. Where can we find the center that can hold us up when we have nowhere to go and feel utter emptiness inside? Today’s humanity cannot help but struggle to find it. People are seeking for the heart that the mind and belief can be in touch with. Therefore, humanity cannot avoid struggling toward this if a certain standard is not established where the heart can dominate the body and the body and lifestyle can dominate external life.

If God exists, what world does He seek? It is not this world of civilization and culture that we see today. We should realize that the central will God desires is the standard of mind and heart that can lead civilization in the right direction. It is the world of the standard our ancestors sought to establish for all their descendants. Knowing this, Jesus avoided the worldly environment. We know that he lived a life of going deep into the woods or valleys in the darkness.

Jesus Was an Explorer Who Sought the New World

No one knew at the time that Jesus came to this world and fought to transfer good things of the invisible world into this visible world.

No one in this world wanted to be in Jesus’ position. Jesus prayed and pled at unexpected times. You have to realize that the course Jesus patiently walked was the course all of humanity has to traverse. It was the course that went into the borderland where God and Satan, good and evil, collided.

Jesus was not in a comfortable situation as he tearfully prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was the borderline area where God and Satan met. That prayer was the moment he was about to cross the borderline in order to overcome the realm of sorrow, tribulation, pain and death. Jesus was connected to the one heart, even in that situation. Therefore, he had a standard within him that said, “This heart will never be violated,” in spite of anything on this earth and in Heaven that might sway him away.

It was not Jesus’ greatness as a person that allowed him to win over Satan in the process of the battle over providential conditions. It was because of his entrenched heart toward Heavenly Father. Even Satan has to throw up his hands in the presence of such a heart in fighting the battle of Heaven. Because Jesus was such a person, he became qualified to become the master of heart and the bridegroom all people admire. I know that Jesus did not come to this world to find anything. This world is a fallen world. This world still has to go over a certain hill, and it has much to resolve. The world and the age, which both have to be resolved, are the problem. Because Jesus knew the problem, he came to pioneer the path. Jesus came as the lone explorer representing humanity in the new world that has to be realized.

Although Jesus did not mention it in the words recorded in the Bible, he could not have established a center of victory in Satan’s world. God could not have established the will of victory in this satanic world at that time. You have to understand that Jesus was an adventurer and an explorer who sought the new world. He threw everything away to seek for the world of God’s love and humanity’s love, which is greater than any reality or concept of this world.

Jesus Set the Highest Standard as the Mark of Adventure

Although there are many adventurers who seek to explore the famous unknown spots, anyone can do that. But what is the highest standard that Jesus set as the mark of adventure? It is the problem of the heart.

What allows modern Christianity to contribute to the movements of the world? It is the historic background of martyrdom, which transcended death. There are people who are willing to seek truth with a desperate heart, even putting their lives at stake. God wants to take those people to establish the world of the purpose of the heart. Because of this, He sent Jesus. Yet when Jesus was dying pitifully on the mountain of Calvary, did people anticipate that someday he would be leading the world? Not even in their dreams.

We are people who have to seek. We have before us the path that we must take today and tomorrow, with all our lives and even our bodies at stake, in spite of any difficulty or danger.

Through the Principle, you know that the battles waged between God and Satan are propelling history. Where is the original son who can call on God after winning these battles? Mankind has not yet seen or found the world in which Heavenly Father responds when the son calls on Him as Father with a desperate heart.

Jesus came to this world and said that he was the only begotten son of God. The Bible records Jesus’ presence as the glory of the begotten son. Jesus called God “Father.” He said to attend him like the bridegroom, that the people were his bride and his brethren. This is something to be grateful for.

What God Wants To Establish

There is a God who guides the providence for mankind in this world from up in Heaven. God leads the history of goodness. Then what is His purpose? It is not the Bible. At the end, when the providence of restoration is completed, the Bible will disappear along with the fallen world.

Believing in the Bible is not the question here. What is more precious is a son who can go beyond just believing, one who knows the Father who has striven for six thousand years, who strives now, and who will strive in the future. With a burning heart toward Heavenly Father, he can call on Him. Such a daughter is this precious. Heavenly Father cannot be joyous in looking at humanity. The only one He feels joyous over is Jesus. Isn’t that so?

We are searching for truth. The individual, the family, the society, the world is searching for truth. Then who is the ultimate owner of the truth the universe is searching for? It is God.

What is the content of the truth God wants to establish? What He is searching for is the content of true parents, true couples, true children, true Heaven and earth, and the true cosmos that mankind has yet to possess. Isn’t that so?

What does God want while carrying on the providence with this world? He would want things to be true creations. He would want for all of humanity to become true citizens. Furthermore, He would want those citizens to become true loyal subjects, true couples, and true parents.

Only after the true creation, true citizens, true filial sons and daughters, true couples, and true parents appear would God want to appear substantially in this world.

As God is the substantiation of truth, He definitely wants to create a bond with those who are in search of truth. He wants all beings to bow their heads and say, “You are right. Be my owner forever.” God has sought that substantiation with His body, mind, and heart. The day God meets that substantiation will be the day human history in search of goodness and truth will end. It will be the day when God, who led the providence in order to seek the truth and establish it, will have His dream fulfilled.

God is looking for such a day, such a place, and such a moment. And such a day is what this sinful land, the people living in this sinful world, the family, the society, and the nation are looking for.

If Jesus came with the mission to fulfill the heart’s desires of God and humanity, it is a sorrowful thing that no disciple ever asked him to introduce the cosmic ideology of goodness that was deep inside his heart. Jesus lamented, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12)

Although Jesus came with words of truth and as the embodiment of truth and came to do the deeds of truth, he was not recognized at that time and was unable to speak all the words of truth or perform all that he would wish. Therefore, what we need today is not just the biblical perception of Jesus. We need the embodiment who can clarify what a true individual is, a true family, a true society, a true nation, and a world that God can come to, the blessed land. We need the embodiment to lead us in that direction. It was the mission of the Savior to explain the truth that he cherished deep in his heart.

Who ever really knew Jesus? Jesus could not really reveal the contents of his mission to anybody and had to go over the hill of the cross. No one understood him. That is why no one has gone to Heaven. Everyone who believes in Jesus is in paradise. Paradise is the waiting room to Heaven.

From this perspective, although the course of searching for truth lasted for six thousand years until today, it is still not resolved. When it has not even been completed after six thousand years, will it be completed tomorrow, even if I start anew the course of life with the newly felt and realized heart of today? If there is no possibility that it will happen, then you should at least have a heart of indignation, a heart that can plead to Heaven, bearing the Father’s will.

How can you be citizens of Heaven when you don’t even desire to do such a thing? How can you ever be loyal, exemplary men and women and filial sons and daughters of Heavenly Father?

The Method for the Providence of Restoration

We know the providence of God to be a providence of restoration. What is the providence of restoration? It is a movement to recover something that was lost. It is the strategy of gaining back something that was lost. It is a strategy of re-creating through words.

Mankind is to be re-created. Because mankind fell and lost the words that the body and mind can relate with and rejoice eternally with in heart, we have to find the words or truth. It is said that the truth is the word. While truth is the principle that guides a system, it is also a basis for heavenly law. Therefore, the world has sought truth until now.

Yet there are no words of truth even now. Because there are no words of truth, there is no substantiation of true life. Since there is no substantiation of true life, there is no substantiation of true love. There is no true cosmos, no true Heaven and no true earth because there is no substantiation of true love. That is why God is pounding us. He has no use for any of us.

God is conquering the world. God endeavors to conquer an individual. God also endeavors to conquer a family. He has been fighting until now to conquer a race, a nation, and a world. Our forefather Noah fought for 120 years to conquer himself and his family. It was probably not an easy task. Isn’t that so? From the time he received God’s word that He would judge the land, Noah fought every day for 120 years. God only promises those whom He has great hopes for once. Once you have received God’s direction, you have to have an unchanging heart of loyalty to that and be the victor who can conquer persecution from the family, the society, or bodily desires for food and sleep. If not, God will say He does not know you. Throughout the course of history, God has been conquering an individual, a family, a society, a nation, and a world. What is conquering? It is to strike. That is why history has been a history of war.

Today is the consummation period of six thousand years of history. At this point, God is looking for a victor with the authority to conquer everything from himself to the whole, after returning everything back to Heavenly Father.

Our ancestors in the past risked everything to conquer themselves, and they did not shun the path of difficulty or the path of pioneering.

But the world of the twentieth century today is different from the environment of the past. The age back then was a providential period for the individual, the family, the race, the nation. But this age of the providence deals with the cosmos, beyond the world. As there is an adventure for us today, we have to have the determination to say that no one will take greater risks than I will, as I represent the six thousand years of history. That is how it is.

At such a time, those crying for the self will not establish the heavenly family. Those crying for the family will not establish the heavenly society. Those crying for the society will not establish the heavenly nation. Those crying for the nation will not establish the heavenly world, and those crying for the world will not establish the heavenly cosmos. So although we are individuals, we have to have the heart that can pull the world in.

To affirm that you will become the victorious embodiment and to carry it out with conviction is an adventure. When you move up into a more mysterious realm, that world is full of adventures. To go from the level of the individual up to a higher level definitely requires an adventure. You have to wage a decisive battle of life and death with your neck on the line.

God’s Providence Centering on Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus

Noah punished himself in order to establish the standard of the family. He punished his body for 120 years to conquer it. He was in a harsh environment of criticism, sneering, and all sorts of unimaginable difficulty. Can’t we imagine that?

In spite of it all, he said, “Let’s persevere. God has promised me and is leading me, so would I ever turn away from the heartistic standard that God has established?” He conquered all difficulty by punishing himself.

Had Noah’s family given up all worldly conditions and hoped to found a race, then God’s will would have been accomplished during that time. God’s will would have been fulfilled if Noah’s family had denied all personal family matters in search of a race, holding onto the standard of Noah’s heart.

But Noah’s family broke away, unable to fulfill the will centering on the family. But the providence to fulfill the will still continued. Heavenly law was at work. You cannot just keep holding onto an individual when the individual fails. Just because the family failed and the family can not be established does not mean that heavenly law stops going forward. Although an individual may fail, heavenly law still moves on.

Although an individual failed, God still had to work the providence to establish the family since the moment of the family was coming. He had to work to establish both the individual and the family. Even though that family failed, the providential time table did not slow down. The providence has been widening from restoring the society to the level of restoring a race.

Having lost the individual Noah and his family, God established Abraham after four hundred years. Abraham had to set more severe conditions than those through which Noah went. But having lost even Abraham, God established Moses after four hundred years. Now it was the age of the nation, so He drove the Israelites into Egypt and trained them hard. To train them hard is to strike them. It is a strategy to bring unity. It was the plan to make them into one.

God told the Israelites, “The land in which you are living is the land of the enemy. The palace of the Pharaoh is the palace of the enemy. The people of Egypt are all your enemies.” Because the homeland for the Israelites would be possible only when they could all unite, God drove the Israelites forth, looking only at the moment when they would enter the blessed land. God raised Moses as the leader of the adventure. He represented the nation since the providential time entailed a nation. Moses, the leader of the adventure, was the greatest explorer and the greatest of spies going into the uncharted land of Canaan.

For Moses to kick away the interference of the Pharaoh’s palace and lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan was not an easy path. It was the course of the unknown. Yet despite any difficulty that lay in front of him, Moses was determined. His heart was unchanged. He said, “Get in my way if you want to, but my heart of trying to find the land of Canaan that God has promised since the time of my ancestors will never change.”

Although he was living in the land of the Pharaoh, Moses’ heart was ready to sing a song of happiness in the land of Canaan. Moses had pioneered a solitary path of going forward with an indomitable heart.

He headed out to Canaan with the mass of 600,000 people. But during the forty years of the wilderness period, all was lost. If the Israelites knew how to take adventure like Moses did, they would not have failed. Had their desperate heart to seek the promised land been greater than the feelings and thoughts arising in their daily lives, the Israelites would have never fallen in the wilderness. Yet they cried out in panic, complaining how hungry they were and complaining of their hardships. So they died out in the wilderness, unable to enter the land of Canaan.

Any historic figure or pioneer has the natural tendencies of an explorer. He can overcome everything to reach a higher ideal or promised destination, not seeking worldly pleasures or satisfactions.

Moses was like that. What is the meaning behind the Red Sea incident and the attack of the tribesmen of Amalek in the wilderness in front of the Israelites? Men who had escaped the shackles of the Pharaoh all collapsed on the way as they wandered aimlessly for forty years.

Moses had sent twelve people, representing the twelve tribes, to spy out the land of Canaan. When they came back to report what they had seen, ten of them said they would not be able to defeat the Canaanites, but Joshua and Caleb said otherwise. Joshua and Caleb were not particularly intelligent. You are more intelligent than they were. They were dull and stubborn. But they had a wildly adventurous nature.

Joshua and Caleb stood firmly against the opposing people, saying, “God, who has been leading us until now, is alive. God, who has defeated the magic of the Pharaoh, is alive. God, who divided the Red Sea and helped us cross it, is alive. God, who sent us quail and manna while we were starving and struggling, is alive.” You have to know that such was the key that opened the road for the Israelites, who were struggling to follow the course of restoration.

That is not all. All of history is such a course. After the age of the race came the age of the nation. Although they had entered Canaan, the Israelites had to fight to establish a nation. How heavy-hearted must God have been at this. They needed to acquire the form of a nation, the form of a family, and the form of an individual. Although they had acquired the form of a nation, they could not become the foundation of complete victory that God wanted. We have to realize God’s heart as He worked through history with such situations.

God has been struggling. He struggled to find an individual, but He lost that individual. He struggled to find a family, but He also lost that family. He lost everything, including the blessed nation and the people of Israel.

Jesus seems to have come as the prince of the defeated. He inherited all this. He was a representative who came to take on the pain of world restoration. He came to the land of Israel. He only went to a few places, a few temples near the wall of Jerusalem and the beaches of Galilee. Yet his words and actions represented the will of God and history.

Two thousand years of history have passed since Jesus died after struggling on such a path. Today a certain victorious base to restore the nation of Israel must be established. The history of the two thousand years after Jesus (which we may call the two thousand years of the history of the Holy Spirit) were the process of keeping the world in line with the standard of God’s will.

Today is the era of the last days. The last days are to perfect an individual, perfect a family, perfect a race, perfect a nation, a world, and furthermore, a cosmos. Humanity is not aware of the heart of God, who has been leading such a grand mission.

What God Wants to Find in the Last Days

After the six thousand years of struggle that God has gone through, there is a framework that can usher mankind in toward the realm of one ideology in this age of the last days of history. Yet what are we to do now? Mankind is not in a position to invite God to intervene in our affairs. We have neither the substance nor the content.

This is what I want to shout out to this present age. Where is the historic individual God seeks? Where is the family God is seeking to replace Noah’s family? Where is the race to replace the race which suffered in Egypt, the race God embraced and loved? Where are the people who want to be loved in the bosom of the begotten son, who came as the king of all kings? The standard where all can walk hand in hand and share heart to heart and sing together is lost. There is probably no greater sadness than this.

God will still search. What is it that God will search for? God is a God of truth and He possesses the contents of truth. Therefore, He will search for the embodiment of truth, the true family, the true society, the true nation, and the true world. He will search for the world where Heaven and earth move in unity of heart though true authority. Isn’t that so?

His work is already initiated. He will cut away everything false from an individual, a family, a race, a world. In other words, He will break down the lineage of any race, any national tradition or any ideology of humanity in order to establish the one world of the heart. Looking at things from this perspective, what kind of world is God looking for? He is looking for a world of truth, where there are true parents.

Due to the Fall, mankind has the parents of a fallen lineage. We do not possess the original parents whom God can love eternally. Therefore, no matter how great you might say you are, you are descendants of fallen parents. There is nothing to be proud of. Then where are parents whom God can bless, whom all the created world can sing for? They have disappeared. They disappeared at the beginning of history, not during its course. Who will liberate such sorrow?

What kind of people are the original parents? They can communicate back and forth with the eternal, everlasting God in a relationship of parent and child. Yet such true parents, who can live as the children, attending God as their parent, have disappeared. Therefore, humanity has to search for true parents.

This land in which we live is not the land we have dreamed about. This environment in which we live has nothing to do with God’s ideal. It is the same thing for the Unification Church. Having the name of the Unification Church is not important. We have to possess the heart of unification. The door sign is not important. The contents are important. As you all have a conscience that searches for truth, you have to establish a motto that seeks for truth. You have to think about what contents God wants.

The day when God can be present within true parents, true couples, true children, true loyal subjects, true people, the true creation, the true sovereignty, and the true cosmos and can agree that everything is true will be the final day for the fallen world. As you wait for the coming of the Lord of the Second Coming, do you think there will be a destruction of the world with great changes and that we will rise up into the air at that time? Do not even think of such nonsense and fantasy. I used to think like that in the past. We have to fight against people who think like that.

What is such a moment like when it arrives? It is the moment when a complex web of inexplicable situations gets untangled; when the history of misfortune is indemnified; and everything from the individual, the family, the society, the race, the nation, and the world unites. It is the moment when the individual is established so that things that were carried down vertically get carried out horizontally. Thus, it is the moment when the original embodiment will establish the original family, the original society, the nation, and the world. It is the goal of humanity, who has sought truth, to find the self who can live in the original world.

What Kind of Time Is the Time of the Second Coming and What Kind of Time Is Now

What kind of person is that self? It is someone who is one with God and true parents all the time. It is someone who is also one with the true children, the true people, and the true loyal subjects. In front of that self, true Heaven and earth, a whole new world, will open up. To bring everything to fruition centered upon such an occasion is God’s way of governing.

Today many thoughts and ideals seem plausible, but they do have any valuable contents. Although mankind has been searching and searching for truth for six thousand long years of history, people who have fought as true individuals all faded away. The true family, the true people, the true nation, and the true ideal also faded away. It is up to us, living in the last days, to receive those things again.

What kind of time is it now, when we face the destiny to receive those things again? When we truly look with clear eyes, we see this is a time when the individual can unite with the family, the family can unite with the society, the society can unite with the nation, the nation can unite with the world, and Heaven can unite with the earth. The final destination that goodness longs for is in the state of being able to call God our father, and not just in name only. Please raise your hand if you think you are confident that you have reached this standard. If you look at the reality, things are serious. The age of the last days of the six thousand years are here, but we are six thousand years behind. We are six thousand years away from such a time. The external form of the providence has been structured, yet as far as content is concerned, it is empty. As time passes, you will feel more and more suffocated. There will come a day when you will lament how lonely and empty you are. Although you may possess wealth and much more, there will be a certain emptiness inside. There will also be a battle within you. That is because your mind strives to run back to six thousand years ago, whereas your body still remains here, entangled in the present.

Because such a reality exists, the Bible says, “Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.” In this time, when the new environment is about to emerge, you should at least have the conviction to push away the suffering arising from this battle buried deep in the human heart, although you may not know how to solve it. If not, then you cannot stand in the new world that will come. We have to realize this.

What kind of time is it now? This is a time to revolutionize the individual, revolutionize the family, revolutionize the society, revolutionize the nation, and revolutionize the world.

What will allow you to stand firmly against the flying arrows and the cross of death? It is the heart with a father and a son relationship with Heavenly Father. When we call out to Heavenly Father as our father with a desperate, deep heart, God and Satan will both bow their heads. If Jesus did not possess such a heart, he would not have been qualified to be the Messiah. You have to possess such a heart if you want to be the bride. To enter into such a state, you have to embark on an adventure.

Now is a busy time. It is time to go on an adventure. Jesus said that those who are willing to die will live, and those who want to live will die. Those who want to rise will go down and those willing to go down will rise. These words will be fulfilled in the last days.

The Attitude of Faith Believers Must Have in the Last Days

When you only feel happiness and satisfaction on the level of your own family, that family, the nation, and its system will all break down. Isn’t that so? We have experienced it during the Japanese occupation. Humanity in today’s age of the providence of restoration has to be an explorer.

Prayers from your heart and lawful prayers will be fulfilled. You have to look carefully at how your prayers are fulfilled. People who pray in this age have said the same prayers over and over for years, but their prayers are not answered. You have to pray with a true heart of love and promise. Pray and wait with a desperate heart, not forgetting your prayer even after thirty or forty years. It will be fulfilled. You don’t need many prayers.

In this age, you have to seek out and do the things that others cannot do. If you try, you will be able to do them. It is not like science books where everything is in the books. In Revelation, John pioneered the spiritual world which others could not. He looked at a world at the height of his exploration which no one else could feel. Yet there is no guidance for the course. This is the problem.

You have to once again calm yourself and aim for the truth. As there is life, and there is someone who will cry with the heart in which life dwells, you have to deny all that you have believed. What you believed in up to now is insufficient. You need something which will allow you to deny the heart you have been feeling, and deny the ideal you have been longing for.

While there certainly is a weapon, you cannot find it with an everyday attitude. Even if you are a well-to-do person who is proud of yourself, you have to give up such a position to go back to the very end of the line, in the lowest place, so as to attain the victory. Such was the path that God has pursued.

Although Jesus appeared in this world with the authority of life and resurrection to take over all the sovereignty of Heaven and earth, he had to walk the opposite path in order to fulfill this in the fallen world. When Jesus saw that his life was soon to fade away, he was not concerned for his body. He was concerned for his spirit. When he was looking at the people, he was not concerned about their physical misery. He felt pity for their souls. It is the opposite way. Do you want to be God’s sons and daughters? Do you want to go to Heaven? Try to go to Heaven. Those who think they can go to Heaven by believing in Jesus will not go. It cannot be done without a cost.

Why is it that we believe in Jesus? It is in order to create Heaven. What did Jesus tell us? He said our body is a temple. Is it a temple? Jesus desired for the individual to be a temple, the environment to be a temple, and the whole creation to be a temple. God wants to dwell within us, in our family, in our society, and even in all of creation.

What was Jesus like when he was in this world? Although he was supposed to sit on the throne of Heaven, he became a friend of sinners. It is said that he ate and drank with sinners. Jesus said he came to save the sinners, not the faithful. How frustrated he must have been to do that.

The assignment of Christianity is to take care of many things that are painful to deal with. The question is how people will have the heart that says, “Father, please allow us to have the dignified heart that Jesus had when he died on the cross that we may overcome the pain of death and wish blessings upon the miserable people.” Jesus came to this world and became a pioneer of the heart. We need people who will go forward with a desperate heart, who can dominate the fear of death.

What is the reason that the churches are separating? The problem is that preachers seek the authority of their position while the people seek their own authority for the sake of personal glorification. Jesus left behind the virtue of service. This path is the closest path to us, yet it is the most difficult path of adventure for humankind. People who conquer a mountain may be secular explorers, but they are not the explorers of the world of spirit. God wants an adventurer who can win over pain in the heart. Isn’t that so?

Jesus’ Representative

Is there any greater adventure than appearing as the prince of Heaven in this land of sin? Although the cosmos tried to prevent Jesus from treading that path, still he walked that path. Everyone shunned that path, but he went on it.

Now that there is a certain genuine truth, we have to seek for it. If this physical body, which ideally should be centered on our united mind and heart, is still fixed to the things of worldly history, then we should cut away from it and search for the word that can pull both the mind and the body with its truth.

We have to possess the desperate heart that is derived from the eternal world, which transcends time and limitations. We must become people who can dominate and win over any hardship, pain, and fear of death in this world. For you to be victorious on your individual path, you should deny all desires and all pain to walk forward proudly. If a victorious individual can take the same course with the family, the race, the nation, and the world, then this person is victorious over the world.

God could raise and bless Jesus because of this. His path was a pioneering path. To pioneer is to begin with a difficult path. It does not begin with a pleasant and happy path. It is to work backwards.

God has been searching for the ideal form of an individual, a family, a society, a nation, and a world throughout the course of history. He has been searching for us, the seekers of truth.

In order to restore all this in these last days, we have to bear God’s heart and become the warriors who will fight against sin as God’s begotten son Jesus, the prince of Heaven, became a friend to the sinners. In such a position, we have to throw away all personal pride and prestige and stand bravely in front of Heavenly Father. Only such a person will become Jesus’ representative who will not only find himself, but find all the other lost selves. Jesus’ representative is one who will hold onto such a heart and fight for the family, the society, the race, the nation, and the world.

No matter how high one may be, he should yield his high position and have the heart to sincerely attend others, saying, “The reason I am here is to help people lower than me be raised to the position I am in.” When such an inclination for adventure is present, it may be used as a condition to maintain oneself and win out in this time of turmoil.

When I look at you, I see that you all have the petty ambition of wanting to possess everything in Heaven and earth, yet you are not trying to find your own lost self. I will acknowledge you if you have certain conditions that can coincide with the contents and purposes of God’s wish to find the family, the race, and the nation. But you only have the purposes and the ideal; you are lacking in substantial content. You have to have the standards to which Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus, and Heavenly Father can say, “You are right!”

As you live today, it is not enough just to continue the life pattern of searching for values. You have to eliminate yourself. You have to hunt yourself down. You have to get rid of yourself. If not, you cannot go to Heavenly Father. God has never thought about His own pride throughout the six thousand years of the providence in this world. Because His path was to find His loving true sons and daughters, He was determined never to think of His own pride until He met such sons and daughters.

Although Jesus has striven for a long time, he also had to be humble in front of sinners before he could find his bride. One example of this is when he told the thief on the right that he would go to paradise along with him.

Now we have to embark on the final, historic adventure.

For us to be acknowledged as victors among all the explorers who have sought for truth, we have to first welcome the sorrow and suffering of history and the sadness and pain of the ages. We must be able to stand in front of God, the true parents, the true couples, the true children, the true siblings, the true people, the true nation, and the true Heaven and earth. Only when such a deep, desperate heart stands within you can you then take your places as the people of that nation, the loyal subjects of that nation, and the filial sons and daughters of that nation.

The Adventure of Adventures

Then what is the adventure of adventures? It is to cry for the miserable people in Heavenly Father’s stead, with a deep, desperate heart. Although you may have received a complicated and difficult mission, and even if your heart desires peace, you have to be determined to fulfill the responsibility and go forth toward the standard God desires, in spite of death or universal opposition.

The world’s affairs were pioneered through adventures. But no one took on the adventure of the world of God’s heart. Thus, if God says to live a certain way, then live that way. If Jesus said to do this, then just do that. To find out if it is true or a lie, you have to charge through with it until the end.

There is no greater adventure than the adventure regarding the issues of your own heart. Please become the explorers of the world of the heart, and understand that there is nothing more joyous or renewing than to make a relationship with Heavenly Father through those adventures.

Prayer

How much did Jesus sympathize with the miserable fishermen when he walked the beaches of Galilee for thirty years? How much did he sympathize with the pitiful villages? How concerned was he when he saw the state of the Jewish churches and the religious bodies? We realize how miserable Jesus was as he was chased out of the temple in Jerusalem, wandering around from village to village, and later on searching the seaside to find just one disciple who was true in heart.

As we tried to see what was the adventure of adventures, we realized that the greatest adventure is not to an object or something in front of you. It is to conquer yourself and completely dominate yourself and bring yourself into submission.

Jesus knew that the day you go into the world of the heart and conquer yourself is the day all of the cosmos will find you. Because he knew that, he gratefully trod the path of isolation and of being nailed to the cross. Jesus was grateful even as he was sneered at. He even comforted the people. Although his body, dripping with blood, was in pain and his heart was indignant, he saw that the Father’s heart was vested in those people as He worked through the providence. Therefore, he was filled with the heart to elevate the Father and deny himself. We now see the heart of Jesus. He prayed that Heavenly Father might bless the people, that he might somehow accidentally obviate the four thousand years of the building of a relationship with mankind and ruin that foundation.

Although humanity has been struggling to explore and conquer the things of this visible world in spite of numerous risks, humanity is not undertaking the adventure of conquering the self, with the internal heart at stake. Please allow us to realize that the course of this adventure is more rough, dangerous, great and fearful than any precipitous mountain of this world; it is greater than traversing any great ocean, and going any place where wild beasts dwell.

Many people who were walking the path of the Way failed when the element of the self came in. We realize that Jesus was able to possess the glory of resurrection when he gave himself up. He became the historic master who was victorious over himself.

We have to lose this world, lose the self, and lose the history of sorrowful regret. Please allow us to fight with our bodies and minds. Please allow us to fight on while holding on to God’s heart of the six thousand years. Allow us to realize that it is the historic desire of mankind, the desire of the age, and the request of the future that we be the victors who can rightfully wish blessing upon all creation, representing Heavenly Father. Please help us to realize that it is not God or Jesus, but I, myself, who must become such a being. I, myself, am the true center of God and Jesus, this land, and all the existing world. Let us realize that to find this truth has to start from oneself.

Jesus lived thirty years in this world. He lost himself, and once again lived to experience the joy of the resurrection. Please allow us to feel the joy of finding ourselves again after being lost. If we cannot experience the joy of being reborn after death, the coming garden of blessing does not have anything to do with us. Please allow us to bury and throw away the self that goes along with this world and to live again with Heavenly Father.

We have to carry on a revolution today. We have to find the new world. We need an adventurous and investigative character. Father, we realize that those who think about themselves cannot be included in this number. Those who are clinging to the conditions of the environment will not be able to pioneer that environment. Those who are caught up in the thoughts and ideals of this life cannot partake in the ideology of this new world to fulfill their role as world leaders God can be pleased with.

Please allow us to have the heart that is in tune with the heart of the ideal, from the individual, to the family, up to the cosmos. Let us be grateful wherever we are sent, grateful no matter what kind of offering we may become. Let us be heavenly princes of adventure who can go forth ready to face any risk.

I sincerely pray that we can be the sons and daughters whom God can trust and that we can be responsible for everything. I pray all these things in the loving name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 4: The True Sons and Daughters of Heavenly Father Who Will Remain in the Last Days

July 26, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
Romans 8:12-27

Prayer

Father, we know that You need not speak many words to those of us You have gathered here today. All we need is the heartfelt desire to be embraced in the Father’s bosom. We know that when You call us, “My beloved sons and daughters” with a heart of longing which springs forth from the depth of Your being, we can be filled completely. This is the moment when liberation is completed.

Father, when we hear Your heavenly voice, let us be fully intoxicated in Your loving heart. You know that we long for the moment when we can be overwhelmed by a heart of longing and can transcend our conscious thoughts to be embraced in Your bosom. Please grant us such a blessing.

We pray sincerely that You will guide us not to understand Heaven through the words we will receive, but rather to understand Heaven through the deepest part of our hearts. Please lead us not to seek salvation through the words. Rather, guide us to sing songs of life before the Father with our hearts. In this way, please allow us to understand how arduous and painful the Father’s path has been. Let us humbly bow our heads and offer You consolation.

If we possess anything valuable, please lead us not to keep it as our own. If we possess anything worthy of pride, please lead us not to consider that the source of our pride.

If we have a goal in our life, guide us to seek it with our hearts. If there is to be some substance to our life, please let our one heart be that substance.

Many people have come before the Father. Please guide them to find on their own who they live for, what purpose they live for, and in what direction they are heading. These pitiful ones have no master to claim them. We know that if someone can be recognized as one whom others want to share their hearts with eternally, there can be no greater joy.

Father. We have come to realize that the Father who calls us with the heart of eternal life, the eternal ideology, and eternal love dwells within our hearts. What belongs to the Father belongs to us and what belongs to us belongs to the Father. The Father longs for sons and daughters who can sing and rejoice based on one ideology. We yearn for the time when, after serving the Father and offering all glorious elements to the Father, we can rejoice and be proud before all of Heaven and earth.

Father, You understand all this. Please connect our hearts and move everything of the past, both in Heaven and on earth, and bring them into harmony in the world of heart. Please allow this to be a moment when we can make a firm determination in a state of surpassing joy. May that determination bring glory.

I am about to give the words of truth. I do not want to convey just the contents of the words. Please work through me to convey Your words and let us fathom the heart of the Father and discover our true selves.

We know that Satan works to put a gap between the heart of the speaker and the hearts of the listeners. Therefore, please let this be an hour when we can unite in one heart and serve the Father together. I prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The title of the speech I am about to give is “The True Sons and Daughters of Heavenly Father Who Will Remain in the Last Days.”

To Become True Sons and Daughters of God

No matter how great one’s power, how lofty one’s character, or how much glory one may possess, there is not even one person who can confidently claim he or she is the true son or daughter of God. This is true of all humanity. To become a true son or daughter, one has to have true parents. One has to go through the relationship of a true family and possess some quality of being connected to true brothers and sisters. Otherwise, one cannot create the environment of a son or daughter and cannot stand in that position.

If God exists and has been carrying on a providence, what is the ultimate purpose He has been seeking? It is none other than to find someone He can call “My true son” and “My true daughter.” God’s ultimate purpose is to usher in the day when He can stand connected to this true son and true daughter through the eternal heart, linked to all relationships of the world. He wants to share the words “Father” and “sons and daughters.” We must understand that God is longing for that day.

If there is a Creator, the origin of the universe and the center of the entire existing world, the ideal world that this center desires is not some phenomenal world on this earth. The world that God desires is not some conceptual world in Heaven or some external world. The world He desires is a place where everything is in the flow of love, which moves the relationships of the heart, where people can be called sons and daughters of God. Therefore, no matter how great God is, even if He is the Creator and an absolute being, He hopes for people with such qualities.

History seeks what is true. It pursues true people, a true nation, and a true world. We all have the desire to become true people.

Then what relationship among relationships sets the standard? It is the parent-child relationship between God and human beings. The heart which originates from this relationship will not be conquered by any power; it is eternal, unchanging and unique. The power of this heart is absolute. Therefore, when one emerges with this authority, all existing beings will have to bow before him in humility. When one acts with this authority of the heart, all of Heaven and earth will follow. This is the iron-clad rule of the universe. If this is not true, the purpose that we deeply cherish cannot be realized, and the one absolute relationship cannot be achieved.

For this reason, no matter how lofty and great God may be, His greatest sorrow is not having seen the day when He can call people His own sons and daughters. If people are created through these heavenly relationships, the failure to raise up such sons and daughters is the source of greatest sorrow. This is also the greatest sorrow of humanity.

If God has true sons and daughters whom He can call His own, that by calling them He can forget the toils of the past six thousand years and all the grief of the past, then this will be the beginning of the liberation of Heaven. Humanity will finally then be able to sing the song of joy. We should predict the coming of such a time.

If there is a last day for humanity and the heavenly principles, what kind of day should it be? That should be a day when God can pronounce to human beings, “You are my true sons and daughters whom I cannot deny for eternity. My sons and daughters, now all my grief has been alleviated.” It should be a day when God can comfort you and rejoice with you with an open and free heart. Only when such a day comes, only when such sons and daughters appear on earth, will the new ideal world begin.

However, until now there has not been such a son or daughter. We have not been able to establish a day when the relationship of true sons and daughters can be secured. Those in whom God can take pride as His true sons and daughters have not yet appeared. Unless such people appear, God’s will and the hope of humanity cannot be fulfilled.

The Toil of God and the Mission of Religion in Finding True Sons and Daughters

We know that we are fallen descendants. No matter how great a person of this world may be, no matter how much one may boast of one’s tradition and one’s contributions to history, these are no more than the pride of fallen descendants. Even if one is full of confidence and commands the power to penetrate the sky from the earth, that is still no more than the power of a fallen descendant. Because people are so bound and dwell within an environment which is unacceptable to God, the human world is a sinful world which stands opposed to Heaven. People are sinful, and this is a sinful world. You all understand this very well.

The true sons and daughters of God are of the highest goodness and loftiness. We who live on the earth are infinitely evil and lowly. How can this gap be bridged? The purpose of God’s work of salvation is to eliminate this gap. In order to bridge this gap and bring these two together, God has been working hard for six thousand years. Even though human beings were unaware of it, God has continued on a bloody struggle on the hidden side of history.

No one reflects upon how one can pay back this toil of Heaven. No one is looking up to Heaven with deep bitterness for Heaven’s struggles.

What is prophesied by those who use the name of religion, or a leader who claims to be religious? They teach us to understand the content of God’s work in history through the course of our lives and to build a relationship with God in heart through our own feelings.

However, religious people have ignored or forgotten the relationships which connect hearts to hearts and are attached to the phenomena which are manifested outwardly. The great task of religion has been to become free from the fallen relationships and get in touch with the world of the heart. This is to possess the heart upon which God has been holding onto humanity and has persevered through all sorrows and pain and has fought against all the suffering in history. However, religions have failed to reach this state and carry on the work to complete human history and connect the hearts of all people.

So sincere is Heaven’s desire to find true sons and daughters, He longs for true sons more and more as He passes through each generation with an aching heart. This is how He has been toiling for the sake of humanity.

In order to fulfill this one purpose, God has raised up an individual, a family, a people, a nation, and a central worldwide teaching. He has carried on His providence centering on them. God has labored so arduously for the sake of accomplishing this one purpose. In spite of this, the Israelites, who should have been responsible to accomplish this purpose, all disappeared. The 600,000 Israelites God led out of the Pharaoh’s palace disappeared into nowhere. This was also the case with Noah’s family, in whom God invested 120 years of sweat and tears. The same was true with the altar of Abel. All disappeared into nowhere.

As we understand history and the providential will of God more deeply, we can fathom how deep God’s sorrow is. God’s ideology should begin with an individual and expand out through a family, a people, a nation, a world, and the universe centered on true sons and daughters. Even though this is the ideal deep inside of God’s heart, no one on earth can say, “I am a true son who can fathom God’s eternal heart.” No one can say, “I am an eternal daughter who can comfort God’s heart and liberate Him from His sorrows.” There is no family, people, nation, or world which can serve God centering on such sons and daughters.

The Last Days and the Returning Christ

What is the purpose God is seeking? The mission of restoration that we know today is to connect children of goodness to a family, a people, a nation, a world and a universe. Accomplishing this mission is the work of salvation, the will of the providence, and the purpose of Heaven’s principles. We should understand this.

We often say that these are the Last Days. What kind of time is the Last Days? It is a time when true sons and daughters appear and govern all the Heavens and earth according to the laws of Heaven. The Last Days is the time when these sons and daughters appear and alleviate all the historical bitterness. They bring an end to the history of sorrow and pain and realize the one day when people can sing of joy and happiness. It is such a watershed time.

Who do people say will come in the Last Days? The Bible states it clearly. It says that the Lord will come. Who is the Lord? He is the returning Christ. Who will the returning Christ be? He is someone whom God has sought by mobilizing all the forces in Heaven and earth. He is someone to whom God can say, “You are my son who can live in my heart, my body, and in the world I created for eternity.”

Before he passed away, Jesus taught us that he was the bridegroom and we are his brides. These words foretell that with the appearance of the Lord who can become God’s son, there must also emerge on the earth brides who can become God’s daughters. In this way, sons and daughters will live together, and they will live together with God who has been seeking them. In that moment, the position of true sons and daughters is not limited. It is a day when the world which comes into relationship with these sons and daughters will be mobilized at once and praise Heaven.

What should humanity pray for before God, who has been persevering together with humanity, mourning with humanity, and who fought alongside humanity? It is, “God, please let there appear the true son for whom You have been longing.” What kind of person is that true son? He is someone who is worthy of being the true son and a true bridegroom. He will seek for a true bride to become the True Parents of humanity.

God has been working in history to bring the people to the true son and daughter and connect them together. This is God’s work of salvation.

In the Bible verse that we read today, it is written, “Since you have received the spirit of adopted sons, you call God Father,” and “we who received the first fruits of the Holy Spirit wait to become adopted children.” From this we can deduce that no matter how devout a person on earth may be, at most he can only become an adopted son before Heaven. In what form will the son of Heaven appear? There are those who are not sons, and there are adopted sons and true sons. Isn’t this true in this world? There are sons who are not our own sons. When we don’t have our own sons, we may have adopted sons who will carry on the lineage. Then there are the true sons. The same principle is at work in Heaven and earth.

In this land today, confusion arises from the intersection and collision of good and evil. This makes what is true appear false and what is false appear true. This is the reality. Heaven has been passing through history with the determination and heartfelt desire of finding true sons and daughters. Yet who are the true sons and daughters on the earth? People do not know. Probably no one knows. God has to raise up those who are not His sons in this world as His adopted sons and then bring them up further as children of His direct lineage. This is the work of God’s providence of restoration.

The relationship of a son has to be built through the lineage. Only when one’s own lineage is directly connected or when the lineages of one’s father or ancestors is connected may one use the words “sons and daughters.” This is how it is in this world. The same is true for Heaven’s principles.

From the moment Adam and Eve were created as the first ancestors of humanity, God’s heart should have flown through their bone marrow and come together in one point of unity. All of God’s ideals should have been manifested in them. If this had been accomplished, we would have become children of God’s direct lineage. However, due to the Fall, we have become related to another, undesirable lineage. Therefore, no matter how great we may think we are, we can only become adopted children who have a different lineage. No matter how many efforts one may have made for the sake of the providential will, and even if one were to bring another person’s son and carry on the lineage, the most one can do is to fulfill it through an adopted son. This has been the core of the providence of restoration in the New Testament, which Jesus has been guiding until today, based upon the Gospel.

Can God call these adopted sons His own true children? That is not possible. The same is true in the outside world. When someone who has suffered through some pain and grievances shares his feelings with another person, that second person can only imagine how he feels, unless he is fully connected to the heart of the first person. Another person may say, “That is probably how it feels.” Yet another person may question, “Is that how it feels?” But someone who has experienced the same thing and is connected in heart will feel the same pain in his heart as he listens to the other person share his sufferings. Only then can you say they are in the same position. Don’t you think this is true?

The Hope of Humanity and the Purpose for Which Jesus Returns

What does humanity hope for? It is to do away with this notion of being an adopted son before God and become the true children of His direct lineage. This is the ultimate purpose which humanity wants and history pursues; this is the central purpose of God, who has been fulfilling the providential will. Only then can we say that the purpose of salvation has been achieved and the providence of salvation brought to a conclusion.

If the almighty God, the origin and center of love, loves us as adopted sons, we do not want that kind of love. We seek to become sons and daughters who can penetrate deep into the core of His heart.

No matter how religious one’s life may be, and even if one calls God his father, there are many different kinds of fathers. Some will call Him “Father” from a position of not being His son. Some may call Him “Father” from the position of an adopted son. However, what is the ultimate purpose which Heaven demands, which will not disappear until the end? It is not to have an adopted son but to have true sons and daughters of the direct lineage. This stands above and beyond the position of an adopted son.

In the Bible, it is written that Jesus restores the relationship of an adopted son. Even if the world is satisfied with achieving only that, this salvation cannot be complete. Many Christians have passed away to the next world, but the Paradise they went to is only a waiting room before entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, the reason Jesus said that he would return was not to make us adopted sons but to forge direct relationships.

God longs for sons and daughters who are one with Him in heart, who do not act based on lessons or commands but who act and build relationships based on the manifestation.

For this reason, even the saints and sages of the past did not attain their ideal if they were not worthy of calling God their father and if God could not call them His own son or daughter. You have to understand this clearly.

This is what is unique about Christianity. Jesus called God his own father and proclaimed himself God’s only son. Jesus was the incarnation. He established the one standard to pierce through the core of Heaven and the foundation of the universe, and to conquer the world of the heart. From this we can understand that Jesus was the Messiah for all people.

What is the Messiah or savior? He is someone who can be the standard to save people who dwell in the realm of death. Therefore, if there is something unique and worthy of pride that Christianity possesses it is this. When the relationship of parent-child is forged with God, no matter how lofty God is, even if He is the absolute subject partner of goodness, He is our Father. Then what belongs to God belongs to us, and we will belong to God. This is the highest hope of humanity. Even if God has been relating to people with the highest standard of love, if He cannot guide humanity to the destination of that love, He must be false. If He cannot do this, then we can only conclude that God has guided the providence only to satisfy His own desires and greed, not for the sake of establishing the ideal of human beings and for everyone’s sake. For this reason, God seeks true sons and daughters.

The Reason God Seeks True Sons and Daughters

When we examine the sixty-six books of the Bible, we find that St. Paul spoke about this issue. By believing in Jesus, who passed away with no relationship with sin, we can receive the benefit of being adopted sons. However, this was not the ultimate purpose for which Jesus came.

God’s intention in sending Jesus was that humanity be connected to God’s true son, Jesus, and that they be engrafted onto him. Jesus said in the Bible, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” In this way, God intended to have the people living in the satanic world (who are not His children) pass through the stage of being His adopted sons and eventually become His direct children. Yet, because the people of his time did not believe, Jesus could not teach them how to become God’s direct children. He was able to explain only how to become His adopted children.

Why do we await the coming Lord? Why does humanity in Heaven and on earth await the day of Jesus’ return? No matter how great one may be, everyone is at most an adopted son of God. Christ is to return with the mission of establishing the relationship of the heart with which people can become God’s direct children. Hence, it is only natural that all people in Heaven and earth would await that day. We should understand Jesus, who came with this mission.

What kind of day is the day of the Second Advent to those of us who are awaiting the day of the returning Lord? We cherish the idea of the bride and struggle to realize that purpose. That day is a day when God can reveal all the tribulations He has gone through during the past six thousand years; a day when He forgets all the sorrows and sufferings of the six thousand years. When God beholds His son whom He has been seeking so ardently, all His sorrows, suffering and grief will disappear. He will be able to say, “My son, welcome.” That is the day Heaven has waited for and humanity on the earth has yearned for throughout the long course of history.

We can emerge as the masters of creation, the masters of the true garden that God blessed Adam and Eve with before their Fall, when we step beyond the limit of being adopted children and come forward with the authority to claim the position of God’s direct children. Then we can claim that the Father’s Kingdom of Heaven is our own Kingdom of Heaven and that we can govern the world that the Father governs.

Even if we were to govern all things in creation, if we lack some quality through which we can connect with them, they will be unwilling to be ruled by us. True sons and daughters should be able to alleviate all the historical bitterness. For this reason it is written in the Bible, “The creation awaits the day when God’s sons will appear.” The creation does not want those who are not recognized as true sons and daughters. Thus, today we must persevere through the course to remove all of Heaven’s sorrows and bitter grief.

What Position Do You Stand In?

What should we do in this time which everyone says is the Last Days? This is the crucial question. Ladies and gentlemen. Please examine yourselves. What position do you stand in? Do you truly have a relationship of heart with Heaven, such that when the Father acts, you act together with Him? When the Father stops, do you stop? When the Father mourns, do you mourn with Him? When the Father rejoices, do you rejoice together? Even if you do not share the same body, do you have the inner content through which you can connect with the world of the heart? Do you have such a relationship?

No matter how grandiose your external environment may be, if you do not have the right heart, they are all ephemeral things which will one day disappear. This is true in this world. No matter how priceless the possessions of your beloved sons and daughters may be, if they die, their belongings have no value.

We have learned that becoming true sons and daughters through the relationship of the heart is the highest purpose that Heaven and humanity can pursue. Given this, please examine yourselves critically as to which stage you have progressed to. Our lives revolve around the work of liberation, through which we must become true sons and daughters. It is undeniable that our heavenly fate compels us to walk this path.

How can we explain our course on this path? There is only one way to go around it. We are to center on God’s heart. For this reason, you should objectively criticize the state of your heart. This is a time when you should do this.

Given that this is the direction Heaven is heading in and that such is the day the Father desires, what state have you reached? If you have reached the state of true sons and daughters where your hearts are connected, you have no need for prayers. You just have to call out “Father,” and you will be overwhelmed with such a shock that will shake your flesh and blood. The heart of the Father will pierce through your heart. Had we attained this state, we would have been able to resolve all grief stemming from the Fall, and we would not be able to commit any of the wrong doings of the sinful world.

When I think about how, after understanding history and the sorrowful heart of God, I have struggled so hard to sever all ties of sin which have brought God so much pain, I feel dreadful. What kind of feeling have you felt? Please criticize yourselves. How close have you come to qualifying as the ideal son before God, who has been searching for children with this relationship of heart? If you do not know whether or not you have a relationship of heart, you certainly are not worthy of being a son. Someone who is qualified to be an adopted son should at least understand the suffering of his father superficially, even if he does not understand the whole story. Even if he cannot feel it as his own experience, even if he cannot assert it in his heart, he should at least be able to empathize. Have you reached that state at least?

Jesus came as the true father of humanity and the true son of God, yet he died on the cross. He probably came with the one determination which God had toward human beings for four thousand years. Every limb and organ of Jesus’ body represented the ideal which Heaven had tried to realize through human beings for four thousand years. He was the true son God searched for with yearning. Therefore, Jesus’ eyes represented the eyes of God for four thousand years. His ears represented the ears of God for four thousand years. His mouth represented the mouth of God for four thousand years. The same must have been true of Jesus’ feelings and body. He was the culmination of history and an historical incarnation. Hence, Jesus said, “I came to complete the law.” The law’s purpose was the same as his.

What Kind of Man Was Jesus?

When Jesus looked at Israel, the Jews and Judaism, he grieved. Although they had been under the realm of God’s love for four thousand years, now they had become a nation, a people and a religion which God could no longer embrace or love. Although they had walked a four-thousand-year history of close relationship with God, they failed to recognize Jesus, who came as the master of the four-thousand-year history.

How could this be? The people of that time did not know. They were ignorant. The Israelites who were living in the last chapter of the four-thousand- year history should have felt that they were in the part of the realm of God’s love where Adam and Eve were just before their Fall. If God’s providence is one of restoration, and restoration means to recover something that has been lost, what is God trying to recover? God is trying to restore His lost sons and daughters. He is looking for His lost Adam and Eve.

Though you are gathered here today, you who are living in the Last Days need ancestors who will fight with Satan for six thousand years without being killed. In other words, you need ancestors who can overcome the connections of the Fall and attain the authority of victory and go before the Father with pride. Although Adam should have become the good ancestor, he died due to the Fall, and God has been exerting Himself for the six thousand years since Adam in order to find a person on the earth who is not fallen.

Christianity describes Jesus in various ways. However, when you understand the truth, you will find that many of them are not true. We have rejected them and have made a firm determination. There are true and false, and there are what appears to be true and what appears to be false.

The True Son God Is Trying to Raise Up

What do we mean when we say that we have not understood Jesus accurately nor served him properly? Ever since Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden and could not grow up inside God’s bosom, Jesus was able to appear before Israel only after four thousand years of fierce battle with Satan. Yet the Jews did not understand this. If the Jews of that time had submitted themselves to Jesus, the failures of Moses during the Exodus, the failures of Noah’s family, the failures of Abraham’s family, and the murder of Abel could have been all corrected as victories. Jesus embodies such tremendous value. He was the living incarnation of history. He was the living incarnation whom God had been seeking throughout the four thousand years of His providence. Although Adam died, since the heart of the Father who had been raising him up did not die, that was the living incarnation.

In the last days, many people will come forward with the teaching that they are the center of the universe. However, what is the purpose of the providence of God who has been working through the six thousand years? It is recovering what was lost. What kind of man is Jesus, who was sent due to Adam’s mistake? He is the second Adam. Christians claim that Jesus is God Himself, but they are mistaken. It is written in the Bible that Jesus is the last Adam.

The true son whom God is seeking now is the third Adam. Before the third Adam can stand in the position of the true son, it does no good to claim to be a bride or an adopted son. Although Jesus came with the glory of a son, he could not play the role of a son. In order to act as one, all the necessary preparations must be completed in Heaven. Then it is not enough to have just a son. The preparations can be complete only when there is a bride.

What was lost in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve were lost. Adam and Eve were to become the true ancestors of humanity. However, because the true ancestors of humanity were lost, the true ancestors must be restored.

Jesus is in the position of a father. He is like the father of humanity. The Holy Spirit is a mother spirit, the mother of humanity. The purpose of the Second Advent is to manifest substantially on the earth the true mother and true father.

The Last Days are when true sons and daughters appear before humanity. What kind of time is that? Since we have become the descendants of the Fall and have lost the linear relationship with true parents when we lost the true ancestors, the Last Days are the time when the reverse path is taken and the sons and daughters lost in the Garden of Eden are to be recovered. God’s work is to forge relationships with a reversal process, the work of restoration, to elevate people to the position of adopted children. If you think that what I am saying is wrong, then go to the spirit world and protest. If you were to ask, “So and so said this, but is this true?” then they would reassure you that it is true.

The time of fantastic and illusory notions of faith has passed. The time of believing in a conceptual God and living under such concepts is also behind us. You should attain a certain standard where your flesh, bones and heart come together in oneness so that you can call God your father and be able to boast of the father-son relationship after connecting your heart to the heart of the Father, who has been exerting Himself for six thousand years.

Humanity, which is seeking Heaven and the world of purpose, should walk this path. For this reason in the East they have advocated Confucian ethics: give all of your heart and soul for Heaven, exert yourself for the sake of your parents, become a patriot, and uphold chastity in order to build heavenly relationships in your immediate environment. In the East, people upheld internal trends of thought, while the West is more external. It will come around to the external sphere. You wait and see.

The time of the success of the adopted children is the twentieth century up till now. The ideal world which will come is the time that the true sons and daughters will become successful. Wouldn’t that be natural if God existed? The past was a time when the children of others prospered; now is the time when adopted children based in the democratic sphere centering on Christianity prosper. The time after this period is when true sons and daughters live in prosperity. That is the time of the Second Coming and the time of the ideal that Christians are waiting for.

What should we do to become true sons and daughters who can rise to such positions, whom God will seek? You should not boast about how you have been a devout believer for so many years. All those who seek happiness based on the name of Jesus, saying, “I am a minister of this church; I am a leader of that church; through my efforts so many people have come to know Jesus and follow him,” are not worthy. Why? It is because during the six thousand years of the providence, God has never had one day or one moment when He was truly happy. How can a father who is so desperately seeking for true sons and daughters be happy when He has not yet found them?

In the course of history there have been a lot of people who enjoyed themselves. There have been people with power and authority who have received glory in place of God. Yet God, who has been struggling for four thousand and six thousand years, searching for His sons and daughters, never had such moments of happiness. God, who should enjoy glory and happiness, has never had such a time.

The Situation of God and the Life of Jesus

God is the lord of sorrow and pain. Although God desires to be happy and glorified, He has never had a source of joy and glory. What does He have instead? You have to understand that God is a God of sorrow and agony, burdened with the grief of the Fall and stories of pain and sadness. Isn’t this true?

We think that the Kingdom of Heaven is a garden of joy, but that is not true. You go and see for yourselves. No matter how hard you look for a cause of joy, you will not find any. God, who should command all the authority to rule the world and possess only glory and joy, has lost all joy and glory, all the fruits of goodness, and the elements of the ideal. Only sorrow and anguish remain. This is truly mournful. There is nothing more grievous and sad than this in the entire universe. Those who are genuinely overcome with grief over this and call out “Father” in desperation and humility are sons and daughters close to the heart of Heaven.

Jesus came to this earth as the King of Kings. He came with the recognition from Heaven as the one with the authority of the leader. However, from the moment of his birth, he did not have even one moment of happiness. Although he appeared as the Savior for the sake of humanity on the earth and to save all people, he could not receive glory. Before he could receive glory, he had to pass through a world of agony and a path of sorrow.

Why was it so? It was because Jesus was responsible to pay indemnity for the four thousand years. To become the King of Kings, first he had to pass the qualification as the prince of sorrow and pain. Otherwise, there was no way to comfort the many spirits who had endured sorrow for Heaven while they were on earth.

For this reason, Jesus, who lived some thirty odd years with three years of public ministry, walked a sorrowful path. When he shed tears, he wandered through the valley of tears which his ancestors had shed in the past. Jesus labored arduously as he inherited the path of the people who had cried out in tears as they crossed over the hill of death, stained with the blood of the four-thousand-year history. Eventually, Jesus walked the path of the cross. Today many of us think that Jesus was a prince of love, joy and glory; he was actually a prince of agony and sorrow.

The Judgment in the Last Days

There will come a day of judgment in the last days. When the day of judgment comes, how will Heaven appear? Heaven does not say, “I have this and that element of joy and glory. Why haven’t you attained similar elements?” The basis of the judgment is whether or not you understand the sorrowful and painful history of humanity and God, during which God fought fiercely for six thousand years. You have to understand that the traces of God’s work can be found in this history. Those who are trying to stand before God with the glory of a son and the hopes of a daughter will be asked by Heaven how much they have mourned over this history and how much suffering they have borne. At that time, those who say “Not at all” will not receive the glory of a son.

Look. On the hands and feet of Jesus are the nail marks. On his head is the crown of thorns, and in his heart there is the wound inflicted by a spear. Although Jesus passed away, Christians today do not understand that he had to cross over the hill of death in order to alleviate God’s bitter grief after becoming the prince of sorrow and anguish. Since Jesus passed the test of qualification of the heart, he appeared as the leader in the realm of the heart and spirit. What kind of savior was he? A savior of the body? No. he was the savior of the heart and spirit whom we long for from the depth of our beings, with whom we want to live for the rest of eternity. Jesus was able to become the Savior with the deepest and unchanging heart and standard of heart, based upon which he could wash away the heartaches of God and erase God’s historical anguishes from human history.

Let us consider this issue once more. The Last Days are near. The Last Days will certainly come, and in those Last Days, how will Heaven conduct the judgment? You have to understand this clearly. It will surely come true. You who are devout, you who want to believe, should understand this clearly. In the last days, God will not appear smiling and filled with joy. The same will be true with the Lord. When Mary Magdalene tried to cling onto the resurrected Jesus and called out, “My Lord!” Jesus told her not to hold onto him. Why? We have to understand clearly that only after we are connected to the sorrowful heart of Jesus and pass through a course of experiencing the pains and sorrow of Heaven can we hold onto Jesus.

When you call out to the Father after having experienced sorrow and agony yourself, look upon the Father’s appearance. His eyes have never stopped crying for six thousand years. His ears have never ceased hearing the mockery and criticisms of His enemies for six thousand years. His mouth could not speak the words He wanted to share for six thousand years. He was starving together with the people who were starving. The Father’s hands are stained with blood and sweat. His footsteps are the same. They have crossed the steep and rough path of Golgotha many hundreds and thousands of times. The Father’s body is wounded, and on Him are the marks of many beatings unjustly suffered.

Who caused all this suffering to the Father? He suffered because of pitiful humanity. Whenever we think about this, we should feel deeply sorry and repentful. When we call Him, we should have the mind-set, “A sinner like me can never erase the sufferings of the Father, even if I die many thousands of times. A sinner like me can never wipe the tears of the Father, no matter how many thousands of times I were to die.” Have you ever called out to Him with such a heart? If you have not, then you should repent deeply.

The Meaning of the Verse “Bear Your Cross and Follow Me.”

We fear the day of judgment and want to avoid it. Jesus proclaimed, “Love me more than you love anyone else in the world. Bear the cross and follow me.” This is the first iron-clad rule. This is the most central message in the Bible and the Gospel. Only when you can say that you have substantially lived through history, experiencing the sorrow and pain of history as your own, can you stand before the judgment of God and Jesus who have been working throughout history.

Many believers today believe that on the judgment day the Lord will come and host an elaborate celebration of marriage in Heaven, in the world of glory. They are sure they will be invited. That is ridiculous. What if that does not happen? Those people will hold a grudge against God and oppose Christ when he returns.

We who are standing before the Father are the descendants of the lineage which was ruined by sinfulness in history. For this reason, even if we were trampled upon thousands of times, we should still feel humble before the toils and sorrow of God, who mourns together with history. However, because the Father’s will is to push forward the providence of salvation, we have no choice but to depend on God’s desire to seek us and say, “If it is possible, please have compassion toward us.” If one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven without this kind of mind-set, then anyone can enter it. Nevertheless, that is not how the Kingdom is.

We who should stand before the judgment today should proclaim that God lives amidst infinite sorrow, and we should reveal the course that God has passed through in history. What is the grief of God and Jesus? It is the fact that although they are true and right, they are framed to be false and pretentious. There cannot be greater sorrow than this. What is the anguish of Jesus? It is the fact that he was blocked from walking the path to find his own children and his beloved bride. There can be no greater anguish than this. Finding one’s own sons and daughters requires a path which climbs over Calvary; hence, on this earth there remain both the Golgotha of Jesus’ day and the untrodden path to Golgotha on the world level.

People today understand the Second Advent as waiting for the glory of the Lord who comes to represent the glory of Heaven. However, do not expect to meet the resurrected Christ without the proper preparation. Before the resurrected Christ appears, you should remain alive and be able to climb over the hill of Golgotha on the world level, the crossroads where you have to put your mind and body as well as your life at stake. Then you should pray, “Father, do not do as I will, but as Thou will.” This is why it is written that in the Last Days there will be seven years of great chaos. Those who persevere to the end will be saved.

The person who can participate in the joyful garden of the Lord as his bride is the victorious prince who overcame the pain of the six-thousand-year history. He is the prince of sorrow who can represent humanity in embracing the heart of sorrow. The Lord desires to receive such people as his brides.

In our path to grace, we must deny the elements of joy. Why? God has never had a happy moment. He was never a master over all the things that He created, and He was robbed by Satan of Adam and Eve, to whom He wanted to give His blessing and build a happy family. This is why Heaven and earth are filled with grief. How piercing God’s sorrow must have been when He saw that everything He should rule over was lost to Satan’s dominion, and His children and all of His creation were violated. Nevertheless, because there is no one to whom God can express His grief, He has been burning inside throughout the long history and has continually suffered pain. Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever deeply reflected upon this?

The Path that the Members of the Unification Church Should Walk

You members of the Unification Church are pitiful people. However, if you can hear the voices which Jesus or God heard during the two thousand and the six thousand years, you should be grateful. If you shed tears before the people, and if your heart aches when you behold humanity, you should be grateful. If your eyes overflow with tears in looking at humanity and you are lost in thought as to how to solve humanity’s problems, you should be grateful. If you do not have enough to eat, and even when you do your throat is blocked by grief, you are truly blessed. Even when you have a difficult personal situation yet choose to remain quiet, you are truly blessed. Do you feel indignant that you cannot engage in a fierce battle with Satan even if you have hands that can take him on in a fight? Be grateful. Do you have a sorrowful heart which is patiently waiting for the one day, even if you can make brave steps forward before the expanding forces of Satan? Be grateful.

God is not found in a faraway place. When you think that God is far away, He is near you. When you feel that He is close to you, He is far away. For those who boasted that Heaven stood close to them, God was actually far away. Those who were sorry that they were far away from God did not know that God was standing next to them.

Do not grieve that your suffering is intensifying; do not mourn that you are faced with persecution. You should be able to say, “Please allow me to shoulder the sorrow that afflicts the Father’s heart. Please let me shoulder the anguish that pierces the Father’s heart. If I were ever to be falsely accused by Satan or be wronged by him, please allow me to take this by myself and pay indemnity for all the sorrows and pains of history.” If there are sons and daughters who can call out to the Father like this and struggle with all their strength and with tearful hearts, the Father will grab them. He will do so without fail.

We do not seek glory. If there is any glory, it belongs to the Father. Sorrow and pain are all that belong to us. We should prepare our minds to digest these sorrows and pains as sources of life. You should feel embarrassed and unworthy when God says, “My child” and embraces you. Then, on the day of judgment, the day that a proclamation will be made before the sad and painful history, God’s hands will seek you out even as you kneel down, unable to raise your head.

We should long for the Kingdom of Heaven while we are in a sad situation and living a painful life. We should comfort the sorrowful Lord in mournful history, comfort the Lord of suffering in painful history. If there is someone who praises God and comforts Him even as he himself suffers sorrow and pain, no one can defeat that person. This is our standard. This is the path that the members of the Unification movement should walk.

We do not need many people. We do not need great multitudes. We need people who can say, “Father, I am not the only one suffering. Humanity is suffering all over the world. How many countless people are more miserable than I,” even in grief and pain. We need people who can then strive to shoulder humanity’s grief as their own responsibility. This was the path Jesus walked.

Heaven has sought true sons and daughters. When you call out “Father” while you are holding the Father’s hands and say, “His hands are similar to mine,” or while you are looking at the Father you say, “His situation is similar to mine; His heartaches and worries are similar to what I suffered in the past,” your words will eliminate all the misfortunes of history and become the decisive condition for happiness. We the members of the Unification movement, Christians, and all faithful people in the world and in Heaven should understand this.

I do not know your circumstances or your states of mind, but if you feel something deep in your heart right now, that feeling is not false. If you feel, “That is true; that is how it should be,” then you should make a determination for your life based on that. You should fight based on that and fall down clinging to it. Those who do so will be qualified to become true sons and daughters of the Father who wants to embrace you in the day of judgment.

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Chapter 5: Inside God’s Stadium

August 9, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
I Corinthians 9:14-27

Prayer

Father, Your sons and daughters have gathered here today. Many flocks of sheep have come to uphold the unfinished providential will and receive Your words of command. We have come before You as some of these people. Father, please have compassion on us as we stand or sit here.

If we have some individual concepts or ideas centered on our own selves, please remove them all. Our fate is to be created again and we have not yet alleviated the grief of the Fall. Hence, even if we possess something which we can proudly present to Heaven, it has no value as an ideal before the Father.

No matter how much we try to come up with excuses before Heaven and assert our own difficulties, we know that none of that can compare with the infinite goodness and toil of the Father.

We have learned that we did not become what we are based on our own efforts alone. We are not just ourselves. Please allow this to be an hour when we can long for our original selves and fathom our original hearts; an hour when we can bow our heads before our original Lord.

We know deep in our hearts that there is an absolute master of the entire universe. When we understand that this master is constraining our every action, please let us feel that this relationship has a clear purpose and that our fate is to live through an environment of being constrained by this purpose.

We yearn for the glorious presence of the Father and have come before the Father’s knees. Yet those who gathered here do not know where their heart is directed or where their heart is guiding them. Please guide them to the direction where their original selves can rejoice with Heaven. Even though we may be shameful and unworthy, please allow us to look upon You in this hour with a longing heart and to bow our heads before You. If we still feel embarrassed and extend our shameful hands out toward You and call out to You, please promise us that You will hold those hands.

We want to bow while clinging to the Father’s heart. We want to enter into a relationship with You. There is nothing else we want. No matter how glittering the treasures of Heaven may be, no matter what kind of glory may be found there, we do not want it. All we want is the promise that we can remain connected to the Father’s heart and live together with You. Hoping that such things can be the signs of glory which we can take pride in for eternity, we have prostrated ourselves before You. Even if we are unworthy in some ways, please forgive us. Father, we sincerely wish that You will cultivate our hearts as You desire and secure an inseparable parent-child relationship with us.

Although many people are calling for You, they do not understand the Father’s situation or heart. We do not want to become like them. Among us there are those who are like Your sons, those who are like Your adopted sons, and those who are Your true sons. We have no desire to be Your sons or adopted sons. We want to be Your direct children, the children who have inherited Your flesh and blood, who can live with the Father for eternity and never fade away from Your heart. We want to possess an undeniable eternal relationship of flesh and blood with You.

We know that to become these kinds of sons and daughters we must feel that the anguish the Father has suffered is our own anguish; the sorrow the Father feels is our own sorrow; the grief the Father feels is our own grief; the responsibilities that the Father has to fulfill are our own responsibilities. Please guide us to become this kind of children.

Father, I stand here, yet what words should I convey? Even though we may want to become the Father’s sons and daughters, if we cannot sense that You are now trying to help us experience Your heart as our own reality and that You desire to build a relationship with us, no matter how profound the words I convey, our relationship with You can never be completed. Hence, please let this be an hour when we can become connected to the Father’s heart; otherwise, we can never penetrate through the Father’s heart or have the experience of clinging to the Father’s body.

Please let the speaker’s heart be in harmony with the Father’s heart. Let the hearts of the listeners reflect the heart of the Father so that our moments of give and take may be an hour of glory. We know that You are driving us down this path for a certain purpose. This path is our ultimate fate, which we cannot avoid. Please let our determinations and actions become conditions of glory. Please allow us to be offered to the Father as sacrifices. Please raise us up as sacrifices who can be offered to the Father. Please do not let Satan find room to invade during this hour. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

It is written in I Corinthians 9:24: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” Centering on these words, I would like to speak to you briefly upon the topic “Inside God’s Stadium.”

Human Beings Are Racers in the Stadium of the Providence of Restoration

As it was for the many saints in history, the people in the present era are dashing toward some unknown purpose in their lives. Although that purpose may not be clearly defined, their way of life has unfolded in various ways based upon it. The experience and form of the people and history have unfolded in various forms. All of these outcomes are not unrelated. We have to understand that there is some relationship which underpins their experience in this world, and that they are moving toward a certain purpose. If their actions and experiences are not rooted in such a relationship and purpose, then there is no way to establish the existence of God or any such being.

If God exists, He would surely try to forge a relationship with fallen humanity. For this reason, it cannot be denied that we who are moving toward a certain purpose are living inside the sphere of this relationship.

We know that we could not forge a relationship of goodness with God due to the Fall. Rather, we entered into a relationship of evil with Satan. Still, God does not want to abandon us, but is trying to restore us. We know that God and humanity have been walking an incredibly difficult course in order to restore humanity.

History is headed toward the one time when this purpose can be fulfilled. For this reason, you should understand that you are racers who are sprinting toward the purpose based on the standard of your conscience and your daily lives. All those who ever lived have stood on the race tracks of God’s providence of restoration.

God has been leading His providence concerning fallen people in various ways. God has been influencing them in various ways according to the differences between the people, differences between their prevailing ideologies and cultures. In the process, God has been fighting on humanity’s side to destroy evil until the moment His purpose is accomplished, the moment the race comes to an end.

If we accept that every person stands in the position of a racer, we are faced with the question of what we must do. If we understand how much God has suffered to raise up each one of us, and that we are obliged to stand inside the stadium and run with all our strength, how will Heaven train us and guide us in our race? How will each of us persevere through the tribulations of the race until we reach the destination? This is an important question that every one of us must resolve.

Among the saints and sages of the past, there must have been people who were in charge of one aspect of the whole and who set a certain standard before they died. In other words, these saints and sages did not complete the entire providence of Heaven or the entire race up to the end. Rather, they must have been in charge of various parts of the race and brought them to a conclusion. We should understand that this is how the race is being carried on even now. God made this stadium of restoration. We should understand that we have the inescapable responsibility to risk our lives in the race throughout our entire lifetimes.

Today there are many thoughts and teachings. In the religious world, there are many denominations and sects. Thoughts, philosophies and religions have taken various forms depending upon the uniqueness of the people they were established for. Such thoughts and religions should have developed into an ideology and religion which contains the entire content of God’s providence. Yet they failed to achieve that. All merely remained as thoughts and religions which were narrowly applicable to one nation or one era. We have to understand clearly that they were no more than parts of God’s race; the religions and ideologies were responsible for only partial missions.

The Structure of the Race and the Day the Awards Are Given

In a stadium, they may hold a one-hundred-meter race, a five-thousand-meter race, a ten-thousand meter race, or a marathon. What kind of race would you be responsible for as racers who have entered the race tracks of God, who is guiding the providence of restoration? How can you find a place in the history of the universe? This is a crucial question. Even if there are differences in your values and character, God certainly wishes ardently that you will fulfill your responsibility in the event that you are responsible for in the race, and that you will establish the standard God wants. Since you have entered the race tracks, you should give all your heart and soul to the race. We should understand which event of the race we are to accomplish through our life and finally stand before Heaven.

Although God has guided the providence for six thousand years, when you look at the entire course, there are still some events in God’s overall race that have not been completed yet. The competition is still going on. The race will go on today and tomorrow. When the entire race comes to an end, God will give awards in each event to all humanity, all the people who ran in the race in the past and all those who will have raced by the day of the conclusion. When is the day the awards are given out? If we use Christian terminology, it is the judgment day. The judgment day is the day the awards will be given out. If we use the terminology used frequently in our era, it may also be referred to as the Last Days.

The important question is whether or not you will have established the victorious standard so that you can receive an award in an event. This is an issue that you will have to deeply reflect upon. There are many ways of racing. Although you are supposed to enter the stadium and race on the marked course, there will be many who disregard the race course. There may be those who run on the marked course but who collapse in the middle of the race. There will be those who run until the finish line but will not be able to receive awards. The number of people who will receive awards is limited. We have to understand this.

Although God guided the providence for six thousand years. He could not give an award even to one racer. For this reason, spirits in Heaven and people on the earth all wish for the day God can appear before humanity and give awards to the many racers who ran in each event of the race. This is the Last Days. You should understand this.

The Attitude a Racer Should Have

We are to run this race. Since we have to go, how should we run? We need to make certain preparations before we enter the stadium. What kind of preparations? We need to make internal preparations and external preparations. Internally, we should have some conviction that we are running toward a certain purpose. We are to run the course according to the commands we receive. If we run into a hurdle in our race course, we should have the conviction to jump over it. We need to make internal preparations so that we can run toward the right purpose based on our conviction.

In other words, by training our minds and bodies, we need to cultivate the determination that we will not fall down before we reach the final destination and that we will not lose to anyone but will stand as the final victors. We need to have such a strong conviction that even if our bodies were to run into some obstacles as we are racing toward our destination, we should be able to push that aside and continue on our race.

Many people are living on the earth today. Yet how many of them are ready to stand firm as a racer and start running toward the certain destination? If we cannot deny that we are under the control of this trend in history, based on both our words and the reality we face, we should then ask ourselves whether or not we have prepared ourselves properly as racers who can run towards the destination with aspirations to victory. You have not made the preparations yet.

Human beings are born to belong in a certain field or sphere. Those who do not have a position and circumstance where they can dwell are pitiful. Those who do not have the clear idea that they are on a certain course running toward a certain purpose are pitiful. Most of us are like that.

What we need here is the time to make the internal and external preparations to train our minds and bodies with determination and purposefulness that we may triumph in the battle against many enemies. If there is anyone here who has not had such a moment, he should examine himself closely.

What kind of internal preparation do we need to make? It must not be preparation for your own individual sake. Isn’t this so? Suppose there is a marathon athlete who represents a nation. When he runs the race, if he has the conviction that he should glorify his people and his nation before the world rather than to obtain glory for himself, he will be able to overcome all difficulties. However, if he is running only for the sake of his own glory and personal ends, he will easily give up the moment he runs into tribulations.

Our conviction must not be centered on ourselves. We should have conviction for the sake of the people, for the sake of the world, and for the sake of Heaven and earth. If the runner is certain that he will determine the final victory of the universe, even if he were to collapse, he would have the strength to get up and continue running. If he runs for his own sake, the moment he encounters a difficulty that exceeds any difficulty he has otherwise experienced, he will collapse. When the difficulty exceeds the self-centered desire he has, he will be defeated.

This is the reason we need to train our minds and bodies to the conviction that we are running for the purpose and mission of Heaven and earth. People live for the sake of God and goodness, but thoughtlessly. Goodness is transcending the restricted environment. Goodness is not limited. Goodness exists beyond the boundaries of limits and constraints. Therefore, people live for such purposes without clear understanding or deep thought.

To Become a Winner in the Stadium

We cannot be haphazard. We should have a clear notion of being a winner in a certain event in the race. You have to approach the starting point with such a firm conviction and begin the race. The sages of the past did not teach people about specific fields of work. They did not teach us what we must do to become successful in a certain field. They instructed us on the path we should walk in our life, the path for our minds, our spirits, and for our life.

The path for our thoughts and life does not belong to any one of us alone. It is the common path in any era and is designed according to a certain formula. On it hangs the fate of many generations and human history. We should long for the citizens of Heaven who can fight on this path and bring victory.

If you do it unselfishly, the day you fulfill the purpose is the day that Heaven and earth can rejoice. When a racer representing his people wins in his event, it is tantamount to the victory of all his people. Even if that event is a small one, its value and glory will have an impact on everyone. For this reason, now you need the one day when you can develop this kind of internal conviction, when you can strengthen your conviction and value in order to attain a certain purpose under a certain standard. However, until today you did not have these kinds of thoughts or feelings.

Since we are already racing, we will either end up as winners or losers. To become winners, we need to have a strategy. Internally, we need to have the conviction that we will win, and an unswerving heart fixed on a purpose. Externally, we need to make preparations to facilitate the race. Those who are entering a race should be simple and innocent. We have to prepare our bodies so that they will respond quickly to the direction our minds give. This is why we need training.

The stadium, however, is not built to make it easy for us to run freely toward our purpose. There are many obstacles on the race tracks. Each of these obstacles represent the failures of our ancestors. No matter how proud and determined a racer may be, he may fall down before those obstacles. On our path lie the obstacles which our ancestors could not overcome and fell over. Therefore, as much as possible, we should maintain a simple attitude, so that when our hearts guide us, our bodies can respond quickly and in full harmony. We should train our bodies in this way.

Training cannot be done in a comfortable position. It is achieved when you are being treated harshly. To continue this kind of internal training, you need to harden your bodies so that even if you are attacked internally, you can make a breakthrough and move beyond it. Your internal determination must not change. Even if you run into tribulations which afflict your body, you must not be defeated. Hence, Heaven instructed those who seek the religious way to abandon everything they possess and follow. When Jesus called upon Peter, who was mending his fishing nets, he told him to abandon all and follow him.

There is a rationale behind meditating in the mountains in order to seek enlightenment. We are to cultivate external determination based on our internal determination, and the confidence that we will not deviate from our course, no matter what kind of obstacles we run into. Even if we fall to the bottom, we will support our minds and bodies. Without these convictions, there is no way we can run the race or even enter the stadium. Since each one of us is a racer who should be responsible for an event in the race, we should train ourselves with unchanging conviction in order to accomplish our purpose. Therefore, you must have the attitude of a devout believer, the attitude of a racer who is running the race, and the attitude of a person walking the path of enlightenment. Whether you are awake or asleep, you should have a burning desire to accomplish your purpose.

Among the people who have gathered here there must be those who thoughtlessly believe that they can enter the Kingdom of Heaven just by believing in Jesus. What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? It is composed of various groups of people who have successfully qualified in some event in the race. You should not blindly think that you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven just by believing in Jesus. Of course, there are areas that God will help you in, but there are also areas which require you to fulfill your responsibilities. To prepare for the race, you should make both internal and external preparations. Next, as a racer, you should understand thoroughly about the course that you will be competing on. You should know clearly where you will find what kind of obstacles, and so on. What you then must understand is that although many people have run on the course in the past, all of them failed. They did not win in their races. They quit in the middle of the course.

What a Racer Should Understand

The same principles apply to the path of religion. Since the birth of history, no one among all those who walked the path of religion and those who went before God in the name of religion were able to receive the award of God, proclaiming Him the ultimate victor. The race is still going on. The purpose of our race is to connect to the universe, which is the ultimate purpose of the race over which God presides. For this reason, no matter how small our own race may be, we should persist until the moment we can become connected to the universe. If there is someone who won the hundred-meter event at one particular time, that alone will not qualify him as a winner. He must maintain the value and glory of his victory until the Last Days.

We who stand in the stadium should know the stories of the many people who fell down on each obstacle of the course. We should know under what circumstances they fell and how they fell and how they were defeated in their fight.

Until now, people have been racing toward an unclear destination, but we in the present age should not run such an aimless race. Since we are running the race, we should understand every detail of the race course clearly.

We know that to run on the course of God’s providence we must pass through the course of restoration. What must we do? We have come forward as racers seeking to find God. Where should we begin? We should begin from Adam’s family. Where is the starting point for human beings? It is Adam’s family. We have been running the race from that point. From that point, God and humanity have run the race together for six thousand years until today. Yet the race is not over. It is still going on.

What must you do? You should inherit the tradition and spirit of our ancestors. We should understand where we belong. Isn’t this true? You should understand which race you are running, to which group you belong, and what role you are to play. Only then can you be the winner of the award. You should understand that all racers belong to certain spheres based on the historical spiritual tradition they associate with. You should understand which event you are participating in. You should understand who in the past set the record and who in the past failed. After knowing all these good and bad conditions, you should be prepared to deal with all the bad effects of the conditions.

In the course of our life, many enemies have placed obstacles in our path and are blocking our way. The obstacles they placed are not visible; they are invisible. They are the very obstacles that many saints of history could not overcome. You should have an understanding of the past and knowledge of where the hurdles lie. We should understand history for this reason. We must understand the past, the present and the future. This is the essential knowledge that racers should have. In the middle of your race, you cannot be sure that the sponsors of the race will not change the courses designed under a certain purpose. Hence, you should understand the historical course of the saints of the past, the stories of their battles on the course, the present situation of our battle, and the plans by which the future battles will be fought. Only when you understand all this can you become the ultimate victor.

However, if we examine closely the lives of religious people today, they do not know how God has been working in history. They do not know God’s program and plans, based upon which He is carrying out His work in the present. How can we call these people racers? You should understand clearly. In the six-thousand-year history, God guided the events of the race toward a certain direction. There is a central thrust. This is what we must understand. God has been working with a uniform program and purpose from the time of the first human ancestors to the last days of humanity.

Religions Which Can Act on Behalf of God’s Providence

If you sense that you are a racer running throughout the rest of your life and desire to be a winner, you will have to find a historical religion. You will have to find a religion of this period and a religion of the future. These are the only religions which people can believe in and never despair.

Although there have been many religious people in the past, their life span could not surpass a century. Based on this, it is clear that God has been working in the background without people’s being aware of it. God began His providence from the day human beings fell and will continue even in the future. If there is a religion which can represent God’s providential work, what kind of religion would it be? It is a religion which has made a contribution in history and which has a relationship with the beginnings of human history. It must be a religion which discusses the origins of good and evil and which can embrace all aspects of history found in human life. It must have the ability to decide the outcome of the battle in the final destination of the future. From this perspective, Christianity today is problematic.

If we are to receive God’s award, it cannot be just because we have been recognized in this age. Many racers of the past dwell in the next world. Countless people who raced on the race track of God’s providence now reside there. Some of them died on the race track, and they have a myriad of stories to tell. If you are qualified to receive an award on behalf of all those people of the past, then you have to have won a victory that no ancestor of the past was able to achieve. You must also have established some condition of victory which can be recognized by the people of this age. The people of the future must also be able to recognize your accomplishments. Only such a person can be awarded by God. Isn’t this true? This is the reason we believe in God. We are racing on the course of our life. We are racing toward the ultimate destination of the Last Days.

What kind of being is God whom we believe in? He is an historical God. He is the God of this age as well as the God of the future. The purpose that God set is also the historical purpose, the purpose of the present, and the purpose of the future.

If this is the nature of the God we believe in and the hope that we cherish in our hearts, we should understand and believe in God as the God of the past, the present and the future. Only then would God be happy when He gives us an award. You have to reach the point where you understand the heart of God who is giving you the award.

Many religions survived for several hundred or several thousand years, during which time they were slowly pushed aside by the trends of thought of each age. Although Christianity has been around for several thousand years, now they have to make another breakthrough for the one time in the future. If there is some race course of God which originates from the deepest part of God, that course must be of the past, the present and the future. For this reason, we should have knowledge of it. If there is a new truth emerging in this age, that truth cannot be limited to this age. You young people should understand this clearly. The truth cannot be limited to an age. Any teaching or idea will fade away if it is limited to an era. What we need is a new truth, a new ideology which is rooted in the entire range of history and which can transcend the philosophical trends of this age.

A Racer Who Can Win the Victory and Rejoice with God

This is because God desires that we rejoice with Him and win the victory with Him. Since God is the God of the past, the present and the future, we should also have the qualities of the past, present and the future and be knowledgeable about them. Otherwise, we will be swept away by trends of thought in the future.

We should understand them more deeply and even understand the heart of the historical God. Members of a family are tied together in complex relationships. Given God’s heart of the past, present and future, we should understand everything about the race that the Father is directing based on this heart and be in tune with the realm of His heart. God’s desire is that we win the race after having done all this, so that we can become those with whom He can be fully satisfied; so that we can worship God and share eternal joy with Him.

Therefore, religion is not built on truth alone. A religious way of life is more than just the truth itself. Teachings and ideologies are built on truth, but religion contains both the truth and the heart. This is the difference. Thoughts and ideologies do not contain the heart. However, religion has a rich inner content similar to the silent love that we find between a parent and a child. There is some content which transcends logic and theories. That is how religion is. But this is not true for doctrines. A doctrine is the fruit of an organization or group. It is not a fruit of the heart.

We today must have knowledge about the course and the situation of this age in order to be prepared properly as racers who are running toward a certain purpose. In order to race forward, we should also understand the future and have a plan. This is the basic knowledge that we racers should have. If there is someone who goes this heavenly course at the risk of his life, with God’s heart of the past, present and future, who understands how much God has suffered to establish and pave this course, he will surely overcome any difficulty he will confront.

Next, we should not lose our fighting spirit as we are racing toward our purpose. No matter how well prepared and knowledgeable our enemy may be, we must have the determination to prevail. We must not lose. The sphere of our actions is the battle field. You should be a brave soldier who is determined to prevail over anything on earth and never submit, even if God were to strike you. This is how I see it.

The Religious Path Is Fraught with Tests

When you walk the religious path, you will meet with many tests. When you are running on the race track, besides the physical fatigue that you suffer, you will confront many unexpected tests. Many evil spirits, invisible to the naked eye, will test us. When that phase is over, the angels will test us. After that phase, the religious people and the founders of religions will test you. If you believe in Jesus, Jesus will test you. At first he will try to guide you, but at the end he will test you. God will also guide you in the beginning, but will test you at the end when He is about to give you an award. This is how it is. This is because human beings betrayed God. Although God created the universe as an award to be given to human beings, because they betrayed Him, we must pass through a test in order to restore the universe. God wants to give it to us without a test, but because there is a condition which requires that we be tested, we have to pass through it. God will abandon you like He abandoned Jesus, which led Jesus to say on the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46)

While you are running the race as a brave soldier, you will experience a battle between your mind and body. It is not enough to deal with this merely with determination. When you are racing, the battle between your mind and body will be manifested in a complex manner. You will experience deep in your heart the internal anguish that God suffered in his fight with Satan during the many difficult moments in the six-thousand-year course. Such internal and external pains will be manifested in your life.

You are not just to run forward; you are to be engaged in the internal and external battles and at the same time overcome God’s tests. To be victorious in your life, you must win this fight. That is what you have to do for sure. Why? Although six thousand years of history have gone by, no one has scored the goal. Although many were determined to reach the end, no one reached the finish line.

The Reason Christ Returns

You may believe that Jesus resides in the Kingdom of Heaven, but he actually resides in Paradise. Jesus said that he was going to Paradise. Paradise is the waiting room before one enters the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is returning to go past the gates of Paradise and open up the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven. Since he could not complete this work on the earth, he will run the race again and score the goal at the finish line.

Therefore, the race we are running is the final course. It has the name of faith. It may be compared to a marathon. It is the most glorious of all races. Religion is the event that deserves the throne of the king of all races. How must we who have entered this race run? It is not enough to run the race relying on our determination alone. You have to understand that there are many battles which have piled up here. The world is pulling our bodies. Isn’t this so? In our religious life, we sense that the world is pulling our bodies, while the teachings are pulling our minds. Where is the goal? It is not clear. On the path that we walk, many enemies are shooting arrows at us from all kinds of hidden places. Moreover, Jesus and God in whom we believe will not recognize you in the Last Days. This will take place one day.

As brave soldiers, what determination should we make? The moment we decide that the goal of the path we are racing on is the right one, we should make the determination to pursue it at the risk of our lives. Only then can we win the course. If we are to fail, we should be determined to fail most tragically. If we are to die, we should be determined to die most miserably. If we are to suffer, we should be determined to suffer most severely. We should be determined to suffer more than God has suffered.

To Become Sons and Daughters of Whom God Can Be Proud

Ladies and gentlemen, let us examine the reality we face today. We the members of the Unification Church are running toward a certain goal which has been described to us. Life in the race is a battle, and in a battle we push and pull our bodies. The concept of faith that we have held up until now is pulling us forward. This is where the enemies are coming in. When this is over, God will break in. He will ask you, “Are you My children? Are you confident?” Wouldn’t this be true? If He were to ask you, “What victory did you bring?” you should be able to say, “I won in this and that field.” If God then asks you, “Is that true?” you should be able to present Him with some accomplishments. Teachers test their students before they entrust them with a responsibility.

We should understand that we are the brave soldiers and racers who are running throughout the course of our lives and who will remain until the end. We should understand that we are the elite troop of Heaven and make a determination as such. If someone strikes your body, you should be able to say, “Strike me if you like. Strike me with any ideology or thought. I welcome any persecution. I welcome it, even if the nation, world and Heaven join forces and strike me.” Even if God were to oppose you, you should be able to say, “Oppose me if You want.”

If someone wins the victory in spite of the opposition of the entire universe, he will become a child of God whom God will be proud of eternally. If there is someone about whom God can say, “I submit to you. I have never met anyone like you since the beginning of the course of the providence of restoration, when I began to search for people.” Everyone will surrender to that person. This is true for any fight, even a life and death struggle. I say this based upon my own experience.

If there is a racer who is running on the ultimate path of religion in the last days, a racer who is running with the hope of attaining the ultimate victory, he will have to make a determination. The founder of the religion he believes in is not the savior. He should understand that eventually he needs to fight the battle based on his own ability. Why? It is because the providence of restoration has not come to an end. As long as there still remains an event in God’s stadium which has not been concluded, the battle will continue on until all the races have come to an end and God has given His awards.

The Providential Representative God Desires to Raise Up

Although Jesus worked to fulfill the mission of the Messiah who was to win in this stadium and represent the four-thousand-year history, Christians did not fulfill their responsibility. They were to receive the Messiah’s baton of victory and glorify the two-thousand-year history from Jesus’ time until now. Although Christianity established its form after the death of Jesus, it failed to complete its victorious foundation in the realm of the heart and in other areas. The standard of victory has never emerged.

You should endure Jesus’ and God’s opposition and gain their recognition so that they can raise their hands and bless you. To do so, you should overcome any obstacle. Isn’t that true? If it is, what kind of providential representative does God want to raise up in His providence of restoration? God will want to find victorious sons and daughters to whom God and Satan will surrender. He will want to praise them before the satanic world and in Heaven. If that is what human beings desire, God’s desire must also be similar.

We the members of the Unification Church who are walking the path of truth today will face God’s test in the end. He will say, “Do not walk this path.” Even then, there must be someone among you who says, “I will go. I will die running the race.” If there is no such person, words of truth which surpass the Bible will not emerge. Words which surpass what Jesus left behind when he died will not emerge. Words of truth which surpass what God wanted to speak after the coming of Jesus will not appear.

When we are running this course, we should have the conviction, “Let there be a cross heavier than the one that Jesus bore; let there be suffering, sorrow and pain like God suffered during the six-thousand-year course of the providence. Let the 2.7 billion people of this world be mobilized and shoot arrows at me all at once. Let the humanity of the entire world be mobilized, since both God’s providence and Satan’s opposition are carried out through human beings. I will go to the end of hell and the highest place of the Kingdom of Heaven.” If, after opposing and affirming in your mind you decide that this is the right path, you should begin to run. Once you run, no one should be able to stop you. No matter what comes your way, you are to break through and go forward. Only then can you safely cross over the hill which has been blocked for six thousand years.

Members of the Unification Church, God is longing for brave people who can come and say, “Let us give it a try.” Only then can the will be accomplished. If there are sons and daughters of God who are knowledgeable, have firm determination and are determined to fight, God will not ignore them. What will Heaven do? If you bring hope for the future and say, “Father, isn’t this so? Isn’t this how Your heart is? Isn’t this how the Father’s hope of the past, the present, and hope of the future is? Since this should not be done at present, shouldn’t you ignore this and do this and that?” Then no matter who opposes you, God will say in recognition, “Yes, you are right.”

The Awards the Winners Are to Receive

Many sages of the past and the Savior we believe in were sent by God to pioneer the world of that time and the world of the future. For this reason, if anyone were to come before Jesus and protest about the things that Jesus wanted to share about the future, Jesus would be grateful. If someone were to highlight the providence of the future and ignore the things of the present, saying, “God! Shouldn’t you do this quickly? Shouldn’t you do this rather than doing that?” God would not be able to strike him. In fact, he would commend him instead.

All that we have to do is to go forward with this determined fighting spirit. If God were then to recognize you, what kind of award would you receive? When you become a winner of some competition even in this world, the sponsor will give you an appropriate award. What will God give as an award to those who win the final victory in the six-thousand-year long race? Ladies and gentlemen, when you win an award in a competition, don’t you feel good? But isn’t that joy only temporary? After some time passes, another person will win in the same race and win an award, separate from your own competition. However, in God’s races, there will not be a second person who scores the goal at the final finish line. There will be no one before and no one after. If it comes to an end, it comes to an end for eternity.

The joy of receiving an award in the final race will last beyond just today. It will be eternal. You may in fact see better things unfolding before you, but you will never fall lower. What glory will Heaven give to those winners? God will give them the glory of being God’s sons and daughters. He will bestow upon them all the authority of Heaven and earth. If there is a palace in Heaven, He will allow them to live in it as Heaven’s royal family. He will give them eternal and unlimited
awards.

If there are such victorious sons and daughters, God will mobilize all of Heaven, which He has prepared for six thousand years, and hold a welcoming celebration. This celebration will not come to an end in one day. It will continue for eternity. That world is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. For this reason, you must become one of the racers, racing with this idea in mind.

The Group Who Can Win

There are many religions today. There are many religious sects today: Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, etc. There are many tracks in the stadium. However, Heaven decides the specific track. It has been determined which event will be held on which track. It is an unfortunate reality that human beings are directed by a certain religious sect or denomination or some person. This is because human beings fell.

You must participate in God’s race one way or another. You will have to run in one event. Yet you belong to different nations. The races that God wants are not to be divided among nations. They are international. In other words, they are like the Olympic games. Into that stadium, all the representatives of each nation will come. They all enter the stadium and run. The same thing can be said of God’s providence of restoration. For this reason, Heaven has been working to find the winners of the marathon race on the world level. Religion may be compared to marathons, whichoccupy the most prestigious position among all the races.

Not all religions are good. Only when the tradition is properly set will a good religion emerge. Then there must arise common knowledge based upon that. If one lacks knowledge about that, no matter how much one may have prepared, there is no way he can become the winner. It cannot be taught. He will never win, because he does not have a clear sense of purpose.

Therefore, you should prepare your minds and bodies and develop knowledge, so that even if all of Heaven and earth were to be mobilized in opposition against you on the battle field, you would not surrender but overcome it. You should fight on with this kind of conviction. Only then can you participate in the group who will win in the final course.

Prayer

Our ancestors ran the race. Adam was responsible for one event in God’s race, but while he was running it, he collapsed because he upheld himself. Ham, who should have attended Noah with the heart of attending Heaven, failed. Because of this, Noah also fell down mid-course. Abraham should have revered both small and large with an equally sincerely heart and established their relative value, but because he could not accomplish it, he also was broken.

When we examine the course of Moses, we find that the Israelites and Moses both fell. Moses should not have shown anger before God was angry. The Israelites should not have despaired before Heaven despaired. Yet Moses struck the rock twice in rage before God showed any anger, and the Israelites lost their faith in God. For these reasons they all fell down in the wilderness.

When we examine Jesus’ time, what about the betrayal of the three disciples? Although they should have risked their lives and walked the course, they did not want to go. They disappeared out of fear for their lives. The miserable failure of the three disciples has become the tower of humanity’s grief.

We have learned today through the principle of restoration that the path the saints of the past walked is none other than the path we should walk. We know that what was begun in Adam’s family passed through many obstacles in history. Only in Jesus’ time, when Jesus said, “Father, do not as I will, but as Thou will,” did a winner emerge who fought at the risk of his life. Now we have come to understand that if we do not follow his example, we cannot run the race in the stadium.

Father, we have come to understand the content of the restoration. We have come to understand what our determination should be as we set out to engage ourselves in restoration and how fierce the battle is. Please protect us on these race tracks, that we will not fall as losers. We have pledged before Heaven and earth. Even if we are to face death, no matter what kind of difficulties and pain are to rush against us, even if all of humanity were to oppose us like a thunderstorm, and even if Heaven and earth were to change, please let our center remain unchanged and let us overcome all difficulties. Let us cast away the dark clouds and become victorious and glorious sons and daughters who can look up to the joyful grace of Heaven in a bright Heaven and earth.

Please have compassion on those of us who have gathered here today. Since we have already entered the race, even though some are running and some are unable to run, please govern them so that they will not escape from this fateful course they must run after repentance. Please guide us to welcome the tribulations and afflictions that come our way and to digest them so that we can establish conditions of pride and glory before the Father. Let us become worthy people who can use them as conditions of sacrifice.

We understand the great work which has been hidden deep inside the heart of the Father, who has desired to give awards for six thousand years. Based on this, Jesus said that he was the bridegroom and that we are the brides; that he is our true father and we are his true children, true family, true nation, and true world. However, today we do not have a family, a people or a country. We do not have anything adequately prepared. What hesitation and reluctance can we have before our parent, who is trying to restore everything? What hesitation and reluctance can we have before the heavenly family and the heavenly nation? We should pour out all of our determination and unswerving zeal to run the race without stopping and conquer the enemy camp. We should raise the flag of God’s victory and say, “Father, please be liberated from all Your grief.”

We have learned that to accomplish this we have to overcome any difficulty and win in the fight. Please protect us so that we will not fail as racers in our life. Please guide us not to lose the original ideal that the Father established and not to cause anguish to the Father’s heart.

Please allow us to become children of Heaven who can risk our lives each day and run the race bravely. Please do not let us lose the race. Praying that You will allow us to become final victors in God’s races and become precious sons and daughters who can glorify the Father before the entire universe and all things of creation, we prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 6: What Belongs to the Father Belongs to Me

August 30, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
John 14:11
I Corinthian 13:1-13

Prayer

We do not want to believe in a Father of words. We want to believe in the Father who has been building a relationship with humankind throughout history. We seek the Father who can have a direct relationship with us now; the Father who can give us the words of truth directly.

Humanity today believes in God as an object. Yet today we do not seek God as a mere object of faith. We want a God who is our living and substantial subject partner, who can connect to our situations and lives, a Father who can never be separated from us and with whom we can spend time. Both God and humanity desire the moment that such a relationship is realized on the earth.

Although we may think that the garden of hope of the Father’s desires is a concept and an ideal, that is not true. We know that the time has come when we should have a concept of the Kingdom of Heaven as a realm we can enter, which we can feel through our actions and through our concrete senses, a realm which we can sing of with real emotion.

We know that the purpose of the providence of salvation, the history of restoration and salvation through the cross all were to build such a relationship. Please let today be a moment when we can call You our true Father and recognize without shame that we are Your true sons and daughters. In that state, let us sing, rejoice and listen to the words. Father, this is our sincere wish.

Although we have learned a considerable amount about the Father of history and the Father of words, we long for the Father whom we can testify to through our hearts; the Father we can experience through our bodies; the Father who can work the miracle of elevating our own words to be the very words of the Father. We long for the Father who can be together with us. Please let this be an hour when You arouse concrete feelings in us.

Father, please grant Your grace so that the sons and daughters who are gathered here can be in control of their minds and bodies. They are neither the masters of their minds nor of their bodies. They believe, unconsciously looking to some faraway place with a hopeful glance. We want to have faith in and rely upon some absolute being, yet we have not come to a point where we can be recognized by an absolute being.

We know that this is because we, who are in the position of object partners, are unworthy to receive the grace of the absolute being and absolute subject partner. Therefore, Father, please be our Lord, and put us in the position of Your object partners. Please allow Your truth to become our own beliefs. Please elevate us so that our hearts can be intoxicated in that truth, and we can sing of the all-encompassing love of the Father. In this hour, let there be a miracle which moves our minds, which we experience and is conveyed through our hearts and which unites us.

I am about speak the words, so please be with me. We do not want the words of a human being. We hear enough words from human beings. We have heard the words of many preachers who intone from the pulpit. This is not what we want to hear. We want to hear new words of truth which can bestir a dead life, revive a dead heart, and purify our clouded minds. We want the words of re creation through which we can understand that our Father is the center of our hearts, our wills and our beliefs. We want to sense that we are eternally one with the Father. Please manifest this to us. Let this be a moment when You pour down upon us the sweet rain of grace.

We know that it is the work of Satan to form a gap between the heart of the speaker and the hearts of the listeners. Please guide us to remove any pride of our own accomplishments and recognize that all our accomplishments were done by the Father. Allow us to entrust everything to the Father. Praying that this will be a precious moment when we can receive the compassion of the Father, we prayed all these words in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The title of the sermon I am about to give today is “What Belongs to the Father Belongs to Me.” To expand the scope of this, it becomes “What Belongs to the Father Belongs to Us.” I will speak briefly on this topic.

Human Beings Should Live in Relationship with an Absolute Being

Until now we have thought that we have infinite value. We do not know the nature of our value; we only know that we are valuable. However we feel, that cannot establish our complete value and remain till the end. We cannot confidently and with dignity take pride in ourselves before the great universal reality with the mere feeling that we are valuable.

We cannot deny that because this is the state we find ourselves in, we long for the precious being, the precious one, the relationship of value and the valuable world. We are to seek for these. When we recognize what needs to be done and we look at the great universe, we cannot help but have an intense feeling of emptiness.

Hence, we seek something we can depend upon. We sense deeply through our consciences and in our lives that it is our fate to pursue this. From this standpoint, even if there were no God, we would have to create a fictional absolute being. If we understand that we live in such a situation and that there should be some order in our actions, including our feelings, our rejoicing and singing, and if we reflect upon ourselves as to whether or not we can forge a valuable relationship with that and be happy, we can probably conclude on our own that the answer is negative.

Because this is the miserable situation of human beings, if there were a God, He would have some responsibility to establish a relationship with us. If God is the subject partner of absolute value and the origin of value itself, then we cannot logically deny that if God does nothing to establish that valuable relationship, there is no way to attribute love and other such characteristics to God.

We know that human beings fell. We know that they lost their original position. Human beings lost their original value. We should look at the whole world. If there is a God, then we should call out “Heaven.” If there is an absolute being, we should call out “Absolute Being,” and if there is something which has the form of goodness, we should appeal to it to manifest itself in concrete form. We should ardently long for such an absolute being, a God, or being of goodness.

Because Heaven understands the situation human beings are in, He has not hesitated to exert Himself to the utmost and sacrifice Himself to recover us. He did not hesitate to exhaust Himself in clinging to humanity. He has been searching for the value of the whole and of the ideal. If we accept this, we should have a humble heart. Pressing our hands together, we should bow before Him.

When we fathom this movement of the whole, the flow of history and the sway of our hearts, we find that even if we are not aware of it, some force has been pulling us and prodding us in the background of history and in the depth of our hearts. We have to understand that some force deep inside our hearts prods us to pursue some value. We should not ignore this as a coincidence or phenomenon, because it stems from an inseparable relationship inside each one of us. When we decipher this relationship and examine its value, we find that therein lies something which is connected to God, the epitome of goodness. This relationship has to be built.

Human Beings Are Destined to Become Princes of Faith, Hope and Love

Heaven has been toiling until today and persevering through all sufferings behind the scenes in order to give human beings absolute value. God has no choice but to continue this work, even beyond today. When we come to understand this, our heads bow in humility and awe every time we think about Heavenly Father.

For this reason, God has proclaimed words of truth which humanity does not even understand. God told us just to believe in Him, even though His will was to establish religions and build profound relationships with us. The contents of His proclamations were not clearly defined. God commanded us to look to Him. He also told us to love Him. Although we do not know the nature of the relationship and its specific content, through our experience we come to reaffirm that we are inseparably connected to something in the world of the heart. Human beings have depended on and believed in these vague words of truth; they have longed for them and loved them. People of faith were felled as they held true to their beliefs, adhering to their hope and love. Countless people were felled in their life of devotion. Those who died as they adhered to their belief in God surpass the patriots and heroes of a country many thousands of times over. Many have died keeping their hope or love. Among them, however, no one has been hailed as a prince of faith, a prince of hope, a prince of love.

When we reflect upon the six-thousand-year history, we find that there were many who fell while they were aspiring to become victorious in their faith, yet there was no one who was revered by humanity as a great prince of faith. Similarly, we find that although there were many who searched for the foundation of hope, no one was ever praised by Heaven on a foundation of hope or was revered by humanity. Although there have been many people who professed to love, the same thing was true for them. Should we then hold grudges against God for this? Do the notions of faith, hope and love not exist?

Jesus was the incarnation of faith whom God had sought for four thousand years. He was someone who deeply experienced the Father’s heart as a concrete reality. The people did not know that Jesus was such a person. No one in all of humanity knew that. If there was a person who did know, it was God.

What Kind of Person Was Jesus?

Hence, Jesus had nowhere to go. Although he came to create the history of faith, because no one recognized him, he had to put the world behind him and go in search of someone who understood him. This was the path of the cross. In this way Jesus inherited the faith and hope of God, who is the hope of humanity. He became the subject partner of faith and hope, representing God in substance. Because Jesus came not as God’s relative subject partner of faith but as the absolute subject partner of God, representing the invisible God, even if you do not believe in God, you should believe in Jesus.

The Bible says that you should believe in Jesus, long for him and love him. This is because the incarnation is closer to corporeal human beings than is the invisible God. For this reason, we should tearfully bow before the laborious accomplishments of God who sent and raised up Jesus as an earthly man. Jesus tried to establish the foundation of faith; he tried to pioneer an environment of hope; he tried to build a fence of love. However, his ideals were not realized on the earth.

The purpose of the four-thousand-year history was to establish an incarnation of faith. The purpose of the two-thousand-year history since Jesus and the Holy Spirit has been to establish an incarnation of hope. This is the true standard of thought and ideas. Today the worldview which longs for Jesus and an opposing worldview have manifested themselves as democracy and communism. Because hope has come near the end, we call this time the Last Days. We do not call it the Last Days without good reason.

What kind of ancestor was Jesus? He was an ancestor more of hope than of faith. He was the ancestor who could uphold hope as an earthly man. What would you hope for? We believe that the mind inside our body is precious. We believe that the heart inside the mind is precious. There is no greater hope than to hope for the one who is the substantial subject partner of the mind and heart. Jesus said, “You are my bride and I am your bridegroom.” You should understand this clearly.

Hence, the world cannot surpass the limit of this hope, no matter how hard it may try. What kind of hope is it? Christians today yearn for the world of hope based on the word. However, the time for the word is behind us; now we should yearn for the incarnation. More than many thousands of words of discussion on faith and more than the history of faith, we need one substantial person. If such an incarnation does not appear, then the worldview of hope based on the words of truth will come to a dead-end. Unless we are connected to the incarnation, this world will fade away with the flow of history. You wait and see.

The Purpose of Faith, Hope and Love

Today Christianity literally has become a worldwide religion. The democratic world is rooted in Christian teachings. Now even that is coming to an end. What do we need here? Our purpose is not to merely rejoice in the word. We must be able to enjoy a life of eternal significance on the earth.

History is turning like a tornado. We who are gathered under today’s trends of thought are caught in a maelstrom. We venerate our ancestor of faith, Abraham, and all the prophets after him. We look up to Jesus, the prince of hope, who came two thousand years later. We reflect back upon the history of fierce conflicts.

However, what these ancestors of faith accomplished was the hope of a promise. They could not bring the hope which can be manifested in daily life. For this reason, the day their hope becomes materialized as a reality is the Last Days. The work to accomplish this is the ideal of the Second Advent. The one who comes to accomplish this is the Lord of the Second Advent.

What remains now? The age based upon faith came to an end with Jesus. Because Jesus is the embodiment of faith, when you believe in him, you can develop stronger faith than anyone who lived in the four thousand years before Jesus. Jesus had to rectify faith before the people who disbelieved. He had to establish hope before the people who did not have hope. Wasn’t that true?

Please read the Bible. Look at the prophecies after Abraham. The one hope in faith is to cling to the Messiah. However, this has remained as the hope of the bride and bridegroom in the realm of symbolic promises because Jesus died on the cross. In your life of devotion, you are not aware of this. Even if you do not understand what I am saying now, there will be a time when you can understand it. Isn’t that how it should be if it is the work of a real God? Only then would it be logical.

What does the incarnation of hope and faith want to accomplish? In other words, what is the purpose of hope and faith? It is that the people will find him and sing songs of love. There is nothing else. Why do we want to meet the Lord? We want the Lord to recognize our value, and we want to live in the bosom of the Lord’s love. This is the highest purpose of humanity.

The reason that God established faith, hope and love was not just for the sake of Jesus, Abraham or anyone among our ancestors. It was for each one of us. Who looked for me faithfully for six thousand years? It was God. Who is God? He is our father. This is where the great drama of Heaven and earth unfolds.

Rebirth through the Love of Jesus and the Holy Spirit

When you cling to the Father you believe in, hope in and love, Jesus should say, “I have struggled hard to meet you. I have toiled arduously to meet you.” God should also be able to say that. At that moment, if you were to offer, “God! Let us live together. Jesus! Let us live together,” they will respond, “All right. Let’s live together for eternity.” This is the Kingdom of Heaven. We have no need for some imaginary and fabricated Kingdom of Heaven. We have to fight to build the substantial Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus told us that he was leaving without accomplishing everything, so he instructed us to believe in the Holy Spirit. Do you think that you will be saved only by believing in Jesus? You can be saved if you believe in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit tries to lead people to believe in the son of God, so you should also believe in the Holy Spirit.

What kind of spirit is the Holy Spirit? She is a mother spirit. Christians today do not understand this. If you think that I am lying, ask God about it. I do not speak from assumption. I am sure.

The Holy Spirit is the mother divinity, and Jesus is the true father of humanity. The true father is the perfected Adam. Because Adam fell and could not become the true ancestor of humanity, we are descendants of false ancestors rather than true ones. The Messiah is the one who comes as the true ancestor. He is the true father. Christianity talks about the Trinity. Since Jesus is the true father and the Holy Spirit is the true mother, we can be reborn only when we receive the love of this father and mother. How can a child be born without the love of parents?

For this reason it is written in Revelation, “The Holy Spirit and the bride call us. They will call upon those who hear, those who are thirsty will come, and they will give the water of life for free to those who desire it.” (Rev. 22:17) Such a day is the day the Holy Spirit takes on an earthly form. That is the day of the Second Advent. It is the day the bride finishes the preparations for the wedding. What is the Marriage of the Lamb? It is attending the True Parents who have been lost. When this is accomplished, the conceptual God, the God as the object of faith, will no longer be needed. We will no longer have any need for a conceptual God, or a devotional life in which our faith is only external. What we will have is a substantial, living God.

Who was the substantial subject partner of faith? It was Jesus. Who was the substantial subject partner of hope? It was Jesus. Who was the incarnation of love and the subject partner of love? It was Jesus. Although God sent Jesus, human beings could not recognize him. They did not believe, and he had to die. When will he return? Since no one could recognize him as the bridegroom, he cannot come again. If he were to come again, he would be mistreated; hence, he cannot come again. You have to understand this grief. Those who think, “When the Lord comes he will come looking for me,” ruin Christianity and undermine God’s will.

God will come looking for us. However, unless an incarnation of faith, hope and love emerges in this world, the purpose for which God established faith, hope and love will not be realized. Therefore, you should understand that God cannot properly play His true role without you. Without you, God cannot move this world. Jesus lived by this conviction. He knew that God’s love could not be introduced without him.

The Faith and Responsibilities of the Believers in the Last Days

Now is a time when people want evidence. This is a scientific era, they say. Science is logical. What is logical must connect cause and result systematically. When we can prove and practice logical truth in our daily life, we call that scientific. This is the original human nature. There cannot be happiness apart from our life and concrete reality. There cannot be satisfaction or other such things apart from these. For this reason, God also wants to work through a substantial embodiment.

What kind of time is the Last Days? It is the time that the two-thousand-year history since Jesus, the purpose of which was to fulfill the history and hope of the previous four thousand years of establishing the faith, comes to an end. It is the time of the appearance of the prince of faith, hope and love. People believe that when he appears he will come on the clouds, in the sky, but that is a misunderstanding. It is literally impossible.

I used to have that type of faith. I felt so frustrated and distressed that I banged on the ground and protested against Heaven many times. When I penetrated deep into it, I found that it was not true. When I spoke words of truth, I was most heavily persecuted. I now wear the badge of a heretic. In the past St. Paul was condemned as a heretic. The Messiah who came with the truth was cursed and laughed at as one possessed by Beelzebub. This is the source of historical sorrow. Since history began in sorrow, it has to end in sorrow.

If there are faithful believers, let them esteem the members who lie prostrated upon and pray upon the wooden floors of churches. When your church leaders chase you out, follow the sheep as you shed tears and look behind you. You will find that you have come near a new garden of flowers. Have you ever thought when chilly winds blow that the spring season will come after the passage of time? The Lord, in my opinion, will come looking for those who can bravely greet the coming of the spring season with their minds, even though their bodies may be suffering winter.

Although there are many princes of words who can speak articulately and powerfully before a large crowd, there is no hero of substance. There is no embodiment of faith, hope and love among the church leaders. Where will this church and its members head toward? Where will the believers of the Last Days go? This Mr. Moon in Korea will walk the path, if doing so will bring blessing to the people. I will do this even if I am condemned as a monstrous heretic and a traitor to the people.

The Incarnation Is More Important than the Words

Since there is no longer an altar of substance and evidence, where is the heavenly prince of faith who can build a substantial altar? Such a person is needed. There is no need for large multitudes. What we need is not a general who can command many soldiers majestically, but a general who cannot sleep at night because he is concerned about his soldiers. In history God worried about people who were cold, too hot, or hungry.

Although the Pharisees stood on the front-line and boasted about themselves, Jesus turned around and shed tears. This was the true side of Jesus. The one who shouts loudly in the front is not the one who will save humanity. History has been able to at least reach this point because of the people who, even when they were falling down, clung to Heaven and said in tears, “Please sympathize with them. What can we do about them?” There will come a time when those who are ignorant of this will be struck.

No matter how great the teachings of the Unification Church may be, there will come a time when attention will focus on not the contents of its teaching but on its actual state of being. What do you possess? We have to understand that we need to become the embodiments of faith, hope and love. If we can achieve that, even if the Lord comes a thousand years later, he will not abandon us. There is no worry as long as you can become someone who can say, “I am where faith, hope and love are.”

The time is nearing when we must explain history in substantial terms. Our one day of hope is the day we can meet the embodiment. This is the truth. It is not fancy or fabrication.

Is there anyone among you who is qualified to become the bride of the Lord? Who makes that claim? Have you ever seen someone make this claim? Although there are many people who say that they will achieve it, no one has actually achieved it. Then what kind of contents should we develop? We should develop the contents of historical faith, historical hope and the heart of the historical God. We have to become qualified to alleviate the grief of God, who has led the six thousand-year history concentrating on a substantial person who possesses all these contents. Only then can we attend the Lord.

This world is unbearable even to think about. The six-thousand-year history to find the embodiment is a distressing history fraught with countless human betrayals. It is a history God does not want to repeat ever again, even in His dreams. However, it is the job of the incarnated one to hold onto it, to reflect upon it, to mourn over it, and to repeat it. That is the sole issue.

Then what must you do? You should have the confidence that faith, hope and love belong to you. You should be qualified to believe in yourself for many thousands of years. Do you understand what I am saying? You should believe in yourself more than you believe in God, who carried on the providence for six thousand years. You should be able to say, “I am the incarnation of faith, hope and love.”

Do you believe in your bodies? Do you believe in your minds? Do you believe in your hearts? You should believe in them. God gave you everything that He believes in as a gift in order to find you.

Therefore, we should fight against evil on behalf of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and all people. We should believe in ourselves, that we are qualified to act as the judge and destroy all that is wrong. That is the level we must attain.

We Must Liberate God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit

Ladies and gentlemen, the time to attempt to enter the Kingdom of Heaven has now passed. You should not try to go to the Kingdom of Heaven by believing in God; you should try to help God enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You should not have the desire to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and meet Jesus; you should build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and attend Jesus.

Do you want to receive the love of Jesus? Are you worthy to demand the love of Jesus when you are soaked in sinfulness? Jesus is the royal prince of God. You cannot make such demands upon the royal prince of God. You should not have such an attitude of faith. If you want to receive his love, you should be filled with a desire to love him that is more intense than his death. Yet all of you have the attitude of a robber. Those who are faithful today do as they wish, but that is not how it should be. That is not how it is in the spirit world. It is fundamentally different.

Thus, it is our fate now to liberate God. God has been seeking those who crave faith and hope and who are burning with love. He wants those who say, “God is constrained because of humanity. God is constrained because of me. God is receiving Satan’s accusation because of me. Jesus died because of me. The Holy Spirit has been carrying on a bloody battle because of me. God, please give me strength. I will take the Father to a place of peace and liberation. I will also take Jesus and the Holy Spirit to a place of liberation.” We should understand this truth.

Is there a contradiction in these words? Only when we receive such great love can God be our father. In that state, your eyes will overflow with tears just looking at a mountain. Those of us who have failed in our responsibilities will strike our chests in frustration and will not be able to escape the fate of becoming princes of grief, even if we try our best to take steps forward.

You should understand that God is not someone comfortably sitting on the throne of the Kingdom of Heaven. God sees that hell has been created and He feels pain which surpasses that which is felt in hell. Yet humanity does not know this. If God does not feel pain which surpasses that which is felt in hell and allows hell to remain, He cannot be called the God of love. In the six-thousand year history, there is no pain in hell God did not experience. God experienced all its agonies. In truth, God is suffering the pains of hell. You may accuse me of speaking nonsense, but we should believe in and attend God knowing these things. Only then can God be the true God of humanity. God suffered the anguishes of hell in order to find each one of us.

After Jesus died on the cross, there was a three-day period of darkness. How can this be? He should have been a physical and spiritual savior. He was to witness to people even when he entered hell. For this reason, the people who believe in Jesus should have touched the bottom of hell on earth. This is why they were trampled upon in history and persecuted. Since God walked such a path, we have to accompany Him and work by His side. The providence of restoration and the providence of salvation is the promise to give the garden of glory to such people. You should understand this clearly.

Those who pray with a sincere heart, “God, please let me go to hell and experience the Father’s sufferings” will not go to hell. Those who say, “Oh God, I do not want to go to hell; please send me to the Kingdom of Heaven,” will end up in hell. Jesus prayed on the cross, “Father, please do not do as I will, but as You will. Please do not let them bear the penalty for their sins.” This was because when he contemplated the internal heart and situation of God, who had suffered the pains of hell in order to save the people for four thousand years, he felt that he could not avoid the path of the cross. You should understand clearly that these were Jesus’ feelings.

One Who Can Inherit the Ideals and Spirit of Jesus

Christianity, which should lay this foundation of love, has been destroyed. We have stood up to rebuild the foundation with our own hands. We should fight and march without words. This path is not one of glory or wealth. If you desire those things, the time of hope will not come. We do not have time to spend our energy on that. No matter what the world does, we are determined to walk our own path.

Is there anyone who came to the Unification Church to listen to these words without knowing anything? To put it simply, the path of the Unification Church is very difficult to walk. We are to experience the pain of banging our heads on the walls of agony and colliding into it with our bodies and having our flesh torn. The path we walk is not a smooth path. Neither the Lord nor the prophets walked a smooth path. Those who were responsible for history were brave soldiers who possessed the vibrant spirit and blood of history. Those who will inherit the ideals and spirit of Jesus, who clung to the love of Heaven in the same way that the prophets led history, must have the same qualities. You have to understand this clearly. I want to tell you that the time of having aimless faith has passed. The empty and fabricated foundation of logic is based on ignorance and there can be no perfection based on that foundation. Therefore, what we should present today is how to believe in ourselves.

Just as God believed in Jesus and Jesus believed in God, just as Jesus believed in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit believed in Jesus, we have to believe in ourselves. We should reach the level where we can say, “Even if the principles of Heaven were to change, I would not change. Even if Heaven and earth were to disappear, the words of Jesus cannot change. Even if Heaven and earth disappear, I will not change.”

The problem lies in each one of you. Do you believe in yourselves? You who are trying so hard to go to the Kingdom of Heaven, do you believe in yourselves? We have no need for belief in words, belief that is empty at the core. We have no need for the empty shell, for the empty husk of grain. This is the meaning of the biblical parable of a grain and its empty ear. If we become the incarnations of solid core faith, solid core hope, and solid core love, no matter how vast this world may be, no matter how wide the American continent is and how advanced it may be, it will not pose any problem for us. We will not encounter any difficulty. If there is a group of people who are confident they will conquer the others through love one day, they will surely rule the world. Since eternal hope is in the Father, those who represent the Father are embodiments of eternal hope. Since God is eternal love, you should struggle to embrace that love and give it to others. You should struggle to the point of death to give that love. If you did so, would this country perish?

You should have eternal faith in yourself, hope in yourself, and love yourself before you say, “God, please receive my love and hope and rejoice in my faith.” Then God will receive you. This is the purpose for which you have established faith, sought hope, and longed for love. When this is achieved, you will be able to honor the Lord on that foundation. You will be able to live together with the Lord. What is the purpose of hope and faith? It is to live your daily life centering on God’s love. The Kingdom of Heaven on earth is the new ideal world where we can discard the entire notion of religion and sing songs of love. That world is not a fabricated world. It must appear as an inescapable reality based on logic.

Who are the people who will remain in this world? They are the people who are burning with faith, hope and passion. We should examine every page of history and investigate the rise and fall of nations and look for the people who held fast to faith and fidelity. The people who are burning with hope and zeal and do not hesitate to risk their lives for the sake of God are the ones who are close to God.

The Position of the Korean People from the Viewpoint of the History of the Providence

The same is true of a society. Who are the successful people? One can become successful in one’s nation when one has faith in one’s nation. When one honors the state doctrine as one’s own, and appears with the spirit of governing the nation, one can become successful. Isn’t that true? The same principle is at work in a family. Those who have faith, hope and love in the family will inherit the family. Isn’t that true? Do you deny that?

When we examine history, what people are burning with faith in God? The Korean people have never heard about God and have not had clear revelations from prophets during their five thousand-year history. Yet Koreans somehow have strong faith in Heaven. Whatever you may say, that is what I found.

It is a miracle that this people, this tiny nation in the eastern hemisphere, has survived for five thousand years and many waves of thought and beliefs. Probe into Korean history. Their history was marked by many dangerous invasions. Invaders devoured Korea before throwing the Koreans back out, over and over again. When they were thrown out, they were stripped to the bone. Nonetheless, the Korean people preserved some unknown source of strength flowing through their national spirit and awaited the one day of hope. Because of the hopeful national spirit which has moved this peninsula in the Far East, the people were able to continue their fight until now. Wouldn’t the Messiah come to a people who have demonstrated such a remarkable national spirit? That is what I think. You have to understand this.

Moreover, no people are more passionate than the Korean people. Korea has been called a nation of strong ethics. Both Confucianism and Buddhism have flourished in this nation. The same has been true for Christianity. However, Buddhism, Confucianism and Christianity, which claim to be religions of faith and hope, have completed their missions. What remains? There is a zeal exploding from deep within people’s hearts which can burn brilliantly for the worldwide ideal centering on the national spirit. Although young people may not understand this, older people know what I am talking about.

What made the people like this? Let us investigate their philosophical and religious history. No value can establish itself unless it first lays a foundation of reciprocity or comparison. Those who know will understand this. Without the positions of subject partner and object partner, there is no way to secure a system of values. If a nation were to emerge with a doctrine which can lead the world, only when a nation follows the leader and works in tandem with him to translate the ideals into reality can that nation become predominant in the world.

The Flow of Human Civilization and Its Direction

What is the original civilization without the Fall? Western civilization is external. Members of the Unification Church do not want to go to places like America. Everything there will be dismantled. If you examine the history of the past, there were matriarchal societies and patriarchal societies based on love. Until now patriarchal societies have survived, but now they are about to be destroyed. We are about to enter an era centered on couples.

Nations like America today only care about their own partners. This also will be destroyed. What will happen after that? There will unfold a world of love based on the governance of brothers, the people, the world and Heaven. Do you understand what this means?

Any imperialist ideology will come to an end. Why? God will not leave evil alone. He will destroy it. It will be shattered. In this way the period of monarchy and imperialism will come to a tragic end. Due to the human Fall, the ideal of heavenly monarchy was shattered. Archangels have acted as monarchs. We have lived through an era of archangelic sovereignty.

When we examine the trends in world thought, we find that anything imperialistic is being destroyed. We will soon experience destruction of anything that has the form of monarchy and enter an era of democracy and equality. What will follow after that? From this point, we are to consolidate a world in which we can call God our king, call those who live for the will of God and goodness members of our family, and call those who are fighting for God and goodness our people.

For this reason, if you carefully examine the trends of thought in the world, you will find many hideous things. You will find some who borrow other people’s names and act as kings. People will follow them as kings and queens. Wait until that period passes and see. There will come a time when a handsome man will be made the prince of a city. The trends of thought are going the reverse way. Older women will live with young men, and young women will live with old men. It will be very strange. People do not know the internal causes of these weird phenomena.

This is why democracy was born. Democracy holds to the principle of equality. Why did such a philosophy appear? Christianity was persecuted and mistreated by imperialists. Although they were massacred by the Roman Empire, Christians were able to survive. Those who were thus strongly armed in Christian ideals created the basis of authority rooted in equality, which ushered in the world of democracy. In other words, people on Heaven’s side are trying to change the world so that they can control the sovereignty. Another worldwide movement, a universal movement, must come into being which can move the world from this era of equality into the era of God’s sovereignty. Yet the path of democracy has been halted today. What will be the direction from here? We are unable to find an answer to this.

What will happen to the world after this age? The people in the West, whose culture was built on external progress, will come to the East, which is more internal. Although Korean women are dying their hair blond, perming their hair and putting make-up on their faces, there will come a time when people will long for the simple and innocent appearance of Koreans, the dignified look of Asians. Wait and see if such a time comes or not.

Their philosophies and teachings have all been uprooted. Eastern philosophy, which was integrated into our philosophy of life, has prospered for four to five thousand years. Today it is to make a grand appearance. Civilizations are coming together in a comprehensive realm of ideas. Christian ideas alone are not enough in this age. The problem is how to bring the religions together.

Where Will the Center of Cultures Be?

There must unfold a movement which can bridge the Eastern and Western cultures. This must contain the Christian spirit and have the form of Eastern philosophy and religion. At the same time, it must be in tune with all schools of thought which have guided human spiritual growth. It must reflect the new age but also inherit and embrace the good aspects of the past ages. The world will be united only when a religion or group emerges with a teaching that has met these conditions.

The sun does not rise from the West; it rises from the East. Ladies and gentlemen, where have more wars erupted? We know that there were more wars in the West than in the East.

Knowledge means to understand, and understanding is to gain something. Yet what have you gained? Your gains are not spiritual but physical. Westerners have been building an externally prosperous world through science and material culture. They are sound asleep in their external Kingdom of Heaven. Now the time has come when they should wake up from their sleep.

Easterners worship the way of truth. The way of truth requires that you must give up ten things to know ten things. To understand a thousand things, you must give up a thousand things. The people of the East have become beggars externally because they were worshipping the way of the truth. They became miserable and vulnerable to attack. Eventually, they surrendered to the material world. However, you should foresee that there will soon come an age in the East when we can shake off all of this in disdain.

In this sense, you should feel pride that others don’t feel. Koreans of the East are not inferior to any other people with respect to their faith, hope, and passion.

It is the law of the universe that a person’s life is completed only with water, soil, air and sunlight. Where will the world’s ultimate center of culture be in the future? It will be a place where the water is clean, the land is fertile, and the air is fresh. That is Korea. Water is so clean that you can drink water out of the mountains or plains and not become sick. Korea is a land with good water and good mountains. It is a good, natural place. Korea has pure air. The air is clean in the morning and in the evening all four seasons of the year. When you examine a day in Korea, it is very interesting. Morning is comparable to the spring season, afternoon to summer, evening to autumn, and night to winter. Within a day’s cycle, the shapes of all four seasons of the ideal world can be found. As for its climate, Korea has all the varieties of the four climate types. The people who are living in such a place do not do so by coincidence.

If you were to probe into Korea’s religious life, you would find that Korean Christianity has been around for seventy or eighty years at most. Yet within such a short period of ministry, Korea occupies the number one position in the religious world. I am proud of the fact that Korea is second to none when it comes to religion and devotion.

The Responsibilities of the Sons and Daughters of the Father

With respect to belief, hope and love, what kind of person would you like to make friends with? You probably want to be friends with someone trustworthy, someone full of hope and good taste. Isn’t that so? The same is true for God. Since we resemble God, God also likes that kind of person. God likes someone who is reliable, hopeful and interesting.

The Bible teaches us to become someone who can take joy in our daily life today and live in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth no matter what our circumstances may be. Hence, we come to the conclusion that the Kingdom of Heaven is inside our hearts. If there is someone who can laugh off the external world and transcend all its pains even while living in a sinful world, he is truly a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The crucial question is where to bring all this together. Where is the beginning point for solving the problems of today? The starting point for solving problems is each one of us.

You should not just worship God but stand in a relationship with Him and establish a reciprocal value. You should say, “Father, I have come. You have waited so long, for six thousand years.” Don’t you want to do this? God wants to hear the words, “How much have You cried? I have come. How much have You waited? I have come. How much did You long for me? I have come.”

God wants to meet such sons and daughters and forget all the grief of the six thousand years since the time He blessed Adam and Eve with the governance of everything in the universe. He wants to say, “Today is My birthday, the day of My joy.” God does not want to remember the sorrows of the six thousand years. He wants to sing songs of love with His new sons and daughters in the new universe. We have to understand clearly that the sons and daughters the Father desires are none other than us.

Prayer

In the course of my speech, I felt how fatiguing it is. Yet how much have You suffered for six thousand years? We are miserable beyond belief, yet how much more have You suffered?

We have learned how much You believe in us and long for us to become true sons and daughters who can comfort You. Please guide us to struggle desperately to heal Your wounded heart by silently making an offering every day.

We have learned that although faith, hope and love are all valuable, those who have lost their bodies cannot stand before the Father eternally; each one of us is the source of the difficulties.

Please guide those who believe in me to declare with confidence, “Father, please believe in me. Please have hope in me. Please love me.” Please guide them to take responsibility. We entrust everything to You. Please let everything be fulfilled as You will. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 7: We Who Are Walking a Life Course

September 6, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
I Peter 1:21-25

Prayer

Father, You guided our ancestors without any hesitation, doing the most arduous work for six thousand years. Yet our ancestors often betrayed You. They failed to bring You joy, not standing on Your side in victory and glory. When we think about this, we cannot help but admit that we are shameful descendants of the Father.

Father! Please consider us with sympathy. Although we may be unworthy, You must hold us and restore us. Since You are well aware of this, when we think of how You have come in search of these unworthy ones, we are deeply ashamed before You. However, we have gathered with a heart of repentance before the Father who longs for us with a heart of love and is seeking us even today.

How many words of admonition do You want to give us? Yet You cannot speak as You want, and we have become incapable of communicating with You. Please guide us to understand that this is a source of infinite grief to Heaven. Let us mourn over our inadequacies.

The Last Days, when the power of death must be destroyed by the power of life, are nearing. Yet even as we thirst for life, we lack a heart of yearning for life. Please encourage and inspire us so that we can become sons and daughters who can step forward before our enemies bravely, with power and forceful heart, by depending upon the Father, the sovereign of life.

It is our wish that our hands be held by You and that we may take after You. Please, even for this hour, allow us to resemble the Father’s internal sung-sang by removing all traces of defilement. Let us manifest the original beauty by resembling the external hyung-sang and glorify the Father. Father of love, we pray sincerely that in this hour You can rejoice with those of us who have cultivated the Father’s original heart and have become the embodiments of the ideals of creation.

Please allow us to understand that the waves of death are hovering over us. Satan is trying his best to wipe away the power of life. Please let us first lay a solid foundation of the heart and rectify our bodies so that we can stand securely before the Father. Please guide us to feel that unless our minds and bodies are set on one goal and bow with a sincere heart, countless devils will trample us. Let us humbly and sincerely offer: “Please receive this, since this belongs to You.”

Please eliminate all subjective concepts and thoughts of the past. Let us be filled with an ardent desire to call Heaven with a voice springing forth from the deepest part of our hearts. In this way, please let this be an hour when we can build a new relationship with Heaven. Give rise to a new heart, and bring about a new work of resurrection.

Now the wall of battle blocks our path. Please let us understand that we have arrived at the final stage of battle when we have to become the elite corps of Heaven and break through the wall. Please allow us to become brave soldiers of Heaven who can step forward and confront the power of death. Let us become sons and daughters of the Father who can march forward toward the enemy camp. Father, we pray that You will guide us to become the elite corps of Heaven who do not fear death and who can run silently toward victory.

Although those who are bowing their heads here may be different from one another, please let them have the same goal and the same heart. Even if our situations and states of heart may be different, let our heart toward God be the same. Please receive our sincere desire to do our very best for You.

Your sons and daughters who have gathered here have fought lonely battles. Struck by arrows shot by their families and society, they have been following the light of life and calling upon Heaven. Since You initiated everything, until the moment we can return victory and glory to the Father, please let there not be even one person who collapses out of fatigue. We have set out for the sake of the Father. Please allow us to bear the fruits of joy and broaden the foundation of the Father’s glory.

This is a glorious day, so please bless all people. Bless the entire church, and bless the pitiful thirty million people of this nation.

We know that the light of life is in Heaven, and that the fate of walking the path of restoration depends upon Heaven. Father, You understand the situation of this people well. Father, You understand the state of the churches in Korea. We know that there must appear many living sons and daughters of the Father who can connect people’s hearts and praise Heaven from the heart. If there are sons and daughters who are clinging to hidden altars and are desperately appealing to Heaven, please gather them together and fulfill Your words that You will use a small group of people to shame the larger multitudes.

Father! Just as the seven thousand people who did not submit to Baal were able to ward off the forces of evil, let there be a group of seven thousand people of goodness who can ward off Satan’s malice. Please gather together into the Father’s family all the hidden sons and daughters who can mourn with You, who can discuss and think with You. By connecting them together as members of Your family, please quickly restore the garden of glory and achieve liberation.

We entrust everything in this hour to You. Please preside over this hour from the beginning to the end. Please do not let our evil minds influence us. We pray that You will let the bows we offer You enable the whole of Heaven and earth to meet the standard of longing for the Father’s glory and be in harmony. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

Prayer II

We sense that we have come into Your presence, and we lie prostrated after wandering in many places.

How can we ever pay back the grace You have given us by allowing us to call You “Our Father”? How can we ever pay back the grace of Your not hesitating to suffer any hardship to protect and purify us and for Your having guided us thus far? We do not have anything with which to pay it back. We cannot pay back the blessing even if we offer You our bodies; even if we offer all of our minds. We are still unworthy to even raise our heads before the Father’s toils and accomplishments.

We know that the Father who guided us this far has the responsibility to save us, and that Father’s strongest desire is to usher in the day of glory through us. When we reflect upon how the Father wants to be comforted by us, we are ashamed before the Father who put so much hope in us and who has persevered through the numerous difficulties of history.

If our flesh and blood can empathize with the Father’s heart, and our bones have laid the framework of our character building, please let them become a basic unit which can testify to the Father’s unchanging nature.

How much have You longed for the glorious and sacred incarnation whose every cell belongs to the Father and who returns glory to You? In history our ancestors could not honor You in this way. When they were following Heaven’s way, they sometimes held grudges against You and abandoned You. We also know the historical fact that the chosen people had to give up their rights.

Father! Because we have inherited a sorrowful lineage, even if we may say we believe in Heaven today, we are so close to the evil world that we may betray You tomorrow. Please have compassion upon us. Please take hold of us. Please engraft our thirsty hearts onto the Father’s heart of life, and give rise to the work of resurrection which can stir new life.

Many people have lived on the earth. Many people have been born and have died. Yet no one is concerned with the Father’s situation and is mourning over the Father’s sad heart. Please let us become those who can lament over the Father’s situation and heart. Father, we sincerely wish that You will fill the earth with many sons and daughters who are burning with the desire to refute Heaven and earth, humanity, history and their fallen ancestors and to attend the Father.

For whose sake have we come here? It was not to see well-dressed or beautiful people. We who have ugly scars and wounds came to try to resemble the Father’s holy sung-sang. Please do not reject us. Embrace us. You know that we are lonely because we do not have a place to rest our hearts and minds. Please comfort us during this hour.

Please appear before us with this heart and guide us as our subject partner of eternal life. Give us words of life which can penetrate our minds and bodies. Please let this be an hour when we can thank Your grace and bow to You.

We want to receive the words this hour. Father, please be with us. Please help us understand that if there is an internal gap between the speaker and the listeners, Satan will come in through that path. That is the realm Satan is seeking. Please let the heart of the speaker and the hearts of listeners be united so that we can be connected to the Father’s heart and move in harmony with Him.

Your sons and daughters are on their knees and offering lonely and ardent prayers everywhere in South Korea. Please advise them, as they are suffering through all difficulties. You said that those who persevere till the end will receive salvation. Please guide us to glorify the Father by being patient and testify to the Father before the people as Your incarnations. Please bless the many churches and people who are gathering together. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The title of the sermon I am about to give you now is “We Who Are Walking a Life Course.” I will speak upon this subject.

We Do Not Know the Origin and Purpose of Our Life

It is commonly said that people are born and will pass away. From ancient times, even the greatest personalities have passed away. We have to think about how this pattern in history and Heaven relates to us. We will one day pass away. Although it is not clear what the relationship is, we know clearly that we came to the earth and will pass away from it after interacting in a complicated manner with many things and under the influence of some ideals.

For what purpose did we come and for what purpose are we going? Although many philosophers and religious people have tried to answer this question with all their hearts and souls, human history has progressed in sorrow. This continues to this day.

We are in an intense moment. We cannot deny that we are walking a life course that we cannot avoid. We were born through the lineage of our parents and found ourselves in a world that we never even thought about before. It is our fate that at some point in our life, we will grow old and die. No matter how great a person may be, he cannot stop the passing of his golden youth. We know the sad reality that there is no way to prevent one’s aging, no matter how hard one may try.

Several times in the course of your life you probably felt deep remorse and regret during a moment of reflection, as well as a strong urge to stir things up around you. Why were we born, why should we live, and where should we go? You should not think that you were the cause of your birth. We do not know the origin and purpose of our birth. Although we were born, we were not born because that’s what we wanted to do. Although we are living, it is not because we want to live that we are alive. When we die, it will not be because we want to die.

Then what do you have that is still worth being proud of? We are not born out of our own desire; we cannot live the way we want to; and we cannot avoid death. We should not be proud. If we are proud, we will only be miserable. Since we were born and are leading our life, we are to pass away after living such a life.

What is the purpose of this life? You should reflect on this question once more. Since you are not the cause, your purpose must not lie with you. Who does not want to be happy in his life? Who does not want to lead a rich and glorious life? Yet we cannot live as we want to. Still, we want to be proud of ourselves, live as we wish, and be remembered the way we want to be. In each of our hearts, we find this clash of contradictions.

Why do we, who did not cause our own birth, desire something great, wish to live well, and seek a more valuable and greater purpose? Is it because of ourselves, or is it due to some reciprocal purpose? We have to understand this clearly. There is probably no one who would raise his hand and claim that it is because of he himself. Were you born through your parents’ lineage because that was what you wanted? Although your parents gave birth to you, they cannot determine the course of your life. They cannot set its outcome the way they want to. They can neither kill you nor save your life.

Who possesses this power? The day we can clarify the possessor of this power, we can rejoice centering on ourselves. People of the present era, however, are struggling and have failed to surpass this standard. We have to understand that we are these people.

For this reason, we are pursuing something greater in our hearts. Moreover, we want to push away the realm of death in our lives and become connected to a greater life and world. Moreover, since we have a heart of emotion and love, we want to transcend the world of human emotions and connect with the world of eternal and unchanging emotions. Although it is hard to explain or demonstrate, we are often pulled by these feelings. The purer your conscience is, the more you will feel that some force is prodding you to forsake this world full of contradictions.

Our Course of Life in which We Shun Evil and Seek Goodness

For this reason no one alive on the earth can claim to be a good person. Upon our birth we find that we are not from a good lineage but an evil lineage. After our birth we find that we are not qualified to stand before the ideal of re-creation or to sing of our value. We cannot deny that we are unworthy, immature and imperfect. In Christianity such people are called fallen.

People’s original minds were not born to live happily in a fallen world. Although human beings have been trying to turn away from the fallen path for six thousand years, they could not set the standard upon which they can claim they have avoided it completely.

Our flight from evil and our pursuit of goodness as we seek to reach a purpose is called the course of life. The path of destroying evil and adhering to goodness every day, even in the face of death, is the course of life.

For this reason your minds are shivering in fear. This is not true when you are heading towards the original homeland of the heart. When you are under the control of evil, you will feel fear that something has grabbed you. We have to remember clearly that this is because our original minds shun the sinful history, the powers of death, and the forces of darkness. We are in the course of fleeing. If there is a God, what will He do with all these refugees? How will God instruct the humanity of the world who must flee evil? If there is a Heaven, He will surely have to come up with a set of teachings.

What kind of course is the path of flight? There is no leader on earth. No one is in position to deal with other people’s situations or to share his situation with other people. Although many people have lived, the fate of humanity has always been to flee. They are busy pursuing their own paths. This is the fate of a refugee. Ladies and gentlemen, when a criminal is escaping from the prison he was locked in, what will he see before him? He will surely see the path of survival, the free world, which is certainly a world he yearns for. The stronger his desire for the free world and the world of his ideal, the more he will struggle to escape from the situation he is in.

However, although humanity has to flee, they do not know the whereabouts of the garden they crave and hope for. Under these circumstances, human history continues to circle around. We have to understand clearly that people have not understood their purpose, direction and situation.

We know that human beings committed sin before Heaven when they fell. We are escaping from the unjust bondage of Satan, so we are deserters and refugees from the viewpoint of this world. Where is salvation? Where is the Kingdom of Heaven? This world is a city from which we must flee.

When we are running away, there is a way to flee successfully on the personal level. Since we cannot run away by ourselves, there are ways to flee with the family, as a people, and on the world and cosmic levels. If God does not instruct us in these ways, there is no way that we can refer to Him as the Creator, a being of love, or an absolute author of ideals.

Then where is the standard based upon which Heaven can teach us about the ways of running away? This is not some academic theory. These ways are not in Heaven. They are inside your minds. You have to understand this clearly: they are found in your minds.

The Foundation upon which Heaven Can Teach People How to Escape

The mind acts according to the principles of the universe. It wants to move without limits toward goodness. This is like a magnetic needle pointing to north and south. The principle of nature would never lose the direction and circumvent goodness. There is no such phenomenon. The human mind also seeks to move toward a certain purpose. We have to understand clearly that the mind which is orientated toward life moves through the heart, desires to distill out the truth, desires to unite with the whole, and desires to live in harmony with the doctrine of the whole. This mind is the foundation upon which Heaven can reveal the escape route.

We who are fleeing must fight if we are to maintain a heart which is orientated toward the heavenly nature. We have to fight. We have to understand clearly that depending on whether or not we reach the goals of escape, we may or may not attain salvation. This is the process we are walking through. How should we run?

Ladies and gentlemen, think about this carefully. When we are in a fight, we have to fight in a way that God desires, use the strategies that God desires, and reach the point which God desires. It is inevitable that we have to establish values which comply with the program of the sponsor.

Ladies and gentlemen, please reflect once more upon what state you are in. Since we cannot deny that we acting in a world of purpose and we are chained to that world, the crucial question we must address is what our situation is in the escape route of our life. There are those who are not awake, even when layers of the enemies’ ranks are blocking the path before them. They are only dreaming about their situation, or they do not know that they are in a deep sleep. There are those who have fallen from fatigue in the middle of the path they should run on. There are all kinds of cases.

You should find yourself again. You who are participating here today should set the standard of heart, and, based upon that, discern your position and state of being and analyze yourself. Your mind yearns for something, yet without clearly understanding, you feel uneasy and fearful. For this reason, not only would you feel through natural phenomena that you should not be in the situation you are in; you will also sense it through all the things you see around you. Hence, even through these things you will have to understand the situation and state that you are in.

If you can become spiritually open, you will see that countless religious people of the distant past are crying out before the people. Many spirits are running by your side today. They are trying to awaken you by saying, “Let’s go; enemies are coming.” Yet your ears do not hear these voices; your eyes do not see; your bodies do not sense this. This is how tragic the situation is. There is nothing more mournful than this. This is not something that only you will lament over. This will become an unforgivable sin before Heaven, who is trying to connect the value of existence to the world of the ideals of the whole.

It Is Our Fate to Run toward Our Original Homeland

When a person is walking the religious path, it is not enough for him just to run. He first has to make preparations to reach the goals and lay the necessary internal foundation. Then he must run toward the purpose.

Human beings lost the truth, lost the original homeland of their heart, and lost the source of their life because they fell. They also lost the embodiment of love. They lost all four.

What lies deep inside the heart of someone who is fleeing? It is the desire to return to their original homeland. What qualifications do they need to register as citizens of that land? You must master the truth. You have to understand all secrets of the evil world of Satan and possess the truth which can explain all problems of the fallen world. After that you need to run forward. To reach the goal of connecting the satanic realm to Heaven’s realm, human beings have to long for the homeland of truth, conscience, life and love. Then they must run toward it.

For this reason the six-thousand-year history has been the course of discovering the truth. If we do not find the truth, which is absolutely necessary for our running, and obtain the answer, then all the running will be to no avail. When we appear with a clear sense of purpose rooted in the truth, we will deny all values. If the truth cannot be explained, nothing will have value. For this reason, humanity is now in a state where they are groping for the direction of their minds and the direction of the truth.

In history up until now, there is no agreement as to whom we may call the king of truth and the root of truth. Therefore, humanity has been swept away by ideologies and doctrines. There cannot be two truths. There is only one, eternal and unchanging. Yet we do not find one truth around which all of humanity can unite.

What has been established by codes of ethics or an orderly society? You may think that people have sought the standard of truth which can respond to the level of conscience and that these can resolve all problems, but that is not true. Even if people have resolved them, the greater task is how to deal with the life and death problem which is approaching. How are they going to deal with this life-threatening problem? The human mind wants to connect to the infinite world. We cannot ignore this function of the mind. There is nothing in the universe which moves without a sense of purpose. Moreover, there is nothing which functions outside of the relationship of value centered on purpose.

The mind has the absolute conviction that there is some undeniable, absolute standard and it forcefully proclaims that we must ward off all evil conditions which are infiltrating the mind internally and externally. That mind must have a destination. In that destination, it will be able to manifest some relationship of value before Heaven. All we have to do is live according to the desire and commands of our minds. Even if we may not be aware of the entire purpose for it, we should live like that in order to establish valuable relationships in our life.

Have you ever asked your minds where their original homeland is? Try and see. History has progressed and cultures have advanced. External environments have evolved and advanced to a certain degree according to culture or human intelligence. However, the world of the heart has remained unchanged. This world of the heart does not experience revolutions or progress; it is inherently eternal and unchanging. When you have a certain sense of purpose and set a clear goal, you will run limitlessly. When the needle of a compass is lined up to the north and south poles, there is no way to turn it unless you apply a force stronger than the force pulling the needle to the poles. Likewise, the world of the conscience cannot be moved. The function of the mind which cannot be moved lies in the realm of ideology. When a clear sense of purpose is set for the mind, you can certainly cause an action that can pull every cell and every emotion.

Then the problem is simple. No matter how great the function of the mind may be, it cannot be more effective than the level the person has reached. Do you understand? It cannot make a greater impact than the state the person has attained. Even though it stands in the position of a subject partner, it cannot be much more effective. Because the mind stands in the reciprocal position to control the body, it cannot function outside of the reciprocal relationship.

For this reason there are gaps among consciences. Although they have many kinds of differences, each conscience is somehow oriented towards the original nature. A system of thought and beliefs emerges to secure the direction of the conscience. A view of life or the universe, some doctrine, assertion or truth appears. It is a perfected entity which has a reciprocal nature. When there is a perfect minus, we can have some understanding of a perfect plus. When there is a perfect plus, we can establish a perfect minus. This is a natural phenomenon. Since there is an eternal, unchanging and perfect subject partner in Heaven, we must strive through our hearts to resemble Him and establish a common base with Him.

God cannot shift the standard of the heart at whim. It can be moved only in harmony with the body. We have to control our body, put it in a certain situation, and align the orientation of the heart with the laws of the universe. God wants such laws of truth to be established. If a truth appears which can link the world together and join it with the principles of Heaven, the conscience can expand outward without limits and be active.

This is the reason human beings have sought truth. However, in the civilized world, which prides itself on twentieth-century culture, we have not seen the emergence of a truth which encourages us to establish a natural common base with the infinite absolute being whom we want to seek from the depth of our hearts. For this reason human beings have not been able to transcend the grief of the Fall.

Thus, you have to understand that God has suffered many sorrows which He encountered in His work as He tried to instruct human beings in various ways and to connect them to the one purpose. How laborious must God’s path have been as He was walking our path of escape through which we can find the direction of the truth in our lives? When we discuss all the sad hearts and miserable situations in human history, you many think that human history has been a fearsome experience. However, you have to understand that for the guide of that history, a more fearsome battle is taking place even at this moment. Without such struggles, incredibly miserable events will unfold which will prevent you from sleeping peacefully at night.

Since the mind is the beginning and end and can connect to the spirit and the original self, until the moment all sorrows are erased and we are liberated from them eternally, the mind will stimulate the same feeling of sadness. This is what you have to feel. Since human beings caused this sorrow, human beings connected us to that sorrow and prolonged it, it is only natural that judgment is given to human beings.

The Path We Must Walk

Human beings should find the truth and dash toward the original homeland. Next, they have to find life. Where is the subject partner of my life? Where is the subject partner of the eternal and unchanging life? It is said that God is love and Jesus is love, so where is the subject partner of love? Spirit world is the place one goes after one is evaluated for one’s statement, “This is the value of the truth that I have. This is the standard of conscience I possess. This is my standard of love.” In the spirit world, there is an extremely good world in Heaven and there is the world of Satan, an evil world which opposes it.

What do you possess? You have to find it. We have come to realize that this is the relationship of our heart, based on our observation of the phenomena of the heart. We should pioneer a relationship of naturally standing in the position of a minus before the origin of my infinite heart, the position of object partner before the subject partner. To do this we need an elucidating truth of the past, present and future which can liberate our body, which is bound. Do you understand? This is why we seek the truth. This is why we seek a doctrine.

Moreover, a great and brave soldier should appear who can surpass the ancestors who were searching for the truth. I await the appearance of a brave one who can challenge the accomplishments of the sages and prophets of the past and the countless religious leaders who led lives of devotion. Shouldn’t this come about?

This is an indispensable quality that a person leading a life of flight must possess and cultivate. People of today have lost control over their destiny. They did not choose to be born in this kind of environment, and they do not possess the causal qualities with which to solve their own problems. Therefore, even if they always want to have valuable mutual relationships, they cannot forge them.

Observe the people who boast of their own value in their life. See if they are destroyed or not. If you are a braggart when you have nothing to be proud of, even the things in your environment will condemn you. This is the original impulse of the conscience. How do you feel when someone who has nothing to be proud of is bragging? Do you want to praise him? No. You probably want to hit him. This is not an evil impulse. This is a natural, original reaction. You who are in this situation, please keep this in mind and look at those who brag about their own value.

What teachings are there? What concepts? The world of conscience does not have teachings and views. You have to understand this clearly. The world of conscience does not have doctrines and concepts. It is a world that cannot be analyzed.

How much can we be proud of our value today? It is foolish to brag about your doctrine and identity. Please examine critically whether or not you feel ashamed before the truth which is centered on some doctrine, before the heart or life which possesses heavenly qualities, before the heart of love. Your search for yourself will begin from there.

The Greatest Desire in Human Life

Since this is our fate, we have to walk the path. This is inescapable and absolute. The greatest desire in human life is the heart which can rejoice in the homeland of the truth; the life by which the truth and heart can act in union; and the love which can join truth, heart and life and evoke heavenly love. What situation are you in today? If you have a healthy body and emotions, what are you gazing at? What are you thinking about and in what direction is your body moving? These are the things you will be judged on.

My hand, how much have you longed for the truth and how hard have you worked to find the truth? My body, how much have you cooperated with the mind which is racing toward the truth and the original self? These are the questions you should ask yourself. If you have the attitude, “Let things unfold as they will; I have eaten a meal and have slept well, so I am content,” and lead a relaxed life, then your life will pass by you and you will crash into the cliff of death. Ladies and gentlemen! Human beings are not valueless. The master of the universe did not put us on earth so we could lead such disorderly and purposeless lives.

We cannot ignore the fact that there is some relationship which seeks to reach a goal through the phenomenal world based on the relationship of cause and purpose. Then how can human beings, who should be concerned with synthesizing the relationship and discussing its value, be so petty? You are not that kind of people. There may be smart people, but those who want to say, “I am educated,” and try to escape should knock on this door. This is what I want to say.

We should elevate the direction of our minds. We should elevate the world of the heart. We are not to look down upon the earth alone but up to higher grounds. We should not just look at the world; we should look up to Heaven.

Our world of heart is not satisfied with our life on the earth. The purpose of the earth and the function of the conscience in this world do not want to stay where they are. You probably cannot deny your desire to possess some power in your life, to seek some satisfaction, and to build an eternal relationship based upon which your heart can expand infinitely. Then where is the truth, mind, life and love which can overcome the Last Days of history? You should look for them.

The Way to Become a Perfect Bride before the Messiah

If the Messiah, the Savior, were to appear on this earth, he should have a purpose and the ability to put it into practice. He should connect people to God. He should be able to demonstrate this through his life. Otherwise, he cannot be a Messiah or Savior.

From the beginning of human history until now, religions have provided us some paths either directly or indirectly, from new angles and directions. Among the religions, Christianity has made great contributions to the formation of the world culture.

What is at the core of Christianity? It is Jesus. Those who believe say that Jesus is the Savior. What kind of person should a Savior be? He should be the origin of truth, mind, life and love. If he cannot be the origin of mind, he must at least have a reciprocal relationship with the absolute being.

When we reflect on the divine providence from this perspective, we find that there is no one in history who spoke words as great as those of Jesus. We can see how great and admirable the words he spoke were just from his saying, “I am the only begotten son of God.” He is admirable even if we do not consider him the Savior. Has history ever seen a person who gave such great and satisfying expressions? Even if it were all his imagination and empty of content, has history ever heard such great words?

Jesus also said, “Love me more than you love anyone else.” No matter how passionate a person may be, has he ever heard such fine words? Jesus was the most passionate man. Isn’t this so? He also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one can go to the Father except by me.” Based on this logic, Jesus’ words can be explained and come into agreement with all conditions. Hence, I want to call him the Messiah. What do you think?

Jesus was the prince who came to liberate humanity from the bridle of sin. He was the vanguard who came to pioneer our course of life. Do you understand what this means? He alone was the prince of flight in Heaven and earth. All of humanity for generations must escape from the bridle of sin, and Jesus came to the earth as their prince. If you feel this is who Jesus is, you should have the truth explained to you. When you cling to this Jesus, the original standard of conscience should be set clearly. When you see Jesus you should develop the eternal quality of life within. When you see this Jesus you should feel the emotion of absolute love. Otherwise, you cannot become a perfect bride.

Ladies and gentlemen; Jesus is the only begotten son of the God who created all things. The only begotten son is the royal prince of God. He is the royal prince who will live eternally in the heavenly kingdom. Because God raised him for this purpose, the day we await is the day of the Second Advent when we can meet him.

Because of this situation, human beings could not build a relationship of absolute and eternal life. No matter how faithful you may be to Jesus, you may one day fall away. Even if you honor him as the bridegroom, you may betray him. There are Christian churches which advocate truths, but they cannot set the direction of our mind correctly. For this reason Jesus must return.

What must we pioneer today? More than having faith in Jesus we should find the truth that lies hidden in the Bible. In order to understand how the historical facts which caused misfortune in human life are connected to the world of the present and future, we have to penetrate through the dark walls. In order to penetrate through them, we should fight and win. Only when people of this capacity appear will we be able to pioneer the world of truth.

Where did the vanguards in the past who stood close to goodness and truth search? They did not search for the new morning of glory. Although they felt the glory in their hearts, in their lives they were searching the dark alleys of hell.

Where the Roots of Truth Are Implanted

That is where the truth is connected. That is where the foundation of truth implants its roots. Truth does not implant its roots in glamorous high society. The roots of truth have to be implanted first in the humble alleys of a culture. The roots of truth are not to be implanted in Heaven, but on this fallen earth. The roots of truth are not to be found in the Kingdom of Heaven but at the bottom of hell. Heaven’s new standard of life will be established the day the roots of truth are implanted there, the day that the one who can communicate with Heaven appears.

Therefore, although we establish the truth in an ideal way and as our hope, the course to pursue it requires us to search in the back alleys. We search the back alley of life, mind and love as we look upon the symbol of life. We have to understand that this is the basis for seeking the highest spiritual attainment. A person who is living a life of devotion may be happy from the original standpoint, but he struggles in the back alleys of faith and sings this song in his life. This is the misery of religious life.

What is the origin and motivation of its reform and the creation of a new culture in a nation? When the mind explodes within you which can cling to a miserable person and cry for him, the flames of new hope burn. The historical flames will burn. For this country to be prosperous, for this country to have hope, we must create an environment in which we can shed tears on behalf of miserable people with a pure and sincere heart. Then this country will conquer the world.

What was Jesus’ situation on the earth? He did not praise the value of Jehovah from the absurd position of seeking the beauty of some fantastic ideal world. Although his internal contents were like that, his life was that of a prince in hell. This is what you have to understand. In his life, he was a royal prince in hell. He exerted himself more than anyone else to advocate and pioneer the truth. When he learned one thing, he was concerned about ten things. Although the people of this earth feel one type of pain, that of solving their problems and those of their own generation, Jesus felt countless types of pain. You have to understand that he led the life of a prince in hell.

Even when he entered hell, he had the authority to conquer it. He did not attain it freely. If he judged, punished and sentenced sinners without having had the same experience himself, God could not be a true God. If the leader of Korea punishes a violator of the law from a position of serious empathy, this country may survive. He should never say, “What you do has nothing to do with me.”

Jesus came to this earth with such a feeling in his heart. He came with this power and told people to love him. Why did he tell them to love him? What he meant to say is, “You who love only temporarily! No matter how precious you may be, you should abandon all that you have and love me. Then God will love you on a higher level.” Although he appeared in a humble manner, the words he spoke were completely the opposite. He could not have spoken those words if he did not have some inner quality of confidence and pride. Because of this Jesus was able to be the Messiah.

Truth Is the Weapon with which to Defeat Satan

We may not know how our relationships with one another have been formed. We do not know what kind of past ties exist between us and the people we see around us, but if we could discuss the substantial Jesus rather than pursue the Jesus who passed away, how great would it be? Many people have believed in the historical Jesus and honored him as the historical savior. Yet there has been no one who related to him with the perfect standard based upon which one can discuss the value of the substantial Messiah in the providence of God. One who is born as a man, born as a person who has an historical body on this earth, will become the prince of truth.

Jesus said, “I have many things to tell you, but you cannot understand them now.” (John 16:12) He also said, “You do not believe me even when I talk to you of things of the earth; how can you believe me if I tell you about the things of Heaven?” (John 3:12) Jesus was not just the incarnation of truth; he was also the origin of conscience, life and love. If there is some great person who can suggest to Jesus, “Isn’t this like this? Shouldn’t this be like that?” Jesus would not chastise us if we were to welcome that person with both hands and honor him more than we do Jesus.

Since we have learned the standard of the Messiah, what should we do? Since we have come to understand Jesus, what must we do? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one can go to Father without going through me.” He also said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is in your mind,” and “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” All these words were about himself.

Bringing Jesus to life out of the Bible is the greatest duty of Christians. He said, “I am in you and you are in me,” so we should let Jesus come alive in our hearts. Otherwise, if we do not meet the standard that the mind pursues, everything will be shattered. Only those who can let him come alive in their hearts, in the place where their life thrives and their heart moves, can receive the Lord. I do not have any desire for a fabricated Lord. We have no need for such a Lord.

For the human beings who are escaping, there will be attacks by enemies and defensive preparations by the enemies. What is the one standard that can defeat them? It is the truth. Truth can clarify everything of the satanic world and condemn Satan, who betrayed God, as a sinner and prevail over him.

What is Satan like? He is like a judge. Jesus is a defense lawyer. God is also the judge. We are the criminals. This is how it is. However, while we are fleeing, we have to pose as the attorneys and serve Jesus as the defense lawyer and God as the judge and punish Satan as the criminal. When we reveal everything about Satan, beginning from his origin, and charge, “These are Satan’s crimes, so we hope that Heaven will punish him,” then Jesus will agree and the Father will give the sentence. If we can attend such a Jesus and Father, what can we be afraid of? We have to possess this standard of triumph.

If we have such a relationship with Jesus, we will not face any obstacle in the world of the heart. There cannot be any fear in that heart. Because the phenomenon of fear becomes active based on evil, if someone can reveal it clearly and stand in the position to drive out its source, then even that which has the power to dismantle Heaven and earth cannot conquer the person’s life.

An Honorable Guest Who Can Be Invited by Heaven

Ladies and gentlemen, in the society in which we live, the tide of truth is infiltrating even though we are unaware of it. The flow of the world of conscience is seeping in. It is connecting to the feeling of life. The relationship of the heart is coming around. Yet have you ever shed tears and welcomed them, saying, “Please come”? If you have never done so, you will remain a sinner before Heaven and earth.

If there is someone who sheds tears and says, “Tide of truth, please strike my mind. Movement of God’s heart, please dwell in my heart. Feelings of God’s life, please dwell in my mind. The relationship of God’s love, please govern my heart,” he is greater than a Ph.D. You have to understand that such a person is an honorable guest whom Heaven can invite and welcome.

Jesus was such a person. Jesus looked at the sins and evils of the people and said, “People! You do not know that the heart of God is springing forth within your minds. You do not know that the eternal and unchanging life is vibrating in your life. You do not know that God’s love dwells within your minds, that there is a God who is shedding tears with a mournful heart in this hour.”

Jesus passed away. Although Jesus came, he passed away without being able to fulfill all he was supposed to accomplish. Who will be responsible for what he left unfinished? Who will inherit the truth that we must learn and teach it to us? Who will pioneer the mind that we should have? Who will establish the standard of life? Who will build the connection with the love with which we should forge an eternal relationship? You have to understand that Jesus is forced to lament and pray even on the right hand of God.

This person, Jesus, is our bridegroom. Ladies and gentlemen! No matter how wooden a person may be, when he looks at the world with such a heart, he will find there the tears, flesh and blood of Jesus. When he looks at Heaven and earth he will sense that the love of God is penetrating into their hearts. When he then runs on the path that others do not travel, without a rest during the day and night, he is a helper of God. God needs such a person. Humanity awaits the appearance of such a person.

Korea also awaits the emergence of such young men and women. If there are young men and women who can pray, “Heaven! Earth! Please let me take on the burden of this fateful sorrow,” when others are basking under glamorous neon lights, this country will never perish.

If we forget that there is an ideology of life which has implanted its roots in the back alleys of all things, then we will perish. Before we rise to high places, we should become a sacrificial offering in a lowly place and shed blood and fall, crying out for the people and the future of this country with concern. If there are statesmen who can listen to those voices of concern and seek them, then their country will prosper. Such has been the history of Heaven.

Among the sages who came to this earth or great persons who were chosen by Heaven, was there anyone who did not shed tears, blood and sweat? Those who remain on their path, even when they are struggling in the back alleys of life and are trampled upon, pushed out and fallen down, are walking the religious path.

Ladies and gentlemen! Let us honor those who are in sorrow. They struggled and were persecuted in order to implant the roots of life in the back alleys of death. This people broadened the foundation by connecting with the flow of history, life, truth, heart and love even without being totally aware of it. Heaven cannot ignore such people.

Jesus who said that he will be responsible for all humanity from the back alley of the world was not a Messiah of glory. He was not a Messiah who could enjoy love, joy and happiness. He was a Messiah of agony and sorrow. He was a Messiah of death. You have to understand that Jesus took responsibility in the most unjust back alleys and was sold at a wholesale price. To believe Jesus is not to rush to him and cling to him. Rather, it is shedding tears and holding onto him, saying “Now we are about to die with You.” Do you deny this?

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to follow me should deny himself and bear the cross each day and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) What is the self to deny here? It is the authority of the satanic world. The powers of self-centered individuals, the self-centered standard of criticism, and the self-centered world come from Satan, the king of this world. Those who sever these and shed lonesome tears are fertilizers who are absorbed as an element and lay the foundation to implant the roots of life. Struggling in the dark and troubling alleyways of life, these are the people who are living a religious life.

The Lord Who Emerges Again with New Words of Truth

Christians today should lead this kind of life. Those who praise the dreams of the new age and are content to be at the cutting edge of a splendid culture will be denounced by history and forced to stand for judgment at the bottom of this world. Conversely, if there is a group of people who say, “All of you go back; I will guard this place,” and fill up the ditch of death with their own blood, sweat and tears and make a level ground, then God will work through that group.

History is created with new ideologies and in new forms, yet it does not begin from a good situation but from a bad situation. You’ve learned all this. For this reason, where there is sin, there will be much divine grace.

We who must go now should open our hearts and protest, “God! Although Jesus came, I could not establish a standard in my heart which would enable me to go confidently before the absolute being as His object partner. What am I to do?” We should cling to Jesus and protest. We should cling to the Bible and protest. If we were only to listen to the words of other people, we would perish. The Korean people have suffered the misfortune of becoming a colony of another country because they listened to someone else’s words.

Now, as we stand before God who has been seeking humanity speechlessly, we should not unconditionally believe other people’s words. There are fundamentally different forms of words. You cannot believe others.

Therefore, although it is said that the foundations of heart and truth in our hearts should be like this and that, when these words do not come true, we should protest. If you want to protest, you should be able to defend yourself as such and such a person. If you say, “Father, this should have become such and such because of this and that. Why was that not realized?” then God will immediately say, “That is true.” Have you thought about this?

Christianity today says that the Lord will return. Buddhism claims that the Maitreya will return, while Confucianism says that the true man will appear. Each religion is talking about the return of the Lord. They do not mean that he will simply relive the words in the Bible. He is not someone who will relive the words of the Bible or repeat the words of an already established faith. These religions are talking about the return of a Lord who will come with a new truth of higher content. For this reason, if Heaven exists, we should protest until we can obtain an answer concerning him from Heaven. Have you ever tried that? The time has come when we should protest, “Is that really true about Jesus? Is God really like that?” Only then will history make progress.

Although many faithful people worshipped the founders of their religions and took a direction in history, that did not manifest itself in their lives. For this reason we should rise above the founders of religions and grab hold of God. Shouldn’t we do so? Since not everything can be explained by what is written in the Scriptures, we should rise above their pinnacle and protest to God. We are to protest about the founders of religions.

What is the purpose of believing in Jesus? What are we to accomplish by believing in him? To become his bride? What are we to do once we become brides? To live a good life? What are we going to do once we live a good life? We are to reciprocate. Hence, if this has not come true, then shouldn’t we protest? Our goal is to meet Jesus, our bridegroom. Yet have we ever received the love of Jesus? That is not what I believe. Regardless of whether Jesus loves us or not, I want to reach beyond Jesus and receive the love of God. Jesus is a condition. He is the condition through which we can receive the love of God.

Thus, Paul said, “Who will ever cut me off from the love of God which dwells within our lord Jesus Christ?” God’s love within Jesus is not the love related to a bride. If Jesus cannot take a bride and receive God’s blessing, he cannot inherit the great work of Heaven. You have to understand this. You should build a relationship of God-centered love.

Have you ever opened the gates to your heart to obtain this quality and felt the waves of truth? Have you ever prodded an extremely clear conscience? Have you ever grabbed onto the traces of life coming through the voice of your conscience and praised it? Have you ever felt something in your heart which is connected to the infinite world and emerged with an explosive power of life? Have you ever felt it?

God Desires to Express Himself through Human Beings

God created people in such a way that they can feel a corresponding amount of the truth that they cultivate in themselves, the emotions of the heart, the emotions of life, and the emotions of love that they generate in themselves. Isn’t that necessary for them to receive love? If they have the appearance of being dead, who will love them?

Only those who have felt the stimulation which would empower them to generate some aspects of truth, heart, mind, life and love will hear God say to them, “You are truly my son.” Only then will you be alive. Do you deny that?

If they are not careful, they are sure to misunderstand. Only those who stand upon the foundation of their original nature and who possess certain motivating qualities can establish a common base with the absolute one. This will never happen to those who merely consume what they are given and fall after they are raised up.

What is the state you are in as you flee to the city of refuge? What does Heaven desire? We have to understand that God has been struggling for six thousand years as He has longed for human beings to become the sources of truth. You will understand through your own experience that when you can enter that state, you can confidently say, as Jesus did, “I am in God and God is in me.”

No one can hold back a prince of escape who feels this motivation and is willing to walk the path of death. Ladies and gentlemen, he moves in unison with the truth, is in harmony with the world of the heart and is connected to the principles of life. He manifests the world of the heart and the beauty of the infinite creation. For this reason Heaven will protect that person.

If we can talk about our value in this realm and talk about the relationship between God and ourselves, how happy will God be as He looks upon it. If I wrote a book and said, “So and so is like this,” do you think that the person will say, “You! Why do you offend me?” What do you think? How do you think he will feel if you sing him a pleasant song and say, “Although you do not say it out loud, isn’t this how you feel?” How would you feel?

God’s ideal of creation is to bring out in people of the present age all the stimulating emotions which lie within Him, and rejoice as He appreciates their value. Those who live centering on themselves will lose themselves and perish. Those who praised their own value will fade away in death. Sons of filial piety, women of chastity, patriots in a country composed of tribes will disappear when the country is swept away by the worldwide trend of thought and is destroyed.

When we are running toward the city of escape we have to cut away everything that is individual and all self-centered emotions. If in the six-thousand-year history such a person appeared, wouldn’t God bless him? God laments because such a person does not appear. If such a young man appears in Korea, we can invite God to Korea. This is not nonsense. When a receiver has the capability to pull in electronic waves forcefully, it can receive the energy to shoot them back out. It can possess such generating power.

Human beings lamented over their own situation and mourned their own limited value. This is miserable. The Messiah is the brave one who comes with the authority to shout to those who are struggling over the ideals of their family, nation and world: “All of you, step aside!”

The World of Relationships for the Accomplishment of Goals

Conceptual views of history will not last. If we cannot elucidate this universe, history will continue. History could not lay all our standards and foundations and could not solve them, so we have to begin answering such fundamental problems. If we can be in tune externally with the flow of history and internally with the direction of the mind, and if at the point of transition where we can transcend we stand before Heaven, God will say, “You are a victorious prince.” This is what I believe.

Now the time has passed when we should listen to someone’s words. More than any truth and more than the words of the greatest teacher, we should listen to the voices of our mind and pursue the mind which we yearn to listen to over and over. Then something infinite which we do not even understand will come out. This is creation.

When a distinguished scientist solves an atomic formula, there are times when he struggles because he cannot find a common base to relate it with. When he then secures a common base, he can derive all the answers. To secure this base, he has to forget sleeping and eating and forget all feelings associated with his life and all the things of the senses. He must concentrate. When he struggles so desperately, he can manifest an internal reality as an external, demonstrable formula.

Human beings at most can play this intermediary role. What is the state we are in today? We are not in the causal world or in the world of destination. We are struggling in the world of relationships. Yet this world of relationships is passing us. When we solve a mathematical formula, once we plug in several numbers to a formula and obtain an answer, the answer is all that we need.

Since the world of relationships has become miserable, if there is someone who can explain the misery of this world and connect it with the will and heart of God, he will live for eternity. He will never be judged with history. You have to understand that he will never perish with the last chapter of history.

In conclusion, the problem lies in each of us. What is the reason that the Jesus we believe in was praying so desperately, not eating well, not putting on good clothes, not sleeping at night? It is because he was busy walking his path of life. He had to resolve his own path, resolve the path of the people, and resolve the path of the world. That is why he had to exert himself many hundreds of times over. You should think about how much you should exert yourselves to pioneer the path of your life.

I hope that you will not be deserters and not crash during the takeoff on the path of life but will exhibit the qualities of a brave soldier who can fly into the vast sky like a jet.

Prayer

Father! Although many people have been born and passed away, no one has built a relationship of life which is transcendent of time and space. People in history longed for such a person. Even today they are bitterly appealing to You.

Your sons and daughters who lie prostrated here find after hearing the words that the problem is not someone else’s problem; it is their own. Reciprocal views on existence were not the problem; the actual content which can make the determination centering on ourselves has been the problem. We know that You long for those who cultivate these qualities and call you Father. Please guide us to become such sons and daughters. This is our sincere prayer.

Now we have heard the truth that we have to become unchanging people whose minds and bodies are united with the infinite Father. We should stand so close to the life and love of the eternal Father that we do not know if we exist or not, if we are inside or outside of the body. Please allow us to feel this.

Each of us knows what situation we are in, whether we are dozing off, struggling on a deviant path, resting, sleeping, or in what environment we are in. We know that to pioneer our own environment we have to carry on a battle of truth, a battle of the mind, a battle of life, and a battle of the heart. Without passing through such a course, we know that we cannot build a relationship with the world of purpose.

Please encourage our minds and bodies as we head toward this purpose. Please let the words of life remain eternally deep inside our bones and flesh so that we can approach the homeland. Hoping that You will hear our wishes, we prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 8: Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven

September 13, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
Matthew 10:24-39

Prayer

We know that the verses just read revealed the things that Jesus kept deep in his heart.

Father, Jesus was to bring an end to the four-thousand-year providential history. He was to lead the many Israelites, build the altar of victory before the Father, and restore everything on that altar of glory as the chief priest. Yet we know that he died without fulfilling this historic mission.

Father, although two thousand years have passed since Jesus, please allow us to picture Jesus’ situation at that time. It is said that these are the Last Days. We know through the phenomena unfolding in our lives that the time is near when we can eliminate all sinful elements.

Looking at this and at all the phenomena of the world, we conclude that these are the Last Days. At this moment, when all unfolding signs are foretelling the Last Days, what should we possess? What should we feel? What should we be proud of? We should not pursue any power of this world, anything material, nor anything that has to do with people’s character. The only thing is to resemble Jesus Christ who lived two thousand years ago. Please allow us to reflect upon how we have to make his heart, desires and situation our own and lay the foundation for the fulfillment of his wishes.

In his time, Jesus appeared to be a humble man. He appeared to be inferior to John the Baptist. John the Baptist came before the Israelite people who were gathering to be baptized in accordance with the new law and appeared to be a great personality. The Israelites honored him as a prophet.

When Jesus emerged as someone who seemed inferior to John the Baptist, the people could not believe him. He was opposed wherever he went. Those who followed Jesus were a lowly group of women and tax collectors. When we think about this, we can sense the most sorrowful historical reality, that there was no true son or daughter of Heaven who could honor Jesus as the Lord.

Heaven needed those who could believe in Jesus as God’s only begotten son and the Savior, lowly in social status and unpolished though he might be. Please allow us to be in tune with the heart of that time and bow our heads humbly before Jesus. Let us receive Heaven’s instructions in the midst of God’s love.

I am about to convey the truth of the Father. If there is a gap between the mind of the speaker and the minds of the listeners, that will be the basis for Satan’s action and a condition which will block the gates of our life. We know that if that is to be the outcome, it is better not to listen to the words at all.

Please allow us to open our hearts wide, to cleanse ourselves of our own thoughts and concepts, and to entrust our minds and bodies to the Father’s movement of life. Let us be in harmony with the Father’s will.

I sincerely pray that with the power of the words of re-creation You will let us experience the center of life and rise up as the life itself before the Father’s will during this hour.

We entrust everything to You. Please govern us. Please let all the beloved members dwell in the same state of grace. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The title of the sermon I am about to give is “Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven.” I will speak briefly upon this topic.

The Relationship between Human Beings and the Absolute Being

The most lonely person in the world is someone who has no one who recognizes or understands him. There is nothing more lonely and sad than to have no one who understands you. You may think that you fully understand yourself, but if you examine yourself objectively, you probably must admit that you do not.

We all have minds. Our mind is driving us toward a certain direction and toward a greater truth every minute of the day, transcendent of time and space. It is probably difficult to explain why this internal action has not taken root in us, although we sense that it has continued throughout history.

You may want to ask others to understand you and believe in you. You probably cannot deny that all your thoughts and convictions have been for the sake of connecting to a certain reality. If you then ask others to believe in you and trust you, you should ask whether or not you have first gained control over yourself and secured a position that is connected to the great purpose of Heaven. The answer is probably no.

Given this, how can we determine our own value today? We cannot accomplish a great purpose unless we first have the desire to become the subject partner who can move all things. We must examine ourselves as we put this desire into action and criticize ourselves with cold objectivity. If there is a God who seeks to fulfill the purpose of Heaven, then we cannot come before Him proudly without having done these things. Based on our own rational reasoning, we cannot deny that we cannot have pride in front of Heaven.

Who are our faith, desires and ideals for? Although they may seem to be for our own selves, in truth they do not have any relationship with us. Because human beings are in such a sad situation, although we may possess ideals and desires in our hearts, they clash with the sad reality of ourselves. We know through our reading of the Bible that this is why prophets and saints in the past advocated that we seek to embody ideals in our lives and be in harmony with them. They struggled bitterly to realize this goal, yet they could not accomplish it. We are awaiting the day this goal can be reached.

Everything in the universe, including human beings, was created to be in reciprocal relationships. If there is Heaven, then there is also earth. If there is a mind, then there is also a body. When we ponder things from this worldview, we find that if there is a movement of the heart, there must also be some subject partner who can move the mind. Whether you call this absolute being God, the Creator, or a deity is not important. At the very least, no one can deny that such a being must exist. If there is an absolute being, that absolute being has to have some connection to our minds in our daily lives as history flows. This is why human beings are capable of wishing for truer and better things.

Before we criticize or make a judgment based upon some reality, we first have to make some reciprocal condition based upon which to make the comparison. To make a logical argument, we need some basis of assumption first.

For this reason, in order to understand ourselves and explain ourselves fully, we need some reciprocal condition upon which to criticize and judge. This is the absolute being who is the object of worship in our faith. When we enter into a relationship with Him and compare ourselves and evaluate ourselves based on Him, we can understand where we stand. Thus, if we have minds, we have first to feel that there is some absolute being or some subject partner who governs our minds and moves us.

The absolute being is the ultimate goal which religions and philosophies should reach. The countless sages and saints sought longingly for the absolute being with whom they could build an eternal relationship of heart and with whom they could live, on whom they could base all their thoughts, worldviews and ideologies. Such are the numerous people who seek religion. That is what they are looking for.

To Understand Ourselves Completely

To understand ourselves, we have to understand the value of those we are in relationship with. Our minds do not create the truths and ideologies that our actions are based upon. First, we have to put ourselves in a position where we can feel that we are in a relationship with someone or something.

When God comes to us, He always comes in front of us. That which is good will not come from the side, but from the front.

Then where are we going to set the standard of knowledge? If what comes in front of us can connect everything, all knowledge, and can move the world of the conscience, then we have to understand that this is the one standard which can explain us. When you understand this, you will see people in a different light.

Many believers today boast of their faith: “I understand God, I believe in God, I rely on God.” Yet if we were to ask what the origin of their knowledge is, in what environment they uphold their faith, and what situation their life of faith in God is in, we find that unless they are in an eternal relationship with their minds, none of them will be recognized by God, trusted by God or blessed with God’s intervention.

God chose the Israelites as His chosen people. God raised them up out of many peoples to love only Him. How do you think God raised them up? He related to them head on. God shortens the distance of the relationship and drives history into an environment where He can have an intimate relationship with people.

Jesus said when he came to the earth, “I am in you, you are in me, the Father is in me and I am in the Father, so the Father is also in you.” For what purpose did God choose the Israelites and guide them? It was to bring them into a straight linear line and make the condition upon which He could say, “You are Me and I am you.” We have to understand that this is the relationship of knowledge God has sought.

Due to the Fall, human beings deviated from the position where God can relate with them head on. Human beings who relate with God head on with respect to their desires, situations and hearts are people of original value.

Due to the Fall, human beings’ desires, situations and hearts went awry, so they were chased out of Heaven. All the countless people who ever lived, from the first human ancestors to now, did not have the right desires, situations and hearts. In other words there was no one in history who said, “I can move Heaven and earth.” Your desires are twisted, your situations are wrong, and your hearts are facing the wrong direction.

What kind of descendants are we? Fundamentally, we are the descendants propagated from the point of origin with different desires, different situations and different hearts. In other words we have not become people who can stand in front of God with the desires, situations and hearts that God wants to see. If we do not know what state our desires, situations and hearts are in, then we do not understand ourselves.

The Desires, Situations and Hearts of Fallen People

Heaven revealed to fallen humanity that what human beings desire and hope for is not the earth, nor any great saint on the earth; it is God. God rejects humans living on the earth in a chaotic situation. Why? It is because they are false. Hence, God has been devising a solution. Historically, religions have shouldered the mission to turn this situation around and create a heavenly situation on God’s behalf. The lives of religious people have pioneered the path of conscience centering on these religions.

Have you returned your desires, situations and hearts to God? You have not. Jesus, who understood this, looked at this world and tried to bring all of humanity to God’s side: to new desires, new situations, and a new world of heart. Because he came to the earth with such a responsibility, we may call him the center of hope, the center of situations and the center of heart or love.

This is the reason that no one can boast proudly about his own desires and heart before Jesus. Are they the desires that God wants him to have? Is he in the situation God wanted him to be in? Does he have the heart that came from God? The answers to these questions will be negative.

What is the crucial issue for us? What is the desire of human beings? You can understand yourselves only when you have answers to these questions. We have to understand the situations of people living today; we have to understand the problems concerning heart. To understand them we need to find some reciprocal standard. Religions have presented this standard, no matter how unclear it may be. What kind of people are we, the descendants of fallen people? We are the people who betrayed Heaven. We frustrated God’s desires, undermined God’s situation, blocked God’s heart and betrayed Him over and over again. Because humanity stands in such a position, although they may be living in a world of some desire, situation and heart, other thoughts enter into their minds. Those who feel the intense pain arising from this conflict choose between death and God. The intelligent, the wise and the serious have sought this path even at the risk of their lives.

What feelings should we have? How should we understand God and ourselves? We are the descendants of those who betrayed God. Who would ever contest this? We are the descendants of the traitors who betrayed Heaven. However, our minds are communicating with the original world. We do not communicate frequently, but at certain times we do. Your bodies are made up of the flesh and blood of traitors against Heaven. What are we going to do about that?

Heaven does not judge us because He hates us. The purpose of God’s dispensation is to strike Satan, who caused all of this, the one who reigns in evil and betrayed God. God’s intention is not to throw us into the kiln of death; His purpose is to vanquish Satan, who has been trampling upon human beings and who brought great confusion to this land.

Therefore, God has been warning you through your minds and telling you to embark upon this path; to avoid certain paths and go forward to fight against your enemies. For those who have strong consciences, the more they go, the more they will be warned to leave the place. It is not the original purpose of human beings born on this earth to become the prisoners of enemy devils.

What is the original purpose of God’s creating human beings? It is so that they may be the true sons and daughters of God. The original relationship between God and us is the inseparable relationship of parent and child. Human beings, who should build this relationship, are enslaved in a death-like despair and do not realize this fact. They have no idea how they should act under these circumstances.

If someone comes before these human beings with original desires, situations and a worldview based on the heart and instructs us how to return to our original homeland, he is certainly the savior of hope, the savior of the situation, and the savior of heart. Isn’t that so? To live we need three elements: desire, situation and heart. You have a certain situation, certain desires, and a certain heart. In one sense the lives of human beings are a game in which our lives depend on our desire, situation and heart.

For this reason, since their present life is painful, what human beings want is to find the world of new hope, a new situation and new heart. Fallen human beings want the original world.

What Kind of Person Is the Savior?

There may be some people among you who are proud of themselves, but you should reflect upon yourselves and criticize yourselves objectively. Those who are proud will be defeated. Because this world is evil, those who are proud of themselves will meet such a fate. You should live according to your conscience. Those who try to lead their lives according to their consciences will rise up one day, after the era of evil people’s influence passes. Although this is a little-known fact, there will be living historical proof of this. The moment such an event takes place in Heaven and earth on the world scale, evil will recede and goodness will come.

Heaven sought us out. We human beings have been seeking for God for the last six thousand years. We thought that the desires God established were the true desires, that the salvation Jesus gave us was a complete salvation, and that the love that Jesus demonstrated was the love which could connect us to the true heart.

Even then we were not able to say from the moment we began believing in Jesus, “Desires of the world, begone from me; situations of the world, begone from me; the heart of the world, begone from me.” We have not been able to transcend that limitation. Jesus was to bring a revolution to this sinful world. He should have built a world of new desires, new situations and a new heart. This was Jesus’ mission.

We Live in a World of Suffering

Human beings are living in a world of suffering. They are fighting fierce battles between mind and body. The world of the body is a substantial world; hence, all one’s experiences in it are concrete. Thus, no matter how strong one’s mind may be, one is captured by the stimulation of this substantial world.

To the grief of the mind, the body is weak. Why is this? This is because the emotions one feels in this physical world, the stimulations to your body coming from all around, are strong. In contrast, the stimulation that the mind feels does not come from one’s surroundings but from one direction. Because the stimulation of the body is stronger than the stimulations of the mind, the latter are cut off and suppressed. We cannot deny that this sad reality overwhelms our minds. When stimulation comes to our minds, it does not come from our surroundings. It does not come from behind or from the sides; it comes from the front.

For this reason, even if you are living in the evil world, you sometimes long for some vague thing, even unconsciously. Those who lead a religious life suddenly feel the urge to pray. All of this is because of the functioning of the mind. If the mind has a door, as we open the door and allow the relationship of Heaven to enter through it, we will feel the stimulations of the mind and pursue that world. We should understand this.

Although evil is omni-directional and attacks us through concrete forms, God comes to us from one direction through the bottom of our mind. Yet we have wronged this God so many times. This is why you are traitors who are not worthy to stand before God. You probably cannot deny this.

Human beings live under Satan’s prison of death, under the reign of Satan. We who should live under the reign of God and become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven live under the rule of Satan as his captives. We are like prisoners of war. This is the situation we are in.

Still, deep inside our minds there are certain movements which can connect us to the truth, situation and heart of our original homeland. God created human beings so that these movements can explode in our minds and freely influence our bodies and bring all of Heaven and earth to submission.

We are living a life of battle to follow the movement of the mind, which is as faint as a strand of thread, in search of the direction of goodness and to make goodness concrete. Satan attacks us from three directions here. He enters us with good material things, power and position in this world. The religious path is the course of constant fighting to cut off from these things. This is why it is written that we should pray constantly. The moment we pray, we are fighting.

From this perspective Jesus looked upon human beings, who have become prisoners of Satan, and shouldered the responsibility to destroy the realm of Satan. It is my plan to form a special troop in this evil world for the purpose of laying the foundation upon which to dismantle Satan’s world. The Israelites were chosen to serve as the basis upon which God could restore this world. Nevertheless, the people were ignorant of this truth.

God’s Dispensation through Abraham and His Family

During the two thousand years from Abraham to Jesus, God established faith as the condition for the Israelites. If individuals believed, they could graduate from that level and pioneer the foundation upon which families could believe. If a family believed, then God elevated a people to the next level of pioneering the foundation upon which a nation could believe. If a nation believed, He took them further and pioneered the foundation upon which the world could believe. You have to understand this.

What kind of person was Abraham, the father of faith, whom God chose? In our terms today, he was a spy in Satan’s world who could communicate with God as an individual. Since the world belonged to Satan, no one received Abraham warmly. Because everyone was his enemy, he had to use discretion when he heard and saw things. He had to use wise judgment in his thoughts and be cautious in his actions.

When he was eating a meal or sleeping, he could not be at ease. In his daily life, he always had to pay close attention to the people around him. This is the path our ancestors who upheld God’s providence and will walked.

God called Abraham, whom He chose, from Ur of the Chaldeans and put him in such a situation. He drove him out to the wilderness. There Abraham awaited the coming of the day when God’s reign could be established. We have to understand that our ancestors left their homeland waiting for the day that the sons and daughters whom God had blessed would multiply and fill the earth like the stars in the sky and smite the evil world.

Why? Since we are enslaved in the country of our enemies, inside their prison bars, we should feel thoroughly disgusted. If you cannot feel this, then you are not worthy to be called true believers before Heaven.

For what purpose did God raise Abraham? It was to use him as a channel to communicate with people far away, those who were in the enemy’s camp and in Satan’s world. Then he was to expand outward horizontally on that basis. However, because the relationship between Heaven and earth is fragile, God had to work through the direct lineage of Abraham, referring to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You have to understand this.

When Isaac and Abraham received the blessing, what did they possess? The only thing they had was their qualification as the chosen people. God blessed Abraham on the condition, “You cannot compromise with Satan’s world. You cannot blend in with Satan’s world. You are My chosen people. Your life is different, your feelings, desires and ideals are all different. Your descendants will live only if they bring victory through Me.” Abraham had to bless Isaac from this perspective. Isaac blessed Jacob from this same perspective, and Jacob blessed his descendants in the same way. Nonetheless, the Israelites betrayed this connection which came down to them through their tradition and blessing.

After Abraham was chosen, he pioneered the individual environment of faith. Then Jacob took seventy members of his family and entered Egypt. What did God do based on this foundation of a family? He chased them out into Satan’s world in order to form a people. It was not their own country; it was the center of Satan’s world. God drove them into Egypt, Satan’s world, the historical enemies of the Israelites. Isn’t this true?

Based on this foundation of a family, they were to endure any kind of suffering, any path of death and grief. They had to endure to the point of forming a nation. Even as the Israelites suffered in a foreign land for four hundred years, they were to maintain an intense desire that God should be relieved of His suffering. However, although the four-thousand-year history passed, the Israelites deviated from the traditional desires, situations and heart of God. Moses was the person who came to resolve this situation. Moses was the leader of the 600,000 Israelites. He was the leader of the people.

The Root of Israel’s Decline

What did God intend to do with this foundation of a people? He tried to use the people as a base to expand out to the world. For this reason God promised the chosen people that He would send them a Messiah who could lead the people to build a new kingdom and who would become the King of Kings. He gave this promise based on the foundation of the people.

This was not based on Abraham or Jacob, but the people after Moses. However, the people did not know that the Messiah who was sent as the prince of the world, who was to be assisted by them in dismantling the reign of Satan, who was to lay a foundation of victory for Heaven, was the one who was sent.

From what perspective did the Israelites long for the Messiah? They should have had the clear conviction that they were the chosen people for God’s providence who were to unite and pioneer the world to conquer Satan’s world when the Messiah appeared. If they had felt so and had been deeply indignant about living in Satan’s world, they never would have killed Jesus.

Jesus came to this earth. What was his desire? He was not concerned about himself, nor about his twelve disciples, nor about the seventy followers. He focused his efforts upon the whole Israelite people. Jesus was to rule the chosen people, bringing them together to build a new blessed land of Canaan. He was to blow the heralding trumpets to set out for the blessed land of Canaan on the world level. The sorrowful fact that Jesus was chased out from his position as the leader of the people was the root of Israel’s decline.

Until now people have thought that Jesus came to die. When you examine things more deeply, you will find that this is not true. We need brave soldiers who can fight for Heaven. Isn’t that logical?

Through the four-thousand-year history, God built something comparable to a communications center and a military headquarters to communicate with Satan’s world. Yet all of these were destroyed. Although He sent Jesus based on the foundation of four thousand years of hard work on the part of the people, they turned against him. Can there be a king without a people to rule, once the foundation of the people is destroyed? For this reason Satan’s world did what it wanted to him; that was his death on the cross. It was the miserable execution of a prince. Yet the people did not know that Jesus’ death on the cross was the miserable execution of the prince of Israel.

Where was he killed? He was killed under the sovereignty of Satan. If you want to learn about this in greater detail, come and see me when you have time. This is how it is. This is why God is furious. Jesus said that although he was going to have to suffer death, he would give us the secret documents of a new covenant, secret messages from Heaven. These are the New Testament Gospels.

“Believe me. You will live when you believe me and follow me. If you believe me, where will you go? To the place of liberation. You will live only if you believe me. Believe. I came for you and am dying for you, so believe in me and in the words I have spoken.” Jesus’ words are the words of promise which will give us life. The words of the Bible are secret codes. They are the codes by which Heaven can communicate with us in Satan’s world. They are written in symbols and parables. Hence, no matter how much you read, you will not fully understand. There will come a day when these codes can be deciphered, so we have to demonstrate utmost loyalty and exert ourselves. What did Jesus want? It was to rely on the people to establish the ideal of the restoration of the world. Since no thought or doctrine of the world could explain this, he promised that one day he would unravel the secret documents and show us our path and destination.

The Second Israel Should Awaken

Christians today are the second foundation of Israel. Christians of the world today should awaken. They should awaken to the fact that they are the second Israel. Then, even if they suffer untold tribulations here, when the one day comes, they will be able to take pride in themselves under the power and authority of Heaven. This is the day of the Second Advent, which they long for.

What should the second Israel of the world today do? When the Israelites passed through the wilderness, they were divided into tribes. Which group do you, the second Israelites, belong to? You have to understand this. You have to understand to which group you belong.

There are twelve pearl doors in Heaven, and on each of those twelve doors there is a name plaque of one of the twelve disciples. Hence, you have to understand which denomination you belong to and which tribe your denomination belongs to. The second Israelites lost the tribes. This is much like the time of wandering in the wilderness. This is such a time. You will soon encounter a time when a people like the Amalekites will attack you. You will have to fight a life or death battle. The two great camps are in confrontation, and one camp is attacking and marching forward. Heaven does not strike first. When the day of striking comes, they will strike on the level of ideology, heart, mind and in life. They will invade and strike us from the direction opposite to the origin.

We must wake up and renew our determination. The second Israelites of the world must unite. If we fight among ourselves over our position and group as the twelve disciples of Jesus did, we will be defeated. Such a time will come.

The Israelites formed twelve tribes under the leadership of Moses and cultivated a strong spirit of the people, honoring Moses and God. In the same way, in Jesus’ time there should have been a formation of groups for the purpose of serving the Messiah. If that had been accomplished, Jesus would not have died. They lost their structure and were separated. Taking separate paths and working without coordination and unity will lead to defeat. Isn’t this so?

God Who Came to Us through the Prophets and Saints and We Who Are Seeking God

God came to us and taught us in the following way: He said that He was the father of individuals, families, people and the world. As long as a people possessed a father, they all had the same father. As long as the world had a father, the world had the same father. This is what God wants.

God came to us. He came to each one of us, prisoners in Satan’s sovereignty. However, even after raising up Abraham as the father of faith, God could not share all that He wanted to tell us. Although He raised up a family, He could not tell them all He wanted. Although he chose Moses to lead the people, He could not reveal all He wanted to. Although He sent Jesus, He could not convey all that He wanted to at that time. He could not. It is written clearly in the Bible that He
could not speak all that He wanted to.

Why is this so? Jesus represented the God of the world and of the universe and all of Heaven and earth. He could not accomplish this mission without a foundation. Thus, Jesus said that he will return in the Last Days.

Please reflect upon yourselves. You owe an historical debt.

To instruct you and teach you, Heaven came to your people and sent prophets countless times. Do you understand this?

What did Jesus bring with him? Jesus came with the desire to elevate all people as the children of God and to judge Satan’s world. He came to build a garden of happiness as the King of Kings, centering on the Father. He came with this desire, situation and heart of love. Have you ever had such a desire? Have you ever experienced such a situation? Have you ever felt such a heart? If you have not, then you cannot avoid judgment.

Therefore, we should not call out, “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. God the Father who called Moses and the prophets of the past, Father whom Jesus called upon!” We should pray, “God of Abraham, God of Jacob, God of Moses and God of Jesus! Please be my God.” God should not be the God of someone else. He must be our own God. This is what we must do.

The time that we call out to the historical God has passed. Thus, the God of the past must have a relationship with us and the God of the future must have a relationship with us. You have to build a relationship in which you can say, “God of the past, isn’t this the current situation? God of the present, isn’t this the situation? God of the future, isn’t this the situation? Isn’t this Your desire?” and God will say, “Yes.”

To do this, first we have to understand that we live in Satan’s world. You are the descendants of Satan. You are prisoners of war captured not by God’s side but by Satan’s side. The Savior is the chief communications representative on the world scale who has the responsibility to bring you back. The “Savior” means that he will save you. The Savior is the person with the mission to save all the prisoners of war. He encourages them and goads them to fight. For this reason, it is written that Jesus came not to bring peace to the world but to provide weapons and provoke battles. Yet are the battles being fought or not? Please examine this carefully.

The Tactics of Heaven to Restore Satan’s World

We are the people who should go before God. We are the sons and daughters of Heaven, part of God’s family, heavenly couples and heavenly brothers and sisters. Yet what is our current situation? We lost our brothers and sisters. We are pitiful people who do not have parents, families, citizens and partners. These are what we must restore. We have to recover them.

When we seek them, we have to do so through our minds. Heaven comes to us through our minds. Heaven knocks on the doors to our minds and enters. For six thousand years of history, Heaven has instilled in us the feeling, “This is not how I should be; I have to escape from this world.” The six- thousand-year history of war is the repetition of fights between those who represent goodness and those who represent evil. Human history has been a history of war.

In the beginning, it may seem that evil people strike and prevail over good people, but when good people are struck, they multiply. When they die, they multiply. The condition in Heaven allows three people to be recovered when one person is struck. For this reason Christianity is struck first in any nation. God’s tactic is to send His beloved sons and daughters to Satan’s world and let them suffer through beatings and death. In exchange for their suffering, He takes back a comparable amount from Satan’s world. Good people never strike first. For the same amount that they are struck, they make a claim from Satan’s world. This is the tactic of Heaven. This is the reason that the history of Christianity until today has been a history of martyrdom and blood.

In history those who strike first always lose. Look at the World Wars. In the First and the Second World Wars, the side that struck first lost. In the third World War, the side which strikes first will also lose. This is why even in an individual’s life, it is said that one should persevere and restrain oneself; those who persevere will be blessed. One is to take the beating and persevere. This is because when you endure, you will rise up one day.

God has been enduring through all manner of grief. Even when He was accused by Satan during the six thousand years, He was not able to alleviate His indignation and sorrow. There will come a time when God will empathize with you and say, “You are also bitter; you must belong to My side.”

For this reason the religious world today tells us to endure. They tell us to believe and persevere. They tell us to be meek, obedient and sacrificial. Why? When we do so, the time will come when we will rise up.

Because Heaven’s tactic is to be hit first before taking things back, Jesus prayed as he was being struck. He did not even want to violate the laws of Satan’s world. If he had considered the people his enemies, he would have been violating the laws of Satan’s world. Such have been God’s tactics.

We have to understand this. You who are here today should understand that each of you is a son or daughter of God and a citizen of the heavenly kingdom. God sought you many times in history. You have to understand that you are members of the family in the heavenly kingdom. Moreover, you have to understand that you are the sons and daughters of God’s direct lineage. We have to become these sons and daughters, members of the heavenly family, people and citizens.

We have not understood God. God of the past, present and future came to us for our own sake, yet we did not know that God came to us with the hope that we would become His true sons and daughters. God is truly miserable. Did you know that God sought you?

Now that we look back, we find that we have a responsibility to our Father. Although God has exerted Himself for six thousand years on earth, has there been a person who can be proud of himself eternally before Satan and not be attacked by Satan’s world? There has not. There has not been a family about whom God could say, “This family is my family,” or a people about whom God could say, “This people is my people,” and whom Satan could not attack. There has not been a land which God could claim, “This is My land.”

This is the situation God is in. Then who should do this work? Since human beings fell, human beings should do this work. We should say, “Father, my home is Your home, and this home never allows Satan in. It will never allow him.” However, is there a home which can make that statement?

To Become Patriots of Heaven

Are we going to betray the God who came seeking for us in the past and in the present, the God who came to us on the level of a people, a nation, and the world? Are we going to betray Him or be loyal to Him? We can only choose one of these two.

For this reason it is written that the sheep and goats will be separated. To become patriots, you have to understand what it means to be indignant and grievous. You have to understand the bitter indignation of the Father: “My Father was grieving in the past for this reason and in the present for that reason. The Father of the future is in such a position.”

Now we must unite. Since there are no citizens of Heaven who are seeking others, we should raise our flag high and gather the citizens of Heaven at the risk of our lives.

When we think of God, who does not have heavenly people, heavenly tribes, heavenly families, heavenly sons and daughters or heavenly parents, we cannot raise our heads. Human beings cannot raise their heads before God. What we have to understand here is that we are too shameful to raise our heads before Heaven. We thought that the brothers in our homes were our own brothers, yet that turned out not to be true. We thought that the Heaven and earth in which we live is the nation that we should live in, yet that is not true. We thought that the people we are in communication with are our friends. Yet that was not true.

From this perspective, the words that Jesus spoke were appropriate. He spoke all the words that he could speak to human beings before he died. Although he spoke all the words that he could, the people did not understand them. Looking at this Jesus mourned. Jesus who came for humanity abandoned his people and left those who opposed him and prayed in tears before Heaven in the mountains.

If there are sons and daughters who possess a desire to serve the will with their bodies and minds and who dash toward the Father head on, in other words, if there are those who run on behalf of the people, tribes, brothers and children, God will hold onto them and mourn. When Mary Magdalene tried to hold onto the resurrected Jesus, he told her not to hold him because she was not in touch with these principles.

Humanity in the past could not run toward God head on. Not one person transcended the position of a people, of tribes and brothers and stood in the position of children and called the Father their own. Because Jesus fulfilled this responsibility in the course of history, he could become the Savior. Nevertheless Jesus had to die in a situation where God could recognize his victory. For this reason, Jesus has to return to the earth to complete the purpose of victory over Satan in the universe and Heaven and earth. Would it be all right, then, for him to come on the clouds?

We have to understand the time now. We have to understand ourselves. We are locked inside a prison of many layers. How much would God long for a free Heaven and earth, for a place where our citizens can live, where our brothers and sisters can live, where our parents can live, and where our sons and daughters can live?

As God related with human beings for six thousand years, He never forgot even for one minute that world of the heart. We did not know this, but now we have to understand it. After we understand it, we should run toward Heaven and dash forward head on. People must emerge who can represent humanity and run toward the one day when everything in Heaven and on earth can rejoice and give blessings.

This is the purpose of our faith. Do you want to believe and go to Heaven? Do you think you can go to Heaven just because you want to? When you go to a government agency and go through the registration process, you have to repeat the whole process if you get one word wrong. Yet do you think that you can just slide inside the gates of Heaven? That will never be. You cannot enter without having fulfilled certain conditions. You can enter Heaven only after going through some processes of the heart. Because the world of the heart transcends time and space, there is no progress and regression. There are no concepts and forms. There, it is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and eternity.

God’s Desires and Love

The God of love works based on love. So what should we do? We have to be able to feel ourselves to be citizens and to learn to love the citizens of Heaven. We should learn to love the people of Heaven. We should learn of our brothers and sisters of Heaven. We should love the family members of Heaven. We should love the children of Heaven as our own selves. Desires and situations may pass away, but love will remain. We have to understand this.

What is God’s desire? Do you think that God’s desire is to send faithful followers of Jesus to Heaven and put crowns on their heads? That is not true. God wants to open their hearts and love them. Heaven and earth will rejoice when God can say, “Although I have suffered much, because of the joy of meeting you, I can forget all the suffering. Since all I desired has been realized, all beings of Heaven and earth should rejoice as I rejoice over my sons and daughters.”

Has God ever seen such a day? If He had, would we be experiencing fear due to Satan? Would we be experiencing the fear of being victims of Satan’s evil tactics? The day should come when the Father can forget everything and welcome His sons and daughters with both arms, shedding tears of joy and sorrow, boasting, “Satan, look at my son. I have taken back the son you did not want to let go. All people, look at My son. He is My son who was opposed and persecuted.” God wants to find this son and boast about him. Satan and all things will also recognize his value.

For this reason we should have a reciprocal relationship with Heaven. The place where we enter into a relationship of love with the Father, where we can disregard our prestige, honor and situation is a place where we can say that Father is in me and I am in the Father and not know the difference between the Father and ourselves. Only when we can eliminate sorrow in such a situation, cultivate a heart of joy, and establish new laws of Heaven can an ideal world come to this earth.

Only when a movement which can represent this task appears on the earth can God establish a victorious foundation in providential history. Otherwise, God will be a failure. Paul once said that faith, hope and love are always present, yet the most important of the three is love.

What is God’s love? It is not something hanging in the air. If you were to go abroad and see your own people being beaten and persecuted, you would be enraged as if you yourself were suffering the blows. Similarly, when we observe the people who are locked inside the prisons of Satan’s world, we should feel, “These people are our own people. Our own people are being trampled upon. Our people are suffering inside the iron bars of Satan.” God is seeking for those who pray to Heaven to break open the iron fences: “Father, please give me strength. Father, please be with us. We are the Father’s people, the Father’s direct descendants, members of the Father’s family, and the Father’s sons and daughters.” Heaven’s desire is to find these sons and daughters.

God’s desire is to meet these sons and daughters. God wants to share His situation with these sons and daughters. God’s deepest desire is to eternally love these sons and daughters without being accused by Satan. This is God’s very desire. God’s heart rests upon human beings. When we realize this, we will finally come to understand that it was for our sake that God called Abraham and Moses. It was for us that the Jews confronted a miserable fate and that Jesus came and will come again.

When we meet as brothers and sisters with the same beliefs and goal, we should be able to shed tears over the difficulties that each of us have gone through. Have you ever had such a profound experience with other members?

After the liberation of Korea on August 15th, when the Korean people did not have enough to eat, material concerns did not matter to us. Even when we were hungry, we shared food and rejoiced in the times we spent together. We must usher in the day when we can honor God in joy and the Christians of the world can embrace one another and sing in celebration of liberation. This is the hope God cherishes.

What Should We Understand?

Christianity will fade away unless an internal movement appears to shoulder difficulties and support one another with the belief that we are brothers and sisters and one human race, the citizens and family of Heaven. It will follow in the footsteps of Judaism. It will face the same fate as the Israelites who fell down in the wilderness.

Who should uphold the providential will of the people? If Christians do not recognize this mission, foreigners or members of another faith will surely shoulder it and realize the blessings of Christianity. Providential history never warns arrogant and overconfident people with words of guidance. Human beings are to follow the providence; the providence is never steered by human beings, nor does it ever follow them.

Hence, we should give our best and pour out all of our strength to recognize each other as the heavenly citizens, people, family and brothers and sisters. We should yearn for the heavenly sovereign, the ruler of Heaven. This is the time. This is God’s hope. This is the nation that God wants to convey His will through. This is the ideal world God wants to love.

Even if we do not fully understand this, we should understand that we are God’s people. We should know that we are God’s kinsmen and families. We will meet courageous sons and daughters. Those who understand this truth understand God while on earth. Jesus said, “Whoever says to others that they know me, I will recognize them before God.”

What do you want to understand by coming here? You should understand the desires and goals of God and understand that we are His people. You have to understand that God is in anguish and is desperately trying to liberate people from imprisonment in Satan’s world.

Prayer

Father, we have learned that Your desire does not rest in Heaven. Your situation is not focused upon Yourself. The heart of Heaven is not Yours. How much have You longed for Heaven’s desires, situation, and heart to be with the past, present and future? We who did not understand this are traitors and rebels.

Please help us realize how we are enslaved inside the iron fences of Satan. Please allow our calling upon You to be manifested in Heaven and on earth. Please connect the hearts of those who are gathered here to Your heart.

When this is realized before the people and the world, we know that joy will fill all of Heaven and earth. We have learned that we cannot build this ideal world unless we can long for the people, brothers and sisters, our family members and children and shoulder the cross in our battles.

We sincerely pray that You will raise us up as sons and daughters who can fight every day with unbounded, infinite animosity toward Satan’s world.

We hope that we can clearly understand our own situation and the direction that we should head in based on the words You have given us today. We pray that You will guide us to become sons and daughters whom You can recognize and who can understand You. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 9: I Am Relating with Two Worlds

September 20, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
Romans 7:15-25

Prayer

Father! Please help us realize in this hour that we are not walking the path we should walk in our lives, even though we know we must.

There are those who live centering on their bodies, those who live centering on their minds, and those who live centering on Heaven. Please help those of us who have come to participate in this occasion to understand which category we belong in.

We feel deep in our hearts that we must become the central figures who can bring joy and alleviate sorrow in all crucial affairs. Father, we long in our hearts for the self we can be truly proud of; the self who can critique all affairs accurately. Even if our bodies must be brought into submission, please help us recover that self. Please help us understand that although we have been struggling and fighting to restore that self, the battle still is not over, and we face the fate to put our lives on the line and continue our struggles.

Father! Please come to us in tranquility. Father, please command us. Please let us understand that the central purpose of our lives is to seek the moment when we are captured by Your voice, the moment when we move in unison with You, and the moment when we can rejoice with You. As we reflect how in the course of history our ancestors never had a moment when You could share joy with them and with other faithful believers, we cannot help but deeply lament.

Father, we lie prostrated before You on our knees with our hands clasped. Please allow us to penetrate into Your subtle heart. Please let this be an hour when You can hold our hands and say, “My beloved sons and daughters.”

All that we believe in and experience in the world is transient. That which we believe and fight for in our minds, that which we sing of in our minds, and the world where we connect with You in our minds is infinite and eternal. When we are asked how and when we are going to become people who can be proud of themselves, if we show no confidence, how sad will God be?

We are miserable ones who cannot show ourselves before Heaven and earth. Please let this be the moment when we sever ourselves from our purposeless, unfeeling past; when our minds can become one with the Father’s mind, and when our hearts become connected to the heart of the Father.

Although we have experienced everything in the world, we have never lived centering on the Father. This is what we desire, so please take us into Your hands and perform the works of recreation. Beloved Father, this is what we desire from the bottom of our hearts.

We know that we cannot understand Your situation without the words of truth. Before understanding this situation, we cannot fathom Your heart. Please give us the one truth which will allow us to connect to Your situation and heart. Please allow us to become one based on the truth.

We pray with utmost sincerity that this hour will be a moment when we can hear Your tranquil words in peace and offer bows to You in joy. Let it be an hour when we can feel our hearts surge as we listen to the words of truth.

Please be with everyone who honors You with sincerity. Extend Your grace equally to the lonely members who are bowing before You in the countryside.

We entrust this entire occasion from the beginning to the end to You. Please govern it. Allow the hearts of the listeners to be one with the heart of the speaker. Praying that this will be a moment when we can be in complete harmony with Heaven, we pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.

No matter how much happiness a person may enjoy on earth, there has not been even one person who lived in true joy and happiness of the heart. We can conclude that because we could not feel joy and happiness in our hearts, God or Heaven, who stands as subject partner to us and is guiding us, has not felt joy or happiness.

Human Beings Live in Two Worlds

If we think that we are to live in this world for our own sake, that is a misunderstanding. We know clearly through our lives that our minds are pursuing some purpose and destination in life. Thus, we cannot deny that each of us is connected to a world of some purpose. For this reason we should understand that we do not live for our own goal or for our own sake, but for some other purpose. Hence, we are all both infinitely small and infinitely big. We know that we have traveled through history based on this relationship.

In our feelings, worldviews and lifestyles, there are complementary and contradictory aspects. We cannot ignore this reality. In other words, even in living for some purpose, there are contradictory and conflicting aspects as well as complementary ones. These phenomena are in society; they are in the trend of thought in the world, and some of these phenomena are in Heaven.

When we analyze Heavenly principles and worldviews, we cannot deny that some being exists who transcends our concepts and guides us in great detail. We do not feel this being through our concepts, and this being does not originate from within us.

We have to understand clearly that this position we stand in is not limited to one world but is connected to two worlds. The world that our minds desire and the world that our body desires, these two worlds, are unfolding within us. For this reason, while our minds desire joy and happiness based on some ideology, we cannot deny that there are pleasures and joys that we feel physically through the five senses of our bodies.

The Human Fall Seen from the Viewpoints of the Heavenly Mind and the Human Mind

We commonly say that we have a mind. We say that we have a human mind. There is also a heavenly mind. The heavenly mind and the human mind should have complemented each other within us, guiding our lives based on heavenly law and order. Yet we have not established the order which can clarify the standard for our lives. The heavenly mind and the human mind cannot unite. This is the Fall and the source of our lament.

That which abandons the human mind and betrays Heaven or the good mind is commonly called the evil mind. When we reflect upon ourselves, we find that the heavenly mind enters through our minds, while the evil mind enters through our bodies. From ancient times all saints and holy men have mourned over the conflict they found themselves in. Because St. Paul also suffered in the midst of the chaotic battle between the laws of the mind and the laws of the body, he said, “I am a wretched man.” (Romans 7:24)

What kind of world have we been rejoicing in and what kind of world do we want to rejoice in? You probably cannot deny that this world is not a place where our minds and bodies can enjoy true happiness, a world which is in harmony with the truth in our hearts. You are struggling and agonizing in this environment. When we fathom this situation, we can conclude that even though the heavenly mind should rule the human mind, there has never been a moment when the heavenly mind was in complete oneness with our human mind and when it manifested itself and produced joy in our lives.

If there is a God, would He want to dwell in our minds only for a day? God wants to dwell in our minds for eternity. However, we find ourselves in the chaos of the battle between our minds and bodies. If we ask whether or not Heaven can dwell in such a mind, the answer is negative.

God is good. Goodness is eternal, unique, and unchanging. However, because we do not possess unchanging, unique and eternal principles of life, we cannot penetrate into the mind which is orientated toward goodness.

For this reason, even though God can work through our consciences, He cannot work through our views on life. Because God could not guide us with the universal truth, human history until now has remained in the realm of evil. Hence, this world cannot build an eternal relationship with the heavenly principles. This is why this world must be judged. People living in this world also must be judged.

Religions Pursue the Heavenly Mind

If there is a movement which transcends the human mind in pursuit of the heavenly mind, what would that movement be? It is religion. Religions have made their best attempts to pursue the heavenly mind.

Religions have made great contributions to the cultural history of humanity. They have initiated movements to inspire people’s consciences to be oriented toward the heavenly mind and have carried out new revolutions and a new history. When centering on the human mind, the evil mind and the material mind join together to defeat the heavenly mind. It was destroyed. We cannot deny this history.

For this reason there is a common saying, “Live a conscientious life.” Can everything be resolved with that alone? Even if one lived by one’s conscience, if the rest of the universe did not live joyfully based on the conscience, and if one did not share joy with Heaven, that situation would need to be corrected. Isn’t this true? If you really live a conscientious life, then you will experience events that stimulate your mind.

Although people have consciences, they are not in a position to enjoy life based on the purpose of that conscience and the heavenly principles. People who have the fate of the Fall want to reach the goal of the heavenly principles. Having lost the purpose and freedom of the conscience due to the Fall, in other words losing the purpose and freedom of a life based on the conscience, is the source of lamentation. You must understand this.

If the first human ancestors had laid the foundation to enjoy life in a place of goodness centering on the good purpose, their descendants also would have been able to experience joy in their minds and Heaven’s mind. However, due to the Fall, human beings could not become connected to the purpose of the mind and life. This is how they fell. When they fell, what was the center of their actions? They fell centering on their bodies.

For this reason your mind and body are in conflict within you. You are subject to these kinds of difficulties. If you have a sincere mind, there should be a time when you try to resolve this. However, have you ever built such a relationship with history? Have you ever built such a relationship for one year, for several decades, not to mention for the course of your life? If you have not, then you stand in a position to betray the heavenly mind.

If you cut off the heavenly mind and pursue the path that the body’s pleasures lead you on, you will self-destruct. We find in this world a philosophy which seeks truth in the direction of the body’s pleasures and a philosophy which seeks truth in the direction of the mind’s happiness.

Human beings are extremely small, but they are micro-universes. Thus, even the fights that take place in their minds have the form of a world-level conflict. Something must emerge which can resolve this, yet nothing has emerged. Moreover, a model which can transcend the individual level and bring a solution for the people, the nation and world has not appeared.

The Person Who Will Stand Fast until the Last Days

Because the world turns around us, the fight between the mind and the body continues in our life. In this fight between mind and body, those who cannot sing a song of victory centering on the mind can never become citizens of Heaven. Those who harbor the ambition to conquer the world will be judged together with this world. Those who try to move this earth centering on their own ideas will perish together with the earth. However, those who hold onto and ceaselessly seek the ideals of Heaven will survive.

Since the world of the mind is unchanging and unique, it can communicate with the world of infinity. Because only this mind can become the base upon which to communicate with the heart of Heaven, those who embrace it in their lives will escape the day of judgment.

Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is in our hearts. This Kingdom is infinite. If there are heavenly principles or the heart of Heaven, those who can invite this heart into their consciences and honor it as the motivating force in their lives, living in harmony with it, will become princes who can build the Kingdom of Heaven.

Heaven is waiting for the day of judgment. He is waiting for the day when the universe will be judged. You have to understand that historical judgment has been carried out, and each one of you are being judged in this hour.

Faithful people of the Last Days fear the day of the great judgment. Who can escape the great judgment? They are probably the people who have resolved conflicts within themselves and declared victory. Yet people today do not know that similar conflicts are taking place in families, among peoples and in the world.

What is the cause of these phenomena? It is because the time has come when the conflict between the heavenly mind and the evil mind will come to an end. This is the reason we have desired to possess the authority of the great judgment. We long to cast judgment on our enemies.

To become such people, we must be able to conquer our own selves. We must completely conquer our body under the leadership of our mind. We must eradicate all elements which may oppose the mind. Before prevailing over our bodies based on our faith, we cannot perform the act of judgment.

Those who are triumphant in the judgment of individuals are worthy to judge families. Those who are triumphant in the judgment of families are qualified to judge the society. Those who are victorious in judging the society will be able to judge the nation. Those who are victorious in judging the nation will be able to judge the world. Those who are victorious in judging the world will be able to judge the universe. They will have such authority.

When we examine ourselves, we find ourselves in the middle of two worlds. The Kingdom of Heaven dominates the higher realms of our mind. Hell dominates the lower realms of the mind. These two worlds have formed a parallel. In other words, on the upper side of the parallel in the spiritual world of the mind is Heaven. The lower side is hell.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are those who feel increasingly intense fear as they near the Last Days. In contrast there are those who are filled with joy. It is inevitable that such movements will emerge. You may have thought that there are only extremely evil people; yet there are extremely good people. Extreme evil cannot invade an extremely good person, and extreme goodness cannot relate with extreme evil. This society cannot hold onto God. There will come a time when no religious figure, no one gifted by Heaven, can bridge the gap.

When that time comes, those who live in an extremely evil world, those who have not built any relationship with Heaven, will certainly face the judgment. There will come a time when such a situation will unfold in your minds. Your minds want to pursue a certain direction, yet your body pursues another. Those who are struggling because they do not have the conditions for connecting their minds and bodies will surely head toward hell.

Where Do the Paths toward Heaven and Hell Divide?

Where do the paths toward Heaven and hell divide? It is determined by each one of us. Those who feel guilt in their conscience as they live in an environment which stimulates their five physical senses are living in hell. Those who live a life of joy in their hearts and live by the direction of their minds are living in Heaven. For this reason people should abandon material desires and the evil mind, pursue the heavenly principles and live by their conscience. You understand this very well.

The beginning of history was not a day of joy. It was a day of sorrow. The time will come when history will end in sorrow because it began in sorrow. It will end in pain because it began in pain. It will end in despair because it began in despair. You can expect to harvest what you have sown. Our ancestors betrayed the heart of Heaven. We have mourned infinitely because we have violated the laws of conscience and the heavenly heart and have fallen. Since this is how it has been, this world does not have what would bring people joy in their hearts.

For this reason you must strike all of these to lead a religious life. You have to understand clearly that this conflict is taking place within you. Any act will be judged to be either good or evil. In our lives today we evaluate our every gesture, what we see, hear, smell and so forth, whether they were for the sake of goodness or evil. People who lead lives of devotion cannot judge these clearly unless they have a firm grasp of this concept and a clear standard of good and evil.

This world is engaged in such a conflict. Although evil rises and strikes goodness first, it cannot persist for long. Evil will not persist. Goodness will prevail. In the long course of history, this will gradually expand from the individual to families, a people, a nation, the world and the universe. Now we are entering the era of a world ideology. Even when the era of a world ideology comes, individuals are still individuals. However, the trends of thought have been expanding their scope.

Although people who have lived by their consciences in the past are the same as those who live by their consciences today, the scope of their relationship has broadened. In the past people were content to live for their own individual sake. This does not have to be the case. It is also not the case that people have to live for the sake of families, societies, nations, or the world. People should live for the sake of Heaven and earth.

Even though the shape and scope of the flow of history have widened, the standard of the mind remains unchanged. Because heavenly principles govern everything in history, when people abide by this standard of the mind and are in line with the direction of the heavenly principles, they will not lose the purpose and direction their minds must pursue. This is the reason it is said, “Live a conscientious life. If you live by your conscience, you will be blessed.” When we realize that the day of judgment blocks the path before us, we won’t be able to receive the blessings. Even though it may seem that you are receiving blessings at the moment, you will be struck when the time comes, so you cannot consider it a blessing. Blessings are not to be received on earth. Blessings will be given when the one day comes. Because blessings will be given to those who stand fast until that time, it is said that you will be blessed if you live by your conscience. This is how we should see it.

The Last Days Are the Time of the Cosmic Ideology Centering on Heaven and Earth

These are the Last Days. This era which we refer to as the Last Days is entering the era of a world ideology. We are not parting with the world. If there is a heavenly heart, we will enter the era of a cosmic ideology centering on the heavenly heart.

Then which direction should our minds pursue? The time of living for one’s own sake is behind us. The time for living for one’s own family is also behind us. The time when we live for the society and people is also behind us. The time of living for a nation is also behind us. Now the time for the world ideology will come. We have entered an era when we have to live for the sake of the world under the guidance of an ideal.

Human beings have two paths before them, the internal path and the external path. Each of us faces these two paths. If there is a path which can bring the internal and external paths together, the time that this one path emerges will be the era of the ideals we seek.

Now we should seek individuals, families, a people, a nation, the world and the universe with whom the heavenly heart desires to relate. Otherwise, you will do no more than follow the paths of the great people or religious leaders of the past.

They have been turning the orientation of the human mind in the direction of the heavenly mind, turning the direction of bodies toward the heavenly mind. They have also been turning the stimulating, material world toward the heavenly mind. As they near it, they will cause upheavals internally and externally. They will collide. Based on what will they collide? They will collide based on the earth. Then what? They will collide based on people. Then what? They will collide based on the heart.

In the course of the struggle to destroy the external world ideology and establish an internal world ideology, history has been moving forward. The phenomena taking place today are dividing left and right centering on that heart. Such phenomena certainly take place in yourselves as well as on the world level.

If God exists and He has been working His providence for the sake of human beings, you should fathom how much He has suffered to guide this world toward the era of a world ideology. Think about it. Both in us and in our ancestors, our bodies have not submitted before our minds in their struggle. Our minds were conquered by our bodies. You should think about how laborious God’s work has been to use the hearts of these ancestors as the foundation to transcend individuals, families, a people, a nation, and pull them up to a world ideology.

When we study historical documents, we should observe how laborious the history of struggle has been that Heaven has gone through. Have you ever felt that? Those who pray, “Please take away my pains and remove them,” will never enter the nation of glory. Those who pray for blessings from God centering on their families, their people, and their nation will survive only until a certain moment. When a world ideology emerges, the national ideology will be shattered. When a cosmic ideology based on the heavenly heart emerges, the world ideology will be shattered.

The Situation of the Last Days and the Ultimate Goal of Satan’s Attack

Because Heaven has been working the providence to fulfill His great purpose, His ultimate goal, we should also long for and prepare for the one day when the greatest goal is accomplished. For this reason it is said that the Last Days are coming. What kind of time is the Last Days? It is the time when Heaven and earth meet as mind and body, when the world ideology and all thought come together and when our minds and bodies unite. When they come together, what will they sing of? They will sing of the life of the mind and a world which can connect through the heart. You are to sing with the universe. However, such a day and such a world have not emerged on the earth.

Heaven has been working toward that world. That world is the ultimate goal of Heaven. It is the ultimate goal of humanity. To become someone who will prevail until that day, you have to engage in unspeakable conflict with your body. You should keep to your pledges without a change of heart and never waver from your determination.

If there is someone who goes forth with such a determination, his body will protest, his family will oppose him, his society, nation, and the world will protest in order to break his determination. You have to understand that the whole world is attacking such a person. This demonstrates that the greater the truth you come to understand, the greater the opposition you will face.

Christians say that they are heading toward Heaven. They claim that they are walking toward the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet they forgot that great enemies are waiting for them on the path toward the great ideology. You have to keep in mind that there are great enemies.

What is the ultimate goal of these enemies? It is the body. The target of our enemies is our body. Threats to life, threats on the levels of society and the nation and of Heaven and earth are posed against our bodies. St. Paul experienced this in his life. When he appeared before his people, he was considered an enemy. When he went to foreign lands, he was the foreign enemy. When he stood before the church, he was the enemy of the church.

No matter what religions there may be in this world, Christianity and so forth, they will certainly be judged. They will not overcome it so easily. To do so, they need to explain themselves completely. Because there is this providential relationship on the world level, in the course of seeking our true selves centering on our minds, we are confronted with suffering on the world level.

The closer we come to the Last Days, world level fear comes from all directions. Hence, the closer we come to the Last Days, the more conscientious people are overwhelmed with fear. You have witnessed this around you already. Thus, there will come a time when conscientious and artistic people, particularly those who are in academia, will be swayed by waves of fear which will restrict them from living freely. This is how it is right now. This has been manifested through panic and widespread fear.

We who are living in the Last Days today are different from people in the past. Because this is the era of a world ideology, someone should appear who can put everything on the line, strike the external spheres into harmony with the heavenly heart and say, “Father! I have won the victory.” Isn’t this so? Heaven hopes to create such a person, and Satan has opposed this attempt on the part of Heaven.

This world is not a heavenly world; it is under the sovereignty of evil. If such a person appears in this world of evil sovereignty, then the entire world will oppose him and protest. Those who strike him, however, will perish. Individuals who strike will submit; families who oppose will submit; and the society which opposes him will submit. Moreover, when nations and the world submit after putting up opposition, the final decision will be made. From this we should learn that the flow of history is the external manifestation of a small individual on the world level.

The Way Providential History Unfolds

People today have never tasted true happiness, from the beginning of their being. They have never been able to sing for joy on earth. From ancient times until today, through the long six thousand years of history, there has never been a person of conscience who stood proudly before Heaven and earth.

The more conscientious a person is, the more he is persecuted, beaten, killed and trampled upon. People have longed for the one day that they can rejoice eternally centering on their consciences. Our conscientious ancestors built an altar of blood. They rose up again after being struck down. When individuals fell down, Heaven brought individuals together as a family. When families fell. Heaven brought them together and formed a people. When a people fell, Heaven brought the people together to build a world. This is the providential history of God.

When Adam fell, the providence progressed centering on Cain and Abel. When Cain and Abel failed, the providence moved on centering on Noah’s family, and then on through the three generations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then it centered upon Jacob’s family. Based on the family as a unit, it moved forward toward a people on the world level, and the first step toward it was the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt. Moses, the leader of the Israelites, united the people and guided them out of the enemy’s land, Egypt, and left for Canaan in order to restore a nation.

Individuals had to fight to restore a family. When a family was restored, that family had to fight to restore a people. When a people was restored, they fought to restore a nation. When a nation was restored, that nation fought for the sake of restoring a world. In such a way the scope has been gradually widening.

It is not simple for an individual to establish a standard of victory. In order to become an historic person, you have to become victorious while enduring historical persecution and suffering. Look at Noah. For 120 years he suffered persecution more intense than anything we have experienced today. Noah of old endured for 120 years to restore himself as an individual.

The same was true for Jacob. For twenty-one years until he materialized the blessing, he fought through all difficulties. In his fight he did not have even one friend. He did not have brothers or parents. He built a family all by himself. On the foundation of that family, the first step he took was the course to enter Egypt. The four hundred years in Egypt was the period that the people came together in unity. Moses came as the leader of the people. He had to lay the foundation of a nation based on the foundation of a people.

The Purpose of the Providence Centering on Jesus and the Mission of the Lord of the Second Advent

What kind of person was Jesus? He was someone who was to use the nation to found a world. Although he came with such a mission, when the nation and the people opposed him, he had to die. Therefore, the providence must begin from the individual and pass through the family, people, nation, and rise to the level of the world.

Israel became an enemy of Jesus. The Jewish people whom God chose through four thousand years of toil became the enemy. Although they had the responsibility to restore the world on the foundation of the nation and to restore the land of Canaan on the world level, when the foundation of the nation was shattered, the four-thousand-year history was completely destroyed. You have to understand that for two thousand years Jesus was laying that foundation.

However, no matter how many Christians there may be in the world today, there has not been even one family centered on Jesus. Has there been? Jesus himself could not fulfill the ideal of the bride and bridegroom and form a family. Do you know what the bride and bridegroom are? They are the second standard on the family level which enables one to stand before Heaven. They were the second family standard to restore the one that Adam and Eve could not establish because of their Fall. On that foundation Jesus should have become the head of the family of Heaven. Did he become the head of the family? The most important purpose on earth is to become the head of a family. Only after you become the head of a family can you have children. Only when you have children can you have a people. Only when you have a people can you have a nation. Isn’t this true?

The time has come for Christians of the entire world to repent. Christians of the world have not become citizens of any nation. They do not belong to any tribe or clan. For Jesus to become the head of a family, the twelve apostles should have united and laid the foundation upon which Jesus could form a family. Yet they failed to do so. For this reason, the providence of salvation on the world level could not be consummated.

Thus, Jesus and the Holy Spirit had to endure through hardships of blood and tears for two thousand years. What was the purpose of that? It was to found the first family foundation. They were to found a new Israel, a new family of Jacob, and raise them from the level of a family to the level of a people, from the level of a people to the level of a nation, and from the level of a nation to the level of the world. Then they were to bring the revolution of the Kingdom of Heaven based on this world as the foundation, to liberate hell in the spirit world. This is the ideal of the second providence. The Lord of the Second Advent does not come to be glorified. He comes with the mission to use the world as the foundation to destroy even hell in the spirit world and to build the Kingdom of Heaven on the cosmic level. Only when this is done can God rest in peace.

The World of the Mind and the World of the Heart

Although we have minds, we are unclear about their direction. We are surrounded by the confusing ideas of our environment and have been lost, not knowing where we should go. Our minds have been degraded to the point where they move based on whim. Therefore, we do not know what is true and right. Although the direction of our minds sets out from a single point, it divides in the end. This is how it is. Although the beginning is normal, it divides in the end. To divide is to be destroyed. We have been living our lives in this way.

Although democracy and communism are in conflict today, these ideologies cannot solve the problems of our world. Just as we cannot confirm the direction of our minds, the same is true for the physical world of today. This is the trend of thought. Isn’t this true?

When do you decide the direction of your mind? It is the moment you form a relationship with which your mind can rejoice eternally through the heavenly heart. Why did God give people minds? It is for God and people to become one in heart and rejoice. God created human beings for this purpose. On the foundation of our minds, which are unclear in their direction, we now need the joy which undeniably enters our minds. Only when undeniable joy is fulfilled in our minds will the world experience joy.

The body has an end. However, there is no limit or end to the mind. For this reason in the world of the mind there are no concepts. There is no such thing as a worldview. Greater than the mind is the world of the heart. The world of heart is not restrained in any way. The world of the mind does have some restraints. Based on the conditions of reciprocity, the mind is restrained. Yet nothing can restrain the world of the heart. What can ever restrain parents’ love toward their children? Even a barrier as daunting as a huge mountain cannot block the way. The world of the mind is like the object partner while the world of the heart is the subject partner. Because the mind has four directions, it can be restrained. However, this is not true for the world of the heart.

What might the hope of Heaven be? When Jesus comes in the Last Days, he will say, “The Kingdom of Heaven is in your mind, and the Kingdom of Heaven begins from your heart.” Is this statement adequate? The conclusion which must be arrived at is, “It is realized in your heart.”

Why do you experience misfortune? It is because you cannot harmonize with the center of the mind. No matter how great the external difficulties, if one can rejoice in harmony with the mind, one is a happy person. Why does one feel misfortune, then? It is because one does not have an unchanging center of heart which can move one’s mind. That is the reason.

The Standard by which the Garden of Joy Can Be Realized

See if you can be happy being attached to the things of this world. That will come to an end one day. No matter how good one’s mind and heart may be, the things of this world will surely come to an end. As long as there is no clear center in your mind, you will find both sorrow and joy. As long as you do not have a clear center for your body, you will feel both joy and sorrow. They are in this reciprocal relationship. Although we have lived through times when our minds were sad, we have not lived through times when our minds were happy. Fallen people, who have not been able to enjoy such experiences in life, are miserable people who should be cursed and judged.

The time has come when we should seek such a path. Since the purpose of Heaven is not to judge and eradicate people in the Last Days, we are to possess the master of our homeland, the families of our homeland, the society of our homeland, the world of our homeland, and the universe of our homeland. When we do not possess them, God judges us.

As we look at the world, we find that although there are individuals, families, societies, nations and a world centered on the body, our minds do not feel satisfaction here. Shouldn’t there be families, nations and a world where our minds can rejoice eternally? If there aren’t, why would our minds feel that way?

Your minds do not pursue goodness because of their own creative powers. Force is not generated alone. It does not function without a partner. We find that this is true in chemical reactions and physical reactions.

Observing the undeniable reality that the conscience is clearly in operation, we can be sure that it is helping us alleviate an aspect of sorrow and bring an aspect of joy. The moment that we can rejoice is the moment of hope and joy for humanity. The problem hinges on this.

Today democracy and communism are competing to conquer the world, but this is wrong. Where should we find the solution? We should go back to the state before the Fall of Adam and Eve, when they could be happy centering on God and rejoice at hearing God’s voice. A garden of happiness will come to this earth if we can establish the standard that God is our eternal Lord, the head of our families, the Lord of our people, nations and world. He is also “my God” whom we wouldn’t exchange for any treasure of the world.

The Person God Has Been Seeking for Six Thousand Years

Although the world of our minds can rejoice, be in harmony and move together, they cannot be intoxicated. Original love is not human love; it is the love of the eternal and unchanging God. The moment we are embraced by God’s love and serve God as our Lord, we become one with Him. When we enter the state of joy where we can interact with Him, we can conquer the world. The moment of rejoicing with God is the moment when we can be more happy than if we possessed everything else in the universe. If a person has experienced this, the stimulation he feels through his body is insignificant.

What work has God been carrying on centering on our bodies? He has been working to develop the universe. You forget that He has been guiding us to do the work of pioneering the universe. For what purpose does God command our minds? It is for us become universal beings. God commands us to grow to become someone who can embrace the universe and grow on the foundation of everything of the universe. God guides us so that we can become such a person.

For this reason He commands us to love both good and evil people, love all things and all of Heaven and earth. Isn’t this so? How satisfying is this? We human beings lost the core of these original concepts. Our minds should be joyful. At the same time that our minds rejoice, the cells in our bodies should also be happy. At the same time that our minds are intoxicated, the cells in our bodies should also be intoxicated. Then we should be able to convey this feeling of intoxication to the environment around us. You have to understand clearly that God has been seeking someone who can make this happen.

If there is a mind, what kind of person does it envision? What kind of person do the world, the nations, and the universe desire? The type of person that I just talked about is the person. Even if one were to be conquered by such a person, one would be happy. Isn’t this what you should do? You would feel happy even after sacrificing yourself infinitely. The Kingdom of Heaven will dawn upon us when there are many such people. God’s sons and daughters are such people. They want to keep giving, even after having given so much. They want to keep sacrificing even after having sacrificed so much.

Isn’t that what parental love is like? God’s love is ten times, a hundred times greater than parental love. The world that your minds long for has not come. There must come a day when the world of the heart and the minds of people join together. The day that absolute standard of judgment is established on the earth is the end. Based on that heart, the judgment will take place.

Christianity is the religion of the heart which has gone beyond the religion of mind. God is not the Lord of the mind; He is the Lord of the heart. No matter what kind of evil people may be around you, you cannot prevent the love of God that comes forth through the heart. When that love comes in waves, everyone is happy. Even Satan and demons like that love. You have to understand this.

Although they love God’s love, they are in a state of darkness where they cannot receive it. The human fate is to pioneer this with their minds. Yet how will they do this?

Your path has been determined. You will find that there are relationships which come through your minds. There will also be relationships which come through material things. You will find relationships built upon people or words of truth. Then you will find relationships which come through the heart. The mind desperately yearns to escape from this world in search of that. You must never forget that God, who has been building relationships in history, will seek those who long for and look for those relationships of heart to appear at a certain place and time.

To Cultivate Our Heart

Those who live a life of devotion are moving toward the heavenly heart. They should not take anything lightly. They cannot ignore the sight of an enemy trying to strike them with a sword. They have to think that there is some relationship behind it. In this distorted world, God does not appear in an attractive manner. God comes in an unattractive way in this distorted world. Only when you can have an open heart even to such an instance and search for the value of the relationship can you make the first step toward the cultivation of the heart.

Then you can discern through your mind whether what you hear, see and feel in your interactions with people are good or evil. When you hear some words, when you come into a relationship, your mind will be drawn to them. If there is some truth, some church and some religion, you will be drawn to them without your conscious awareness. Isn’t this so? The mind follows principles similar to those of the natural world.

Just as the magnetic needle of a compass points north and south, our minds behave similarly. When the plus mind appears, the minus mind will always be drawn to it.

If you have never felt your body being drawn to the religion that you believe in, your faith is not true. If you have never felt your body, mind and heart being drawn into the faith, you cannot claim that you really believe. Such people will one day stop believing in that faith.

What is humanity seeking today? They are searching for an ideology. What explains an ideology? The truth explains it. What is the truth? It is the word. It is the truth in which our minds can be eternally happy, the truth in which our minds can be eternally intoxicated. It will give us something new and fresh even after hearing it hundreds or thousands of times. The greatest truth of all is like rice. No matter how often we eat it, today, tomorrow and for seventy or eighty years, we find it delicious. The same is true for the truth. You should be grateful. Through the words you know that there are two worlds for human beings. Jesus said that people should not live by bread alone but by the words which come from the mouth of God. Our bodies and hearts should be intoxicated in the truth. If you have such a truth, isn’t that all you need?

Therefore, you are not to sit idle at this time. The time has come when directions will reverse. We are to proceed in one direction toward the one subject partner. Because we will find obstacles when we look to the side and take the divergent path, we should cut off from all of them. Everyone considers that heretical.

Now Is the Time to Search for the Standard with which We Can Become Lords of the Universe

Now the direction is being reversed. Heaven will become the earth, and earth will become Heaven. Human beings have to become the center. This is a time for change. Since it is a transition time, we should become central beings of Heaven and earth and the lords of the universe. Heaven is not the center of the universe. God created human beings for the purpose of raising them up as the lords of the universe who represent His authority.

To reach that standard, you have to lay the foundation to solve problems ourselves with experience from our hearts. To pursue the path which can resolve problems from our minds and hearts, we need to search for the one direction. What are we to do after we find the direction? We are to look in the four directions around that direction. After looking around in four directions, we should find out what they are like and then look at the heavenly nature. Only then can you understand the state you are in.

The religion and ideas that you have now cannot serve as a perfect standard for your minds, heart and ideology. Why not? Because it is written that as a new era comes, all of them will fade away. Since our religions and thoughts have not become the perfect standard for our minds, hearts and ideology, the time has come when something new must become our center. This is such a time. You and I are in the same position. Jesus said that his disciples were not his servants but his friends. We are in the same position. The universe is not lofty. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with the universe.

No denomination has the quality of all directions. They are all one-sided. For this reason those who decide upon the heavenly heart as the center must be critical of their one-directionality and be open to the four directions. Should the mind and body always be in conflict? The mind should conquer the body. Then the standard by which the mind can guide the body to all four directions should be established. That is how it should be. Otherwise, there won’t be a perfect solution.

For this reason you are not to sit still. Wait idle and see what will happen. You are not to boast, “I am great,” or “I am some great scholar.” People talk about this scholar and that scholar, but scientists are better than most of them. Other scholars will find that things may turn upside down. They should not be so proud. They should realize that they have greater responsibility. Those who mislead other minds with their hypothetical theories and malign the ways of Heaven will face eternal accusation once they go to the next world.

You all want to become heroes, right? If you try to become a hero that you were not born to become, you will be struck by lightning. You want to become great and successful, but if you attain success that God does not permit, you will perish. Your descendants will perish. This is why there are such cruel events as sudden assassinations or murders by knife. They say, in effect, “You are not qualified to be in that position.” This is also something that Heaven directs them to do. This is the law of Heaven.

The time has come when we should throw away our ambitions and find ourselves. God longs for those who can rejoice in mind and body together. Have you ever experienced God saying, “Let me touch your hand,” and then had Him hold your hands in joy? Is that how your minds are?

God created the physical world in order that our minds could be active and stimulate the actions of our bodies. You should become someone who sings for all things, all people, for the future world, the spirit world and the earthly world. You should be able to rejoice in your minds. You should become someone to whom God will come and whom God will receive with joy. This is not fancy or imagination. This is reality. It is a reality that this young man who is speaking to you has experienced and knows is true. Hence, even if Heaven and earth were to oppose me and even if Heaven and earth were to turn upside down, I am determined to walk this path. What kind of age is this? It is the Last Days. However, without a person who has established such a standard, the last judgment cannot be cast. The day of judgment will not come.

Myself and the Truth That I Need

What kind of truth should the truth of a religion be? We do not need a truth which explains only contents. A truth must appear which our bodies, minds and hearts can all endorse. We need that kind of ideology and thought. When such a truth is spoken around us or we somehow encounter it, our minds will be drawn to it. Even if you have to go do something that your body desires, and the circumstances are pressuring you to do so, you should deny them all; abandon them and go to the truth. If there are words of truth which pull you to be transcendent of time and space, you should pack up your things and follow it, carrying humble baggage on your back like Kim Sat-Kat did. You will not be ruined. Your name will live on in history.

To become that kind of person, you cannot continue to be as you have been in the past. You should take off the inappropriate mask. You should take off all masks of the conscience. This and that position in a religion, you should abandon them all. Although you are attending the Unification Church, I am longing for the day I can do away with the name. The reason that we have this name and organization is for certain conditions which require it. It is because we have opponents to fight against that we need it, but one day we must do away with it. What title do you need in the world of the mind? What title do you need in the world of the heart? Even if you don’t do anything, you will know. Even if you don’t do anything, you will naturally do things. The first standard is resolving this.

What kind of life have you led so far? What kind of position are you in today? You have to remember that you are struggling in two worlds. What you can rejoice in is not the direction that your body is dragging you toward, but the direction your mind is pulling you in.

When you look at the world today, you will find that the direction of the body and the external conditions are perfect. They have all been prepared. They have been prepared at several hundred points. They have gone beyond the individuals and families and have formed a world. In comparison, the direction of the mind is only a small percentage of that. When we think about that, we find that God wants to judge this world. What will we do about the sorrow of God? We have to find the course through which we can come to know sorrow and rejoice in our minds. For this reason, religious people of the past endured even as they were being beheaded. I do not want you to come to the Unification Church. However, if your bodies and minds and hearts submit to the words of truth that are spoken here, you should know that this place belongs to the end times.

What kind of person is God? He is the eternal Lord of our bodies. He is the eternal Lord of our hearts. In the original world, no matter how much a couple may love each other, the wife will not mind that the husband loves God more than he loves her. That is how it is. Moreover, even if the wife loves God more than she loves her husband, the husband will not object and ask her why. Heaven is a place where they can both be happy about the situation. God, who is in a position transcendent of any love of this world or of any content thereof, is the eternal Lord of our bodies. When we are in the garden of the bosom of God, who is the eternal Lord of our bodies, we are happy even if we die. All He needs to be is the eternal Lord of our minds and the eternal Lord of our hearts. What more would we want?

What kind of world is the world that you long for in your hearts? It is not the world which comes to us through the external senses or the five senses. Nor is it a world created by concepts. We long for the world of God’s love, a world of love. In this world we can feel the love of God even from the smallest subatomic particle. You have to understand this. You must understand it. Jesus said, “Those who have ears to hear will hear.” (Matt. 11:15) With everyday feelings you cannot feel the ideal world, which is circular and is in the position of subject partner.

The Joy You Cannot Trade

We should sing with our bodies and with our minds. We should praise with our hearts. What? Our Lord. Who is that? It is God. God is my father. He is my father. We are God’s children. We should say, “What in the world can we exchange for God? What in the world can sever our relationship with Him?” The kind of love that people like, the ambitions that people cherish, and the glamour and luxuries that people desire are insignificant. If we can serve God, whom all things of nature and all beings want to honor as their eternal Lord, our Father, what greater happiness would there be? When a woman becomes the wife of some person of a high position, she brags and makes a big fuss about it. Yet God is our father. You cannot exchange this joy with anything under Heaven or on earth. God is looking for sons and daughters who can comfort Him and say, “God, You have searched for me through the suffering path of six thousand years. How many difficulties have You endured?” You have to understand this.

You Have to Learn to Judge Yourselves

To raise up such a son, God has been influencing our ancestors thousands of times during the many centuries of history. How many times have people betrayed Him? We have to understand that we have betrayed human hearts and the heavenly heart. We have betrayed the heavenly principles and the Father’s heart. We have to repent for these sins.

What has trampled upon the heavenly principles? Since our bodies trampled upon them, our bodies are our worst enemies. Your enemies are not in front of you. Your bodies are your enemies. You have to suppress your body. You have to learn to judge yourself. For this reason people who walk the path of devotion go against conventional wisdom. They advocate laws which go in the opposite direction and walk against the trend.

To what extent have you put your lives on the line in your struggles? Among the people who attend the Unification Church, there are many who fight centering on the name of the Unification Church. However, you have to fight by your own virtue. When Jesus was carrying the cross, women wept bitterly and followed him. Jesus looked at them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not cry for me; cry for your own sake and the sake of your children.” (Luke 23:28) You have to solve your own problems. You are the problem. You should not curse other people or hold grudges against other people. You should curse yourself. You should rectify your false self and receive Jesus, who is your friend of the original mind and heart. You should receive the Father of the mind, the Father of the heart, the Father of the body and the Father of all things. Only when you walk this path can you avert the judgment of the Last Days.

Prayer

Father! How much have You suffered? It took six thousand years to raise up one life. To establish one family, You have made all the preparations necessary to build a home. All the external environment of the world has become a garden in which the Father can rejoice. Thoughts and views are to be divided into two paths.

Likewise, in our world of the mind we should bring the conflict to an end. Please allow us to conquer the enemies, raise the banner of victory, and march forward toward the world. In doing so, on the day that we judge the enemies of Heaven, please allow us to be proud of the fact that we are the Father’s sons and daughters. Let the Father’s grace penetrate deeply into the hearts of the sons and daughters who have gathered here. Father, that is what we wish and desire.

We have been used by our enemies until now. Please allow us to do away with the past, when we could not fight for the original ideals which would bring us joy in our hearts; when we could not go toward the original world and the original Lord. Please allow us to become sons and daughters who can dash toward the heavenly heart.

We know that the world will end up being a world of one ideal. Please let us understand that the place where our hearts can become one with the Father’s heart and sing is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and the ideal garden. Please let a family who can sing of the heart of the Father appear before Heaven and earth.

Please let us be intoxicated in the love of the Father more intensely than we are intoxicated in the love of our own parents. Let us be intoxicated more intensely in the love of the Father than we are in the love of our children, so that we can sing of the love and rejoice in the love. We know that to create this environment is the will of Father and our wish. Please let that will and wish be materialized. Before our life comes to an end, we have to create the environment in which the Father can be happy and we can be happy. Please allow us to realize that world from this moment on.

Through all our relationships and words, through all people and through all material things, please guide us to keep to the place where our minds and hearts are moved. Allow us to become Your sons and daughters who can follow our hearts and minds and run toward those places of the heart and mind. Father, we are grateful that You have been with us. We prayed all these things in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 10: Members Who Will Live in God’s Family

September 27, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
Matt. 12:46-50

Prayer

Father, we came here from many different places. We were born as the children of many different people. We cannot help but think about the many intertwined causes and situations which burden us with debt today.

Father, there are good people here and those who are not so good. The state and form of man’s mind and body vary infinitely. Yet our deepest desire for truth and the highest goodness, and our longing for the original Father, our God, will never change.

The Father does not seek external forms or appearances but is eager to awaken our original selves, hidden deep inside our hearts. He is eager to find the hearts of those who long for Him. Please allow us to experience and realize this in the depths of our hearts. Please allow us to realize that if we cannot recognize this truth and demonstrate it, there is no meaning to our gathering here today.

When we think about how hard You have worked to find the kind of people You wished for during the complex course of conflict in history, we feel that we could not have become what we are today by virtue of our own efforts alone.

When we were born on the earth, we were born into relationships above us, below us, in front of us, in back, and to the left and right. Please allow us to understand that these relationships are somehow prompting us to seek the value of the one perfect purpose, or the reciprocal value of the whole. Please help us realize that Heaven is above; below us the history of goodness is moving with the heavenly principles; in front of us is the world of hope; and to our left and right are our colleagues and relatives. Please help us become sons and daughters who can sense this reality and hold onto our original hearts as we observe all these and make our utmost efforts to build all these relationships.

If there is someone who forgets everything they have and who struggles desperately against their attachments, even if they walk out of step with their generation and are opposed in their daily life, they will be raised up before Heaven in the Last Days. We came here longing for and seeking such a path. Father, please command us. Please speak to us. We yearn for the Father’s heart in our hearts. Father, if something displeases You, please allow us to experience it as our own reality. If there is something which causes You distress, please allow us to experience it through our bodies. Please allow us to become sons and daughters who can sense the Father’s existence, demonstrating it through our bodies. Allow us to bow before the Father in gratitude.

Even if we are evil and chained in sin, please allow us to experience in a real way that Heaven is looking at us with pity. We know that those who should be here are those who understand that they are the greatest sinners. They are those who understand that there is no way to pay the indemnity they owe. They bear a heavier burden the more they go forward and the more they feel and understand. We cannot help but feel that unless we remove our own assertions and concepts, we cannot enter Heaven.

Father, Your sons and daughters have gathered here. Since they have come here, please do not let their visit be in vain. Since we came together as assigned by fate, please do not let this meeting become meaningless. We sincerely wish our relationships not to be humanistic. Please let them develop into relationships of the original nature, heart and life.

What should I speak of? We want only the Father’s heart to be manifested and the Father to appear before us. We want to feel the sung-sang of the Father concretely. Please let us sense during this hour that we are brothers. Please let the members who represent You build one altar before You. Father, this is our sincere wish.

Please bless all the churches who have gathered on behalf of the thirty million people of this nation. Please bless Your sons and daughters who are lying prostrated before You on behalf of the 2.7 billion people of the world.

Although our ancestors fought against evil, that fight has not come to an end yet. Please allow us to understand how to cope with this conflict and be fully prepared internally and externally as brave soldiers representing Heaven. Let us become sons and daughters who can stand before humanity and all people.

We witnessed Jesus’ sorrow in the Bible verses that were just recited. Although Jesus was born in Joseph’s family and had parents, siblings, relatives and kinsmen, he walked a lonely path. Father! Please allow us to connect with the sorrowful situation of Jesus. We sincerely wish that during this hour You will reveal the knowledge of Heaven which must be revealed.

We wish to offer our minds and bodies to You, and we wish that everything will come together as the Father’s. Father, hoping that You will protect us directly, we prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

We have parents, siblings and a family. Every person has a family he can dwell in. Regardless of whether or not that family is good, we all have relatives and families where we can dwell.

The Human Mind Longs for the Ideal World

You will have to live with your family until the day you die. In your families, the members are leading lives full of both happiness and misfortune. Although you know that your families are the home connected to you eternally, one day you will be severed from that family. Although many people have gathered here, no one here can guarantee that he or she will take their relationships into the eternal world. Although you may have some hopes or wishes centering on this family, those hopes and wishes might be shattered the moment of your death; or they might continue, and you may be connected to another world of hopes and wishes.

Human beings possess original minds. This mind is guiding us to move toward the world of the good purpose human beings should pursue. We cannot deny that this mind has moved with history. Looking at the movement of the mind from this perspective, we can understand that this mind has longed for the appearance of a good person. That person will surely appear in history.

Many people of all persuasions say from the depth of their hearts that these are the Last Days. It is clear that the Last Days are near. Is humanity happy or unhappy in this age? I think that they are more unhappy than happy. The day that the world of misfortune comes to an end is the Last Days.

What do our minds long for? We long for happiness. We long for the ideal world of hope, freedom and equality. We cannot deny that throughout our life course thus far we have longed for that world from the bottoms of our hearts. All that we yearn for with a sincere and true heart and mind must be realized. Otherwise, we cannot believe in God or anything else.

Nothing in the world has been able to make our hearts happy. There has not been even one person who lived in a happy environment. The same is true for our family members, our parents on whom we have been depending until now, and our brothers and sisters. We have to understand that this world has not become an eternal dwelling place of joy. Why has it not become like that? If we were to use a religious concept, it is because of the Fall. How can a world created by the Fall and the kinsmen, families and family members who are products of the Fall unite with the ideals of happiness our hearts seek? The conclusion is obvious.

For this reason we long for the passage of this age. This is an honest feeling. Every man and woman is waiting for the passage of this age. A false society will pass behind us: false parents, false brothers and sisters, false couples and false children will pass away. You have to feel this truth deep inside your hearts during this hour. Parents ignoring their children, parents spending time by themselves, children playing only by themselves, brothers and sisters all keeping to themselves and friends and people only associating within their own circles, all this will be shattered. That’s what is going to happen.

In newspapers and magazines we read stories describing how children kill parents and parents kill children. These trends demonstrate that traditional concepts are fading each day. Why is that? The destination our hearts hope for is a place where we can be happy in harmony with the heavenly principles. Because Heaven is in the process of moving toward this destination and reforming people, after passing through a history of infinite changes, it will arrive at an era of a revolution of the heart. The era of intellectual revolutions will be gone. The era of the revolution of the heart will come. People who dream of joy will experience sorrow, and those who are seeking a peaceful abode will end up in sadness. This conclusion is natural.

God Wants Humanity as Family Members

You who are living in a world full of grief, this time of sorrow and bitterness is fading away. Your minds are seeking something new. Let’s turn your path around, turn your mind around, and turn your emotions around and think about what longs to build a relationship with us and what is blocking our path. Religion helps us connect directly with the one standard of faith, the one standard in which we can pour out all our hearts. Religion connects this standard to our life. If this relationship is not forged, then God must not exist.

Our minds are calling us to escape from this painful world of reality and head toward the ideal. Every leader will have to wrestle with this reality. However, no one understands this heart which seeks and longs for the ideal. We have to follow the commands of this mind. Many holy men of the past submitted to this mind. The same will hold true for everyone in the future. We should respond to this mind; no one can alter this underlying truth. If we do recognize that our fate is to not protest but to respond to this heart, then we should understand clearly that the world we are living in is not the ideal world and that we cannot connect with the ideal world we dream of and long for. Why is that so? It is because of the Fall.

This is why we need feelings, hopes and relationships. Since such an era is nearing, fear will increase in our minds. If we think about these things, we cannot have faith in this world, and we cannot rest peacefully. It is a world in which we cannot take another step forward on our path. You have been on this course for several decades. We cannot deny that there is Heaven, which instills something new into people and drives them toward a new history. Observing the function of our consciences, we cannot deny Heaven and heavenly principles.

When God created this world, He must have had a purpose and an ideal. What must that purpose and ideal have been? It must be a good person. It must be a good person whose heart is fully in harmony with God. It must be a free man. It must be someone who can rejoice with God and live with God in the garden of freedom. However, even though we have lived through several thousand years of history until now, there has never been even one person who has built a family relationship with God or a family where he or she could dwell with God.

What is God’s purpose of creation? It is to create an ideal family where God can live together with human beings. Although human beings fell, in their hearts they long for the day when God can live as the father of the family or humanity, and people can live as members of that family. If we can serve God as our eternal father and become members of that family and live eternally with God who is the hope itself, who is the ideal itself, life itself, and joy itself, the purpose we all wish for will be realized.

If God created human beings just to enjoy watching them, we do not need that kind of God. What is the reason God has poured out all of His heart and has been conducting the providence concerning human beings for six thousand long years? It is to build the relationship of a heavenly family and of a parent and child. For this reason we have to understand that God is running as fast as He can on this path, overcoming enormous hurdles and all difficulties. The day we emerge as the family members God wants and manifest the authority and value of that family is the day of resurrection and the day of the Second Advent Christianity talks about.

The Goals of Our Life of Devotion

Humanity lost the true parents because of the Fall. Although we have fallen parents, we do not have the original parents. No matter how good, exalted and cultivated one may be, he is still of the fallen lineage. He cannot be proud of himself. No matter what one may possess, if we probe into it, we will find that there is always uneasiness and dissatisfaction in his heart.

Then what is the lamentation of human beings and of all created things? It is that human beings cannot participate as members of the heavenly family. This is the lamentation of the universe. There is no other purpose to our life of devotion. It is to call God “Father.” You have to understand the God who conducted the providence of restoration for six thousand years in order to usher in the one day when all of humanity can become brothers and true children of the Father; when all of humanity can call Him Father and rejoice.

This is God’s goal and the goal found deep inside the minds of human beings. This goal must be realized. That day must come. If that day does not come, there is no way we can build a relationship of the heart with God. As long as we are unable to build a relationship of the heart with God, He cannot look into our hearts and claim us as His own. We cannot claim to belong to God. The moment that this relationship is realized on the earth, God’s grief will be alleviated. Cries of bitterness will no longer be heard in Heaven. Moreover, at that moment the ideal world on the family level, which can unite Heaven and earth, will be opened. For the sake of this goal, our ancestors clung blindly to God’s words.

Due to the Fall, human beings lost the true parents, true brothers and sisters, true spouses, and true children. For this reason, those of us who have set out to find all these need the words of the True Parents.

What responsibility should we who are seeking the True Parents shoulder in the course of restoration? With what kind of determination and conviction should we go forth? We should long for the words of the original parents in our hearts. Moreover, we should long for the original parents who can rejoice with God. What kind of people are these parents? We should think about what the hearts and love of the original parents must be like.

What does God bring to us as we are running forward to live as members of one heavenly family? He comes to us with the words of truth based on the foundation of faith. What is the wish of human beings? It is to listen to the words of the true father with their minds and bodies. They want to move their bodies and minds according to the words. Besides their actions, they also want to hold onto the Father and learn about him. Furthermore, they also want to learn about the Father’s ideals and mind. They want to learn about the Father’s love.

Until today God has given us new truth through countless prophets and sages in every era and century. He told us how the world should be and revealed the world of hope that we long for. In this way history passed through revolutions that turned things upside down and which have expanded to the world level. God and fallen people stand far apart. Hence, God cannot speak to human beings directly. He chose many prophets and spoke through them. God has been connecting to human beings this way until now. In the Old Testament, God worked through angels. In the New Testament, God worked through His son. Now history is moving toward the era when we can call God our own Father. What can make this possible? It is accomplished through God’s words. For this to be possible, those words must possess heart, and there must be an embodiment of those words.

The Savior Who Is the Center of the Heavenly Family

Fallen people have to pass through a time when they long for the words of truth. In history God has been moving the hearts of people to practice and live by the Father’s words.

What does it mean to live centering on the words? It is to live with the son whom God has sent as the heavenly embodiment. That son is the true father of humanity. Jesus came with that mission.

What did Jesus represent? Jesus was to become the true father of humanity who was lost due to the Fall. He came as the embodiment of the words established upon the substantial foundation of the words laid in history. He came to represent the Father. This is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one will go before the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Only Jesus is the center of faith, mind and heart. Why? It is because Jesus has the quality of the Father. For this reason Jesus is the Savior of humanity and represents Heaven and earth. Christianity is the religion which seeks the appearance of the Father through the words, seeks the mind of the Father through the words, and seeks the love of the Father through the words.

Jesus came to the earth. He came with infinite ideals. If he had a wish, it was on God’s behalf. What was God’s wish? It was to realize the ideals and goals of creation. When Jesus came as an individual with this wish in his heart, the environment at the time was not good. The environment, which was not in line with the providence, bitterly opposed Jesus. Jesus had to leave a certain standard of the heart on earth even if he was to be struck down. This is why Jesus stressed that he was the father and humanity the children. To form parents there must be a true father and a true mother. After Jesus passed away, the Holy Spirit was the one who came as the mother figure.

Jesus’ sorrow was that he could not experience the day when as a physical and spiritual being on the earth he could bless sons and daughters. Jesus’ grief was not having spoken all the words he had to speak and not having established the standard of the heavenly family before he passed away. Since he could not form a heavenly family, he could not raise up members of a heavenly family, kinsmen centering on family members, a nation centering on the kinsmen, a country centering on the nation, and a world centering on the country.

Israel should have laid the national foundation. The Jews were the chosen people, yet the relationship was severed and Jesus was cornered by the Jews. Jesus was persecuted miserably as a traitor. In the end Jesus was betrayed even by his twelve disciples. Jesus’ sorrow was dying without forming a blood lineage connected to God’s heart on the earth.

Before constructing the family that God desires, there is no way to establish the people that God wishes for. Before establishing a people, there is no way to found a nation or a world. Therefore, when Jesus, who was fighting to establish a family, could not fulfill the will, he had to leave behind the concept that he was the bridegroom of humanity and that humanity was his bride. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know the significance of this? It means that the family is the center of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Faith Which Helps Us Understand the Embodiment through the Words

What is the Marriage of the Lamb that the Bible talks about? It is rectifying in the Last Days the position of True Parents, which should have been accomplished six thousand years ago. It is to build relationships of brothers and sisters and children. This is the wish of Jesus in whom we believe, and the hope of God who has suffered for six thousand years to guide us.

Knowing this we should think about what we are holding onto. What are you holding onto? Two thousand years ago, the Jews were in a position to support Jesus. They lived in a blessed time when they could honor and serve Jesus. The chosen people lived in the age when they could attend Jesus and help him reign as the King of Kings. However, because the Jews turned against Jesus and all those who were boasting that they were chosen by God betrayed him, the standard that Jesus was hoping for was shattered. When this was destroyed, the history of Israel came to an end and the Old Testament words which were given to Israel were lost.

It is an hour of grief and sorrow that we have to cry and weep hanging onto Jesus’ words and live by his words. It is our sorrow that we have to pray in Jesus’ name. When you pray, you pray in the name of Jesus, right? It is unfortunate that we have to be tied to these kind of terms. There must come a time when we can pray in our names. That is the day of hope.

Ladies and gentlemen, now we must cherish the words and live according to the deeds and acts of Jesus and understand what kind of person Jesus was through the words. We have to rediscover the Jesus who prayed for the sake of his enemies even when he was miserably nailed on the cross by them and was shedding blood. What was the internal situation of his heart which forced him to such a fate? Christianity will perish if it hopes to fulfill its mission only with the words of Jesus. They will surely be judged. Only after they cling to Jesus and his heart as he did his utmost to speak, only after building a relationship with him and cleansing themselves of the things of this world can they enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

When we reflect on this, we should understand the true meaning of the words True Parents and God. We should understand clearly the true meaning of the words and not symbolically or metaphorically. Although Christians have studied the Bible for two thousand years, they do not really understand it. They are ignorant. Although Christians today say that they act based on the words, this is still not high enough to connect to Jesus’ deeds. The purpose of words is to induce one to act. If Christianity had been living by the words, then how could it have become the way it is today? The purpose for which Jesus spoke the words was different from the purpose for which Christians listened to his words. This is where the problem lies.

Then what should be done now? It is written that in the Last Days we should hold onto the Holy Spirit and pray without sleeping. It is said that in the Last Days, we should put oil on our foreheads and pray in secret chambers. How will the Lord come? He does not come speaking words, but will come silently, as the embodiment. The farther the gap between where we stand and the purpose of the original words, the more Jesus will receive the hardships of the cross and come seeking for us. Yet Christians do not understand this. Now we should judge whether or not we possess the inner strength to move and shake, which will allow us to build up within us the force of a heavenly revolution and to cross the valleys of death courageously. Can we stand as active subject partners?

To do so, what should you do? You have to yearn for it. Since Christians have longed for the words for two thousand years, we have to long for the words and at the same time long for the deeds which go together with the words. We have to be determined that since Jesus did this, we too will do this and that.

Who is Jesus? He is our True Parent. We have to yearn for the words he spoke and the deeds he left behind. We have to long for his words, deeds and appearance. Isn’t that so? We have to be able to say that we cannot endure any longer because we miss our beloved parents so much. We have to want to see them so badly that we forget eating, sleeping and our own state of being. Have you ever had such a moment?

The Father Appears Where There Are Tears of Yearning

Where and how does a meeting take place? It does not take place due to sweet words or good deeds alone. It comes about when there is an intense longing. How will the Lord look? What will his hands, eyes and nose be like? In the end what will determine whether or not you can meet him is the desire you have to touch and see him. This has nothing to do with the Jesus who spoke the words. It has nothing to do with God. When you meet, salvation is not attained by calling out the words of Jesus. You have to long for the substantial Jesus.

We cannot see Jesus no matter how intensely we desire to. Why doesn’t the Jesus who promised to come again come? Jesus told his disciples that he would come back soon. Why doesn’t he come? Why is this so? What is the reason that he cannot come when so many disciples and followers desperately want to see him and meet him? When there is someone who longs for him so badly that he is oblivious to the passage of time, he will certainly be able to meet him. There is a way this will happen.

We are orphans. God sees us as orphans. No matter how great the external family environment may be for someone on earth, in God’s eyes, he is still only an orphan. We have lost our true parents, our true brothers and sisters, our true spouses, and our true children. We are like orphans. Since this is how we are, how can we be at peace? Our hearts are pushing us. What are they pushing us to do? They are asking us to look for our original parents, brothers and sisters, brides and children. However, no matter how many times we circle around the earth in search of them we may not find them. Since we cannot find these even among the words of truth, where can we find them?

The beginning point of resolution is to put oil on our foreheads, enter the secret chamber and be overwhelmed with the desire to see the Father. If there is a way for the Father and the Lord to seek us, you should be ready to brave any path of death or any difficult mountain path, determined to move forward. Jesus went the path of Gethsemane and Golgotha while looking for such sons and daughters. Since he was not successful in his search, he went the path of death. We who long for the one day when we can meet our original parents, long for the day when we can cling to him and call him Father and Lord, how many hours have we shed tears?

Now the time has come when Christians all over the world must solve this problem. We have to yearn to see him more intensely than we yearn to see our own sons and daughters or anything else in the world. We must want to touch his clothes and hands, since he is our Father. We should be able to give all of our minds and bodies upon meeting him and share everything of our past upon entering his bosom, and receive consolation for all our difficulties and labors. We must understand that this is our highest hope.

We should long for the person more than we long for the words or his deeds. After we long for the person, we should long for his mind.

In the past some Jews were able to cling to Jesus. However, has there been even one person who related to him as if Jesus were his own parent whom he longed for, as if Jesus was the parent that he had lost and had been yearning to meet again? When God sent his only son to the earth as the Father of all people and the King of Kings, would He have sent him to be mistreated? God wanted people to honor him as the central person of history, the father of all people, someone everyone longed for and wanted to meet many times over. However, no one of his time treated him like that. This was the sorrow of Heaven and made Heaven most indignant. Although he came to give his blood and flesh for his children, his children pointed knives and weapons at him. How could it be a happy memory for Heaven? If Heaven ever had a cause for deep sorrow, there was nothing more sorrowful than the death of Jesus.

The Embodiment Is More Important than the Words Themselves

Jesus left his last words as Heaven’s son. He told his disciples that although there were many things he wanted to share, he was to die before he could finish all that he wanted to say. He said, “You do not believe me when I speak about the matters of this earth, so how would you believe me if I spoke to you about the matters of Heaven?” (John 3:12) He added, “Although there are many things that I want to tell you, you are not prepared to receive them now.” (John 16:12) Had Jesus’ beloved disciples been the true sons and daughters of Jesus, why would he not have been able to speak? Even when he was dying, Jesus could not reveal the secrets deep in his heart. He was our father. How can there be a greater violation of filial piety?

We have to repent to cleanse ourselves of all historical sins. Because all people share the sin of having killed the parent, we have to repent. What does it mean to repent? It is to regret the sin of having killed the father and understanding it. No matter how unemotional a son may be, if he realizes that he has killed a good father, wouldn’t he repent in tears? That is how it is. Regardless of what the world may think about it, the God and Jesus I know are like that.

Who would ever understand the situation of Heaven, who worked ceaselessly for six thousand years without feeling any fatigue because He yearned so intensely for the original family, original children, siblings and members? No matter what tribulations Jesus encountered during the thirty years of his life, even when he was praying through the night on the lonely grounds of Gethsemane, he thought about the original children. Thinking about the original children, Jesus prayed even as he was dying on the cross. He prayed, “Father, please forgive them of their sins.” (Luke 23:34) Jesus was thinking, “Since we are in the position of parents searching for the lost children, we should certainly walk this path.” From this we can discern Jesus’ heart.

Christians of the world today know that Jesus is great and honor him as God’s son. However, in reality he was truly miserable. He was condemned as a traitor, a rebel and a heretic. Although the Jesus known in history is great, in reality he was truly miserable. Do you know that? We should not seek the great name of the Jesus we find in history. We should go find the Jesus who appeared in substance. This is the responsibility of the believers of the Last Days. With the burning heart of a parent, Jesus overcame all these situations and struggled to find sons and daughters. The day that Jesus, who labored with the heart of a parent, and sons and daughters who are struggling to find him, meet together is the day God can come and give His blessing.

What remains now? Words are not as important as the embodiment itself. Words are the letters the bridegroom has sent to the bride. When the embodiment, the source of the words, appears, should they focus their discussion on the letters? Now is the time that we must complete our actions based on the words. It is the time when we have to conquer Satan and return the world to God’s bosom. Only then will the embodiment appear.

Our families and relatives block our path to go before Jesus. To sever oneself from all these obstacles, a person must be able to feel the pain of the cross. When Jesus cut off from his own family members, he shed tears and prayed for blessing. Likewise, we human beings have to suffer the pain of the cross to sever our familial relationships on the earth. We have to endure the agony of the cross. Those who dislike that will not meet Jesus. They will never meet him.

The Way to Meet the Father

Before he shouldered the cross, Jesus said that he would return. Because of this, the disciples were able to overcome difficulties and become his companions, willing to die with him and suffer through hardships with him. For this reason, centering on the twelve apostles, the seventy and 120 followers were able to stand before Jesus and cross over the wall of death.

Although Christianity received all kinds of persecution under the oppression of Rome, because they prevailed, they conquered Rome. Christianity has served as an unconditional sacrifice for the world; this is the reason that it could arrive at a stage where it could literally dominate the world. Hence, now is the time that all Christians of the world can erect the heavenly sovereignty in Satan’s world. We have to understand that Christians all over the world must unite their forces and, representing the embodiment, be prepared to march forward and die together. After the era of the word has passed and the era of practice has passed, the one day of meeting will take place. Only after the one day of meeting can we live the life of Heaven. Upon meeting we have to enter the state where we can say that someone else’s personal situation is my situation; his difficulties are my difficulties; his wounds are my wounds. Then we can attain the level where we can say that his mind is my mind and his heart is my heart. Only after these things have been accomplished can the heavenly family be realized. Only after we bring these together centering on Jesus on the earth will the heavenly family be realized.

Countless people claim that God is in the position of the parent and that they are in the position of children. However, this is in name only. It is like being adopted children. You should meet Jesus through words and deeds. Even if you do not meet him in your prayers, you should meet him in the mountains. If you do not meet him there, you should be willing to seek even death. If you do not find him in the mountains or in your prayers, you will find him in your death, so that is where you must search for him. Jesus also passed through this process. He passed through the course of secret chambers, through the period of praying in the wilderness. He was willing to search for his children even in the hills of death. We have to search with the same determination. You have to understand this through reading the Bible.

Then what will you do the day you meet him? What should we do first for him? The moment that sinful people meet the Lord and the True Parents, they must call out for the Father and the Lord and comfort him: “I have fought like this and like that, and I have brought this and that gift. How much have you suffered during the long six thousand years to find me?” You should comfort him. You think that when the Lord comes to the earth, the Kingdom of Heaven will be accomplished centering on us and the world will operate exactly the way you want it to. That will never be. You have to disappear. You have to abandon all your wishes, all your expectations and all your hopes. From the moment you meet him, since you do not know what may be on his mind, you should be able to do as he commands.

Then what we have to do is comfort him with the most sincere heart: “How much have you suffered? It was so difficult for me to find this path; how much have you suffered to pass through the long six-thousand-year course of history and find your children?” You should say, “How is your heart? How is your heart after having passed through the long six thousand years? We understand that heart. We understand that heart.”

Do not expect to be complimented. When you are searching, you should go about it silently. Right after the resurrection, Mary Magdalene was silent when she came before Jesus. But when Mary tried to hold onto Jesus, he blocked her. Why? It is because human beings have to cleanse themselves of something. What would that be? It is the dirty remnants of history. Human beings have to cleanse themselves of that first. We have to beg for forgiveness for our sins, saying, “This is how Adam’s family was; this is how Noah’s family was; this is how the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were, and this is how the prophets and saints since Moses have been. Jesus died this way. These are all sins that I committed, so please forgive me.”

The Heroes of the Future Who Will Be Raised Up after They Clear Up the Past and the Present

The day that we meet, we have to understand the historical scars. We must say, “We are ashamed. However, we are so grateful for the grace of the Father who did not abandon us but sought us and called us.” Then God can say, “My son.” Then Father and son can meet. You have to understand that this is the path people of faith move on toward the heavenly family.

If you do meet, what would you want at that moment? Jesus and God have historical sorrows. We should probe into their sorrow in every detail and trace the tracks of the blood of the six-thousand year history during which they engaged in fierce conflicts. We should say, “This is because of me, my people, my family members, my siblings, my spouse and children. Father, I am deeply sorry.” Can you do that?

Moreover, we have to understand how God created the universe, how the Fall took place, how God received Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s, why God chose eight members of Noah’s family, and how the term “the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob” came into being. We must understand why Jacob used tricks to seize the birthright and why, after choosing the twelve sons of Jacob, God formed a family of seventy members and entered Egypt. Why did the Israelites suffer for 400 years in Egypt before the 600,000 people could form a nation and Moses could be made their leader? Why did they have to fight for the blessed land of Canaan? Why did they have to fight to establish the nation and sovereignty of Israel? Why did Jesus come and die, and why will he have to come again? What will the world be like in the future?

You have to understand the providence and thoroughly report the sins that people have committed in the past, present and future. The Last Days are the time of direct reporting. Do you think that this is reporting only about one’s own individual sins? Not at all. If you were to report only about your own individual sins, you could not participate as a member of God’s family. For this reason you should report the sins of the past and of the present and the sins of the future and become those who can fight against them.

After having rectified the past and the future, God’s purpose is to introduce the new center of a new nation of the future before the universe. Moreover, you will have to understand that it is to recognize you as part of God’s family as well as the other members of the family that God is working. Have you ever thought about them?

Ladies and gentlemen, you have to defend the Father you believe in, that He is like this and that, and that the Father you know is the Father of the past, the present and the future. All people will agree upon what the Father desires in their minds, hearts and bodies. They will agree through the words and through the deeds that they perform based on the words.

The Mind’s Inclination toward the Ideal World

With what will God judge on the judgment day? God judges with the conditions of restoration through indemnity based on the foundation of His heart of the past, present and future. When Mary Magdalene met the resurrected Jesus, she did not know that Jesus could not let her hold him. That is how it is. Do you think that one can go to Heaven just by believing? The thought may be good. But if you believe that, no matter how hard you try, you will never have anything to do with Jesus. It won’t do, even if you receive the words and put them into practice. No matter how faithfully you live by it, you will not be able to connect yourself to the embodiment. Why? It is because you are ignorant.

For this reason we should repent. We should repent and cleanse ourselves of all wrong elements. Why repent? For six thousand years, since the time of Adam’s family until today, our ancestors had to uphold the will of Heaven and fulfill God’s wishes. Yet they could not complete these responsibilities. We should shoulder the responsibility for this sin and repent. God is not just the God of the future. He is the God of the past. We have to understand God as the God who is working to cleanse all historical sins, and we should build a relationship with Him and purge our sins.

Moreover, since God is the God of the past, we have to purge the sins of this age. After having cleansed all the sins of the past and the future, we have to establish one new standard of the future and sing of the glory of the Father; that place is the Kingdom of Heaven, where we can live eternally.

Only after that can we form a heavenly family which does not even think about the sins of the past. This is the realization of God’s hope. Then we are to be recognized as sons and daughters of the heavenly family and live eternally. Such people do not need to believe in Jesus. They do not need Jesus. They do not need Christianity. They do not need faith. The place they go after they live a normal life on earth is the Kingdom of Heaven.

After the age of hope comes, God will not look back at the six-thousand-year history. There is no need to flip through the pages of sorrowful history. After the arrival of an age where we can say that this is certainly the standard based upon which solutions can be obtained through our minds, bodies and hearts, we do not need to flip back through the refuse of the past.

Ladies and gentlemen. People nowadays are interested in antiques. Do you know why that is? It is because we are searching for the original things which were lost. We have to find the antiques that Adam and Eve lost long ago, six thousand years ago, which could have connected us to God. After that we have to cut our relationship with the age of antiques and enter another era when we struggle to find new things. This world today is an accursed world which destroys and devours all new things that emerge. That is not true for the era of hope. The world that we hope for is a world where new things are valued. Since God’s nature values new things, we have to move toward that age.

For this reason people block the path we are walking. They tell us to turn around and go back to the past. They tell us to go deep into our minds. This is why Buddhism teaches us to enter a state of meditation. The reality of life on earth and its sorrow is that we have to seek our original selves and original minds. Yet after we go back to the past and resolve it all, we would never want to think about the past. God’s goal is to destroy it all and leave no part of it behind.

We have to live in a new world with new hopes. That is what the past of a people is like. Roman culture was revival of the Hellenistic culture. They studied the older culture and brought it out again and integrated it with the new reality. That is not what we should do in the future. Of course, it is good to study history. However, that is not the standard of our hope. Until now our fate has been to return to the past and return to Heaven. From now on it should be new.

The Heavenly Family Which Abandons All that Is Tied to Sinful History

Members of our Unification Church should mercilessly do away with the past and become people who can boast of having been born as new princes. They should sing the new songs of the new world. That is how it should be. Think about it. Do you think God would want you to bring all the dirty rags from Satan’s world into God’s family? God does not want to hear it, see it or even think about it. Wouldn’t it be so? This is why we call it the great judgment. We do not want to see them or see those ideas, that sovereignty, that history. It is the great judgment. We have to understand clearly that God is seeking true sons and daughters who can worship and serve the glorious Father with a heart burning with new hope.

Although it is good to hold to the past, if you were to do that you would destroy all ideals. When the Jews living by the Old Testament kept to the Old Testament of the past, that caused them to kill Jesus. Ladies and gentlemen, you should understand this clearly. Although it is good to hold onto democracy as opposed to communism according to the trends of thought today, if you were to hold onto that alone, you would destroy new things. Although the faith that you have and the churches that you attend are good, you have to understand that if you adhere only to them, you may destroy something new.

For this reason, you have to discern the situation well. You have to clear up the past and the present and be prepared for the future. Otherwise, you will never be able to enter the hopeful family of God. God sees you as sons and daughters of Satan’s world. After God sent His only son Jesus, he did not like Jesus’ younger brother (Israel) calling him their brother. Why should Joseph’s sons call Jesus their brother? Only after they pass through a course of faith, believe in Jesus and receive the heart, mind, body, deeds and words of Jesus can they call him their brother. God did not even like Mary calling Jesus her son. Only after passing through a similar course could she call him her son. God does not even think about anything tied to the fallen lineage. Wouldn’t that be true?

This is why we have to be re-blessed by the only son of God. When a first-rate bride whom God loves dearly is called before Heaven, God does not want to hear that she is the daughter of someone, the niece of someone, the older sister of someone, and so on. All that is necessary is to be recognized as God’s daughter. God will say, “She is My daughter, not yours.” This is why those who go deep into the past will never overcome this process. That is how it is.

When we reflect on the six thousand years full of anguish, the miserable history during which bloody conflicts raged, when we think about how people betrayed God’s will and caused the prolongation of God’s providence, God probably does not even want to see them. Ladies and gentlemen. You should not hold onto the hands of your beloved sons and daughters and go before God and say, “I am the father or mother of So and So.” You should not say that you lead such and such a life in the world. You should not talk about anything that is tied to the sinful history. God only wants to hear about your relationship with Him.

Those Who Are Qualified to Become Members of the Heavenly Family

The God of history and of the present age is a sorrowful God. The God of the past and the present is a sad God. Those who do not recognize this will be judged. Those who truly love God will not be able to pray for the alleviation of their own suffering and agony. We should be grateful for the fact that God has been shouldering all the sorrows and pains of the past. Those who are ignorant of this and stress their own sorrow and pain will all be judged. If someone cries alone because he cannot pray about his own pain to God, knowing God’s sorrow of the past and the present, God will recognize him. You should pray, “How much greater is God’s suffering than my own pain? Even if I am to die, please let me shoulder it.” Those who pray for blessing today will become greater and greater sinners before God. The more you enter the realm of God’s grace and love, the more you know you are a sinner who cannot raise your head before God. You will find that to be true in the spirit world. Believe me if you will, or don’t believe me. I am not speaking foolish words. Those who want to think that, let them go ahead. That is not how the next world is. The spirit world is not like that. It is a world in which people will humbly decline the offer to be raised to a higher place several times. They will say, “I am not worthy.”

Those believers who pose as masters and fight with each other over power and influence will be damned, and such churches will perish. Now the time has come for us to turn around. We should try to run away when someone tries to elevate us and decline when someone wants to do things for us. That is how God will come to us.

Members of the Unification Church, although you are receiving persecution and mistreatment from the outside world, please do not be sad. This has been the path that the Lord and the Father have walked, so we unworthy sinners should walk it gladly. You should say, “If the agony of the people can be eliminated by my suffering, and the sorrows of the world and God can be alleviated through the sorrows this body experiences, I am grateful.” Those who do so will never be snatched away by Satan. God will never betray them. We have come together to become such people, to become God’s people and members of the heavenly family.

The world is fast asleep. God is longing for people who can forget about themselves while dreaming of the Kingdom of Heaven; in other words, the family of God who can cry for the heavenly parents and brothers and sisters. You have to understand that this is why you have gathered here.

If there are such people on the earth, then no matter how severe the persecution, no matter how miserable the events they encounter, they will remain till the end. For this reason we should hold onto Heaven and earth and appeal with our blood and tears. We should mourn over the sins of the past. We should mourn for the sake of the thirty million people of this nation. God longs for such young people, members of the heavenly family and kinsmen of Heaven. If such a movement does not emerge among the people, the Korean people will perish.

Christianity Should Be Guided in a New Direction

Ladies and gentlemen, your love and longing for your friends will all fade away. Families and friends will all fade away. The right path is the one on which longing for heavenly friends and heavenly family members moves your emotions. Forgetting about even your hunger, you should look for heavenly family members, overcome all your grief, and be concerned even about the descendants of the future, appealing to God on their behalf. Those who have this mind-set will never decrease. Ladies and gentlemen, you are probably well aware of the international situation. Many people see that the years 1959 and 1960 are an historical transition. We feel that the time of the historical transition has come. We know that we have arrived at the forked road of life and death and the point of despair and mourning. They have invaded the sphere of our life. Here we can feel the division ideologically. The same is true for our world of faith, family and society.

Moreover, when we look at the situation of Korea, we can see that there is no country more miserable than this. Where do you set the standard of peace? The world will fade away. The society, country and people will all fade away. Our people do not possess anything, and we cannot even look for it. Now I think that the only way to save this people is to mourn over their historical sins and the mistakes of the present era and raise two hands and call on the Father.

Who among the people gathered here will be mobilized? Not the older people. The churches must take the risk of the new changing the old. Since we know this, Christians should not entrust their churches to the present leadership. Such a time will come. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a place for ministers and elders. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place for truly faithful sons and daughters. The churches have become as they are because we entrusted them to the hands of ministers and elders. Christians of the world should unite and claim back the possession of their churches and honor them as their own. Such a movement will take place. God will make this happen.

Young men of great ideals, such a time will certainly come. Look! Before the liberation of Korea, people praised this and that minister. The time of ministers passed, and there came a time of elders when people praised this or that elder. Then blew the wind of the deacons. Now the time of ordinary membership will come. Such phenomena will certainly take place. We should not entrust this church to them. The Unification Church has arisen from that fervent movement. Although people may be cursing us, you wait and see. History will certainly change its course. We need brave young men and women. Otherwise, in the Last Days we will become miserable people who will betray once more the approaching new world of heavenly ideals and cause great grief to Heaven. You should be concerned about this.

We should become sons and daughters of burning zeal and shoulder the historical grief of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and our ancestors. We should take responsibility for this age. We should become sons and daughters who can call God our Father and preserve the dignity and name of being members of the heavenly family, sons and daughters of God. We should understand clearly that God and humanity are searching for people who can confidently command the entire universe.

Prayer

Father, I have spoken the words. Most sorrowful and grieved Father, please forgive our ancestors who were ignorant of You.

We know that we should understand and cry for the Father’s sorrow over not having found the sons and daughters You long for. Forgive us. We are in the miserable situation of seeking our satisfaction alone.

Jesus looked at his own mother and younger brothers and sisters and said, “Only those who live by the will of my Father are my brothers and mother.” We do not have original parents; we do not have original brothers and sisters; we do not have original children or spouses. We long for original parents, brothers and sisters, children and spouses. Please let us become sons and daughters who forget about our own dignity and search for them out of intense yearning.

Please let the movement to honor the Father and enjoy life in the heavenly family unfold in Heaven and earth. Please let revolutions of heart and love take place which can unite people with this ideal and force them to move forward and respond. If Your sons and daughters who participate here feel something in their hearts, please let that become the guiding light of their lives and the source of transformation. Father, this is our sincere prayer.

Thank You for having governed over everything. We pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 11: The Toil of God As He Tries To Raise Up His Beloved Children

October 11, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
John 3:11-21
I Corinthians 7:28-29

Prayer

Father, we know that we all have different situations and that the intensity of our faith is also very different. Father, even if our situations are different and the foundations of our minds differ, please let us understand that they are all centering on the world.

Please let us understand that God longs for us all to have the same situation and same foundation of mind during this hour. Please let us understand that God wants our situations to be based on Heaven, not on human beings. He wants the foundation of our minds to be connected not to human emotions but to the emotions of Heaven.

Each of us stands at the edge of two worlds. When we look to the left, we find that worldly relationships tie us down. When we look to the right, the infinite movement of goodness is pulling us. We know all too well that we are struggling between these two worlds.

Please help us understand deeply that God cannot raise people up in that situation and bless them. Nor can He call them or entrust them with a heavenly mission.

I pray that our situation and the foundation of our minds will tilt to one side so that they are not of the world but of eternal Heaven. Beloved Father, this is our sincere wish.

Now we lie prostrated before the Father. Please allow us to reveal the innermost parts of our hearts and to search for ourselves based on the Father’s teachings. With a new vision, please allow us to recognize our situation once more. Please allow us to realize our powers once more.

We sincerely wish that You will allow us to remember how we have been struggling, under what ideology we have been struggling, and for what value and standard we have been struggling. Then please allow this to be an hour when we can think again about how we were like this and that in the past, present and future. Beloved Father, this is our sincere wish.

Relationships and situations centering on people split into many relationships and conditions. Relationships and situations centering on Heaven have a more unified shape, and they form something new, unique and clear. We lie prostrated, longing to be unified in a unique way. Please extend the hands of love. Please sway us with Your powers. Please do not allow anything here that does not belong to Heaven, and move us with the original heart and mind so that we can become a group the Father can recognize as His own. Father, this is our sincere wish.

Father! Please build a bridge between minds and hearts now so that this may be an hour when we can connect to the Father’s situation and experience the Father’s heart. Father, this is what we sincerely wish.

Although many saints and sages have come and gone in history, they did not know the situation of Heaven and were ignorant of Heaven’s heart. As the Last Days grow closer, we should be discussing and solving the problems of the situation and heart of Heaven.

Please help us understand once more that to solve this problem we have to be happy even after sacrificing everything. We have to be determined to become sacrifices and bow before Heaven. Please let this be an hour when we desire the Father’s powers.

Please preside over everything in this hour. Please do not let us be entrenched in God’s grace. We know that there are many sons and daughters who have built secret altars and are shedding lonely tears out of concern for the will. Even if they may be in difficult situations, please bless them with the same grace. We have entrusted You with this hour. Please command this hour from the beginning to the end and let it be an hour You can recognize.

Even though God may have made all preparations, we know that we have to prepare the foundations of mind and body in response. Please do not let anything of the past remain in our minds. Allow us to return to the heart of a child and build a relationship with God again through the calm heart of the Father.

Please let this be an hour when we can be drenched in the grace of the Father’s commands and be united with the Father. Let this be an hour when the Father can personally talk things over with us and make a new promise to us.

I am about to speak the words. Therefore, Father, please be with us. I know that there is no need for a lot of words. I know that what we need more than words is to experience You through our hearts. Father, please open the gates to our minds and take care of our situations. We know that Jesus is the original heart who connected with You, and we have gathered our hearts to come together. Please let this be an hour when we can build a deep relationship with the Father’s original nature.

Please let this be an hour when we can make a new determination and pledge before the Father through new words of promise. Please let this be an hour when we repent for all our sins of the past and establish one purified standard before the Father.

Please do not let the heart of the speaker and the hearts of the listeners be divided. Let this be an hour when we can connect to the one heart and unite with the one grace. Otherwise, legions of demons will target this gap and drag us to the shadow of death. Please help us be aware of this and abandon all of our situations, concepts and thoughts. Let us return to the heart of a child to unveil our hearts and listen to the Father’s commanding words. Praying that You will bless us to build a relationship with the Father’s heart, we prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The title of the speech that I want to reflect upon together with you is “The Toil of God as He Tries to Raise Up His Beloved Sons and Daughters.” I will speak upon this topic.

What All Created Things Need Most

Love is what every existing thing in Heaven and earth needs the most. It is true that the one love is most important in Heaven and true love centering on men is most important in the human world.

In Christianity they talk about God’s love. They believe that Jesus is someone who showed God’s love to human beings. We know very well that if there is any love worth longing for in the human world, it is the love of Jesus. If there is some love worth longing for in Heaven, it is God’s love. Likewise, our hope is to connect with God’s and Jesus’ love. The problem is, what is that love like? The original purpose of creation was for the first human ancestors to live centered on God and to live by God’s eternal love. However, we learned through the Principle that due to the Fall, they could not build a relationship of love with God. Instead they built a relationship of love with the enemy Satan.

If we recognize that the center of life, ideals and value for all created things is the love of God, people who cannot experience the love, ideals and life of God do not have any relationship with Heaven. This is true even if they talk about love, life and ideals. Why is humanity living in such a miserable state? It is because they lost the life, love and ideals of God. We have to experience this deep in our minds.

If someone longs for God’s life, love and ideals, no matter how sorrowful he is, he has the hope of revival. Given that God works to save people who are disconnected to His love, life and ideals, what providence would He conduct? We have to understand that in His work God moves the heart which longs for the true life, the heart which is thirsty for love, and the heart which is deprived of ideals.

How much have you longed for the love, the life and the ideals of God in your mind? If you do not have such a heart, there is no way to find God’s love. If such a shock does not explode from your mind, you cannot connect to the life, love and ideals of God, no matter how abundant they are.

The Last Days are nearing. People say universally that the end of the world is coming. There is no one in this world you can cling to and say that he or she can satisfy the hunger of your mind and give you life. There is no one who can be the only one you longed for in your heart, the only one who can fill you. The same thing holds true even in the sphere of ideals. We have to build a relationship with God’s life, love and ideals. Otherwise, we can only conclude that in the Last Days of history we cannot become a person of true love, life and ideals.

The Degree to which God Loves Human Beings

What is the purpose for which we are seeking a religious path and life? It is to possess the life, love and ideals of God. God and Jesus seek this kind of a person. Only when someone appears with this quality, a person God and Jesus can bless and recognize, will true love, life and true ideals be established in this world.

God loves human beings infinitely. He has been seeking them since the day they fell. To what extent does God love them? You cannot fathom this based on your own concepts alone. Even in the fallen world, parents love their children. If their beloved children are threatened by death, parents will overcome any pain or fear to save them. They do not hesitate to do anything, even to die. Even fallen people have such deep love for their children. Moreover, there are people who do not spare their own lives for the sake of their beloved.

Then would God’s love be only as great as a parent’s love for his children? If love is something which emboldens one to overcome any difficulty including death and brave any kind of sacrifice, then what about God’s love? You cannot compare it with fallen people’s love toward their children. We have to understand that the love God had for the original human beings was incomparably greater than the love found in the fallen world.

Human beings today feel pain and mourn when their beloved children or people precious to them die. Some even lose their sanity. In some extreme cases, people may die. If people mourn even on the earth, if they can lose their sanity and even die over the loss of their beloved, what about God? Think about it.

The Reason God Created Human Beings

God created Adam and Eve as the heroes who could govern all things of Heaven and earth. God is the motive of love and the origin of love. He created Adam and Eve to invest all His love in them.

God did not create human beings to have them rule the entire universe. We have to understand that God created human beings to give them His love.

If God’s love is the power that motivates all things of the universe, why did God create and bless Adam and Eve? God created Adam and Eve as the people to whom He would give all the love which flows in Heaven and earth. You have to understand that God created our ancestors centering on that love.

God, who established the ideals and created the universe, must have rejoiced when He thought about how the creation of the universe would reach a finale with the creation of Adam and Eve. Moreover, God must have been indescribably happy as He watched Adam and Eve grow up. He looked at Adam and Eve with incredible joy and happiness. Don’t you think this is how it was? That was Adam and Eve.

God wanted to love Adam and Eve to the extent that He forgot about His dignity as the Creator, He forgot about all His powers and His omnipresent existence. You have to understand, then, how it must have been for God to look at Adam and Eve after the Fall.

Although you are children born of Satan’s lineage, you still love infinitely. You know how to love your beloved without limits. If human beings had not fallen, and good children rather than evil children had multiplied on the earth, then you could have looked at your children and felt the same intense feeling of love that God felt toward Adam and Eve after He created them.

The Sorrow of God Right after the Human Fall

However, there has not been even one person who loved his or her sons and daughters with the same heart of love that God had toward Adam and Eve. There has never been a couple who came together with such heart and love.

Sinning daily and making a lot of noise is love below the level of the angels, love which is a product of the Fall. People are distant from the love of God who exists as the center of ideals and as the ideals themselves.

You have probably not given much thought to the fact that Adam and Eve fell. You are unclear about the significance of what you have vaguely heard. There is no deep response of the heart in you. That should not be so. The moment Adam and Eve fell, God’s heart was torn so painfully He almost went insane. You should never forget about the Father who was shaken so thoroughly as to almost forget Himself. Have you ever thought about that?

Even when fallen people on the earth watch their children die, they feel their bone marrow melt. They want to save their children even at the cost of their own lives. How must the heart of God have been as He watched Adam and Eve walking the path toward the Fall and crossing the line of death? Unless you understand that heart, there is no way for you to become God’s sons and daughters.

If someone has experienced the sorrow of God as he watched the Fall of Adam and Eve, nothing of this human world will pose any problem for him. Even the greatest love in the human world cannot comfort the sorrowful heart of God. We understand the history of restoration through indemnity. To return to the original world, we have to go through God’s heart and build a relationship of love with Him. Only after that can we become God’s sons and daughters. Have you ever felt the heart of God who mourned while watching the Fall of Adam and Eve? For six thousand years, God has been ceaselessly struggling to liberate the grieving heart of the Fall. God sent many prophets to liberate it. He sent His beloved son. God sent His beloved son to execution to liberate the grieving heart of the Fall. It is to liberate this that countless people are in pain.

To Possess True Joy

If a day of joy were to come to the earth, what kind of day would that be? The day of joy is the day that the grief which is rooted deep in the heart of God since the human Fall is removed.

However, today that grief in God’s heart remains unresolved. The universe is surrounded by sadness. For this reason we are struggling in the sad and painful course of history. In the meantime we are struggling to find happiness. We have to understand this.

Why did we come to have this sorrow? It is not because we do not have money that we are sad. It is not because we do not have prestige that we are sad. It is not because we do not have people to love. What is the pain? It is not the pain that you experience when you are wronged. There is no greater pain than not being able to love one’s beloved.

What is true joy? Becoming a millionaire does not make one happy. Making the universe our own does not make us happy. We have to understand that true happiness is finding love and living in attendance to God.

We fallen people live in sorrow. We fallen people experience pain in our lives. Although we have thirsted for the ideals of goodness for six thousand years, nothing of the kind has emerged. You know very well that the society we live in, the world and current trends of thought cannot build the ideal garden of goodness where God’s love and life can dynamically flow. Yet, to our grief, we cannot deny this world. It is our fate to cross this pass of grief.

How can we cross this pass of grief? We have to go through the love of God. To do so we have to understand the wound in God’s heart and comfort Him. You have to understand that; otherwise, there is no way to usher in the time of hope.

God has sought for us to accomplish this goal. In the Old Testament of the past, God established offerings as the condition to build a bridge to fallen people. God placed nature before human beings and they came to Him through it. Even when God came through nature, our ancestors did not worship Him sincerely. Many prophets in history did not know that by making the offering they were to build a relationship with God’s heart of love. They frequently made mistakes. Using the offering as the sacrifice, God tried to place human beings higher than nature. By doing so He pushed history forward. He sought an individual and connected him to God’s heart, then expanded it to the family and national levels. On that foundation of a nation, God sent a representative whom He could love.

The Heart of God Who Is Restoring Fallen People

God’s goal is to raise up individuals and people and to send one embodiment whom He can love and do His work of liberation through. God has been guiding history toward that purpose.

After the Fall, even though human beings betrayed Him so many thousands of times, because God considered them His children, He did not hesitate to do any difficult work or face the risk of death for the sake of achieving His goals. A parent cannot abandon a child just because he is committing sins. Original human beings are the direct children of God who are connected to God’s heart. Even if human beings were to abandon God, God cannot cut off this relationship and abandon people. This is what you have to understand.

When we think about this, we see that we are descendants who deserve to be mistreated by the universe and labeled as violators of filial piety. The same is true for every single person in history, including our good ancestors. From the standpoint of a nation, God is the king. We should serve God as the king and become loyal ministers. Because we are unable to do so, we cannot protest, even if people label us traitors and expose our sins to the world. This is what we are.

If such a relationship existed between two people, they would surely be the bitterest of enemies. How can God overlook these facts? It is because God has a never-ending desire to see people as sons and daughters who will live with Him eternally. Thus, even if God were ostracized today and tomorrow, turned away from this place and that, He could not turn away from His pursuit of the true child.

I have thought about it like this and have cried, “People on the earth! Before you long for your children and cry, long for God and cry. Before you become indignant about something, you should look toward Heaven and feel its indignation. If there is someone who is crazy about something on the earth, he should forget the earth and become crazy about God.”

God is an infinitely sad person. These are not abstract words. With whom will God share His heart? To whom will God reveal His pain and bitterness? There is no such person. For this reason God yearns for sons and daughters to appear on the earth, sons and daughters who can cling to God’s sorrow and pain and comfort Him. This is the highest standard we should aspire to.

What kind of person is God? He is not a ruler but a Father whose relationship with you is inseparable. That Father struggled in relation to the earth with a heart as desperate as if He were going crazy for six thousand years. Nevertheless, people repeatedly caused that Father pain and betrayed Him. If there is someone who recognizes this sin and becomes crazy about God even now, God will not abandon him.

God’s Desire and the Highest Standard Human Beings Should Hope For

When a beloved child falls down in the human world, some parents go crazy. The same must be true for God. The same is true for God. What about God’s love? God’s love is the love of the subject partner which encompasses the love of parents, spouses and children. Before you think about this love, before you yearn for it, before you long for it and seek it, Heaven has already been yearning for it like a crazy person until today.

On top of this, Satan mocks: “God, You should be loving Your children in Your bosom! Why are You sighing and mourning?” You have to understand this situation of God. Although through our faith we may have thought that God is omnipotent and is resting peacefully in some palace, that is far from the truth.

God has been seeking for us throughout history with this heart. He has sought us for six thousand years. Look at Christian history. God came seeking us, taking a beating before our ancestors were beaten. He was persecuted before our ancestors were persecuted. He crossed the pass of death in His search. Every time a faithful person climbed the hill of martyrdom, God experienced the same pain. God as the subject partner of love suffered all the pains and difficulties of His sons and daughters who were living for His sake.

Will God give all that up? God cannot give up. Is He going to turn around in His footsteps toward the people on earth who deserve to be judged and eliminated? God cannot turn around.

Ladies and gentlemen, isn’t that so? No matter how evil and sinful a child in this world may be, parents cannot turn their footsteps away from them. Their hearts are drawn. No matter how evil they are, and no matter how many wounds people have put in God’s heart, God cannot help but come seeking for them. We have to look at the God who longed for human beings in the past. We have to look at the God who held onto the many prophets and sages and mourned over them in the six-thousand-year history. We should look at the God who is struggling and mourning over the 2.7 billion persons of humanity.

The Way to Comfort God

If this is what the God who sought me is like, then how about tomorrow? Is there any way to comfort this God? Even if human beings were to experience pain, there is no greater pain than God has experienced. No matter how unsolvable a problem human beings have, there is no problem more difficult to resolve than God’s.

Do you think that God yearns for the appearance of a son who will say to Him, “Father, how much You have suffered,” with a heart more sorrowful than His? Have you ever thought that God sought sons and daughters who can say, “Father, how much have You suffered, how many times have You fallen down, and how many times have You struggled?” He wants sons and daughters who can endure many sufferings, persecutions and difficulties and cast away all sorrows, bitterness and indignation. The God we believe in and should serve is such a person.

Where are the true sons and daughters who understand the sorrow of God, who is seeking us even while going the course of the cross? We need such sons and daughters. You have to understand clearly that the group, the people, the nation and the world which can unite centering on such sons and daughters is the world that God is hoping to realize, the ideal world of creation.

I know God as a miserable being. Misery is the only word to describe God’s situation. No matter how miserable a person may be, compared to God, he is not miserable. No matter what kind of sorrow there may be, it is not comparable to that of God. No matter how bitter one may be, compared to God, he has no problem.

Upon creating Adam and Eve, God desired a garden of goodness. God created them in order to embrace them and love them and rejoice while all things of the universe reciprocated in harmony. Yet when we look at the Bible, where does it say that such a thing ever took place? The heart of God over losing Adam and Eve is the heart of sorrow over losing one’s only son and only daughter.

The Mission of the Only Son

It is said that Jesus is the only son. What does the only son refer to? It refers to the only son who can receive God’s love and comfort God. Since Adam lost God’s love due to the Fall, Jesus was sent to recover it. He is the first son and the only son born of God’s love. That is why he is referred to as the only begotten son. What was Jesus supposed to do on the earth? He should have shown us what the love of God is like. He was supposed to show us what life centering on God’s love is like, what society centering on God’s love is like, and what the world centering on God’s love is like.

When Jesus came to the earth, did he clearly show what the love of God is like? He passed away without showing it fully to us. Did he show what the family that God loves is like? Did he show what the people, nation, and the world that God loves are like? He could not.

If Adam and Eve had reached perfection without falling, God would have raised two arms and blessed them, “Oh, my beloved sons and daughters, I want you to inherit My work and govern all the things of the universe and live together with Me eternally.” However, this will of God was completely undermined. For this reason God longs for the one day that He can bless two people like Adam and Eve, giving them all of Heaven and earth. This is what you have to understand.

What is salvation? It is to restore what has been lost. This is why while going through the historical course of ups and downs, God held the people up every time they became tired and fell down. After four thousand years passed, God sent Jesus.

By sending him God wanted to unveil the sorrow and unload the suffering of the four thousand years. Through Jesus God wanted to restore and complete the ideal of the creation of the universe. Jesus was the person sent as the one responsible for that. Jesus was the one sent to complete the ideal of creation.

The Situation of Jesus

Jesus was supposed to walk to the end of the path of suffering while he was on the earth. He had to walk to the end of the path, no matter how difficult it might be. He was born in a barn. No matter how difficult and miserable a person’s situation may be, no one was born in a barn. The providence of salvation begins from the lowest point. Jesus was born in this lowest of situations and did not receive love while he was growing up. Christians should understand this clearly. In the thirty years of Jesus’ life, there were many sorrowful events. Although Jesus was born into Joseph’s family, to Joseph he was a stepson. He was a stepson of no blood relation to him.

The children born between Joseph and Mary looked down upon Jesus. Think about it. Jesus was a stepson. Jesus was a miserable person who was mistreated even by his younger brothers and sisters. He did not have parents he could depend upon emotionally, and he did not have a family where he could find a place of rest. That was not all; yet Jesus grew up under the direct instructions of Heaven. Because Jesus possessed a heart of hope for the future, even in such circumstances, he looked at the people, the nation and the world.

Why didn’t Jesus resent the situation he was in? It was because he understood God’s heart. He knew that the Father he believed in and worshipped had walked a bitter path for four thousand years. He knew that he had the mission to take responsibility for and restore through indemnity all the mistakes of his ancestors who had repeatedly wronged God. Therefore, he could not be resentful toward those who opposed him. Because he had the same heart as God, even when he was dying on the cross, he blessed the people who opposed him. Christians today think that Jesus came to die. It may seem simple because they only look at the outcome. However, they do not understand the situation of Jesus up to his death. They do not understand the heart of God as He looked down at the dying Jesus.

Ladies and gentlemen, what kind of people are loved in this world? Do people love those who understand others’ situations or those who do not understand them?

To whom did Jesus say, “I came to cast fire upon the earth, so if it is already on fire then what more would I wish? I am to receive baptism, so how distressed would I be until that is realized?” (Luke 12:49-50) Although he did speak those words, he did not have anyone who understood them. Although he spoke the Gospels, no one understood him. Is it true that people say all you need to do to go the Kingdom of Heaven is to believe in Jesus? Although you may believe in the words, you do not believe in the heart and the embodiment. Looking at history, was there anyone before Jesus who responded to the sorrow of God and comforted Him? Was there anyone who became His beloved son or daughter? Although Jesus appeared on the earth as God’s only begotten son, where did the sons and daughters who should have become the only begotten sons and daughters go? Have you ever thought about that?

The Purpose for Sending Jesus

For what purpose did God bless the original Adam and Eve before the Fall? It was not so that they could eat good things and be happy by themselves. God gave them the blessing on behalf of their descendants, their family, their people and the world. What was the purpose for sending Jesus? Since he came as the only begotten son of God, it was to find sons and daughters who could become only begotten children to him. Because Jesus struggled to find these sons and daughters, because he was connected to the heart of God who was seeking sons and daughters like Jesus, even though the Jews were to perish, he prayed on the cross, “Father, please forgive their sins.” You have to understand that the motivation of heart came from Heaven.

Believers should not just be descendants of Jesus. They should become his sons and daughters. Where are the sons and daughters to whom Jesus can reveal all things, to whom he can entrust all ideals and whom he can bless, just as God could embrace him? God revealed all that was inside of Him and safely entrusted His works to Jesus. Had such sons and daughters of Jesus appeared on the earth, the Second Advent would have been realized a long time ago. It did not have to take two thousand years. Have you ever seen such sons and daughters? Although there were those who died believing in Jesus’ words, there was no one who understood the heart of Jesus, believed in the embodiment of Jesus, and died for him.

It is said in John 3:16, “Since God loves this world so much He sent His only begotten son that whoever believes in him will never perish but will attain eternal life.” It is said that whoever believes in him will receive eternal life, but what are we to believe in? We are to believe in the only begotten son whom God loves like the world, and we are to believe in the world that God loves like the only begotten son. These are what we are supposed to believe in. That is the main theme in all sixty-six books of the Bible. Those who believe in the heart of God who loves the world like the only begotten son and who loves the only begotten son like the world will be saved.

For this reason, faith, hope and love will always be there. But among them it is said that love is the best. Love is what will remain eternally, be victorious eternally, and what will come with the eternal, glorious Lord. No matter how sinful the world may be, those who can love the world as God loves it, as He loves the only begotten son, and love the only begotten son as God loves the world, will receive salvation.

Do not think that by believing in Jesus you will be saved. Such people are thieves. Thieves. When Jesus came to the earth, he considered this world more precious than his own body. Since it is said that God sent His only begotten son because He loved the world so much, Jesus knew that God sent him because He loved the world so much. He could not deny this when he fathomed the heart of God in history. Moreover, since the Jews needed the embodiment of God’s love, he knew that he had to stand before the world.

For this reason, Jesus did not live three years of public life to elevate himself. The purpose of the three years was to find disciples. Jesus worked hard to raise up three disciples to be like his sons and daughters and to make the twelve disciples into his children.

You probably understand this through your study of the history of restoration through indemnity. God worked through the three sons lost in Adam’s family. He worked through the three sons lost in Noah’s family. He was the God of the three generations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the three generations of Saul, David and Solomon. This is according to the universal principles of restoration which seek this number three to represent the whole. Therefore, Jesus had to raise up three spiritual sons.

For this reason, even if Jesus were to abandon everything else, these three disciples should not have separated from him. Although Jesus wanted to bring the three disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane and the hill of Golgotha, they betrayed him in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was the beginning of a sorrowful history.

Everything Would Have Been Realized on Earth

Had the three disciples been willing to die with Jesus, he would not have had to die. Everything would have been realized on the earth. Since the Holy Spirit came and there were spiritual sons and daughters, the father and mother spirit could build a foundation on the earth, at least spiritually, and fulfill the will. Some people may say that we cannot find these words in the Bible.

Why did Jesus who came to save the earth ascend to Heaven, and why did the Holy Spirit, the mother spirit, come down to the earth on his behalf? The earth is the symbol for the mother. Since the Fall took place because of Eve, who was the mother, it is the mother who must cleanse the fallen world of sin. The Holy Spirit and believers were to join together to cross the line of death and rise to the position to serve Jesus in the spirit world.

Although God sent Jesus on the basis of the four-thousand-year history, He could not embrace him and love him fully. Although human beings received the beloved Jesus, they could not embrace him and love him. When Mary Magdalene tried to hold Jesus right after the resurrection, Jesus told her not to touch him. Why did he block her? This is sorrowful. When God was sad, Jesus was sad. Because the situations of Heaven and earth are tied to this, you cannot move forward without unraveling this. How distressed must Heaven have been since He had to resolve the situation?

God is looking for those who can substitute for the lost Adam and Eve. It is said in I Corinthians that Jesus was the last Adam. It is said that Adam is the tree of life. Jesus was the one who came in place of the lost tree of life. Did God ever elevate beloved Jesus on the earth and praise him before the believers? Did He ever boast about him before the family which is looking for the one person God loves? Although two thousand years have passed since then, God could not boast before any people or the world.

You have to understand that God was indignant when He had to witness the death of Jesus whom He had sent and would have to send again. He was more indignant than when He had to chase Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. Although he was sent with the mission of a son, Jesus could not complete the mission. Because in Jesus’ time there was not a moment when God and his son were happy together, there had to be a Second Advent. The day will come when God can rejoice with Jesus. This will be the moment He can reveal the grieving heart of the six thousand years and connect the sons and daughters with God and the Lord who is to come.

If Jesus Had Not Died

Ladies and gentlemen, please think about it. If Jesus, the only begotten son of God, had not died after coming to the earth, what would have happened? Since it is said that Jesus is the only begotten son, God would have sent his only begotten daughter. The two-thousand-year history of God after Jesus is the history of seeking a bride. It is the history of seeking a bride. Do you deny that?

Although Jesus came as a true son, since there was no true daughter, God’s will was not fully accomplished. For this reason the two-thousand-year history is the history of finding a daughter. The fights in the Unification Church will also center on this issue. The Holy Spirit came as God’s daughter.

God raised Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and blessed them not only to love them; it was to love their descendants too. Are there any such descendants? Have there ever been sons and daughters whom Jesus could love? If there had been sons and daughters of whom Jesus could say, “He is my son that I love infinitely and eternally, and he is my direct descendant,” then this world would have already become God’s nation.

As God’s son Jesus died on behalf of God’s heart of the past, present and future. The Lord who is returning will come to inherit the will and realize it on the earth. When he comes, what should the countless believers on the earth do? Just as Jesus was a son before God, you should become true sons and daughters before the Lord. Don’t you think that is how it should be?

The Three Things Which Should Be Resolved

What kind of person is a son of filial piety? To become such a son, one has to attend one’s parents well, and one should bear children. No matter how pious someone may be, no matter how great one may be, no matter what one may have given to one’s parents, one cannot be a child of filial piety if one cannot have children. Jesus was born as God’s historical son of filial piety. Even though he realized the glory of the only begotten son and fulfilled everything, without children he could not stand proud before God. Do you know why Jesus has toiled for two thousand years?

Jesus knew that God worked like a crazy man to find His beloved son, so Jesus spent thirty-some odd years of his life with the same intense heart toward the people of the earth. For two thousand years, he worked as if he was a crazy man, as if there were no Satan. You have to understand that Jesus longs for people on the earth to the point of madness. Even if you forget all the words in the Bible, all you need to do is to connect with that heart of Jesus. Jesus has to resolve the most sorrowful, the most indignant and distressful as well as the more joyful things. There are those who want to be a member of the 144,000 chosen people or boast that they are the chosen people, but they have to resolve these three things.

What were the most sorrowful, indignant and joyful events of Jesus’ life? Although we know of the times he was indignant and sad, we do not know of any joyful moments.

To become a friend and someone who is loved, one has to understand the other person’s sorrow and pain and comfort them. Only then can one become the other person’s friend. If you connect to someone’s heart and build a relationship of love, then you can move that person as you wish, and you will also do as he wants.

Jesus understood the sorrows and joys that God felt during the four thousand years. Yet Jesus passed away without revealing them. You have to understand the sad heart of Jesus who said, “You cannot believe in the things that I say about this world, so how could you believe in the matters of Heaven if I were to speak about them?”

Since Jesus understood the sorrow, pain and joy of God, we should also understand the sorrow, pain and joy of God. Moreover, since we have an additional two thousand years of history during which God has worked laboriously, we have to understand that as well.

What is God’s sorrow and pain? It is having lost His sons and daughters and the struggle to find them. This is His pain. The moment God can love his sons and daughters with a heart of love which can forget about all sorrows and pains of the past, joy will begin.

For this reason we who believe should become crazy for the sake of Jesus. To what extent? We should become more crazy than the intensity of the love between any couple. Christians are those who have the mind-set, “How could my loyal heart toward you ever change, even if my bones are crushed and my life is lost?” They should do everything for the sake of Jesus, including eating, seeing and hearing. Isn’t this true? Many among all those who claim to believe in Jesus only go sight-seeing. Even though there is a deep-seated sadness between parents and children, they go sight-seeing. These people have nothing to do with God. They can never become direct children. Why did God struggle so hard? We have to understand that He continuously carried on the toil of history for the purpose of raising up beloved children.

To Become God’s Sons and Daughters

Ladies and gentlemen, do you sincerely want to become God’s sons and daughters? Does unquenchable sorrow shake your heart? Does unstoppable sorrow move your minds and bodies? You should feel something similar to this.

You cannot become sons and daughters, no matter what you have to offer in this human world. Only when you never forget to think solely of the Father, only when you fight and run forward in your daily life do you have a possibility of becoming His sons and daughters.

You have to have this mind-set and be able to shed tears even over a simple branch. You should be able to say that you have finally come to know that all existing things are mourning and longing for the day of liberation. Bowing your head, you should apologize for human ignorance. This is not some abstract concept. When we see a colleague struggling to find the path, we should hold him and cry, “You are my brother.”

No matter how sad and lonely you may be, you have to understand that it is nothing compared to what God is experiencing. When you look at nature, you should see traces of God’s tears there. When you see water flowing, you should see God’s tears. When you are lying down, you should see that where you are lying down is a river of God’s tears and has traces of the cross of Golgotha. God is looking for sons and daughters who can cry out, “Father, who had to let the Lord bear the cross on Golgotha!” You should declare, “Although Jesus left grief on the earth when he died, I will not die but will alleviate Your sorrow as a living person.”

The six thousand years have been a history of God’s efforts to find His beloved sons and daughters. Therefore, we have to become people who feel that we are indebted to God, who has toiled for six thousand years. We have to feel the culmination of God’s tears of six thousand years and pay for the sacrifice at Golgotha.

When we then repent of our past sins, pay indemnity for our present sins, and cherish hope for the future, calling upon our Father and going to Him with open arms, the Father can say, “Oh, my son, my daughter.” Forgetting about His dignity, He will shed tears of joy and sorrow. Only those who can achieve this will become sons and daughters of the Father. Only when you understand that God and Jesus are like that can you become God’s sons and daughters.

God can elevate these sons and daughters before Satan’s world and all things of the universe, saying that they are the lords and sons and daughters He has been looking for. Only when these sons and daughters appear can God finally forget the labors of the six thousand years. He can entrust Heaven and earth to them and rest in peace.

Just as Jesus cried over this history of sorrow and died, if there is a way that God’s will can be accomplished, you should pursue it obediently. You have to remember that you must live such a life of devotion.

Prayer

Father! We are so ashamed. We have learned that this path is an awesome path, a path of inextinguishable sorrow.

Father, You sought these children out not for one day or for several years, but for six thousand years! Please let us understand now how much trouble we have caused for You, how much we have angered You, and how much we have wronged You. Before we entered this relationship, we fought over the things of the world. Please allow us to understand how sinful we are.

Father, Your sons and daughters who are gathered here do not have to know everything. Please let them at least understand the God that we believe in, the Jesus we should attend, and the sons and daughters we must become.

What is our hope? We did not come seeking for well-dressed people or people with power or to satisfy some desire. We came only because we long for the Father’s love and a relationship with Him. Father, if the Father has tears, please let us possess those tears. If the Father is experiencing pain, please let us feel the pain.

Please let us understand that we should not become princes who are seeking joy but princes who bear responsibility for sorrowful and painful history, and let us pay indemnity for it. We have learned that You yearn for sons and daughters who are victorious under such circumstances, sons and daughters worthy of God’s pride before Heaven and earth. We have also learned that Your labors for the six thousand years have been to elevate Your beloved sons and daughters.

We pray sincerely that You will allow us to fulfill all the responsibilities entrusted to us and to fully cope with the missions given to us. Please guide us to become the most exemplary children of filial piety, and patriots.

Until the day that the Father of history, the Father of the present era and the Father of the future becomes our Father and mobilizes the entire universe to sing songs of joy, please protect these people. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

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Chapter 12: Jesus Whom God Wanted To Find

October 18, 1959
Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea
Matthew 23:29-39

Prayer

Father! Today we are historically distant from Jesus. History has distance, but there is no distance in the world of the heart. Let us not become people who believe in the historical Jesus. Let us become people who know and believe in Jesus in our hearts.

Since we have already seen Your word, let us be able to picture Jesus’ humble image. Let us grieve in our hearts and bow to that countenance. Let us be filled with the anguished, sincere and awe stricken mind that can hear Jesus’ words of appeal to his people at the time.

Let us be able to call You Father without self-consciousness. Let us be able to feel the rapture of Jesus’ grace without our noticing and be thankful. Make us grieve over the fact that the Heavens were supposed to protect and support the Messiah You sent but that he went through a miserable course upon his appearance on earth. Let us be able to care for the work he did. Let us feel anguished at the mistreatment he received. Let us be able to inherit in our hearts today the works that our ancestors did not fulfill. Let us be able to comfort and console Jesus in their place. Make us his reciprocal objects of hope.

We know how miserable Jesus was. He had to lament when he looked at his people. He could only weep bitterly when he saw the state of the religious body. People did not recognize the fact that he had to take responsibility for Heaven’s dispensation. September 6, 1959 – Former Church Headquarters, Seoul, Korea

No one knew his heart as he wandered the mountains alone at night, leaving humanity behind. They should have felt the pain of his circumstances. He had to leave behind the church that should have shared his heart and the people who should have lived with him. Today let us not become like those who follow and believe in Jesus without knowing him. Let us be able to cry infinitely for him, holding onto his heart. Let us be concerned for him. We know that we must become people who do not refuse even death for his sake.

Why did Your sons and daughters come to this place today? We do not teach any knowledge or scholarship of the world here. We have gathered here to find the resting place for our minds. We have gathered to connect with Your original heart and to become people who must go the way of Your will, who must bow to You, and who must share our hearts with You. If we have gathered here to repent to Heaven and to cleanse ourselves, let us not claim to have come here by our own efforts alone.

Make us know that without Your hands of compassion and sympathy, we would inevitably fall prey to Satan. Let us be grateful and thankful. We know that you have approved of this place so that it can create sons and daughters who are filled with the heart that says, “Father! Have compassion on us.” Let the speaker as well as the listeners be filled with that kind of attitude.

We know that we have met here today as a result of Heaven’s work to connect us to generations of ancestors and to build the one day of victory. If we feel something in our minds, experience something in our hearts and have a new determination, let us realize that effect was not produced in an hour. Make us feel that each person here was shaped by our ancestors, by the prophets and righteous people who made bridges and connections through the historic achievements of their work.

Even though each of our hearts and countenances toward You is different, let our minds move together. Let our hearts all be the same when connecting with You. Mold us into one likeness.

Let the speaker and listeners not have two minds. Make us realize that Satan is aiming at that kind of base, and that he is attempting to put up a wall of death in front of us. Give us strength and ability. Give us the protection of the Holy Trinity. Allow us to be shaped only by the glory of victory, the glory of re-creation, the glory of nobility, and the elements within us that we can be proud of. Let us feel only these aspects.

Please give the same blessings to each place, spread out in the districts where lonely members are kneeling and praying. I pray all this in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

The short speech that I want to give today is on the topic of “Jesus Whom God Wanted to Find.”

God’s Purpose in Setting Up Jesus

We know that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. God wanted to find Jesus for four thousand years. God found Jesus after the Israelites went through all kinds of conditions of hard work. Jesus was a person who worked hard to fulfill the will of God and the will of the people who wanted to attend him. Thus, the fate of Heaven, the historic fate of the chosen people of Israel, the fate of the age and the fate of the future were all entangled centering on Jesus. When God found Jesus, His purpose for choosing Israel was to be fulfilled. When God embraced Jesus completely, He was embracing the chosen people of Israel. When God could dwell joyously with Jesus, He could dwell with the people of Israel. It was the work of God to find Jesus in total fulfillment. Moreover, attending Jesus completely is the hope of the fallen descendants and of mankind, who are anticipating salvation.

To find Jesus Heaven went through all kinds of hardships from after the Fall until his arrival. In order to attend this one man, the chosen people went through a road of unspeakable persecution and the road of death in their historic course. They repeated numerous times the history of struggle where they fell down, stood up, stood up and fell down, and stood up again. This historical sorrow of the chosen people of Israel would have been removed by their clinging to Jesus. The sorrow of God, who had suffered to send Jesus, also would have been removed.

Jesus did come. Jesus came to this land and worked hard. Jesus fought for us in this land. He endured and fought for Heaven. He even went the road of death alone. Jesus actually did come for the age and the future.

But he is in a position of not having removed the sorrow of history and not having removed the sorrow of the age. For that reason today, two thousand years after Jesus’ coming, he has to come again. This age needs Jesus to come again. The future also needs Jesus.

When we think of this, how much would God have longed to see Jesus as a person who had completed God’s hope? How much would Jesus have wanted to stand in a position representing the dignity of Heaven on the one hand and the dignity of earth on the other? But Jesus never got to establish that dignity in its totality.

Jesus, having appeared to his people, probably longed to reign as King of Kings, the governor of all people and the crown prince of Heaven. Even if that did not happen, the Israelites, who had been prepared for four thousand years, should not have abandoned him, even at the risk of their lives. He would not have let go of the Israelites even at the point of death. But with death at hand, they divided and separated. Thus, he disappeared from the people, and he was in a situation where he had to depart from this earth. We should know this clearly. Jesus was filled with a sense of his historic mission and a sense of the mission to the age. Moreover, he was filled with a heart of wanting to save mankind, who were crying out as they were swept away by the wave of death. Was there a person who attended this Jesus, the Messiah, the only begotten son of God? There was no one.

If there is something that Heaven looked for from Jesus, what would that have been? If there was something that Heaven wanted to find, it would have been someone who knew Jesus. The person who truly knows him is a person who knows God. The person who knows God knows him. The Israelites, who considered that they knew God, were supposed to attend Jesus. But mankind lost Jesus. Heaven lost him, and he had to die, leaving his mission behind on this earth. We should recognize this fact again.

God Longed for the People to Attend Jesus

Today, after two thousand years have passed, what would the desire of God be? It is to find Jesus again on earth. We think that Jesus fulfilled the purpose of his coming on earth, went to the right side of God, and with the glory of God, bowed to Him in victory. But that is a big error.

When Jesus was departing, he sent the Holy Spirit to this earth. After sending the Holy Spirit, he has prayed ever since in the spiritual world to represent the heart of Heaven and to appear as God’s original desire. He is praying to take responsibility for his uncompleted mission.

What was the content of Jesus’ prayers? What was the purpose of his praying? What was Heaven trying to find through Jesus by preparing for four thousand years and sending him? It was victory, not the Jesus of the cross but the Jesus of glory. Jesus prayed to fulfill that will of God.

The question is how does Heaven perceive Jesus? How does Jesus perceive Heaven? How should the people of the future face Jesus, who wants them to believe in him? The way a believer receives Jesus, the way Jesus receives God, the way God meets Jesus, and the way God meets the people should all be the same. The place where people fulfill their purpose by moving with one goal is a place of victory and glory, not a place of sadness and pain. It is a place where all of Heaven and earth can rejoice. Heaven is longing for that one day, for Jesus to progress to that day, and for citizens who can attend God and Jesus as their greatest pride. This was the reason for God’s sending Jesus to the earth and the reason for making people believe in him. But that purpose has not been fulfilled on this earth even now.

Therefore, he must come again. He must come again. Where is the garden of glory that Jesus built with his victory? Where is the world where God can rejoice? It only remains in the hearts of God and Jesus.

Jesus came as the King of all Kings. He came to deeply love, to embrace and to make an unbreakable relationship with the chosen people of Israel, the nation of Judah. He came to form an iron connection with them, where, if they died he would also die. If they lived he would also live. To form this relationship, he shouted and cried. But the people violated that relationship and abandoned him on the cross. When this happened the mutual goal of Jesus and the Israelites was not fulfilled. God tried to establish a turning point of life and death through Jesus, but that standard was not fulfilled in the physical world. Thus, Satan again invaded the world of men.

Therefore, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are spiritually leading this world. They have battled innumerable times for two thousand years. God’s work was to find Jesus. But because Jesus and the chosen people did not become one, they lost him. Thus, Heaven abandoned the Israelites and God established a spiritual Israel and promised them a Messiah. After Jesus departed God promised to send the Messiah again spiritually, and He carried out a movement of restoration for the failed Israel. That is the two-thousand-year history after Jesus until now.

Then what kind of time is now? They say that these are the Last Days. What are the Last Days? The Last Days are a time when the day of Heaven’s hope is near. The Last Days are a time when God establishes Jesus again and fulfills His desire. What is God’s desire? It is the world that He originally intended. God longs for the fulfillment of the world of the original ideal on this earth through Jesus. Then, in these Last Days, are you who are living in the satanic world of sin prepared to attend Jesus whom God is looking for? God is hoping in the Last Days for a world where Jesus can have full dominion. The world should become a world God would want to show to Jesus. God has persevered for six thousand years, longing to be able to show off His chosen people and chosen children to Jesus. But this world became a world God could not show off to Jesus.

If Jesus comes to this earth again, he should reign as King of Kings, leading the people of this earth, and he should return glory to God. Moreover, we should liberate the historical sadness and sorrow and attend Jesus as the prince of victory. We should give glory to Heaven representing him. But the people of this earth do not know this.

God Wanted to Expose Jesus

What is the desire of God? He is hoping that a world of goodness will appear when Jesus comes. Then what is the desire of Jesus? As the victor of a good nation, he would want to rule over good citizens. By fulfilling the purpose that God desires, he would want to return victory and glory to Heaven. But we who are living on earth do not know that Jesus and God desire these things.

The Last Days, when Jesus has to come again, is the same as the time when God sent him to the Israelites two thousand years ago. The reason that God worked hard for the pitiable, chosen people for four thousand years, the reason why He guided them and led them when other nations were persecuting them and then handed them over to Jesus, was not so that they might betray him. The reason that God established the Jewish religion was not to make it into a religion that spearheaded the rejection of Jesus. In the same way that Jesus was like a lamb in front of God, the Israel people should have been the most obedient lambs to Jesus. Not only the Jewish religion, but also the whole race of Israelites should have said, “East,” when Jesus said, “East,” and “West,” when Jesus said, “West.” They should have been a race that died or lived with Jesus. God worked hard for four thousand years to create that kind of people.

When the dignity of the chosen Israel crumbled, and when God saw that Jesus could not find the children or disciples whom he wanted to find, raise up, and love, God grieved and wailed bitterly.

The citizens of that time did not know that the anxious heart of Heaven, which had endured for four thousand years, had exploded. But Jesus knew Heaven. He knew that God, who grieved looking at his situation, was a God who had persevered for four thousand years. Who ever knew the heart of Jesus as he comforted God, saying, “Father, do not resent my death. Do not resent my sorrow. Do not resent my agony,” even as he was being chased, persecuted and driven away without a place to stay or a place to lean on?

The moment that Jesus died, the Israelites whom Heaven had prepared for four thousand years became Satan’s prisoners. That was the moment when the chosen Jewish religion fell down the trap of Satan. Jesus, who respected the historical labor and historical achievements of the prophets, was appalled and mortified that God’s labor had come to naught. He asked for God’s forgiveness even while his body was being torn to pieces. But who knew that heart?

There were so many people who said that they were chosen, that they were attending God, but there were none who knew Jesus’ heart and situation, his painful cries and his heartbreaking shouts. You believe in this Jesus who could not share his situation with anyone. You believe in Jesus without knowing that he fell down, grabbing his chest, as if his heart were being ripped to pieces. In the Last Days we must show this Jesus. We must show this Jesus to the Jewish religion. We must show him to the Israelites. We must disclose him to the seven tribes of Canaan who betrayed him and to the satanic world. This is the hope of God. Was there anyone in history who revealed Jesus in this way? No one. God’s hope is to expose the true Jesus. Our hope is to manifest Jesus on this earth as the prince of victory and to attend him. This is also Jesus’ hope.

There are numerous religions today. There are many people who claim that they believe. Do not boast. History has progressed through a course of contradiction. The flow of history judges from a disinterested position. History is connected with you even in a flash of thought. In this time when fear is invading you, when you are in chaos and are losing the center, with what heart, with what relationship, and with what value are you worrying about the sorrow of Heaven? Are you prepared to remove the great sorrow of Heaven? That is the issue.

Jesus Stood Alone Because of Betrayal

Jesus came and went and two thousand years passed. The Israelites and the Jewish religion exist. The betraying form remains, but where is the betrayed one? He disappeared. The words that Jesus left behind while dying because of the betrayal remained. Yet where have the heart and circumstances of Jesus gone? Despite the fact that Jesus was supposed to lead the fight in place of Heaven and to decide victory or defeat in place of the earth, what shouldn’t survive remains. Jesus’ foundation, which should have survived, does not remain. Meanwhile, the Last Days have come again. What do you think about that?

Numerous Christians all over the world will follow the precedent of Israel if they are not careful. Who can be confident this will not be the case? Who can guarantee that they will not repeat the same blunder as Israel? Nobody can guarantee that.

They say that these are the Last Days. The Bible says that in the Last Days people should anoint themselves, go into a secret place and pray. Groping after what appears to be true is not the will of Heaven, and prayers bound by formalities do not attend God. Jesus, whom God installed a long time ago, appeared out of nowhere. He appeared like a thief. The prince of glory appeared like a thief. He was not born in a luxurious castle. Who would have imagined that he would be born in a stable which smelled of manure?

Where did the Wise Men of the East, who exhorted people to believe in Jesus, go? Where did the holy men who testified that Jesus was the Messiah go? Where did Anna and the group under John the Baptist go? They all disappeared. Since the people Heaven sent all disappeared, the Israelites, who were ignorant, went away as well. The Jewish religion also declined. Thus, Jesus remained alone, all alone. God had attempted to establish Jesus by laboring and fighting for four thousand years, but Jesus remained alone. The numerous soldiers whom Heaven had led, the prepared religion and people were lost to Jesus.

The words of the Bible that you believe in today are the words of a betrayed Jesus. The apostles betrayed not only Jesus but also his words. His words were betrayed and Jesus was also personally betrayed. Did Heaven labor for four thousand years to establish Jesus just so he might be betrayed?

No, not at all. Why do you believe in Jesus? You must believe in Jesus in order to fulfill the hope of God and to ease the pain of Jesus. Without caring whether you go to Heaven or hell and even if you go to hell, you should fulfill Jesus’ hope. Even if you become the prince of hell, you should believe in order to fulfill God’s hope. But people say, “Even if Jesus perishes and Heaven fails, all that needs to happen is that I go to the Kingdom of Heaven.” This attitude is worse than criminal. This kind of faith is faulty in essence. Today the road of the Unification Church members is the road of setting this kind of Christianity straight.

We must find the historical Jesus. That Jesus is the Jesus of the age. That Jesus is the Jesus of history. The history that Jesus wanted to create was destroyed. The age was severed, and the future was also curtailed. Did you know that Jesus had nowhere to go? The Israelites should have laughed and cried with Jesus, holding onto Jesus, who came as the fruit of their historic connection to God, for whom God had persevered for four thousand years. The Israelites were lost to the Messiah. After Jesus passed away, did the Jews become true descendants whom Jesus could rule? This age is also losing sight of Jesus. Jesus came with the mission of Heaven, bearing with him the connection of the past, the present and the future. The fact that he even lost the past is regrettable.

If Jesus appears again in this age, in these historic Last Days, he must establish a historical connection. Christianity today must make a historical connection. How should they establish the historical connection? Christians of today must become the second Israel which can support Jesus with God’s standard, not like the Israelites or the Jewish religion which betrayed Jesus. Christians know about the Bible, but they do not know the essential spirit of the contents of the Bible. They do not know the heart of the Bible. No matter how much they dig up genealogy or discuss things, if they cannot treat that genealogy with true dignity and value, they do not have the qualification to compile it.

Jesus’ Real Parents and Siblings

Jesus came to uphold God’s dignity and to liberate the numerous saints who had sacrificed themselves to follow God’s will for four thousand years. He came to liberate the resentment of the people whom Satan had infringed upon in this world. He did not complete that work. He came to liberate that resentment, but he did not fulfill that goal. Therefore, he has to come again. We must know this clearly.

What does God want to find? What does Jesus seek with his heart’s longing? He seeks the nation of goodness. He seeks the nation of victory, glory and happiness. Did Jesus meet good people? No. His brothers and sisters chased him out. His parents drove him out. Think about that. Did God establish the Israelites so that they could do that to Jesus? Did God set up the Jewish religion in order to persecute Jesus? Did God transmit the will of the providence for four thousand years and send Jesus to Joseph’s household so that Joseph could treat him that way? Did John the Baptist eat locusts and wild honey for thirty years in order to serve Jesus in that way? Everybody passed away. Everything passed.

When Jesus came to this earth, the people abandoned him. Therefore, Jesus had to collide head on against Satan, who was following behind the people who had been prepared to welcome him. The chosen people should have welcomed Jesus and turned around and attacked Satan. But Jesus had to fight alone on the battle ground. The cross is the road where Jesus died fighting.

Jesus was supposed to give commands to the heavenly soldiers in the forefront to march against the world of Satan. But he was the only one left. Everybody disappeared. Where did the three Wise Men from the East go? Where did Anna disappear to? Where did the shepherds go? Where did John the Baptist vanish to? Where did Joseph’s family go? Where did Jesus’ brothers, sisters and relatives go? Where did the religion, the people and the nation disappear to? They all passed away. Since they all left, Jesus is praying again for the sake of his people, bearing the cross in order to make a connection, saying, “I have died for you.” Jesus thought that even though everything passed and the nation perished, God would watch over him. Therefore, he went up to Heaven and is praying again for those people.

If these are Jesus’ circumstances, what is his desire? He wants to find true disciples. The true disciple of Jesus’ desire is also the disciple of God’s desire and the disciple whom Jesus will testify to.

Did the disciples ever make a comfortable environment where Jesus could rest? Did Jesus have a family? When Jesus’ mother and younger sibling came to him, he said to them, “One who lives by the will of God is my mother and my younger brother.” In this sense Jesus did not have any relatives or kin. He did not have a family or brothers and sisters. Right? Thus, even after he passed away, he has been seeking in the spiritual world a mother, brothers and sisters, a clan, a race, a church, a nation and a world. That is the two-thousand-year history of Christianity. Because Israel was lost to Jesus and left behind nothing on this earth, he must come again. Jesus did not establish his family, his tribe, his race, his nation, or his world. Therefore, he must come again.

Is there anyone who worries that in the Last Days when Jesus comes again, he will suffer the same sorrows as before? Have you ever been his younger brother? Heaven wants to ask this question. The elderly people here, have you ever thought of loving Jesus as if you were his father and mother? Have you ever cared for the beloved son of God with the same heart that Jesus had for his people? Have you ever lived a life of faith where you lived for God’s sons and daughters, not minding whether your bones melted or whether exhaustion and hardship came upon you? Someday Jesus will come to this earth again. Why would he come? He comes again to find his disciples, whom he loves. It is the sorrow of God and of Jesus that in the course of history Jesus did not find his disciples again; he could not gather them and establish the will centering on them. It is the shame of our ancestors and the shame of history that they left behind this kind of sorrow.

Today we attend the apostles and think that they are the ones who are receiving the deep love of Heaven, but that might not be the case. In fact, it is not true. Representing all mankind, they should have comforted Jesus, but they did not. They were people who had to ask for forgiveness after Jesus died.

The True Family Members of the Kingdom of Heaven

After Jesus resurrected, whom did he find? He found a party of disciples who had betrayed him. Who knew Jesus’ heart when he had to forgive his disciples and receive them with happiness in order to carry out the providence of salvation? No one. This caused infinite sorrow for Jesus. Even though he was sorrowful, he had to go find them. He had to make at least a spiritual base on earth. Therefore, he had to find them again.

The apostles, who were chosen as representatives, betrayed Jesus; the disciples, who represented mankind, also betrayed him. This meant that all mankind betrayed him. That is why Jesus stopped Mary Magdalene when she tried to hold onto him. Humankind betrayed a sorrowful Jesus. Among the apostles, whom we regard as great people, was there anyone who did not betray Jesus? You who believe in them are of the same race of betrayers. Is there anyone who did not betray Jesus? No. Because we are a race of betrayers, we live a life of faith that repeatedly commits betrayal. We live a life of sin.

Since we have become a group of people who must be forgiven by Jesus when he comes again, when will the sorrow of Heaven end? We must know Jesus. Jesus tried to establish an historical relationship and a relationship with the age and the future. Jesus left behind a sorrowful story of tribulations on earth. It is the mission of the bride to carry the burden of that sorrow.

You long for Jesus to come, crying, “Come, oh Lord! Take my bag full of sin! Come, Jesus.” Why do you long for him? Isn’t it for your own wealth and well-being? He who establishes his own viewpoint or his own objectives when dealing with Heaven will one day become a betrayer. No matter what the viewpoint of a faith or ideology is, unless God and all things of the cosmos deem that viewpoint to be correct, no religion, no person can say, “Follow me.” No one can say, “You must believe in our religion. You must follow this Church.” Go ahead and pass by the Unification Church however much you like. We are in this kind of situation.

We must know the circumstances of Jesus. We should know the Jesus of God’s hope and the Jesus of His original desire. We should know who we are, we who seek Jesus. We should not endeavor to display ourselves but should become younger brothers or sisters of Jesus who can receive the love of Jesus before our death. In order to join Abel, you must become a younger brother. Before we die we must become beloved disciples to whom Jesus can open up all of his heart. We must become disciples to whom Jesus can hand over everything and who can inherit everything. In the Bible Jesus said, “I still have a lot to tell you, but you are not able to handle it now.” Today we should long for the coming of Jesus, the Jesus whom God wants to find, the Jesus whom we must attend, and the Jesus who wants to find himself. We should know and serve that Jesus.

You should not just become a disciple of Jesus. You must become his sons and daughters. Even the apostles will bow their heads to the victorious sons and daughters of Heaven. If there is a person Jesus can embrace, saying, “My beloved younger brother, my beloved family,” the apostles will become his servants. You must come to the level where even the apostles can kneel down to you and bow. Some people might say that it is heretical to say these things, but those are the words of people who do not know. The word “bride” does not pertain to the apostles. It is not a word that is approved for the apostles. If Jesus had approved that, why would he come again? It is a word designated for people of the future. Think about it. The term “children” is not the designation of the apostles but of the sons and daughters of the future who do not betray Heaven.

Many saints have come and gone since Adam, but none among them could be a son of Jesus. There is none who can become the true, direct descendant of Jesus. That only happens after Jesus comes again. You should know this.

Who will Jesus look for when he comes to this earth again? He comes to look for younger brothers and sisters. He comes to find parents. He comes to find his tribe. He comes to find a race. He comes to find citizens. He comes to find a world. But he does not want to find the world as it has been until now. That is why Unification Church uses the term “family.” We are not church members but family members.

You Cannot Follow Jesus Unless You Exceed the Standard of the Apostles

What is the sorrow of Jesus? Where did the three disciples who were with Jesus in the hills of Gethsemane go? Where did his beloved parents and younger siblings go? Jesus longed for them all. If Jesus’ tribe had attended him centering on Joseph’s family, Jesus would not have died, but he was chased out by his family, by John the Baptist whom God had prepared, by the religious body, by the race, and by his disciples. Thus, he had to die. Without knowing these circumstances, people say that Jesus came to die. If what I say is true, people who have been believing that Jesus came to die are crucifying Jesus a second time.

Jesus is looking for people. He is seeking beloved younger brothers and sisters. Where did my beloved parents go? Where are my brothers? Where are my relatives? Where is my tribe? Where is my church? Where is my religion? In order to dissolve this sorrow, Jesus has been praying for two thousand years, “Heavenly Father, please forgive us again. I did not complete my mission as the representative of the world. I did not complete my mission to lead the Israelites. I did not complete my mission to lead the church. I did not complete my mission to lead the tribe and family. Therefore, please forgive us.” This is the truth.

What is the sadness of God? When God saw that Jesus was being betrayed by his own blood brothers, how much did He grieve? When God saw that even Jesus’ parents, who had brought him up, did not know him but separated themselves from him, how much did God grieve? After preparing for thousands of years, God sent Jesus to Joseph’s tribe. What did He feel when that tribe, which was supposed to rejoice and attend Jesus, betrayed him? What did God feel when the Jewish religion expelled Jesus? What did He feel when the Israelites betrayed Jesus? You should realize that God’s heart burst in pain when Jesus was rejected by individuals, by his brothers and sisters, by his family, by the people He had prepared, by the church, by society and by the nation.

God promised to send Jesus again. He will surely come, and he will take responsibility for this age. You who are facing the Last Days share the common fate of attending the one who comes. If the age of attending him is coming, what frame of mind should you have in order to attend him? You cannot attend him by merely believing in the Bible. When Jesus came the people of his time believed only in the Old Testament and thus failed to attend him. Moreover, you cannot attend him just by blindly believing in God. People failed to attend the prophets in the Old Testament age as well as in the New Testament age. Who is to say that the same thing will not happen in this age? We must reach the position of sons and daughters. We must become a family of Jesus. Without that we cannot attend Jesus.

Thus, we must be sons and daughters of the historical God. We must reach the position of binding a relationship with God’s heart. In this age do you think you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven just by going to Church with a Bible in your hands? Let’s see where you will go. I have often seen this kind of image. Ministers who have been boasting that they will go to the Kingdom of Heaven are in a desolate place spiritually. There are lots of people like that. Do not boast. Even if they are devoted to making their church prosper, it doesn’t mean that they are sons and daughters of God. Even if people respect you, saying that you have a Ph.D., it doesn’t mean that you are a son or daughter of God.

Similarly, if even the apostles could not become Jesus’ sons and daughters or his family members, who among the people on earth would be able to claim that he or she is Jesus’ son or daughter, that he is Jesus’ brother or sister? Why couldn’t the apostles take those positions? It is because they did not recognize the historical Jesus. They did not recognize the Jesus of the age.

Thus, for us to become his sons or daughters today, we must know the God of the six thousand years of history. We must know the historical Jesus. We must believe in the God of the age, who is leading the 2.7 billion people who comprise mankind. We must believe in the Jesus of the age. Moreover, we must believe in the Jesus of the future, the future that is unfolding from this moment into a form that is 180 degrees different from what we now know. Do you think that Jesus will come and lead people just the way they are? No. He will overturn them. At that time the spoken words, the written words, and everything will be different. That is the essential point here. You must become a better disciple than the apostles were, a better bride than the apostles, and a better brother to Jesus than the apostles were.

God Wants to Establish Jesus’ Family

The apostles who did not know the historic heart of Jesus betrayed him. They betrayed Jesus who moved according to the historical will. They did not know him and betrayed the man who moved with the will of the future in his heart. Therefore, for us to block and cleanse this history of betrayal, we must become younger brothers and sisters of Jesus, and we must become brides whom Jesus can love. We must become Jesus’ family members who are able to live eternally with him. If not, you should at least become a citizen who can fight on Jesus’ side on the battlefield.

God sought members for Jesus’ family. After sending Jesus to humankind, God looked for people who could become Jesus’ younger brothers and sisters and who could become members of Jesus’ family. Heaven wanted this and had worked hard to accomplish it for four thousand years. Joseph’s family should have loved Jesus and lived with him with the will of God through life or death. Joseph and Mary should have reached the level of the bride before Jesus arrived, but they didn’t. Among Jesus’ younger brothers, there were none who said, “Brother, where are you going? I will go with you.” What happened in the Gospel of John? Jesus’ brothers and sisters did not understand or believe in Jesus. (John 7:1-9) Moreover, did John the Baptist, who testified that the Holy Spirit came down as a dove from Heaven and manifested herself upon Jesus, ask, “My Lord! Where do you wish to go?” Did he ask, “My Lord! Where do you wish to live?” Did the chosen people of Israel ask that? Because no one asked Jesus these questions, he went to the spiritual world carrying much sorrow.

The Last Days are the time of removing this sorrow. The day when Jesus resolves this unresolved sorrow is the judgement day. Those who want to survive the Last Days, open your minds, and examine yourself with a composed heart. Have I become someone who can find that Jesus of God’s hope? Am I qualified to become a member of Jesus’ family? Am I qualified to become a citizen of the nation of that ideology? You do not know that Jesus is praying with this kind of an anxious heart.

We who are gathered here are traveling a difficult road. We are pioneering that road. We are doing things that never existed in history. We are saying words that are not in the New Testament. We are experiencing truths that spiritual people have not experienced. Our purpose is to become members of Jesus’ family, members of his tribe and citizens who can dwell in his bosom. We have gathered here to fulfill that purpose.

Who should stand closest to Jesus? His bride, his siblings and children, that is, his family should stand closest to him. This is the family God longs for. This is the family Jesus sought. It is the historical desire of God to set up this family on earth. In order to fulfill that desire, we must become Jesus’ siblings, his children and his brides. At least we should enter his tribe. In that way we can join the 144,000.

God and Jesus were miserable. Our ancestors also were miserable. They passed away one by one, but they could not hail the day of liberation. The day of liberation was lost. Our ancestors followed God’s will, dying without seeing the day of liberation. We must know all the facts of sorrow, and we should be able to attend Jesus whom God sought, whom God wanted to establish, and whom we want to attend.

We are following the providential course. If we look at the history of the Korean people, we know that they were a pitiable people. Despite the fact that they went through so much misery, world attention is centering on these people. Moreover, Christianity today is turning around centering on these people.

The Procedure of Prayer

The time is coming for us to prepare our minds and bodies. A person should not do this preparation for himself. People who are spiritually experienced pray for themselves only at the end of their prayer. When someone prays in a spiritual state, he should first pray for God. Since it is time to meet the owner, he must pray for the well-being of the owner. Then he must pray for Jesus. When someone prays for God, he will know the historical heart of God. If he prays for Jesus, he will know the historical heart of Jesus. Then he must pray for the numerous people in Christianity who have fought for the will of God until now.

Searching through the footsteps of so many prophets from Adam’s time until now, a person should pray, “Let me become an offering to liberate them.” Then he should be able to shed tears, saying to the prophets, “I know that your sorrow still survives on earth. I want to liberate that sorrow; therefore, please support me.” After that he should pray for his sons and daughters and then for himself. That is the law of Heaven.

Before he prayed for his people, Jesus prayed for the Father. For thirty years of his life, Jesus comforted God and prayed for Him, saying, “Heavenly Father! How sorrowful You must be.” Then he prayed for the numerous prophets. “I was sent as the representative of your longings, your prophecies, your promises. I will do my utmost to live up to the standard that you have desired.”

Jesus prayed for the age with a historical heart. He prayed for Israel, which had departed from the will of God. He prayed for the Jewish faith, which did not know the will of God. He prayed for John the Baptist, who did not follow him even after testifying on his behalf. Jesus never prayed for himself. Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. But do as You will, not as I will,” and he passed away without fulfilling his desire.

In the Last Days Jesus can pray for himself. The Last Days are when Jesus can praise himself. The day when Jesus’ sorrow dissolves and he comforts and returns glory to God with his heart full of joy is the Last Day. Jesus has not seen that day. He could not welcome that day because of you, because of humankind, and because of Heaven and earth. This is how miserable he is.

After seeing that our ancestors had this kind of fate, it is inappropriate to pray, “Please save me.” That is not right. I don’t know how you pray, but I do not pray like that. The prophets shed tears for the suffering of their race. Jesus cried for his people. Jesus shed tears for the Jewish faith. Therefore, if there is a person who is living the right course of faith, he should shed tears for the world, shed tears for Heaven and earth, shed tears for his race, shed tears for the church, shed tears for his family members, then at the end pray, “Give me the responsibility.”

No one knows the situation of Heaven, which has not yet welcomed the one day of liberation, the day of fulfillment. Even though many say that they are seeking the will of God, no one knows the heart of Heaven and gives his utmost to uphold that will.

Now even if everything is taken away from us and even if the world rejects us and we are in the most miserable situation, if we can become a brother of Jesus whom he recognizes, a member of his family whom he acknowledges, his bride whom he recognizes, and his children whom he recognizes, then we will have fulfilled our highest desire.

Those Who Are Hated by the Sinful World Can Meet Jesus

Jesus wants sons and daughters to appear on this earth whom he can bless and who can receive his blessing as he says, “My beloved! I have worked hard for two thousand years to find sons and daughters like you on earth. My death was for that purpose, and the hardship and pain I suffered were also for that purpose. Now that I’ve found you, I’ll pray to God to give you the blessing of Heaven and earth.”

If there is that kind of person on this earth, he will be filled with longing to see Jesus, who has not appeared yet. He will not be able to look at the world without tears. He will be filled with sorrow, pain and anguish. He will be filled with sorrow when he looks at Heaven and earth. He will think that he has the responsibility to remove the anguish of Heaven and earth. He will call on the Lord, feeling unworthy even after sacrificing everything he has. This kind of person is very close to Heaven.

When Jesus was carrying the cross, his mother was heart-stricken and shed so many tears, following him. In the same way, when you think of Jesus, he who suffers for us even today, your eyes should be filled with tears. You should be filled with pain deep down in your bone marrow and flesh, pain that constricts your chest. You should say in every situation, when seeing something or feeling something, “I am unworthy. I am sorry.” Is there anyone who has this kind of heart on this earth? No. Jesus stood in front of Heaven, saying, “If this race has sinned, forgive them with me as the offering. If the world has sinned, forgive them with me as the offering.” Heaven is longing for a brother of Jesus to appear who can present himself to Jesus in the same way.

Heaven wants to see Jesus rejoice with his family. Jesus longs for the place where he can say, “My beloved bride, my beloved children, my beloved brother, my beloved kin! I have fulfilled my desire; therefore, let us rejoice. Let us rejoice with Heaven and earth, with history and with the age. Let us rejoice for the future. Heavenly Father, bless us.” He must come to earth in order to find that place. But he could not, and so he prays in the spiritual world. We must know this pain that he suffers.

He is not alien to us. He worked for us. He suffered mistreatment for us. He died for us. Even in the secular world, people cry and shed tears for their older or younger brother. Then if the prince of Heaven has come to this earth, died in order to make the most lowly people into his brothers, can anyone not come to him, not cry for him? When will Jesus come and cleanse the great sorrow in his heart, saying, “My beloved bride, my beloved sons and daughters, my beloved brothers”? When he can cleanse that sorrow, the desire of Heaven, the desire of Jesus and the desire of humankind will be fulfilled.

If there is a family member of Heaven, he is probably isolated from the world. If there are sons and daughters of Heaven, they are probably ones who are hated by the secular world. You are responsible for annihilating the enemy’s nation and the city of Satan. Therefore, you will be persecuted in the family when you enter a family. You will be persecuted by the society when you go out to the society. You will experience the sorrow of receiving persecution that the nation and world, Heaven and earth, and spiritual world will mobilize. Jesus received the same persecution. God received that persecution, and people who died for Heaven received that persecution. Therefore, the historical hill of sorrow also waits in front of us. We can attend Jesus after going over that hill. Therefore, Jesus comes to become friends with people in that kind of persecuted place. Troubled by pangs of conscience for rejecting and killing Jesus, one should be able to say, “Lord! I am totally grateful for Your infinite grace.” Jesus is longing for and looking for a group, a church, a nation and a world that can say, “We are grateful that you have granted us the right to participate in the path where generations of our ancestors shed blood, to participate in the path of the future.”

You can sacrifice your bones and flesh in order to find a lost child even in the world of human love. How about the heart of Jesus, who came representing the love of Heaven? Let us compare the most loving relationship that a person has in the human world and the relationship between God, Jesus and I. The relationship between God, Jesus and I must be greater than the most loving relationship between myself and any other person.

Adversity Is the Grounds for Heaven’s Grace to Come

The world of heart transcends the distance of history. It transcends time and space. No matter how great an authority is or how fearful a power, it cannot block that road of love. Even the highest mountain and the whole of Heaven and earth cannot block that love. In traveling that path of heart, there cannot be any obstruction.

The central being of heart is Jesus. Therefore, he said that love will survive to the end. Because Jesus came representing God’s heart and lived in the world of the heart, his influence today is expanding. Only by becoming a group who can say that Jesus’ heart is our heart, that his mind is our mind, that we cannot separate from him for eternity can we go over any condition of the secular world with him. Then we can become his disciples and family. In the early church, Jesus’ disciples could not become members of his family. The most important problem that we must solve in this hour is to ask whether we have become people who can freely go over that boundary line into being of Jesus’ family; who can go over any obstacle and go forward for Jesus’ sake.

Where will Jesus, whom God wanted to establish, go? Where will Jesus, whom God wanted to establish on earth, stand? If this is not solved, Jesus will have nowhere to stand. Jesus, who is supposed to come to earth, will have nowhere to stand. He must come and do the will of God, but he will not have any companion. They will kill him again. They will drive him to the cross again. They will cause him anguish again. That is why we must go through the heart of the family, the heart of children, and the heart of a bride. We must be filled with longing. Since the day of promise has yet to come, we must be filled with longing and possess a desperate heart. If a person can master his feelings, transcend any awareness or any concept and experience a certain force that leads him in one direction with infinite power, he will enter the Kingdom of Heaven without fail.

Jesus came two thousand years ago. He came to this earth. But who met Jesus? A person might have met Jesus centering on Jesus himself. But there was no one who met the Jesus who had crossed over the level of the individual, then the family, then the society, then the nation and the world and who could rule over all of Heaven and earth. In order to solve this kind of problem, you must be filled with a certain heart. You cannot solve this problem without entering the world of the heart. If there were something that could solve that problem, if there were something that could move your heart, you would be pulled into it. If you see a person coming out of a church totally vexed, do not go to that church again.

Our mind seeks the world of the heart. Even radio waves do not just operate anywhere. They operate where there is a receiver. They operate where there is a reciprocal relationship. It is the same with people. If there is a person with a true conscience, a true loving standard, and a foundation of Heaven’s heart, then wherever or whenever he goes and even in an unfair and sorrowful place, he will have a way to survive and prosper without his knowing how he did it. He will prosper even when he is misunderstood. That prosperous way does not come about in a comfortable place. No one achieved an historical revolution, an historical discovery, or an historical success in a comfortable place. They began from a place where they met with death face to face. God comes to you in that place.

Therefore, when someone is about to face God, he will meet an incident. He will collide with a material problem, a problem with other people and a problem of the heart. At that time if he can turn and shout, “This is the path I will go” and goes forward, he will be able to lead people who are agonizing over numerous problems and affairs. Jesus was able to do that. When he was helping with the carpentry work of Joseph, he did not lead a comfortable life. His heart passed through a course of infinite hardship and sorrow. In a course that was historical, connected to the age and connected to the future, he crossed over in his mind all the hills of hardship and pain that mankind had gone through. Because he was able to establish a victorious standard in a showdown against Satan, he could proclaim that he was the Messiah. This is not written in the Bible.

The Value of Love Cannot Be Compared to Anything in the World

In the world of the heart, there is no variance from the heart of God. What does the “Alpha and Omega” mean? Because God is the substance of and the central being of love, He does not have an alpha or omega, a beginning or an end. True love cannot have a beginning and an end. In the course of the providence of restoration, heading toward the world of the heart, the ideology that searches the background of history and shouts, “God’s heart is hidden here. Oh! This is the path that our race must take,” is the ideology which will save that race. If there is a person who finds God’s heart which flows behind world history and who shouts out that this is the way for mankind to prosper, that person will be able to pioneer the way for the salvation of this world. Moreover, if there is a person who can proclaim that the heart of the cosmos, Heaven and earth, the spiritual world, and everything is his, that person would be the Christ who has come again. Then the beginning and re-creation of Heaven and earth, the history of completion will unfold.

It is our hope and our life of faith to seek out this world. Since you must travel that path, you must decide the direction of heart. Ultimately, you must decide the direction of your heart. You must love God and Jesus more than you love anything else in the world. You must love the world that Jesus loved. You must be able to love the people that Jesus loved. After loving something bigger than oneself, if there is anything left, then one should think of oneself. But the opposite trend is happening today. People think that it doesn’t matter whether the nation collapses, the world perishes or Heaven grieves. “As long as my children and I do not perish, it’s fine.” This is upside down thinking.

In order to cut away from this, Jesus said that the members of your family are your enemies. For the sake of the public will, you must abandon private feelings. The person who acts for the sake of the group that he belongs to more than he acts for his family is a loyal subject of that group. Furthermore, if he sacrifices for the group as well as for nation, he is a loyal subject of that nation. Moreover, if there is a person who dies for the sake of the public ideology of the world instead of just his nation, he might be a traitor to his nation but he is a loyal subject of the world. Furthermore, if there is a person who goes over the world and lives for the sake of God, he is the greatest loyal subject. Jesus is an example of that kind of person.

The greatest standard of the happiness that is granted to man is being a true servant of God, a true loyal subject of God and a true, filial son and daughter of God. These are the words of God’s grace. What do you think? Have you become God’s loyal subject, filial sons and daughters whom He can recognize? You must step over your family, your nation, and this world and seek God. You must go with high spirits. Jesus went that course with a commanding spirit.

If my family opposes me, I must thrust through that family. If my people oppose me, then I must dig through that people. If my nation opposes me, then I must go through that nation. If the world opposes me, I must go through the world. If numerous evil spirits in the spiritual world oppose me, I must have the desperate heart to dig through that opposition. The problem is whether we have that heart. Even Satan’s iron net will be withdrawn when it faces that heart. Only the sons and daughters who can shout, “Father! I love You more than anybody. I love You more than the world. I love You just as Jesus loved you,” can become Jesus’ brides. If those kinds of sons and daughters appear, will Jesus say, “Hey, why are you doing that?” Will that happen? No. Jesus has longed for two thousand years for those kinds of sons and daughters to appear. Only a person who longs for that kind of family, that kind of brother and that kind of children, and who strives to become that kind of person will be able to become the citizen, the family, and the kin who can support Jesus, whom God wanted to establish.

Even the failure to take on the historical mission can be restored if we possess a heart of love. Therefore, we must seek that kind of place. Love cannot be compared to anything in the whole of Heaven and earth. A person will not trade a handkerchief that was given to him by his beloved for a million pieces of gold. No matter how small the number, how great it would be if there are sons and daughters of God who are connected in their hearts with Jesus; sons and daughters who can even move Jesus to the bone, who can comprehend the world of hope that Jesus desires, who can make God rest and who can bow to Him.

Jesus longed for family members who can bow to God alongside of him. He fought for two thousand years to establish that standard on earth. God sent Jesus so that He could watch mankind living together with Jesus. We must ask ourselves whether we have become people with hearts bursting with the desire to go over the level of the individual, go over the sorrow of the people, go over the hill of worldwide sorrow and connect with Heaven for this purpose. Whether we have that heart or not will determine whether we attend Jesus correctly and whether we will be able to support Jesus to become the Jesus God wanted to find.

Prayer

Father! We are unworthy to receive Your grace. As time passes, man should discover more and more that he is unworthy and weep bitterly about the sorrow of Heaven. But the love of Heaven remains the love of Heaven, and the heart of the people remains only as the heart of the people. Each person goes through a course of life where he fights with others and lives an upside down life. Please forgive us.

We realize that Jesus established a connection of rejoicing, centering on the love of Heaven, going over the love of men. We beseech You that we may become Jesus’ true disciples, true family, true children, and true brides who can find that relationship with Heaven.

In that way we can support Jesus whom You wanted to establish. We can dissolve Jesus’ historical sorrow, and we can cleanse the mistakes of the generations of our ancestors in one generation. We pray that we can become family members of Heaven and children of Heaven who attend Jesus with this attitude.

Father, if what we feel began from Heaven, let it not disappear from our mind for eternity. Let it linger in our heads forever. Let that life force stay with us. If we must surely go this way, please guide us vertically, transcending time and space. Please take direct control over us.

Be with us forever with Your words. Bless us that in the course of battle to win victory we can keep pace with the providence; that we can give our utmost effort and devote our utmost loyalty to You. I pray all these things in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

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