World Scripture

Part Two: Sin and Salvation

CHAPTER 7. SALVATION – LIBERATION – ENLIGHTENMENT

Grace

Due to humanity’s fallen and degraded condition, it is difficult if not impossible for people to attain the goal and purpose of life unaided. In fact, help is available; God’s grace is sufficient support on the journey of faith. The scriptures often emphasize the priority of divine grace; it is present prior to even a glimmer of faith, prompting faith in people who would otherwise be lost and unable to escape their miserable existence.

We have selected passages that describe God as the savior of sinful people. Grace is entirely God’s initiative, given regardless of a person’s attitude or merit. Furthermore, God’s grace far overshadows the merit gained by good works; indeed, nothing can come of a person’s good works or austerities endured for the purpose of salvation, in the absence of divine grace.

The section ends with the two parables of the Prodigal Son, one from the New Testament and one from the Lotus Sutra. The teachings of these two stories differ in some respects, yet the theme of divine compassion for errant humanity shines through both. The Buddhist parable’s depiction of the father as searching desperately for his son and then patiently working to recover him whole over many years is a fitting description of God’s toil through human history to save fallen humanity, according to the teachings of Father Moon.

1. Grace Needful for Salvation

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Almighty God is the God of love and the God of mercy. He is deeply concerned and grieved over the living death of His children. He knows that people are incapable of breaking their chains and getting rid of their sin by their own efforts. He knows that only one power can bring people to salvation— God Himself. And God, in His mercy, is determined to save this world. (September 18, 1974)

Because God must, in the end, accomplish His Will2 on earth, He has preserved us although we were perishing. (Way of God’s Will 1.3)

God is not the kind of God to just stand by while human beings live a fallen existence. He has worked until today to lay the foundation for re-creation through religion, in order to recreate the ideal world that He has purposed from the very beginning. This is God’s providence for salvation. (May 10, 1981)

Our ancestors who were expelled from the Garden of Eden were the worst criminals in human history; they have no basis to be proud of themselves. However, because God still has a relationship of heart with them, He endures all ordeals while leading the providence of restoration from Adam, Noah, Moses and Jesus to the present day. Thinking of this grace of God, we should appeal to Him with gratitude for His mercy upon humanity throughout history, not merely for His mercy in the current moment. (16:236, June 19, 1966)

We have nothing that would enable us to relate with the all-knowing and almighty Being. Born as fallen people, our eyes are defiled. Our five senses and all our emotions belong to the secular. We have nothing that would enable us to relate with God. By the principle of heavenly righteousness we have nothing. And yet, one path remains through which we can relate to God: by the principle of love. (149:37, November 11, 1986)

Salvation fundamentally begins when we connect with God’s love. However, we became fallen human beings having nothing to do with God’s lineage. Atonement is required; this means nothing less than the removal of the original sin. However, since the original sin is carried in the lineage, we fallen human beings cannot resolve this problem on our own, no matter what we do. That is why we need the Messiah. (35:159, October 13, 1970)

Not due to our own will do we exist, not due to our own selves do we enjoy the glory of life, and not due to our own efforts can we rejoice today in the presence of our Father, but due to the grace mercifully bestowed by our Father, who hast toiled through thousands of years of history. (2:280, June 23, 1957)

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2. Grace for the Prodigal Son

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Parents suffer deeply if their child commits a crime. If he is sent to jail, the parents would not say, “You deserve it!” Instead, they would forgive their child, sympathize with him and shed tears of compassion. Such is parental love. If their child were sentenced to death, the parents—especially the mothers—would wail. They would desperately search for some way to save their child’s life, even up until the last minute at the execution site. They would gladly trade their own life for his. That is the precious unchanging love of a parent.

If the heart of human parents moves in this way towards their children, then do you think that God, the Parent of humankind, would do any less? Never! God’s love is far greater than human love. Surely the love of God surpasses the love of any earthly parent. (91:148, February 6, 1977)

God has been toiling to recover humankind, even though we deserve to die thousands of times in the realm of death. Never forget that when God comes to us in the realm of death, He bring us something more precious than anything in the world. Understand that when He saves us from the realm of death, He does so with anguish and a worried heart. To claim us from the realm of death, God is willing to sacrifice everything. (6:115-16, April 12, 1959)

No matter what happens in the human world, God is patient because He is who He is. He sees many tragic and heart-breaking things, yet He remains calm and composed, never losing His dignity. If God were to open His mouth and express His suffering, He could pour out tragic stories for millions of years, weeping all the while. Would God weep out of self-pity? No, God weeps only for humankind, His children. (124:60, 830123)

God is our Parent; that is why He loves us although He is high above us. We can draw an analogy to the parents of a disabled child, whose disability is so severe that he cannot recognize their love. The parents feel miserable, yet they cannot help but love their child. Even though their child is unable to appreciate even one one-hundredth of their love, and it grieves the parents to face that, they nevertheless love their child, giving all the time. They yearn to give love one hundred times more, and when they see that their child is unable to appreciate any of it, they experience grief and frustration one hundred times more. Parents yearn to love a child who can fully unite with their love, but parents of a child who cannot relate to their love experience only pain and sorrow. Truly there is no greater heartbreak… Now, can you imagine if it were not a matter of only one child’s lifetime, but forever? That is God’s miserable and heartbreaking situation, trying to love human beings…

Where is the supreme relationship between Heaven and human beings, linking their deepest hearts? No matter how high we climb and search, since God is the Parent, we humans must seek the position of God’s children. Hence in Christianity, God is called Father and we are called God’s children.

What is the standard of that parent-child relationship? Is it below or above the line of the Human Fall? It cannot be below it. The standard should be above the level of the Fall.

Even among fallen people today, whose love is below the line of the Fall, the parent-child relationship suffers when children are not dutiful. Imagine, then, how miserable it would be for parents who had never fallen. When we think about the difficult relationships between parents and children around us, we can fathom something of God’s situation.

God surely intended to love His children with a love above the line of the Fall. How strong would that love be? Yet since no one has ever stood above the line of the Fall, nobody knows. (62:20, September 10, 1972)

Heavenly Father has been searching for His lost children for six thousand biblical years, while enduring suffering upon suffering. However, if the children whom He finally found were weak and pathetic, how would He feel? It is conceivable that God might lament, “It would have been better had I not found them.” Are you confident that you are not children like that? (Blessing and Ideal Family 7.4.1)

Allow us to feel Thy merciful touch, the touch of our Father who seeks us, carrying the burden of providence for 6,000 years. Still, Thou hast not cast us aside,
although we are foolish and inadequate. (3:258-59, January 12, 1958)

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Forgiveness

Soiled by sin and unworthy to enter the presence of God, or corrupted by evil deeds and hence unable to realize our true inner nature, we cry out to God for forgiveness of sins. The experience of divine forgiveness and pardon is universal, reaching to supplicants in all the world’s religions. God is always desirous to forgive sins; it is His loving will to do so as our loving Parent.

The opening passages express God’s forgiving nature; the concluding texts describe removing sins as a process of cleansing.

1. God’s Forgiveness

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

God has already forgiven us our sins. Do you think it would be possible for God to forgive us if He still thought that we were sinners? He forgives us because He looks at us with endless compassion. You should know that through forgiveness, all can be united as one. (41:333, February 18, 1972)

Great forgiveness is possible only when one understands the other person’s situation one hundred percent. Because God knows our situation, He forgives us. (2:220, May 26, 1957)

No one can criticize a parent who forgives a child who repents for his or her sin. No one can accuse that parent for not punishing the child. That is why Satan cannot accuse God for loving humankind and trying to save them. Satan cannot make accusations against a person of perfect love. On the contrary, Satan voluntarily surrenders before him. The law requiring punishment yields to Heavenly Father’s love, by which He forgives repentant sinners. (62:52, September 10, 1972)

We know the shame of our first human ancestors before Heaven; we know that throughout history people have lived shameful lives; we know that the world we are living in is shameful. What can we be proud of before God? Can we be proud of ourselves as individuals? No… we are not qualified to approach God. Therefore, we should be willing to do anything that God wants us to do, anything that will make Him happy, anything that will allow Him to overlook our shame, in order that we might be forgiven of our sins. (66:18, March 11, 1973)

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2. Cleansing and Purification

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Just as the ocean takes in all manner of sewage and muddy water and then cleanses it, God, the original entity of absolute true love, resolutely works to cleanse the human world that deviated from the principles of His creation. (December 27, 2002)

Father! Please purify the minds and hearts of all Thy children who kneel before Thee. Work with Thy purifying touch in the soul of each one here. Please reveal all that is in each of our minds and bodies, Father, and sanctify everything. Since it will not do unless all improper elements are separated out and cast away, O Father, please personally be the Lord who purifies us and the Lord of our hearts. (1:162, July 11, 1956)

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Atonement

Sin cannot be removed unless someone takes responsibility to make expiation for the transgression. This is the concept of atonement. Atonement is required because of God’s lawful nature, which requires that the object of His love be worthy to receive it. The predicament of the sinner is made worse by Satan’s accusation, which serve to remind God of sins he might rather overlook. Therefore, some act of sacrifice is needed to pay the debt, clear away the sin, and remove the obstacle to full forgiveness and fellowship between God and human beings.

In Christianity, Jesus Christ offers himself on the cross as atonement for sin. This is the ultimate atonement: a sinless man dying to save sinners. And yet, Jesus’ atoning death on the cross is an example of a larger principle, as vicarious atonement can occur in many situations: a priest offers a sacrifice for sins of the worshippers, a good man pays with his life for the sins of the community, or a patriot sheds his blood on the altar of his nation. In each case, a righteous person’s sacrifice provides atonement for many.

1. The Principle of Atonement

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

In the Old Testament Age, the chosen people of Israel made atonement through offering ceremonies involving the shedding of blood. But they did not know the principle behind it. God is the owner of all creation. However, the sacrificial offering represented the people. It was divided into two: one part was taken by God and the other, by Satan. (309:203, May 30, 1999)

What is meant by indemnity? No human being could possibly pay all his debt of sin. Even if he tried for his entire lifetime, he would die with the debt still unpaid. Therefore, salvation requires that there be a way to lighten the debt and shorten the period to pay it off. God would shorten the period to, say, one year. However, at that point Satan makes accusations and insists that God cannot be so lenient; he demands a greater payment, one that might require ten years. Then what happens? God and Satan agree to a compromise.

In other words, there is a struggle between God and Satan. Satan demands that human beings pay a great deal of the debt as is their due, while God only asks people to pay a small amount as a condition to forgive the whole debt. Actually, Satan is correct from the viewpoint of principle: debts should be paid in full. Yet, God is correct from the viewpoint of love, in seeking a way to reconnect human beings with His love. And love is the very core of the principle. (111:147, February 10, 1981)

We received the amazing grace of forgiveness of our sins thanks to the altars of blood erected by the many saints and sages.11 (9:161, May 8, 1960)

Why has God patiently made sacrifice after sacrifice, developing His providence to the worldwide level? For whom has God made these sacrifices? Not for America, nor for Christianity; God did it to save me. God sent the Jesus Christ and allowed him to die on the cross for me, for my salvation. God then raised up the Christian church, established it throughout the world, and prepared it for the Second Coming in these Last Days—all for me. (77:46, March 30, 1975)

There are several categories of people who go to the spirit world. One group lives out their full span of life; another group does not. Among those who go to the spirit world earlier than their given life span, there are two categories: those who are being punished for their sins, and those who are taken as indemnity conditions for the sins of the world.

There is a saying that if in a village three exemplary young men die in their prime, great blessings will come to that village. The same is true for a clan: if three great young men die in a clan, that clan will receive many blessings. That is, to deserve blessings a price must be paid. This is by the law of cause and effect: it applies everywhere.

When God lets one central person, worthy of one thousand people, go the path of death, if those one thousand people are moved by his love and are determined to live like him, taking after his example, they will enter that person’s realm of benefit. People want to follow the path of a patriot or a saint because they want to enter the same realm of benefit.

Last year, many of our church members went to the spirit world, and it will be the same this year as well. Although I do not speak of it, I am already aware it will happen. Why is it so? Every time we take another step forward, we must pay indemnity for it. (33:11, July 28, 1970)

You should become like a chief priest, repenting of the past on behalf of your people and making an offering of atonement before God. In order to make such an offering, you should share your people’s path of tribulation. This is a principle in approaching God. (13:265, April 12, 1964)

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2. Atonement by the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Jesus Christ came to the earth to save humanity, bringing with him the glory, love and eternal life of God. Yet there was one condition that obstructed his way. This was none other than sin—sin inter-twined like a gigantic steel net, woven through this person and that person, this organization and that organization, this society and that society, this nation and that nation. Jesus willingly offered himself to eradicate sin; otherwise we could not see the glory of God on this earth; nor could we know the love of God or the life of God. (1:167, July 11, 1956)

When someone owes a huge debt, if the creditor displays good will in forgiving a portion of the debt, then the debtor can pay back less than the total amount and still satisfy the entire debt. The outstanding example of this is redemption through the cross. Merely by fulfilling a small indemnity condition of faith in Jesus, we receive the much greater grace of salvation, which entitles us to participate with Jesus in the same resurrection. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Restoration 1.1)

Many Christians believe that the omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent and loving God forgives us even though we commit sins tens of thousands of times. Then as soon as they go outside the church door they start fighting again. A church is not a house of forgiveness, dispensing forgiveness to people who commit sins unceasingly.

If God could forgive sins so lightly, why would He not forgive the one sin that was committed in the Garden of Eden? Furthermore, if God could find a way to forgive Satan, would He not have done it? Surely He would. Nevertheless, God cannot forgive Satan’s sin, which transgressed the core principle of the universe. For God to forgive that sin would be to fundamentally undermine the universal law of love, causing the world, which was created for love, to fall into chaos. Satan violated God Himself. This cannot be forgiven.

This is why God had to set up the Providence of Restoration to enable humans to reach the standard prior to the Human Fall. By this means, when people reach that standard, Satan can be expelled and a new perfect Adam can appear. It has taken God six thousand years to prepare that foundation. (19:161, January 1, 1968)

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Enlightenment

Enlightenment means dispelling the darkness of ignorance. According to the manner in which Reality is perceived in the different traditions, enlightenment may be either the intuitive grasping of inner wisdom, illumination by the truth of the Word, or direct apprehension of transcendent Reality. The true self, formerly obscured by false habits of thinking and vain desires, is suddenly revealed. The inner eye, which was blinded by defilements of worldly living, opens to a vision of the true Reality. From that moment life can never be the same, as the enlightened person begins to live by the knowledge he has acquired.

There is rational enlightenment, the cognition of truth. Knowledge of God’s Word enlightens the mind, lighting a marked-out path to a person formerly lost in the darkness of ignorance. Father Moon is one with the Christian tradition in teaching that the Word of God can transform lives.

A second group of passages describe enlightenment as self-realization, the inward experience of finding one’s original mind, the God within. This describes the experience of salvation in Hinduism and Buddhism, yet is common to most religions. This can be a soul-shaking experience, as the mind opens to receive massive amounts of energy. Having stripped away everything false, the enlightened mind corresponds to the standard of the Divine Mind, setting up a powerful connection. Father Moon encourages every person to gain such an experience on the path to wholeness and completion. He teaches that no amount of conceptual knowledge or faith can substitute for realization of the God within.

Finally, there is shamanistic enlightenment, which opens the five spiritual senses and enables one to see, hear and sense the invisible spirit world. With proper training, anyone can access this knowledge and source of spiritual power.

1. The Light of True Knowledge

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

For fallen people, knowledge is the light of life holding the power of revival, while ignorance is the shadow of death and the cause of ruin. Ignorance cannot beget true sentiments, and in the absence of knowledge and emotion the will to act cannot arise. Without the proper functioning of emotion, intellect and will, one cannot live the life of a true human being.

If we are created in such a way that we cannot live apart from God, then surely our ignorance of God consigns us to walk miserable paths. Though we may diligently study the Bible, can we really say that we know clearly the reality of God? Can we ever grasp the heart of God?…

The heart of God: His heart of joy at the time of creation; the broken heart He felt when humankind, His children whom He could not abandon, rebelled against Him; and His heart of striving to save them throughout the long course of history. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Introduction)

Today the world is in need of a great spiritual enlightenment. Individuals, nations and the world as a whole must achieve a new understanding of the existence of God. We should have an encounter with God, through which we can restore and secure our original inseparable relationship with Him. (234:241, August 22, 1992)

The day of the Second Coming is the time when we wake up to the reality that God is our Parent, and we shed tears with Him. We open our eyes to discover that God is our True Parent, and for six thousand years He has grieved over the sorrow of humankind and wandered in search of us. God grieved for us long before we knew of our plight. When everything that has inflicted deep pain in the historical heart of God is thus revealed, I can truly call God “My Father” and He can call me “My son.” This is the day of the final awakening.

On that day, our hearts are filled with tremendous hope and determination to right the wrongs of history and stand up for God’s providence. On that day, we experience joy as if God’s entire purpose were fulfilled. It is like the feeling we would have experienced had we reached perfection, never having fallen. (6:155, April 19, 1959)

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2. Inner Enlightenment

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Whatever difficulties you face, do not ask others, but ask your own conscience. When you pray, do not pray vaguely. God gave you an original mind, so you should be united with that precious gift. Once you are united with it, you will know everything about yourself. Once you have cultivated your heart and mind, you can be tuned to God’s heart and mind. (307:216, November 21, 1998)

Even though I am your teacher, my teachings cannot connect you eternally to God. It is your task to find your original heart. You have to hear the calling of Heaven through your mind’s ears. You have to see the divine nature through your mind’s eyes. You have to feel the heart of Heaven through your mind’s senses…

We have thought that God was the only precious existence, but now we should understand that our minds are just as precious. By finding the nucleus of your mind, you can attain the high standard of value by which God can make a relationship with you. Otherwise, how can you be in alignment with Heaven’s principles?…

Today’s believers frequently take comfort from their conceptual beliefs and their world of faith. Yet although we are fallen, our minds contain elements of the ideal of creation by which we can commune with the eternal God. What, after all, is the purpose of prayer? Why do Buddhists seek a state of emptiness through Zen meditation? It is to awaken the elements that lie at the nucleus of the mind. (2:192-93, May 19, 1957)

Shakyamuni Buddha said, “In heaven and earth, I alone am the Honored One.” In what state did he teach this? If you were to enter that state of resonance, you would become one with God. In that state, you would be able to see thousands of years of human history unfold before your eyes. You would experience yourself as having that incredible value.

How can we humans escape from the painful cycle of suffering, life after life? How can we escape from our miserable life’s destiny that ends in the cemetery? This is the homework given to each of us. In order to solve this, we have to receive training to enter the realm of resonance.

When mind and body have the same power, they fight. We must establish the mind over the body. There are two ways: The first way is by weakening the body through conditions such as fasting, prayer vigils, etc., and then to drag about the weakened body for several months. After a while, even when the body is comfortable, it will obey the mind out of its newly acquired habit. If you reach that state, you will experience Heaven’s help bringing you success in what you do…

The second way to establish the mind’s dominion over the body… is to give more energy to the mind. Make continual efforts to give energy to the mind. When these efforts accumulate to a certain point, the door of your mind will open. Once that door opens, you will gain immense power. If you strengthen the mind’s power at least three times over, then you will have no problem with the body. People make many conditions in the religious life to focus the mind’s power to lead the body.

Once you attain spiritual enlightenment, you gain great power in your mind. Then, if you yield to your body’s desires, you will feel nauseous and want to vomit. A person who has attained spiritual enlightenment has strong mental power; hence his body follows the mind’s desires automatically…

All religions teach this as the way to reach an advanced stage in the life of a human being. Following this way, and centered on God’s love, you will enter a realm of high dimension—when you realize on your own that you are sons and daughters of God. That is why Buddha said, “In heaven and earth, I alone am the Honored One.” A person who has attained enlightenment is the source of his own authority; that is why he has the right to boast of how precious he is.

By becoming a son or daughter who receives the unique love of God, you are in a position to inherit everything that is God’s. You realize that you are of yourself an elevated being. The path of every human being ends here, in the realm of God’s love. (38:270-73, January 8, 1971)

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3. Opening the Third Eye

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Most people do not know the spirit world. They know only the world they perceive through their five senses. However, when we directly relate to God in true love, we can cultivate our ten senses— the five physical senses and beyond them, the five spiritual senses. This will enable us to resonate with the spirit world.

People who only seek self-centered love cannot achieve it. Fallen love is dark; it is destruction itself. The more you immerse yourself in fallen love, the more darkness will envelop you. It is as if an insulator covered your electrical terminal; no electricity can flow. (399:220, December 24, 2002)

Cognition of spiritual reality begins when it is perceived through the five senses of the spirit self. These perceptions resonate through the five physical senses and are felt physiologically. Cognition of truth, on the other hand, arises from the knowledge gleaned from the physical world as it is perceived directly through our physiological sense organs. Cognition thus takes place through both spiritual and physical processes.

Human beings become complete only when their spirit self and physical self are unified. Hence, the experience of divine inspiration gained through spiritual cognition and the knowledge of truth obtained through physical cognition should become fully harmonized and awaken the spirituality and intellect together. It is only when the spiritual and physical dimensions of cognition resonate together that we can thoroughly comprehend God and the universe. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 5.1)

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Liberation

The spiritual freedom experienced by people who are released from the fetters of desires and attachments to worldly things is called Liberation (moksha). It is an inner experience of freedom that can arise regardless of the person’s external circumstances: The saint is free even in prison, while people living in comfort and affluence may be caught in dire bondage to runaway desires, addictions, and bad relationships. The Christian scriptures speak of a comparable experience of Christian liberty.

Yet liberation goes beyond the individual. Jesus spoke about liberating the prisoners and a Kingdom of freedom. When people live in the spirit of love and self-giving, they can be very free with one another. If everyone in a family or society enjoyed the inner freedom of a God-centered life, they then could live and act in freedom. Therefore, Father Moon teaches, liberating others also expands our own realm of liberation. That liberation should expand to encompass societies, nations, the entire world, and beyond to the realm of God. Jewish Kabbalistic doctrine describes the task of liberating of the “divine sparks” residing in each thing, that they may rise up and rejoin the divine unity. God’s liberation is contingent upon human liberation, teaches Father Moon, because human suffering and oppression binds God in fetters of grief and pain. Liberating humanity also liberates God, and when God is liberated, humanity can be truly free.

1. The State of Inner Freedom

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

According to the perspective of religion, humanity does not dwell in a liberated state. People today do not live in the realm of God’s freedom; rather they are constrained within the fallen world under Satan’s control. In other words, the world is in bondage. Christians in the established churches and we Unification Church members have the same understanding: we are in bondage.

This bondage is manifest as the persistent struggle between our mind and body. If human beings were made from the beginning with their minds and bodies in conflict, it would be absolutely impossible for them to perfect their character or attain liberation. In fact however, humans were created with harmonious internal elements, by which they could have attained the ideal state of liberation. They only fell into bondage during the course of their growth, when as a result of the Fall they were driven into a state of disorder, where we remain to this day. Therefore, it is entirely possible to be liberated from bondage and attain the ideal state. (85:227, March 3, 1976)

What does it feel like to experience the being of God? The interminable struggle between your mind and the body, which formerly plagued your self-centered life when you put yourself as number one in everything you did, will completely disappear. Instead, you will live the life that God wants you to live: living for the sake of others and giving yourself for the whole. Then, true love will continue forever, and God’s joy will be displayed in the spirit world. You will experience such satisfaction and happiness as you have never felt before, because it will be connected to the whole. Thus, you will discover yourself in the state of liberation. (329:301-02, August 11, 2000)

The body has a limit, but the mind is infinite. The world of the mind is beyond form, beyond any philosophy or viewpoint. Still greater than the mind is the world of the heart. It has no restrictions. The world of the mind has certain restraints, conditioned by its relationships. Yet nothing can restrain the world of the heart. What could ever restrain a parent’s love for his or her children? Even a barrier as daunting as a huge mountain cannot block the way. (7:246, September 20, 1959)

It is written in the Bible, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3.17) The Father is a Spirit of freedom, liberation and unification. How, then, can the spirit of freedom, which transcends any trials, be instilled in your hearts? How can you find the point of liberation where you overcome all the walls of suffering? When will you experience that peaceful moment of total unification, which is your ultimate hope?

In thinking about these important questions, consider that God is not free. Since God is not free, liberated and unified, the freedom people pursue today is not true freedom. The liberation people are proclaiming is not complete liberation, and the unification people are promoting is not complete unification…

God created us. Therefore, the complete freedom, liberation and unification that we desire can be realized only when God is free and becomes the master of liberation and unification. God’s freedom, liberation and unification are the standards for humanity’s freedom, liberation and unification; that is only logical. (4:314-15, October 12, 1958)

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2. Universal Liberation

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Liberation means that all hazardous conditions in our world are transformed into harmonious relationships. Our world becomes unified, without any sharp edges, where up and down, right and left, and front and rear have equal value.

Once liberation comes, grandfathers and grandmothers will like it, quarreling husbands and nagging wives will be satisfied, children and grandchildren will be glad. The multitudes will rejoice, and people of all nations will cheer. (341:161-62, January 1, 2001)

Before trying to liberate North Korea, you should ask yourself whether you are liberated. The liberation of the self is based on the unity of your body and mind. The liberation of the nation is the fifth level after the liberation of the individual, family, tribe and people.18 (187:126, February 5, 1989)

All things that were supposed to be united into one were shattered into pieces. They were turned upside down throughout humanity’s fragmented history, because countless indemnity courses blocked heaven and earth and passed each other in all directions. Therefore God has been leading a course of re-creation. To walk that course, True Parents came to the earth.

Heavenly Father, we know how hard Thou hast striven throughout history, in Thy providence of recreation which Thou hast conducted through our forbearers, to reconnect all the divisions in the mineral world, the world of microscopic organisms, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human world, and even in the heavenly world…

Therefore, centering on the love that is proper to God’s ideal of creation, we should restore back what was lost in the world of minerals, the world of microscopic organisms, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human world, and the heavenly world. Thou, Heavenly Father, and we, True Parents, should create the realm of oneness… I sincerely hope and ask Thee to guide us to create one unified world, joining the heavenly world and earthly world. (May 4, 2003)

Throughout history, human beings have been searching for their own liberation and salvation, but who has been concerned about God’s situation? Does God dwell in blissful joy for eternity, not in need of liberation? God is the Parent who has been mourning over human beings as they suffered in sin and evil throughout history. How, then, can God rejoice with a liberated heart? It is impossible. Depending on the degree of earthly liberation, God’s heart can also be liberated. Only when God is liberated can human beings be liberated, be free to enjoy a family life of true love, and bring liberation to the creation. Furthermore, only when God is liberated can the beings in the spirit world be liberated and released. (April 30, 2004)

The ultimate goal of God’s providence of salvation goes beyond the individual; it is to liberate and save the family, tribe, nation, physical world and the spirit world including hell. Until this is done, God Himself is not liberated. When the purpose of God’s providence of salvation is fully attained, in other words, when even hell and all the spirit world are liberated, on that day, God will declare the completion of His ideal, proclaiming, “My will is done! Hallelujah! March forward into one world, under the dominion of my love.” (114:78, May 17, 1981)

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Emptiness—Nirvana

Emptiness, nirvana—the ultimate state of inner peace in Buddhism—is a state without self, without passions, without desires. It is a state beyond thought, beyond words, beyond any intellectual attempt to grasp what it is. Yet paradoxically, in this emptiness there is fullness, fearlessness and enlightenment. It is a marvelous, mystical state, almost impossible to describe.

Father Moon calls the state of Emptiness the ‘zero point.’ He explains its mystical feeling as a resonant connection with God, who also dwells in Emptiness when He creates the world. Father Moon also teaches an active way of self-emptying in the service of others. Self-giving, living for others, giving even when it is difficult to give: these practices can lead to the zero point just as surely as meditation.

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

While seeking for absolute love, you should not have consciousness of self. (279:146, August 4, 1996)

If we could totally subjugate our body, if our actions were always in conformity with our will, then we would not need religion. Jesus came in order to correct the disunity between the mind and the body. This is also the purpose of the Buddha’s teaching that we should return to the state of nothingness—the zero point. If the mind and body are united, you do not feel [any distinction]. Why should we return to a state of emptiness? It is so we may experience Being. In a state of emptiness, the zero point, there emerges a counterpart with whom you can be in total harmony. Hence, at the zero point you can experience Being one hundred percent. (256:212, March 13, 1994)

God dwells in the ‘king zero point.’ Since God has such a nature, to meet Him you must become even lower than zero. Then you must guard that king zero point. The king zero point is like the mind, and as the flesh surrounds the mind, you should surround and protect the zero point.

Have you reached the state where you can guard the zero point? Can you go even lower than the zero point? This is what Buddhist meditation is about—to search the God-like mind for the deepest point. (230:134, May 1, 1992)

The [self-centered] ego has nothing to do with the ideal of creation. Therefore, we should completely deny ourselves. In order to find the true self, we should place ourselves at the zero point. That is the only place where we can be totally united in mind and body.

When God created us, He was in a state of total mind-body unity. He was in a state of total self-giving, with absolute love and absolute faith. God had no space to think of His own benefit or situation. Herein lies the origin of love: it is a state of one hundred percent giving and living for the sake of others.

Where do you think you can find your true self? You find it by practicing a life of true love, always living for the sake of others. If you dwell at the zero point—denying yourself while living for the sake of your family, all humankind throughout the world, and God—you will find your true self without doubt. It is our inevitable destiny to do so as we walk the path of restoration, which leads to salvation. (356:301-02, October 21, 2001)

Although we yearn for God and seek to love Him as the Subject of our faith, our experiences of Him are vague and indistinct. We still wonder, “Where can we find God?” Although He is definitely present, we cannot perceive Him with the certainty that we perceive things with our five physical senses. How, then, can we see God? We do not begin by looking at God, but rather by looking into ourselves.

When we look into ourselves, we find that we exist as mind and body. We should not focus on the body, but look into our mind.

Among a thousand fallen people, their fundamental nature may be the same, but each one has a different mind, a different personality each with different qualities.

When drawing a circle, you first draw a horizontal line and then a vertical line. From the point where they intersect, you draw the circle around it, starting from one degree, two degrees, and finally covering all 360 degrees. The horizontal line and the vertical line determine a 90-degree angle. How, then, do we make our mind a perfect circle? Depending on their personalities, each person draws their horizontal line in a different place. Just as our faces are different from one another, our inborn natures are different.

When drawing our circle through 360 degrees, we begin from zero degrees and trace it based on that standard. However, if the baseline of our minds is not properly fixed, we will not have the proper standard for measuring the degrees of the circle. Indeed, the baselines of people’s minds are not the same. Why? As people’s faces, interests and feelings differ, they each draw their horizontal and vertical lines in a different way.

How, then, can you form a circle covering all 360 degrees? You should find the zero point. Where is your zero point? Everyone has one. It is within yourself, within the core of your heart—there you will find it. When you draw a horizontal line from the zero point, you can properly fix the vertical line perpendicular to it.

We are to stand as object partners before God, our Subject Partner. Surely He has endowed human beings with a base to respond to Him as object partners. Therefore, upon the base of the horizontal mind, we should find the vertical direction, the true perpendicular. Surely there must be one.

You see the horizon in two dimensions, but if you try and estimate the perpendicular your measure could easily be off the mark. How can you find the accurate measure? If your horizontal is too high you must lower it; if it is too low you must raise it, to fix it at the zero point.

In an electrical power plant there are many meters, and each one is calibrated to a zero point. That neutral point must be set properly in order to adjust the positive and negative voltages and to measure the power levels. We, too, must accurately calibrate our zero point.

Where is our zero point located? It is a position that exists but seemingly does not exist. People who practice Zen meditation say that they attain the state of ‘no-self.’ That is what I am talking about. We should reach that spiritual standard, the zero point state. Once we attain it, our horizontal standard will become responsive to all things. (76:125)

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Spiritual Union

Spiritual union is the final goal of the religious mystic. The experience of this unity is profound; it can hardly be described in words. A person in this state is united with God and united with all existence, All distinctions dissolve between subject and object, knower and known.

Mystical union is less common in conventional religion, particularly in the Abrahamic faiths whose uncompromising monotheism requires an absolute distinction between the infinite God and even the most saintly of His creatures. Yet the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity speak of a Beatific Vision, an encounter with God’s presence that transforms the viewer. In Islam, traditions attributed to Muhammad himself undergird the unitive experiences of Sufi mystics.

Father Moon affirms all these varieties of unitive experiences. By learning to live in love, he teaches, we can draw close to God’s mind and heart, share God’s experiences, and move as appendages of God’s body. We dwell in God, God dwells in us, and we experience mystic oneness with all His creations.

1. Becoming One with God

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

God is huge, but a human being is a microcosm of the cosmos. By penetrating into God, we can experience God within us. When we experience this, we can say, with Jesus, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” (John 14.10) Although God is infinitely large, He can do His work only when human beings fully dwell within Him. (31:210, May 31, 1970)

When your mind and body are united as one, you will be in your eternal dwelling place, the center where God abides. Then you can possess even God. This state arises when true love is restored; it is the supreme goal of human beings who had lost everything as the result of the Fall. (294:98-99, June 14, 1998)

The path of religion is to stop living as animalistic human beings and become humane human beings. Eventually we are to become divine human beings. We are to participate in the divine realm. We are to become people with a divine nature who practice divine love and rejoice ever more in eternal happiness. (117:37, January 31, 1982)

Love is the central point, the rope that binds God and human beings together eternally. When embodied human beings attain oneness with God, their heart is immersed in a state of profound awareness and their emotions thrill with boundless happiness. Through love, God and human beings become one. Through love, human beings and the world become one. Here is the starting point for the realization of the ideal world that fulfills God’s purpose of creation. (35:356, October 13, 1970)

When you are united with God in true love, you can have dominion over all God’s creation, both physical and spiritual. When you live completely for others, you are reaching the very essence of God. Then, God’s will becomes your will, and God’s feelings naturally come into your heart. Living this way, you become a resonant vessel of God’s heart and love. You and God will always resonate together, like two tuning forks. (201:206, April 9, 1990)

As existent beings in front of Thee,
we entrust to Thee our whole selves:
We shall be Thy branches and leaves.
When Thou art sorrowful, we shall also be sorrowful;
when Thou art happy, we shall also be happy;
when Thou dost hurry to work, we shall also hurry to work.
Permit us to become Thy sons and daughters who stand beside Thee,
as Thou dost deal with every aspect of our world. (42:59, February 21, 1971)

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2. God and Human Beings United in Love

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Perfect unity is possible only in the perfect love of God. (94:263, October 1, 1977)

Once God’s love dwells within your heart, even when you are alone, you will be totally filled. You will be happy. Because His love fills you, you can find joy in everything. (95:39, September 11, 1977)

What is God like? He is a God of love. When Saint Paul said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” he meant the love of God in Christ. Even Christ is nothing without God’s love. Hence, we cherish God’s love more than anything. God’s love is the source of life, happiness and peace. You will understand this if you have spiritual experiences. (24:325, September 14, 1969)

Once a person has tasted and joined himself to God’s original love, would he or she ever want to separate from it? When a bee is sucking nectar and you pull on its abdomen, it will not release its mouth from the nectar even if its abdomen is pulled off. So, what will you do once you have experienced the taste of God’s love? You might leave, but you would turn around, come back, and cling to it. (137:57, December 18, 1985)

Love alone can solve everything. Love alone holds the privilege to possess the ideal vertical axis. Love brings the right of possession, the right to equality, and the right of participation. When I have true love, God dwells within me, and I in God. God belongs to me, God’s love belongs to me, and God’s universe belongs to me. We can have such a concept of possession. Since each of us has such a value, we have an original desire to display ourselves proudly to the entire creation. (179:169, August 1, 1988)

People who experience the heart of God in their lives cannot come before God without shedding tears, no matter where they are. They know the original Will of God and struggle to become His sons and daughters. If you are among them, sharing God’s will and desire, He will visit you and weep with you.

Where are the roots of God’s grief? They are inside us. They are inside our nation, this world and all things of creation. We must carry on a movement to eradicate them and restore God’s joy. For us, the center of our life of faith should be to experience God’s grief.

When we live shedding tears for God, we can perceive God’s eternal love and fulfill the mission as God’s representatives. Immersed in God’s sorrowful heart, we do not need to pray. We do not need to rely on doctrines. Before we pray, we already feel the heart of God…

Do not hold a grudge against anyone. Rather, weep for them. Then you shall receive the benefit of paying indemnity. Today you enjoy the privilege of being the first people to experience God’s grief and shed tears for Him. Know, however, that God shed tears for you first. (4:60, March 2, 1958)

Father! Please reach out to each of us
and hold us with both arms in Thy loving embrace.
How anxiously hast Thou looked forward to this,
hoping for this moment?
Now I can fully envision Thy heart!
Now I can fully envision Thy heartbreak. (9:160-61, May 8, 1960)

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3. Oneness with All Things

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Heavenly Father is breathing. His breath is the breath of love. God continuously breathes love into the cosmos, bringing it into alignment with love. You should align yourself with love, since in loving you will find eternal life. Only then will you transcend this reality and enter the realm of Heavenly Father’s breath. (201:191, April 1, 1990)

Allow yourself time to experience through your own direct senses—through your eyes, nose, mouth and ears—and believe through your own experience. It is important to give yourself enough time to have such experiences.

Self-centered people are not able to sense it well, but when people who lead a life filled with God’s grace look at nature, they experience everything as brand new. In the morning it seems new, and in the evening it seems new. As God’s grace slowly rolls in like waves, they feel fascination and mystery in three dimensions. A person who can experience this is a happy person. (30:134-35, March 21, 1970)

If you want to dwell in God’s heart, you should have the heart to protect all creatures in heaven and on earth as if they were your own. Since God’s heart dwells in all His creatures, caring for them links you with God’s heart. The highest spirituality is to be possessed by God and dwell in His heart. If even looking at a flying bird or smelling a flower’s fragrance prompts you to sing eternally, then you are not dwelling in the world, but in God’s heart. In that state, time means nothing. (8:182, January 23, 1959)

I long for the ideal world, a world that completes the purpose of creation, a world transcendent of the world of consciousness, a world where I can feel endless peace.

What would it be like to live in that world? On seeing even a blade of grass, you would extol the value of its existence. As a human being, you are a small thing compared with the vast universe, yet all its creatures would praise you, saying, “You are truly amazing! Whenever you move, heaven and earth move, God’s heart moves, and eternal life moves.” All people should attain this level. (9:320, June 19, 1960)

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Healing

The condition of fallen humanity has been likened to an infirmity and a disease of the soul. Our hearts are heavy with pain and suffering. Hence, salvation may be regarded as healing the soul of its infirmity and restoring it to health where it can realize its true potential. Religious teaching may be regarded as a sovereign remedy, and the founder who bears the truth likened to a master physician.

Yet there is also a causal, psychosomatic relationship between the health of the soul and health of the body. Physical health is thus a welcome by-product of spiritual health. Moreover, the power of God can cause miracles to happen: old women bear children, the blind see and the dead are brought back to life. Jesus performed miraculous healings and exorcisms; as did Buddha and the saints of all religions from ancient times to the present day.

Father Moon speaks realistically about the spiritual causes of disease and the way people may align themselves to mobilize God’s healing power. He also warns against the careless use of healing power, for miracles come with a price.

1. Healing the Body and Soul

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

What is the prescription for healing this fractured world? It is true love. (190:57, October 9, 1988)

When you get sick, you should visit a doctor and get treated. He may give you a shot and prescribe medicine. What does the divine Physician prescribe for you? It is religion. If we believe in religion and practice it, our struggles will cease. (337:57, October 22, 2000)

We live in a time when prosperity comes to those who live according to the Principle and who uphold the standard of absolute goodness. God declares that He will personally work on behalf of His children, to free us from sickness and misery, pain and misfortune, sin and evil. (Heung Jin Moon, Message from the Spirit World, January 1, 2002)

Human beings are supposed to live in joy by receiving elements of love (living spirit elements) from God. Instead, they are born as imperfect individuals, plagued with anxiety and sickness. Human beings from birth are connected to sinful blood relations, and hence possess inner elements that allow Lucifer to invade. They took on a diseased form, completely different from what they were supposed to be.

As a result of Lucifer’s invasion, human beings were first of all diseased spiritually and secondly diseased physically. Approximately seventy to eighty percent of all illnesses have a spiritual cause. (Sang Hun Lee, Lucifer: A Criminal against Humanity 2.2)

When someone gets sick, the doctor first finds out the cause of the illness; then he can prescribe a treatment that will result in a cure. However, no person in history has known why we human beings are fallen. Hence, no one could come up with an effective treatment for the problem. Satan knew it, because he caused it. God also knew, but [by Himself] He could not correct it. Therefore, until the Savior comes as God’s messenger to humanity and reveals the truth, humanity has no way to be saved. (367:293, January 24, 2002)

What is the most fearful among all diseases, even for God? It is the disease resulting from the Human Fall. Do you have this disease or not? Yes you have it, but most people do not even realize that they are afflicted.

These days, everyone fears cancer. In its early stages a person may not realize that he is ill. He only recognizes that he has the disease when it becomes painful, but by then the cancer has progressed to a lethal stage. Still, at least a cancer victim knows he has the disease before he dies. With the disease of the Fall, however, people do not recognize that they are ill until after they die. That is the problem. (92:185, April 10, 1977)

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2. Miracles

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The Bible says that Sarah, Abraham’s wife, bore Isaac when she was nearly ninety years old. Do not think that it is impossible. If you women are confident, you could also conceive by spiritual power. Spiritual power is miraculous. (283:126, April 8, 1997)

The unity of mind and body generates a mysterious, invisible power. When you enter that state, miracles occur… When you are united with God’s love, you can perform miracles. Healing fire comes out of your open palms. You can move your audience simply by willing it so… You can revive those who are [spiritually] dead…

What power is this? It is the power of love. All this is possible only through the power of love. Love is such that the more you practice it, the greater it becomes. But there is a condition. To obtain that power, you must subjugate your physical body. (282:229-30, March 26, 1997)

With absolute faith, anything is possible. Suppose while walking on the street you met a sick man. Feeling deep compassion for him, without a second thought you stretch out your hands over him, place your hands on him and pray for him sincerely with tears. Then, a miracle will happen.

Yet I do not want to be involved in miracles. Jesus performed many miracles, yet people did not appreciate their value. Despite all the miracles, he was driven to death. It is no use to heal those who are not worthy. More than miracles, what they need is truth. Truth is unchanging and eternal, but signs and miracles are fleeting. What is temporary cannot govern what is eternal. (252:258, January 1, 1994)

It is possible to revive a dead person by breathing his or her spirit self back into the physical body. Yet certain conditions are required. First, the person should not be dead for too long—not more than three days—so that the flesh has not decayed. Within that period, if the spirit is called back into the body the person can come back to life; it is not very difficult.

However, bringing someone back to life on earth after God has called that person to the spirit world requires paying a suitable price. It should either be compensation of greater value [than the person’s life], or something to benefit the whole purpose. Maybe to revive that one person, three or four others might have to die. Therefore, you should carefully consider the benefit of bringing someone back to life. If you do not take responsibility for doing it, you will violate the heavenly law. All in all, performing miracles is not necessarily good. (15:176, October 7, 1965)

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The Refining Fire

God’s gracious love can be found in the midst of hardships and suffering. The person whose mind is fixed on God takes life’s trials and challenges as a means to purify his or her faith, correct flaws and refine character. Could it be that such trials are not accidental, but actually expressions of God’s love to discipline and educate His children? (See also Chapter 15: Testing.)

Moreover, God’s word presents us with the challenge to live by it. Scripture therefore likens the word of God to a fire, which burns away everything that is false. Father Moon explains that the judgment that many Christians fear is actually an opportunity to purify ourselves in the truth and reach the point where we are one hundred percent united with the word of Christ. Thus, the purpose of judgment is to save, not to condemn.

1. Judgment by Fire

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Each of us has many different kinds of thoughts, all varieties. Do you think we can easily negate them all to uphold the standard of absolute faith, love and obedience? Is it easy or difficult? How difficult! Even if we were to die and be reborn one hundred times, it would still be difficult.

It doesn’t matter how many times we say the words “absolute faith, love and obedience”; we should enter the furnace and have our impurities burned away until there is only pure gold left. (320:235, April 5, 2000)

Jesus came into the world to cast this judgment, as he said, “For judgment I came into this world.” (John 9.39) Jesus also said, “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” (Luke 12.49) “Fire” here represents the means of the judgment for which Jesus came into the world. Nevertheless, there is no record that in his time Jesus judged the world with literal fire. The verses referring to fire must be symbolic. It is written, “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?” (Jer. 23.29) Therefore, judgment by fire represents judgment by the Word of God. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 3.2.2)

The words you are familiar with are connected to Satan. Your beliefs and thought processes have not escaped a relationship with Satan. All elements in the satanic world were created from a humanistic perspective, not from God’s perspective. They cannot go beyond Satan’s realm. That is why we need to renovate everything through the new Word of God.

Once we know God’s Word, can we also live in harmony with the old words and move on with our lives? Absolutely not. We must completely rid ourselves of the old words. We must clean out all our satanic ideas, beliefs and habits. Then, by living according to the Word of God and its absolute standards, we must establish a new tradition. (21:327, January 1, 1969)

To acquire true love, you should invest yourself totally. You should be willing to burn your own name, your pictures, even your own clothes.27 (398:328, December 17, 2002)

Oh Father! Look upon us with Thy fiery eyes,
and allow not the bitter roots of sin and death to remain deep in our hearts.
Look upon us with Thy fiery eyes,
that today we may pull out all the roots of sin and be unified before Thee. (20:10, March 31, 1968)
Father! We pray Thou wilt remove all that is humanistic and private.
Born as descendants of the Fall, we used to wear masks as we saw fit and relied upon our own
views.
Purge us of all these elements as we come before Thee. (21:132, November 17, 1968)

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2. Heaven’s Discipline

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

All difficulties and trials confront you so that you may correctly experience and understand God’s past days. Therefore, when any difficulty comes upon you, you should rejoice and be thankful. It is the proof of God’s love for you. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)

The reason why the Unification Church requires its members to live three years of public life after receiving the Blessing is to enable them to taste true love. The reason why I tour the world and give speeches, braving persecution and opposition, is to train you to make beautiful families of true love surpassing all other families.

We go the way of God’s Will despite the world’s harsh persecution and oppression because we love our children and want to enable them to live in the beautiful nation of God. In this way, we live for our children and love our children more than the people of the world love their children.

You must carry on this fight throughout your lives. If you see your husband or wife being persecuted and opposed, you must pledge that you will love your children more than your feeling of distress over your spouse’s plight. You must be trained in this way in the midst of persecution and opposition.

A wife who has received this ‘love training’ will not fight with her husband. If he crosses her with a cutting remark, she will not respond with machine-gun volleys of scolding words. A husband will not beat his wife or dominate her with his authority. Why not? Having been through love training, each spouse has come to know the other’s precious value. (Blessing and Ideal Family 4.4.8)

Make us into people to whom Thou canst entrust Thy Will
by molding us according to Thine internal nature. (2:241, June 9, 1957)

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Help and Deliverance

In times of distress, danger, and oppression, the faithful look to God for support and help. In times of crisis, in combat, and when confronting death, even non-believers will pray desperately to God. And time and again, they find deliverance in ample measure. Conversely, the scriptures warn against relying on one’s own power, allies, or wealth to prevail in the battle, when true strength lies in God’s saving power.

The passages include expressions of confidence in divine deliverance, supplications for help, and texts which describe God’s grace as an unassailable refuge. There are several accounts of God’s saving deeds in history: from the Bible, Moses at the Red Sea and Paul’s escape from prison; from the Qur’an, the battle of the Trench. We include the Buddhist hymn to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of divine compassion who is said to be ready and able to save anyone in distress.

Father Moon experienced divine deliverance on numerous occasions, notably when he was a prisoner in a North Korean labor camp. He explains why people normally receive divine help only if they have the mind of devotion and faith. God’s heart of love extends to everyone. However, due to the activities of Satan, whose accusations can cause God to withdraw His protection, people oftentimes must overcome a trial before they can receive divine assistance.

1. Help in Times of Trouble

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

How can you receive God’s protection? God does not protect a person unless he has something that endears him to God. What do you have that would draw God to relate to you? Does God need your money? Does He need your power? Knowledge? God desires but one thing: love. Therefore, love gives us the privilege to move God. When He relates to us out of love, He can alter our destiny. Love can move God.

Do you think that God will forsake people who are truly striving to love Him? What if, out of love for Him, they place themselves in miserable circumstances? Will their lives end in misfortune? On the contrary, their troubles will become a condition to turn their miserable situation into a fortunate outcome. Therefore, those who endure misfortune on the path of loving God are fortunate people. It is even more fortunate for them if they are happy to follow this path. When God sees them braving waves of misfortune throughout the world as they search for God’s love, He thinks it most wonderful.

When I was in prison in North Korea, I endured severe torture. Yet the more severe the torture was, the stronger I became. I thought, “Go ahead, you… The more you torture me, the more God will love me.” With that attitude, although I was destined to die, I lived. Have this attitude, and, you can make your crooked way straight.

To overcome, we need but one thing. Our path of life may be troubled, insecure, full of the misery and with only fleeting pleasures, yet on this path we can bind the power of death and go beyond death’s misery. What is the path to overcome all these trials and go safely straight to the goal? It is the path of loving God. Is there any other way? When we are ready to live and die for the love of God, God will be with us and protect us. (67:175-76, June 3, 1973)

Our mind seeks the world of the heart. Even radio waves do not operate just anywhere; they require a receiver that is tuned to resonate with the signal. It is the same with people. As long as a person has a true conscience, a true loving standard, and a foundation of Heaven’s heart, then wherever or whenever he goes, even in conditions of oppression and misery, he will unexpectedly find a way to survive and even prosper. Even when misunderstood and mistreated, he will find a way.

The path to life cannot be found in comfortable circumstances. No one ever achieved an historical revolution, an historical discovery, or an historical success in a comfortable place. They began in circumstances where they stood face to face with death. In such situations, God reached out to them.

Therefore, when someone is about to encounter God, he will meet with a crisis. It may be material—an accident or a financial disaster. It may be a problem with other people, or it may be a problem of the heart. At that time, if he shouts out, “I will go this path no matter what,” and goes forward resolutely, he will be able to lead others who struggle with similar kinds of problems. (7:333-34, October 18, 1959)

When we cannot go one step further, yet are willing to endure still more, God appears and blesses us, saying, “My son, my daughter, you don’t have to endure any longer. You can rest now.” This is the path of our restoration course. As we endure on our journey with hymns of thanksgiving, God comes to us and tearfully says, “Where else can I find a son or daughter like you? I will now appoint someone else to carry on for you.” Then He gives us a place of rest and heavenly rewards from His fatherly heart. (44:29, May 4, 1971)

We should know at what point God works with us and at what point Satan is likely to attack us. There are always these two kinds of works. In fulfilling the will of God, people should climb up by their own efforts to the point where God can help them. That is the human portion responsibility. God gets directly involved only after human beings have reached a certain level; he does not help them below that level. As we approach that level we may receive a little help, but only when we reach it does God provide us with maximum support.

When you spin a hoop vertically on a stick, the hardest thing is to get the hoop to go over the top. As it spins upward, it almost comes to rest on top before it accelerates on the way back down. Likewise, you assemble your efforts on the way up and strain to go over the top… Yet you could not have made it to the top based on your own efforts alone. You could succeed because God added His power to yours.

However, at the top, Satan waits in ambush. At the moment you reach the goal, God no longer supports you. If He did, it would be in violation of heavenly law. At that moment, when God lets you alone, you are liable to face Satan’s attack. God and Satan each keep to their own territory and do not interfere with each other.

In other words, when you are making effort to fulfill your mission, you can gain God’s help. But at the moment of success, you will face Satan. But because God and Satan do not appear at the same time, when it is time to face Satan, God withdraws. This is unavoidable. In order to give you the opportunity to fulfill your portion of responsibility, you must go over this test because of the law of human responsibility and because human beings are responsible to subjugate Satan. Knowing this, you should be alert at this critical point. It is when problems most commonly arise.

Then, you will meet another problem when you are coasting downhill. Having reached the summit, it is easy to relax and descend without making effort. If so, you will just continue to descend. But like spinning a hoop, to reach the next top you have to add more force on the downward cycle. The more force you exert as the hoop goes down, the faster it rises as it loops back up. From this perspective, know that you need God’s support while you are descending just as much as you need His help when you were climbing. Yet since you are still in that dark area where Satan holds sway, you have to make a special prayer condition for a certain period of time; otherwise God’s help will not be forthcoming. By this method, you can gain an added spurt of Heaven’s power to rise up even faster towards the next goal.

Such is a formula. For instance, after the Israelites enjoyed a time of blessing, it was followed by a time of oppression. Without fail, after each blessing they faced attacks from Satan. (73:268-70, September 29, 1974)

As we followed the path Thou hast walked,
we found it was the path of the cross.
Yet as we continued on this untraced way and struggled with the heart of pioneers,
we discovered it was not the way of destruction.
People ridiculed us, but Thou didst encourage us.
Many people opposed us, but Thou didst comfort us.
So many times Thou didst counsel us, saying, “I am with you,
and the billions of saints in the spirit world are protecting your way.” (16:50, December 26, 1965)

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2 Deliverance from Danger and Death

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

God appears as a rescue boat at the dire moment of death. (6:152, April 19, 1959)

We humans are completely foolish. But we have a friend in God, who is infinitely wise. His heavenly host—countless spirits—accompany us and provide reinforcements. When we think about this, we can be grateful.

I really understand the feeling of David as he stood before Goliath, on the verge of the showdown. He was bold and strong. He knew God’s protection would bring him victory in the battle. Things turned out well because he faced his enemy with this thought in his heart: “When you strike, you will be the one who breaks, not me.” (203:192, June 24, 1990)

President Reagan was shot, yet he did not die. During the attempt on his life three people were shot, one critically, and it was thought that he might die. But he also survived. Do you know why? Pope [John Paul II] was also shot, yet he too survived. Reverend Moon has similar divine protection. Sufficient [spiritual] foundation has been laid. (116:155, December 27, 1981)

Who guides the course of war? People start wars, but God guides their outcome, bringing recompense [for aggression]. However, it is not God’s will to build a peaceful world through arms. (103:184, February 25, 1979)

When we pursue a public purpose, if Satan attacks us, God will come to our aid. If we are united with God at that point, Satan will have to retreat… and those who oppose us will disappear. This is what Satan fears more than anything. As more and more individuals, families and even nations welcome the Messiah and do the will of God, Satan grows weaker; and when the world welcomes him, Satan will disappear. Therefore, to prevent his own destruction, Satan places us in life-threatening situations and makes us shed blood on the battlefield. We should survive it. (329:287, August 11, 2000)

When Satan imprisons a citizen of Heaven within his barbed wire fence, at the proper time God will destroy that fence and reclaim him. Since he is a citizen of heaven, Satan has no right to contest his release. On the contrary, God will demand that he pay compensation for imprisoning an innocent person.

God can rescue His people at any time, but He waits until the time is ripe; then He will liberate everyone and demolish Satan’s prison.

Even in the worst case, should you die, you can be confident of your destiny as you carry with you the thought, “I was born a citizen of Heaven, I lived as a citizen of Heaven, and I died for God’s Kingdom.” You will surely go to God’s Kingdom in the spirit world, where all the heavenly spirits will welcome you with cheers. (98:162, July 16, 1978)

If you are doing God’s will, even prison is an opportunity to receive blessings. The day you enter prison can be a day of hope. The day you are handcuffed can be a day of hope.

When I went to prison, I had joyful heart; I was even whistling. I found everything was prepared to welcome me. People there were waiting to receive my teachings. When I felt hungry, someone brought me food. The Bible records Elijah’s miracle of being fed by ravens. In my case, communists brought me food; God moved them by mobilizing the spirit world. (103:207, February 25, 1979)

On August 1, 1950, more than 100 B-29 bombers bombed Heungnam Prison Camp [where I was incarcerated], damaging it severely. Because God had alerted me that this was about to happen, I protected the other prisoners. God told me that He would protect anyone who stayed within 12 meters of me, so I instructed my followers to stay close by. While the bombs were exploding, I was in silent meditation. I did not think about the bombing; rather I was contemplating the ideal world that would come in the future. It would be a cosmic loss to God if someone like me, who was fulfilling a mission for restoration, were taken to the spirit world. For this reason, God wanted to protect me at all costs; indeed, He was obliged to do so. (35:189, October 13, 1970)

Heungnam was the first place where U.N. troops landed in North Korea. It was because the Son of God was there, and God was urgent to rescue him. The communists were gathering groups of prisoners and taking them out of the camp, promising them food but in fact intending to execute them. The prisoners did not know it and even fought with each other to go, tempted by the promise of a good meal. But I knew of the deception and thought, “You are going on your final path, but I shall not die. Even if all of you die, I shall not. No matter what tragedy and misfortune I face, even if I am led to the execution ground, I shall survive somehow!”

On October 12, 1950, about 70 prisoners who were serving sentences of at least 7 years were taken to a mountain some 7 miles32 away from the prison camp and executed. Since I had been sentenced to 5 years, I knew that two days later it would be my turn to be taken. Given that circumstance, God must have hurried to rescue me. On the evening of the 13th, I looked outside and saw that the situation had already changed. Rumors spread that UN troops had landed in Heungnam, and the communist guards were busy packing their belongings. The next day, October 14th, they were gone and we remaining prisoners were free. We then set off on the road to the South. (22:129-30, February 2, 1969)

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Reversal and Restoration

Salvation is sometimes pictured as a great reversal. It looks to the day when God will act to turn the existing social and political order upside down, when the wealthy and powerful will no longer tower above the honest and god-fearing. Internally, it brings the insight that the way to God is the reverse of the way of the world. An enlightened person recognizes that he should reverse his or her orientation one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. Scripture speaks of this inner reversal as dying to self in order to live, seeking darkness in order to find the light, and abasing the self in order to become prominent.

This leads to the concept of salvation as restoration. Restoration refers to the undoing of bad habits, modes of thinking, ways of behaving, and social relations that have grown corrupt and deviated from the proper way. It is a return to the origin, aimed at restoring the original way of life according to the true principles and purposes of God. An important expression of this theme of reversion to the origin is the Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Origination (Paticcasamuppada), which is not just a law of causality but more properly the insight that all causes leading to downfall must be reversed.

Father Moon discusses this topic at length under the teaching of Restoration through Indemnity. Indemnity, broadly speaking, means to restore mistakes by taking the opposite course. It begins with a reversal of character—from self-centeredness to other-centeredness. It extends to relationships—paying restitution for a crime to making amends for a breach of trust, from the standpoint that it is my responsibility to restore harmony with my brother, even when the original problem was not my fault. It concludes with complete restoration, the reversal of the Original Sin that happened at the Human Fall.

1. The Great Reversal

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The path of the providence of salvation is the path of restoration. The path of restoration is the path of recreation…

When God created the world, He had only one concept—the concept of the zero-point. Hence, we have to return to the zero-point when walking the path of restoration and recreating God’s world. We should return to the state prior to God’s creation; otherwise, nothing is possible. That is why the Bible teaches, “Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.” To lose your life means to cut off Satan’s life [by returning to the zero-point]. Otherwise, we have no way to connect with God at the origin.

Historically, evil people have lived better than good people. Originally, good people should prosper while evil people should decline. These positions should be switched. The zero-point is the time of transition when good people go up while evil people decline. Now is the time when this transition is taking place. (218:187-88, July 28, 1991)

In America, quite a few people live perverted lives. Grandfathers have sex with their granddaughters and fathers with their daughters—even while they live with their wives. This is the fruit of Satan, who in the beginning reversed the direction of human life 180 degrees from the plan of God. In a world that abides by Heaven’s principles, could homosexuality exist? Lesbianism, alcoholism, drug addiction and such came to exist because human beings suffer from emotional misalignment. They suffer in this world, which is hell on earth. We, on the other hand, are living 180 degrees different from them, as we strive to live in God’s Kingdom. (243:192, January 10, 1993)

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2. Restoration by Going in the Opposite Direction

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The path of indemnity is to deny oneself and go opposite the way of the world. In the beginning in the Garden of Eden, Adam fell because he rejected God and followed Satan. Now in reverse we must reject Satan and return to God. (73:93, August 4, 1974)

When someone has lost his original position or state, he must make some condition to be restored to it. The making of such conditions of restitution is called indemnity. For example, to recover lost reputation, position or health, one must make the necessary effort or pay the due price. Suppose two people who once loved each other come to be on bad terms; they must make some condition of reconciliation before the love they previously enjoyed can be revived. In like manner, it is necessary for human beings who have fallen from God’s grace into corruption to fulfill some condition before they can be restored to their true standing. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Restoration 1.1)

A snake cannot grow without shedding its skin. To shed it, the snake crawls between narrow rocks. It needs an opposing force to push off the old skin. Likewise, the force of darkness has soaked through our body and blood. We cannot just go along with it; how do we get rid of it? We need the wisdom to go the opposite way entirely. (46:83, July 25, 1971)

Humanity went astray from the very beginning when Adam and Eve went in the wrong direction. Now we have to turn it completely around. Our conventional attitudes, our ways of thinking, and our desires in all areas of life must be changed into their opposites. What, then, should be our way of thinking? Thus far we have been thinking about our family for how it can benefit ourselves, and we have been dealing with our nation in ways that advance our self-interest. However, from now on we should think, “I exist for the greater whole—for my family, not for me; for my nation, not for me; for the world, not for me.” Do you understand what I am saying? We must change fundamentally. White people should live for black people and yellow people, and yellow people should live for white people and black people. Likewise, Christianity should live for Islam, and Islam for Christianity. (May 1, 1978)

The Human Fall took place because the first human ancestors were caught up with consciousness of self. Conversely, restoration requires that our awareness be reoriented away from the self and toward the cosmos and its ideal purpose. Therefore, the path to liberation requires that we willingly bear other people’s burdens and take responsibility for the common good. (396:178, November 7, 2002)

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3. Restoration by Returning to the Original State

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The way of restoration is to return to the origin. Therefore, unless you make the required indemnity condition, you cannot return to the origin. It is human beings, not God, who make the indemnity condition. In order for a sick person to be healed, he must take the medicine even if it is bitter. Real medicine is bitter medicine. Making the indemnity condition is like taking bitter medicine; it is difficult work. However, without making the indemnity condition, you cannot go the path of restoration. (92:254-55, April 18, 1977)

How can we be re-created as God’s children? There is only one way: by going all the way back, before the many generations of your ancestors, before fallen Adam and Eve, and come to God through the gate of the True Ancestors. (96:40, January 1, 1978)

Adam and Eve took a path that resulted in their drowning. Hence, all fallen human beings are like drowned men. They cannot save themselves; someone must come and resolve the problem for them. We who are called to this task must go all the way to the root of the problem and fix it there. (248:149, August 1, 1993)

At the Fall, human beings disobeyed God’s word and rebelled against Him. Hence they were subjugated by Satan’s lies. Once united with Satan, human beings received Satan’s nature and Satan’s love instead of God’s nature and God’s love.

To be restored as an original human being, we must reverse the process of the Fall. This time we must separate ourselves from Satan, reach out to God whom we had lost, and obey His Word. In this way, we can receive God’s nature and His love. (88:208, September 18, 1976)

Father! All the situations of history are entangled in us today.
Therefore we wish and pray that Thou wilt cut all those tangles
by connecting us with the Center of liberation. (1:345-46, December 30, 1956)

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Rebirth

Jesus said, “You must be born anew.” Rebirth in Christ transforms a worldly person into a child of God. He or she now experiences an intimacy with God and has the indwelling spirit of Christ. The reason why people must be born a second time, according to Father Moon, lies in the Human Fall. The Fall’s negative effects, experienced in every generation, derives from its corruption of the lineage of the human race at its root. Through the fall, Satan was able to usurp God and occupy the position of humanity’s false father. To break the devil’s persistent hold over human life, we must be born again as children of God. For this purpose, God sent the Messiah, a man without sin, representing the Father, and the Holy Spirit, representing the Mother. Out of their love we can be born anew.

In eastern religions, to enter the path of the spiritual aspirant is often understood as a second, spiritual birth. In Hinduism and Buddhism, people become “twice-born” by receiving religious instruction. Their biological parents brought them forth into a world of the senses, but after their second, spiritual, birth their life is now ground­ed in the Dharma. Father Moon, however, treats rebirth as a specifically Christian doctrine, one that applies strictly to the work of the Messiah to sever us from the lineage of sin. He would regard the broader concept of spiritual conversion through instruction in religious truth under the concept of resurrection.

Father Moon also speaks of the conditions to be made in order to receive rebirth: repentance and renouncing worldly ways. Thus, he also likens the process of rebirth to engrafting: Before attaching the new shoot, first the arborist cuts off the old branches; likewise we must deny ourselves and cut off everything false. Then we receive the new shoot containing the life and love of God. If the tree is properly pruned, that new shoot will produce new fruit and propagate God’s lineage. Thus, although rebirth is a gift from above, it requires responsibility and dedication on the part of its recipients.

1. Born Anew as God’s Sons and Daughters

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Why do we need to be born anew? It is because of the Human Fall. What is the Fall? The Fall means that every human being is born in a fallen state, the offspring of fallen parents. You must clearly understand that you were born in fallen love from fallen parents. (95:82, November 11, 1977)

Here in the Western world, many deny that the Human Fall has anything to do with them. Yet because of the Fall, our lineage began wrongly and our love began wrongly. Without recognizing this, we cannot comprehend salvation and the purpose of the religious life. (193:54, August 20, 1989)

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve could relate to God freely and directly, but after the Fall this was no longer possible. Also, due to the Fall, Cain and Abel, the children of Adam and Eve, could not inherit God’s lineage. They inherited Satan’s lineage instead. Therefore, all people should understand that they have false life flowing though their lineage, which began as the result of false love. This is why Jesus said in John 3:3, “Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (313:220, February 10, 2000)

Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3.3) Rebirth means to be born a second time. Why must fallen people be born anew?

Had Adam and Eve realized the ideal of creation and become the True Parents of humanity, they would have borne good children without original sin and formed the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. However, Adam and Eve fell and became evil parents, multiplying evil children who created this hell on earth. Hence, as Jesus told Nicodemus, fallen people cannot see the Kingdom of God unless they are first born anew—as children without original sin.

We cannot be born without parents. Who, then, are the good parents through whom we can be born again, cleansed of original sin and able to enter the Kingdom of God? Parents who have original sin cannot give birth to good children who do not have original sin. Certainly, it is impossible to find sinless parents among fallen humankind. These parents must descend from Heaven. Jesus was the Parent who came from Heaven. He came as the True Father in order to give rebirth to fallen people, transforming them into good children, thoroughly cleansed of original sin and fit to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth… For this reason, the Bible speaks of him as “the last Adam” (1 Cor. 15.45) and the “Everlasting Father.” (Isa. 9.6)

However, a father alone cannot give birth to children. There must be a True Mother, as well as a True Father, for fallen children to be reborn as good children. The Holy Spirit came as the True Mother. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born anew through the Holy Spirit. (John 3.5)

There are many who have received the revelation that the Holy Spirit is feminine. This is because the Holy Spirit comes as the True Mother or second Eve. Since the Holy Spirit is the feminine aspect of divinity, without first receiving her we cannot go before Jesus as his brides. Being feminine, the Holy Spirit consoles and moves the hearts of people. (Rom. 5.5, John 14.26-27; Acts 9.31) She cleanses people’s sin, thereby atoning for the sin which Eve committed. Jesus, the masculine Lord, works in heaven (yang), while the Holy Spirit, his feminine counterpart, works on the earth (yin). (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Christology 4.1.1)

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2. Rebirth Requires Cutting Off the Old Self

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

We cannot be born again unless we deny our fallen selves. (244:100, January 31, 1993)

Christianity teaches that we cannot be saved unless we receive the Holy Spirit. We come before God when the Holy Spirit visits us and connects us with the Savior. The Holy Spirit comes to bring us to Heaven, to the God of goodness. But before we can receive it, first we must repent. (99:75, September 1, 1978)

Resurrection may be defined as the process of being restored from the death caused by the Fall to life, from the realm of Satan’s dominion to the realm of God’s direct dominion, through the providence of restoration. Accordingly, whenever we repent of our sins and rise to a higher state of goodness, we are resurrected to that degree. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 1.3)41

Father! Because we were born from evil,
we must be born again to goodness.
The destiny of having to be born twice is a very miserable one.
Isn’t living as a stepchild very regrettable even in the world?
Yet we are not even at the level of stepchildren;
having been born as children of the enemy we must find our Original Parents,
but the path is never a smooth one.
Therefore, we receive countless attacks from Satan’s spears, swords and arrows.
We must cut the ties that bind our bodies and go forth.
We must confront the people that bind us and cut their ties,
whether with our teeth or with our strength. (27:161, December 7, 1969)

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3. Rebirth through Jesus and the Holy Spirit

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

We are reborn through the path of love. It begins when we yearn for Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Bride, and the resurrected Jesus is the Bridegroom. They are our spiritual parents, and their love is the basis of our rebirth. As conception and birth originate in the love between a woman and a man, we are reborn through the love of Jesus and the Holy Spirit as they become one.

Once we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, we naturally feel great affection and yearning for Jesus. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, moving our hearts to welcome Jesus the Bridegroom. When we are spiritually united with them, rejoicing in that state of oneness, we can regain the lost standard of original love. That is the experience of rebirth in Christianity. According to the Principle, in that moment we are resurrected to new life. (October 13, 1970)

Jesus gives the bridegroom’s love and the Holy Spirit gives the bride’s love: that love must become my bone and flesh. That is, as Jesus said, “I am in you and you are in me.” Unless this foundation of heart-felt love is established, there is no rebirth. People easily say, “You must be born again,” but in fact, to be reborn you need to love Jesus more than anyone else. Satan’s dominion over humankind is based on his false love, so unless your love centered on God surpasses any human love in the fallen world, there is no way for you to connect to God. (114:28, May 14, 1981)

Christianity began from Jesus’ blood on the cross. Why is Jesus’ blood so meaningful? Jesus came as the True Father. Jesus’ blood signifies the blood of the perfected father, with no trace of the Fall. However, can a father alone bequeath a lineage? Not without a mother! That is why the goal of the Old Testament was to have the Marriage of the Lamb. (193:57, August 20, 1989)

In Christianity, the Holy Spirit has been taking the role of mother. We are born again on the spiritual level through the mother, the Holy Spirit, and the father’s spirit, Jesus’ spirit.

Of course, we were born from our mother’s womb. However, even beyond the womb, our life originated from our father’s seed. Hence, while going back to the mother’s womb exchanges the false lineage for the true lineage, it does not yet give us the father’s seed.

Therefore, Christians have been longing for the True Father, who appears as the Second Coming of the Lord. He is the origin of new life. As Adam before the Fall already held in his body the seed of his children, the True Father holds within His body the seed that will bear fruit as the sons and daughters of God. (55:117-18, April 1, 1972)

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Resurrection

The resurrection of the dead prophesied in the Bible and the Qur’an holds out the promise of a blessed future life with God. Resurrection is not simply a matter of the soul’s natural transition at death from this world into the afterlife. It is God’s saving act to raise the soul from the realm of death to life eternal. In resurrection, we gain not simply a new opportunity to live; we gain a new quality of life. Father Moon teaches that we are raised spiritually from a hellish existence within the realm of death to a blessed existence in the bosom of God.

Resurrection requires some condition on our part to claim the new life that God offers: dying to self, confirmed faith, even martyrdom. This is the “death” to self that severs our ties with Satan, in order that we may more completely relate with God. Just as Jesus died on the cross as a precondition to his resurrection, so we too may face a trial. Jesus’ triumph over seeming defeat at the hands of the Romans demonstrates that God can turn defeat and even death into victory and life.

Scripture speaks of a Day of Resurrection in the end times, when all the souls of the righteous will be raised up to heaven. The Bible speaks of the 144,000 saints of the “first resurrection.” This means that even in the afterlife, spirits are languishing in darkness, oppressed by evil conditions until the future day of their liberation. When the Messiah comes and defeats and binds Satan in prison, on that day all souls in heaven and earth will taste the freedom of resurrection and new life. But as Father Moon makes clear, the purpose of the first resurrection is not to reward certain believers with eternal glory at everyone else’s expense. Rather, the saints at the first resurrection will join in the struggle to defeat all the powers of evil, until, in the words of Paul, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death,” that is, until not one soul remains in the realm of death.

1. The Dead Return to Life

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Many have hitherto believed that the death caused by the Fall was physical death. Consequently, they have interpreted the biblical concept of resurrection as revival from physical death, and believed that resurrection of the dead involves the biological regeneration of their decomposed bodies. However, the Fall of the first human ancestors did not cause this kind of death. According to the Principle of Creation, the human body was created to return to dust after it grows old. A decomposed body cannot be restored to its original state. Furthermore, it is not necessary for a spirit to take on another physical body when he is meant to enjoy eternal life in the vast spirit world.

Resurrection may be defined as the process of being restored from the death caused by the Fall to life, from the realm of Satan’s dominion to the realm of God’s direct dominion, through the providence of restoration. Accordingly, whenever we repent of our sins and rise to a higher state of goodness, we are resurrected to that degree.

The Bible illustrates the process of resurrection: “He who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5.24) Based on this verse, we can affirm that resurrection means to leave the bosom of Satan and return to the bosom of God. It is also written, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15.22) This verse means that because we inherited Satan’s lineage as a result of Adam’s fall, we are dead; when we return to the lineage of God through Christ, we shall be resurrected to life…

The changes a person experiences when he is resurrected and enters the governance of God take place in his heart and spirit. These internal changes also purify his body, transforming it from a haunt of Satan into a temple of God. In this sense, we may say that our physical body is also resurrected. We may compare it to a building that was previously used for evil purposes and is now used as a place of worship. Although there may be no change in its outward appearance, it is now sanctified as a sacred building. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 1.3-4)

What happens to us after we die? Up to the moment we die, we belong to ourselves. But after we die, we belong to God. Because we were born of a fallen lineage, until death we cannot sever our ties with Satan. After death, however, we can establish ties with God. Therefore, unless we die we cannot be resurrected…

Therefore, when the Bible teaches, “Those who are willing to die shall live, while those who want to live shall die,” it means by death not the end of our God-given eternal life, but rather the end of our fallen life into which we were born from a fallen lineage in a fallen world. (December 19, 1998)

The Bible teaches that those who are willing to die shall live, and those who want to live shall die. This means that in order to escape from the fallen realm we must be willing to give up our lives. There is no true life in the fallen realm. Hence, when we deny this fallen life, we can be resurrected. Jesus was resurrected because he denied his own life. Jesus could not resurrect himself; it was God
who raised him. (307:167, November 8, 1998)

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2. The Resurrection of the Saints—The First Resurrection

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The “first resurrection” spoken of in the Bible describes the fulfillment of restoration for the first time in providential history. This will be accomplished through Christ at the Second Advent. He will cleanse people of the original sin and restore them to their true, original selves, enabling each to fulfill the purpose of creation.

The hope of all Christians is to participate in the first resurrection. But who in fact shall participate? It will be those who are the first to believe in, serve and follow Christ at the Second Advent. They will assist him in fulfilling all the indemnity conditions worldwide and in accomplishing the providence of restoration. In the process, they will be the first to have their original sin removed, become divine spirits, and fulfill the purpose of creation…

In order for Christ at the Second Advent to complete the providence of restoration, he must find a certain number of people who can restore through indemnity the missions of all the past saints who, despite their best efforts to do God’s Will, fell prey to Satan when they failed in their responsibilities. He must find these people during his lifetime and lay the foundation of victory over Satan’s world. The total number of saints whom Christ at the Second Advent must find to accomplish this task is 144,000. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 2.2.7)

What is the secret that will enable us to chase out Satan from everywhere? It is to live for the sake of others, die for the sake of others, and practice altruistic love. When we do that, Satan will certainly flee, breaking down all the barriers and national borders that he had erected.

What will happen next? Once Satan is gone, souls who had been headed for hell will be given the opportunity to resurrect and enter heaven. Eternal life will finally become a reality.

As people who know God and the Kingdom of Heaven, we will call on God, the Source of love, as our Father. We will earnestly desire to practice God’s tradition of living for others, and will continue to do so for tens of thousands of years. This is the tradition of eternal life, established in people of the eternal lineage. It is for us to share. (August 18, 2000)

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Eternal Life

For many, the goal of religion is immortality or eternal life. People have always chafed under the limitations of mortality, and have found in religion the means to transcend the death which seems to proscribe the possibilities of human existence. As with resurrection, eternal life is not simply about the survival of the soul at death and its journey into the afterlife. Eternal life is not about eternal existence per se, but rather about the quality of that existence.

We find that the scriptures of many religions give two meanings to the terms “life” and “death.” There is physical life—existence on this earthly plane, and there is spiritual life—the state of blessedness which endures from life to life and transcends death. There is physical death—the dropping of the body which is an event in the voyage of every soul, and spiritual death—the condition of distance from God, ignorance, and a hellish existence in the hereafter.

“Eternal life” and “immortality” are thus ciphers to describe the condition of blessedness. This condition is present already in the physical life of the person who realizes Truth or lives in God’s grace, and it will continue, unabated, in the hereafter. The person who gains eternal life has accomplished the goal of life, and hence death is not to be feared as a limitation, as it is for a worldly person who has tied all hopes to his possessions and pleasures in the world. We note, however, that Buddhist scriptures generally avoid speaking of this state of blessedness as eternal life, for Buddhism views the desire for life as a kind of grasping, and hence a fetter to liberation. Instead, they speak of Nirvana.

Father Moon’s teaches that eternal life is rooted in our relationship with the eternal God, based upon God’s love for us and our love for God. “Eternity does not exist apart from true love,” he states. Then he expands upon this concept to describe the relationship between human lovers as aspiring for the eternal. This is so because we human beings are designed for eternal life, eternal love with God, and eternal community with the ones we love under God.

1. Eternal Life in God

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

When a follower asked Jesus if he could go home to bury his deceased father, Jesus said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Luke 9.60) From these words of Jesus, it is clear that the Bible contains two different concepts of life and death. The first concept of life and death concerns physical life. Here, “death” means the end of physical life, as was the case of the disciple’s deceased father who was to be buried. “Life” in that sense means the state in which the physical self maintains its physiological functions.

The second concept of life and death concerns those living people who had gathered to bury the deceased man, those whom Jesus called “the dead.” Why did Jesus refer to people whose bodies were alive and active as the dead? He meant that since they had not accepted Jesus, they were far removed from the love of God and were dwelling in the realm of Satan’s dominion. This second concept of death does not refer to the expiration of physical life. It means leaving the bosom of God’s love and falling under the dominion of Satan. The corresponding concept of life refers to the state of living in accordance with God’s Will, within the dominion of God’s infinite love. Therefore, even if a person’s physical self is alive, if he dwells apart from God’s dominion and is in servitude to Satan, he is dead as judged by the original standard of value. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the Lord’s words of judgment upon the faithless people of the church in Sardis: “You have the name of being alive, and you are dead.” (Rev. 3.1)

On the other hand, even though a person’s physical life may have expired, he remains alive in the true sense if his spirit abides in the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven, a realm in the spirit world where God governs through love. When Jesus said, “He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11.25), he meant that those who believe in him and live within the realm of God’s dominion have life. Even after their physical bodies have returned to the soil, their spirits enjoy life in God’s dominion. Jesus also said, “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11.26) In saying that believers will never die, he meant that those who believe in Jesus during their earthly life will obtain eternal life not in this world, but in spirit, within the bosom of God’s love. They will be alive, both in this life and the next. Jesus’ words assure us that death, in the sense of the end of physical life, has no effect on our eternal life. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 1.1)

Eternal life does not mean that we merely exist forever in the spirit world. It means we eternally “live.” How do we cultivate such a life?

As human beings, each of us was created to be an object of God’s love—God’s beloved partner. God cherishes true love more than Himself. Hence, although God is the center of absolute and eternal life, His ideal of true love is even more absolute and eternal. It is the very core of God. We are the object partners of that true love.

How do we come to be in such a precious, eternal position? Love is the attribute that brings subject and object into oneness. Love unites a family. It unites the nation. In the unity of love, we can participate in anything our beloved does, follow him wherever he goes, and inherit everything he or she possesses. In the same way, we can inherit God’s eternal life. We can inherit God’s heart—his heart of love by which He longs to dwell within each of us and also in the creation. How precious it is to find such great value within ourselves!…

What joy! What amazing grace! What an unparalleled blessing! Now we can dwell in the same position as God. Now we can participate in God’s eternal love. (216:115, March 9, 1991)

[Originally,] human beings are born from true love, grow in true love, live in true love and die in true love. We are not meant to just disappear into a void. Since God, the Subject of all created beings, is eternal, unchanging and unique, we who are His partners of love should live eternally. This is the starting-point of the logic of eternal life. Life does not begin from life. Life originates from true love, not the other way around.

If God creates something He regards as most precious, would He discard it ten years or one hundred years later, or would He want to keep it for eternity? Obviously, He would create it to last forever. Thus it is with human beings. Would God create human beings to be born and die, and their death is the end? No, He created human beings to live forever. Why? They are the object partners of the absolute God, with whom He can share joy in absolute true love…

Suppose you were fleeing to a refugee camp; if you had a precious possession, would you take it with you or leave it behind? You would want to take it with you. Once in the camp, you would treasure it. You would not enjoy it for a few days and then throw it away. You would keep it until you die, and then bequeath it to your descendants for eternity. That is human desire.

It is the same with God, the Absolute Being. God is eternal, and He desires that His object partners, whom He loves, should live eternally. That is why human beings want to live forever. For this reason also, the absolute God never ceases to seek for His children. Each human being has the value of eternity. (290:143-44, February 18, 1998)

If God only liked humans for one or two days, or even for one hundred years, and then discarded them, it would not be true love. The more you love, the more you want to be with your beloved one. For this reason you sometimes find a man whose wife died young who never remarries, preferring to live alone until his death while treasuring some article of his wife’s clothing…

That is why God created human beings, His precious children, to live forever. However, for love to last forever, people should stand on the foundation of actions that can generate greater output force. In other words, as time goes by love’s power gets stronger, generating more give and take action instead of consuming energy. Hence, the lovers’ joy never ends, but only grows and develops more and more, to infinity. Such is the ideal world, the Kingdom of Heaven in which God dwells. (39:42)

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2. Love: The Basis of Eternal Life

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Eternity does not exist apart from true love. (August 18, 1988)

When you are united with your beloved, you do not care if the world is perishing. Even if your parents demanded that you separate, threatening you with a knife, you would not be afraid of that knife. You would be determined to stay together, even if you died and went to the next world. You are not concerned about your earthly life, because you believe that you will be together in the spirit world. You actually prefer life in eternity to finite earthly life. (380:88, June 5, 2002)

May we discover by ourselves and prove by ourselves,
not only by faith or conviction but also from experience,
that Thou and I have a relationship extending front and back, right and left.
Thou and I were living, are living and shall ever live
in a relationship eternal and unchanging. (40:350, February 11, 1971)

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Universal Salvation

The compassion and grace of God know no bounds. The heavenly Father’s heart yearns to save all His children. These passages from scripture praise the extent of God’s saving work and predict it eventually to embrace all humankind. In Buddhist terms, the essential purpose of absolute Truth is to liberate all sentient beings, and Mahayana Buddhist scriptures express the universality of grace in the bodhisattva vow of the Buddha Amitabha to save all beings.

Salvation may come to all people through one central point: thus in Abraham “shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12.3). For those who believe in one religion as the only way, the divine mandate to save all humankind is a powerful impetus to missionary activity. On the other hand, God may express His saving will by sending multiple prophets and sages to all nations, warning each to return to God using the means suitable to their different cultures.

If salvation is to be available universally, to every soul who has ever lived regardless of his or her earthly life, the doctrine may appear at odds with beliefs about hell and the Last Judgment. If God is most essentially just, how can the wicked ever receive salvation? On the other hand, if God is most essentially gracious and compassionate, how can He permit any creature to suffer in hell eternally? To understand the heart of God our heavenly Father, Father Moon asks us to imagine how we would feel if one of our children were a condemned criminal. We would want to save our child, even take his place at the gallows.

Father Moon also discusses the difficulty of the path of salvation in terms of the methods which God is constrained to use, because He created human beings with the sovereign freedom to live and mold our lives as each sees fit. Nevertheless, ultimately God’s purpose shall be done: all people will be saved and even hell will be emptied of its occupants.

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The sinful world brings humankind sorrow and causes God to grieve. (Gen. 6.6) Would God abandon this world in its present misery? God intended to create a world of goodness and experience from it the utmost joy; yet due to the Human Fall, the world came to be filled with sin and sorrow. If this sinful world were to continue forever in its present state, then God would be an impotent and ineffectual God who failed in His creation. Therefore, God will save this sinful world, by all means…

The Human Fall was undoubtedly the result of human mistakes. Nevertheless, God also assumes some responsibility for the outcome because it was He who created human beings. Therefore, God has felt compelled to conduct the providence to correct this tragic outcome and to restore human beings to their true, original state. Furthermore, God created us to live eternally. This is because God, the eternal subject partner, wanted to share eternal joy with human beings as His object partners. Having endowed human beings with an eternal nature, God could not, by the laws of the Principle, simply annihilate them just because they fell. If He were to do that, He would be violating His own Principle of Creation. The only choice left to God is to save fallen people and restore them to the original, pure state in which He initially created them. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 2.1)

The purpose of the providence of salvation, and of religion, is to save the entire world. Since God created humankind as His beloved children, He cannot just beat and kill them and leave them in hell. Therefore the goal of the providence of salvation is to save everyone, not leaving even a single person in the satanic world. God wants to take back every kind of human being. (80:283, November 2, 1975)

God is a God of love. When God looks down from His throne and sees spirits in hell crying out to Him in their misery, “Please, God, save me!” what would He say? Would He say, “You deserve a lot worse”? Or does He have mercy on them? Surely, God will do everything possible to liberate hell. (98:116, May 7, 1978)

Imagine you have a son who committed murder and was sentenced to death. As he is going to his execution, would you say, “You deserve to die. Good-bye. At last we are rid of you!” Would any parent think like that? On the contrary, you would rather want to die in his place.Imagine now you have many children, and they are dying tragically one after another. Do you think any parent could just watch them die without doing everything possible to rescue them? Loving parents would be desperate to save their children. They would keep on trying, even though it may take an eternity.

This gives you some sense of God’s misery. As He watches His children entering hell and eternal death, God is infinitely sorrowful and anxiously tries to liberate them to eternal life. Only by so doing can He fulfill His responsibility as our Heavenly Father. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that in the end God will liberate every soul in hell. (62:51, September 10, 1972)

To believe, as some do, that all humanity will receive judgment and only 144,000 Christians will be saved at the Rapture is an unusually self-centered way of thinking. (245:97, February 28, 1993)

The Unification Church’s viewpoint of salvation is not for a husband to go to heaven while his wife goes to hell. Both have to go to the Kingdom of Heaven together. It is not for us to enjoy heaven while our father and mother languish in hell. We should dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven with our sons and daughters and parents together. (34:359, September 20, 1970)

God’s providence of salvation is to bring [evil] to voluntary surrender. If God could have used force as He pleased, why has the providence taken thousands of years? He could have finished everything in short time—a few weeks. However, since God does not use force, instead He endures a heartbreaking situation. (394:16, October 6, 2002)

Even fallen parents cannot feel joyful when one of their children is unhappy. How much more so for God, our Heavenly Parent? It is written, “The Lord… is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Pet. 3.9) Accordingly, hell cannot remain forever. No trace of hell will remain in the ideal world, which is the fulfillment of God’s deepest desire. In the Last Days, when the time is ripe, evil spirits will descend to evil people on earth of the same spiritual level and assist them to accomplish God’s Will. Indeed, even the demons testified that Jesus was the Son of God. (Matt. 8.29). (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 3.3.3)

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