Click HERE to listen to the audio file “The Messiah, True Parents and I”
By Professor Oh
June 5, 2010, Seoul Korea

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
May 9, 2010 — Aria Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada

Throughout my life, I have offered myself for the liberation of God, the one and only true parent of heaven and earth, to restore to Him His rightful position as parent, to save all of human beings who suffer in the realm of death, and to return them to God’s bosom. For this purpose I have persevered and triumphed, alone, over countless tribulations while leading the people of the world, who are like lost and unaware orphans searching for their parents, toward the goal of global salvation.

Respected leaders from around the world, distinguished guests from home and abroad, ladies and gentlemen:
 
Representing our family, and on behalf of the people of Korea, my wife and I would like to express our deep appreciation to the many esteemed guests who have come, amid your busy schedules, to celebrate this event that is so meaningful for my wife and me—our Golden Anniversary, Coronation, and Memorial Festival—making it a wonderful occasion, like the recent event held at the new UN building.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, two months ago I celebrated my ninetieth birthday and took my first steps toward the hundredth year of my life. This is a very busy time in God’s providence. I have been blessed with a long life, beyond the average human lifespan. On the occasion of our fiftieth wedding anniversary, we are holding this banquet with people from all over the world.
 
We have fourteen children; five have graduated from Harvard University. Among our forty plus grandchildren, several of them are already studying there. Moreover, a great number of good men and women from 194 nations have come to recognize and follow us as the king of kings and the True Parents.
 
Throughout our lives, we have established many international organizations and institutions to promote world peace. We have invested unreservedly in many fields including interreligious cooperation, projects to benefit society, intercultural activities, sports, education and the media, and we have successfully led these initiatives with the aim of promoting peace and bringing salvation to humanity.
 
After working to succeed in all these things, people would probably commend us, saying that we deserve to look back at our lives and pleasantly celebrate our birthdays with the good wishes of all people. They would probably encourage me to forget about everything and sit back and enjoy the successes achieved during the past ninety years!
 
However, my wife and I cannot look at the lives we have led in such a worldly way. We have had to complete the mission of the actual True Parents, given to us by God, who is Himself the vertical true parent of all humankind. Now, with three years remaining in this mission to make God’s kingdom, Cheon Il Guk, a reality, we are leading each day of our lives with more seriousness than ever before.
 
Throughout my life, I have offered myself for the liberation of God, the one and only true parent of heaven and earth, to restore to Him His rightful position as parent, to save all of human beings who suffer in the realm of death, and to return them to God’s bosom. For this purpose I have persevered and triumphed, alone, over countless tribulations while leading the people of the world, who are like lost and unaware orphans searching for their parents, toward the goal of global salvation. Due to the Fall, brought about by our first ancestors, people are born into the false lineage. Every one without exception wanders in darkness even now, unable to break free of Satan’s bondage. Under such circumstances, how could my wife and I be anything less than completely serious in our lives as we show the 6.5 billion people of the world the way along the path toward the building of God’s kingdom on earth?
 
Three Stages of Re-creation
Ladies and gentlemen, God created human beings as his children. As the original absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal being, God created people by breathing His love into them to endow them with a soul. If not for the Fall, we would have been able to perfect ourselves as God is perfect, and attain eternal life.
 
But unfortunately, human beings are living as descendants of the Fall. In order to live a perfect life, all people without exception must receive life through the blessing from True Parents in the three stages of rebirth, resurrection and eternal life. Rebirth, in this context, refers to an individual attaining new life. Resurrection is when a family attains new life, and eternal life refers to all of humankind attaining perfection and living forever in God’s homeland after establishing the kingdom of heaven on earth and in the spirit world by attending True Parents, who have attained the position of the king of kings.
 
We can easily see that each person’s life goes through three stages. Everyone is conceived through the grace of God and the love of his or her parents. The first stage of life is the long (yet short) nine months spent in the mother’s womb. No one is exempt from this! Whether we are conscious of it or not at the time, all of us without exception spend nine months in our mother’s womb. Even though a woman’s womb is smaller than some rice cookers, from the perspective of a fetus, it is larger than the entire universe.
 
What about our birth into the second stage of our lives, which occurs on earth? How could we find words adequate to describe the struggle of a newborn baby as it is faced with a completely unfamiliar, new world? The first cry of a newborn as it experiences the large and wide world that it finds upon coming out of the womb is a blessing and celebration of a new time and space that promises a one-hundred-year future.
 
Today we are all blessed to be living in the second stage of our lives. Although a hundred years is much longer than the nine months we spend in the womb, please do not forget that there is still a course we must follow to a higher end. Although we have all forgotten the standard of consciousness that we possessed in our mother’s womb, and we are now enjoying our lives fully in this big, wide world, this is merely preparation for the final stage of our lives, which is eternal life.
 
That third stage occurs in the world of eternal life, which we can enter by reaching perfection—this is the spirit world. It is a world that cannot be imagined by people descended from the Fall. It is a world in which we transcend time and space. Just as the baby in a mother’s womb cannot imagine life on earth, we, as people living and breathing air in this earthly world, cannot easily understand the spirit world, where we will be reborn in our spiritual bodies, living and breathing true love.
 
As people face death, they may shake in fear, and feel terrified if they do not understand the true meaning of death. Although human history has continued for more than six thousand years, no one has clearly taught the truth regarding death. Now, in the Last Days of history, I have been able to reveal this truth, this heavenly secret, as the True Parent of humankind.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, the word ”death” is sacred. It is not a synonym for “sadness and suffering.” Therefore, I have created the termseunghwa [ascension] to explain the true significance of “death.” The moment we enter the spirit world is the time that we enter a world of joy and victory with the fruits born of our lives on earth. It is a time for those of us remaining on earth to send off the departed with joy. It should be a time for great celebration. We should be shedding tears of joy instead of tears of sadness. That is the significance of the sacred and noble Seunghwa Ceremony. It is the first step toward enjoying eternal life in God’s embrace. The moment of death should be a time of greater excitement than that of a newlywed bride going to her groom’s home for the first time.
 
In order to open the door for all people to experience this kind of precious eternal life, I held a Seunghwa Ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 18 in honor of world leaders who had recently passed into the next world.
 
The following are the names of those commemorated on that occasion:
 
General Alexander Haig, a former United States secretary of state, who saved my life by leading the bombing of the North Korean Hungnam Special Labor Camp where I was imprisoned during the Korean War[1]; Mr. Kim Dae-jung, a former South Korean president, who won the Nobel Peace Prize; Mr. Hédi Annabi, a Tunisian diplomat and head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, who died in the 2010 Haitian earthquake; the one hundred UN workers who died alongside Mr. Annabi; Mr. Rodrigo Carazo Odio, a former president of Costa Rica, who is known worldwide as “the Peace President”; Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, a former president of Indonesia, who gave his entire life for the sake of his great nation, which has a population of more than two hundred million; Mr. Steingrimur Hermannsson, a former prime minister of Iceland, who helped bring about the meeting of then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and United States President Ronald Reagan, which accelerated the end of the cold war; Shaykh Hassan Cissé of Senegal, who is respected as an exemplary person and a great scholar of Islam; and Mr. Laxmi Mall Singhvi of India, who is praised as the “Ambassador of Reconciliation and Peace” by India’s 1.1 billion people.
 
There are also other people whom we would especially like to remember through this ceremony and send to the spirit world with the seunghwa blessing. I’m sure you have already heard about the recent sinking of the ship Cheonan in Korea where 46 sailors suddenly lost their lives in the course of duty. During my four-city speaking tour in Korea in April, my wife and I bestowed the grace of the seunghwa blessing on these unfortunate seamen who died. Today we are displaying the photos of those 46 sailors and of the UN workers who died in Haiti. Let us all pray for them to rest in peace.
 
There is also one more leader, a woman of goodness, upon whom I would like to bestow the seunghwa blessing. She is Dr. Reiko Kawasaki, a 17th-generation descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the last shogun in Japanese history, who united the Japanese archipelago in the 17th century. Let us all send Dr. Kawasaki to the spirit world with our blessing on her transition. She was a medical doctor from Las Vegas who recently passed away after living a life of continuous service to others. Through her benign influence from the spiritual world, she will play a major role in Korea, Japan and the US, and also in resolving various problems in spheres such as politics and economics for the realization of world peace. Thus, we have included her in the list of those who will receive this sacred seunghwa blessing.
 
Distinguished leaders, although the lives of the people whose names I mentioned were altruistic and philanthropic, none of them can be guaranteed entry into the world of eternal life without receiving the marriage blessing and the seunghwa blessing of the True Parent [Rev. Moon] in this world today, in which the parent-child relationship between God and humankind was severed due to the Fall of the first ancestors. Please take this point seriously.
 
This era, when God has introduced the heavenly calendar, is a serious one. It is now the time in which all 6.5 billion of the world’s people must understand my teachings, which I bequeath as the True Parent who is responsible to give eternal life to all of humankind. Now is a time that you can share the good news of the coming of the True Parents throughout the entire world. The time has come to honor and inherit the tradition and spirit of the Korean people, from which the True Parents emerged, establish the heavenly tradition, and bring about world peace by uniting all 6.5 billion people of the world with the United Nations. With the start of the heavenly calendar, please do not forget that the Seunghwa Ceremony is a sacred rite in which anyone can inherit the worldview of a holy citizen of the kingdom of heaven and celebrate God’s liberation and all humankind’s liberation.
 
In this way, the ideal of a family based on true love can be completed, and God and all people, the heavenly spirit world and the earthly physical world, can be completely united to usher in a reign of peace over the world. Please take this time to express your gratitude to God and True Parents for giving the keys of the Blessing Ceremony and Seunghwa Ceremony to all the worlds’ nations, allowing for the establishment of the traditions of God’s kingdom, Cheon Il Guk, through True Parents.
 
Please join me in giving a round of applause to our Heavenly Father for His benevolence, through which we can receive the grace of precious life without Him asking for anything in return.
 
One Family under God
Ladies and gentlemen, what is the path that humankind should take today? Even now tens of millions of innocent lives are being lost each year to war, disease, starvation and natural disasters that arise in all parts of the world. In every field you observe, from the individual to the collective level—whether religion, politics, education, culture or ideology—people are deeply mired in the swamp of self-centered egoism, raising walls around themselves. We now live in a world brought to ruin, where genuine communication has broken down.
 
Ultimately, the problems afflicting humanity can only be resolved through the worldview of One Family under God, in other words, the ideology based on true love, which my wife and I have learned from Heaven and have championed and taught throughout our lives. This is the only way for humankind to find the path toward peace and happiness.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, we are living in a historic time of great transition. It is a time for a great revolution to change history, to unite the spiritual and physical worlds and to create the ideal kingdom of heaven that God has longed for since the beginning of time.
 
We can no longer postpone or prolong the fulfillment of His wish. I have already proclaimed that January 13, 2013 will be ”Foundation Day.” That day will be the actual beginning of Cheon Il Guk. That day will be the origin. Yet, less than three years remain until then.
 
Therefore, it is time for all people to be humbly obedient to Heaven’s decree. An unavoidable time is upon us today when we must invest ourselves completely with a life or death commitment for the remaining three years under the guidance of the True Parents who carry out the providence on earth as the substantial representatives of God, the king of kings. All the good spirits in the spirit world are mobilized and are already moving forward, a step ahead of you.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any idea how much pain God suffered the moment our first ancestors, into whom God had invested His complete and unreserved devotion since time immemorial, fell and disappeared into darkness, becoming part of Satan’s lineage? Are you even remotely aware that our Heavenly Father—who endured tens of thousands of years of excruciating heartache so great that His bones shed tears and His flesh quivered—had to go through the long, dark tunnel of indemnifying the human Fall in order to save His lost children? How many have spent days and nights in tears, yearning to comfort our Father in Heaven?  
 
The Mission of the Korean People
Ladies and gentlemen, God raised and prepared the Korean people over a period of thousands of years. All people of the Christian faith recognize that God sent His true son Jesus Christ to earth two thousand years ago to save humankind. However, Jesus suffered a miserable fate.
 
The leaders of Judaism and the people of Israel were supposed to receive Jesus as the Messiah and follow him with absolute faith and absolute obedience. They should never have allowed Jesus’ crucifixion to take place.
 
He suddenly left this world, leaving behind the words, “It is finished.” Yet these words apply to salvation in the spiritual reality only. After two thousand years of preparation, his Second Coming, on the Korean Peninsula, has finally borne the fruits of his labor.
 
From the past, the Korean people have worshiped God as the highest and primal ancestor of their forefathers. They called that single being and progenitor of all people the “One”—in other words, God. They served Him as the lord who created night and day. As all numbers begin from one, all things begin from the one God. With the sense that He is their original ancestor, the Korean people have served God and thus the spirit of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values is alive in the soul and tradition of the race. They have maintained themselves over five thousand years of history, yet not once have they invaded or plundered another nation or people. The spirit of benefiting all mankind still flows in the veins of the Korean people.
 
The spirit of filial piety, fidelity, and loyalty, which are the fundamental virtues of human life, are still alive and breathing in Korean history. These values can be found in the men and women of Korea and reflect the pride and spirit of the Korean people.
 
I have inherited such traditional values as the true filial piety exemplified in the folk tale Shimcheong, about a devoted daughter who offered her life so that her blind father could see; the profound love and fidelity displayed by Choonhyang, who overcame the fear of death in order to keep the promise she had made to her husband; and the unbreakable loyalty exhibited by Admiral Yi Soon-shin, who gave his life to save his nation and people despite being abandoned by his king and other leaders. These lofty Korean values and traditions are not just matters of historical chance. Based on these values, Heaven has prepared this people; this was all part of the providence of creating a foundation to send the Messiah. On the foundation of such preparation, and riding on the energy of this peninsula, I finally came, having received Heaven’s seal as the True Parent of humankind and the king of kings.
 
The Path Humankind Should Take
Distinguished Guests, your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:
 
The path that humanity must now take is clear. What would give you cause to hesitate in the face of the D-day that Heaven has revealed through us, the True Parents? Heaven’s blessings will be with you on your ambitious course.
 
If you view the flow of history through eyes that focus on God’s providence, you can see that the changes of the times can be broadly classified into three stages. First is the “era of worldly matters,” in other words, a time when materialism took precedence. Next came the “era of human affairs,” a humanistic era when peoples’ knowledge and emotions took precedence in and dominated the world.
 
However, these eras were transitional. They were courses of preparation necessary in order to enter the era in which people could rid themselves of their fallen nature, return to their original selves and live as one united family where they attend God as their father.
 
The “era of heavenly affairs” is the final stage, in which human beings should follow the path of living for the sake of others. They should do this through establishing an absolute standard on the foundation of purifying themselves, both inside and out, through the holy Blessing Ceremony. This is the time of opening up the era of God’s kingdom, Cheon Il Guk, a time in which we can return to the heart of the one true God. Please continually engrave this point on your hearts.
 
Once the actual era of Cheon Il Guk begins, the spiritual and earthly worlds will be connected and brought into oneness, and all things will be governed under the Union of the Spiritual and Physical Worlds, which will be established on earth for the first time. Moreover, the providence will be carried out according to the heavenly law and the heavenly way. Elections conducted in a purely secular fashion will disappear from the face of the earth. All people will become one family through cross-cultural marriage and the World Peace Marriage Blessing, and we will enjoy tranquility and happiness in the sacred reign of peace. Let me say that only three years remain until that day.
 
As part of preparing for that time, a few days ago, on February 14, I proclaimed to all of heaven and earth the start of the new heavenly calendar. The Gregorian calendar and lunar calendar shall now stand in the positions of Cain and Abel and serve the role of supporting the heavenly calendar, by which we will record and indicate the progress of God’s providence.
 
You must all now engrave my teachings onto your bones and lead a life of practicing them. We have no choice. If we do not prepare now, we will surely be left behind. We should learn from the courage and fortitude of the white-necked cranes that fly across the Himalayas—which are more than seven thousand meters high—in preparation for winter.
 
My Final Words for Humankind
I already have prepared the last words I will give to humankind. These have been prepared based on my triumphs over six or seven life-or-death situations, including six periods of unjust imprisonment. I am leaving behind eight sets of textbooks and teaching materials for humankind to use for all eternity. (These are published in almost a thousand volumes.)
 
They are The Sermons of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Exposition of the Divine Principle, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Family Pledge, Pyeonghwa Shingyeong [Messages of Peace], True Families—Gateway to Heaven, Owner of Peace and Owner of Lineage and World Scripture. These are textbooks you will have to read and study even after you go to the spirit world. They are not just teachings that come from the mind of one person; they are textbooks and teaching materials that teach the heavenly way that God has granted to His suffering children for their salvation.
 
You should now set up the tradition of hoondokhae in your families using the books I have mentioned—that is, the tradition where three generations of a family start each day by reading Heaven’s word, and lead a life of practicing what they read, with a new heart. Let’s create a world where people in the spirit world and the earthly world can both attend True Parents at the same time, and read the word on the heavenly path together.
 
Once this happens, no matter how hard Satan may try to worm his way in to infest your lineage, once he encounters the hoondokhae tradition he will find no room to move. If a family is aligned with God as at high noon, where no shadow is cast, and still does not receive God’s blessings, who then could be deserving of them? When such heavenly families fill the earth, the world will automatically become the heavenly kingdom on earth and in the eternal spirit world, fulfilling the vision of one family under God.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, last year, my memoirs, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, an honest, candid account of my life, were published. Through this book I have clearly shown where you can find God’s will for humankind and the path that we, as God’s children, should follow. My life has been a typical model of the saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” I have as much faith in this book as in the hoondok textbooks and teaching materials I have mentioned. For this reason, I recommend it to you, believing that it will show you how to lead your lives according to true principles. It does not subtract or add anything to the ninety years of my life, which I have led under Heaven’s decree. I pray you will carefully read this articulation of true love and find great inspiration.
 
I have already mentioned that a life of vertical “noon-time” alignment casts no shadow. If we can all shine as we live such glowing lives, there will be no chance for the shadow of sin to be cast. Those who receive the light will be indebted to the light. I pray that we can now wipe away the tears of people in misery and poverty, and lead an illuminated life of eternal true love that dissipates all darkness.
 
Once again, I offer you my heartfelt thanks for gracing this occasion with your presence and celebrating this providential event. I pray that you will live in good health and in the abundance of God’s love. It is my hope that we can offer greater glory and honor to God the next time we meet.
 
I pray that the blessings of God, the king of kings, will be upon you, your family and your nation.
 
Thank you very much.
 

In the Prayer and Devotions Room, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius and the Prophet Mohammad are attended centering on True Parents. I am deeply grateful to God that we can prepare such a space on the first floor of Cheon Bok Gung.

The Growth-stage Cheon Bok Gung is a precious sanctuary for all of us but we must not forget that it is not our destination; it is one step of the process.

The Korean people have heard about the Dedication Ceremony for Cheon Bok Gung through media reports. When we are victorious in the Completion-stage Cheon Bok Gung providence, the entire world will look at the Unification Church.

Through the works of substantial returning resurrection, I clearly believe that we will be victorious in the providence of the Completion-stage Cheon Bok Gung.

After Jesus went the way of the cross, he was resurrected and the Holy Spirit came down on the Pentecost. The apostles went out to the world and proclaimed the Gospel that the Lord died for our sins, resurrected and was victorious. The apostles were persecuted, opposed and made fun of.

In the 5th chapter of Acts, apostles are caught by Jews and put in prison. But the spirit world worked even in that sort of desperate situation. An emissary of the Lord appeared, opened the door to the prison, saved the apostles and took them to the sanctuary where they testified to the Lord again.

What can we learn from this? When we proclaim and praise who the Lord truly is, then the spirit world will move with us. When members proclaim True Parents with true faith, amazing works of the Holy Spirit will take place.

Prophet Mohammad, the founder of Islam, was climbing Mt. Hira to offer a prayer. He stopped halfway up the mountain to rest and fell asleep. In a dream, the archangel Gabriel appeared to him, gave him a large book of scripture and asked him to read it. However, the Prophet did not know how to read. So he told the angel, “I cannot read that. I don’t know what is written.” But the angel Gabriel again told him to read. Mohammad said, “I can’t.” After refusing and being told again to read three times, Mohammad finally opened the book up to read. At first he couldn’t read anything, but all of a sudden the Prophet Mohammad gained the ability to read and started reading the contents of the book of scripture.

When Mohammad woke up, he could not be certain that this dream and spiritual experience was God’s work. Then finally, he came to the conclusion that it was not God’s work. He became suspicious, thinking that he had been under the sway of an evil spirit. He thought that he should commit suicide by jumping off of the top of the mountain since his body was under the sway of Satan and evil spirits. But Mohammad was kept from committing suicide by meeting his wife’s maid on his way to the top of the mountain. The maid took him to his wife Khadijah. When Khadijah saw the dark look on her husband’s face, she asked him what had happened. Then Mohammad explained the spiritual experience that he had. Khadijah was sure that it was God working through the archangel Gabriel, so she asked her cousin Waraqah, who was a Christian.

Waraqah knew well about the work of archangels and other spirit beings in the Old and New Testaments, so he could tell that it was in fact the archangel Gabriel that Mohammad had seen. Waraqah predicted, “Your husband is a prophet who will lead our people.” From that moment, the Quran was confirmed and the Islamic faith began.

At the banquet on True Parents’ Birthday, 16 members of the Malaysian parliament attended. When the chairman of the HSA-UWC Foundation and I spoke, we testified to who True Parents really are. We proclaimed that True Parents are not just leaders or educators out to bring peace, but the Second Coming of Christ and the Savior of all humanity. Even though there were Muslims in the audience, I emphasized that everyone must open their spiritual eyes in order to realize what kind of people True Parents are.

Many of the staff were worried that these people of other faiths would feel uncomfortable if we proclaimed True Parents. But our thoughts were different. We knew that the people attending had come this far because they believed in True Parents and respected them. If we could not properly testify to True Parents in faith and make them open their spiritual eyes, that would really mean that we did not fulfill our responsibility and we did not have the right attitude of faith. That is why we confidently proclaimed out of faith.

God always works through truth. Although many people were worried about what [Kook Jin Hyung] and I said at the banquet, the response was very positive. The Muslim leaders were very interested in our testimonies. They said, “We had no idea that True Parents were that kind of people. We heard it for the first time. It is so amazing. We want to know more about them.”

After the banquet, the guests went back to Malaysia. I could not be sure how much they would remember of that day’s events. But they did not just sit on their thumbs. As soon as they went back to Malaysia, they contacted our church and asked for books related to our church, saying that they want to study the Divine Principle in depth. I could see that amazing spiritual phenomena take place when we proclaim the Lord earnestly.

The second Bible reading is from Acts 8:26-29: Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Philip was Jesus’ apostle who went to Somalia as a missionary. The eunuch he met was reading Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The eunuch did not. Philip explained the meaning to him and told him the good news that Jesus Christ had gone the way of the cross and resurrected for the sake of the world. Then, the Holy Spirit worked and the Ethiopian official determined to worship the Lord. As they walked on the road together, they discovered a small well on the side of the road and Philip baptized the Ethiopian. That is said to be the beginning point of Ethiopian evangelization.

Dear members! The spirit world is also working around us. The spirit world tells us where we need to go and who we need to meet. When we praise True Parents with a true heart and testify that Father was sent to the earth by God to be the Second Coming of Christ, then the spirit world works.

Among the events that were held around the time of True Parents’ birthday, there was an interreligious gathering. During the event, I had an opportunity to speak on stage. I confidently explained who True Parents are. And I explained that True Parents had inherited the true love of God and walked the path of Seven Deaths and Resurrections and the Completion of Eight Stages. I explained that True Parents had died and died and died again for the sake of their children.

After I finished speaking, I planned to leave but I felt spiritually that I needed to greet some people there before moving to the next venue. This was a very strong feeling. I met a Christian minister from Canada with a congregation of 1200 people. He said that he believes in True Parents as the Second Coming of Christ, so he will teach the Divine Principle at his church.

One woman minister from Lebanon shed tears saying, “I did not know that God’s love was like that. I did not know that True Parents were that kind of people.” She added, “While I heard about the Seven Deaths and Resurrections, I felt my spirit rise up from my body and I felt great peace in my heart. Tears and praise naturally came out of my heart and I wanted to offer bows to God.” She had experienced returning resurrection through the Seven Deaths and Resurrections. I was deeply moved to hear about how the spirit world worked.

Ms. Eun Ju Pak, the president of Gimm Young Publishers, had worked hard to produce True Father’s autobiography. I met with her for lunch around one month ago. She told me that she received a lot of opposition because of the autobiography project. While she was preparing to publish the book, the editor-in-chief who had worked with her at Gimm Young Publishers for decades suddenly said that he was quitting. Ms. Pak was so shocked. She asked him why he was quitting and he said that he could not publish Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s book as a Christian. Also, a very famous Catholic cancelled a book publishing contract he had with Gimm Young Publishers. However, Ms. Pak pushed forward with publishing the book in the face of this kind of opposition. How do you think she was able to do so?

Ms. Pak is a faithful Buddhist. She wakes up early every day and offers 108 bows, recites the ??? [Geum Gang Gyeong] and offers a lot of devotion in front of Buddha. One day, Buddha visited her in her prayers and told her that she should publish Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s book. Through this kind of spiritual experience, she determined to publish Father’s autobiography and was able to overcome all types of opposition she received.

There are so many examples of these kinds of spiritual experiences. At the Dedication Ceremony for Cheon Bok Gung, the Venerable In Kong, president of the Taego Buddhist Order in Korea gave congratulatory remarks. He testified that True Parents are the living Buddha and Savior while True Parents were present substantially. Now leaders of religious denominations, the highest spiritual leaders, are experiencing returning resurrection and testifying to True Parents.

Dear brothers and sisters! In the Prayer and Devotion Room of the Growth-stage Cheon Bok Gung, the four great saints are attended along with True Parents. Every day, church leaders, women leaders and members are offering devotion. They go around the Prayer and Devotion Room and offer 210 bows every day. I can already feel amazing spiritual energy coming out of that room.

True Parents have given us a new age with heavenly energy. On the day of the dedication of Cheon Bok Gung, True Parents went into the Prayer and Devotion Room and offered a prayer. Father blessed the Cheon Bok Gung, calling it a holy ground that has heavenly fortune. True Parents opened the way for the spirit world to work and many people are now experiencing the works of substantial returning resurrection. One member was praying to the four great saints and saw a bright light coming from behind.

Jesus came to my dreams a few days ago. He came with his disciples, wearing white clothes and a blue shawl. He will continue to work for the Providence in greater ways.

Dear brothers and sisters! The spirit world is moving. You will also experience the works of returning resurrection. Mohammad, Jesus, Buddha and Confucius may appear in your dreams. When you pray, you will experience the kinds of mysterious events.

At the interreligious event, we proclaimed who True Parents are and explained about the mission True Parents gave to us. True Parents have carried out peace movements and interreligious activities for decades. Although we have actively supported True Parents’ efforts, we did not know how they connected to the Unification Church. The VIPs did not know. We thought that it was an entirely different movement.

On that day [at the interreligious event], I explained the vision for Cheon Bok Gung. In the Completion-stage Cheon Bok Gung, there will be a Buddhist temple, a Christian church and a Muslim mosque. We will go beyond interreligious dialogue to a new model of living together in peace. I proclaimed that it would be a beginning of Cheon Il Guk.

The leaders from various religious denominations who attended the interreligious event also visited the Growth-stage Cheon Bok Gung. They were very impressed to see the Prayer and Devotion Room in which paintings representing the four great saints were displayed. In the Growth-stage Cheon Bok Gung, we will proclaim who True Parents are with devotion and love. But in the Completion-stage Cheon Bok Gung, people of all religions will practice a life of attending True Parents.

Dear brothers and sisters, these kinds of things have been possible due to our confidently proclaiming who True Parents are.

The Unification Church has vision and hope because of True Parents.

Click Here for Parts II & III

PART II

PART III

]]> http://www.holywineonline.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=144 0 http://www.holywineonline.com/wordpress/?p=134 http://www.holywineonline.com/wordpress/?p=134#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:46:59 +0000 admin http://www.holywineonline.com/wordpress/?p=134

August 28, 2009, NAPA, CA — Rev. Kevin Thompson was kind enough to travel all the way to Napa to officiate at the blessing ceremony for our 2nd release of holy wine. This year’s wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon blend that includes, we’re proud to say, fruit from our own vineyard.

During last year’s holiday season we received quite a few requests for gift bottles in full 750ml format. These bottles will make an ideal gift for friends and family and those who appreciate fine wines will be wonderfully impressed by the quality and craftsmanship of this 2007 vintage Cabernet. Pour a glass and out comes a bouquet of roses.

Rev. Thompson and I had a chance to chat a bit about our experiences sharing holy wine with friends and family. He related his experience in sharing it with his brothers and sisters back in England. Growing up, his siblings were mostly agnostic, and he expected them, at best, to politely drink the wine without much comment. As it happened, once everyone drank, the conversation in the entire room changed to spiritual experiences they had, and for the first time, Kevin’s own family turned to him for spiritual guidance. He was rather astonished at this outcome.

Father recently said the following:

“Your family is a church. Teach the heavenly way in your family, set the family tradition, and give the blessing to expand the heavenly lineage.” Isn’t that the way? Some time ago True Father said, “Let all people in Korea, whether babies or adults, drink holy wine and so give them the blessing.” What does this mean? If all people drink holy wine, the foothold of Satan disappears.

By Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Cheon Seong Gyeong, p. 445

What has God been looking for up until now? He has not been seeking a subject partner; rather He has been looking for an ideal object partner. He has been looking for those who resemble God and possess the inner and outer aspects of the world He created. What is the starting point that leads to such a result? It is the family. There is nothing that can represent the universe better than the family. To be one with the parents is for past and present to meet. Here, you can love the past by loving your parents, love the present by loving your partner, and love the future by loving your children. Therefore, you can deeply experience the love of three generations. The place where these three kinds of love are concentrated is the family. (30-80, 1970.3.17)

The family encompasses history, the present and the future. So what is the ultimate point that God has sought for six thousand years? It is the family – the family where love is interconnected and where all are united in love. Everything that exists comes under its dominion. We cannot cut our relationship with this absolute source of love. The establishment of such a family was the original mission that God gave Adam and Eve at the time of creation. God did not want them to merely end up as a man, Adam, and a woman, Eve, but instead dreamed of a new family where they would be united. This is the first starting point towards establishing men and women. Thus to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven safely, you have to find a family and within the realm of that family in this world, enter and live in a place where you can feel satisfied in God’s love. Only then can you go beyond this world as well. (30-85, 1970.3.17)

In order to form the family realm of love you have to be unconditional. The parents represent the past, the husband and wife represent the present, and the children represent the future. Loving one partner during your lifetime is the equivalent to God loving the world. It is a place where in oneness the parents, a couple, and the children offer their love as an example representing heaven and earth and tell their descendants to follow them. The original homeland of the heart, the place where heavenly affection is felt will be remembered in heaven and earth. (30-78, 1970.3.17)

Then where does life in the Kingdom of Heaven begin? It is the family. It does not unfold somewhere else. The Kingdom of Heaven is just a three-dimensional expansion of the family and not something that goes beyond the family realm. Therefore when you embrace your husband or wife, you should think that this is a man of the world becoming one with a woman of the world. The place where you can make the condition of having loved mankind is none other than the family. You should live your life this way. To love your parents is to connect history with the present and to pave the road for God to come to you. Therefore you have to love your parents. To love your parents is to connect the human beings of history with yourself as an inhabitant of the present, that is to unite the past and the present. Furthermore loving your children centering on yourself is to connect the present with the future. And the philosophy that practices and sings the praise of such love for a thousand and tens of thousands of years is Unification thought. (30-82, 1970.3.17)

Excerpted from Cheong Seong Gyeong : Book 4 – True Family, page 445

by Rev. Young Hwi Kim

Today I’d like to speak about the importance and value of being leaders and active members. Many members don’t understand the importance of being full time members and just want to have an easy time. They don’t understand why we should be active and more dedicated for God’s work.

A Japanese sister recently told me that in the wintertime there is always a difference of opinion among the sisters about opening the window. The Western sisters want the window open and the Japanese want it closed. The Japanese sisters are used to keeping the windows closed in the winter, but here you keep them open. Why is this? Because fresh air is good for your health. Also many people drink mineral water because it is better for their health than tap water. We know that fresh air and clean water are essential to our good health. Then what is our air and water in the spiritual world? It is the love of God. If you are put in a room with smoky air you’ll find it uncomfortable because it’s difficult to breathe. You cannot function properly because you lack some necessity. You’ll feel the same way if you cannot receive the love of God in the spiritual world. This is why people want to go where they can receive God’s love fully. This is the purpose of living a life of faith and why religion came to exist.

We know there are principles of life that apply not only to this world but to the spiritual world as well. I’d like to point out two of the most basic ones. One is the principle of cause and effect and the other that of give and take. These two principles are essential; they apply everywhere and to everyone. Everyone in this world and in the afterlife is controlled by these two laws. If you do something good, it will return to you; i.e. you reap what you sow. This is the principle of cause and effect. The other one is the principle of give and take: if you give something to somebody, you’ll receive it. We want to receive the full love of God when we enter the spirit world. This is our desire. There is no doubt that everyone longs for the love of God just as we desire fresh air. So what do we have to do to receive the love of God? If we love God we can receive His love in return. This is the principle of give and take. If we want to receive God’s love, we must love Him. No one is exempt from this principle. This is why we say we have to love God in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If you love God, He has something very important for you that you will find as important as He does. In this way you can share the heart of God.

When you need it the toilet is very important, isn’t it? What will happen if you cannot find one? Once you finish your business there, you don’t care anymore though. Right? This is what fallen people usually do; when they need something they go after it, but once they get it, they don’t care anymore. This is the nature of fallen people. We shouldn’t be like that. If we receive a favor from someone we should be grateful. Once you receive it and have satisfied your needs, do you then forget the person who gave you a favor or a blessing? Do you turn away from him then, without appreciating his favor? It would be the same as neglecting a necessity once you don’t need it anymore. We shouldn’t be such people.

If we turn away when God is in need, not caring about His situation but just continuing to go our own way, God will do the same to us. He won’t care when we are in need. We must do something for God when He is in need of assistance. Then we will be qualified to receive His love. If we care about Him we will receive what He wants to give us. Everyone will face this situation someday; everyone will go to the spiritual world and need the love of God. There’s no doubt about it. Therefore, in order to receive God’s love later we must do something for Him now, when He needs us. This is a time of emergency for God’s providence. We’re not very capable, but even though we can’t do much for Him, if we try our best then He won’t consider the results only. Of course He cares about the result, but if we invest our heart in our work and do God’s will that will satisfy Him. He will recognize our effort and when we need something He will give it to us. This is the principle of give and take. If we don’t think of God though, He won’t think of us when we are in need either. Therefore if we like fresh air on earth and want to receive God’s love, which is the fresh air of the spirit world, we must care about God’s will and God’s work and do something for Him. God is asking us to do His work, if we turn away from Him now, how can we face Him when we enter the spiritual world? We cannot forget or neglect this fact.

Most of us are blessed and therefore closer to God than other people. Then how would God feel if those who are supposed to be closer to Him turn away from Him? We know God is omniscient, we cannot hide anything from Him. We also know that we cannot deceive our heart or our conscience. In the Bible there is a verse about shameful salvation. God’s ultimate desire is to save everyone. But if we neglect God’s work, turning away from Him and doing our own thing, then later even if we are saved it will be a shameful salvation. We want to be proud children of God, receiving His love without shame. This is our desire.

We reap as we sow. If we invest more energy into God’s work we’ll receive the fruits. Sometimes you work very hard without gaining much result. This doesn’t matter though. When you are at war, for example, and you attack and occupy enemy territory it is considered a victory, of course. But holding your position against an enemy offensive is also a victory. Sometimes you are depressed because you work hard but cannot gain much result. But keeping your position as God’s base is also a good result. When the circumstances are difficult and you cannot get good result, that’s okay. If you worked hard to defend God’s base that gives God much satisfaction. You already did something for God.

Each of us will pass into the spiritual world one day. Many people who have experienced this say that a spirit of light comes and leads you to a place where everything is measured. Some say there is a machine that weighs the good and bad things you did. They are calculated and you know immediately which side is heavier and which is lighter and that determines your direction. Those who lived evil lives in the past should work hard to counterbalance this. We must work harder than those who are born as children of God, the blessed children. We were born as fallen people and then saved by God and True Parents. We must work harder than the children who come after us. And if we didn’t do much for God in the past we must do more for Him now. We know that we not only represent ourselves, but our ancestors and nation as well, the members here represent Germany and all Germans, not just themselves. We are closely connected to our ancestors and the people around us. Therefore what we are doing is not just for ourselves but for our ancestors and the people around us as well. We should always remember this.

Sometimes I hear members wonder why the Korean way and the German way are different. In Korea there are many full time members who live in centers with their families, but most of them live in their own homes. Some people have asked why we can’t apply the same method here in Germany? You must understand the difference. In the early days all members went out pioneering in Korea. They went out to a new city without money and begged for food. Sometimes they could rent a small room and start their witnessing work from there. Once they gained some members they opened a center and it became a church. Those members stayed and worked there for many years, initially as pioneers and then as center leaders. At times we had more than a thousand pioneer centers.

Korea is a very small country, much smaller than Germany. At that time the population was around 30 million, but we had more than a thousand pioneer centers; all the members went out. Once we had established churches in most places there was no need to pioneer anymore, so we stopped going out to new places; we focused on the big cities like Seoul and Pusan. The center leaders and core members were already there, therefore they didn’t have to become center members any more, but could support the church by living at their own home, witnessing to people and bringing members.

But how many centers do we have in Germany now? Twelve. How many cities are there in Germany with a population over 10,000? Several hundred, I’m sure. Over a thousand. Those places should all have centers, then maybe we can have family life. Once we have centers in all those places our members can live in their own homes and witness to people and bring them to services. But Germany is not at that stage yet. We have many more cities to go to open up centers. Many people persecute us because they don’t understand us. They also persecuted us in Korea in the beginning, but through our work they came to understand us. Of course some Christians still oppose us, but ordinary people don’t oppose us anymore. In Germany, however, the common people still oppose us. Under such circumstances, do you think you can maintain your life of faith if you go out and live alone? It will be very difficult. You’ll be swallowed by the masses. Instead of influencing them you’ll be influenced by them. This is why it’s better to live together in our centers.

I know many members who have their own flats. They said they wanted to support the church by living their own life, but after a while I couldn’t see any support coming from them. Some of them don’t even come to Sunday service anymore. This means they are losing their faith. It is not advisable to live outside at this stage; there are too many negative influences around us. In order to maintain our faith and our small number of centers, members should work together, concentrating their efforts. In this way we can keep our movement active. You who are here should be proud to be center leaders, people with important missions at this time. Because of you God can maintain His church here in Germany. If you leave there may not be a Unification Church in Germany anymore. So even if you’re not doing great things, this alone is a great thing for God. You must understand this: it is important to maintain God’s base in this nation. At least you are doing this.

We all know that being a center leader is a very difficult job. There are many different occupations, but the most difficult is that of a center leader. There are many churches and ministers, but a center leaders’ work is much more difficult than a minister’s. You represent God and True Parents in your church. We all know we have many shortcomings, but that we must fulfill the role of God and True Parents anyway. How difficult that is! Everyone feels that, not just you. Father said that there is no one who can take his position. Even if he gave it to someone, no one could take it, it is so difficult. We experience many things in this difficult position. We experience the same difficulty that God feels at this time. When you are hurt as a result of persecution, you are feeling what God and True Parents feel. We share the same feelings as God and True Parents.

Sometimes you have problems with your members. That may come from yourself, your members or both. We are not perfect. When confronted with difficulties we must try to overcome them; we must pray and do our best and in this way we grow. So even though we cannot see it ourselves, our spirit is growing. By facing and overcoming our problems we grow gradually and become people of rich character, enriching ourselves in heart. It’s not good to concentrate on your problems, so whenever you feel it’s too difficult, try to see the positive aspect: that by enduring these difficulties you gain something valuable. If you understand this you can persevere; if you only see the negative aspect you cannot. God or True Parents may come and give you something when you pray. They are watching us; they want to console and encourage us. So we are not alone, but working together with God and our True Parents. It is important to take pride in our work. We assume great responsibility despite not being qualified. If you suffered a lot, your past life will appear more beautiful to you in the future. This is why the Bible says endurance is so important. We must endure difficulties with a grateful heart! When you experience some difficulty accept it with a grateful heart and it will soon disappear. Endurance, gratitude and prayer are needed.

Actually we are experiencing very valuable things at this time. We should be grateful to have such an opportunity to share such feelings and difficulties with God and our True Parents. We know we are only a handful of people, but we are responsible for the restoration of this nation. There aren’t many German members, so our responsibility is even greater. That’s why Father recently said we must commit our lives for our mission. When Father started his mission he pledged his life for his mission. Of course we won’t lose our lives, that time has passed. Our Father didn’t lose his life, therefore it’s no problem for us. No matter how much you want to, you cannot die for your mission. You should be determined to commit your life for your mission instead.

This is why I proclaimed this year’s European motto as follows: “Let us commit our lives for the achievement of God’s will.” This is the general title; it continues with three points. The first of which is “to become the body, child and representative of God.” This is our personal faith. We must perfect ourselves, becoming the true body of God, the children and representatives of God. Each individual must accomplish this. Whatever we do our foremost goal is always to become such a person. The second point is “to spread God’s love and truth to all people.” We want to witness to all people, giving them God’s love and truth. This is the second point: witnessing. The third is “to bring a God-centered world of peace and happiness on earth.” This is our final goal. This is why we have CAUSA. We cannot have peace or happiness as long as we have an evil enemy, the forces of anti- religion. This is why we organized CAUSA. These three points are the motto for our faith, our growth, our witnessing and for CAUSA this year. So we will work for this. Of course we cannot achieve great things all at once; we must take small steps. We have a saying that when you accumulate dust, it becomes a mountain. So all our small efforts will add up to a great accomplishment in the end.

We are starting the first center leaders meeting of the year today, so we are actually starting the new year 1985 through this meeting. Let us go forward to victory this year. When we are united, when we work together for God’s cause God will help us and many good things will happen. I’m sure of that. I hope this meeting will be fruitful and that everyone can gain encouragement and strength to return to their centers to continue their mission for God and our True Parents.

Let us pray:

Our loving Heavenly Father, you sacrificed everything to bring your beloved children back to the bosom of your love. We must follow the same course in bringing all people back to you. You created all people on earth; we are brothers and sisters because we all have the same parent. They don’t know this though, they fight amongst themselves and as a result the world has become a world of tragedy. Nobody wants to live in such a world; people want to have a happy life on earth. In order to bring them happiness, we must let them know about you, and give them your love and your truth, otherwise we cannot realize your ideal world. Our True Parents are working hard to bring about this ideal world and to lead all people to realize we are all brothers and sisters. But those who receive your truth and love first will have to suffer as you and our True Parents have suffered.

Father, we pray especially for our Father in Danbury. He is not free, although he is always free in spirit and working together with us. If we work hard and accomplish our goals, our Father may be released. When he is freed we can march forward with our True Parents to victory. We are confident of this, Father. The German center leaders are gathered here today to discuss many things. We want to unite more deeply through this discussion and find better ways to reach out to people and achieve our goal for you.

We ask you to be with all our members so they can have strength and energy to go out and spread your truth and love. We ask you to comfort them and give them courage to persevere when they encounter difficulties. Father, our victory is certain, but we still have to gain victory concretely. Until then we must persevere, work hard and unite. When we are disunited Satan will invade and we will be destroyed. When we are one, you can work with us and we can accomplish great things we never imagined possible before.

We want to give your truth and love to all people and contact many ministers. Even though they have served you for many years, they still don’t really understand your truth or your will. They don’t understand True Parents or our church, so we must educate them. Once they understand they will surely become our friends and work hand in hand with us to fulfill your will, the true goal of Christianity.

When we bring all people back to you and True Parents, they will become our friends and colleagues and work together with us for the goal of our Heavenly Father. Then we can establish your ideal world on earth. We must have confidence in this. Our True Parents have absolute faith in you, Father. We should also have absolute faith in you and in our True Parents. Then you and True Parents can work with us and we will be able to achieve great things we couldn’t achieve otherwise.

We pray all this in the name of our True Parents. Amen.

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