Midnight
World Mission Center
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
Father's Prayer at Midnight:
Our Loving Father,
The year 1982 is behind us and we are at the threshold of the whole new year of 1983. The entire world is greeting this moment. Please guide all people who are planning their lives for this year so that their hearts will be in alignment with Your will. Let all religious people be united and let their lives freely develop following Your will.
In the midst of ordeals and persecution, the Unification members throughout the world marched towards Your final dispensational goal during 1982. Please remember those suffering children who are praying with longing hearts for the year 1983 to be a year of hope.
Guide the Unification members through this year and towards the time when the new history will begin. Let those who represent history be loyal, on behalf of all historical figures. Also, guide them so they dwell in the depths of Your heart. As soldiers who are establishing the Kingdom of Heaven, may they dwell in Your heart as unforgettable people, worthy of being called Your sons and daughters and deserving of Your abundant love.
As our members bid farewell to 1982, a year filled with ordeals, their hearts are tearful and their folded, prayerful hands are pointing in the direction of New York and America, where the True Parents are. These places where our members are gathered together are solemn places, where ardent prayers are offered. Please forgive each individual and receive the hearts of those who had given hopeful promise to bring the victory in 1982, but who were unable to fulfill it. I pray and beseech You to bless them, so that this new year will be a year of victory, one which they will be able to go through and look back on with gratitude.
At this time all the Unification members, representing all mankind, are making a new resolution: to be more deeply loyal and pious in 1983 and to be more united in one heart and one will. Let them pledge to become brave soldiers on the advancing line of the salvation of mankind. Let them determine to become victorious in securing both today and tomorrow. Let them resolve to become unforgettable people in Your heart. Please receive the resolution they are making at this time.
Ever since the day of infamy, the day in which the human ancestors fell, You have been laboring in man's place. Laden with sorrow and loneliness, You have been trying to restore the lost history which is filled with many untold stories. In our place, You have voluntarily taken the path of sorrow and agony, lingering ever behind the scenes, watching over mankind and going through the historic path of indemnity with all Your strength. We think about You and all the things You have gone through and reflect
about the unrepented wrongs which our ancestors committed throughout history. Please permit us now as Unification members to pledge to You our loyalty and piety, on behalf of all mankind. This group of people knows that to follow Your way means to take the path of sorrow but they do not draw back. Neither do they mind enduring the path of persecution and oppression.
The historic paths of Abraham and Jacob were alike as they followed Your way. It was the same with Moses as he guided the journey of the Israelites. Jesus knew Your will and he was supposed to have built the victorious Heavenly Kingdom by subjugating the Roman Kingdom; but instead he lost the support of the chosen nation and had to take up the suffering path and under the name of Christianity extend it to the whole world. We reflect deeply about these historical events.
Your will was prolonged for the two thousand suffering years of Christianity, during which the efforts to recover all the years of history have been stained with tears, sweat and blood and filled with deeds which must be repented for. We are going through this lonely journey with You and overcoming this sorrow. You have seen people who prayed, even at the point of death, for that one victorious day in which Your will can be accomplished. We are reminded of Your painful broken heart, looking upon those people who are praying for the day in which the world will realize Your will.
Today in this time of the last days, Christianity should have fulfilled its responsibility so that the world could stand in the realm of victory. Then, instead of following a path of sorrow, Christianity's course would have been a glorious one of attending and revering their Heavenly Father. Christian civilization, not just on the individual level but also as families, as a society, as a nation, and as a world, should have developed and taken shape, centering on the long-desired sovereignty of Heaven. Then they could have returned glory and victory and praise to You.
Again we reflect on the historical fact that the Unification Church, which was chosen to carry out Your will, had heaped upon it the burden of sorrow and obstacles called the way of historical indemnity. Persecution comes from individuals, from families, and from societies and nations as well. Now even here in the center of the free world, America, these members gathered here who revere and follow You have received rejection from religious people, those who are supposed to be following Your way. We know very well that behind the tear-stained sacrifices which we have made in order to pioneer and establish this foundation, lies Your much more sorrowful history. Assembled here together we are pledging to advance and progress and to be the kind of church that will never disappear in despair, but will bring the victorious day to the free world.
We are grateful for Your grace which infuses us with pride and confidence to take up the worldwide pioneer mission of laying the victorious foundation, upon which we can make a new settlement in this new time period. In this building in the center of New York, we have been the object of persecution, judgment and ridicule coming at us from all sides. But from this day at the beginning of this new year, Your children who are gathered here will be united in one heart and one body and will restore Heaven's dignity and honor. As independence soldiers, we will establish the sovereignty of goodness and bring about the Heavenly Kingdom. As they rally together for this cause, please help them to be proud and valiant before Satan.
Father, please have hope in the Unification Church. We are not on the edge of twilight and facing the night, but rather on the verge of dawn, waiting to greet the rising sun. Heavenly Father, I pray that during 1983 You will settle on this earth and uphold all our work in pursuit of the Heavenly Kingdom with dignity and authority and protect it with a shield of victory. Please grant us the determination as we greet this new year to create the foundation on which Your victorious power can be manifested on this earth.
Please extend Your arms in blessing upon Korea, Japan, America and Germany, those nations representing providential roles. I plead for You to allow this year 1983 to be the boundary mark so that from now on in those countries, people who oppose will be weakened in their opposition and people on the side of goodness will prosper.
I ask for the entire spirit world to help make this year 1983 one in which the Unification Church members, representing all the nations on earth, will be united with their ancestors and march on together to secure the worldwide victory. Let the entire spirit world be mobilized to suppress the powers of evil which oppose this victory so we can leap forward. Also let this beginning hour be one in which we command the development of a new history. Countless religious figures and righteous people have been longing for the day of victory on earth; please allow them to participate in our efforts and work though their direct lineage in order to fulfill their long-cherished desires. Let them bring their descendants to this Unification banner, even though their descendants may be unaware of their help, in order to realize the victorious ideal world.
Korea, Japan, America and Germany and the other 127 nations are stained with the tears of the ones You love, as they make indemnity conditions with pleading prayers for the sake of bringing Your victory on this earth. I pray that this new year will establish the foundation for us to bring about the mobilization of tribes, nations and all mankind.
This year's new motto is "Home Church Is Our Land of Settlement." With this motto, we have a confident beginning point. God, please declare this year as one in which You can take command, mobilizing the saints and religious men, uniting all religious groups on earth.
I believe and I know that from this beginning hour of the new year the command will be given from Heaven and carried out on the earth: to march toward the one victorious day and to establish the victorious sovereignty of goodness and the victorious Kingdom of Heaven. Please declare this. I pray for all this with gratitude for Your grace in allowing us to pray these things. I bless and I pray all these things in the name of the True Parents.
Amen. Amen. Amen
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Most religious people in the world today think of God as an almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent being who simply enjoys His glory, as He sits upon His throne wearing His crown. That means they feel that God has nothing to do with pain, agony and suffering. Yet still Christianity calls God "Father" when they pray to Him. This is a contradiction in the Christian faith of our time.
In the last days, those religions which are parallel with the will of God shall remain, but those religions which are not will diminish. What kind of a being is God? That is the most fundamental and important question to ask. Does He truly have just a glorious position and enjoy every minute of the day?
When we look at the histories of all religions, we see that there was no real peace. Always religious people have had to endure bloodshed, tragedy and suffering. Why have religious people throughout history gone the road of suffering and martyrdom? It is because they believed it was God's will for them to go that way. Another common principle persists throughout religious history: any time a religion is receiving persecution it prospers and doesn't decline. Also it is true that during a time of persecution whenever religious people prayed with sincerity, their prayers were more readily accepted and granted.
Another thing which is obvious in history is that whenever a religion becomes established and settled, being respected and admired by the society at large, God seems to turn away from that religion. It starts to lose its deep fervor and enthusiasm.
Therefore we can see that God has remained with religions during their periods of persecution but once they became comfortable, God seems to have turned away from them. Why is that? God established certain religions in history; people within them had to go through the individual level of persecution. Again, the key question to ask is whether those individuals who were persecuted were receiving it for only themselves or for the sake of humanity. The particular individual receiving persecution might be bearing it as a representative of 240 million American people, or 4 billion people in the world, or just as one individual, representing no one other than himself. That is an important question.
Whenever God ordains a certain individual to take on religious persecution, that person must take on representative persecution for the sake of the whole world, not just for himself. We can realize that whenever God supports a religious person who is receiving tremendous persecution, that individual must not be an ordinary individual but must be representative of all mankind.
What is the reason why God permits persecution of religious people? God tells them that by winning the victory over persecution they can win the victory over the entire world. When God chooses an individual and the world persecutes him, the world displays its evil; if this were a good world, it would not persecute him. By winning over the persecution coming from the evil side of the world, that individual must be winning a victory for righteousness and for God, not just for himself alone.
What is the definition of the evil world? The evil world is the one which does the work of Satan. Since the evil world is controlled by Satan, it is exactly opposite from the world which God intended. Satan's desire is to safeguard every one of his children in the satanic world and not to allow any to leave and go to God's side. However, Satan knows that God's intention is to pull men out of his hands and to bring them to His world, where He can create the opposite realm from the satanic.
Those who are selected to be God's champions have to struggle very hard against the satanic environment and be victorious over it. Without that, those individuals cannot return to God's side. The Bible tells us that man became a fallen creature; the people who were supposed to be children of God transformed themselves into satanic men and women. Therefore, the simplest definition of the fall is the deviation from the original, healthy form to sickness. Satan is always working very hard to prevent God from mending mankind back into health.
Once a person is restored to perfect health he always has a certain immunity. Even if germs invade, a strong, healthy body will be able to resist them. That particular person with such immunity would not be contaminated, even if he went to the Orient, Africa, or anywhere Therefore, any satanic opposition toward you must be worldwide and universal in scale; the larger the scale the better.
God has been seeking of an individual who will be able to struggle against and prevail over all satanic persecution and become invincible over the entire satanic world. How does the process of persecution work? Persecution always comes through other people -from individuals to other individuals. Satan also knows how to best mobilize his forces. He has certain superior forces: people with wealth, intellect, power and influence and he can use these kinds of people for his purposes of persecution.
In the secular world, every nation has its own sovereignty through which it exerts influence and power. Therefore, we can understand why throughout history most of the persecution of religion and religious people came from governmental and politically sovereign powers. Then what would be God's tactic? Would He choose one champion who would be opposed by governmental power, become a martyr and be finished? No, God would continue to raise up more and more champions and go from the individual level to the family level, to the clan, society and national levels, etc. Therefore it is most logical that those people who have been chosen by God to be champions must endure all different types and levels of persecution-from the individual all the way up to the world level.
A sign of the last days is the division of the world into two distinct camps. One of those camps proclaims that God does not exist and the other proclaims that He does. Today we see the existence of the free or democratic world and the communist, atheistic world. The world which accepts the existence of God is centered upon Christianity, which started from the historical background of Judaism. First, all of Christianity was under Catholicism, then Protestantism began; now the new level of Christianity has begun, the Unification Church.
Each level of religion had to resist certain types of persecution. Judaism, for example, resisted national persecution; Christianity has resisted worldwide persecution; and the Unification Church is resisting universal persecution. According to history, that would have to occur because any new religion which went beyond traditional Christianity would be in the position to receive universal persecution.
The history of the Jewish nation is recorded in the Old Testament. They received persecution continually; they wandered about and everywhere they turned, they received persecution. When Christianity came, it was the religion of the world; therefore it had the duty to confront worldwide powers. At that time, the Roman Empire was that power; it represented the entire world and it persecuted Christianity. The world of God's major activity during that time was limited to the European and Middle Eastern locale. China and all the far Eastern regions were not affected by those areas and they were basically unaware of them.
Where is the Unification Church today? Is there any part of the world which is unaware of us? No, we are receiving persecution from the entire world, the truly universal level. There is no distinction between east and west, north and south; every six continents have seen persecution against the Unification Church. Just by observation of this historical phenomenon in such a short time, we can see that the Unification Church is truly the central providential religion of our time.
The Unification Church today captures the essence of Christianity; likewise, Christianity captured the essence of Judaism. What is that essence, that center? It is the messiahship. Judaism has claimed throughout its thousands of years that they are heralding the coming of the messiah. Christianity says that the messiah has come but they are awaiting the second coming. Unification Church today is claiming that the second coming has occurred.
When Judaism was talking about the messiah, they had a vague concept of the definition of that messiah. Christianity, even though they believe in the first coming of the messiah, has an imprecise understanding of the messiah. What about the Unification Church? Do we have a clear concept of the messiah or a vague one? We have a clear one.
Under what circumstances should the messiah come? Should he appear after all the persecution has been endured, or during the persecution, or before the persecution even begins? Look at the time of Judaism, the time of Christianity, the time of the Unification Church. When did the messiah appear?
If you say that the messiah should come before or during the persecution, you are saying that he is supposed to be right in the middle of the persecution. Ideally' the messiah should appear upon the foundation of victory over persecution. If this is true, then all the religions such as Judaism and Christianity should never dodge persecution, saying, "I'm only interested in meeting the messiah and being saved. Let somebody else suffer persecution." That is the wrong attitude to have.
We must understand that it was God's plan to send the messiah only upon the foundation of victory on the individual, family, tribal, national and worldwide level. That was clearly God's intention. At the last days, then, we must expect to see the appearance of one religion which is saying, "Let us take on the burden of universal persecution so that we can make the foundation to receive the messiah."
What about you Moonies; do you like to receive persecution? You could ask me the same question and what do you think I would answer? The same as you: no. Do you think God likes persecution? I'm sure He would answer with a big, huge, NO. That is natural. Why, then, do we willingly accept persecution? It is for the sake of the salvation of the world. You might ask why we have to go through this persecution. Isn't salvation possible without it? No, we must go this way.
The world is like a sick patient. When God sees that sick patient Lying on the bed, does He think, "Wonderful! I'm so happy!" No, He suffers heartbroken anguish for the sake of His children. Were the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve, the servants of God or His children? They were His children. There was no phony artificial relationship between God and Adam and Eve. He created them in His image, as the bone of His bone, the flesh of His flesh.
Physical parents who must see their children Lying seriously ill in bed feel more grieved than those children The sick patient doesn't understand what is going on inside his own body; he only knows that he is in pain. The parents who must watch him suffering will suffer even more in heart.
Christianity today believes God is glorious and sitting on a throne somewhere, but if God is truly the Parent of all mankind and His children are sick in bed, how can He enjoy sitting on a throne? Wouldn't God, as our Parent, forget all about the glory of His throne and crown as He works to help alleviate the suffering of His children? God feels the emergency so deeply, He would even kick His throne and crown away and run down to embrace the world, still wearing His pajamas, like a father in the middle of the night.
Therefore we can see that the general Christian concept of a totally glorious God of joy is the wrong understanding. Judaism believes in God and His glory; they also believe in fearing God and His power. Christianity believes in a God of love, but one of total power and glory. The Unification Church has come and is saying, "God is a God of suffering heart because His children are dying." Is that a right or a wrong concept?
What do you think the spirit world thinks? Are the people there telling God, "You are the only one who cares about that fallen planet, so You go down and try to help them. We just want to enjoy ourselves here."? No, they have declared an emergency for themselves as well, parallel with God's.
When you members of the Unification Church receive persecution, do you feel regret or not? When people ask you, "What church do you belong to?" do you try to dodge the question? When they say, "Your church must have a name of some sort," do you answer, "Well, it is an ecumenical church."? The fact that you are laughing now means that you have done this. You said you don't like persecution, but now that I have explained the meaning of persecution you can accept it as a necessity. Through persecution, you can return to God and receive the messiah; therefore, it is like a privilege.
Now that you have heard this, how will you respond? Perhaps you will go out to the street on Eighth Avenue and proclaim, "Everybody listen to me! I'm a Moonie and I welcome persecution! Give it to me!" I have been discussing all the different levels of persecution, from the individual to the universal. Once you have gone over the hurdle of inviting the universal level of persecution you have completed the test all at once. Therefore, that is the easiest way out, in a sense.
Today we Moonies are living in the era of the universal stage of persecution. Are you proud to be living in this era, receiving this kind of persecution? Do you think Reverend Moon is dumb or wise, sharp or dull? What will happen to Reverend Moon? He looks so dumb because he goes everywhere and receives nothing but persecution. You may think he is almost impossibly dumb because he wasn't satisfied to receive the persecution of the entire nation of Korea; he had to go to Japan and invite more. Even that wasn't enough-he came to America and asked for more persecution, and the Americans gave him a big dose. That wasn't even the end of it because then he said he would go to Moscow!
Our topic tonight is about the land of our settlement. God and the messiah need to be able to settle somewhere on the earth. So far in history God has been a wandering God and the messiah had to wander also. There was no land for them to dwell in; therefore history must come to that point of final settlement. When the messiah comes he must settle; his immediate family will settle; his nation will settle down, as well.
By the year 1976, the entire world was persecuting me: all governments, all religions, all races, all the established powers. That was the highest point of persecution. At that time everybody thought Reverend Moon would be finished. But what has happened since 1976? Reverend Moon has emerged step by step as a victor; more and more people are seeing him as possibly the messiah.
It is obvious that any human's efforts could not have succeeded in this way. Only with the assistance of God could we have come this far. In the span of 10 years, Reverend Moon has established himself on the basis of the entire world.
Satan has been the source of the persecution of Reverend Moon but God has been the power which resisted that persecution and gave him the blessing. Without God's blessing, I could never have come this far. That means the Unification Church is a God-centered, true religion. We have a philosophical and theological foundation which is universal.
What kind of a man is Reverend Moon? Am I fearful, or evil, or good, or mediocre? There are two definitions of Reverend Moon-one is Satan's and one is God's. From Satan's point of view, Reverend Moon is the most fearful man the world has ever encountered. From God's point of view, however, Reverend Moon is the man who pleases Him more than anyone else in history.
We must come to the conclusion that there are two categories of those who like Reverend Moon. One is God and the other is the Moonies. What about the 600 million Christians around the world? Does God care more about numbers of so-called religious people, or about the quality of faith which people exhibit? God is more interested in quality than quantity.
The greatest phenomenon in the advanced civilization of America today is that the most clever young people are following Reverend Moon and refusing to allow anyone to pull them away, even their parents and families. It is truly a source of great interest and curiosity. When Reverend Moon first came to America and proclaimed his message, most people said, "That's OK, let him continue. America is the melting pot, so within six months, we will melt Reverend Moon, too." However, what has happened? Ten years later, American historians have witnessed that, instead of America melting Reverend Moon, America is being melted by him!
You are the children of this culture which has always taught you to sit on chairs. However, now you have changed and you feel comfortable to sit on the floor. I think you can sit longer than I can! I have even heard that when some of our members go back home to visit, instead of choosing to sit on a couch or chair, they tell their parents they are more comfortable sitting on the floor. You have brought the "Moon culture" to your homes in this way and your families cannot understand what is happening!
Nobody seems to like you because the American establishment is not accustomed to your new-found culture. You are making money and you only want to spend it for the sake of your mission, rather than buying things or putting it in a savings account. When the Christmas and New Year holidays come, everybody else is thinking about having fun and going to parties; but we Moonies look at the season as the best time for fundraising!
It is very important in the American culture that young people date and go out with the opposite sex. Many people also think that drugs are fun and harmless. Often parents are urging their children to have lots of dates and an active social life. But in the Moonie culture women who are even 30 years old don't know anything about dating and social life. Their parents think this is very strange. However is there any Unification Church man or woman who cannot get married? No, we can all get married-in one day!
From the satanic point of view, the Unification Church is just impossible and Satan has declared this a time of emergency. However from God's point of view it is a wonderful thing to see. God is pleased to see that for the first time He has some people on the earth who will not be shaken by Satan; He sees that He has some children of His own.
People who thought our movement was bad believed we wouldn't last more than one or two years. However, after ten years in America Reverend Moon and the Unification movement is going stronger than ever. When people try to tell you that you are being brainwashed and used by Reverend Moon, you do not respond by believing them. Instead, you become angry with them and tell them off! No real Moonie will stand still to hear such comments.
None of the efforts of the secular world will work on the Moonies, so they came to the conclusion that you must all be brainwashed. When the Unification Theological Seminary graduates seek their PhDs at major universities, the first thing their professors do is give them an eye test to determine if they really have the glassy eyes. They want to determine if Moonies are really zombies and robots who cannot think or talk for themselves. While those professors have been entertaining all these sensational ideas, Reverend Moon has already embraced the entire academic world, the scientific and theologians' world. There are no really prominent and eminent professors any more who do not know about Reverend Moon on very good terms.
Right now, some very highly esteemed theologians and philosophers are gathered at the Conference on God, in Florida. That particular group of scholars used to be afraid of Reverend Moon, but now they are attending a conference sponsored by him and they are hearing talks on Reverend Moon's ideology. Now when they hear the name or the teachings of Reverend Moon, their heads are lowered in respect.
The American media managed to completely topple President Nixon within a year and a half. The President of the United States capitulated to the power of the media and got kicked out of the White House. That is something the Washington Post is very proud of. So they thought, "Reverend Moon will not last more than six months." However instead of capitulating to them, Reverend Moon is moving forward more and more strongly. All the attention of the media only succeeded in making Reverend Moon famous. People magazine listed Reverend Moon as one of the "25 Most Intriguing People" for 1982.
Look at me now. Am I a good-looking, handsome man? When you look at my Oriental face with your Western eyes, do you really enjoy it and feel good about it? My face normally looks strange to Westerners. I don't rely on appearances to be likable. Maybe many people don't think I am anything special to look at. However, I know that you love me because of something within me, not because of how I look. Isn't that correct?
How do you and I know that is true? When you pray and meditate and when you have dreams, sometimes you meet with me and Mother. I would never visit with any of you in your dreams or prayers if our relationship were not one of genuine care and love. How many of you have met with me in your dreams or prayers? It appears that almost 100% of you have. How many of the hundreds of millions of Christians have dreams and visions of Jesus?
You are truly a different kind of people; you are very strange in a way. Therefore you feel the desire to marry someone from the Orient or someone from another culture. This is very extraordinary for Americans. The Unification Church families will be most colorful in the future. On one bosom, the mother will hold a white baby, on the other she will hold a black baby and the third child will be a yellow one! Suppose a white woman had three children, one white, one black and one yellow. It happened that the black and the yellow child loved their mother more than the white child. Would the mother reject those children because they were a different color than her and prefer the white child? No, the mother's eyes do not see color; they only see love.
God looks at the earth the same way. Do you think He says, "I prefer white children more, so you white ones can come to Me first, then the yellow ones and finally the black ones."? No, God will welcome His children according to the intensity of their love for Him. White, yellow and black make no difference to Him.
Suppose you were an Oriental woman married to a white husband with some black ancestors. You would be a mixture of everything in your family! You might have one white, one yellow, and one black child! That would be a beautiful, multi-colored family. In the recent Korean matching, I matched many Japanese women to black African men; this caused tremendous commotion in Japan. The parents are complaining against me but I am telling them, "What is the problem? As these men and women come together in love, mankind will be brought closer together in love; furthermore, God takes great delight in this. Therefore, I have no shame about it."
The majority of the couples in the recent blessing on October 14 came from Japan. This marriage caused a tremendous, earthshaking response in Japan. Most people took it very favorably, saying, "What a sacred way of marrying! What a beautiful way to start the race of God!" Many parents were very pleased to see that their children had gone to take part in that blessing; but then, their daughters came back with a black husband. However, they had already applauded the value of the blessing, so they couldn't take it back!
Many Japanese are thinking that Reverend Moon's mass marriages are truly a wonderful idea. Even the government has resigned itself and accepted it. Initially they thought that Reverend Moon was very evil, but observing his actions they have changed their minds. They have begun to accept that Reverend Moon must be a good man. People have seen that instead of trying to take revenge on the American media, I have created the Washington Times and invited all those negative media people to take a better job with us, to contribute something of value to the country.
1982 was an extraordinary year. The U.S. government tried to destroy Reverend Moon in the courtroom, but instead of seeking revenge, I have turned around and tried to do many things to help and save the destiny of this nation. Many comfortable Washington political bureaucrats who have had their beautiful offices inside big marble buildings considered Reverend Moon and the Unification Church as insignificant as peanuts. However, now they have found themselves having to respond to the Washington Times; they are reading it and trembling at some of the stories. They find themselves having to take advice from the Washington Times!
Those who are dedicated to the destruction of the Unification Church find the Washington Times the worst thing possible. They are thinking, "Reverend Moon must be a genius to come up with this idea. We were hitting him through the media and he responded by creating the Washington Times!" Traditionally America has been a basically conservative nation; recently, however, there has been no effective conservative newspaper in the nation's capitol. When the Washington Times first appeared, people just called it "the Moonie paper." However, now conservative people in Washington are calling it "our paper."
In the winter time, honeybees don't have the ability to find honey so the beekeeper has to feed them with sugar. All winter long they stock up on sugar, but once spring comes and the real honey appears, the bees are so intent on sucking it they are not even aware if someone comes along and tries to pull them away. They might even be pulled in two pieces, but their heads would keep sucking the honey! Something like that is happening now in Washington. People are reading the Washington Times and are oblivious to being "hit" by others; they are saying, "So what! This is honey!"
Actually, we are the happiest people under the sun. We are leading the most exciting life. Now, during this Christmas season perhaps some of your parents are worrying about you and thinking that you are leading a terrible lifestyle. On the contrary, you are the most vital, happiest people. Also we are very excited because we know that we have the ability to mold the future for the nation and the world. We can create a new moral society on the earth; we can put an end to immorality and drug-abuse. Because of this, Moonies are people of great confidence.
We consider the whole world as our stage. Many young people are becoming victims of the drug culture; they try to deaden their senses and obliterate the world's influence. But we want to contribute to the whole world; we want to learn all the languages-French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, etc. This is because we want to be able to survive and prosper wherever we go, anywhere in the world.
The most important quality we possess is that we are not doing these things because we are being forced to; we are doing them voluntarily and joyfully. How wonderful you are, even though your parents may be thinking, "How miserable and fearful those Moonies are!"
We have a hope and a pattern for the future; God is preparing it for us. That is what our life is all about. Each of you is heading for that goal which you must be qualified to reach-citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven. This means you must be willing to go through the worst possible training period during your life on earth. Every day you experience difficult situations for this very reason.
What is the uniqueness of Reverend Moon? After all, there have been many religious leaders who went through the road of persecution because they were obeying God. However, very few succeeded on every level. Reverend Moon is the man who not only endured tremendous persecution but who also won the victory on every level- individual, family, society, national, worldwide and universal levels. This is what God has been waiting to see throughout human history; finally He has found a winner.
The key word is victory. Somebody has to sign the victory certificate and who is that? Satan must be the one. That victory sheet for God is the surrender sheet for Satan. If this is really true, those of you here have really hit the jackpot. When someone plays "Blackjack" at a gambling casino, the owner of that casino never wants to see anyone get a "21" or blackjack. However, if someone gets that, the owner is obliged by the rules of the game to pay him for his chips. Satan is in the same position. However reluctant he is to surrender, he will be forced to when you win the victory.
At what point will Satan surrender? He will give you his absolutely strongest persecution and if you endure it and show that your love for God is stronger than his persecution, you will have won. Satan will see that no matter how intensely he persecutes and punishes you, you will never surrender and he will feel that he is wasting his time with you. In such a case, Satan will leave.
What is Reverend Moon's uniqueness, then? I knew this secret about Satan. I knew how to hit the blackjack against Satan. I brought this secret to the different levels of relationship-individual, family, and so forth-because the principle is the same, regardless of the level. Satan surrenders only under one condition: that you love God more than the worst persecution he can give you.
All of you are listening to this sermon. but so is Satan! He is jumping up and down in frustration, crying, "Oh no, Reverend Moon, you did it to me again! What will I do?" Once you know Satan's secret, your way is very simple. You will become men and women who are invincible and no one will be able to stop you. Regardless of what anyone tells you, including your brothers and sisters, your mother and father, your society, your employer, it won't make a difference in your faith. Even if the communists try to kill you, you will be unmoved.
Therefore, once you know this secret, you can look at persecution as a suspension bridge, across which you have to walk from Satan's realm into God's realm. That bridge will carry you across the wide chasm dividing them.
This is like a "blessed couples season," because we see lots of couples talking very intimately with one another. One wife may be saying to her husband, "My dear, you have been a member of the Unification Church for ten years now. You have done your share. For a change, let's just take a little vacation together." Then there is the wife who gives her husband a motherly admonition, "Dear, you didn't learn very much and Father says we must be very wise. Therefore, why don't you drop everything and go back to college and get your degree?"
You women, without your even realizing it, can be used as a tool of Satan very easily. When you start talking about all the mundane, practical things of your life, you can easily be led into complaining, which can grow and grow. This kind of process is almost inevitably a poison. At first your husband might resist your complaining and tell you to stop. However, if you persist, after a while he will eventually give in to you.
What do you say to that, you men? Will you be that kind of husband? You husbands must be able to tell even your wife, "Get behind me, Satan." What about you women? Can you also say to your husbands, "Get behind me, Satan."? If you can agree to doing that, even though you might have made mistakes in the past, God will be able to forgive you and give you a new beginning at this new year.
Home Church is our land of settlement; that means Home Church is the final stage of the providence. After I have received persecution from all different levels and gained the victory over them, my certificate of victory is Home Church. That certificate is given by Satan as well as God; it must come from both sides. Home Church is the place where you can inherit my victories and you can also conclude your indemnity You can separate yourself from indemnity and find your final, ultimate land of settlement. That is Home Church.
God called Abraham out of his homeland and told him to travel; he had to live like a gypsy. Jacob also had to work throughout much of his life in a foreign land, the land of Laban. Moses left his home and went into the Pharaoh's palace. Christianity had to leave Israel and go to Rome. The Unification Church today has had to leave its homeland. I had to leave my country, just as many of you did. I left my homeland and came to America where the persecution has been great; however, I have not stopped my journey. I must go toward the ultimate goal of Moscow. In 1976 I declared that the next goal was Moscow.
I am the front-line soldier against communism. Many people fee] very uncomfortable when they hear that Reverend Moon's next goal is Moscow. They think I am making very dangerous statements and that someone might try to kill me. Even my close assistants have not understood how we would be able to accomplish the goal of our Moscow rally. Yesterday morning I sat at the breakfast table, surrounded by church leaders, and I talked about how I planned to achieve the Moscow rally. For the first time all those close leaders told me, "Now we understand why you made that declaration to go to Moscow. It makes sense, Father." I won't tell you the plan here because you will think it's too simple and easy. Perhaps you will think you can just relax and not work hard. Also, I can't release such information too widely because there are spies who hear these sermons, not just our faithful members.
You women, if I directed you to go to Moscow, would you go? Today there is no country on the face of the earth in which there is not a member of the Unification Church, including Soviet Russia and the satellite countries. You may have noticed that one of your brothers disappeared all of a sudden and you thought, "Maybe he was tired and left the movement." In many cases, that person went to a foreign country. Even some blessed couples have willingly parted from each other for the purpose of serving in another country.
What about you? Are you only thinking, "We got the blessing now. All we have to do is create the Heavenly four-positions, so I want to relax and settle down now." Do you need an ordinary life now, or do you need a mission? You must think, "Mission is first, second, and third in my life."
I always go to the Holy Ground every day to pray at 5:00 in the morning and sometimes earlier. It is not easy for Mother, but she accompanies me. Mother has her own accomplishments; she is only one woman and she has brought thirteen brilliant children into the world. That is very extraordinary and I could easily become sympathetic toward her situation for that reason, but I don't allow myself to do that. I tell her, "You have your accomplishments, but I have my own suffering, too. My path is equally and even more difficult. Therefore, let us move forward without hesitation."
Sometimes I don't feel very well; I get headaches and soreness throughout my body. Whenever that happens, I push myself harder. Normally people say, "I need another two hours rest, perhaps a whole day's rest, and I'll be Al right tomorrow." However, when I don't feel well I push my body and say, "Get moving." What happens? I find that my pains and headache disappears.
Those leaders who regularly come to East Garden come early in the morning and stay until I go upstairs to bed. At night they often feel very tired but they don't want to say so. Instead they say to me, "Father, I think you must be very tired. Don't you want to go upstairs and get some rest?" I answer them, "You rascals! Get behind me, Satan!" Then I usually stay downstairs even longer than usual.
Normally I go upstairs around one or two o'clock in the morning, but that is not the end of my day. I often sit at my desk and read reports and work on papers. Often I spend the entire night on that chair. Five o'clock comes very quickly and I always go to the Holy Ground to pray.
I can sleep at any time or place. If I sit down for just five minutes, you will hear me snoring very soon. My body is always tired, but I am still pushing myself. Many members think, "Father's body is special. His bones are made of iron and his flesh is not really like everybody else's." That is the way many people try to justify themselves.
Sometimes my own children feel regret for not having received unlimited love and attention from Mother and me; their hearts are pained by this sometimes. I know they have every right to feel sad and claim that they did not receive enough attention from us, but then what have we been doing? We have worked hard and suffered for the sake of the entire world and humanity, something greater than our own children. Therefore I have no pain in my conscience. Since I have been pursuing greater and greater accomplishments, my family has received care and protection.
Reverend Moon doesn't have a land for settlement; he is still a sojourner in a foreign land, living like a gypsy. I am still living this way because God has not yet found His own land of settlement. When God settles, Reverend Moon and the Moonies will settle with Him. This is the most crucial segment of human history-the settlement of God, Reverend Moon and the members of the Unification Church.
From 1945 to 1985 will be the forty years of wilderness for the Unification Church. We are still marching in the wilderness toward the goal of the worldwide Canaan. We shall move forward into Canaan and leave behind this wilderness. These 40 years are the most crucial ones for the Unification Church because it is the time period during which we must pay every possible indemnity condition that needs to be paid. We must be completely free of accusation from Satan so that he will have no condition to claim against us.
Reverend Moon is like the elder statesman in the land of darkness, but the dawn is coming. Now I am emerging in the new morning light; this is the end of the 40 years. Right now a big contrast is clear between North America and South America. North America is strongly persecuting me; all the media use negative adjectives to describe me, such as, "controversial Korean evangelist-industrialist," or sometimes they say, "charlatan," and so forth. But now in South America many people are looking at me as a source of new hope. The media write about me as, "the internationally famous Reverend Moon."
When one side of the globe is in darkness, the other is enjoying the sunlight. While the U.S. is persecuting Reverend Moon, the Orient is starting to see me as one of the greatest Oriental men who ever lived. They are calling me a patriot and so on. Certainly the yellow race is the most numerous throughout the world. Japan is giving great pain to Western civilization because they are outdoing them in everything, such as computers and automobiles. This is the result of the natural turning of the universe.
The period of persecution against the Moonies is not going to be permanent. That is the time of night and it has to turn toward the time of light. The period of persecution will be approximately 40 years. When the dawn comes, how long will the time of welcome last for the Moonies? The showdown has been made, so we will be embraced for eternity. It will be final.
Reverend Moon wants to bring all the victorious achievements to you upon the foundation of Home Church. You will be able to receive this inheritance whether you joined the church ten years ago, one year ago, or just today. During World War II, some people fought from the beginning to the end, while some joined only on the last day. Still each person on the winning side could enjoy the victory at the end; each soldier could call himself a veteran. The greatest of all blessings is coming to all the members of the Unification Church, who shall have the right to attend God, Jesus and the True Parents and settle together in the land of Canaan. That is the privilege and honor of the members of the Unification Church.
Because of the fall of man, all levels of love were lost and need to be restored. You must love God first, before your husband or wife and children. Home Church represents God to you, so you must love Home Church first. Then you should love the True Parents and finally you can love your spouse and children. Four types of love were lost: love for God, love for true parents, true love between husband and wife, and true love for children. These must be restored in the proper order.
In Home Church you must receive the welcome of everyone, including Satan. In that way you will be granted the right to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This morning at breakfast, Mr. Pak told me that we need to witness more to young people who will be committed members to replace
the older members. I told him that was important but Home Church is more important. As the head of Washington Times, he should give out his name card to people, especially when he travels back and forth on the airplane shuttle. He could tell people, "I am responsible for the new paper, Washington Times. Aren't you interested to hear about Reverend Moon and the teachings of our church?" Witnessing to people is doing Home Church, too. All the leaders should think in such a fashion.
The accomplishment of this Home Church providence is a life or death matter. When something is so serious, there is nothing you cannot do; nothing should make you hesitate. Husband and wife should go together with their children on their arms, visiting their 360 homes. While you are winning the Home Church area, you will be winning spiritual children as well. You must make your Home Church area a place in which you have a free pass everywhere. You are taking God, the True Parents, your husband and wife, and your children with you. This is the gate through which you must be able to pass.
From now on there are no boundaries between spirit world and the physical world. You can communicate freely back and forth. The land of settlement is almost like Cape Canaveral, with rocket ships leaving regularly.
God has been holding on to a small, leaf-like boat on the Pacific Ocean, but He is finally finding some dry land. That is the kind of joy which God feels toward Home Church. If you only talk about doing Home Church but you never really get serious about it and do it, when you die and go to spirit world you will feel much regret; but by then it is too late. You cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven until you somehow create your own Home Church base here on the earth. It might take millions of years.
When you blessed couples spread throughout the world and become very numerous, will you open your doors to welcome the True Parents and True Children, night or day? By the same token, you shall be welcomed in your Home Church area. You have to create the base for that kind of welcome.
With this formula and tradition established, the Moscow Rally will be absolutely no problem; in fact, it will be simple. The time has come in which I must settle. I have done everything that needs to be done for the sake of the free world. 1983 is going to be a crucial year for you and for me; we are going to bring victory together this year. The court battle shall be won during this year. Perhaps if you don't fulfill what is needed and expected of you, God will have to leave you behind because you will become like a roadblock.
Perhaps for a change I will mobilize all scholars. If the white people cannot accomplish, I will use other people. Perhaps Oriental people or some other ethnic group will have to come over here to work. If that isn't successful, I will mobilize all the Korean people here in America; they will be asked to provide the funds necessary for the American providence.
Once I make up my mind to do a certain thing, it can be organized within a short time. Will you accomplish your responsibilities, or will you say to me, "I'm in a special situation, Father. I work for the newspaper" or "My mission is different from everybody else's."? That excuse will not work.
Now you know the slogan and goal for 1983-Home Church Is Our Land of Settlement. We must dedicate our heart and soul toward the fulfillment of this goal and win the victory. Last year's slogan was Victory of Home Church. How much victory did you win? The slogan of the previous year was Home Church Is My Kingdom of Heaven. How much of the Kingdom of Heaven did you actually build and organize? Before that, we had Home Church Is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Home Church Is the Completion of the Kingdom of Heaven. However, throughout all these years, nobody has achieved the goal. This year should not be the same as those in the past. This year should be different. All you leaders must be aware of the responsibility you are bearing to mobilize everyone this year, without exception.
Without this attitude, you will not have your settlement but will always be wandering like gypsies, not only in this life but also throughout eternity. When you enter the spirit world, you will not be able to be near me unless you succeed. In the Christian faith, no matter how much they believe they can only go as far as Paradise. By the same token, unless you fulfill a certain program here on earth, you shall enter only into a paradise level of existence. In that place you will receive all kinds of accusation from those closest to you-your own spouse, your children, and so forth. They will complain, "Why didn't you push me harder while we were on the earth? Because of that, we didn't work hard enough for Home Church and we couldn't enter the Kingdom of Heaven." I want you to understand that the accusation of Satan is painful, but the accusation from your own spouse and children is even worse. You cannot truly love and embrace your spouse and children without doing your mission.
This is the reason I have given my entire life, day in and day out, to accomplish my mission. This morning, since you know the truth and you know the slogan, let us pledge to Heaven that we shall march forward to the accomplishment of this slogan and achieve the victory this year. Those who make that pledge, raise your hands and say Amen! You have made so many pledges in the past, but this particular one shall not fail. With that attitude of determination, raise your hands again. Amen! Thank you.
