God's Will and the World

Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Today in the Light of Dispensational History

February 23, 1977
New York, New York

A s you know, today is True Parents' birthday. The topic of the message this morning is "Today in the Light of Dispensational History." According to the Principle, since the fall of Adam and Eve the responsibility of the fall has rested upon the fallen generations of humanity. If Adam and Eve had not fallen but had reached perfection, then not only they as the ancestors of mankind but also the entire universe would have been perfected.

It was God's original plan for Adam to reach perfection, followed by Eve. Then through them the first family of man would have been formed upon the earth, and the children of God would have multiplied, first forming one nation and then another. Finally the entire world would have been filled with Adam's lineage. God intended to have only one people, Adam's people; one race, Adam's race; one heart, Adam's heart. Then the center of this entire universe would have been God, and Adam and Eve. Since God is the center of all living creation, everyday life would have been centered upon one God, and that God would have had dominion over all the things of creation and all mankind.

God would have been the source of all mankind's tradition, history, and entire way of life. All mankind was to live in one tradition centered upon and related to the love of God. In such a perfected world, man would have been incapable of separating from the love of God. It would have been impossible to do.

Here on earth, children naturally long for their parents even when they are separated for only a few days. This human tendency comes from the original nature of man; we are longing for that one parent of mankind, God. This inseparable relationship must be reestablished because man cannot bear the loneliness of being separated from God.

When you consider this, man has something to be proud of. What is it? The supreme pride of man in the world of perfection is to have God as his father. To be able to say "God is my father; Almighty God is my father!" is the greatest pride of man. Man's second most supreme source of pride is that he can say "I can possess the love of God; I can monopolize the love of God." And man's third source of pride in the world of perfection is that he can say "I can inherit God's kingdom. I can inherit everything that my father has." Isn't that truly something to be proud of? In our world, people are proud of so many social positions. They say, "You know, my father is a Ph.D.; a doctor at Harvard; a prime minister; I come from the royal family." These positions become a source of great pride. But think of it — you can say, "My father is God."

Many people in our society are proud of being a son or daughter of an important person, but in many cases they have no experience of a loving relationship. When you say "God is my father" however, you are already saying, "The love of God is mine." Without having a relationship with the love of God, you are not His son. Let's say you are a child of a lord and are living in his house. All the servants know that eventually you are going to be master of the house, elevated to the throne of the house. Therefore, all those servants have to pay respect to you. By the same token, in the entire Kingdom of God, everybody knows that you are the son of God. Therefore, all creation, including the angels, must pay respect to you.

God's intention was that He and man would dwell as father and son, and that He would dwell together with His son's family. The Kingdom of God would be inhabited by the children of God. A God-centered culture and tradition would be born, so that the history of God would last through eternity. That was the original ideal of God.

Today, where are mankind's desires, ambitions and hopes concentrated? Mankind's supreme desire is to become the sons and daughters of God. Secondly, man desires to possess the love of God, and thirdly, man longs to inherit God's kingdom, everything that God has. There is no greater hope for man than to fulfill these three desires.

In order to become sons and daughters of God, we must come into God's own lineage. Our bloodline must become connected to God. What if there had been no fall of man? In the first place, we would automatically be born as children of God. The fall of man was the severing of man from God. Illicit love brought about the fallen lineage. Instead of Adam and Eve uniting under God, the archangel and Eve united. The archangel, the servant of God and man, took God's position and subjugated all mankind, and all mankind came under the servant instead of God.

Of Satan's lineage

E ver since the fall, all mankind has been born, not into the direct lineage of God, but into the lineage of Satan. Mankind is part of the bloodline of Satan. Once the fall became a reality, no matter how much we called God "my father ' it was devoid of meaning. The fallen world is selfish. "Myself' became the center of everything, disregarding God and everything else. No matter how hard people tried to concentrate on God, it was virtually impossible because the master of the world was not God but Satan.

Contradiction, struggle and destruction have filled the chapters of the history of fallen mankind. Fallen humanity came under satanic culture, which centers on struggle and division, contrary to God's history, which seeks for unity and harmony. Even in the fallen world, however, all men and women have an innate, original human desire. The conscience always tries to lead one back to the original center, God. To return to God, one must be saved from the satanic surroundings. That's why those who are heading toward the original God-centered point have gone through tremendous struggles.

The entire history of man can be described as a tug of war. Man has been pulled by both powers. It has been a struggle to determine which side to belong to. This is the agony of man. This struggle started with the individual, and advanced to the family, tribe, nation and world. All have been pulled from pole to pole, toward evil and toward goodness.

History has been a war between good and evil. Each battle was a severe struggle, but eventually the ultimate winner was always the good side. God's side won each level, expanding His territory. In war, there is so much killing and destruction on both sides. It is a chaotic and confusing situation. How can you tell which side is good and which side is evil? The side that initiates the attack is the evil one. In a school classroom, if two boys with bloody faces are fighting, the first question the teacher will ask is, "Who started it?" Whose side will the teacher take? Not the side of the attacker, but of the defender. Is that not true?

Let's say there is a classroom with dozens of students, and one boy is a rascal. He does not study and is always a troublemaker. But one day he happens to be sitting quietly, and all of a sudden he is attacked by some other person. No matter how bad a rascal he may been, on that particular day he would get the sympathy of the teacher.

Evil always takes the initiative; it always attacks first. Throughout history, God has been like a schoolteacher, looking down on the struggle, watching those being attacked. God is on the side of the defenders. Therefore, the history of war is such that the attacker initiates, but always loses in the end. The universal teacher, God, is on the side of the weaker ones who are being attacked.

Why is the attacker evil? Think of human history. In the beginning, evil took the initiative and brought about the fall. The relationships between God and man, and Adam and Eve, were infiltrated and attacked. That is the original characteristic of evil. The attacker may inflict certain harm or destruction, but it is a universal law that eventually that person will have to not only restore the damage but pay a penalty as well.

God knows this universal principle. Do you think He is always initiating war? No. God does not initiate attacks. What about the people who are on the side of God? Can they say, "God, You are too good. You sit down, we will fight"? God's true people will never initiate an attack. An aggressive action will never be taken by God's people.

God's people are always being attacked, but they endure, persist and move on. That's the characteristic of God's people. Always under attack, they take the beating but never give up. It is a universal law that you become a winner by being attacked. The aggressor has to pay the damage plus a penalty. So you must endure and survive the attack on the individual level, then on the family level, national level and the worldwide level. You must withstand, survive and persevere. In the end, you will receive the entire universe because Satan and evil have to pay you the damage plus the penalty. That's how God's side will win.

The universe will come to you

T he entire universe may attack you even though righteousness and justice are on your side. As long as you withstand, you can survive, and the entire universe will come to you. Beyond the universe, there is no higher level. Satan is the forefather and the king of aggressors. God is the king of the defenders.

The attacker may seem to annihilate the good, but God will raise up additional strength and power, and the attacker will eventually lose. On the individual level there are good and evil men. The evil man may attack the good, and that good man may be destroyed. But that is not the end of it. God will raise up another, even stronger champion until He finds a person, tribe and nation to withstand the attack and survive. God will never give up. As long as God is alive, the good side is never finished and never gives up.

From God's point of view, the battle of good and evil has not even started. The start has always been delayed and extended. The Principle teaches that God can prolong restoration history if certain expectations do not occur right on schedule.

The most important pattern of human history is this: Satan always attacks and loses, and God is always being attacked and gains. Look at the example of World War I. Germany started that war but was not the winner. Why? At that time, the Germans thought they could win the war. If this were not so, they would not have started it. Satan always thinks he can win; that is why his forces start wars. But no one can violate heavenly law. This is the Principle. Germany and Japan attacked in World War II, but they also lost. God, the supreme judge, was looking down and said, "You violated the universal law."

Right now the communist world and the free world are confronting each other. Which side is more aggressive and destructive? Which side is taking the initiative? According to the universal law of the Principle, are the communists going to be the final victors?

How far can Satan advance? This is of great interest to us. Communism cannot take over more than two-thirds of the world. In both world wars you can see that the attackers were successful until they gained two- thirds of world domination. As they gained this ground, they thought they were winning completely. In World War II, the German army swept over most of Europe, and the Japanese forces took almost the entire Pacific area. But Satan could not take the final one-third.

This is because the fall of man came during the formation and growth levels, or two-thirds of the whole. Satan could not infiltrate the perfection level. Therefore, Satan can claim two-thirds of anything, but never the final one-third. This is the formula through which human history has evolved. Therefore, throughout human history, there has always been one level that has remained intact. One incomprehensible group always emerged with a common set of goals — a religious group.

Religious people are always a problem to those in power. God is always their goal. Therefore, they can go beyond national boundaries, racial boundaries and cultural boundaries. They are just impossible people to deal with because the accepted sense of judgment does not apply to them. Throughout history, sovereignties have always felt threatened by religious groups. They are such difficult people to deal with because they cannot be controlled. To say "We will kill you!" is not a threat to them. They answer, "Go ahead; do it!"

Governments fear religions

T herefore, as new religions emerged throughout history, governments usually opposed them. They always wanted to liquidate the religions before they got too big. A sovereign nation worries only about the integrity of its own territory, but religious people don't care if an enemy is next door. They might even open the door to the enemy camp. This worries the governing people.

Rulers of nations have always seen religious people as a very sticky problem. They try to oppress them and accuse them of all kinds of sins. "You spied; you caused violence; you caused disorderly conduct." Then which is the good side? Which one is the aggressor — the government or the religious people? Which is the evil — the rulers or the religious people?

The religious people and religious crusades are constantly utilizing God's Principle. When the Christians arrived in Rome, they had no weapons. The Roman Empire had everything including a trained, disciplined army, and the Romans attacked the Christians over and over. The Christians just withstood the beating and pressed on: Though many were martyred, they continued, and after 400 years the Roman Empire finally surrendered.

Without knowing this principle, many people cry out,"Why did the supreme, Almighty God let His people suffer?" Many people try to say there is no God, or if there is a God that He is helpless. But when you know the Principle, you know where God is

From the point of view of this formula, we can determine which is the period of the Last Days. You can determine the Last Days by observing the world situation. First of all, in the Last Days an adamant, new religious movement will spring up, and the entire world will try to suppress it. Not just one ruler, not just one government, but the entire world together will try to strike that particular religion and demolish it. When you see this sign, you can know for certain that these are the Last Days.

In the Last Days there will be one lonely group of people with the highest possible goal, and they will be attacked not just by white people, but by black and yellow people, too. They will be accused not just by white governments, but by black and yellow governments. The entire universe will try to stop them. Even the established religions will try to suppress that group. Isn't that exciting? To which side would you like to belong?

History is not made at random. History is made according to a definite principle, and it never deviates from that principle. In light of this, we can so clearly see our position in this world as a lonely group, yet with the highest, most noble ideals. Nevertheless, the rest of the world is trying to condemn us. It is with pride and great honor that we belong to this group.

You know the Principle. You know the truth of God, the secrets of God. If God sends one champion in the Last Days, that champion is going to organize a strategy so that he can emerge as a lightning rod, with the rest of the world trying to strike him. He will not try to avoid such a task, but will work according to God's strategy.

In accordance with God's Principle, this is really the wisest and quickest strategy to win over the rest of the world. We must become good lightning rods so the rest of the world is inevitably drawn to come and strike us. To have that happen, we have to irritate the world. How should we do that? What's the best way to irritate the rest of the world? By taking their money? They wouldn't really mind sharing some of their money with us. But if you touch their loved ones, then everybody gets excited!

Who are those loved ones? You are! You are their wives, husbands, daughters and sons. These relationships are very sensitive, so if anybody touches them, the families react immediately. In all the history of religion, we have never seen anything like a parents' movement organized to search for their own children. In all of history, no such organization of parents has ever existed. This is the first time in history that parents have tried to kidnap their own children. Usually a child is kidnapped away from his parents, but this time your parents are coming to kidnap you.

The final showdown

T his unique, extraordinary situation is happening because God has initiated extraordinary things here on earth. The final showdown of good and evil is being waged. That's why we see this extraordinary situation. Is this of my making, or of God's making? God is fulfilling His Principle at this time. Today, even Judaism has come against us. Jews say we are anti-Semitic, and Christianity has come against us, as well as communism. The American government has not exactly put out a red carpet for us. This amazing situation is happening all over the world. To make the situation worse, I sent out missionaries to 120 nations, which created more upheavals and commotion everywhere.

So we can see that wherever we are, the Unification Church is a very lonely group, and the rest of the world, including every government and every kind of religion, is trying to liquidate us. Then where am I going? Am I so naive that I do not know about all the opposition outside? How can I sleep at night? Some people say,"Reverend Moon, your ideology is so superb, but why not be diplomatic? Why don't you talk nicely to The New York Times and The Washington Post?"

Should I be diplomatic, or should we go out and shake the world? Let's get the attention of the world focused upon us. Let them hit me; let them hit us. By doing so, they owe us a debt. The important thing is this: Today I am indeed a focal point here in America, in Korea, Japan, Africa, South America, everywhere. But while the rest of the world is banded together trying to stop me, what do I represent? Do I represent the ideal of God or the ideal of Satan? That's the main question.

You say I represent God, but maybe the rest of the world will say I represent Satan. In the democratic world, majority rule stands. In my case, only a minority is saying that I am on the side of God. The majority says, "No, he is on the side of Satan." Which side can we trust? We must learn a new democratic rule: A minority plus God is the majority! We represent the supreme ideal given by God. As long as God is on our side, we are the majority.

You must know my secret, the secret of the Unification Church. From the very beginning of my ministry I was attacked and attacked and attacked, but I never faltered, never completely gave up, and in the end I always won and prospered. This has been the history of God and the history of the Unification Church. The Bible says that the ones who are patient to the last shall be victorious. Not just one person came against me, not just one nation came against me, and not just this world came against me. In the course of my ministry, the entire spirit world has come against me, and at one point even God came against me and said, "I don't know you."

Even God tested me, but I withstood to the last, surviving even the test of God. Then God surrendered and said, "This is my son to whom I can leave my entire kingdom." God and I made a covenant. God said, "You are the son I have been seeking, the one who can begin my eternal history. Now you are here." And I said, "I have been searching for you, and finally I can know that you are my father in heaven, and I am your own son." Our covenant as father and son was made.

God does not easily give the title "Son of God." First, that person must become the victor over all human history. He must be in a position to pay all the debts of history. He is a rare individual. God took several thousand years to find that one man, and finally He has found him. I have nothing to be proud of, except that I know that God is my father, and I am His son. I am proud that I am entitled to receive the entire love of God, and that I have become a channel of that love. Finally, I can be proud to be entitled to inherit God's kingdom.

The great human desires that Adam and Eve were supposed to fulfill in the Garden of Eden were to become the son and daughter of God, to receive the love of God, and to inherit God's entire kingdom. However, this was all lost by the fall of man. I can now proclaim to the world, however, that the original human desires and God's original plan have been achieved by man through the law of indemnity and the process of restoration, and the attainment of the three blessings is now possible.

The victory of 1976

T he rest of the world came around, trying to beat us, during the momentous year of 1976. In 1976, the entire history of God was culminated in two major events: the Yankee Stadium rally and the Washington Monument rally. World attention toward our movement came to a peak that year. In the year of 1976 I became known to the world. The events that we created, that God created, in the year of 1976 cannot be removed from the history of religion or from human history. I established myself as a super lightning rod in the year 1976. In my public ministry I drew the attention of the world; therefore, after the victory at Washington Monument, I declared that my public speaking had ended. Who won?

Was I defeated or victorious? Those who wished us to fail miserably were watching very attentively for the outcome of the Washington rally. By their own standard, was our accomplishment a success or a failure? Could our adversaries think we were a failure, or do they have to admit we were a complete success?

I want you to know that the Washington Monument rally was a decisive victory that became the turning point of human history. Until then I was just a person to be beaten upon over and over again, and I just persevered. The rest of the world came around me, trying to strike me. I'm sure, without knowing this formula of God's dispensational history, that even many Unification Church members thought, "I don't think God is working through Reverend Moon. If He is, why is Reverend Moon so persecuted and so lonely? Why does he have to go through so much hardship and hard work?" Actually, many Unification Church members ask that question.

Think of it. Even if God is really furious at a government or nation, just exploding in wrath, could He crush it after sending His son to save it? America thinks it is a big country, but God's son is much bigger than America. Sometimes Unification Church members are almost desperately praying, "God, please bring your son down on our opponents a little bit." But I don't pray that way. That will never be my prayer.

God cannot do that. God cannot bring His own son down to crush an opponent, because that will defeat His purpose. Rather, God is allowing the rest of the world to come against me, to hit me like this. By doing that they are just giving up their own blessing to me. Their action of hitting me creates a bridge for blessings to come to me. That's how God harvests the blessings in the Last Days. God will harvest these blessings for one God-centered ideology.

Some people might say, "Reverend Moon, I can now understand God's Principle. But why do you let the Unification Church members suffer? You are the lightning rod, so you should get attacked, take all the hardship and win, but let the rest of the members go easy." But I want you to be a bridge to give out the blessings to the rest of the world. I want you to receive part of the blessings by receiving some of the attack.

This is why I let you suffer. If you go through similar hardships, then you can be recognized together with me, and the blessings I receive will also become yours. That is the only way you can receive them. Then you can distribute these blessings to the world. If people refuse to receive the blessings you distribute, then they will become yours. God will say, "You just go ahead and keep them." So you have no way to lose. So, would you like to receive some persecution?

So far, we have been continuously beaten and we have never even turned around to look at our attackers. But now the time has come for us to turn around and face them. Why? The time has come for a different kind of showdown; now we have to disseminate the blessing. Unless the Unification Church is attacked by the entire world at once, and unless we go over that hill, we cannot be liberated.

I want you to know that this level of accomplishment was not achieved by random actions or on a whim. I have gone through God's precise timetable, from the individual level to the family level, society level, national level, and worldwide level. As you know, if Adam and Eve had not fallen,. they would have been models or symbols of perfection for every level, but because of their fall, the model that God created was not established here on earth. No one has seen that model.

I paid the debts

W hen you read the Old Testament history in the Bible, it is really a history of human failure. There is not much victorious history in the Old Testament. There is so much indemnity to pay for all three of the major ages: the Old Testament era, the New Testament era, and the Completed Testament era. I had to pay all the debts of the past, and then expand that vertical history onto the horizontal level of victory. Unless this is done, there can be no real day of victorious proclamation.

So far, the entire spirit world has been divided because there was no unity, and no dispensational indemnity had been paid here on earth. There is one realm in the spirit world for Judaism, another realm for Christianity, another realm for Buddhism, and so forth. They all have different realms for themselves, so there is no unity in the spirit world.

If there had been no fall, Christianity would not have existed, nor Confucianism, nor Buddhism. There would only be Adamism, from one Adam. Starting from Adam and Eve as the true parents, everybody would have been joined together as their branches. But the true parents never emerged, because of the fall. Therefore, all the division was inevitable. Until the True Parents emerged to make a new beginning, no unity could be seen in the spirit world.

God has been working for so many thousands of years to create this one base where He can install true parents. Starting from the ancient tribes, and continuing through the national history of Israel, and then expanding Christianity into a worldwide religion, God created a base where this new dispensation could take place.

Throughout history, the path of the dispensation followed one pattern through all the levels of family, society, nation and world. For example, Jacob reflects the pattern for the family, but Jacob's blessing did not come easily. He went to the land of Haran and suffered hardship for 21 years. Finally he received the blessing after returning to Canaan. Look at Israel. The chosen people went to Egypt where they suffered untold tragedy and afterward were led through the exodus by Moses. Thus, Jacob was victorious on the family level, and Moses was victorious on the tribal or national level. Then look at how much Christianity has suffered, going to the Egypt-like land of the Roman Empire to suffer for 400 years. Only after that suffering could liberation come to Christianity.

The goal of Jesus

A fter the exodus, the Israelites were able to create their own kingdom, the kingdom of Israel. If Jesus Christ had not been crucified, he would have united the entire Arab territory with Israel, creating one united Kingdom of God in his own time. Jesus would have fulfilled God's ideal of king of kings, not just symbolically but also on the physical level.

God's plan was that Jesus unify the nation of Israel and absorb the Arab territory, and that power was then to have absorbed India and China. Then, even though the Roman Empire was very strong on the European continent, it would have easily been absorbed by Jesus' great kingdom to create one unified Kingdom of God. At that time, the literal Kingdom of God on earth was supposed to have been erected. If Jesus had not been crucified, instead of turning to the West and crossing the Atlantic to America, Christianity would have gone the other way to India, China, and the Orient, and then over to the Western world. However, because of the crucifixion, Christianity made a 180 degree turn and moved toward Rome, England, America, and then back to the Orient.

Today, America is the model Christian nation; it is the fruit of the Christian culture of the entire Christian world. Today, America is in the position of the second Israel. The first Israel was the Jews of 2,000 years ago. The second Israel here in America is a cosmopolitan assemblage of all the people of the world, all the races together, united in one nation. However, even though all are symbolically gathered together in America, complete spiritual and physical unity has not been seen here; the love of God is not yet in full swing. The Unification movement will become the spirit of America and unite the heart of America. We have come to bring together the hearts of all people and all races. We want to melt their hearts together in unity and harmony. According to the Principle, in order to indemnify the past, we have to first create the environment. Today, America is the environment for the new dispensation.

The Messiah could not come to Israel again. This is obvious because it is God's Principle that He cannot use the same people or the same territory twice. God always chooses a new champion. The new messianic mission will unfold in Asia because Asians are internal, like the "mind" of the universe. God will choose one homogeneous, united people — a single race that has a deep religious history and religious capability. That one nation will be chosen from Asia.

There is a parallel that can be seen between the Western world and the Oriental world. For example, in the dispensation of Christianity in Europe, Great Britain was in a position equivalent to Japan in the Orient now, and Italy was in a position equivalent to Korea today. A peninsula is the ideal environment because it serves as a bridge between islands and the continent. New cultural movements blossom on peninsulas. The Hellenic and Roman cultures developed on the Greek and Italian peninsulas. The peninsula is where the island and continental cultures can merge and mingle together to become one unified culture. In the final days, the Western culture and Oriental culture will merge and create a unified culture of the universe on the Korean peninsula.

Historically, the peninsulas have always played critical roles. Vietnam is a peninsula where two cultures clashed and a war was fought. Before World War II, Korea had been annexed to another nation and had lost its sovereignty, but after the war, its liberation came. Now Korea is one nation in Asia that America must not leave. America has given up on so much in Asia, like Vietnam, for example, and now there is a lot of talk about the new administration withdrawing armed forces from Korea. This would not bring fortune to America. For dispensational reasons, America must retain her position in Korea. Great blessing is coming by this link between the United States and Korea. If that link is broken, America will be deeply troubled.

During World War II, the ungodly forces of Japan and Italy were destroyed by the Allied forces. That victory was God's gift to America. America holds stewardship as the servant of God, retaining custody over all of God's property. It is God's will to have America guide all the land of the world that is on the side of God. America must not abandon it, particularly not to communism. That is certainly not the will of God.

The United Nations was invaded

T he establishment of the United Nations, a symbol of world government, was within the will of God. However, God wanted America to take the initiative in world leadership and to create a United Nations without the ungodly forces of communism interfering. After World War II, America continually retreated from world responsibility. Furthermore, by allowing communism to come into the United Nations, America has now foolishly provided a forum for communist propaganda. The United Nations is now a tool for the communists.

American young people by the hundreds of thousands shed their blood during World War II. Through them, God paid such a high price. We can never calculate the value of that blood, and yet America gave it up to enemy hands. America, as a nation, has failed in the sight of God, She harvested God's gift and then gave it to Satan. Can that be forgiven? Satan, who is receiving all of God's beautiful harvest, is still not going to be satisfied. His people are coming into the heart of the United Nations to choke the United States to death.

After World War II, America began a drastic decline. There has been a retreat in the political area, and there are great problems in the economic area. Furthermore, spiritual and moral decline is occurring. For 2,000 years, Christianity has been evangelizing prosperously throughout the world. But in the last several decades, Christian culture, particularly in this country of America, is truly crumbling. The decline is happening rapidly; 2,000 years of tradition and heritage have been crumbling in the last 20 years. Why is that? America has failed as a model Christian nation.

In the 1960s, the tragic plane crash of the secretary general of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold, and the assassination of young President Kennedy were dark signs for the free world. Ever since, America has been declining and retreating. The Nixon Administration was deeply corrupted when the Watergate situation erupted. The administration has changed but this trend continues. In the sight of God, someone must step in to reverse the trend. We must wait and see what will happen.

I am a religious leader. I spoke up during the Watergate affair because I wanted to turn that national crisis around and unite the national conscience of America in a Christian spirit. I knew that the Watergate crisis would bring advantage only to the communists. When America was completely paralyzed by the Watergate situation, communist student were flooding the campuses. For example, at Columbia University, in broad daylight, communist posters and propaganda brochures were being given out.

Communists participated extensively in the American presidential cam- paign. They were trying to influence the elections, to push for someone who will advance their cause. Here in New York, in front of our own World Mission Center, there was a left-wing demonstration for Carter. Are the left-wingers interested in Carter as a man? Not at all. The Carter Administration has to be very, very cautious and alert because there is an unAmerican group of people who looked at the situation and pushed for him, thinking he may work to their advantage.

Human rights

I n the present administration, human rights is a very important issue. This is very good, but how is the administration going to handle violators of human rights? In North Korea, at least three million people were exterminated by the communist regime of Kim Il Sung. In China under Chairman Mao, up to 150 million lives were taken. During the Bolshevik Revolution and the following communist rule in the Soviet Union, over 70 million people were exterminated. The New York Times reported that in Vietnam, about 600,000 people have already been exterminated. So who is really violating human rights? Communists not only violate human rights, they violate human lives!

Congress is talking about the Korean bribery and lobbying situation; But think of it: What Korea is doing is probably nothing compared to what the gigantic nations of the world are doing, trying to influence the American Congress. Even friendly nations get involved in pressuring, like Israel, England, Germany and Japan.

The problem of the KCIA here in America is made out to be something extraordinary. Everybody thinks the whole city of New York is flooded by KCIA agents, but the Korean government has probably dispatched only 10 or 12 people. On the other hand, the Soviet Union has over 1,000 known KGB agents in America to maintain their operatives. And that's only to maintain their central, fanatic operatives. Behind them are thousands of students and professors and different organizations to infiltrate every facet of American life.

If anybody wants to talk about human rights, then he must become a strong anti-communist, because nothing in history has violated human rights more than communism. Among communists, the phrase "human rights" has no meaning because communists deny even the right to live. To them, human life is as worthless as the life of an insect.

Human rights are important; we must preserve human rights. However, the right to live is even more important. We must secure the right to live for all people under communist regimes. This is why I am taking such an adamant stand against communism, and declaring communism as the enemy of God and of mankind. I will not yield even one inch from that position.

The communists know very well that I am their archenemy, and they are trying to destroy us. We can even find churches and government people collaborating with the communists against us. This is a sad situation. Newspapers try to paint a dark picture: "Reverend Moon is an agent of the KCIA." It's incredible, just nonsense. My life is not so small or inconsequential that I would act as a KCIA agent. My eyes and goal are not just for Korea. America is my goal; the world is my goal and target.

No president ever spoke as I did at Yankee Stadium, saying that this nation is burning and needs a fire fighter from the outside, that this nation is mortally ill and needs a doctor from the outside. I came as a fire fighter to this nation, as a doctor to this nation. At Washington Monument I said, "Leave the young people to me. I will rebuild the American youth so that they can go out to truly liberate the world." No religious leaders or political leaders in the history of America ever spoke like this. I did because I have reason to say such things.

America doesn't understand

A ctually, I am deeply mistreated by America. Americans do not know me. But some day they will realize that I am truly the most notable and precious VIP that ever came to this nation. You must know that you are the people who must fight for this. No one can pull your loyalty and conviction in God and His kingdom out of your brain. No one can pull that ideology out of you. No atomic bomb, no military might, no weapon can do that. You are becoming invincible individuals now.

I am not here to please the government or the politicians; I am a prophet, a messenger of God. Whenever I have something to say, I will say it, whatever it is. I know very well that certain government people will be irritated by my remarks because they do not like to hear these things. However, I must speak the truth; no one can stop me from speaking the truth. We cannot trust anyone. We can only trust ourselves, because we have a mission ordained by God. We are not here for ourselves; we must influence the power of the nation because that is the will of God. A long time ago, I committed my life to this mission. It does not matter that there is danger around me; I have already given up my life.

Korea and America must not break apart. Once that link is broken, tragedy will come. From the current trend of history God knows very well what will happen now that liberalism is rampant and communist infiltration is so widespread. The situation is very dismal. That is why God sent me to America as His agent. God asked me to hold America, to keep America linked with Asia, to restore His blessing to all the Christian world, and then to liberate the communists. That is God's mandate.

When I declared that I would go to Moscow, I meant it. When they hear me say, "Moscow is our goal ' the communists will laugh, "How can you?" All right, they can laugh. Twenty years ago in Korea, in a small room only big enough for two or three people, with a roof that leaked, I talked about world unification. I predicted my world ministry and the sending of missionaries to 120 countries, and I predicted this crusade in America. Twenty years ago in that small room, everybody thought those were crazy ideas.

Today, compared to the size of the communists' power, the New Yorker Hotel is like that small cubbyhole of 20 years ago. We have only a handful of people, yet we are talking about the liberation of the communists; we are talking about Moscow. I am sure most people laugh. Let them laugh now. I know one thing: In the communist world, the children of the communist leaders are on the side of God. The next generation in the Soviet Union will be on my side.

The spirit world will take care of them. The spirit world will manifest itself and show the truth to those children. Those children will fight against their own fathers; that's God's strategy. God has started that operation already. Even here in America, spiritual revelation is coming down to the leadership of this nation, even to members of Congress. Behind the scenes, truly astonishing spiritual phenomena are unfolding. The heavenly spiritual assault has begun.

What have I been doing in these last several decades? What I have done as a man in history, representing all of mankind, is to really declare victory in the name of God. Before heaven and earth I truly stand now as a victor in the name of God. No one like that has ever existed in history.

I had to suffer the most

I could have avoided suffering, but I knew the Principle. According to that Principle, I have to suffer more than any other individual here on earth. Throughout thousands of years of history, men have committed innumerable dirty, impossible sins. In order to liberate the people of the world from the sins of history, I have had to go down to the very bottom of the sinful world. Therefore I have gone through every decent occupation that a man can possibly have. There is only one thing that I have not experience military life — because I did not want to shoot anyone.

Except for killing a person, I have experienced every situation in human life. One time I was a beggar and slept on the street. I know what a beggar feels like on a cold winter night, sleeping in the snow. I was a laborer, a farmer, a dock worker, a sportsman, a mountain man. I have been a miner digging coal There is nothing under the sun that a God-centered man can do that I have not tasted. Why? Because I wanted to drop a silk line of life everywhere so that those sinners in every corner, every walk of human life, could have a rope to climb to reach God.

I went through hardship not only because of the Korean people. Since coming to America, I have faced many hardships because of Westerners. White people, yellow people and black people, all together, have been trying to tear me apart. Does the American movement bring money to me, or do I bring money to the movement? I am a parent, and even more than parents in the outside world, I am concerned about money for you. A small nation like Korea has always been trying to win a little more military and economic aid from the United States, trying to squeeze out more money. But I am the opposite. From Korea, I have come to this country, pouring everything I have, my zeal and heart and soul, into America. So no matter what the American people say, my conscience is clear.

I want to set the condition that as a parent, I truly gave out everything for all the children of the world. I want to buy houses for them, for Americans, South Americans, Africans and Europeans. I want to be a parent to all the races of every land in the world. I will earn that money; I am not depending on your economy. I want you to take care of yourself and do your mission. In the meantime, I will bring down the blessing from heaven, and part of it will go to you. For example, our World Mission Center was not bought with your fund raising money. Not at all.

The Tiffany Building and 43rd Street Headquarters, none of those great real estate investments came from American sources. The American church is always in the red and I have to subsidize you. You didn't know that, did you? The newspapers do not say that I am bringing in my resources to help America. They know it, but they will not write about it.

I experienced everything

I want to become a unique man. I will experience and fulfill everything that man is supposed to do. Truly, I have done everything that a man can do, without limitation. Is my appearance acceptable to you? Normally men have small hips, but I am rather heavy through the middle. It is because I have guts and strength.

In high school days, I was a champion in Korean-style wrestling. Now I am like a rock and no one can defeat me. I can certainly speak, and I can be very artistic in calligraphy; I can complete a whole volume of literature overnight. When I was teaching Sunday school, I was very popular among the children, and everybody else was crazy about my God- centered storytelling. They were fascinated and I could go on and on for hours. I can also express much through my face.

In the world of literature, I can quickly grasp the concepts of the great masterpieces and great writers. In the communist prison in North Korea, everybody was my friend, like my followers in a way. Everybody liked me because I understood the people and filled their needs. When we were together, they forgot their fatigue, their suffering, and their anguish as though springtime had come. When I go to a farming region, I am a great friend of farmers. Because I speak their language, I instantly become the master of the farmhouse, and everybody says, "Won't you come in and stay for supper? Try our home grown potatoes!"

History always has a central flow, like the mainstream of a river, but in our history, the side streams were all blocked. I am now clearing that blockage away so that the water of life can flow. I am the one bringing all the tributaries of human history back to life.

I have the conviction and determination that I can do anything that man is made to do. As a religious leader, I have set my criteria as high as possible. The great spiritual leaders of history achieved a certain level but there were also many great failures. I wanted to go as high as possible and restore all the failures of men. I have done that.

In the spirit world there has been no free circulation. Everyone has been blocked into compartments. I wanted to make every river flow from the spirit world to the physical world and from the physical world to the spirit world. Now all these barriers are broken down so everything can flow, like the circulation in the human body.

Throughout history, there were tributaries for the family level, the tribal level, the national level and the worldwide level. I started out from the very top and took away the blockages between them so that the water could flow. So far, each religion has been only a single stream. Jews say, "Only Judaism is important. " Christians say, "Only Christians can come to the Father; everybody else is destined to hell." Religious people have been so arrogant because they did not know how to link together with others. But somebody has to open the connecting streams so that the water of life can flow from one stream to another.

In order to unify all the religions of the world, a person must know the essence of every religion; Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and so forth. When unity is made in spirit world and all the rivers flow together, that unity can be brought down to be copied here on the earth. That is what my ministry is all about. Here on earth, I am going to copy the work I have already done in the spirit world. Then the spirit world and physical world can become united.

Uniting the spiritual and physical worlds

S o far, the spirit world and the physical world have been separate, and because of this separation, our minds and bodies have also been disunited. Unless we bring the spirit world down to the physical world, there is no way for our minds and bodies to unite. During the period of establishing unity, there are tribulations and hardships on each level: individual, family, tribal, national and worldwide. This is what I have already had to withstand, even as I was constantly pushing myself forward. Just listening to this, perhaps you think it is easy. Talk is easy, but think of what an impossible task it is for one lifetime.

In order to become a victor as an individual, you must be able to withstand having the weight of the entire spirit world on your shoulders. Then the burden of the entire physical world will also come upon your shoulders. To become an individual victor, you must first be able to sustain yourself. Then you must expand your own strength and dominion onto the family level.

As an individual, Jesus Christ withstood the weight of the spirit world and overcame all temptations, yet he could not quite move to the family level. He was prevented from organizing his own family to withstand the weight of the world. When I organized the family of God, starting with the 36 Couple Blessing in 1961, there was tremendous commotion and persecution outside. We could not have a serene, peaceful ceremony. It was an emergency, so I divided the brides and bridegrooms into three different teams and we had one ceremony early in the morning, one ceremony quickly in the middle of the day, and another ceremony at night.

Their parents came to say, "Who is going to marry my daughter? Who is going to marry my son? No, you can't do that! Give me my son; give me my daughter!" The protest was extraordinary. But in the sight of God, the True Parents are the only parents who have the power to recreate fallen children as God's children and to give heavenly marriage to create heavenly homes. Physical parents do not have that authorization from God.

Even on the very day of the 36 Couple Blessing, not only the parents but the government, too, wanted to investigate our church. In order not to discourage the members, I had to go secretly to the police station to testify on the very day that I was to bless the couples.

Actually, the entire world was so satanic that when I came to earth, there was not even a tiny spot for me to stand on. I had to push the surroundings away to make room, little by little. Each battle is a risk and an adventure. The family of God is being organized, beginning with the installation of the True Parents in 1960. The first Blessing of the family of God was given to the 36 couples, who represent the entire dispensational history and who will become the ancestors of mankind. The 72 Couple Blessing represented 36 Cains and 36 Abels on the family level.

Since Jesus Christ had 12 disciples who were supposed to begin 12 tribes, the 120 Couple Blessing represented 12 tribes of 10 couples each, making the worldwide foundation for God's worldwide family. On the basis of that victory, I had the right to set up holy grounds all over the world, thus claiming the land for God.

Next, the Blessing of 430 couples represented the entire Korean people as the chosen nation whether they believed in God or not, thereby setting the condition for everyone to be restored. Korea has a history of over 4,300 years. Therefore, these 430 couples came out of Korean history, but their number is also equivalent to the 430 years that the Israelites suffered in Egypt. The Israelites' exodus began after 430 years of exile in Egypt. In the same way that they left Egypt, we began the journey to Canaan, the symbol of the Kingdom of God.

Since the journey into Canaan, the Kingdom of God, had begun, God had to link the entire dispensation to the worldwide level. So I gathered 43 couples from among the worldwide leaders. The 43 Couple Blessing was the worldwide symbolic counterpart of the Blessing the 430 Korean couples. Through the 430 couples, all the Korean people have conditional salvation in the sense that they can come to realize the truth. In the same way, through these 43 couples who were chosen from all around the world, all the nationalities and races of the world have a chance to be saved. The next Blessing is commonly known as the triple seven or 777. Couple Blessing. This represents spinning a silk thread to all mankind on a worldwide basis, making Blessings possible all over the world. The first of these truly massive worldwide weddings came with the 1,800 Couple Blessing in 1975.

My worldwide ministry

A fter these Blessings, I started my worldwide ministry, my public life. I came to America in 1972, and for three and a half years I swept through the Western world, declaring the message of God. That course was culminated at Madison Square Garden and the mammoth eight city tour that concluded successfully in Los Angeles.

During this period of the Day of Hope tours, I received several hundred proclamations, honorary citizenship and letters of appreciation from mayors of cities, governors, and prominent people of the world. I don't think any individual in America has ever received that many proclamations in praise of his work.

Because America initially welcomed me, the persecution I received in Korea could be restored. Korea persecuted me, but when I went out to the world, the world accepted me, at least initially. Therefore, I could return to Korea as a victor. At that time I brought a gift to Korea — not a material gift or a gift of money — but the most precious gift possible from the Western world: Western young people, members of the International One World Crusade (IOWC).

I laid the victorious foundation in America, in the Western world. Then to bring about the real fruit of victory, I returned to Korea with young people of the Western world as representatives of the Christian world. Spiritually, the victorious foundation had been laid, and upon that foundation I returned to my own homeland. Why? Jesus Christ was crucified 2,000 years ago due to the oppression and persecution of the nation and government of that time. Together the national leaders of Israel and the Roman government had Jesus crucified. In order to liberate that sorrow, that indemnity, I had to go back to Korea, this time for glory.

Two thousand years ago, Judaism was in the same position as Christianity is today, and Jesus' movement was in the same position as the Unification Church is today. I created the same set of circumstances in our time. In this environment, America was in the position of the Roman Empire. America gave initial success to me and welcomed me as one preaching the truth of Christianity. When I went back to Korea with hundreds of young people, the Korean government, in the position of Israel, welcomed me instead of opposing me. Indemnity and restitution were paid. Two thousand years ago Judaism united with the government to come against Jesus. But this time the government sided with the Unification Church, almost pushing the existing churches aside.

In Korea there was a physical showdown between the Unification Church and the Christian churches. Starting from Pusan, I began a crusade of all the major cities. It was the first time I ever spoke publicly to the Korean people. In Pusan, Taegu, Taejun, Seoul and in every city there was a showdown. The IOWC recalls it very well. But it was a landslide victory. The people came like clouds. There was no way to even get all the people inside, so many thousands of people always stood outside listening to me.

Upon the foundation of the spiritual victory in the Western world, I could win a physical victory in Korea, which was culminated in the June 7 Rally for Korean Freedom. There were 1.2 million people gathered together, as well as representatives from 60 nations all over the world. The government could not even dream of creating this kind of rally. This was a victorious stand on the national level.

Instead of crucifying me, Koreans came and praised my success. They lifted me up in the greatest rally ever held. When the 1.2 million people cheered me, it was a national cheer. The 60 national representatives that came from all over the world were links to bring the physical, national victory of Korea back to their own nations. Because of that, I could come out of Korea again for a new crusade.

The Washington Monument victory

A fter the spiritual victory in the Western world, I won the physical victory in Korea. Upon the foundation of these spiritual and physical victories, I came back to America again to give the final dispensational push in the year of 1976. It was a dramatic, historical year, the most extraordinary year in God's history. From the victory at Yankee Stadium, we moved right on to Washington Monument the same year. The Washington Monument rally on Sept. 18 lifted up God's dispensation to its highest victory and fulfillment.

The Washington Monument and Yankee Stadium campaigns were not conducted in a welcoming atmosphere. It was hostile. The press was hostile. By then they knew who I was, and because they could feel the threat, they were trying to block our work in any way possible. Since the Washington Monument victory was won under those adverse conditions, it was even more valuable and victorious.

The 40 day campaign in Washington was equivalent to Jesus Christ's 40 days of ministry after the resurrection. Only after the victory of those 40 days could Jesus ascend into heaven. In the same way, I consummated my physical mission here on earth through the 40 day campaign in Washington and through winning the victory at the Washington Monument rally.

The victory of the Washington Monument rally was the most significant event in human history and God's history. By that victory, the doors of heaven were open and all the barriers were broken down. An intermingling of the waters of life started between the spirit world and the physical world. All the separate compartments were opened up so that the water could circulate. That was the effect brought about by the Washington Monument victory.

The spirit world was liberated; the barriers were broken and they no longer exist. Spirits can now freely come down to the physical world and participate in our physical crusades here on earth. Even if I pass away, the mission will not stop; my mission is consummated. The divine purpose of God has been fulfilled. With this victory, I declared Oct. 4, 1976, as the Day of the Victory of Heaven. This was a very special day. On the Day of Victory of Heaven, God truly won His historical battle. This is the joy of the earth. There is no question about it.

It was therefore also a day of joy for Mother and myself, a day of joy for the blessed families, a day of joy for the members of the entire Unification Church around the world. Feb. 20, 1977, on the solar calendar, is equivalent to Jan. 3, 1977, on the lunar calendar. Therefore, on Feb. 20, the year of 1976 was completely over by both the lunar and the solar calendars. The year of victory had completely passed away, and the year of joy and happiness had begun. But I knew that there were certain 777 couples and 1,800 couples whose Blessing had been broken; some mates had failed me and run away, while the other mate was still standing in obedience to me. These were personal tragedies suffered by the 777 and 1,800 couples. Since they, too, should be happy, but couldn't be under the circumstances, I made a special dispensation to gather them from around the world and re-bless them. This was the momentous Blessing that took place on Feb. 21, right here in the World Mission Center.

Therefore, I set all the conditions for everyone to be happy. Heaven is happy. Earth is happy. God is happy. True Parents are happy. All the blessed members are now happy, and all the members of the Unification Church are happy. All the happiness and joy can be enjoyed by everyone. Therefore, today, three days after that Blessing, the entire cosmos will celebrate this day, Jan. 6, 1977, by the lunar calendar, not only as the day of True Parents' birthday, but also as the day when the historical new era began.

Surpassing age 33

D o you know that Mother's and my birthday really are on the same day? We did not arrange it that way; it is the same day by birth. Furthermore, today Mother is going over her 33rd year; she is now 34. Jesus Christ could not go over the age of 33. He wanted to celebrate his 34th birthday with God, but he could not because of the crucifixion. Now that Mother's age is going over 34 this year, she is going beyond the level of Jesus' life of 33 years. Therefore, today is an even more momentous day. From this time on, Satan has no right to bring accusation to the throne of God; heaven will not allow it.

Why could Satan ever have brought accusation to the throne of God? The universe that God originally intended was to have God at the center, with Adam, Eve and the archangel all united into one. In that world, no one would have accused anybody. There would have been no opponents or adversaries in that world. If anybody had opposed such perfect harmony and unity, he would have been crushed. That is the Principle.

However, instead of uniting with God, Adam, Eve and the archangel kicked God away, separated themselves, and created the fallen world. Mankind fell below the level of the archangel, who was there like a barrier between man and God. Therefore, Satan has always been in the closest position to God, and could speak to God. He could always accuse people before God.

Because Lucifer was the chief archangel, the good archangels Michael and Gabriel could not intervene. Even though he was fallen, Lucifer was still boss. The junior members could not speak out. Lucifer has been arrogant, directly confronting God all throughout fallen history.

During this fallen history, God could deal only with the fallen world, because there was no alternative; there was no sinless or perfected world for Him to deal with. Therefore, God had no choice but to deal with the fallen archangel and fallen mankind. The True Parents came to establish individual perfection and to expand the true Adam's territory. True Adam had to first create his own small place on the earth and then expand his territory to a family level, to a tribal level, to a national level and a worldwide level. By confronting Satan, he won territory, and suddenly God had an alternative; there were two worlds He could choose from.

When did this battle occur? The world-level confrontation between the satanic world and the perfected Adam's world occurred at the Washington Monument rally. That is why it was so significant. Now God has a choice; He now has His son, Adam, here on earth. Furthermore, there is also a perfected Eve here on earth, and God's family, tribe, nation and world. Symbolically they are all set up. Since Lucifer is fallen, the true archangel position is now being filled by Jesus Christ. Taking the role of archangel in the spirit world, Jesus has united with Adam and Eve here on earth and with God. Through that action, all four parties have united for the first time in history.

Jesus is reigning in the spirit world as the spiritual head, and the True Parents are leading the physical world. Therefore, the spirit world and physical world are finally united with God. This is the one perfected realm that God has been seeking to build for 6,000 years. It has finally been done.

Satan cannot approach God

F or 6,000 years, Satan has enjoyed a position of closeness to God. But the unity between the True Adam and Jesus Christ created a new world, pushing Satan aside. Therefore, the fallen archangel, Satan, cannot come to speak to God anymore. When he tries to speak to God, God will say to him, "Go through the True Parents first; don't come to Me directly. Read the Principle. According to the Principle of Creation, you are in the servant role. Adam is my son, and you are supposed to obey My son. Don't come to Me directly. I'm not going to see my servant any more."

If the archangel comes to Adam and Eve, then the True Parents say, "If you want to send a message to God, first you must obey us. You must come back to your original position before the fall." Then the archangel would no longer be Satan.

Since Satan knows that True Adam and Eve will never budge, he tries to go through Jesus in spirit world, but Jesus says, "What are you talking about? I am the second Adam. You were victorious over the first Adam, but I am the second Adam, perfected Adam. I have lordship over you. You must obey me before you ask me to send a message to God."

According to the Principle, this victorious achievement completely blocks Satan's route to God. Satan no longer has a route or a way to accuse man before God. If you believe this 100 percent, you can talk to Satan in the same way; you can subjugate Satan. Mother and I are giving you the privilege, the authority to speak to Satan that way. You have the power to subjugate Satan, you and the posterity of the Unification Church members.

The topic of today's message is: "Today in the Light of the Dispensational History." I am declaring to you that as of today, all the dispensational history has ended, has been completed. All the conditions of indemnity for history have been met and paid in full. From this moment on, the more opposition we face, the more victories we will win. We will not be harmed or take a beating. Any persecution, suffering, or pressure that the outside world gives us will be returned to us as an equal amount of blessing. It is not indemnity.

We will win God's territory back to him, inch by inch, until the year 2000. We will win physically, substantially, and each day's work will accumulate so that every effort will contribute, inch by inch, to the Kingdom of God from this time on up to the year 2000.

Even though the satanic world is attacking, it is no longer advancing. We are the group, we are the power, we are the force that is advancing. Satan is shooting at us, but he is retreating. At least by the year 2000 we must complete the realization of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Today let us truly proclaim the day of liberation. I am going to lead three cheers, the most significant, victorious cheers of all history. Let's make them that way. These three cheers include the victory of God, of True Parents, of the entire angelic world, of the human world, and even of the satanic world. They bring liberation to all five levels. These are three cheers of victory to liberate the five most significant levels, from God down to the satanic world.

This is the new beginning of the new history of God. Therefore, this is the first year of the Kingdom of God. Year One of the Kingdom of God.