Truth is My Sword, Volume II

by Bo Hi Pak

Chapter 5 Why Christ Is Coming

Celebration of Life-First Night
Seattle, Washington
May 22, 1974

Father first introduced the Sun Myung Moon Christian Crusade in May of 1974. The Crusade was originally entitled "Celebration of Joy" and its purpose was to uplift the Christian spirit in America and to teach key points of the Divine Principle. Each Crusade lasted three days. On the first night, Dr. Pak would speak about the need for the Lord of the Second Advent. On the second night, he would explain how Christ would appear again and on the third night, he would reveal the hidden meaning of the Fall of Man. The celebration included performances by the New Hope Singers and the Korean Folk Ballet, and concluded each time with a "Rainbow Reception" where guests were invited to attend Divine Principle workshops. The first crusade was held in Oakland, California, from May 15-17. The following speeches are from the second Crusade, held in Seattle, Washington, May 22 24, 1974. At each of the events, Dr. Pak was introduced to the audience by his daughter Grace (Na Kyung).

Introduction by Grace Pak

I have the great privilege of introducing to you Col. Bo Hi Pak and sharing with you why he feels the urgent need to speak to the American people. Today the American churches are in trouble. The Christian doctrines of the modern churches often lack rationality, and they are full of many different interpretations. Our churches face a spiritual and philosophical deadlock. Dr. Samuel Miller, dean of Harvard Divinity School, said, "Christianity may be at death's door. I f religion is to have any real place in this modern world, it must undergo a revolution." But what is to bring about this revolution? What is to bring about a new spiritual awakening and revitalization of the Christian churches here in America? A new revelation from God.
We have been working for 2,000 years with the Christian ideal and yet have not succeeded in establishing the kingdom of heaven on earth. We have tried all the possible theories and ideals to break the spiritual deadlock. But our efforts have been in vain. We are at a time when we must prepare for the Second Advent. We need a new revelation now! And God has revealed it to us through Reverend Sun Myung Moon to be shared with all of mankind.
Col. Pak, as the principal evangelist and the director general of the Sun Myung Moon Christian Crusade, has the responsibility to proclaim this new revelation to America, and he is doing so with great passion and authority, thus rekindling the hearts of thousands of Americans and renewing their spirit of dedication to God and then mobilizing these young people for God.
Thus our crusade is one of true joy and happiness and the excitement of redirected life. During the crusade, members of the company nicknamed Col. Pak "God's Colonel." That is fine with him. He has noticed that throughout history colonels have the habit of breaking records and doing unusual things. Col. Charles Lindbergh, who first flew over the Atlantic. Col. Davy Crockett, who made history at the Alamo. Col. John Glenn, the first man in orbit, and of course Col. Harlan Sanders invented Kentucky Fried Chicken.
So, Col. Pak feels there is no limit to what a colonel can do. For your inspiration tonight, I present to you Col. Bo Hi Pak, God's colonel and my daddy.

Thank you, Grace. [You're welcome, daddy.] Tonight I am greatly honored to be introduced by my own daughter. After all, how many evangelists have that privilege? Not even Billy Graham. But, of course, Billy Graham does not need an introduction. One day my daughter told me, "Dad, I don't want you to be too famous like Billy Graham because then you wouldn't need me to introduce you." I told her, "Grace, you don't understand why God has called me. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

Tonight I feel very unworthy to stand before you. I prayed earnestly that the presence of God be with us and move each one of us tonight. When you read the Bible, in John 16:25 Jesus says, "I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father." That hour has arrived. Tonight the message you are going to hear is going to be a plain message. It is not in figures, not in symbols or parables. When you read further, 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 says, "For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away ... For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall understand fully." We will understand fully. That hour has arrived.

Tonight you are going to meet the truth face to face. Not because I am here telling you, but because God has spoken to a modern-day prophet. The Reverend Sun Myung Moon has brought the greatest message of all, for all mankind. Tonight you have a taste of that revelation. We are here at the Celebration of Life. I saw so much laughter and so many smiles and happy faces. But do you know that in a truer sense we do not have a life to celebrate? No life. Yes, no life. In the sight of God, mankind has been long dead. You read in the Bible that God created in the dawn of human history the first man Adam and the first woman Eve. Then God gave them the commandment. God said to them, "Of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall die." This is the first time in the Bible that death is mentioned. The first man and first woman disobeyed God. Did they die? No. According to the Bible Adam lived another 900 years after his disobedience. Do you think God lied to them? No. God cannot lie. Then what is the death that Adam and Eve suffered in the sight of God?

In order to know the true meaning of death, I would like tonight to start by explaining the true meaning of life. I would like to use this chart for illustration. There is only one life in the universe. There is only one life and that life is God. God is life. The Bible says that in Him is life. You further read in John 5:26, "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in himself" Life is something to be granted. We all need to be granted life from God.

Lost: The Source of Life

I have a simple illustration here. Here is a regular electric bulb. When I turn on the switch, light comes on. This bulb has life. However, this life does not come from the bulb itself. It comes from electricity. It comes from the power plant. The source of life is the power plant, not the bulb. I have another bulb. No matter how many times I turn on the switch, this bulb does not have life. It is dead, simply because the wire is disconnected from the source. So this bulb has no way to have life. The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they separated themselves from the source of life: God. This is the true death they suffered. When you read 1 Corinthians 3:16 St. Paul says, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you?" Man is built as a temple of God. This body is the house of the spirit of God. This is the house where true life is to dwell.

Once this happens, then we are all to live in perfection. In this world no one truly believes in perfection. When anyone uses the word "perfection," we all say no one is perfect except God. This is a true statement. No one here on earth is perfect except God. But there is a way for man to become perfect, to become one with God, to dwell in the very source of perfection. It is when we dwell in the perfection of God that man can be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. This is why the Bible says in Matthew 5:48, "You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect." Did you ever think that, in a way, all men are like automobiles? God is in the driver's seat. As long as the perfect God is driving us, this automobile, this human being has no way to get in an accident.

Upon the face of this earth have we ever seen such men of perfection? Yes. One man. Jesus Christ. One day one of the disciples asked Jesus: "Philip said to him, `Lord, show us the Father and we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, `Have I been with you so long, yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father ... Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?"' [John 14:8-10] Jesus is saying that he and the Father are one. Inseparable. They are living one will. "I am in the Father and the Father in me." The two are one. It is truly the sting of perfection. Jesus was the first man who ever walked on the face of the earth as a man of perfection. The temple was perfect in him. The spirit of God was dwelling in him. He exercised the deity. Jesus was not only living on a human level, but also on a God-like level.

But God did not intend the first perfection to be in Jesus Christ. God intended that the first humans of perfection be Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. If they had not fallen, they would have obtained the perfection Jesus was speaking of. If Adam and Eve had obtained that perfection, what would have happened? When you read the Bible, God said to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth." This was the desire of God. God would have brought Adam and Eve, as the God-centered temples, together in heavenly matrimony so they could bring to this world millions and billions of good offspring.

Heaven on Earth

But today 30 billion people populate the world. Americans, Koreans, Indians, Eskimos -- every single one of them is supposed to be a temple of God, dwelling in the perfection of God. What would you call this world if that happened? There can be only one name. The one name for this world would be the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom of heaven must be on earth because God created Adam on earth. So Adam's generation, the perfected generation, would have filled this earth. We would have seen the perfection and kingdom of God here in Seattle, here in America, and all over the world.

If that kingdom of heaven were achieved, what kind of society would that have been? Let me give you an illustration. The kingdom of heaven is like a society working like one human body. The scientists say we have more than 30 billion cells in our body, and all those cells work harmoniously without contradiction. Why? Because every single cell is under the command of one brain. My left hand cannot harm my right hand. If the left hand harms the right hand, then my brain would say ouch. The left hand is hurting himself.

One day these proud two hands may look down at my two feet and say, "You two dirty feet down there, you poor souls, all day long you have had to stay in those dark, dirty black shoes. You have never had a chance to see this beautiful world. Poor souls. Look how free I am. I am not even covered. Look how clean I am." Then the two feet could speak back to the hands, saying, "That is very true, I get dirty and smelly at night. But do you know that somebody always comes down and washes me when I get dirty? That is you. You hands." Furthermore, these two feet are saying, "Sometimes I get so dirty and so smelly even I don't want to touch myself. I am so glad somebody washes me."

But, fortunately, the hands and legs and feet don't work in our body that way. All the parts and members of the body are working for one purpose, the well-being of the entire body. This is like a heavenly kingdom because one brain is in charge of the well-being of the entire body. One heavenly God was supposed to control the entire population for the wellbeing and joy and happiness of the entire world. This is why the Bible says, "If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together." Now you are the body of Christ, individual members of it. In this heavenly kingdom every single one of us is a member of God. A child of God. We can't hurt each other. We cannot be dishonest to each other. We cannot make each other suffer. We can only work for the wellbeing of God and the entire human race.

This was the kingdom God intended on earth in the Garden of Eden. But Jesus said that Adam brought death. What is death? Jesus said that everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. And St. Paul said that the wages of sin is death. Since then, instead of dwelling in the perfection of God, we have been dwelling in corruption. We have been living in fallen nature, a world of selfishness and death. We created the kingdom of hell. We don't have to go too far to see hell.

The other day I went to the hospital. One boy there was paralyzed in the lower part of his body. He was in very poor shape. I was shocked to see that the boy's hands were tied. When I asked the nurse why she did that, she answered, "That boy does not have any sensation in the lower part of his body and when he is untied he uses a knife to cut his leg. He hurts himself and he does not feel the pain." This is exactly the situation of the fallen world. We hurt each other, we fight with each other, we drop bombs and do many terrible things, but we do not feel the pain. Our hearts are numb because we suffer from sin. Separation from God. God has been separated from mankind. In reality, we live in the kingdom of hell. This is the kingdom of hell right here on earth.

Furthermore, this kingdom is centered not on God, but on Satan. Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil." According to the words of Jesus, the god of this world is not God, but Satan. We have been sinful and subjugated in sin and chains. This is the nature of the fallen world. But this world should be centered upon God. God should serve as the nerve center. Everything should work in harmony, unity, and beauty. It was the world God intended. But instead we live in the world of hell because of the disobedience of the first man, Adam.

What is God going to do? Will God give up? No, God will not. God promised that He is going to save mankind. The will of God is salvation. What is salvation? To know what salvation is, let us ask: What does a doctor do for his patients to give them salvation? To cure a patient, a doctor needs to bring the patient back to normal health. What would you say to a drowning person in the water? All you have to do to save him, to give him salvation, is bring him out of the water onto dry land. In other words, salvation is the act of restoration.

By the same token, the salvation God is working toward is to restore fallen mankind from this kingdom of hell into the kingdom of God, the world of original goodness. The will of God, therefore, is restoration. In Isaiah 46:11 God shows His clear determination: "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it." God did not say, I may do it or I might do it. God said I will do it. It is the iron will of God that the kingdom of heaven be restored on earth. God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to this world as the savior, the messiah, as a restorer, to transform hell into the kingdom of heaven. This is why Jesus said 2,000 years ago, "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand." By the coming of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God was indeed being offered to humanity. By the coming of Jesus, the kingdom was at hand.

The Clear Cut Answer

Do we have that kingdom here, 1,974 years later? We know we do not have that perfection. We do not yet have that kingdom here on earth. Why? The savior came 2,000 years ago. Perfection dwelled here 2,000 years ago. Why are the kingdom and perfection not here yet? This is truly the gravest question the Christian world has been asking, all humanity has been asking. Tonight you will have the clear-cut answer.

You know, 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ came, something extraordinary happened. I would like to bear witness to this. However, instead of me doing it, let me ask some witnesses to come forward and speak to you. The first witness I would like to bring to you is Stephen. In Acts 7:51-52, Stephen said, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered." Stephen said that they had betrayed and murdered Jesus. When people heard this testimony their conscience hurt. They could not hear the truth anymore. So they stuffed their ears, picked up stones, and threw them at Stephen. Stephen was martyred. But shortly before he died, Stephen looked up to heaven and he saw heaven open and Jesus Christ standing on the right-hand side of God. In the Bible, Jesus is usually described as sitting on the right-hand side of God, but as a tribute to Stephen, Jesus Christ was standing and ready to receive the soul of Stephen. This was an act of approval of Stephen condemning his own people for murdering the righteous one, Jesus Christ.

My second witness is St. Peter. You know Peter as the chief disciple of Jesus. When you read Acts 3:13-15 Peter says to his own people, "The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead." Peter says that they killed the author of life.

Another famous witness is St. Paul. I am sure you know St. Paul very well. He was one of the most dynamic disciples of Jesus. But do you know St. Paul never had a chance to accept Jesus Christ in his own lifetime? Furthermore, St. Paul was an adversary of Jesus. He was brutally persecuting the disciples of Jesus. On the way to Damascus to kill more of Jesus' disciples, he was struck by the spirit of God. His eyes were opened. He was able to see the truth. His heart was broken, but it was too late. St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:8, "None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." He says that if they had known who Jesus Christ was, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. He is saying it was a mistake for Jesus to be crucified.

From these witnesses, we can see there was ignorance and blindness on the part of the chosen people of Israel. That blindness and ignorance resulted in the crucifixion. Jesus Christ did not come to die. He came to perfect the kingdom here on earth so he could truly fulfill God's will on earth. But he began his ministry at the age of 30 and he was crucified at the age of 33. It was not enough time for Jesus to build his kingdom here on earth. The chosen people of Israel did not give him a chance. This is why Jesus said that he would return so that he can complete the mission God has given to him.

Let us examine what was God's will. Many people think God sent his son Jesus Christ simply and solely to be nailed to the cross, that this was the sole purpose of His son coming. If that was the case, God did not need the chosen people of Israel. It would have been far better for God to send His son among the barbarians, disbelievers, even among cannibals. They would have crucified the son of God faster and the will of God would have been quickly accomplished. No, it doesn't fit into 20th-century logic.

God's Will for His Son

God's will was for His son to be accepted. God wanted his son to be accepted like Dwight Eisenhower was as the commanding general, in order to successfully launch the D-Day landing. Eisenhower rehearsed so many times because he could not afford to make a mistake. God sending His son to this earth was like a Normandy landing operation for God. He cannot afford any blunder. He meticulously prepared the nation and people of Israel. He sent many prophets and John the Baptist, and the mission of every single one of them was to prepare His people so when the Son of God came to that land He would be accepted. That was the will of God.

For that purpose Jesus also worked very hard to be accepted. One time a disciple asked Jesus, "What must we do to be doing the work of God?" Jesus did not say, "Crucify me on the cross, then you shall be saved by my blood." Jesus did not say that. Jesus said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent." Accept me. Believe in me. Unite with me, that is the work of God. Jesus desperately tried to have his people recognize him as the son of God and accept him. Jesus Christ is like the heavenly Ajax. In our home Ajax is very handy. All the stubborn stains can come out with Ajax. Jesus Christ and God came like a heavenly Ajax. They came with the power to cleanse sin. In Matthew 9:6 Jesus says that the son of man has the authority on earth to forgive sins. He has the power. No matter how stubborn the sin and stains of mankind, as long as mankind accepted, he has the power to take off the sins and bring back all of mankind whole. This is why Jesus said the kingdom will come when He is recognized and accepted as the Son of God.

But the people of Israel at that time were not of that mind. They kept rejecting him. Jesus knew these people needed something extraordinary. So Jesus worked the mighty works. Do you think Jesus performed the mighty works to show off his power like a magician? No. Jesus wanted to have people accept him as the son of God. But knowing the weak people were not ready to accept him by the word, Jesus said, even though you cannot believe me, believe my works, what I do. That is the purpose. He cleansed the lepers. He raised the dead and gave blind men sight and caused the deaf to hear. He changed water into wine to show the people that he was doing all these things by the power of God because he was the son of God. But the people were hopeless. They said to Jesus, "By the prince of Demons he casts out the demons." [Mark 3:22] Jesus, the Son of God, was compared to the Prince of Demons.

Furthermore, people said this man is a madman. He has a demon. Pick up a stone and stone him, he is a blasphemer, he deserves to be stoned. Jesus saw the hopeless signs. He truly wept and wept when he went to Jerusalem. Do you know what he said about Jerusalem? "Oh Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wing, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate." [Matthew 23:37-38] By that time Satan was actively working to bring the people to his side.

Actually Satan is holding the power and sovereignty of this earth, so the coming of the son of God is like an invasion from heaven. Satan was desperately holding his ground and trying to protect it. Initially Satan came for Jesus, but Jesus overcame the test. Satan knew he could not destroy the son of God in a face-to-face confrontation. But Satan also knew Jesus could not establish the kingdom as long as people of that time did not cooperate with him. So Satan worked actively to destroy the son of God and stop the building of the kingdom of God on earth.

That was the will of Satan, the destruction of the son of God. So Satan was working with the people of Israel so the people would prevent him from being recognized as the son of God. The Bible said Satan entered into Judas, who sold Jesus Christ. The betrayal of Jesus was not the act of God. It was the act of Satan, the Bible said. If the crucifixion was the sole purpose of God, then Judas Iscariot deserved a heavenly medal. Why? Because if only the cross would bring salvation, then somebody had to turn him over to enemy hands. Judas did. He cooperated with what so many believe was the plan of God. But Jesus said, "Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed." [Matthew 26:24] Satan exercised his maximum power, urging people into faithlessness and to send the son of God to the cross.

Victory of the Resurrection

However, on the foundation of Jesus' faith, loyalty, and sacrifice, God raised His son in three days from the tomb. Resurrection. That is the Christian salvation today. Resurrected Jesus. In him there is no room for Satan's power to come in. So the glorious victory was the resurrection. But you know the resurrection of Jesus did not bring the kingdom of God physically here on earth. Why? Because it was only spiritual salvation. Physical redemption of the body is still to come. Jesus gave up his body on the cross. At that time the body of the entire world and mankind was given up. Jesus, by resurrecting from the tomb, saved mankind spiritually, but, as it says in the Bible, we are still waiting to be redeemed in the physical body.

Would you like to hear what St. Paul said after being born again as a Christian? He showed anguish about our world. You and I experience anguish, but his anguish was right after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. St. Paul said in Romans 7:24-25, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." We are divided of mind and spirit. We can go to heaven. We can go toward God, but our bodies and this physical world are still chained to Satan.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is why Christ is coming back to us. To make our redemption whole, both spiritual and physical. So that he can completely wipe sin from the face of this earth. So that we no longer feel any contradiction within ourselves. This is the day of hope we have been looking forward to. Tonight I am saying to you this hour has arrived. Tomorrow night you are going to hear a most extraordinary message of how Christ is coming. Christ is coming for the redemption of the spirit and body. Total salvation. In order to be the recipient of this total salvation, we must meet the Lord, the coming Christ, Jesus Christ. We cannot miss this opportunity. In order to do that you must come tomorrow night to hear how Christ is coming.

It doesn't matter where you live, what position you hold, how young or old you are, how poor or how wealthy you are. Opportunity is knocking at your door. Christ is coming to bring the kingdom that God originally intended. We must become the first citizens of that kingdom. You are eligible. You can welcome the Lord and become one with him. So please come tomorrow night.

And I will say one thing in conclusion. This is not my own theory. I am not that clever, that wise, to put together this wonderful, extraordinary message. This is a revelation from God. Only God can tell us. If any human brain could tell us, I know thousands of theologians, ministers, and clergymen would have dug out this truth a long time ago. But at this particular moment God is revealing the truth. The hour has arrived. God would not do anything without revealing His secret to His servants and prophets. And as His prophet, His servant, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon has been chosen to speak to mankind. Through him this wonderful message will be revealed. Tomorrow night you will hear plainly how the Lord is coming. Furthermore, at a later day you will have an opportunity to know when and where he is coming so you will have no way of missing this opportunity. Thank you very much.

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