Chapter 1 The Life of the Founder
Madison Square Garden Rally
(The Speech: The New Future of Christianity)
The New Future of Christianity
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am greatly honored to be here tonight. Thank you very much for coming.
From your standpoint, even though I can speak, I am dumb. From my standpoint, however, even though you can hear, you are deaf. To correct this dumbness and deafness, we need a bridge of communication. The man standing beside me serving as my interpreter is that bridge of communication. However, as you know, interpretation from one language to another is not an easy task. Therefore, this man beside me surely needs your sympathetic understanding.
My topic tonight is The New Future of Christianity.
I know, and you know very well, America is one of the most Christianized countries of the world. Then why do I come here to America to speak to the Christians of America? Because I have something new to reveal, some new messages to share. That is why. Indeed today, you and I are living in an extraordinary time in God's timetable. A great time is at hand. Therefore the plain truth as the Bible predicted must be told-"plainly of the Father."
God has given me instructions to go to America, to speak to the American people for three years. Obeying His command, I began my talks in 1972, and this is my third year. Therefore I am here as one of your brothers to speak to you about what I have experienced, and what I have learned, from the very source of truth, the Lord Jesus Christ and God. Therefore the content of the message is new, since I came there to reveal something new. So tonight, I'm sure the message you will hear will be contrary to, or very different from, your previous understanding. That is the purpose for which I am here. Therefore, I only fervently ask you for your open-mindedness, and prayerful heart, so the spirit of God can speak to our hearts.
For two thousand years since the birth of Jesus Christ the history of Christianity has been prevailing and all the Christian churches are waiting for one great day of fulfillment. Today, as I said, we are living in extraordinary times. My first revelations assured me that we are indeed living in extraordinary days and hours-God's last days. Therefore, ordinary faith will not do. We must do more than church-going on Sunday. This is the time for preparation for the great and terrible day of the Lord prophesied in the Bible. In order to accomplish one meeting like this we need a great deal of preparation. In order to welcome one VIP from Washington, we need a great deal of preparation. How much more so to welcome the greatest of all guests among us,, the Lord of the Second Advent! When Jesus Christ returns among us, we indeed need days and days of preparation to be ready for his return.
However, without knowledge, a precise knowledge of how he is coming, there is no way we can properly prepare ourselves for that day. Therefore, to know the truth is most essential, and must come first. Let's say you are a traveler. You are going to visit someone in Birmingham. You have bought the ticket. You have put yourself in the comfortable seat of the train. Then you know that particular train will take you up to the station of Birmingham. But as soon as you arrive at the station of Birmingham, a most extraordinary effort on your part is necessary. You must travel, and most correctly, the last two miles of the trip. You must know the man's address and telephone number. You must decide the mode of transportation. So you have to get there precisely as you planned. This is the "extraordinary" part of your trip.
By the same token, therefore, we have been traveling for two thousand years of Christian history to come to the particular moment of "destination" when the Lord comes when that hour and day is at hand. This is indeed our most extraordinary last few miles, the most important to all of us. First of all, the biblical prophesy of the coming of the Lord will be fulfilled. Then why does the Messiah come? He is coming to fulfill the will of God. Then what is the will of God? There is one God, therefore there is one will, because we know that God's will is the will of salvation. Then what is the will of salvation?
More specifically, man in the beginning fell into an evil world. Our ancestors rebelled against God, separated themselves from God and fell into an evil way of life. Since then, the will of God has been the will of restoration-restoring fallen mankind into the original goodness and perfection of God's will.
God is eternal and unchanging; therefore God's will is also unchanging. That will is to bring about the ideal world of goodness and perfection. Ever since the fall of man, God's work has been to restore him into that original world of goodness and perfection. God's will will never change.
Then first of all we examine what kind of world would have been the reality if our ancestors had not fallen. What is really God's world of goodness and perfection? The world of God without sin, the world having no trace of sin, only perfection. Adam and Eve were supposed to be perfected in God-centered love. If they had been perfected as individuals, then God intended to bring them together in heavenly matrimony, to bless them as the one first heavenly couple of the universe.
This is the very reason God first created man and woman. If Adam and Even ha perfected the temple of God, united as husband and wife inside of God, then they would have been given the power to multiply sinless children. Therefore, sinless children would have filled the earth step by step, and they would have become, then, True Parents of mankind.
Then, they would have been true brides and bridegrooms all together. Nothing but perfected couples and multiplication of couples. And further on they would have multiplied sinless children. Then there would have been a realization of true brotherhood, true brothers and sisters. How can we become true brothers and sisters? We become brothers and sisters when we recognize one God as Father. Then Father-the presence of Father-is real. Knowing Him as a Father and coming from the one true parent, then we truly become, indeed, a true brotherhood. Then, from that perfection, other perfection multiplies, from the goodness, more goodness multiplies. Therefore, step by step, from the family to society, society to nation, nation to world the entire world that God created if filled with God's true children, sons and daughters. Then this world would have become the Kingdom in which God is truly the ruler. If that were the reality, the world would not have required a savior. A savior would not be necessary in that world of perfection. No religion would be necessary. No prayer would be necessary.
Today we need prayer, the savior, salvation-all these things are the result of the fall of man. Since we became a patient, that is therefore why we need a physician, why we need a doctor. We are like a broken gadget, a broken machine. Therefore a process of mending is necessary. The church, and all the efforts of religion, are nothing but the mending process of fallen man into goodness. So, salvation is saving, giving the cure. Today the Christian world is very hazy about the goal of salvation. We have not had a clear-cut idea and concept of where the ultimate goal of salvation is. However, that world of goodness and perfection has not been the reality. The fallen world has been the reality, and the Bible says (John 12:31) that the ruler of this world is Satan. Only because of the fall of man, separating mankind from God, did the evil master Satan, become the ruler of this world instead of God. God and Satan were exactly opposite, and enemies. Exactly opposite to the concept of a good world, in this world we have false parents, false husband and wife, and false, untrustworthy brothers and sisters. At the center of all this is sin, and the master of sin is the devil. And since then we have been of the father who is the devil. Therefore, sinless children have not been the reality, and from our very birth we are sinners. So, this is the state this world is in now. So what is salvation? It is to bring this world of Satan, this evil state, into a world of goodness.
Therefore the word "salvation" is a synonym for restoration, to restore the fallen state into the original state of God's creation, the original will of God's purpose.
Then that was the will of God. The purpose of the coming of the Messiah was to fulfill that will of God. Therefore the mission of the Messiah is to restore mankind-sinful mankind-into perfection, and demolish and expel the power of Satan from the face of this earth. Yes, we are living in the bondage of sin. Satan is pulling all the attached strings and controlling us.
Today the Christian churches are often contented with a very self-centered purpose, such as "well, I'm looking for ward to my small heaven up there." But more important, we did not know that God is going to work and restore the entire world, and truly demolish the power of Satan. Then the entire world will become heaven. A new Messiah is coming for that purpose, to restore all mankind and demolish and destroy the power of evil. That is the purpose of the coming of the Son of God.
God cannot send this precious champion without preparation. Therefore, before God sent His son, God went through the tremendous ordeal to prepare a people and land as one chosen nation, to be ready for the Messiah. That nation was the chosen nation of Israel.
And today's Christianity is in precisely the same position of the chosen nation of Israel two thousand years ago. The Christian churches, the Christian world, are the base, the foundation upon which the lord of the Second Advent can land. We are like a landing pad. We are the preparation for the great and terrible day of the Lord.
Then tonight, I want to concentrate on how this day of the Lord will be fulfilled. I want to precisely concentrate on that subject. When Jesus was here two thousand years ago, his disciples asked him, "How will the day of the Second Coming of the Lord be fulfilled?" Jesus said, in the Bible, that of that day the angels do not know, the Son of man even does not know. Only God knows. There was no precise answer.
There is a true way to know how God will send His son Jesus Christ again among us. First: by revelation. God has the answer, so God will reveal the manner in which He will send His son the second time. So through revelation we know the answer.
Second: by learning from history. By truly learning from the history of the first coming. And God's purpose of the first coming, we can project, and we can know how he will come a second time.
Therefore, tonight I am going to reveal the message and revelation that I have received concerning the Second Coming of the Lord. However, if I just reveal what I received, nobody would believe me because I would not be giving any references. Therefore, tonight, I have to give you close references to the Bible, step by step, showing how this revelation has to be the truth. This is the message tonight.
Today, all devout Christians are looking forward to the day of the coming of the Lord. This is our ambition, hope and joy. However, that same anticipation was there two thousand years ago among the people of Israel-they anticipated and awaited the coming of the Son of God, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. There have been two thousand years of the history of Christianity through which, in every age, the anticipation of the coming of the Lord was there.
Before the coming of Jesus Christ, however, there were four thousand years of the history and tradition of the Jewish faith throughout which anticipation of the Messiah prevailed. God went through the preparation to send His son Jesus Christ for literally four thousand years. After the fall of man, God immediately began to lay the foundation for the coming of the Messiah. God sent the prophets, and God gave them the word of God, to prepare His people for four thousand years. The preparation was there. And the anticipation of the people was there. So everything seemed to be right anticipation was right.
So at the appointed hour, God indeed fulfilled the promise, sending His son Jesus Christ among His people.
However, an extraordinary situation occurred. The people were supposed to be ready to accept the Messiah, but when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, arrived, he did not see any acceptance, only rejection and rebellion. Finally, Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, as you know.
This is a riddle. The riddle of the twentieth century, and we have not solved this riddle clearly yet. It is a puzzle. Can you imagine today, all the Christian world waiting for the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent; then he comes among us as God promised; then all the Christian leaders band together along with all the devout Christians throw him into jail. They push him into court, and finally crucify him. Can you imagine such a happening in our time? I don't think you can. However, this is precisely what happened two thousand years ago.
I know then, what the prevailing answer to that is: "Well, after all, Jesus Christ came predestined to die on the cross. That is why he died." Let me ask you then-answer from your common sense-if God is sending His son merely to be crucified on the cross, why did God need such elaborate preparation for four thousand years? Why did God need the chosen people of Israel in the first place? It would be bar better to send His son among barbarians, then they would crucify him much faster than the chosen people. Then the will of God would be quickly realized.
No. This is not right. God wanted to have His son be gloriously accepted. That was the will of God. There must be extraordinary circumstances behind, an untold history hidden behind the Bible. And I know you are anxious to know it. Tonight I am going to reveal why Jesus Christ had to go through that route. This is very new to you I am sure, so please don't worry.
The first reason Jesus was rejected was the Old Testament. Ironically, the word of the Bible, the Old Testament, worked against him instead of helping him. The word of the Old Testament was the first reason. Why? In your Bible, when you look in the Old Testament, the final book is the Book of Malachi. The book of Malachi is equivalent to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. When you read Malachi 4:5-6, we see that God says.
"I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers??/i>"
The promise of the coming of Elijah was recorded.
[Reverend Moon, in English]: Did Elijah come until now?
Did Elijah come? Who was Elijah? Elijah was a prophet of Israel, approximately nine hundred years before Jesus Christ, and who had ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire. Therefore, since God promised the return of Elijah, the chosen people of Israel were looking up into heaven waiting for a chariot to land from the blue sky, in which Elijah would come.
However, they had not heard the news of the arrival of Elijah. Nothing happened in the blue sky. But one day, all of a sudden, they heard the proclamation of Jesus Christ, man of Nazareth, proclaiming the Kingdom of God, proclaiming the Messiahship. It was really a bomb-shell to them. Now, could you accept? They did not have evidence of Elijah. Could you accept?
It is something like what is havening to you. We are waiting for the arrival of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Then someday, all of a sudden, a man appears in the pulpit proclaiming, "I am the Lord of the Second Advent." It is a similar situation. Can you believe?
[Reverend Moon in English: It's difficult??
Then how did Jesus' ministry get bumped into a stone wall? Because this happened. I will explain through the New Testament, the Bible. To tell the truth, Jesus' disciples did not know much about the Old Testament. After all, they were unlearned fishermen, tax collectors, and harlots. However, they had a zeal and a conviction for the Lord. When they went out on the streets to preach the gospel of Jesus as the Son of God they were rebuked and rebuffed by the scribes and the elders and the high priests. And they said, "If your master is the Son of God and the Messiah, where is the Elijah? Show us the Elijah! The book of Malachi clearly says the Elijah will come first before the Messiah."
If Elijah had landed from the blue sky, actually the appearance of the Son of God would have been immaterial. Even if he were blind, even if he were crippled, a hunchback, it wouldn't matter. As long as Elijah had come from the blue sky, landed in a chariot of fire, then testified "This is the Son of God," the people of Israel would have been ready to follow. So these embarrassed disciples came back to Jesus Christ, and they wanted to settle the question with the Load. They asked him. Matthew 17:10-11.
"Why then do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?
He replied. ?˜He does come, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come'??Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist."
Is John the Baptist Elijah? How could he be? But Jesus said so. Can you believe this? People said, "Outrageous!" The disciples could understand; the disciples could accept anything Jesus Christ said. Today's Christian world says, "Anything Jesus says is the truth." So do we, I believe. However, the people of Israel, the scribes, the elders and the priests thought Jesus was a swindler, a fake; that he was trying to put himself in the position of the Son of God; that he was putting somebody else, John the Baptist, in the position of Elijah. This is how they interpreted it.
The people truly launched tremendous persecution and a tremendous attack against Jesus Christ, by saying that even though Jesus performed miracles, he did such works by borrowing his power from the very prince of demons-from Beelzebub! The Son of God was treated as the prince of demons! And they thought, they felt and they believed Jesus Christ was possessed by demons. What a tragic situation to happen at the time of Jesus Christ.
Today, even today, the Jewish faith is strong and prevailing. They prevail because, according to the, Elijah still hasn't come; therefore, Jesus Christ could in no way be the Son of God.
I would like to explain to you the true purpose of the Bible. The Bible is a coded message from God to His righteous men on earth. The righteous people who are working for God's Kingdom on earth are like God's agents. When God communicates with His agents, he cannot speak plainly of the Father, give a plain message. If he did, the evil world would know the truth, know the secrets, and would use them against God's people. And therefore, God is speaking to them in symbols and parables. So the Bible is a coded message.
For the purpose of America's security, you gather much information concerning your potential enemies. America sends out many agents to potential enemy territory. When the Headquarters is speaking to agents in those territories, it has to use coded messages, or secret messages, otherwise it will reveal its intention to the enemy and it will work against them-and the enemy will capture them.
Therefore God has been telling them, in symbols and parables, the most critical information, such as the coming of the Lord, the time and hour, the "mode of transportation." These things are not written clearly in the Bible. They are hidden behind symbols and parables-until such time as the fulfillment of God's providence is near. Then God will reveal the true meaning of those symbols and parables, and have people ready.
If everybody had know from the beginning, there could have been nothing but confusion. There could have been all kinds of antichrists. However, the people of the time of Jesus Christ did not know that the Bible is written in symbols and parables. They tried to interpret according to the letter of each word and each sentence. Therefore, they truly committed a tremendous mistake. There is no way they could have known the true meaning unless they communicated with the source of truth, God. And they did not, therefore, know the true meaning.
God only reveals when the time is at hand. Therefore, in Amos 3:7, it says,
"Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets."
God reveals to His servants, the prophets. However, only at the time of the need for that particular message and information. Therefore, tonight, this message is for that message. Thus, they did not know the true meaning of Malachi's prophesy. They only interpreted it letter by letter, which brought tremendous rejection of the true Son of God, Jesus Christ. This was how Jesus' ministry was stonewalled by the Old Testament itself.
However, Jesus Christ was preaching the Gospel with power and authority. People could not take him lightly, they could not dismiss him lightly. So they decided to send a representative to John the Baptist himself, and ask him whether he was Elijah or not, to settle the question once and for all. This appears in John 1:19-21. The representatives of the people who went to see John the Baptist asked (as the Bible records):
"Who are you? He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ?˜I am not the Christ.' Then they asked him, ?˜What then? Are you Elijah?' He said, ?˜II am not.' ?˜Are you the prophet?' And he answered, ?˜No'"
John the Baptist denied being Elijah. Furthermore John the Baptist denied even being a prophet. He denied everything. John the Baptist interpreted the situation from the side of God. John the Baptist felt he knew the situation clearly, that Jesus Christ couldn't to the Son of God. His faith had already deteriorated, and he denied that he himself was in the position of Elijah, which made Jesus Christ, the Son of God, a liar. John the Baptist, by answering the question by saying he was not Elijah, really damaged Jesus Christ and pushed him into a corner, leaving him no room for excuses.
In those days, none of them were ready to believe Jesus Christ in the first place. Furthermore, John the Baptist himself denied being the Elijah. Let's suppose this happened in the present day. Someone comes out and says, "I am the Son of God." Then you ask him, "Then who is Elijah?" Then the man says that Billy Graham is the Elijah. "Billy Graham is the Elijah!?" " All right, we'll go and ask him" So the people dash to Billy Graham, and say, "Are you the Elijah?" Billy Graham says "No! Never!" It is the same situation.
John the Baptist was truly most famous, and his influence was felt throughout every corner of Israel. So we know God sent John the Baptist as a prophet to be ready for the way of the Lord. He was one voice crying in the wilderness, crying out for readiness, for the coming of the Lord. By his departure from faith in the Son of God, a stone wall was truly put in front of Jesus Christ that led Jesus Christ to his crucifixion.
We will further discuss the faith of John the Baptist, who indeed became a man of failure in the sight of the Son of God. This time, let me borrow the words of Saint Paul, the greatest disciple of Christianity. You all know that more than one third of the books of the New Testament were written by Saint Paul. However, this same Paul was at first the enemy of Jesus. Did you know that? He was not only the enemy of Jesus and had not accepted Christ, he was going ruthlessly after every disciple to kill them. And on the road to Damascus he was converted by the spirit of God. Then he knew how grave a mistake he and his people had made. And Saint Paul, after knowing the entire truth, when the new light came to him, said in I 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."
If they had only known who he was, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. This shows that ignorance-ignorance and the faithlessness of the chosen people of Israel-brought the destiny of the crucifixion.
According to this new revelation, one great truth has been left untold: that is, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the will of God, was sent by God to be accepted by the people and realize the Kingdom of God on earth. However, the people simply did not know who he was, the people simply did not know. Because of that ignorance and faithlessness he was up against rejection and the consequence of rejection was the crucifixion.
Up until now, I have spoken briefly of John the Baptist. Let us go a little deeper into our study of John the Baptist according to the scriptures. Then we will find the whole issue coming into greater light. In Matthew 11:2-3, John the Baptist is in prison because he had meddled into some love scandal of King Herod. Because he was ill-favored by King Herod, he was now waiting to be beheaded. He sent two of his disciples to Jesus, and asked this question to Jesus-now listen very carefully to what John said: he said to Jesus,
"Are you he who is to come or shall we wait for another?"
Do you think that John is a man of faith? Did he have faith in the Son of God? This is the very person, the same John the Baptist as at the Jordan River, recorded in John 1:32-34.
"And John bore witness, saying, ?˜I saw the spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him??And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.'"
Courageous prophet John the Baptist bore witness in this fashion. The same John is now saying to Jesus, "Are you really the Messiah, or a fake? Shall we look for somebody else as the Messiah?" God sent John the Baptist to really straighten the way of the Lord, to prepare a people. The mission of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ greatly depended upon the fulfillment of the mission of John the Baptist. And this John, the very man, has come up to say, "Are you really the true Messiah?" When this question was asked to Jesus, indignation hit him. It was the anger and the wrath of God burning inside. Jesus refused to answer yes or no, but said, "?¦and blessed is he who takes no offense at me."-John you poor man, you are now taking offense at the Son of God, Jesus. Further down, Matthew 11:7-10, Jesus, as they went away, began to speak to the crowd concerning John the Baptist:
"What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in king's houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet."
John the Baptist is more than a prophet because he was in the position to bear witness to the Son of God. This was his mission. However, Jesus is saying that this man has failed his mission, and even does not recognize him any more. Further on, Jesus said, Matthew. 11:11,
"Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he."
All the spirit world is filled with people who have ascended from this earthly world. So if John the Baptist is the greatest of all among those born of women, he was supposed to be the greatest sprit in the spiritual heaven. However, Jesus said, even though he was great among those born of women he was least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Why? Why did Jesus say John the Baptist was the greatest among those born of women? Because, first of all, the mission of the prophets, regardless of the age, is to bear witness to the Son of God. All the prophets in the spiritual world and John the Baptist came for that purpose. However, the rest of the prophets in the Kingdom of Heaven are the ones who bore witness to a future event-except John, living as a contemporary of Jesus Christ, who could bear witness in person. This is why John's mission was the greatest.
However, accomplishment-wise, every prophet in the spiritual world knew who Jesus Christ was. Except John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the only one who failed his mission, who did not know even who Jesus Christ was. Therefore, accomplishment-wise, even the least in the Kingdom of Heaven was still greater then John.
Further on there is one more statement of Jesus Christ concerning John the Baptist. In Matthew 1:12 it says,
"From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force."
Do you know what this means? Because of the failure of the mission of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of Heaven is left for all kinds of competition. Men of violent faith take it by force.
This implies that John the Baptist left his mission unattended. Than what would have happened if John the Baptist had truly served as a man of great faith, united with the Son of God? What would have happened at that time? John the Baptist would have become the chief disciple of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. If John the Baptist had become the chief disciple of Jesus Christ, then all twelve disciples or apostles would have come from John the Baptist's own followers. The seventy disciples whom Jesus sent out, the 120 disciples whom Jesus sent out, all would have come from John the Baptist's own followers or associates. Then John the Baptist would have served as bridge between the Son of God and his own people, and brought them together in one unit.
Through the words of Jesus Christ, we now recognize how great a mission for which John the Baptist was born. Matthew 11:13 says,
"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John??/i>"
In other words, John the Baptist was the conclusion, or the consummation, of the Old Testament. He was the fruit, the end result of the Old Testament. He consummated the Old Testament, to bring this entire achievement as the base for the work and ministry of Jesus Christ. That was what God intended, that was God's will. If that had happened, and the entire nation of Israel had accepted the Son of God, who do you think would have dared to crucify him? Nothing was left of God's divine plan for the fulfillment of the Messiah's mission. Every single thing had been considered, except John the Baptist's faith. God cannot predict faith. Therefore it was the failure of John the Baptist that erected a tremendous stone wall against Jesus Christ. I would like to prove once again how John the Baptist did not follow the Son of God. Hence we read in the Gospel of John 3:26, people were saying to John the Baptist:
"Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him."
That was Jesus. Then John the Baptist answered by saying,
"He must increase but I must decrease." (John 3:30)
Then Christians have thought what a humble man John the Baptist was. However, this is, on the contrary, proof of the arrogance of John the Baptist. This is the proof that John the Baptist was separated from them Son of God. In other words, if he truly accepted Jesus Christ as the Son of God, then there is no choice for John other than to become one with him. Then Jesus Christ and John the Baptist would have lived one destiny together-risen together, fallen together. One destiny. This was the will of God. However, according to the scriptures, Jesus going one direction and John the Baptist going another shows that John the Baptist going another shows that John the Baptist did not follow the Son of God. So the crucifixion became a reality because, first, the words of the Old Testament served as a stone wall, second, the failure of John the Baptist greatly influenced the outcome. There is one more reason.
The people of Israel were waiting for the Messiah's arrival in the clouds of heaven. Because the Bible told them so. When we read Daniel 7:13, it says,
"I saw in a night vision, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of man."
This Son of man is coming on the clouds of heaven. This is recorded in the book of Daniel as a prophesy. Some theologians might say that this prophesy was not intended for Jesus Christ, but for the Lord of the Second Advent. But that is not true, because all the prophesy prior to John the Baptist was intended to culminate in the time of Jesus Christ, when people expected the Messiah's arrival in the clouds of heaven.
On the other hand, Jesus came not on the clouds of heaven, as you know; he was born through Mary in the home of Joseph. People knew that, so they said he could not be the Son of God.
This is something like today when, though we might all be expecting the Lord of the Second Advent on the clouds of heaven, in fact he had been born as a child and had grown up as a man. Do you think the Christian world would be ready to accept him?
However, this was such a great problem, and the apostle John testified to it in his writings,
"?¦men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist." (II John 7)
This is what is being said: the apostle is denying those who denied Jesus Christ only because he is a man in the flesh-those are the antichrist-In other words, today, if the Son of God comes in the flesh, those who deny him as the Son of God are in the position of the antichrist according to the apostle John.
There is a quotation from the Bible that you have and I have, for every word I have spoken. It all comes from the context of the Bible. I must tell however, the plain truth tonight, because the Bible has not been know to the Christian world today-the true meaning behind the symbols and the parables. When we have this revelation in our mind, then the Bible comes alive and takes on a new meaning.
And then you might ask, "Reverend Moon, on what authority are you speaking?" Yes I do have the authority to speak. I met Jesus Christ, I met John the Baptist, I met all the apostles of the Christ, and they testified to the truth. Then when I came down, looked at page after page of the Bible, then truly, the true, honest and new meaning of the Bible came alive. This is what I am saying tonight.
Therefore, this is simply from the logical point of view alone. The whole world can discuss this problem. I know my logic is a stronger login, even disregarding my revelation. If you cannot take it, I know the ensuing generations will take it, because truth must be taken by the people.
So we have not known so far the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ was one of the greatest tragedies of mankind. It was the greatest tragedy of humanity, because of which the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven was delayed another two thousand years. This we did not know. I also want you to know however, that I am fully aware that in the Bible there are predictions of the coming of the Christ as a suffering Lord on the cross.
However, you know that the Bible has a dual prophesy: there is not only the prophesy of the suffering Christ, but also the prophesy of the Lord of Glory. Tonight I will tell you, Isaiah chapters 9, 12 and 60 are the glorious predictions and prophesies of the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Almighty God. On the other hand when you read Isaiah 53, there is the prophesy of the suffering Christ dying on the cross. Why then did God give us two contradicting prophesies instead of one? Because of man. God has to deal with man. Man is unpredictable, man has the ability to betray. One day man professes faith in God and serves God as His son. The very next day, we curse God, turn around, unite with Satan, and become a slave of Satan. This is man; man has the ability to betray. Unpredictable. Therefore God cannot give one prophesy, but dual prophesies-depending on faith or rejection.
So, with man's acceptance and faith, prophesy of the Lord of Glory would have become the reality. However, on the other hand, the rejection and faithlessness of the chosen people would have only brought about Isaiah 53, the suffering Christ. Therefore the crucifixion was not the primary will of God- it was an altering of the mission. Then I will tell you when God decided to alter the mission of Jesus Christ, according to the Bible, Luke 9:30-31. This was at the Mount of Transfiguration;
"And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure[Jesus' departure] which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem."
This is the moment of the decision, the moment when Jesus was informed through the messengers Moses and Elijah that he now had to fulfill a secondary mission-the crucifixion. After sending His son Jesus Christ, God evaluated His battle plan, and the accomplishments of Jesus Christ.
Knowing the situation, He came to this conclusion: There was the rejection of the chosen people of Israel: the Jewish state was rejecting him. Even John the Baptist betrayed him. There were only a few feeble disciples. God knew that Jesus could not fulfill under those circumstances, without acceptance, God knew that he could not fulfill the total mission, the spiritual as well as physical salvation. Therefore, God now asked Jesus to give up the physical salvation, only working toward the spiritual salvation by giving his body as a ransom to Satan, as a price for their sin. When you read Matthew 26:21, from the time of informing Jesus of his secondary mission, onward, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed. Then Peter said,
"Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." (Matt. 16:23)
Jesus rejected these words of comfort from Peter, and the Christian churches in many cases interpret this as meaning Jesus came with the predestined mission to die on the cross. However, we missed the whole point. This was only because God had already pronounced to Jesus that he must take the secondary mission, abandoning the primary mission. Saint Peter missed the whole point. He really did not know what was going on in the heart of Jesus Christ, what agony Jesus had to go through.
Then, What would have happened if the chosen people of Israel had united together with the Son of God and totally accepted Jesus Christ? What would have happened? There would have been one great unity, one great acceptance. Then that would have unified the entire Middle East area including the Arab peoples. Then Jesus' army would have moved toward Rome-his disciples-with the living Christ as the commander-in-chief.
Then, you know, Jesus' disciples, even after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, they marched toward Rome. In four hundred years the Roman empire collapsed in front of Jesus' army. If Jesus Christ as the living Lord and commander-in-chief had moved toward Rome, that would have been accomplished within forty years, within his own lifetime.
Then Jesus Christ would have established the constitution of the Heavenly Kingdom on earth, and since then, the Kingdom of God would have dwelt among us in reality. Then today we would not have any Christianity, any Roman Catholicism, any Protestantism, any Judaism. All we would have would be the Kingdom of God, the dwelling and the presence of God among us. If that had become the true reality, then the Jewish nation, the nation of Israel, would have never suffered. Furthermore, the Christian history of two thousand years would not have been one of bloodshed and martyrdom. God would have established then, in His son, Jesus Christ, a God-centered sovereignty upon the face of the earth, and no power on the face of the earth could have shaken God's Kingdom.
This would have been the garden of Eden-this entire world would have become the Garden of Eden. It is a symbolic expression of the Kingdom of God. And the prophesy of the Lord of the Second Advent would never have been necessary. Why would he come a second time? It would have been unnecessary as the purpose would have been completely fulfilled two thousand years ago.
So a the moment of the crucifixion of the Mount of Calvary, this is where God and Jesus Christ lost everything. This is not the victory of God, but the victory of Satan. How could the Son of God just be taken by the enemy, and the people allowed to nail his body to the cross? Upon the cross God and Jesus Christ lost the four thousand year-old Israel nation, the Jewish state. John the Baptist and all the disciples abandon him. There was only one defender of Jesus Christ on the cross. Do you know who he was? He was the thief nailed together with Jesus, on the right hand side of the Son of God. He was the only defender of Jesus. However, even he was killed.
Christianity was not there. The beginning of Christianity was not made at that moment. The victory of God came upon the resurrection. This is where Christianity began, this is where our salvation began, and this is where our spiritual salvation became assured. Therefore, Christian salvation comes from the resurrection, not form the crucifixion.
I know, this is really the whole pillar and tradition of the Christian church, which for two thousand years has been upside down. This is the true spirit of the Bible. When Judas betrayed Jesus Christ and handed him over to the enemy, Jesus said darkness would fall. If Jesus Christ could have just died on the cross to ensure the salvation of mankind, then he would not have prayed the kind of prayer he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane:
"My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt." (Matt 26:39)
Not only once, but twice, three times. And today to Christian churches are even saying that the Lord Jesus Christ prayed such a prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane out of his human weaknesses, because he had a human body; naturally he did not want to die, even though he came to die. Ridiculous! Not at all! We have truly misunderstood the Lord. If merely one death would bring the salvation of mankind, Jesus Christ would have been willing to give up his life a thousand times over. There are so many lesser souls throughout history who died courageous deaths-Nathan Hale is one-where their fear of death was completely overcome, and there was great faith throughout history, as we have seen. Do you think Jesus Christ our Lord had lesser faith than those followers of Jesus? Jesus only prayed from the standpoint of his mission. He only prayed a desperate plea to God from the standpoint of his mission, so that he could somehow salvage the situation and bring the victory of heaven back to God, rather than merely leaving behind him the road of the cross which all Christian followers should bear.
On the cross, Jesus' final words were,
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46)
If he came to die, solely for that purpose, and God had assigned him that mission, Jesus Christ would have said, "My God, Father, I am honored to fulfill Your mission. Please accept my soul." In the Bible, three hours of darkness fell. This was a sign of God's grief, of a heartbroken God weeping over the death of His son.
I want to conclude this evening by giving you clear-cut information about how the Lord of the Second Advent will reappear, so that we are prepared for that day and will not make another mistake. The New Testament has dual prophesies, just like the Old Testament, and we are in the same position as the Jewish faithful two thousand years ago in the time of Jesus-except that our territory is worldwide, because the Christian faith is worldwide. However, we are also less fortunate than that time of Israel two thousand years ago, because at that time there was the physical existence of God's nation, the chosen nation. But today, the Christian foundation is only spiritual. No physical element, physical kingdom, or physical foothold has been plated. Our salvation is spiritual only, and the Kingdom is only a spiritual one. Christ reigns above us as the King of spiritual salvation. Therefore physical salvation, the original plan of God's Kingdom here on the face of the earth, spiritual as well as physical, has not become a reality.
This is simple logic. There was a mission left undone. Therefore Jesus Christ must return and pick up the mission left undone two thousand years ago, and fulfill it. That is the purpose of the Second Coming. So when he comes, we are in the position to be ready for him and to accept him, so that we will bring together, with the Son of God, the physical Kingdom of God, God's physical sovereignty on the face of the earth. And when we read the Bible, in Revelation 1:7, there is the prophesy of the coming of the Lord on the clouds of heaven. When we read I Thessalonians 5:2, however, the day of the Lord will come "as a thief in the night." Two contradictory statements, which do not go together. So today we say, "I do not want to believe that way, so let's disregard that one. Let us await the coming of the Lord on the cloud of heaven." Can you accept only one prophesy at your convenience? If Elijah comes from the blue sky that is a glorious coming, a supernatural coming-that is, the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven. If he comes as a thief at night, that means he is coming as a man-the Son of man, in the flesh, as Jesus Christ entered this world the first time. Which is more probable?
Do you think that all expectations at the time of Jesus were all betrayed? Elijah did not come from the blue sky. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, did not come from the clouds of heaven, but he came as a man. Do you have any guarantee that this will not happen in our time? If we are narrow-minded, if we are stubborn and arrogant, we are in the position to commit the same crime that the chosen nation of Israel committed against Jesus Christ. So tonight, I recommend you to be wise. Let us be wise. How? Accept both possibilities, not just one. Because both are recorded in the Bible.
In other words, I want you to accept the possibility that the Lord could come on the clouds of heaven. With the power of God nothing is impossible. On the other hand, God can send His son, the Son of man, again in the flesh as Jesus Christ came the first time. If you accept only one possibility-the clouds of heaven-you are most likely to commit the same mistake. However, if you are hopeful, humble and ready to accept the Son of God in the flesh this time, you will never miss the chance of the Lord, the glorious Son of God, coming in the clouds of heaven. When you read Revelation 12:5, there was a prophesy concerning the birth of Christ once again.
"She brought forth a male child, who is to rule all the nations with the rod of iron."
She brought forth a male child. And the Christian churches have interpreted "she" as "the church" because their minds are set on the clouds of heaven. Then, this time, I would like to give you several instances of the words of Jesus himself that make it most unlikely that he will come among us again on the clouds of heaven, but very likely that the Lord will come among us again as the Son of man in the flesh. Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, in Luke 17:20:
"The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed."
No signs to be observed. But if he's coming in the clouds of heaven, with trumpeting angels, that is a big sign. The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man. And you will not see it; you will not see it. If he is coming in an obvious fashion in the clouds of heaven, every eye would see. These are the words of Jesus in the Bible. But this is most extraordinary. Luke 17:25
"But first he [the Lord of the Second Advent] must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man."
If the Lord is coming in power and glory on the clouds of heaven, who would dare give him suffering and rejection? Would you? In the days of Noah what happened? People laughed, drank, got married, and did all kinds of things, until the flood began. And this will precisely happen when the Lord, the Son of man, reappears among us in the flesh. Yes, if he comes on the clouds of heaven, everybody will accept him because all the Christian faith is now ready to accept the Lord of Glory on the clouds of heaven. However, if he comes among us as the Son of man in the flesh, I know that, from the top Christian leaders down, all Christians are most likely to say to him, "You blasphemer, possessed by demons." We are most likely to do that. These are the words of Jesus Christ.
The time has come when the true meaning of these verses is revealed because the great fulfillment is near The time will come when this will be fulfilled. Therefore this is the opportune time will come when God reveals the meaning of the truth, so that we will never be in the position to repeat the mistake. I am fulfilling a certain role. Could you give me a certain consideration, considerate attitude? These things have never been tonight, and I came all the way from Korea to bring this message. It is very new. The source of this truth is the source of truth itself: Jesus Christ himself and God-could you allow me that possibility? The time is at hand, the time is near Jesus said, in Luke 18:8,
"I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
He will find no trace of faith on the face of the earth when he comes for the second time: no faith, no preparation, absolutely barren. However, we know there are millions of Christians around the world saying devout prayers every morning. Why did Jesus say that there would be no faith? Two thousand years ago, that is precisely what happened. There were the devout Jewish faithful, with devout faith toward Elijah, toward the Messiah. However, once again the phenomenon of the appearance of the Lord is occurring among us like at the time of Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago.
Then many Christians, in the name of God, in the name of the Lord, will do all kind of evil against him. That's why they will be condemned as evil doers when the day comes that the Lord is lifted up to the throne of God, manifesting himself in power and glory. He will say, "I never knew you. Depart from me you evildoers."
According to the Bible, therefore, there is more probability the Lord will come among us as the Son of man is the flesh, rather than in a fantastic fashion on a celestial body of the clouds of heaven. I want to ask you: Do you think God is a Christian God, only the God of the Christian churches, and the Christians of the world, or is He the God of the world or the God of all mankind? God indeed is the God of the world, the God of all mankind. The Messiah is coming not to save the Christian churches, not to save only the Christians, but, through the Christians, God wants to save the entire world, all mankind. A very important verse from the Gospel, John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Here God said that He so loved the world, all mankind. In order to restore the entire world, to make the entire world God's world, we have a tremendous amount of work to do. We have so much work, because there is so much evil prevailing in our world. And the error was made on earth. In order to restore that error totally, God must send His son to the earth. Therefore, the Lord must come, physically return to the earth. The fulfillment of God's will shall be done on the face of the earth. Therefore, Jesus said to Peter,
"I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16:19)
Whatever we do here upon the earth will have a result in heaven. Heaven must be restored right here in our own place of dwelling. Today we are still far away from this goal, aren't we? Therefore, for that purpose, for the true Kingship of God, the Messiah is returning to earth. To our physical dwelling place. If God cannot fulfill that original Kingdom in the creation, as He originally intended, then God is a God of defeat. By whom? Satan. Then God can never be Almighty God. God will never change His mind. This is why He says, in Isaiah 46:11:
"I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it."
God shows His determination to fulfill His ultimate will. Let me dray my final conclusion in one minute.
We are here, born of evil. As Jesus said,
"You are of your father the devil." (John 8:44)
Therefore we have false parents, false truth, false brotherhood, and everything has come from sin. God is going to restore it into true parenthood, true brotherhood, true sonship and daughtership, so that we will be able to give birth to sinless children. It all begins and starts from one.
There fore what God needs is one God-centered family. Jesus Christ came upon this earth as a perfected man to bring the family of God up on the earth, so that from this one family with God as its center, the rest of the world would be engrafted into the truth, and share the richness of truth so that we can all reach perfection and goodness, sharing the richness of God.
The family is the basic unit of a world society. One family leads to a prosperous society, a nation and a world. It all begins with one perfected family. Therefore, there must be the two pillars, husband and wife, a perfected man and a perfected woman, together making up the family. This is the first unit. For that purpose Jesus Christ came. This is recorded in the Bible, in Revelation, as the marriage super of the lamb. This is the meeting of the perfected bridegroom taking his heavenly bride.
God wanted to fulfill this ideal in Adam's family. So God wanted to create the first family of God with Adam. This is the history of "Alpha." However, Adam's rejection, Adams's rebellion against God brought the Alpha history to failure, to fall. Therefore, history is progressing through the history of restoration. God is going to fulfill the time of the Lord of the Second Advent in "Omega." Omega fulfills the very same purpose God intended at Alpha. This is very simple mathematics.
God wanted to fulfill His will in Adam and Eve. Because of their failure, God wanted to restore that very thing at the time of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus came as the second Adam. When we read I Corinthians 15:45 it speaks of Jesus as the second Adam. This is the reason. However the people at the time, the chosen people of Israel, did not give him that opportunity to fulfill his mission. Therefore he is returning as the third Adam, as the Lord of the Second Advent.
So God's plan is a real one: to physically establish the Kingdom of Heaven. So God's champion must come to do this physical work. Therefore it is most natural and logical, that he must return just as you and I, in the flesh-because he can talk to you, he can talk to us, he can eat with us. He can show us the model of perfection, perfection of the first family, that all men, following his pattern, may share the richness of his perfection and goodness.
We shall all wipe out our sins and become like him, like his family, so that one by one this world will expand into the Kingdom. This is the final chapter of God's fulfillment. God wants to fulfill this. Once God fulfills this one hundred percent, it is done. We will only enjoy the presence and dwelling of God among us, enjoying the goodness of God and the goodness of perfection.
This is an invitation. Tonight you know precisely how history unfolded at the time of Jesus Christ, and how it will happen in our time. This is the great Gospel, and this is revelation to you.
You have been a most attentive audience, and I thank you very much.