Excerpted from a speech Rev. Hwang gave at a meeting on November 12, 2000, one of a series held for federation presidents and members who are mobilized throughout Korea. The theme of the meeting was the restoration of the fatherland.

We have heard a lot about the providence. There is no other way to go in the right direction and to know what to do than to talk about the providence. The Principle tells us that human history is God's providential history of salvation. And history has demonstrated this itself, as we know.

We have learned that God's providential history of salvation is bearing fruit in True Parents' lives. True Parents' value is impossible to measure and unimaginably great if we think seriously about the fact that all of human history can change because of the lives of these two individuals. One day has twenty-four hours. It is a fact now as it was a hundred years ago, and ten thousand years ago. But today, twenty-four hours is so much more meaningful than at any other time in history. Twenty-four hours has ten thousand years of meaning and value.

The biblical history of the Jewish people is a living revelation God is teaching us through. The Israelites prayed fervently for their liberation for four hundred years during their exile in Egypt. However, God did not respond to their prayers until they had passed the four-hundred-year mark. After they passed through the four-hundred-year period of exile in Egypt, God led them through the wilderness for forty years with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, even though they disbelieved and disobeyed Him many times. When you carefully study how God works, you will notice that there are times when God is silent, not responding to our prayers at all, and there are times when God actively responds. God's providence is a manifestation of those two different responses: silence, and active response. But there is no moment in any situation when God is not working. All of God's providence is bearing fruit through True Parents' lives. The time period True Parents live on earth has tremendous historical meaning for all humankind.

We can define True Parents' lives in various ways. However, we can call the forty years between 1920 and 1960 the age of the Second Advent. The two thousand years before this forty-year period can be defined as the age of the bride. Father's forty years prior to his holy wedding was the age of the Second Advent. Although the central figure of the providence was, needless to say, Father himself, during this period, we prayed in the name of Jesus. 1960 was the turning point where the age of the Second Advent changed to the age of the True Parents. For the first time in human history, humanity came to have True Parents on earth. Father's birth was the third great providential event. The human ancestor, Adam was born sinless; however, he fell. After four thousand years, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who was sinless, was born to the world. But he could not fulfill his mission. So for the third time, a sinless man had to be born. We know him as True Father.

True Father's holy wedding, which enabled him to create the True Family with True Mother, had tremendous providential meaning and value. The appearance of True Parents on earth, something neither Adam nor Jesus had been able to realize, was a monumental event in history. From that point, for the past forty years from 1960 to 2000, it has been the age of the blessing centered on True Parents. The past forty years was the time of rebirth through the blessing, centering on True Parents, who are the true ancestors of all humanity. For this period, we prayed in the name of True Parents. And now we are beginning the third forty-year period. True Parents call the new forty-year period the age of registration.

We are witnessing new, historical change. Brothers and sisters, we can only understand the providence when we look from a providential viewpoint. Think about what happened two thousand years ago. The most important providential event two thousand years ago was the coming of Jesus Christ. He came to the earth, lived his private life for thirty years, then his public life for three years and was finally crucified. The biggest event in Jesus' life was his crucifixion. Jess did not die alone. To his left and right, there were two robbers. They all died by the same method. If you do not look at the three deaths from a providential perspective, you cannot tell the difference between them. They were crucified as lawbreakers, two because they had robbed other people, and Jesus because he had violated the Jewish religious law. They were all executed because they had violated the law of the society to which they belonged. Their deaths were the same to the secular world. But from the providential viewpoint, the death of the two robbers and the death of Jesus had totally different meanings. The deaths of the robbers were deaths within the satanic realm; however, the death of Jesus opened the way to resurrection that could save all people. You can see the providential meaning and value only when you look at things from a providential perspective.

Now is the age of registration. The world does not know this. But we know it, thanks to True Parents. We must understand how great the changes are that the coming new historical age will bring. True Parents have led so many providential events. True Father was born in 1920. In 1945, he started his public life. In 1960, the holy wedding was held, and Father successfully completed a period of wandering in the wilderness in 1985. The Completed Testament age began in 1992.

Father has led countless providential events. And what is the final destiny of all these providential events? It is the age of registration that we are experiencing. The final mission of True Parents ends with the providence of the age of registration. True Parents completed the age of True Parents and opened the new age of registration centering on True Children. The center of the age of the Second Advent was the Second Advent. The center of the age of the blessing was True Parents, and the center of the age of registration is True Children. Through the age of registration, True Parents have reached their final destiny and the new era is dawning. The smallest unit in God's purpose of creation is a family. The smallest units of the four-position foundation, families, are being registered in the Kingdom of Heaven through registration blessing ceremonies. That is the meaning of the registration blessing.

We register births, marriages and deaths. In the same manner, we register ourselves in heaven as a family, the smallest unit of God's purpose of creation. Individuals cannot register in heaven, because individuals are incomplete by themselves. The Four Position Foundation Registration Blessing is an important event that legitimized us as the people of God's nation.

In order to understand our own individual life of faith as well as this era, we should keep in mind how precious this time is for all of us. We know that new wine should be put into new wineskins. We are experiencing a lot of changes brought about by the new providence. One of the changes is the mobilization. Mobilization is a big burden for all of us. Brothers and sisters, it is for the providence, however.

True Parents' family also had to go through a restoration process. They could not be an exception. They were not perfect when they started their missions. Just as for Adam and Eve were to grow to perfection, True Parents had to do the same. Then how did the True family register? In 1971, Father explained in detail about how True Family registered and what we should do to do the same. True Family held their registration ceremony three years after the first God's Day proclamation. The condition that made True Family's registration possible was Unification members' three-year mobilization and their absolute faith in True Father's direction. Father said: "The second mobilization was the absolutely necessary condition for True Family to be registered. Then when will you be called again for the third three-year mobilization? You will be called again when it is the time for you to be registered."

At this turning point of history, we have been given the heavy providential mission of mobilization. This is for the sake of the providence. Therefore, we can never give up, and it is a responsibility that we can never abrogate.

We are witnessing a major providential change today. We met True Parents during our own lives on earth, received blessings and have walked the way of faith thus far. We have received all the blessings True Parents can give us. We have received the greatest blessing; therefore, we owe the most to human history. What should we do to pay back our debt? True Parents gave us the mission of liberating our homeland (fatherland). When should we accomplish this? By the year 2004.

Father had to pass through the age of wilderness until 1985. And then he had to start over the mission that he had originally been meant to begin in 1945. For seven years, his main mission was creating unity between the bride and the bridegroom. Starting from August 16, 1985, Total Victory Day (Il Seung Il), the providential task to fulfill, over the next seven years, was to create unity between the bridegroom and the bride, Christianity, that had been prepared by God for the previous two thousand years. And there was the important providential event from July 6th to 9th, 1992--the first proclamation of True Parents' messiahship.

Brothers and sisters, who should proclaim True Parents' messiahship? That is the responsibility of John the Baptist. And who took the role of John the Baptist that time? True Mother did. She took the responsibility of John the Baptist proclaiming Father's messiahship, as the representative of the Women's Federation, on behalf of Christianity and our Unification movement.

And then the new age began. The seven-year course that had begun in 1985 finished, and the Completed Testament age began. As soon as the Completed Testament age began, we could see there were visible changes in our movement. What kind of changes? True Father once said, "Communism developed through demonstrations but God has developed the providence through public speaking engagements." Until 1992, all these were held centered on True Father. Starting from 1993 to the present, there have been about seven hundred public speaking engagements all together and 70 percent of them were hosted by True Mother. That is because the Completed Testament age began the new providential age of mother and son cooperation.

God's portion of responsibility is to create Adam, Adam's is to create Eve, and Eve's is to give birth to Cain and Abel. However, because Eve fell, she bore evil fruits. So Eve must return to Adam by restoring Cain and Abel, and Adam must return to God. The era of mother-and-son cooperation started in 1993. When did this providence end? It ended on June 9th. And on June 14th, 'True Parents Cosmic Victory Congratulatory Proclamation Ceremony' was held. On that day, True Father gave an award to True Mother.

Mother's providential path, the providence of Mother and Son Corporation continued from 1993 to 1999, exactly seven years after it started.

Father told us once, "The third seven-year course should start in 2000 and end in 2007, however, providentially we are in so much of a hurry." Then Father prayed and set July 7 (lunar), 1997, the day of the proclamation of the cosmic settlement (sabbath) of the Parents of Heaven and Earth, as the starting day of the third seven year course. Thus officially, the third seven year course is from July 7, 1997 to April 2004. Then what should we achieve by the year 2004? Our task is to liberate our homeland (fatherland). In any shape or form, there should be the liberation of our homeland. We cannot step back, because it is God's will.

True Parents selected Korea as the first candidate to be our homeland. However, if Korea fails, what is going to happen? True Parents, who are leading the entire providence, cannot help but consider other possibilities as well. However, they are investing all their effort into Korea first.

The test period is six months. After six months, if a foundation is not made in Korea, they will change the central nation of the providence. If that happens, all of us will have to move. No matter what happens, True Parents must make the providence successful, if not in Korea, then elsewhere. Wherever it may be, True Parents must succeed in creating a restored homeland by 2004. If Korea is not the place, they will have to go to their second or third choices. That is the unavoidable destiny True Parents have to carry out.

Within six months, we must create a sufficient foundation for the liberation of our homeland in Korea. Otherwise, no one can predict what kind of heavier cross we might be burdened with.

We are trying to reach the land of Canaan. If we compare this with the hardships of history, our hardships are not really hard at all. True Parents have shown us the way and we also have accumulated some experiences. We have so much stronger a foundation than did people in the past. When I toured the whole country this time, some Federation chairmen told me that after four years of being abroad, they could clearly see changes in Korea. People's perspective on our movement has changed greatly. They said that whenever they mentioned Father's name to non-members, no one had said anything against him. We should know that now is the right time to make a new determination to face the challenges the new age brings, and restore our homeland...

If we cannot fulfill the task True Parents have given us, we should take our names out of the heavenly family register ourselves. We should begin with that kind of serious determination.

I know you have many difficulties, but you must set the condition of mobilization. You have to set this condition by reaching the goal in your own area if you cannot go to your mission place. Not a single family must be left behind. with one heart, let us all carry out our task at this historical turning point. I am certain that you will make it and I will lead you on the front line. Let us all successfully realize the restoration of our homeland. This is what we must do for the providence. If we succeed in this, not only will we be free, but our ancestors and descendants will also be free at last. If we cannot do it, everyone will go down with us. If we do not carry our burden, then our children and their descendants will have to carry it. Let us make a strong determination and let's make it happen!

Thank you.

[Originally published in Today's World, November 2000]

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