Rev. Hwang relates his experience of being with True Parents during the "Settlement of God's Fatherland" speaking tour in his sermon from Sunday, July 15th.

True Parents arrived in Korea on June 29th and left on July 14th [for Hawaii]. During the ride to the airport when he was departing, True Father told me, "This sixteen-day stay in Korea felt like sixteen years." What this means is that many significant providential events happened in those sixteen days. Naturally, True Parents were under a lot of pressure during that period of time. I would like to tell you of what True Parents did for the providence for the sixteen days of their stay in Korea.

There was an old painting in my parents-in-law's house. It was a painting of a tiger amidst bamboo trees. No one really took notice of it, and it was thrown here and there in the house and finally ended up in the storage room covered with dust. One day, my father-in-law opened a new office and remembered the old painting. He decided to hang it in the office, but the frame was so old and rotten it needed to be replaced.

Some time after dropping it off at the frame shop, the shop owner called and offered to buy the painting from him for 10 million won [approx. US$8,000]. My surprised father-in-law brought the painting home.

As in this story, without eyes that see the true value, we can never appraise things accurately. Likewise, without the right viewpoint, we can never understand the value and meaning of God and True Parents' providential activities. Though they stayed just sixteen days, from the providential point of view, it may have had the value of sixteen years, one hundred and sixty years or even one thousand six hundred years.

Their most important work was holding the rallies for the settlement of God's fatherland. What is the providential meaning of the settlement of God's fatherland? True Parents' activities can be basically placed in either of two categories. One is the blessing and the other is various campaigns. Through the blessing, individuals can free themselves from the evil lineage and be restored to God's lineage. It also signifies the building of God's nation by taking people from the evil world and restoring them as people of God. The providence also progresses through campaigns. We have had many campaigns, but they have all had different providential meanings. All these campaigns were to recreate and restore specific areas.

God made this world through the Word and recreation should be accomplished through His word as well. No matter how many people took part in those campaigns, without the Word, they wouldn't have been very meaningful. No matter how small a meeting is, if it spreads the message of God, then it has divine significance and messianic value. It was the same with Jesus two thousand years ago and the same with Noah, Abraham and Moses.

Why do we think that True Parents are God sent? Because we feel God in their words, the divine truth that sets us free. We feel that we are recreated as we were originally intended to be through the truth True Parents have taught us. That is the reason True Parents lead various campaigns and events to get their message out to the world.

Each campaign and event has had important providential meaning and this last campaign was no exception. However, it had a very different meaning than previous ones. All functions and campaigns have had a common goal-restoration. But this was an effort to establish God's homeland eternally on earth.

As we know, the most important event True Parents have ever hosted was the Coronation Ceremony for the Kingship of God. It was the most important event in True Parents' lives thus far and in all of human history. It is also the start of a new age and the beginning of God's ideal world of creation. The Coronation Ceremony was the symbolic beginning point of the building of God's nation on earth. If that is so, then where has the expansion of that ideal begun? It has begun through the campaign for the settlement of God's fatherland.

The settlement events were hosted in twelve different places-four of them by Father, four of them by Mother and four of them by True Children. Previous campaigns and church events have been procedures to reach a destination, but these events were significant not as a procedure but as the symbolic beginning of the new age. They were not done to restore something.

There was a time when the entire providence was centered on Father, and later, on Mother, at the time of mother-son cooperation, but now as the homeland of God is beginning to be established, the True Family has to be mobilized. Why? It is the Principle. The most basic foundation in God's nation is a family. The ideal of God can spread all over the world through families. On January 1, 1998, True Father anointed the Adam nation as the father nation, the Eve nation as the mother nation and all the rest of the nations as child nations.

Families are the foundation of God's nation. Since the Coronation Ceremony on January 13th, families have to be mobilized to make the foundation to start building God's nation. That is why not only True Parents but also True Children had to be involved in the historic event marking the new beginning. This campaign was successful. An unexpectedly large number of people came for the events, always exceeding the number estimated. When we usually plan this kind of event, we prepare for a greater number of people than are likely to actually show up. We then usually invite 1.2 times more guests than the number we want to come. This time, however, if we invited 1200 people, about 1250 people came to the event. This shows that the providence has matured.

Another point is that a good number of people who are politically well established on the local level were anointed as Ambassadors for Peace by True Parents. The current chairmen of the Seoul and Kwangju city councils are good examples. They are men actively contributing to Korea's development right at this moment.

Many Korean government leaders attended the last event that True Parents hosted at the United Nations. One of them was a four-term congressman, who was also designated to be the next vice chairman of the Korean Congress. Although he was invited by us, the Korean embassy met him at the airport before we could, which gives some indication of his position in Korea. Even though he'd held public office for a long time, he had never visited the United Nations. It can be rather surprising for such people to find that Father's foundation extends all over the world.

There are two things especially overwhelming to non-members. One is the worldwide scale of True Parents' activities. The other is that their spiritually motivated activities reach into and have influence on every sphere of human life-government, economics, culture, education, the media and so on.

People who have thought of religious leaders in a limited sense were shown that True Father's teachings have led him to be involved in all areas of human endeavor. That's the message that came across to the Korean leaders who watched the eighteen-minute video that preceded Father's speech. They could see that Father is ahead of his time in leading a revolutionary movement.

The audience was also stirred by the American Christian leaders' testimonies. They explained why True Parents are True Parents. They told the Korean audience, in detail, what had taken place in America. It was easier to sense what Father had done for America through concrete testimonies from American people.

The course of restoration God has been working on to recover His lost children unfolds in history through model courses of the restoration of the tribe, people and nation. Jacob was the first one to win a messianic victory on the tribal level. We can understand True Parents' course by looking at Jacob's, which was the model course for the cosmic-level messiah to follow.

How was Jacob victorious? He built a twenty-one year foundation, accumulated wealth and returned to his hometown. True Parents' circumstances are the same today. Why did they invest themselves for thirty years in the United States? What is America? From a providential viewpoint, it is the nation bearing the fruit of all of human history. It represents the entire world and it is also the restored elder brother nation. That was why True Parents chose America and invested everything they had for the country. Now they have harvested their investment and returned home.

Who were these Christian ministers? The video showed True Parents working for the providence of restoration; the ministers took the role of substantially testifying to their work in the United States. They moved and won over people in Korea. On that foundation, God's homeland could settle in this country.

How can we define True Parents' success? Gathering a large number of people is not, by itself, success. It does not work that way. Providential victory always means winning over Satan by following a precise Principled course.

You ought to have heard True Parents' messages! They communicated God's heart and truth. True Mother communicated the truth very warmly and gracefully. She quietly but strongly poured the message out to us. Father was very different. He was like a typhoon shaking everything in its path. He gave three hours of stern judgment, communicating his message once and for all. He moved people through the presence of God in his words and character.

This time, Hyun-Jin Nim and Jun-Sook Nim led some speaking engagements as well. They spoke in four locations. At first, the regional leaders had some reservations. They said that they wished Father or Mother themselves would come to their region: they were actually quite worried. If the audience had been young, it would not have mattered so much, but the people who were being invited were local elders with important positions. But the leaders had no reason to be concerned. Both the fact that True Children were there, and the speeches they gave, were powerful and moving.

Hyun-Jin Nim is an unusual young man for Koreans to encounter, not only because he is True Parents' son, but also because he has graduated from one of the best universities in America and has distinguished himself as a successful young businessman. At first, Hyun-Jin Nim greeted the audience in Korean and then Jun-Sook Nim gave the speech. Although Hyun-Jin Nim's Korean is not fluent, his composed and humble manner was impressive. People seemed to sense his leadership qualities from his persona. Jun-Sook Nim's speech delivery was very refreshing,

I explained to the audience why True Parents had not come to speak but had sent True Children instead. I told them, "True Parents believe world peace starts with good families. From this belief, True Father is offering his own family for the good cause of the divine providence and that of world peace." The audience responded with applause.

One more thing to note was that Jun-Sook Nim was eight months pregnant at the time. Her baby is due this month. [Shin-Kwang, a boy, was born three days after Rev. Hwang gave this sermon.] I was naturally worried for her and that she might give birth during the tour. Amazingly, even knowing Jun-Sook Nim's condition, Father put his daughter-in-law in charge of the event. He knows he and his family have to keep the standard of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. True Children's obedience to True Parents' words is an example you cannot find anywhere else in the world. They demonstrate the model course by living it. Starting with one man who lives up to the absolute standard, the providential condition that everyone else can follow is created.

As the Principle teaches us, each family is the fundamental base for heaven. Therefore, we should put all our effort into creating true families. The fact that True Parents have children who listen to them under any circumstances with absolute faith, love and obedience is an undeniably tremendous victory. This in itself is a strong message to the world.

Jun-Sook Nim wore a traditional Korean dress, so people didn't at first realize that she was pregnant. When I told them that she was the mother of three sons and three daughters and that her seventh child could be born at any moment, the audience exclaimed, "Wow!" It is very rare to find couples in Korea with as many children as that nowadays.

Jun-Sook Nim's reading of Father's speech notwithstanding her being in the late stages of pregnancy, Hyun-Jin Nim's absolute support for her, and True Parents having asked them to lead the speaking tour created a completely united trinity. That was an internal victory, the realization of Father's teaching in his own family. Indeed, it was the settlement of God's homeland starting with his own family.

The True Family should be a model of heaven on earth. Heaven can be created on earth only after God's homeland is settled here. And the settlement of God's homeland starts from the True Family. That is the Principle. The True Family, the participants and the message given all worked like a beautifully orchestrated musical piece.

According to Yang Chang-Shik (North American continental director) and Kim Hyo-Yul (Peter Kim) during the fifty-state tour, Father looked very tired when he was resting, but as soon as he was in front of the people who'd come to listen to him, he was a young man again. Communicating to people gave him power. Why didn't he give all the speeches in Korea? It was not that he didn't want to, but there was a providential reason that prevented Father from personally conducting each of the speaking events on the Korean tour.

True Parents' victories led them to the Korean Congress. If we think of their work as providential, we can see what a significant victory Father's speaking before Congress was. Forty-five percent of all congressmen, including their chairman, Lee Man-sub, welcomed True Parents, and it would not have been possible for Father to speak there without an invitation from an incumbent congressman.

On October 30, 1993, True Mother proclaimed "True Parents and the Completed Testament Age" there. At the time, I was one of four regional leaders in Seoul. My phone rang at six o'clock that morning and I was told that Mother would speak to Congress and that I should be there. It was like walking on thin ice. We were very, very careful, as if we were operating as spies, because we had to contend with strong opposition from Korean Christians. We were worried that we might ruin a providentially significant event.

This time, it was very different; simply wonderful. While True Father was waiting for his turn to speak, Chairman Lee Man-sub welcomed him warmly, and congressmen as well as other highly placed politicians greeted True Parents. They were treated as very important guests. Although there was opposition from Christians, it was totally different from last time.

One of the congressmen whom we did not send an invitation to must have seen one in the office of a colleague who had been invited. The uninvited congressman showed up anyhow and demanded of one of our staff members, "Why didn't you send me an invitation? Is this some form of discrimination? Do you have some sort of regulations on how you choose participants here?" This shows how much times have changed.

One of the people who made this speech possible was a Congressman Kim. Many Christian ministers in his constituency called him to protest against Father's being permitted to speak. Rev. Choi Dong-Hui who holds morning prayer meetings at the Congress left a clearly threatening message for Congressman Kim: "There is an unimaginable scale of protest against this event taking place. No one can take responsibility for you if you participate in it." Other congressmen were also up against that kind of hostility from Christian ministers in their areas. There was one supportive congressman who is a sincere Christian. He has been elected to three terms and is a respected leader in his party. He was a career diplomat before running for office and is one of the most pure-hearted politicians I have ever seen. Without having been asked, he spoke to those congressmen opposed to Father's speaking at Congress, many of whom participate in the morning prayer meetings. He explained to them, " I know the Reverend Moon better than you do, and he is not what people think he is." He met the congressmen one by one and convinced each of them. His was an essential contribution to making the event possible. After the event finished his first words were, "Yes, we did it! We won!" His assistant told me that he looked more pleased than we. It must have been great for him, too, because he was able to persuade all the Christian congressmen and helped so much to make it a success. From so many points of view, this was a real victory.

On the day of Father's speech, there was a meeting of one of the permanent congressional committees, but still nearly half of all congressman came to hear what Father had to say. True Parents' accomplishments come through their words. They recreate through their words; whether those words are accepted or not is not their responsibility. Their responsibility is to give the truth. Father treated the congressman solely as God's children, not as politicians or anything else. That actually worked out very well.

Congressman Kang, who used to be a very famous actor in Korea, listened to Father's speech very attentively, watching every move Father made. After the speech, he talked in his office for about an hour and a half about the experience and how Father had impressed him. The video, Father's words, Father's persona, True Parents' presence and the atmosphere of the entire event moved people.

The consensus seemed to be that in terms of the number of people involved, as well as the internal value, it was one of the most dignified and honorable events held in Congress. If Father were to have held this event for our members only, Satan would surely accuse him. It's just not the way of the Principle. True Parents' main responsibility is to spread the word of God and to recreate the world through it.

True Parents accomplished even more though, during those sixteen days. They held a groundbreaking ceremony for God's Palace [Original Temple Holy Ground] at Chung Pyung. In order to build the kingdom, we need a king's palace like that of Solomon.

In addition to all that, yesterday Father invited all the elder members, including those who had left the church, to a meeting and spoke to them for four hours.

He told them, "I know that you love your country; I do too, as much as you if not more. I missed Korea, especially when it rained or snowed." That is Father's heart. When hearing of a typhoon, he worried, thinking of how the Korean people had to suffer through it.

To the elders who had left the movement he said, "Do you know how worried I am about those who have left, especially as we went through a lot of difficulties together in the very early years?" He treated them as if they had never left him and gave them gifts, books on the spirit world. Father spoke to them about the spirit world and read his words. After that, he told them to have a hoon dok meeting again later.

They will meet again at nine today. Father told them to make a new resolution, a determination to forget the past and start again. He gave them as many blessings as he could.

For the sixteen days, True Parents work brought substantial fruit for the beginning of the new era. Now it is our turn. We should restore our tribes as our contribution to restoring God's homeland. Before getting on the plane, Father told us, "Now all the blessed families must start working to restore their own tribes. That is the way to liberate Korea and realize God's homeland here."

What we must do now is introduce people to the blessing and break through in helping our neighbors respond to the call of God.

[Originally published in Today's World, August 2001]

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