The following is excerpted from the sermon given by Rev. Hwang at the Headquarters Church, Seoul, at the early morning service of August 18, 2002.

True Parents tell us that God's providence advances through speaking tours and rallies. So far, there have been numerous rallies. The ongoing Speaking Tour for the Declaration of the Realm of Life of the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth is a meaningful event that signifies God's providence having reached its conclusion. It can be viewed as carrying the meaning of humanity being about to enter the gate of salvation at the final stage of the work of the True Parents on earth. During these rallies, True Parents declared that they are the True Parents. In fact, there had already been a similar declaration in 1992. The circumstances are now different from what they were then, however. Then, at the Women's Federation rallies held on July 4--9, 1992, True Mother proclaimed, "Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the Lord of the Second Advent, the Messiah and the True Parent." In the rallies just concluded, Mother said, "My husband, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and I, who are bringing this truth of Heaven to you, are standing as the True Parents." This time, True Parents were mentioned as a couple.

That time, 1992, was the phase when True Mother, as the qualified representative of the bride whom Christianity had prepared over the past two thousand years, declared True Father to be the Lord of the Second Advent, the Messiah and the True Parent. It was a declaration by True Mother in the position of John the Baptist, testifying to the advent of the Messiah on earth. The Completed Testament Age commenced in 1993 after that declaration. This current declaration was accomplished on the foundation of the seven-year period of the Completed Testament Age and the Coronation Ceremony of the Kingship of God. For the first time, God's kingdom has been established on earth.

Only we hold the key to the salvation of the individual, the restoration of history, and the elucidation of God's Word. Christianity has spread to the entire world, but Christianity does not have an analysis or exact understanding of the consummation of the providence or of the means by which we can become what we were originally intended to be.

In the course of actualizing the Word in their lives and through providential events, True Parents have already provided us with an understanding of salvation and the Word. Then, which stage of the providence does this rally correspond to?

As I said a little earlier, the New Testament Age terminated in 1992 and the Completed Testament Age began in 1993. The Unification Church is not a church of the Completed Testament Age but a church of the New Testament Age. In the Completed Testament Age, churches do not exist, and so the Family Federation came to exist. Strictly speaking, the age of the Unification Church lasted only until 1992, the end of the New Testament Age.

The completion stage of the providence lasted for the ensuing seven years. On that foundation, God's kingship was established -- on January 13, 2001 -- and the era of Cheon Il Guk [the heavenly kingdom] dawned.

How will Cheon Il Guk be established as history unfolds? The philosophies and ideologies of many religions have been infinitely great and lofty, but they could not be put into practice. Instead, the providence that has unfolded under True Parents' leadership is taking shape in stages according to the Principle.

From the perspective of the Principle, Satan caused mankind to fall at the sixth stage [at the top of the growth stage]. Restoration means the restoration through indemnity -- in three stages -- of the number six, which was taken away by Satan. Through this restoration process, Cheon Il Guk has come to settle after an eighteen-month period of special conditions, being three times the six months representing the six stages. After this had been fulfilled, these rallies could be held.

In 2001, the Coronation Ceremony was held on January 13th, the Rallies for the Settlement of God's Fatherland in July and those for the Nation of Cosmic Peace and Unity in November and December. After having accumulated sufficient foundation, True Parents held the Rally for the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth on June 21, 2002, six months later.

For the very first time in history, God's kingship has come to settle on earth in the name of the Cheon Il Guk. This is the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth. Universally viewed, the True Parents, plus the corporeal and incorporeal worlds, are firmly settled [securely established] through vertical and horizontal unity. Following this, the historic age of the Realm of Life of the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth was declared on August 5th.

True Father gave Sunday service on the morning of August 4th at the Headquarters Church. In the early hours of the next morning, he phoned me and directed all members in Seoul to meet at the Central Training Center by six o'clock that same morning. I hastily contacted the right people at the various churches. Just as I was about to try and get a little sleep, another abrupt phone call came. Not only Seoul members, but all members living in Korea were being asked to come!

In the end, all core members flocked to Sutaek-ri. At ten o'clock, True Parents presided over a historic declaration ceremony and declared the era of the Realm of Life of the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth.

So, what is the primary significance of these rallies? All rallies organized up to now were declarations that went beyond the stage of the providence at that particular time, but these rallies carry the historic meaning of marking the beginning of complete settlement. It is a new providential beginning that realizes Cheon Il Guk in our daily lives and in the tribe we belong to. Rather than the launching of a new stage, it signifies the commencement of a new era, the one of God's eternal reign. In this respect, we can see a striking difference between this rally and past ones. In the process of reaching the land of Canaan, the Israelites trod a path that took them through various stages. In the final stage, they conquered Canaan, received an allocation of land and settled down to a new life.

Also, these rallies are known as the "Realm of Life Rallies." The significance of the Realm of Life Rallies and that of Cheon Il Guk are closely tied together. True Father explained that earlier religions were not perfected. God has carried out the providence for the restoration of mankind through religion for six thousand years according to the Bible, but none of them has ever shown the way by which man could resolve the mind-body conflict and achieve eternal peace and unity.

God's will must dwell within our lives now. Our mind and body have to achieve unity, and we have to realize God's will in our neighborhood. We have to achieve self-realization. The Realm of Life Rallies signify that God's will has to permeate our lives to the very core. We have inherited the Promised Land from Heaven. In the process of entering the land of Canaan and settling down there, the Israelites received their share of the land. We have to carve deeply into our hearts the fact that these rallies are ceremonies through which we inherit God's territory. This is the realm of life.

This time, True Father told us to attach a photo of our family to our bosoms wherever we go. This is a specific rule of the Realm of Life of the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth. Carrying our family photograph with us all the time denotes openly telling the whole world we are God's people and that we belong to Him.

With a family photo pinned to our chests, do you think we could stray from the right path? Absolutely not; especially as it would weigh on our conscience. The meaning of the Realm of Life Rallies is the realization of Cheon Il Guk within our lives, our inheritance of God's territory. There are two things we inherit. The first is being allocated a region, community and neighborhood. The second is being able to arrange our tribes. The "Realm of life" has this kind of significance.

God's kingship and Cheon Il Guk have to take root on earth, therefore, and have to be realized in our lives. This is the meaning of the realm of life. Moreover, the region where I live and the tribe I belong to have to fully settle in the realm of life centering on God. This is the providential meaning of these rallies.

Additionally, True Parents spoke during the rally about the evidence coming from the spirit world: "In our capacity as the True Parents of humanity, my husband and I have already unified the entire spirit world. We are receiving messages of support and unity from the founders of the 4 great religions centering on Jesus, including Buddha, Confucius and Muhammad, and from 120 major disciples of each of these leaders. They sent these messages after having studied our teachings in the Divine Principle and Unification Thought seminars in the spirit world. They are filled with hope, and feel immense gratitude toward the True Parents."

These are extremely important and fearful words.

So with what should we educate our tribes in the future? We have to understand how to establish God's kingdom on earth. Many religions have prescribed various forms of medicine -- including their holy scriptures, grace and blessings -- in order to heal mankind's sickness. Unfortunately, our fundamental illness has not been cured.

Now is the time for us to step up and offer another type of remedy -- teachings on the spirit world. The curative effect of this will last into the future. True Father has stated that the incorporeal world is testifying to the present time. The stark reality is that we are insensitive to the messages from the unseen world and that the era of the spirit world has arrived. These things are little by little being confirmed to be true, however.

A Buddhist nun has recently come to know our movement. Her reasons for doing so include amazing experiences with the spirit world. Until the age of seventy, she led a life of earnest faith as an adherent of Buddhism. For the past few years, however, quite remarkably, Jesus Christ has been appearing to her in her dreams. He gave her a revelation, telling her, "As the time has now arrived, build a church next to your temple." As Jesus continued to appear in her dreams and repeat the same instruction, she had no choice but to erect a church beside the convent where she was practicing her ascetic lifestyle.

Some while later -- about two years ago -- Jesus came to her and instructed her to travel around the Korean peninsula. After taking her to visit churches and temples throughout the country, he pointed out to her the things that were wrong.

Next, he guided her to Chung Pyung and showed her the Cheonseong Wanglim Palace. Unaware that the Chung Pyung training center was the property of the Unification Church, she simply followed him wherever he led. When she saw people of various races gathering to receive the blessing and church members liberating their ancestors, she got the shock of her life.

Prior to that, she had only seen visions from the spirit world of the salvation and blessing of people's ancestors. These things became real before her very eyes. How astonishing it must have been for her. Jesus explained to her, "This place is the training center belonging to the Unification Church. You should spend some time here. Go and meet the church leader from your area. You'll find out God's will there." At last, she was directed to the Daejeon regional church, where she heard the Principle and started to attend Sunday service regularly.

This nun is still going to our church. Jesus recently appeared to her again, saying, "Now the time is ripe for Buddhist temples, Christian churches and the Unification Church to become one. You have to be a regional director of the Unification Church." At present, she is a representative of the regional church director in Daejeon, and is holding joint Sunday services.

Two weeks ago, she received a revelation from Jesus instructing her to take down the crucifixes hung in Christian churches. Together with followers from the Buddhist temple, Christian believers and Unification Church members, she held a service for taking down the crosses. On August 12th, she participated in the Rally for the Realm of Life of the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth held in Daejeon. She was appointed an Ambassador for Peace by True Parents on that day. Such a phenomenon is clear evidence that messages from the spirit world are testifying to reality.

When True Father heard this news, he said that that nun was the kindling necessary to light a fire. How is it possible to set fire to the whole world at once? As evidence emerges bit by bit, God's dispensation is being realized, beginning from the spirit world and expanding concretely in the earthly world.

My beloved brothers and sisters! Father recently said, "The time has come. Heaven has ended its long wait. Of all the Last Days we have gone through in history, the period we are currently living in is the final one. Who are the protagonists of this age? It is none other than ourselves.

How often do you address God as "Father"? In the Old Testament, God was not referred to as our father. Looking at the Pentateuch, Moses did not dare to address God as "Father," although he had many encounters with the Almighty.

The relationship between God and man disclosed in the Old Testament was that of a dreadful judge and sinners waiting for the verdict to be passed. It can also be likened to a master-slave relationship. The father-son relationship between God and mankind was first demonstrated by Jesus in the New Testament Age. In the same way, the providence our True Parents are engaged in today should not be viewed through the eyes of dogma, as happened two thousand years ago. We have to learn from history. Our history clearly demonstrates the progress of the providence.

According to True Parents, the end times have presently come. The great transition to an eternal era has occurred. Centering on the Parents of Heaven and Earth, heavenly kingship is settling into the framework of our lives.

True Parents have bequeathed something important to us through these rallies. They have given us the Realm of Life of the Unity and Completed Settlement of the Parents of Heaven and Earth. From now on, we have to let Cheon Il Guk settle in our lives, which we are living in the name of blessed central families [chukbok joongshim kajong]. Moreover, we must fulfill our responsibility of fully transferring the realm of life of God and the True Parents to our tribes, communities and neighborhoods.

[Originally published in Today's World, August 2002]

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