The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1984
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1984 |
Today is the birthday of the True Father and Mother. I am celebrating my 64th birthday and Mother is celebrating her 41st. According to the American custom, I am just about the age of retirement! Will you allow me to retire? Let me ask you: do you really need Rev. Moon? Why do you say yes? Why do you need Rev. Moon? Do you need Rev. Moon for the sake of America, or for the Unification Church, or for the sake of the world, or for the sake of God?
Both sides of the secular world, the free world as well as the communist, have come to a stone wall. I want you to understand that we have a problem. We have a mountain to climb and go over -- the free world has to climb over it, the communist world does, too; history has to climb over that mountain and ultimately God Himself has to climb over that mountain. It is our destiny to climb over that mountain. What is needed now is a guide or a leader who understands the path and the way to go over. Such a leader will be the one who must be followed by the entire world, including the world of history.
Do you think that the mountain of our destiny is any lower than Mt. Everest? That mountain is so high it seems insurmountable in the eyes of both the free world and the communist world. Do you think that the sacrifice of one person should be sufficient to enable the entire world to go over that mountain? Looking at it another way, if the only way to cross over that mountain was to sacrifice your life, would you be willing to make that sacrifice?
Let's say that one person's sacrifice was needed to allow the rest of the world to cross over the mountain. Would that person be the most obscure little Moonie or would he be the most powerful, valuable Moonie? Why would it be the second? Wouldn't it be nice, like a bargain, to be able to give up just a small person and not someone very precious? Why must the price be someone who is most precious?
First of all, such a deal can only be made between God and Satan; no human being can intervene. If I were made to pay only the cheapest price, the bargain price, then Satan would immediately go to God and accuse. He would say, "Look at what Rev. Moon did. He's trying to take something very precious from me but he only paid a cheap price!" We must ask another question. Who is receiving the "money" from that sale, or the value of that sacrifice? No matter how much I may want to buy mankind's way over that mountain, it is ultimately God who must give His approval. It is not for the sake of Satan that we are making our offering.
God is universal and cosmic. Both Satan and I know that God is universal. In order to avoid the accusation of Satan, I have to offer the sacrifice with truly universal and cosmic meaning.
With that, Satan will be satisfied that sufficient price was paid. Since God is the one who is the ultimate recipient of that sacrifice, He, too, will be satisfied with such a sacrifice. And I as well will be satisfied. Unless I go as far as giving the most precious, universal and cosmic offering, Satan will not be satisfied, first of all. That is the reason why the sacrifices in God's providence throughout history have been the most precious things. Satan always demands the highest and best sacrifices.
Most people today do not understand the spirit world. If someone, out of ignorance, tried to offer a sacrifice to Satan in order to be protected from him, it would not really go to Satan but it would ultimately go to God. For that reason, all good religions throughout history have taught the virtue of sacrifice, the virtue of giving, unselfishness and sacrificial love. None of these kinds of offerings could ever become the possession of Satan: they all find their way to God.
Let's say that there were hundreds of steps mankind had to climb up. With each step climbed, it is a victory for God and another defeat for Satan. Therefore, at each step Satan becomes more and more vituperative and violent. He tries to hurt and even assassinate the ones who are climbing the steps. However, once a true sacrifice is offered, even Satan must admit its validity, however reluctantly.
This is the way the history of Christianity has gone. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was given as a sacrifice. Even though he appeared at the time to be the most defeated person in history, his sacrifice has been blossoming for these past two thousand years. The history of Christianity can be summed up as the experience of being hit and then winning, being attacked and then advancing. Satan always attacks first and demands a sacrifice. This is not my story; this is truly the means by which God and Satan have been dealing with each other in spirit world. This is the way in which they have been battling.
The time will come when I have fulfilled my responsibilities here in this country. Perhaps I might retire to a cave in some mountain, but people from all over this country would seek me out to pay their respects. If this is not true, nothing else that I have been teaching is true either. I have been the only one who understood this principle. It is virtually impossible to convey 100% understanding of what I know. Throughout my entire life and up till now, at the age of 64, I have had one fervent ambition -- to cross over and conquer that mountain. As a family, you must climb over it; as a clan and tribe, you must climb over it; as a nation and a world and a cosmos, you must climb over it. This mountain has been difficult even for God to climb over. But I am anointed with the destiny of climbing over it.
You cannot truly understand the secret dealings that God has had to make with Satan. Without anyone else knowing, I discovered those secrets and suffered in silence. But I knew those secrets and I declared to the world that I would walk this path unto my life. When 1 made that declaration, the persecution began. I always determined to receive the persecution, to suffer and make the necessary sacrifices. When I suffered as an individual, it was for the sake of family restoration. When I suffered as a family, it was for the sake of the clan and tribe. When I suffered on the tribal level, it was for the sake of the nation. When I suffered on the national level, that suffering paid the sacrifice for the sake of the world, the cosmos, and ultimately God.
Around the world, the means of doing battle have changed markedly. Instead of the conventional warfare of military forces, we have three major types of warfare today: first, ideological warfare; second, the warfare between intelligence forces; and third, the warfare of propaganda.
America is a huge country with a gross national product probably equal to that of the rest of the world combined. Technologically and militarily, America has everything at its disposal. Yet somehow this gigantic nation has become helpless in the face of international communism. No one knows how to cope with it. America is in a tragic position at the moment. The government has no confidence to prevent the spread of communist ideology. The Carter administration brought about one retreat after another; more refugees than ever came to America because their own countries were being taken over. People are streaming here because it is the last bastion of freedom in the world. Where will people go if this country falls? Can you plan to take a Columbia shuttle to the moon?
I foresaw that the present situation would come to this country. We must turn the tide, beginning with an ideological offensive. Our movement has an ideology which is proven effective against communism -- it is proven in Japan, Latin America, and other places as well. The Unification Church has spread all over the world, even within the communist sphere. I have been persecuted by this powerful nation of America, but smaller nations of Central and South America have perceived clearly that I am the only powerful resistance fighter against communism. For that reason, they want to support anything that I try to do. The intelligence networks of various nations have come to the conclusion that I am the only hope to stop the spread of communism. The only nation not yet convinced is the United States and its intelligence agencies.
Furthermore, the threat I pose to communism is much more clearly understood in the communist world than anywhere else! They have amassed more information on me than anyone else!
When I began my work for God's dispensation, members of my own family tried to discourage me and rejected my efforts. But now they have gained tremendous pride in me and they see that I have not done anything wrong. When we went to Korea in December, we virtually turned the country upside down. The government was completely surprised. I have always been standing in the side of eternal truth and nobody is strong enough ultimately to defeat that eternal truth.
My life has been very unusual from the beginning. Even as a little child, as soon as I walked into a village, something dramatic would happen, without my doing anything -- either someone's cow would die or the dogs would stop barking or the well would dry up -- something always happened because everywhere I go, I carry indemnity with me. Although I worked for a long time in Korea, I never undertook a public rally there until after I had come to America in 1971. Many other religious leaders became very popular in Korea but then declined. But God's strategy for me was to have me become a public person only on the worldwide level, not just on the small national level of Korea. Therefore, only after I left Korea and came to the United States did my truly public ministry begin.
After I came to America, I studied the social ills here: the Mafia, drug abuse, sexual immorality, and so on. I studied such places as Hollywood and the movie industry in order to discern their problems. I wanted to understand the problems of Las Vegas. Therefore I went into these worlds to understand them better. Gambling has become a nationwide problem, with Atlantic City becoming another gigantic center.
After all these steps, what is my situation now? I have come to the top of the hill. The free world, particularly the United States, will not survive without being helped by me. The Unification Movement in the future will not have to suffer the amount of martyrdom that Christianity did. Why is that? It is because I suffered at every step and paid indemnity for the sake of humanity. Today's battle could be compared to Jesus, if he could have gone up against the Roman Senate. When I win this battle and also stop the spread of communism through Unificationism, there will be no more suffering to endure.
In today's warfare of ideology, intelligence and propaganda, nobody can compete with me. The communists cannot keep up with me and that is why they feel threatened. I have come to the point of organizing a Summit Club for world leaders. The Summit Club will be for the past, present and future heads of state. Furthermore, we have sponsored tours of the Soviet Union by Western media people. I have reached the pinnacle from every direction. That is the reason why the rest of the world must follow my lead.
I have climbed over the hill successfully on every level from the individual all the way up to the present world level. According to the Divine Principle, the second sons or daughters are in the position to be sacrificed. This is true all the way up to the second son of the True Parents, Heung Jin Nim. Heung Jin Nim was truly a handsome, attractive young man. He was most loved by his brothers and sisters; they all wanted to spend time with him. Heavenly Father has never had a chance throughout human history to really love a true child, particularly within His own bosom in spirit world. But now Heung Jin Nim is in that position with God, representing the true, unstained child of True Parents and God.
If the sacrifice of Heung Jin Nim had not been made, either of two great calamities could have happened: either the Korean nation could have suffered a catastrophic setback, such as an invasion from the North; or I myself could have been assassinated. Since special indemnity was paid it protected me in Korea at the Kwangju rally, which was Satan's target day. He hit Heung Jin Nim instead at the same exact hour.
I was an extraordinary child who was hand-picked by God to carry out a dispensational mission. As the chosen champion of God, I have not faltered. Even though Jesus' life was finished at the age of 33, I have moved forward all the way to the age of 64. All this time I have been fighting an uphill battle against all kinds of dangers. Not only have I survived, I have also been victorious.
I tell you, I am the most short-tempered person and I cannot tolerate even the smallest injustice. However, after knowing God I learned the virtues of patience, endurance and perseverance. That is the only reason I could endure up to this point.
Satan has been infiltrating the Christian community and the free world. Even though both those worlds opposed me, I have been working to restore them, and I established many activities, such as the Interfaith activity, to win them. We have spent ten times more on the Christian world than on the Unification Church itself.
Now I am bearing the cross of the court battle. This crucifixion is a character assassination. However, all of Christianity is uniting to save me from this crucifixion. This is a new phenomenon occurring in the world. When Jesus was dying on the cross, there were two thieves, one on his left and one on his right. The one on the left accused Jesus while the one on the right sympathized with him. Today we can say that the communist world represents the thief on the left while the free world represents the one on the right. Even the terms "left wing" and "right wing" have their root at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. The communist world accuses its enemies, including me and God Himself because they say that God does not exist. The free world acknowledges God, so what it needs to do now is to support and unite with me.
Among those on the right side are the Moonies who are saying, "Reverend Moon is our hope and he is the only one who has the solution to communism." By doing so, you are totally uniting with me. Because of this unity, God can challenge Satan. The communist world finds itself powerless in the face of this unity. This is a sign of victory and this is what is happening now.
In Lebanon today there are Shiite Muslims who have bombed the Americans, as you know. These people are motivated out of blind faith; they believe that when they die on suicide missions, they will immediately enter into Heaven. However, they have no logical foundation for their beliefs. Would you want to live according to some blind faith, or would you prefer to have some intelligent, logical reason to have faith in something?
I am a very fearful man, in a way. It is a very good thing that I am a man of God; if I had been a satanic man, the world would have had a lot of trouble.
I would like to have sons- and daughters-in-law among all different races and colors of skin, particularly among those who have gone to Korea and have suffered the most. Those are the best candidates for my future sons- and daughters-in-law. Whenever I decide upon such a thing, I do not judge people by any external quality such as physical appearance. The important criterion is deeds, heart, and loyalty. I know that out of such persons, good and beautiful offspring will come. So if you really feel that Korea is your fatherland of faith, you will want to go there and experience the most historically difficult part of life there. That is another hill for you to climb. It would be a difficult hill for you to go over.
Even if people are cursing us, it doesn't matter. We are a group of people with hope and a promise for the future. No matter what the opposition, you won't give up. It should only make you stronger and a better patriot. There will be no one in history who can stop you. If you need a model to look at and trust what I am saying, just look at me. I am invincible under persecution and opposition. I have gained success under the worst circumstances. When I left the North Korean prison, I was penniless. I was on the level of the lowest, poorest beggar, owning nothing but my own two hands. However, what have I done? I have laid this international foundation single-handedly.
All the young people of America will pass through the gate of the Unification Church, at one time or another. Those of you who have a picture of me in your possession right now, please raise your hand. From now on, we are going to stress the value of carrying my picture. Members of the IFVOC will be given an identification card which contains my picture on the back.
Without the protection of God, I could never have survived the untold hardships and difficulties I have faced. So for anybody who carries my picture from now on, it will serve as protection for them. At the time of the Jewish Exodus, God sent a plague upon the houses of the Egyptians which killed all their first-born sons. All the houses which had the blood of the lamb on their doorway were spared that tragedy. Therefore, the Israelites were spared. By the same token, isn't it possible that during some modern-day calamity, those who are carrying my picture would be spared? That's the way spirit world looks at it.
Now that Heung Jin Nim has passed into Heaven, the spirit world is intervening more and more with worldly affairs. So those who are carrying the True Parents' picture will unquestionably be given protection by angels and good spirit world. If you could open your spiritual eyes, you would see the same kind of phenomenon occurring even now, here in this room. Many of you have probably already experienced that if you were carrying around a picture of me and you committed a sin, within three days you would lose that picture. That picture would not want to stay with you under those circumstances.
The time has come for the clouds and multitudes of people in spirit world to come down and assist this world's affairs. Behind every Moonie there are tens of thousands of people in spirit world. You will find yourself being guided away from dangerous circumstances. Even though you might be planning to walk in a certain direction, your feet will not want to budge. You will sense that something is funny. Such a thing is very real.
Those who do not understand the spirit world and how it works will be lost in the future. You can never trust any guidance from secular, earthly sources -- the government, your teachers, your family. They can't predict what kind of calamities might strike.
The secret of the success of the Unification Church missionaries depended upon the spirit world. I never sent them letters or even gave them comforting words, but when they went out to their countries and persevered, they could feel the intervention of the spirit world. They were receiving special protection and guidance. For that reason, they never felt alone.
Our ultimate destination and the reason why we need this' extra protection is that we want to cross over the mountain successfully. We must go beyond the free world and beyond the communist world. Do you want to do it? Do you want to climb over that mountain? We can never predict what kinds of tragedies might hit us or even the True Parents, so it is most important that all of you will uphold the Divine Principle, that you will never let God down, and that you will be absolutely loyal champions for the True Parents.
No matter how many difficulties you might encounter along the path of the front line soldier as you move toward Moscow and the entire communist world, you will not stop but will continue marching forward. Everybody repeat after me, "We shall go over the hill." This time raise your hands and say it. Once again. Amen! Amen! Amen! Thank you very much. God bless you!