Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon

Book Eight - Sin and Restoration Through Indemnity
Chapter Three - The Formula for Indemnification and Restoration
Section 3. The Eight-Stage Indemnity Course and the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages

3.1. The eight vertical and horizontal stages in the course of restoration through indemnity

The history of six thousand years has unfolded beginning from the individual level to the levels of family, tribe, people, nation and world. The Unification Church goes through eight stages to restore the individual, family, tribe. people, nation, world, universe and finally God's love. When we pray, we do so focusing on the eight levels, don't we? "O Heavenly Father, I have fulfilled the restoration of the individual, and fulfilled the restoration of the family..." What that means is that the completion of the restoration of an individual lies within a family, and the completion of the restoration of a family lies within a tribe, the completion of the restoration of a tribe lies within a people, completion of the restoration of a people lies within a nation, the completion of the restoration of a nation lies within the world, the completion of the restoration of the world lies within heaven and earth, and the completion of the restoration of heaven and earth lies within the love of God. It means that everything in heaven and earth should become one, centered on God's love. (61-75, 1972.8.27)

Are your bodies separated from the dominion of Satan? Have they become one with God? Unless you completely deny yourself, you cannot overcome Satan. That is why I am teaching you how to go through three and a half years of hardship. We must progress from the beggar and the servant of servants. We must progress vertically, from the servant of servants, through servant, adopted child, child by a concubine, child of the direct lineage, the mother, the father, and then God; eight stages in this way. Also, the individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world, heaven and earth, and God are eight levels as well. Thus, it is vertically eight stages and horizontally eight stages. This is the viewpoint of God's Principle. These are not just my words. (189-141, 1989.4.1)

3.2. Satan's activities and the victory in the eight stages

What is the thing that Satan until now has held on to historically, based on the eight stages of the individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world, heaven and earth and God? He has been saying, "God, You are the Master who follows the heavenly principles, and Your son and daughter, the ideal Adam and Eve, that is, the True Parents, are a son and daughter who follow these principles. Because You, the Father who follows the Principle, created me as the archangel, it was a fundamental rule that before falling, I would have been able to receive Your love and the love of Your son. If You cannot love and work in that way, You will not be able to love the principled son as the principled Father." This is the problem.

In other words, Satan is saying that although he fell, if God could not love him, He would not be able to return all the creation, which is in Satan's possession, to the realm under the dominion of God's love, and the love of Adam in the original Eden. He means that if God and Abel united and loved Satan, they can restore everything based on the condition of individual love, but otherwise, they will not be able to do this. Next, the same applies to the family, tribe, people, nation and world, which are in the same position, and he claims that heaven and earth are in such a position as well. That is the way in which Satan grabs us by the throat or, as you might say, how he tightens the noose around our neck. (132-29, 1984.5.19)

The Principle of the Unification Church is a fundamental path. but we cannot just follow the path of the Principle doing nothing. It is the path of destiny on which we must pass through eight stages. These eight stages are those of the individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world, heaven and earth, and God. the number eight is the number for starting anew. After we achieve that there will not be another new start. (135-304, 1985.12.15)

Throughout history, there have been numerous paths of suffering and hardship. but you must realize that the path of hardship of the eight stages that I have passed through never existed in past history. You must understand that it was the way of indemnity where, because of the difficulties, I still wasn't allowed to shed tears, crying out, "God, I am not able to endure this position!" Those who are going to build the kingdom must not shed tears for themselves while walking this way. It is the heavenly principle that unless we pass through the place of tears with joy, the foothold of the heavenly kingdom will not remain in this earthly world. (161-194, 1987.2.3)

Restoration through indemnity will not be accomplished if there is even one element of self-affirmation remaining. Indemnity conditions are set from a position of absolute denial. That kind of standard of absolute denial must be established from the individual level to the family, tribe, people, nation, world, and heaven and earth level until we reach God. Then. if the eight stages are fulfilled, this will be connected to the utopia of human history. Unless a course of absolute denial is undergone at each stage, we cannot connect to the utopia where we can relate directly with God. (God's Will - 697)

You might be thinking, "Those eight stages were just thought up by Rev. Moon. I have no need for indemnity," but that is totally wrong. the human portion of responsibility is a fact, and there exists a formula course springing from our portion of responsibility. If there had been no Fall, we would have been able to pass this course naturally in 21 years, but now because there are walls blocking our way, we must deal with them one by one. Because of Satan we cannot go through all stages at once. We have to deal with them one by one and restore them. Because of the Fall, Satan appeared, and indemnity conditions appeared. Because we must fulfill our human portion of responsibility, indemnity conditions are an unavoidable process. (124-306, 1983.3.1)

The course of restoration must go through eight stages, restoring the individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world and heaven and earth, and restoring the love of God. But, this cannot be accomplished all at once. Had Adam and Eve not fallen, they would have naturally perfected themselves, but because they fell to the level of servant of servants at the beginning of history, we cannot he raised up through all the stages at once. Thus, in the process of pioneering each stage, continuous indemnity conditions were absolutely necessary for each course. By setting up these conditions, we can separate from Satan. Because of Satan, indemnity conditions are necessary; if Satan did not exist, indemnity conditions would not be required. (161-201, 1987.2.4)

How should we go about climbing up through the eight stages from the individual to family, tribe, people, nation, world, heaven and earth and God? To climb up this trunk, you need to go out sideways and attain individual victory. Based on your heart of love, you must climb up the side, fight with Cain and win. In this way, you have to go up through the eight stages by fighting with Cain and subjugating him. Why? It is because Satan is attached to you. You must understand this. (181-214, 1988.10.3)

After I learned about the law of indemnity in this world, in heaven and earth, I focused on the love for an individual, then on the love for a family, then on the love for a tribe, people and nation. At each stage, Satan tried everything imaginable to try to crush this love. That is why religion goes the way of persecution. It has had to shed tears and blood. We cannot go up to high and comfortable places. We have to stay in the uncomfortable places. That is our safety zone. Satan is arrogant, so he dislikes difficult places. That is why the most miserable place is the safety zone. (181-213, 1988.10.3)

Even though Adam fell as an individual, he was the center of everything; therefore restoration must take place on the worldwide level. Restoration cannot be done all at once. It must be carried out step by step. The position of an individual must first be restored, then the environment on all levels should be provided; from the level of a family, to levels of a tribe, a people, a nation, the world, and heaven and earth. This process should go through the eight stages. Human beings who are seeking the ideal world must resolve such issues in order to encounter God, the subject of love. If there is a blockage somewhere, people can only relate to the realm below that standard, but not to the realm above it. the path to becoming one with the absolute God will not be attained. If you go up to a certain level, you can only receive the assistance of spirit people up to that level in the realms of formation and growth in the spirit world, and so it will be difficult to relate with God. (God's Will - 697)

There are eight stages from the servant of servants to the servant, adopted child, child by a concubine, child of direct lineage, mother, father, and God. There are eight stages to pass through. You must know this clearly. Before you can become a leader in the Unification Church, you must become a servant of your mission country otherwise there is no way to attain liberation. You must become the servant of servants, and be treated as an adopted child. You must be treated as a child by a concubine. Then, as a child of the direct lineage... you must go up in this way. When you pass through these stages, there must always be indemnity. You have to fight with Satan so that God can award a victory to you. Without this you can't pass the way of indemnity.

Can you successfully go through the indemnity course on the tribal level without having brought victory on the family level? There is no way for this to happen. Similarly, can you consider going to the level of the people without having dealt with your tribe? This also applies to the levels of the nation, the world, and heaven and earth. This must be very clear in your mind. (181-213, 1984.10.3)

Speaking of my situation, I am the individual Adam, but at the same time I also had to weave the history of Adam on the levels of family, tribe, people, nation, world and heaven and earth. I had to climb up through the eight vertical stages starting from the position of servant of servants. Not only did I go through these eight stages, but I also embraced all the horizontal stages of individual, family, tribe, people and the world. Therefore I had to go through the vertical and horizontal indemnity course that includes all the five billion people of the world. By doing so I created a realm of liberation free from satanic accusation. Do you think that path was easy? (194-110, 1989.10.17)

Human history until now has supposedly lasted approximately 850,000 years. Within this period, from primitive times, religious movements have received persecution. Then, who makes history occur like that? It is God, and so, from the position of servant of servants, history developed in stages. Then, for the servant of servants (humankind), the servant (archangel) becomes the master. It is not a case of the master controlling the servant, but the servant taking control of the master. In order to become the master of servants in the heavenly kingdom, you must be persecuted by all the servants of the satanic world and become victorious. Therefore, you must be prepared to die. That is the origin of the words. Those who seek to die, will live!

To rise from the position of servant of servants to that of servant, or from the position of the servant to the adopted child, you will definitely face persecution. The same principle applies, through all eight stages until God. Then, who will receive this persecution? People change, but God will never change. Thus, different religions of the world are in the positions of the servant of servants, servant, adopted child, child by a concubine, child of the direct lineage, mother, father, and true parents. At the very highest level, the religion in the position of parents will appear. In the Last Days, there will appear the religion of True Parents centered on the True Parents. After its emergence the Unification Church started teaching about the unification of religions. Such unification is only possible through the doctrine of a religion that teaches about the True Parents. (124-69, 1983.1.23)

3.3. Ceremony for the Settlement of the Eight Stages

Since the vertical and horizontal indemnity, the indemnity of the eight stages was completed, last year, on August 31, 1989, I went to Alaska, the northernmost place in the western world, and conducted the "Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages." It was conducted at the northernmost place. Then on September 1, I announced the "ideology centered on the Heavenly Father." It is the ideology of salvation through love, which we know as the parent-centered ideology. This ideology urges us to love everyone. Satan cannot oppose love. If Satan does not oppose the Unification Church on its way, it will spread worldwide in a flash. (199-157, 1990.2.16)

Do you know what the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages is? What is it? It represents the completion of vertical and horizontal indemnification. In order to go through the vertical stages. I began as the servant of servants. Horizontally, this had to expand from the individual to the family, tribe, people, nation and world. Unless the vertical standard is set, you cannot draw a horizontal circle. If the central axis is not set, a circle cannot be drawn. All the circles must perfectly match the eight vertical stages. This was completed in Alaska, on September 1st, 1989. The word Alaska sounds similar to the Korean phrase "do you understand?" (215-124, 1991.2.6)

I have already declared the "Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages," on the national, world and cosmic levels, thus commencing the age when God can come and go vertically whenever He wishes, and can freely move horizontally to any place on earth. That is why the term "global village" has appeared. The Unification Church teaches not only about global village, but also about a global family. The age has come when the history of the global family can unfold on the earth. The whole world, which was divided into day and night, now lies within the scope of one day of human life. The age has come when everything can be communicated instantly around the world. (198-277, 1990.2.4)

What happened due to the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages? The right of Right of the parent can be liberated and achieved. Because this time is coming, then. from the position of Parents. I am raising all of you into a position where you can be tribal messiahs. This is to liberate Jesus and Adam's family from their grief. Through your tribes, you can obliterate the foundation created by the mistake of false parents: in this way, for the first time, hometowns where people were born can be transformed into the hometowns of the heavenly kingdom. (193-214, 1989.10.4)

On August 31, 1989, in Alaska I declared the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages that allowed humankind to shift into the age when indemnity is no longer needed. This means that wherever I or the believers of the Unification Church go, the age of persecution is over. From now on, if we build the Kingdom of Heaven or do anything we want, no one can accuse us. That kind of foundation was laid by the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages.

Based on this ceremony, I declared "The ideology centered on the Heavenly Father" on September 1, 1989. Until the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages was completed, it was still the age of the restoration of the right of the eldest son. Restoring the right of the eldest sun! Finally, the right of the eldest son has been completely restored. Now, that the right of the eldest son has been completely restored to God's side, we ascend and stand in the highest global realm, where Satan cannot oppose us. The time has now come when, if we push toward strongly and boldly, America, the communist world, Korea and Japan will all yield. That is why we should be strong and bold. (193-204, 1989.10.8)

The Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages signifies that the historical course of vertical indemnity and the course of horizontal indemnity that went through the stages of individual, family, people, nation, and the world. That is the vertical and horizontal courses consisting of eight stages are completed. Due to this, the right of eldest son has been restored, and the course of indemnity for all humanity is abolished. That is what I have done by holding this ceremony.

The right of the eldest son is restored; the Parents are embracing all humankind. Thus, an end is brought to the history of war and struggle that was necessary in order for the right of the eldest son to be restored in the realm of parental love. The time has come when indemnity is not needed and we can reach harmony in love. In order to achieve this, I had to hold the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages. By holding this ceremony, the Parents forgave both the elder and the younger son, so that next we can enter the age of the realm of forgiveness for the fallen parents. (193-173, 1989.10.3)

Alaska, where the ceremony of The Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages was held, is becoming famous. The last time I came here I said I would build a church at the North Pole. If the Soviet Communist Party opposes it, I will take the responsibility. I will build the Unification Church at the North Pole. You have to spend your life in order to build the foundation of blessing for all people of the world, but before you die, come to our Church at the North Pole and offer your devotion for forty days and then you can die. Think about this. An ideal city will be created in a world of icebergs. Then, even though it will be thousands of miles away, everything can be supplied by the air. You should try living like this. It would be a wonderful thing. With the power of science today, that would be nothing. We can use prefabricated systems. So we will build an airfield and try to live there, so what problem could arise? We are creating a base in the tourist area of Kodiak... Think about it. It will become a gateway unprecedented in history. (193-217, 1989.10.9) 

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