How To Be Rich

 

Those of you who are new are going, “Great! Why in the world did we come to church today?” Okay? We are in a series that’s called “How to be rich”. We’re not talking about how to get rich, because a lot of people will tell you how to get rich, but we’re recognizing that according to the world’s standards, we’re already rich, and we want to be rich in a way that honors God. Let’s go back to week number one and review. For those of you who were here, would you help bring everybody else up to speed? We learned some good news and some bad news, and the good news was what? The good news was you are rich. We discovered that. If you make $45,000 a year or more, which many of you do, you are in the top 1% of wage earners alive today. If you make $45,000 a year or more, you are in the top 1% of wage earners alive today. You are rich. You’ve got things that only rich people have, like a car. Some of you, you’re so rich you have a house for your car. It’s called a garage. Some of you are so rich you have so many clothes you can’t even wear them all. Some of you are so rich that you get to go to places called restaurants, where you pay other people to prepare your food. That’s how rich you are, and this is good news because, God blesses some people with wealth, and God takes great delight when you enjoy some of what God gives you. And the other good news is, because you have so much, you can do a lot with it. That is good news. We also learned there’s some bad news, as well. And the bad news is, help me out. What’s the bad news? The bad news is, you are … you are rich. That’s bad news, you see, as well as good news. It’s bad news because this is one of your greatest spiritual challenges. Because you are rich, it would be so easy to trust in your riches and so difficult to trust in God. In fact, Jesus was the one who said this. He said that, “It is more difficult for a rich person,” and that includes you, and that includes me. “It is more difficult for a rich person to get to Heaven than it is to get a camel through the eye of a needle.” He said, “It, it’s so difficult, it’s almost impossible. The good news is, though, with God, it is possible for even rich people like us to get to Heaven. The challenging thing is, it’s really, really hard. That’s bad news.

The other bad news is, because we’re rich, we have a greater responsibility than those who are poor. Jesus said that to whom much is given, and that’s us. He said, “Much is expected.” Good news is we’re rich. Bad news is, we’re rich, and that raises the question, as we are acknowledging that we are rich, it raises the question, “Why did God make us rich?” Why did He make us rich? Now, let’s be honest. As we observe most people’s lives in our country, as, as they get more, if we would observe their lives and try to answer that question based on simple observation, how would we answer the question. Based on what I see, if I answer the question, why did God make most people I know rich, the answer I would say, “Well, it appears so that they could have more, and get more, and buy more, and consume more.” Based on my observation, that’s how I would respond. Very rarely would I ever say, “Well, based on my observation in your life, it looks like God must have made you rich, not so that you could get more, but so that you could give more. I mean, I’ve watched you, and as your resources have increased, your lifestyle has remained relatively constant. Sure, you might have enjoyed a few things now that you didn’t in the past, but you’ve created margin, and you’re using this margin to make a difference in other people’s lives.” Saying something like that would be very, very rare.

God made you rich. Why did He do it? We’ll let scripture answer this question? II Corinthians 9:11 speaks directly to this question. The Bible says this, “You will be made,” what? All of our campuses, help me out. “You will be made …” Say it again. “You will be made rich in every way.” Why will you be made rich? So that you can be what? So you can be generous on how many occasions? Say it aloud, “on every occasion, and through us your generosity with result in,” what? “It will result in thanksgiving to God. Imagine this. Imagine if we were rich like we already are, and we became so generous that when people saw us they went, “Oh, I thank my God for you. You are so incredible. You’re not like a lot of rich people I know. They are kind of arrogant and stuck-up, and think it’s all about them, and now they think it’s all for them; but yet, sure you enjoy some and God wants you to, but you don’t think it’s all for you, and you’ve been giving, and I just want to say, ‘God, thank you for you, because you are awesome!’ You are making a difference.” Why did God make you rich? God gave you more. One of the things He wants is for you to give more.

Let’s review our key statements. If you were here with us the last couple of weeks, we’ve kind of been picking up these statements along the way, and, and the first was this. Go ahead and say it after me. “God has blessed me with more than I need. I am rich, but I will not trust in my riches, but in Him, who richly provides.” Now, here is the part I want you to add. “Because I have more, I will give more.” Let’s say it all, all together. I’ll start. “God has blessed me with more than I need. I am rich, but I will not trust in my riches, but in Him, who richly provides. Because I have more, I will give more.” That’s how to be rich. It’s not how to get rich, because you already are rich. That’s how to be rich in a way that matters to God.

Why did God make you rich? Well, one of the reasons is so you can give more. Now, that raises the next question, and the next question is this. “So, how could I learn to give more?” How could I learn to give more, because by nature, I’m selfish. By, by nature, I want to trust in my stack of money and say, “My stack will provide security.” If I don’t feel security, I want more and think that will provide security. Or, I think it will provide. How can I learn to give more? Because truthfully, if you are like me, as my income has increased, so has my lifestyle. And that’s usually what happens. If you get a raise, you think, “Okay, now we can get a house cleaner. Or, if you get a tax refund, you think, “Okay, now we can go on that trip.” Or, if you get a bonus, you think, “Now, we can buy that HDTV.” Or if you get something, you think, “Now, we can get more tots,” or whatever it would be. We tend to think that more is for us. How is it that we are going to learn to be bigger givers? If you are taking notes, you must become an intentional giver, and this is so important. This is so life changing, if you get this. We’re not going to be kind of after the fact, or leftover givers. But we are going to become intentional and prayerful about what we give, because truthfully, if you look at our lives, most of us, we are intentional consumers. We, we intentionally scheme how we can consume. You may find something you want and say, “Okay, if I don’t eat for a week, I could buy this iPod. I am going to scheme so I can figure out how to get it.” I’ve seen people who wanted a house, and so they thought, “If I borrow this money from my grandparents for the down payment, and then I get the raise, and we get a tax refund, and we get this low interest, and they’ll negotiate on us, and if I stand just like this, then maybe we can afford this house.” And they do all these crazy things, trying to get what they want. They scheme to consume. It’s very rare that you ever see someone scheme on how to give. “If we kept our life simple, and if we downsize, and if we didn’t buy this thing, then, oh, this is so exciting, we could give more!” How rare is that, because most people really don’t believe the words of Jesus when He said, “It is more blessed to give than it is to receive.”

How, how are we going to learn to give more? We are going to become an intentional giver. Look at what scripture says. II Corinthians 9:7, each man, each person should give what he has,” what? Would you say that phrase aloud? “Should give what he has decided in his heart to give.” That is very important. Not reluctantly or under compulsion, for what kind of a giver does God love? God loves a cheerful giver. How, how do we give? Well, what we do is, we become intentional about it. We pray about it. We seek God. “God, where would You have me give? God, where could we make a difference?” We, we scheme and investigate God. How could we give more? If you do that, you become a little bit like my wife, Amy. She, she schemes, not how she can consume, but how she can give more. It’s just, it’s, it’s just ridiculously Godly. It’s just the way she is. She’ll investigate, and she’ll go out and try to find, “Where’s the best place, the most efficient in feeding kids that are hungry?” And then, when she gives to these organizations, she gets excited about it. Why? Because she’s intentional. She’s excited. She gets to give, then they send her an envelope back three days later saying, “Will you give more?” She doesn’t say, “Oh, all they want is my money.” What she says is, “Oh, can we give more?” Why? Because she’s a cheerful giver. It was intentional. It wasn’t just a reaction, someone knocked on our door and said, “Hey, can we have money for this deal?” It was an intentional, prayerful, thought-out process. “God, where can we best make a difference?” And because of that, because it was intentional, she’s very, very, very cheerful.

How do we become bigger givers? We become intentional givers. That’s how to be rich. Let’s break it down into two thoughts, two ways to be intentional. Number one, we will intentionally return to God what belongs to God. Let me say it again. We will intentionally return to God what belongs to God.

[video] Well, this is where the rubber meets the road. You’re paying the bills. In fact, what’s in here tells more about your heart than just about anything else. Let’s talk about it. As intentional givers, well, we’re going to return to God what belongs to God. Scripture says this. In Leviticus 27:30, “A tithe …” Now, what’s a tithe? This is the Hebrew word maaser (mā os’ er), and it means one tenth. It means ten percent, so 10% of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, it belongs to the Lord. The tithe, ten percent, it belongs to the Lord. Scripture says it is holy to the Lord, so how do we give the maaser? How do we give the tithe? Well, the Bible says in Malachi 3:10 that we are to bring the whole tithe, bring the whole maaser, into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Now, scholars agree that the storehouse is the local church, that we bring ten percent of what God trusts to us to the church. We give ten percent to the church so there may be spiritual food and spiritual nourishment in the church for God’s people. Then, we give offerings above the maaser, above the tithe, to other places. We are going to return to God what is God’s. But let’s be real. Let’s be honest. The more we have, the more difficult it is to give. As strange as that sounds, it’s true. For example, let’s say you make ten dollars in a year. Well, it’s pretty easy to give one dollar, because you think, “Well, ten percent, one dollar, what can I do with one dollar.” No big deal. In fact, you might say, “Hey, here’s two because, you know, what can you do with two dollars?” But then, let’s say one year you make ten thousand dollars, and so you want to tithe off of that. And all of a sudden, you’re going, “Oh, my gosh. You were right, this one thousand dollar check, a thousand dollars? I can do something with a thousand dollars,” and that check gets a little more difficult to write. Well, let’s say though, you’re faithful and God really blesses you. And one day your pile grows big. You’ve got a big stack. And let’s say you make a hundred thousand dollars that year, and all of a sudden you’re going, “Ten percent of a hundred grand, that’s ten thousand dollars! Ain’t no way I’m giving ten thousand dollars,” because as crazy as it sounds, the bigger your stack grows, the harder it is to give. That’s not how to be rich. That’s how to be selfish, and we’re not going to be selfish. We are going to be intentional, and return to God what belongs to God.

Let’s look at it this way. God will use the tithe in so many different ways in our lives. For example, a very important thing is this. God will use the tithe to teach us to put Him first. God will use the tithe to teach us to organize our lives around Him. In fact, scripture says this. The Bible says the purpose of the tithe is to teach us to put God first in our lives. The problem is, most people don’t. For example, let’s say you’ve got a pie. Well, you’re going to have to divvy up your pie into different places. Let’s cut a piece of the pie, a big piece, and this will be your mortgage payment. Good news is, you’ve got low interest. Say you put a piece of the pie right here. Then, you’ve got your car payment, a pretty good piece of the pie. Good news is, you look really good in your car. And then, you’ve been shopping and so you’ve got some credit card bills. Cut that piece of the pie. And then, you’ve got your kids in a lot of activities. Boy, they’re expensive. Little burgers, piano, soccer practice, and then you’ve got cable TV and you’ve got something on yourself, and so before long, you’ve divvied up your pie and all these places on yourself. Wait a second. I forgot God. We’ve got to give something to God, and so we tend to give God our leftovers. That’s not how to be rich. That’s how to be selfish. What should you do, though? The tithe teaches us to put God first in our lives, and what we want to do is this. We want to say the first fruit, the very beginning, it belongs to God. So, we will take our whole pie, and we are going to cut out about ten percent, and say, “You know what? Thank You for blessing me with this whole pie. This isn’t mine. This is Yours, God. This belongs to You. God, it is my honor to worship You with ten percent.” All of a sudden, this teaches me to prioritize my whole life around God. I am worshipping God with the tithe, and I am prioritizing and arranging my life around God. The tithe teaches you to put God first. It also, the tithe, increases my faith in God. By giving to Him first, He’s actually building my faith and trust in Him. I honestly believe that ninety percent, with the blessings of God, goes further than a hundred percent without the blessings of God. Ninety percent with His blessings goes further than a hundred percent without. Now, here’s the deal. It takes faith to give to God first. To give God ten percent, it takes faith to give first. If we give what’s left over, it doesn’t take faith at all. In fact, that’s how God gave to us. The Bible says while we were still sinners, He sent Jesus. God gave by faith, even before we accepted the grace of His Son. The Bible teaches us to give by faith. In fact, scripture is very, very clear. In Malachi 3:10, here’s what the Bible says. God says, “I’m so sure of this I want you to test Me. You don’t believe Me? Put it to the test. Cut ten percent out of your pie and give it to Me,” God says. “Test Me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw out the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” That’s how good God is. The tithe, it teaches us to trust God and prioritize our life around it. We will be intentional givers. We will intentionally return to God what is already God’s. Find you some pie. [end of video]

All right, so we are going to be very intentional. Now, some of you may say, “Okay, I, I have not been trusting God in this way, and I want to. I want to honor Him in His word, and I’d like to return the tithe to Him.” What we have come up with is just a way for you to test God very specifically. A few years ago, we started doing this, and so many people have had their lives totally changed by this, we just call it a three-month tithing challenge. And your campus pastor will tell you more about, but what you can do is, you can simply say, “Yes, for the next three months, I want to put God to the test, and I am going to tithe over the next three months.” At the end of this time period, if you get to it and say, “You know what? That didn’t work out. I don’t believe in it. I don’t think … it just didn’t, it just didn’t work.” You can just contact the church and we will give you back everything that you gave during that time, no questions asked. But, what will happen is, you will see God prove Himself faithful to you. As you re-arrange your life around Him, you worship Him. You put Him first. You give Him ten percent, and you watch, as God will do more with ninety than He was doing with one hundred, when you were keeping it all for yourself. We are going to be intentional, and we will intentionally return to God what belongs to God.

I’ll give you an example. This, this … I’m still having a difficult time internalizing what this lady did for me. I was in another country, a third world country, in a, you might call it a house, but it was more of a hut or a shack. It was a place where this lady lived. It just basically had a roof. It was smaller than my bathroom, no concrete floor, a dirt floor. She had her toilet, the place she’d go to the bathroom, was a hole out in the yard, so there was nothing there. Well, this lady knew I was coming for sometime, and she was very excited to give me meat. She, she heard I loved meat, and so we sat down, and she put this meat in front of me. I was looking at it, and you know, I’m trying to be polite, because she obviously had worked on this, and I’m wondering myself, “I wonder what this was.” You know, did it bark, or something? You know, which would be horrible. Or, some of you might be thinking, “Did it meow,” but I’m not going to make a cat joke, because some of you are very upset about my cat jokes. We are getting letters and emails every week. People complain about my cat jokes, so I haven’t been making them in a while, because I’m just joking. So, stop complaining. I’m just joking. I, I have two cats at home. My kids like cats. I don’t hate cats. I like them. I just can’t eat a whole one by myself. [laughter] So, quit complaining. I like them. Okay? So, anyway, meow, there’s this meat in, in front of me and I’m wondering, “What is this? I don’t know what it is,” and so I’m eating. It didn’t taste very good. I was trying to be polite. I was thinking, “This isn’t T-bone steak,” and whenever I walked out, and my translator said, “Craig, did you notice how she, the lady who was cooking it for you, didn’t have any meat?” I said, “Well, yeah. You know, why is that? And he said, “Because she’s been saving for months to have enough money to buy that to give to you, and she hasn’t eaten meat personally in well over a year.” And, that just rattles me so deeply in my soul, I don’t even know how to describe it to you. To, to be with a lady, who we are talking has nothing, and I can go out and eat some big burger, I can’t even eat it all, you know. I just throw the rest away. And she schemed in order to give and be a blessing to me. According to the world’s standards, she is very poor. According to God’s standards, that’s how to be rich. I want to be that way. I don’t want to scheme on how I can get more and more and more. I want to ask God how I can be more intentional, because God has blessed us. Help me out. “God has blessed us.” Try it again. “God has blessed us with more than we need. We are rich, but we will not trust in our riches, but in Him who richly provides. Because we have more, we will give more. That’s how to be rich. We will not give like average people. We will give like only a rich person can give.”

[Craig Groeschel] Well, welcome today to all of you, all of our network churches and all of our campuses. Today, we are wrapping up a series called “How To Be Rich”. Notice, we are not talking about how to get rich, but instead, how to be rich in a way that honors God. If you are new with us, we want to kind of bring you up to speed, so those of you that have been here for the last few weeks, would you kind of help everybody come up to speed as we review what we learned in the first week. If you remember, we learned in week number one some very good news and some bad news. The good news that we learned is that you are what? The good news is, you are rich. We learned that in the first week. A lot of people don’t feel rich, but when we look at our lives compared to people around the world, we are very, very rich. In fact, some of you, you are not regular rich, but you are mega rich, mega, mega rich. For example, this is shocking, but some of you may make $45,000 a year or more. Some of you don’t, but one day you might, and we learned that if you make $45,000 a year or more, you’re in the top one percent of wage earners living today. That’s how rich you are, and that’s good news. It’s good news because we can enjoy what God has given us, and it’s good news because we can make a difference in the lives of people around the world. The good news is, you’re rich. We also learned, though, some very bad news, and the bad news is what? The bad news is you’re rich. Well, that’s right. It’s good news and it’s bad news. And it’s bad news because it’s one of the greatest spiritual challenges that you will ever face, the fact that you are rich. Because you are rich, this is a huge spiritual hindrance. It can take our focus so easily off of God. In fact, Jesus was the One who said this. He said, for rich people like us, He said, “It’s far more difficult for rich people to get to Heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. It’s a huge, huge spiritual challenge because it’s so easy for us to trust in our riches and not to trust in God.

The other bad news is this, because God has given us more, He expects more out of us, as well. We have a significant responsibility because, to whom much is given, much is required. Much is expected, and so God expects a lot of us. Now, many of you, you are already rich and some of you will get even richer. Have you ever thought this, heard this, or said this? That money changes people. Anybody ever heard it? Said it? Thought it? It’s true, money changes people and, typically, we say money changes people, but I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone say money changes me. But it does. If it changes people, it changes us, and it can change us for the better, or it can change us for the worse. Typically, when people don’t know God very intimately, money changes us for the worse, doesn’t it? It makes people arrogant and proud and overly confident and rude and, and selfish. We learned that people more typically give less and they become more selfish, and they become more materialistic, and they start to pursue the things of this world. And money changes us all the time for the worse. But those who are very close to Jesus, though, money doesn’t change us for the worse; instead, it can change us for the better, and it can make us more humble. It can make us more grateful. It can make us more generous, and it can give us a very real divine sense of responsibility, because money doesn’t just change people, but money changes us. That’s why what I am about to tell you is very, very important. If you are taking notes, this is, this is a crucial thought that we all need to recognize, and that is this. God is testing you. At this very moment, God is using money and wealth and riches and things to test us to see if we are capable of not just handling material blessings, but if we are capable of handling the most important true blessings and riches from God. God is testing us, and He wants to know if we can handle the real blessings.

Luke 12, starting in verse 16, Jesus told this story that went like this. “There was a ground of a certain,” what? Would you say that aloud? “There was a ground a certain rich man.” That could include kind of us, “and it produced a good crop. And this guy, “He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I’ve got no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘Okay, here’s what I’ll do. I’ve got an idea. I’ll tear down my barns and I’ll build bigger ones, and there, I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘Self, okay? You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.’ “ What did he just say? Basically, he just said in our language, “I fulfilled the American dream. I’ve got enough, more than I need. I can get a bigger house, nicer car, and I can kick, I don’t have to work if I don’t want to. I can sit back and do nothing for the rest of my life, if I want to, because I have all this stuff.” And, he’s going to show us how to fail the test of prosperity. How do we do it? If you are taking notes, write this down. Here’s what we do. Here’s what we do. We believe that more is always for me. That, that’s how we fail it. We believe that as God gives us more, all of the more is for us. For example, here is how it plays out. Let’s say here is how much money you make. Okay? Here’s enough. We’ll say, here’s how money you spend, because most people spend all they make. And then, let’s say God blesses you and gives you a raise, or God gives you a bonus, or you inherit some money and all of a sudden, you have some margin. What’s the first thing that we typically think? When we have some margin, we think, “Whew! Praise God! What could I do with this?” Now, fill in the blank. I don’t know what you say. “I can get a house cleaner twice a month,” or “I can get someone to help with the yard,” or “I can get the new Apple iPhone,” or “I can get the HDTV,” or “I can redo my kitchen,” or “I can go shopping,” or “I can get a new car with butt warmers in the seat,” you know, or whatever it is. “Yeah, I can get … I’ve got this extra, and so now, I can blow it on me!” And so, what happens is typically this. God gives us margin and we consume and absorb all the margin for ourselves. That’s typically what happens. That’s what this guy did. “I can use it all, keep it all, store it all. It’s all for me.”

Verse 20, God says to him the very words that He might be saying to some of us. God says, “You fool. You fool. You missed the point.” God says, “This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get all this stuff that you prepared for yourself?” Then Jesus kind of summarizes this, and, and He says, verse 21, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for,” who? “Anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not,” what? “But is not rich toward God.” This, this is how you fail the test of prosperity. This is how it will be for those who think it is all for you and isn’t rich toward the things that really, really matter. Now, before you run out of here going, “I’m sick of this,” let me show something that I hope you will hear. What did this guy do in the story? What was his job? He was a farmer. Okay? So, who made him rich? This isn’t a trick question. Who made him rich? God. Okay, who made the rain rain? Who made the sun shine? Who made the crops grow? God. So God had already made him rich, and if you notice, God just made him richer. God just gave him a record year, and this rich guy got richer. God made him rich. God was the One who gave him wealth. God was not angry with him because he was rich. God made him rich. God called him a fool because he didn’t know how to be rich. See, God made us rich. You might say, “No, no, no, no. Not really, it was me. I’m the one who worked hard for it.” No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, what you did, you did because God made you the way He made you. “Well, I’m good.” God made you good at it. God is the One who gave it to you. So, God is not angry with the people in our country, because we’re more blessed than other people around the world. I think there are times, though, when God looks at us and goes: “You guys are missing the point. You thought it was all for you? But I gave you more, and I expect more of you. When I give you more and you consume it all, you, your, you’re failing the test of prosperity. That’s not how to be rich.”

So, let’s review where we started. We started a few weeks ago with some scripture. This was the Apostle Paul, and he was speaking to Timothy, and he said, “Timothy, sometimes you are going to come across these rich people, and you need to tell them something a little different than you tell the rest of everybody, so here’s what I want you to tell the rich people,” and Paul gives him this advice. I Timothy 6:17 he said, “Command those who are rich in this present world,” okay, that includes us. “Command them not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain. But instead,” where should these rich people put their hope? They should “put it in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Then in verse 18, he says, “Tell these rich people, command them to,” what? Help me out. He says, “Command them to …” You guys can do better than that. “Command them to do good and to be rich,” how? “To be rich in good deeds and to be selfish?” No, no, no. To be what? “To be generous and,” what else? “And willing to share.” Tell these rich people to be rich in good deeds, to do good things, to be generous, to be willing to share, and then, when they are rich like this, he says in verse 19, “In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so they may be able to take hold of the life that is,” what? “That is truly life.” Not fake life. “Not, not settling for the imitation of, of material riches, but experiencing the best of what I have to offer,” God says. That is how to be truly rich.

Let’s review our key statement. If you are new with us, we’ve got a statement that’s kind of driven us through this series, and it goes like this. Help me out. “God has blessed me.” Try it again. “God has blessed me with more than I need. I am rich, but I will not trust in my riches, but in Him who richly provides. Because I have more, I will give more.” That was our statement for last week. This week, I want to add just three simple words to it. If you are taking notes, it will read like this. It will read, “Because I have more, I will give more and do more.” Let’s say that. “Because I have more, I will give more and do more.”

I’m thrilled to talk to so many of you, who are saying, you know, this, this series is really rattling you in a good way. And about right now, you are saying I, I sincerely want to be rich in a way that honors God. I want to give more, and I want to do more, but right now, a lot of you are thinking to yourself, how? How? You think, “I want to, to give more, but I barely have enough to make it through this month. How in the world can I give more when I barely have enough? Same with your schedules. You think, “Well, I’d love to do more, but you know, I am so overwhelmed. I’ve got so much going on.” I mean, truthfully, some of you, you could only make it to church like, you know, once a month, because your life is so crazy and you’re working and the kids are everywhere and, and you think, “I’d like to do more, but I just don’t have any time. I want to, but I don’t know how. How can I do this?” Well, what I want to do is, I want to help you understand how, and I am going to share something with you that, for many of you, this will be a life-changing moment. I promise you, it will. Most of you, it will fly right over. You’ll just go on with your normal life, and you’ll like, “What’s the big deal? Craig is being overly dramatic. Preacher guy, whatever.” You know, forget that. Some of you, you’re going to see it, and you are going to, you are going to look back at this moment. Years from now, you’re going to say, “My life is so much richer because I applied this Biblical principle to my life. How can we give more and do more?” This is how. Write this down. Very simple; very life changing. Here is what we are going to do. We are going to create margin and ask God to use it. It is very, very simple; very, very life changing. We are going to create margin and ask God to use it.

Let’s look at scripture that speaks directly to margin. Proverbs 21:20. Help me out. The Bible says, “In the house of the wise,” what do we have? We have what? “We have stores of choice food and oil.” In other words, we have margin. “In the house of the wise there is margin, but a foolish man,” does what? “A foolish man devours all he has. In the house of the wise, there is margin. In the house of the foolish there is no margin, because the foolish consume and absorb all the margin. The foolish thinks it is all for himself or herself, and that is not how to be rich. You see, here is the thing that, that breaks my heart about this series. Many of you, you still don’t believe you’re rich. You really don’t. You don’t at all. In fact, this bothers you because you want more and more and more and more and more, and the reason you don’t believe you’re rich is because you don’t feel rich, and you don’t feel rich is because you don’t have any margin at all. You make a ton. A, a ton compared to people around the world, but you’re stressed all the time. You’ve got financial pressure all the time, because you don’t have any margin, and you don’t believe you are rich. And you still, honestly, want more because you think, “If I had more, I’d feel secure, and if I had more, I’d feel happy,” but you are buying into the lie of money. Money is promising to you something it cannot deliver upon. Only God can give security and true joy, but you don’t believe it, so what do you do? You pursue more stuff and stuff and stuff and stuff, and you do it in the name of loving your family. “I want to provide this for my wife. I want to provide this for my kids, and I want to give my kids more than, than I had as a kid,” and so many of you, you are providing all of this stuff, and your kids don’t even know you. They don’t even know you, and you think, “If I had more, we’d have a happier marriage,” and you’re about to lose your marriage.

I don’t want to be hard, but this is, this is why Jesus said you cannot serve both God and money. You can’t serve them both, because He knew that for most of us, money would be the number one competitor for our heart. Money is seeking worshippers and servants, and, and that’s what so many people are doing. And Christians do it in the name of Jesus. “Jesus, bless me with more and more and more and more, more, more.” And you are saying, “You are failing the test of prosperity.” You can’t handle the good stuff because you are chasing the imitation. He gives us margin, and we consume it. See, think about this. God can better use people with margin. Simple, but God can better use people with margin. Imagine this. Imagine you’ve got no financial margin and God sends you someone who has a need, but you can’t help them. Why? You ain’t got no margin. Same with your schedule. Sometimes, I let them schedule me so busy, I’m so busy I don’t eat some days. I mean, it’s, although God may send me someone to minister to, and I can’t. I don’t have time. I’m scheduled out. Got no margin. God better uses people with margin. So, what are we going to do? We are going to create margin. That’s what we are going to do. We are going to create margin, and we are going to ask God to use it.

Let’s talk about money. How do we do it? Well, here’s how much you make. Most of us, here’s how much you spend. Some of you actually spend up here, but that’s just crazy and that’s a whole another deal. Okay, so, what are we … how are we going to create margin? One of two ways. One is, make more. Two is, spend less. I am going to say it again, because some of you missed the power of what I just said. Okay? How do we create margin? Make more; spend less. Make more, and you know how to do that. Spend less, many of you, you’ve never even heard that before, so, I’m going to unpack it. Okay? Here’s what we do. Here’s how you do it. Ready? You spend less. That’s how you do it. I’ll say it again, slowly for some of you. You spend less. Wha, wha, here, here’s what you do. You don’t get sucked in to what everybody else thinks you need, because you don’t need what everybody else says you need to really be fulfilled. You don’t need it. I mean, you know, in, in the world I live in, I’m like if you don’t have, you know, this size house and this kind of SUV and this kind of TV, you can’t be happy. What’s funny is that many of the things you think you need to be happy and many things that are consuming all the margin you have are the very things that didn’t even exist five years ago. Oh, yeah, put that in your pipe and smoke it. I mean, seriously, the things you think you need, many of them did not even exist five years ago. And yet, you can’t be happy without them. So, we are going to spend less. We are going to create margin. It’s not just with money, but you can do it around your house. You can go and look at all your clothes, and you can go, “Uh, I’ve got too many clothes. I don’t wear all of these. Ten percent of them, yeah, here’s a hundred shirts, ten of them I’m giving away.” You just created margin. Some of you, you could do like fifty percent of them. Yeah. Yeah, you’re laughing. I’m not. I’m serious. Fifty percent of them you could get rid of, and you’d never even miss them, because you don’t wear them! You just created margin. You can do other creative things. You may know someone who needs a place to stay, but you don’t have an extra room. Well, you can move two kids into one room together. Now, I know some of you think that’s child abuse. Okay? You, you ought to see how we are abusing them at my house. Okay? We put like four kids in a room. We just pile them up, but what you do is, is you create margin, and then you let God use it. And so very, very simply, what we are going to do is we will either make more, or we are going to spend less, or maybe both, and we are going to create margin and we are going to ask God to use it. Same with our schedules, and this is where it’s truly crazy, because many of you, you don’t, you don’t have margin. You’re like, “Hey, would you serve at the church?” “Oh, I’d love to, but we, we can’t. We can’t give an hour to God,” and I’m not saying this sarcastically, but many of you can’t because you’ve been sucked into the cultural vortex of busy-ness. And you’re as busy, busy, busy, busy. Some of you because you’re working so much to maintain your habit of buying things that you don’t need with money to impress people you don’t even like, but that’s a whole another deal.

Ten percent, that’s for beginning givers, for baby givers. That’s where we start, but we become radically extravagant intentional givers. We give intentionally and prayerfully. We seek God, and then when we do, we don’t give reluctantly or under compulsion, but we give cheerfully, because we are very passionate about this. And we give the tithe, and then we give offerings to, to feed kids who are hungry around the world and to help pay a bill for an extra neighbor and, and to campus development and to missions and to dig water wells for people who don’t have clean water, and, and to our favorite Christian radio program, and to evangelistic ministries. And one day, then, we’re not giving ten percent, but we’re giving fifteen percent, and then sixteen percent, and, and eighteen percent and twenty-one percent, because we give like only rich people can. And not only do we give more, but what else do we do? We also, we do more because we are rich in good deeds. We’re generous. We are willing to share. We do less so God can have more to work with.

One more time, from right here. Okay? “God has blessed us with more than we need. We are rich, but we will not trust in our riches, but in Him who richly provides. Because we have more, we will give more, and we will do more. And that is how to be rich.” May you always be rich in a way that honors the One who first blessed you.

The Schmitten Resolution

28^th March 2010

As we approach the culmination of True Parents life and ministry on earth and within this 3 year harvest time of God’s Providence, we, their representatives in Europe, pledge to proclaim True Parent’s pure heart and victory and multiply the true love of God through the Blessing and thereby build Cheon Il Guk in Europe.

To accomplish this we will seek rebirth for ourselves and others by:

Offering our sincere devotions (Cheong Song);

Sharing our faith boldly through testifying to True Parents;

Teaching Divine Principle;

Publishing and distributing True Father’s autobiography;

Loving and caring for others with the heart of a parent;

Doubling our church membership;

Doubling Sunday Service attendance;

Fulfilling our tithing obligations, increasing our overall donations

And thereby achieve our Blessing goals.

To support these goals, we will develop an effective system of organization and action plans within our communities, based on this European vision.

We sincerely offer this pledge to Heavenly Father, True Parents and our International President.

How to solve all financial problems

„You can jump on the success train or not it is up to you.“

• „You put the money where your faith is.“
• Kook Jin Nim Moon, Nürnberg, 14th March 2010

Offering – Tithing

Donation  - Seeding

European  National and Community  Leaders’ Assembly 

26^th to 28^th March 2010

Schmitten, Germany

Children 
Family 
World

God

   Eve

Adam

Adam Eve

The Original  Course

Children 
Family 
World

God

   Eve

Adam

The Restoration  Course

Children

Satan

   Eve

Adam

Family 
World

3

The Way of  the Principle

2

Rebirth through  True Parents  Blessing

1

The Way of  Restoration

Foundation of  Faith

Foundation of  Substance

The  Three Essential Elements  of our Life of  Faith

1)  Worship  2) Witnessing   3) Donation       Tithing

Recreating vertical 
relationships

me

God

Abel

Cain

Recreating horizontal 
relationships

me

others

Abel 
Adam

Cain 
Eve

Recreating true dominion

me

things

Offering   -  Tithing -  Donation

Recreating true dominion

me

things

The Way of  Restoration = Foundation of Faith

Satan

Things

me

Things

God

Separation from  Satan

Coming to God

grateful,  willing 
heart

Donation, Tithing   10% 30% 
   100%

The Way of  the Principle = Realize the Third Blessing

True Father CSG:

Making an offering to  God should be the first priority in  life, before thinking of your own life.  Thinking that you are offering a percentage  of

your income can easily  lead to a habit of

putting your life first,  before God. If God

is placed as a second  priority, He will

later end up being  in the last place. Do

you think it will  become like that or not?

(96-101, 1978.1.2)

Donation

• A donation is a gift typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods
• Tax free donations

What is tithing

• Tithing is a  spiritual law given by God to humankind  to assist people in finding abundance,  fulfillment, and gratitude in their everyday  lives. The law of tithing is to give  10 percent of one's increase back to  God, with God represented on the physical  level by the source of one's spiritual  teachings — often a church, synagogue, mosque,  or a spiritual teacher. When a person  tithes, the universe that works under  the spiritual law of tithing says, “If  you have that much to give, that  means you are open to receive more.”
• As humankind fulfills its part of the covenant by giving 10 percent to God, then God fulfills Its part by continually blessing us. So, you may want to check it out with a joyful attitude of saying, “Lord, I am open to receive whatever it is that you bless me with.” And then discover for yourself the Blessing of fulfilling God`s covenant.

The origin  of tithing

• When the prophet  Abram (later Abraham) was traveling home  with the riches of battle after warring  with a nearby king, he was met by  a high priest in the order of God.  This priest was Melchizedek, and it was  at that time that the Priesthood of  Melchizedek was established on the planet.
• As soon as Abraham saw Melchizedek, the wisdom of his heart knew he was seeing one who is with God. Abraham knew intuitively that he was to give back 10 percent of all that he had in the world to the representative of God, and so began the practice of tithing.
• When Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek and then gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything, a spiritual covenant was set up for our time, whereby humankind is to give a tenth of its increase (what a person receives that is his or hers) back to God.
• God, of course, is always fulfilling his part anyway, so the question is, are we lining up, are we fulfilling the covenant?

Why should  we tithe?

• “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10 NIV).
• Tithing is actually a spiritual law: to give back to the source of your spiritual teachings. When you commit to doing it, something inside you works differently from that day forward. Conditions may or may not immediately change in the physical world, but inside, it can work wonders.

Luke 6:38

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

2 Cor 9:7

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

You must be strict  with public funds.

You should be thorough  in your tithing.

You should offer one-tenth  of your

total income to God  without fail. (11-218,

1961.8.26)

By offering a tithe  from your material

possessions to God, you  can establish

a condition equal to  having offered

all that you have.  Even if you do not offer

everything to God, offering  a portion of

it with all of your  heart and mind will

enable the rest to  be considered holy.

The person who tithes  will never perish.

As days go by, his  storage room will

be filled with more  material blessings.

(31-239, 1970.6.4)

True Father           CSG

Seeding (Seed  money)

Simply said, seeding  is the planting of what you want  to receive.

Seeding comes under grace  as a future existence, and it's one  of the most profound, best-kept secrets  in the Bible. It has been called  faith tithing, and we could also call  it pre-tithing, except it's not based  upon 10 percent of what you've received;  it's based upon the amount you want  to receive, and there's no limit to  how it can come in.

Thank you

Leftover or  the First

• God can use  people with margin
• 10% is for baby givers

AS A PEACE-LOVING GLOBAL  CITIZEN

Seeking the shortest  path to a world of peace, I devoted  myself to inspiring change in the political  process and to changing people’s

ways of thinking.

Am I ready to change my thinking?

TF CSG continued:

From now on, you  need to tithe not only

your materials but also  your time.

It is no longer  only the material aspect

like in the past.  If you have ten family

members, one family member  should be

offered to the public  mission on behalf of

your entire family. You  should keep such

a standard. In the  future, Unification

Church members must not  avoid tithing.

Those who do not  tithe will not be

considered church members.  Tithing is

a duty, a heavenly  duty. (150-218, 1961.4.15)

True Father CSG:

In terms of the  life of tithing in the

church, ten families  in the church should

support a church leader.  Otherwise, you

do not have the  right to become a citizen

of the heavenly kingdom.  Ten people

should support one heavenly  person.

Tithing applies to every  aspect of life.

Even in a school,  one in ten classrooms

should be used for  less fortunate children,

to give them classes  free of charge.

Everything I  have belongs to

• God
• Others
• Myself

Obeying the  principle of living for God and Others.

     (absolute sexual ethics, pure heart – pure mind)

Then God and  the Universe will live for your sake.

The Dominion  of Love – True Owner

The good news is you are rich. We discovered that. If you make €30,000 a year or more, which many of you do, you are in the top 1% of wage earners alive today. You are rich.

You’ve got things that  only rich people have, like a car.   Some of you, you’re so rich you  have a house for your car.  It’s  called a garage.  Some of you are  so rich you have so many clothes  you can’t even wear them all.   Some of you are so rich that you  get to go to places called restaurants,  where you pay other people to prepare  your food. 

That’s how rich you  are, and this is good news because, God blesses some people with wealth, and God takes great delight when you enjoy some of what God gives you.

And the other good news is, because you have so much, you can do a lot with it. That is good news.

Num 18:21

“I give to the Levites (ministers) all the tithes…in return for the work they do while serving (the Lord).”

Deut 14:22-23

“Be sure to set aside a tenth…so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.”

The bad news is,  you are … rich.  That’s bad news,  you see, as well as good news.   It’s bad news because this is one  of your greatest spiritual challenges.   Because you are rich, it would be  so easy to trust in your riches and  so difficult to trust in God.  In  fact, Jesus said that,  “It is  more difficult for a rich person to  get to Heaven than it is to get  a camel through the eye of a needle.”  and that includes you and me. The  good news is, though, with God, it  is possible for even rich people like  us to get to Heaven. 

The challenging thing  is, it’s really, really hard.  That’s  bad news. 

The other bad news  is, because we’re rich, we have a  greater responsibility than those who are  poor.  Jesus said that to whom much  is given, and that’s us, “much is  expected.”  Good news is we’re rich.   Bad news is, we’re rich,

In Leviticus 27:30, A  tithe …it means one tenth.  It  means ten percent, so 10% of everything  from the land, whether grain from the  soil or fruit from the trees, it  belongs to the Lord.  The tithe,  ten percent belongs to the Lord.   Scripture says it is holy to the  Lord.

Malachi 3:10 says we  are to bring the whole tithe into  the storehouse that there may be food  in my house.  Now, True Father explains  that the storehouse is the local church,  that we bring ten percent of what  God trusts to us to our church.

Rev. In Jin Moon's Lovin' Life Ministries Sermon, March 14, 2010

"So this Sunday, I’m thinking about the importance of faith and what it means to be a true believer.  If you think about a life without God, it is almost like being a rudderless boat.  But the minute you bring God into the picture, the boat has a rudder.  God provides the wind in the sail, and God clearly shows us a direction where to go; just like when we want to catch a tuna, we head out to Northwest Corner.  The minute we have clear faith and we believe, our lives become very clear." IJN

---

On the morning of March 14, 2010, Rev. In Jin Moon referred to the attributes of the word FAITH, together with a story of her early fishing years with her father, where true faith in him was seen. As the captain of a boat sent out to sea with an all-female crew at the age of 16, it was because of the faith of a father in his daughter that the largest tuna was caught! (see photo below)

Good morning, brothers and sisters.  How is everyone this morning?  I’m delighted to see you.  This morning I woke up to the sound of thunder, and it reminded me of my wonderful summers together with my father out on the open sea in Gloucester and Provincetown in Massachusetts.  Starting from when I was 11, my father took the whole family out to Gloucester or Provincetown, depending on the location that he chose for a particular summer, and we would spend our whole summer there.

My father would be ready to go out to sea promptly at 4:30 in the morning.  For those of us lucky ones who were appointed to go with him, we would arrive also at 4:30 in the morning and accompany him out to sea, spending all day, sometimes all night, and sometimes even days out in the open sea.
For an impressionable young girl at that age, those experiences were quite profound because it was very difficult to go to sea day in and day out.  But the more I tried to unite with my father in why I was there and what I wanted to learn in the course of that summer, the more I thought about what an incredible opportunity it was to commune with nature and to learn more about myself and my own character, especially how I could improve on my character. Now when I look back, I realize that those were some of the most important summers of my life.
Now whenever I hear thunder or see a storm, the more violent, the better because it reminds me of the times when I really became one with my father in terms of where my faith was.  So today I want to talk about what faith means to us, especially to those of us who see ourselves as true believers.
All of us in different degrees and in different ways have gone through a lot of hardships. For the First Generation, you have given so much of yourselves, literally your blood, sweat, and tears, for the sake of the providence.  You gave up your education, your home, and your career to invest 100 percent in God’s providence, to unite together with our True Parents in heart and soul, and to actively apply the principles that our True Parents have come to teach us.
For those of us who are Second and Third Generation, we’ve had a different type of difficulty in that we were born into the church and we had to go through our own process of discovery. Some of us have had a powerful conversion experience.  For those of us who are still en route toward that experience, it’s a very difficult process at times, trying to realize who we are, what our identities are.
For me as the senior pastor of Lovin’ Life Ministries, I feel that as I approach the pulpit with the heart of a mother, probably the most important thing I can do is not really teach but encourage what is already in each and every one of you.  And that is a seed of faith.  As the senior pastor, it’s my duty and responsibility to remind everyone in the congregation how incredibly important that seed and its harvest might be, depending on where you are in your life of faith.
As a mother, when I try to explain the magnitude of word faith, I break it down as an acronym so it’s easy for my children to remember what it means when it is applied in our daily life.  When I talk to my children about faith, I usually tell them about when I was little girl out at sea in the midst of an incredibly violent storm, one of the summer’s worst.  Everything on the boat was being tossed around—people were tossed around, I was tossed around.  My father and I were literally hanging onto the couch that was bolted to the floor.  We didn’t know where the boat was going; we couldn’t even distinguish the heavens from the sea or see the horizon.
In the midst of all this mayhem, I turned to my father and said, “I am terribly afraid.  Are we going to die?”  It was one of the most profound moments in my life, when I experienced the power of the word and of human touch.  My father gently reached for my hand and held it tightly.  Even though helter-skelter was breaking loose in the cabin, it seemed like things were in slow motion, and I felt the weight, the warmth, the life of his hand as it enveloped mine.  It gave me an incredible sense of security.  Then he said, “Don’t worry, Daughter.  I am here with you.”
What my father was saying to me was the same thing that our Heavenly Parent whispers in our hearts in his mysterious ways throughout our life.  Our Heavenly Parent is telling us, “Don’t worry; I am here with you,” at the same time encouraging the daughter and son to take heart and to have courage, to have faith and not be afraid.
That was the first time I realized as a little girl (I think I was 12 years old) that the minute I decided to have faith in my father as he said, “Don’t worry, I’m here,” an incredible calmness came over me, and I was no longer afraid.  From then on and throughout my life, I have realized that in times of difficulty and against incredible odds, when huge obstacles arise, as long as we remember that our Heavenly Parent is always there, faith means being Fearless, fearless in the truth that our Heavenly Parent is always there with us, or, in my situation then, that my father was always there with me.
When I think about that summer, not only did I learn in faith not to be afraid, but I also realized the significance of truly having a good Attitude, an attitude of acceptance or gratitude.  This is what the A in faith means to me. When I saw myself as a true daughter of our Heavenly Parent who was born with a mission and purpose, and has an opportunity to leave behind something truly beautiful, I came to know that I am a divine being, just like each of us sitting here.  I realized that if God is always with me, I don’t have to afraid of anything in life.  In knowing that I’m a proud daughter, a proud Unificationist, there is nothing to fear but fear itself, as President Franklin Roosevelt used to say.
When we know who we are, we realize that there is nothing that cannot be accomplished because we believe that God is with us each and every step of the way.  When we realize that God is always present in our lives, a sense of gratitude comes over us, in that we are never, ever alone.  Even when I was going through my teenage years—and we all have our periods of rebellion, of questioning, of seeking—I would always come back to the thought that God is always with me.  I could not help but be grateful that I have a partner in life, that I have a great teacher in life, that I have an eternal Parent who is always praying for me, who is always wishing me well, who is always encouraging me to be the best that I can be.
Thinking back to those summers, going fishing day in and day out, I remember that what I saw as something incredibly beautiful and majestic for the first couple of days became quite a chore.  Every day we get on board, scrub the floor, and prepare all the different gear and instruments for fishing.  It’s usually about a 45-minute ride out to Northwest Corner.  We are constantly working from the minute we leave the dock until our destination.  Once we get there, we have to start chumming.  Chumming is not a very pleasant thing.  We are basically throwing cut-up, stinking fish into the ocean all day.  For those who are not truly strong at sea, who suffer from sea-sickness, it’s really something horrendous to see.
I remember times when international leaders would come and Father would invite them to join him in fishing.  One Japanese leader in particular, Mr. Kuboki, did phenomenal work for the Japanese movement in the early years.  He was like a samurai.  On land, nobody could defeat this man.  He was there, and he looked strong; he looked so presentable and was so articulate and formidable when he was giving Divine Principle lectures—a force to be reckoned with.
But when my father invited him to the boat, Mr. Kuboki always brought a special bag for the day.  In it were five to seven towels of different sizes.  When he first came on the boat, I asked him, “Why do you have that bag?  What’s in it?”  He said, “Many towels.”  I said, “Why do you need towels?”  He said, “No ask.  No ask.”  I thought, “Okay, this man is coming to go fishing.  Why does he bring towels?  Maybe fishing gear or gloves to fight the fish, but why towels?”
I watched him with great interest.  Once on board, he put on a white Japanese headband. Then when the boat got under way, he wouldn’t go inside the cabin but stayed outside.  I suggested he come in because it was about a 45-minute ride and very cold outside.  He murmured, “No, no,” and was just standing out there.  I thought he wanted to feel the air.  The further we got out to sea, I saw him start to sway, and his face started losing color.  He slowly reached inside his bag, took out a huge towel, and wrapped it around his head as if he had a huge toothache.  He had huge round eyes and was wearing this white headband, so he looked like a samurai warrior with a huge toothache.  He had no color, and he started swaying.  I thought, “This is the man who leads the Japanese movement?  Interesting.”
Finally we got to Northwest Corner, and my father shouted, “Anchor,” meaning to lay down the anchor.  When the anchor goes down, the boat starts rocking.  If you’re not physically equipped, it’s going to be a very long day.  I saw Mr. Kuboki at the back of the boat, holding the railings, walking continually, trying to get to the side of the boat, with his back against the cabin.  When he got to the side where the ladder ascends to the upper part of the boat, he suddenly bent over, and it looked like he was going to dive into the ocean.  He fell onto the railing at his waist.  I wondered if he was trying to commit hari-kari, but actually he had a severe case of seasickness. The minute the boat started rocking, he started vomiting—at 5:30 in the morning. 
My father usually fishes until 6 or 7 p.m., or 10 or 11 p.m., depending on when the tuna is caught.  That first day I saw Mr. Kuboki suffer, I think we left around 7, meaning we got back home around 8 p.m.  Basically all day long we heard the sound of the chumming, the splashes as the slices of fish landed in the open sea, then the ropes hissing in the waves, and intermittently my father on the top deck giving out commands, “Do this; do that,” or “Steer this way; do the lines this way,” or “The tide is going this way.  Turn the boat around.”  But there was this other constant sound of Mr. Kuboki vomiting all day long.  It was the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen.  One towel, then another towel, then another one.
He had them in all different sizes. He had a big, long one around his shoulders, and after each vomiting he would take the ends and wipe his face.  Then he had a small one to take away the perspiration.  He spent all day and into the evening keeled over the side of the boat.

When we came back, I was thinking, What can I do for Mr. Kuboki?  But the minute he got off the boat, the other Mr. Kuboki was back.  It was unbelievable.  The minute he got off the boat, he was back!  He was the formidable samurai again.  The night-and-day visual of this man before, during, and after fishing was just unbelievable.
I went up to him and said, “Mr. Kuboki, are you okay?”  “Hie, no problem!”   I said, “Yes, but you were sick all day.  Are you really okay?”  “Hie!”  “Can I get you anything?”  “No, no.  No problem.” And then he said, “I thankful Heavenly Father, I thankful True Parents, I thankful tuna fish.”  He’s thinking, “I have to thank God for this experience, for whatever indemnity I have to pay.  I have to thank True Parents for giving me an opportunity to rise and to experience tuna fishing.  And I thank God he sent us a tuna so we could come home.”
I realized at that moment, this is a samurai warrior with an attitude of acceptance.  He knew what he was getting into.  He knew it was going to be a whole day of suffering and vomiting.  But after the day was done, his sense of gratitude just bowled me over.  So whenever I’m at a crossroads in my life or faced with something difficult, Mr. Kuboki comes to mind.  And also, when Mr. Kuboki came to fish with my father, it would not be just one day.  It would usually be for a week.  So I would see this every day, but the minute we came back home, it was “Hie, no problem.  Thank Heavenly Father, thank True Parents, thank tuna fish!”
It was unbelievable how this man, despite the suffering he went through, ended with a heart of gratitude.  It left an indelible mark on my life and is a great reminder for me that regardless of how difficult it might have been, I should try to be grateful.
Another thing I realized on the open sea is the importance of the word integrity, from the letter I in faith.  Webster’s dictionary defines the word as soundness, completeness, or wholeness, an unbroken quality to something.  I’ve often used the word integrity to symbolize or exemplify what true moral character should be—seen in somebody who has moral convictions, is good and consistent.  But in this case I understand the word integrity to mean a consistency of purpose or character.
When I think about Mr. Kuboki, he definitely embodied what the word integrity meant.  When I saw the different fishermen who went to the Northwest Corner to fish for tuna every summer with my father, I saw the amount of dedication in their consistent daily effort.  Each day started out the same, but in the course of the day, depending on the weather, there were many obstacles to overcome.  Maybe the tide wasn’t with us.  Maybe the boat placement wasn’t good.  Maybe the tunas were at a depth not good for fishing.  You had to take in all these different factors and still keep a positive attitude even if nothing was biting all day long.   You are constantly hoping, being consistent in your effort until you would leave.  That was something that was incredible for me to experience.
The first hours when you’re out on the open sea can be exciting.  We had a fish finder with a printer that would show the depth the fish were at, so when we were chumming, we were taking into account the direction of the tide and the depth of the ocean, calculating how we should chum so that the bait would go to where the fish were.  Many times when I was done with my kitchen duties, my father would let me look at the printout showing where the fish were, and he would encourage me to think about where we should chum, to see where the tide was going.
For hours and hours the printer kept printing, and it’s quite mind numbing at times.  Perhaps the next hour nothing bit, and the hour after that nothing bit. Sometimes all day would go by when you could see that the fish were at a certain depth, but none of them would bite, so you could become discouraged.  You’re trying to chum in a way that would attract the fish to come bite on your bait.  Why is it not working?  So you start doubting yourself; you start questioning, not believing that you’re going to catch something that day.
At times like that, the word integrity, meaning the consistency of purpose and the consistency of character in carrying out whatever you’re involved, with comes to mind.  Many times, just when I was on the verge of giving up, I would tell myself, “Okay, one more hour.”  Time and time again, that was when God sent us the tuna, just when I was almost giving up.  But I basically told myself, “One more hour.”  God was letting us know, “See, if you remain consistent in your purpose, in the kind of character you should carry in your life, sooner or later you’re going to get that tuna.”
When you leave the dock on this big boat, you feel like there’s nowhere this boat cannot go.  But once you’re on the open sea, you look like a dot and you realize how tiny, how small you are compared with the vastness of the open sea.  You realize that you’re really at the mercy of the elements, and you come to a point when you have to ask yourself, “Am I going to entrust my life to God?  Am I going to Trust, the fourth letter in faith, that he and she will see me through today?  Or am I going to doubt, thinking I might not survive this day, this storm?”
Every summer there were boats and fishermen lost at sea, so this constant theme of life and death plays on your mind when you’re on the open sea.  The question “Do I trust my God? Do I have faith in my God?” is asked in your mind day in and day out.  But when you decide to have faith, when you decide to trust in God, you realize that the instability or the insecurity in your situation suddenly disappears.  The minute we decide to trust in the Lord, there’s an incredible feeling of security, a feeling of being embraced, a feeling of being held in His hands.  You feel as if God himself and herself is holding you and is guiding you to the open sea and bringing you back home.  That is probably one of the most incredible experiences that a young child can have.
During the whole summer’s worth of fishing my father was thinking about the world: thinking about people’s health, planning how do we end hunger, how do we feed hungry people?  It was really the beginning of my father’s attempt to get the American people to eat more fish.  He was preparing for the whole wave of sushi aficionados that simply did not exist in the early 1970s in America.   My father was advocating healthy living, eating more fish as opposed to beef, eating fresh food that is simply cooked, not too highly seasoned. Unlike the common perception that my father was enjoying himself on a “yacht,” as they called it, my father was actually researching different ways to catch and package fish.
In fact, my father pioneered hand-line fishing for tuna in the Gloucester area.  Before he came along, the way they caught tuna there was with a fishing pole.  My father tried that method and found that it was lacking. He realized that when you’re fighting a fish that’s anywhere from 500 to over 1,000 pounds, you need more grip.  You need to be able to maneuver more quickly, to be more tactile and flexible in your approach in terms of pulling in the line or letting go of the line.  When you’re using only a fishing pole, you can’t do that in a split second, but when you’re holding onto a line, then depending on the feel of the fish as it is pulling and tugging on the line, you can decide whether to let go or to quickly draw it in.
In the beginning when he asked for different types of rope to try, the salesperson at the fishing supply store looked at my father and the group of Japanese people working with him in a very, very strange way.  Why would anyone leave a fishing pole and take a rope to try to catch this massive fish?  But when my father started catching all the tuna in the area when the others weren’t catching anything, many of them tried hand-line fishing.  So that’s something that my father pioneered.  Even to this day, many tuna are caught that way there.
When you think about the level of dedication that each summer required, you realize that in order to have the best experience possible, you needed to have a special Heart of dedication, which is what the H in faith represents to me.  When we decide to have faith, what we’re saying is that we’re not going to doubt any more.  We’re not going to do-out with our faith.  We’re going to choose to be Fearless, to have the Attitude of gratitude.  We’re going to choose to practice Integrity consistently.  We’re choosing to Trust in our Heavenly Parent, and we’re going to follow through with a Heart of devotion.
The Book of James 1:5–8 says to us, “But ask in faith, never doubting.”  The Bible is telling us, don’t be like a wave in the open sea that is wind driven, tossing us around.  The minute that we start to doubt, James reminds us that we become double minded.  When we decide to exercise faith and decide to trust in the Lord, we become very clear in our direction.  We’re no longer double minded.  James reminds us that when we doubt, we become unstable, but in faith we become incredibly stable in the security of our Heavenly Parent.
So when we honestly and earnestly ask in faith for God to be there with us, to experience life with us, and we approach our prayer with this heart of devotion, and we approach the different service projects that we do with this heart of devotion, what we are doing is actualizing this word faith in our daily lives.
When I think about my summers together with my father, I can think of so many different experiences that have moved me to tears. But especially I realize that when my father made me the captain of the first all-female crew when I was 16, as a parent my father must have had incredible faith in me.  I think about my children who are 16, and I think about trusting a 16-year-old with his own boat, making him the captain of four other people and basically throwing him out onto the open sea, where seasoned sailors die, boats capsize, and people disappear. My father had incredible faith in me.  In that sense, he was fearless, and he was grateful to have a daughter who did not get seasick wanting to become a captain.  He saw this little girl follow him every day for five years, since I was 11, so he knew I could be consistent.  He knew that I had absolute faith in him, and now he was returning that absolute faith and trust in me by saying, “You take care of this boat.”
Just as I tried to approach my summers with a heart of devotion, what my father was doing to me was paying that devotion back by saying, “Now I am going to give you my heart of devotion.  Make me proud, Daughter.”  You have to understand, back then when I was 16 years old there was no concept of a woman captain, let alone a teenage girl captain.  So not only did the sailors think my father was crazy, I think a lot of the leaders and good brothers and sisters thought my father might have been crazy, too.
Why would you throw a 16-year-old girl at the mercy of the open sea?  And what good would she do?  How could she catch a tuna with three other teenage Second Generation girls?
When we started the summer of my 16th year at Gloucester and Provincetown, it didn’t really look too good, but because Father had faith in us, I said, “Girls, girls, it doesn’t matter if the sailors are hooting at us, saying, ‘Ladies, go back home to your daddy.  There’s no place for women on the sea.  I thought I’d seen it all with crazy Moonies, but here come the crazy ladies.’”  We heard it all.
And even when we got to Northwest Corner, different sailors on the boats would jeer at us, saying, “This is no place for women.  Go back home.  We don’t want you here.”  Sometimes they would throw things at us.  But we just had to have a heart of gratitude.  We had to have an attitude of gratefulness and just be consistent.  As angry as we might have gotten at that instant when people were hurling things at us, big burly sailors with big biceps, throwing these things at teenage girls, jeering, “Go home,” we reminded ourselves to focus on consistency, to focus on practicing integrity.  We decided we were going to catch a tuna, whether they liked it or not.
The amazing thing was, we were one of the first boats to hook up because I had learned a thing or two fishing with my father all those summers.  I learned how to chum, especially how to calculate where to make it go, depending on the tide.  So we were one of the first to hook up.  Then the sailors shouted, “There’s no way they’re going to catch that tuna.  Let’s watch this entertainment hour.  Let’s watch them lose it.”
We felt that not only were we representing teenage girls, we had to fight for being legitimate fishermen on the open sea.  I felt like we had to fight for our sex, that there’s no reason why women can’t catch a tuna.  We may not be as strong, but we are cleverer!  We may not have the brawn, but there are ways to tire the tuna.
When a tuna bites, the line runs out so fast that lives have been lost at sea in accidents when people are not watching where they are walking and they are near the basket where the ropes are coiled.  In the frantic moment of “Hook-up!” and pulling up the anchor, getting behind the wheel, starting the engine, sometimes you don’t realize you’re standing on the basket of rope.  And if you do, you’re gone.  You’ll go out like a cannonball.  There’s just no way to save you because the tuna is going, and it’s fighting, and the line is racing out.  You literally can see smoke as it goes out.  So you have to be mindful of different things like that.

But when the tuna hit and the line went out, I screamed, “Anchor up.”  Then everybody on Northwest Corner knew, “Oh, the kiddie boat got a hook-up.”  They were all watching us with binoculars.  I told my crew, “I’ll go first, then you go second, you third, and we’re just going to tire the fish out.”  So we’re taking turns, and as we’re going we could literally see these fishermen with binoculars hollering.  I felt like a horse running at the racetrack and all these people were taking bets on how long we would last and how long we would keep the fish on the line.
I thought, “Okay, if they want a fun time, we’ll give them a good show.”  So the line flew out.  Tuna are so big and strong that they can drag the boat.  The most important thing is that when the fish wants to go, you have to let it go and just maintain the tautness of the rope.  But the minute that the fish decides, “I don’t want to go away from the boat; let me try going toward the boat instead,” then you have to frantically pull it in.  If you don’t keep that tautness on the line, the hook is going to come out.
A tuna is incredibly smart.  It takes the boat out, and then it charges straight back toward you, then it goes off to the right, then off to the left.  It’s trying all the different directions in order to get the hook out of its mouth.  The key is keeping the line taut.
So here we were, taking turns, and the fish took us so far from our initial starting point in Northwest Corner that we couldn’t see the other fishermen jeering at us.  We were thinking, “Thank you, Heavenly Father.  You got rid of them.”  Here we were on the open sea, like in the movie The Old Man and the Sea from the Ernest Hemingway story, a gigantic fish and us.  It felt like a life-and-death battle because it wasn’t just about catching that tuna; it was about saving the dignity of the women and having the right as women to catch a tuna.  A lot was riding on us.  I said, “Ladies, come on.  We have to do this.”
It took about four and a half hours, but we tired the tuna out.  By the end of four and a half hours, we were all dying, but the tuna started to surface because it was so tired.  Then what you do is pull the tuna in, and it’s a very, very heavy fish.  The tuna we caught that day was something like 675 pounds, so it was a big, big tuna.  As it comes near, the next thing you have to do is to harpoon the fish.  If you don’t harpoon the fish, it’s very easy to lose it, even as you’re pulling it in.
When it got close enough to the boat for us to see it, I had to get up on top and harpoon it.  I said to myself, “I can harpoon this fish with my eyes, because I can see where the fish is, or I can harpoon the fish with God’s eyes, and I’m going to catch that tuna.”  So the minute I saw it coming and knew approximately where it was, I threw my harpoon, knowing that God would not let us women down.  The harpoon went straight into the side right behind the gill, which is where you want it.  You don’t want it in the great meat, but instead right next to the gill.  It went in!  It was amazing.
When my crew saw the harpoon go in, they were screaming at the top of their lungs.  I said, “Let’s tie the fish up.  Now we’re pretty far off from Northwest Corner.  Shall we just go straight to the dock, or would you ladies like to see the sailors’ faces at Northwest Corner before we go back?”  After four and a half hours I think all the fishermen were thinking, “Silly teenage girls; they probably lost the fish and went back home in total disgrace.”
We decided to visit them before we went back.  You can’t really drive the boat too quickly with a huge fish on the side of your boat, so here we were putt-putting through the sea.  My girls were looking through binoculars to gauge the reactions of the different sailors.  When they saw us coming over the horizon, you could hear them, “There they are,” screaming different things.  When they saw the girlie boat approaching, we heard this loud jeering, but then it died away because they’re thinking, “What the heck are they doing with a tuna tied to the side of their boat when we haven’t gotten a hook-up yet?”
At that moment, when you’re 16 years old and you realize that your father gave you this opportunity to experience how exhilarating, how exciting, how satisfying it is to putt-putt back to Northwest Corner, you are thinking, “Thank God my father had faith in me.  He wasn’t thinking he was sending me out to the sea to leave me at the mercy of the elements; he was hoping that I’d do my sisters justice and that my crew would do women justice.”
So even though it was a very small victory in the course of the summer, it changed my life.  It changed the sisters’ lives on the boat with me.  It made us realize that there’s no limit to what a woman can do.  And the greater the opposition, the greater we’re going to fight.  The more they want us to go home, the greater our consistency of purpose will be.  And the more people put obstacles in our path, the greater our heart of devotion and our trust in God will be.  Instead of being bogged down with doubt, doing-out with faith, and instead of being bogged down with double mindedness and questioning, the minute we decide to have faith and believe, God can work in mysterious and incredible ways.
The Koran Chapter 8, verses 2–4, reminds us what a true believer is supposed to be.  A true believer is someone who is in awe before God.  And awe does not just mean astonishment.  It means you are in so much gratitude that you are filled with the feeling of love.  The true believers are those who truly, truly love God as our Heavenly Parent.
The Koran goes on further to say that the true believers are people whose faith grows with every word, every revelation.  So sometimes revelations can come through Scripture.  Sometimes revelations can come through dreams.  Sometimes revelations can come through an experience like the one I had.  But each and every one of those revelations makes us grow in faith: we become stronger, we become greater, and we become the kind of sons and daughters that we are destined to be.
So this Sunday, I’m thinking about the importance of faith and what it means to be a true believer.  If you think about a life without God, it is almost like being a rudderless boat.  But the minute you bring God into the picture, the boat has a rudder.  God provides the wind in the sail, and God clearly shows us a direction where to go; just like when we want to catch a tuna, we head out to Northwest Corner.  The minute we have clear faith and we believe, our lives become very clear.
This morning the band performed the wonderful song “Somewhere Only We Know.”  Faith is not something that should just be believed, something out there.  It needs to be made our own.  We need to own up to our faith.  Find a place in your life, somewhere only you know, where only you and God can commune, converse, and be with each other, and you can feel every day how incredibly special and precious you are.
Let’s remind ourselves that it’s always God who is singing us this song to make us feel his and her love.  God is the one singing this song in difficult times, in times of joy, in times of trial.  God is always there, wanting us to feel his love.  Despite the manic time and scheduling of life in Midtown Manhattan, we still need to find a time to come home, to be with God.
Brothers and sisters, thank you for this Sunday.  Thank you for joining with me.  Remember to always decide to be a faithful servant of God, and always remember that God, our Heavenly Parent, and our True Parents are always with each and every one of you.  So God bless, and have a great week.  Thank you.

Oct 14 Blessing and Father’s Explanation

Background to the Oct 14 Blessing and Father’s Explanation
You should all be educated again through the books Explanation of the Principle, Exposition of Divine
Principle, and Original Divine Principle. Do you understand? On Oct 14, even those who have
(already) received the Blessing should come together with 7 Generations of their ancestors and all
their relatives, and receive the Blessing from me. Only then can your clan enter heaven. I am
proclaiming a new era of victorious authority.
Accept this proclamation, take responsibility, march forward and become the Lord of the Glorious
Throne of Victory.
[ Coronation for the Realm of Liberation for God, the King of Kings. ]
This is the day that God has awaited and has wished to see since He created the universe. God has long waited
for the day on which He can enjoy and live in the peace Kingdom under the everlasting reign of peace, after
taking His position as the King of Kings, and embracing His children and the creation that He had lost.
[ Congratulatory Banquet for True Parents’ Birthday. Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s 90th Birthday. ]
A new era of heaven and earth is opening substantially before your eyes in which there is no need to distinguish
between the visible True Parents through whom God works and the invisible God.
[ True Parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary. The Rally to Bring about the Complete Settlement of Peace for the Cosmic
Settlement of Peace for the Cosmic Cain and Abel (Good and Evil) Centering on the Parents of Heaven and Earth ]
Now there is a change in the era. With TPs coronation and golden anniversary, and the conditions that are in
keeping with the present time, the gates are opening to the authorization of the complete unity of Cain and Abel.
During this period, which has such a special significance, my wife and I celebrated our coronation and golden
anniversary over a 13-day period from April 19. During this time we held the Won-gu (round ball) Peace Cup
Convention for the Cosmic Unity of Cain and Abel, a peace festival that will one day surpass the Olympic Games.
You must inherit God’s heart and nature, the original heart untainted by the Fall and advance to that complete
and perfect level that has such value. Only then will it become a new era that moves into the realm of grace in
which you can be restored to the original state unblemished by the Fall.
NEW ERA
If all 6.5 billion people of the world, including the communist and democratic worlds can establish the
condition of receiving the Blessing on a single day, I will be able to make them clean as many times as
needed. To this day, there has never been an intercultural and international realm beyond the level of particular
families and nations.
Only if I make the condition for this occasion will the substantial reality will come about. The condition of
Blessing an entire race (the Korean people), all 80 million of them, must be established even if they do not
want it.
On Oct 14, my own family, the Blessed families and the families of the saints will make this an occasion to
establish a condition on behalf of humanity. I have set the condition for generations to come even though
I will not be here. People will enter intercultural marriage on a foundation that shall last forever. Thus
even if their ancestors should make mistakes, they can be sanctified, cleansed and raised to a higher level.
Do you know how fearsome this condition is? Say “Condition”! Condition!
Unless True Parents establish this indemnity condition, those who succeed them will not be able to
complete the substantial mission in heaven or on earth. Aju.
If you miss the right time to establish a condition, after going to the spirit world you will have to wait for
hundreds or even thousands of years for that time to come again. It will be difficult for me to establish the
conditions of indemnity needed to Bless everyone again. Thus, before I depart this world, I am going on
the path of establishing the conditions of giving the Blessing to everyone on the earth, both the lowly and
noble people in heaven and on earth at the same time.
The series of events leading along this path will begin from October 14 and such events should be held a
third and even a fourth time, becoming occasions that will be known by everyone in heaven and on earth.
I must lead and lay the foundation enabling people to resolve in themselves to take action autonomously
under this condition. Without doing so, we will lose the opportunity to stand on that foundation.
The majority of you could end up in the spirit world suspended in limbo for a long time; many groups of people
could be left hanging there. Such a thing must not happen. This must be done no matter how difficult it may be!
No matter how difficult, I am taking many risks to carry out this endeavor, because without making such
conditions, the world of the future — when I am no longer here — will not have a Providential plan in
place, and will face tremendous difficulties.
Once I go to the spirit world, a program running for thousands of years will begin where people might have to
migrate to different worlds and receive such education in an unfamiliar place. There will be such a great
difference. When you establishing such a condition in your life time you have to resolve to do your best to
establish the necessary condition that can ensure that your clan, nation and world can unite and be preserved.
Please establish a new and global foundation for this indemnity condition and move forward with this new resolve.

Seminars in the spirit world with the Four Religious Founders

February 3 - April 11, 2001
Dr. Sang Hun Lee, Presiding
Reporter: Young Soon Kim

Table of Contents

Preface 1: From Young Soon Kim, the Reporter
Preface 2: From Dr. Sang Hun Lee

Part I: The Secrets of Spirit World (Relationships with Angels) and the Message from Confucius

1. Object Partners of Angels
2. The Rise and Fall of Human Beings
3. God and Human Beings
4. Earthly People Who Are better Than Confucius
5. People of the Original Homeland and Fallen People
6. Amazing and Great Truth
7. Blessings and Misfortunes in Life and Death
8. A Place Called the Kingdom of Heaven
9. Salvation
10. The Messiah and Savior

Part II: Questions of Dr. Sang Hun Lee to Confucius

1. What is your impression after listening to the lectures on the Divine Principle?
2. What part of the Divine Principle most impressed you?
3. What part of the Divine Principle is incomprehensible or problematic to you?
4. What is your reflection on the Second Coming?
5. As the founder of Confucianism, what do you think of the Divine Principle?
6. How would you like to introduce the Divine Principle to your followers?
7. What is your impression of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and what is your understanding about him?
8. What are your plans for the future?
9. What would you like to tell earthly people?
10. What are your feelings after the blessing?
11. What part of the Divine Principle would you most like to lecture?
12. What do you think about the many books that you wrote on the Earth?
13. What would you like to do if you could return to Earth?

Part III: Messages from the Principals at the Seminar

1. Jesus' Message to Christians and All People on Earth
2. The Buddha's Message to Buddhists and Believers in Other Religions
3. Confucius' Message to Confuciunists and All People on Earth
4. Muhammad's Message for Muslims and People on Earth
5. Message of Socrates to Intellectuals
6. Saint Augustine's Message to Christians and Other Religious Believers

 

INTRODUCTION

To our Christian Family and all Friends in Faith,

The text that is contained within these pages is a gift from the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification to you for your prayer and contemplation. It is likely that you will find many of the ideas or thoughts expressed quite challenging in terms of conventional understanding.

However, Jesus told us in John 16:12-13, "I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth...."

Also, the sources of the revelations are said to be the founders of the great religions of the world. Many have considered non-Christian religions as having little to do with God.

Yet Jesus said, in John 10:16: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold..."

In his newly published book entitled The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ, Rev. Sun Myung Moon states, "There have been in human history many saints, many religious geniuses, and many wise men. But no one else could play the role of Jesus, who alone brings us to the Father. This is because he came in a stainless, sinless position which no one else has. He is the only channel to reach God. Though Buddha, Confucius and Mohammed were all religious saints, they did not have the same relationship with God that Jesus had. Therefore, the birth of Jesus as the messiah was the day of hope for all humankind." ("The New Messiah and the Formula of God in History," February 21, 1972)

Father Moon's position on Jesus as Lord and Savior is founded upon his personal faith in and experience with Jesus. Yet he tells us that it was Jesus who guided him to have an open heart for all the religions of the world!

As we seek to unify the Body of Christ and bring unity among all faiths, we pray that you may be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we, as the Christian family, will have such love as to fulfill Jesus prayer in John 17 - "That ALL may be one." That we might be like Jesus and manifest such love as to bring unity and understanding to all the religions of the world.

With this thought in mind, please consider the following revelations.

Sincerely Yours,

Rev. Michael Jenkins
President
Family Federation For World Peace and Unification, U.S.A.

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Preface 1

The deep yellow forsythia and pink azaleas blooming around me make me realize that it is indeed springtime.

I like sunlight because it is bright, but I like the pale moonlight even more, because I can share my heart with it.

What lies behind the harmony and intricacy of nature? Where does it begin and where does it end? O God, who gave us a world so mysterious that no matter how much we try we can never fully discover it, I have nothing to say to you but, "Thank you," simply, "Thank you!"

I am deeply touched by the warm love of Jesus, the compassion of Buddha, the proper etiquette of Confucius, the absolute faith of Mohammed, the intelligence of Socrates, and Saint Augustine's passion and ambition for God. I am indeed inspired by their pledge and determination to live in the attendance of God as their Parent, offering to him all of their thoughts and truths. As I received and recorded the messages from these great religious founders in the spirit world, I wished that earthly people could resemble them in their unity of heart and mind, in their humble acceptance of the truths from other religions, and in their love for one another transcending religions and denominations.

Young Soon Kim
April 11, 2001

Preface 2

Although human beings sent the Apollo rocket to the moon, even if the knowledge and intelligence of all scientists in the world were mobilized, they by themselves could not affect the harmony of any part of God's creation nor could they fully analyze it. If anyone thought that he could reveal the full divinity and infinite power of God, he would be doing nothing but revealing his own pride and ignorance. It is better to just believe in Him, even if it is difficult to believe from a scientific viewpoint.

It is certain that many human beings are amazed at the divine nature of God as it is revealed by looking at the changes and mysteries of nature alone. But earthly people can never understand God as He can be fathomed in the spirit world. Thus, I could not help but bond with four great religious founders, who during their earthly lives personally conducted God's providence. It is so because as I observed them in the seminar hall, I more often witnessed the splendid procession of God's love than saw them keeping their religious posts representing their own religion. Humble to God's call, they made great efforts to change themselves.

They will remain always the founders and representatives of the major religions, but ever since they came to understand the fundamental providence of God, they have paid attention to the truths of other religions rather than insisting on their own views. This attitude in them deeply moved me. Whenever God enveloped us with His splendid jewels of light, we smiled at each other with loving and peaceful faces.

As I was leading this gathering, I experienced something infinitely painful in my heart, and thought: "If only earthly people could witness these scenes and experience them, then God and True Parents could restore this world much more quickly."

Each of these religious founders had experiences so moving, they rapidly progressed and clearly understood God's current providential purposes. And whenever they had time, they visited friends from other religions. Such scenes were so beautiful. Their reflections were similar to each other: "I think that I can understand the heart of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, who is toiling so hard on Earth for the sake of world peace."

Now, the four religious founders, along with Socrates and St. Augustine who also attended the seminars, are pursuing the same direction; it is the direction of the providence of God and True Parents. They try not to show their own distinctive characteristics and are making shared efforts to be united in one direction. And they are earnestly praying that the direction of earthly people will also be one.

Dr. Sang Hun Lee
from the spirit world

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Part I: The Secrets of Spirit World
(Relationships with Angels) and the Message from Confucius

1) Angels' object partners

At the time of creation, God created all things to have dual characteristics, subject and object. Among all creation, He created Adam as the representative of all things, but He was not pleased with Adam being alone. Only after creating Eve as Adam's object partner was He pleased. All things were created to resemble the nature of God who exists in dual characteristics.

That is why in the entire world of creation, there is nothing that exists alone. After creating human beings as the highest beings in creation, God thought of how He could bring them to the highest position, protecting and caring for them. To accomplish this purpose, He created angels. That is why He created angels to be inseparable from human beings, to always be around them and protect them as if they were their walls. When considering that all things were created in pairs, resembling the dual characteristics of God, who are to be the object partners of male angels? I am sure we all ask this question.

After creating Adam, God created Eve. And as was already mentioned, if angels are male, you would naturally wonder whether God created female angels as well. God originally created angels as servants who run errands for human beings. He did not create female angels yet. It is because male angels, created with the purpose of protecting human beings, could not focus on fulfilling their mission had they lived with their object partner female angels prior to God's children, human beings, establishing their family. God created Adam and Eve with a desire and expectation that they could establish a four-position foundation and lead a beautiful life. Would He allow angels, who were in the position of servants, to live with their object partners prior to the perfection of His children?

Simply speaking, God has not created the object partners of the angels yet. Then, should angels forever live alone as males? No, they should not. As soon as human beings could come together through the blessing, having reached the standard of maturity, the angels would have been brought together with their female object partners. Then, when would that have been, and who is to serve as the object partners of male angels?

God has been suffering as if He were a sinner until now, although He is not, and He has not been able to manifest Himself to His full capacity although He is the Creator of all things. Likewise, although He is the King of light, He has been enduring in darkness, unable to illuminate the whole world in His light. Until the arrival of the day of liberation, He could not experience peace in His heart nor could he fully manifest His light.

The day of God's emancipation arrived only when He could be crowned as the King of Kings, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, with the fall of Lucifer. Now, Lucifer is returned to his original position and God is also crowned as the King. That took place on January 13, 2001. Through this, He is finally returned to the precious position, the pinnacle of Heaven and Earth.

Now, all human beings truly have entered a new era and received the precious master. Therefore, although it is not apparent to the external eyes, the world has definitely changed since the coronation of God's kingship on January 13, 2001. Human beings finally are liberated totally from all boundaries created by sin and crimes. Most intellectuals do not know anything about the significance of that cosmic event. They have no idea of the incredible beginning of the new Heaven and Earth. The generation of sin and crimes is totally gone from human beings. Reverend Sun Myung Moon on Earth liquidated the history of darkness. On the highways and byways of human history, God has been waiting for the arrival of this day, which was brought into reality by Reverend Moon.

Thus far, numerous historical figures came and went, but no one could even imagine freeing God from the miasma of the human history of darkness. Other than Messiah, who could ever know that such a secret of Heaven was hidden within the history of darkness? On the day of God's coronation, you could imagine how joyful He was. Dear earthly people, who cannot see this with your physical eyes! Even if it were merely a fantasy, what a happy day it would be! What lessons do the records of the Bible teach us? It states that in the last days, the sun and moon will lose their light, the stars will fall, human beings will be judged with fire, and so forth.

A new era refers to the time God can enter a realm of total liberation. On the other hand, to human beings, it is an incomparably precious gift. And the new era is a time we can live with God in joy and happiness, attending Him as the True Parent of all humanity. It is the time when the original world that He intended to create will begin. Thus, for human beings, what day could be more joyful than this day? January 13, 2001 was the day when, representing all humankind, the Messiah attended God as the True Parent of entire humankind.

Then, at this point, what should God do with the angels who have been serving human beings, together in joy or in pain, during the course of His providence of restoration? God would have to treat them with benevolence and realize His original ideal for them. Then, who are to be the object partners of male angels?

Originally, human beings were to command angels, having dominion over them. That is, angels were to have the position of object partners to human beings. Since God created them as ministering spirits or servants for His children, human beings, the object partners of those male angels were not to be determined by God, but by human beings. And since God has been crowned as the King, along with His liberation the angels' blessing ceremony should be held.

During the course of God's providence that has been led by True Parents, numerous angels have been waiting for such a day. Their object partners also have been waiting for such a day, along with numerous spirits who came from the Earth. Among them there are good spirits, but some are evil spirits. And in Spirit World as well, there are good angels and evil angels. Therefore, True Parents should conduct the blessing ceremony in accordance with the progress of God's providence on Earth. Only True Parents can make all the decisions connected with it.

Now, according to the providence led by the Messiah in this new age of the Completed Testament, all humankind has entered fully a time to eliminate the evil seeds sown by Lucifer. Thus the evil lineage should be also cleansed, fulfilling the biblical verses: "New wine should be put into new wineskins." Therefore, you must keep the significance of the Completed Testament Age deep in your heart and reflect upon the teachings of the Old Testament Age and the New Testament Age. By doing so, I hope that you will set a clear direction to your life. We are now living in the Completed Testament Age.

Think of this once again, and examine your position. Think again of the relationship between your life and eternal life in Spirit World, and how you should live on Earth.

February 2, 2001

2) The Rise and Fall of Human Beings

A human being's earthly life passes by in the blink of an eye. People's lives vary; some live a happy life, others a miserable life. Regardless of how they lived, their life span is nothing but a brief moment in eternity.

It may seem that a person's earthly position-some advancing, others declining-has little to do with that particular individual, but it is not so. Human beings and all things in the universe are bound by an inseparable and vital relationship. Accordingly, moment by moment during my earthly life, even I, Confucius, was indebted to all things in my surroundings-sometimes more, sometimes less.

From the time a human being is born from his mother's womb, why is he dependent upon others, unable to live alone from the moment of his birth? Where do human beings come from, and to where do they return? We need to reflect upon these questions. Since human beings are born without thinking about the meaning of their life, they tend to live without being serious about it. More than a few people live this way.

People in the world call me a religious founder. During my earthly life, I pondered about the meaning of human life. Especially, I pondered about the morals and ethics of human life. As a result, I realized that I am powerless and finite. I also realized that there are various realms that are beyond my ability to reach. In other words, I realized that there are worlds that human beings cannot fully grasp. I even experienced it myself. The invisible God was for me the ineffable being par excellence.

I, Confucius, lived on Earth several thousand years ago. Here in the intangible world, where people in the physical body cannot dwell, I came to encounter God whom I yearned to see so earnestly while on Earth. Thereafter, I came to discover and experience an incredible new truth. Ever since then, I have felt so unworthy of the title "religious founder" that is given me by people on the Earth that I wanted to hide my identity from Him.

God is the Master of human beings' rise and fall. From Him, I came to learn what to teach, what to learn, and what to observe. On Earth I straitened my life by morals and ethics, always striving to maintain them, spinning like a whirlpool within their boundaries. Even in the midst of such a life, there were limits beyond which I could not move and problems I could not resolve by myself.

However, my encounter with God here freed me from all that. Standing before God, the norms that bound me on Earth were no longer necessary, nor did I need to observe any boundaries. I did not feel any limits or limitations, nor did I need anyone else's involvement to accomplish my ends. As the arrow of a compass automatically points north, I automatically came to live a free and peaceful life in complete accordance with Heavenly laws. Looking back, I see that on Earth I lived in a prison of manifold norms. It was like I was incarcerated in a prison without steel bars.

That is why the rise and fall of human beings is deeply related to God. I believe that those who know God's fundamental attributes and who walk with Him do not need strict rules or walls, to be observed out of fear. Not even once has God taught me how to rise, how to fall, or how to diminish myself. Nonetheless, once we are near God, we are bound to live in accordance with heavenly law. Then we transcend any concerns about advancing, declining or diminishing.

It is very hard for me explain this to people who have a physical body. Even though it may seem incomprehensible to you, I cannot help but convey this to earthly people. Although I have the title "religious founder," I cannot help but obey the great new truth in the spirit world.

Who is God? Human beings are powerless and helpless before God, who possesses such an incredibly great truth. Yet, they should know that God is the Master and Creator of all things in Heaven and on Earth, and, most importantly, He is the Parent of all humankind. They should study about this. If human beings do not know that God is their Parent, how can they ever understand His great truth? Again, why is it crucial for humans to know that God is their Parent? It is because then they will attend Him naturally and spontaneously as their Parent. Then, from the moment that they attend God, they will be freed in mind and liberated from the boundaries of boring and frustrating norms. Therefore, the most urgent, desperate and ultimate task for us human beings is to clearly understand who God is.

February 3, 2001

3) God and Human Beings

When I was living on Earth, there was nothing that I took lightly. I took everything seriously, organized it systematically, had control over it, and executed the plans upon which I had thoroughly reflected. It was not easy to live such a life. Above all, I did not neglect an understanding of the principles of all things. I cultivated and controlled myself. And since I fulfilled my plans without fail, I did not fall behind others. I particularly focused on controlling myself in order to cultivate my character and virtue. Perhaps, that is why people in the world regard me as a great teacher.

However, I cannot help but feel ashamed and inadequate before God. When reflecting upon my life on Earth, I feel empty. Had we human beings come to the intangible spirit world after having known God well and lived a life of attending Him, we could have come before Him as His children, with pride in ourselves. We would never have experienced any awkwardness in the parent-child relationship we have with Him.

However, during my earthly life in the body, the material world and visible reality seemed larger and more important than God. Hence, I failed to see the invisible God as my parent. In the winter when heavy snows come with gusts of wind, the cold weather is painful to our body. We human beings hurry to find a place to protect our body from the cold. Yet if we knew the reality of God, we would give priority to saving our spirit, disregarding even that we might be freezing to death.

Most of people make haste to look after their physical life. If due to freezing to death, the physiological functions of a human being cease, the body will return to dust. However, we should realize that the spirit that enveloped his physical body lives forever in the spirit world. As a result, it should be more natural for us to hasten to cure our spiritual disease than to be concerned for our body trembling in the blizzard. Yet we human beings have tended to disregard our own spiritual life.

God once asked me the following question: "When you lived on Earth, did you ever attend God as your Parent?" Then He made the following statement: "You should have refused the title of a Sage."

Sitting there beside God, for a while I was extremely perplexed. I then understood that although I taught the proper norms for human beings, I undoubtedly failed to teach the fundamental principles of the universe. I introduced some of those principles, but with vagueness and ambiguity. I should have revealed the relationship between God and human beings clearly. Since God is the Parent of human beings, I should have taught the norms of human beings' life in attending Him. Yet, without understanding these things, I only focused on human beings and their norms.

Imagine that in a family, there was an elder brother who taught his younger siblings the proper etiquette and norms of human behavior, helping them grow to be individuals of character and virtue, but not teaching them how to attend their parents. Instead he kept their parents in a back room. It will be difficult for that elder son to have the title of a filial son before his parents. Since he put himself in the position of a parent, not an elder son, what else can be said other than that he committed a great impiety before his parents? How would you on Earth think of this?

Who is God? Who are human beings? If you think: "God is God, and human beings are human beings," you are being completely impious to God. You are deeply saddening Him. God is not only the Master of all creation and the Creator of human beings; He is also our Parent.

Then, who are human beings? Who is this individual, "I"? I am an entity that stands in the position of a child of God. The relationship between God and myself is a parent-child relationship. A parent-child relationship is destined to be inseparable. On Earth, whether your parents are good looking or ugly, whether they are wealthy or poor, well learned or simple, is it not natural for you to attend them as your parents? No matter how troublesome or difficult, you must honor your parents. As their children, you must regard them in the position of your parents. That is the appropriate duty of children. Human beings everywhere and at all times have regarded this as a commonplace practice.

If that is the case in your relationship to your physical parents, how much more should it be like this in your relationship with God, who is the Creator and Master of all things? It should be indisputable that you must attend Him as your Parent.

During his earthly life, Confucius taught people that the relationship between a parent and a son should be close, that the relationship between a king and a loyal subject should be based on righteousness, and so forth. However, he did not clearly teach that the relationship between God and human beings should be that of parent and child.

Can we say it is too difficult for human beings to attend God? To honor God is the first and foremost norm and the greatest human virtue. Human beings should not attend God casually. Now that we have finally found our eternal Parent, God, we should live a life of attending Him. We should attend Him as our Parent with all our heart and mind, and make it our aim to please Him. We should bring Him to a warm place in the winter, to a cool place in summer, to sit on the green grass in the spring, and to a field full of ripened crops in the autumn. We should resolve firmly to do this. People with such a determination and commitment will be the true people of the Completed Testament Age. If you attend God with all of your heart and soul, when you encounter God in the eternal intangible world, He will welcome you, calling, "My beloved child, I'm so happy you have arrived!"

God is the Parent of all humanity, and we are God's children. We must keep this in mind. I confess that I made an irrevocable mistake of impiety before God during my life on Earth, and with a heart to ask for His forgiveness, I am sending this message to the Earth.

February 4, 2001

4) Earthly People Who Are Better Than Confucius

To be born at an auspicious time is a great blessing. I was told that my parents made special conditions with sincere effort to give birth to me. However, despite such endeavors, I was born in an environment in which it was hard for me to benefit from my family or my country. My father passed away before I was grown, and it is well known that my mother's family declined financially and she suffered great poverty. I mention the circumstances of my family and my country of Lu because I believe that it is essential for earthly people to understand my background.

On the other hand, one can say that my family background and national environment set the stage well for me to be guided to become the Confucius that history knows. In other words, due to the conditions of my time, my relationship to God became as close as a son. As a result of growing up in a difficult environment occasioned by my father's early death, I developed the character to never give up regardless of the ordeals I faced. I thoroughly pursued my search for the fundamental nature of life as a human being. I developed my habit of being courageous before injustice, boldly dealing with unrighteousness and establishing norms that were in accordance with Heavenly principles. And I vigorously cultivated myself to align my life with these norms. However, since I did not clearly understand the fundamental direction of life itself, my teachings confined people within the limited boundary of norms and did not point out how they could be liberated from them.

Today there are many religions and denominations. As one looks into them carefully, one sees that most of their teachings are filled with commandments about what to do and what not to do. However, such commandments seem to have fettered the life of human beings rather than fulfilling their original purpose of helping them. I believe that most of those commandments were made to acknowledge the existence of God or other God-like beings and to guide people toward bettering their life. It seems that they were, in a certain sense, expressions of the human struggle to survive in the limited space of the earthly world.

In the eternal and unlimited world of God, such fearful and old-fashioned commandments are not needed. God does not restrict or tie down human beings, whom He dearly loves, with such commandments as if with a trap. Since human beings are His children, if they live in His bosom sharing joy together, they automatically will be free and happy. People should live experiencing Heaven and Earth in the freedom of their minds. Yet in this world, they are living within the boundaries set by commandments and norms. From the vantage point of living here in the spirit world, I regard such a restricted life to be empty. For this reason, I feel so burdened by the title of Sage. How beautiful, rather, it is to be called a child of God!

What benefit is it to be living in an outwardly good environment? A material life of abundance may seem necessary during life on Earth, but it is rather a burden and even damaging to life in the invisible world where God dwells. Here, "a good environment" does not mean a place of abundance and material prosperity, but rather a circumstance in which God can impart to us the realization that He is our Parent.

I, Confucius, came to this world after having stayed momentarily on Earth about 2,500 years ago. I lived on earth for 70 years, so people might not understand why I say it was only momentary. I say it because from the perspective of eternity a period of 70 years is very brief. Yet that brief period determined how I came here. You who are dwelling on Earth now can attend God as your Parent and receive His teaching and guidance. It is an incredible blessing of cosmic significance. Nevertheless, earthly people do not understand its value. This is truly heartbreaking. If they understood it, there would be no one who would envy me with my title of Sage.

O, you multitude of earthly people! Be thankful for your good fortune to receive fleshly life on earth at such a blessed time. In Confucianism you cannot find anything that teaches you to attend God as your Parent. A truly beautiful, invisible but substantial world where you can live for eternity with your True Parents awaits you. It is beyond comparison with life on earth, which is so limited in space. Yet your life on earth is the period of time when you complete the preparations necessary for transition here. Your eternal palace and heaven is in the splendid and exotic incorporeal world. I sincerely request that each of you without exception come to this place and live with God, attending Him as your Parent.

Actually, the fact that we human beings are to live in the attendance of God as our Parent is not a commandment, nor a norm, nor a trap. As parents and children live together on Earth, God desires to live with all humanity as one family, talking together, eating together, sleeping together, and so forth. If human beings can do that today, in Paradise they will find eternal happiness even by just looking at the eyes of God.

Human beings today on Earth live in circumstances far better than the environment at the time of Confucius. You enjoy freedom and happiness. While you are grateful for such a precious and valuable life on Earth, I earnestly request that you do your best to attend God as your eternal Parent.

February 7, 2001

5) People of the Original Homeland and Fallen People

At the time of creation, God did not create human beings as they are currently. Today, many human beings are living without knowledge of the direction and purpose of life or the standard to which they should be restored. They do not know from whence they came or why they were born. Therefore, they generally pursue physical comforts and material prosperity throughout their life.

From the vantage point of the spirit world, what is the meaning of being a fallen person? Some people are working very hard and do not commit sins. They do not understand why the term, "the fall" exists or why it should apply to them. Often times, people take "the fall" to refer to a life style of corruption, drunkenness and sexual promiscuity. Many of you probably have such a concept.

However, here in the spirit world the fall has a different meaning. Simply speaking, it means that during their immaturity, prior to attaining perfection in the state that God originally intended, the first human beings deviated from the principled track. Because of this deviation, we human beings are descendants of the fall and were born with original sin. Hence, although people here and there may be pure and good, even called saints or virtuous people, human beings have original sin flowing in their veins. Accordingly, the liquidation of this original sin, that is, conversion of the lineage, remains an unfulfilled task.

How can the fallen lineage be converted and the original sin be cleansed? Without accomplishing that, salvation would be impossible. Human beings would never be able to approach God or establish a father-son relationship with Him. The history of divine and human grief would continue indefinitely.

For this reason, in order to resolve this problem, from age to age God has chosen central figures and has been leading the providence of restoration. These efforts have continued for thousands of years. Yet despite these preparations, human beings have remained ignorant of what God was doing. Thus, while leading the providence of restoration, God had to endure bone-breaking pain and tears of indescribable suffering, anxiously awaiting the day of the fulfillment of His will.

During the long, long course of history, God often felt the urge to wipe out all of humankind. Nevertheless, He has been patiently establishing the foundation to restore their fallen lineage. He laid foundations to purify the fallen lineage one after another, and on these foundations He chose central figures. Such has been God's providence of restoration.

From the Bible, we can understand that the process of converting the lineage in order to receive Jesus took place over many generations. After long preparations to receive the Messiah, God sent Jesus to complete the providence of salvation by which humankind would ultimately receive Him, but Jesus died on the cross. Through Jesus' sacrifice God could save humanity only spiritually, and we have had to wait for another central figure to come. Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the man God sent to us after long ages of preparations to purify our lineage. You see, in order for us fallen people to be restored from the original sin, our lineage has to be changed. Reverend Moon is the instrument for this transition; through his ministry we can be restored to the originally intended state of human beings.

Unless we are cleansed of the original sin, human beings from the moment of conception are not in their original state. In order for us to be cleansed of the original sin, we should be reborn. The method of rebirth is to receive the marriage Blessing with the Reverend Moon as the officiator. That is the best way to be cleansed of the original sin. This cleansing remains to be done for all humankind. Only after having gone through this cleansing can we personally stand before God and grow as original human beings.

To you on Earth, this message may sound strange and arrogant. However, the four great religious founders who are living in the spirit world with God are walking a path of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. This is not sophistry; it is the truth. After all, did not all new truths sound like sophistry in the beginning? Even so, truth is eternal. Therefore, you should be serious about it. I hope that you will not live in regret by arriving in the spirit world after having taken this lightly or disregarding it.

This is Confucius' sincere request.

February 7, 2001

6) Amazing and Great Truth

The circumstances are remarkably different between the days when I, Confucius, was born and today. Much has changed. Today, most nations have their own president, king, or prime minister, who leads and guides his country and its people. However, these are but external leaders, who are to bring their people and nation together in unity under the necessary organizational structure. They are not internal leaders who can dwell deeply in the hearts of human beings.

In this regard, the time when I was born is not different from today. All the people of my country were unaware of any purpose to live other than mere survival. They hoped only to live while gaining as many benefits as they could from their country's fortune.

However, human beings were not created to live only in the world of external phenomena. Knowingly or unknowingly, they are inclined to pursue a potential latent in themselves and look forward to finding a new master to guide them. Thus in the days when I experienced the pain and suffering of poverty, I came to realize that the purpose for which I was living my life was nothing more than to defeat physical hunger and thirst. I realized that after resolving these problems, people do not gain the happiness that they expect. They seem incessantly to seek a way to bring out the original source of infinite energy that is restless inside them. I recognized that this power was greater than the urge to satisfy one's hunger, and thus there must be a greater truth than that which frees one from external poverty. The ignorant might think that to eat well and sleep well should be sufficient for human beings. Why, then, should they need ethical norms and morality? But I came to realize that our Creator endowed us with something very precious within us, something that does not exist in animals.

People recognize that if they only live according to their physiological instincts, they would be no different from animals. Therefore, I am deeply grateful to God, who endowed us with dignity through our intellect and intelligence that animals, whether two-legged or four-legged, do not have in the same degree. I also could see spiritual power emanating from the eyes of people who cultivated their inner strength, more than from the eyes of those who pursued external strength from their nation's fortune or material progress.

Gaining energy from this experience, I began to search for God, depending on the power of the invisible Being, yet unsure about Him. This was the beginning point of Confucianism. Human beings have an inborn nature to seek for God from their birth, even if they do not know who or what it is they are searching for. They are living with Him and are guided by Him, but are unable to find their Master.

Thus while on the Earth, I taught the people merely ethical norms, ignorant of by whose guidance I was led. From my present vantage point, I cannot help but be solemn before this precious truth.

One day God's bright light shone, and in that sudden bright and illuminating light, although no one told them to, all the people present offered formal bows, humbly standing up and then sitting back down in their original position, with much joy in their faces. Their demeanor was beautiful and mesmerizing beyond description. What surprised me about this is that it was exactly what I tried to teach earthly people during my lifetime. No one has to teach it here. But after witnessing such a beautiful scene, in which everyone demonstrated manners and a style more graceful and lofty than that of my own disciples to whom I taught etiquette and manners, I was extremely ashamed.

Now I know that I taught external things to people without knowing that I myself was empowered by Someone who was the original source of my inner strength. Hence, I confess that I was truly arrogant. Human beings alone are powerless. The truth is that only when people live before the great truth of God, or under His shadow, are they able to return to their original state. All of the precious attributes latent within us were endowed to us at the time of God's creation. I could experience all of these attributes little by little.

As a result of human beings' separation from God, these original attributes could not manifest. On the other hand, once we live with God, even if we do not toil hard within the walls of norms that are difficult to follow, everything is automatically realized. Therefore, I hope that you will not be enslaved by earthly norms.

February 12, 2001

7) Blessings and Misfortunes in Life and Death

Everyone comes to experience blessings and misfortunes in life and death. The essential question is the direction of the original source of "life," "death," "blessing" and "misfortune." Some people can easily overcome misfortune even when facing it constantly, while others cannot escape from worry and anxiety even if they have abundant blessings. During our lifetime, is it possible to be liberated from blessings and misfortunes in life and in death? Our earthly life is bound on all sides by possibilities of blessing and misfortune. Likewise, once we are born we can die at any time.

Let me first reflect upon my own life as I stand at this crossroads. People do not know the purpose of life. They generally pursue a life that is comfortable for their body. There are very few who live with a thought for life after death.

[Dr. Lee] Here, Confucius refreshes his memories of his earthly life. He experienced pain and suffering from poverty, hunger and other difficulties. He did not give a thought for how he would live, nor where he would dwell after his passing. When, after growing old and dying, he passed into the incorporeal world, Confucius could not distinguish whether he was still in the physical world. Perhaps his appearance had somewhat changed. People around him were leading their lives, working hard for something or other. Yet he was unable to sort out his circumstances, and he grew perplexed. Even so, he could not ask questions to this person or that person because due to his pride, he tried to save face.

[Confucius] One day, several days after having set out on a certain road, I happened upon something unusual. Some people dressed in luxurious and fine clothes appeared to me and ordered me to go with them to this place and that place. I was surprised when they guided me to a very flat land where everything moved and spun effortlessly. Each time I went to the place I was asked to go, all of sudden a gate would open so that I could pass through. Then I realized that I was standing alone. No one paid attention to me. People were just immersed with their own work, mindless of someone passing by. I felt as if I were a vagabond, peeping here and there. Then I felt something under my foot and came to a stop. It was like a ball of cotton. I wondered, "What is this?" It quickly flew away into the sky. I was amazed by it and followed it. As I did, something truly mysterious took place: the object that looked like a cotton ball spread in the air and my surroundings became foggy. I could not understand what was going on because I had never experienced such a thing.

Disregarding my pride and concern to save face, I began to ask questions of passers-by: "Where am I? What country is this? I died past age 70, so why am I here?" Over and over I asked people those questions, but no one would answer me clearly. It was extremely frustrating. I was mentally tired. I was also physically tired. I kept wondering why everything was so strange.

Again, several more days passed by. Then, something clicked all of sudden. I encountered a person whose attire I had never seen on Earth, who seemed to come from an exalted place. Wondering whether I was in the place where people come after death, I asked him, "Am I on Earth or in the spirit world?" His response was interesting: "Are you dead or alive?" I answered, "I am not certain." Then he asked me follow him, which I did. It was truly a weird place to which he took me; a restaurant full of people. Although there was no owner, delicious food was served before me. As I desired to sit on the chair, a chair appeared like magic. I was just in shock. It took me many days to adjust to life here.

[Dr. Lee] I came up with the sub-title, "Blessings and Misfortunes in Life and Death" because during earthly life, everyone is to go through various experiences of blessings and misfortunes, and as in life so after death. There is something that everyone should clearly understand. Human beings cannot cultivate themselves to be persons of virtue and character while they are in comfortable situations. They reach the state of virtue and character only by overcoming ordeals. And when they reflect back on their life on Earth, those will be the times they remember.

When you are going through hardships, it is the time to discover yourself. In doing this, you will be able to perfect yourself. Do not be cowardly. When blessings come, keep the blessings with humility. This will be the fruit of your earthly life. The place to which you will come with such fruit is the spirit world to which Confucius refers.

[Confucius] The reason I failed to discover myself was because I was not prepared for life in the spirit world, nor did I have any knowledge of this world. All human beings must go to the spirit world after death. Hence, the original source of all blessings and misfortunes of life and death is the spirit world. And when you are in the physical world, you need to deal with them properly. I hope that when you come to this eternal place you can easily pass through every gate.

[Dr. Lee] Confucius tried not to live a cowardly life on earth, but he failed to prepare for life after death. He could not experience life after death, nor could he educate people about it. People on Earth must bear in mind that another world after death exists for sure. He hopes that they will not wander in the spirit world as he did.

8) A Place Called the Kingdom of Heaven

What is the Kingdom of Heaven to which earthly people refer? Who created the Kingdom of Heaven, and why are all people yearning to go there even though no one has ever been there? During my earthly life, I never heard that I could go to the Kingdom of Heaven if I lived a good life. Yet in my heart, I always heard the echoes of my inner voice. I never believed in God nor did I attend Him. However, the sound of my inner voice and the direction of my mind would not leave me alone.

Where was this coming from? From the moment of birth God gives human beings an intellect, an ability to think. That is a precious original nature and a special talent that is given equally to everyone whether or not they believe in God. How grateful humans should be! The Creator of human beings evenly distributed the original mind to all human beings, regardless of economic status, without any prejudice for educational background or race. He created human beings so that they could live in accordance with their original mind.

The God-given original mind is sometimes clouded, influenced by the social environment. Regardless, this element that lies at the bottom of everyone's inner self dwells on. As the color of pure gold never changes even after passing through fire, the fundamental color of the original mind given us by our Creator never changes. What is it? It is the very foundation for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is the original fatherland, our final destination after having lived according to the voice of that mind, the instruction of that mind, and the direction of that mind.

All people on Earth with physical bodies are living as slaves of their own flesh, but even in the midst of worries they strive to live a good life in response to the voice of the mind and its echoes that are occasionally heard. Hence they struggle not to commit sins and crimes. If human beings did not possess such qualities, this world would have become the kingdom of hell, a world far more evil and fearful than presently exists. Therefore, we have hopes and dreams.

What is religion? It is a tool through which we can prepare to settle in the Kingdom of Heaven. It trains us to seek the peace of our spirits and cultivation of our virtue, rather than the comfort of our physical body. During the process of growth, human beings made a mistake and took the wrong path, giving an impression that they drifted away from God. Nonetheless, our Creator instilled a strong bond of heart within us. That strong bond of heart performs various roles as the voice and instruction of the mind; that fundamental bond of heart issues instructions from God. The original mind God instilled within us at the time of creation, tells us, "Even if you leave me, do not live an evil life or commit sins." The original mind is unchanging, as it is God's fundamental attribute and constitutive element. Were the original mind to change or disappear, it would be absolutely impossible for us ever to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.

Then, what is the Kingdom of Heaven anyway? What is it? It is literally a heavenly nation. It is the place where we are to live for eternity, enjoying our original mind and its God-given attributes by following the direction of God's words. We feel peace of mind as long as we

live following the voice of the mind. We feel it because the mind brings us peace as it fills us with the heart to live for the sake of others, without any greed or selfishness.

In short, we are endowed with the original mind, through which everyone can grasp the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone who lives according to the direction of the original mind will enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven, while those who cannot escape from their own desires will remain distant from the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, we are to live with God in the original homeland of the Kingdom of Heaven, by cultivating our original mind.

Therefore, I earnestly hope and wish that no earthly person will desert the will of the Creator, our God, who desires us to live together with joy in His garden, dreaming of an eternal ideal world. This is the sincere petition of Confucius to all of you.

February 14, 2001

9) Salvation

From the human viewpoint, salvation is rooted in our desire to be saved. In other words, it means asking someone to help us. Salvation is necessary for both believers and nonbelievers. Then why did the term, salvation, come into being? On Earth, I was not a believer in religion. It doesn't mean that I didn't have any sense of the need for salvation; indeed, I always felt that human beings alone are inadequate, that they lack something and are imperfect and incomplete. Thus, although I did not live a life of religious faith, I did desire for my empty heart to be filled. And whenever my wishes were not fulfilled, in view of my limited self, I sought for that Being of infinite value, even without knowing what or who He was. In my heart I always had a latent desire and dream to reach such a Being.

Again, the meaning of "salvation" is to ask someone for help in the midst of hardship. Yet even without pausing to define salvation, there is no one who can say with confidence that he has everything necessary, and therefore is in need of nothing more. All human beings live with the desire and aspiration for something else at the bottom of their heart. Still they pretend that they are confident and that they have everything they need.

However, when people are faced with a crisis, knowing their own limitations, they discover their original mind that desires to depend ultimately upon someone else. Why do human beings have such an original mind, and why do they have an element that desires to depend on someone? Why are they at the root unable to live on their own? Everyone seems to have such a nature. It is said that God created human beings that they might wonder: "Why did God create us in such a way?" We need to think upon this point.

When patients are hospitalized, they need a doctor's care. They no longer need it once they are fully recovered and healthy. Likewise, why do we need salvation? We need salvation because we have a problem and need help. What is the help that we need?

Examining human nature, we see that everyone has a concept about salvation. It is a driving force that compels us to pursue the Absolute Being. Although everyone has the nature to seek God, why can we not go there? Why can we not satisfy that yearning? It is because we have ancestors who during their immaturity deviated into a realm forbidden by God.

As a result of this fundamental deviation of the first human ancestors, we, their descendants, were born in sin. We cannot directly go to God or stand before Him until we cleanse our first ancestors' fundamental sin. But we of our own power cannot set the conditions necessary to resolve our ancestors' fundamental sin. A central figure anointed by God must appear and cleanse the fundamental sin committed by our first ancestors. That particular central figure is the one chosen by God, the one whose blood lineage was purified through generations of human ancestors. That figure should set numerous indemnity conditions for the sake of returning us to the original condition from which our first human ancestors deviated. By setting indemnity conditions, he can stand before God in the position of Adam prior to the fall. From that position, he should bring us back into God's lineage, saving us from the sins of all humanity. On that foundation, he can build God's nation, crown God as the King, and lead us to God so that we all can live with God, together attending Him for eternity.

Through his officiating at the Blessing of God, humanity comes to stand on the side of God's eternal lineage. That Blessing is the ultimate salvation for humankind. Our ancestors' wrongdoing degraded us to a fallen position. Returning to God's lineage saves us. Then, who is the specific figure anointed by God to bring us into the position of salvation? It is Reverend Sun Myung Moon. He is the Messiah for all humanity, the Second Coming of Christ.

February 16, 2001

10) The Messiah and Savior

The terms Messiah and Savior are not unfamiliar to earthly people. We human beings are constantly striving to reach perfection while living in the flesh on the Earth. However, we cannot progress or develop without a good leader. The progress or development to which I refer here is not that determined by external standards, but is rooted in the internal purpose and goal of reaching perfection.

As was already discussed and revealed, we human beings were with the original sin from the moment of our conception. Therefore, God's standard is an internal one, the standard of having returned to the original state, without original sin. At this point, we must clearly understand our own reality as individuals. You might put the question as follows: "Although I did not commit sins, although I always lived a life of righteousness, although my parents made special conditions all their lives and lived a life of service and sacrifice for the sake of others, and I was born from such parents, why was I born with the original sin?" These are common questions for many people who feel that the fallen state is unfair.

However, our fallen status is not the result of the sins of individuals, but is the result of the fallen ancestral lineage in which we were born. To put it more simply, it is the original sin, caused by the fall of Adam and Eve, that gave rise to the fallen lineage out of which were born all of their descendants. It is unfortunate and even unfair in a sense, but we are their descendants; hence we have inherited the original sin. It might be difficult for some people to understand this. These issues are explained in detail in the chapter entitled The Human Fall in Exposition of the Divine Principle, and I hope that you will refer to that.

If your direct ancestors committed sin, it is only natural for you, their descendant, to make restitution for it. Accordingly, it is natural for all humanity to pay the price for the sin committed by our first ancestors, Adam and Eve. Therefore, in order for us to correct our fallen lineage, we must find a way to make a breakthrough.

This is the seed of sins and crimes. Throughout history, no one could eliminate it. Hence, evil prospered. The lineage of sin has multiplied all over the world. During all this time, what has God been doing? Has He only been watching? Right here, we need to understand God. We need to fathom His heart. From generation to generation, God intended to realize His dream of building the ideal world through central figures chosen by Him for the providence of restoration. However, time after time the people failed, especially at the time of Jesus. The Israelites had no faith in him and Jesus had to die on the cross. Thereafter, time flew by, with the people's response to other central figures also not meeting God's expectations.

When God saw His people dying like insects, He had to tolerate it with sighs and tears. In the meantime, people whom He could not call His children continued to multiply, creating human history and the world as we have it today. Such has been the reality.

Nevertheless, even with the flow of time God's purpose of creation cannot change. It must be fulfilled no matter what. Therefore, with every setback God looked for another chance to set up yet another central figure. His hope has been that sooner or later sinful human history will come to an end and the Last Days will arrive. For that day to come, the Savior and the Messiah whom God needs and whom God finds must come to this Earth to conclude the history of sin and give humanity rebirth. This will return us to the original state, free from the original sin rooted in the fallen blood lineage.

Who is the Messiah, the Savior? He is Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Here in the spirit world, although invisible to earthly people, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and Socrates are gathering together every day. They are participating in a seminar, carefully studying the Divine Principle revealed by Reverend Sun Myung Moon. They sometimes focus on reading it many times, thoroughly. While studying, they exclaim with astonishment how its incredible contents reveal the heavenly secrets so clearly. And then they thank Reverend Moon.

Earthly people cannot be cleansed from the original sin by sitting around doing nothing and then meeting the Messiah. You need to study the Divine Principle carefully, together with many other books. Read them and study them. Believers and nonbelievers alike need to study. Religious people will not easily accept it. If you feel challenged by this, stay home, fast and pray about who Reverend Moon is. Otherwise, grief without solace will envelope you at the end of your brief life on Earth, but it will be too late. That is the principle and the path of the principle. No one will take responsibility for you unless you rouse yourself from the shell of your old-fashioned life of faith. Even if you have to abandon everything, think of only one being, God. God did not create religions and denominations. He did not create different races. We all are of the same lineage and are God's children. Therefore, whether black, white or yellow, we all are the same tribe, and Protestantism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Islam and so forth should belong to God.

God's will is that we live as one family with all races under the same roof, while attending God as our Parent. That is why Reverend Sun Myung Moon is conducting marriage Blessing ceremonies that transcend race and religion, officiating on behalf of God.

We earthly people should not remain as spectators, but we should participate in the beautiful Blessing procession that is surging forward toward God's ideal world, and reach the goal of becoming God's true children without the original sin. This I wish and hope for all of you.

February 20, 2001

Part II:
Questions of Dr. Sang Hun Lee to Confucius

1. What is your impression after listening to the lectures on the Divine Principle?

[Confucius] When I listened to lectures on the Divine Principle for the first time, I was not aware of changes in my heart or mind. I just attended the lectures to be courteous to the person who made the request to me. Then I was deeply moved by the lecturer's passionate and sincere attitude and manners. That is, in the beginning, I decided to listen to the lectures due to my trust in the character of lecturers rather than my interest in its contents. Mostly I heard lectures from Dr. Sang Hun Lee and Mr. Hyo Won Eu, and I also attended some lectures given by Reverend Il Sup Eom who recently arrived here in the spirit world. I also heard lectures from some others.

From the beginning I was very attracted to the Principle of Creation. I wondered who could have systematized and organized the principles of all creation so well. When I heard the lectures on the fall of the first human ancestors, I was impressed to a degree that I would never have expected. Every time a lecture was finished, I expressed the state of my struggling heart by marking a circle, a triangle, or an X.

Yet the Divine Principle is profound and mysterious. When I would hear the next lecture, my mark on the previous one changed into a circle, because each subsequent lecture provided the answers to my questions from the previous one. Sometimes while listening, I wondered whether the Principle lectures had a certain magical power, because as time passed they stimulated my heart like a fire. Especially when hearing the lectures on the coming of the Messiah and the purpose of his return, I was so saddened.

As I reflected upon the way humankind prolonged human history due to their ignorance, my heart hurt with the thought that we are truly sinners who cannot lift up our heads before God. That is not all. When I realized that God, who should lead the dispensation of restoration, has such a grieving heart, I was so ashamed of myself that I just wanted to hide myself from God. After I heard lectures from both Mr. Hyo Won Eu and Dr. Sang Hun Lee, in the face of this awesome and unbelievable truth and reality, I had an experience in which my brain was strongly hit by something, as if I were hearing a noise. The lecturers went on to explain how human history has parallels and emphasized the importance of the return of the Messiah, explaining its purpose and reasons.

They continued to teach us through question and answer sessions, expecting us to come up with the answers ourselves. However, not one of us dared open his mouth. We were first shocked by the notion that providentially, someone must come who can save humankind. We just maintained a heavy silence while holding the serious yet unspoken question as to who that person could be. Jesus first broke the silence and spoke quietly but seriously, "That person is none other than the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. He should be the Messiah and Savior of all humanity."

In the following lecture, Mr. Eu shared his experiences of great discomfort and troubles during his earthly life. He said that after listening to the lectures on the Divine Principle, he resolved to live and die for Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and with that determination he had taught the Divine Principle. He said that what he feels most painful about after coming to the spirit world is that he was not filial enough to Reverend Moon. When he was hungry, he also made Reverend Moon go hungry, and when he himself was undergoing difficulties, he made Reverend Moon experience the same hardships. Continuing, he said that he cannot erase the memories of his failures to be a filial son attending Reverend Moon as his parent, and he shed many tears. He added that it would be a great honor and glory for him to be given another chance to be a filial son upon the arrival of Reverend Moon to the spirit world. His sharing about this made the atmosphere very serious.

Then Dr. Sang Hun Lee spoke. According to him, in the early days of his encounter with Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Dr. Lee used to address him alternately using the title "Father" and "Teacher." When Dr. Lee called him "Teacher," he felt remorse and called him "Father." When I heard him say "Father," I felt tears welling up inside. Unable to control it, my feelings exploded and I began sobbing. With that, the atmosphere became very heavy and serious. I wondered about the life of Dr. Sang Hun Lee, who is so accustomed to call Reverend Moon "Father."

Then I became very curious about Reverend Moon, who had raised Dr. Lee to be such a dedicated follower with such deep love for him. Simply speaking, my honest feelings overall are that I would also like to do my best to be like Dr. Sang Hun Lee, by deeply and carefully studying and analyzing the Divine Principle. I have not yet reached the level of Dr. Lee in his love for Reverend Sun Myung Moon, whom he knows as his father to his bone marrow.

2. What part of the Divine Principle most impressed you?

The Divine Principle is not just another of the many books that people can read for the cultivation of their hearts and minds. Nor are the terms in that book familiar to people. Yet its contents are very moving. However, what was most moving to me was the point that God is the Parent of all humankind, and how I came to understand His heart and circumstances.

Due to the deviation of humankind, God could not fulfill His original plan. Knowing God's situation, the fact that He has been leading the providence of restoration, is too painful for me. I am overwhelmed beyond description by the fact that countless people had to come and go since the creation, during a long, long course of waiting until God could restore His children who left Him. I feel the same way over the fact that no one knew His situation throughout the many thousands of years, and that He had to endure with incredible tension and anxiety whenever a providential figure was chosen. As the Parent of humankind, both sinful and good human beings are equally His children. If so, how aching it must have been for God, who has anxiously awaited His children's return? Further, since the fall of Archangel, sins have multiplied astronomically. Nevertheless, how must God have felt when He had to remain helpless, unable to intervene? How could He ever have tolerated such indignation and grief? Even thinking of it makes my heart throb.

However, we are now in the Last Days, and a new era has been proclaimed. The archangel Lucifer has returned to his original position. Now the head of the providence of restoration is God Himself, and He is indeed the Commander and the King of all humanity. Now what remains for us is to finish everything that is yet undone, to live with God, to attend God as our Parent, and to make a plan for the future.

Now we are standing in the correct position, no longer in a position where we need to be restored. How lucky we are to be chosen for that position! What a good environment we are now in! We should erase all anger, grudges and grievances. Putting those behind us, we should attend God, who has been living with all manner of difficult feelings, and make Him happy. For this, we should discuss all matters with God all the time and live a life in which we can naturally experience that He is our Parent.

God does not ask for much. All He wants is for us to maintain the relationship of parent and child. God desires to live together and experience joy together with His children. When His children eat, God wants to join them. If His children eat porridge, God wants to eat it too. If His children are not feeling well or are sad, God wants to be there with them, ready to discuss things with the object partners of His heart. That is the very parent-child relationship. When the parents are away from home, their children wait for them to return. When the children have gone to work, their parents wait for their return. It is a normal life, but such a relationship of heart is very important and precious. It is this relationship of heart that was disconnected and needs to be restored. Now we must protect it and firmly keep it.

At this point, however, we must remember the most important thing. Even if the relationship between God and human beings has been restored, many thousands of years of sinful history have already passed. As remnants of that long history, there still remain many evil people with sins and crimes, with attitudes of narrow denominationalism, and with remnants of the nature of the fallen archangel. We must understand this. When worms are eating our flowers or vegetables, we need to apply an organic pesticide. Otherwise, we will not be able to appreciate the beauty of the flowers or enjoy fresh vegetables. We should do that job ourselves. What should we do? We should become good caretakers, clearly knowing what portion is to be cut, what portion is to be tied down and so forth. If good plants are mixed with weeds, they will become infested with weeds. So we should not mix with evil people, just as good plants should not be harmed and made unwholesome by worms. No matter what, we should protect and keep our position straight. We should never present a scattered or loose appearance in front of God.

When we do this, those who cling to their separate religion or race and those with remnants of the angelic nature will be restored, and our eternal God will settle as our Parent. That is the day when true peace will reign for all humanity and God's world will be realized.

Dear earthly people, can you do it? Followers of Confucianism, can you do it? Let us resolve and pledge together for this purpose. Let us stand on the frontline to build God's nation. Let us shout cheers of victory for our eternal God, our Parent, at the top of our lungs, so that all remnants of evil will run away from those voices and echoes exalting God. God is our Parent! God is my Father! God is my Mother! All hail!

Heavenly Father, please listen to these echoes of Confucius. Amen, Amen, Amen.

February 24, 2001

3. What part of the Divine Principle is incomprehensible or problematic to you?

Overall, the Divine Principle is rather complex and difficult to understand. However, if you pay attention to it, your mind will open and ignorance will be expelled. Then your comprehension will grow through a mysterious principled power, just as with practice math problems are smoothly solved. I do not think that these are long-term problems, but some parts are hard to understand. They are as follows:

First, although God is the Creator and Master of all things, why are there a number of occasions upon which He could not do things as He pleased? When Adam and Eve were in a crisis after the fall, why could God not scold them more severely? Why couldn't He interfere with them so that they would have avoided committing the fall? Then human beings would not have suffered this much, nor would God have needed to go through such pain.

Another point is that in "The Advent of the Messiah and the Purpose of His Return," it says that there was a three-hour period of darkness immediately after Jesus' death on the cross that expressed God's profoundly aching heart. But why? Had God's will been fulfilled through the crucifixion, God would not have needed to feel pain. Nor would Jesus have needed to return, since his will was realized through the cross.

And in Part II, I can see that God is leading a dispensation of restoration in incredible ways through the parallels of history. But I could not understand clearly why God had to let people walk a parallel path when many providential figures failed to fulfill their responsibility. During the course of the providence of restoration in parallels, if He wants people to fulfill their responsibility, rather than letting them make a mistake, could He not have led them more strongly? If God is omnipotent, why did He have to wait so patiently for many thousands of years?

[Dr. Lee] Such questions were raised not only by Confucius, but also by others among the four major religious founders. One day, Buddha asked Jesus a question during the seminar: "What were the twelve disciples doing before you were crucified?" Jesus replied: "Had they believed in me as the Messiah one hundred percent, they would not have scattered like that. They only followed me because they were amazed by my signs and miracles. But when the situation changed and it became difficult for me, they looked at me only from a humanistic viewpoint."

With Jesus' answer, Confucius realized that God's providence was prolonged because of the failure of human beings' to take responsibility for their mission. Yet he wondered why human intellect could reach only that level, and felt frustrated.

The fact that God created human beings as beings who have to perfect themselves during their immaturity, rather than as beings who are already perfected, bothered Confucius as well. Could God not do everything for them? Can the privileges granted human beings not extend that far? He wondered thus.

[Confucius] Anyhow, our seminar hours are serious, but interesting. But when we realized that God's dispensation has taken so many thousands of years totally due to human failures, we felt heartbroken. At the same time, we realized the value of the physical body. Since God sent Jesus as the Messiah, the people who should have received him were also God's children. Nevertheless, why could they not fulfill their responsibility, tying up human history like a tangled thread and prolonging the phrase, "restoration"? As human beings on Earth are the ones who can untangle the tangled history, if we take a wrong direction in our life, it will be as if we are throwing a stone at God. God is our eternal Parent, our Father and Mother. I hope that you will not create other histories that will be painful to Him.

4. What is your reflection on the Second Coming?

The idea of a Second Coming made my heart ache. Why do human beings need the Lord to return? If God's fundamental attribute is true love, the love that caused human beings to fall can be termed false love. All human beings desire true love, yet they are unable to explain the difference between true love and false love.

Before explaining about true love, let me first explain false love. Human beings are born from ancestors who possessed the original sin. No matter how devoted someone may be, his or her children and descendants are also born with the original sin. Therefore, we must first cleanse the original sin. However, this problem of lineage cannot be resolved simply because human beings want it to be so. It can be done only through God, through a person chosen by God, after making certain indemnity conditions. Only the person who is approved and anointed by God can resolve that problem.

That particular person is the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Long preparations were made for him to be chosen. And until he was recognized as the Messiah who was to come, he had to undergo a course of incredible suffering, including imprisonment. Despite many tribulations, he offered the Divine Principle as we entered the Completed Testament Age, just as the Old Testament and the New Testament were presented in earlier ages.

The Divine Principle is the gospel for the Completed Testament Age, a jewel-like textbook that teaches formulas and principles of life. Everyone should read it. Please read it carefully. It contains some homework for all people to complete while on Earth. The Divine Principle was not written by ordinary study, research and rational deduction. Reverend Moon traveled throughout the spirit world and discussed many things with God. He also fought bloody battles with Satan and discovered truths after gaining victory over him. How could anyone write a book like this with human ability alone? Again, I recommend that you read it with care. Those with ears to hear will gain wisdom and find an awakening.

Reverend Moon walked a path of unbelievable indemnity, going beyond the cross to become victorious as God's anointed. He cleansed false love and is guiding humanity to the original state that God desired for us. Perhaps earthly people might not be able to understand this. This is so because the differences between a true person and a false person are invisible to people on earth. But consider: how do we differ from Jesus? We are all human beings, but Jesus is the Messiah who was sent by God. Due to human ignorance, his people did not receive him even in his own hometown. Rejected, he was unable to exercise his complete power as the Messiah. Reverend Sun Myung Moon is one anointed to fulfill the mission that Jesus was unable to complete.

Look at the providence of God, who has been leading the history of the providence through parallel ages. How patiently He had to wait for the proper time to send the Messiah in order to cleanse the original sin and restore human beings to God as His children. Thinking of this, please study the book thoroughly. Now, if you attend the anointed one sent by God and participate in the Blessing, the most precious of all of the events he conducts, your original sin will be removed and from there a new world will be disclosed to you. You too can become the center of God's providence of restoration. Can you distinguish true love from false love? If you cannot understand, pray repeatedly. If you just sit and wait, you will drift away from God's providence.

March 1, 2001

5. As the founder of Confucianism, what do you think of
the Divine Principle?

At the time of God's creation, human beings desired to live with God-centered ideas while attending Him. However, due to the human fall, their relationship with God was severed. Time flowed on and history continued centered on fallen human beings. However, although there was a breakdown between God and human beings, they remained imperfect but with an original mind always thirsting for someone on whom they could depend, even if that someone was not the original God who created the universe. Without that, there could have been no way for them to be saved. Through their original mind, human beings, created as God's children, had a way to return to the bosom of God.

Although Satan tempted human beings by cunning, he cannot change their basic identity. That identity is their privilege as God's children. As the founder of Confucianism, to put it simply, the Unification Principle is a gospel, a book that guides human beings to the way of salvation. I do not think that there exist any other books that are greater than this book. From the Principle of Creation to the Second Advent, I carefully read, listened and reflected upon every chapter. As a person who left many books on Earth, I could not help it as feelings of astonishment, passion, emptiness, perplexity and shame passed through me.

All I can think of is that this Divine Principle is not a book that could have been written by human ability alone. I even came to have a humanistic thought: "How many precious books could I have written had I realized even part of the contents in this book?" There was no part that did not impress me, but the Principle of Creation, the point on the dual characteristics in particular, stunned me so deeply that I was dumbstruck a number of times. God is so systematic and simple. He did not guide human beings into complications. As our Parent and Master, God created human beings and all things as the expression of Himself in a thoughtful and organized fashion and system, but human beings do not know it.

[Dr. Lee] During the lecture on God's dual characteristics, Confucius thought that the Principle lecturer was intoxicated with himself, bragging about his knowledge and scientific theories. However, as he continued to listen to lectures, he came to understand God's providence for humankind, and his heart was filled with tears of woe, feeling grief and sorrow for God.

[Confucius] How could God, who created human beings and all things with a desire to experience joy and happiness from His object partners, endure the pain and loneliness? That is not all. In the creation, there is nothing that does not exist in pairs, but who is God's object partner? We in the position of His children have been distant from Him, living as strangers. That is not all. I feel saddened by the fact that whether yesterday or today, most earthly people are living aimless lives. We, the substantial objects of God, are living in ignorance of our Creator and His reality.

On Earth, there are many followers of Confucius. The common agony of the four major religious founders, Jesus, Confucius, Buddha and Muhammad, is how to awaken and educate earthly people. No matter how much we explain, they do not believe, but react with suspicion and doubt. However, God's will to save humankind has not changed. Today in the Completed Testament Age, which is beyond the Old Testament Age and New Testament Age, things that never happened in the past are being realized in reality. On Earth, people are still divided into different religions and denominations, but here in the spirit world, the four major religious founders and Saint Augustine are attending the Divine Principle seminar every day, concentrating on the restoration of earthly people. Yet still, people on earth do not pay attention to it. Nor is the earnest message of Buddha, filled with agony and compassion, so helpful to earthly people. Nevertheless, as the founder of a religion, and as a person in charge of a religion, I am sincerely petitioning my beloved followers to listen to my message so that they might not have difficulty upon their arrival in the spirit world.

[Dr. Lee] I often see Buddha in tearful prayers. The common concern of the four major religious founders is how they can take responsibility for their own religion. Yet since they lost their physical bodies, they cannot do as much as they desire to do.

[Confucius] As the founder of Confucianism, what should I request? The only wish of the four major religious founders is for people to live as God originally desired human beings to live, under the same ideal of God. Therefore, I wish that my followers would study the Unification Principle without any prejudice, just as they studied my life and books. The Buddha is petitioning his followers with the same desperate heart.

The four major religious founders feel agony and inner conflicts over the inability of earthly people who cannot transcend old-fashioned ideas and thoughts. Along with the flow of time, civilization is tremendously developed, and people can now travel anywhere as if they were neighbors. Nevertheless, why is people's love for God so prejudiced and outdated? I am saddened by earthly people and feel heartbroken. My dear followers, I have a request for you. Would you grant my wish? If so, please thoroughly read Buddha's message. That is my request for you.

March 12, 2001

6. How would you like to introduce the Divine Principle
to your followers?

God and human beings are in a father and child relationship. That relationship of father and child is destined. It is beyond condition or reason. It is unconditional. Whether joyful, happy, sad or lonely, a father and child share the same feelings together.

Children should pay attention to their parents-where they are living, how they are doing, if they are hungry, if they are suffering some hardship, if they are healthy, and so forth. That is the minimum duty of children towards their physical parents. God is our Creator and Parent. Nevertheless, our relationship with Him has been disconnected for so long. Instead, a false parent acted in His stead. For ages we lived a life of ignorance, trapped by Satan. However, we human beings should know that all this time God has been trying to restore our relationship with Him as parent and child. Finally, God has been crowned as the King before all humanity and stands as the Parent of all humanity. Even so, God is still not free due to the environment and the nations that are not prepared to receive Him.

Only a few will be able to understand what I am talking about. I think that Exposition of the Divine Principle is the book to save all humankind. I left many books behind, but none of them can save the human spirit. The Divine Principle is not susceptible to human analysis. It contains heavenly secrets that were long hidden by God. Reverend Sun Myung Moon revealed them through his life-risking journeys between the spirit world and physical world. If you read it casually, it will be difficult for you to understand it.

My followers know that my books are too difficult for the public to read and understand. Nevertheless, they study them, analyze them and interpret them. They may be helpful for life on earth, but there is not even one verse that can guide you in your life after death and help you take responsibility for it.

Simply speaking, your life on Earth is temporary and transient, but your life here in the spirit world is an eternal heavenly path. If this is so, rather than studying books that are helpful and comforting for your earthly life, would it not be far better for you to study books that can prepare you for your eternal life? I did not know anything about the other life, and therefore could not do anything about it. Since I was so ignorant about it, how could I? What a foolish man I was! Earthly people who follow the teachings of Confucianism with respect and reverence, please be serious about the point that I am now making.

God is our Parent, and we are His children. If anyone thinks that there is a greater truth than that, go for it. Yet, the other life is eternal, and we were created to live in that eternal world, attending Him. That is God's truth and the fundamental teaching of the Divine Principle. Please keep this in mind.

March 13, 2001

7. What is your impression of Reverend Sun Myung Moon,
and what is your understanding about him?

Who is Reverend Sun Myung Moon? To earthly people in the flesh, who see him with their physical eyes, he appears as an ordinary man. They will be unable to notice much that is different about him. However, if they knew all things about the spirit world, the Earth would have become the Kingdom of Heaven already.

I would like to praise him highly and inform earthly people who he is. Yet what can I do with my empty feeling? Still, each of us promised one another to do our best, so that we would not be accused for failing to fulfill our responsibility.

Dear earthly people, religious believers, atheists! Your life on earth is not eternal. Your current life is only momentary. When you wake up from your dream, as the dawn arrives, you will see this world is like a dream you have for one night. Once I tasted the eternal world and looked at the Earth, I felt as if my life there was laughable and foolish. Please wake up from your temporary world and listen to the message of Confucius.

Reverend Sun Myung Moon lives as you are, in the flesh. Yet we witnessed how God moves with him. Whenever Reverend Moon moved, the light of God poured upon his seat. The light was so bright that we often could not keep our eyes open. However, earthly people cannot experience this, and therefore he just focuses on giving his words. Every time Reverend Moon moves, God covers him with incredible light, sometimes becoming one, sometimes becoming two. At times we can see only light and are unable to see him, but we can hear him.

One day, we saw him in prayer before the public. Splendid rays of God's blood and sweat shone upon him. Those tears and blood dripped onto the seats of the audience, transforming whomever it touched, draping them with white robes and making them dance as angels while they were exiting. Then, the bloody throne of God and Reverend Moon's precious body became totally one, with only the one desire of saving all humankind, and each drop of their sweat and blood penetrated our hearts as if stabbing us with a knife. Do earthly people know this? We witnessed it when he was praying in the hall at the United Nations. Dear earthly people, I, Confucius, personally witnessed it. God has shown me Reverend Moon's thorough thoughtfulness for God's will on countless occasions.

What good are denominations? Once we have met the great teacher, the true teacher, the true parent, shouldn't we live with him? And once coming to this world, the spirit world, we are to live with God. That is the original purpose of God's will for our life.

Wise religious believers are people who do not live only for the short span of life on Earth, but people who study the eternal world and are preparing for it. Please discard your outdated thoughts and accept the new truth. That is the shortcut to the Kingdom of Heaven.

March 15, 2001

8. What are your plans for the future?

As a person who came to know the Divine Principle and the will of God, there is only one way. I would like to attend God as my Parent and fulfill my duty as a child. How can I fulfill that? Attending God cannot be done only by rational intellect. I would like to attend Him as if I actually lived together with Him. I would go and visit Him in His room every day and greet Him in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and at night.

When I was living on the Earth, had I realized that I should attend God as my Parent, I would have left behind many good books of which I would not be ashamed, and many people would have learned the truth. I missed such a precious opportunity. I was truly ignorant. However, I have come to understand it now, and would like to focus only on this way. Also, I would like to cooperate with earthly people as much as I can. Unfortunately, their views are so old-fashioned. How can I open the tightly closed door of someone's mind? That is a most serious question.

The life of Confucius included struggles with poverty. I was attached to considering the moral and ethical norms by which people should walk, and I also endeavored to live by them. Yet I was not closed-minded to the truths that others possessed. Now the truth of the eternal world has been taught to all people, and also various fields have been revealed through the blood-stained efforts of Dr. Sang Hun Lee. Even if it does not sound real to you, it is only right for you believers to pay attention and study it. If you are obstinate about your own views, it is nothing but arrogance, and you will be unable to escape your own boundaries. If those boundaries are too high and too strong, you will be confined by them and shrouded in their shadows and will not be able to see the bright light on the outside. Open the curtains that have covered the windows and look at the splendid sunlight that is dawning in the east. The rays of sunlight will congratulate you like a rainbow and embrace you.

As did Dr. Sang Hun Lee, Confucius would like to reveal facts about the lives of scholars in the spirit world. Yet as it is only my personal hope, I will not do it. Visiting here and there, I wish I could teach people how to live with God as their Parent. It would be such a happy life.

Although I am unqualified and unworthy, I would like to tell people to study and analyze the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the Divine Principle. I would like to be able to teach more people in a more effective way, by becoming a person of the Principle.

Although I do not think that Reverend Moon would approve of me doing it, and further, there are numerous professionals from the Unification Church in this field-nevertheless, if I were asked what I would most like to do, my answer would be to become a Divine Principle lecturer. It is so because Divine Principle is the foundation for everyone and points the direction for everyone to take in the eternal world.

I do not know God's plan for me. I now know that God is our Parent and Father. And through the Divine Principle, I also came to know the direction of my life. What other plan could I want? There can be only one way. And yet, even I now realize that I have something to do, pioneering a barren field that can contribute to God.

9. What would you like to tell earthly people?

I wish to say that in the light of the new truth, everyone should take a humble attitude as a genuine believer and have his or her own encounter with God.

10. How do you feel after having been blessed?

On Earth, the term "blessing" is commonly used when you enjoy good luck. Here the term means something totally different. Simply speaking, it means marriage. However, it still sounds unusual to hear of the Blessing given to people in the Spirit World.

Today, Confucius would like to speak to earthly people not as a person who believes in Confucianism. The time given us is extremely precious. It will never return.

On earth, many people marry. When they are not happy with their marriage, they separate. That is the common view of marriage. I said clearly that the term Blessing refers to marriage. Had human beings not fallen during their period of growth, as children of God they were to have received a marriage benediction from Him. They would have attended God as the officiator of the ceremony. However, due to their wrong beginning, which was marked by them marrying each other on their own, God could not officiate their wedding ceremony. So although on earth they could be a couple, in the eternity of the Spirit World they could not. They became strangers to each other [here in the Spirit World].

Therefore, I want you to clearly remember that marriages on Earth do not last eternally in the Spirit World. It is ironic that people spend enormous amounts of money for a ceremony that begins only a temporary marriage.

Here, what does the Blessing mean? Since you are living on earth in the flesh, you are not only limited by time and space, but you also think of saving face or checking others' mood so as not to hurt their feelings. Thus you must be cautious about everything that you do. Regardless, I cannot help but be honest in sharing everything, since this is such a precious opportunity given to me.

Reverend Sun Myung Moon not only blessed the four major religious founders, but also Saint Augustine. Their wives are now living on earth. Can believers accept this? If you do not, what can I do? The four major religious founders are united in support of what Reverend Moon is doing. We now announce to the people on earth that Reverend Moon directed us to convene a seminar of the four great religious founders. Unlike at a formal seminar, we are gathered together like family members enjoying the study of the Divine Principle. It is painful that we have no place on earth with which to cooperate. It is because people are stubborn, attached to their own beliefs and faiths.

Reverend Moon is walking his path despite his old age, shedding bloody tears and sweat in his final years of dedication for humankind. Dear earthly people, what then shall we do? Everyone should receive Reverend Moon's blessing. Then those couples can dwell in the eternal place. They can live together, loving each other for eternity, together with God as their Parent.

Dear people on Earth! If you truly want to remain as a couple with eternal love, think again. If you are wandering within your own boundaries, the Kingdom of Heaven will have nothing to do with you. Listen to Reverend Moon's messages. He is crying out to you, burning his last ounce of energy in a bright light, in order to break down the walls that separate us from one another and to make us one in love. Confucius, who was blessed by him here in the Spirit World, is sending you this message with an earnest heart.

March 26, 2001

11. What part of the Divine Principle would you most like to lecture?

I listened to Divine Principle lectures a number of times, because each time my reception and understanding was different, depending on the internal preparations and conditions that I made. If you study or listen to the Divine Principle with the purpose of receiving a particular bit of knowledge, it may be stimulating to your mind but it will not be helpful at all for your spiritual growth.

I experienced many things while studying it and listening to it. Let me give you some examples. One day, Mr. Eu was immersed in giving a lecture on the incorporeal world in the Principle of Creation. In the middle of the lecture, I saw a vision in which Mr. Eu was gone, and instead Reverend Moon was standing there, perspiring. Each drop of his sweat transformed into blood and dripped from his forehead. That blood was flowing onto the ground, and people who were passing by wailed at that blood and prayed. This shocked me. Then, I saw Mr. Eu giving the lecture again, but I could not listen to the lecture because I had such an aching heart. Touched by the attitudes of the Unification Church members who are desperate to convey the truth, I had to go through such torturous experiences a number of times.

Dear earthly people, you cannot understand or even imagine life here in the Spirit World. How can I become a Divine Principle lecturer? Who could imitate the endeavors and efforts of the Unification Church members? I feel that I am so far away from them in my level of heart.

Let me give you one more example. During the seminar, Dr. Sang Hun Lee posed a question to the four major religious founders and Saint Augustine. "Earthly people remember you as ones who made great contributions to the world. If you could return to earth, what is the first thing that you would do?" No one opened his mouth. Or rather, no one could, because from his serious and heavy facial expression, we knew that the purpose of his question was not to evoke our answers. Dr. Lee's appearance was so sad that we could not even look straight at his face. Again and again he was so astonished and moved, and we could not tell his real feelings. His voice was always wet with tears and he could not recover from fatigue. You might wonder, why does he live such a difficult life in a place as beautiful as this? Yet from his expression I could see that he just could not take a rest, being too anxious about reality.

Phenomena in the Spirit World are invisible to the eyes of earthly people, but they are real and substantial. When Dr. Lee was living on the Earth, Reverend Moon taught him, but he did not fully believe it. So he now feels responsible to let people know about the Spirit World and prove it to be real, especially while Reverend Moon is still alive on the Earth. Nevertheless, countless earthly people still treat it as if it were a story in a dream. Even Dr. Lee, when he arrived in the Spirit World, was agonized and surprised to learn that it is real. This made him feel sorry and regretful that he was not the filial son that he wanted to be. Thus, he worries incessantly about how he can let earthly people know this truth.

Then he appealed to us: "Can you accept me as I am? I was a son who violated the heart of the Parents of Heaven and Earth, committing many impious sins. And now, even if I may be thrown into the fire like grass, I want to go the way of filial piety. Please help me."

We religious founders just kept silent as we watched him praying in tears. We often witnessed such scenes. Truly, Dr. Sang Hun Lee made us ache in our hearts. His life itself moved us even more than his lectures. His testimonies about how he could not help changing the direction of his life became great lessons for us.

Thus observing the lives of those who have been living with the Divine Principle all their lives, how could I dare say that I would like to become a Divine Principle lecturer? I know that not just anyone can become one.

[Dr. Lee] Then, is there any subject on which you would like to give a lecture?

[Confucius] I have a dream and hope. Since I encountered the new truth, I do want to be useful. I would like to give lectures on the Divine Principle in a unique style that is appropriate to me. Will that day ever come? I do not know. Until Reverend Moon comes to this world, I will do my best to study and prepare, so that I might demonstrate my first lecture before him. For this, I welcome your critiques. I have certain subjects about which I would like to give lectures, but they are confidential. I would like to thoroughly practice these lectures and offer them for Reverend Moon's inspection. I would like to learn all the valuable lessons I can and share true love with humanity.

March 27, 2001

12. What do you think about the many books you wrote on the Earth?

Of the questions Dr. Sang Hun Lee gave me, this is the one I want least to answer. It is so because all the books I wrote cannot help people after they arrive in this world. Whenever I published a book, it contained my philosophy. It was not easy to create it. However, as has been repeated several times, I did not deeply understand the relationship between God and human beings, and so I could not write about it in my books.

People cannot come to the Spirit World with the knowledge, money, or power that they accumulated on Earth. What is most important to God is the result we brought, including how we lived, for what we lived, the life of faith we led and so forth, in the position of His child.

I do not believe that my leaving many books that promote human knowledge and intellect makes me a good child of God. Yet as the founder of a religion and one of the four major religious founders, it is true that God treats me, Confucius, very well. It seems that God graciously considers that my life benefited humanity. While I did not deny God, one thing that I am ashamed of is that I did not attain the idea that God and human beings are in the relationship of parent and child, and are connected through heart in that special relationship. I am ashamed that I could not leave even one book that teaches this. The common point of the four great religious founders, other than Jesus, is that they did not teach the relationship of parent and child between God and human beings. Thus they caused Him to walk an even lonelier path.

When in the flesh, I focused mainly on how to live a good physical life. I failed to prepare people for the Spirit World and how they should live there. I did not write any books about preparation for life in the Spirit World, and that pains me greatly.

Each second of time I have to give you for this report is so precious. Therefore, I would like to convey a valuable message, whether to those who follow my religion or others.

My concern is how earthly people will respond to my message. Nothing like this has happened in history. We are now entering a wonderful time and environment after the Coronation Ceremony for the Kingship of God brought us past the Old Testament Age and the New Testament Age. The problem is that people on earth do not yet know this. They should be grateful for the blessing that is being bestowed upon them through a woman on earth. She is serving as a medium to reveal heavenly secrets that introduce them to the new era. In this new era, God and human beings can be united in a relationship of oneness like that of parent and child. God so loves the world, and this woman is letting the world understand the direction of God's providence at this time. Heaven and Earth can become one and realize the ideal that was originally intended. I would like to take this opportunity that might not come again, to share this message even if people on earth do not believe me.

The books left by Confucius are valuable to earthly people, but they are useless when people come to this world. This is a world where only those who are prepared to live in the eternal world can meet me. Therefore, dear earthly people, followers of Confucianism, if you truly appreciate the books written by Confucius, please find the book that will prepare you for the eternal world. I request this of you. This is a place where everyone without exception has to come. This is a writing given to earthly people by Confucius.

March 29, 2001

13. What would you like to do if
you could return to Earth?

I have no desire to go back to live on Earth. This is so because I have now found an eternal haven where I can live attending God as my Parent. What else can be greater than this?

I know that it is not what Dr. Sang Hun Lee is trying get from me, so I will be serious in answering his question.

The greatest happiness in this eternal world is to live with God, attending Him as my Parent. For this purpose, Reverend Sun Myung Moon is striving on earth to save humankind from sins and crimes. He wants to transform this world into the world of peace through a movement of true love. This will extend from the physical life to the Spirit World, thus ultimately leading everyone to the original homeland. However, people living in hell or low spiritual realms do not know this. In order to fulfill this purpose and direction, the Spirit World is very active. Knowing the Divine Principle and God's purpose and direction, we are to march forward in this direction as well.

For this, we four great religious founders have gone beyond our own past ways of life and titles. Our concern is to work hard to fulfill God's will and purpose. Are there not different denominations? There certainly are. During the procession of the Buddha, Buddhists carry on an enormous amount of activity. Yet the Buddha does not want it. Still, in order to restore them, he educates them while treating them with kindness. Since we are not yet in the position where we can attend God properly, we also face difficulties, as do earthly people.

However, all four major religious founders are united as one. Through what are they united? They are united through a teaching, the truth. Although activities in the Spirit World are not easy, it is wonderful that the four major religious founders are united as one. It was possible only because of the special thoughtfulness of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. He is the one who gave us the Blessing and opened our way to the new truth.

Thus, although I cannot return to the Earth in a physical body, if I could, I am sure there are things that I would like to do. I would like to praise and exalt the Lord. Although Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey, instead of using a donkey, I would like him to use me to carry him on my back, dancing around and traveling throughout Asia. I would like to throw a huge feast upon our arrival in China, our last destination.

Confucius would like to be recognized by the Lord as the greatest lecturer of the Divine Principle and Unification Thought. I would memorize all of the contents. I would like to realize this dream both on earth and in Spirit World. I would like to toil hard for the fulfillment of God's will on Earth.

In summary, human beings attain their goals through all kinds of means and methods, but even if they do, that success is useless once they come here. Other than the life of attending God, nothing is useful. Once earthly people know this path, life on earth will not need to be complex with many paths. Accepting the truth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon revealed, if you live in accordance with it, you will come straight here. Given that life on earth is not eternal, why do you choose such a complicated life? Life is simple if you attend God as your Parent and follow His truth. My request is bold. It is so because I am confident. I hope that earthly people with wisdom will make the right choice.

April 2, 2001

Part III:
Messages from the Principals at the Seminar

1. Jesus' Message to Christians and All People on Earth

Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, is using this opportunity to send this new message to people on Earth, including the Jews who are still waiting for the coming of the Messiah. Whether Christian or non-Christian, people know my name, Jesus.

The heart of Jesus who is sending this message to the Earth is complex and perplexing. I feel sad that I cannot summarize and convey my message in a few words. In particular, I know that Christians will doubt the message rather than believe it. However, as a person who came to the Earth with the mission of saving the world as the Messiah in the New Testament Age, since the time to reveal the truth has arrived, I am telling you the truth before Heaven and Earth.

I came to Earth with the mission from God to be the Messiah. In the Bible I could not reveal all of the conflicts between the religious believers and non-believers in those days. In fact, there are many providential matters that the Bible does not reveal. With the flow of each providential age, God could not avoid changing His immediate plan. I am revealing clearly a part of this hidden providential content to the numerous clergy who have been waiting for the Lord's return.

God created human beings to need a physical body during their earthly life. Once they lose it, they go to the Spirit World and live there for eternity. Dear saints who are waiting for my return, why don't you pay attention to the fact that God gives dual prophecies in the Bible [blessings for those who follow His will, curses for those who disobey His will]? I came to Earth as the Messiah in the New Testament Age. What do you think is the meaning of the crucifixion? Do you really think that it was God's will from the beginning, or could it have been the result of human error? Have you thoroughly studied my life? I certainly came with the mission of the Messiah, yet I lived eating and sleeping like any other man on Earth. Even though I lived as an ordinary human being, my mission as the Messiah was unique. To state the conclusion, the way of redemption through my crucifixion was not God's original intention.

Dear Christians and all people on Earth, please pray over this matter while fasting. Then I will appear to you and clearly tell you the truth. When you do it, you should be totally focused on praying with a pure heart. Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the one who came to Earth to complete my mission that was not fulfilled through the redemption of the cross. He comes as the True Parent to conclude God's providence in the Completed Testament Age.

I came with the mission of the Messiah in the New Testament, but people at that time crucified me. That is why there remained a task for God to fulfill, and the necessity of a Second Coming. The Messiah in the New Testament Age brought salvation to people in the spirit. Still, history continued with the homework of physical salvation remaining to be fulfilled. Wandering in the alleys of grievance, suffering, sorrow and pain, God endured endless tension and pressure while He waited to send the Messiah again to Earth. After separating good and evil in order to prepare his lineage, God could send Reverend Sun Myung Moon.

You know where I was born; it was in a manger. Do you know what the heart of Mary was like at that moment? Dear fellow Christians, could you easily understand it from reading the Bible? Have you not struggled over some incomprehensible events or insoluble questions? How could you understand my heart, when I could not fully reveal all the secrets of heaven? How could you understand the intricacies of the providence, when so much was not recorded in the Bible? Why was the womb of Mary, Joseph's fiancée, growing large? You cannot understand all the secrets that have been veiled during the providence of restoration. Since human beings are children of God, God cannot help but love them. It is also difficult for you to fathom the heart of God.

Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the returning Messiah for whom you have been waiting and waiting. He inherited my mission at the age of 16. Dear Christians, are you still looking up and waiting for Christ to return on the clouds? Reverend Moon travels throughout the world on the clouds. He is investing all of his heart and soul for the realization of world peace. Even today, although he is over 80 years old, he is fighting on the frontline.

Are you going to hang him on the cross again, like the Romans who persecuted me 2,000 years ago? Aren't you aware of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? God is love. He is waiting. Please receive the Messiah who has descended in the Completed Testament Age. Do not reject his achievements and his dispensation for the salvation of humanity. Pray with sincerity. I, Jesus, will be with you in your earnest prayers.

I sincerely wish that Christians would reflect deeply upon the circumstances when I, the Messiah of the New Testament Age, was crucified. I hope they pray about my life and about God's view on human salvation.

Think about the circumstances that I could not be married even though I was 33. Think of how my twelve disciples and I often went hungry. My life was filled with grievances. Christians surmise that everything that happened to me was the will of God. However, think whether there was any responsibility on the part of human beings. I came as the Messiah and the Son of Man. As the begotten Son of God, I did my very best to fulfill my messianic mission, but I could not fully accomplish my dreams and desires. Had my will been entirely fulfilled, would it be necessary for me to return?

Dear fellow Christians and religious believers, I am truly the Messiah. However, the one who returned to fulfill the messianic mission today is Reverend Sun Myung Moon. He is the Second Advent of the Lord. Think of the question John the Baptist asked me, when I was being hounded as a ringleader of heretics: "Are you the one who is to come?" How do you now see Reverend Moon? Think of the flow of time and examine the incredible achievements he has wrought. Could he do this by human power and ability alone?

Jesus who died physically cannot come back to physical life and appear to you. Human flesh is to return to the earth as dust, once it gives up the spirit. That is the truth and a heavenly law. Read again the Bible verse that states that people will rise from the tombs. God is the Author of science and mathematics as the Being of the Principle. The theory that a dead body that decomposed will be reassembled and float in the air assumes that God can do anything and everything. However, to have God violate His own Being is extremely contradictory! You cannot solve questions that way. Look at the world of nature. Look at the process of human growth and the design of human life. God and human beings are in a relationship of parent and child. You will have to experience the heart of God now, who has been leading the providence of salvation for humankind so patiently. What if you Christians could see me right now, sitting and talking with Buddha, whom you consider to be an idol worshipper? What would you think of me?

Dear fellow Christians, fellow Buddhists, and believers of various religions! The four great religious founders, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, and Mohammed, and saints such as Socrates, Augustine and others, have already held this seminar a number of times. Its theme is always the same: "God is the Parent of All Humankind." During the seminars, we are always studying the Divine Principle revealed by Reverend Moon. We analyze and discuss it in depth. That is the homework given us by God, who carefully observes all the activities of Reverend Moon on Earth. God has also directed that the major religious leaders in the spirit world unite and cooperate with earthly people for the salvation of humankind.

We religious founders have no barriers among us. We are united as one, through the Messiah who appears on Earth in the Completed Testament Age and gives rebirth to all humankind as the children of God. We are praying about and discussing how to create one world centered on God. The conflicts and confrontations often seen among religious people are resolved here in the spirit world. It took long time for this to happen, to persuade people to understand one ultimate truth: the Creator of human beings is God alone. Likewise, in order to bring peace on Earth, it will be necessary to break down the barriers among all religions on Earth.

Earthly leaders of each religion should discuss the commonalities and differences among their different faiths. Together they should choose the strongest points from each, while showing the virtue of humility before others. Would non-believers not be guided in the right direction by following their example? I hope that all religious followers, especially Christians, can unite as one, and that I can meet them all in one place.

The fact that Jesus from Bethlehem in Judea could send a message to earthly people is due to the benefit of the age wrought with the arrival of the Completed Testament Age. Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the master of this era because he is the Messiah of the Second Coming.

What will you do with him? Are you going to put him on the stand for judgment? Are you going to hang him, as I was hung 2,000 years ago? Are you willing to pray and fast about this? I hope that you will make a wise decision as a religious follower. I send this message to earthly people with a desire to teach people about my responsibility as Jesus, the Messiah of the New Testament Age.

April 5, 2001

2. The Buddha's Message to Buddhists and Believers in Other Religions

I would like to send a last message to religious people on Earth, especially to Buddhists. As was mentioned by Jesus, as the representatives of each major religion, we four religious founders are making efforts for world peace and the salvation of humankind. This may not be comprehensible to earthly people. In the spirit world, the four major religious founders and other saints and sages are often gathered together for seminars, where we have no confrontations or conflicts with each other.

Before coming to the seminars, we were individually educated in the Divine Principle and other subjects, having attended several workshops. Was it easy to create such a gathering of the founders of religions? It was possible only after many prayers and special conditions, with thorough and repeated reviews and analysis. Now through these seminars, we can discuss things as members of the same family. We have no conflicts based on religious prejudices. Whenever we are gathered for this purpose, God embraces us with a splendid light and slowly leaves us in a friendly atmosphere, joyfully looking at us.

Dear Buddhists, even Jesus testified that he came with a messianic mission in the New Testament Age. What I did was similar. According to the Bible, the Completed Testament Age is to arrive after the Old Testament Age and the New Testament Age. Whenever a certain providential period arrived, God led a new dispensation through a new central figure.

Although my path as the Buddha was not in the mainstream of God's providence, it is undeniable that I strove to guide people to goodness. Further, I believe that encouraging Buddhists to keep their celibacy while waiting for the right time to arrive was quite effective for their spiritual training and cultivation, even if it was not the direct way to God. From the perspective of Christian history, the time of the Buddha was like the Old Testament Age. It may be unfamiliar, but during that time the benefit of the age for human salvation could not go any further. Buddha lived on earth during that time period, and his teachings were quite influential.

Dear Buddhists, I am not saying that your way of life thus far has been wrong. Like Jesus, in my time I also did my best to guide humankind in the right direction. However, with the passing of time, the tasks needed for the salvation of humankind have changed. What I am trying to do is to engraft the fruit of Buddhists who were raised through my methods of spiritual cultivation. Please study the Unification Principle. You will find there a considerable number of truths that also flow through the teachings of Buddhism. Do not be immersed in old-fashioned ideas and concepts, but by accepting the new truth, engraft it to the truth of Buddhism. Then, I am sure that a wonderful passage of faith will open to you.

In this age Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the Buddha for whom you have been waiting. Make a special condition as a Buddhist at a shrine. It is time for you to be true to the highest standard of Buddhist integrity. Do not reject the new Buddha, who is to come in the Completed Testament Age. Do not reject his truth.

Demonstrate the virtue of compassion as practiced by numerous Buddhists who have cultivated their spirituality. Do not look for faults in others, but act with humility and prudence. What is truth? Depending on the historical era, the direction for human beings can change. Look at the world of nature. All things God created can change in color and size, depending on the environment, but the species remain the same. Who can quell the voice of the original mind, through which human beings are striving to lead a life of faith? However, depending on the sound of the voice of the original mind, the mode of human life varies, bringing different aspects of joy to God.

Therefore, do not be fixed on an old-fashioned idea. Expand the horizon of your ideas and views. If I told you Jesus and Buddha are getting along as brothers, you Buddhists would not believe me. However, I cannot help it. God wants us to work together as one. In your opinion, what would Jesus call Buddha? He calls him "Honored Buddha" with a smile and a soft voice, always being humble. Once Buddha speaks, he always responds positively, with a bright and cheerful expression, saying: "Yes, right," "That is correct," and "Let's do it."

Dear fellow Buddhists and Christians, as Heaven and Earth are united as one, bringing the world of peace, should the Earth not be united as well? Let us be unified by the new truth in this new era. Reverend Sun Myung Moon is leading the Completed Testament Age, and he is the Buddha to come. This is the conclusion drawn in these seminars of the four major religious founders. Let us now liberate God, by bringing oneness between Buddhism and Christianity.

April 6, 2001

3. Confucius' Message to Confucianists and All People on Earth

When human beings live in the flesh, in order to sustain their physical life they decide on certain norms and live within that boundary. Human beings did not know better, being limited by their physical senses. They tried to cope with problems within limited boundaries, by seeing and hearing what appeared to be reality. Although the four major religious founders thoroughly reveal the contents they learned in these seminars, since they are invisible to the eyes of earthly people, they cannot readily accept it as real.

However, the four major religious founders and other saints and sages here struggled more than anyone else for the salvation of humankind. Other than Jesus they may not be messiahs, but they willingly denied their physical comfort for the sake of humanity. Never taking life lightly, they are the ones who proclaimed the truth and sought to teach it to people, guiding them to a better life. Such are the individuals gathered together here. Even after they offered their physical body, they cared for and cherished their followers on Earth as themselves. Because they endeavored and toiled so hard to guide them to a better direction, they are qualified to attend these gatherings. As was already stated by Jesus and Buddha, the spirit world here is truly harmonious. Jesus introduced himself before the Buddhist participants and said: "Since we are gathered together, let us have worship in both the Christian way and the Buddhist way. And let us talk about our views on the life of faith." Likewise, Buddha offered a full bow to the Christians at the gathering and humbly said, "Thank you for giving me a chance to greet you." These two great founders then exhorted everyone to reconcile with each other despite some differences in their beliefs. Then some noise arose from a corner of that gathering. Jesus said in a gentle voice: "Dear brothers and sisters, we all are children of God and therefore brothers and sisters to each other. And it is time for us to show God harmony among us." The atmosphere calmed down and turned solemn. Then, God appeared as light. He swirled quietly in the beginning and later transformed the entire area into brightness. Everyone there was taken aback with surprise and mesmerized by its splendor. They did not know what to do.

During our seminars, God frequently demonstrated His thoughtfulness. I believe that such meetings will continue. We believe that through gatherings among the four great religious founders and other saints and sages, all power struggles among religions and denominations will disappear. Then the doors to the truth will open to all people from different backgrounds.

Dear Confucianists, how can I help you? In the world there are various races, religions, cultural backgrounds and customs that change depending on the situation. Despite that, all people have one thing in common: our human identity. Regardless of whether we are white, black, or yellow, once a person goes to a hospital, the method of treatment is identical for the same ailment. It is so because the human anatomic structure is does not vary with race. What does this mean? It means that we all have the same Creator. There is only one Creator, who is God. God is our Parent. If we attend Him, all will be well.

Nevertheless, why is everything so complicated? Ever since the wrong beginning of human history, different religions have arisen. The unification of religions is therefore necessary, and for this purpose God sent Reverend Sun Myung Moon to the Earth. He does not say that the religious doctrines taught by each religion are wrong, but presents one simple truth that everyone can unite with. Yet each religion still insists that their teaching alone is correct and the only right way. That is why things became so complicated. So I believe that we desperately need to yield to each other with a willingness to accept others. No matter how noisy it is on Earth, the representatives from the major religions are tightly bonded here. Bonded by what? There is only one truth. All of us have resolved that we will live with God, attending Him as our Parent. What then will my followers on Earth do? It is not difficult to guess.

Dear Buddhists! Your greatest teacher is attending God as the Parent of all humankind. God is your great Maitreya Buddha. Thus, you should no longer dwell in self-centeredness, but instead, examining your daily life on Earth, live in preparation for your future life here in the spirit world. Humankind is one people and one tribe. Reverend Sun Myung Moon was sent to attend only one God and teach His heavenly law. Find out what he is doing for human liberation, despite the fact that he is over 80.

Dear earthly people! The place you will dwell for eternity is here in the spirit world. Earthly life is nothing but a temporary training center. During the harvest time, only good grain will be stored. Thus you should live a mature life. Dear followers of Confucius, please consult the messages from Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, and other saints and sages, and make a wise decision for your future life.

April 7, 2001

4. Muhammad's Message for Muslims and People on Earth

When God created human beings, each individual was to be an object of joy to Him. However, against His original will, due to the fall of the first human ancestors, from the beginning human history flowed in a wrong direction. Races divided, religions arose, and different cultures developed depending on the living environment. Nevertheless, the Creator of all human beings is only one, God. How painful His heart must be when He looks at the divisions of humankind into many races, religions and cultures. God is the Parent of all humanity, but when He has to watch His children fighting everyday, arguing over who is right and who is wrong, how must He feel? Earthly people do not know the overall direction and flow of God's providence, nor the relationship between God and human beings, and that is why there has been no harmony among religions for a long time.

God is the Parent of humanity. If examined carefully, the original source of all doctrine or truth is one. What religion would teach people to revere evil. Although their methods might differ, their fundamental purpose is to pursue goodness, because God is the original being of absolute goodness and love, and every religion teaches about love.

Therefore, the fundamental teachings of each religion are quite similar. Now God's basic desires are to bring the truths and doctrines of all religions together and unite them as one. When it is done, God can finally rest. After countless days of waiting, God finally sent Reverend Sun Myung Moon for this purpose. Through him, the Unification Principle was revealed for the sake of the unification of all religions.

Dear Muslims, you too were born as children of God. I hope that you will unite in one thought. The reason is simple. The only God wants that unification. God at the time of Muhammad and God in this era is the same God, who is our unchanging Parent. Now is the time when we should be able to enjoy one brotherhood and realize world peace. God desires it all the time.

The possibility of world peace is remote without the unification of religions. Dear Muslims, Muhammad is petitioning you. Do not employ our own unique faith and doctrines to cause pain to other religious believers, but accept everyone with open arms and open hearts. By so doing, open doors to conversations on doctrines and join together. The four major religious founders have united in one thought and idea. Jesus accepted Buddha, and vice-versa. We personally experienced God who is rejoicing to see us at the same seminar. Through that experience, we resolved to remain united as one.

Reverend Sun Myung Moon came to the Earth in order to deliver God's will and to unite a divided and scattered humankind. He appears as the True Parent. I hope that my followers will also accept him with a humble attitude.

The one whom you have been attending is God. When you work with other religious believers after accepting God's love, both God and Muhammad will praise you.

And please read thoroughly the Unification Principle in a quiet place. Muhammad opened his heart all the way, after realizing from the seminar that its teaching is a true guide to human life. I know that you cannot do it overnight. However, if it is a path that everyone must go, I hope that none of you will fail in choosing the right and straightest way for your life.

April 9, 2001

5. Message of Socrates to Intellectuals

After the senators in Athens betrayed me, I often thought that it would have been nice if human life could have been valued and cherished more than my theories that so disturbed the citizens. Human life should not be judged by what is visible. Even the smallest creature was created with the loving care of God's hands. If so, how precious and valuable human beings must be as children created with all of God's heart and soul, the masterpieces of all creation!

Although created as children of God, human beings have lived without knowing it. Think of the relationship between parents and children on Earth. When they are apart from each other, how much do they long with aching hearts to see each other? Parents and children should live in happiness, sharing love and conversation in the same family. Even God desires to live like that. God, the Creator of human beings, is the original source of love and heart itself. Yet since the creation, due to the wrong direction the first human ancestors took, the relationship between God and human beings has been severed. Under those circumstances, what has been the heart of God?

Dear intellectuals! You know Socrates is a man who was betrayed by the jury in Athens. The pain and sorrow that I experienced from that injustice was indescribable. After coming to God, however, I discovered Someone who was mistreated more than me, bearing more chagrin and grievances. It is because human beings did not know their relationship with God. What could be more grievous, lamentable and unfair? Human beings have not known their own Parent, nor the love by which He has been dearly caring for them, nor the pain He has had to endure for so long as He waited for His children to return. When I realized this, my sorrow was beyond words.

Dear intellectuals! Between parents and children, is there boasting about knowledge and academic position? The most important thing to us is to restore and maintain the parent and child relationship. Its value is greater than the discovery of any academic theories. Would Socrates not know how important it is for human beings, especially intellectuals, to have a position in worldly society? Regardless, remember that attending your Parent well is so important. In fact, it cannot be compared with anything else. What else could be needed other than God? When we say, "God is my Parent and I am His child," it means that the relationship bonded in blood lineage bestows the greatest position.

Dear intellectuals! Physical bodies are required only during earthly life. So it is with your knowledge and academic position. Therefore, even in preparing to register here for your future life, you need to be equipped with inner knowledge. Being so ignorant, while intoxicated by your academic skill, if you suddenly separate from your flesh body, where will your spirit go? This is a serious matter to consider. Remember that another world definitely exists, and your spirit will live there for eternity.

Accordingly, unprepared spirits cannot stay here. Have you ever seen beggars on the street? Lacking their own home, they stay anywhere on the streets. Likewise, you should prepare your haven in the spirit world. External knowledge and academic status were important to me during my earthly life, but more than these I pursued human beings' inner spiritual life and the truth of philosophy.

You cannot imagine how much time I invested for this. Since I unceasingly sought human beings' inner truth, not the momentary life on earth, I was granted this position as the representative of all intellectuals and people who prize reason above all. How can there not be awards given for the conscious endeavors one makes to come to the eternal world? The fruit of your hard work, effort and investment is born here, in the dwelling place of eternal happiness.

I had to pass numerous tests before I could send this message. What were they? Here in this world as on Earth, people have various ways of life. As on Earth there are also many different religious entities. One day I attended a seminar for intellectuals, during which I listened to a lecture on the Divine Principle with the theme: "The Path for Intellectuals to Go." I encountered a new truth, one that was awakening me to the fundamentals of life. Yet since I was being transformed into a new person so drastically, my pride was hurt. Many times I shook my head, trying to deny the new truth that I was hearing. I also hoped that it was not true. Then, when I discovered from where such an incredible truth originated, conflicts and friction arose in my heart. I was ashamed of myself, for I felt my dignity and authority as an intellectual were being totally stripped away. However, what can I do about the truth? Truth is truth no matter what. After realizing this, I gave up on my intellect and pride. I decided to invest everything into this truth. I had to pass that test before I came to send this message to intellectuals on Earth.

Dear intellectuals! Even if I were to mobilize all of my intelligence and reason, how would it compare with that of God? Would God have created all things randomly, without any plan? Even if I could sell my intelligence and abilities, I could not purchase those belonging to God. No matter how great the power of science, can natural law be changed? God Himself is the Master of science. The mightiness and divinity of God that Socrates discovered cannot be described in words.

That is not all. The lady who is taking down my message is an earthly person, but I am a spirit dwelling in the spirit world. Can you intellectuals understand this? Such communication is also possible only due to the power and ability of God. Since the time is ripe, God is allowing me to reveal heavenly secrets to earthly people so that they can be guided to the right place in the future.

Here in the spirit world, resolution of difficulties comes simply because people here have already verified and understood the situation of God. Their directions are also the same, consistent with that of God. However, on Earth things are very complicated, simply because there is no agreement on what is the right direction.

Dear intellectuals! God is toiling hard to guide His children in the right direction, mobilizing various methods. Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever seen God? He is invisible and formless. Nevertheless, His single-minded desire to restore His lost children is unchanging even after many thousands of years. That is why He sent Reverend Sun Myung Moon to Earth on His behalf, and presented us with the Divine Principle. He wants us to determine the right direction to take in our lifetime. The book Exposition of the Divine Principle was not written by a human brain or deduced by human reason. It is a book of salvation that was discovered through Reverend Moon's bloody battles against Satan. He verified every single thing in the book as truth from God. It contains everything. Read it carefully. Your intellect is able to analyze how much your spirit is awakened, and you will be able to realize the direction you should take in your life.

Dear intellectuals! Who are the people whom you should most highly respect as great? Ask and answer that question yourself. They will very likely be people who left behind something valuable on Earth. Yet so far, there have not been great people who willingly took responsibility for the next life in the spirit world. Reverend Sun Myung Moon, on behalf of God, is guiding us toward an eternal passage to peace. Through his mission he awakens our spirit. Then he is willing to be responsible for our life in the next world.

Study him and try to find teachers greater than he, comparing them. If you cannot find any earthly persons who are greater than he, what will you do? You are in a serious position at a serious time, and you are required to make a serious decision in your life. Life is not long, but the next world absolutely exists. Don't you think that it is wise for you to meet a true teacher and be prepared for the next life, by studying what he teaches?

God does not need your knowledge or intelligence. Only humble people can be with God. By learning His great and profound truth and digesting it as your own, you should be able to be more than a beggar when you come to this world in the future. The highest intellectuals should be among those who can attend God as their Parent. In fact, only such individuals can be considered the highest intellectuals.

April 10, 2001

6. Saint Augustine's Message to Christians
and Other Religious Believers

I, Augustine, desired to stand in the highest position, second to none in serving God. However, I ended up in a shameful and foolish position. I failed to attend God as my Parent, but only served God as the highest Being. I was unable even to dream about the parent-child relationship between God and human beings. As a result, I realize that my faith and thought have but little value before Him.

Dear Christians and other religious believers who are working hard on Earth! I hope that you can come to a clear realization now, after reading the messages of the four major religious founders. The four major religious founders and other saints and sages like myself hold gatherings periodically. The purpose of holding these gatherings of major religious leaders is to convey God's thoughts to all humankind, who are still divided on various levels.

Earthly people might think that Jesus will visit only Christians, but it is not so. Representatives of each religion already transcended their religions and exchanged their views on each other's teachings and doctrines. They reached the conclusion that all religions must unite as one. After visiting different religious organizations, sharing dialogues with other religious followers and attending their services, the four major religious founders and other saints and sages held a seminar to discuss their experiences at each other's religious gatherings. They presented many themes and discussed them in an amicable atmosphere.

At this point, let me share with you a very interesting incident. Jesus was deeply immersed in the Buddha's words, and he conveyed those words verbatim at a gathering of Buddhists. Then they asked him: "You are the founder of Christianity, so why are you conveying the teaching of our teacher?" Jesus' answer was even more interesting: "I just was testing whether I also could be a Buddha." The people who were gathered laughed together. Jesus truly did not have any greed or personal desires. It seems that Jesus moved the Buddhists by his simple wish to be a Son of God, with such a humble and innocent attitude.

Dear religious believers! Truth is eternal. It is only one. It is because there is only one God and He is the original entity of truth. God is the Parent of humankind and we are His children. Under that premise, what is the purpose of having numerous religions? Summarizing the core of truths that are taught by each religion, I see that their final destination is the same. They have the same direction. I would never think of asking each religion to discard its strong points. I am simply supporting God's wish that they unite as one under the same purpose. God should feel joy when He sees many children. But if they are fighting against each other, would His heart not ache? When children are getting along in harmony, God's Holy Spirit will dwell with them.

The four major religious founders and other saints and sages came to a final conclusion at the seminar. They resolved, "Let us love one another and become one." We believe that if we first become one in the spirit world, then our followers on the Earth also will become one. Unless religions are united as one, God's heart cannot be comfortable. Peace for all humanity can be realized if we apply God's teaching.

Dear religious followers! Please keep in mind the messages of the four major religious founders and the other saints and sages. Such a golden time will not come to you again. Do you think that heavenly secrets like these can be conveyed to people on Earth continuously? Such is a special chance has been granted by the consideration of God. Through this opportunity, I hope that you will realize the essence and basics of faith and stand rightfully in the position of God's children.

I have one last request of you. Numerous Christians and religious followers on Earth, there is a teacher who is walking the path of a martyr for world peace. He is Reverend Sun Myung Moon. So please receive him wholeheartedly and sincerely. The four major religious founders and the other saints and sages firmly believe that he is the Messiah. They are resolved to go the path of that teacher. Toward this end, we have resolved among ourselves to go in one direction, making efforts to love and respect one another beyond religions and denominations.

We too are teaching Reverend Moon's thought, because it is the path to world peace and truth. Dear religious believers! Do not fight. Become one in harmony. God will be with you at the place where you unite as one.

April 10, 2001

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