Based on extracts from his speeches throughout his life
Part 26
Earlier installments are available for reading.
Spiritual Battle to Prepare the Way for True Parents
The preparations for the beginning of True Father’s public mission in 1945 included the need for prepared Christian leaders to step forward. Father explains how many of these already had a strong sense of the direction of God’s providence and how God trained and prepared them directly.
Pastor Lee Yong-do (1901–1933)
The movement in the west transferred to Mrs. Heo Ho-bin and the movement in the east came under Mr. Lee Yong-do. Paek Nam-ju had been the Adam-figure, but because of Paek’s failure in fulfilling his responsibility, Pastor Lee came onstage. Pastor Lee’s church was somewhat different from Mrs. Heo’s. Originally, they were united. For a while, they cooperated, but then they separated. What did Pastor Lee do? He established the Jesus Church.
Mrs. Heo Ho-bin was director of the Central Theological Seminary. In 1930, Pastor Lee Yong-do appeared in Korea with fire like that of Elijah.
People who listened to him speak felt overwhelmed by Heaven. God’s grace poured out of him like water. Why did heavenly grace flow from him? Just as the people of Israel had to achieve oneness with Judaism in order to oppose Rome, Christianity had to carry Korea in order to drive away Japan and establish Heaven’s authority. That battle remained. God bestowed energetic fire on him in order that he might work out a way for all branches of Korean Christianity to become one. Only if all of Korean Christianity had united would they have completely avoided being compelled to practice Shintoism, Japanese traditional worship. If everyone had been completely united and fought against the Japanese, the Japanese would not have been able to carry out armed aggression. Why? Because those united people would have been in the position to claim Adam’s authority.
Pastor Lee Yong-do’s Death
The established churches of the day opposed those who had special missions. Representative among those who opposed them was Kim Rin-seo (1894–1964). He opposed Pastor Lee in writing. He stirred the entire nation against him. Heaven sent Lee Yong-do as a messenger in order to unite all Christians, yet Kim Rin-seo did such a thing. Of course, many Christian leaders were behind him.
Pastor Lee Yong-do started the Jesus Church in Pyongyang. He died in 1933. [1] Do you know how old he was at that time? He was just thirty-three years old. He lived as long as Jesus did. Without God’s help, it would have been impossible for Pastor Lee, who was so young, to cause such a cyclone in the Christian community in Korea.
There were two kinds of spiritual movements, one internal and the other external. Two churches, the “Inside the Belly” Church and the Jesus Church, both of which had been receiving teachings from Heaven, should have united. Toward that end, the group from the west traveled to meet the group in the east. Nevertheless, they failed to unite, so God had to establish a new movement. He needed pioneers in a new field, which is why God wanted to have another new person who would follow His directions. This person was from the Kim clan.
The women who mourned Lee Yong-do
Here are some interesting facts. When a spiritual person dies, some people pray for the person. Mr. Lee died alone in Wonsan, but at the very moment of his death, God chose women in faraway places and told them to offer special prayers. Rival Christians may have said it was a good thing and danced in joy at this death, but many put on white garments and prayed for him for three days.
You have to understand that because of God’s hidden will in relation to the providence, He did not want to abandon His nation or His people. Thanks to those women who prayed with all their heart behind the scenes, God’s providence could continue through successive generations.
I looked at many people in the spiritual churches, which is why I am well aware of their activities. I also know many things about the work of Mrs. Gil Son-ju and Pastor Lee Yong-do. I clearly understand what kind of mission they had in those days. When the period of their responsibility was over, there had to be someone who could take over the mission.
The “Inside the Belly Church”
The meritorious deeds of the Chung Family were so great that God loved them and gave them His grace to the extent that when the children did not accept His will, the mission could be transferred to someone else. The woman who took over her mission had loved and served Kim Seong-do, Mr. Chung’s grandmother, with all her heart and soul. She was Mrs. Heo Ho-bin. This did, however, mean that the providence had to decline by one level.
Mrs. Heo testified that she was not supposed to be the Lord’s wife; her mission was to give birth to the Lord. In other words, she said that the Lord would be born through her womb. Hers was the mission of Mary. While Mrs. Kim had Eve’s mission, Mrs. Heo had Mary’s mission.
Originally, Adam and Eve constituted God’s body. God was their direct father. That is why, from God’s point of view, Mrs. Heo’s husband, Lee Il-dok, was in the position of a traitor. Historically men had been exploiting women. In order to restore the proper relationship, through indemnity, her husband had to do things that no man in his right mind would ever do. He had to do everything He was told; he was even ordered to take off all his clothes and run around naked.
What was this couple taking responsibility for? Their course was similar to that of Joseph and Mary. Grudges and resentment remain to this day because of Joseph and Mary’s failure, because of John the Baptist’s failure, and that of others at that time. Those had to be reversed.
Revelation from Jesus
Since revelations were received through Mrs. Heo Ho-bin’s belly, this group was called the “Inside the Belly Church.” The group did not name itself that, it just became known by that name. The group wanted to take over Mrs. Kim’s mission, so they prayed, fervently asking for God’s help. In those days, Jesus appeared to Mrs. Heo. Jesus started expressing his teachings to this couple. Jesus asked them to accept his will and endure all difficulties under any circumstance.
Mrs. Heo’s entire life was completely centered on the Lord. Jesus first taught her how to get rid of sins. Second, he taught her about a proper lifestyle. Later, she learned how to educate children. In accordance with those instructions, Mrs. Heo made rules and regulations necessary for those who would love and attend the Messiah. Because she had the mission of Mary, she had to know about the life of Jesus in detail since his birth. Because Jesus had to die at the age of thirty-three without actualizing his will on earth, everything had to be prepared; all the indemnity had to be paid in order to dissolve his pain.
The Inside the Belly Church had to make thorough preparations to attend the Messiah. It had to dissolve all the bitter pain Jesus accumulated during his lifetime. Next, they had to prepare everything so that the returning Lord could have the best life on earth….
They were taught in detail how to make the Messiah’s clothes. They were told to make suitable clothes for Jesus to wear from his birth to the age of thirty-three. They had to make many clothes, enough so that Jesus could change his clothes every three days—Korean traditional clothes at times and Western clothes at other times. Furthermore, while they were making his clothes, they were not permitted to use a sewing machine. They had to tie of the thread after sewing three stitches. In order to do this work, they had to keep the rooms very tidy. Once they started making one set of clothes, they were not allowed to stand up, even to go to the toilet, until they had finished it.
God told them, “Even though you have made such sacrifices, you will likely not be able to meet the Lord.” If they made a mistake, Heaven harshly reprimanded them. This forced them to follow Heaven’s directions. Larger clothes had to be made in accord with Jesus’ growth. After they finished making clothes for Jesus, they were told to make clothes for the coming Lord. They received revelations that they had to pay closer attention and invest more care and love than they had for Jesus’ clothes. They also prepared his meals three times a day. Meat was cooked for each meal.
Mrs. Heo heard from Heaven about the Lord’s educational background. Thus, the members of her group were waiting for the day when they might meet the Lord. They were anxiously waiting, every day. Until the day they died, her followers were very determined to wait. They were prepared to offer their lives.
This providence was related to Eve’s mission. Because Mrs. Heo had inherited Mrs. Kim Seong-do’s mission, Mrs. Heo’s daughter was also prepared to meet the Lord. There were even twelve disciples. It is very interesting to know that these preparations were made.
Do you have any idea how often they had to bow? They usually bowed three thousand times a day. They sometimes bowed seven thousand times. It took five to six hours to bow three thousand times and at least ten hours to bow seven thousand times. They had to keep bowing from morning until night without eating. It was indeed harsh training to attend the Lord..
To be continued next week.
[1] He died of tuberculosis.