Special Gathering of Pastors of Grand Churches, Hosted by the True Parents of Heaven, Earth, and Humankind held on August 12, 2023, at Cheon Jeong Gung, South Korea
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The Creator, our Heavenly Parent, created all things in the divine image, and gave the man and woman who were to become the ancestors of humankind time to grow. This was a period of growth during which they were to perfect their characters. Yet they who were to become our first ancestors failed to keep the heavenly commandment and fell. They were driven out of Eden and multiplied to form today’s fallen humanity. In order to achieve without fail the dream expressed in the Principle of Creation, God had to undertake, together with humankind, the work of restoration through indemnity—the providence of salvation.
God chose the people of Israel and, through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, restored a lineage he could embrace. Heavenly Parent waited for the time to create the right environment in a nation, and finally after 4,000 years, brought forth his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
According to the Principle of Creation, God’s will cannot be achieved through the only begotten Son alone. Mary said she had conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit but she could not complete her responsibility. She was meant to create an environment within which Jesus could carry out his activities, but she did not understand this. Jesus waited, then began his public life, but at the age of 33 years he had no option but to give up his life on the cross.
Christianity began through the apostles who were resurrected by the Holy Spirit while waiting for Jesus, who had said he would come again. The Bible was written and widely disseminated.
First there was the Roman Catholic faith, but in fact, they did not know the original essence of Jesus. Furthermore, since they did not know the fundamental nature of the Creator, many mistakes were made over time. Eventually the concept that “God is dead” emerged, leading to communism. Because the faith had been guided mainly by human-made organizations, the Holy Spirit was lacking. Thus the Reformation occurred, begun by Luther, and consolidated by Calvin in 1543.
Calvin proposed a movement in which pastors, elders, deacons, rulers, and congregants would unite to serve God, so it naturally surpassed the power of the Catholic Church. The Puritan movement arose, saying “Let’s be close to God in our lives,” and they traveled to America, the New World.
The path of the returning Messiah could never be a safe one in a nation ruled under the old system of absolute monarchy. Even in the time of Jesus, when it was rumored that a king would be born to the people of Israel, didn’t King Herod have all the children under one year old killed? Since the fate of the Messiah at the Second Coming should not be left in the hands of one person with absolute power, Heaven created the Puritan movement and raised America as a new nation, a democratic nation that was governed for the sake of its citizens, not for one king. It was a movement that had to arise in the process of completing the providence.
However, since we could not see the completion of the providence through the only begotten Son Jesus Christ alone, Jesus went to the cross and said, “I will come again.” He said that when he returned, he would hold the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. So the mission of the person who can fulfill Jesus’ responsibility is that of the Messiah at the Second Coming. What the returning Messiah must do first is to think about what Jesus desired to accomplish, looking from the perspective of being his representative rather than his subject partner.
In order to see the completion of the heavenly providence, the only begotten Daughter who did not appear 2,000 years ago must emerge. Therefore, Heaven sought out and cultivated a chosen people capable of giving birth to the only begotten Daughter. This was the Korean people.
The only begotten Daughter must be born on the foundation of the Christian faith. The city of Pyongyang was a major center of Korean Christianity, and the American Presbyterian Church came in and ignited the fire of the Holy Spirit. Over the course of three generations, a Christian environment was established, and this included my maternal grandmother Cho Won-mo, my mother Hong Sun-ae Daemo-nim, and myself. At that time, on the basis of the prayers of a Christian pastor, I came to be born.
There is no denying that the only begotten daughter was born in 1943, 400 years after the Reformation in 1543. At that time, Korea was under Japanese oppression; two years later Korea regained its independence, and with that liberation, the North and South were divided into democracy and communism. The North, which had fought together with the South[i] in the independence movement, pulled together under the communist ideology and was preparing to invade South Korea. I was still in the North, because at that time people believed that the work of the returning Messiah would begin centered in Pyongyang. Yet Heaven led me to go south.
Then the Korean War broke out. The North was completing their concept of an ideal system, and the South was still in the process of creating a democratic system under various leaders, so the South was not strong enough to deal with the North.
God’s first thought here had to be to protect the growing period of the only begotten Daughter whose birth he had brought about. A six-year-old can’t manage the providence, so Heaven alone must protect her until she can make her own decisions.
Heaven therefore closed the eyes[1] of the communist Soviet Union for a moment, which enabled the 16 member states of the United Nations to mobilize to protect South Korea’s democracy. Many of those that were mobilized at that time were 20 years of age or less, pure sons in a fallen world. They shed their pure blood for the nation that had the mandate to become the providential homeland, the nation where True Parents were born.
However, on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the War, this nation did not know how to express its gratitude. On the 70th anniversary, the veterans were honored here and there, but previous to this there was no such thing at the government level. Only True Parents, who know the providence, had the Little Angels travel around the world to perform and console the hearts of the veterans.
The people of this country today are so centered on their own interests. Among them even the Christian realm is having many problems. God prepared Christianity for True Parents. What will happen if those in the Christian cultural sphere cannot unite with True Parents while they are on earth?
In 1960, I resolved to assume the role of True Parent because I could no longer bear to see Heavenly Parent anxiously making such effort. True Parents appeared in 1960 because I said “I will do it” with the determination to make Heavenly Parent’s dream come true in my lifetime.
You don’t know how long Heaven had been waiting for True Parents. They say that the world’s population was about 3.6 billion at that time, but now there are 8 billion. We saw that the foundation of Christianity could spread the word quickly and help the world’s people come to know Heavenly Parent. That is why the global providence was established for the sake of America. However, it is very unfortunate that from the outset many Christians misunderstood us and constantly called us heretics. It is a pity, as Christians could have welcomed and worked together with us. This was the purpose of Heaven’s instruction that I proclaim Foundation Day.
For the fulfillment of God’s providence, the truth must be revealed and an environment where Heavenly Parent can live together with us must be created.
I proclaimed Foundation Day, and proclaimed Cheon Il Guk. I was alone; only Heavenly Parent was with me. I spoke of God the Creator as the Heavenly Parent [Father and Mother] rather than just as the Heavenly Father. Then in front of Christian ministers in the United States, I spoke directly, revealing that I am the only begotten Daughter. At that time they slapped their knees, wondering, “Why didn’t we naturally think of this?” and welcomed me.
But when I came back to Korea and said, “I am the only begotten Daughter,” there was a lot of talk. It is truly unfortunate, however, that at this time, as we are busy with Heaven’s providence hour by hour, I have found it hard to speak even in the simplest terms in order to break away from a lack of awareness spanning 53 years. Today, do you believe that I am the only begotten daughter? You could not be here in this place if you had not met the only begotten Daughter. Somehow, we must embrace Christianity and come together to achieve national restoration.
The Family Federation stands at the center of God’s providence, but shouldn’t we consider what it has done? Which organization took the lead in restoring this devastated country after the Korean War? We enlightened uneducated and illiterate people, and we educated them on where this country should go. Within a short period of time, we made this into a country in which people could live well. Now is the time when the Family Federation and UPF must give the truth. Heaven will not wait any longer. I am saying that you must fulfill your responsibility. If, as the chosen people, you are unable to do so, indemnity will follow. None of us wants to see such an outcome. That is why we must witness.
Hence, in the Cheon Il Guk era, more than giving presentations on the Divine Principle, you must explain the original essence of the Creator and of Jesus, and give presentations about what you are accomplishing together with True Mother, the only begotten Daughter. I hope you will not dwell on the history of the restoration through indemnity. There should be no divisions among us as we move toward the hopeful future of Cheon Il Guk.
[1] Referring to the fact that the Soviet UN Security Council representative was absent on the day the vote was taken on whether the UN would respond militarily to the North’s incursion. He could have vetoed the initiative.
[i] North and South Korea were one nation during the time of Japan’s annexation of Korea.
