Our topic today is predestination. The most important aspect of the Principle is to realize the meaning of responsibility. Responsibility is the absolute essence of Principle. This chapter reminds us of the significance of responsibility.
From beginning to end, this chapter is dedicated to man’s effort, man’s responsibility, and man’s portion in the grand sketch of God’s ideal.
In the Principle, we find that circumstances will be divided based on man’s effort.
We must take the initiative. God does not categorically control the direction we take or the means we use. It is up to us. We have to initiate something of our own to bring fulfillment to God’s ideal. That is very important. So once again, responsibility is the key issue in bringing fulfillment to God’s ideal.
If you accept the word predestination in its conventional meaning, then God is omnipotent and created everything in His image and perfection. In addition, everything that occurs in the world is predestined. Whether it is good or bad, whatever you see in the world is meant to be. Before we go into a deep intellectual discourse on the word predestination, we have to understand what God has predestined. God expected to see the fulfillment of His ideal world based on love.
God’s ultimate purpose is to create a world centered on love, with God in the position of Parent and mankind taking the position of His children.
God said, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” (Isaiah 46:11)
That is His purpose and goal: to manifest the ideal world centering on love.
Before we focus on the realization of God’s ideal world, we have to discuss how we attain this world. Again, the answer lies in our responsibility. Through our responsibility and efforts to reach the ideal world, God can ultimately attain the ideal world. This is the significance of human responsibility.
The object's goal of God’s ideal
In order to reach the predestined goal of the ideal world, man’s responsibility is absolute and inevitable. Without man’s participation in the process of realizing God’s ideal world, God cannot attain His predestined goal.
Our responsibility is significant.
Restoration can be possible because the ideal world is predestined. God is expected to realize His ideal world, but man’s portion of responsibility is essential if God is to attain His goal. No matter what, man has to perform by God’s plan. If man has deviated from God’s ideal plan, then man must redeem himself, find his lost direction, and return to God’s expectation. We see, once again, our clear responsibility to make God’s Will a reality.
God must restore man because man’s responsibility is a crucial component in the process of fulfilling God’s Will and attaining His ideal world. Please read the examples following the first page of the chapter. Man’s responsibility is absolutely necessary. We need encouragement to go on this course.
Just for a change of pace, let me speak about the interesting Korean word fungus.
Can somebody tell me what that means? You know how to read Korean, don’t you?
When I explain that it means manipulation, does that word connote something bad or good to you? What do you think? (Good.) You are crazy people! If you say that to the world, they will crucify you!
Let me give you an example. My children go to preschool. They do a lot of things there: they write, draw pictures, and make funny-looking things. They bring them to me, filled with pride in their accomplishments. To their eyes I guess they look great; but to me, being much older and having seen many much better drawings, they look terrible! To my physical eyes, they look terrible. But I realize that my daughter tries to make the best drawing she possibly can, and she is proud to bring that drawing to me. She brings it to me in hopes that I can feel happy by looking at her drawing. She just wants me to be proud of her and to bring happiness to me.
So what am I to do in such circumstances?
Should I shout, “It stinks; get it out of my face”? No, I should encourage her by saying things I don’t mean. I do that with the good intentions of encouraging and motivating her to do more. Maybe someday she will become a great artist, so I want to encourage her potential.
I feel something beyond the piece of paper she brings to me. I realize the effort that lies behind all of her efforts. I want to encourage her writing, her drawing, her violin playing, and her singing.
Why do I say this?
Although we have not lived up to the absolute standard that Father has set for us, Father always gives us one opportunity after another. He encourages us, and at times scolds us, for our sake and the sake of our future. Through this process, we can ultimately become the ideal beings God planned us to be; we can become the image of God.
Remember when Jesus told Peter that great suffering and death lay in his future?
Peter responded by asking Jesus about the well-being of John. Jesus replied, “If it is my will that he remains until I come, what is that to you? Follow me.” (John 21:22) Jesus was implying, “Who are you to ask that question?”
Jesus’ meaning behind his answer to Peter was that man’s responsibility is so important it must be done no matter what. Someone has to bear the responsibility of restoring man and proclaiming God’s way, God’s ideal, God’s plan, and God’s intention to the fallen world so that people will return to the original path God laid out for man.
Jesus knew the course would be one of great suffering. He said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24)
Jesus meant those who want to receive the Kingdom of Heaven must bear the cross; people cannot come to him without going the way of the cross. The way of the cross means suffering and ultimate sacrifice. The course of great humiliation and suffering is our pattern.
Do we need to be encouraged to go this way? Yes, we do. Do we need to be inspired? Yes, we do.
If there is any person in this room who can live without such inspiration and encouragement, raise your hand. What I mean by encouragement is the tasty, flavorful words that sometimes have to be created and presented, based on fact but phrased in a way that is appealing to those who are starving for such inspiration.
Find our sustenance in the Principle
For all of us, the source of inspiration should be the Divine Principle. Once you become called Moonies you don’t represent anything but this. Period. You stop worshipping idols from the day you raise your hand and make your proclamation of becoming one with the Principal. However, I realize that you have not completely internalized the standard. You need to be inspired over and over.
Whatever you desire in the movement has to come toward you for you to receive inspiration.
We talk about give and take and how important it is. Father has given us everything in this Principle. The Principle clarifies and gives us our view of the future. I don’t want to overdramatize this, but only through this can we clearly understand what has to happen. Only the Principle can cut through all the confusion that surrounds the history of man. All the bewildering courses men have walked through human history can be understood through the Principle.
The Principle gives us a sense of true identity. Once you truly know yourself you can become who you are meant to be. The self-help groups say, “The key to your success lies in knowing and understanding your identity. You must nurture and develop it. You must realize who you are and find some useful ways to channel it.”
The essence lies in knowing yourself. To have self-esteem you have to have some sense of your value. The Principle means everything to our lives.
Father has given us everything, yet we fail to live up to our responsibility to follow the direction we are given. This has happened to us in the past, but don’t continue to stray! I never like to be reminded of these things. Who does? I always like it when people mention what I do best!
Although we have not fulfilled our responsibilities in the past, Father is always encouraging us and inspiring us to move on. Through such a process, we can eventually accomplish our responsibility to return the things we have received. We have been given everything including true life and the way to obtain God’s love.
I’m not here to persuade you but to tell you. I speak very differently to you than to others because I believe you accept Principle. Therefore, I’m not here to persuade you how important the Principle is. I’m here to tell you. If the word “tell” is too forceful, think of some synonym you like to hear.
When Father tells me to do something, I often don’t like to hear it either. Why?
Speaking from a worldly level, I hate some of the things he tells me to do. But I realize the importance of Principle and the importance of the subject and object relationship between father and son, so I push myself. I endure the hardship and my distaste for the direction I have received and persevere, subjugating myself.
I exist for my Father
My heart longs to become one with Father because I realize I am his son; I am part of him. If I am to know myself, I have to know my origin. My origin is in him.
How can I deny that?
If I deny my origin, I don’t value myself. I exist to give love to my parents. And without me, he cannot exist. If his essence is love, he does not exist without an object for his love. By saying these things, I encourage myself.
Almost every page of the Principle stresses the importance of man’s responsibility.
The whole chapter on Predestination is about man’s responsibility and its importance.
It is our responsibility to realize how important True Parents are to us and to unite with them in every aspect of our lives. Whether we are sleeping, holding our children, going to work,k or resting, everything must be related to True Parents. I urge you to assess the relevance of your existence in front of True Parents.
Why do I rest?
So I can revitalize myself to accomplish more and bring better results? Because I know that my physical body is limited and I have to work within this domain? Is it because I try my utmost to be the most productive person I can be? Do you understand what I am saying?
I want to become the most productive person in the eyes of God and True Parents.
Whatever we do, we should ask ourselves how it relates to True Parents. The relationship with True Parents is absolute and inseparable because it will be an eternal one. The underlying basis of our life of faith is to form such a connection with True Parents.
How can we just brush them aside to focus on material things?
Although our lives might be difficult, we must find a way to bring results to our mission. Our mission is important. When you get frustrated, do you pray? I don’t think so! You should, but you do other things, right?
Use caution in deciding how to overcome the kind of stress you may be facing at the moment. Everything you do should be related to the result of fulfilling your responsibility. If exercising one hour a day, pumping iron, or jogging, will help you be a better man, then do it. But I must also remind you of what is right and what is wrong. Right is what will ultimately benefit, not harm, the whole. Evil is whatever harms the existence of God, True Parents, or mankind.
When you do something physical to relieve stress, be aware of the importance of your choices. Make decisions that will ultimately bring the right result and not interfere with the responsibility you bear as individuals. Your actions have to interlock with your goal: to bring about God’s ideal world. Everything we do has to be effective and connected to this process.
When Father says you need to pray, he is talking about the ultimate release: just by thinking of God, all your trouble and suffering should dissolve. Now that is difficult! But it is what Father expects. Think about Father’s path: he had no one to rely on, to lean on, to inspire him to push on. The mere fact of God’s existence and his understanding of God’s Will were his sole inspiration. That was everything to Father.
Are you inspired more by Father’s words or his actions?
Just holding this book in your arms should inspire you. All your suffering should pass and all your worries be laid to rest. All your hostility, ill feelings, resentment, anger, frustration, and hate should be calmed when you hold this book and put it against your face. When you taste these words you should be a different person.
That is what Father is saying, but I don’t think you have reached that point! This book itself is not an inspiration to you. You have to hear news about activities Father has started because this book has little meaning to you.
The responsibility of the Messiah is to have dominion over the world and to represent Heavenly Father in the physical world.
This means being able to take care of the well-being of humanity, both spiritually and physically. So look at this book and be inspired!
We must become an ideal person
Everything exists for our betterment. When you spank your child, you might temporarily “damage” that child’s tissue, but in that destruction lies love and a standard of goodness. You cannot do anything you want. You have to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. Within righteousness and goodness dwells the greatness of love.
But what is good and what is righteous?
Love sometimes means taking the path of reprimanding a child, because he is doing something other than God’s ideal. I take that course of action not because I enjoy it, but because my child needs it. If I get scolded then I deserve it, because I have the duty and obligation to become an ideal person.
Responsibility implies that one can choose to be responsible or irresponsible. But we must become an ideal person. Therefore, it is our responsibility to accept the direction Father has set for our lives and obediently follow it. Otherwise, how can we establish an ideal world?
Is our fallen lifestyle predestined? Is it ideal? No.
That is why we find the word indemnity. You may prefer to colorize the word indemnity by calling it reparation or expiation.
Father says if you want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven you must become like a child. A child has not yet put a value on life beyond his mother’s milk and her caress. The child doesn’t value fancy words, clothes, or attitudes. In the same way, once you understand the true value and place the greatest emphasis on the bond between you and your parents, other things can be appreciated.
The reason I speak to you in simple terms is that you put too much emphasis on fancy words. If you don’t respect what I represent, then I’m not fulfilling my responsibility. If you put me in the position to say these things so you can respect the position I hold, that is demeaning to me. If you evaluate me, you will be evaluated in the same manner and to a greater degree!
Therefore, do what is right. Every man has to be good. Every man has to be responsible. Every man has to emulate God. Every man has to take God’s ways and adopt them into his life.
Christology
Chapter 7 of the Principle, Christology, is pretty straightforward. Here again, responsibility is addressed. Once we become responsible and one with our parents, we feel joy. Our parents feel joy.
To feel happiness, there has to be reciprocal action between the subject and object. However, we are often selfish and don’t want to be in the object position. Instead, we put ourselves in the subject position, choosing as our object an inanimate thing that brings contentment solely to ourselves. Such selfish people are never satisfied for in the end they regard other people as dispensable objects.
I truly believe Sunday represents the day God rested. It should be a day that is set aside to praise, glorify, and worship God. Sunday is a day to glorify the reality and meaning of love; a day to praise and uphold the meaning of love. Sunday is a day to fulfill my responsibility of bringing ultimate joy to God and mankind. Sunday should be a day to rejoice, sing, and share words that come from our hearts.
Sunday should be a day for sharing our beauty and our uniqueness in God’s eyes with one another.
Demonstrate that you are voluntarily going God’s way.
Jesus said, “Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things.” (Matt. 17:11)
This statement refers to the relationship between Cain and Abel. For a fallen man to be reinstated in his primary position, man has to take the responsibility for the fall onto himself and through his accord set conditions so that restoration can occur. By making indemnity conditions, man demonstrates that he is separating himself from the way of evil to receive the way of God.
In preparing the way for Jesus Christ, John the Baptist stood in a position on a tribal level to touch the Israelites as a nation and embrace them. Jesus came to manifest the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in his lifetime.
The Messiah was to unite with John the Baptist, resolving the problem of Cain and Abel’s struggle. Centering on this Cain Abel unity, the Messiah could embrace the nation and ultimately propagate the world.
Because of the fall, propagation occurred centered on Satan and ultimately manifesting the fallen world. So if we are to be restored to God, the exact conditions of the fall have to be satisfied to have ultimate dominion over the world. False propagation, fallen nature number four, ultimately has to be restored.
The Early Church in Korea
Do you understand the meaning of tribal messiahship and why Father had to walk the 40-year indemnity course?
Father had to walk the indemnity course for 40 years because the people who were prepared to receive True Father pushed him aside. It’s your responsibility to know the history of the Unification Church. In 1945, many spiritual phenomena occurred to those who were in the position to take a stand in Korea. Koreans were yearning to receive direction. They had just finished 40 years of domination by Japan and they were yearning for a new direction.
They paid indemnity as a nation and were waiting for someone to take them away from the misery they had suffered under Japanese domination. Many people had been tortured and murdered under Japan’s domination.
There was a skeleton Korean government filled with corruption, but the religious community was booming. Many religious groups existed at that time. In one particular denomination that had a conservatively estimated one million followers, the head figure received a revelation about the True Father. In a dream, he was told about the importance of the True Father and who he is. Based on that revelation, he sent his assistant to see Father He was inspired by the presence of Father and what he taught.
The relationship lasted a while but ultimately diminished because Father was only a young man from North Korea, wearing ragged clothes and living in someone else’s house. How could a person of established status lower himself to a person of such humble stature? So he just brushed Father aside.
Many of the 36 blessed couples testify that the reason they joined was their grandfather appeared to them in a dream and kicked them until they joined. Also, the 72 blessed couples had much pressure from the spirit world. When they met Father, they had a spiritual experience. They received revelations about the True Father and his presence.
Because of all the information they were receiving from the spirit world, they could not deny that he was the Messiah. Thus early members joined because of spiritual pressure.
Many times, the only reason why you do things is because of the spiritual pressure upon you. In addition, horizontally there is also pressure from your central figure.
If left to your own volition, you would hardly ever accomplish what needs to be done. That is the reality of our situation.
So, Father had to restore the foundation that he had lost. If the prepared people had united with Father in 1945, they would have represented a tribe. With such a substantial number, Father could have had a strong impact on Korea as a nation.
From 1945, Father says he could have reached the world level in seven years. The number seven is significant because the whole process of restoration simply means re-creation. That is why he stresses the number seven. Ideally speaking, that is what could have happened if those people had accepted and attended Father according to the heavenly schedule. If that had occurred, I wouldn’t be standing here; you wouldn’t be here. You represent the elders of that organization who were supposed to have accepted True Parents.
True Parents are the basis of true unity
Centering upon True Parents, the chosen lineage is established. Centering upon that chosen lineage, all ideal beings in humanity will be grafted onto True Parents’ and God’s lineage. People may object to the need for True Parentship, out of the belief that everyone resembles God and tries to emulate God.
Furthermore, everyone has the right to become a child of God and will ultimately be restored to Heavenly Father. Since all men and women will ultimately become an object to God, what will be the need for True Parents?
To answer that, we must understand the basis of unity. We tend to do things our way until we face some kind of hardship that we cannot overcome alone; then we choose to unite. In other words, we choose unity out of our convenience. If the ideal world were to appear based on such a notion of unity, the existence of conflict is inevitable. That is why you have to understand the importance of True Parents.
The absolute subject position, representing God, has to be established in this world for us to have ideal unity at all times. Otherwise, we will choose to unite at our convenience. Unity for convenience is Satan’s beloved concept. Socialism came from the liberal ideas of the Enlightenment, which proclaimed everything equal for everyone.
Satan likes the concept that everyone should be equal in a physical sense because he wants mankind as his object. He assisted God in creating mankind, but his role was to become the servant of man. He objected to such a role and said: “If the ideal world is to come about in such a fashion, I will make a world based on my aversion to this kind of position.”
Hyo Jin Nim
In Forsocialism to survive, it has to have a structure and form a government.
Instead of serving its citizens, socialist governments pillage and steal from them, draining their blood and their very existence. That is the reality. Many people fall for that. How can you realize an ideal world centered on such concepts? It’s impossible. That’s why communist governments are failing. Democracies as well are crumbling because there is no true subject/ object relationship.
In the last few days, many false prophets and antichrists come to the people of the world proclaiming, “Here’s the Messiah.” What is left for the true Messiah is to persuade the people who have been hurt, manipulated, and deceived historically. That is difficult. But 95 percent of that task had been prepared by the spirit world. That is why all the revelations came in the early days in Korea. All those people had to do was follow it, but they denied it.
“Chosen” means being an object
Jesus came to be King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus represented the chosen lineage. I want to emphasize the word chosen, which refers to the object's position.
Something that is chosen is not self-induced. That is very significant. Father didn’t choose to become the Messiah. He was chosen by Heavenly Father. Even for him, no exception was made in following the way of Principle. The word “chosen” has the greatest meaning in this case.
Before I came here I made a prayer to put myself in this position. Frankly speaking, I did not want to speak here today. These things should have been done by people in the position of John the Baptist chosen 45 years ago. You, who are filling that position, should have done it a long time ago. Now I am fulfilling that position for you by being John the Baptist to my Father.
You put me in this position. I accept it and am grateful. However, I remember the days I denied it. I have repented. So take your responsibility seriously. If you truly understand Principle and truly pray, you can understand these things on your own without me telling you.
I am concerned about your welfare.
What are you going to do?
Responsibility is not just for me, but for you also. Fulfill your responsibility. Take your responsibility seriously, because it is serious. If you think you can avoid even one iota, forget it. This is a friendly threat, an oxymoron! Take my advice. When I talk to you in simple language, please accept it.
Hyo Jin Nim
Your heart, mind, and spirit are more important than your body. Put your emphasis in the right place. You take care of yourself. I want to see all of you accomplish your responsibility.
Jesus said that people will be rewarded according to their works. (Rev. 22:12)
Become like True Parents
As a tribal messiah, your responsibility is to become like True Parents. In other words, be an ideal being. Set the condition that can ultimately bring salvation to your lineage, to what you represent. All the ancestors you represent can receive benefits through you. This is a very difficult time because we have to try to restore what has been done in the past.
Although we haven’t necessarily done the same things our ancestors have done, the reason behind this method of restoration is the children are an extension of their parents. Because of that principle, what you represent has an absolute connection to the well-being of your ancestors, for you are an extension of them.
When Father had to walk the course of indemnity because of man’s failure, he had to start on the individual level, from the servant of servant’s position. As an individual,l he had to satisfy conditions to receive Heavenly Father in that “fallen” state.
Don’t take the word “fallen” in the wrong context. Father says, “Even I am a fallen being,” because everybody is. What he means, is that as a man he was chosen by God to take responsibility for human failure so he could ultimately redeem mankind through his presence.
By mankind looking at Father in front of them, they can ultimately understand what they need to incorporate into their lives and realize they need to follow true parents. So once again, the important thing is the connection between parents and children.
Man must somehow separate from evil through his own accord. That is the meaning of the presence of the Messiah. That is why Jesus said on the one hand that he had fulfilled his work but on the other hand that he had to descend again.
Ultimately he gave the key to the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter. The key to the Kingdom of Heaven lies in the hands of man and with men. Man must bring fulfillment.
The reason True Parents exist is that we must have God’s lineage to become children. There has to be a father physically on earth for Heavenly Father to dwell physically in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. That is the concept of True Parents. That is why Parents are necessary.
The Hebrews criticized Jesus for having been born illegitimately and rejected him on that basis. The process of choosing is divine; God chooses, not man. Since God chose Jesus to be His son, you can safely say that Jesus descended from heaven.
There is that divine connection. There are many mysteries. I cannot say with specific detail what happened 2000 years ago. There is still a lot of work to do to convince the critics and the doubters.
I know my responsibility and the responsibility of the second generation. But what about you? Just looking at all the things Father is doing, gives me hope. I know that my brothers are much smarter than me, and that also gives me, hope. Some of my brothers are more eloquent than me which will make a difference in the world. But somebody has to be strong! I’m a heavenly bully, I guess.
Please give your utmost respect and attendance to True Parents. Can you promise that? (Yes.) Thank you.
Dr. Sun Myung Moon
