Authors
Opening the Gate to Heaven
At dawn on February 1, 1985, True Father telephoned True Mother at East Garden from the prison at Danbury, and through her, he proclaimed the Day of Opening the Gate to Heaven.
It was a proclamation that opened wide the gate between the spiritual world and the physical world. He then said that through this, he established a highway for spirits to ascend from hell to the heavenly kingdom.
1. For the past 13 months, I have been fighting with America all alone, just like David standing in front of Goliath. In America, the number 13 is the most unlucky. For 13 months, nearly 400 days, I have been fighting all by myself.
By going through this period in prison, I opened up a path for people to ascend to heaven. I built a highway that goes from this earthly hell to heaven. Thus, while in prison I completed making all the conditions by which I will be able to stand as the Parent to the people in hell. (134-325, 1985/08/16)
2. Being in the position of the True Parent, throughout my life I have been taking responsibility to prepare the path for all people, my children, to go, a path they must go to get to the kingdom of heaven.
When you can love humanity with as much love as you have for True Parents, then you will become one with True Parents and stand with them on the same plane. At that point, Satan cannot touch you because you will be in a realm higher than any fallen realm of heart. Therefore, you can go directly to the kingdom of heaven.
The proclamation of the Day of Opening the Gate to Heaven was to start this work. I did that while I was in Danbury. I opened that gate while I was in the lowest level of prison hell after I had been there for seven months, from July 1984 to January 1985, halfway through my 13-month sentence.
I opened that gate based on the realm of heart I established there. Because I did that, I was able to liberate Satan's world. (140-059, 1986/02/01)
3. On February 1, 1985, I proclaimed the Day of Opening the Gate to Heaven, opening the gate from hell to the heavenly realm. Hell and the heavenly realm are opposite poles. I had to connect these poles vertically, not horizontally. By connecting them, I could establish the point of settlement for the first time.
It is a point that connects the physical world with the spiritual world. Therefore, when we do this kind of work with the heart of God, we can connect the two worlds with the power of love. (136-047, 1985/12/20)
4. Without liberating hell, we cannot build the kingdom of heaven. Before the Fall, hell did not exist. Hell was created from the root of Satan's defiled blood. So to open the kingdom of heaven, we have to purify human blood with heaven's blood to create the form of the original root, and then recover its fruit.
Understanding that this is the Will, we can see how miserable our reality is. Our reality is hell, which came into existence before the kingdom of heaven could be established.
Again, hell was not our original state but came to exist due to the Fall. This hell must be transformed into the kingdom of heaven. The realm of heart that True Parents have established will liberate even hell. We have to rescue the world from this desperate situation. (139-269, 1986/01/31)
5. I told loyal subjects and virtuous women who have been centered on the royal authority of kings in the spirit world to come down to earth and follow the True Parents in the ideal realm centered on their royal authority. Even in the spirit world, everyone hears the news of what True Parents are doing.
From now on, more and more of the news of True Parents that will be conveyed to the spirit world will be good news. Furthermore, the news about every one of True Parents' followers will be publicized widely. All the bad reports about True Parents and their followers will disappear.
Only good things about them will be spread, reports that say, “He is good, or she is good.” Therefore, good ancestors in the spirit world will come down and guide their descendants on earth. These good ancestors will go down to hell and teach evil spirits.
I opened that gate while in Danbury. On February 1, 1985, at 3:00 a.m., together with Mother, I paved the highway between heaven and hell. Now, although we completed the highway, more preparation is needed. We need cars with which to travel on the highway.
We need gasoline to operate the cars, and we have to learn how to drive the cars. You do not have any of that. Your ancestors will have to supply them.
I have begun activities in the spirit world, so your ancestors can come to you with cars, give you gasoline, and teach you to drive. I am developing a movement to allow your ancestors to bring you to the good spirit world. (137-190, 1986/01/01)
6. Because of the Unification Church, the gate to the kingdom of heaven has opened. Yet since I have not yet gone there, no person has entered yet.
I searched and searched throughout the earthly world and the spirit world, even to the lowest level, and I have made the only path that can lead human beings straight to the throne of God in the kingdom of heaven.
To make that path, I had to traverse the individual level through the levels of the family, tribe, people, nation, world, and spirit world.
When you travel on that path, you must signal with the flag of love. Without that signal, you cannot travel on that road. You are not allowed to. Do you have confidence that you can go to the kingdom of heaven?
You can go there by driving the car of love. When you do, an angel will signal to the car of love and guide you to the kingdom of heaven. The highway is now built that will take you there.
I, in Danbury Prison, together with Mother in East Garden, opened the gate that connects heaven to earth for the first time. It is a road that begins in hell.
Therefore, for people who entered the spirit world thousands of years ago to go to heaven, they have to pass through hell.
This means they must come to earth and work with their descendants who are fighting to win over hell. For you to go to heaven, you must win over hell. Those who win over hell can go to the kingdom of heaven. (140-046, 1986/02/01)
7. I have been educating the American people about God while shedding blood and tears, even more than any of America's forefathers. However, despite that, because of their ambition, they made me shed blood and put me in prison.
Yet by the time I was released from prison, I had opened the way to restore the authority of the elder son on the world level. I have always followed heaven's strategy of being struck first and then claiming back all that was taken. This is how the age of world restoration and cosmic restoration can begin.
I fought to liberate the world of hell. On February 1, 1985, at 3:00 a.m., I opened the gate to heaven. If I thought only about myself and the Unification Church, then I would not have gone to prison.
I was thinking about America. Not only that, I was thinking that I had to open the gate to hell and win over all the historical Cains in the spirit world. Without doing so, I could not have restored the authority of the elder son in the realm of heart on the individual level.
Since I have now established the individual-level authority of the elder son, the condition has been set that no one can oppose my advance toward establishing the authority of the elder son on the world level. (140-196, 1986/02/09)
The teaching moment
True Father was released from Danbury Prison on July 4, 1985, which marked the beginning of the 210th year of America's independence. He finished the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house in Brooklyn, New York.
He had been selected as a model prisoner, and his prison term had been reduced by five months. At midnight on August 20, 1985, True Father concluded his term.
During his time in Danbury Prison, and with oneness in heart with True Mother, he guided the worldwide course of restoration through indemnity to victory.
8. When I was released from Danbury Prison, many inmates wanted to say goodbye. They found out the date and the time I would leave and planned to send me off. But when the warden heard of their plan, he thought it could become a big problem for him.
He was worried that if nearly 200 people came out when I left, it would cause a giant commotion. So he said I would be released at 8:00 a.m., but then secretly arranged to let me out at 7:00 a.m. instead, and through a different exit door than what is ordinarily used to release prisoners.
I later heard that the inmates protested to the prison authorities after they heard the news that I had already left.
People there had thought that this Asian man would be like a mere visitor who comes and goes. But after spending only one year in that turbulent and troubled environment, I transformed that environment into one in which we shared a bond of tears. (163-283, 1987/05/01)
9. I spent one year and one month in Danbury Prison. During that time, many prisoners came to respect me. Those who were released earlier than me entrusted their valuables to me and said they would visit the Unification Church.
Even now, if I put an ad in the newspaper inviting them to a gathering, many of them would show up. I told them, “If you are keen to join the Unification Church, you must first participate in a study session of the Word with me in prison,” what we now call Hoon Dok Hae. They all said they would attend.
However, this could have posed a problem in the prison because there is a regulation that gatherings of more than seven people are not allowed. This created a situation where the men competed to attend those Hoon Dok Hae sessions. This is how they were interacting with me in the prison.
Hence, when they knew I would be released soon, they came to see me and shed tears. If these convicts wept because they missed me, do you think my prison life was good or not? This is why people say I create problems wherever I go.
(418-048, 2003/09/14)
10. The year 1985 is the 210th year since America gained independence from Britain. The fact that I was released from prison on July 4 at the start of the 210th year since America's independence means we have entered a time when we can leap at the national level to a new dimension of history.
My liberation on Independence Day marked a new start. It is significant in light of the providence.
The fact that the Jewish people completed their return to their homeland 210 years after they were taken to Babylon holds the same significance. It meant they entered an era when they could build a new temple and make a new start with a new vision for their nation.
This is why July 4, 1985, America's Independence Day, can also be called the Day of True Father. The day has such significance. When you look at the periods of history in the Bible, you need to understand that the providential history of that time is mirrored in the events of our time, with similar significance.
Therefore, when July 4, 1986, arrives, people in America will think about me because it is the anniversary of the day I was released from Danbury Prison.
More and more Americans will ascribe that significance to July 4 in the years to come. For those who know the Unification Principle and Unification Thought, the day I was liberated from prison in America will be a day they cannot forget for the rest of their lives.
Whenever Independence Day arrives, they will remember it only as the day of my liberation, the day when True Father came out of prison. (134-229, 1985/07/20)
11. After Jesus' death on the cross, he was resurrected on the third day. He then worked spiritually on earth for 40 days, which makes 43 days in total.
Originally, I was scheduled to be released from Danbury Prison to the halfway house on July 8, 1985, but instead, I was released on July 4. From July 8 until today, August 20, marks 43 days.
Just as Jesus passed through a 43-day period to be resurrected and erect the realm of resurrection to recover his disciples and establish the Christian cultural sphere substantially, now that I have passed through this period all of you should be able to stand as perfect Unification Church believers. Now all American people also must be turned around. I was resurrected during this period for this purpose.
In Jesus' time, only his disciples experienced the glory of his resurrection, but now we must establish a substantial foundation where all Americans can be part of that glory. American Christians thought, “That Reverend Moon is Satan!” but now they recognize that he is a man of God who should not be opposed.
Accordingly, in America we see a movement of Christians stepping forward in repentance.
The number 13 is for the 13 months I was in Danbury, and the number 13 signifies Jesus and his 12 disciples. It is the number of restorations through indemnity. In the West, 13 is an unlucky number.
However, with my sentence completed today, we have now completely restored it through indemnity. (135-026, 1985/08/20)
12. When I went to prison, I was prepared for the worst. In prison, it is not that difficult to do away with an inmate. However, since it would have been a grave problem for God if I had been killed there, as soon as I arrived heaven set some people in place to watch over me. Many mysterious things like that happened.
Whenever I slept, there was always someone on guard. That person would protect me from midnight until 4:00 a.m. without sleeping. This was not due to human intervention. After leaving Danbury, I was sent to a halfway house, a facility to help inmates return to society.
Even before I arrived there, the Spirit World communications network was already preparing protection for me. Two prisoners, one African-American and one Chinese, were waiting for me. As I slept from midnight until 5:00 a.m., they would protect me, taking turns while watching TV through the night. They stood guard. But who was protecting me?
It was none other than God Himself. (138-046, 1986/01/13)
13. After I was released from prison, 12 respected American ministers came and embraced me with deep emotion. We had never met before, never even greeted each other. Why would they do that, overjoyed with tears for me?
It is because they felt shame over what America, their country, had done to me and because they recognized the value of my substantial work as a man of faith and my fight for the way of goodness.
When they compared their lives to mine, they bowed their heads before me. I saw big teardrops well up and fall from their eyes. They rejoiced more seeing me being released from prison than they would have if they had been released from prison. Seeing them, I thought, “The bond of heart that links us in the world of goodness is expanding in this place.”
I have created a new rope for America, a nation that is heading toward ruin. I have made a new chain to anchor the ship that is on the verge of being swept away and wrecked. It is an anchor chain that no one can cut or remove.
By binding America to it, America will live. The way I see it, because I love America and made this chain of justice that cannot be severed, America is being resurrected, and its life can continue. (170-050, 1987/11/01)
14. By willingly going to Danbury, I made a condition of total indemnity on the world level. Going to Danbury was equivalent to bearing the cross on behalf of the entire earthly world that opposed me.
My purpose for bearing this cross was for the sake of unity in the spirit world and the liberation of the earthly world. Unity was my purpose.
Many groups around the world had mobilized to put me in Danbury Prison. They had mobilized from Judaism, Christianity, and the other religions in America and many other nations of the world.
After all, the CIA investigated us in 25 countries. They were looking for anything, any wrongdoing on our side, and whatever they discovered they intended to charge me with to throw me into prison. In this way, the whole world invested all its power to oppose me.
Our purpose is to bring the spirit world in Satan's realm back to God. Knowing this intention, Satan tried to strike our Unificationist foundation and knock it down to destroy us. This was when the US
government and I fought face to face, with the United States of America as the plaintiff and myself as the defendant. In the end, I reversed this situation, and now it is clear that the United States was in the wrong.
This means that the spirit world has now entered the united realm. Because of this, beginning with the three years after 1985, the spirit world must work together with the earthly world, moving at the same pace.
Now that the united realm has emerged in the spirit world, heaven, and earth must advance in step with each other. (164-167, 1987/05/14)
15. I am in the position of Abel to all the religious leaders throughout the ages. I am the one who went through the model course, receiving the most persecution. It was the religious leaders in the latter half of the 20th century who saw me walk this course.
When I was thrown into Danbury Prison, they hoped I would perish. They hoped I would die. Yet with God's protection, I did not die. In time, they saw I was a righteous man who was sent to save all humanity. This is why they all bowed their heads before me. (136-051, 1985/12/20)
16. Why is it that God could not make Satan surrender up to this point? And why is it that all people could not make Satan surrender until now? Satan insists on only one thing, “Even though I am fallen, God, You still have to love me. And, Son of God, you too have to love me.
That is the Principle, and that is the standard of parental heart. Isn't it a fundamental rule of the Principle that you two must love me and gain my natural surrender to realize the kingdom of heaven?” When he argues like this, God cannot refute his logic. We are caught by his words.
Satan further asserts, “If anyone is going to rise to the status of a perfected person and become qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven, that person must make the condition of loving me. If not, there is no way he or she can reach the status of perfection.”
This is why Jesus loved his enemies on the cross and taught us to love our enemies. This is why I made a condition to pray for all the American people and set the standard of loving all Americans in Danbury Prison. This condition of my heart set up an axis of love that connects the numerous peoples of the world to me. America is linked to me.
All people in the position of Abel are linked to me. If this standard of connection is maintained, Satan has no authority to invade. (136-061, 1985/12/20)
17. You are going on the path of restoration, so do not think that you will live a comfortable life for yourself. Inevitably you will face and have to endure suffering. If on that path your husband is sent to prison, you must set your heart to investing your sincerest devotion for his sake.
If necessary, you must be willing to sacrifice even your family. Only from a place where you pledge such determination can heaven work and connect to you.
At this time, I am most grateful to Mother. I am sure that while I was imprisoned in Danbury, True Mother's heart suffered through the deepest valleys numerous times.
Because her life has been like that, her standard is gradually rising. Through the events of Danbury, she has come to understand my value even more.
(136-046, 1985/12/20)
18. True Mother suffered a lot because of me. Could she be assured of my safety in prison? Hostile communists worldwide had their eyes on me. In prison, I was completely vulnerable, like lying naked in a field.
Mother visited me every day in Danbury, shedding many tears. And when she was back at East Garden, don't you think she cried there too? Every Sunday at 5:00 a.m. she shed tears as she bowed before God and prayed for my safety. Our children shed tears alongside her.
Why did they have to endure this situation, crying like that? I have money, authority, and knowledge. I can also lead people. But why did I come to America? Why did I throw myself into this fight? It is only because of God's Will.
(146-183, 1986/06/15)
Sun Myung Moon