Cheon Seong Gyeong 1972
When we observe the birthplace of
civilizations from a geographical point
of view, we see that they developed based
on the conditions of climate, during the
course of world history. Then what kind
of place is most ideal? We can conclude
that the ideal location is one that has four
seasons and connects the sea to the land.
In terms of climate, it should be a region
with four seasons. It should be a penin-
sula, as well as a region where the four
seasons are distinct. What is a peninsu-
lar region? The land symbolizes heaven,
and the water symbolizes the sea. The
peninsula connects these two. That is
the reality of the world. That is how it
works with all the principles of heaven
and earth. In that sense, the Italian pen-
insula, as a peninsular region, contrib-
uted to world culture. This was the first
great staging-post for past civilizations.
You should be aware that this penin-
sular civilization centered on Rome, a
region with an integrated civilization,
had emerged with the authority of the
past ages in history. It had also passed
through the Egyptian civilization and
Greek civilization to become a compre-
hensive area. (107-300, 1980.6.8)
Richard: Sometimes West Virginia is referred to as the “peninsula state”due to the two “peninsulas of the north part between Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the eastern panhandle, where we live. Also the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers are boundaries of the eastern “peninsula”. A lot of significant history and significant black history has happened in Harpers Ferry; for instance, the Niagara Movement, Storer College, and John Brown’s Raid.
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1187
Based on this ceremony, I declared
“The ideology centered on the Heaven-
ly Father” on September 1, 1989. Until
the Ceremony of the Settlement of the
Eight Stages was completed, it was still
the age of the restoration of the right of
the eldest son. Restoring the right of the
eldest son! Finally, the right of the eldest
son has been completely restored. Now,
that the right of the eldest son has been
completely restored to God’s side, we
ascend and stand in the highest global
realm, where Satan cannot oppose us.
The time has now come when, if we push
forward strongly and boldly, America,
the communist world, Korea and Japan
will all yield. That is why we should be
strong and bold. (193-204, 1989.10.4)
Richard: We just passed the 30th Anniversary of this very significant ceremony (the Settlement of Eight Stages on August 31, 1989).
Inside God’s Stadium
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
August 9, 1959
We cannot be haphazard. We should have a clear notion of being a winner in a certain event in the race. You have to approach the starting point with such a firm conviction and begin the race. The sages of the past did not teach people about specific fields of work. They did not teach us what we must do to become successful in a certain field. They instructed us on the path we should walk in our life, the path for our minds, our spirits, and for our life.
The path for our thoughts and life does not belong to any one of us alone. It is the common path in any era and is designed according to a certain formula. On it hangs the fate of many generations and human history. We should long for the citizens of Heaven who can fight on this path and bring victory.
If you do it unselfishly, the day you fulfill the purpose is the day that Heaven and earth can rejoice. When a racer representing his people wins in his event, it is tantamount to the victory of all his people. Even if that event is a small one, its value and glory will have an impact on everyone. For this reason, now you need the one day when you can develop this kind of internal conviction, when you can strengthen your conviction and value in order to attain a certain purpose under a certain standard. However, until today you did not have these kinds of thoughts or feelings.
Since we are already racing, we will either end up as winners or losers. To become winners, we need to have a strategy. Internally, we need to have the conviction that we will win, and an unswerving heart fixed on a purpose. Externally, we need to make preparations to facilitate the race. Those who are entering a race should be simple and innocent. We have to prepare our bodies so that they will respond quickly to the direction our minds give. This is why we need training.
The stadium, however, is not built to make it easy for us to run freely toward our purpose. There are many obstacles on the race tracks. Each of these obstacles represents the failures of our ancestors. No matter how proud and determined a racer may be, he may fall down before those obstacles. On our path lie the obstacles which our ancestors could not overcome and fell over. Therefore, as much as possible, we should maintain a simple attitude, so that when our hearts guide us, our bodies can respond quickly and in full harmony. We should train our bodies in this way.
Training cannot be done in a comfortable position. It is achieved when you are being treated harshly. To continue this kind of internal training, you need to harden your bodies so that even if you are attacked internally, you can make a breakthrough and move beyond it. Your internal determination must not change. Even if you run into tribulations which afflict your body, you must not be defeated. Hence, Heaven instructed those who seek the religious way to abandon everything they possess and follow. When Jesus called upon Peter, who was mending his fishing nets, he told him to abandon all and follow him.
There is a rationale behind meditating in the mountains in order to seek enlightenment. We are to cultivate external determination based on our internal determination, and the confidence that we will not deviate from our course, no matter what kind of obstacles we run into. Even if we fall to the bottom, we will support our minds and bodies. Without these convictions, there is no way we can run the race or even enter the stadium. Since each one of us is a racer who should be responsible for an event in the race, we should train ourselves with unchanging conviction in order to accomplish our purpose. Therefore, you must have the attitude of a devout believer, the attitude of a racer who is running the race, and the attitude of a person walking the path of enlightenment. Whether you are awake or asleep, you should have a burning desire to accomplish your purpose.
Among the people who have gathered here there must be those who thoughtlessly believe that they can enter the Kingdom of Heaven just by believing in Jesus. What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? It is composed of various groups of people who have successfully qualified in some event in the race. You should not blindly think that you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven just by believing in Jesus. Of course, there are areas that God will help you in, but there are also areas which require you to fulfill your responsibilities. To prepare for the race, you should make both internal and external preparations. Next, as a racer, you should understand thoroughly about the course that you will be competing on. You should know clearly where you will find what kind of obstacles, and so on. What you then must understand is that although many people have run on the course in the past, all of them failed. They did not win in their races. They quit in the middle of the course.