Interview with Joyce Smith-Candidate for the Jefferson County WV Board of Education, May 10, 2022
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Cheon Seong Gyeong 1980
Since the Papal Court on the Italian peninsula could not bring a unified world, then today unification must come through a peninsula. Satan knew the Korean peninsula was to become the place that would bring unification. That is why, in order to indemnify four thousand years, Japan entered an age where it ruled for forty years. You must understand that the country that was under this rule for forty years is the ideal nation to which the returning Lord, in the position of Adam, could appear. The logical basis for the returning Lord to come to the Korean peninsula can be understood by observing the trend of the development of history and considering the principles of restoration through indemnity. Which country should Britain, America, and France seek through their combined efforts? They should seek the Adam nation. They should seek the father nation. They must seek the father. They must seek the father nation. They must seek the Adam nation. (189-93, 1989.3.19)
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1059
Wherever they visit, members should first go to the holy place, in other words, the holy ground or the church. If they cannot, they should at least set up a condition of having done so. Each of you is an individual; yet you should bear in mind that you are more than this. You should each stand in the position of a first ancestor. (17-86, 1966.11.26)
Testing
2. Trials Are to Prove that We Belong to God
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Three years after a person learns the Will of God, he will face a big trial. This is to individually indemnify the position of Peter, who followed Jesus for three years and then denied him. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
As a year consists of four seasons, in your life there is a spring-like period in which you receive a blessing, a summer-like period in which the blessing grows, an autumn-like period in which you bear the fruit of the blessing, and then a winter-like period of trial. Be grateful for trials. They come from the love of God, to separate us from Satan. If you endure and overcome them, a spring-like period of new blessing will follow. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
When God is about to give grace, He puts the person through a test, either before or after the grace, to prevent Satan’s accusation. Moses’ course provides examples of this. God granted Moses the grace… to depart from Egypt only after he had completed the test of living in the wilderness of Midian for forty years. Only after giving the test in which God tried to kill Moses did He grant the three signs and ten plagues. Only after giving the test of the three-day course did God grant the pillars of cloud and fire. Only after giving the test of crossing the Red Sea did God give the grace of manna and quail. After giving the test of the battle with the Amalekites, God granted the grace of the tablets of stone, the Tabernacle, and the Ark of the Covenant. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Moses and Jesus 2.3)
The first human beings should have been absolutely determined to keep God’s commandment not to eat of the fruit, yet they fell at the risk of their lives when the Archangel tempted them. Accordingly, for Jacob to… restore the foundation to receive the Messiah, he had to triumph in a fight at the risk of his life with an angel, representing Satan. Jacob was desperate to overcome this trial as he wrestled with the angel at the ford of Jabbok. He triumphed and received the name “Israel.” In this trial, it was God who tested Jacob by putting the angel in the position of Satan. God’s purpose in doing this was not to make Jacob miserable, but to help him secure the position of Abel and complete the restoration of his family by winning the qualification to rule the angel. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Moses and Jesus 1.2)
It was nerve-wracking for God to watch Jacob in that battle. Since the angel was fighting on behalf of Satan, God did not want Jacob to give up, but He could not say anything to Jacob. Imagine how anxious God must have been to watch each moment ticking during the battle between the two?
Jacob did not give up even to the last moment. He would not let go of the angel no matter how desperately the angel tried to shake him off. At that point, God publicly acknowledged Jacob’s victory, and the angel, as Satan’s representative, had to acknowledge it as well. Hence he blessed Jacob with the name “Israel.” At that moment, all the hosts of heaven shouted for joy. They deeply exhaled, now that anxiety over the outcome was relieved. (20:229-30, June 9, 1968)
Even God Himself kicked Reverend Moon to test him. He said, “Reverend Moon, you are a heretic. I don’t know you!” Yet no matter how strangely God treated me, I had already grabbed onto God’s coattails. I told Him, “Heavenly Father, no matter how Thou dost treat me, Thou canst not dissuade me from my path.”
This dispute dragged on for forty days. Since God opposed me, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, and all the saints in spirit world also joined in, “Reverend Moon, you are a heretic! We will not accept you until you change your teachings.” Yet throughout those forty days, I did not change one iota. I was steadfast as a rock. They all saw that I would not change even if they persisted for 400 years.
After 40 days the atmosphere cleared; the showdown had to end. God had to resolve the dispute and issue a decree. He stepped forward and said, “I have been testing Reverend Moon during these 40 days… and I can now declare before heaven and earth that he is the greatest victor in all of history.” (161:41-42, January 1, 1987)