Author: Richard Urban

We Must Know How to Prepare for Life in the Spirit World

The Richard Urban Show #55
The Family Rooted in Absolute Sexual Ethics-Part 1 with Stacey Urban

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 780

In this way, the Seunghwa Cere-
mony came to be held in the Unifica-
tion Church. It is a ceremony of going
beyond death and onward to joy. Those
who go through the Seunghwa Ceremo-
ny can easily go beyond all the valleys in
the spirit world. Of course, there will be
some who fail to do so and remain in-
between. You have to understand this.
The Seunghwa Ceremony began with
Heung-jin. (212-96, 1991.1.2)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1355

What is the second Seven-Year
Course? It is a period during which
your families must become Abel fami-
lies. In order to fulfill that responsibili-
ty, you must restore Cain families. What
do you form when Abel families restore
Cain families? You form tribes. You
must become tribal messiahs. The 430
Couples are tribal messiahs. This means
to be global. In this way, all conditions
should be met. (34-104, 1970.8.29)

Preparation for Eternity

4. The Finality of Death

You can climb up the mountain and down again;
you can stroll around the valley and return; but
you cannot go to God and return.
Nupe Proverb (African Traditional Religions)

The untrustworthy lord of death
Waits not for things to be done or undone;
Whether I am sick or healthy,
This fleeting life span is unstable.

Leaving all I must depart alone.
But through not having understood this
I committed various kinds of evil
For the sake of my friends and foes.

Yet my foes will become nothing.
My friends will become nothing.
I too will become nothing.

Likewise all will become nothing.
Just like a dream experience,
Whatever things I enjoy
Will become a memory.
Whatever has passed will not be seen again.

Even within this brief life
Many friends and foes have passed,
But whatever unbearable evil I committed for
them
Remains ahead of me…
While I am lying in bed,
Although surrounded by my friends and
relatives,
The feeling of life being severed
Will be experienced by me alone.

When seized by the messengers of death,
What benefit will friends and relatives afford?
My merit alone shall protect me then,
But upon that I have never relied.
Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
2.33-41 (Buddhism)

Teachings of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon

No friends accompany you on the path of death. You journey without your beloved parents, beloved brothers, beloved spouse or beloved children. You journey all alone. Once you go down that path, you can never return. With what kind of heart will you make the journey?
If you do not have hope that you can overcome death, when you meet your death it will be the end. The numerous people who believed and followed God’s Will did not retreat before death. Rather, they mocked death and overcame it with dignity. Throughout history, such people exalted the way of Heaven.
Each one of you likewise has to maintain hope to overcome the death that awaits you. You should aspire to stand before God with dignity at the end of your journey. You should be able to run with joy to the heavenly world, the original homeland your heart desperately longs for. Then you will conquer death. (6:53, March 22, 1959)

It is not enough to live with a vague belief in the existence of the spirit world. On earth we must know how to prepare for life in the spirit world, where whether we like it or not, we shall live for eternity. Once we know, we should thoroughly prepare ourselves for that day. A child who develops a problem while in the womb will suffer after his birth from a handicap that lasts his entire life. So too, if we fail to recognize Heaven’s Will during our short life on earth and commit sin or carry out evil deeds, we will eventually pay the price in the spirit world according to the universal principle of cause and effect. In the spirit world our souls will have to suffer indescribable pain and make many efforts at atonement. Yet once we shed our physical body, it will be too late.
When the physical body dies, it returns to the earth as a handful of dirt, but do you think that our life, our mind, our heart, and our hopes are also buried? It is absolutely not so. Our 100-year-long life is recorded, photographed and automatically evaluated without fail in our personal supercomputer, built by God, called the spirit self. This is why all of us, during life on earth, should stop and check ourselves again and again, and ask our unsteady mind and heart: “Where are you going?” (May 1, 2004)

As We Live on Earth, So Shall We Live in Heaven

The Richard Urban Show #55
The Family Rooted in Absolute Sexual Ethics-Part 1 with Stacey Urban

WV Elections 2020:
Interview with Mary Ann Claytor-Democratic Candidate for Auditor

Matthew 14

13 After Jesus heard about John, he crossed Lake Galilee[b] to go to some place where he could be alone. But the crowds found out and followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed everyone who was sick.

Ezekiel 45

45 When the land of Israel is divided among the twelve tribes, you must set aside an area that will belong to me. This sacred area will be eight miles long and six[a] miles wide. 2 The temple will be on a piece of land eight hundred forty feet square, and the temple will be completely surrounded by an open space eighty-four feet wide.

World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

3. As We Live on Earth, So Shall We Live in Heaven

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The value of your life is not determined after living it to the end. It is determined by the life that you live each day. (197:186, January 14, 1990)

A person cannot suddenly change his way of life in the other world. There is a saying that the habit of a three-year old continues until he turns eighty. Inborn personality is hard to change. Hence, spirit people cannot live very differently from the way they lived on earth. After all, the inhabitants of the spirit world are the souls of people who formerly lived on earth. From this perspective, the spirit world is not so different from the physical world. (141:268, March 2, 1986)

All the sensibilities of a spirit are cultivated through the reciprocal relationship with the physical self during earthly life. Therefore, only when a person reaches perfection and is totally immersed in the love of God while on earth can he fully delight in the love of God as a spirit after his death. All the qualities of the spirit self are developed while it abides in the physical self: Sinful conduct during earthly life aggravates evil and ugliness in the spirit of a fallen person, while the redemption of sins granted during earthly life opens the way for his spirit to become good. This was the reason Jesus had to come to the earth in the flesh to save sinful humanity. We must lead a good life while we are on the earth. Jesus gave the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter, who remained on the earth, and said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” because the primary objective of the providence of restoration must be carried out on the earth. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Creation 6.3.2)

Is it easy or difficult to change your habits? Yet you have lived with selfish habits, according to the satanic world’s idea of right and wrong. These habits have congealed in you. They are stronger than the craving we Koreans have for kimchee.
Ever since the day Satan began his reign over humanity, people have been establishing self-centered habits and traditions. They are like a rotten root. How can we pull it out? You say you understand the Principle and know what to do. Yet try as you may to dig a hole and pull out that root, you cannot. It is taller than you are. It is so long that even if you were to stand at the top of a tree you cannot pull it out. Can you, nevertheless, loudly proclaim that you have pulled it out? This is a serious matter.
Do you have confidence to go to heaven? To go to heaven, you must have God-centered habits and tradition. (213:20, January 13, 1991)

How much you have lived for the Will of God throughout your life will determine your position in the spirit world. Therefore, you yourself know very well whether or not you can enter the heavenly realms. For what purpose did you eat and sleep, like and dislike, come and go? This will determine whether you can enter heaven. (Way of God’s Will 1.8)

The Kingdom of God, the hope of humanity, is composed according to the principle of living for the sake of others. Like it or not, you are destined to go to the spirit world. Everyone takes that journey according to his or her way of life. What is the fundamental issue in your life? It is whether you are living more for the sake of others or for yourself. If you lived more for the sake of others, you will go to the Kingdom of God. If the opposite is true, you will go to hell. You may be unable to believe this fundamental formula now, but once you die, you will understand. (74:51, November 27, 1974)

Whatever You Bind on Earth Shall Be Bound In Heaven

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 691

Such a bond is not something formed
in a position of comfort. It is formed in
a position of extreme difficulty, a posi-
tion so serious that it could not possibly
be any more serious, a position where
life and death are on the line, a position
where there is an increased level of risk.
That is why the Bible says, “Whoever
would save his life will lose it; and who-
ever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Jesus’ expression may sound archaic, but
this is the normal approach and attitude
for going the way of restoration and for
progressing through the world of heart.
It is clear that each person must strive to
achieve such a state, and that path will
become the true course. (31-73, 1970.4.19)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 798

Why did God create human beings?
He needed a horizontal base in dimen-
sional space. Countless cells can divide
and emerge from this dimensional and
spherical space. Therefore, God needed
space because He wanted to produce
the people of the Kingdom of Heav-
en through the bodies of Adam and
Eve in the human world. Our married
life becomes the factory for producing
those people. People have been talking
loudly without knowing these things.
What kind of pretence is that? They are
completely blind, yet still boast and brag
about themselves. In the spirit world,
such things will be exposed at once. The
teachings I have given will unfold in the
spirit world as a reality. (233-89, 1992.7.30)

Preparation for Eternity

3. As We Live on Earth, So Shall We Live in Heaven

Tzu-lu asked how one should serve ghosts and
spirits. The Master said, “Till you have learnt to
serve men, how can you serve ghosts?” Tzu-lu
then ventured upon a question about the dead.
The Master said, “Till you know about the liv-
ing, how are you to know about the dead?”
Analects 11.11 (Confucianism)

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.”
Matthew 18.18

Now man is made of determination (kratu);
according to what his determination is in this
world so will he be when he has departed this
life.
Shankara, Vedanta Sutra 1.2.1 (Hinduism)

Both life and death of such as are firm in
their penance and rules are good. When alive
they earn merit and when dead they attain
beatitude.
Both life and death of such as indulge in sins are
bad. When alive they add to malice and when
dead they are hurled into darkness.
Dharmadasaganin, Upadesamala 443-44 (Jainism)

Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves. In both
states the evil-doer grieves. He grieves, he is
afflicted, perceiving the impurity of his own
deeds.

Here he rejoices, hereafter he rejoices. In
both states the well-doer rejoices. He rejoices,
exceedingly rejoices, perceiving the purity of his
own deeds.

Here he suffers, hereafter he suffers. In both
states the evil-doer suffers. “Evil have I done”—
thinking thus, he suffers. Having gone to a
woeful state, he suffers even more.

Here he is happy, hereafter he is happy. In both
states the well-doer is happy. “Good have I
done”—thinking thus, he is happy. Upon going
to a blissful state, he rejoices even more.
Dhammapada 15-18 (Buddhism)

As for that abode of the Hereafter, We assign it
to those who seek not oppression in the earth,
nor corruption. The sequel is for those who
ward off evil. Whoever brings a good deed, he
will have better than the same; while as for him
who brings an ill deed, those who do ill deeds
will be requited only what they did.
Qur’an 28.83-84

Your Record of Loving God and Loving People Remains to the End

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 107

For this high-velocity light, travel-
ing even one day should be back-break-
ing, numbing the mind and causing it to
say, “I don’t care anymore.” But it speeds
along not just for a hundred years, but for
billions of years. One hundred million
is a hundred times a million. However,
even one hundred million years after it
started, it is still moving. If a person lives
a hundred years, a million people have
lived and died during that time period.
In other words, one hundred million
light-years means that the light is still
traveling even after each person lived
for a hundred years end to end and this
continued for a million people. Then,
how long are 21 billion light-years? Each
person must live a hundred years from
start to finish, so this must continue for
210 million people, and more. Light does
not travel this long distance in a straight
line, but travels in circles. This is our
universe. (181-195, 1988.10.3)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1189

Cain represents Satan’s side. It is the
position of the elder brother. Abel repre-
sents God’s side. This is the battle. Orig-
inally, God would have loved the first-
born son, and then the younger son. Due
to the Fall, the first son, Cain, stands on
Satan’s side. He belongs to Satan’s side.
In order to save him, God designated
Abel. God designates Abel to restore the
right of the firstborn son. This cannot
be achieved by force; you have to inspire
people by love. You have to achieve res-
toration by melting them with love. If
you cannot stand in the position of hav-
ing loved them, if you cannot win their
heart through offering your love, then
you will not be in a position to truly love
your own son or daughter. As viewed
from God’s ideal of creation, the first-
born son was originally to be loved first
rather than the second child. (140-38,
1986.2.1)

Preparation for Eternity

2. Store Up Treasures in Heaven

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The way to riches in the other world is not complicated. Those who invested much love on earth are rich. (205:347, October 2, 1990)

When you die, you leave everything behind, except your love for God and your love for yourself, that is, your effort to cultivate good character, to develop love for your spouse, and to extend the love for your family to the world. Your record of loving God and loving people remains to the end and becomes the measure to decide your property rights in the next world. (127:38, May 1, 1983)

What gifts will you bring to heaven with you? When you arrive at the spirit world, you will stand before many martyrs and saints of great merit. Can you open your bag of gifts before such great figures? Please reflect deeply. Could you present gifts that resemble a beggar’s things?… When you arrive at the spirit world, you should be able to open your gift box and say, “This is what I have pre-pared all my life, so please receive it.” Even a woman brings a full dowry when she gets married, so how can you go to the spirit world empty-handed? (32:71, June 21, 1970)

In the next world, the result of true love that you accumulated throughout your life on earth appears like a label. You will, therefore, dwell in the appropriate level, depending on the merit that you accomplished during your lifetime. (211:288, December 30, 1990)

To enter heaven, we should live for the sake of others. We can never enter if we live self-centered lives. (91:173, February 6, 1977)

What is the final goal of life? It is not merely a matter of meeting the Lord in heaven. The real issue is whether you are able to dwell together with the Lord. What will be your condition when you meet Him? Will you be in a state where you can live comfortably with Him?You will find the Lord in the centermost position. If you want to live with Him, you must be able to live in the central position. That central position is the place of God’s love. For this reason, the ultimate goal sought by the human conscience is to connect with heavenly fortune11 and follow it to the point where we become one with God and make God’s love our own. (24:17, June 22, 1969)

What you bring to the spirit world is not money… Rather, it is the sons and daughters you restore from Satan’s world and raise to be loved by God. Through them your merit will be connected to your ancestors, making a condition to liberate them. This is the greatest gift you can obtain in the process of restoration. You should go to the other world after educating many spiritual children on earth. Then the scope of your activity in the spirit world will be great. You will be the center of an expansive network of relationships extending throughout the entire spirit world. The spiritual standard you made on earth will be the basis for your activities there. If your spiritual standard is lacking, you will be pushed into a corner, barely able to do anything. Therefore, do you have time to just sleep and idle away your life? Just providing for your family and raising your children does not count for much in the spirit world. Rather, you should be seeking out people whom you can raise to heaven. They will become your assets in the Kingdom of Heaven. (230:24, April 15, 1992)

Lay Up for Yourself Treasures in Heaven

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Matthew 15

16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on?18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Psalm 7

8 Our Lord, judge the nations!
Judge me
    and show that I
    am honest and innocent.
9 You know every heart and mind,
    and you always do right.
Now make violent people stop,
    but protect all of us
    who obey you.

Preparation for Eternity

2. Store Up Treasures in Heaven

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust consume and where
thieves break in and steal, but lay up for your-
selves treasure in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust consumes and where thieves do not
break in and steal. For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6.19-21

Men who have not led a religious life and have
not laid up treasure in their youth perish like old
herons in a lake without fish.
Men who have not lived a religious life and have
not laid up treasure in their youth lie like worn-
out bows, sighing after the past.
Dhammapada 155-56 (Buddhism)

O shrewd businessman, do only profitable
business:
Deal only in that commodity which shall
accompany you after death.
Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.1, p. 22 (Sikhism)

Beautified for mankind is love of the joys [that
come] from women and offspring, and stored-
up heaps of gold and silver, and horses branded,
and cattle and land. That is comfort of the life
of the world. God! With Him is a more excel-
lent abode. Say, Shall I inform you of something
better than that? For those who keep from evil,
with their Lord are Gardens underneath which
rivers flow, and pure companions, and content-
ment from God.
Qur’an 3.14-15

Relatives and friends and well-wishers rejoice at
the arrival of a man who had been long absent
and has returned home safely from afar.

Likewise, meritorious deeds will receive the
good person upon his arrival in the next world,
as relatives welcome a dear one on his return.
Dhammapada 219-20 (Buddhism)

Leaving the dead body on the ground like a log
of wood or a clod of earth, the relatives depart
with averted faces; but spiritual merit follows
the soul.
Let him therefore always slowly accumulate
spiritual merit, in order that it may be his
companion after death; for without merit as his
companion he will traverse a gloom difficult to
traverse.
That companion speedily conducts the man
who is devoted to duty and effaces his sins
by austerities, to the next world, radiant and
clothed with an ethereal body.
Laws of Manu 4.241-243 (Hinduism)

And [Jesus] told them a parable, saying, “The
land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and
he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I
have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said,
‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and
build larger ones; and there I will store all my
grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many
years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But
God will say to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul
is required of you; and the things you have pre-
pared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward
God.”
Luke 12.16-21

I see men of wealth in the world—
acquiring property, from delusion they give not
away;
out of greed a hoard of wealth they make,
and hanker sorely after more sense pleasures…

Heirs carry off his wealth;
but the being goes on according to kamma.
Wealth does not follow him who is dying,
nor child or wife, nor wealth or kingdom.

Long life is not gained by wealth,
nor is old age banished by property.
“For brief is this life,” the wise say,
non-eternal, subject to change.

Rich and poor feel the touch [of death],
fool and wise are touched alike.
But the fool, as though struck down by folly,
prostrate lies,
While the wise, touched by the touch, trembles
not.
Wherefore better than wealth is wisdom
by which one here secures the
Accomplishment.
Majjhima Nikaya 2.72-73 (Buddhism)