Category: Eight Great Textbooks

The Lord is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want

Mark15

14 Pilate asked, “But what crime has he done?”

“Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.

15 Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.

Richard: Pilate wanted to please the crowd. This is the 40th day since the false “inauguration” of Joe Biden. Ultimately, President Trump did not want the heaped coals of criticism from the fake media and being blamed for riots, etc. that no doubt would occur. That was probably the dynamic of the false flag Capitol “riot” on January 6th ; to dissuade President Trump from taking decisive action, such as seizing voting machines for audit or other decisive actions. So President Trump did not take action as he should have to prevent the false election and inauguration from moving forward, in my estimation.
None the less, God can work based on the faith and conditions of indemnity set by his children. (See slide 16 and on, here for an explanation of indemnity)

Nehemiah 3

30 Hananiah and Hanun rebuilt the next section, which was the second section[i] for them.

Meshullam son of Berechiah rebuilt the next section, which happened to be in front of his house.

31 Malchijah, a goldsmith, rebuilt the next section, as far as the house used by the temple workers and merchants. This area was across from Gathering Gate, near the room on top of the wall at the northeast corner.

32 The goldsmiths and merchants rebuilt the last section of the wall, which went from the corner room all the way to Sheep Gate.

Richard: This is about rebuilding walls (here the wall around Jerusalem), or protection for our families and nations. That has to be done in each of our communities, by teaching and promoting absolute sexual ethics and the Blessing of Marriage. See Peace Speech 10.
Also, we can take local action, such as sanctuary states and counties, to make sure that Biden’s unconstitutional edicts or other unconstitutional laws are not enforced.

Help and Deliverance

In time of distress, danger, and oppression, the faithful look to God for support and help. in times of crisis, in combat, and when confronting death, even non-believers will pray desperately to God. and time and again, they find deliverance in ample measure. conversely, the scriptures warn against relying on one’s own power, allies, or wealth to prevail in the battle, when true strength lies in God’s saving power.
The passages include expressions of confidence in divine deliverance, supplications for help, and texts which describe God’s grace as an unassailable refuge. there are several accounts of God’s saving deeds in his-tory: from the bible, Moses at the red sea and Paul’s escape from prison; from the Qur’an, the battle of the trench. We include the Buddhist hymn to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of divine compassion who is said to be ready and able to save anyone in distress.
Father Moon experienced divine deliverance on numerous occasions, notably when he was a prisoner in a north Korean labor camp. he explains why people normally receive divine help only if they have the mind of devotion and faith. God’s heart of love extends to everyone. however, due to the activities of Satan, whose accusations can cause God to withdraw his protection, people oftentimes must overcome a trial before they can receive divine assistance.

1. Help in Times of Trouble

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the l ord for ever.
    Psalm 23

Whosoever keeps his duty to God, God will appoint a way out for him, and will provide for him in a way that he cannot foresee. And who-soever puts his trust in God, He will suffice him. Lo! God brings His command to pass. God has set a measure for all things.
    Qur’an 65.2-3

Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your habitation,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will give his angels charge of you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
    Psalm 91.9-12

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the lord of hosts.
    Zechariah 4.6

United with me, you shall overcome all difficulties by my grace.
    Bhagavad-Gita 18.58 (Hinduism)

Men of little ability, too,
By depending upon the great, may prosper;
A drop of water is a little thing,
But when will it dry away if united to a lake?
    Treasury of Elegant Sayings 173 (Buddhism)

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not grow weary, he does not tire,
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives strength to the weary,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Youths may faint and be weary,
and young men may fall, exhausted;
but they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not grow faint.
    Isaiah 40.28-31

A king is not saved by his great army,
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
That he may deliver their soul from death,
and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord ;
he is our help and our shield.
    Psalm 33.16-20

We Rejoice In Our Sufferings, Knowing that Suffering Produces Endurance

Cheon Seong Gyeong 345

What should True Parents do? They should correct the false lineage that is the root of the satanic world, reverse the false life, and open the true path away from the path of false love. The Bible says that those who wish to die will live, and those who wish to live will die. Why must this kind of paradox appear? It is because you must die to the satanic world. (169-37, 1987.10.4)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 747

When meeting the Messiah, what will happen if you believe in and follow him? If you meet him at the time he perfects the ages of the individual, family, tribe, people and nation, you will also receive the benefits of those ages, ascending to the national level. Yet, for those in the age of the individual to receive the Messiah and thereby ascend to the age of the family, they must pay indemnity on earth, just as spirit people do. Also, because they must go through the course of indemnity to ascend from the age of the family to the age of the tribe, the longer they have stayed in the Unification Church, the more indemnity they have paid. The longer they have been here, the closer they are to me.

The Refining Fire

2. Heaven’s Discipline

My son, do not despise the lord’s discipline or be weary of His reproof,
for the lord reproves him whom He loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
    Proverbs 3.11-12
I know, O lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
Correct me, O lord, but in just measure;
not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
    Jeremiah 10.23-24
 
Do men imagine that they will be left [at ease] because they say, “We believe,” and will not be tested with affliction? Lo! We tested those who were before you. Thus God knows those who are sincere, and knows those who feign.
    Qur’an 29.2-3
 
We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance pro-duces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.
    Romans 5.3-5
 
Yet the suffering
Involved in my awakening will have a limit;
It is like the suffering of having an incision made
In order to remove and destroy greater pain.
Even doctors eliminate illness
With unpleasant medical treatments,
So in order to overcome manifold sufferings
I should be able to put up with some discomfort.
    Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
    7.22-24 (Buddhism)
 
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
 
All difficulties and trials confront you so that you may correctly experience and understand God’s past days. Therefore, when any difficulty comes upon you, you should rejoice and be thankful. It is the proof of God’s love for you. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
 
The reason why the Unification Church requires its members to live three years of public life after receiving the Blessing is to enable them to taste true love. The reason why I tour the world and give speeches, braving persecution and opposition, is to train you to make beautiful families of true love surpassing all other families.
    We go the way of God’s Will despite the world’s harsh persecution and oppression because we love our children and want to enable them to live in the beautiful nation of God. In this way, we live for our children and love our children more than the people of the world love their children.
    You must carry on this fight throughout your lives. If you see your husband or wife being persecuted and opposed, you must pledge that you will love your children more than your feeling of distress over your spouse’s plight. You must be trained in this way in the midst of persecution and opposition.
    A wife who has received this ‘love training’ will not fight with her husband. If he crosses her with a cutting remark, she will not respond with machine-gun volleys of scolding words. A husband will not beat his wife or dominate her with his authority. Why not? Having been through love training, each spouse has come to know the other’s precious value. (Blessing and Ideal Family 4.4.8)
 
Make us into people to whom Thou canst entrust Thy Will
by molding us according to Thine internal nature. (2:241, June 9, 1957)
 
 

We Need to Renovate Everything through the New Word of God

Mark 6

35 That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This place is like a desert, and it is already late. 36 Let the crowds leave, so they can go to the farms and villages near here and buy something to eat.”

Richard: We are in a desert without God’s Word of truth, and specifically the New Truth.

Luke 19

11 The crowd was still listening to Jesus as he was getting close to Jerusalem. Many of them thought that God’s kingdom would soon appear, 12 and Jesus told them this story:

A prince once went to a foreign country to be crowned king and then to return. 13 But before leaving, he called in ten servants and gave each of them some money. He told them, “Use this to earn more money until I get back.”

14 But the people of his country hated him, and they sent messengers to the foreign country to say, “We don’t want this man to be our king.”

15 After the prince had been made king, he returned and called in his servants. He asked them how much they had earned with the money they had been given.

16 The first servant came and said, “Sir, with the money you gave me I have earned ten times as much.”

17 “That’s fine, my good servant!” the king said. “Since you have shown that you can be trusted with a small amount, you will be given ten cities to rule.”

18 The second one came and said, “Sir, with the money you gave me, I have earned five times as much.”

19 The king said, “You will be given five cities.”

20 Another servant came and said, “Sir, here is your money. I kept it safe in a handkerchief. 21 You are a hard man, and I was afraid of you. You take what isn’t yours, and you harvest crops you didn’t plant.”

22 “You worthless servant!” the king told him. “You have condemned yourself by what you have just said. You knew that I am a hard man, taking what isn’t mine and harvesting what I’ve not planted. 23 Why didn’t you put my money in the bank? On my return, I could have had the money together with interest.”

24 Then he said to some other servants standing there, “Take the money away from him and give it to the servant who earned ten times as much.”

25 But they said, “Sir, he already has ten times as much!”

26 The king replied, “Those who have something will be given more. But everything will be taken away from those who don’t have anything. 27 Now bring me the enemies who didn’t want me to be their king. Kill them while I watch!”

Richard: We should be actively about God’s work, not just sitting and waiting for the Second Advent, which has actually already occurred.

The Refining Fire

1. Judgment by Fire

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Each of us has many different kinds of thoughts, all varieties. Do you think we can easily negate them all to uphold the standard of absolute faith, love and obedience? Is it easy or difficult? How difficult! Even if we were to die and be reborn one hundred times, it would still be difficult.
     It doesn’t matter how many times we say the words “absolute faith, love and obedience”; we should enter the furnace and have our impurities burned away until there is only pure gold left. (320:235, April 5, 2000)
 
Jesus came into the world to cast this judgment, as he said, “For judgment I came into this world.” (John 9.39) Jesus also said, “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” (Luke 12.49) “Fire” here represents the means of the judgment for which Jesus came into the world. Nevertheless, there is no record that in his time Jesus judged the world with literal fire. The verses referring to fire must be symbolic. It is written, “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?” (Jer. 23.29) Therefore, judgment by fire represents judgment by the Word of God. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 3.2.2)
 
The words you are familiar with are connected to Satan. Your beliefs and thought processes have not escaped a relationship with Satan. All elements in the satanic world were created from a humanistic perspective, not from God’s perspective. They cannot go beyond Satan’s realm. That is why we need to renovate everything through the new Word of God.
    Once we know God’s Word, can we also live in harmony with the old words and move on with our lives? Absolutely not. We must completely rid ourselves of the old words. We must clean out all our satanic ideas, beliefs and habits. Then, by living according to the Word of God and its absolute standards, we must establish a new tradition. (21:327, January 1, 1969)
 
To acquire true love, you should invest yourself totally. You should be willing to burn your own name, your pictures, even your own clothes.27 (398:328, December 17, 2002)
 
Oh Father! Look upon us with Thy fiery eyes,
and allow not the bitter roots of sin and death to remain deep in our hearts. Look upon us with Thy fiery eyes,
that today we may pull out all the roots of sin and be unified before Thee. (20:10, March 31, 1968)

Father! We pray Thou wilt remove all that is humanistic and private.
Born as descendants of the Fall, we used to wear masks as we saw fit and relied upon our own views.
Purge us of all these elements as we come before Thee. (21:132, November 17, 1968)
 

God’s Gracious Love Can Be Found in the Midst of Hardships

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2188

    If the son advises and teaches his parents to love their country so that they become patriots, and makes them a mother and father whom heaven remembers, is he a filial or unfilial son?
    So, rather than a son who says to his parents, “Mom, Dad, don’t go out! Just rest at home.” he should say, “Mom, Dad, what are you doing? Please, let’s try together to find even one more per-son who can be a patriot, who can work for the unification of North and South Korea, who can work to save North Korea.” Then he makes them shed tears, blood and sweat. Then what would you think if the people in the neighborhood were to praise this achievement?
    Would the parents say, “You scoundrel, you really made your mother and father’s life difficult, so at first we thought you were a bad boy. Yet we became successful and are praised by everyone. My! You really are a filial son.” Do you think the parents would say this, or would they say, “You are an unfilial son”? What do you think? (209-266, 1990.11.30)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1594

Because everything which arose from the false parents comes under the number nine, the numbers one to nine are loathed by Heaven. You persevered in providential history to clear up Satan’s number, the number nine, through the practice of tithing, in the Old Testament Age.

The Refining Fire

God’s gracious love can be found in the midst of hardships and suffering. The person whose mind is fixed on God takes life’s trials and challenges as a means to purify his or her faith, correct flaws and refine character. could it be that such trials are not accidental, but actually expressions of God’s love to discipline and educate his children? (see also chapter 15: Testing.)
Moreover, God’s word presents us with the challenge to live by it. scripture therefore likens the word of God to a fire, which burns away everything that is false. Father Moon explains that the judgment that many Christians fear is actually an opportunity to purify ourselves in the truth and reach the point where we are one hundred percent united with the word of Christ. thus, the purpose of judgment is to save, not to condemn.

  1. Judgment by Fire

I will put this third into the fire,and refine them as one refines silver,and test them as gold is tested.
    Zechariah 13.9

Just as a great conflagration
Can burn up all things,
So does Buddha’s field of blessings
Burn up all fabrication.
    Garland Sutra 10 (Buddhism)

As the heat of a fire reduces wood to ashes, the fire of knowledge burns to ashes all karma. Nothing in this world purifies like spiritual wisdom.
    Bhagavad-Gita 4.37 (Hinduism)

Just as a fire quickly reduces decayed wood to ashes, so does an aspirant who is totally absorbed in the inner self and completely unattached to all external objects shake to the roots, attenuate, and wither away his karma-body.
    Samantabadhra, Aptamimamsa 24-27 (Jainism)

Make chastity your furnace, patience your smithy,
The Master’s word your anvil, and true knowledge your hammer.
Make awe of God your bellows, and with it kindle the fire of austerity.
And in the crucible of love, melt the nectar Divine.
Only in such a mint, can man be cast into the Word.
    Adi Granth, Japuji 38, M.1, p. 8 (Sikhism)

“From His right hand went forth a fiery law for them” (Deuteronomy 33.2). The words of Torah are compared to fire, for both were given from heaven, both are eternal. If a man draws near the fire, he derives benefit; if he keeps afar, he is frozen, so with the words of the Torah: if a man toils in them, they are life to him; if he separates from him, they kill him.
    Sifre Deuteronomy (Judaism)

For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
    1 Corinthians 3.11-15

Is not my word like fire, says the lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces?
    Jeremiah 23.29

With fire we test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.
    Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic 54 (Baha’i Faith)

Jesus Performed Many Miracles, Yet People Did Not Appreciate Their Value


Absolute Proof: Documentary on Election Fraud by Mike Lindell.
Lecture by America’s Frontline Doctors on Experimental biologicals (vaccines) intended to prevent the Wuhan virus.
Sign the petition against medical experimentation.

Matthew 22

41 While the Pharisees were still there, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose family will he come from?”

They answered, “He will be a son of King David.”

43 Jesus replied, “How then could the Spirit lead David to call the Messiah his Lord? David said,

44 ’The Lord said to my Lord:
    Sit at my right side
until I make your enemies
    into a footstool for you.’

45 If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be a son of King David?” 46 No one was able to give Jesus an answer, and from that day on, no one dared ask him any more questions.

Psalm 94

4 All of those cruel people
    strut and boast,
5     and they crush and wound
    your chosen nation, Lord.
6 They murder widows,
    foreigners, and orphans.
7 Then they say,
    “The Lord God of Jacob
    doesn’t see or know.”

8 Can’t you fools see?
    Won’t you ever learn?
9     God gave us ears and eyes!
    Can’t he hear and see?
10 God instructs the nations
and gives knowledge to us all.
    Won’t he also correct us?
11 The Lord knows how useless
    our plans really are.

12 Our Lord, you bless everyone
    that you instruct and teach
    by using your Law.
13 You give them rest
    from their troubles,
    until a pit can be dug
    for the wicked.
14 You won’t turn your back
    on your chosen nation.
15 Justice and fairness
    will go hand in hand,
    and all who do right
    will follow along.

Richard: Both of these readings indicate that ‘no one makes a fool out of God’.

Healing

2. Miracles

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The Bible says that Sarah, Abraham’s wife, bore Isaac when she was nearly ninety years old. Do not think that it is impossible. If you women are confident, you could also conceive by spiritual power. Spiritual power is miraculous. (283:126, April 8, 1997)

The unity of mind and body generates a mysterious, invisible power. When you enter that state, miracles occur… When you are united with God’s love, you can perform miracles. Healing fire comes out of your open palms. You can move your audience simply by willing it so… You can revive those who are [spiritually] dead…
What power is this? It is the power of love. All this is possible only through the power of love. Love is such that the more you practice it, the greater it becomes. But there is a condition. To obtain that power, you must subjugate your physical body. (282:229-30, March 26, 1997)

With absolute faith, anything is possible. Suppose while walking on the street you met a sick man. Feeling deep compassion for him, without a second thought you stretch out your hands over him, place your hands on him and pray for him sincerely with tears. Then, a miracle will happen.
Yet I do not want to be involved in miracles. Jesus performed many miracles, yet people did not appreciate their value. Despite all the miracles, he was driven to death. It is no use to heal those who are not worthy. More than miracles, what they need is truth. Truth is unchanging and eternal, but signs and miracles are fleeting. What is temporary cannot govern what is eternal. (252:258, January 1, 1994)

It is possible to revive a dead person by breathing his or her spirit self back into the physical body. Yet certain conditions are required. First, the person should not be dead for too long—not more than three days—so that the flesh has not decayed. Within that period, if the spirit is called back into the body the person can come back to life; it is not very difficult.
However, bringing someone back to life on earth after God has called that person to the spirit world requires paying a suitable price. It should either be compensation of greater value [than the person’s life], or something to benefit the whole purpose. Maybe to revive that one person, three or four others might have to die. Therefore, you should carefully consider the benefit of bringing someone back to life. If you do not take responsibility for doing it, you will violate the heavenly law. All in all, performing miracles is not necessarily good. (15:176, October 7, 1965)