Category: Matthew

For My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts

Latest Richard Urban Show: The Great Fraud-The COVID-19 Agenda-Part 8-Defeating Godless Globalism.
Podcast: https://www.visionroot.org/podcast/
Podcast feed for podcast players: https://www.visionroot.org/feed/podcast/

Luke 12

12 As thousands of people crowded around Jesus and were stepping on each other, he told his disciples:

Be sure to guard against the dishonest teaching[a] of the Pharisees! It is their way of fooling people. 2 Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. 3 Whatever you say in the dark will be heard when it is day. Whatever you whisper in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.

Richard: Bill Gates, Anthony Fauci and their many supporters will be busted over this fraudulent COVID-19 stituation. Listen to the Richard Urban Show: Defeating Godless Globalism and Devilish Depopulation: https://www.visionroot.org/2020/04/11/defeating-godless-globalism/ .

Matthew 28

18 Jesus came to them and said:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19 Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Richard: Amen and Aju!

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Part 1
God and Creation

Chapter 1
God
Knowledge of God

Formless, Invisible, Mystery

God is formless and invisible. He is beyond any human concept, hidden and inscrutable: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” In the monotheistic religions, the prohibition of images is a statement about the utter transcendence of God, for to represent God by an idol is to reduce the infinite to finitude. Eastern religions likewise assert that no words or intellectual concepts can properly convey the nature of Ultimate Reality. How can finite human knowledge comprehend the supreme Knower and source of mind itself? Father Moon affirms that God is formless, invisible and beyond human knowledge, but then adds something more: God is not content to remain that way. The invisible God’s ultimate purpose is to manifest Himself in the visible form of Man. Accordingly, God does not leave us forever in ignorance, but in the Last Days He reveals all matters hidden in His heart. What is more, we will advance to the point where we can fully embody God’s nature and become His representatives on earth.

No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision; He is above all comprehension, Yet is acquainted with all things. Qur’an 6.103

The way that can be spoken of Is not the eternal Way; The name that can be named Is not the eternal name. The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth; The named was the mother of the myriad creatures. Hence always rid yourself of desire in order to observe its secrets; But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. These two are the same But diverge in name as they issue forth. Being the same they are called mysteries, Mystery upon mystery— The gateway of the manifold secrets. Tao Te Ching 1 (Taoism)

The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless Self has neither caste nor race, Neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great And in the small, everlasting and changeless, The source of life. Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.6 (Hinduism)

The Supreme Soul is neither long nor short, nor a circle nor a triangle, nor a quadrilateral nor a sphere. He is neither black nor blue nor red nor yellow nor white. He is neither a pleasant smell nor an unpleasant smell. He is neither pungent nor bitter nor astringent nor sour nor sweet. He is neither hard nor soft, neither heavy nor light, neither cold nor hot, neither rough nor smooth. He is bodiless. He is not subject to birth. He is free from attachment. He is neither female nor male nor neuter. He is immaculate knowledge and intuition. There exists no simile to comprehend him. He is formless existence. He is what baffles all terminology. There is no word to comprehend him. He is neither sound nor form nor odor nor taste nor touch. Only so much I say. Acarangasutra 5.126-40 (Jainism)
Here, O Shariputra, form is emptiness, and the very emptiness is form; empti­ness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form. The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness. Heart Sutra (Buddhism)

Truly thou art a God who hidest thyself. Isaiah 45.15

Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. Job 11.7-9

The Intelligence which reveals all—by what shall it be revealed? By whom shall the Knower be known? The Self is described as “not this, not that” (neti, neti). It is incomprehensible, for it cannot be comprehended; undecaying, for it never decays; unattached, for it never attaches itself; unbound, for it is never bound. By whom, O my beloved, shall the Knower be known?10 Bhrihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.5.15 (Hinduism)

Who sees me by form, Who seeks me in sound, Perverted are his footsteps upon the Way; For he cannot perceive the Tathagata. Diamond Sutra 26 (Buddhism)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. Isaiah 55.8

Invent not similitudes for God; for God knows, and you know not. Qur’an 16.74

Moses said, “I pray thee, show me thy glory.” And [the Lord] said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand upon the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.” Exodus 33.18-23

Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. Deuteronomy 4.15-18

In the beginning was God, Today is God Tomorrow will be God. Who can make an image of God? He has no body. He is as a word which comes out of your mouth. That word! It is no more, It is past, and still it lives! So is God. Pygmy Hymn (African Traditional Religions)

Glorified and Sanctified be God’s Great Name throughout the World

Matthew 3

3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Ezekiel 1

25 When the creatures stopped flapping their wings, I heard a sound coming from above the dome. 26 I then saw what looked like a throne made of sapphire,[l] and sitting on the throne was a figure in the shape of a human. 27 From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light, 28 as colorful as a rainbow that appears after a storm.

I realized I was seeing the brightness of the Lord’s glory! So I bowed with my face to the ground, and just then I heard a voice speaking to me.

World Scripture and the teachings of Sun Myung Moon

From the Preface:

World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon builds on the foundation of World Scripture: a
Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts (1991). That volume was a pioneering work in the annals of
religious literature. Never before were the scriptures of the world’s religions examined so systematically to illuminate their universal teachings and underscore their common ground. Never before
had a major work drawing on sacred texts articulated a vision of inter-religious compatibility and
harmony.

Invocation, p 1

We open with representative prayers from the world’s religions. They invoke, give thanks, and affirm the efficacious influence of Absolute Reality in human life. Many of these prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer, the Fatihah, the Kaddish, the Gayatri, and the Family Pledge of Father Moon, are recited daily or weekly as part of regular worship.

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6.9-13, The Lord’s Prayer


In the name of God, the Beneficent, the
Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful,
Owner of the Day of Judgment.
Thee alone we worship; Thee alone we ask for
help.
Show us the straight path:
The path of those whom Thou hast favored;
Not of those who earn Thine anger
Nor of those who go astray.
Qur’an 1, The Fatihah


Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name
throughout the world which he has created
according to his will. May he establish his king-
dom in your lifetime and during your days, and
within the life of the entire house of Israel
speedily and soon; and say, Amen.
May his great name be blessed forever and to
all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled
and honored, adored and lauded be the name
of the Holy One, blessed be he, beyond all the
blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May the prayers and supplications of the whole
house of Israel be accepted by their Father who
is in heaven; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and
life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
He who creates peace in his celestial heights,
may he create peace for us and for all Israel; and
say, Amen.
The Kaddish (Judaism)

OM.
We meditate upon the glorious splendor
Of the Vivifier divine.
May He Himself illumine our minds.
OM.
Rig Veda 3.62.10, The Gayatri Mantra (Hinduism)

Homage to Him, the Exalted One, the
Arahant, the All-enlightened One.
To the Buddha I go for refuge.
To the Norm I go for refuge.
To the Order I go for refuge.
Khuddaka Patha (Buddhism)

From the unreal lead me to the Real!
From darkness lead me to light!
From death lead me to immortality!
OM.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28 (Hinduism)

May the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon
you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6.24-26, The Aaronic Benediction

God Predestines the Accomplishment of His Will Conditionally

Matthew 12

22 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. 23 The crowds were so amazed that they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”

Jeremiah 22

If you obey me, the kings from David’s family will continue to rule Judah from this palace. They and their officials will ride in and out on their horses or in their chariots. 5 But if you ignore me, I promise in my own name that this palace will lie in ruins. 6 Listen to what I think about it:

The palace of Judah’s king
is as glorious as Gilead
    or Lebanon’s highest peaks.
But it will be as empty
as a ghost-town
    when I’m through with it.
7 I’ll send troops to tear it apart,
and its beautiful cedar beams
    will be used for firewood.

8 People from different nations will pass by and ask, “Why did the Lord do this to such a great city as Jerusalem?” 9 Others will answer, “It’s because the people worshiped foreign gods and broke the agreement that the Lord their God had made with them.”

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

Predestination

Theological controversy over predestination has caused great confusion in the religious lives of many people. Let us begin by examining the source of this controversy. In the Bible, we find many passages which are often interpreted to mean that everything in an individual’s life—prosperity and decline, happiness and misery, salvation and damnation, as well as the rise and fall of nations—comes to pass exactly as predestined by God.

Yet we can also find sufficient evidence in the Bible to refute the doctrine of absolute predestination.  Since there are ample grounds in the Bible to justify either of these two contrasting doctrines, controversy over the issue of predestination has been inevitable. How can the Principle solve this problem?

THE PREDESTINATION OF GOD’S WILL

 Before discussing the predestination of God’s Will, let us first examine what is being willed. Let us remember: God could not accomplish His purpose of creation due to the human Fall. Accordingly, God’s Will in carrying out His providence for fallen humanity is still to accomplish the purpose of creation. In this sense, God’s Will is that restoration be accomplished.

 To what extent does God predestine His Will—the ultimate accomplishment of the purpose of creation? God is the absolute Being, unique, eternal and unchanging; therefore, the purpose of His creation must also be absolute, unique, eternal and unchanging. Likewise, His Will for the providence of restoration, the goal of which is the accomplishment of the purpose of creation, must also be absolute, unique and unchanging. It follows that God’s predestination of His Will—that the purpose of creation one day be fulfilled—must also be absolute, as it is written, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”

THE PREDESTINATION OF THE WAY IN WHICH GOD’S WILL IS FULFILLED

 According to the Principle of Creation, God’s purpose of creation can be realized only when human beings complete their portion of responsibility. Although God’s Will to realize this purpose through the providence of restoration is absolute and beyond human influence, its fulfillment necessarily requires the accomplishment of the human portion of responsibility.

To what extent does God predestine the unfolding of the events in the providence? Although God’s Will to realize the purpose of the providence of restoration is absolute, God predestines the process of its accomplishment conditionally, contingent upon the five percent responsibility of the central figure, which must be completed in addition to the ninety-five percent responsibility of God. The proportion of five percent is used to indicate that the human portion of responsibility is extremely small when compared to God’s portion of responsibility. Yet for human beings, this five percent is equivalent to one hundred percent of our effort.

View slides 1 to 16 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

2007p1-CHAPT-6-Predestination_revised-4-28-2014

The Main Reason Jesus Had to Die on the Cross Was the Failure of John the Baptist

Matthew 23

23 The Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death. So that same day some of the Sadducees came to Jesus and said:

24 Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother.

Richard: Having children (when you are married!) is very important.

Psalm 115

12 The Lord will not forget
    to give us his blessing;
    he will bless all of Israel
    and the family of Aaron.
13 All who worship the Lord,
no matter who they are,
    will receive his blessing.

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

THE SECOND COMING OF ELIJAH AND JOHN THE BAPTIST

 The prophet Malachi foretold that Elijah would come again: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” Jesus testified that the prophesied coming of Elijah was realized in none other than John the Baptist: “I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. . . .” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. —Matt. 17:12-13

2.1 THE JEWISH BELIEF IN THE RETURN OF ELIJAH

Since the disciples already believed that Jesus was the Messiah, they willingly accepted his testimony that John the Baptist was Elijah. Yet how could others who did not know Jesus accept this controversial claim?

2.2 THE DIRECTION THE JEWISH PEOPLE WOULD CHOOSE

Jesus made it plain that John the Baptist was the very Elijah whom the people were so anxiously awaiting, while on the contrary, John the Baptist himself flatly negated this claim. Whose words were the Jewish people to believe? This matter obviously depended on which of the two, Jesus or John, appeared more credible and respectable in the eyes of the people of that time.

When the Jewish people of Jesus’ day compared Jesus and John the Baptist, who appeared more credible to them? Without a doubt, John’s words had more credibility. Therefore, they naturally believed John the Baptist when he denied being Elijah more than they believed Jesus’ testimony that John was Elijah. Since the people believed John, they considered Jesus’ words to be a fabrication concocted to support his dubious claim to be the Messiah. Consequently, Jesus was condemned as an impostor.

2.3 THE FAITHLESSNESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

 Many among the Jewish leadership and people of Jesus’ day had the highest respect for John the Baptist; some even thought of him as the Messiah. Had John the Baptist announced that he was Elijah, as Jesus had testified, those who were eagerly waiting for the Messiah would have readily believed John’s testimony and flocked to Jesus. Instead, John’s ignorance of God’s providence, which led him to insist that he was not Elijah, became the principal reason why the Jewish people did not come to Jesus. Here we have come to understand that the main reason why Jesus had to die on the cross was the failure of John the Baptist.

2.4 THE SENSE IN WHICH JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS ELIJAH

 We have stated previously that John the Baptist was to inherit and complete the mission which Elijah had left unfinished on earth. As recorded in the Bible, he was born with the mission to go before the Lord, “in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Hence, in terms of his mission, John was the second coming of Elijah.

2.5 OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE BIBLE

We have been reading the Bible based on the unquestioned belief that John the Baptist was a great prophet. Our new insight into John the Baptist teaches us that we should dispense with the conservative attitude of faith which makes us afraid to question conventional beliefs and traditional doctrines.

View slides 33 to 53 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

2007p1-CHAPT-4-The-Messiah-_revised-4-28-2014

Teach Liberation of God and Sacrificial Love for Mankind

John 4

34 Jesus said:

My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do. 35 You may say that there are still four months until harvest time. But I tell you to look, and you will see that the fields are ripe and ready to harvest.

36 Even now the harvest workers are receiving their reward by gathering a harvest that brings eternal life. Then everyone who planted the seed and everyone who harvests the crop will celebrate together. 37 So the saying proves true, “Some plant the seed, and others harvest the crop.” 38 I am sending you to harvest crops in fields where others have done all the hard work.

Richard: As we witness to God and Christ we should realize that many have been involved in preparing the harvest. I remember hearing a sermon where the pastor stated that an average of eight people witness to someone before they come to Christ.

Matthew 11

20 In the towns where Jesus had worked most of his miracles, the people refused to turn to God. So Jesus was upset with them and said:

21 You people of Chorazin are in for trouble! You people of Bethsaida are in for trouble too! If the miracles that took place in your towns had happened in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have turned to God long ago. They would have dressed in sackcloth and put ashes on their heads.[e] 22 I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Tyre and Sidon will get off easier than you will.

23 People of Capernaum, do you think you will be honored in heaven? You will go down to hell! If the miracles that took place in your town had happened in Sodom, that town would still be standing. 24 So I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than you.

Richard: Invitations to learn about God and His Kingdom are important. We should be aware of the messengers of God, lest we fall in judgement.

Selected Passages from the Words of Rev. Sun Myung Moon about Home Church

Today’s Word magazine, September 1981 pp. 12 – 13

Become People’s parents

Home church will not make you merely a
messiah to your people. but also their true parent.
That is God’s goal. ( 1/14/79)

Act, think and feel like a parent to your 360
homes. Think. I am holding these 360 homes;
because of me, they cannot leave God; because of
me, they will receive the blessing. This is parental
heart. (4/14/79)

With a parental heart. you should pray for your
home church people, loving them as your children
who are struggling in hell. Your heart as a parent
must be grieved and filled with longing to save
them. If you do not have this real love, push
yourself until you do. No one has to teach a parent
to love his children. If you feel like a parent to
your home church, then your love will have that
quality; without anyone having to teach you, you
will then know how to give it. (4/15/79)

You have to supply your home church with the
essential elements for their particular stage of
growth. just as though they were in their mother’s
womb. Those who are already born spiritually have
to be given much love. You have to be exemplary in
showing this life to those who follow and have
confidence that if they follow you, then one day
they will go to the bosom of God’s love. You have to
be confident that you are doing as God does,
supplying all the elements they need. ( 1/20/80)

At first, home church people will not welcome
you, but soon they will say that unless you come to
visit them, they cannot sleep well. Eventually. they
will think, This Moonie loves me more than God
and Jesus do. He is like my parent; I could have no
better parent than he. ( 1/1/79)

If your home church members are really
grateful and willing to sacrifice for kingdom-
building. then expansion to the home country is
possible. Through home church, you shall be
superior to any past saint, servant of God or
patriot of history. ( 1/14/79)

Educate the people
Why do you go to home church? First, you want
to educate the people. This education has the goal
to awaken the people and bring them to the
heavenly side. This education will give them birth.
Once they see the vision of the truth and the
ideal, they will no longer live in darkness.
The home church mission is accomplished by
people who take up the divine position as educa-
tors of mankind, teaching people how to love God
and liberate the rest of mankind. We are going to
teach the world these things: liberation of God
and sacrificial love for mankind. We will sacri-
fice ourselves to educate the people and love them.
If you do that, then without question God w111
dwell with you and will lead your home church,
working with you day after day. ( 1/1/79)