Category: New Testament

The Time of Fantastic and Illusory Notions of Faith Has Passed

Urban Life Training Monthly Newsletter:

In this issue:
Urban Family Life Success Training Report
Update on forced vaccination in Washington DC and West Virginia
President Trump Comments on Big Pharma Price Gouging

Genesis 38

15 When Judah came along, he did not recognize her because of the veil. He thought she was a prostitute 16 and asked her to sleep with him. She asked, “What will you give me if I do?”

17 “One of my young goats,” he answered.

“What will you give me to keep until you send the goat?” she asked.

18 “What do you want?” he asked in return.

“The ring on that cord around your neck,” was her reply. “I also want the special walking stick[c] you have with you.” He gave them to her, they slept together, and she became pregnant.

19 After returning home, Tamar took off the veil and dressed in her widow’s clothes again.

20 Judah had his friend Hirah take a goat to the woman, so he could get back the ring and walking stick, but she wasn’t there. 21 Hirah asked the people of Enaim, “Where is the prostitute who sat along the road outside your town?”

“There’s never been one here,” they answered.

22 Hirah went back and told Judah, “I couldn’t find the woman, and the people of Enaim said no prostitute had ever been there.”

23 “If you couldn’t find her, we’ll just let her keep the things I gave her,” Judah answered. “And we’d better forget about the goat, or else we’ll look like fools.”

24 About three months later someone told Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has behaved like a prostitute, and now she’s pregnant!”

“Drag her out of town and burn her to death!” Judah shouted.

25 As Tamar was being dragged off, she sent someone to tell her father-in-law, “The man who gave me this ring, this cord, and this walking stick is the one who got me pregnant.”

26 “Those are mine!” Judah admitted. “She’s a better person than I am, because I broke my promise to let her marry my son Shelah.” After this, Judah never slept with her again.

Richard: Tamar risked her life to fulfill God’s will. As Jesus said (Mt. 10:39) ”
39 If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it. “

Matthew 10

16 I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Watch out for people who will take you to court and have you beaten in their meeting places. 18 Because of me, you will be dragged before rulers and kings to tell them and the Gentiles about your faith. 19 But when someone arrests you, don’t worry about what you will say or how you will say it. At that time you will be given the words to say. 20 But you will not really be the one speaking. The Spirit from your Father will tell you what to say.

The True Sons and Daughters of Heavenly Father Who Will Remain in the Last Days

Rev Sun Myung Moon
July 26, 1959

Romans 8: 12-27

What do we mean when we say that we have not understood Jesus accurately nor served him properly? Ever since Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden and could not grow up inside God’s bosom, Jesus was able to appear before Israel only after four thousand years of fierce battle with Satan. Yet the Jews did not understand this. If the Jews of that time had submitted themselves to Jesus, the failures of Moses during the Exodus, the failures of Noah’s family, the failures of Abraham’s family, and the murder of Abel could have been all corrected as victories. Jesus embodies such tremendous value. He was the living incarnation of history. He was the living incarnation whom God had been seeking throughout the four thousand years of His providence. Although Adam died, since the heart of the Father who had been raising him up did not die, that was the living incarnation.

In the last days, many people will come forward with the teaching that they are the center of the universe. However, what is the purpose of the providence of God who has been working through the six thousand years? It is recovering what was lost. What kind of man is Jesus, who was sent due to Adam’s mistake? He is the second Adam. Christians claim that Jesus is God Himself, but they are mistaken. It is written in the Bible that Jesus is the last Adam.

The true son whom God is seeking now is the third Adam. Before the third Adam can stand in the position of the true son, it does no good to claim to be a bride or an adopted son. Although Jesus came with the glory of a son, he could not play the role of a son. In order to act as one, all the necessary preparations must be completed in Heaven. Then it is not enough to have just a son. The preparations can be complete only when there is a bride.

What was lost in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve were lost. Adam and Eve were to become the true ancestors of humanity. However, because the true ancestors of humanity were lost, the true ancestors must be restored.

Jesus is in the position of a father. He is like the father of humanity. The Holy Spirit is a mother spirit, the mother of humanity. The purpose of the Second Advent is to manifest substantially on the earth the true mother and true father.

The Last Days are when true sons and daughters appear before humanity. What kind of time is that? Since we have become the descendants of the Fall and have lost the lineal relationship with true parents when we lost the true ancestors, the Last Days are the time when the reverse path is taken and the sons and daughters lost in the Garden of Eden are to be recovered. God’s work is to forge relationships with a reversal process, the work of restoration, to elevate people to the position of adopted children. If you think that what I am saying is wrong, then go to the spirit world and protest. If you were to ask, “So and so said this, but is this true?” then they would reassure you that it is true.

The time of fantastic and illusory notions of faith has passed. The time of believing in a conceptual God and living under such concepts is also behind us. You should attain a certain standard where your flesh, bones and heart come together in oneness so that you can call God your father and be able to boast of the father-son relationship after connecting your heart to the heart of the Father, who has been exerting Himself for six thousand years.

Humanity, which is seeking Heaven and the world of purpose, should walk this path. For this reason in the East they have advocated Confucian ethics: give all of your heart and soul for Heaven, exert yourself for the sake of your parents, become a patriot, and uphold chastity in order to build heavenly relationships in your immediate environment. In the East, people upheld internal trends of thought, while the West is more external. It will come around to the external sphere. You wait and see.

The time of the success of the adopted children is the twentieth century up till now. The ideal world which will come is the time that the true sons and daughters will become successful. Wouldn’t that be natural if God existed? The past was a time when the children of others prospered; now is the time when adopted children based in the democratic sphere centering on Christianity prosper. The time after this period is when true sons and daughters live in prosperity. That is the time of the Second Coming and the time of the ideal that Christians are waiting for.

What should we do to become true sons and daughters who can rise to such positions, whom God will seek? You should not boast about how you have been a devout believer for so many years. All those who seek happiness based on the name of Jesus, saying, “I am a minister of this church; I am a leader of that church; through my efforts so many people have come to know Jesus and follow him,” are not worthy. Why? It is because during the six thousand years of the providence, God has never had one day or one moment when He was truly happy. How can a father who is so desperately seeking for true sons and daughters be happy when He has not yet found them?

In the course of history there have been a lot of people who enjoyed themselves. There have been people with power and authority who have received glory in place of God. Yet God, who has been struggling for four thousand and six thousand years, searching for His sons and daughters, never had such moments of happiness. God, who should enjoy glory and happiness, has never had such a time.

Let us Understand Heaven though the Deepest Part of our Hearts

Mark 16

9 After the Lord Jesus had said these things to the disciples, he was taken back up to heaven where he sat down at the right side[b] of God. 20 Then the disciples left and preached everywhere. The Lord was with them, and the miracles they worked proved that their message was true.

Richard: This Saturday, August 17th, we will celebrate the seventh anniversary of the ascension, or Seongwha, of Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Proverbs 21

The Lord controls rulers,
    just as he determines
    the course of rivers.
2 We may think we are doing
    the right thing,
    but the Lord always knows
    what is in our hearts.
3 Doing what is right and fair
    pleases the Lord
    more than an offering.
4 Evil people are proud
    and arrogant,
    but sin is the only crop
    they produce.[a]
5 If you plan and work hard,
    you will have plenty;
    if you get in a hurry,
    you will end up poor.

The True Sons and Daughters of Heavenly Father Who Will Remain in the Last Days

Rev Sun Myung Moon
July 26, 1959

Romans 8: 12-27

12 My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. 13 If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God’s Spirit you say “No” to your desires. 14 Only those people who are led by God’s Spirit are his children. 15 God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.[a] 16 God’s Spirit makes us sure that we are his children. 17 His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ we will be given what God has promised. We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him.

18 I am sure that what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us. 19 In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. 20 Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope 21 that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. 22 We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth.

23 The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children.[b] This means that our bodies will also be set free. 24 And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. 25 However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it.

26 In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.

Prayer

Father, we know that You need not speak many words to those of us You have gathered here today. All we need is the heartfelt desire to be embraced in the Father’s bosom. We know that when You call us, “My beloved sons and daughters” with a heart of longing which springs forth from the depth of Your being, we can be filled completely. This is the moment when liberation is completed.

Father, when we hear Your heavenly voice, let us be fully intoxicated in Your loving heart. You know that we long for the moment when we can be overwhelmed by a heart of longing and can transcend our conscious thoughts to be embraced in Your bosom. Please grant us such a blessing.

We pray sincerely that You will guide us not to understand Heaven through the words we will receive, but rather to understand Heaven through the deepest part of our hearts. Please lead us not to seek salvation through the words. Rather, guide us to sing songs of life before the Father with our hearts. In this way, please allow us to understand how arduous and painful the Father’s path has been. Let us humbly bow our heads and offer You consolation.

If we possess anything valuable, please lead us not to keep it as our own. If we possess anything worthy of pride, please lead us not to consider that the source of our pride.

If we have a goal in our life, guide us to seek it with our hearts. If there is to be some substance to our life, please let our one heart be that substance.

Many people have come before the Father. Please guide them to find on their own who they live for, what purpose they live for, and in what direction they are heading. These pitiful ones have no master to claim them. We know that if someone can be recognized as one whom others want to share their hearts with eternally, there can be no greater joy.

Father. We have come to realize that the Father who calls us with the heart of eternal life, the eternal ideology, and eternal love dwells within our hearts. What belongs to the Father belongs to us and what belongs to us belongs to the Father. The Father longs for sons and daughters who can sing and rejoice based on one ideology. We yearn for the time when, after serving the Father and offering all glorious elements to the Father, we can rejoice and be proud before all of Heaven and earth.

Father, You understand all this. Please connect our hearts and move everything of the past, both in Heaven and on earth, and bring them into harmony in the world of heart. Please allow this to be a moment when we can make a firm determination in a state of surpassing joy. May that determination bring glory.

I am about to give the words of truth. I do not want to convey just the contents of the words. Please work through me to convey Your words and let us fathom the heart of the Father and discover our true selves.

We know that Satan works to put a gap between the heart of the speaker and the hearts of the listeners. Therefore, please let this be an hour when we can unite in one heart and serve the Father together. I prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The Second Israelites of the World Must Unite

Hebrews 10

19 My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us courage to enter the most holy place 20 by a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the curtain that is Christ himself.

21 We have a great high priest who is in charge of God’s house. 22 So let’s come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let’s keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water. 23 We must hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us. 24 We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. 25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.

26 No sacrifices can be made for people who decide to sin after they find out about the truth. 27 They are God’s enemies, and all they can look forward to is a terrible judgment and a furious fire. 28 If two or more witnesses accused someone of breaking the Law of Moses, that person could be put to death. 29 But it is much worse to dishonor God’s Son and to disgrace the blood of the promise that made us holy. And it is just as bad to insult the Holy Spirit, who shows us mercy. 30 We know that God has said he will punish and take revenge. We also know that the Scriptures say the Lord will judge his people. 31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

32 Don’t forget all the hard times you went through when you first received the light. 33 Sometimes you were abused and mistreated in public, and at other times you shared in the sufferings of others. 34 You were kind to people in jail. And you gladly let your possessions be taken away, because you knew you had something better, something that would last forever.

35 Keep on being brave! It will bring you great rewards. 36 Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised. 37 As the Scriptures say,

“God is coming soon!
    It won’t be very long.
38 The people God accepts
will live
because
    of their faith.[b]
But he isn’t pleased
with anyone
    who turns back.”

39 We are not like those people who turn back and get destroyed. We will keep on having faith until we are saved.

Psalm 97

If you obey and do right,
a light will show you the way
    and fill you with happiness.
12 You are the Lord’s people!
    So celebrate and praise
    the only God.

Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

Christians today are the second foundation of Israel. Christians of the world today should awaken. They should awaken to the fact that they are the second Israel. Then, even if they suffer untold tribulations here, when the one day comes, they will be able to take pride in themselves under the power and authority of Heaven. This is the day of the Second Advent, which they long for.

What should the second Israel of the world today do? When the Israelites passed through the wilderness, they were divided into tribes. Which group do you, the second Israelites, belong to? You have to understand this. You have to understand to which group you belong.

There are twelve pearl doors in Heaven, and on each of those twelve doors there is a name plaque of one of the twelve disciples. Hence, you have to understand which denomination you belong to and which tribe your denomination belongs to. The second Israelites lost the tribes. This is much like the time of wandering in the wilderness. This is such a time. You will soon encounter a time when a people like the Amalekites will attack you. You will have to fight a life or death battle. The two great camps are in confrontation, and one camp is attacking and marching forward. Heaven does not strike first. When the day of striking comes, they will strike on the level of ideology, heart, mind and in life. They will invade and strike us from the direction opposite to the origin.

We must wake up and renew our determination. The second Israelites of the world must unite. If we fight among ourselves over our position and group as the twelve disciples of Jesus did, we will be defeated. Such a time will come.

The Israelites formed twelve tribes under the leadership of Moses and cultivated a strong spirit of the people, honoring Moses and God. In the same way, in Jesus’ time there should have been a formation of groups for the purpose of serving the Messiah. If that had been accomplished, Jesus would not have died. They lost their structure and were separated. Taking separate paths and working without coordination and unity will lead to defeat. Isn’t this so?

Maintain an Intense Desire that God Should be Relieved of His Suffering

Luke 11

37 When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him home for a meal. Jesus went and sat down to eat.[e] 38 The Pharisee was surprised that he did not wash his hands[f] before eating. 39 So the Lord said to him:

You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but on the inside you are greedy and evil. 40 You fools! Didn’t God make both the outside and the inside?[g] 41 If you would only give what you have to the poor, everything you do would please God.

42 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as mint and rue. But you cheat people, and you don’t love God. You should be fair and kind to others and still give a tenth to God.

43 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You love the front seats in the meeting places, and you like to be greeted with honor in the market. 44 But you are in for trouble! You are like unmarked graves[h] that people walk on without even knowing it.

Nehemiah 7

73 And so, by the seventh month,[g] priests, Levites, temple guards, musicians, workers, and many of the ordinary people had settled in the towns of Judah.

Matthew 25

1 When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. 32 The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.

33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. 35 When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”

37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”

40 The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”


Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

During the two thousand years from Abraham to Jesus, God established faith as the condition for the Israelites. If individuals believed, they could graduate from that level and pioneer the foundation upon which families could believe. If a family believed, then God elevated a people to the next level of pioneering the foundation upon which a nation could believe. If a nation believed, He took them further and pioneered the foundation upon which the world could believe. You have to understand this.

What kind of person was Abraham, the father of faith, whom God chose? In our terms today, he was a spy in Satan’s world who could communicate with God as an individual. Since the world belonged to Satan, no one received Abraham warmly. Because everyone was his enemy, he had to use discretion when he heard and saw things. He had to use wise judgment in his thoughts and be cautious in his actions.

When he was eating a meal or sleeping, he could not be at ease. In his daily life, he always had to pay close attention to the people around him. This is the path our ancestors who upheld God’s providence and will walked.

God called Abraham, whom He chose, from Ur of the Chaldeans and put him in such a situation. He drove him out to the wilderness. There Abraham awaited the coming of the day when God’s reign could be established. We have to understand that our ancestors left their homeland waiting for the day that the sons and daughters whom God had blessed would multiply and fill the earth like the stars in the sky and smite the evil world.

Why? Since we are enslaved in the country of our enemies, inside their prison bars, we should feel thoroughly disgusted. If you cannot feel this, then you are not worthy to be called true believers before Heaven.

For what purpose did God raise Abraham? It was to use him as a channel to communicate with people far away, those who were in the enemy’s camp and in Satan’s world. Then he was to expand outward horizontally on that basis. However, because the relationship between Heaven and earth is fragile, God had to work through the direct lineage of Abraham, referring to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You have to understand this.

When Isaac and Abraham received the blessing, what did they possess? The only thing they had was their qualification as the chosen people. God blessed Abraham on the condition, “You cannot compromise with Satan’s world. You cannot blend in with Satan’s world. You are My chosen people. Your life is different, your feelings, desires and ideals are all different. Your descendants will live only if they bring victory through Me.” Abraham had to bless Isaac from this perspective. Isaac blessed Jacob from this same perspective, and Jacob blessed his descendants in the same way. Nonetheless, the Israelites betrayed this connection which came down to them through their tradition and blessing.

After Abraham was chosen, he pioneered the individual environment of faith. Then Jacob took seventy members of his family and entered Egypt. What did God do based on this foundation of a family? He chased them out into Satan’s world in order to form a people. It was not their own country; it was the center of Satan’s world. God drove them into Egypt, Satan’s world, the historical enemies of the Israelites. Isn’t this true?

Based on this foundation of a family, they were to endure any kind of suffering, any path of death and grief. They had to endure to the point of forming a nation. Even as the Israelites suffered in a foreign land for four hundred years, they were to maintain an intense desire that God should be relieved of His suffering. However, although the four-thousand-year history passed, the Israelites deviated from the traditional desires, situations and heart of God. Moses was the person who came to resolve this situation. Moses was the leader of the 600,000 Israelites. He was the leader of the people.

We are the Descendants Propagated from the point of Origin with different desires

1 Peter 3

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”[a]

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”[c] 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive,[d] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all,were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.[e] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Amos 7

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”

14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,

“‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
    and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
    and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
    and you yourself will die in a pagan[c] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,
    away from their native land.’”

Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

To understand ourselves, we have to understand the value of those we are in relationship with. Our minds do not create the truths and ideologies that our actions are based upon. First, we have to put ourselves in a position where we can feel that we are in a relationship with someone or something.

When God comes to us, He always comes in front of us. That which is good will not come from the side, but from the front.

Then where are we going to set the standard of knowledge? If what comes in front of us can connect everything, all knowledge, and can move the world of the conscience, then we have to understand that this is the one standard which can explain us. When you understand this, you will see people in a different light.

Many believers today boast of their faith: “I understand God, I believe in God, I rely on God.” Yet if we were to ask what the origin of their knowledge is, in what environment they uphold their faith, and what situation their life of faith in God is in, we find that unless they are in an eternal relationship with their minds, none of them will be recognized by God, trusted by God or blessed with God’s intervention.

God chose the Israelites as His chosen people. God raised them up out of many peoples to love only Him. How do you think God raised them up? He related to them head on. God shortens the distance of the relationship and drives history into an environment where He can have an intimate relationship with people.

Jesus said when he came to the earth, “I am in you, you are in me, the Father is in me and I am in the Father, so the Father is also in you.” For what purpose did God choose the Israelites and guide them? It was to bring them into a straight linear line and make the condition upon which He could say, “You are Me and I am you.” We have to understand that this is the relationship of knowledge God has sought.

Due to the Fall, human beings deviated from the position where God can relate with them head on. Human beings who relate with God head on with respect to their desires, situations and hearts are people of original value.

Due to the Fall, human beings’ desires, situations and hearts went awry, so they were chased out of Heaven. All the countless people who ever lived, from the first human ancestors to now, did not have the right desires, situations and hearts. In other words there was no one in history who said, “I can move Heaven and earth.” Your desires are twisted, your situations are wrong, and your hearts are facing the wrong direction.

What kind of descendants are we? Fundamentally, we are the descendants propagated from the point of origin with different desires, different situations and different hearts. In other words we have not become people who can stand in front of God with the desires, situations and hearts that God wants to see. If we do not know what state our desires, situations and hearts are in, then we do not understand ourselves.