Category: Numbers

True Believers Are Filled with Awe at the Mention of God

Numbers 9

23 They obeyed the Lord’s commands and went wherever he directed Moses.

Psalm 104

8 The Lord is merciful!
He is kind and patient,
    and his love never fails.
9 The Lord won’t always be angry
    and point out our sins;
10     he doesn’t punish us
    as our sins deserve.

Islam

Today Islam is playing a major role in God’s unfolding providence. Father Moon finds in Muslims a firm faith and moral clarity that is sorely needed in this relativistic age, when Christianity has grown feeble. He totally rejects the “clash of civilizations” scenario that would see the Muslim world as an enemy of the West. Because Islam is a higher religion, it has the spiritual blessing to be one of the pillars of the Kingdom of God.
Islam is a righteous religion, and holds itself above Judaism and Christianity, which it regards as filled with errors and hypocrisy. Nevertheless, what is required in this age is reconciliation between these three religions as the spiritual mainstays of humanity. Father Moon identifies the source of their conflict neither in doctrine nor in the events surrounding Muhammad’s ministry, but rather in the crucifixion of Jesus, which sowed the seeds that have borne their inevitable fruit in the contemporary world. Resolving the mistakes of that time will require the concerted efforts of all—Christians, Jews and Muslims—the descendants of the actors in that drama.

1. A Religion of Faith and Righteousness

You are the best community that has been raised up for mankind. You enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and you believe in God.
    Qur’an 3.110

God has endeared the Faith to you, and has made it beautiful in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you unbelief, wickedness, and rebellion: such indeed are those who walk in righteousness—a grace and favor from God.
    Qur’an 49.7

We believe in God, and in that which has been sent down on us and sent down on Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and the Tribes, and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and the Prophets; of their Lord; we make no division between any of them, and to Him we surrender.
    Qur’an 2.136

This [Qur’an] is the Book which We have revealed as a blessing; so follow it and be righteous, that you may receive mercy; lest you should say, “The Book was send down to two peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with what they learned by studying it”; or lest you should say, “If only the Book had been sent down to us, we should have followed its guidance better than they.” Now then has come to you a clear proof from your Lord, and a guide and a mercy; then who could do more wrong than one who rejects Allah’s revelations and turns away from them?
    Qur’an 6.155-157

The true believers are those whose hearts are filled with awe at the mention of God, and whose faith grows stronger as they listen to His revelations. They put their trust in their Lord, pray steadfastly, and give in alms of that which We have given them. Such are the true believers. They shall be exalted and forgiven by their Lord, and a generous provision shall be made for them.
    Qur’an 8.2-4

O you who believe, be upright for Allah, bearers of witness with justice; and let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably. Be just; that is nearer to observance of duty. And keep your duty to Allah. Surely Allah is aware of what you do.
    Qur’an 5.8

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Islam is a comprehensive religion. It adopted the teachings of the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible, but with God alone as its center. It was founded with contents appropriate to Arab culture. (39:316, January 16, 1971)

Today Islam will become a prophetic religion to ignite this deviating world. (39:42, January 9, 1971)

The Grand Mufti of Syria is a leader of accomplished self-discipline who has highly cultivated his spirit. After World War II he received a revelation from Heaven that dreadful punishment would come unless Islam united with Judaism and Christianity. Because he kept this revelation for forty years, he was persecuted and imprisoned several times. Still, he could not fulfill Heaven’s commission.
    After learning of my interreligious activities, he was moved to think, “I should go and visit Father Moon.” (212:324, January 11, 1991)

 

You Are Peter, and on This Rock I Will Build My Church

Numbers 36

36 One day the family leaders from the Gilead clan of the Manasseh tribe went to Moses and the other family leaders of Israel 2 and said, “Sir, the Lord has said that he will show what land each tribe will receive as their own. And the Lord has commanded you to give the daughters of our relative Zelopheha the land that he would have received. 3 But if they marry men from other tribes of Israel, the land they receive will become part of that tribe’s inheritance and will no longer belong to us. 4 Even when land is returned to its original owner in the Year of Celebration, we will not get back Zelophehad’s land—it will belong to the tribe into which his daughters married.”

Esther 9

12 Then he told Esther, “Five hundred people, including Haman’s ten sons, have been killed in Susa alone. If that many were killed here, what must have happened in the provinces? Is there anything else you want done? Just tell me, and it will be done.”

Richard: God’s people must lead the way. Secular leaders are not to be in charge, except as God will allow. Secular leaders have to seek God’s way, and specifically understand that a New Age has come, and what the New Truth is and what must be done. Start with this speech and this Principle booklet.

Christianity

4. History of Christianity: Triumphalism, Corruption and Renewal

About noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, Constantine saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS. At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle.
    Eusebius, Life of Constantine
 
I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock33 I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
    Matthew 16.18-19
 
The true faith compels us to believe there is one holy Catholic Apostolic Church, and this we firmly believe and plainly confess. Outside of her there is no salvation or remission from sins.
    Now, therefore, we declare, say, determine and pronounce that for every human creature it is necessary for salvation to be subject to the authority of the Roman pontiff.
    Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam 
 
For the defense of the faith secular authorities ought publicly to take an oath that they will strive in good faith and to the best of their ability to exterminate in the territories subject to their jurisdiction all heretics pointed out by the Church.
    Fourth Lateran Council, Canon 3
 
The Romanists have very cleverly built three walls around themselves… In the first place… temporal power had no jurisdiction over them… In the second place… only the pope may interpret the Scriptures. In the third place… no one may summon a council but the pope…
    Therefore, when necessity demands it, and the pope is an offense to Christendom, the first man who is able should, as a true member of the whole body, do what he can to bring about a truly free council. No one can do this so well as the temporal authorities.
Martin Luther, On Papal Power
 
Religion is the sob of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.
    Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
 
The God of Israel is among us… when He shall make us a praise and glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantations: The Lord make it like that of New England: for we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us. John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity
 
No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential urgency.
 
George Washington, First Inaugural Address
 
 

Harmony Between Different Religions Is Important and Necessary

Numbers 23

4 When God appeared to him, Balaam said, “I have built seven altars and have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.”

Richard: We should be busy doing everything we can to establish God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness.

Psalm 19

14 Let my words and my thoughts
    be pleasing to you, Lord,
    because you are my mighty rock
    and my protector.

Everyone Has the Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion

3. Community and Solidarity among Religions

I came to the conclusion long ago… that all religions were true and also that all had some error in them, and whilst I hold by my own, I should hold others as dear as Hinduism. So we can only pray, if we are Hindus, not that a Christian should become a Hindu… But our innermost prayer should be a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, a Christian a better Christian.
    Mohandas Gandhi (Hinduism)
 
Basically all major religions of the world carry the same message; therefore harmony between different religions is both important and necessary.
    Each system has its own value suited to persons of different disposition and mental outlook. At this time of easy communication, we must increase our efforts to learn each other’s system. This does not mean that we should make all religions into one but that we should recognize the common purpose of the many religions and value the different techniques that they have developed for internal improvement.
    Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Buddhism)
 
The Church therefore has this exhortation for her sons: prudently and lovingly, through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, and in witness of Christian faith and life, acknowledge, preserve, and promote the spiritual and moral goods found among these men, as well as the values in their society and culture.
    Vatican II, Nostra Aetate (Christianity)
 
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
    Isaiah 56.7
 
And I [Jesus] have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.
    John 10.16
 
The essential purpose of the religion of God is to establish unity among mankind. The divine Manifestations were Founders of the means of fellowship and love. They did not come to create discord, strife and hatred in the world. The religion of God is the cause of love, but if it is made to be a source of enmity and bloodshed, surely its absence is preferable to its existence; for then it becomes satanic, detrimental and an obstacle to the human world…It is our duty in this radiant century to investigate the essentials of divine religion, seek the realities underlying the oneness of the world of humanity, and discover the source of fellowship and agreement which will unite mankind in the heavenly bond of love. This unity is the radiance of eternity, the divine spirituality, the effulgence of God and the bounty of the Kingdom.
    ‘Abdul’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace (Baha’i Faith)
 
 
 

Love God and Serve Him as the Absolute Lord

Movie Review-Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer – VisionRoot

Numbers 35

20-21 Or suppose you get angry and kill someone by pushing or hitting or by throwing something. You are a murderer and must be put to death by one of the victim’s relatives.

22-24 But if you are not angry and accidentally kill someone in any of these ways, the townspeople must hold a trial and decide if you are guilty. 25 If they decide that you are innocent, you will be protected from the victim’s relative and sent to stay in one of the Safe Towns until the high priest dies. 26 But if you ever leave the Safe Town 27 and are killed by the victim’s relative, he cannot be punished for killing you. 28 You must stay inside the town until the high priest dies; only then can you go back home.

Daniel 2

36 That was the dream, and now I’ll tell you what it means. 37 Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings, and God has highly honored you with power 38 over all humans, animals, and birds. You are the head of gold. 39 After you are gone, another kingdom will rule, but it won’t be as strong. Then it will be followed by a kingdom of bronze that will rule the whole world. 40 Next, a kingdom of iron will come to power, crushing and shattering everything.[d]

41-42 This fourth kingdom will be divided—it will be both strong and brittle, just as you saw that the feet and toes were a mixture of iron and clay. 43 This kingdom will be the result of a marriage between kingdoms, but it will crumble, just as iron and clay don’t stick together.

44-45 During the time of those kings, the God who rules from heaven will set up an eternal kingdom that will never fall. It will be like the stone that was cut from the mountain, but not by human hands—the stone that crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. Your Majesty, in your dream the great God has told you what is going to happen, and you can trust this interpretation.

One Truth, Many Paths

2. Beneath the Differences Are Universal Elements

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

In every culture, religion should be the core and standard of public righteousness. Hence each religion holds pride in keeping its own traditions and thinks itself superior to any other. However, the universal elements in each of their teachings come from the one God. (234:222, August 20, 1992)

Lamentable it is that the very religions that were supposed to serve as the leading elements of the human spirit and as the leading mediators of conflict have themselves become sources of conflict, thereby diminishing religious dignity and authority even further. Judaism fights Islam; Catholicism conflicts with Protestantism; Christianity contradicts Buddhism. Even within one religion, different denominations fight among themselves.
    The basic cause of religious conflict lies in the ambiguity of their doctrines about Ultimate Reality. The Absolute Being is only one; there cannot be two absolute beings. However, when the leaders of each religion claim that only their absolute being is the true God, it leads to the contradiction that there is more than one absolute being. We would then conclude that the god of each religion is only a relative god, and that there is no basis for believing that the Absolute Being exists.
    Consequently, although God has been promoting through the various religions a universal teaching about God’s love and truth, their various perspectives remain only relative. We can conclude that religions have been incapable of establishing the absolute value perspective that can bring the prevailing confusion under control. This is the inevitable result of the fact that no religion has been able to present the correct explanation about the Absolute Being. (122:300-01, November 25, 1982)

As most people live in two dimensions, all religions appear to them to be the same. However, if looking at their backgrounds, especially from the standpoint of God’s providence for the restoration of humankind, we recognize that religions are at different levels: the servant of servant-level religion, the servant-level religion, the adopted son-level religion, the half son-level religion, the son-level religion, the mother-level religion, the father-level religion, and finally the True Parent-level religion. Throughout history, religions have developed from stage to stage.
    Yet all religions, regardless of their level, have something in common: Love God and serve Him as the absolute Lord. Most of their basic teachings are the same. For this reason, it is hard to distinguish the difference of their levels. If so, are all religions really the same? No, they are not. (143:75-76, December 9, 1990)

Good and evil are not determined by your beliefs and thoughts. They are determined by your daily life. Whether you are destined for heaven and hell is not determined by your doctrines and perspectives on the world, but by your daily life. (40:294-95, February 7, 1971)

Seek Refuge with the Lord Alone

No Income Tax Reform; Focus on Constitutional Rights Instead

West Virginia Legislative Session-2021 Priorities

Vaccine Choice Bills in the WV Legislature-2021

Urban Life Training Newsletter-March 18, 2021

I will be suspending (closing) my Facebook account after March 31st, due to the censorship imposed by Facebook, and my desire not to support the platform by my presence there. If you would like to stay in touch with me and Stacey on social media, I invite you to join the independent social media platform Friendica, which we run on our own server: https://friendica.visionroot.org/register. Here is one of our public pages, fyi: https://friendica.visionroot.org/profile/visionroot.

Numbers 20

27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.

Isaiah 66

21 And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

22 “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. 24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

Chapter 8

Religion

The Purpose of Religion

All religions share certain purposes in common, though with different emphases. For Western religions, the primary purpose of religion is salvation. The etymology of the word “religion” derives from a Latin word meaning “to re-bind” with God. Human beings are fallen and broken, and therefore God has established religion as a means of repairing our brokenness, restoring us to our original goodness, and re-connecting us with God. In contrast, the eastern understanding of religion is contained in its Chinese characters, which mean “foundational teaching.” this describes the purpose of religion as the basic teaching for cultivating a good and virtuous character. Father Moon recognizes both meanings, inasmuch as fallen human beings cannot finally cultivate virtuous character without resolving sin and rebinding with God. He distinguishes two valid aspects of religion: first, providential religions (Judaism and Christianity) whose purpose is to welcome the Messiah who comes to solve original sin and restore full communion with God, and second, religions the world over whose purpose is mainly to train people in virtue. The Kingdom of God is built on both of these foundations. Religion also has a social purpose: to cultivate community. Religion teaches the ways of love and reconciliation that enable people to live in peace and harmony. By extension, the ultimate purpose of religion is to establish world peace. That is, because God is the creator and Father of all humankind, religions that take us close to God enable us to feel part of the universal brotherhood and sisterhood that flows from his parental love

1. Religions Provide the Way of Salvation

Men, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
    Acts 16.30-31

Seek refuge with the Lord alone,
with your whole being, Bharata.
By His grace, you will reach
supreme peace, an everlasting estate.
    Bhagavad-Gita 18.62 (Hinduism)

Surely the [true] religion with God is Islam [the Surrender]. Those who formerly received the Scriptures… if they argue with you, [O Muhammad], say, “I have surrendered my pur-pose to God, and so have those who follow me.” And say to those who have received the Scriptures and those who have not read [them], “Have you also surrendered?” If they surrender, then truly they are rightly guided.
    Qur’an 3.19-20

To many a refuge fear-stricken men betake themselves—to hills, woods, groves, trees, and shrines. Nay, no such refuge is safe, no such ref-uge is supreme. Not by resorting to such a refuge is one freed from ill.

He who has gone for refuge to the Buddha [the teacher], the Dhamma [the teaching], and the Sangha [the taught], sees with right knowledge the Four Noble Truths: Sorrow, the Cause of Sorrow, the Transcending of Sorrow and the Noble Eightfold Path which leads to the Cessation of Sorrow. This, indeed, is refuge secure. By seeking such refuge one is released from all sorrow.
    Dhammapada 188-192 (Buddhism)

Surely, the path that leads to worldly gain is one, and the path that leads to Nibbana is another; understanding this, the bhikkhu, the disciple of the Buddha, should not rejoice in wordly favors, but cultivate detachment.
    Dhammapada 75 (Buddhism)