Category: Old Testament

Heaven Wanted to find Someone who Knew Jesus

1 Kings 20

12 Meanwhile, Benhadad and the other kings had been drinking in their tents. But when Ahab’s reply came, he ordered his soldiers to prepare to attack Samaria, and they all got ready.

13 At that very moment, a prophet ran up to Ahab and said, “You can see that Benhadad’s army is very strong. But the Lord has promised to help you defeat them today. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.”

14 “Who will fight the battle?” Ahab asked.

The prophet answered, “The young bodyguards who serve the district officials.”

“But who will lead them into battle?” Ahab asked.

“You will!” the prophet replied.

15 So Ahab called together the two hundred thirty-two young soldiers and the seven thousand troops in Israel’s army, and he got them ready to fight the Syrians.

Richard: Notice here that a small vanguard of bodyguards leads the troops, who are in turn led be Ahab, who was not confident that he could lead the troops.

Mark 12

13 The Pharisees got together with Herod’s followers.[a] Then they sent some men to trick Jesus into saying something wrong. 14 They went to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are honest. You treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. And you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”

15 Jesus knew what they were up to, and he said, “Why are you trying to test me? Show me a coin!”

16 They brought him a silver coin, and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”

“The Emperor’s,” they answered.

17 Then Jesus told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.” The men were amazed at Jesus.

Jesus Whom God Wanted To Find

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 18, 1959

Matthew 23:29-39

The short speech that I want to give today is on the topic of “Jesus Whom God Wanted to Find.”

We know that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. God wanted to find Jesus for four thousand years. God found Jesus after the Israelites went through all kinds of conditions of hard work. Jesus was a person who worked hard to fulfill the will of God and the will of the people who wanted to attend him. Thus, the fate of Heaven, the historic fate of the chosen people of Israel, the fate of the age and the fate of the future were all entangled centering on Jesus. When God found Jesus, His purpose for choosing Israel was to be fulfilled. When God embraced Jesus completely, He was embracing the chosen people of Israel. When God could dwell joyously with Jesus, He could dwell with the people of Israel. It was the work of God to find Jesus in total fulfillment. Moreover, attending Jesus completely is the hope of the fallen descendants and of mankind, who are anticipating salvation.

To find Jesus Heaven went through all kinds of hardships from after the Fall until his arrival. In order to attend this one man, the chosen people went through a road of unspeakable persecution and the road of death in their historic course. They repeated numerous times the history of struggle where they fell down, stood up, stood up and fell down, and stood up again. This historical sorrow of the chosen people of Israel would have been removed by their clinging to Jesus. The sorrow of God, who had suffered to send Jesus, also would have been removed.

Jesus did come. Jesus came to this land and worked hard. Jesus fought for us in this land. He endured and fought for Heaven. He even went the road of death alone. Jesus actually did come for the age and the future.

But he is in a position of not having removed the sorrow of history and not having removed the sorrow of the age. For that reason today, two thousand years after Jesus’ coming, he has to come again. This age needs Jesus to come again. The future also needs Jesus.

When we think of this, how much would God have longed to see Jesus as a person who had completed God’s hope? How much would Jesus have wanted to stand in a position representing the dignity of Heaven on the one hand and the dignity of earth on the other? But Jesus never got to establish that dignity in its totality.

Jesus, having appeared to his people, probably longed to reign as King of Kings, the governor of all people and the crown prince of Heaven. Even if that did not happen, the Israelites, who had been prepared for four thousand years, should not have abandoned him, even at the risk of their lives. He would not have let go of the Israelites even at the point of death. But with death at hand, they divided and separated. Thus, he disappeared from the people, and he was in a situation where he had to depart from this earth. We should know this clearly. Jesus was filled with a sense of his historic mission and a sense of the mission to the age. Moreover, he was filled with a heart of wanting to save mankind, who were crying out as they were swept away by the wave of death. Was there a person who attended this Jesus, the Messiah, the only begotten son of God? There was no one.

If there is something that Heaven looked for from Jesus, what would that have been? If there was something that Heaven wanted to find, it would have been someone who knew Jesus. The person who truly knows him is a person who knows God. The person who knows God knows him. The Israelites, who considered that they knew God, were supposed to attend Jesus. But mankind lost Jesus. Heaven lost him, and he had to die, leaving his mission behind on this earth. We should recognize this fact again.

If there Is a Way that God’s Will Can Be Accomplished, You Should Pursue it Obediently

James 1

1 From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world.[a]

2 My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3 You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.

Jeremiah 22

4 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.”

The Toil of God as He Tries to Raise up His Beloved Children

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 11, 1959

John 3: 11-21

1 Corinthians 7:28-29

Ladies and gentlemen, do you sincerely want to become God’s sons and daughters? Does unquenchable sorrow shake your heart? Does unstoppable sorrow move your minds and bodies? You should feel something similar to this.

You cannot become sons and daughters, no matter what you have to offer in this human world. Only when you never forget to think solely of the Father, only when you fight and run forward in your daily life do you have a possibility of becoming His sons and daughters.

You have to have this mind-set and be able to shed tears even over a simple branch. You should be able to say that you have finally come to know that all existing things are mourning and longing for the day of liberation. Bowing your head, you should apologize for human ignorance. This is not some abstract concept. When we see a colleague struggling to find the path, we should hold him and cry, “You are my brother.”

No matter how sad and lonely you may be, you have to understand that it is nothing compared to what God is experiencing. When you look at nature, you should see traces of God’s tears there. When you see water flowing, you should see God’s tears. When you are lying down, you should see that where you are lying down is a river of God’s tears and has traces of the cross of Golgotha. God is looking for sons and daughters who can cry out, “Father, who had to let the Lord bear the cross on Golgotha!” You should declare, “Although Jesus left grief on the earth when he died, I will not die but will alleviate Your sorrow as a living person.”

The six thousand years have been a history of God’s efforts to find His beloved sons and daughters. Therefore, we have to become people who feel that we are indebted to God, who has toiled for six thousand years. We have to feel the culmination of God’s tears of six thousand years and pay for the sacrifice at Golgotha.

When we then repent of our past sins, pay indemnity for our present sins, and cherish hope for the future, calling upon our Father and going to Him with open arms, the Father can say, “Oh, my son, my daughter.” Forgetting about His dignity, He will shed tears of joy and sorrow. Only those who can achieve this will become sons and daughters of the Father. Only when you understand that God and Jesus are like that can you become God’s sons and daughters.

God can elevate these sons and daughters before Satan’s world and all things of the universe, saying that they are the lords and sons and daughters He has been looking for. Only when these sons and daughters appear can God finally forget the labors of the six thousand years. He can entrust Heaven and earth to them and rest in peace.

Just as Jesus cried over this history of sorrow and died, if there is a way that God’s will can be accomplished, you should pursue it obediently. You have to remember that you must live such a life of devotion.

Richard: The way that we can do God’s will and establish His kingdom is through Home Church (tong ban) activities in our neighborhoods.

Prayer

Father! We are so ashamed. We have learned that this path is an awesome path, a path of inextinguishable sorrow.

Father, You sought these children out not for one day or for several years, but for six thousand years! Please let us understand now how much trouble we have caused for You, how much we have angered You, and how much we have wronged You. Before we entered this relationship, we fought over the things of the world. Please allow us to understand how sinful we are.

Father, Your sons and daughters who are gathered here do not have to know everything. Please let them at least understand the God that we believe in, the Jesus we should attend, and the sons and daughters we must become.

What is our hope? We did not come seeking for well-dressed people or people with power or to satisfy some desire. We came only because we long for the Father’s love and a relationship with Him. Father, if the Father has tears, please let us possess those tears. If the Father is experiencing pain, please let us feel the pain.

Please let us understand that we should not become princes who are seeking joy but princes who bear responsibility for sorrowful and painful history, and let us pay indemnity for it. We have learned that You yearn for sons and daughters who are victorious under such circumstances, sons and daughters worthy of God’s pride before Heaven and earth. We have also learned that Your labors for the six thousand years have been to elevate Your beloved sons and daughters.

We pray sincerely that You will allow us to fulfill all the responsibilities entrusted to us and to fully cope with the missions given to us. Please guide us to become the most exemplary children of filial piety, and patriots.

Until the day that the Father of history, the Father of the present era and the Father of the future becomes our Father and mobilizes the entire universe to sing songs of joy, please protect these people. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen. 

The Two Thousand Year History after Jesus is the History of Seeking a Bride

Hosea 4

4 Don’t accuse just anyone!
    Not everyone is at fault.
My case is against you,
    the priests.[a]
5 You and the prophets
will stumble day and night;
    I’ll silence your mothers.
6 You priests have rejected me,
and my people are destroyed
    by refusing to obey.
Now I’ll reject you and forget
your children,
because you
    have forgotten my Law.

Proverbs 8

8 With great understanding,
    Wisdom[a] is calling out
2     as she stands at the crossroads
    and on every hill.
3 She stands by the city gate
    where everyone enters the city,
    and she shouts:
4 “I am calling out
    to each one of you!
5 Good sense and sound judgment
    can be yours.
6     Listen, because what I say
    is worthwhile and right.
7 I always speak the truth
    and refuse to tell a lie.
8 Every word I speak is honest,
    not one is misleading
    or deceptive.

9 “If you have understanding,
    you will see that my words
    are just what you need.
10 Let instruction and knowledge
mean more to you
    than silver
    or the finest gold.
11 Wisdom is worth much more
than precious jewels
    or anything else you desire.”

The Toil of God as He Tries to Raise up His Beloved Children

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 11, 1959

John 3: 11-21

1 Corinthians 7:28-29

Ladies and gentlemen, please think about it. If Jesus, the only begotten son of God, had not died after coming to the earth, what would have happened? Since it is said that Jesus is the only begotten son, God would have sent his only begotten daughter. The two-thousand-year history of God after Jesus is the history of seeking a bride. It is the history of seeking a bride. Do you deny that?

Although Jesus came as a true son, since there was no true daughter, God’s will was not fully accomplished. For this reason the two-thousand-year history is the history of finding a daughter. The fights in the Unification Church will also center on this issue. The Holy Spirit came as God’s daughter.

God raised Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and blessed them not only to love them; it was to love their descendants too. Are there any such descendants? Have there ever been sons and daughters whom Jesus could love? If there had been sons and daughters of whom Jesus could say, “He is my son that I love infinitely and eternally, and he is my direct descendant,” then this world would have already become God’s nation.

As God’s son Jesus died on behalf of God’s heart of the past, present and future. The Lord who is returning will come to inherit the will and realize it on the earth. When he comes, what should the countless believers on the earth do? Just as Jesus was a son before God, you should become true sons and daughters before the Lord. Don’t you think that is how it should be?



Do Not Think that by Believing in Jesus You Will be Saved

Join us this Saturday for Part 3 of the Unification Principle online seminar. Register here: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/328-unification-principle-online-seminar-coming-november-2nd-2 .

Luke 11

33 No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a clay pot. A lamp is put on a lampstand, so that everyone who comes into the house can see the light. 34 Your eyes are the lamp for your body. When your eyes are good, you have all the light you need. But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. 35 So be sure that your light isn’t darkness. 36 If you have light, and nothing is dark, then light will be everywhere, as when a lamp shines brightly on you.

Proverbs 31

These are the sayings
that King Lemuel of Massa
    was taught by his mother.
2 My son Lemuel, you were born
in answer to my prayers,
    so listen carefully.
3 Don’t waste your life
chasing after women!
    This has ruined many kings.

4 Kings and leaders
should not get drunk
    or even want to drink.
5 Drinking makes you forget
your responsibilities,
    and you mistreat the poor.
6 Beer and wine are only
for the dying
    or for those
    who have lost all hope.
7 Let them drink
    and forget
how poor and miserable
    they feel.
8 But you must defend
those who are helpless
    and have no hope.
9 Be fair and give justice
    to the poor and homeless.

The Toil of God as He Tries to Raise up His Beloved Children

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 11, 1959

John 3: 11-21

1 Corinthians 7:28-29

For what purpose did God bless the original Adam and Eve before the Fall? It was not so that they could eat good things and be happy by themselves. God gave them the blessing on behalf of their descendants, their family, their people and the world. What was the purpose for sending Jesus? Since he came as the only begotten son of God, it was to find sons and daughters who could become only begotten children to him. Because Jesus struggled to find these sons and daughters, because he was connected to the heart of God who was seeking sons and daughters like Jesus, even though the Jews were to perish, he prayed on the cross, “Father, please forgive their sins.” You have to understand that the motivation of heart came from Heaven.

Believers should not just be descendants of Jesus. They should become his sons and daughters. Where are the sons and daughters to whom Jesus can reveal all things, to whom he can entrust all ideals and whom he can bless, just as God could embrace him? God revealed all that was inside of Him and safely entrusted His works to Jesus. Had such sons and daughters of Jesus appeared on the earth, the Second Advent would have been realized a long time ago. It did not have to take two thousand years. Have you ever seen such sons and daughters? Although there were those who died believing in Jesus’ words, there was no one who understood the heart of Jesus, believed in the embodiment of Jesus, and died for him.

It is said in John 3:16, “Since God loves this world so much He sent His only begotten son that whoever believes in him will never perish but will attain eternal life.” It is said that whoever believes in him will receive eternal life, but what are we to believe in? We are to believe in the only begotten son whom God loves like the world, and we are to believe in the world that God loves like the only begotten son. These are what we are supposed to believe in. That is the main theme in all sixty-six books of the Bible. Those who believe in the heart of God who loves the world like the only begotten son and who loves the only begotten son like the world will be saved.

For this reason, faith, hope and love will always be there. But among them it is said that love is the best. Love is what will remain eternally, be victorious eternally, and what will come with the eternal, glorious Lord. No matter how sinful the world may be, those who can love the world as God loves it, as He loves the only begotten son, and love the only begotten son as God loves the world, will receive salvation.

Do not think that by believing in Jesus you will be saved. Such people are thieves. Thieves. When Jesus came to the earth, he considered this world more precious than his own body. Since it is said that God sent His only begotten son because He loved the world so much, Jesus knew that God sent him because He loved the world so much. He could not deny this when he fathomed the heart of God in history. Moreover, since the Jews needed the embodiment of God’s love, he knew that he had to stand before the world.

For this reason, Jesus did not live three years of public life to elevate himself. The purpose of the three years was to find disciples. Jesus worked hard to raise up three disciples to be like his sons and daughters and to make the twelve disciples into his children.

You probably understand this through your study of the history of restoration through indemnity. God worked through the three sons lost in Adam’s family. He worked through the three sons lost in Noah’s family. He was the God of the three generations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the three generations of Saul, David and Solomon. This is according to the universal principles of restoration which seek this number three to represent the whole. Therefore, Jesus had to raise up three spiritual sons.

For this reason, even if Jesus were to abandon everything else, these three disciples should not have separated from him. Although Jesus wanted to bring the three disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane and the hill of Golgotha, they betrayed him in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was the beginning of a sorrowful history.

Salvation is to Restore What has Been Lost

Ezekiel 44

The Lord said:

15 The priests of the Levi tribe who are descendants of Zadok the priest were faithful to me, even when the rest of the Israelites turned away. And so, these priests will continue to serve as my priests and to offer the fat and the blood of sacrifices. 16 They will come into my temple, where they will offer sacrifices at my altar and lead others in worship.

1 Kings 20

23 Meanwhile, Benhadad’s officials went to him and explained:

Israel’s gods are mountain gods. We fought Israel’s army in the hills, and that’s why they defeated us. But if we fight them on flat land, there’s no way we can lose.

24 Here’s what you should do. First, get rid of those thirty-two kings and put army commanders in their places. 25 Then get more soldiers, horses, and chariots, so your army will be as strong as it was before. We’ll fight Israel’s army on flat land and wipe them out.

Benhadad agreed and did what they suggested.

The Toil of God as He Tries to Raise up His Beloved Children

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 11, 1959

John 3: 11-21

1 Corinthians 7:28-29

If this is what the God who sought me is like, then how about tomorrow? Is there any way to comfort this God? Even if human beings were to experience pain, there is no greater pain than God has experienced. No matter how unsolvable a problem human beings have, there is no problem more difficult to resolve than God’s.

Do you think that God yearns for the appearance of a son who will say to Him, “Father, how much You have suffered,” with a heart more sorrowful than His? Have you ever thought that God sought sons and daughters who can say, “Father, how much have You suffered, how many times have You fallen down, and how many times have You struggled?” He wants sons and daughters who can endure many sufferings, persecutions and difficulties and cast away all sorrows, bitterness and indignation. The God we believe in and should serve is such a person.

Where are the true sons and daughters who understand the sorrow of God, who is seeking us even while going the course of the cross? We need such sons and daughters. You have to understand clearly that the group, the people, the nation and the world which can unite centering on such sons and daughters is the world that God is hoping to realize, the ideal world of creation.

I know God as a miserable being. Misery is the only word to describe God’s situation. No matter how miserable a person may be, compared to God, he is not miserable. No matter what kind of sorrow there may be, it is not comparable to that of God. No matter how bitter one may be, compared to God, he has no problem.

Upon creating Adam and Eve, God desired a garden of goodness. God created them in order to embrace them and love them and rejoice while all things of the universe reciprocated in harmony. Yet when we look at the Bible, where does it say that such a thing ever took place? The heart of God over losing Adam and Eve is the heart of sorrow over losing one’s only son and only daughter.

It is said that Jesus is the only son. What does the only son refer to? It refers to the only son who can receive God’s love and comfort God. Since Adam lost God’s love due to the Fall, Jesus was sent to recover it. He is the first son and the only son born of God’s love. That is why he is referred to as the only begotten son. What was Jesus supposed to do on the earth? He should have shown us what the love of God is like. He was supposed to show us what life centering on God’s love is like, what society centering on God’s love is like, and what the world centering on God’s love is like.

When Jesus came to the earth, did he clearly show what the love of God is like? He passed away without showing it fully to us. Did he show what the family that God loves is like? Did he show what the people, nation, and the world that God loves are like? He could not.

If Adam and Eve had reached perfection without falling, God would have raised two arms and blessed them, “Oh, my beloved sons and daughters, I want you to inherit My work and govern all the things of the universe and live together with Me eternally.” However, this will of God was completely undermined. For this reason God longs for the one day that He can bless two people like Adam and Eve, giving them all of Heaven and earth. This is what you have to understand.

What is salvation? It is to restore what has been lost. This is why while going through the historical course of ups and downs, God held the people up every time they became tired and fell down. After four thousand years passed, God sent Jesus.

By sending him God wanted to unveil the sorrow and unload the suffering of the four thousand years. Through Jesus God wanted to restore and complete the ideal of the creation of the universe. Jesus was the person sent as the one responsible for that. Jesus was the one sent to complete the ideal of creation.