To You Has Been Given the Secret of the Kingdom of God

Cheon Seon Gyeong 1482

No matter how long you have been in the Unification Church, you should not leave your sins buried as they are. They need to be cleansed. You need to start afresh with a clean slate, be resurrected anew, and become men and women who can live in the Garden of Eden without sinning. You need the awareness of God’s intention for the complete unity in love of your mind and body, as created by Him. Do you understand? Otherwise, you cannot return to the homeland.

You need to find the way back to your house in the homeland, where our original house is located, and where God, our original Parent, dwells. That is where the descendants of the nation who have the birthright of the firstborn should live and reign over all other nations based on the life of the imperial family. That place is your new home. How shall you go about finding your way back, not to your birthplace but your new homeland, the original home? First, you need to acquire the qualification to enter that homeland. In order to do so, you must achieve a realm of oneness through total mind-body unity. (233-168, 1992.8.1)

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2.2. The core of providential rebirth
2.2.1. True meaning of rebirth

When I speak of rebirth, I do not mean that you must be reborn through the bodies of parents who are the descendants of fallen Adam and Eve, but through those who are not in any way connected to the Fall. Unless you are reborn through such parents, you cannot return to God. The root of sin began from Adam and Eve. Unless you step over this and are reborn in a position not related to the original sin, you can never ever return to the presence of God. (22-269, 1969.5.4)

Scripture and Interpretation

2. Scripture Teaches in Parables

We have put forth for men in this Qur’an every kind of parable, in order that they may receive admonition.
    Qur’an 39.27

Knowing that all the living have many and various desires deep-rooted in their minds, I have, according to their capacity, expounded the various laws by which these [desires] could be overcome with various reasonings, parabolic expressions, and expedients.
    Lotus Sutra 2 (Buddhism)

And when Jesus was alone, those who were about him with the Twelve asked concerning the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven.”
    Mark 4.10-12

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You Should Gather and Study the Message God Revealed to Us

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1430

The era of the right of ownership is coming, where objects can belong to her only after they have been determined as belonging to Adam, restored to God and acknowledged as His, and then returned to Adam to be finally handed back to her as her permanent possession.

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The time is coming when widows or widowers who have received the Single Blessing on earth can be blessed with their spouses in the spirit world. In the era after the Blessing has transcended the national and global levels, people on earth can be blessed with their spouses in the spirit world for the first time. Until now such things had been impossible. When you received the Single Blessing, weren’t you blessed separately? From now on, you can receive the Blessing together like everybody else. Since such a privilege has been granted on earth, when such a couple is blessed, the spouse on earth and the spouse in the spirit world are blessed together, and so they can stand united in an equal position. This is how a person on earth can be blessed with his or her spouse in the spirit world. (284-167, 1997.4.16)

Scripture and Interpretation

  1. Take Instruction from Regular Study of Scripture

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The ultimate purpose of religion can be attained only when one first believes it in one’s heart and then puts it into practice. However, without first understanding, beliefs do not take hold. It is in order to understand the truth and thereby solidify our beliefs that we study the Holy Scriptures. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Introduction)

It is God’s responsibility to give us His Word and guidance, and it is our responsibility to believe and practice it in order to fulfill the providence. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 2.1)

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These Words Shall Be Upon Your Heart

Cheon Seong Gyeong 441

Section 2. The Family is the Textbook of Love through Which We Can Connect with Universal Love

What is the universe? Everything in the created world is designed as a sort of training aid to help God’s beloved sons and daughters find the ideal of love. This is why everything exists in reciprocal relationships. Minerals are based on the reciprocal relationship of subject and object partners and so are atoms. Protons and electrons also exist based on the reciprocal relationship of subject and object partners. Without reciprocation they cannot continue to exist. Without give and take action they cannot exist eternally. Therefore, the universe is a world created in such a way that its center can only be reached through human beings. (137-59, 1985.12.18)

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The perfection of the Four Great Realms of Heart is realized when the object partner manifests, centering on God, the past, the present and the future, bearing the fruit of love. This state is achieved when husband and wife, once they are married, become one through love. That is why we are not able to reach the state of oneness by ourselves. We should center ourselves on God. Only when God enters and becomes part of the equation can the position of a king emerge through the couple. Without the unity achieved through love, the kingship is not created. The kingship here refers to a king and a queen, but only with the intervention and involvement of the vertical God does the kingship emerge.

Richard: Wow! What a beautiful statement of the meaning of godly, Blessed marriage.

Scripture and Interpretation

SCRIPTURE IS THE BEDROCK OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. All the higher religions are founded on inspired teachings or divine truths revealed by their founders and codified as scripture. Thus, scripture is the basis upon which believers lead their lives. It is also the enduring standard for evaluating new ideas and theological innovation. Regular study of scripture is recommended for gaining wisdom and finding guidance for daily life.
Nevertheless, the proper interpretation of scripture is not simple. The many disagreements of the meaning of scripture have created lasting disputes and fractures in communities of faith. One reason for this confusion is that the scriptures were written using parables and veiled language. Understanding the meaning of these symbols and parables requires spiritual discernment, even the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Another issue is the problem of the letter and the spirit. Religious traditions always have to balance fidelity to the letter of a text with openness to new spiritual insights. Where scripture is meant to be a “raft,” in Buddha’s terms, which takes us across the sea of troubles that we might walk free on that blessed other shore, fixation on the words of scripture can be a burden to further spiritual advancement. Old interpretations need to give way to new ones or the scripture itself can become an impediment—a situation that occurred in Jesus’ day.
The section closes with passages on the limitations of scripture as finite expressions of God’s infinite truth. Jesus, Buddha and other Founders lived in circumstances where they could only teach a part of what they knew of God’s truth, according to the level that their disciples could receive it. Father Moon affirms the value of all scriptures as expressions of the truth of God, given at various times and places to elevate humanity for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Nevertheless, since there is still much of God’s Word yet to be revealed, the world is due for a new expression of truth fit for this scientific age.

1. Take Instruction from Regular Study of Scripture

O how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
    Psalm 119.97

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
    All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
    2 Timothy 3.14-17

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You Are Inheriting as a Free Gift All the Foundations I Have Fought to Establish

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Since God is the substance of true love, when one is connected to true love, everyone becomes part of the one body. Parents are living gods representing God, the husband and wife represent two halves of God, and the sons and daughters are small gods. A family structure formed of three generations centering on true love in this manner is the basis of the Kingdom of Heaven. Without achieving such a basis, the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be established. The family is the center of the universe. The perfection of the family is the basis for the perfection of the universe. So, if you love the universe as you love your family, you can be welcome wherever you go. In this case, God stands in the central position of multi-faceted love as the parent of the whole universe. (298-306, 1999.1.17)

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3.2.3. The root of true lineage: God

Were it not for the Fall, God would have become the internal Father and Mother, and Adam and Eve the external father and mother. As the sons and daughters of the internal Parent, human beings should have been born inheriting the seed of love. However, due to the Fall centering on the love of Satan, they inherited his love, life and lineage. (223-234, 1991.11.10)

Tradition

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Goodness is not realized instantly. If we are to be good people, we have to inherit from the past. This is why we need education. We need to go to a school and learn. What should we learn? Throughout history, those who have sacrificed to pave the way for goodness did not have an easy life. We should inherit the spirit of those who made sacrifices in the past. (50:101, November 6, 1971)

For a nation to prosper, it should preserve the inheritance of history. Young children absorb stories from the elderly and enjoy folktales. Like the new buds that receive sap from the tree, children should inherit all the historical essence of their culture.
    Though children may be crying with runny noses, if you say you will tell them a fairy tale, they immediately stop crying and wait for the story to begin. They truly enjoy listening to it. Why? It is because they desire to inherit history. It is a principle of heaven and earth. (28:188, January 11, 1970)

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Do Not Forget the Works of God, but Keep His Commandments

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The Unification Church teaches about the parent-child relationship and the husband-wife relationship based on such a principle. Furthermore, it proposes to incorporate such a principle in the relationship of siblings and the family as a whole. We are not talking about brothers and sisters who just meet once and then part, but those who do not grow tired of one another even after living together for tens of thousands of years. God’s sphere of love will be established only when this is put into practice by people of all colors. Will this be easy? There must be the kind of parents who will share their food with people, wait patiently until they finish eating, do the dishes and even take care of them until they go to sleep. This is the very path that True Parents have been trying to walk, and the path that I believe they must follow. Each day, whenever I meet someone, I try to talk to him, even if I forget about lunch and even keep talking past dinner time. This is my philosophy. Meals are not important. I want to find those whom I would not grow tired of even after living together with them for tens of thousands of years. I am the kind of person who longs to have a son and daughter whom I can love after midnight, after two o’clock in the morning, after the cock crows and even when the dawn breaks – all throughout the night. Also, I am someone who seeks a brother or sister. (127-284, 1983.5.15)

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If grandparents are in an environment that is not harmonized, they do not feel good. The sight of a grandfather and grandmother laughing with each other cannot be compared to the noisy laughter of a young couple. The deep laughter of wrinkled grandparents is quite dignified. You may not know this, but all things come together in harmony through the grandfather and grandmother’s laughter as they harmonize with each other. The grandfather’s laughter is deep and hearty. When he gestures, his movements are slow, but broad, high, deep and large.

Tradition

Tradition contains the accumulated wisdom of the generations. It is bequeathed through the study of history, the recitation of proverbs and folklore, in public ceremonies and at home. Some of its best teaching material consists of the lives of great men and women, as well as ordinary citizens who lived lives of exemplary goodness and self-sacrifice. Tradition can be hard to find in today’s culture of celebrity and instant fame, yet its importance can hardly be overlooked.
Family lies at the heart of tradition. Parents pass on their values and morals to their children through teaching and example. Good parents encourage their children to keep their ways and even surpass them. A stable family structure maintains and strengthens tradition, passing on its wisdom to succeeding generations.

Tradition endures.
    Akan Proverb (African Traditional Religions)

Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
    Jeremiah 6.16

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