The Age of Judgment and ourselves

The Age of Judgment and ourselves (1)

Reverend Sun Myung Moon

November 21, 1976, Belvedere, New York, Translator-Bo Hi Pak

When someone speaks about judgment, we normally think of court proceedings. In a court, one always finds a judge, attorneys, a defendant and a plaintiff, plus the people who attend on the side of the defendant as well as the accuser. How does judgment come about? Law is prerequisite for judgment and anyone who violates the law is liable to be accused and tried. Every nation has a constitution and legal system that is intended to preserve order and peace within that nation. Any citizen who violates that particular law is judged accordingly.

The spirit of the law is to unite the people of a nation centering on the sovereignty or government, so that together they can bring about the betterment of the nation. This same thing applies to organizations on all different levels. Certainly, a sovereign nation, society, or organization like our Unification Church must have regulations or laws that bring harmony for the purpose of accomplishing some recognized goal.

In a family, for example, there is generally some law, even though it is unwritten. Obedience to the law will bring harmony between the parents as the center of the family and their children. That unity brings the family into greater happiness. According to their own virtues or particular morality, the parents establish certain principles by which they want to mold that particular family. If the children are obedient then those principles are actualized.

The same standard can be applied to a corporation. The president or chairman of the board has a certain vision and goal for that corporation. Through obedience to his standards, the people of that corporation can establish a harmonious relationship and fulfill the corporate goal. The same thing is also true of the Unification Church.

The Unification Church was founded by Reverend Moon, who has an ideal for guiding the church toward a certain goal. That goal is clear in my mind and the standards that are maintained have the purpose of bringing all the members of the Unification Church into harmony for the fulfillment of the founding ideal. Each one of you in the church is striving to unite around that standard and ideal and become one with me in harmony. Such obedience to the standard unites the founder and followers. They become one as they march toward their goal.

By obeying the true law you can become one with the cause of the universe

What should the true way of life be? First of all, you must become true men and women by following the true word or true law. If that law is true then it should not be applicable on only a small level, but universally applicable, penetrating the levels of the family, society, nation and world. If there is an eternal universe, that law must be true on all levels of existence.

The logical conclusion is that if there is a God then that law which eventually creates true men and women is also true for the heart of God. To find that kind of law, that kind of true word, we must find the true cause behind that law. Through obedience to that law we can certainly become one with the creator or cause of the universe.

Where shall we members of the Unification Church go? Suppose the founder said that your ultimate destination is to go to Korea and we all went. We could not discover the ultimate cause of the universe merely by arriving there. Without further direction after our arrival, everyone would be confused and eventually drift back. With such an outcome, it would be far better to not even begin that trip. It would be a wasted effort.

Here in America certain officials, particularly in the State Department, are suspicious of our activities. Three and a half years ago, I came to this country barehanded. In 31⁄2 years, the Unification Church has become a formidable movement, not only here in America but all over the world. The officials are worried about what will happen if I keep going this way, at this speed. We are very excited with each day's advancement but each day our adversaries feel more threatened.

The completion of the Washington Monument Rally brought our movement to a pinnacle of success, demonstrating our strength and power. People are now asking, "What is next? What is Reverend Moon up to now?" If Washington Monument was our ultimate goal then from that point on the Unification Church would decline. However, my goal is certainly far greater and is not circumscribed by politics or business. My goal is to educate and give spiritual guidance to those in political positions. Historically, the role of the prophet is always to give advice to those in governing positions. If that is my ambition then you must become a leader in that way as well.

We are working very hard, even doing peculiar-looking things. You had prayer service at 5 a.m. and then remained for worship at 6 a.m. You work hard at fund raising and in all your various missions. Why? We have to experience every level of human life. This is really training for many great things to come.

Have you experienced a 7-day fast? When you had that experience, did you realize how precious a piece of bread is? Did you really learn? Bread crusts are generally thrown away, but when you are fasting, that first slice becomes precious. Normally when you go into a room and there are masterpieces of art and beautiful furniture you study them all, but when you are fasting you are no longer interested in such things. You are fascinated by a piece of bread and even if flies may be on it you are more interested in that piece of bread than those flies are! You laugh and enjoy this kind of conversation because you have experienced such a thing. Through such common experience, there is harmony among our family members.

Life in prison can be the bottom of human misery. If a person has not experienced the situation he cannot really understand how a prisoner feels who is counting the days until the end of his sentence. A prisoner's longing for freedom is even more intense than the longing of lovers for each other. You do not laugh at this because you have not experienced it. When I speak on this subject, it is foreign to you and you are silent.

Life experience is what counts. No matter how much knowledge a person claims to have, if he has not lived through a particular part of life his knowledge is worth nothing. For thirty years, I have been living under constant criticism. Society has come against me, nations have come against me and the entire world is worried about me. You will never understand the loneliness of persecution until you are standing in that position.

In a small way, we have a harmony of understanding. Practically every day the New York Times and Washington Post are saying distorted things about us. We are going through this together. Just being a Moonie has become almost criminal, as though society is trying to torment and segregate us to an unreasonable degree. Not only me, but also all my followers are becoming victims of persecution.

In your heart, you believe in the Unification Church, don't you? You know you are following the truth to which you can dedicate your life, even though your own parents do not understand. They cannot understand why you follow someone from the obscure nation of Korea who does not seem to have any good ideas. You have everything you need right here in America. The newspapers echo this sentiment as well as the fabricated stories about my life, and a vicious circle is created, snowballing into greater persecution. Certainly, the Unification Church as a whole has become the target of world criticism. We are now sailing through a hurricane of persecution.

If I am the captain of our ship, who are you sailors? There can be two kinds of sailor: One can help the captain to accomplish the mission but the other may become incapacitated by seasickness and be a burden instead. It is obvious that we do not prefer having heavy winds and storms. Sailors really hate to see the wind rise because it threatens their lives.

Some Unification Church members comment that I never wince in the face of all this criticism and persecution. They sometimes say, "Maybe he likes criticism." No one likes persecution, including me. I only know through experience that I can continue on and overcome it. But you are not experienced sailors. You are still very green, right? Therefore, when a breeze comes along you worry, "Oh, maybe it's a hurricane! Maybe our boat will turn upside down!"

Because persecution has come not only to me but to you, you can begin to experience the feeling of my position deep in your heart. We are being persecuted for following the truth, but if you continually rise above the persecution and become able to speak the truth under any circumstances, then you will become a sailor that God can count on.

In its way, persecution is a blessing. Only those who rise above persecution can be trusted by their fellow man and by God. The one who can be successful even under persecution is indeed a capable person. When human beings face utmost difficulty, they develop tremendous capability to conquer any situation. In an emergency, they experience a flash of courage and wisdom that gives them some direction for handling the situation. This is the tremendous potential of human nature.

When surrounded by enemies you may see no route to safety, yet under those circumstances you find some miraculous opening. There is always a way. Nothing is that final. When you muster all your energy, you can follow your inspiration and break out.

On their way back to Japan I took some Japanese brothers and sisters to Las Vegas to show them a certain aspect of American life. In watching a show, I felt that I have lived all my life like an actor on the stage. The showmen in Las Vegas have a contract with the hotel, but I felt, "I am a showman contracted by God and the United States of America is my stage." Right now, the entire United States is suspicious, of me. Surrounded on four sides, I am pondering' how to break through this barrier.

In Las Vegas, the audience watches every move the actors make. Here in America my audience is 220 million American people, including the President, Senators and Congressmen, even high school and elementary students. The Washington Post is always telling everybody what is happening on the stage. Thus far, the spectators have been told that I am a villain.

You may idolize a certain actor, but when he happens to be in the role of villain, you do not have much sympathy for him, do you? On the Las Vegas stage, however, the villain turned out to be a hero. Instantly the audience had their hearts moved toward that particular actor. In the same way, the time will come when I will be revealed to this nation and to the world, not as a villain but as a hero, a true champion of God. Right now, it seems there is nobody on my side. First, there was persecution in Korea, then in Japan and now in America. Because American news spreads all over the world, no one seems to be siding with me anywhere else either. At least one thing has been accomplished, however. Everyone knows me.

What are your particular roles then? The media is certainly centered on me-what I do, where I travel, just about everything. What would happen if I suddenly died? Will the show we are in be stopped by the mere fact of my death? Will you be the showmen then? You say, "Yes, Father, I will be the showman," but nobody will trust you because you have not demonstrated your qualification through your actions. A promise is cheap, but a deed holds great value. If you can go ahead while everyone else is collapsing then you can certainly be trusted. Isn't that true? I am asking a very serious question. Suppose I had to die, would you go on? If that is your determination then the battle is actually won.

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