---
title: "LET US PROTECT OURSELVES"
type: "speech"
published: "2018-06-22T06:10:23+01:00"
updated: "2018-06-22T06:10:23+01:00"
source: "/blog/2018/06/22/let-us-protect-ourselves.html"
speechYear: "1982"
categories:
  - "Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1982"
tags: []
---

<h2 align="CENTER">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
<h3 align="CENTER">May 1, 1982<br />
Belvedere<br />
Translator &#8211; Sang Kil Han</h3>
<p>All people want to be healthy, happy and successful. It is easy to say such a thing, but when you think deeply there are enormous implications behind it. For instance, in order to be healthy we must overcome all the influences which would make us unhealthy. In order to assure our happiness, we must combat all those things which would make us unhappy. Success, likewise, requires overcoming many obstacles.</p>
<p>The person whose life is basically healthy, happy and successful must have the power to overcome all the obstacles to those desirable goals. Each person&#8217;s life span could be represented by a curving line which goes up and down. We must always be aware of where we are, either above the zero point or below; either up or down in terms of our goals.</p>
<p>We cannot deny the link each of us has with larger entities such as the society and the nation. Whenever a Unification Church member says &#8220;I&#8221; he is including himself within the larger entity of the Unification Church. By the same token, each individual is automatically a part of his family. The student is a part of his school besides being just an individual. It is natural for each person to want to belong to a larger entity; but unfortunately individuals easily tend to think of themselves as separate from those larger entities.</p>
<p>We could represent the universe as a big circle with smaller circles within. In the center is a tiny dot representing the individual. It is natural for each individual to want to be at the center of his universe. No other being besides man has such a desire. Neither monkeys. dogs nor cats ever think of being the center of the universe. What is it that makes humans the &#8220;supreme beings&#8221; of the animal kingdom? It is simply this point-only man finds himself at the central point of the universe, linked with all the larger levels.</p>
<p>The circles surrounding the individual are those of the family, society, nation, world and cosmos. One could also consider himself at the top of a pyramid which rests upon the foundation of all those larger entities. Each person wants to be &#8220;on top&#8221; or above everything else. This is human nature.</p>
<p>When someone wants to follow his whims, regardless of his environment and surroundings, what are the implications? Such a person will isolate himself from all the larger entities of life. America is one country where the word &#8220;I&#8221; is spoken very often, but that American &#8220;I&#8221; is frequently detached and private, isolated from all the larger realms of existence.</p>
<p>Suppose the human eye decided it wanted to go somewhere else in the body besides the head. for instance on the arm. That would be very strange, but it is actually similar in principle to Western young people trying to cut themselves off from their proper position within all larger levels of existence. Can a person find happiness in such a way? The person who steps outside of his relationship with the family, society, nation and world and tries to set himself up in some private, isolated realm has actually lost everything! No matter how hard he may work, he cannot connect the results with anything other than himself.</p>
<p>However, when a person stands within his proper position at the central point of the universe, all his work and accomplishments are extended and connected with the largest levels. Such a person simultaneously possesses everything of value within the universe because he is connected with the entire universe.</p>
<p>Most people move back and forth, into and out of their proper positions. When a person remains somewhere other than his proper position within the universe, the universe will strive to expel him. That position is similar to a tumor within the body, an alien substance in the wrong place. Many people find a solitary, purely individualistic attitude in life very attractive; they believe they have freedom because they are able to direct everything according to their own will. However, all their efforts to succeed and be happy will be repelled by the force of the universe. They will eventually be pushed into a very unhappy position. But when a person stands in his proper position, all his efforts are aided by the force of the universe and his life is naturally smoother and easier.</p>
<p>If you are in the center and turning with a certain velocity, the next layer of existence, the family, will turn too. Their movement will not automatically be as great however. The further out the layers of existence, the less they will be affected by your own movement as an individual. It requires tremendous movement on the part of one individual to affect the entire universe. Normally no one wants to make such effort.</p>
<p>Consider what is required to be an important leader with many responsibilities. Certainly the most important leader in the United States is the President. Being the most important person, can he get up every morning and follow whatever whims strike him during the day? Does an important person normally go to bed whenever he feels like it? No, the truth is that every minute of an important person&#8217;s day has to be accounted for. When he is simply eating dinner, someone will want to know where he is and what he is doing.</p>
<p>Can the President tell everyone to just leave him alone and quit following him around? Can the President discriminate among his many responsibilities and choose only the ones he enjoys taking care of? Can he control the time and place where his various responsibilities will demand his attentions? Certainly he cannot off any of those things. When something happens in the middle of the night, the President must be willing to respond to the situation. If he is not, he cannot be the leader of the nation. In this sense, he doesn&#8217;t have any freedom. Therefore, most of the time he simply has no freedom to do as he pleases.</p>
<p>A typical individual in this country has an extraordinary amount of freedom. Many housewives are free to spend their days entirely according to their desires. A housewife is an individual but she also represents her husband and children within the home. If she detaches herself from those other responsibilities, she detaches herself from her true value. Sometimes a crisis might arise in the house just when the mother is ready to go out and do something she enjoys. Is she free at that moment to ignore the needs of her children and go ahead? She may have the freedom, but she would not be right in doing it. She would not be a good person according to universal principles if she indulged her own desires at the expense of the larger entity, her family.</p>
<p>Of course, such a self-centered person will probably believe she is good, but she will find herself suffering from the criticism of her husband, her children and other people in the society. They will all convey the message to her that she is bad. What is &#8220;bad&#8221; in this sense? A bad person, simply speaking, is one who has abandoned his position within the larger scheme of things and thus has lost his connection with everything else. He is someone who once had something which he lost. The housewife in our example would be rejected eventually by her husband and children if she lived by her selfish standard all the time and she would deserve the label of &#8220;bad person.&#8221;</p>
<p>When someone is praised as being good he will invariably be a person who brings goodness and benefit to other people. When a good person owns or controls many things, other people welcome it because they realize something good will result. However, a bad person is avoided by others and even when he has a small amount of wealth, other people are not happy to see it. A good person can even own the universe, while a bad person is not encouraged to own anything.</p>
<p>Goodness can go anywhere within the frame of God&#8217;s universe and be well received, while evil cannot pass or be acceptable anywhere. Are you a good or a bad person? If you are both good and bad, that is actually bad! Why does a parent urge his child to become good? By doing that the parent is wishing the ultimate benefit for the child. By being good the child will be entitled to own everything in the universe. Goodness is unchanging and universal, so a person who is recognized as good in Korea will also be known as good in America. Even in Moscow. people will recognize goodness in someone.</p>
<p>Normally a good person is not able to follow his whims. One aspect generally attributed to a bad person is his habit of indulging himself and living only for his own desires. Therefore within the current popular concept of freedom there is more evil than goodness. Many young people are confused about the true nature of freedom. They think simply following one&#8217;s impulses is freedom and it is good.</p>
<p>Someone might be a great lover of music so he might feel that whenever the inspiration strikes him, he should be able to sing at the top of his voice. If he indulges his inspiration at four o&#8217;clock in the morning, how would that be greeted by others? His neighbors would not be very enthusiastic about such &#8220;artistic freedom.&#8221;</p>
<p>Directly connected with the level of personal freedom is the family level of freedom; next are the higher levels of society, national and world freedom. It sometimes happens that these different levels of freedom are in conflict. The individual&#8217;s freedom may not coincide with the nation&#8217;s freedom. The national freedom may not coincide with the world&#8217;s freedom. If the greatest value is placed upon the freedom of the individual, the family will have to suffer. If the nation&#8217;s freedom is given highest priority, the order and harmony of the world can be shattered. When the world itself focuses only upon its own freedom, the freedom and harmony of the universe can be destroyed. Did you ever think that there was a larger level of freedom than even the world&#8217;s? The freedom of a smaller level can easily damage the freedom of the larger level if the smaller one takes priority at the wrong time.</p>
<p>Now that you have come to understand this principle. you can examine your past experiences. You have probably asserted your right to individual freedom but without an understanding of Principle.</p>
<p>If you want to be a good student you must go along with the direction of the school and do what the rules require. If you do that you can enjoy the greatest freedom within that school. Some student may constantly break the rules by being tardy every day and think he is exercising his freedom to the maximum, but he is not really entitled to that kind of freedom within the school system. He does not have the freedom to follow whatever whims strike him at the moment. By stressing his own &#8220;freedom&#8221; he damages the freedom and harmony of the entire school, and thus he is a bad student.</p>
<p>The current war over the Falkland Islands is an example of the national level of interest dominating the world level. If Britain and Argentina could understand the Principle they would understand the mistake they are making. In such a dispute, the world should be the arbiter. Since both countries have a claim, there must be some way to settle the conflict. If a world-level of order is established, war can be avoided and peace in the world can be maintained; each country could be controlled and cared for.</p>
<p>We know that the American system allows for disputes between states to be resolved by the federal government. Certainly the overall freedom and benefit of the United States is far more important than that of one of its individual states, should they come into conflict. Suppose there was someone who looked upon a certain law with the attitude, &#8220;That&#8217;s a bad law. I know some crooked Congressman introduced the bill and got it passed, so I&#8217;m not going to obey that law.&#8221; He will not be supported by the nation, regardless of why he holds such an opinion. The law must be followed by everyone, regardless of each individual&#8217;s opinions; otherwise he must pay the consequences.</p>
<p>Why must the laws of the nation be followed by all the individuals within that nation? The laws are created for the sake of the benefit and stability of the nation as a whole; they are not necessarily designed to accommodate every individual&#8217;s preferences. In this way the freedom of the nation is protected and the freedom of the individual is subordinated to that larger good.</p>
<p>By the same token all living beings within the universe must respect and follow the highest laws of the universe. The law of the universe is the law of God.</p>
<p>Which should the individual value more, his own or his family&#8217;s freedom? Certainly he should cherish his family&#8217;s freedom above his own. However, an individual may be willing to sacrifice his family&#8217;s benefit for his own sake, as when a young man goes out dancing and stays out all night while his family is worried and cannot sleep. What kind of freedom is that? Such &#8220;freedom&#8221; has no right to exist when it violates the peace and well-being of the family.</p>
<p>Likewise the family&#8217;s freedom must serve the nation&#8217;s freedom. In order for a family to be protected within the country, it must respect and serve that country. This applies all the way up to the universe-level of freedom. which must be subordinated to God&#8217;s freedom. At what point does God&#8217;s freedom become established and secure? God himself has been suffering because of the blindness and ignorance of human beings.</p>
<p>If an individual does not conform to the expectations of his family, the whole family is disturbed. If a certain family follows a decadent way, the entire society will suffer because of it. If one country pits its own benefit against that of the world. the entire world will suffer and be forced to change the direction of that country.</p>
<p>When God looks at His created universe, He sees it trying to enjoy its own freedom without thinking about Him and He suffers because of that. How do you think God will treat an individual who consistently destroys other levels of freedom&#8217;.&#8217; Will He pat him on the head and say, &#8220;Fine.&#8221; No, God will try to set that person straight. He cannot take any joy in that individual&#8217;s freedom when it ruins larger levels of happiness.</p>
<p>Many individuals and families pray very earnestly for their own benefit. Do you think God is inspired to bless self-oriented individuals and families? God will have the inclination to cause hardship for such people so that they might realize their error. God is not a bad God; whatever He does is always for a good reason, so if He gives hardship to someone it is to ultimately help that person.</p>
<p>What if someone prayed, &#8220;God, if you don&#8217;t give me what I want, I&#8217;ll just cut off my leg!&#8221; God would look at him and feel. &#8220;Go ahead and do it, you self-centered child.&#8221; Consider the white supremacist who prays. &#8220;Oh God, bless this world and bring peace to it-by getting rid of all the black people.&#8221; Will God grant such a prayer? Absolutely not&#8217; God would want to punish and correct such a terrible way of thinking.</p>
<p>Can a saint be the kind of person who goes wherever he feels like going and doing whatever he feels like doing? No, the saint is just the opposite. He can rarely do what he feels like doing.</p>
<p>Some people in the secular world think that because Reverend Moon is at the top of the Unification Church, he must have the greatest amount of freedom and flexibility to indulge himself! People believe such things because they have no Principled understanding of what a leader is or should be.</p>
<p>The truth is that wherever I go, I feel I must be able to answer to my family, my church members and everything around me. Even if I want to go and sit on the grass, I have to wonder, &#8220;Am I taking the spot where a dog wants to sit? Am I possibly destroying an anthill if I sit here?&#8221; I can never stop feeling responsible for every motion I make, even the movement of my foot. This is how I have lived my entire life.</p>
<p>Why must I live the way I have? What kind of joy and meaning do you think I have found in life? I live like this because I have a clear goal: I am living for the sake of the freedom of the universe and the freedom of God. That is why I have come into conflict with all the other levels of freedom and benefit.</p>
<p>A bad person will not like a good person because their realms of interest and benefit always collide. A good person always pushes for the benefit of the largest level, ultimately God&#8217;s benefit, and this always conflicts with a bad person&#8217;s willingness to sacrifice the larger purpose for his own.</p>
<p>Many American young people have a habit of not listening to the guidance and direction of others. I have been teaching you and guiding you with all of my energy and you have only slightly moved from your former ways, but that slight change happens to contradict the way the vast majority of Americans want to go. For many Americans, the individual and the family level of benefit are the only things of value. Now you members of the Unification Church are sacrificing those smaller benefits temporarily for the sake of God and the benefit of the universe. Therefore your society has complained loudly and has strongly opposed your changing.</p>
<p>The fact is that in order to establish God&#8217;s dominion and God&#8217;s freedom, all the lower levels of freedom which come into conflict with that must be sacrificed. Persecution is an automatic reality whenever someone tries to advance toward God&#8217;s level of freedom. You may ask. &#8220;Why don&#8217;t you exalt individual, family and every other kind of freedom at the same time you are honoring God&#8217;s freedom?&#8221; However, such a thing is not possible; when all the other levels of freedom are violating God&#8217;s freedom, one must be subordinated to the other. If the world is going against the direction of God and His freedom, someone must push it toward the proper direction. That is why we are living the way we do and why we receive the kind of persecution we receive. People call you &#8220;Moonies&#8221; with great scorn now, but at the same time, you are being elevated in the eyes of God and the universe.</p>
<p>Why do we choose to go a difficult way? Some people ask, &#8220;Why can&#8217;t we just live the way we have always lived?&#8221; Actually, we have no other alternative than the way we have been going because the ideal can only be realized in this way. Universal freedom and happiness can only be found when we ensure God&#8217;s happiness and freedom. That is the Principle. Only when the benefit and freedom of the highest Being is assured can all the lower levels of being have their lasting happiness and freedom. Once God&#8217;s level of freedom and happiness has been achieved, He can bring about true universal peace and happiness for everyone on every level of existence.</p>
<p>This is the conviction that has guided my entire life In the beginning, no one understood me, but gradually more and more people could appreciate what I was teaching. Even now the majority of the world does not understand; only God can understand the meaning of my life and actions. It has been like God&#8217;s ambassador coming into Satan&#8217;s territory; all the forces of &#8220;authority&#8221; have investigated me, since I am different from others. Having been reviled and rejected by satanic forces, I am only truly appreciated and understood by God in Heaven.</p>
<p>Although many countries have tried to stop me and even now the US government is trying me as an accused criminal, another realm is very happy and excited. All of good spirit world and the realm of God is very eager to assist me because they understand that I am working to establish and maintain God&#8217;s freedom, the highest level of goodness. If God Himself were here on earth, He would certainly have been arrested. put on trial and jailed but once He was able to gain freedom, He would be able to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. At that point God could live happily with His people within a truly happy, free world.</p>
<p>What, then, is the meaning of Home Church? Home Church is the way to give God an area in which He can dwell according to the way He wishes. It is a place where there is no antagonism against God but where everybody wants Him to come and live with them. This was the original plan of God; but because of the fall, all the doors of the world have been closed against Him. Barriers and blockades have been erected.</p>
<p>The original plan was for all people to travel freely within the world and to enjoy total freedom on all levels- individual, family, etc. Once he left the physical world, each individual was supposed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in spirit world. This was the original plan but because of the fall, nothing remained except the individual level of freedom. Ultimately the purpose of Home Church is to shatter the walls which obstruct all the other levels of freedom.</p>
<p>Each individual, as the center of the universe, occupies the position which can liberate God. You are in the center of your family, your society, your nation, and ultimately the entire universe, and you can create the freedom of all those other levels. How can you do that? By doing Home Church.</p>
<p>If this is the truth, then Satan is really in trouble; he can no longer dominate any part of this world. Therefore Satan is exercising his fullest power now. Since the first level of freedom is individual, kidnapping was the first attempt against our movement. However, kidnapping of our members because of their religious preferences has now been ruled illegal. In one state the government tried to block us from fund raising by passing a law against it, but the Supreme Court ruled against that law. Satan is thinking, &#8220;If Rev. Moon stays in America any longer, the entire nation will turn to God. I must get him out of here!&#8221; At this time, the fight is reaching its peak.</p>
<p>Why have I gone this way throughout my entire life? It has been only for the sake of God. You may have wondered, &#8220;Why doesn&#8217;t Rev. Moon stay in Korea and help the people there, since they are suffering and miserable? Americans are well-off.&#8221; You must understand that my objective is to liberate God; once America puts God in the central point, the entire world will open up to God. Once the foundation is laid in America, God will have access to any other place in the world. That is why I came here.</p>
<p>The foundation of America was good and the people of America are potentially very good, but there has been much corrupting influence upon the young people. Each of you has had thoughts of complaint, such as &#8220;I don&#8217;t like Korean leaders!&#8221; Your faces show the truth!</p>
<p>Are you going to listen absolutely to what I say? Usually Americans don&#8217;t like the word &#8220;absolute&#8221;, but why is the concept of absolute so necessary? In order to make a connection with the absolute God, you must reflect Him in His absoluteness. You must work absolutely if you want to reach the absolute God. It is up to you, however; you can choose to listen to me or not.</p>
<p>For four years I have been telling you that you must work hard in Home Church, but how much actual work have you done for the sake of Home Church? Our whole objective is to invite God to dwell with us. Are you making a base for Him in Home Church? Within your own minds, how much do you want to go out and do Home Church? Your words alone do not prove anything. Too often American young people say something but cannot carry it out. How can such a standard be trusted? Will the people of South America or Africa be able to make a better result?</p>
<p>I have done what God has directed me to do in this country. If you do not respond to my direction, I cannot do anything about it. I have taught you deeply, explaining everything to you. Are you actively involved in Home Church? You say, &#8220;I have been too busy to do Home Church,&#8221; but you must realize that I am far busier than you and I have been doing what is necessary for God&#8217;s providence continuously. How can you think you are busier than 1?</p>
<p>The church leaders have offered to take responsibility for Sunday sermons during this court trial, but I refused. It is a basic church requirement to meet together every Sunday morning and first of the month, and then we must do our other missions. Once we make a promise to God, it must be carried out. If we die we will have an excuse for not accomplishing our promise, but as long as we are alive and capable of moving, we must do our basic mission. This is the way I have lived my entire life, without any compromise.</p>
<p>Do you really feel Home Church is the most important thing in your life? Do you consider how important it is to liberate God through Home Church? For the sake of God, there must be nothing we cannot do. We can even go into a desert and turn it into a garden; once God is dwelling in that desert it will literally be a Heavenly palace.</p>
<p>Whatever happens in the present moment must be viewed as the preparation for future achievement. I know this is true. I have dedicated all my energy and resources for the sake of this country. Even if I must go to some other nation with no resources now, I know God will ask me to repeat all over again what I have done here in this country. I know it will be accomplished, too.</p>
<p>My path has been a difficult and painful way but everything I have done has been blessed and prepared for by God. I am never lonesome; God himself is supporting me. I know very clearly that doing everything for the sake of God is the best and only way to protect and defend myself. I know that wherever I may go, the universe will support me. If I go to the remote countries of Africa or South America, those places will become the focus of God and spirit world.</p>
<p>Have you ever heard of anyone before in history who has made such statements as you have heard me make? I am saying and doing things that are unparalleled. Whatever I accomplish on earth will remain forever; as long as God is defending something, it will not perish. You, too, are a participant in my path. As the numbers of people increase who are following the Principle, the world will increase in hope.</p>
<p>You are truly the only hope for the world to return to God. If no one was doing anything about the conditions of America today do you think the vitality of the country could continue? No, America would certainly perish. But if Americans become more and more in line with the Principle, they will begin to prosper spiritually. Are you going to be people who can just sit on the sidelines and watch your country perishing?</p>
<p>We all say we want to be righteous persons, but what is a righteous person? The righteous person is one who will go against any odds, any difficulties, as long as the right path is clear. For example, Abraham&#8217;s prayer in the Bible was for God to spare Sodom if there were only ten righteous people in it. God answered that He would. This is the very same position of Moonies today. When you follow my direction and work diligently in your Home Church area, you will be the righteous persons before God in America. Because you are righteous, some day all your Home Church members will also be righteous. By observing the way you sweat and shed tears for them, those people will find their hearts reviving; they will eventually have the strength and life to behave as you do.</p>
<p>If you are only focusing on when your wedding will occur, you are certainly not serious enough. America is literally in a last-minute position, so how can you be concentrating on your marriage? The country has to be alive first before your individual and family situation can be secured. How can you worry about how you look, whether or not you have nice clothing and makeup and so forth, when the country is in such spiritual danger?</p>
<p>Whenever Mother asks me, &#8216; How much do you love me?&#8221; I always tell her that I cannot love her any more than what we can accomplish in building the Kingdom of God on earth; that is our mission. My response is always the same, even towards Mother. That is the Principled way and I will abide by Principle.</p>
<p>I know that all normal young women want to wear make up and nice clothing. I promise to you that once the mission is done, I will bring to you all the cosmetics you could ever desire. But now we are engaged in a spiritual war and nothing else is more important than winning that war. Do you understand that?</p>
<p>Some people say, &#8220;I need to study more and then maybe I will be able to do Home Church,&#8221; but they have not realized the urgency of the situation. Your shoes should wear out from walking in your area. The number of pairs of shoes you wear out will be your pride and your record of accomplishment in the future. Spirit world is always eager to help you, but you must create the conditions that enable them to do so.</p>
<p>Our topic today is <em>&#8220;Let Us Protect Ourselves.&#8221;</em> It is only when you are properly situated within that central position of your family, society, nation, world and cosmos that you can be properly protected by them. What is your ultimate mission? It is to fulfill your responsibility of liberating God. No responsibility is more important than that and no human being can do anything greater than that.</p>
<p>I know that wherever I go in spirit world, all the saints will come and inquire of me what I accomplished on the earth. I will say to them, &#8220;I worked during my entire life to liberate God and it was my whole effort. However, I had to leave some of the work undone so I have that much regret in my mind.&#8221; That is the best answer anyone could expect in spirit world and no one could question the quality of my life on the earth. Satan will be unable to say anything against me. You too will be asked how you lived your life. When your honest answer is, &#8220;I worked my hardest throughout my life to liberate God,&#8221; God will be fully satisfied. You can bring no greater glory to God than that.</p>
<p>Suppose you went to spirit world and said to God, &#8220;I worked my entire life for the sake of America. I gave myself to more charitable activities than anyone else in the country.&#8221; God could not feel that was of the greatest value. God has the power to make people happy and healthy, once His power is unbound; but as long as He is not liberated He can do very little. The only thing that matters to God is to be able to freely express His love to His children. Whatever assists Him in that is most precious to Him because until He is freed, He cannot do anything for His children.</p>
<p>Certainly every person here wants to gain the love of God. What should you do then to receive that love? It is very simple-work for the sake of God&#8217;s freedom and then He will be able to give all of His love to us. We won&#8217;t have to ask for His love but it will be given automatically. All problems and barriers will be broken through when God&#8217;s love can flow freely to this earth.</p>
<p>We must win the freedom of God and we must maintain it. How do we actually penetrate all the barriers and the levels between ourselves and God? Is it really possible?</p>
<p>How can you penetrate the barriers in spirit world? By doing Home Church successfully you can create the condition to achieve the breakthrough on all those levels. Home Church is incredibly valuable.</p>
<p>If you accomplish only the level of messiah to your Home Church clan, you can still go to spirit world with the highest level of accomplishment. You will receive credit for having secured and maintained God&#8217;s freedom. In other words, you will receive the highest level of credit for a much lower level of accomplishment. This is because once that basic level of God&#8217;s freedom has been established, Satan will have no right to remain in your area. Who moves into your area when Satan moves out? God.</p>
<p>Only in the late 1970s did Home Church become possible; this is the first time in history. We can go beyond the national boundaries by doing Home Church, not only here in America but also in every other part of the world. Before just a few years ago, Europe was rigidly divided between nations with strict border regulations everywhere, but such a way of life was not comfortable. Now people can receive a simple piece of paper that permits them to travel easily between France and Germany, for example, or anywhere in the European Economic Community. America may be isolated from the rest of the world by the fact that she is a continent unto herself, but Americans are finally realizing that they must be a part of the whole world in order to survive.</p>
<p>If something happens within your Home Church area it is not just an isolated, local incident. It is literally a world affair and even a universal affair. If someone sprains his ankle in your area it is as significant as if some prime minister sprained his ankle. The time has come when God&#8217;s attention is focused upon the small Home Church areas; those areas are the most important to Him. Just like with the Falklands, which is such a tiny place with more sheep than people-why are the leaders of the world so excited about it? If the United States President loses sleep over the Falkland Islands, certainly it is not strange that God would be very excited and interested in Home Church.</p>
<p>How is achievement made in Home Church? On one side, God is putting all His focus on your Home Church work and on the other, Satan is trying to thwart you. However, Satan cannot stop you from achieving results. Never before in history has there been the chance for Satan to be completely eradicated from the clan-level. Home Church is your clan-level of messiah. As the messiah of your area. what is your qualification? Your qualification is that you represent God and His providence and dispensation in history.</p>
<p>In the position of clan-messiah, you stand upon all the indemnity of history and the True Parents. The clan messiah is the branch of the big tree, which is the True Parents. As long as you are a part of the True Parents, resembling their nature and living within a give and take relationship with them, that small branch will grow.</p>
<p>Within your Home Church area your roots will appear. Each house in the 360 homes will be one root. Perhaps the people living in each of the 360 houses will try to uproot you from their homes. Even if they all get together and try to remove you, if you do not budge it will be because you have secured the ground and your roots are firm. Even if the trunk of the tree breaks in half, as long as the roots remain in the ground the tree will stay alive.</p>
<p>Once the True Parents plant something in your area, no power can root it out. No power of Satan can damage that root. Someone can follow you and continue your work if you have to leave. God will automatically protect that root.</p>
<p>Your own roots are your ancestry in spirit world and even if Satan tries to pull up those roots, he can never do it. Your branch is your physical clan on the earth. The roots of both the physical and spiritual worlds are in Home Church. Jesus was in the position of clan messiah when he first came and he was meant to go beyond that to the national, world and cosmos level.</p>
<p>The level of clan messiah is your starting point. Why is that level of messiah necessary? The clans around Jesus should not have separated from him but should have united with him. They were also supposed to be united with the family that Jesus would have established himself. If John the Baptist had been united with Jesus, that level of clan unity would have been established.</p>
<p>Joseph&#8217;s family was in the Abel position, while Zechariah&#8217;s family was in the Cain position. Their unity was the essential key that would have enabled Jesus to be received. One essential point of Principle is that the position of parent can only be secure upon the unity of the children, Cain and Abel. That unity is what allows the restoration of Adam. The messiah&#8217;s position is that of parent so through Home Church, unity can be established between the Cain and Abel clans.</p>
<p>Once the Home Church foundation is established on the clan level, the nation will be automatically protected. How does it work? Satan must go away once Cain humbles himself to Abel; he has no place to dwell when that happens. All over the free world, Home Church will become successful.</p>
<p>As soon as Abel becomes one with the parents, on the foundation of his unity with Cain, Satan will have to be expelled. Right now we are in the process of achieving that Abel-parental unity. This is why we are working so hard to do Home Church and unite the Cain and Abel clans. Once unity is achieved in your Home Church area. the whole free world will quickly be united with the Parents. The free world will be entirely different at that time. Once the Home Church foundation is successful, the rest of the world will have to follow and success in the communist world will be simple.</p>
<p>As you know, we are dwelling in a new era which was proclaimed on February 23, 1977. Since then the Abel world and the parents have come to the verge of unity; it will happen very soon. Such unity will transcend all national borders. Communism will be throttled with the appearance of Home Church unity. They have been unable to expand very much at all since 1977; also they have been experiencing more and more corruption and breakdown within their societies. On the contrary, we will be experiencing more and more of a revival.</p>
<p>Although the secular free world is also becoming corrupted and is declining at this time, there are some elements within the free world the are reviving and prospering. The element which is reviving is that of Home Church; it will become more and more prosperous while every other aspect of the secular world will decline more and more. Do you understand?</p>
<p>Until now, God and the Abel world have been on the defensive and the world of Cain, or the communist world, has been on the offensive. However, from this time forward it will be the other way around. For the first time in history on the world level, the Abel groups will become united with the parents&#8217; position, that is, True Parents and God.</p>
<p>After the Abel forces and the parents become one Cain&#8217;s world will have no power. Jesus couldn&#8217;t win the unity of his Cain and Abel tribes. However, you are inheriting the ability to bring Cain and Abel unity on the tribal level; this is not because of anything you have done, but because of the accomplishments of the True Parents. Nonetheless, it is still legitimately yours.</p>
<p>At this time, the Home Church area is in the position of Adam and the spirit world is in the position of archangel. You must connect the two and bring unity. The fall occurred because of a conflict between those two positions, but now we must bring them into harmony for the purpose of restoration. Your Home Church is directly connected, of course, with the spirit world because of all the ancestors of the people living there. Since the fall, spirit world and physical world have continually been in conflict but it is our duty to unite them.</p>
<p>Once you make the foundation in your area, you make it easy for the good spirit world to come freely to the earthly realm. Satan has had a claim on your area, but when you enter it spirit world wants very much to make unity with you, their Abel. The people in your areas are under the impression at this time that Moonies are bad; but they will totally change their attitude toward you once they see how good you really are. In turn, those Home Church people will pass the word to their own relatives.</p>
<p>Only by creating the beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth can we go to the Kingdom of Heaven in spirit world. God will be able to dwell on the earth when you bring unity in your area between Cain and Abel. between the people and yourself and ultimately the True Parents. That is what we mean when we say, &#8220;Home Church is the base of the Kingdom of Heaven.&#8221; The Kingdom of Heaven is waiting to begin in your area. Your base for the Kingdom is your area; likewise, the people in spirit world must use Home Church as their base.</p>
<p>On February 22, 1982, I declared the ceremony of unity between spirit world and physical world. The Unification Church is now moving into the world dispensation level, beyond the level of nation. As soon as this court case is over, the world will not have the power to oppose us further.</p>
<p>You have been persecuted in the past and have said nothing, but now you will have greater power than your persecutors. When someone criticizes you. don&#8217;t just meekly tolerate it but demand to know why he opposes you. If he doesn&#8217;t have a good reason, you can give him a hard time! Times have changed; the day of martyrdom for the Unification Church is coming to an end.</p>
<p>I have built our strong foundation thus far under seemingly impossible circumstances. Now that the opposition is dwindling, imagine how much you can accomplish if you continue to work just as hard. You can accomplish enormous victories within ten years; that is the literal truth. From the base of Home Church, you can bring down the good spirit world and drive out the satanic elements. The satanic realms will become liberated and the Heavenly realms will grow wider and wider.</p>
<p>These points are completely consistent with the Principle. How can you make Satan retreat? If you try harder than anybody ever tried in history to liberate God, any spirit man regardless of his stature can come and help you. Also the leaders of the major religions can come to assist you. Any of your ancestors can help, too. Religious leaders in spirit world are in the Abel position; your own ancestors are in the Cain position. With this unity between Cain and Abel, the progress of Heaven will be automatic; it is the way of Principle and no one can stop it.</p>
<p>You must have confidence because each of you stands at that central position. Once you are truly confident in the Principle, all the good people in spirit world and your ancestors can help you. You can direct them how to help you. Your position is the same as Adam. who was supposed to be subject over the spirit world, the world of the archangel.</p>
<p>The indemnity of the archangel is achieved when good spirit world, at your command, chases out the bat spirit world from your area and enables you to restore God&#8217;s ideal. In that way you reverse the fall by exercising your proper dominion over the archangelic world. Such is the meaning of Home Church. Unless you actually do it you cannot understand it and you cannot actually accomplish God&#8217;s will.</p>
<p>Times change and the focus and advantages of the times change as well. This is the time when spirit men. especially your ancestors in spirit world, can influence your physical relatives to support you. Once it becomes clear to the general public that the Unification Church is truly a good group, most of your relatives will come to you and apologize for not understanding what you were doing. When that happens, your task will be much easier. You will have achieved unity between the Cain and Abel elements in your family and can stand together on God&#8217;s side. Therefore shouldn&#8217;t you work even harder to do Home Church? Be confident that you are indeed the tribal messiah, standing on a great foundation.</p>
<p>What is our basic purpose? It is first to gain God&#8217;s freedom and then to protect it and maintain it. At that point, God&#8217;s original love will be able to pour out on the horizontal level. God&#8217;s love has certainly always been here but the world has had no physical connection with it. Home Church now can serve as that connection. Very quickly the world will be nourished by that love from God; the mood toward peace will grow and the past days of war will disappear.</p>
<p>This is what I have been working for throughout my life-the ability for God to freely give His love to the world. Once the court battle is over, this country will realize that their judgment of me was wrong. My purpose of coming here will be accomplished at that time. That doesn&#8217;t mean everything will be ideal, but our movement will be able to pick up great momentum then. You will be able to teach the people very effectively and turn this country back to God.</p>
<p>Each individual must preserve his central position within the family, society, and so forth. Where is that central position? It is in Home Church. By defending the realm of God&#8217;s freedom within your Home Church, you are defending all other realms of freedom under Him. Your 360 homes represent the entire world so when your area is living within the Principle, God will have a condition to move into the entire world. You will see sharp changes of direction within this world toward the side of goodness; a very effective time for God&#8217;s providence will be happening.</p>
<p>The Columbia space shuttle is very symbolic. It takes off from the earth, goes into space and returns, repeating the cycle over and over. In exactly the same way, spirit world will be able to come back and forth to the earth; passage between the heavenly realms and earthly realms will be opened up. How wonderful this is for the sake of the world!</p>
<p>Today is the first day of May. The springtime is now upon us; all the things of nature are beginning to revive. Likewise, the spirit of the Unification Church will begin to revive; that is my wish for you. Let us all say Amen!</p>
