Rev. J. H. Pak
When we go to the spiritual world, what kind of gift could we bring to God? If we visit our parents' house, our friend's house, or our teacher's house, we might bring some gift, especially on some special day such as Thanksgiving, maybe even a turkey. God is our eternal Parent. He gives us life and protection; He gives us all necessary resources for our physical life--water, air, sunlight, everything. And He gives us everything necessary for our spiritual life. After all that he gives to us all our life, if we go before Him would we want to go empty-handed? To take a gift, a remembrance, to the one we are visiting is both an earthly and a heavenly custom.
God is Almighty and as True Father always tells us, "God does not need money, or knowledge or power; nothing like that," so what kind of gift can we bring to God to His satisfaction and joy? What kind of gift can we offer Him which would make Him say "My son, my daughter, let us live together forever and ever"? Only one thing--Love. What kind of Love? The Love we practiced by giving the seed of life to humankind. How do we do that? By witnessing to people, teaching them, nurturing them with love and care, guiding them and bringing them to the Blessing. Through this, they gained new Life, Love and Lineage. They become new seeds of life.
When we visit someone, we often bring a fruit basket, with many different kinds of fruit. So this is just what we are bringing before God--our fruit basket. The harvest of many fruits in which we invested and planted the seed of life. If we bring three spiritual children, then seven spiritual children, on up to a thousand spiritual children in our fruit basket, representing our love, our investment, as we planted the seeds, nurtured them through their growth, and gathered them up at harvest time--this fruit basket is what we bring to God. Then God will feel joy and in return, we are indeed rich and honorable in the spiritual world.
Father said if we do not witness or help people on Earth, that in the spiritual world we are restricted to a vertical position only, like one straight line, without horizontal movement--no space. According to the number of people we help or give life to in our own lifetime on Earth is how much space we are allotted in the spiritual world. If it is three people, then a small amount of space; the space expands according to the number. If we include all races and cultures in our sphere of witnessing--black people, white people, yellow people, red people, far-away Eskimos in Alaska, Africans, South Americans, North Americans, Asians, everyone, everywhere, rich and poor--then we can look forward to a joyful life of very expansive space in the spiritual world.
All over the world in this year of 1997, miracles of Blessings are happening. Now some of the pre-Blessed people are beginning to volunteer to plant and harvest. This is the time of judgment and the time of harvest. Those coming for the Blessing can have eternal life.
All the world now is competing, competing, competing! Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak believes that he can announce by the middle of November that from the 185 nations all around the world the number of blessing couples will be more than 36 million!! Some nations were so busy with enormous numbers of couples to bless that they did not have time to add up numbers and send totals to the International Office. Consequently, numbers have suddenly jumped up drastically.
By the year 2000 the New Heaven and New Earth will come from "new people." Not new fancy clothes or new beautiful jewels or new anything, but rather NEW PEOPLE. These new people are coming from where? From God, from True Parents, from True Love, Eternal Life, Pure Lineage!
The American Indian people are suffering from so many things--alcohol, drugs, aids, family problems, bad atmospheric pollution. The pure mountain spring water they used to drink no longer exists. The animal life they fed from is practically gone. Now so many satanic things have entered into their life. The Indian chiefs and other leaders are wondering how to take care of their people. Throughout all societies, nations and the world, it is the same thing. True Father is bringing the answers. If people will just listen and change, True Parents will provide all the solutions for every possible problem on the Earth.
Even now as I speak, Parents are visiting the Amazon area in South America. As they explore deep into God's original creation, the world of nature, they realize that in order to be saved, humankind must go back to nature, smell God, touch God, commune with God in order to return to find God and restore their own original mind and body.
I meet with many high-level leaders from all religions and organizations, and yet it is amazing to witness such top-level persons as True Parents, who have reached such a pinnacle on Earth, return to the most simple, untouched, unpolluted part of the world, the vast Amazon River area, the Pantanal, the Garden of Eden. Here they experience God, as He originally, joyfully, painstakingly, and with a great deal of adventure and humor, molded some 36 million different kinds of insects--one by one--with His own hands, not just by His word or His thought, but with His hands.
To explore, to digest and spiritually and physically conquer this great creation of God, True Parents have suffered a great deal in order to create great plans for preservation for God's world, nature and human beings. For all its beauty and mystery, there are mosquitoes, snakes and other things of discomfort and danger existing in that area of the world . It is a most hot and humid place with no air-conditioning right now. Yet, True Father and True Mother are most joyful, as they dwell with nature. It is all so interesting and amazing.
To be "blessed" has a deeper meaning than just receiving material blessings or an easy life. It also means to have an appreciation and longing for God's original nature and world, the world of pure love, life and lineage.
Some of us were blessed 10, 20 or 30 years ago. At that time, our families, our friends surely thought we were crazy. Many would not in any way endorse our blessing life. They thought our way of life would pass away with time, but instead 36 million couples
throughout the world are now being blessed! These couples are agreeing to a more pure way of life. Now our way of life is most assuredly being proved right. This is your victory, my victory, True Parents' victory and God's victory. This is indeed good news. This is a day of victory.
We have anxiously awaited this news of 36 million couples. It is like wartime when you wait for news of victory. This is indeed a battle between God and Satan, a difficult war between Pure Love and satanic impure love and God has claimed the victory. God and True Parents themselves brought victory. Six thousand or more years God has waited for the victory that is now coming.
Members in Washington, DC are getting occasional glimpses of the spiritual world. Some say they have seen President Abraham Lincoln and also many soldiers in full uniform from Washington National Cemetery, coming even into the prayer rooms in the city. They are prepared to help win the battle. How comforted we can be by this reinforcement!
In North America we now have almost 400,000 blessings. Of course, compared to the rest of the world this number is too small. But at least we are growing. In Nigeria, there are almost 8 million blessed couples.
Three years ago 2,000 Christian ministers were blessed. But they didn't multiply. We would naturally expect them to bring others in their congregations if they realized the value of the Blessing. But apparently this didn't happen. Or maybe they feared persecution within their churches that might jeopardize their leadership role. Now, however, many of them are beginning to realize the value of the Blessing and are teaching True Family Values which gives a strong spirit to their members and raises the spirit and power of the church. Some churches are even competing now for Blessing totals.
One pastor in Chicago is giving many blessings and has promised to bring 20 buses to Washington. This is just an example of the competition we will have in the future. We had better hurry up and bless many couples now because after this coming Blessing we will find ourselves homeless!! Much competition is entering the Blessing field! Seventy church pastors are working together with our tribal messiahs in Chicago to bring buses.
Chicago has a different history than most of our cities. There, for many years, brothers and sisters have worked with churches and loved and served churches. They have always done things together and stayed connected.
There is one story in Chicago of an elder church minister who was blessed several years ago. His wife has already gone into spiritual world. He wanted to help RFK campaign so he offered to financially assist any couple in his congregation with $70 if they wanted to go to Washington. So that church filled one bus right there.
Substantial church leaders are now joining with us for the Blessing. We are now experiencing on-going victory. Do not feel discouraged in any way. Heaven's power is at work.
There will be major representation from the world's religion--Christian, Judaism, Islam, Hindu, Coptic, Sikh, and others. Who prepared such a gathering? Who opened the door to this victory? God and True Parents. Three years ago, Father announced this coming 3.6 million couple Blessing. At that time, the Unification leadership almost had heart attacks! Back when True Father announced the 360,000 Couple Blessing, we were shocked!
Only God and True Parents believed in such possibilities which were coming. Their vision is so great. Ours is so small. On November 29, at RFK Stadium, the whole world will be watching; the physical world and the spiritual world, all of the cosmos will be watching. The world will know they can trust the vision of Reverend Moon.
People are looking for blessing and protection. According to Father, we have three problems: 1) satanic lineage problem; 2) youth problem; 3) family problem. These are the biggest problems, all over the world. Actually, in the Bible we will find the word 'lineage' mentioned 700 times. The Judeo-Christian religion is Lineage religion, blood lineage religion. The first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, gives all the generations of Jesus Christ's lineage. The first verse introduces us to those generations. The Bible is definitely a book of lineage.
In the world today, we do not realize the value of blood lineage.
Blood lineage comes from where? A seed. The seed of life of our father and mother. The love and life investment of our father and mother. That small seed, that sperm of life coming from the lineage. This is multiplication upon multiplication, growing and becoming our physical body, forming our blood flow. If this blood circulation jammed just one minute we would die. This is our lineage. But does this blood lineage only gives life energy? No. It gives us our personality, our character, temperament, emotions, our conscious, our righteousness, the color of our skin, our hair, size of body, every potential thing within us comes from blood lineage. When looking for a marriage partner, families think of looking for people of good family background, good blood lineage.
Spiritual leaders, prophets, scholars and others have questioned from generation to generation down through the ages, "Why can't we solve the problems of humanity?" They have tried making better systems in societies, better organizations, improved prisons, many things--but nothing has solved human problems. The most important element is blood lineage. We might think of a fine looking candlestick holding a wax candle. If the candle wax is good wax, the flame of the candle is beautiful; but if the wax is not good quality, then the flame will give off ugly smoke and will pollute the air rather than give off a beautiful light. So all the potential of the candlestick and candle is hidden within the candle.
So True Father takes responsibility to change our blood lineage. Before Jesus came into the world, God prepared the bloodline, the blood lineage down through the ages for his birth. And Jesus was born of God's lineage, holy lineage. Disciple Matthew tried to explain the greatness of Jesus' lineage. He tried to explain "you killed this special person, Jesus Christ, but he came from a special lineage. He's the messiah, he is the king of kings, he was the chosen people's hope, but you killed him."
True Father's great teaching to humanity includes: 1) We must be re-created or restored; 2) for the price of this restoration we must pay indemnity; and 3) we must be engrafted to True Parents' lineage. Lineage is priceless. It is also the problem. Because we are fallen, bad lineage is a problem. We struggle. But we need to understand that we must change this blood lineage. And now is the time in history to do it. Before the year 2000, all the world will have the opportunity to be blessed.
So why does Jesus have to come again? To change the blood lineage once and for all. Without the messiah, the chosen one, the True Parents, it cannot be done.
To help you in your work to bring couples to RFK Stadium, let me include the testimony of Westchester County member Mrs. Natsue Erstling (excerpted and paraphrased):
"In order to inspire couples to go to Washington, DC we have to make their original minds happy. To do that we teach Divine Principle as much as possible. We must also make them aware that it is not just for the happiness of their own couple, but for their entire family as well, including their grandparents, and great grand-parents. And especially tell them how all of these relatives, even in the spiritual world, worked so hard all their lives and suffered and sacrificed and probably died as lonely people.
Explain to them that it is because of these kinds of ancestors down through their lineage that their couple can now merit being in the blessed position. Encourage the couples to think in terms of how important their role is now to be the connecting force for all their
ancestors' sacrifice. Explain that by going to receive the final prayer on November 29 they will complete their blessing and they will be a part of Jesus' direct lineage. They will be proud to hear this whether they are Christian or not. Remind them that they must not make a sexual mistake. They must take responsibility to live morally. Remind them that the small amount of money they are paying is nothing compared to the joy that their ancestors feel at being liberated. The ancestors will advance to a higher and brighter place in the spiritual world.
Tell them the holy wine or nectar which they drank is so precious. Ancestors will see the value of that too. They will also be there with the couple during the holy ceremony .
No matter what their cultural background or religion, once they take the holy wine they will understand all that you say. Many times you will cry together, and pray together. Come to trust each other. Discuss that these are the Last Days and we must grasp this fortune. Spirit world works strongly when we teach Divine Principle.
Talking about all the immorality of our society will not move their original mind. This is what you discussed with them when they signed registration and took the wine, but you must talk about deeper, spiritual things if they are to be inspired to go to RFK. Only truth will move peoples' hearts and original minds. Assure them you will continue to be their tribal messiah even after Nov. 29. (Natsue's family has testified that she sacrifices everything, day and night, for all those she has blessed. She takes her responsibility very seriously and is an inspiration to others.)
We must repent that we have not fulfilled according to Heaven's desires and determine to have a more responsible attitude from this time on. True Parents are being so serious themselves about everything. Big things and small things. And another thing we can thank True Parents for: there will be a heated pad for each person as they enter the stadium. Can you imagine! If all those coming on Nov. 29th could only know all the concerns and care and love that True Parents are giving to details for participants! So there are many extras that will be available, not to mention the singing, dancing, laser show and fireworks. At the beginning of the RFK planning, there was to be a banquet for a few hundred people, but True Father said "everyone is to have a banquet!" So a banquet in a box will be available for all.
This is like John's vision when the angel said, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:9). The holy banquet, the marriage supper of the Lamb, is being fulfilled now. And we can see that it is happening in the way Jesus spoke in the book of Matthew: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. Again, he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner; my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business... "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests" (Matt. 22:1-10). And just as it was in the Old and New Testaments, so it is now in the Completed Testament So we must carefully prepare for all to get to RFK. Heaven will prepare all benefit and protection for us all.
The following are five points of advice given by True Father which I want to pass on to you:
1) If you absolutely believe, now God, all angelic world, saints and sages, Pres. George Washington, Pres. Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., all of them are now on Earth to help us. But if our Tribal Messiahs are active, then they cannot help us.
(Rev. Jae Suk Kim in Boston had this dream: True Father appeared and encouraged Rev. Kim, saying "when we are active in mobilizing couples to come to RFK Stadium spirit world will support and help our region. True Parents have already established the foundation. True Father wants us to inherit his victory. Even if the current result is slow, if we invest ourselves we can experience their reality of Heavenly Father's support. Don't be discouraged.")
2) Tribal messiahs should find John the Baptists to assist in the mobilization, like good newly blessed couples.
3) Make sure all your people get mailouts, either through the computer database or yourself doing mailings. And follow up with phone calls.
4) Make one bus your goal. Each tribal messiah should bring one bus. To assist members who are not active in this campaign, trinities are being formed; three couples working together to pool their people and participation. This is being organized.
5) This RFK event is historical, never to happen again in this way. So even if we must go into debt, we must fulfill. If we invest some small amount for each couple who can't pay, it will be to our eternal credit.
We must continue to bless more people. We must think of heavenly registration. We can be proud Tribal Messiahs. We are living in these great times so we can do greater things than all others in history. Our ancestors in the spiritual world are lined up before Heung-Jin-Nim and Dae-Mo-NIm, waiting in anticipation. They are happy that we are with the True Parents but we must be active in this campaign so they can feel honor and look forward to a brighter future. We must not disappoint those depending on us. Be aware of the times, be wise, trust True Parents, believe.
We want to bring as many people as possible to the Banquet of our Lord. Everything And Everyone Is On Our Side As We Victoriously March To RFK Stadium.