God`s Will and Christmas by Achim Pock

Reverend Sun Myung Moon Speaks On

God's Will and Christmas

God's Will and Christmas REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON December 25, 1976 Manhattan Center Translator -- Bo Hi Pak

Today is Christmas, 1976, and people around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. In the history of the Unification Church the year of 1976 was a most critical and extraordinary year and today we have ample reason to be grateful, especially as we gather together for the first service in this holy place, our Manhattan Center. We are not an ordinary group. There are many Christians in the world but the Unification Church and this particular gathering have a special meaning and purpose in God's dispensation. It is most important in celebrating this day of Christmas to know the purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Without knowing that purpose clearly this celebration is meaningless, so this morning I would like to deliver a message on the topic, "God's Will and Christmas." When we ask if God's original intention for this world has been completely fulfilled, the obvious answer is no. The will of God was thwarted because of the fall of man. Through history fallen mankind has been searching for the ultimate fulfillment of the will of God and the purpose of creation. As this providence has been advancing on many different levels of the individual, family, society, nation and world, God's 3Â Â

original will or blueprint has never| changed. All the while that unchanging goal has been there for man to accomplish, waiting for man to catch up. God is eternal, unchanging, absolute and unique; therefore, the will of God is also eternal, unchanging, absolute and unique. God cannot yield His original standard or give up His principle because of the failure of men. He cannot compromise or deviate from His original goal no matter how much sacrifice we men have to pay. He cannot come down to the level of men; men must go up to the level of God. Realization of the ideal hinges upon the perfection of one man As soon as the fall of man took place, God's will focused on the goal of restoration. God Himself is destined to save mankind, to show people how to get out of the fallen state and into the original ideal of creation. That is the providence of God's salvation, or restoration. Throughout history men have not been in a position to save themselves; salvation comes instead from a higher place. This is why a savior must come to save mankind. As yet no individual has successfully showed God's original ideal of creation to the world. Without having individual perfection or salvation there can be no family salvation, no social, national or world salvation. God has been thinking about how to establish one central champion who will give mankind His clear message and show the way to salvation. In the mind and heart of God that one man is the key because that one man's victory will bring not only his own individual perfection, 'out will open the way for family perfection, social, national and world perfection. God knows this world is evil, and He cannot abruptly send His champion without having prepared some foundation. God's 4Â Â

first task is to prepare the foundation on the individual level by working through central individuals, and then to prepare the family, social and national levels. This is how God came to prepare the nation of Israel. The chosen nation of Israel had the mission of receiving the Messiah and had been expecting his coming for 2,000 years before Jesus came. Jesus Christ came for the will of God, to transmit God's will to the chosen nation of Israel. God was moving in a certain direction and Jesus Christ was moving parallel to that direction, so certainly the people of Israel were supposed to move in a way parallel to Jesus. If all three had been moving parallel in one direction, God's ultimate will could have been fulfilled in that nation. God and Jesus were united and all that was needed was to have the people of Israel unite with Jesus. After man's having fulfilled on the national level, expansion of that fulfillment to the worldwide level would have been assured. As you know from the Principle of Creation, the perfection of Adam would not only have been the perfection of an individual but would have brought the perfection of the family. That would have expanded into the perfection of the clan, society, nation and the world. Therefore, one man of perfection could have brought world perfection. Then there would be only one ism necessary for all mankind -- Adamism. Under Adamism the individual would prosper, the family would prosper, and the society, nation and world would prosper. The true forefather of mankind is that individual whose perfection represents not only his own success, but the perfection of the family, nation, world and cosmos. Today's world would be entirely different if Adam had accomplished that. We would not see all the disgusting sights that we 5Â Â

witness every day. Neither would we see the language barriers and the national barriers separating people. Furthermore, every individual would understand the perfection of man and would also live in complete unity between spirit world and this world. Every individual could clearly map out his own way of life to reach the ultimate Kingdom of Heaven. The problem today is that man does not possess the living God and no one has given him true direction. Mankind lives random, wandering lives. In the original ideal this would never be; everyone would be guided into perfection in a way perfectly parallel with the will of God and no one could live outside that will. The realization of the Kingdom of God hinges upon the perfection of one man. That one man will bring the perfection of the Kingdom of God here on earth, and thereafter will erect the Kingdom of God in Heaven. The citizens of the Kingdom of God will start their lives here on earth and after they consummate their lives here will automatically be elevated into the Kingdom of God in Heaven, where they will continue as families. God's work begins here on earth If there had been no fall the situations here on earth and in heaven would have been perfectly parallel. On earth there would be the individual, family, society, nation and world under God and the same would be seen in the spirit world. One united world would have occurred. It is God's will to see perfection come first here on earth; God never intended to have His Kingdom established in spirit world and then copied here on earth. Christians commonly think that the heavenly kingdom in spirit world is the perfected kingdom but that is not true.

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Without perfection here on earth no perfection can be obtained there. There was always a blueprint in the mind of God, the original plan that always has been and will always remain perfect, even though the physical realization of these plans has never yet been seen. Jesus prayed, "Thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus knew the perfection of God's will in Heaven and he brought that will to earth, coming to establish perfection here so that mankind would bring the kingdom into heaven. That was God's plan. God has not yet seen the perfection of His original plan here on earth, however, even after the coming of Jesus Christ. Because of the crucifixion Jesus could not accomplish the full purpose of his coming, the perfection of Adam's level. It was not at all God's original plan to fulfill the ideal by killing the Messiah. If that was indeed God's method then just sending him to a nation that was unprepared to understand him would have been sufficient. Sacrifice is sometimes necessary, but God did not intend the sacrifice of human life as the key to complete salvation. Because of the crucifixion Jesus Christ was not allowed to reach the fullest degree of perfection and no family, social or national perfection was obtained. Therefore, it is most logical that the Messiah must come a second time. What will Jesus do when he comes? Will he come to wipe out the world? The word "judgment" is frequently misunderstood to mean that God will wipe out everything in anger. That is not the purpose of the Messiah's coming a second time. The whole purpose is to fulfill the mission that was left undone 2,000 years ago, to work for individual, family, social, national and world perfection. Judgment is the constructive work of God to see the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God here on earth. 7Â Â

Because the work of God is realistic and physical, the Messiah's coming on the clouds in the sky does not make sense. By interpreting the Bible literally many Christians anticipate Jesus' appearance in the sky, but that could not be so. People perceive God as being supernatural, someone who could perform even the miracle of bringing Jesus on the clouds. Why would Christianity be necessary in that case? Why would faith be necessary? Why didn't God use supernatural power to build up the Kingdom of God in the first place? Why has He had to wait for 6,000 years to accomplish this? I want you to know that God's will in sending Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago perfectly parallels the coming of Adam in the garden of Eden. The Lord of the Second Advent will come for the same purpose. In other words, God's will, Adam's purpose, Jesus' purpose and the purpose of the Second Coming are all the same. Truth is unchanging, being the beginning and the end. The will of God cannot be changed or tarnished by time but will be the same forever. God has a formula and when it is fulfilled God will seal it. That particular formula is still there, unfulfilled; God is waiting for man to fulfill that pure, unadulterated standard. God never detours God has been working tirelessly for 6,000 years to accomplish one thing: the perfected Adam. God has been working to see that man as a model for mankind. Out of all the multitudes of men, the world has still not met that one man who is perfect in the sight of God. Yet no matter what, God's will is marching on. God promised a Messiah when Adam failed and if that Messiah cannot fulfill in the fullest degree then God will send another Messiah. That is the messianic concept. The Messiah's 8Â Â

ideal is perfectly parallel with the ideal of God and therefore we can say that God and the Messiah are one. For God and the Messiah to become one, what must the Messiah do? To answer that you must know why God created man. Was man created for himself or for someone else-for woman? If any man thinks he was born for self-glory, he is absolutely wrong. God created man for the sake of woman. What kind of man was Jesus? Was he man or woman or in between? What is a true man? Is the President of the United States automatically a true man? The true man is one who perfectly fits God's framework, meaning that if God is round, that true man is perfectly round and if God is square, that true man is perfectly square. From day to night, from eternity to eternity he will not deviate from that standard. Once he becomes a true man in the sight of God, will he waver and change or will he stick to God's one principle goal? Will the true man say, "Well, I will try this for ten years and if it doesn't work I will change"? Or will that man not change for ten years or one hundred years or for eternity? When there is danger to his life will he exclaim, "I definitely don't want to be in this situation. I must take cover"? Why not? If he deviates in any way then he is no longer like God because God never changes. Paralleling this, will you try first for a year or so and then see what happens? Would a true member of the Unification Church give up or change? I want you to know that God is straightforward. He will not detour but will go ahead regardless of what happens. When God moves and there is an enemy roadblock, God knows that His advance will ultimately smash all opposition. God knows that it is the other side which will be shattered. Therefore, the true man and the true member is fearless, having the courage 9Â Â

to clash with opposition and knowing the other side will eventually fall away. He will always take the adventurous way, not avoiding anything in order to seize the advantage. You must live that way every day. God is eternal; therefore, I am an eternal being. God is unique; therefore, I am unique. God is unchanging; therefore, I will never change. God is absolute so I am going to be absolute. That is the way you must think every day. How do we know Jesus was a true man? He didn't write a big sign on his forehead or get a Ph.D. He didn't have any extraordinary size or power. Why do we know him to be a true man? We know Jesus was a true man because his way of life was parallel with the will of God and fit perfectly the description of God's way of life. We know that Jesus Christ was born solely for the will of God, that he lived solely for the will of God and that he died solely for the will of God. At the critical moment of Jesus' death on the cross he died as a Messiah and with the dignity of a Messiah, not as an ordinary man, a sad man or a man taking cover. He deeply felt, "Even though the Roman Empire opposes me now, it shall receive my mercy. Even though the Israelites oppose me, they shall receive my mercy." Therefore, Jesus had room to forgive them, room to pray for them and to embrace them. Jesus could not give up the will of God by resenting their adamant opposition to his efforts to save them. Jesus certainly could not abandon his mission at that moment by hating the people. He was a true man because he perfectly lived the life of God. He was a walking God. There was no separation between God and Jesus, and because no one can destroy God no one can destroy Jesus Christ. The crucifixion was not his destruction; God manifested the power of resurrection so that the world could see that Jesus was never destroyed. 10Â Â

What attitude is needed in order to receive the Messiah? Since the fulfillment of perfection was not obtained in Israel, God prepared the second Israel as the foundation upon which the second Messiah could come. That foundation is the work of Christianity. We must know that Christianity is the second Israel in the sight of God. The ultimate goal of Christians the world over is to receive the Messiah. They talk about this, but the most critical question for them is how they are going to meet the Messiah. Many Christians think that the Messiah will command extraordinary miracles to happen which will solve all the world's problems in one moment, instantly making the world the Kingdom of God. This is their ambiguous understanding but this could not possibly be so. When the Messiah comes the second time he will start from the very bottom of man's situation and advance step by step to the height of the Kingdom. He brings the pattern which the rest of the world should follow and he will not compromise with the world. He will initiate the final showdown between good and evil. According to that standard, are modern day Christians ready to be lifted up to the Kingdom of God in heaven as perfected men and women? Not at all. They must transform themselves and change to fit into the pattern that the Messiah will bring; as the second Israel, Christians are to be the first people to change themselves into that model. Even today there are people who think that the fall of man was in the plan of God. How ridiculous! If God had planned for evil and sin, He could never be a good God. God never intended the work of salvation to be needed; He originally intended only the garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve becoming the embodiment of perfection. A man of perfection 11Â Â

does not require salvation. God would far more prefer to have man without any need for the dispensation of salvation. How well do you know the will of God? Many Christians are convinced that God's will for them is to seek only their own chunk of heaven, and they could care less about the fate of the rest of the world. Meanwhile the nation and the world are crumbling and instead of feeling responsible, they expect God to handle everything. That is not true Christianity. After the fall of man God's efforts focused on the work of salvation. I want you to know clearly that His target is the world, not just one man, one race, one people or one nation. God intended the Messiah to accomplish the fulfillment of perfection, not to create a multitude of denominations. He still is determined to achieve that one ultimate goal of perfection and unity between men, even if this may mean the sacrifice of the churches. I have seen what the Kingdom of God is like in the spirit world and ultimately you too will see that God's Kingdom is not organized in the same divided way that religions are here. Such separation is truly contrary to the will of God. The conflict and division between religious people has been carried over into spirit world and brings grief to God. Yet that has been conventional faith. How can you become true sons and daughters of Christ? We believe in Jesus Christ as the savior and Messiah simply because we want to become the son or daughter who can fulfill the will of God. Jesus died for the sake of his mission, not just to acquire his own chunk of heaven. Don't ever worry about your own heaven, but worry about bringing down the Kingdom of God to your society and to this world. If you are 12Â Â

like that, when you say to God, "I don't want to go to the Kingdom of God," God will chase after you and personally install you in the highest position in His Kingdom. Jesus never complained to God about the rebelliousness of the very people he had been sent to save and never ceased caring about them. That was not Jesus' heart. Jesus knew clearly that his mission was not just the salvation of Israel but of the world. God would be most pleased to hear Jesus pray, "God, Your goal is world salvation. Please use me and Your chosen nation as Your sacrifice to fulfill Your work." Jesus became a son of God simply because he was perfectly united with God in will and in heart. Because of that oneness Jesus Christ could willingly die for the rest of the world. How can you become the true sons and daughters of Christ? By becoming perfectly one with Christ, one with his spirit and one with his heart. If you are perfectly united with Jesus Christ you can be a willing sacrifice for-the salvation of the rest of the world. The true Christians are those who are willing to sacrifice themselves, their own church and their denomination for the fulfillment of the will of God for world salvation. A true Christian could not pray for God's help and blessing for only his family. After knowing the truth of God's situation we can only pray, "God, I am ready to be Your sacrifice. Use me as Your instrument; fulfill Your will for world salvation through me. If necessary please sacrifice my family, church and nation." Such people will create the Kingdom of God. Those who pray only for their own chunk of God's blessing will end up in hell. If you search closely you will discover that this is true. If God's sole concern is world salvation, do you think He would support the person who was interested only in

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himself, his family and his church, or would He side with the people who were most involved in world salvation? Put yourself in God's position for a moment and look at the American churches. Not only are there a great many churches, but they are pursuing very different purposes and goals. White people organize together, black people organize their churches and yellow people organize their churches. Do you think this is a very beautiful thing for God to behold? Absolutely not! If any Christian leader would call for his people to unite with other races then he could be considered a true Christian leader among his people. Since we know the overall will of God, we can understand the world, which can meet that standard. Could Satan influence a perfected man? Even if Satan is standing right next to that man he is completely powerless to influence him. Satan could sneakily flip him over in his sleep, but upon awakening that man would realize what had happened and just flip back to his right position. It is a waste of Satan's energy to meddle with a perfected man. Can Satan test God? God never told Satan that he could not try to test God, but Satan is not that dumb. He knows very well that no matter how much effort he makes, testing God is a waste of his time and energy. A man of perfection is just like God and Satan knows that testing him is a waste of time. When you become a man of perfection, Satan is powerless to influence you. You stand aloof of Satan's temptations. Are you Unification Church members such men and women? How can you become that kind of person? The solution is simple: don't worry about yourself but think 100% of God. Decide that you will be as unchanging as God and cultivate that quality. Then you will graduate from temptation and 14Â Â

Satan will have to testify that you have graduated out his sphere of influence. Satan will grudgingly acknowledge you. Satan even tried to tempt Jesus Christ. After offering three temptations to Jesus, Satan came to the conclusion that he had no power over him. If even a little bit of selfishness, a little bit of ego, remained in Jesus' heart, Satan could have hooked it and pulled Jesus down to his dungeon. Satan cannot grab any nation or person who serves the world Which is the majority in the Unification Church, those who have graduated from the temptation of Satan, or those who are still susceptible? That is the key question of our Church. There are many ways for you to be tempted, but you must remember that while I certainly push you and send you out, I am having you do it not for me or for yourself, but for the sake of God, humanity and the world. I have never asked you to earn money for me. Wait and see who will be the winner in the sight of God, the Unification Church or our opposition. I know very well that there are terrorist groups who think that by eliminating me they can destroy the Unification Church. How wrong and ridiculous their thinking is! If I were killed, God would raise up millions more like me to continue in His work. How are you members different from conventional Christians? Why are you here? God handpicks you and you joined this church to give yourself for the sake of God and humanity. The Unification Church sign at the door is insignificant and unnecessary. The significant thing is our purpose for being here. If there were no church at all under the sun but every person was eager to live for God and humanity then the Kingdom of Heaven would quickly come. No churches would be needed. That is the kind of world God 15Â Â

wanted to build in the beginning. Adam failed so the coming of the Messiah became necessary. Jesus was not given a chance to succeed so the Second Coming became necessary. No one else in the world accepted the job so God raised the Unification Church to take up the task. If you find something good, don't put it in your own pocket but think of God and humanity. Go to school to become champions for God and humanity. Go out and even fight for that purpose; that is the fight of righteousness. You do not have to know all 66 books of the Bible to know that God wanted to erect such a world and that you are chosen to help do that. If you give yourself for the sake of God and humanity then you already know the Bible to the fullest extent. You know more of God than anybody else. If you become that kind of person you have already transcended the Old and New Testaments and Satan will not find any handle to grab you. There is only one way Satan could hook you; he must say, "1 love God more than you do. I love humanity more than you do and you must follow me." If that were the case then Satan would no longer be Satan but would already be working for God. When you worry about a thousand things before you concentrate on God, Satan has many hooks to manipulate you with on every level. How foolish to expose yourself in such a way to Satan's manipulation! The nation will also be tested. For example, at one time America was trying to serve the world, but America has again become isolationist, giving its own domestic interests priority. Can Satan hook this nation or not? If America's 220 million people were united together to give themselves for the sake of the world, how great America would be. God has poured down the power and material blessing America needs to do 16Â Â

just that. All this country lacks is the determination to do the job. America is in a position to lead, like a locomotive pulling a train, but if the locomotive is damaged then all the cars behind will be helpless. If one passenger foresees the danger to the locomotive, should he pull the emergency brake, even over the protests of other passengers? As long as the others do not know about the problem they will oppose and persecute him. That is the job I have been doing in America. I know that danger is coming to America and that this locomotive should be kept intact at any cost. Even if there are repercussions locally from stopping the train so abruptly, such as disruption or fire, the greater tragedy still has to be averted. We are the champions to apply the brakes to stop the train and prevent the tragedy. If someone on the train pulled out a pistol and shot you, would you still pursue that mission or would you give up? If you were literally dying, what would your last words be? Would you just feel miserable, or would you shout, "Brother, sister, take my mission and go on"? By inheriting the heart of Jesus you can do anything In this world there are so many churches which are celebrating the birth of Christ right at this moment. They are having services and celebrations, and we are the only group representing the true heart of Jesus, which was filled with grief. This is the only group dedicating itself to go on with the mission of Jesus until it is fulfilled. I want you to know that under God's grace Christianity has been prospering for 2,000 years, but in less than two decades world Christianity has declined. Do you know why? Because of you; because of the Unification Church.

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God is now raising this group up as His new champion, and in order to minimize opposition God is withdrawing His spiritual power from other groups. No matter how glorious the external church building is, with stained glass windows, plush carpets and a beautiful organ, the very important spiritual element is missing. No matter how great a theologian or evangelist emerges to revitalize the spirit of Christianity, it is not there because God has already shifted to another dispensation, centering on a new ideology and revelation. Any movement or church or individual who opposes this ideology will decline. Before arriving at this particular level of achievement I had to go through certain courses to indemnify history. I am certainly an individual with my own will and naturally have the human desire to take care of myself. By understanding that kind of human tendency I evaluated all the many kinds of human desires and interests surrounding me. Then when I must make a decision about how to do the will of God, there is no kind of situation, which I am unfamiliar with. I have evaluated every possible situation. With all that experience I came to one ultimate truth; the more you seek after your own benefit, the more your future will be blocked and will finally crumble. No matter how difficult it seems, when you are absolutely centered upon God and humanity nothing can block you. Any opponent will be shattered in any confrontation. I know this through my own experience. Some people think, "Oh, Reverend Moon is a successful man; he has lots of money and lots of young people follow him. He receives tremendous respect so he must be very happy." Whoever says that truly does not know me at all. Every day I receive reports from all over the world. Do you think most of the reports are happy reports of success or are most of them 18Â Â

heartbreaking? Every day I hear about someone who was arrested or who was tortured by communists, or about some extraordinary persecution, some church which has fallen apart or some nation or some missionary who is in trouble. If I were an ordinary man I just couldn't take the burden. I would have run away a long time ago. Even America is not friendly. The press scrutinizes me with a biased outlook and parents are suspicious. We are in a fish bowl with everyone staring. If I were an ordinary man who had my temper-and I am a man of temper, no question about it-I would have lashed out at them long ago, or else shriveled into nothing. But that is not the kind of person I am. You seem to be doing a most difficult job, going out fund raising and witnessing, but at least you have no overwhelming responsibility there. If other people respond then you have achieved something for God. If they don't respond, however, it's still all right and you can go on to another person. But I cannot take that position. Ten years ago I was known as being penniless and today I am called a millionaire. But honestly speaking, I personally have no more money than I had ten years ago. Ten years ago the scope of the movement was smaller than today and so the scale of concern and worry was smaller. Today I can't put off critical work for lack of money because our movement has come to the stage where unless we take emergency measures a whole nation might crumble or Asia might disintegrate. I can't avoid tackling problems just because I don't think I have the physical, mental or financial capability. Regardless of what my capability is, once the problem comes I will never avoid it. I will grab it and solve it! That's why God needs me and that's why the world and America need me. 19Â Â

My secret comfort I always have one secret comfort in any adverse and difficult position. I always remember that my Father in heaven has felt much greater suffering than I do and His is a much greater burden than mine. He has been weeping as he has faced a thousand times more emergencies than I have had. He is my Father and I must be like my Father. That is my secret and comfort. God has come to me many times, saying, "You are my son. I thank you." God's comfort is sweet and nothing in this world can deter the power that comes from such comfort. Since Heavenly Father is comforting me I can go on. Anyone among you who can follow this way with 100% public-minded dedication shall also be comforted and I shall always stand side by side with you in spirit. Since I cannot know everyone's situation I am praying to God, "Heavenly Father, please listen to them and help them. You must comfort them as much as you have comforted me. Father, you must do this for me!" This is why many extraordinary spiritual situations develop in the Unification Church. I am sure that in prayer many of you see visions and hear voices and receive special inspiration in your hearts. That is because God is directly reaching you as He reaches me. Primarily the Protestant movement created the nation of America. We're closely watching the direction in which America is moving. I will give you this prophecy about the Papacy and the gigantic nation of America: As long as they are parallel with God's will they will prosper, but as soon as they separate themselves from the will of God they will be shattered. If they don't understand the will of God but oppose

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it out of ignorance then a great tragedy will come to this country and all the Christian communities of the world. God is a living God and His goal is world salvation. Certainly God must be doing something to gather a group of people whose hearts can be ignited, who can become God's new champions and undertake the mission to save the world. God's three headaches The evil power of communism is creeping into the churches. The communists' most vicious tactic is to infiltrate in the disguise of priests, pastors and ministers. The propaganda of the communist ideology is being spoken in many churches today. These priests are proclaiming that Jesus Christ was the first communist because he blessed the poor and chastised the rich. The communists are wolves in sheep's clothing. If this is the world of reality then God needs you and the movement of the Unification Church in order to liberate all the churches of America and to eventually liberate the communists themselves. The living God and the living Jesus want to see this. Many Roman Catholics misunderstand me so much that they want to destroy me and many church leaders have called me a heretic. But at the same time I desire to reach out and embrace them, not only to liberate them but to give salvation to all. God's greatest headache today is communism and God is looking for the people who will be responsible for defeating communism. Who is going to rebuild the Christian churches? After all, God has chosen them to be the foundation, the champions of the Kingdom. Who is going to re-ignite them? A third headache of God is the moral degradation of the youth of the world, particularly the youth of America. Many of them are dependent on drugs and have become morally degraded by their practice of free sex. Who is going to rededicate these 21Â Â

young people to the righteous cause? Do you think the Carter administration can be responsible for God's three headaches? No! The communists may very well deceive the present government and certainly they have no determination to stop communism. The American government cannot elevate American Christianity to heightened prosperity. The entire free world, the Papacy and all the churches together cannot unite to bring the necessary spiritual prosperity. Unless some champion can solve the three headaches of God, this world is facing doomsday. You and I are here to tackle the three major headaches of God. The will of God is the liberation of the world. Our God given solution to these problems has been working, and all we have to do is reach the rest of the world. The communist elements are focusing their attack on me and churchgoers who want to enjoy the prosperity and luxury of their churches don't like me either. Those who want to see the young people corrupted also don't like me. No matter how strong our opposition may be, God's determination is stronger. As long as that is true you have nothing to worry about. We members of the Unification Church solemnly declare that we will tackle this mission of being champions of God. We are joining in the spiritual revolution and will heal the corrupted youth; we will bring the solutions to the Christian community. We certainly have the answer to communism. We join together for the liberation of the world and the liberation of mankind, but that's not all. We are gathered together to liberate the heart of Jesus and of God Himself. No Christian churches today are proclaiming this goal. Nobody outside our church is teaching this purpose. As long as we continue on our march, we are the only hope of the world, the hope of Jesus and the hope of God, and no one can 22Â Â

destroy this movement. We can only win and prosper in due course. We are gathered together to participate in the historic mission in which Jesus and God will take delight. That is truly the spirit of Christmas and we are celebrating in that spirit. We are not in darkness. We know the truth and we have already begun the march toward the goal. The only remaining question is how far you can march. Can you march from the east coast of the United States to the west coast toward Asia, the Middle East, Europe, across the Atlantic Ocean and back to the United States? Can you march around the world? As members of the Unification Church, you must pray, "Heavenly Father, give me longer arms so I can embrace the world, so I can lift up the world to Your throne. I know that Your goal is world salvation and my arms are reaching out to the world, but they are not long enough, Father. Please lengthen my arms and strengthen my feet so I can lift up the world. I am taking Your responsibility." Anyone who tells God, "You know that I have given myself; I cannot reserve anything. Everything is for You. Please accept it and do Your will" knows that God's eyes will fill with tears and that God will come down and embrace such a person. I am trying to live up to that every day. I know the embrace of God, but how much will I feel closer to Him when I've completed my mission! How much delight God will take after the world is His again. This is my goal and direction and you are here to join me in that pursuit. If you die in such a struggle then your death is never in vain because you are not living for your own sake. As long as the Unification Church has that goal we will never be destroyed. Rest assured, no power can destroy you. If you are always busy with your mission then God is always behind 23Â Â

you, pushing like a tailwind. Don't turn around to face God because He will not want to see your face until the final victory. This is the true Christmas. In the name of God and in the name of Jesus Christ we are celebrating the true Christmas. The year of 1976 is over and our determination is that the true spirit of Christmas will go on through the third century of America, from 1977 to the ultimate fulfillment of the glory of God. Let us join together on this Christmas day to pledge ourselves to God by raising both hands. Thank you. Let us pray.

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THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON December 25, 1979 World Mission Center Translator - Bo Hi Pak

Merry Christmas! In a few more days the year of 1979 will be over. When another year passes by it denotes that we are becoming one year older and also that much closer to the spirit world. That could be a pessimistic statement, but actually the spirit world is our ultimate destination, and it is not a bad world to look forward to. What is the true meaning of Christmas and why do we celebrate? It is not done for America's sake or for the sake of the world. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The central issue of this day is what kind of Christmas Jesus would have wanted. Who sent Jesus? God sent him, and God had a certain will for sending His son. Considering the political situation in that part of the world at that time, what kind of Christmas would God have wanted people to celebrate? Who should have been the first person or people to celebrate Jesus' birth? Not Jesus himself, certainly, because he had just been born. The first person truly to celebrate should have been God Himself, who caused His son to be born. Furthermore, the angels and all 25Â Â

spirit world joined together, glorifying and praising that great day. Here on earth, however, Jesus' birth was only quietly welcomed because few people knew of his coming. We can see that the birth of Jesus was truly celebrated in heaven, centering upon God, but on earth hardly any celebration took place. The Christian world honors Christmas by setting up nativity scenes of Jesus in a manger. Actually a manger is a very lowly place. They are proud of Jesus' being placed in a manger, but is this the kind of place God's son, the King of kings, should be born? Do you think God truly wanted His son to be born in a stable? What about Jesus' mother, who knew through revelation what kind of son she was bearing? Do you think she was happy that her son, the Messiah, was born in a stable? I'm sure Mary would have thought that the son of God would deserve more than the most elegant palace. The appropriate way for the son of God to arrive would be with announcements of hour-byhour bulletins and a proclamation throughout the land when he arrived. If the priests, scribes and rulers of Israel had known of Jesus' coming, I'm sure that during the ten months before his birth everyone would have been eagerly awaiting his arrival, and would have come to worship even before he was born. Mary would have been treated like a queen wherever she went. A record would have been kept of everything she did – if she ate a snack, how many times she went to the bathroom, how long she slept. If people had truly known that the son of God was in Mary's womb, the twelve tribes of Israel would all have competed in trying to serve him before his birth. If that had been the case, do you think the people would ever have allowed him to be born in a stable? A great fanfare would have been prepared, great bells readied to ring and 26

bands to play. Should the birth of the son of God be an event greater than America's independence day? America preserves her cracked Liberty Bell, but a small bell that rang to herald the day of Jesus' birth would be preserved in a shrine as a priceless item. If there were a record of the Jews fighting each other to be the first to offer the new baby some gift at his birth, would that make Jesus unhappy? Jesus came after God had worked for 4,000 years in preparation. After all that preparation the greatest event was the coming of God's son to this earth. Is the fact that he then came in such a humble way to a lowly place the pride or shame of history? Ultimately Jesus was crucified, but if Jesus had begun his life in the recognition that he was the son of God, would the history of his life have been different? Truly he would have been treated as the king of Israel. Furthermore, if he had been embraced by the chosen people then he should have received more glory as God's representative than the emperor of Rome. God wanted to see all the great priests of the day gather to hold the holy child. If Jesus had been recognized from the moment of his birth as the son of God and the long-awaited Messiah, then all the chiefs of the twelve tribes would have competed to serve him as he was growing. Then when he was 21 he could have exercised the authority of the Messiah, and because the people would have been so busy serving him he never would have had an idle moment. What kind of education would Jesus have received? Truly he would have been taught about the importance of the mission and responsibility he had. From the early days Jesus would have known he was born as the son of God and his mission was to be the King of kings, who would initiate God's kingdom here on earth. Would history have been different

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then? Then wouldn't the entire world celebrate Jesus' birth, generation after generation? If the Jews squarely proclaimed that Jesus was born not only as king of Israel but King of kings, including the Roman Empire, would Rome have welcomed him? Not at all. When Israel prepared to celebrate Christmas, the Romans would be in an uproar, for according to Jewish prophecy even the Roman Emperor should bow down and present a gift. Don't you think the Romans would send their legions to crush Israel in that case? If the Roman legions surrounded the arena where the celebration was being held, wouldn't the Israelites have gathered around Jesus to protect him? You have seen on the news how the Iranian militants demonstrate against America's President Carter. The Arabs are kin to the Israelites, so if the Romans demonstrated against Jesus like the Iranians are against the Americans, wouldn't the Arabs be in a position to support the Jews in resisting the Romans? The political confrontation between Israel and Rome would grow into a confrontation on a global scale, with the Arabs backing Israel. That would affect other religious Asian countries, like India and China, which would then support Israel as well. The greater the oppression of the Romans, the greater would be the unity to resist the Romans and truly celebrate Christmas. Instead of Jesus' reaching the age of thirty unnoticed, there would have been such acclaim and attention from the time of his birth that by the time he was thirty the entire world would already have been united with him against the Roman Empire. They would not be supporting him blindly, but would have investigated why he should be the King of kings and why a Messiah was needed. All the great thinkers of the world would have been concerned about this, and, knowing who Jesus truly was, would have knowledgeably supported him. Then the 28Â Â

world would have been divided into two camps-the Roman Empire, and the nations which supported Jesus and Israel. Then when the Roman Empire mobilized their military to stamp down the opposition would the world remain silent in fear? No minister except Reverend Moon has ever considered such a hypothesis as this. Christmas is truly the celebration of the birth of God's son, but without knowing God's purpose for sending him there cannot truly be a celebration of Christmas. I have described what could have happened externally, but think about Jesus himself. Would he have thought that he didn't need anyone else to help him rule the world as Messiah? Or would he have thought he would need a wife, in-laws, children and grandchildren so that his tradition could be passed down? Don't you think Jesus felt he needed to be exemplary in all human relations on earth and should occupy every position a human being could have – parent, grandparent, in-law – so he could set the heavenly tradition? Many Christians think that Jesus was God Himself, so he didn't need anyone and only worked like a machine. You are so-called Moonies, whom people say are not true Christians, so you say this is not true. We Moonies are supporting a revolutionary concept; modern Christian leaders would be knocked out by what I am saying this morning. There are two major schools of thought – the conventional school of thought and the Moonies' thought. Which thought would Jesus support? After praying many hours to find out the truth about this, I think that Jesus would like my thought. You are ordinary U.S. citizens, yet you want to become President so you can bring this nation to the side of righteousness. Wouldn't Jesus, as the Messiah, be thinking of the world kingdom which he would govern, as a parent and grandparent? One religious camp teaches that Jesus came to 29

die, but the other teaches that Jesus was sent as Messiah to bring salvation by being the father of mankind and bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Whose Christmas celebration would God and Jesus want to attend? If something is logical then it should be consistent from beginning to end. Christianity today is a worldwide religion which has prospered for 2,000 years, yet today it is entangled in confusion and chaos. Why? Because the beginning and end of today's Christian thought are not consistent. Look at the contradictions in Christian thought and Christian practice: Jesus came to build one world, but contrary to Jesus' will there are now several hundred denominations dividing Christianity. Greater division has been brought about. No matter how people try, they cannot justify this. The people did not accept Jesus. That is why the crucifixion, which was contrary to God's will, came about. What is the difference between a loyal subject and a traitor? Both say they are serving their country, but the loyal subject is the one who follows the will of the king without compromise. The traitor is the one who always thinks his way is right and wants the king to follow him. God's desire is to have one world and so Jesus came to bring unity. But some Christians ignore this because they are more concerned with maintaining the power of their own denomination. When they disregard God's ideal and promote their own, they are acting like traitors. What does the Unification Church think? In order to fulfill God's will we can forget about denomination, and ignore even racial and national barriers. We are going the way of loyal subjects, but many people are reluctant to give up the old ways. They could care less if God's will is done here on earth. Today the followers of Reverend Moon are being accused and persecuted by the world. But in the sight of God and Jesus we are the true central religion, the orthodox of orthodox. 30Â Â

Therefore, I proclaim today that Christianity needs to learn a direction and new way of life. My direction is now being supported by spirit world, Jesus Christ and God Himself. How do you know I'm not the greatest swindler in the world? If you use your own logical minds you can deduce whether what I am saying is true or not. If Jesus had been recognized as the Messiah by his contemporaries, yet he had been too shy to accept such recognition, don't you think they would search everywhere to find him and put him on a throne? Looking down on this scene would God kick Jesus off the throne, or would He smile and tell Jesus that he was in the very place he should be? When we think of the true meaning of Jesus' coming then today's Christianity is like an empty shell, lacking true content. If Christians were true Christians, how could they sit down and eat turkey on Christmas Day when they know that the communist power is about ready to take over the world? Why do we need Jesus? Why do we need the Messiah? The important thing to know is that we are born into a satanic lineage of hereditary sin based on satanic love. We need a Messiah because we want to have God-centered love, and only the Messiah can give us that love. Jesus needed to eat and sleep like everyone else, but Jesus led a life that God could rejoice over; that was the difference. We need Jesus in order to learn his way of life, so that we can inherit the tradition of unstained heavenly love. In order to do that we have to follow his way of life, obeying his instructions. Could Jesus completely exemplify the heavenly tradition if he were a bachelor? Because Jesus was always a bachelor we have not seen any other tradition, but that was only the first step of Jesus' contribution. He was to have given the world not only a tradition of individual perfection, but also the tradition of love between husband and wife. As a God-centered man he 31Â Â

wanted to show how men should live. As a husband he was to show how to be a model God centered husband. Does the Bible teach this? Have you ever read in the Bible how Jesus loved his wife? Would God call Jesus a heretic for thinking that he should marry? Christianity does not have the tradition of a husband's love for his wife. Furthermore, Jesus wanted not only to love his wife but to teach her how to set the tradition of wifehood. Does the Bible record that tradition? Is there any record of Jesus becoming a father who could teach people the right way to love their children? Is there any indication that Jesus became a grandfather who could show how grandchildren should be loved? Did Jesus leave any tradition for Christianity of leading a tribe? Is there any tradition for a king and ruler of the world about how to govern with God's love? Is there any tradition of a King of kings who governs without any national or racial prejudice? Is there a tradition for governing not only the physical world but also the spirit world, of showing what the Kingdom of Heaven should be like for eternity? Is there a tradition of the love of God here on earth? Jesus came to teach this tradition. He struggled by himself but finally was crucified, and there was not much room for him to leave the traditions that God wanted here on earth. Compared to the scope of the mission Jesus came to fulfill here on earth, he spoke only a small bit about the tradition of the love of God. The hulk of it has been left undone. It is essentially true that Jesus must return to pick up that mission and finish it, isn't that logical? What is love? What is the love of God from the point of view of Christianity? This world we live in is truly a wilderness, for there is no taste of the love of God in it. People hardly have a concept of the love of God. In this wilderness I came to cry 32Â Â

out for the love of God. In itself this is a historical mission. I am proclaiming in this wilderness how the love of God should be. I came to this world knowing precisely the will of God, and the agony and heart of Jesus. I know what no one else has ever known and I came to proclaim it to the world. People who think they are the zealous Christians today, who think they have happiness, are the real traitors in the eyes of God. People don't want to hear that; they want acclamation and great respect instead. But there is no word of praise I could give them. Today people don't write out the word Christmas, but use Xmas instead. Often on a test O means true and X means false. Thus, written as Xmas, Christmas is the false, upside-down message. People are celebrating the wrong kind of Christmas. When you hear me say this it makes sense, but because of this people say I am a heretic who is attacking the 2,000-year old Christian tradition. Again, the important thing is which side God is receptive to. If the entire world has another opinion, how can you be so sure God would take my side? When we know that the true meaning of Christmas is that God sent Jesus to bring the true tradition of love, then when we exchange Christmas greetings they will be sweet and acceptable to Jesus. Jesus led a tragic life of accusation and persecution and finally crucifixion. He truly led the most miserable life, and his one wish would be for one man to step forward and tell the world who he truly was and how he felt, why he cried out on Gethsemane. He would want someone to speak out for him who could look at the world through his eyes, with the tradition of the love of God, and tell the world what to do. Jesus would want that spokesman to vindicate his mission, to herald the tradition of love that Jesus could not finish during 33Â Â

his own life. This is the kind of champion Jesus truly wants to see in this world. In the fallen world men look at a beautiful woman and think how they can have her for themselves. When Jesus looked at any woman - whether charming, feeble, young or old - Jesus felt she was his sister and thought about how to love her in a pure, heavenly way. When seen through Jesus' eyes, even the ugliest possible woman - so ugly you would have to spell ugly with ten u's - would truly be a sister and he would pour out his genuine heart to her. That's how Jesus looked at all mankind. Only a few relationships are possible with the rest of mankinda person is your sister or brother, mother or father, uncle or aunt, or a member of your race. Whenever you see an old man, you can think of him as your grandfather, as Jesus' grandfather. Jesus would have given his grandfather utmost respect, so that is how you should look at the old man. Is there any group who truly represents Jesus' heart, and can tell him that they are here to vindicate him and recreate his work on earth? When there is a group of people doing that every day, would Jesus have tears in his eyes as he watched them? He would exclaim, "The entire world never came near to understanding me. How can you keep going, and never mind when you are accused and persecuted as you try to comfort my heart?" Is there any way Jesus could just sit still watching? He would do everything possible to help and mobilize all spirit world. The people who want to see the Unification Church dispersed for good and have their own denomination rise are seeing exactly the opposite happen instead. The Unification Church is booming while other churches are declining. The younger people are gathering here, while the order people stay there. Which group represents hope? Once you taste the tradition of

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God's love there is no way you could separate yourself from it. Even God could not afford to leave you. What a great hope! Of course God would want to stay here if this is where He finds love. If this is where you found love, would you fight among yourselves? If there was love here, would God be the one trying to get away while you held Him back, or would you be the one trying to get away and God be the one holding you back? Would you only stay with God one hour or forever? That's the hope I am living for. What other joy could I have in this world if not for the hope of the tradition of God's love? Everywhere I go people criticize me and call me a monster who brainwashes people. We have a better term; brainwashing is actually moon-washing, or love-washing. We are gathered to celebrate the true Christmas because we know God and His purpose; we know Jesus' purpose and intention for coming to this world. And in addition we are handpicked by God to vindicate Jesus and liberate the heart of God by accomplishing what Jesus left undone. If we say Merry Christmas with that mind then God and Jesus would respond thousands of times, "Merry, merry, merry Christmas." This year's Christmas is different from all the other Christmases you celebrated in the past because you know it's true meaning. You want to do more for God and Jesus in 1980 than you did in 1979 so that you can celebrate Christmas even more next year. Look back on how you have loved the people with Jesus' heart and looked at them as he would. How good a Christian have you been? Jesus looked at everyone as his family; that has to be the tradition of Christianity today, but is that being done? No other people are truly responding to the call of God. We are given the divine mission which no one else is undertaking. There is nothing greater or more important to God and Jesus and mankind than establishing the tradition of God's love. The 35Â Â

commitment you can give that task should be greater than to any other task, and far greater than the dedication of the communists to their cause. Love is supreme; nothing is more perfect or precious. Once established it will remain forever, so for this task there is nothing we cannot spare. Have you truly loved the world that much? Basically you have been living capriciously, but you must realize that your body is not yours - it should be the personification of God's love. It is the holy temple of God, who is love. It should be a love temple. If someone squeezes you, love juice should come out, and through you people should find salvation and eternal life. Christmas Day is the perfect day for repentance, for checking how much you have truly lived as Jesus' representative and loved the world as he did. We are the people inheriting the true tradition of Christmas which God conceived in His heart. The true meaning of Christmas is the tradition of the true love of God. It doesn't matter how big or small our festivities are; we will celebrate a Christmas which God and Jesus will want to attend. After hearing me, "Merry Christmas" becomes "Concerned Christmas." This year you greet each other with "Heavy Christmas," with the desire that next year we can truly celebrate a Merry Christmas. Will fruitcake and ice cream make a merry Christmas? The true content of Christmas is the amount of love you, gave during the year. That is far more dazzling than any amount of decorations. When you truly live the tradition of love during the year, even if you don't have a piece of fruitcake but only a half glass of water to toast God and Jesus with, they will receive yours as the most beautiful and memorable Christmas. I know that God and Jesus Christ will truly appreciate that kind of Christmas. Would you promise me that you will expand the rather small love you have had until now and truly give the world a 36Â Â

Niagara Falls of God's love so we can really celebrate Christmas in 1980? That is the best Christmas present. Shall we do it? God bless You.

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LET US CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ON BEHALF OF HEAVEN REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON December 25, 1957 Chung Pa Dong Church Seoul, Korea

Luke 2:1 Prayer By virtue of Jesus' birth, the providential will that God had been working to fulfill for the 4,000 years since Adam had come to pass. Moreover, we can also say that the wish of our ancestors in the history of the dispensation of restoration since the fall of Adam was also realized through Jesus' birth. We must think again about the fact that Jesus' birth was the moment when both the will of God and the will of humanity were accomplished. Since the birth of Jesus, 2,000 long years of history have passed. Now we feel we are living in the same kind of historic, universal and intense period as the time when Jesus was born 2,000 years ago, when the will of God and the will of humanity were realized. 38Â Â

The Meaning of the Birth of Jesus Although Jesus was born in the small, bloody body of a baby, he was the incarnation who could represent the Will of God. His crying voice and movements represented God's grief of 4,000 years. They manifested the pattern of all the things that God tried to carry out on the earth. They expressed the sorrow suffered during the 4,000-year course of history when indemnity was being paid for the sins of humanity. Therefore, through his birth, we could usher in a scene of joy when a new history of goodness began. When we think about how, due to one man, Jesus, the worries of God, the worries of humanity throughout the course of history and the worries of that time could all be gotten rid of, it is clear that Jesus was truly an immense personality. We stand in awe of him. However, in his time, there was no one who bowed before him with utmost sincerity on behalf of the heart of the Father, the hearts of all people and the countless prophets. You must feel indignant about this. What kind of mind-set then is appropriate for those of us who have gathered to celebrate this birthday of Jesus? We must be able to represent the heart of the Father and the hearts of the countless prophets who came throughout the course of history. Moreover, we must feel the desire to offer a gift to baby Jesus on behalf of the hearts of the chosen people, who longed for the promised day at that time and yearned and prayed for the Messiah. You have to understand that only then can we comfort God's heart and the hearts of the faithful believers of that time. Though history has passed by, you can attain the right to participate in the glory of the Father with the qualifications of the chosen people in place of the Israelites. Furthermore, you must offer gratitude with the feeling that the birthday of Jesus is the day that all things in Heaven and earth can express joy. It was the day of God's liberation from grief, 39Â Â

as well as the day that the wish of all people was brought to fulfillment. While doing so, you must offer the gift you have prepared through your life of faith, with a nervous heart. With the heart that represents the heart of Father, the historical heart and the heart of the time, you must bow before Jesus and congratulate him. Let us then examine who worked and how hard they worked for the birth of Jesus Christ. First, God worked for 4,000 years. Our ancestors, many prophets, wise men and heroes also worked hard. Moreover, the followers of Judaism, who represented the chosen people of the Israelites, also toiled and offered their lives. Similarly, until the birth of Jesus, you can find many hidden historical efforts that do not seem to have any direct relationship to it. That is not all. Jesus lived his thirty years of life after coming to the earth. Since then, 2,000 dispensational years have passed for the sake of the will of the heavenly principles. Here we can find the historical grief of the past that existed before Jesus, as well as the 2,000-year history after Jesus that has been added to it. The hope of Jesus, who was born for the sake of historical liberation, the liberation of the period, and the liberation of the future, has not reached fulfillment even now, 2,000 years later, because of the mistakes of the people during his time. Therefore, the sorrow of the 2,000 years after the death of Jesus has been piled on top of the sorrow of the 4,000-year history before his time. God's True Intention for Having Jesus Come What kind of mission do we bear on our shoulders today? We bear the mission to alleviate the bitter grief of God which remains, even after Jesus came and passed away. Likewise, we are living in an intense time when we are faced with the will 40Â Â

of God's dispensation of salvation for the last time since the creation of the world. In this moment of Christmas, if we are to express congratulations and take the responsibility to return the grace of celebration to Heaven, then we must embrace the heart of Jesus, who was concerned about this world. We must embrace the heart of God, who felt concern as He guided the dispensation for 6,000 years. We must build the altar of celebration for the glorious birth that came into being for the sake of the will of the dispensation. Otherwise, there is no way we can manifest our value as people who have accomplished, on earth, the glorious will in which God has been celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ until now. Moreover, we who have prostrated ourselves before the altar of the Father must be able to represent the heart of Mary, who celebrated the birth of Jesus before Heaven 2,000 years ago. At the same time, we must go one step further and represent the blissful heart of God, who allowed the birth of Jesus. We must represent the hopeful heart of the prophets who worked hard for several thousand years until the time of Jesus' birth and actualize their long-cherished will. Similarly, we must feel the sorrowful heart of God, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds at the moment when Jesus was born on earth as the one who was prepared to liberate the historical heart of the whole. We must feel the heart that agonizes over the fact that Jesus had to lie in a horse manger. Making the preparations to greet Jesus, who is coming with a new determination, we must step forward as the prepared people of glory about whom God can be happy. Otherwise, you must understand that Heaven's intention for having us celebrate Christmas cannot be brought to pass. Until now there were many people on earth, but it is not an exaggeration to say that there was no one who truly celebrated 41Â Â

the birth of Jesus Christ, the one who came with the mission to fulfill the whole will of God's dispensation. What kind of mind-set then must we have today? We must be able to represent the heart of God. We must be able to represent the hearts of the many millions of believers, heavenly soldiers and angels in Heaven. We must cultivate the resolution and sense of responsibility to put to rest all the bitterness and grief of God for Jesus. Similarly, if we do not offer bows of congratulations with a heart that prepares for the day of hope that will come in the future, then the hope of God will end with us. It will not be transmitted to our descendants. You have to clearly understand this. Although, at the time of Jesus, all the people looked upon Christ, they did not think about the will of the dispensation that would unfold after Christ. Although they watched the birth of Jesus, they did not think about the will of God that would come about after his birth. Therefore, although it is good to celebrate the birth of Jesus from the position of the Israelites, it is better to celebrate his birthday by figuring into the picture the will of the dispensation after the coming of Jesus; in other words, by substantially understanding the whole value of Jesus. The birth of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago begot the result of increasing the sorrow and grief, because of the faithlessness of the followers of Judaism. What must we do today to alleviate all this on behalf of the 6,000-year history? We must become the prepared incarnations who can remove all historical sorrow. Furthermore, we must also become connected to the heart of Jesus who is to come. Only then can the significance of our celebrating the birth of Jesus go beyond us and become linked with the eternal, historical ideology of our descendants.

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The Believers of Judaism Did Not Understand the Will of God As you can see, although God wanted to be congratulated for the birth of Christ, He did not want to be congratulated only in the present moment. He wants someone who possesses the ideology that can pierce through the past, the present and the future to offer congratulations with a heart that can relate with His heart. What kind of people then should you be? You must become people who can represent the heart of God, Who toiled for the birth of Christ. Moreover, you must represent the hearts of the prophets and patriots who came before Jesus and have been exerting themselves in the spirit world since then. How then must God's heart have been as He looked down upon the birth of Jesus? Angels prophesied the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, but there was no earthly person who prophesied the birth of Christ. This was God's sorrow. If there had been people who watched the birth of Jesus and proclaimed it as the advent of the Messiah in place of the angels then, then, just as there was celebration of the birth of Jesus in Heaven, the same celebration could have taken place on earth. On the contrary, we know that because the believers of Judaism, who represented the Israelites, did not accomplish this mission, Jesus had to die on the cross. Therefore, you have to reflect upon whether you are capable of paying indemnity for the condition of faithlessness made by these ancestors and can actualize this will with a sense of responsibility. Moreover, when we reflect upon whether we can actualize this task and even pass that will to our descendants, we have to realize how intense is this moment today. We must reflect, and make a new determination and resolution.

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If the Israelites at that time had connected with the heart of the angels and represented the rejoicing heart of Heaven, if they had embraced the heart of God who mobilized and sent the angels, Jesus would never have died on the cross. Had the chosen people been prepared to face death to carry on the fight of testimony and had shouldered the cross of Jesus to fulfill their responsibility, Jesus would never have died on the cross. Since the believers at that time listened to the prophecy of the shepherds and the testimony of the three wise men and John the Baptist, they should have been able to fight for the faithless people with a celebrating and glorious attitude from the day of the birth of the historical Messiah for which humanity had been yearning. If there were such believers, then the sorrow of having lost Jesus would not have been transferred to us. Heaven made this move on that day, in that hour, 2,000 years ago. Yet human beings on earth have not been able to stand before Heaven with this kind of heart even after 2,000 years. As you have gathered with the intention to celebrate the birth of Christ on behalf of Heaven, you must understand clearly that this is the source of God's sadness. This moment when we are celebrating the birth of Christ, God will examine whether He can find the same ardent heart He possessed within each of you. He felt irrepressible joy over the birth of Christ, for whom He had yearned as the only hope and about whom He had given prophecies through the angels and shepherds. If we can receive this day with this kind of attitude, then even if we did not directly witness the birth of Jesus, and even if 2,000 long years of history have passed by, our heart can transcend the historical distance to connect with the heart of God and the angels. You have to understand that now is this

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kind of historical moment. If you have truly reached this state of heart, then you will feel the welling up of sorrow. We are the pitiful people who cannot testify to the glorious Messiah with overflowing joy. Instead, we must testify to the sad story of how he died on the cross. You will feel this today. When you consider this, you must come to the realization that throughout the passage of the long 2,000-year history until now, countless believers have celebrated this day. Yet there is almost no one who truly celebrated for the heart of Heaven. Moreover, in regard to the issue of restoring this day through indemnity on behalf of the 2,000 years, you must now step forward in their place and testify to the death and sorrow of Christ. Just as 2,000 years ago, believers testified to the imminence of the arrival of Christ after listening to the voices of the angels, wise men and shepherds. Only when you realize that it is your fate to accomplish this task will you not be ashamed to stand before Jesus, whose birth was historic. The Way to Truly Celebrate the Birth of the Messiah You who have gathered here today with a new will! You must think about the situation of Jesus and understand that inside Jesus' heart, there was the penetrating sorrow of the 4,000-year history before his birth. Moreover, you have to understand that penetrating deeply into this day is the sorrow of the thirty years of his life after his birth, as well as the sorrow of the 2,000 years after he died with the words of promise that he will return. What kind of mission then must we fulfill today? You must, first, make a deep reflection as to whether you have made it possible for God to comfort you with the same sorrowful heart He felt toward Jesus. You must stand in the position from which you can take over the sad situation of Jesus. Next, you must become people who can receive comfort from all the 45Â Â

prophets and patriots who came in history and who can be guarded by and receive the testimony of the heavenly soldiers and angels. You must represent the value for which Heaven mobilized all heavenly soldiers and angels at the time of the appearance of Jesus. You must be able to grab hold and give comfort to Jesus with a heart that can represent the concerns of the countless prophets and patriots at the time of Jesus' birth. If you have not made this kind of preparation and determination, you cannot inherit the will and ideology of the dispensation of the present and the past centered on the day of Jesus' birth. Due to his death, Jesus' intention to realize the purpose of God's dispensation of the 4,000 years was prolonged 2,000 more years. It became a 6,000-year history of restoration. The hope of the ancestors, which should have been fulfilled through Jesus, was prolonged for 2,000 years. The concerns of many apostles and believers and millions of angels were added to the concerns of God. You should feel a sorrow that is more intense than that of God, Who handed Jesus over to the cross, and that of Jesus, who was walking toward the cross. You should feel the sorrow of the millions of believers and angels in Heaven at the time of Jesus' death, as well. By doing so, while reflecting on history, you alone must make preparations, on behalf of all things of creation, to alleviate the sad and grieving heart of Heaven and earth. You must earn the qualification to celebrate Christmas in the way Heaven wants by longing for the one day of the Second Advent and by making thorough preparations. Only when you understand the ideology of the coming Messiah and make the determination to shoulder even the mission of the angels to testify when the will is manifested, can you celebrate Christmas in the way Heaven wants.

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You, who have gathered here today to conduct this service of celebrating the birth of Jesus, must realize that only when you eliminate the grief of God, Jesus and the millions of heavenly soldiers and angels can God finally behold the one day of eternal celebration. You must become qualified to inherit the will of Heaven and materialize it on the earth. God can then celebrate eternally. As you can see, today you stand in the important focal point of history. Therefore, you are living in a time when you must prepare for the one day of hope when Christ returns. You must reflect upon the birth of Christ and celebrate it as historical witnesses and the heirs of God's dispensation. Only then can God look down upon you and be liberated from all the bitterness and grief that have plagued Him until now. Moreover, while you feel the joy of accomplishing the will of Christ in his place, at the same time, Jesus can also return his glory to God because of you. This is a summary of an article in Sel-Gyo Mal-Seum Nae-Yong Yo-Yak, published by the Witnessing Department of the Seung- Hwa Youth Association.