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With my wife, I attended the Cosmic Level Blessing at Sanctuary Church in Pennsylvania on 28th February, where crowns were worn and rifles were held. This ceremony has caught the attention of the world.
For those who despise or disregard the works of God through Hyung Jin Nim and Sanctuary, the wearing of crowns and the holding of rifles will have seemed to be a theatre farce marked with criminal intentions. We should bear in mind that Jesus, condemned to death, was mocked by Roman soldiers who placed a crown of thorns on his head, and scourged him as a criminal. They placed the sign “King of the Jews” over his head as he hung on the cross. Who mocks the crown? Sanctuary, or the critics? Who scourges the Christ? Those who uphold the crown, or the critics who see Christ as a criminal?
Hyung Jin Nim is not the Messiah. True Father is. However, Hyung Jin Nim is the heir nominated by True Father. Hyung Jin Nim is the Second King, following on his father, the First King. Who considers True Father to be a criminal? It is the atheistic and secular world.
When Jesus died, he said of those who crucified him, “They know not what they do.” They did not understand. But we must understand.
Wearing the crown is the symbol of kingship and signifies the sovereignty of true families. Each father of a family under God is king, each mother is queen. Sons and daughters are princes and princesses, until they in their turn become kings and queens. God, represented by Christ, is the king of kings. In part three of the Family Pledge, we promise “to perfect the four great realms of heart, the three great kingships and the realm of the royal family.” True Father’s explanation of part 3 of the Pledge can be found in the original (True Father’s) Cheon Seong Gyeong, pages 2439 to 2473. We must know God’s heart as grandparents, parents and children. God’s tradition is passed through the lineage. All of us can belong to the royal family. The “three great kingships” can also be interpreted as the “three-generation kingship,” depending on whether the word dae stands for the Chinese character for “great,” or for the Chinese character for “generation.” Both Chinese characters have the same pronunciation in Korean.
True Father made frequent allusions to God’s kingdom. Jesus preached that the kingdom of God was at hand. Where Christ is, there is God’s kingdom. Jesus said that his kingdom was not “of this world.” Jesus meant that this world is the fallen world, the world of sin. Obviously he could not be part of it. However, he did not mean that his world was to be in the clouds.
Jesus prayed to God, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Christians have prayed this way for two thousand years. Earthly kingdoms have failed, and democratic republics have been made, but still we look for God’s kingdom, not just in spirit world after death, but on Earth. This is a kingdom where all citizens are entitled to sovereignty, not to serfdom. The political commonwealth can be organized horizontally, with universal suffrage, regularly held parliaments, and presidents or prime-ministers who serve their prescribed terms. Continuity of the kingdom, however, belongs to families and their lineage, a vertical concept connecting us more closely to God on high.
We are not to be categorised as unisex Marxian workers in a slave state. Nor are we simply Christian brothers and sisters in a horizontal political democracy. Our destiny is to be kings and queens in God’s eternal kingdom, and our lineage is to last for thousands, and tens of thousands, of years. For this, our True Father shed blood, sweat and tears, so that we could inherit God’s kingdom on earth, as well as in heaven. St Paul said that we should be “heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ” (Romans 8:17). We have often sung the verse of the Negro spiritual, “I’ve got a crown, you’ve got a crown, all of God’s children got a crown.” Now we can make the words real, with their deep and wonderful significance.
The rod of iron signifies the authority with which we protect the sovereignty of the heavenly kingdom. Reference to the rod of iron, shebet or shevet in Hebrew, occurs in the Psalms of David: “You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Ps 2:9). This is repeated in Revelations, which are words of Jesus, sitting at God’s right hand, given to his favourite disciple, John, as he speaks of the coming time: “He shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces” (Rev 2:27).
The word “rule” in this context is in fact a translation from the original word poimanei in New Testament Greek, a verb meaning “to shepherd”, from poimen, a shepherd. The shepherd of ancient Israel carried a staff of wood, with which to guide or direct his sheep. He also carried a shorter and stronger rod, in order to protect his flock from thieves and predators. Young David stunned Goliath with a stone from his sling. He also claimed to King Saul that he had killed lions and bears beforehand, as a shepherd. The shebet, or rod, would have been his weapon. As a shepherd, he would not have used the rod on his own sheep, but to protect them from violent attacks. A Christian ruler or king is sometimes depicted as a shepherd. In the Western Isles of Scotland, the Lord of the Isles was known in Gaelic as Buachaille nan Eilean, “Shepherd of the Isles.” Jesus, above all, is the Good Shepherd.
Christian people often compare Jesus with the sacrificial lamb that is led to the slaughter. We are told to “turn the other cheek” to those that persecute us. However, we know from Divine Principle that Jesus was not meant, in God’s original providence, to die on the cross. If he was bound by soldiers and tormented, and without defence, what could he do? He was prophesied to be the king of kings, to whom all the kings of the earth would come and foregather in Jerusalem, and pay their respects (Isaiah 60). He was a man of flesh and blood who could be infuriated by the corruption and impertinence of sinners. We all know how Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers, and drove them out of the Temple. It is not so well known that, even at the Last Supper, before going out to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one.” The disciples replied, “Here are two swords.” And Jesus said, “It is enough” (Luke 22: 36, 38).
God’s kingdom needs to be protected. True Father started a business in Korea making powerful airguns in the 1960’s and encouraged people to buy them. The Tongil factory produced weapons for the defence of South Korea. Father initiated the Victory over Communism (VOC) movement in South Korea and Japan in 1968, which, ideologically, showed that communism was rooted in hatred of God, and practically encouraged armed resistance by free nations against communist nations. CAUSA, based on VOC, was started in the western hemisphere in the 1980’s. CAUSA-UK held a conference in London in 1986, supporting President Reagan’s project of SDI (Strategic Defence Initiative), a missile defence system designed to shoot down in-coming Soviet Russian missiles. The purpose of SDI was defence against aggression.
With the downfall of communist governments in Eastern Europe and Soviet Russia, following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and True Father’s meeting with President Gorbachev in 1990, a window of opportunity was opened for world-wide peace through teaching of Divine Principle. Seminarians went to Russia to try and fill the ideological gap left by the failure of communism, which had been discredited. The Women’s Federation for World Peace was founded in 1992, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in 1996, and the Universal Peace Federation in 2005. Peace seemed to be within reach. As the millennium approached, True Father started to proclaim the imminent arrival of God’s substantial kingdom on earth, Cheon Il Guk , literally the Heaven-One-Nation, or Heavenly United Nation. True Father gave the Peace Messages in 2005-2007.
In reality, the political and social situation took a turn for the worse. True Father had seen the dangers coming. Our witness, unfortunately, was never sufficient. The Twin Towers were destroyed in 2001. Iraq was invaded. The threat of Islamic fundamentalism became ever more acute. Western countries became increasingly corrupted by the wave of LGBT, which began to receive governmental support in every area of life and education. Where is substantial Cheon Il Guk to be seen in all of this chaos? It seems like pie in the sky, a laughable myth. It is not going to come about unless we act as forcefully as we did in the days of VOC and CAUSA, and more so.
The Bible says that after the coming of the Messiah there will be a thousand-year kingdom (Rev 20). At the end of that time, Satan will be let loose and there will be a final struggle, before Satan is finally disposed of. What is Satan, who is a spiritual being, trying to do during those thousand years? He is trying to prevent the development of God’s kingdom. One would have hoped that the kingdom of God would come about completely and substantially with the arrival of the Messiah himself. It has not happened like that, and True Father has now ascended. However, he has established his lineage, which Jesus was never able to do. True Father emphasised lineage continually in his Peace Messages. “Lineage is more important than love and more important than life” were his words. Through his lineage, the kingdom of God, Cheon Il Guk, will be realised.
An additional, and extremely serious, problem has also arisen with Hak Ja Han’s betrayal of True Father, and her usurpation of the authority that should have belonged to the nominated heir, Hyung Jin Nim. This has taken away between 95% and 99% of the visible foundation left by True Father, not to mention the huge amount of assets previously taken over by elder son, Hyun Jin Nim (Preston). This betrayal and theft have almost made nil all that True Father accomplished. God bless Hyung Jin Nim, who has followed his father and has stolen nothing.
Moreover, Hak Ja Han’s theology of the Only Begotten Daughter, which reduces True Father to less than a proxy of Jesus and exalts her status to that of a female messiah, has turned Divine Principle upside down. It is amazing how lecturers and members of the FFWPU have swallowed this enormous heresy and abused the memory of True Father, within a few years of his ascension. It is excused under the general idea that this is “the age of women.” This false theology at the heart of FFWPU, WFWP and UPF, will eventually lead those movements down the road into futility and oblivion, with regard to the heavenly providence and the ability to manage or control future world events.
Hyung Jin Nim, who steers the providential course following True Father, has started the rod of iron ministry. Since peace is by no means round the corner, but rather the opposite, the kingdom of God must be defended. Hyung Jin Nim published the Constitution of the United States of Cheon Il Guk in 2015. This combines the Divine Principle concept of God, the family and the kingdom, with elements of the American Constitution. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution provides the framework for the idea of the rod of iron, in that it states that people have the right to possess and bear arms.
The USA is considered to be the bastion of freedom in the world, and the American constitution was drawn up deliberately to protect the freedom of the people. The American people won their freedom from the British crown after a bitter war, following the Declaration of Independence in 1776. After the American victory, the founding fathers were wise enough to foresee that, (fallen) human nature being what is, defeating the British crown would not eliminate the dangers of future powers arising within the United States that might try to dominate the people. To prevent any such eventuality taking place, the Second Amendment was adopted in 1791. This is the full wording: “A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
The idea of bearing arms is intimately connected with that of the militia. The people’s militia would always provide a counter-balance to the army of a central government. A central government, such as the federal government in Washington DC, would never succeed in dominating or tyrannising the United States through a national regular army. The Militia Act of 1792 considered every “free able-bodied white male citizen” between the ages of 18 and 45 as eligible for the militia. This was expanded to include all males, regardless of race, until the age of 54, during the American Civil War in 1862. These laws ensured that the American people would be able to defend themselves and the ideals of the United States by having the right to be armed.
The only example in Europe that bears comparison with USA is Switzerland, where every able-bodied male belongs to the militia army. Although Switzerland is a neutral country, the Swiss are determined to preserve their freedom against any would-be invader. This means that every member of the militia army is entitled to keep his service rifle at home. The preparedness of the Swiss was put to the test in the Second World War, when Hitler contemplated, even planned, the invasion of Switzerland, following the defeat of France in 1940. Switzerland was surrounded on all sides by enemy countries, Germany, Austria, Italy and German-occupied France. General Henri Guisan, the Swiss commander-in-chief, planned the defence of Switzerland by guerrilla warfare. He defied Hitler and told him that he would leave hundreds of thousands of German dead in the mountains, if he dared to invade. Hitler never invaded Switzerland, though he kept the option open until D-Day.
Since American independence there have been many instances of tyrants consolidating control over their countries through a national army and police force, such as Hitler in Nazi Germany, Mussolini in Fascist Italy, Lenin and Stalin in Communist Russia, and Mao Tse Tung in Communist China. All of these increased the size of their armies and police forces, and master-minded wars of aggression against neighbouring countries. Hitler came to power in 1933 and introduced universal conscription in 1935. This led to the strengthening of his authority over the German people and the invasion of neighbouring countries, in pursuit of Lebensraum.
In this context, we can consider the threat presented by Communist North Korea. After more than seventy years of existence, the three-generation Kim dictatorship is more inclined than ever to bellicosity. Kim Jeong Eun now threatens South Korea, Japan and USA with nuclear weapons. If ordinary people in North Korea enjoyed the privilege of the American Second Amendment, and possessed a rifle, there would be a speedy end to communist tyranny. Unfortunately, such a liberating law has never existed in their state. The condition of North Korean people can be likened to slavery.
South Korean young men are still required to do military service, but there is no question of them keeping rifles at home. Gun laws are extremely tight. South Korea relies on American protection, both conventional and nuclear. North Korea has continually broken agreements for a nuclear-free peninsula. The president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, is a former communist, and so are many members of his cabinet. Many South Koreans, as Korean nationalists, harbour anti-American feelings. If South Korea ever lowers its guard, beguiled by Communist North Korean promises of peaceful reunification, a miserable future awaits them.
The people of Europe have been used to peace since 1945. After the end of the First World War in 1918, people were exhausted, and warring nations disarmed. When Hitler started his course of aggression in the 1930’s, Britain and France were reluctant to rearm. France suffered the consequences by receiving a crushing defeat when Hitler’s army made a lightning attack in 1940. Britain was saved by the sea, and by the leadership of Winston Churchill, who revived the spark of British patriotism. With the help of USA, we managed to defeat Hitler. What is interesting is that countries on the continent of Europe, whether Axis or Axis-occupied, generally have higher rates of gun-ownership today than UK, in some cases much greater. They have all directly experienced tyranny. Britain has not. Previously communist countries like Slovakia and Czech Republic have some of the freest gun laws outside the United States. The British believe they never will be slaves (so goes the song). We should never be so rash as to believe that we will never have to confront tyranny, either from abroad or on British soil. Pride comes before a fall.
Broadly speaking, rural conservative people tend to favour gun ownership, whereas urban socialists oppose it. From my experience, gun owners, whether hunting people or shooting club members, are reliable people, keen not only on shooting, but meticulous about firearm precautions, making sure their guns are always safe. It is a simplistic, and indeed a false, opinion, encouraged by the liberal media, that every gun-owner is a murderer in waiting. Legal gun-owners in UK have good relations with the police, as do Hyung Jin Nim and Sanctuary with the local police in Pennsylvania, for that matter.
True Father, in his Peace Messages, repeatedly declared the need for a “peace kingdom police force” and a “peace kingdom corps.” It has been thought that this refers simply to an élite youth group trained in Divine Principle, prepared to go in an organised manner on the street to witness and hold rallies. It is true that Christian and Unification education is the ultimate answer to the world’s problems. However, it must be understood that United Nations “peace-keepers” are soldiers, and that they have arms. British police are known as guardians, or officers, of the peace. The great majority are unarmed, but there is an increasing number of armed police.
True Father felt that United Nations had failed its original purpose. It had failed to defeat communism during the Korean War. It had failed to support the United States, partly owing to the pusillanimity of France and Britain, in supporting democratic South Vietnam in the war against communist North Vietnam. United Nations had been taken over by selfish and corrupt forces. For that reason True Father wanted to create an Abel UN, and an Abel Women’s UN, not necessarily to replace the existing UN, but to help the UN to fulfill its original God-given purpose. The Peace Kingdom Corps and the Peace Kingdom Police Force would have assisted the United Nations.
Hyung Jin Nim and his loyal elder brother, Kook Jin Nim, must have known True Father very well, especially during the last five or six years before Father ascended. They would have known True Father’s heart and mind, and vision. Hyung Jin Nim, based in USA, has created the Peace Police and Peace Militia, in which all citizens and families of Cheon Il Guk can participate, learning martial arts as well as shooting, for defence, based on principles of Christianity and Unificationism. The latest blessing in Pennsylvania, signifying the Completion Level Blessing, means that every citizen of Cheon Il Guk is a king or queen, wearing the crown, and has the right to defend our God-given freedoms with the rod of iron, as individuals, families, communities, states and nations, from any aggressor. The ultimate weapon available to an individual is a rifle, and in the case of the United States, it is the AR-15. A rifle, of course, will not stop a nuclear missile, or even a tank, but it will stop a criminal and a rapist. There is nothing here that is not consistent with True Father’s teaching.
