True Mother and the Work of the Holy Spirit

Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 17, 2016 - Pages 19-32

A version of this paper was presented at the Inaugural Symposium of the Cheon Il Guk Academy of Arts and Sciences at the Cheon Jeong Gung Museum, Cheong Pyeong, Korea, August 22, 2016.

For mainstream Unificationists, [1] it is an article of faith that Hak Ja Han Moon (known by the title “True Mother”) the widow of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon (known by the title “True Father”), is entitled to lead the Unification movement. The main reason adduced for this is because together they occupy the position of True Parents, the perfected original point of creation. Theologically speaking, they as a couple are the embodiment of God united in His masculinity and Her femininity; hence from the perspective of the Principle of Creation, the True Parents are one, and eternally so. [2] 

Rev. Moon affirmed as much just four months before his passing when, referring to his wife, True Mother, he proclaimed before God:

From now on we two, as one being, the mother body of the one blood lineage, become the base that can establish the upper and lower, front and back, left and right heavenly pillars. In light of this, please accept, at the heavenly throne, our bow by the two of us who, with our hearts hand in hand, pledge to attend the Absolute Parent, the Original Creator, with gratitude for His grace for the God of Night and the God of Day raising her to the position of perfection, which is the blessing of the perfection of the Parents of Heaven and Earth, the ideal envisaged at the time of the Creation.[3]

By that alone, all the work that True Mother (henceforth we refer to Mrs. Moon by this title) has been doing since True Father left his physical plane ought to be recognized as the continued work of the True Parents. True Father’s absence from the physical world is not the absence of True Parents in this world, for True Mother is a True Parent. She acts with all the authority of True Parents. Her work continues the mission of True Parents.

Other lines of argument supporting Mrs. Moon’s authority as True Mother include: (1) Rev. Moon spoke on numerous occasions words to the effect that after his passing she would lead the movement before it passing it down to the an heir from among their children; [4] (2) she knows him best because they were united in heart and mind during their 53 years of life together; (3) she is God’s “only begotten daughter” who was born for the mission of becoming True Mother; [5] (4) Rev. Moon taught an ethic of filial piety to God and True Parents, [6] which cannot but include filial devotion to True Mother, [7] and so on.

Such argumentation only became necessary because of the alternative views presented by two of Rev. Moon’s sons, each of whom has been criticizing True Mother for claiming that authority and each holding himself to be the legitimate heir. Each has taken offense at her for not standing aside and letting them lead the movement. [8]

To add to all that has been said, there is another way to look at True Mother that reveals the nature and scope of her mission after Rev. Moon’s passing, when she would be working independently of him. That is to view her in light of her role as the substantial Holy Spirit. That identity and role means that True Mother comes in the flesh to do what the Holy Spirit has done in the spirit. The Holy Spirit was most active in the church after Pentecost, when Jesus had already ascended to heaven. Therefore, it behooves us in these days after True Father has ascended to heaven, to look again at the role of the Holy Spirit in the days of the primitive church and compare it to the work of True Mother in the present day.

 

True Mother the Substantial Holy Spirit

The Divine Principle likens spiritual mission of Holy Spirit after Pentecost to that of True Mother: 

Ever since the descent of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost, the resurrected Jesus as the spiritual True Father and the Holy Spirit as the spiritual True Mother have worked in oneness to grant spiritual rebirth by spiritually engrafting believers with themselves. This is the work of spiritual salvation. [9]

It goes on to say that after the Second Advent, what the resurrected Jesus and the Holy Spirit could manifest spiritually, True Father and True Mother would manifest in the flesh. Thus it calls True Parents—True Father and True Mother—the “perfect Trinity,” manifesting “both spiritually and physically,” while the resurrected Jesus along with the Holy Spirit “could form only a spiritual trinity.” [10] In the words of Rev. Moon:

Adam failed to fulfill the Will, so God sent Jesus in his place. That is why the Bible identifies Jesus as the Second Adam. Since the first human ancestors were lost, Jesus had to restore the true ancestor. Thus, Jesus came as the True Father of humankind, and the Holy Spirit came as the True Mother of humankind. Thus, they established the True Father and the True Mother, spiritually. God’s purpose for the Second Advent is to manifest True Parents on earth substantially. [11]

Again, in a speech from 1959, shortly before the Holy Wedding in 1960, Rev. Moon used biblical language to describe how his bride-to-be, the woman who would become True Mother, would come as the substantial Holy Spirit, “the Holy Spirit… in the flesh”:

Hence, it says in the Book of Revelation, "The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.” (Rev. 22:17) This speaks to the day when the Holy Spirit comes in the flesh at the time of the Second Advent. That is the day when the Bride is made ready for the wedding. It is the day of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, when children welcome and attend the True Parents who had been lost. [12]

Thus, it has been standard Unification belief that since the Holy Wedding in 1960, Mrs. Moon as True Mother has stood as the substantial Holy Spirit. She together with True Father, standing as the “True Parents both physically and spiritually,” [13] could begin to exercise their God-given authority to give rebirth through the Holy Marriage Blessings, which ensued in ever larger numbers in the decades that followed. These Blessings removed the original sin, enabling Blessed couples to stand as true parents themselves in their families and as “tribal messiahs” to their clans. This is precisely the activity described in the Divine Principle:

Christ must return in the flesh and find his Bride. They will form on the earth a perfect trinity with God and become True Parents both spiritually and physically. They will give fallen people rebirth both spiritually and physically, removing their original sin and enabling them to build trinities on earth with God as the center. [14]

In the years since Rev. Moon’s Seonghwa, or holy ascension, when members cannot see the two of them giving rebirth by standing side-by-side to officiate at Holy Marriage Blessings, this standard belief about Mrs. Moon that she is forever united with Rev. Moon in a “perfect trinity” seems shaky to some. Nevertheless, matters can become clearer when we consider her work in light of the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, which was almost entirely work done after Jesus too had ascended from this earthly plane to sit “at the right hand of God.” Indeed, one way that we can appreciate Mrs. Moon’s work as True Mother during these years following True Father’s ascension is by understanding her mission in terms of the mission of the Holy Spirit during those early years of the Christian church.

 

The Work of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ Crucifixion and the Work of True Mother

Jesus in the months before his death gave his disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit, whom he called the “Comforter.” (John 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7) At that time the disciples had no idea what Jesus was talking about. Shortly thereafter he was arrested and crucified. Scripture records that the disciples were confused and dispirited. They met the resurrected Jesus, who encouraged them and assured them that he was still alive, but then Jesus left them and ascended to heaven. So the disciples were confused once again—hopeful certainly, but not confident of the future.

They gathered in the upper room, praying desperately to once again connect with Jesus. Acts chapter 2 reports that the Holy Spirit came upon them with fire. It gave them the power to speak in tongues. It also gave them the confidence to preach and to witness; immediately Peter stepped forward and spoke with conviction. They set to work witnessing and in a short time they had converted 5,000 people. This has been the core of True Mother’s work as well: to instill new confidence in the membership and encourage them to carry out their evangelical mission with boldness and conviction.

Thus, in the decades immediately after Jesus’ death on the cross, especially the one hundred years from 30 A.D. through 130 A.D. known as the Apostolic and sub-Apostolic ages, the primary subject partner that guided the early church was the Holy Spirit. It was during this period that the four evangelists wrote the Gospels, drawing on what sources were available, and with the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit the New Testament was written. We see True Mother doing the same sort of work in clarifying and revising the scriptures of the Unification Movement.

To examine these matters in more detail, let us begin by briefly reviewing what the Divine Principle says of the Holy Spirit and comparing it to the role of True Mother: First, the Holy Spirit loves Jesus spiritually. True Mother loved True Father conjugally. Second, the Holy Spirit brings people to Jesus. True Mother connected all humankind to True Father through her worldwide speaking tours in 1996 and 1999, and through the work of the Women’s Federation for World Peace. Third, it is through the joint action of Jesus and the Holy Spirit that Christians are reborn as God’s adopted children. The Holy Marriage Blessing officiated by True Father and True Mother together has a similar meaning at a higher level; it is a ceremony that gives rebirth as God’s direct children. Fourth, the Holy Spirit makes atonement for sin and intercedes for us, thus restoring the mistake of Eve. True Mother spent three years to attend True Father on our behalf (in Korean Confucian tradition it is the children, especially the sons, who are supposed to mourn their deceased father for three years) while carrying the burden of all humankind and womankind in particular. The four holy items of special grace that True Mother bequeathed to the membership in 2016 are also for the purpose of atonement. Fifth, the Holy Spirit works on earth, while Jesus is in heaven. Now, True Mother is on earth while True Father is in heaven.

It is the last of these roles that concerns us here. Now that True Father is in heaven, True Mother remains on earth like the Holy Spirit did after Pentecost. So she has the opportunity to perform works like those of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost.

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit fulfilled a number of missions in the years immediately following Jesus’ death, including: (1) bring the disciples to internal oneness with Christ; (2) promote evangelism to grow the church; (3) raise up new leaders; (4) establish new ordinances; and (5) clarify the meaning of Jesus’ words for the church. Let us examine these five missions of the Holy Spirit and compare them with the work of True Mother during the four years since True Father’s passing in 2012.

1.    Bring internal oneness with Christ

Saint Paul describes the internal work of the Holy Spirit in the 8th chapter of Romans. They include keeping people’s minds focused on things higher than the flesh (Rom. 8:6) and helping them in their weakness. (Rom. 8:26) The essence of this work is to bind Christians with Christ. Paul wrote, “When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” (Rom. 8:15-17) The Holy Spirit brings Christians into a parent-child relationship with God, though on the adopted son level, which resembles the relationship that Jesus had with God as God’s direct Son.

Anyone who has been in True Mother’s presence and heard her speak from her deep heart about True Father can see that she is making every effort to bequeath that inheritance to us. From the day of his passing, with tears, she spoke out of her own solid relationship with True Father and called us again and again to have the same heart of attendance as she has:

Given that the Lord at his Second Coming, the Savior, the Messiah, and the True Parent who had come to us for the first time in six thousand years has now departed, do you think forty days of devotion is enough? Would a hundred days of devotion be enough? The religious devotion of attendance has no end. (September 23, 2012)[15]

We must now invest our lives totally. This is what we must do. We weren’t able to do this with Father. What other time would call for us to commit our lives? Many people have desired Father’s love, for Father to take care of them. They have given back so little. Do you admit that? I know there are many among you who should wear sackcloth and repent. (October 25, 2012) [16]

She reminds us of our responsibility to earn our inheritance as sons and daughters of filial piety:

Father led the history of the providence of restoration through indemnity to victory. However, the truth is that behind it all was too much sorrow, grief and suffering to measure. That is how it is with indemnity. He recovered and established everything for us, but the fact of the matter is that we are not in a position where we can just receive it. If we fail to fulfill our responsibility, we too need to pay indemnity. Do we, or don’t we? …

Titles like filial son or daughter and loyal patriot cannot be given when you are comfortable. Unless you have endured much suffering and difficulty and risked your lives for your parents, devoted all your energies for your country, unless you have such a heart and have translated it into action, you cannot receive such titles. Do you understand this? (January 1, 2013) [17]

While members have all different levels in their relationship with True Father, True Mother modeled the absolute standard of oneness with him in faith, action and heart. She showed the way to unite with True Father’s standard, and thus “become fellow heirs with Christ.”

2.    Promote evangelism to grow the church

The Book of Acts reports that when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, it inaugurated an era of explosive evangelism, with more than 5,000 people receiving Christ in the days following Pentecost. Believers spoke in tongues and miracles happened every day. Based on that extraordinary event, many Unificationists have hoped to see the day of a new Pentecost in the Family Federation. Yet members can also recall that the early days of the church in Korea, Japan and America were filled with Pentecost-like phenomena, with all manner of spiritual works. These were periods of explosive growth in membership, when droves of people joined, often guided by visions and dreams. Therefore, rather than hope for some future supernatural outpouring of the Spirit, we would do well to look at our own beginnings as a church. This is precisely what True Mother began calling for just weeks after True Father’s ascension:

We will now make our Unification Church a living and breathing church, as it was in the early days. We will develop it into a spontaneous, creative and dynamic church, unrestricted by numbers or systems. We will make it into a church centered on the Principle and on love, which will be like a nest with the warmth of a mother’s embrace that will make us wish to go there and always remain there. (September 23, 2012) [18]

True Mother focused on bringing the membership back to the core mission of witnessing. She recognized that the church needed to return to its roots when spiritual life and soul-winning was the paramount concern. Her guidance was completely in line with the way the Holy Spirit led the early Christian church.

3.    Raise up new leaders

After the crucifixion, the Holy Spirit raised up new generation of leadership beyond the original twelve disciples. This began with Hellenistic Jewish-Christians like Stephen, whom the Holy Spirit filled with grace and power (Acts 6:4) and Paul, whose blinded eyes the Holy Spirit opened. (Acts 9:17-18) Then the Holy Spirit expanded the ranks of Christian leaders by falling upon numerous Gentiles, beginning with the conversion of the centurion Cornelius:

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. (Acts 10:44-46)

The conversion of Cornelius likely took place between 35 and 40 A.D. [19] It thus took time for this work of the Holy Spirit to become established. 

Likewise, one of True Mother’s goals in the years after True Father’s ascension has been to raise up a new generation of leaders in the Family Federation. Further, she has restructured the movement with new organizations, such as the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation and the Universal Peace Academy as investments in the movement’s future. She is presiding over the development of a sophisticated human resources system to identify and educate members with leadership talent. [20]  

4.    Establish new ordinances

The early Christian church faced a number of challenges after the death of Christ, and none was more important than dealing with the growing number of Gentile converts in a church that had been entirely composed of Jews. Scholars adduce from the biblical evidence that Jesus during his lifetime conceived his mission field as focused only on the Jewish people. For example, when a Canaanite woman approached him begging him to heal her daughter, he said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 15:24) The earliest Christians such as Stephen had no concept of a mission to the Gentiles; it began with Paul.

At first it was a huge issue bringing in Gentiles, because the first Christians, being Jews, were scrupulous in keeping the law, especially circumcision and the dietary laws regarding clean and unclean foods. Jews wouldn’t eat with Gentiles, and this extended even to fellow members of the body of Christ. (Gal. 2:12) Peter had to be convinced in a dream to go beyond the law’s limitation on this matter. (Acts 10)

Thus, there was danger of a split in the early church between those like St. Paul who were eager to admit Gentiles into the faith and those of the “circumcision party” who adhered to ordinances that all Gentile believers had to convert to Judaism and be circumcised in order to be true followers of Christ and be accepted in Christian fellowship.

When Paul came to Jerusalem for the Jerusalem Council and asked the assembled leaders to make room for Gentiles in the church, it was by their attentiveness to the work of the Holy Spirit that they made new ordinances for their sake (Acts 15:38). The council decreed that Gentiles in the church would not be required to be circumcised or eat kosher food or follow any of the Jewish laws, which the first generation of Jewish-Christians still believed were binding upon them. These new rules were the work of the Holy Spirit:

...it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. (Eph. 3:5-6)

It should be noted that in bringing about new ordinances to welcome the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit did not demand it directly, but guided the elders to discuss the matter together and come to an agreement.

Nevertheless, the so-called “circumcision party” did not disband after the Jerusalem Council, as Paul attests. (Gal. 2:11-14) He lamented about so-called “super-apostles” who visited the churches he had founded and taught “another Jesus than the one we proclaimed.” (2 Cor. 11:1-6) They still insisted on circumcision, as if faith in Jesus were not enough to become a true Christian. (Gal. 5:2-4) Apparently these were Christians who resisted what they saw as innovations, whether the Holy Spirit guided them or not.

This may be the actual background of the saying in Matthew, “I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matt. 12:31-32) Such were the Christians of the circumcision party: they vociferously affirmed Jesus, even as they committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit by denying her works in setting up new ordinances to open the church to the Gentiles.

True Mother also has been forthright about the need to establish new ordinances, in particular the Cheon Il Guk Constitution. Like the work of the Jerusalem Council, the CIG Constitution was promulgated amid dangers of schism. As with the work of the Holy Spirit at the Jerusalem Council, True Mother did not dictate its contents, but set up a committee of qualified elders to meet and come to a consensus about it. They considered different opinions and looked with sincerity to design a constitution that would best meet the needs of the providence. And, as in New Testament times, there are members who reject what they regard as innovations, refusing to accept the authority of the substantial Holy Spirit who authorized them.

5.    Clarify the meaning of Jesus’ words for the church

Jesus’ untimely death caused great confusion among his followers. Having been raised in the Jewish messianic expectation that the Messiah would be a king to deliver them from the Romans, they found it hard to make sense of Jesus’ death by those oppressors. (Luke 24:19-21) Many expected Jesus to return quickly, based on sayings like “You will not have gone through all the towns in Israel before the Son of man comes” (Matt. 10:23), and “henceforth you will see the Son of man seated on the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matt. 26:64) They believed that he would soon come in power, defeat the oppressors and establish God’s Kingdom. 

This sort of apocalyptic Christianity did not survive; its believers could not bear with the continued delay of Christ’s return over the decades that followed. For the Christian church to survive, believers needed guidance to understand Jesus’ words in a different way, which could support the church for the long haul. Accordingly, one of the names that Jesus gave to the Holy Spirit was the “spirit of truth” and prophesied to his disciples that it “will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:12) Although Unificationists understand that in the Last Days “all truth” refers to the new truth of the Divine Principle, [21] there was an older, growth-stage meaning for the first Christians: “all truth” meant to elucidate the meaning of Jesus’ words. Thus, “The Holy Spirit… will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)

Many of the words of Jesus revealed by the Holy Spirit found their way into the four Gospels. These include sayings of Jesus that he couldn’t possibly have uttered during his lifetime. They spoke to a time when Jerusalem already had been destroyed (70 A.D.): “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… behold, your house is forsaken and desolate” (Matt. 23:37-38), and when the cross was no longer a scandal but had become a badge of honor: “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:38) They spoke to a time when it had become an article of faith that Jesus came to die on the cross, “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.’” (Matt. 17:23) These were words of the resurrected Jesus that were revealed through the Holy Spirit to those in the early church with the gifts of prophecy and wisdom. (Eph. 3:5, 1 Cor. 12:4-11) They may have not been exactly in line with the thinking of the historical Jesus—as he did not originally expect that he would die on the cross or that his followers would also die on the cross or that Jerusalem would be destroyed—but they helped mold the faith of the early church in such a way that it could continue for the next two thousand years.

Later, the compilers of the four Gospels interspersed many of these words among the original sayings that Jesus was remembered to have said during his earthly life. Yet the New Testament confirms these words’ authority as scripture because it was the Holy Spirit that inspired them: “No prophecy of scripture… ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Pet. 1:21)

This illuminates the work that True Mother has done in compiling and publishing the three Cheon Il Guk Scriptures. She spoke of her desire to “cut and polish” the Cheon Seong Gyeong in order to make Father’s words shine:

True Father's teachings and life’s work are like gemstones. No matter how precious a gemstone is, it must be cut and polished so that it glitters. Briefly stated, a gemstone is a gemstone, yet it starts out unrefined. I want to bring glory to Heaven by preserving these teachings permanently… I alone can do this. Isn’t that true? Who else could do it? (January 7, 2013) [22] 

True Mother said that compiling the Cheon Il Guk Scriptures was a mission that only she could do. We can clarify that one reason she could do it, and indeed was obligated to do it, was because she is the substantial Holy Spirit. Her vision to make True Father’s teachings endure “permanently” in scriptures for the ages is in accord with the intention of the Holy Spirit two thousand years ago when she worked to guide the formulation of the New Testament.

 

Insights from Wolli Wonbon

In addition to these parallels with the actual work of the Holy Spirit to deliver Jesus’ words in New Testament times, there is another basis in the Principle of Restoration for True Mother to deliver the words of True Father at this time. This is disclosed in Wolli Wonbon, the original manuscript of the Divine Principle that Rev. Moon composed in 1951-52. Amid its discussion of Moses’ course, it states that the role of the Bride of Christ involved the Word. The specific parallel is with the role of Aaron:

Moses asked for someone to deliver the Word. Because God made the entire creation with the Word, Moses’ request for the Word meant that when Jesus came, he would again establish the ideal actual person to be his partner—namely Eve, the lost Word. (p. 138) [23]

Aaron speaking God’s words on Moses’ behalf was the model for the mission of Jesus’ partner, the Holy Spirit, to convey the words of Christ. Moses called himself “not eloquent” and “slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Exod. 4:10), and asked for someone else to speak for him; it was at then that God appointed Aaron, who “can speak fluently” (Exod. 4:14) to stand at Moses’ side and be his mouthpiece. Thus it was that the Holy Spirit guided the four Evangelists to assemble Jesus’ words into the eloquent writing of the Gospels. Similarly, it is the role of True Mother—the perfect Eve—to polish the words of True Father. Wolli Wonbon goes on to say that this was to restore the mistake of Eve, who had lost God’s Word at the Fall by failing to keep the commandment.

Another mission of Aaron was to perform the priestly rituals of atonement. Wolli Wonbon also sees this as prefiguring the missions of the Holy Spirit and True Mother, who would work alongside Jesus and True Father respectively and take responsibility to make atonement for humankind:

Having Aaron alongside Moses take responsibility for the role of atonement on behalf of the Israelites symbolized that the Holy Spirit, who represents Eve, would together with Jesus directly fulfill their responsibility of atonement on behalf of all humankind, in attendance of the Will.  (p. 145) [24]

Here we cannot help but think of True Mother’s dedication to keep three years of mourning at the bonhyangwon, [25] as mentioned previously, when she attended True Father on behalf of humankind and sought to atone for our failures and shortcomings in the providence. Now as she bequeaths the Four Holy Items to the worldwide membership as a provision of special grace, [26] we see True Mother’s priestly role once again.

In conclusion, the work of the Holy Spirit in the early church during the years after Jesus’ ascension illuminates Mrs. Moon’s work as True Mother during the years after True Father’s ascension. As these parallels show, her ways of leading the Family Federation during the last four years are entirely consistent with how the Holy Spirit led the Christian church during its turbulent early years.

The Holy Spirit guided Christianity through its difficult beginnings to become a worldwide church that endured for two thousand years. Even so, Unificationists can be confident that True Mother, who is working as the substantial Holy Spirit on earth, is taking measures to establish the Family Federation to endure for thousands of years to come. And, as the early Christians had confidence in the Holy Spirit, Unificationists should rightly have confidence in True Mother’s leadership and uphold her authority.

 

Notes

[1] Michael Mickler, “Mainstream Unificationism,” Applied Unificationism, August 29, 2016. https://appliedunificationism.com/2016/08/29/mainstream-unificationism

[2] Speaking of their position as the perfected Adam and Eve, Rev. Moon said, “If they had not fallen, Adam and Eve would have become the True Parents in the Garden of Eden. Once Adam and Eve were perfected and completely centered upon true love, they could not have fallen. There was no way they could have deviated from their original position because no power could separate them from true love.” (“True Parents and I,” June 15, 1986) http://www.unification.net/1986/860615.html

[3] Sun Myung Moon, “Cheon Hwa Gung Declaration,” Cheon Hwa Gung in Las Vegas, NV, April 14, 2012. http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon12/SunMyungMoon-120414b.htm

[4] For example, on April 4, 2011, Rev. Moon said, “The responsible person of the Unification church is not Hyung Jin nor Kook Jin. On the top of Hyung Jin there is Mother, and on the top of her, there is Father” (“Mongolia is the Origin of Korean Ancestors,” April 4, 2011). http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon11/SunMyungMoon-110404.htm. Also, “If I had to proceed alone from here, God's dispensation would go forward. If Mother had to proceed alone, the same is true. God's dispensation will be consummated! The outside world is talking about Reverend Moon being seventy years old. People ask, “Who is going to be his successor?” But I tell them there is no need to worry because Mrs. Moon, our True Mother, is only 47 years old! And after us there are the true children to carry on God's Providence” (“Parents’ Day and Me,” March 27, 1990). http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon90/SunMyungMoon-900327.htm. Also, “Even when I am alone, I represent True Parents. And the same goes for Mother. When sh5e is alone, she represents True Parents.” Chambumo Gyeong (Seoul, Seonghwa Publications, 2015) 12.4.3.3, p. 1420.

[5] Andrew Wilson, “The Only Begotten Daughter,” Applied Unificationism, April 13, 2015. https://appliedunificationism.com/2015/04/13/the-only-begotten-daughter; Also Thomas Selover, “The Providential Significance of True Mother’s Leadership,” Journal of Unification Studies 17 (2016): 3-5

[6] See “Family Pledge,” clause 2.

[7] But see Selover, op. cit, pp. 11-12 on how the concept of filial piety in Korean culture could be understood to only apply to the male side.

[8] Regarding one of these sons, see Michael Mickler, “The Sanctuary Church Schismatics,” Applied Unificationism, December 14, 2015. https://appliedunificationism.com/2015/12/14/the-sanctuary-church-schism/

[9] Exposition of the Divine Principle (New York: HSA-UWC, 1996), p. 278.

[10] Ibid, p. 172.

[11] Chambumo Gyeong 1.1.2.31, p. 43.

[12] Chambumo Gyeong 1.1.2.33, p. 44.

[13] Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 172.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Hak Ja Han Moon, “We will now make our Unification Church a living and breathing church,” September 23, 2012. http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/HakJaHanMoon/HakJaHan-120923.pdf

[16] Hak Ja Han Moon, “Forty Days after Father’s Seonghwa is a new starting point for the providence,” October 25, 2012. http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/HakJaHanMoon/ HakJaHan-121025b.pdf

[17] Hak Ja Han Moon, “You must go beyond receiving blessings and work hard to share them,” January 1, 2013. http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/HakJaHanMoon-13/HakJaHan-130101a.pdf

[18] Hak Ja Han Moon, “We will now make our Unification Church a living and breathing church,” September 23, 2012.

[19] Mike Gascoigne, “Chronology of the Early Church,” Anno Mundi Books, 1997. www.annomundi.com/bible/chronology_of_the_early_church.htm. Accessed August 1, 2016.

[20] FFWPU Planning Department, “Cheon Il Guk HR Management,” True Peace, March 2015.

[21] Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 105.

[22] Hak Ja Han Moon, “I want to bring glory to Heaven by preserving these teachings perma¬nently,” January 7, 2013. http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/HakJaHanMoon-13/HakJaHan-130107.pdf

[23] [모세가] 말씀을 [傳達者(전달자)를] 要求(요구)함은 [하나님이] 創造物(창조물) 全部(전부)를 말씀으로 지으셨으니 예수 와서 잃어버린 말씀인 그 理想的(이상적) 實體(실체) 相對(상대)인 [해와]를 다시 成事(성사)할 것임을 表示(표시)했다. (WWB 138쪽)

[24] [하나님이 아론에게 모세와 함께] 百姓(백성)을代身(대신)해 贖罪(속죄)에 역할에 대한 責任(책임)지게 하심은 곧 해와를 代表(대표)하는 聖神(성신)이 예수와 함께 뜻을 받들어 全(전) 人類(인류)를  代身(대신)해 直接(직접) 贖罪(속죄)의 責任(책임)을 다 해야 할 것임을 表徵(표징)한 것이다. (WWB 145쪽)

[25] The bonhyangwon is Rev. Moon’s gravesite, located just above the Cheon Jeong Gung Museum in Cheongpyeong, Korea.

[26] Cho Sung Il, “Guidance on the Special Grace bestowed through the Four Great Items of Cheon Il Guk and Holy Wine Ceremony,” memo from FFWPUI headquarters #FFWPUI 2016-45, May 12, 2016.  http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Cho/Cho-160512.pdf