25. Cheon Il Guk and Foundation Day

Book 1: Global Unity Through True Parents
Part 7: The Responsibility of Blessed Families for the Secure Settlement of Cheon Il Guk
Chapter 1: Cheon Il Guk and Foundation Day

Foundation Day is the day God's dream is realized

Foundation day is the day when God's dream is realized. While thinking about that day, I wondered, "Why did True Father emphasize the 13th day so much?" I prayed to Heaven many times about it. Why the 13th? Much of the Bible is written in metaphors and symbols. God did not take six days to create the universe. It took God 12 days to create the universe. The 13th day was decided as the day when God's dream was realized. That is why True Father chose the 13th day to be Foundation Day. Father conducted the Coronation of God's Kingship and the Cheon Jeong Gung Palace Entrance Ceremony leading up to Foundation Day. It took Father 12 years of preparation for Foundation Day. (2013.01.07, Cheon Jeong Gung)

In the Bible, it says that God began creating the universe and rested on the seventh day after creating Adam and Eve. It is said that when the night turned to day that was the first day. This refers to a period rather than a time. This means that, "It took God a period of 12 days and not six days to create the universe. He rested on the following day, the 13th day.” In the same way that God created the universe, I gave birth to over 13 children. The number 13 is important. It is a number that no one in history has been able to master. (2016.08.01, CheongPyeong Training Center)

There are many parables and symbols in the Bible. For example, the periods of time in the creation story were not actually one day long. The Bible says that since God is omnipotent He initiated the creation with His word, saying "Let there be light. Let there be the moon. Let there be rocks.” But actually, the creation did not come about solely as a result of God's Word, but through His investment of all His spirit and energy. This means God invested everything He had in the creation. It was not one literal day for each stage of the creation. We should consider the "days" as periods of time required for each stage. God started with microorganisms and moved on to larger animals, investing all of His spirit and energy in each stage.

All of you have received the Blessing and have walked the path of a mother, so I believe you understand the ten month process involved in the birth of a baby. What happens when a baby is born? Does the baby decide to end the life that he knows and be born, thinking, "I can't stand it anymore. I want to die. The sky looks yellow.” It is not easy for a baby to be born. Likewise, if we think about the process of pain and struggle that was involved in every part of God's creation of the world, His dream about the 13th day was a huge dream. What I am saying is that the creation was not 6 days but 12 days. The 13th day was the day when God's dream would be completed. God's desire was the completion of the four-position foundation, becoming the Parent of humankind.

Father proclaimed that Foundation Day, on the 13th day of the first month is the most important day, and he completed many providential works in order to prepare for Foundation Day. It was a 12-year period of preparation from the Enthronement Ceremony for God's Kingship to Foundation Day. This is correct from a numerical viewpoint. It was not a date that was chosen easily or by chance. (2013.01.14, Cheon Jeong Gung)

Our attitude as we reach Foundation Day

Beloved members! How are your preparations for Foundation Day going? We could call this the era of the re-creation of heaven and earth. Do you all have unity between mind and body? We are sinners in the eyes of Heaven. In light of the grace we have received from Heaven, we have not been able to fulfill our responsibility. Is there anyone who can stand up and proudly say he or she has completed everything? Now, for the first time in history, we are ushering in Foundation Day, a day of blessing that has never been seen before and will never be seen again. However, what kind of attitude do you have regarding this special time? Do you intend to receive this blessing without having done anything for it, or will you receive it based on your qualification as a son or daughter? Is there anyone among you who can place his hand over your heart and listen to what your innermost conscience tells you? Once again, we need to think about True Father, who has departed this earth before us, and we need to repent. We need to forgive one another.

We need to give greater honor to our Heavenly Parent, who has been suffering behind the scenes throughout the providence of restoration. We are unworthy to stand before True Parents, who have given everything unsparingly, and who desire that each of us become a proud citizen of Cheon Il Guk. We are woefully unprepared. What do you have to do? You need to place yourselves in the lowest position and receive the coming Foundation Day with a repentant heart, while asking Heaven to take pity on you.

On that note, I would like to say this: Those who are involved in these unnecessary lawsuits in Korea and overseas should repent. I wish to tell them to drop everything and start fresh through Foundation Day.

The blessed families in all parts of the world who are making preparations to welcome Foundation Day, should ensure in this period of time that they have nothing to be ashamed of before Heaven. I have opened all the doors through Foundation Day. I have opened the doors wide for anyone who resolves to be filial, loyal and faithful, and to put his or her beliefs into action. We must practice absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience until our last moment on earth, centered on True Parents.

If we make such a resolution and carry it out, we will not need to pay indemnity in the future. We need to prepare for the era of Cheon Il Guk that is free from indemnity. That will come when we fulfill our responsibility. No one else can do it for us. It is up to us to fulfill it. That is why, as I have said, it is important for us to fulfill our responsibilities now. Then, when the ideal world comes, we will not have to deal with finishing up our unfinished tasks. Thank you. I hope and pray that your devotions will bring glory to Heaven and joy to earth and that in the eternal era of Cheon Il Guk you will all become beloved and acknowledged citizens of Cheon Il Guk.

Let us once again resolve to do our best to accelerate the work of guiding all seven billion people of the world to become citizens of Cheon Il Guk under our Heavenly Parent. Only if you have achieved this will you be free when you pass on into the next world, and will you live in a world that is free from accusation. If you are unable to fulfill your responsibility on earth, accusation will follow you to the eternal world. In that event, you will have trouble breathing in the spirit world, where breathing takes place through your heart of love. It does not matter if you are no longer young. You need to fulfill your responsibility while you still have your physical body on the earth, so that you can stand free before True Parents in the eternal world and be authentically proud of yourself. (2013.01.20, CheongShim Peace World Center)

In preparation for Foundation Day all Unification Church members should cleanse themselves again. I will give out holy wine to the continental leaders for all the members; those who will participate in person and those who will not be able to make it because of personal circumstances. This is very special. That is why you must come here after having cleansed your mind and body. (2012.10.25, BonHyang Won)

Without knowing in detail what kind of work the Messiah will do when he manifests on earth, for 2,000 years Christianity has been teaching how the Messiah must come, and that if you believe unconditionally you will go to heaven. Now our time has come. True Father has carried out the work of indemnity and has done everything that could be done. Now God can accomplish what He had wanted to accomplish in the Garden of Eden through Adam and Eve's family. It is that kind of time. The establishment of the True Parents is the same as Adam and Eve having been blessed in marriage by God, and above that, God's nation must be established. We must participate and offer devotion to build that nation. God set that goal. True Father clearly said that according to how we act today, that kind of result will come in the year 2013. We must work hard to move it forward. According to your investment, your efforts and devotion, the laborious course of True Parents can be lightened. (2005.10.03 Fukuoka, Japan)

You are people of hope. You should listen to the Cheon Il Guk national anthem every morning and evening as you go to and from work, savoring every word. If you practice the lyrics, you will become free. That is how the world of freedom, peace, unity and happiness can be built. We need to establish this tradition. I hope that you will each do your best as blessed family members to fulfill your responsibility. We are talking not only about the restoration of Korea but of the restoration of the world.

From this year, I will make it so that the celebrations of God's Day, True Parents' Day, the Day of All Things, and Children's Day will take root in each of the nations. Since all the church celebrations are held at one place, only the leaders are able to attend, and the members do not understand the significance of those days. In each nation, regardless of how many churches the nation has, they should prepare for the celebrations of God's Day, Parents' Day, Day of All Things and Children's Day. While preparing, all the members should unite with the church president's leadership and offer many conditions to ready themselves for the celebrations. You cannot go to heaven if you live your lives halfheartedly.

We have studied True Father's teachings, explaining how holy days, such as this God's Day, came to be established, and it is only too true that without shedding tears of blood in the background, we cannot pay indemnity to move forward. Because the world is wrong, because it is fallen, we need to rise above it, and to do so we need to pay indemnity. This, however, is very difficult to do. We need to make Satan throw up his hands and admit defeat. Those days were established after winning victory after victory in each stage. Members need to comprehend this. From the leaders in the highest positions to the newest members, you all need to be aware that True Parents have passed through a course of blood and tears to establish those days for you. If you realized this, every time you celebrated one of those days you would become all the more determined in your heart to be loyal and devoted to Heaven. A nation with such members will then grow and develop. I want to spread this practice worldwide so that I can bring every one of you in front of Heaven.

The next celebration we will hold on a grand scale is Foundation Day. This Foundation Day will be our greatest event, because it is the day on which we begin anew under the Heavenly Parent. On the day marking Father's ascension, not only members of the Unification Church but, when they learn about him, all the world's seven billion people will wish to visit BonHyang Won, where he was laid to rest. Pilgrimages to the holy grounds will also become a major event. In the early days of the church, Father said that there would be an endless line of people visiting Korea. What will motivate them to come? We need to prepare so that they will come. Once we do this, there will be endless glory in heaven and eternal thanksgiving, acclamation and praise on earth! (2013.02.10, Cheon Jeong Gung)

The proclamation of Cheon II Guk

Our revered Heavenly Parent, the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind, the king of peace and king of kings, Your royal benevolence is without limit. I hereby declare to the Heavenly Parent that I have designated this nation to be called Cheon Il Guk, and offer to Heaven the rose and lily as the national flowers, the crane as the national bird, together with the Cheon Il Guk flag and the Cheon Il Guk national anthem. Today, on this, the 13th day of the first month of 2013, I proclaim the founding year of Cheon Il Guk. (2013.02.22, CheongShim Peace World Center)

Heavenly Parent, Heavenly Parent. May glory be with Heaven and may praise and exaltation overflow to all people on earth. True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind, we are so grateful. You have worked so hard. We know that today we are creatures who are unworthy to stand under the wing of this great blessing and grace. Yet Heaven has broadly and magnanimously embraced us again. Father, how can we be the only ones to receive this grace and this deeply moving experience? To You our Heavenly Parent, we pledge and resolve once again to move as one force toward the completion of Cheon Il Guk until the end of our days. Heavenly Parent, please embrace us. We have the fervent desire to stand before You as children who can receive Your love and be proud. Our dear God, our dear God! On this occasion I beseech You, our Heavenly Parent; please protect us to the very end and may Your Will be accomplished well throughout the entire world. (2013.02.22, CheongShim Peace World Center)

On Foundation Day a few days ago, you saw a new heaven and a new earth. You are standing at the center of this great change. You have received this unimaginable grace and blessing. Who brought that about? Who brought you here? It was through True Parents' grace. That is why I told you that you should live for at least three weeks with gratitude in your hearts, gratitude from your bone marrow. For the rest of your lives, until your days on earth are over and you have passed on into the next world, you should have ardent gratitude in your hearts, thinking to yourselves that you are thankful for all that you have been given in spite of the fact that you are unworthy in many ways.

This period is one in which it is as if we are creating the universe under our Heavenly Parent. With our grand goal of the establishment of Cheon Il Guk, we are now creating the universe. What kind of beings do you wish to become? Do you wish to become the sun or the moon? Based on your resolve and actions, the creation of the universe is substantially taking place through your own bodies, something that you could not possibly imagine or believe. When you consider this, you should realize that you are not in a position in which you can just sit still and only think about it. You too should be greatly excited and moved in your hearts to such an extent that you don't know what to do with yourselves and your bodies move of their own accord. In other words, you should translate your feelings into action, begrudging even the hours you sleep. You should do your best to share this excitement, gratitude and blessing with others.

This is truly the first and the last opportunity in your lives. You are at the center of this amazing blessing of creating the universe with our Heavenly Parent. What beings will you become? You are in a position where you can be praised by your future descendants for generations and generations to come. Heaven has given you this special opportunity. (2013.02.28, Cheon Jeong Gung)

In the Old Testament Age, we called God, "Jehovah'' and in the New Testament Age, we called him "God the Father.” From now on, we must change the way we call God. When you pray, please address God as "Heavenly Parent.” The name "Heavenly Parent" is smooth in English and it is meaningful in Korean, too. The first words you say when you pray should be "Heavenly Parent" and then beloved "True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind.” (2013.01.07, Cheon Jeong Gung)

Foundation Day is the start of Cheon Il Guk. Since Korea is our Heavenly Parent's homeland, all nations and peoples must come to Korea and enthusiastically cooperate in order to make Korea into God's substantial homeland.

Heaven has prepared for Foundation Day for a long time. As we know, when central figures did not fulfill their responsibilities, God did not work through them again. We must help the second-generation members and ensure that we are all victorious. We must cooperate through all possible means. The first Israel and second Israel must cooperate with Korea, the third Israel, and ensure that it is restored at all costs.

True Father should not be seen only as the Messiah but in the context of the victorious True Parents. All people and organizations must testify about True Parents. This is a precious blessing and a shortcut in accomplishing the ideal of a true family. I have begun a new page in history through Cheon Seong Gyeong, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong and Chambumo Gyeong. It is not enough to just tell the story generally. You must clearly testify about True Parents. Though you have attended True Parents, you have not truly known them and this has caused serious problems.

Vision 2020 is our goal to find and establish True Parents' royal authority in Korea. Providential first- and second-generation members must march together to find our Heavenly Parent's homeland. The three providential nations, Korea, the United States and Japan, must change by investing their maximum effort and by living up to their faith at the risk of their lives at this point. (2013.07.05, Hawaii)