404. The Holy Wedding and the Path of the Bride of Heaven

Book 4: May You Blossom, My Beloved
Part 2: The Holy Wedding and the Path of the Bride of Heaven
Outline of True Mother's Life 2: The Holy Wedding and the Path of the Bride of Heaven

After the Fall of Adam and Eve, God sent His only begotten son and only begotten daughter to finish the work of the providence of restoration. With His blessing, God's only begotten son and only begotten daughter were joined together in the Holy Wedding, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb recorded in Chapter 19 of the Book of Revelation, and became the True Parents. Thereupon, it became possible for people to multiply the lineage of goodness through the True Parents, and thus a turning point was reached in the providence of salvation.

For that to happen, True Father—who came as the third Adam, following the first Adam and Jesus, the second Adam—had to find and receive True Mother, who is the third Eve, the Holy Spirit in substantial form and the Bride, and together they had to become the True Parents and give birth to sons and daughters free from original sin. Following that, those who have undergone a change of lineage through True Parents' Blessing become the family of God's lineage, which then expands until the ideal world is ultimately realized. The Holy Wedding of True Parents conducted on April 11, 1960, was a historic event on the cosmic level. True Father representing heaven and True Mother representing earth became one, and the divided heaven and earth were finally reconnected.

A life of preparation to become the Bride of Heaven

Before the Holy Wedding could be held, True Father had to indemnify all the responsibilities that the central figures in the history of the providence of restoration had failed to fulfill. In other words, because the first ancestors, Adam and Eve, fell while they were still in the completion stage of the growth period and were yet to reach maturity, True Father had to walk a course of indemnity for 14 years after Korea regained its independence. This was the period in which he had to pass through seven years of the formation stage of the Old Testament Age and seven years of the growth stage of the New Testament Age on the national level, and connect them to the completion stage. On this foundation, True Parents' Holy Wedding was solemnized.

God sent the Lord of the Second Advent as His only begotten son and continued to prepare His only begotten daughter as the Bride of Heaven. Starting from a young age, True Mother received several spiritual testimonies from those around her to the effect that she would become the Bride of Heaven. About a month after True Mother was born, Hong Soon-ae received a vision within her dream in which Kim Seong-do of the Holy Lord Church came to her upon white clouds, dressed all in white, and said to her, "This baby is the Lord's daughter, and you are only her nanny. Feed her and raise her well.” True Mother also attended the Inside the Womb Church together with Daemonim and offered devotions, and during that period of time the mother of Rev. Heo Ho-bin blessed True Mother, who was then six years old, with the words, "She will become the Bride of Heaven.'' This signified that the devotional foundation of all spiritual works had been connected through Daemonim and passed on to True Mother.

The three generations of Grandmother Jo Won-mo, Hong Soon-ae and True Mother were one in heart, thereby connecting the three ages of the Old Testament, New Testament and Completed Testament. Through these three generations, True Mother's family worked continuously and prepared a foundation on the family level to receive the Lord of the Second Advent and give birth to the Bride of Heaven. True Mother's maternal line was consecrated and brought over to Heaven's side through three generations of only daughters, and the conditions of faith were established by which they could rise above Satan's accusations.

As can be seen, True Mother inherited the devotional foundation of the preparatory work for the Second Advent that had been undertaken centering on spirit-led Christian groups in Korea. Moreover, on the foundation laid by her family to receive the Lord of the Second Advent, from a young age True Mother naturally became accustomed to practicing a religious life of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience, and thus established a personal foundation of conditions to become Heaven's Bride.

In the early part of 1960, True Father appeared in her dreams, and she also received a special revelation from Heaven, "The day is near, so be prepared.” True Mother prayed with a heart of complete self-renunciation and entrusted everything to the decision of the providence. She responded with the simple words, "I have lived in accordance with the Will until now. Whatever God's Will may be, whatever the purpose of Your providence may be, I will do anything You command me to do as Your servant.”

On February 26, 1960, True Mother had a private interview with True Father during which, over the course of nine hours, they spoke about many things.

True Parents' Engagement Ceremony and Holy Wedding

True Parents' engagement ceremony was held on March 27, 1960, or the 1st day of the 3rd lunar month, at four o'clock in the morning at the headquarters church in Cheongpa-dong. The engagement ceremony was the ceremony by which the Heavenly Mother came to dwell on earth. In other words, the Mother of Heaven came to settle down on earth through it. Through this engagement ceremony, the Holy Spirit that had been in the spirit world finally could become completely one with True Mother on earth. Mother could then join together with True Father, and they became husband and wife.

On this day, the first ceremony was conducted in several parts: Part one was the celebration of the "Second Advent in Korea.” Part two was about the "union of the incorporeal Father and the substantial father.” Part three was the ceremony for the "presentation of the crown of laurels,” and part four was the ceremony for the "presentation of the royal crown.” This was followed by the second ceremony, in which representatives of 27 different fields of endeavor offered bows and presented wedding gifts in turn.

At the engagement ceremony True Father prayed, "Heaven, please raise high the banner of victory; and earth, return the rewards of joy to Father. Glory, glory, infinite glory; we know that this is a moment when heaven and earth can join in returning joy to You, so please allow all our descendants of all generations to come to cherish this moment of joy.''

At 10 o'clock in the morning of April 11, 1960, the 16th day of the 3rd lunar month, the historic Holy Wedding of True Parents was solemnized at the headquarters church. The first part of the ceremony was the “ceremony of the parents of restoration through indemnity.” True Mother, wearing a white Korean traditional dress and a long veil, and with beautiful bridal makeup, walked down the stairs from the second-floor arm in arm with True Father and ascended the ceremonial stage. After True Father's prayer and declaration, a laudatory address was delivered and a poem of praise recited. The second part of the ceremony was the "ceremony of the parents of glory.'' True Father and True Mother pledged themselves to God, bowed four times to everyone present, then bowed to each other three times, after which they exchanged rings and bowed once to each other, thus ending the main part of the ceremony.

True Father next swore an oath, "We will fulfill our mission as the original parents and the True Parents who can represent our Father's glory.'' Then both True Father and True Mother raised their hands and gave a benediction, and the ceremony was concluded. The wedding reception continued for five hours, including a grand luncheon. At the time, True Mother revealed her feelings with her words: "There are no words to express the heart of God. I pledge to unite with you in heart and in every other way, and to march forward until the day the Will is realized.” She later said that, at that time, she made the resolution over and over again in her heart, "I will realize God's Will during my lifetime at all costs.”

Through the Holy Wedding, True Parents were elevated to the position of God's substantial object partners, and by giving birth to the True Children, they completed the four-position foundation. They also brought true love, true life and true lineage to settlement on earth centering on the Heavenly Parent, thus establishing the condition for expanding the family, tribe, people, nation and world on this earth and preparing the basis for the ideal of eternal peace. Through the Holy Wedding, the foundation was created through which all people could be restored through True Parents, becoming direct descendants of the lineage of Heavenly Parent.