Cheon Seong Gyeong: Episode 366
Cheon Seong Gyeong Book 11: Ceremonies and Holy Days
Chapter 5: The Holy Day and Anniversaries
Section 2. Anniversaries, 28-37
(28) At the prison in Hungnam, after the inmates finished shoveling fertilizer into bags, they were provided time to eat their rations. They were so hungry that they did not wait for others to receive their food. As soon as they received their bowl, they instinctively stuffed the food into their mouths. As they chewed their food, they fixed their eyes on the other inmate’s bowls. They finished eating their own portion even before the distribution of food was completed. Yet forgetting that they had already eaten their own food, when they saw other people receive food and noticed that their own bowl was empty, they would quarrel with the person next to them, saying, “You ate my food, right?” There were also many incidents of people choking to death while stuffing their food into their mouths. If a prisoner died before finishing his food, other inmates would take the food that was left in the dead man’s mouth; they would even fight over it.
(29) I knew the importance of mental strength. That is why mentally, I made a special determination. I convinced myself that I could live with only half of my ration. Then beginning the next day, I shared half of my meal with other people. I did this for three weeks. I convinced myself that even though I was eating only half rations, I could complete my work quota, and I actually did. After three weeks, I resumed eating the full amount of my ration. From then on, I considered one half to be my expected ration and ate the other half as if it were an additional ration that God had given to me.
(30) I have gone through all sorts of experiences, including imprisonment. Yet looking back, I am grateful to God. God went through all that trouble in order to raise one person, me. All the courses that I went through until now never subtracted from me. Instead, I gained many things. Even now, when I see a grain of rice, I spontaneously remember how precious one grain of rice can be to a hungry man. Even now, I remember it vividly. I know how even one grain of rice can stimulate one’s entire nervous system. Through that experience, I could recognize its infinite value. Yet, in my hunger, when I craved for food, I shed tears of yearning for God, even more, trying to forget about my cravings for food. Further, when I saw other people in misery, I shed tears without letting anyone know it and prayed for them. God can be with us when we have such a heart. I actually miss those days.
(31) When I was in Hungnam Prison, if a visitor gave me some good clothes, for instance, if the church family members gave me a good pair of pants, I would give them to the most miserable prisoner. At the prison, we had to use our bare hands to fill straw bags with fertilizer and tie them with straw rope. As a result, the skin on our hands cracked and bled. With those wounded hands, I once unraveled tent fabric that I found and knit clothes. I made pants and gave them to inmates who, because they had no visitors, did not have enough clothes to wear. You can imagine how laborious it was for me to make clothes, but I did it because when I gave them to those inmates, they were overjoyed. I saw that it made them happier than if they had received clothes bought by their own mother or father. My own clothes were in such tatters that when the wind blew, it would reveal my buttocks. While wearing such rags, if I saw anyone in the prison who was in a similar situation, I would give him clothes that I had made.
(32) The Communist Party put me in prison and did all kinds of terrible things to me. Nevertheless, I loved God to the very end. I trusted God, and my trust in Him was absolute. Once I gave my word to Him, my promise would be absolute. If God gave me a command, I knew I had to fulfill it absolutely. It did not matter whether that command was difficult or easy. A filial son has to act like a filial son, even in prison. A patriot has to act like a patriot, even when he is incarcerated.
(33) During the Korean War, Hungnam was the first place in North Korea that the UN forces liberated. God’s son was there, so God was urgent to save him. Two days beforehand, the Communist Party enticed the inmates by telling them that they would be given food, and then they took them away. The inmates did not know they were going to be killed. Since they were told they would be given food, they even begged to go. But I sensed what was going to happen, and I said to myself, “Even if all the others die, I will not. Whatever calamity or tragedy may befall us, I will survive. I will not die, even if they schedule me to be shot!” As I expected, the communists deceived the inmates, led them into the mountains, and then killed them. The following day it was my turn to be taken away. So you can imagine how busy God must have been to rescue me. It was under these circumstances that the UN forces arrived in Hungnam. That is how I was able to escape from prison.
(34) Because the UN forces reached Hungnam, I was freed from prison. That incident set a condition for the democratic world to receive benefit. In other words, because the UN forces arrived, opened the doors of the prison, and rescued me, a bond was established there that allowed the democratic world to be saved and supported. Had I remained in prison for three more days, I would have ended up in the spirit world. The Communist Party divided the prisoners into three groups and planned to execute them, one group at a time. I was in the third group. Those with a sentence longer than seven years were placed in the first group to be executed, and those who had a sentence longer than five years were placed in the second group. I had been sentenced to five years, so I was in the third group. Three days after the first group was executed and just before the third group was to be executed, the camp was liberated, and I was freed. You should be aware that I have been leading the providence of restoration through such a perilous course.
(35) As soon as we established the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, on May 1, 1954, opposition arose. The fight began. We were out on the battlefield. Christianity, the Korean government, they all fought against me, against one man. I was alone. Everyone was against me. Such difficulties arose because they doggedly opposed the central person of global history. Satan exploited their opposition to drive the fortune of the entire world in attacks against me. As a consequence, Satan’s world is destined to perish. This will inevitably come to pass. An incident occurred on July 4, 1955. They labeled me with every bad name in the world, communist, you name it. They dumped every terrible thing on me. Everything bad was associated with me. Hence I found myself under all sorts of investigations. But they found I had done nothing wrong. I was found innocent of their allegations and was released. I triumphed over all of the opposition and, in doing so, made a new beginning.
(36) The entire incident stemmed from my effort to connect with the highest level of Christianity through its educational institutions, Yonsei University and Ewha Women’s University. These institutions opposed me, but since I had made the conditions necessary to organize the heavenly side, even though I had to give up on the first generation Christians, I could still witness to the second generation. Why did I give up on the first generation? They had already been tainted so, when I tried to fulfill the Will in South Korea, they opposed me. They had set the condition for Satan to do as he desired with me, requiring me to return to North Korea and recover them. I tried to recover them by going to North Korea, but I could not. Consequently, I pushed the providence of salvation forward based on the second generation rather than the first generation.
(37) The President of Ewha Women’s University dispatched a professor from the Department of Religion and Social Science to find out about the Unification Church. That person heard the Principle, and after a week, she ended up joining the Unification Church. After that, many professors came to the church, and all the dormitory students who heard the Principle came to the church. At that time, Ewha Women’s University was receiving the support of an American Christian organization. The Ewha leadership felt threatened, thinking that the Unification Church, an unknown religion at that time, might absorb the school. Hence, they took drastic measures against the students who joined the Unification Church. That was the expulsion incident. They forced the students to choose between two alternatives. They announced to them, “You can either remain in this school or join Reverend Moon’s Unification Church. Which will you choose?” The expulsion incident triggered events that led to my imprisonment.
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