God has foretold that in the last days, there will be a seven-year tribulation upon humankind. This period of tribulation is a time when the saints will face the sad complications from heaven brought about during the 6,000-year world history. It is a time when all human bonds will be broken and we will encounter unbelievable happenings. It is a time when no one would not be able to claim their own life through their conscience, matter how conscientiously and righteously they may live. It is a time when the more one holds to the will of God and is thoughtful, the more pain they will feel. Such is the time of the seven-years of great tribulation in the last days.
It is a time when our hope will be shaken, when the center of our faith will be shaken, when the leaders, whom we believed and followed in, will be shaken. It is a time when not only our principles, but also our religions, our conscience, and even our parents’ hearts will all be shaken!
Hoon Gyo Gyeong: Vol. 1 [Lectures of Sun Myung Moon: Vol. 1]. pp. 418 – 419 (Japanese edition)
In the End of Days, there will be a great calamity.
History, seen from the viewpoint of God’s providence of restoration, says Satan’s sovereignty over the world of sin will be transformed into the age of God’s sovereignty (the End of Days) over the world of righteousness with the advent of the Messiah as the turning point. From the perspective of the Principle, this is the age in which hell on earth will be transformed into heaven on earth. It is a time when the sovereignty of evil and the sovereignty of good will intersect.
If so, why will the End of Days be a time of great distress and calamity when it is clearly a time of hope? Why do human bonds need to be broken? Why do people who hold on to God’s will and have certain ideas begin to feel pain? Why are our hopes and our beliefs shaken?
The End of Days is the end of the old history, but also the beginning of a new history.
According to the Divine Principle, it says:
The providence of the new age does not begin on the ashes of the old age. On the contrary, the new age sprouts and grows amidst the final phases of the old age and comes into conflict with that age.
p. 106.
It is just like a muddy stream. Despite it being turbulent, over time, the mud will sink to the bottom, the water will clear to the top, and finally the mud and water will be completely separated.
I am often asked, “Why does the Family Federation clash so much with society and have so many enemies…?”
Simply put, our reply is, “Because we are serious about building Heaven on Earth.” This is because the principle of creation is to go to the world of eternal joy and happiness by maturing the four great hearts and four great loves, centering on the love of Heavenly Parent (God), while on Earth. Conversely, unless heaven on earth is created, heaven cannot be created.
God’d providence of salvation is truly a providence to convert hell on earth into heaven on earth. We must confront the warped utopian ideology created by the ego-centered way of false love, life, and lineage that has driven God out of the world.
We will need to confront the ego-centric values that lurk in all areas of culture, the arts, education, and philosophy.
The fall of humankind occurred when our hearts, thoughts, actions, and relationships began to collapse by putting “self” first. Human history, which has been dominated by the “self” or “individual” values, has come to prioritize one’s own happiness, one’s family, and one’s nation first, rather than the happiness of others.
From this kind of perspective, it is difficult to understand the thoughts and actions that come from values of “living for the sake of others,” no matter how much they observe this lifestyle.
The act of devoting one’s life to realize world peace or others’ happiness, even by giving a lot of donations, is incomprehensible from people whose values put the “self” first.
Those, who say that they would never choose such a life, can only conclude that we’ve been brainwashed or, at least, it is easier for them to think so. When opposing values sprout in an environment where old values are upheld, it is inevitable that (the new values) will be seen as heretical.
The Divine Principle teaches that God always establishes centers of righteous sovereignty when creating a new age. “Today, at this historical transition period, we must find the person whom God has designated as the central figure of the new dispensation in order that we might participate in this new age and give honor to God’s wishes.” (p. 107.)
As you know, we have reached the end of history, and the True Parents are the central point of the new history.
While confronting the old values, we must become one with True Parents with an unchanging attitude, just like the Il Song Jeong (the pine tree at Cheon Jeong Gung) standing majestically in the front yard of the Cheon Jeong Gung Museum. Those, who have faced the trials during a life lived for the sake of others, are the heroes and glorious ones who advance heaven’s providence.
In the front yard of Cheon Jeong Gung
A pine tree stands majestically
Unchanging through the four seasons
It’s always standing, green.
Your name is Il Song Jeong
Oh, I love you, Il Song Jeong
You are the hope of Cheon Il Guk
Because you are the hope of the brothers and sisters who love you
Shining forever, you are the pride of Cheon Il Guk
Oh, I love you, Il Song Jeong
You are the pride of Cheon Il Guk
