Dear Blessed Families and Friends of the Unification Movement,
The recent assassination of the longest-serving former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, was a traumatic shock, not only to the world but especially to all of us in the Unification Movement community. As Blessed Family members who were inspired by the teachings of our True Father, Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon, we must ask ourselves what is the root cause that brought about such “bad fruits” from the Movement that should manifest only God’s highest ideals and qualities, and all that is good, true, and righteous.
Only by first understanding the causes behind the failures and then taking responsibility, can we “right the ship” and go forward with God in His grace. While this is admittedly a long letter, I encourage you to read it to the end, for I believe it will help in finding the answers to this critical question. You will see that “bad fruits” began with the betrayal of God and His providence. A fundamental aspect was Satanic attempts to destroy the true Adamic authority and lineage, which is the very purpose of God’s providence.
The Centrality of the Adamic Figure
Our True Father taught us through the Divine Principle that the Messiah is an “Adamic figure.[1]” He is a MAN without any connection to the Fall of humankind. He is to fulfill the original purpose of creation, which is the creation of an ideal family – the Four Position Foundation centering on God. Through this family and lineage, he should eventually bring all fallen humanity out of Satan’s lineage and into God’s lineage.[2] Due to the reality of the fall, he has to also restore the failures of the original Adam’s family that took place over two generations – Adam & Eve and Cain & Abel.[3] Therefore, God’s providence of restoration is the work of restoring the failures of the first human ancestor, Adam, and his family. Through that restoration God could then establish His dominion of true love, true life, and true lineage centering on this “True Family” and extend His grace to the rest of humanity.
God must find a new Adam, His true son, who comes without any connection to the Fall, as he carries God’s authority in the created world. His True Family, representing the fulfilment of the purpose of creation and the ideal “Four Position Foundation,” then becomes the bedrock and the pivotal providential cornerstone with which fallen humanity could connect back to God. The Divine Principle teaches that this is God’s hope and the only formula for the restoration of the fallen human family, and hence, explains the significance and centrality of the Adamic figure. From the perspective of God’s providence, restoration cannot be completed without the settlement of the Adamic figure and his lineage. This was the very essence of what was lost in the beginning; it must be restored through human responsibility so that God can reclaim it.
Therefore, the entire providential history that the Bible and the Divine Principle painstakingly illustrate is God’s work in history of finding that true, only begotten son. Jesus came as the “Second Adam” to fulfill the responsibility that the original biblical Adam could not fulfill. However, Jesus was blocked from creating the God-centered lineage by the failures of key figures at that time. Therefore, he had to go a secondary course, opening the way for spiritual salvation, through the way of the Cross. After working for another two millennia, God could finally send True Father as the “Third Adam.” [4] Through the Holy Blessing in 1960, the substantial True Family was begun.
The Unification Movement can be characterized as a charismatic, messianic, providential movement. God’s providence moves and is led through that Adamic figure and his family, not an organization or any institution, including an organized church. True Father taught us that he did not intend to create any church, and that his mission was the creation of an ideal family that restores the failures of the original ancestral family and sets the proper precedent for humanity to follow. True Father was the “tip of the spear” who led God’s providence forward, not organizations such as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) or Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) – which are merely vehicles he created to support his providential work. Simply put, True Father, as an Adamic figure, was the Unification Movement.
The Significance of the Fourth Adam
The failure of the original Adam’s family occurred in two generations, as previously mentioned. The responsibility of the Messiah, who comes without any connection to the Fall, is to restore the failure of Adam by setting the proper precedent as God’s true son. He must also establish True Family in order to set the foundation to restore the next generation’s failure by acknowledging true Abel in his family and establishing both the vertical axial line and the three generations of God-Father-Elder Son. True Father used the term “kingship” to describe this spiritual foundation, not with any secular meaning. Rather the “Three Kingships” represents God’s authority and substantiation on earth and also represents the continuum of time – the past, the present and the future. This is the core essential DNA and blueprint in God’s providence that was lost since the beginning, and what throughout history God had longed to see fulfilled. Once this is established, His providence can take root and unfold from that point on – unencumbered and uninterrupted. This explains why True Father emphasized the importance of lineage; that it is more important than even love and life.
Adam’s son, Abel, was originally in the position to restore Adam’s failure after his Fall, and therefore he was to represent Adam in the course of the restorative process. Abel’s death made that impossible. In True Father’s course, his messianic responsibility, as the Third Adam, was to restore the two generations of failures in the original Adam’s family. This meant raising up a true Abel who stands in the position as the “Fourth Adam” to restore the position of the original Abel. When True Father acknowledges a son who is true Abel and the Fourth Adam, he will have established the two generations who stand in absolute unity and alignment to God. That precedent, substantially fulfilling the providential responsibility to restore the failures in Adam’s family through exercising true freedom, represents the starting point of God’s sovereignty on Earth. This is the significance of establishing the Fourth Adam in True Father’s time. Once this is accomplished, as he himself said “all will be done,” since the prototypical blueprint for restoration will have been established. We now understand why True Father emphasized the importance of Father-Son cooperation in the Settlement Age[5]. He explained that the three generations within God’s family represent the “Three Kingships” that are tied directly to the settlement of God’s lineage and the fulfillment of God’s purpose of creation. Therefore, the “Three Kingships” were foundational and an absolute prerequisite to fulfilling his messianic mission.
True Father Acknowledges the Fourth Adam
God sought to establish the True Family as that was His purpose of creation since the very beginning. Therefore, if God was able to work through the fallen lineage of Adam throughout the Old and the New Testament Ages, would God not work directly within the True Family once it is established, since it is within His direct dominion and is the final fruit of His labor? Of course, the answer is a resounding “Yes.” In fact, God did work within True Father’s family in order to prepare the true Abel from one of his sons, and God anointed him as Fourth Adam. True Father, being aligned with God, naturally recognized that anointing and publicly acknowledged him as the Fourth Adam. On July 19, 1998, under the banner of the FFWPU International Vice-Presidential Inauguration, True Father presided over the historic event proclaiming on the global stage the acknowledgement of Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon (Dr. Moon) as the Fourth Adam.[6]
Because this recognition meant that God, True Father, and Dr. Moon could finally stand victorious in establishing an ideal family with three generations centering on God, True Father’s heart of joy and gratitude at that moment was beyond palpable. He exclaimed, “It is the first time in my life that I am holding as precious a ceremony as this one today is. I give my heartfelt thanks to God; that God waited for such a day as today, and that finally this day has come. When we look at the family of Adam, there were three generations to be established. However, because of the fall of man God could not enjoy having the three generations completed. Because of that, the history of restoration has been carried out until today to restore the three generations. Therefore today, upon the completion of three generations, we are having this precious ceremony. Therefore, I am deeply grateful.” He went on to say, “We must understand how miraculous it is that the era of the Fourth Adam has just started. That is the significance of this inauguration today. That is why Father is so grateful.” True Father gave his blessings to Dr. Moon as his son would soon take on the practical leadership of the Movement, since True Father was already 78 years old at the time. True Father said, “I as the father of Hyun Jin Moon, pray and hope that Hyun Jin will become much greater than me, 1,000 times, 10,000 times greater, and fulfill the mission which is yet to be done.” True Father and Dr. Moon together opened the “Era of Fourth Adam,” along with the “Era of Children,” “Era of Elder sonship” and the “Era of Father-Son Cooperation.”
As the Third Adam, True Father only recognized four Adamic figures throughout the history of humankind: First the biblical Adam, Jesus as the Second Adam, True Father himself as the Third Adam, and finally Dr. Moon as the Fourth Adam. This was not a mere designation based on a particular circumstance but rather, was an immutable providential recognition. In particular, the recognition of the Fourth Adam and his absolute unity with the Third Adam centering on God set in stone the providential foundation upon which True Father’s messianic mission could be completed. This completion would be based on the restorative requirement of reversing the failure in the two generations of Adam’s family, establishing Adam and Abel unity and the Three Kingships.
True Father Prepares the Path for the Fourth Adam with Unprecedented Changes
True Father and Dr. Moon firmly established the most important Adam-Abel unity, restoring the failures in Adam’s family and laying the foundation for God’s sovereignty on Earth. However, a foundation of unity with this vertical axial line was also necessary with the rest of the True Family as well as the Blessed Family community. This is because Cain’s unity with true Abel is an absolute prerequisite in order for God’s providence of restoration to expand to the global level. This restorative model clearly explains why True Father repeatedly instructed all the leaders of the Movement to absolutely unite with and support Dr. Moon, following his recognition as the Fourth Adam.[7] True Father also gave the exact same instruction to all his children as well as to his wife, Mrs. Hak Ja Han.[8] He even told all the leaders as well as the Blessed Family members that the only way to True Father is through Dr. Moon, much like when Jesus said the only way to Heavenly Father is through him. Much emphasis was placed on the leaders’ unity with Dr. Moon because they were in the position of John the Baptist to Dr. Moon. Since the leaders knew True Father’s will, it was incumbent on them to clearly inform and educate the rest of the Movement’s members about this most important mandate from Heaven – i.e., to unite with the true Abel. They should also explain the significance of establishing that unity in relation to the fulfillment of their own providential responsibility.
At the age of 78, as True Father prepared the entire Movement to receive and unite with Dr. Moon, he clearly recognized that his earthly body would eventually wane, and that necessary measures had to be put in place to ensure that God’s work and his legacy would continue. True Father was preparing for the transition of his Adamic authority to Dr. Moon as the Fourth Adam, and as his successor. True Father prophetically announced that he himself would eventually become like a child, (meaning his capacities would naturally decline), and when that became evident, those he was entrusting to carry out his wishes must ensure that there would be a smooth transition of his authority. This was, in effect, True Father’s last will before he would pass away.
In an unprecedented move, True Father replaced the entire slate of the Movement’s top leadership from the original eldest groups with leaders 48 years and under – with an expectation that they would work better and closely with Dr. Moon. True Father stated, “I am making these changes to open my son’s path.” True Father demanded that these core leaders, as Dr. Moon’s “John the Baptists,” pledge to assure that this transition of authority to his successor would happen smoothly. He also instructed the representatives of Korea, U.S., and Japan as well as all the providential organizations to unite with Dr. Moon. He emphasized repeatedly that “we should lay the foundations” for Dr. Moon and help him to “establish the realm of elder-sonship on behalf of True Parents,” saying this was “heaven’s law and principle.” The only reason those leaders were in their positions, True Father explicitly stated, was for one purpose only, and that was to absolutely unite with and support Dr. Moon.
On September 24, 2000, through a special ceremony called the “Proclamation Ceremony for the Transference of the Blessing Right,” True Father officially transferred to Dr. Moon the authority over the Blessing ceremony, which is the most central element in the Unification Movement.[9] No one else on Earth has received such authority. As far as True Father was concerned, he had now done everything that he could to prepare the path for Dr. Moon to lead the Movement as the Fourth Adam. True Father had indeed passed on his Adamic Authority and the global foundation that he and God had prepared for the Fourth Adam’s providential work.
The Significance of the “End of the Church Era”
When, near the beginning of his mission, those prepared to receive the Third Adam failed to accept True Father, he had to undertake a 40 year “Wilderness Course” to restore the lost foundation. As he needed a vehicle to carry out his work, he created the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) in 1954, which he considered a temporary detour from his real messianic mission. The detractors of True Father began to call this the “Unification Church” even though he very specifically named his organization the “Holy Spirit Association.” He always emphasized that he had no intention to create a church.
After completing the 40-year course to build a worldwide foundation to begin his actual mission of restoring the global human family back to God, True Father announced the “End of the Church Era” and instructed the leadership of HSA-UWC to take down the mantle of “Unification Church.” The new era called for all of humankind to come out of their national, racial, and even religious “boxes,” or man-made walls of separation, and strive together to realize world peace as one human family under God. Also, the focus shifted from individual salvation to universal restoration through the family as that was the basic building block where God could truly reside. Setting the example of bringing down his own “church” banner and dismantling the organization, True Father encouraged other religious groups to do the same.
True Father at this time launched the creation of peace organizations, since God’s ultimate desire and goal was world peace, beginning with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) in 1996. Utilizing the FFWPU platform, True Father could begin for the first time his primary messianic mission of raising the spiritual consciousness of all families and leading them to the universal restoration provided through the Holy Marriage Blessing. The vision of “One Family Under God” can indeed be fulfilled only through the family, not through a church or an institutionalized religion.
True Father’s focus on “family” and “peace” led to many sudden changes within the Movement. One dramatic change was the entire Movement’s shift from the recitation of the “My Pledge” to the “Family Pledge” (to God). The educational focus also was changed from the usual weekly collective sermons and lectures to family-centered “Hoondokhwe” reading sessions, where the word of God could be studied every day as a family. True Father also initiated in this time period the Tribal Messiah and later, the National Messiah movements that together also served to decentralize the Movement by allowing Blessed Family members to become the messiahs for one’s own tribe and nation. These changes lessened the influence and position of the church elders and leaders or clerics of the Movement. For their own selfish reasons, many of the clerics began to resist the changes brought by the End of the Church Era, even though they were directed by True Father himself.
The Central Role of the Clerics in Creating the Schism
While True Father’s directions to support Dr. Hyun Jin Moon could not have been clearer, most of the “church” clerics came to oppose the dismantling of HSA-UWC and the fulfillment of the End of the Church Era. Because Dr. Moon was completely united with his father’s directions to fulfill exactly those two things, the clerics began to oppose him as well. Why did they want to preserve the old “Unification Church”? It was the institutionalized “church” structure that gave them their position and power within the Movement, which they felt they were now losing.
The clerics had progressively and improperly positioned themselves as the necessary intermediaries between the members and True Parents. Further, they wrongly deified True Parents, presenting True Parents as being so far above the average members that the members must rely on them – the “irreplaceable” clerics – for guidance in their spiritual lives. In other words, the clerics adopted a perspective akin to the Christian Creed that maintained the divinity of Christ – but just substituted True Parents in the place of Jesus. By deifying True Parents, the clerics hoped to bolster their own position and prestige. Never mind that this stance was antithetical to the Divine Principle teaching that the Messiah must be a man, with human capacities, in order to establish a new lineage. Invoking the name of True Parents, the clerics would often demand the unconditional obedience of the members to themselves for their own purposes.
By protecting the institution of the “church,” the clerics thought they could insure the continuation of their personal abundant privileges and benefits. By adhering to such unprincipled motivations, the clerics were turning from being the ones who should have implemented True Father’s directions, to being major stumbling blocks to God’s providence. Their refusal to accept the “End of the Church” changes was a sin, which led to their opposing the Fourth Adam, betraying God and True Father, and leading Mrs. Han, True Father’s wife, astray – all of which in turn caused the Schism and all of its related misery. Because it was the root sin that has so greatly disturbed and delayed God’s Providence and led to many other sins, their sin of refusing to accept the End of the Church Era directions can be considered their “Original Sin.” Remember that Judas was once a trusted disciple, and John the Baptist was there at the start of Jesus’ ministry, but later took the stance, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” These historical mistakes in Jesus’ time pale in comparison to the clerics’ disastrous sins against God and the True Family.
In contrast to the unfaithful clerics, Dr. Moon, being absolutely united with True Father’s mandate, began his providential work globally under the theme of “One Family Under God” (a theme he developed). He continually was reaching tens of thousands in country after country, who fully embraced and became themselves the owners of that vision. Dr. Moon held unprecedented successful Global Peace Festivals in 24 countries in 2008 alone, bringing our movement to its pinnacle – where even national governments supported and stood with Dr. Moon. How could such dramatically impactful developments occur, affecting entire nations and even surrounding regions? Because they were completely in line with God’s Providence (Heaven had prepared so much leading up to such pivotal events) AND the full power of Adamic Authority was brought into play through Dr. Moon. It did not matter his skin color, his nationality, his religion, etc. Huge crowds all saw him as a true elder brother and could trust his sincerity, conviction, and yes, feel God’s love through him. Dr. Moon was fulfilling exactly God’s dream and True Father’s determination –building a world of peace centered on family – in nation after nation.
True Father was elated to see the providential goals he had committed himself to from the age of sixteen – that had been tragically delayed by the 40 Years Wilderness Course – now being brought to fruition so quickly through his son and successor. However, with every victory that Dr. Moon brought from around the world, the clerics saw the threat to their positions and fiefdoms growing. Instead of being joyful, along with True Father, of such heavenly advances and working together and supporting the Fourth Adam – which was the exact instruction that True Father gave them, repeatedly – they began to see from their own selfish viewpoint. Even though they stood in the providential position of John the Baptist to testify about the 4th Adam to the Blessed Families, they indeed saw his “increase” as being their “decrease.” A number of them began a campaign of resistance to the ever-growing victories of Dr. Moon.
Inevitably, being the person overall in charge of the Movement, Dr. Moon saw the need to make organizational and personnel changes to bring about necessary reforms. When he did, the clerics resisted the changes and even began to oppose Dr. Moon openly, when they thought their political power base was threatened by him. They made up half-truths and sometimes outright lies to the members; telling the members that they, the clerics, were the real intermediaries to True Parents, having been in leadership longer than Dr. Moon, etc. They spread the false notion that “everyone is the Fourth Adam” in order to undermine Dr. Moon’s authority and to mislead the members.
The clerics continually made false and damaging reports to True Father about Dr. Moon – that Dr. Moon was damaging the already existing foundation, that he was teaching content contrary to True Father’s content, that he was promoting himself over True Father, etc. The lies of the clerics became more outrageous as time went on. They would twist statements that Dr. Moon made in order to put him in the worst possible light. Any objective observer could see that their false claims were an indictment of themselves – showing how far they had strayed from the providential directives that True Father had given to them. They were unwilling to let go of the “church box” that they had helped create and/or in which they were raised.
The clerics were determined to keep their control over the membership. They therefore took full advantage of both True Father and the members of the Movement in their selective quoting of True Father to the members. They knew well that True Father was a man engaged in all levels of human interaction. Essentially, there were two categories or “buckets” of statements that True Father would make. The “First Bucket” were providential and principled statements. True Father was very careful about the content of this type of statements since they were based on the principle and immutable content of God’s truth, and, therefore, they had profound providential and practical implications. The “Second Bucket” were political and situational statements that True Father made about various subjects or organizational issues. Because they were statements about developing situations or snap judgements on a given topic or person, they could be manipulated by clerics’ false and politicized reports. True Father might change his mind about “Second bucket” topics as time went on, so he could well make a statement later that was different from the first on the same topic.
In keeping with their unprincipled deification of True Parents, the clerics falsely told the members that any utterance of True Father was God’s absolute truth. A number of times, Dr. Moon began a project or initiative that True Father initially opposed, mainly due to the clerics’ intentional false reporting. Sometime later, True Father would recognize the providential value of the said work and would praise Dr. Moon for sticking to his guns and advancing the Movement’s goals. However, the clerics would only quote True Father when he was in disagreement with or chastising Dr. Moon, so as to make it appear that Dr. Moon was fundamentally disunited with True Father – the very statements that they extract out of True Father by giving false reports to him about Dr. Moon. Therefore, they always quoted ONLY from the “Second Bucket” type of statements that they manipulated from behind the scenes when discussing with the members about Dr. Moon. In this way, they projected a false negative image of Dr. Moon to the members.
The small rain clouds that the clerics had begun with their fraudulent attacks soon became a howling thunderstorm when Mrs. Han and Dr. Moon’s siblings, especially Kook Jin (Justin) and Hyung Jin (Sean) joined their cabal against Dr. Moon. Now, the clerics could utilize the prestige of Mrs. Han and the siblings, who harbored their own agenda, as a counterweight to the Fourth Adam. Although completely contrary to True Father’s plan and instruction, they collectively sought to undermine Dr. Moon’s sole authority by introducing the notion of the fraudulent “Three Sons” framework to the Blessed Family members. In this unprincipled construct, they attempted to position Sean and Justin on an equal footing as Dr. Moon in order to create the perception of separation of authority among the three siblings. They exaggerated wildly the accomplishments and abilities of the siblings in order to marginalize Dr. Moon and eventually promote Sean as a new heir. At the same time, they propagated the deification of Mrs. Han, thus enabling her to provide the necessary cover as the “co-equal and one-half of the True Parents” in their collective efforts to chip away at Dr. Moon’s authority.
Each of the three components of the cabal had their own motivation. The clerics’ agenda was to promote the institutionalized “church structure” so that they could maintain their positions of power and personal benefits. Hyung Jin (Sean), desiring to be the heir, promoted the “Unification Church” structure in order to return the favor to the clerics for supporting him and to solidify the church institution that he believed he should head. Mrs. Han’s agenda was motivated by her desire to become a female deity, to promote her own lineage and to become THE central messianic figure (over True Father) of the entire Unification Movement. [10]
The cabal formed an even tighter bond based on their mutual self-interest in the character assassination of Dr. Moon. Why Dr. Moon? Because he was seen by them as the greatest obstacle to their selfish goals and agendas. They colluded to drive out the son anointed to the central responsibility of advancing the providence, namely Dr. Moon; derail True Father’s succession plan and maintain the “church” institution which sustained their self-centered agendas. They also never failed to take advantage of the effects of aging on True Father in their deceptions to him about Dr. Moon and his work. Their campaign went on for years before finally causing the open and ongoing Schism.
In March 2008, Dr. Moon wrote and sent to True Father a 20-page letter in which Dr. Moon gave his assessment of the current state of the Movement and his concerns for the fulfillment of God’s providential goals. He also outlined the proper path ahead for the Movement. True Father was ecstatic after reading the letter/report. Dr. Moon’s vision mirrored exactly True Father’s providential directives and provided the clear way to achieve the messianic goals that he had spent his life striving to achieve. True Father immediately directed that all members worldwide read this letter during their Hoondokhwes.
Incredibly, the cabal attacked this prophetic report and falsely told the members that True Father had not only rejected it, but because of it True Father replaced Dr. Moon with his youngest brother, Sean. They reasoned that one month after reading the letter, True Father had appointed Sean to be the International President of FFWPU. How outrageous was their claim? True Father not only had viewed the letter as a perfect encapsulation of the direction needed for the Movement, but he had also directed that all members read it and follow its vision. Furthermore, being the head of an organization such as FFWPU had no bearing with respect to Dr. Moon’s Adamic authority that True Father had recognized since 1998. In fact, Dr. Moon was not even the President when he built up FFWPU while leading the entire Movement from 1998 to 2008 through his Adamic authority; Rev. Kwak and Sun Jo Hwang served successively as the International Presidents, prior to Sean, where they were both naturally subordinate to Dr. Moon.
From True Father’s view, Sean’s placement as FFWPU President was no exception; it was just an organizational position – the position that he reluctantly gave due to Mrs. Han’s ceaseless urging. Although the cabal was desperately striving to make Sean the heir replacing Dr. Moon, the fact remains that the position of Fourth Adam is an absolute anointing- first recognized by Heaven and then by the Third Adam. It cannot and will not be changed by a whim or political machination. That is why, even after Sean’s appointment in FFWPU, Dr. Moon, as Co-chairman of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) achieved the most unprecedented results within the entire history of the Movement! True Father was so ecstatic with these victories that he created a calligraphy that read “King Hyun Jin” and presented it to Dr. Moon upon his arrival back in Seoul, Korea in November 2008 from one of the 24 tours where he had just captivated and inspired a crowd of 50,000 enthusiastic participants in a Global Peace Festival event in Japan.
This amazing victory, coupled with True Father’s continued staunch support of Dr. Moon, caused the cabal great concern. They became even more desperate and devised even more unprincipled schemes – schemes requiring the ambitious siblings and Mrs. Han’s active participation. In January 2009, True Father prepared to hold an event dear to his heart – the “Coronation of God’s Kingship.” True Father had longed for the day when he could have God honored as the True Parent AND the King of Kings. However, the cabal, seeing an opportunity and with the support of Mrs. Han, projected falsely to the Movement that this ceremony was the crowning and succession ceremony for Sean, who was wearing a crown as part of the event. After the event, the clerics widely spread the lie that True Father’s plan of succession had changed and that there was now a new heir. A brief review of True Father’s own words at this event shows that it was all solely intended for God, and not about Sean’s succession. This was the biggest lie yet in the cabal’s campaign and truly revealed their Satanic intentions to subvert True Father’s succession plan. Yet, they were soon to commit an even more audacious deception.
Despite the cabal’s ever more audacious pogrom against him, Dr. Moon continued to forge ahead with his providential mandate. He planned out an important “Global Peace Home Association Tour” that True Father asked him to conduct around the world. Sensing the confusion that the cabal had created, True Father wanted Dr. Moon to proclaim to the worldwide Unification community that all the Movement’s organizations were to be combined under the new Global Peace Home Association, which was to be led by Dr. Moon. Obviously, True Father wanted to establish once and for all that Dr. Moon was his true representative and heir, ending all confusion.
This tour, if completed, would be the death knell to the cabal’s goal of eliminating Dr. Moon from the leadership. He would be speaking directly to the Unification members, with all the Adamic authority and power. The cabal would not be able to prevent the membership from knowing the truth about the identity of the Fourth Adam. The cabal decided to risk everything in a brazen attempt to replace Dr. Moon with his younger brother, Sean. They produced a scheme so diabolical and depraved, that it is difficult to fathom how people who purport to believe in God could have done it. Their plan involved evil deception, betrayal, manipulation, elder abuse, and treason at the highest level! It is no exaggeration to call this plan absolute evil, for its goal was to deprive the world of the most precious results of God’s Providence of Restoration – the Messianic succession and lineage.
Wickedness at its Worst in Sokcho, Korea
In March 2009, True Father was over 89 years old. His son, Hyo Jin’s, death at a relatively early age less than a year earlier had been a hard blow for him emotionally. Instead of protecting True Father in his time of sorrow and vulnerability, the cabal heartlessly saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of his weakness. They exploited it in order to stage a coup against him and his successor. They knew that Dr. Moon would already have begun his “Global Peace Home Association Tour”. The cabal callously staged a “kangaroo court” where Dr. Moon was called to leave his world tour schedule to meet True Father in Sokcho, Korea. On his way, Dr. Moon was warned that a public crucifixion was being prepared against him by the cabal. As a dutiful son, he still responded to his father’s summons and knowingly walked into the situation.
In Sokcho, before Dr. Moon arrived, the clerics made our elderly True Father emotionally upset toward Dr. Moon through an outright lie. They told him that Dr. Moon was challenging his authority by removing board members of the HSA-UWC (USA) whom decades before True Father had appointed. The truth, however, was that In Jin Tatiana (another sibling) and the cabal had previously improperly removed the majority of the directors to seize legal control without True Father’s knowledge or consent, and Dr. Moon was merely following True Father’s direction to restore the board before he departed on the lengthy “Global Peace Home Association Tour.” True Father’s intention and instruction were confirmed three times by both Pyung Hwa Kim, the then Continental Director of North America, and by Dr. Moon. Yet, not only did the cabal cause the board change in the first place without True Father or Dr. Moon’s consent, but they also lied to the elderly True Father telling him that it was Dr. Moon who had changed the board in defiance to True Father, when all he tried to do was to faithfully follow his father’s direction. The cabal’s utter deceitfulness and hypocrisy are astounding.
True Father had been made so angry by the repeated lies of the cabal by the time Dr. Moon arrived in Sokcho, that he would not allow Dr. Moon to say anything in his defense. The many Japanese members in attendance were especially bewildered when True Father expressed his displeasure with Dr. Moon from the outset of the meeting. True Father then asked for Mrs. Hyo Nam Kim, a well-known medium, to read aloud a supposed message and letter from the spirit world, since he had been told that the messages had come through her. Yet, she would not come forward – even after repeated calls. In her place, Chang Shik Yang, a key cleric (and a central member of the cabal), was asked to read the messages. The main point of this bogus letter was that the spirit world regarded Hyung Jin (Sean) as the successor over Dr. Moon. The letter even included an outrageous organizational structure reflecting such a “revelation,” which was exactly the same organizational structure contained in a fraudulent memo that Sean, as FFWPU President, had sent out just weeks prior. Dr. Moon, seeing his beloved father being so ruthlessly manipulated and used by the cabal, became understandably upset. However, under the public circumstances he could not do anything, lest his grieving father be hurt even more.
After the staged meeting ended, Reverend Chung Hwan Kwak confronted Hyo Nam Kim about producing such an obviously fake message. She could not even look him in the eyes, but immediately answered that she had not written it and actually had nothing to do with it at all; that is why she did not come forward to read it. The truth will always come out! Later it was found out that it was Chang Shik Yang who had written it himself at Mrs. Han’s direction[11]. The cabal had deceived True Father into believing that the message was received through Hyo Nam Kim in order to bolster the impression that the fake letter was genuine!
Anyone who believes in God and human decency will be shocked to learn how supposed religious leaders could ever concoct such a dastardly plan for their own selfish gains. How could a wife help her husband of 50 years to be so deceived, in order to bring down her own faithful son? True Father led the most dedicated life of attendance to God and humankind – only to be shamefully abused at Sokcho and for the remaining three years of his life by the cabal. How could they, who call themselves people of faith, take advantage of someone they say is their Messiah and whom they most revere – through outright lies and manipulation during his most vulnerable time? An even greater offense to Heaven is their failed attempt to block True Father’s succession plan – the plan that would determine the most significant and eternal consequences for the future of the Providence. The cabal used True Father’s own name to help crucify a most loyal son, whom True Father had acknowledged as the Fourth Adam; who had then brought the movement to its highest pinnacle. In effect the cabal was destroying True Father’s own reputation and legacy publicly. Why could our blessed members, who bought into the cabal’s lies, not see how illogical it was for their loving Messiah to have his own most faithful son crucified?
Consequences From Sokcho and Other Acts of Betrayal
Not long after the Sokcho incident, True Father realized what deception and evil the cabal had committed against the Providence. Although his faculties were significantly affected by age, he nonetheless recognized that a grave mistake had been made in supporting the cabal at Dr. Moon’s expense. However, by this time True Father was frail and under the constant control of the cabal. Although he realized that Mrs. Han harbored a treacherous agenda and was colluding with the clerics, the cabal eliminated every trace of negative statements by True Father against them as well as his statements in favor of Dr. Moon. They achieved this through blatant censorship and absolute control of the communication process around True Father.[12] [13]
However, they could not completely extinguish the evidence of statements by True Father in his final years. An irate True Father repeatedly made statements against his wife, as he was astonished by her false claims which included: her lineage being superior to his, that she “restored” him (i.e., that he became the messiah by virtue of her position), that True Father did not educate and raise her (she knew the Principle all along from birth), and that she is the female manifestation of God’s divinity, etc.[14] In numerus Hoondokhwe sessions, True Father strongly chastised her, the siblings and the clerics. Due to True Father’s highly critical words against Mrs. Han during this period, she sought to have the content of “The Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon” (one of the Eight Great Textbooks) edited to remove all those instances by visiting Sung Hwa Publishing Company in April 2012. There she ordered the staff to collect all 22 volumes from vol. 594 to vol. 615 – all published in 2012. They were then directed to “delete sensitive parts and then re-publish the edited volumes.”[15] [16]
Many of the important directions True Father gave in the last three years of his life were thus manipulated, and suppressed by the cabal as they censored, and destroyed the record of True Father’s words. These same people who justified their criminal actions on the basis of True Father’s words, who declared Dr. Moon a disobedient son for not following True Father’s direction, and who told members to absolutely obey True Father, were completely silent when it came to True Father’s emphatic condemnations of their own treachery.
Rev. Kwak requested a copy of the transcript of the Hoondokhwe sessions, as he had often done in the past, only to find out “someone” had directed that the transcripts be destroyed. The cabal had put an iron curtain around the Hoondokhwe gatherings! Knowing their scam could end any day if True Father said the “wrong” thing publicly, the cabal made sure to screen the leaders and participants who could attend those gatherings – where no phones or recording devices of any kind were allowed.
True Father repeatedly spoke against the clerics as well as Mrs. Han because he wanted to rectify the mistakes that he had made from being deceived at the Sokcho incident. However, he was unable to let his intentions be known outside the small circle of the cabal – who did everything to quash True Father’s wishes. Even though True Father was probably the most recorded person in the world,[17] he became a prisoner inside the cabal’s regime until his passing away in September of 2012. The clerics are truly the greatest villains in God’s providential history, as True Father himself came to describe them.
Indeed, the reprehensible incident at Sokcho was the darkest moment in the history of the Unification Movement. By itself it is irrefutable proof of the cabal’s hijacking of the Movement away from its intended course. From the division caused at Sokcho, two aberrational cults – Sean’s “Sanctuary” cult and Mrs. Han’s “Only Begotten Daughter” (OBD) cult have developed.
The OBD cult has no Adamic lineage or true Kingship; there are no sons but only daughters, daughters-in-law, and select grandsons (who are totally under the control of the daughters-in-law and the clerics) in attendance to Mrs. Han. Mrs. Han left True Father in her mind and heart decades ago as revealed in Jin Choon Kim’s outrageous audiotaped OBD lectures very recently presented in Korea (You can read the transcript here. LINK). The Sanctuary cult and Sean’s second King claim is not only delusional but completely unprincipled and self-serving; how could there be a “Second King of Cheon Il Guk” when the ideals of True Family based on the unity of Cain and Abel have not been settled due to the disunity and betrayal by the church elders and clerics, making the establishment of the vital Foundation Day impossible? Both OBD and Sanctuary cults are the products of fraud and violation of Heaven’s principle and natural order; Heaven will no longer tolerate them. It is no coincidence that we are seeing the kinds of “bad fruits” such as the tragic murder committed by Tetsuya Yamagami in Japan.
In his 2005 “Peace Messages,” True Father described God as a father toiling his whole life with the hope that his children would inherit all the fruits of his labor and co-create with him an ideal world of peace – only to have it all stolen by a thief in one night. Tragically, True Father had the entire providential foundation he had created to be led by his successor, Dr. Moon, hijacked by the very ones he had entrusted to ensure a smooth transition. Had these clerics truthfully and faithfully fulfilled their duties as executors of True Father’s will, our movement would not have experienced the enormous suffering of the last 14 years. Their failure to do so was a direct violation against God, True Father, Dr. Moon, and the entire Unification Movement; and they should be held accountable. While the Sokcho outrage created the Schism, it was not the last of the cabal’s sinful efforts. Their shameful acts of betrayal continued and became even more egregious.
Very early one morning in 2010 while True Father, now 90, was still in his bedroom, Mrs. Han and Sean goaded him to complete the “Heretic and Destroyer” document. Again, and again they ruthlessly pushed him to write Dr. Moon’s name on it, which True Father steadfastly refused to do. All this was shamelessly video recorded so they could release it as “evidence” of True Father’s disapproval of Dr. Moon. They hoped to use it to continue to violate and trample on Dr. Moon’s character and authority. However, after they distributed the video, objective viewers saw this kind of pressure being applied on a nonagenarian as elder abuse and the cabal quickly retracted the video – but it was already in the public domain. See it here (LINK)
Another shameful incident occurred in an international leaders’ meeting in February 2010. Peter (Hyo Yul) Kim, True Father’s own assistant, caretaker of True Father’s family, and a key member of the cabal, publicly criticized Dr. Moon for failing to obey “True Father’s instruction” to recognize Sean. He went on to say that members should follow the clerics as intermediaries to True Parents. Although there was great confusion at the meeting due to the outrageous nature of his claims, many Unification members worldwide eventually believed such repeated and coordinated propaganda promulgated by the cabal. How ironic that the one whom True Father entrusted as the guardian of his family, so totally betrayed him! Again, how hypocritical of these clerics to demand absolute obedience from members, when they themselves disobeyed the most important directions from True Father – i.e., to unite with their true Abel – the Fourth Adam, Dr. Moon!
Shortly after True Father’s passing in September 2012, Sean was unceremoniously fired from all his positions by Mrs. Han (Her OBD cult has proven to be a soulless operation that just kicks out anyone Mrs. Han no longer approves – even her own sons!). Sean continues to claim that he is the heir falsely based on the 2009 coronation ceremony and still spews his vitriol against Mrs. Han and the clerics. However, Chang Shik Yang, the author of the fake Sokcho spirit world message and the emcee for the coronation ceremony in question, now has officially denied Sean’s claim. Mrs. Han herself also denied it in her sworn court testimony under oath.[18] How outrageous it is that after moving heaven and earth to place Sean as the heir imposter – and doing so with such fervor that Sean even believes himself to be the heir – that the cabal would shamelessly disavow their position now that he had served his intended purpose! Through their own words and actions, they have proven that Sean was never the heir, and that it was all a lie and a fraud by them to the Movement for one purpose – to deny the real heir, Dr. Moon.
What is terribly sad is that Mrs. Han – True Father’s wife who was respected for decades as our “True Mother” – ultimately was being taken advantage of by these same clerics as she became an active accessory to their crimes. Certainly, Mrs. Han’s agenda is particularly offensive and directly at odds with True Father’s teaching and mission. Her self-deifying “Only Begotten Daughter” theology positions her as the new messianic figure, counter to True Father’s Adamic authority, and places her as an idolatrous object of worship above even True Father. Most importantly she denies True Father’s Adamic lineage and asserts her own Han lineage. This is the sin of reversal of dominion committed originally by Eve in the Fall and now tragically repeated by Mrs. Han. True Father disowned Mrs. Han publicly in his final public speech on July 16, 2012, in a Women’s Federation for World Peace event in Korea in front of 10,000. True Father was so suppressed, and he was so desperate to get the truth out that he interrupted the reading of his public speech to declare, “There is no Mother. There is no position of Reverend Moon’s wife. Mother does whatever she wants to do!” (LINK)
However, her blind ambition to become a female deity was not borne out of a vacuum; the clerics took advantage of her naivety, filling her with a false sense of divinity and a misplaced notion of her own grandeur. With Mrs. Han in her delusional state and remaining as a deified figurehead, the clerics sought to solidify their footing as “intermediaries” to take advantage of the Blessed families and to control the Movement’s assets.
In order to guarantee their own organizational control for generations to come, the clerics discarded the original draft of the “Cheon Il Guk Constitution” compiled by True Father and instead announced a new “Cheon Il Guk Constitution” drafted under Mrs. Han’s directions. They also formed a self-serving “Cheon Il Guk Supreme Council” which has no basis in True Father’s teaching. Through these acts, the clerics revealed their hidden motive of rejecting True Father’s succession plan centering on the Fourth Adam and True Family called “lineal succession.” Instead, they are trying to seize perpetual organizational control of the Movement through an imposed structure that guarantees their own authority – in effect, implementing an “apostolic succession” model. According to their fraudulent “Constitution,” when Mrs. Han passes away, the new leader of the Movement will be voted on by themselves. This “apostolic succession” would be a complete denial and expulsion of the True Family!
The clerics have gone on to change and/or remove content from True Father’s published sermons and the “Eight Great Texts,” make changes to long-standing traditions, and are attempting to fundamentally change the providential basis of our faith. They have proven to be Satanic agents striving to achieve what Satan desires most – the obliteration of the True Family and the Adamic lineage.
True Father’s final consequential condemnation of the cabal, including the clerics and Mrs. Han, was made merely 50 days before True Father’s passing, on July 19, 2012. This was just three days after he had publicly disowned Mrs. Han in the aforementioned Women’s Federation for World Peace event. His words in the Hoondokhwe are undeniably clear:
“Even Mother and Father haven’t become one yet, and Mother has abandoned Father and his children under your command and control in the satanic world…You have trampled on Father’s sons and daughters, while only caring for your own children. You are traitors and scumbags. You completely trampled on Father’s family… as well as Father’s son (Hyun Jin Nim) who tried to establish the Abel UN…You are worse than Lucifer!” (LINK)
In this significant historic record, True Father is revealing the worst villains in God’s entire providential history! We must realize that his words have strong implications, not only for the clerics who were present, but also to all the Blessed Families who have blindly followed them, thus failing in their own providential responsibility as restored Cain.
CONCLUSION
In looking at what has transpired in the Movement over the last 14 years leading up to the assassination of Prime Minister Abe, there are no adequate words to describe the level of betrayal against Heavenly Father, True Father and Dr. Moon by the church elders and clerics. They took advantage of True Father during the most vulnerable final years of his life – not only to derail his succession plans but also with the malicious intent to seize the foundations and resources of the Movement for their own benefit.
Instead of repenting and taking responsibility to rectify all the wrongs that were committed, the church elders and the clerics of the OBD cult are becoming ever more defiant and unrepentant. The recent August 18th protest they organized in Seoul, Korea was a pathetic and desperate attempt to position the current Unification Church as the victim of religious persecution by the Japanese government and the media. The fact is, however, it was their own incompetence and corruption that have caused decades of heavy financial burden, which innocent Japanese members were forced to bear through unethical fundraising practices that have drawn legal scrutiny. The Japanese public and media are well justified in addressing their concerns.
More outrageous is the fact that the church leaders and the clerics are playing the victim when they themselves were the worst violators of religious rights and freedom. They are the very ones who trampled on those who were faithfully following their conscience based on the true teachings of True Father and aligning with Dr. Moon. They labeled the faithful members as “Satanic,” threatened to dissolve or deny their Blessing, and to “excommunicate” them (when there is no such concept in the Movement). The clerics even resorted to violence and litigation to force their illegitimate and criminal will upon the Blessed Family members – the same members who are striving to become God’s sons and daughters. Yet even those crimes pale in comparison to what they have committed against True Father and his legitimate heir, Dr. Moon. We should all understand that what happened in Japan is judgement and indictment on those who have utterly violated God, His providence, and His direct lineage; Heaven will not be still. We should hastily repent and re-connect to the Adamic Authority.
In God’s Love,
Howard C. Self
President, Right To Believe
Howard C. Self is the President of Right To Believe, a not-for-profit organization which strives to protect religious freedom for all.
[1] “God willed that His purpose of creation be fulfilled through Adam. Although this did not come to pass, God’s predestination of this providential Will has remained absolute. Hence, God sent Jesus as the second Adam and attempted to fulfill the Will through him. When Jesus also could not bring about the complete fulfillment of the Will due to the disbelief of the Jewish people, he promised he would return and fulfill it without fail.” Exposition of the Divine Principle, Chapter 6: Predestination, p. 156
[2] “The Messiah comes in the capacity of the perfect Adam, so he must first choose a true bride whom God can love according to the absolute standard, and then proceed to the position of true couple…. However, the mission of the Messiah does not end there. He must rise to the position of the true parent and establish an absolute true family. Centering on this true family, the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven can be established in which God’s ideal of creation is perfected. To achieve this goal, the six billion people of the world, who are descendants of the Fall, should be engrafted into the true family of the Messiah without exception.” TF’s Sermons, vol. 478, p. 285 (December 2, 2004)
[3] “What is the Lord of the Second Advent? He is the third Adam. For what purpose did the third Adam come? He came to become True Parents. What should he do when he becomes True Parents? He should establish the True Family. What, then, would he do with the True Family? … The failures of Adam’s family are left unredeemed. These have to be fixed and straightened.” TF’s Sermons, vol. 284, p. 119 (Apr. 16, 1997)
[4] “The third Adam who needs to indemnify and completely reverse all the failures of the first and second Adams …” Peace Message 3
[5] “We are moving into the era of father-son cooperation in which everything will come to completion. Do you understand? Upon the foundation of mother-son cooperation, it is time to place the son at the head … just like giving birth to the Messiah, just like enthroning the Messiah.” TF’s Sermons, vol. 314, p. 229 (January 5, 2000)
[6] “As a parent I am grateful to see Hyun Jin, who is not even 30 years old, taking the vice-presidential position in the Family Federation, given that Jesus could not fulfill the purpose to establish a family at the age of 30. This makes me truly grateful and happy. You must understand how miraculous it is that the new era has just started here by completely eradicating Satan’s lineage on the last page of what is called restoration through indemnity, in which a child of God’s direct lineage with his family could inherit the realm of the victory of the fourth Adam.” Tongil Segye (August 1998), pp. 29–30 (True Father: “The historic day that God and True Parents waited for”
Speech at the FFWPUI Vice Presidential Inauguration of Hyun Jin Nim on July 19, 1998)
[7] “On earth, you should now become one with Hyun Jin at the center. You should become one with Hyun Jin’s family at the center to follow Parents. Only then will everything be completed.” TF’s Sermons, vol. 335, p. 285 (October 6, 2000)
[8] “Now the age of inheritance has come. The age of mother-son cooperation was the age of indemnity. However, once the way of father-son relationship is established afterward, Mother should also follow the anointed elder son.” TF’s Sermons, vol. 340, p. 64 (December 23, 2000) “(To Jung Jin Nim) Since your brother Hyun Jin is leading the van, you have to treat him with an absolute standard. He cannot be compared with In Jin, Ye Jin, Hyo Jin or Sung Jin. You should absolutely obey Hyun Jin. I put him in my place. You have to know this …” TF’s Sermons, vol. 324, p.142 (June 18, 2000)
[9] “In that sense, it is now an age of opening up when Hyun Jin can officiate the Blessing Ceremony anywhere in heaven and on earth, centering on the ideal of father-son unity—the ideal of father-son unity between Father and Heung Jin and between Father and his younger brother Hyun Jin.” TF’s Sermons, vol. 332, pp. 299 (September 24, 2000)
[10] “True Mother completed her responsibility and ascended to the position of substantial God. This means that as a result of True Mother’s perfection, the substantial trinity is realized for the first time in human history… God, True Father and True Mother become one in the womb of True Mother. True Parents who have formed the Trinity are, first, omnipresent. While staying in America, they can simultaneously educate us here at Central Training Center. While staying on earth, they can work in the spirit world at the same time. Second, they are omniscient and omnipotent. They can know anything they want. True Mother constituted a trinity with God and True Father. Therefore, True Mother’s instructions, orders, decisions and words are those of God and True Father. All UC Blessed Families must absolutely obey True Mother’s instructions, orders, decisions and words.” Tongil Segye (June 2010) Taek-Yong Oh’s lecture at Cheon Bok Gung
[11] Chang-Shik Yang’s statement on November 20, 2011
[12] In general, see chapter 9 of “Split of the Unification Movement” by Dr. Jongsuk Kim which contains a comprehensive list of instances of censorship of Rev. Moon’s words
[13] “Truth Shall Prevail” by Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak, p.443-45
[14] “Truth Shall Prevail” by Rev. Church Hwan Kwak, p.463-65; Dr. Jongsuk Kim’s book on the OBD phenomenon
[15] “Split of the Unification Movement” by Dr. Jongsuk Kim contains a list of utterances that were removed by Ms. Han (See Chapter 9, also p.243-46)
[16] “Truth Shall Prevail by Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak, p.443-453
[17] There are some 615 volumes of Rev. Moon’s words recorded and published. His most recent speeches during his final three years (2009.5.-2012.9.) are not even processed or published.
[18] Hyung Jin Moon was an immature person. There is only one eternal True Parent. There is no successor. The successor cannot be decided. If there were one, it would be True Mother. True Father alone cannot decide the successor. There has to be an agreement—mutual agreement between True Mother and True Father.
True Father never mentioned Hyung Jin as his heir… The proclamation video clip is not an indication that Hyung Jin was appointed as the representative and heir. It was just a warning to other sons. Furthermore, in that proclamation my signature is not there. Without my signature, the proclamation cannot be considered as valid. I made the decision first for Hyung Jin to be the international president for Family Federation. The inauguration ceremony for Hyung Jin as the international president was not a ceremony to proclaim the representative and heir. The coronation ceremony for the kingship of God was not a ceremony to recognize Hyung Jin, who was still incomplete or immature, as the representative and heir… In the early morning of June 5, 2010, while Hyung Jin’s wife was recording the video, Hyung Jin strongly asked his father to make a statement saying that Hyung Jin is the representative and heir, so his father created that document. It was to drive out his brother Hyun Jin. When Hyung Jin came to create that document, I did not object. But Hyung Jin was immature. The person who initiated the peaceful and unified Cheon Il Guk was not True Father, but it’s I. That’s why the document needs my signature. But I did not sign it. Deposition of Plaintiff by Mrs. Hak Ja Han (March 25–26; Unification Church vs. Sanctuary Church)