I graduated from Seoul University Law School. After I read Swedenborg's book about the spirit world, I asked many ministers about the spirit world, but they denied that it existed.

I studied Toynbee's book on history. For Toynbee, the center of culture is religion.If we do not know religion, we cannot explain culture or history.

After the Second World War, communism dominated North Korea, so I studied communism. I found it very logical, so I accepted it. I studied at a Christian seminary in North Korea. They taught that Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles and resurrected physically. Buddha did not resurrect from the dead. Confucius did not resurrect. Therefore, Jesus is better than Buddha or Confucius. I believed this literally.

Over the years I had studied Christian doctrines, communist theory, Toynbee's view of history and the existence of the spirit world. I wondered how to unite these viewpoints. I prayed to meet Jesus and ask him which was correct. For six months I continued to pray. I did not want to throw away any of the theories I had studied. I visited many spiritually open people and asked them about Swedenborg, but they did not know about him.

I met the late President Hyo Won Eu and heard "The Fall of Man" lecture. I thought that this explanation could not have come from a Korean source, because "The Fall of Man" story is found in the Bible, and Korea is Buddhist and Confucianist, rather than Christian. The Western Christian countries are highly developed, with 2,000 years of Christian background. I supposed that this wonderful truth must have come from a Western country, perhaps America.

As I listened more, I realized this teaching must have come from the spirit world or God, not from humankind. When I asked President Eu whether the truth came from humankind or the spirit world, he was surprised. No one had ever asked this kind of question in the beginning of their study. He answered that it came from the spirit world-from God and Jesus Christ.

Forty years of Divine Principle study

I joined the church in 1954, and I have studied Divine Principle for forty years. Finally, I came to understand that natural law rules the natural world, but only Divine Principle can explain human history.

There are two kinds of wonderful truth: natural law and Divine Principle. Other theorists did not know the spirit world, the fall of man or the history of restoration. That is why this Divine Principle is such wonderful truth. My mind is always surprised by this wonderful truth. That is why I teach the members that the Divine Principle is wonderful truth; eternal truth. This truth makes me feel eternally young.

America's three fathers

America has three fathers. The first father is George Washington, who liberated America from British rule. The American Revolution led to the French Revolution and the liberation of the colonies in Latin America. After the First World War, the European monarchies became democratic. After the Second World War, colonies gained their independence. As a result of the Third World War, communist countries are changing. Thus, George Washington as the first father, began the movement of liberation from monarchy. The second father is Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln liberated people from the slave system based on race.

Now the third father, True Father, brings liberation from Satan. Other people are afraid of Satan, but not Father. Jacob, Joseph and Moses set the model course. Jesus was supposed to accomplish this course, but he did not succeed. For 2,000 years, Jesus has been waiting. That is why he appeared to Father and asked him to carry on his mission. Father endured terrible torture in prison camps. In spite of this, Father succeeded and became True Parents. That day Jesus danced and shed tears of appreciation. Who appreciates Father the most? It is Jesus.

Father gave the blessing to Jesus Christ. Is Jesus a Unificationist or not? [Yes.] Christians are all blind. When they learn Divine Principle, their eyes will be opened and they will understand. That is why Divine Principle is wonderful truth; eternal truth.

Americans consider George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to be great people; but they did not liberate humankind from Satan. In the spirit world Washington and Lincoln seek True Parents' blessing. All American presidents will seek the blessing. Without the blessing, they cannot eliminate their original sin and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You should know the value of the blessing. You should know the value of Divine Principle. Our members do not know how valuable this wonderful truth is. If you study the Divine Principle, you will shed tears of appreciation. Every day we should bow down in appreciation of True Parents.

Liberation from Satan

America needs to be liberated from Satan. No one else can liberate America from Satan. To be liberated from original sin, we have to know what the originalsin was; how the archangel made human-kind fall.

I learned from the Divine Principle how Satan dominates humankind. People who drink alcohol poison their stomachs. Smoking poisons the lungs. Drugs poison the whole body. Following wrong theories poisons the brain. All people know is the poisonous Satan-dominated life. Satan has been dominating people for a long time. The sexual Satan has been dominating humankind until now. This sexual Satan is most fundamental Satan. Doing drugs, smoking, drinking and engaging in free sex reduce people to a level lower than the animals. Even congressmen and leaders of society, if they drink and smoke, are lower than the level of animals. Divine Principle can liberate all humankind. Every day I bow down to True Parents, morning and night, and pray. Through doing this, I can separate from Satan. Without separating from Satan, we cannot meet God, and we cannot know the truth. To subjugate Satan we have to restore the elder brother's birthright, restore the parents' right and restore the king's right.

[FROM TODAY'S WORLD JANUARY 1995, CONTINUED ON PAGE 39]

TODAY'S WORLD JANUARY 1995 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

Forty Years of Principle Study

Ultimately, True Parents will become the king of kings worldwide. This is the Messiah's mission. Jesus should have accomplished this mission, but he did not. Father fulfilled this mission and became True Parent. At that time, Jesus shed tears and bowed down to True Parents. Jesus had been waiting 2,000 years for this wonderful day. Without True Parents, history cannot be resolved. Only Father can resolve religious disputes and philosophical controversies.

I have devoted my life to spreading this truth worldwide. Day and night I teach this wonderful truth. I teach our members to bow to True Parents morning and night, pray, study Divine Principle over and over, and seek to completely liberate all humankind from Satan.

Why do we need to witness? All humankind is destined to go to hell. We must tell them to change direction. "We have wonderful truth, we want to save you." People will go to hell unless we save them. Our first motivation is to save others; only last do we seek to make them our spiritual children.

Father is unique

For forty years, I have never forgotten Father, even for a single day. When I joined the church, Father met and prayed with us. Before that I had met many famous ministers in Korea and heard many prayers; but when I heard Father's prayer, spiritual electricity came to me. I felt fire and automatically I shed tears.

Peter, James and John went with Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration and saw him shining brightly. Until Father's time, Jesus was the central person. Now that Father has appeared, who is the central person? Father.

Heavenly Father had only one person in Abraham's time, and all the rest of humankind belonged to Satan. Therefore, Satan had strength. In Moses' time, when the 600,000 Israelites did not follow Heavenly Father's order, they all died in the wilderness. The central person was Moses, and Heavenly Father loved only Moses, because the other people could not receive God's word. In Jesus' time, Heavenly Father's word came through Jesus. The only revelation that other people received was that Jesus was the Messiah. This is God's providential word.

Today God's word comes only through Father. If other people receive God's word, that word is that Reverend Moon is the Messiah. There is always a central person. If God gave His word to two or three people, they would fight and destroy God's providence. That is why God chooses only one person.

I feel as if Heavenly Father has placed some kind of bridle on me. Like a horse, I am bridled to Father. All day long I can think only about Father. My whole life is connected with Father. If I forget Father, I cannot do anything.

Therefore, during the forty-day workshop, I give the whole content of Father's speeches. I continually study and pray to teach Divine Principle. For forty years, I have been doing this. When I study Divine Principle, spiritual fire comes and I understand where communist theory is in error, what percentage of value Toynbee's theory of history contains, how the spirit world operates, etc.

This Divine Principle is wonderful, eternal truth. That is why only Father could subjugate Satan. Father went through eight stages of restoration to liberate the whole world and set a pattern that all humankind can follow. Did Jesus bring liberation from Satan? He did not. That is why he died and promised he would come again. Christianity should know this wonderful truth and accept it.

As soon as one forty-day workshop is finished, I study and pray to prepare for the next one. Heavenly Father comes to me and guides me, filling me with fire and strength. When difficulties arise, I dream about Father, and he guides me and teaches me continuously. In dreams, Father signifies Heavenly Father, God.

Father: Not dreams, revelations.

Reverend Ahn: Father teaches that when he appears in our dreams, Heavenly Father is using Father to give us revelations.

Father: You have to experience this before you can really understand it. Just to hear someone explain it to you is not the same as experiencing it yourself. Nothing can replace experience. When God is sad, we have to experience that sadness. Che hyul means that all our billions of cells experience something at the same time. The only way we can achieve that level of experience is through deep, deep prayer. Only by shutting ourselves off everything else and entering into deep prayer can we get to that experience. After that, we do not need prayer. If we know things already, why pray? 

[Edited for Today's World.]

Rev. Chang Seong Ahn is director of the HSA Education Department in America, At Father's request, he holds forty-day workshops around the world. He and his wife participated in the 36 Couples' Blessing in 1961.