On June 14, the 6,000-couple Family Association Study Meeting for June was held at Shoto Headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, with about eighty 6,000-couple members from the Tokyo metropolitan area in attendance. President Tomihiro Tanaka, who delivered the message, referred to the fact that three years have passed since the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and explained the key points of understanding the providence centered on God. He also talked about about the responsibilities we must fulfill as chosen blessed families.
Editorial Department
How to comprehend and deal with the shooting incident of former Prime Minister Abe
Good morning, everyone.
It has been three years since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot on July 8. Today, I would like to discuss how we should approach this day.
There has been much discussion about former Prime Minister Abe in the media. Some people highly praise him as a historical leader who steered the country, while others praise the achievements of his economic policy, known as Abenomics. Additionally, former Abe faction lawmakers and numerous documents have discussed the extraordinary achievements of former Prime Minister Abe. On the other hand, some people continue to associate him with the negative connotations of the term Morikake*, while others dismiss him as a prime minister who “buried the stench in the dark.”
Taking these diverse opinions into account, which permeates society, how should we, as believers in God, interpret the shooting of the former Prime Minister?
Yesterday (June 13), the date for the first trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, the defendant in the shooting, was set for October 28. According to reports, he has made a confession regarding the so-called murder, so it is unlikely to be heavily debated. On the other hand, one point of contention is whether the large donations his mother gave to the Family Federation will be considered as a mitigating factor. It has been said that this donation made twenty years ago caused the defendant to harbor resent toward his mother. I feel that the link between the motive and the crime is insufficient.
Once again, as believers and members of the Family Federation, we are being asked how we should comprehend and deal with this incident.
Revealing the Heavenly Mother and testifying that God is the Heavenly Parent
After True Father passed away, True Mother spent three years visiting his grave. Immediately after that period ended, she held a gathering at the Cheongshim Peace World Center in Cheongpyeong, South Korea, and sent a message to Heavenly Father.
I want to tell him: Father, from now on, you have nothing to worry about. We will fulfill our responsibilities at all cost. Therefore, we hope and pray that you will now be free to go and come as you please, and to comfort God, our Heavenly Parent, who has been lonely until now, in the eternal garden of the original homeland.
(August 30, 2015, Cheongshim Peace World Center)
From that day onward, True Mother took full responsibility for the providence on earth, and the providence has since unfolded rapidly.
*Morikake is short for Moritomo Gakuen and Kake Gakuen, two scandals involving the former Prime Minster.
After True Father’s seonghwa, the first thing True Mother did was declare that God should be referred to as the “Heavenly Parent.” She then designated “True God’s Day” as the first “Heavenly Parent’s Day” and held a ceremony. At that time, the internet was flooded with criticism, with many people crying out that she had changed True Father’s tradition.
Next, True Mother emphasized the concept of the only begotten daughter and asked, “What was Jesus’ true desire? What was Jesus’ true mission?” She continued to speak about the limitations of Christianity, which has failed to understand the essence of Jesus.
True Mother repeatedly emphasized the following points:
“Jesus had to welcome the Holy Spirit in the flesh on earth and become the True Parents of humanity. Since he was unable to do so, he left behind the words, ‘I will come again,’ and the wedding feast of the Lamb became the hope of history, with time passing until today. Therein lay the essential purpose of the two-thousand-year history of Christianity. However, failing to understand this essence, people fixated on the notion that Jesus came to be crucified, thereby losing sight of His true purpose. As a result, the only begotten daughter was sealed away.”
True Mother revealed that she is the long-awaited only begotten daughter of history, and at the Entrance Ceremony for Cheon Won Gung and Cheon Il Sanctum (April 13), she boldly declared that Holy Mother Han is the substance of the Heavenly Mother.
Many cried in opposition to this declaration. However, True Mother often speaks about her conclusions first, rather than explaining her reasoning and then stating what she wants to say at the end. However, when the conclusion comes first, it can have a strong impact on the listener and cause their thinking to waver.
On May 8, 2020, Heavenly Parent’s Holy Community was launched. True Mother explained that the Heavenly Parent’s Holy Community serves as an umbrella to embrace and transform humanity. The central providence that True Mother has carried out is to bring forth the Heavenly Mother, who had been hidden behind the Heavenly Father, and to reveal that God is not only the Heavenly Father but also the Heavenly Mother. God has revealed Himself as the “Heavenly Parent” and is striving to establish a new history.
How to organize this series of matters was very crucial. It also leads to the question of whether to accept True Father’s passing at the age of 92 as a matter due to natural causes, or to understand that there was more of a providential significance beyond mere natural causes.
I have heard members of the church say, “True Father happened to pass away just before the Foundation Day celebrations. As a result, True Mother had to hold the celebration alone. Since then, Mother has been saying whatever she wants, calling herself ‘Heavenly Mother’ or ‘Holy Mother Han,’ and has created her own ‘world.’”
Can we simply treat True Father’s seonghwa as just another event that occurred in the flow of time?
Why did True Father pass away?
In late October (2012), about two months after True Father’s seonghwa, True Mother went to America and traveled across the continent, visiting places with special memories of her husband. She then gathered American members in New York and shared her words with them.
Father really trusted you, yet despite Father’s trust and love for you, the result is very, very disappointing. Father said, “Maybe I should not have done that.” That’s why I said, “Okay, let me bring our church members back to the beginning time of our church.” Then Father said, “Omma, thank you.” That’s what Father said.
(November 4, 2012, Sunday Sermon at the Manhattan Center)
After returning to South Korea, True Mother gave the following words to the Japanese wives living there.
Did you all come to Korea and become tribal messiahs to the families you married into? When will you fulfill that responsibility? Father set the D-Day for Foundation Day, but what did you all do? If you had fulfilled your responsibility in advance, Father might still be alive today. It is as if you sent Father to the spirit world. Therefore, your responsibility is increased, but how long will you continue to put it off?
(World Family, December 2021 Edition, p. 78)
It is clear that True Mother understands that True Father’s passing should not have happened. Due to our inadequacies, Father departed for the spirit world.
The inadequacy is that we have not been able to achieve victory in the heavenly tribal messiahship, which is our destiny. True Mother said, “It was unfortunate that there were no national leaders present at Father’s seonghwa, but the core of the tragedy was that there was not a single family that had achieved victory in heavenly tribal messiahship.”
What should not have unfolded according to providence actually happened. True Mother promised True Father that she would definitely fulfill Heaven’s will, and she entered into a life of mourning (visiting his grave for three years).
And after three years, she has come to lead us at the forefront of the providence on earth. True Mother has given us the title of CheonBo (Heavenly Treasure) and encouraged us, but that essence is heavenly tribal messiahship. It is the victory of national and world salvation through the victory of heavenly tribal messiahship.
The time has come when we must build peace with mother at the center
The core principle behind True Mother’s efforts is the Heavenly Mother. She was brought to the forefront in order to liberate God. If she had refrained from speaking about her being the only begotten daughter, the difficult situation facing True Family today could have been avoided.
After the fall of Adam and Eve, the first humans, God lost His children and also lost His position as a parent. Although He has been called “Yahweh,” “Lord God,” and “God the Father,” He could not become a parent.
Unless we become parents, God’s dream cannot be fulfilled. True Mother has designated April 13 of this year as the day to fulfill God’s dream, and she has been working to establish God as our Parent on earth and connect blessed families to Him.
Heaven’s providence appears very different depending on the perspective from which it is viewed. The preface to True Mother’s biography states the following:
Due to the fall of the first human ancestors, the realization of Heavenly Parent’s ideal of creation was delayed, and instead of the position of “Heavenly Parent,” a male-centered history unfolded centered on the position of “Heavenly Father,” the masculine aspect of God. Hellenism and Hebraism, which formed the foundation of Western civilization, have also generally chronicled a male-centered history. Therefore, the position of the female aspect of God, the “Heavenly Mother,” was hidden, and God could not become the “Heavenly Parent.”
(Han, Hak Ja, Mother of Peace: Ad God Shall Wipe Away All Tears from Their Eyes, p. 4)
Heavenly Mother had been hidden, and history has been driven by men. True Mother once said, “The problem is that the mother has not come forward,” and “The time has come to build peace centered on the mother.” In her autobiography, she wrote, “In the final days of Heaven’s providence, God is unfolding His providence centered on women, or ‘mothers’ (Han 6).”
After six thousand years, God descended to earth for the first time as the Heavenly Parent. This was also the moment when a new age has started in human history. We must firmly grasp True Mother’s heart contained in this event.
Reexamining history with a focus on the True Parents of humankind
Have you studied the Epic History of the Chosen Han People of Korea? At the forefront of Korean history, which is rich in historical facts, the only begotten daughter and the Second Coming stood as the True Parents of humankind. The Epic History of the Chosen Han People of Korea can be described as a theological story that sheds new light on its ethnic history from the perspective of the goal of the providence of restoration, connecting the many historical facts that have emerged.
We have already learned this perspective in Divine Principle lectures. It is the parallels of history for welcoming the Messiah. Focusing on Western history after Jesus, and reexamining it with a focus on the birth of the Second Coming, it is structured with a theological perspective that allows us to understand that God has guided history in this way in order to welcome the Second Coming.
We believe with conviction that the invisible hand of God was at work in the Second Coming of Christ. For those who have faith, we accept this because God exists, but for those who do not acknowledge the existence of God, the parallels of history is nothing more than a meaningless product of myth.
Since the “chosen people” are chosen by God, “history of the chosen people” refers to a history in which God is present. Japan, established as the Mother Nation, should have a history as a nation chosen by God.
If we examine Japanese history from that perspective, we will undoubtedly find God’s footsteps behind it. We can understand that the character, spirit, and nationality befitting the Mother Nation have been nurtured. The spirit of “harmony,” which is also a characteristic of the Japanese people, may be one such example.
Govern as a single framework, including things that must not happen
The attitude of understanding historical facts from the perspective of God’s providence is also required when interpreting the descriptions in the Divine Principle.
For example, Jacob’s 21 years of servitude in Haran is included as a symbolic journey. Jesus’ journey is a spiritual journey, and the Second Coming is a physical journey. You may understand Jacob’s servitude in Haran as something that was necessary as a lesson for Jesus.
However, it should not have happened in the first place.
Jacob borrowed his mother Rebekah’s wisdom and stole the birthright from his older brother Esau. This is called “mother-son cooperation.” In fact, some Christian churches have a negative view of Rebekah. This is because they believe that she taught her younger son to use cunning to deceive his older brother and steal his birthright.
Has anyone ever wondered, “Is it okay to lie for the sake of God’s providence?” True Father said that lying is absolutely unacceptable.
Jacob’s first step in regaining his birthright from Esau was to have him naturally submit himself out of love. Esau was to recognize Jacob’s greatness and come to the conclusion that it would be better to give up his birthright, or the headship of the family, to his younger brother, and he should have gladly passed it on to him.
However, the first providential plan failed, leaving Jacob and Rebekah in a situation where they had no choice but to lie. Of course, this was not because God had told them to lie. Rebekah probably thought, “Even if I have to lie…” because it had been revealed to her that Jacob would receive God’s blessing. It was not God who guided them to lie, but as a result, God had no choice but to incorporate the act of lying to steal the birthright into His providential plan.
Thus, His second providential plan began, and Jacob had to go through twenty-one years of hardship as an “atonement” for that failure. In the Divine Principle, it may appear to be the main providential plan, but we must not lose sight of the essence.
The same can be said of Moses’ wilderness course. True Father clearly explained why Moses had to walk the path of hardship. It was because Moses had killed an Egyptian out of righteous indignation for his fellow Israelites.
Even if anger arose toward the Egyptian, Moses had to endure it. This was because becoming king in Egypt was the original heavenly providence. Establishing God’s kingdom in Egypt as king was the first providence.
However, due to their failure, they were forced to take the wilderness course. God guided them providentially within this single framework in mind, including the killing of the Egyptian.
From this providential perspective, we can understand True Father’s seonghwa, which should not have happened, and the subsequent rapid development of the providence centered on True Mother as a single framework.
One member said, “It was providential that True Father was imprisoned in Danbury Prison. That is why the Christian churches in the United States took action, and 7,000 pastors visited Korea to make a pilgrimage to follow in the footsteps of True Parents. From among the pastors at that time, there are those who still stand at the forefront of our movement and support us.”
That view is definitely wrong. Imprisonment at Danbury Prison should never have happened. True Father had no choice but to be imprisoned in order to atone for the distrust and failures of his disciples. God unfolded His providence within a single framework in which imprisonment had to be included (when there was no other choice).
Abel’s faith, indispensable to the providence
Let us return to the main topic. We must each consider whether the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe will simply become a footnote in history, or whether we will gain insight into its meaning from a heavenly perspective and use it as a lesson for history.
There is a condition to understand heaven’s providence as a single framework: those who stand in Abel’s position must fulfill their responsibilities. Jacob established his faith through hardship in Haran and achieved victory, while Moses overcame trials in the wilderness and demonstrated absolute faith in God.
As Moses was leading the Israelites to Canaan, the Red Sea blocked their path. Moreover, Pharaoh’s vast army was closing in. Moses must have prayed to God, “God, Pharaoh’s army is approaching. What should I do?” Then God replied, “Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Exodus 14:16).
If I were Moses, I would have rebelled and said, “God, this is no time for jokes.” However, Moses obeyed God’s voice, and the Israelites were able to safely cross the Red Sea. It is not easy for us ordinary people to maintain such kind of absolute faith.
The same is true for Danbury. It is only because of True Father’s absolute faith that it appears to be a predestined providence.
For an event or incident to remain in heaven’s history for eternity, it must be incorporated into its framework. Abel’s faith is absolutely necessary for this. So, what responsibilities should we, who stand in Abel’s position, fulfill?
Since the shooting incident, there has been intense media coverage and a request for our organization’s dissolution that could be described as persecution at the national level, and the harm has expanded to our followers. The organization has also suffered a great deal of damage. Furthermore, distrust, misunderstanding, and discomfort toward religion has spread throughout Japan.
Japan’s democracy is beginning to crumble from its very foundations. We must once again look at things from the perspective of heaven’s providence and ask ourselves what we should accept as right.
Earlier, I introduced the words spoken by True Mother to American members and Japanese women living in South Korea. In fact, these words had never been translated into Japanese before. Rev. Ken Sudo (43-couple) learned of these words and contacted me. When I visited his home, Rev. Sudo pleaded, “Tanaka-kun, I must repent. And you are the president of Japan. I ask you to repent together on behalf of all past presidents,” and requested that I deliver a letter he had written to True Mother.
Rev. Sudo said, “True Father ascended to heaven because the blessed families were unable to achieve victory in heavenly tribal messiahship. I was given the responsibility of educating the heavenly tribal messiahs, but I was unable to educate them properly and was unable to establish a foundation for the victory of heavenly tribal messiahship on earth.”
Rev. Sudo is a very responsible person. He was deeply distressed. In the end, he recorded his words of repentance to True Mother, wrote them down, and sent a letter. I also wrote a letter of apology as the president, and delivered both letters to Mother.
Please reread the two words introduced in the November and December 2021 issues of World Family. They clearly state what we lacked. In a nutshell, it was that we did not become one with the True Parents. True Father believed wholeheartedly that we were one. If we had become one with the True Parents, we would have brought victory in heavenly tribal messiahship.
True Mother consistently calls on us to become one with her and then we will surely be victorious. In other words, Mother sees that we are not yet one with her. We are praying earnestly and striving with all our sincerity, but it is still not enough. We are not yet living in accordance with the wishes of Parents in the true sense.
You may also look back on your own spiritual journey and recall many encounters with True Parents as if flipping through an album. However, True Mother is focused on the “present.” She is asking, “Are you truly one with me now?”
As the responsibility of blessed families, True Mother speaks of one thing: victory as cheonbo families. In other words, the victory of heavenly tribal messiahship. True Father passed away without this being accomplished. We are asked to realize this now.
Results of education are ultimately realized in the family
Recently, a second-generation leader said, “When the Israelites entered Canaan after traveling through the wilderness, the first generation was not with them, so the second generation perished in Canaan. The first and second generations should have gone together. I feel this deeply in the present age. I am determined to go to the land of Canaan, the Kingdom of Heaven, together with the first generation.”
I was truly delighted. True Mother always urges us to advance the providence as a family of three-generations. This includes not only the first generation raising the second generation, but also the second generation not abandoning the first generation in the wilderness. Even if Heaven says, “No,” if the children plead, “No, we will definitely go with our parents,” then God will have no choice but to yield.
Right now, there are second-generation members protesting for freedom of religion on the streets. Amidst ongoing persecution of the Family Federation, they are determined to bear this badge alongside the first-generation members.
The second-generation members who are united with True Mother are truly strong. We, the first-generation members, must not be outdone by their energy, but must fulfill our responsibility to pioneer this era with all our might. True Mother has said many times, “If the first generation cannot do it, the second generation will. If the second generation cannot do it, the third generation will…”
The place where the fruits of our education ultimately bear fruit is not the church, but the family. The family is the base where the principles of creation blossom. We must strongly realize that God’s dream is fulfilled in our families.
God is our parent. The only place where parents can settle is where their children are. Parents can only be parents because there are children who recognize them as such; the concept of parents cannot exist where there are no children. Unless we resolve to welcome God as our parent 24 hours a day, our lives will not change, and our faith will not deepen.
Today, we discussed our perspective on the shooting incident involving former Prime Minister Abe. I am grateful for the opportunity to share key points in understanding the providence centered on God and to reflect anew on our responsibilities.
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