The Glory of Zion - Sunday Sermon at New Hope Family Church, Bowie, MD

Rise and shine, greet the brand new morning. Now shall you see and rejoice; For the fire of truth is quickly kindling, Causing all to hear His voice. The gates are swinging now wide open; Nevermore shall they be closed. For the Lord our God Almighty reigneth Christ has conquered all his foes.

People listen! God’s will has been done. The marriage has come; Earth and Heaven shall be one.

Daughters in arms shall all be carried to Him. Kings in procession be led; And the blessing of life will be given To the ones who once were dead; And God will take us to His bosom; Nevermore again to roam. And all will share a common heart then When we arrive at Father’s home.

People listen! God’s will has been done. The marriage has come; Earth and Heaven shall be one.

In a world well fortified with falsehood. A golden trump triumphant sounds, Bathing all the earth in light of music Breaking down illusion’s walls. The gates are swinging now wide open; Nevermore shall they be closed. For the Lord our God Almighty reigneth As Christ has conquered all his foes.

People listen! God’s will has been done. The marriage has come; Earth and Heaven shall be one. Earth and Heaven shall be one

Bible Verse:

Isaiah 60 (NIV)

The Glory of Zion

60 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. … 10 “Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. 11 Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession. 12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.

I was looking for an image for Isaiah 60, the Glory of Zion. Zion is the mountain on which Jerusalem is built. But in Christianity, Zion has come to be known as the Heavenly City, or the Heavenly Kingdom. I found this fanciful image, painted by a commercial artist, Jeff Haynie, in 1998. If you look closely, there are even two cranes on the bottom. According to his website, he considers himself something of a prophetic artist. Looking at what was designed and built since that time in CheongPyeong, I’d give him pretty high marks. What do you think?

Remember when Father said, before he passed, “It is completed”!

Was I the only one who felt… “And”?

It didn’t feel completed. Not to me. Perhaps I was not alone.

45 years ago, as a young idealistic member in Oakland, I loved to dream about the coming of God’s kingdom, and to sing our songs. I used to get chills singing those songs, including Dan Fefferman’s beautiful and prophetic hymn: “The Marriage Has Come”. Thank you Dan, for sharing it with us today. You too get very high marks for accuracy!

I always believed that God would ultimately prevail. I never felt that I lacked faith. I never struggled with disbelief. But having said that – I never fully felt that God’s Kingdom was real – actually already here. I believed in the dream, but not in the reality. Not to my bones.

I do now. It is completed. I am now a proclaimer. True Mother wants us all to be proclaimers. No one had to twist my arm!!!

I returned from CheongPyeong and my first night home, I submitted a 3 page life summary for the yearbook of my 50th high school class reunion, testifying to True Parents. I went to a very historied uppercrust prep school in Connecticut. Most of my classmates became highly distinguished leaders in their fields. I can’t wait to see them. I believe my submission will be all the buzz!

I have been deeply sharing the Principle with a Protestant Theologian and author from Korea, who is a professor at a seminary in Baltimore. These are four books he has written. I met with him again on Thursday for about three hours, sharing about CheongPyeong and answering his very sincere questions about True Parents and the Principle. I come away from those meetings supercharged with God’s energy.

I think about Dan’s song, based on Isaiah 60, which envisions the leaders of all the world travelling to Zion. Kings in procession. Bringing their gifts to Christ, to Glorify God. That is an amazingly accurate description of what happened last week in CheongPyeong.

After the worldwide tour in 2019, where 9 nations and the entire Continent of Africa held Blessing Ceremonies officiated by their Heads of State under the guidance of True Mother, some 120 current and former heads of state came to CheongPyeong. They wanted to be with True Mother. It was real. Representatives of each region came and bowed, offering gifts to True Mother.

Goodluck Jonathan – former President of Nigeria loves Mother and presented a gift to her.

Hun Sen, from Cambodia, the world’s longest-serving prime minister, loves Mother. He wants to bring her to Myanmar to restore that nation. Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House attended. This was his second event with True Mother. He was so inspired that this time he brought his daughter to experience it.

And significantly, both President Trump and Kim Jong Un sent congratulations to True Mother. Here is the card from President and Melania Trump

Bank Ki Moon – former Director General of the United Nations participated and received the SunHak Peace Prize. The SunHak Peace Prize was founded by True Mother to honor the legacy of True Father (hence the name SunHak). Director General Moon proudly posted his acceptance speech on his own web site: In that speech he states: My special recognition goes to Dr. Hak Ja Han for her visionary patronage of this award, as well as for her longtime advocacy efforts in support of world peace, global citizenship, and sustainable development issues… I simply couldn’t be more proud to receive this award intended to further the ideals of such a pioneering individual who so firmly believed in the importance of peace, human development, coexistence, and environmental protection.

Also receiving the SunHak Peace Prize was Macky Sall, current President of Senegal as well as Bishop Munib A. Younan, former President of the Lutheran World Federation.

Jimmy Rogers – you can look him up. In 1973 he and George Soros left the firm they had been at and started the Quantum Fund together. In 1980 at the age of 38 he retired and rode his motorcycle around the world. In December 2007, Rogers sold his mansion in New York City and moved to Singapore. Rogers claimed that he moved because now is a ground- breaking time for investment potential in Asian markets. Rogers’s daughters speak fluent Mandarin to prepare them for the future. He is quoted as saying: “If you were smart in 1807 you moved to London, if you were smart in 1907 you moved to New York City, and if you are smart in 2007 you move to Asia.”

Rogers is a Jillionaire. He loves True Mother. He said that he would financially support her and get his Jillionaire friends to join him.

Some of you may know my daughter-in-law, Kim Faure. She spent 10 years as a star on Broadway. I’ve seen a few Broadway shows. Compared to that standard, the entertainment I’ve always seen coming from our celebrations was pretty campy. I wasn’t expecting to be overwhelmed. But I was.

The centerpiece of the Birthday Celebration was a profound and deeply moving 2 hour musical theatre production. It was deeper and more inspiring and more beautiful than Les Mis. In a few years, when people begin to understand who True Parents are, that musical will tour the nation in arenas, and it will be reconfigured for Broadway as well.

Here are a few quick slides to give you a sense of the beauty and production of that show.

I took my entire family to CheongPyeong in February 1997 – 23 years ago. It was bleak. There was nothing there. We slept in tents with heated floors, but the water in our bottles froze at night. You needed spikes on your boots to walk up the hill which went from ice to mud and back again.

As CheongPyeong became more developed, part of me felt that it was becoming commercial and less authentic. This time, I caught True Mother’s vision. It is a world class destination.

In the middle ages, long after Jesus’s death, the church built beautiful cathedrals to give pilgrims an experience of God and Jesus. At that time, those structures were the state of the art.

In 20 years, the world will want to know, what was it like to live with True Parents? What were they like? How can we experience their heart? God’s heart? That’s what CheongPyeong is. It is designed, using state of the art technology and architecture, to create a campus where everyone can come and connect to God, and connect to True Parents, and feel embraced and loved. Mother’s hand is everywhere. She is really into the detail. Father focused on the big picture. Mother is very detail oriented. She wants each guest to be truly embraced and delighted. Now I get it. It’s brilliant! It will become the preeminent destination in the world – I have no doubt. The arena is state of the art and holds 30,000. They are building a large modern hotel right behind it.

At the Victory Celebration, on Feb. 8 True Mother declared the establishment of the Nation of Cheon Il Guk. SunHak UP Graduate University (formerly Cheongshim Graduate School of Theology) is now a leadership academy to raise up the future leaders of the nation of Cheon Il Guk. Some of you may know Dr. Tom Selover. He graduated from UTS and received a Doctorate at Harvard. He is the President of SunHak. Dr. Tyler Hendricks just moved to Korea to assist him. The graduating class presented themselves in full cadet uniform, and some received special awards from True Mother.

Then the incoming class, led by Shin Chul Moon and his brother, presented themselves to True Mother, and Shil Chul Moon read a moving pledge of absolute unity and loyalty to True Mother. He is clearly designated as her successor. I am so confident in the future.

I was raised in a Jewish family and we celebrated Passover. In our movement we hear a lot about Jacob and a lot about Jesus, but not so much about Moses. For me, this feels like the moment of the second coming of Moses’ time. When Jesus talked about the coming of the Kingdom – it was always a vision. Something in the future. I had the same feeling when Father would talk about the providence. We were always doing conditional events, making little steps, but the fulfillment of the vision was always sometime in the indefinite future. As Jesus would say “Very Soon”, but then with God, 1000 years is like a single day. Right?

But with Moses, it was different. God was absolutely and urgently determined to liberate His children. The 400 year price for their liberation had already been paid in full. That payment freed God to use his mighty power and authority to bring about their liberation, and to establish His nation on earth. The barrier to God’s will was a political barrier. The Pharaoh wouldn’t agree.

With God’s authority – when Moses proclaimed something – it happened. Immediately. Astoundingly. The plagues happened in real time. Moses spoke and it happened. Culminating in the Angel of Death and the loss of the first born sons in Egypt. Of course, as with Noah and the flood, and as with Sodom and Gomorrah, God hoped no one would need to die. But because of the Pharaoh’s hardened heart, and because of the urgency of the Providence to save all mankind, God allowed a few people to transfer ahead of schedule to the next room (so to speak), in order to achieve a political breakthrough.

That’s what True Mother is doing now. The chosen people are still enslaved in North Korea. Mother has already now established the Nation of Cheon Il Guk. But she needs to free God’s enslaved children. This time, standing behind North Korea is President Xi and the nation of China acting as a bolster to keep Kim Jong Un’s repressive regime in power. And the most powerful weapon both China and North Korea have deployed is a virtual total government control of information.

God works through the Word. Through the light of truth. Satan works through the darkness, in the shadows. Through the hiding of truth. Through censorship and through the control of information.

At this time in the providence, God must break down the walls of censorship. Not the physical walls, but the walls blocking the free flow of information which are imprisoning not only the people of China, but especially the people of North Korea. Or as Dan so poetically wrote: “Breaking Down Illusion’s Walls”!

Of course, it is not just Mother. At this time, True Father has unified the entire Spirit World and is in the driver’s seat mobilizing the Spirit World. True Father and True Mother are totally one. So now, when Mother speaks or acts, for the first time in history, not only God but the entire Spirit World is standing behind her. This is unprecedented in the Providence.

I’m not a great chess player, but I like to watch a good chess match, and try to see what each player is planning. Heavenly Parent is engaged in a multi-dimensional chess match. If you pray about it and think about it, you can sometimes get insights into God’s strategy.

During Father’s course on Earth, it was as if God finally had one man on the board. It was a King. Painfully, it could only move one step at a time. And all the enemy’s pieces would come and kill it. But it had the amazing power to keep coming back to life. It couldn’t win by itself, but it accumulated all the Blessings by being attacked. And God used those Blessings to claim us from the fallen world, and give us life. To create an army to support True Mother.

Now is a different time. Essentially every one of God’s pieces is a queen. All of our members, and increasingly all the leaders of this world are now directly connected to True Mother. God is absolutely unstoppable. Brothers and Sisters – the game is over. It will be checkmate in a few moves. That’s the time we’re living in. Brothers and Sisters - Do you believe it??

Last year, prior to her events in Taiwan, True Mother spoke in Yeosu, in the South of Korea

“Esteemed leaders, all civilizations will come to fruition through the Pacific Rim Civilization centered on the Republic of Korea. This is the heavenly order. The Atlantic Civilization, though it was rooted in Christianity, was reduced to a self-centered civilization, one that took and conquered. Instead, we must build and settle the Pacific Rim Civilization, an altruistic civilization that gives and continues to give, founded on the heart of Heavenly Parent’s true love and rooted in the culture of Hyojeong [filial heart]. The Pacific Rim Civilization will realize the harmony and unification of all the heritage of history, of the continental, coastal, Eastern, Western, spiritual, and material civilizations. Further it must become the model of a peaceful ideal world on the foundation of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values that actualize the ideal of “one human family under Heavenly Parent.”

True Mother, at Subregion 4 ILC, Yeosu

Dr. Young Ho Yun, Secretary-General, Cheon Jeong Gung Headquarters elaborated in his letter of November 22, 2019

“The settlement of this Pacific Rim Civilization is not possible without the support of the 1.7 billion people of the Chinese region. Yet in China, the reality of our movement is very difficult. Therefore, True Mother is working to settle the Era of the Pacific Rim Civilization by uniting the Chinese region centered on the providence of the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace”

On Nov. 22 – at the World Assembly of the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace, True Mother explained that Greater China must first achieve ‘one family’ if it wants to achieve its goal of bringing about ‘one nation.’ However, she emphasized that ‘one family’ is only possible centered on Heavenly Parent and True Parents.

Dr. Po-ya Chang, president of the Control Yuan, one of the five branches of the Government of Taiwan introduced True Mother: “This is True Mother’s sixth visit in Taiwan, and I was fortunate enough to be able to welcome and attend her on all six occasions. True Mother is a great woman and the embodiment of living for the sake of others.”

In her remarks, True Mother stated:

“We will see a unified world centered on Heaven when all 7.7 billion people of the world know Heavenly Parent. I know that you want to make unity centered on the federation of Chinese people. However, you must know the essence. You must know who is leading this. When that happens, then all nations, large or small, will become child nations before Heavenly Parent, and sibling nations to each other, so there will be no more war or discord.

Next year it will have been 60 years since the True Parents emerged. For 60 years True Parents have guided all humankind so they could be chosen as children of the Heavenly Parent as quickly as possible.

True Mother, Nov 22.

In Dr. Yun’s letter of Nov. 23 he states:

If we were to give a name tag to the world rally of the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace held in Taiwan centering on the Chinese people and the 14,400-person Blessing for Chinese people, it would be “One World through One Family.” It is common knowledge that Greater China is aiming for a single nation right now. However, True Mother said that to achieve this unified nation, a country must first build one family that centers around Heavenly Parent and True Parents. If the 1.7 billion Chinese people realize one family, True Mother said that it would not be for a “unified nation,” but for the sake of a “unified world,” that includes the 7.7 billion people on earth. The historic 14,400-person Blessing for Chinese people that was held today was the amazing launching point for “One World through One Family.”

Dr. Young Ho Yun, Secretary-General, Cheon Jeong Gung Headquarters on November 23, 2019

And then at the victory celebration on Nov. 23 True Mother proclaimed:

“Centered on Taiwan, the day will come when Greater China will attend Heavenly Parent and True Parents.”

True Mother, Nov. 23

So, back to that Chess Game. The events in Taiwan were the internal foundation.

Externally, God has been working Moses-level miracles, right in front of our eyes.

One important move has been the trade war between US and China. Kim Jong Un has been playing coy with President Trump, signaling an agreement and then pulling back - several times. Kim felt that China had his back.

But now, after a lengthy trade war in which China was hit hard, President Xi realized that China would be much better off in partnership with the US than as an adversary. The signing of the trade deal, to the surprise of so many expert pundits, represented China proclaiming to the world that the way forward is one of partnership and cooperation. That was an amazing miracle.

On Dec. 15, some three weeks after the event in Taiwan, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said a deal to end the trade war between the US and China was “totally done”. That deal was ultimately signed 1 month later on January 15.

Related to the trade war, is America’s strong and refreshingly united stance against Chinese repressive information technology. Yesterday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made a strong argument to our Allies not to integrate Huawai and other Chinese technologies into their 5 G networks. At the same conference, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in rare accord with the Administration, also urged allies to “Steer Clear of Huawei.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called those technologies “Trojan Horses”. On Thursday US prosecutors brought racketeering charges against Huawai, accusing them of conspiring to steal trade secrets from six U.S. technologies companies, on top of the previous charges of bank fraud.

I believe that this represents a clear pre-emptive attack by Heaven against China’s weapons of information control and repression.

What else has God been doing?

On December 31, the 40th day following November 22, China realized that they were dealing with a new and highly contagious disease, the Corona Virus. It was named Corona because it looks like a crown… Or if you think about it… remarkably like a queen chess piece.

The entire world was on high alert, convinced that we were now encountering the next pandemic that would kill millions around the globe. Amazingly, this virus has been laser- focused directly at China. And not to cause significant death. The number of deaths has been extraordinarily tiny. As of Friday, when I researched this, the total number of confirmed cases was at 67,079, with 66,484 occurring on Mainland China. That represents more than 99% in China. And most of the others were people who left China with the disease and were treated elsewhere.

The total deaths were at 1,525 representing a very low mortality rate of around 2%. And of those, exactly 3 occurred outside of China: 1 each in Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines.

I heard this morning there was a 4th. Still, that means that 99.5% of the deaths occurred within China.

To understand what a miracle this is let me give you one statistic:

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), in 2018, Chinese airports handled 1.264 billion passengers. Approximately 10% of Chinese air travel is international. That represents approximately 126 million people per year in and out of China. The US and Australia closed our borders to Chinese arrivals on Feb. 1. Given the long gestation period of this virus, that represents at least 6 weeks of exposure, during which approximately 14 million people travelled in and out of China. Still only 3 people have died outside of China.

Similar to the time of Moses, only Egyptians died and the Israelites were spared.

And as I mentioned, this virus has not caused significant death. Every year nearly 300,000 people die from drowning. 120,000 die in fires. At 1,384, the Corona virus is not even on the charts. Of course for the families who suffered, this is horrific.. We should keep them in our prayers.

So why is it happening? Here are some headlines I captured on Bloomberg’s news feed.

February 7: Anger Mounts after Wuhan Doctor Dies: The death of a Chinese doctor who warned about the coronavirus in December has sparked an outpouring of grief and outrage on Chinese social media. Li Wenliang, 34, was reportedly reprimanded for “spreading rumors”

February 8: The Cost of Censorship: On Jan. 3, police in Wuhan China, summoned a local physician to deliver an official “admonition”. Li Wenliang, a 34 year old ophthalmologist had alerted his colleagues in a private WeChat group to a SARS-like virus being passed from human to human in the city of 11 million. His post had leaked to the wider internet, and he stood accused of “rumor-mongering” a potentially career-threatening charge.

February 11: Coronavirus: Could it help the Cause of Free Speech in China?: If criticism of the party grows, it could overwhelm the censors.

February 13: The Death of a Doctor Poses the Greatest Threat to China’s Xi Yet: Citizens begin to question not just the government response to coronavirus, but the overall competence of the Communist Party.

This virus is a laser guided missile aimed at opening up Free Speech in China. The Chinese citizens are locked in their homes, without any income, and are even angrier than at the time of Tiananmen Square in 1989. They understand that government suppression of information made matters much worse. They are exerting huge pressure on the government to open up.

In this chess game, China can try to use its economic and military force. But God has extra- superpowers, and just like in Egypt, God will keep upping the stakes until China opens up. I am 100% certain of that.

What else does God have up His sleeve?

It’s harder to predict what a chess master will do a few moves out, but one development which I find interesting is the apparent dramatic change of heart of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook.

I am definitely not a Facebook lover. I believe their exploitation of private information has been deplorable. I believe that Facebook unfairly worked against the Trump presidency during the 2016 campaign and Trump’s first term.

But lately, I’ve noticed a remarkable change. Maybe because of the threat of anti-trust actions by the government against Facebook. Maybe because Zuckerberg is keenly interested in receiving approval for his proposed cryptocurrency.

But also, perhaps in part, due the influence of his wife, Priscilla Chan, whose family is ethnic Chinese and part of the Vietnam boat refugee migration. She met Zuckerberg when they both entered Harvard in 2003, and she went on to become a pediatrician. In an open letter to their daughter Max, born in 2015, they pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook holdings in their lifetime, valued at $45 billion at the time of Max’s birth.

Zuckerberg recently came under fire, when Trump posted a Facebook ad accusing Joe Biden of using his position to fire a Ukrainian prosecutor in order to protect his son, Hunter Biden. The democrats and media exploded and pressured Zuckerberg to take that ad down, claiming it was promoting a false conspiracy theory. Zuckerberg refused saying:

“What I believe is that in a democracy, it’s really important that people can see for themselves what politicians are saying, so they can make their own judgments.”

You said it Mark!

When China does tear down its information wall, I wouldn’t be surprised if Facebook plays a significant role in quickly networking the people of China to the rest of the world. We shall see.

Again, of course, God’s end game is not China. It is Korean Reunification.

Brothers and sisters, hold on to your seats. It is coming very soon.

Thank you. And may God continue to Bless and protect our True Parents!