I will give a perspective of how God is working, in spite of the seemingly negative events that have been happening throughout the world in the past one and one half years.
Let’s start with a scripture reading from Rev. Sun Myung Moon from the Cheon Seong Gyeong, the collected works of Rev. Sun Myung Moon:
Established Christian churches are making a big fuss because I said that Jesus is my disciple, but they will see everything when they go to the spirit world. Why do I say such things, when I know clearly that doing so will cause me to be inundated with curses?
Cheon Seong Gyeong (original) p. 291
How about the established Christian churches? Through Unification Church members, I will clean up anything that is unclean in their back rooms and hold worship services transcending all denominations. After this, I will go to the spirit world. I will go there after completing that trans-denominational worship. You may not know this, but there are already a large number of ministers using our Principle. Some of them read the Divine Principle on a blanket and when a deacon or elder comes in, they quickly hide it underneath the blanket, and then take it out again when they leave, and read it all night. They memorize it and diligently use it.
Autumn leaves do not fall all at once. Do they fall all at once? They do not. They fall one by one, rather than as a whole bunch. Although they fall one by one, before long the tree, once clothed with green, is left with no leaves. Whether they know it or not, I am dealing with things in that way. (213-34, 1991.1.13)
Rev. Moon also stated in the Universal Peace Inaugural Speech in Washington, DC on September 23, 2005:
Christianity in general will become weaker and weaker unless they go with God’s Truth which is given in these Last Days. This is New Truth. They have to be reformed. The New Age came. All the religions have to be united now. I am appealing to all of the religions and all of the religious leaders to work together to complete the Bering Strait Project, which I will explain later. They probably have to, they maybe have to chip in together, from every religion, all the religious leaders, because this project will be for the sake of the well being of the entire humanity.
A lot of people, including many Christian ministers, did not pay attention to what Rev. Moon said. Then, they are seemingly blindsided by the sudden assault on the freedom to worship during the COVID “crisis”.
Many churches have lost focus on what is truly important, which is seeking first God’s Kingdom and His righteous (Mt. 6: 33). Instead, there is more of a selfish focus on church growth, prosperity, etc. The Exposition of the Divine Principle, the teaching of the Rev. Moon, explains:
The Soviet Union, a nation on Satan’s side, participated in the Second World War on God’s side. How was it possible? When medieval society could not fulfill its providential purpose, it became a hindrance to both God’s side and Satan’s side, which then divided and began developing along paths leading to the maturation of the democratic world and the communist world. The Cain-type and Abel-type views of life worked in tandem to break down medieval feudal society and later, absolute monarchy and imperialism. Just as God’s providence progresses while riding on the currents of its time, Satan’s effort to build an unprincipled imitation of the ideal world is also bound to the currents of its time. When the prevailing social order obstructs the formation of new societies, including those furthering Satan’s goals, Satan joins in the fight to destroy it.
In a similar fashion, fascism had become an obstacle to both Satan’s side and God’s side. Because the providence of restoration through indemnity required that God temporarily permit Satan’s side to form the communist world, the Soviet Union in the Second World War was allowed to join forces with the nations on God’s side to destroy fascism, in order that it might quickly build up its communist state. Nevertheless, as soon as the Second World War was over, the communist world and the democratic world separated like oil and water.
Exposition of the Divine Principle pp 373-374
Many churches closed during the COVID lockdowns. Some never re-opened. Others, however, had their faith strengthened. So, a pruning of churches has occurred, where Satan’s work can be used in the larger providence.
Additionally there is a new wave of Christianity that I believe represents the real spirit of Jesus. That is a kingdom building movement. Examples of this type of movement include the Health and Freedom Summit organized by Clay Clark in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and available on clouthub.com. Other Christian leaders like Alana Newman and Patrick Coffin have organized health freedom summits. Others, such as Lance Walnau, promote a disposition of Christianity where we engage and influence the world actively in all of its aspects from a Christian perspective. Others, such as myself (VisionRoot) also actively work to engage, educate and change the culture, with a Kingdom building mentality.
Although the fundamental issue of God-given freedoms addressed in the above mentioned conferences are key, there is another key element of being human.
According to Rev. Sun Myung Moon, that is the key element of absolute sexual ethics:
Yet, at this time there is an absolute requirement that people must fulfill, no matter who they are. This is the requirement of maintaining their purity, which is the model of absolute sexual morality for human beings. God gave it to His children as their destined responsibility and duty, to be carried out in order to fulfill the ideal of creation. This heavenly path is thus the way toward perfecting the model of absoluteness in conjugal love.
What was the single word, the one and only commandment God gave to Adam and Eve, the first ancestors, upon their creation? It was the commandment and blessing to maintain an absolute standard of sexual purity until God’s approval of their marriage. We find the basis for this in the Bible passage that indicates that Adam and Eve would surely die on the day they ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. If they had refrained from eating and observed Heaven’s commandment, they would have perfected their character and, as co-creators, stood with God, the Creator, as His equals. Furthermore, they would have taken dominion over the creation and become the lords of the universe enjoying eternal and ideal happiness.
It was God’s blessing that He told them to preserve their purity so that they could wed as His true children through His Marriage Blessing, become true husband and wife, become true parents and give birth to true children. This knowledge deepens our understanding of this commandment. It is connected with the principle of absoluteness in conjugal love, which is a principle of God’s creation. The profound truth within God’s commandment has lain hidden throughout history: human beings must inherit and live by a model absolute sexual purity that is intrinsic to God’s ideal for creation. This is so that they might perfect their individuality as God’s children and establish themselves as lords of creation.
The Family Rooted in Absolute Sexual Ethics, which is the Model for God’s Absoluteness, Peace and Ideal, and the Global Kingdom: Rev. Sun Myung Moon
An example of God’s move in this providential area is the exposure of the dark area of sexual misconduct. Both within the church and in society at large, sexual exploitation and misconduct is becoming more exposed. To understand why this is key to the Kingdom Building movement, it is necessary to study Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s teachings on absolute sexual ethics.
A good place to start is to read The Family Rooted in Absolute Sexual Ethics, which is the Model for God’s Absoluteness, Peace and Ideal, and the Global Kingdom, and to study The Principle Two Hour Diagrammed Lecture Manual booklet.