Chambumo Gyeong - 349. Disciples in prison
True Father victoriously overcame the ordeals of prison life. In prison he was not allowed to witness directly, but still he found more than 12 disciples. This was possible with the guidance and cooperation of the spirit world through such things as dreams and revelations. By gaining 12 disciples, True Father established the condition of indemnity to restore the 12 disciples who betrayed Jesus. In this way, he made the foundation for a new beginning as the Lord at the Second Advent. 25 In prison, there were some inmates who followed me. If I had asked them to escape the prison with me, they would have followed me out at the risk of their lives. I had to have inmates who would follow me in that environment of death in order to restore the 12 disciples that had deserted Jesus when he was hung on the cross. To restore them I had to find inmates who would naturally submit to me. I did not have to speak to them, because the spirit world already was mobilized to witness to them.
My number in prison was 596. This number, in a way, sounds like "wronged." One inmate had a dream in which he saw his ancestor, who commanded him, "Do not eat the powder you received, not even one spoonful. Give it to Mr. Moon." So this inmate plodded over to my cell holding the sack of powder, and asked, "Is number 596 here? Who is he?" In such ways the spirit world mobilized to feed me.
After I left the prison, I traveled to Pyongyang and then journeyed to the South. At that time four people followed me. This was the restoration of the four-position foundation. Those four people whom I came out with were my church. In this way, providential history cannot deviate from the fundamental rule of restoration. (047-192, 1971/08/28) 26 I wished God's compassion even upon extremely wicked prisoners who were sentenced to death. On the cross Jesus said to the thief on the right, "You will be with me in paradise." Likewise, throughout my life I have fought to give new hope and encouragement to people whose lives were filled with tearful stories. I did this even in prison. I comforted them and lived for their sakes to such a degree that after I left the prison they missed me, shedding more tears than they shed when their parents passed away. I have lived this way because I understood that without doing that, I could not fulfill my responsibility for the mission of restoration. That is why whenever I left a prison, I would see many people clinging to me and weeping. Because I lived my life this way, when I left Heungnam Prison for the South, four people followed me, leaving their parents and children behind. (045-138, 1971/06/24) 27 I had more than 12 followers who lived in other cells. Every morning when the guards ordered the prisoners to come out of their cells, we had 15 minutes to line up. During that time many prisoners went to the latrine, but when it became too crowded we had to wait in our cells. Since the guards watched us closely, my followers in other cells could not come to where I was. We could not pass over the boundary line. For those followers, to see me and greet me was the most honorable moment of the day. It was the moment they received life. Therefore, they would even crawl from their cells to come to see me, hoping not to be seen by the guards. If they were caught, the guards would beat them with the butts of their rifles. They would be accused of planning to escape and put in solitary confinement for one to three weeks. If they were caught three times, they would be punished more severely. The problem could become more complicated.
Nevertheless, they risked it anyway, considering that to see and greet me that day was a great honor. When they had something to eat, they would ignore their hunger and feel honored to share it with me. You have to understand such relationships of heart. They are a hidden tradition in the historical background of our church, and will remain theirs forever. (074-095, 1974/11/14) 28 The reason I suffered harsh oppression and mistreatment in Heungnam Prison under the communist regime was because heaven mandated that I must carry out substantial restoration. Hence, even in front of Satan's guns and swords, heaven sent me people who were prepared, who by following me would enable the prison gates to open so that I could leave.
Even though I did not say a word to them directly, spirits in the spirit world witnessed to some inmates and brought them to follow me. I kept silence, but their ancestors directly appeared to their descendants in prison and witnessed to them. In this way, I was able to find and restore in prison more disciples than the 12 disciples who abandoned Jesus and fled when he was on the cross.
Before leaving to work every morning, my followers tried to meet me despite the strict prison security. Amid the din and commotion of people going outside to go to work, the first thing they wanted to do was to come and greet me, the man whom the spirit world had guided them to follow. Even if they had to crawl, even with the guards standing there with their guns, they came. God worked like that. This is how in prison I established the condition of indemnity to restore the four-position foundation. (023-288, 1969/06/08) |