How did Cheon Il Guk begin?
“Cheon Il Guk, the Nation of Cosmic Peace and Unity, is the one nation that God loves,” True Father said on November 15, 2001. “It is the one nation our families love. It is the one nation our clans love. It is the one nation that white, black and yellow races love.”
Twenty years ago today, True Father proclaimed Cheonju Pyeonghwa Tongil Guk (the Nation of Cosmic Peace and Unity), abbreviated as Cheon Il Guk. This was the Unification equivalent of the Kingdom of Heaven and culmination of True Parents’ ministry.
“Cheon Il Guk advanced beyond the family to the creation of a heavenly nation,” wrote historian Dr. Michael Mickler in the Journal of Unification Studies, Vol. 13 (2012). “Although its exact contours were not precisely defined, Cheon Il Guk’s core orientation, character and scope were clear. It would have God at its center. It would have nothing to do with the human fall or sin. And it would encompass all of humanity.”
With the Cheon Il Guk era established, True Father said the movement would target full-scale kingdom-building for the next 12 years, until 2013. During this time, Unificationists followed three major lines of advance: faith leaders focused on breaking down barriers among religions, secular leaders would become “Ambassadors of Peace” and support initiatives for world peace, and citizens or “owners” of Cheon Il Guk would be registered.
These advancements, however, brought significant challenges including external opposition and internal obstacles. During this time, True Father called on Christian churches to “take down the cross” as a divisive symbol, and Unificationist leaders led more than 100 U.S. pastors who buried a large wooden cross in Jerusalem.
The movement later conducted “a coronation of Rev. and Mrs. Moon as ‘Peace Kings’ in the Dirksen Senate Office Building which, when it became public, ignited sharp criticism,” wrote Dr. Mickler. Published messages from the spirit realm brought more ridicule. Then the tragedy of 9/11 and subsequent war on terrorism made it “challenging to square these realities with assurances that humankind was entering the ‘Peace Kingdom,” wrote Dr. Mickler.
In 2003, True Father survived a serious illness, as well as a fiery helicopter crash in 2008. Afterward, a “crisis of succession and unseemly struggle over movement assets ensued,” wrote Dr. Mickler. Still, in reality, Cheon Il Guk “unlocked fresh energies” he explained.
“It unleashed a number of new initiatives, many grandiose even by previous movement standards,” he wrote. “It also stimulated creative new ministries, particularly in the areas of interreligious peace-building and youth ministry. Internally, Cheon Il Guk deepened movement spirituality and generated fresh theological categories. Externally, the movement significantly improved its resource management and business performance.”
“How the movement maximized its strengths and opportunities within an environment of external and internal constraints would be the measure of its continued vitality and viability.”
In 2021, as we remember this era of Cheon Il Guk, let’s revisit the core of earthly kingdom-building — which begins with each of us.
You can learn more about Cheon Il Guk in the Journal of Unification Studies here.
