Exploring Unificationism: The Only Begotten Daughter in Jesus' Time

The Unification movement offers a unique perspective: Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, was supposed to marry. More specifically, Jesus was meant to fulfill God's divine mandate for the first time, as revealed in Genesis 1:28: 

"And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28)

Since God created human beings in God's image (Genesis 1:27), to achieve this divine mandate, both a man and a woman are required. This belief shapes the core of Unificationism and the understanding of Jesus' mission as the Messiah. However, while the Bible asserts Jesus' perfection and fulfillment of the First Blessing, the gospels nor Unificationism indicates that Jesus married and formed a family prior to his death. This begs the question:

Who was his intended spouse meant to be?

Meaning of Only Begotten

First, according to Father Moon, "Only Begotten" means the first of God's love (Moon, Sun-myung, "Love and Purpose of Life"). Jesus, as the Only Begotten Son, was the first man to be born with no connection to a fallen (sinful) lineage. Thus, as long as Jesus completes what Adam could not, and grows to maturity, Jesus could, and did, become one in heart with God. 

Jesus, born as the Only Begotten Son, needed to marry to fulfill God's divine mandate. A majority of Father Moon's words describe multiple candidates for the position of Jesus' Bride. Specifically, he taught that Jesus was to marry a woman of a fallen lineage who could become a restored Eve and stand as the True Mother (Eu, Exposition of Divine Principle). However, some of Father Moon's words also state that Jesus was to marry a woman born born of a pure lineage. While sometimes he indicated that the Only Begotten Daughter still required restoration, at other times he did not:

"Jesus, as the Only Begotten Son, needed to meet the Only Begotten Daughter prepared by God" (Blessing and Ideal Family 1.3).

"The Messiah comes as the True Father, but he needs a True Mother. To become the True Mother, a woman must be born with a pure lineage, untouched by Satan, and prepared by God for this mission" (Cheon Seong Gyeong). 

Mother Han has clarified these teachings by explaining that Jesus was meant to find the Only Begotten Daughter. In many speeches, she has said:

"Jesus came to find and marry the Only Begotten Daughter. Through their holy marriage, the foundation for God’s ideal family would have been established" (Han, Hak-ja).

"If two thousand years ago the only son, Jesus, had met the only daughter, they would have become the True Parents of all humankind" (Ibid).

Born vs Emerge 

If Jesus was supposed to marry the Only Begotten Daughter, where was she? To answer this question, we must address "emerge" v.s "born" in Mother Han's teachings. In her speeches, she has often been vague on this detail, using both words interchangeably over the past few years. Only Begotten birth is similar to the birth of Adam and Eve: birth in the love of God (God's blood lineage). However, Adam and Eve lost their position as the first son and daughter of God prior to their maturity by succumbing to Satan's temptation and severing their relationship with God. Therefore, Adam and Eve did not full resemble nor unite in heart with God. Without doing so, they could not emerge as God's mature Son and Daughter. 

When Jesus was born from a pure lineage and emerged as the Only Begotten Son, he did so by fulfilling his "5%" portion of responsibility during his growing period to become a one in heart and embody God. Besides claiming to be the Son of God in his adult life, Jesus displayed a strong desire to connect to God in his adolescence, as detailed in the story of the Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52). Jesus, as Adam before him, had to voluntarily choose a relationship with God over Satan, even though he was still born as the Son of God. The same occurred with Mother Han, when she told God “I will do this” (Mother of Peace) as described in many of her speeches and her memoir. Even though Mother Han was born as the Only Begotten Daughter, she had to decide to emerge and go the path of a True Parent.

Mary and Zechariah's Family Were Responsible for Bringing the Only Begotten Daughter Into the World

In 2024, Mother Han said the following:

"After 4,000 years God brought the only begotten Son Jesus Christ to be born. However, the only begotten Son alone is not enough. Mary and Zechariah’s family were meant to take responsibility for bringing the only begotten Daughter to be born. Yet they could not accomplish this. As a result, on account of Mary, Jesus had no choice but to go to the cross."

A Cheon Mu Won official (a member of Mother Han's cabinet) visiting America directly confirmed Mother Han's use of the word born. The Only Begotten Daughter was never born as a child on the earth. The two families responsible, Mary and Zechariah's, failed in their responsibility. This is a teaching common to both Father Moon and Mother Han. Father Moon described extensively the relationship between the two families:

"Jesus was in the Abel position and John was in the Cain position. How were Mary and Zechariah's family to unify? How were Cain and Abel to make unity? That was the parents' mission. That was the mission of the house of Zechariah. Otherwise, there would be no Cain, and no woman. Jesus and John were like brothers. They were to restore brotherhood. Mary and Elizabeth were sisters. Who was Jesus' father? [Zechariah.] How do you know? [You told us.] I didn't tell you that! [Laughter.] So John the Baptist and Jesus had the same father. This is a problem. Israel at that time had a law that children of the same father could not marry. This relationship is incest. Mary had sexual intercourse with the husband of her sister. Elizabeth invited Mary, then Mary made that love relationship. That was how Jesus was conceived. John the Baptist was supposed to follow Jesus as the Messiah, and then he was supposed to offer his own sister to be the bride of Jesus. Zechariah was supposed to understand that point, too, but he did not. Elizabeth did not permit it. Even Mary forsook her position. So how could Jesus obtain his bride? Where was she going to come from? God had worked for thousands of years to bring together Cain and Abel, then finally within one tribe there was one chance to make the preparation. Where would Jesus get his bride? This was the problem" (Moon, Sun-myung, "True Parents 1993 Speaking Tour Celebration").

In Exposition of Divine Principle, the foundation for the Messiah (True Parents) involves creating a foundation of substance to symbolically reverse the relationship between Lucifer, Eve, and Adam. Originally attempted by Cain (the elder brother on Satan's side) and Abel (the younger brother on God's side), the restoration of the Cain-Abel relationship to create and maintain the foundation for the Messiah lay in the hands of Zechariah and Mary's families coming together in unity. On the woman's side, this dynamic was characterized by Leah, Jacob's first wife on Satan's side and Rachael, Jacob's second wife on God's side (Moon, Sun-myung, "The Completed Testament Era and Me.") Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah and Mother of John the Baptist (who stood in Cain's position) had to yield to Mary, a "second wife" in Rachael's position who would bare Jesus (who stood in Abel's position). 

Elizabeth inviting Mary into the house of Zechariah and allowing her to relate with her husband created the foundation necessary to bring about the birth of the Only Begotten Son. Zechariah, a high priest and influential leader of the people, offered a tremendous internal and external environment. However, soon after Jesus was conceived, Elizabeth kicked out Mary. This meant that the Cain-Abel unity required for the foundation of the Messiah had ruptured. Until it was re-established, the Only Begotten Daughter could not yet be born.

Even if the foundation of substance is established, it must be maintained in order to keep the foundation for the Messiah. Exposition of Divine Principle establishes illustrates this through the example of King Solomon:

"Nevertheless, King Solomon left the position of Abel for the substantial offering when he fell into lust with his many foreign wives, who turned him away from God.9 Hence, there was no way for Israel to establish the foundation of substance. The foundation for the Messiah, which should have been laid in the period of the united kingdom, was not realized" (Eu, 321). 

Even though King Solomon stood in the position of Abel with the substantial offering successfully, if the central figure(s) leave their position, the foundation erodes. The same occurred with Mary and Zechariah's family. After leaving their respective positions, until they returned or other conditions were set, they could not bring about the birth of God's Only Begotten Daughter. 

Mary, without the protection of Zechariah's household, went to Joseph:

"Joseph, who loved Mary, protected her in this way in the beginning. However, there was a great deal of anguish deep in his heart. Once Jesus was born, Joseph's suspicions about Jesus' father only increased and his heart ached. As Jesus grew older, the two became increasingly distant in heart; because of this, family problems frequently arose. Jesus was viewed as an illegitimate son, and lacking the protection of Zechariah's family and the love of Joseph, he grew up with an indescribable loneliness in his heart" (Moon, Sun-myung, "View of the Principle of the Providential History of Salvation").

Joseph needed to stand in place of Zechariah and create a protective environment for Jesus. This meant that, like Zechariah and Mary, Joseph and Mary should not have married. This complicated situation proved extremely difficult for Joseph, as he felt wounded in his heart. Mary, however, bares the chief responsibility for not creating the protective environment for Jesus:

"Jesus Christ, who was said to be “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” was born—but why did he have to be born in a stable? Three wise men from the East came, following a star. Actually, Mary's responsibility went beyond just giving birth to Jesus. She needed to understand Jesus’ essence and create an environment where he could work as Heavenly Parent wished him to. But Jesus spent 30 years as a carpenter's assistant. Mary should not have married Joseph. How is it possible that there is no record of Jesus' birth, when Mary likely was not an illiterate woman of her time? The reason for this remains unknown. Finally, because Jesus could not wait any longer, he began his public ministry, which lasted three years; yet ultimately he was put to death on the cross" (Han-Hak-ja)

Mary, from the beginning, also did not understand the necessity for creating a good environment for Jesus. Jesus grew up alone, misunderstood, and treated as an illegitimate child. Even his birthday was not remembered. Most importantly, Mary failed to create an environment for Jesus to complete his mission; namely, to marry the Only Begotten Daughter. Zechariah's family was also responsible for this failure. 

Although Jesus was conceived, as soon as the foundation eroded, the people responsible for bringing the Only Begotten Son and the Only Begotten Daughter into the world could not achieve God's Will. Father Moon and Mother Han both state that the two families were responsible for bringing forth the Bride. They could not unite together and create a stable environment, stampeding God's efforts to bring about the Only Begotten Daughter. Although Jesus, desperate to achieve God's Will, struggled his entire life to re-create this foundation, even seeking out "new mothers and brothers," in the end, the Only Begotten Daughter could not be born. 

New Insights on John the Baptist's Sister

Unificationism and historians are divided over whether or not John the Baptist had a sister. Nevertheless, she could not have been born as the Only Begotten Daughter. The Bible states that Elizabeth was barren prior to John’s birth, indicating that John sister would of have been younger than him. The foundation for the Messiah, the True Parents, had begun to erode after Mary was kicked out. Since John and Jesus were born only months apart, at the time of John’s sister’s conception, the foundation for the Messiah and the conditions for a pure lineage would have already been eroded. She would have been born, as Father Moon taught, from a fallen lineage. Although she was meant to become Jesus' Bride, the erosion of the foundation prevented this dispensation. While Father Moon at times taught that the Bride could come from the fallen world from a number of candidates, his other teachings, combined with Mother Han's words, make it clear that she was not the Only Begotten Daughter. 

If the foundation had never eroded, since Mary and Zechariah's families were responsible to bare her, perhaps John the Baptist's sister would have been the Daughter of God, growing up in a protective environment as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, the families separated, Mary and Joseph married, and Jesus grew up completely misunderstood, hoping the two families would repair their relationship so the Only Begotten Daughter would be born. Eventually, Jesus was resigned to find new "mothers and brothers" (Matthew 12:48-50) during his public ministry in order to salvage what remained of God's dispensation.

Stay Tuned! Part 2: Mary Magdalene and the Only Begotten Daughter

What about Mary Magdalene and her relationship to Jesus? What of the apocryphal gospels' similarity to some of Father Moon's teachings? Was there any hope of Jesus completing his mission?

Stay tuned for Part Two!

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Sources

Bible Gateway Passage: Genesis 1 - Revised Standard Version.” Bible Gateway.https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201&version=RSV

Bible Gateway Passage: Luke 2 - Revised Standard Version.” Bible Gateway.https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201&version=RSV

Bible Gateway Passage: Matthew 12 - Revised Standard Version.” Bible Gateway.https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201&version=RSV

Eu, Hyo-won, Exposition of the Divine Principle, Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, (Seoul, 1966).

Han, Hak-ja, "International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace." https://familyfedihq.org/2017/02/intl-association-of-parliamentarians-for-peace/

Han, Hak-ja, "Mother's Message to Worldwide Members." https://familyfedihq.org/2024/06/mothers-message-for-worldwide-members/

Han, Hak-ja, Mother of Peace, Washington Times Foundation, 2020, (Washington D.C, D.C).

Han, Hak-ja, "True Mother's Message in Jardim." https://familyfedihq.org/2024/07/true-mothers-message-in-jardim/

Moon, Sun-myung. "Blessing and Ideal Family." https://www.tparents.org/moon-books/bif1/0-Toc.htm

Moon, Sun-myung. "Love and the Purpose of Life." https://www.tparents.org/moon-talks/sunmyungmoon84/SunMyungMoon-840001.htm

Moon, Sun-myung, "The Completed Testament Era and Me." https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon93/930214.htm

Moon, Sun-myung, "True Parents 1993 Speaking Tour Celebration." https://tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon93/930801b.htm

Moon, Sun-myung, "View of the Principle of the Providential History of Salvation." https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon96/SunMyungMoon-960416b.pdf

Moon, Sun-myung, "Cheon Seong Gyeong" (2014). https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Books/CSG14s/0-Toc.htm