“Religious reformation will begin in the east”

Dr. Kang Shin-Taek

Dr. Kang Shin-Taek is a world-renown authority on the root of the Hebrew language. This researcher and writer in Church and attended the Summer Conference.

People call me a world-class authority on the Sumerian language. They probably say that because the book that I wrote is used as a teaching text throughout the world. I didn't have any thoughts of studying Sumerian at first. After receiving my Master's degree from Hanshin University, I went to America to study at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1964. I had great interest in Hebrew language. However, even at such a prestigious school, Hebrew was only offered as a basic course. Somebody informed me that I should just go to Hebrew Union College (located in Cincinnati), where Jewish people study. A course in Sumerian, the mother of the Hebrew language, was offered there. Initially ten students were enrolled, but after one semester, I was the only one left. For three years, I learned one-on-one. After I received my doctoral degree, I lectured at Yale University as a special research fellow while working on my post doctorate. Thereafter, the University of Illinois' [World Heritage] Museum had no one to study its collection of 2,000 Sumerian clay tablets, so they asked me to come. So I lectured while working as a director at the museum. In 1980, I was back at Yale, lecturing as a research scholar. The two research books I wrote on Sumer are still being used today as textbooks at Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Princeton and other universities. Later, I wanted to teach Korean students and went to Kaes College. As a dean of the college, I raised more than 500 students and took up the literal translation of the Hebrew Bible into Korean language. After the 10-year-long task, the first edition was published in 2005 and I have been preparing the revised edition for the past 7 years.

The Sumerians who achieved the first civilization in mankind’s history

The vestige of Sumerians can be traced back to 9,000 BC. There is some evidence of Sumerian’s dwelling in the Zagros Mountains in northern Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). They migrated downward to find waters. And it took them thousands of years to reach Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia, meaning “between two rivers,” is where the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers run. I’ve been there and found it such a paradise. It is a wonderful place to live. Some speculate that the Garden of Eden was in that area.

Sumerian language, mankind's first written script and the the U.S. came to Korea and paid a visit to Pyungkang Cheil



Although there were natives in the area, black-haired Sumerians went there and developed a civilization. They had strong ability to make a living. They bartered, created a primitive writing system, and built ziggurats, a type of temple. On top of the ziggurat, they planted trees which were called the “tree of life.” The god they worshiped was the sun god “An.”
There’s some interesting discovery by the way. I believe the word “Han” as in the “Han race (Translator’s note: another name for Korean descendants)” and “An” were originated from the same root word. Zagros Mountains, where Sumerians originally lived were very cold region. There is a trace where they used Gu-dul-jang (Translator’s note: flat stone used for Korean floor heating system). That was called “Cu-du-ru,” very similar to “Gu-dul,” in Korean language. From what I see, some Sumerians went down to Mesopotamia and settled there and others came to the Korean Peninsula. I will go more in depth about this later.
Sumerians built the first civilization of mankind in Mesopotamia, from about 3,500 BC to 2,500 BC. Their advanced civilization then spread across the various places of the world. (Editor’s note: among the four civilizations of the world, the Indus Civilization and the Nile Civilization started to grow from 2,500 BC. The Babel Tower incident, when God scattered people by confusing their languages is speculated to have occurred in 2,357 BC. (The Genesis Genealogies, Periplus, Abraham Park)



“The chronicles of Adam coincide with the growth of Sumerian civilization”

At this point, let me talk about the Garden of Eden and Adam. “Eden,” according to the Sumerian language, is the place where apple trees and workers who farmed barley and wheat were. There were already people who did gardening and farming at that time. I believe that Adam was not the first human being in the biological sense. The word Adam means “red soil,” meaning that he was made out of soil. Also, it means “man.” So sometimes it is used as a proper noun and sometimes as a common noun.
In my perspective, God’s creation of Adam means that He chose a man who talked with God and served God for the first time. So Eden is where the redemptive history has started as God chose one person. That was about 4,000 BC when the Sumerian civilization started to grow. (Editor’s note: according to The Genesis Genealogies, the year when Adam was created was 4,114 BC). Some will criticize me for saying so. However, I think now I need to say what is true. Archaeology has advanced thus far and we cannot keep telling lies. There is no reason why I cannot say the right thing and keep silent, when no one is put to be burned at the stake now, as in the old days.

After Abraham left, Sumer rapidly declined

The year when Abraham was born is 2,166 BC according to The Genesis Genealogies, the first book of the History of Redemption Series. It is exactly the same with my speculation. The time of Abraham was in the Third dynasty of Ur. It was Sumer’s most powerful time in its history. Then after Abraham left Ur and moved to Canaan through Haran, the Sumerian civilization fell rapidly. I believe God took Abraham out of there in advance.
In Haran, where Abraham stopped over after leaving Ur, Aramaic language was used. And in Canaan, the final destination, Canaanite language was used. So the Hebrew language, with its Sumerian base, was developed with the influence of Aramaic language by 10%, and of Canaanite language by another 10%. The book of Genesis shows strong evidence of Sumerian language, as over 40% of the text was written by the language.



“Han race and Sumerians have the same root”

As Abraham was Sumerian, he must have had black hair. Majority of current Israelites have black hair, too. Let me continue with what I was talking about with the Han race and the Sumerians. There are many identical words between Korean and Sumerian languages. Primitive words, such as way, farm, field, dad, and mom are almost the same. Not only that, but personal pronouns such as I, that, it, and this are identical, too. Both languages are agglutinative languages.
“Paddan-Aram,” as it appears in the book of Genesis means “the field of Aram.” “Gilgal,” means “wide way.” I firmly believe that Sumerians and the Han race were diverged at the Zagros Mountains after 9,000 BC and their transfers and interchanges kept going on between them. I believe that the interchanges had continued till the times of Terah, Abraham’s father. Mountain is “cool” in Sumerian and “hal” in Hebrew language. I don’t think the name such as “Mount Halla” was coined randomly.
During the Sumerian civilization, there was a King named “Sargon.” I think “Sargon” changed its form and became “Dan-gun (Translator’s note: Founding-King of Gojoseon, an ancient Korean kingdom).” As the Third Dynasty of Ur was destroyed, the migrants of the country were most likely to have arrived in the Korean Peninsula. Some people believe that Joktan, son of Eber recorded in the book of Genesis came to the Korean Peninsula and created Gojoseon (Translator’s note: an ancient Korean kingdom). It is a very likely hypothesis. (Editor’s note: according to the calculations of The Genesis Genealogies, the era of Joktan and Dan-gun were at around 2,300 BC, almost synchronized.)
Some people argue that the distance between the two groups of people was too far and even with enormous mountains in the way, they couldn’t have moved that far. But I don’t agree with them. Korean language belongs to the Ural-Altaic family of languages. The mountains that stand on the way from Mesopotamia and Canaan to the Korean Peninsula are exactly the Ural and Altaic mountains. Besides that route, there was already a trade route which led to Afghanistan and Pakistan at that time period.
Still, the two races of people who have the strongest ability to maintain their livelihood are Korean descendants and Jews. Wherever they go, they become rich and build churches or synagogues. It reveals that the two people groups were of the same race. Without bringing up Tagore’s “A Light of the East,” in my whole life, I have felt that Koreans someday would need to hold the torch of the gospel and move forward.

“My theology is being changed.”

I am a person who has known nothing but the Bible and prayers for 50 years. I studied seven languages when I was in college and was determined to be the most famous theologian in the world. Then by chance, I was introduced to the History of Redemption Series, written by Rev. Abraham Park. While I was writing the letter of recommendation for its 7th book, there was something that clicked in my head. I couldn’t distinguish if this book was written by Rev. Park or by Moses. It was qualitatively different from the books written by numerous other theologians. Rev. Park was delivering only the Word of God. I was so touched that I shed tears.
I listened to Rev. Park’s sermons twice in Seoul and twice during the Summer Conference in Yeoju. Then I started to realize in a new light what I have learned thus far in my academic studies. I finally understood the reason why God made me study for 50 years. My theology started to change. I saw congregation members of Pyungkang Cheil Church greeted the senior pastor and expressed their respect to him. I don’t think we can pay our due respect to him enough even if we bow to him with our noses touching the ground. Regarding the ‘tabernacle,’ no one knew its true meaning until now- even the Jews. But Rev. Park found it. It is an incredible miracle. I felt that the true holy ones and true high priests would come from this church. Could it be that God’s burning heart went into Rev. Park to start the work of correcting the rotting world?
I spent most of my life in the U.S. Currently, the U.S. is pushing God out of the country. The Ten Commandments which used to be hung in every government office have been taken down. Where would God head when he has nowhere to go in the U.S.? I think the new reformation will start in the East, from the History of Redemption Series.



We need a spiritual leader, who is like our father

I was really surprised when I went to Yeoju for Summer Conference. It was so beautiful that it reminded me of Solomon’s Temple. All of Israel’s glory was fulfilled by Solomon. Yeoju was reminiscent of the time of Solomon. The ‘wisdom’ that Solomon asked to God means ‘listening heart’ in Hebrew. Rev. Park is a man who ‘listens’ to God’s Word and puts God as the top priority over everything. Just as Solomon who knew all about animals and plants, Rev. Park knows all. I could not help kneeling down before him. I believe that his knowledge, ideas, and philosophy should be spread to the end of the world.
Rev. Park’s English name is Abraham Park. “Abraham” means “father of all nations.” Rev. Park is like our father who teaches us spiritually. Just as Israel had Abraham and the U.S. had Abraham Lincoln, Korea needs a father. In fact, Rev. Park should not only be the father of Koreans, but also the father of the world. Just as God had changed Abraham’s name from ‘Abram’ (father of love, beloved father) to ‘Abraham’ (father of all nations), you should not keep Rev. Park as someone who loves you only. You have a mission to spread his knowledge and ideas to the world.
As I saw Rev. Park teaching his congregation members, I felt this: how does a father teach his children? He says the same word over and over and checks up, asking, did you do this? Or did you do that? Many of Israel’s prophets failed in their ministry because they didn’t do this. They made a prophecy and just went away. That’s why their people didn’t put it into action. Samuel prophesied, but King Saul didn’t practice according to the word. A father is someone who can guide saints to listen clearly to the Word and to put it into their actions.

Like the queen of Sheba who came to Solomon

To tell the truth, when I went to Yeoju, I thought “Since I have come to Korea after a long while, I would impart some good knowledge which I’ve learned through my 50 years of study.” However, as I was listening to the sermons from the pastors of Pyungkang Cheil Church, I changed my mind to “I need to receive from them.” What great skills they have. It was like a newly appointed lieutenant trying to teach the noncommissioned officers who are extensively experienced in the army. The congregation members were amazing too. Where else could there be this kind of Bible conference? In such sweltering heat, people wrote down everything, listening carefully, keeping in order, and being kind… I thought, “This is heaven.” Each and every congregation member looked like he or she was already in the kingdom of God. Children were going in and out just like they came to a party. I thought I would never be able to feel this kind of feeling in any other church in the world.
I was like the Queen of Sheba who came to see Solomon’s wisdom with her own eyes and became inspired after observing everything. The only difference would be that the queen brought numerous gifts but I came with empty-handed. But Rev. Park said “You brought the Word which is thousands times more precious than the gifts of the Queen of Sheba.” Pyungkang Cheil Church is just the type of church I have yearned for. I never imaged in my dream that such a church would exist in real life.



Yeoju, and Mount Jiri

When I was in Yeoju, I had this thought: in Sumerian language, Yeoju can be written as ‘i-a-zu.’ ‘I’ means oil, ‘a’ means the shape water flows, and ‘zu’ means knowledge. So putting it all together, Yeoju is ‘the place where its water and oil are known.’ In ancient time, medical doctors diagnosed diseases and treated them with water. So a doctor was ‘a person who knows water.’ The origin of ‘Jesus’ came from ‘a-zu.’ Jesus also treated the sick with Siloam water.
Next to water, oil was used to cure diseases. Therefore, whoever wants to be cured of the disease has to go to the Yeoju Conference Center. All Korean people have to drink the water coming from Yeoju. That is your mission. Christianity is a religion that starts from water. Genesis 1:2 says darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. This means God let the enclosed water escape and supervised it.
Also, “a mist” as in Genesis 2:6 “But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground,” means a river, water that doesn’t go bad. It is the water which God governed. If we know God, then we can know water.
Water and eternal life are profoundly related to each other. Another interesting thing is that if we read ‘Yeoju’ backwards as we do with Hebrew language, it becomes ‘Ju-yeo’ (meaning ‘Lord’). So Yeoju means ‘Jesus’ when read from one side, and ‘Lord’ when read from the other side.
Word “zi” as in “Mount Jiri,” where Rev. Abraham Park had prayed for three years and six months, risking his life, in Sumerian means “life.” Word “ri” as in “Mount Jiri” means “to flow underground” in Sumerian. I thought he must have breathed the air of springing lives coming from underground for three years and six months. So I believe that the word “Mount Jiri” or “Yeoju” surely came from the Sumerian language.
On the last day of my stay at the Yeoju Conference Center, I had my picture taken in front of the giant Image of a high priest. I saw pomegranates hung at the end of the priest’s robe. Pomegranate was the only fruit that could be delivered into the tabernacle. Why? It is because when we cut pomegranate in half, we can see its seeds, which are uniform in their sizes and shapes. Corns have larger or smaller seeds, and even worm-eaten ones. However, pomegranates are not like that. It means that people who were saved by God are all the same, without discrimination or distinction. Red color signifies that salvation comes only through the blood of Jesus. White covering of pomegranate that envelops its red seeds symbolizes saints wearing clean white garments. So I told Rev. Abraham Park to plant pomegranate trees in Yeoju Conference Center. Then he told me he already did. He also told me that Jesus ate pomegranates and grapes only. What hung next to pomegranates at the end of high priest’s robe are golden bells. They have roles to spread the gospel of the pomegranates. And they are us, ourselves. Now it is time for us to spread the message. I thought it was the very place where the gospel of Jesus would be spread from, where priests stand at, where there is different water, where all holy people are gathered. The highest place, where the temple stands on the Mount Moriah, which is also Mount Zion, there would come a sound to tremble the land as Jeremiah said. Rev. Abraham Park has read the Old and New Testament 1,800 times with care. As I read them once a year, Pastor Abraham has lived 1,800 years in that sense.



“Now we need to understand the Bible correctly”

I have studied Sumerian and Hebrew language for 50 years and translated those languages for 10 years. And I noticed that there were many wrong interpretations in the Bible. In Genesis 4, we see the offerings of Abel and Cain. In the original language, God didn’t even turn His eyes to Cain’s offering and He became angry. However, in the Bible it was mistranslated that Cain, not God, became angry. Genesis 25:27 is translated that Jacob was a mild man. However, in the original meaning, he was a perfect man. In the Old Testament, three people were described with this word ? Jacob, Noah, and Job. While the description of other two men was translated to be “perfect,” with Jacob, the word was mistranslated. When Esau did not follow the law and was about to eat food without washing his hands and “devour” it like animal, Jacob thought, “Oh, no, if this kind of person gets the birthright, he would not even give offerings to God. I need to take the birthright.” He decided so and took the birthright.
In Exodus 4:22, when God tried to kill Moses suddenly, Moses’ wife, Zipporah circumcised his son. It is incomprehensible. However, if we understand the original language correctly, it is not that God tried to kill Moses, but He came in a hurry to ask Moses for something. Zipporah understood that it was “to give circumcision to your son.” Because when God strikes the firstborns of Egypt at the Passover, He could strike Moses and his son who were uncircumcised at that time. So that’s why Zipporah circumcised her son and Moses as well. We need to understand the meaning of “a bridegroom of blood” in the context as if Zipporah said, “As I have shed my first blood to you, isn’t it okay for me to shed yours as well?
Also, the Bible says when David moved the ark of the covenant, God struck down Uzzah and David became angry. In fact, it was God who became angry at David. Also, it is written that after God became angry at King Saul who gave offering to God even if he was not a priest, God also got angry at the prophet Samuel. God meant that “You share the responsibility, too,” because Samuel not only failed to fulfill his duty to advise king Saul two or three times, but also went up to Saul late. Mysteriously, the ministry of the prophet Samuel was practically over at that point. Now is the time for us to understand the Bible correctly. After I have visited the Pyungkang Cheil Church, I am finally convinced that I am able to translate the Bible just as God said.

Five things for saints to keep in mind in their life

“Tsedek,” in Hebrew means righteousness or honesty. It is to correct what is wrong, one by one. Picking up trash on the ground is tsedek, for example. We can start practicing it from small things. It is like Jacob’s act to prioritize God’s will over human ethics or morality. When we do something as we think of God with grateful heart, God calls the act as “worship.” “Hesed” is for stronger or better-off one to help weaker or poorer one. It is not difficult to practice it. It is to give one spoonful of food to others, not to give the whole bowl of food. God likes and loves this kind of people unconditionally. He rewards such people unknowingly.
“Mishpat” is to share what we have with others equally. When it comes to God’s work, someone is supposed to do it, even if I don’t do it. That is the principle of God. So, do it first and get the blessing.
“Anaba” is to endure and remain calm when people trample on and afflict you. It is that whoever slaps you on your right cheek, you turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, you let him have your coat also. That is the way of God. Even if you were hit very hard, the pain does not last more than five minutes. If you endure it for five minutes, you don’t have to get angry. If you endure it, God gives you strength to gain victory. God pays back for any regretful thing for either people or animals. Please wait and endure a little longer.
“Chenea” is to kneel down on the bottom. It is to lower and bring yourself under God’s will. Jesus was beaten and bore the cross as if He was a sinner. Moses, who was such a great leader could not keep this in the end and failed, as we’ve learned through this summer conference.

If you could practice these five things, your church will stand firm on the top of the mountain. It was Moses who received God’s laws, but the ones who built the tabernacle with utmost care were the Israelites. As such, it is Rev. Abraham Park who received the vision of heaven, but it is you the congregation members who need to build it with your own hands. Rev. Abraham Park told me “It was all what our congregation members did. There’s nothing I did.” God wants to do His work through you.

Written by_reporter Ho Jun-Seok, Recorded by_reporter Jang Mi-Yang
This article is a summary of his three lectures and three sets of interviews.