외국인칼럼 > 영어칼럼 > The Pastors Learning the History of Redemption

How did you come across the History of Redemption series and begin the Bible studies?

Rev. Dong-Il Lee: 7 years ago, an eldress named Sung-Ja Kim from Pyungkang Cheil Church gave me a book, and this was the first time I came across the History of Re-demption series. At that time, Pyungkang Cheil Church had been holding a “History of Redemption Academy for Ministers” and that’s when I started the study officially. While listening to the lectures I thought, “I should share this Word with other pastors too.” Back then, there used to be so many misunderstandings on the author and the church. While praying, I came to a determination to start the studies concretely and started giving out the books that had been donated to me.
(The church in Ilsan where he is ministering is very similar to Pyungkang Cheil Church. The slogan, “The Church that leads the nation and all people to God by preaching the eter-nal gospel” is hung on the wall along with all sorts of maps, genealogies and chronological charts from the History of Redemption series.)

Rev. David Lee: I first joined “The History of Redemption Academy for Ministers” through Rev. Dong-Il Lee. On the first day I joined, there seemed to be around forty participants.
Eldress Sung-Ja Kim greeted me at the gate and handed me a book she had been hold-ing. Qualitatively, the academy approached the Bible very differently from the way I had learned in Theological seminary. In seminary, the professors only covered the main events; but the History of Redemption series approached the Bible in a scientific, detailed way through age and chronologies. It was a totally new method of approaching the Bible. I marveled at seeing this kind of approach and exegesis of the Bible. As the revelations were uncovered before my eyes, I exclaimed in joy, “Even the numbers contained God’s revela-tion!” The History of Redemption books seemed so precious, such that I wished I had learned all these when I was in seminary.
There was even a time when I misapprehended Rev. Dong-Il Lee because I did not hear from Rev. Dong-Il Lee again after the academy discontinued, thinking that he was attend-ing the academy alone without me. Ha Ha.

Rev. Gwon-neung Woo: One day, I received a text message from Rev. David Lee saying that he would drop by one of these days. He came all the way to Incheon, and said, “I came to give you this book.” At that instant, I prayed and asked God, “what is this book that you have sent your servant to give me?” I felt this event should not be overlooked. After we had a meal together and Rev. Lee left, I opened the book. As I read the preface, tears welled up in my eyes. I shed more tears as I came to realize that all the false accusations against the author and the church stemmed from jealousy among the religious circles.

I kept on marveling as I continued reading the book. His approach was exceptional. His spirituality was extraordinary. His work would have been impossible if God the Spirit Himself had not revealed it directly. It was truly shocking. I looked up all the Bible verses and underlined them while reading the book. It felt as though God gave me a very precious gift from Heaven.

Rev. David Lee: Rev. Gwon-neung Woo, who usually doesn’t express himself or call me of-ten, actually called me several times to tell me that the book is a very precious gift. (Smiles)
What he said was right. The History of Redemption series could not have been written without the help of the Holy Spirit. Such a book cannot be produced as a result of learning.

“When people say that you must receive the Word by faith, the concept of faith is rather abstract. However, if you find God’s will within the chronologies inside the redemptive history, you can certainly gain confidence in things that used to have loose ends. Then faith can develop to have power. The other day, I gave the book to one pastor and he said, “I feel ashamed receiving this precious gift for free when the author spent 3 years and 6 months praying and studying up at Mt. Jiri.”

Only those who seek for the Word can hear it. Whenever someone expressed doubt, I would say, “Read the books, the books will tell you the truth.” I tried to give a book to an elderly pastor, but he said, “I liked the books so much that I already bought all six books at the bookstore.” He then surprised me by reciting out of memory all the 42 campsites in the wilderness journey. It’s not easy to memorize when you’re studying on your own. I mailed the books to several representative pastors who host seminars throughout the country and they all loved the books.

Rev. Dong-Il Lee: My son is a missionary in Philippines and at the same time studying at a seminary. I repeatedly asked my son to teach the redemptive history. Every time my son was concerned about me, I told him, “This problem will be resolved by the time you learn and teach the Word of the redemptive history.” And the problem was really resolved.
Last December 30th, I attended the New Year’s Eve service at Pyungkang Cheil Church.
During this service, the executive members of the Christian Council of Korea each gave their testimonies. I was especially moved when one of them said with assurance, “We veri-fied that the accusations of the opposite side are false and incorrect.”

Rev. David Lee: When one executive member from the Christian Council of Korea said, “even if I have to step down from this position, I will still call Rev. Yoon-Sik Park my men-tor,” I felt the genuineness in his remark. That one comment that day cleared away the slightest amount of doubt left in my heart.

Rev. Gwon-neung Woo: So many people partook in this thorough investigation that lasted a year. The Korean churches must cherish the History of Redemption series as a treasure.

Rev. Dong-Il Lee: Last summer, I had a chance to visit the churches in the Midwest states of the U.S. including LA, San Diego, Atlanta, and Nevada. I preached four main sermons and sub sermons, and they were all on the History of Redemption. Before leaving for the States, I met with Rev. Joseph Cho and Rev. Andrew Pak to seek their advice on preparing the sermons. The History of Redemption series is a good teaching material for sermons. I delivered a History of Redemption book to one missionary in Laos and he later told me that he preached over a year just on the first book of the History of Redemption series alone. They surely are wonderfully practical resources for sermons.

Rev. Gwon-neung Woo: I also use the History of Redemption for my sermons. For example, I emphasize on the importance of passing down the faith by adding more to the fact that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all lived in the same tent for three generations.

Rev. David Lee: People often express their disagreement during general seminars for minis-ters. There are even quite a number of severe cases of arguments. The History of Redemp-tion series seminars are different, however. They are solely based on the Bible and the fact relevance is so accurate that no argument can arise. As the hidden things are revealed and we study them, we gain greater conviction.

Rev. Dong-Il Lee: One day, many guests including ministers came to our church without notice. I was outside the church and when I came back, I saw them looking closely at the charts, genealogies and chronological tables hanging on the wall. So I told them about the author and the books and gave out seven books as a gift to the oldest pastor in the group as a gift. At that moment, he handed out one book to each of the pastors and told them to share their thoughts after reading. Later, the books were delivered in full sets to everyone. I believe these people will also join the History of Redemption study eventually.

The meeting for the ministers in Ilsan started out with three people. They studied with printed materials in the beginning; but, with the idea that more people might attend, they asked for a guest speaker from Pyungkang Cheil Church and Evangelist Yoo-Jin Chung who was the evangelist responsible for the Ilsan district was invited. Currently, the attend-ing number has increased to sixteen people including the wives of the pastors. Before anyone knew it, the History of Redemption series spread so fast. This spread was caused by someone’s enthusiasm and passion for the History of Redemption. Rev. Dong-Il Lee said that his only goal is ensure that many more pastors are able to study in a more com-fortable environment. All the pastors unanimously agreed that it was the fruition of Eldress Sung-Ja Kim’s consistent attention, love and devotion that allowed them to come across the History of Redemption and to receive the Word.

By Reporter Ji-Woon Lee