The aftermath of the publication of The Eternal High Priest of the Covenantal Oath, the sixth book in the History of Redemption Series

These days, the phone is ringing off the hook at Huisun Books, the company that publishes the History of Redemption series. "We receive a lot of phone calls. I am, once again, feeling the explosive popularity of the History of Redemption series" said a representative from the publisher. Most of the calls are from pastors who have questions, comments, requests to meet the author, etc. However, numerous calls from lay readers are also flooding in. The stories that come in are also very diverse.

The first story comes from a lady who works as a custodian at a company. As she was cleaning, she came across and read the “author's foreword” and the first chapter of The Profound and Mysterious Providence of God, the fourth book in the History of Redemption series, which was lying on the president's desk. She felt as if she were being sucked into the book. As she was reading, she discovered the phone number of the publisher in the back of the book and called to ask where she could purchase the book. She commented, “I never knew that there was such a book that clearly elucidated the genealogy of Jesus Christ like this.” She wanted to know how to obtain the third, fourth, and fifth books of the History of Redemption series which deal with Jesus’ genealogy.

The story of the 72-year-old man who runs a market in Guri City, Gyeonggi Province is also very interesting. The lady who lives across the street remarked, “I never knew such a book existed in this world!” Then, she went on to recommend the first book in the History of Redemption series, The Genesis Genealogies. In just 3 days, the 72-year-old man read through the book twice. He returned the book to her then called the publisher to ask where he could purchase the book. He told them that in his 72 years of life as a believer, he wrote out the genealogies of Genesis on blank sheets of paper dozens of times in order to calculate the years. However, he was never able to completely resolve this riddle. Moreover, he never encountered a book that helped him to solve it either. He is an avid reader so he is always reading; however, he had never read anything like this. He spoke to the publishing company representative for close to an hour, preventing her from working. He repeatedly exclaimed and sighed in amazement. He said, “I don't understand how God could have given such an amazing word to the author. It is amazing! It must be a blessing from God to encounter such a book in my life! I want to thank the author.” He also promised to purchase books one through six of the series and gift it to the pastor of his church.

For 15 years, Pastor “J” had been serving as a missionary in Jordan, a neighboring nation to Israel, after he finished his studies in Great Britain. He called to say that during his long missionary tenure in Jordan, he had looked through many maps that dealt with the exodus and wilderness journey of the Israelites; however, he had never seen a map that was so detailed as the map in The Covenant of the Torch, second book in the History of Redemption series. While he was in Korea, Pastor “J” purchased 20 maps in Korean and two of the English version in order to introduce it to people that he comes across in Jordan.

Mr. Geuk-jong Lee, a congregation member of the Pyungkang Cheil Church, told his son to give the History of Redemption series to his acquaintance, Mr. “J.” These words became his final words before he passed away last year. His son obeyed his father's final wish and gave the first four books of the series to Mr. “J.” After having read the books, Mr. “J” called Huisun Books. He said, “I read the first book The Genesis Genealogies. I am not a Christian but after reading the book I felt that the author Reverend Abraham Park is no ordinary man. I would really like to meet him. Can you tell me how?”

Mr. “J” was a giant figure in the 1980s and 90s grassroots movement; his name would be immediately recognizable if revealed. He was a colleague in the grassroots movement with Mr. Geuk-jong Lee. Mr. “J” remembers Mr. Lee as a “truly great man.” And when he heard that Mr. Lee had sent the books as a last will and testament, he knew he had to read them. And while reading, he was shocked by its content. That is why he called the publishing company. Mr. “J” promised to visit Pyungkang Cheil Church soon.

In the first week of its publication, The Eternal High Priest of the Covenantal Oath, the sixth book in the History of Redemption series, sold 10,000 copies in bookstores across the country. This is unprecedented for a Christian book. This figure is also indicative of how popular the History of Redemption series has become. Representatives from major bookstores, surprised from such explosive sales, called to ask if these books are used as textbooks at seminaries. At some major booksellers such as Kyobo Book Center, they are facing shortages of these books because they are not able to supply them in time.
written by Jun-seok Ho