At Pyungkang Cheil Church, to read the Bible and attend Bible Study closely follows the Bible verse: “Remember the days of the old, Consider the years of all generations.”  Ever since the History of Redemption series had been published, the Bible became a book to study and to be carefully considered and read.  Many readers confess that they are discovering hidden treasures of the Bible through the History of Redemption series.  Then where in the Bible are those treasures hidden and how can we find them?  From junior high students to office workers, businessmen, and government employees, each man and woman from all ages were studying so fervently in their own places. Let’s find out how they are studying.


I drew the genealogy of Adam with my hands.
Myung-su Kim (1st Grade, Ohnam Junior High)

There is something that every pastor who visits Myung-su’s room must see. It is A4 sized pieces of paper where Myung-su directly wrote and drew the genealogy of Adam.  It is a piece of work that has gone through several updates from his elementary school years.  During the time when The Genesis Genealogies and The Covenant of the Torch were published, Myung-su took a sheet of A4 paper and started to draw the genealogy of Adam.  As the genealogy widened, he needed additional A4 sized papers and he scotch taped them together.  When things got cluttered, he even used an excel program to lay out the genealogy.  Myung-su has already read the entire Bible seven times.  He has read each book in the History of Redemption series three times.  He plans to read the newly published sixth book at least three times as well.  Still, what made this junior high student draw out the genealogy of Adam? “First, there were too many names in the genealogy and I wanted to organize them.  Just as God had promised a great nation to Abraham, when I laid out the genealogy, there were really so many people that I ran out of space to write out all those names.  When I saw the product, I felt overwhelmed.”


I have a quiet time with the Word.
Jin-hyun Lim

Around 9AM on Sunday morning, at the Happy Caf? in the basement of the second education center, there are only a few people quietly reading their books.  It is like a library filled with fragrance from the quiet time with the Word.
After Lim Jin-hyun drives his mother to elderess prayer meetings every Sunday morning, he goes to the caf? and reads the History of Redemption series until the start of the second service.  He enjoys reading.  During his student years, he read 300 books a year.  Even now, with his career, he reads about half that number of books.  He says he mainly reads books on humanities, natural sciences, and other miscellaneous subjects in 6:3:1 ratio. This is an expression that shows his personality. When asked if it was difficult to make the time to read the History of Redemption series with a full time career, he said that he would sleep less to read.  We were curious what he had to say about the History of Redemption series since he has read many other books.  Every Sunday morning, he reads the series.  “As a believer, I consider the History of Redemption series as the central text in Christian life and a book that changed my view of the Bible.  Before I read the series, the Bible was a book in which the time periods did not match, and the author and period of its texts were all different in my view. Simply, I did not have a correct focus when reading the Bible.  However, the History of Redemption series, as even the title indicates, clearly laid down a structure under a unified perspective and a consistent theme.”  We asked him if he had shared the History of Redemption series to others.  “Three to four chapters in the History of Redemption series amounts to one Sunday sermon. I gave these books to my friends ? those who responded to these books were usually those who had read the Bible at least five times or studied it academically. The History of Redemption series must be read intensively.  I personally found The Genesis Genealogies to be the most difficult book and plan to read it again.”


I make a chronological chart of the Bible as if I am counting feathers.
Jae-ki Shim

In November of 2009, 25 year vacation from church was over for Jae-ki Shim. He attended church from the age of 19. But when he married at 28 years of age, he stopped coming to church.  Then his friend, Elder Jung-hyun Kim, who could have forgotten his name by now, called him after 25 years and told him the most surprising news that Senior Pastor had written and published the History of Redemption series. With total surprise, Jae-ki Shim asked his friend to come over to his house with the books.  He remembered Senior Pastor often saying that he would publish his books.  His friend who brought the books had informed him that four books in the series were published.  His friend advised him that he would not understand the fourth book until he had read the first three books.  “As I read the books, I remembered the Word that I received during my young adulthood. I really enjoyed them.  I read the first book in one sitting.  I read the first three books in two weeks and felt the flood of grace that I had forgotten in the past 25 years.  I felt like someone prayed for me.”  His eyes danced as he flashed back to his young days.  Because of his curiosity, he purchased the fourth book with his own money.  The book was very difficult. As he read the book, the content was amazing ? he followed the book but realized it was difficult as he tried to calculate the years of generations. When he returned to church and had Bible studies with the evangelists, the content became easier to absorb.  However, when he tried on his own to calculate the synchronous regnal years between the northern and southern kingdoms, he got totally lost after Rehoboam’s seventeen years of reign and Abjiah’s three years. So, he began to work on the back of a calendar by drawing the charts based on the Bible verses specified in the book. Soon, he gave up drawing by hands due to intricacy and complexity of the regnal years, and he resorted to Photoshop program on the computer. It is amazing that he is able to use Photoshop in his fifties.  I was curious of his profession. “I export and trade equipment.  I made manuals for the equipment on Photoshop.  The ruler on Photoshop is accurate.  Therefore when you input the southern and northern kings’ regnal years, you can align them accurately using Photoshop’s ruler.  I have labeled good kings as green and when they turned wicked I labeled them red.  I also identified co-regency.”  His chart was not only visually impressive but also accurate containing all the biblical documentation.  I asked what he gained from such arduous project.
 “I did not know that the Bible is so exact without any gaps or chronological discrepancies and provides various evidences therein. The only difference during these thousands of years was the six months ? the difference which comes from Tishri and Nisan dating.  I remember the author said in his foreword that he researched the Bible during the course of writing as if he was counting feathers.  That is why I said to myself that I wanted to read in the author’s mind so I can feel what he felt.  I especially try to look up the Bible verses as best as I can when I read the History of Redemption series.”
He believes God made the Bible like a puzzle.  When God made the Bible in that fashion, He must have also anticipated someone who can accurately solve the puzzle to appear.  As a proverb which says beads become a treasure only when threaded together, he believes the History of Redemption series is a tool to serve that purpose.  “Hebrews 4:7 comes to my mind, which says, ‘He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”’ Perhaps this day is that ‘today,’ for we have the books that penetrate the Bible so that those beads can now be threaded.”


I read, organize, pray, and teach.
Young-sun Choi

As we were looking for our church members who have been fervently studying the History of Redemption series, someone recommended his aunt. That’s how I met a high school ministry teacher, Young-sun Choi. My first question was how much she studied the History of Redemption series.  She answered that she read a lot. How much is “a lot?” She has read each book 20 times. How was she able to read the books a total of 100 times? In addition, she has already read the sixth book for the seventh time. The day I interviewed her was about twenty days after the sixth book’s publication.  I was so amazed and asked her where she found the time to read and what her method of reading was. “I am a government employee; I do not have much time, so I need to make the time to read the books.  I go to work early in the morning and return late at night.  From my house in Pyeongtaek, I leave about 6 AM and arrive to Incheon at 7 AM. Then I pray and read the books right away.  From 9 AM I begin my government job, eat lunch and read again. And after work, I stay until 8 PM to read more and return home.”  Her children are all grown up and are in the United States.  I was curious as to how she made the time and effort to read the books.  “I am so frustrated that I keep forgetting no matter how much I read.  If I could have it my way, I want to inscribe the words on my heart. The Bible says that in the last days, many people will return to the Word (Amos 8:11).  I do not want to forget but write it down and remember as much as I can.” Her second method was taking notes. She uses her computer to take notes. In addition, she handwrites important notes for the special big and small titles and also speaks them out loud.  She remembers each book’s important key points.  Anyone who listens to her explanation can feel her zeal for the word.  “The more I read, the more I need to pray. I usually go to Yeoju early Saturday morning.  I arrive at 5 AM to pray and praise, return home at 11 AM.  Every single word is a treasure to me.  I want to understand and change… I expect to change as much as I read, but since I cannot, I can only rely on prayers.” 
She believes if we take these books as the books of life, and if we understand our heavenly Father’s heart, then we need to go to the library to read these books as diligently as students preparing for college entrance exams. She then concluded with an earnest plea that we all must recognize the precious value of these books.

Written by Myung-seon Kang