[Interview] “I realized that all the genealogies in the Bible were about our own story.”

“I realized that all the genealogies in the Bible were about our own story.”

 

Descendants of Redemptive History who came from Ghana and India

Several guests from Ghana and India, all young adult Christians in their twenties, attended the 1st Biblical History of Redemption Seminar at Pyungkang Cheil Church.

 

I want to share with my people the genealogies in the Bible.
Aseesh Chintar, 28 〔left in the photo〕 / Moses Victor, 24 〔right in the photo〕

Both Aseesh and Moses are engineers form India. They came to Korea for a three-month long project, as their company's headquarters and based here. They came to know of the History of Redemption series from their supervisor who is a member of Pyungkang Cheil Church. Both are third-generation Christians. With the many gods that are worshipped in India, these young men testified that there is no greater god than our God. Moses’ grandfather, a soldier, prayed for God to grant him a son in return he would dedicate that son to God. As a result he received five children. I was most curious about their impression of the seminar, as they had purchased four copies of the History of Redemption series after the seminar.

Moses said, “I’ve always thought the genealogies were the most boring part of the Bible, but through today’s seminar, I've come to understand the hidden meanings of the Bible. I realized the meaning of the numbers in the Bible and how to connect them together. My relative attended theological classes and shared his knowledge with me, but I’ve never heard anything in such detail like this before. I had no idea about the relationship between Abraham and Noah, either. Churches in India teach of the biblical figures as individuals, but I realized at this seminar that these individuals are all linked to one another.”

Assesh shared, “I realized that all the genealogies in the Bible--from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham--are all about our own story. We are Abraham’s descendants and share the same covenant. That is why we must understand the genealogies well. We must know whom God listed in the genealogies and whom He took out.” I was mesmerized to see them give these testimonies after attending a one-day seminar. I asked them what they would like to share with others when they return home.

Aseesh fervently responded, “I understood that the reason Adam and Lamech lived con-temporaneously for 56 years was to pass on and inherit the Word. I had never thought about individuals like Methuselah or Enoch. I want to share what I heard here with my people. At the beginning of the redemptive history and the genealogies with my people.”

They shared, “Based on what we have learned at Pyungkang Cheil Church, we will keep moving on. We were impressed with the system, worship, and praises here. We also saw how the congregation focused on the Word for such a long period of time. We were study-ing here for four hours but it didn’t seem that long. We really enjoyed it. We were especially impressed with the lecture presentation on the board and the lecture handouts. It felt as if we were studying at a university. We want to convey this scene of focused worship back at home.”

 

I have now come to realize more about redemption and eternal life
Linda Dadzie, 26

Linda also grew up in a Christian home. She received a national scholarship from Ghana to come to Korea and study Adver-tising & Public Relations at Sook Myung University. She has been in Korea for two years and six months and plans to return to Ghana at the end of this year. She first visited Pyungkang Cheil Church towards the end of 2014 and participated in Bible studies with Evg.Joanna Pae. She describes Pyungkang Cheil Church as “a place like home.” From studying the History of Redemp-tion series, she clearly understood that people die because of sin. She had learned about sin at church before she studied about redemptive history, but she didn’t have a clear grasp of what sin really is and didn’t pay much attention to redemption and eternal life. “I’ve already learned these at the Bible studies here, but today’s seminar allowed me to see everything again from a greater perspective. The History of Redemption series really teaches us about God's history and the fact that when we understand this history, we can also know of our future paths.”

Sixty percent of Ghana’s population is Christian and the churches are generally young and active. After attending the seminar, Linda now has a clearer plan: “I would like to read the History of Redemption series more, and I want to continue to study it until I leave Korea. I hope there will be another History of Redemption seminar in Ghana. That will help my people to return to the Bible and understand it much better.”

 

Kang Myoung-sun, Reporter