21. The Second Chosen People!

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21. The Second Chosen People!

“‘Shem’ begot ‘Arpachshad,’ ‘Arpachshad’ begot ‘Shelah,’ ‘Shelah’ begot ‘Eber,’ and ‘Eber’ begot ‘Peleg’ and ‘Joktan.’” (Genesis 10:21-25)

The fact that the Korean people are a chosen people by God is clearly confirmed by the records in the Bible. In Genesis 10:25, it states, “The descendants of ‘Eber’ were only two brothers, ‘Peleg’ and ‘Joktan,’ and later, as an adopted son, ‘Joktan’ was called ‘Hwanung’ locally. The Bible records that ‘Eber’ had two sons, one named ‘Peleg,’ for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was ‘Joktan.’” Therefore, the chosen people of God, ‘Eber,’ meaning ‘all the sons of Eber,’ refers to both the descendants of ‘Peleg’ and ‘Joktan.’ Here, Yahweh God clearly prepared the basis that the chosen people are not one but two. This is a very important revelation.

Tracing the lineage of choice, it is the God of ‘Shem’ → ‘Arpachshad’ → ‘Shelah’ → ‘Eber,’ and the God of the descendants of ‘Peleg’ and ‘Joktan!’ Thus, ‘Peleg’ became the first ancestor of the chosen people, and both of his sons were distinguished as chosen people, making the descendants of ‘Peleg’ and ‘Joktan’ all chosen people. Therefore, according to the order, the descendants of ‘Peleg’ can be called the first chosen people, and the descendants of ‘Joktan’ can be called the second chosen people.

Clearly, the true ancestors of the Israelites as chosen people trace back to ‘Peleg’ before ‘Abraham’ and his descendants. ‘Peleg’ became the ancestor of the chosen people, and his two sons formed the first two tribes of faith. Therefore, ‘Peleg’ and ‘Joktan’ are both ancestors of the chosen people, with ‘Eber’ being the supreme ancestor of the chosen people. However, the recognition of being chosen people disappeared among the descendants of ‘Peleg,’ and it was re-established during the time of ‘Abraham.’

Among the descendants of the first chosen people, ‘Jacob’ later became the actual and true ancestor of the chosen people, and all his twelve sons formed the twelve tribes of Israel as chosen people. In contrast, ‘Joktan’ had thirteen sons locally, but most of them became ancestors of the Arab lineage, remaining independent in that land. Therefore, when ‘Joktan’ set out eastward with the hope of forming a nation that worships God well, he already became the ancestor of the second chosen people, and those who continued the line of faith through him are the second chosen people.

‘Joktan’ was called ‘Hwanung’ in the East, and all his sons and descendants who continued the line were chosen people, but unlike the first chosen people, their consciousness of being chosen people faded, and eventually, it disappeared for a while. However, the Korean people living in the land of the Korean Peninsula later accepted the gospel and were chosen again like ‘Abraham,’ becoming another chosen people on this earth, the second chosen people. In the 21st century, as this history is newly illuminated, there is a desire to remember the fact of being the second chosen people and to fulfill that mission.

owever, we must not forget that, like the first chosen people, Israel, the fact of being chosen people itself can lead to pride and arrogance, which can ruin God’s plan of choosing us as chosen people. The Israelites denied the Christ sent by God, ultimately rejecting God. Moreover, they live in a contradiction of formally recognizing their chosen people status but actually denying it.

Therefore, we should not become like the Israelites, the first chosen people. They do not realize that they must be restored through the Christ they persecuted in the distant future. Instead, we should not be such chosen people who unknowingly flow towards that day. God has hidden the chosen people for over 6,000 years since creation, 5,000 years since Noah, 4,000 years since ‘Abraham,’ and 2,000 years since Jesus Christ.

Then, about 4,000 years after ‘Joktan’ (‘Hwanung’) set out eastward to find a new land, he entered the land of Korea, and the descendants of ‘Joktan’ met the gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s messenger, igniting the gospel in the land of the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, now, as a special people chosen by God, Koreans should not have the attitude of being treated specially but should become messengers carrying the gospel of Jesus and his word, spreading the gospel waves through missionary activities around the world. And now, remembering God’s will, who hid our people to use them today, we must fulfill the mission given to us as the second chosen people.

“After Dangun had already offered sacrifices to heaven, established teachings to govern the people, and practiced the Way for several years, the people were all inspired, evil disappeared, and the world was well governed.”

This record is similar to the account in the Book of Genesis where Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to God after the flood judgment.

“God is the one and only deity, occupying the highest place of unity. He initiated heaven and earth and governs all worlds, creating countless things. There is nothing that is not encompassed by His boundless vastness, and His divine brightness is so bright that even the finest dust does not escape it. The heavenly model is singular, and its gate is not two. If you purely devote yourself and unify your heart, you will ascend to heaven. O people! Emulate the heavenly model, assist all goodness, eradicate all evil, and perfect your duties through your inherent nature, then you will ascend to heaven.”

Ultimately, ancient Chinese history and the “Gyuwon Sahwa” indicate that our people have believed in God since ancient times. Despite this, people who have lived under the influence of foreign religions throughout long history mistakenly consider Buddhism or Confucianism, which came from foreign lands, as traditional religions, while viewing Christianity as a Western religion. However, our people originally believed in a single deity and did not worship spirits or idols before the introduction of Buddhism, a foreign religion. The descendants of Shem who came to the East only worshipped the one God.

The purpose of founding the nation was to implement the ideology of ‘Hongik Ingan’ (弘益人間), which means to broadly benefit humanity and serve all mankind, embodying the altruistic and philanthropic ideals, similar to the Christian concept of ‘agape’. Therefore, our ancestors who loved peace were called the ‘Baekui Minjok’ (白衣民族) because they preferred to wear white clothes. The great served the small, and the small respected the great, forming a beautiful community. Thus, one of the historical records of ancient China, “Huainanzi Da Xing Xun” (淮南子 隊形訓), states:

“There is a country of gentlemen in the East, because the virtues of the East are benevolent, there is a country of gentlemen. When the morality of China falls to the ground, and Chinese politics is in chaos, go to the East to learn.”

This shows that ancient Chinese people sincerely recognized and respected the Eastern country of propriety and righteousness for a long time.

With God’s plan, Hwanung and his family, who entered the central part of the Korean Peninsula, had to establish a new life and lifestyle here. They continued to use or extend what they had used before, but in this new environment with different natural conditions and weather, they had to develop new methods suitable for this environment.

As they lived together on this land, they needed rules to live together as their descendants would increase in the future. Therefore, they organized the commandments given by God as they remembered them from their homeland and decided to use them as they were. These became the ‘Eight Prohibitions’ of Gojoseon.

Serve the one and only God with all your heart.

Honor your parents.

Men and women should harmonize, not hate, be jealous, or be lewd.

Love and help each other, do not slander or kill each other.

Yield to each other and cultivate together.

Do not become fierce and arrogant, harming things or injuring others.

Help in danger and relieve difficulties.

Do not harbor deceit, hide evil, or conceal disasters.

The Ten Commandments were given to the Israelites through Moses about 800 years after ‘Yoktan’ (‘Hwanung’) came to the East. However, the ‘Eight Prohibitions’ were already in use long before that, and their content is very similar. This suggests that God had already given these commandments to the ancestors, and the descendants of ‘Yoktan’ who came to the East kept these commandments in their lives, while the descendants of ‘Peleg’ forgot them during their long stay in Egypt. When God’s commandments were not kept, God gave them again through Moses.

However, the descendants of ‘Yoktan’ also did not remember everything perfectly, so they remembered only eight commandments, which are the same as the above commandments. Comparing the two:

The first commandment of the Ten Commandments: You shall have no other gods before me.

The first prohibition of the Eight Prohibitions: Serve the one and only God.

These two are essentially the same law. ‘Dangun’, who crossed the mountains with God and established the nation of Baedal, taught all the people of Joseon to refrain from worshipping false gods and idols and to serve only the one Creator God. Therefore, the first prohibition of the Eight Prohibitions and the first commandment of the Ten Commandments are essentially the same because the Creator God taught by Dangun to the people is the same as the one God revealed in the Bible. Before proclaiming the eight laws to the people, Dangun taught the concept of the one God as follows:

“God is the one and only deity, occupying the highest place of unity. He initiated heaven and earth and governs all worlds, creating countless things. There is nothing that is not encompassed by His boundless vastness, and His divine brightness is so bright that even the finest dust does not escape it.”

Thus, our ancestors in ancient times were a people who performed heavenly rituals worshipping the one Creator God, and their original religion was not polytheism. This can also be seen in the ‘Dangun Gi’ (檀君記) of ‘Gyuwon Sahwa’:

“The faith in God disappeared, and now the custom of worshipping spirits and Jeok (帝釋) prevails… Every year in October, they make rice cakes with new grains and offer them to spirits, praying for blessings. This came from the faith of the ancestors who worshipped God, but now they worship spirits instead of God, asking shamans and sorcerers for wealth and longevity, which is a great harm as a remnant of old customs…”

By teaching the people the principles of heaven and the people following and obeying them, there was no resentment among people, no excessive closeness or distance, no factions, no high or low status, equal rights for men and women, and mutual help and support. Therefore, the country was peaceful without laws or orders. This was the life of our ancestors during the Dangun era, who had a high culture and lived well without laws.

Dangun ordered the construction of stone altars throughout Joseon to offer sacrifices to God. The form of these stone altars, with two stones standing vertically and one stone placed horizontally on top, symbolizes heaven, where God resides, and the two vertical stones represent the West and the East. This signifies the hope that people from the West and the East will meet again someday as sons of God and offer sacrifices together to God. This was the intention of ‘Hwanung’ and ‘Dangun’. This was around 2333 BC, marking the foundation of Joseon and the beginning of the history of the Korean people, the descendants of heaven. Confirm‎ing the history of our Korean people in detail, I felt an indescribable strength welling up inside me.

According to ancient Chinese records, it is documented that our people believed in God.

“In October, they would always offer sacrifices to heaven, read scriptures, drink alcohol, sing songs,

and dance at night. This was called ‘Mucheon’ (舞天).”

(Book of the Later Han, Etiquette Section)

“In October, there was a grand assembly to offer sacrifices to heaven, called ‘Dongmaeng’ (東盟).”

(Records of the Three Kingdoms, Goguryeo)

“In each fortress, one person was appointed to oversee the sacrifices to the heavenly god (天神). This person was called ‘Cheongun’ (天君), and the place was called ‘Sodo’ (蘇塗).” (Records of the Three Kingdoms, Jinhan)

“God is the one and only deity, occupying the highest and most supreme position. He created heaven and earth, governs the entire world, and made countless things. He surrounds everything so that nothing is left out, and He is so bright and clear that not even a tiny speck of dust can escape His notice.” (Gyuwon Sahwa, Dangun Section)

Therefore, the Dongyi people of Gojoseon and the Sohogum (Kim) clan of China made three-legged vessels out of clay to commemorate the Trinity of God. In the Chinese characters created by the Dongyi people, God was written as ‘Si’ (示), and in the inscriptions of the Dongyi people, the character for God (神) is depicted as a person praying to the Trinity of God. (神의 金文) Our ancestors in ancient society, who revered God and loved their brothers, lived without significant problems. The ancient Chinese texts, Shan Hai Jing (山海經) and Huainanzi (淮南子), recorded that Joseon in the East was called ‘the land of gentlemen.’

“Inside the East Sea (Yellow Sea) and at the corner of the North Sea (Bohai Bay), there is Joseon (朝鮮). Heaven nurtures its people. They live by the water, cherish, and love others.” (Shan Hai Jing, Hai Nei Jing 山海經 海內經)

“In the East, there is a land of gentlemen. The virtue of wood in the East is benevolence, and thus there is a land of gentlemen.” (Huainanzi, Chu Xing Xun 淮南子 雛形訓)

These Chinese records confirm‎ that our roots have continued in this way, and we have lived as descendants of the ‘Shem’ tribe, specially chosen by God.