ROCK WITH FACES
The Elephant Rock: More than Meets the Eye
8 MINUTES READ
At first glance, it looks like a toad. That’s what everyone thought. And for a long time, no one questioned it. Like a toad, the rock had a round back, squat poster and squarely resembled a resting toad. So uncanny was its resemblance that its previous owner even called it the “Toad Rock”. Pastor Jung, too, called it by that name when he first laid eyes on it. But as with many things in Wolmyeongdong, what you see at first is not always what something truly is.
Years later, Pastor Jung looked at it from a different angle. Not from the front, where the toad sat; but from the side, it becomes clear: this wasn’t a toad. It was an elephant. A massive, majestic animal, symbolising strength, wisdom, and kingship. The form had been there all along, but no one had noticed because they were looking at it through their own expectations.
This revelation changed everything. The Toad Rock became the Elephant Rock.
Hidden in Plain Sight
The story of Elephant Rock began long before it ever arrived at Wolmyeongdong. It was owned by the CEO of a rock company who regarded it as the pride of his business. It was no ordinary boulder, but a golden toad; a symbol of luck and prosperity. So cherished was this rock that even when offered at a high price, he refused to sell it.
But Pastor Jung saw something more. Not in the rock itself, but in its purpose. He believed the rock belonged in God’s temple. And although his request to purchase it was flatly denied, he didn’t walk away. Instead, he walked up to the rock, placed his hand on its surface, and prayed that the rock may come to Wolmyeongdong.
Then, in 1997, the rock company eventually faced financial collapse. The CEO reached out to Pastor Jung, asking him to purchase rocks. Pastor Jung agreed and went down to choose the 16 rocks. Among them, however, the Toad Rock was nowhere to be seen. Unfazed, Pastor Jung searched the yard relentlessly. He ended up finding nothing.
As he continued looking, uncertain and surrounded by weeds that towered up to ten meters, he paused and prayed in his heart, asking the Lord where the rock was. At that moment, a gentle inspiration came:
Inspiration from Jesus“That rock is the Toad Rock.”
Following the guidance, Pastor Jung dug into a patch of overgrowth and soil. There, buried upside down and half-hidden in the ground, was the very rock he had prayed over years earlier. The CEO had hidden it, not wanting to part with it, even in financial distress. Yet God had revealed its place. Remembering the prayer he once whispered with his hand on the rock, Pastor Jung now knew it had been set aside all along.
With God’s prompting, he made his request again. This time, the CEO agreed. The rock that could not be bought with money alone was finally brought into the natural temple of Wolmyeongdong.
Walking by Faith, Not by Sight
It’s easy to dismiss this as coincidence. A long-forgotten rock resurfacing just as financial pressure mounted. A hidden relic rediscovered under weeds and dirt. But those who walk closely with God recognize something deeper. This wasn’t just good timing. It was divine orchestration.
God had protected the rock, even as it was buried and concealed from ordinary view. And when the time was right, He revealed it; not to everyone, but to the one who had asked for it in faith. Pastor Jung’s prayer, spoken with trust years earlier, was remembered. The rock’s form, too, had always been the same. But its meaning and appearance would only be understood when seen through the eyes of faith.
There’s a quiet lesson nestled within Elephant Rock. Sometimes we are quick to define things based on what we expect to see. We make judgments based on the angle we stand or the perspective we’ve grown used to. To many, the rock was a toad. But from another side, it was something completely different. It took a shift in angle, a willingness to look again, to realize what had been there from the beginning.
As Pastor Jung once explained,
Jung Myeong Seok“Even though an object has its fundamental form, if you look at it centering on yourself, according to your thoughts, it will seem like what you thought.”
The Rock that Taught Us to See
Like the Elephant Rock, what we first perceive may not be the whole truth. But when we look with faith; when we stop centering on our own thoughts and start seeking with a prayerful heart, God shows us what we could not see before.
The lesson is simple but profound. Pastor Jung’s quiet, faith-filled prayer over a rock no one believed he could obtain was heard. Years later, in the most unexpected way and at the right time, God answered. Not only by bringing the rock to Wolmyeongdong, but by revealing its true form and purpose. What had once been hidden was now placed where all could see and reflect.
The Elephant Rock, now greeting visitors entering the sports field, of patience rewarded, of prayers remembered, and of God’s faithfulness to reveal and deliver when we seek Him with sincerity. The Elephant Rock is not just a physical monument. It is a testimony that when we seek with faith and patience, God allows us to see more clearly, both in the world and within ourselves.
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