William Blair
An American Presbyterian missionary who came to Korea in 1901 and worked at Pyongyang. He was present at the revival meetings of January 1907 and described them in The Korea Pentecost.
Blair sailed for Korea in August 1901 as a missionary of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., and wrote his book on furlough after eight years there (Blair, The Korea Pentecost foreword and p. 5). At Pyongyang he worked in the North Pyeng Yang Church and chaired the Pyeng Yang Men’s Association (Blair, The Korea Pentecost p. 46).
During the Bible class of January 1907 he preached on the Saturday night from 1 Corinthians 12:27, on the church as one body (Blair, The Korea Pentecost p. 44). On the Tuesday night an elder confessed before the congregation that he had hated Blair, and asked him to pray; Blair writes that he began “Father, Father” and could get no further (Blair, The Korea Pentecost p. 46). See the Pyongyang Revival.
In the timeline
- 14 January 1907, firm dateThe Pyongyang Revival
At a winter Bible class in Pyongyang in January 1907, hundreds of Korean Presbyterian men pray aloud together and confess their sins in public through two nights. Those who were there carry the revival to churches across Korea.