God's Choice

And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (Romans 9:10-13 NASB95)

Consider this, why does God choose Jacob over Esau, Judah over Joseph and David over Saul? Using our normal human common sense, morality, karma and justice, we would do it the other way.

Jacob and Esau
Why does God choose the one who cheat over the one who was cheated to be the ancestor of His chosen people Israel?

Judah and Joseph
Why does God choose the one who enslaved over the slave to be the ancestor of the tribe where the kings of Israel would come from? Wasn't Joseph exemplary his in conduct when he forgave his brothers who sold him into slavery? Why wasn't he chosen?

David and Saul
Why does God choose the one who committed adultery and murder over the one who did not to become the ancestor of the Messiah?

Me and many others better than me
While I was pondering over this, I remembered that God also choose me over many people who are probably a better person than me.

Meritocracy is not in the dictionary of God. Rather, God is merciful. In His mercy, He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die for our sins so that we can be saved, even though we do not have many good works or worse, none at all. Theologians called this salvation by grace.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:30 ESV)

Rich Countries Poor Countries

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. (Psalm 33:12 NIV)

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)

Poor countries are generally socialist, communist or Islamic. Communists and socialists said that socialist or communist countries are poor because they did not practise true socialism or communism. Muslims said that Islamic countries are poor because they did not practise true Shariah law.

But Christian countries are equally imperfect. There is no Christian country that practise true Biblical Christianity. Christian countries also have their injustices and inequalities. Yet Christian countries are generally rich. When they believed in the Bible, they were able to create empires.

So why is it that when non-Christian ideologies are imperfect, the countries do not prosper? But why is Christianity, even when practised imperfectly, is able to make Christian countries are rich and powerful?

Firstly, the God of the Bible specializes in using imperfect sinners to achieve His aim. Imperfection in men glorifies God.

Secondly, the Bible is true. The God of the Bible is truth. Whoever that stands on the side of truth, no matter how imperfectly, is able to achieve something.

Muslims and communists can only prosper when they pretend to follow the teachings of the Koran or Karl Marx. Whenever they decide to follow the Koran or Karl Marx strictly, they will become poor. This was proven in modern history.

Nowadays, many Christian countries do not believe in the Bible anymore. They attribute their success to democracy. Actually, they are also correct. This is because the democracies that arose in Christian countries were Bible based and allowed truth to be expressed. Thus, many non-Christian countries that adopt Western democracies also prosper. Countries which have Islamic democracies or socialist democracies remain poor.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9a ESV)

Self Praise

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they show their ignorance. (2 Corinthians 10:12 BSB)

Rather, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. (2 Corinthians 10:17-18 BSB)

Zechariah Third Night Vision

Hear now, Jesus the high priest, thou, and thy neighbours that are sitting before thee: for they are diviners, for, behold, I bring forth my servant The Branch. (Zechariah 3:8 Brenton Septuagint Translation)

Imperfect But Still Salt And Light

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16 BSB)

Quoted from the following twit:
QUOTE
In debates and discussions with Muslims, you are enlightened with the following:
There is not a single 'true Muslim' even though there are 1.8 billion of them.
There is not a single 'pure' Islamic country.
A perfect Islamic state is yet to be founded.
Ayatollah Khomeini was an enemy of Islam.
Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria…these Islamic states do not follow 'real' Islam.
Saudi Arabian Islam is corrupted.
Not all Sahih hadiths are Sahih.
Non-Muslims quote out of context.
Tyrants and dictators rule Islamic countries; they have no idea about Islam.
The clergy/Mullahs do not know 'real Islam.'
You cannot practice 'real Islam' in Islamic Paradises like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Iran…etc. You must not use these countries as examples of Islamic practices.
Wahabism is not 'real Islam'.
Al Qaeda is not 'true' Muslims.
Talibans are not 'true' Muslims.
Shias are not 'true' Muslims.
Sunnis are not 'true' Muslims.
Ahmedia/Qadiani are not Muslims 
ISIS are not Muslims
Boko Haram are not Muslims
Islam is a Religion of Peace.
~ Sehr Umeed
5:28 AM · Dec 15, 2023
UNQUOTE

So the reason why Islam failed to achieve anything is because there is no perfect Muslim and there is no perfect Islamic country.

What a contrast it is with Christian and Jewish countries. Imperfect Christian and Jewish countries can still be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, bringing science and technology and progress to the world.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9a NIV)

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

Salvation Belongeth Unto The LORD

Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. (Micah 7:8 BSB)

The God who forgave Christians will also forgive the Jews.

He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old. (Micah 7:19-20 BSB)

Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. (Psalm 3:8 BSB)

Chicken And Egg Problem Solved - 2

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. (Genesis 2:19 BSB)

God is right. The Bible is true. The chicken came first. And scientist had to agree with the Bible.

There was never a chicken-and-egg problem in the Bible. Only unbelievers have this problem. And now it is solved.

Replacement Theology is False Teaching

I don't want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25 CSB)

Gentile Christians do not replace Israel. Rather, they are grafted into Israel. Replacement Theology is a false teaching by conceited Christians.

"In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory. And Israel will possess what is left of Edom and all the nations I have called to be mine." The Lord has spoken, and he will do these things. (Amos 9:11-12 NLT)

"Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you," declares the LORD. "On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem. Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling." ((Zechariah 2:10-13 BSB)

I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy - just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. But some of these branches from Abraham's tree - some of the people of Israel - have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God's special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. "Well," you may say, "those branches were broken off to make room for me." Yes, but remember - those branches were broken off because they didn't believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don't think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won't spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong. (Romans 11:13-24 NLT)

Act of God Always Results in Many Dead

"And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the way of those who travel there, and they will change the name of the place to the Valley of Gog's Hordes. It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord. (Ezekiel 39:11-13 NIV)

Sometime in the future, a group of people will invade Israel from the north. They will have allies in the east and the west. No one will help Israel. United States and Europe seems to be neutral, unable or unwilling to help.

But God will intervene and caused a great earthquake in Israel. The invaders will kill each other in confusion. There will pestilence, torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulphur. The invaders will be defeated. So many invaders will be killed that Israel will take seven months to bury the dead.

It is God's mercy to the Palestinians that they are facing a human enemy call Israel. While God will not leave Israel unpunished for their sin, neither is God kind to those who want to erase Israel from the map.

Remember that the God of Israel is the God who drown the whole earth except for those in the Ark, killed all the first born in Egypt and made death the wages of sin. If God has not declared that death is the wages of sin, nobody will die. Everyone will live forever.

For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished. (Jeremiah 30:11 ESV)

I will first repay them double for their iniquity and sin because they have polluted my land. They have filled my inheritance with the carcasses of their abhorrent and detestable idols." (Jeremiah 16:18 CSB)

And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it. This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are My people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'" (Zechariah 13:8-9 BSB)

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:2 NIV)

Answering Joseph Ng

Comment by Joseph Ng on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/berzerkistan/):
Curiously, when Stalin persecuted and killed Christians along with other religionists, the Evangelicals stood with the Christians.
When Mao did that, they stood with their brethren.
When Pol Pot did the same, they did likewise.
But in Gaza, 10,000 deaths and 1 million displacemens on, they cheered the oppressors on.
They can't seem to get to base 1 in James' Epistle and say, "Be warmed and filled."

My response 1:
Bro, you do not need to worry. The males among the 10,000 dead are probably enjoying their virgins now. As for the female, I am not too sure. And the million displaced? Believe me, they are in good hands. Just listen to this twit. (https://twitter.com/insharifain/status/1720520794995093890)

Joseph Ng:
there's beligerents on both sides, but check out the pleas from Bethlehem Bible College and other brethren

My response 2:
I have checked the Bethlehem Bible College website (https://bethbc.edu/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BethlehemBibleCollege/).
I see no evidence that Bethlehem Bible College has been persecuted like the churches in China during the cultural revolution. You can check how the Chinese Christians are persecuted in this YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rowbpSPv98c).
Communist China set up a state church, the three-self church, and forced all Christians to join. I do not see the Israeli government setting up a state church, forcing all Christians in Israel to join. I did not see any Jewish or Palestinian Christians going to jail for their belief. I did not see the Israeli government closing down churches.
There is this Israeli Christian Amir Tsarfati (t.me/beholdisraelchannel) running around the world preaching Christ. He has not been persecuted or imprisoned by the Israeli government. His church has not been closed down by the government.
So I cannot understand your comparison of Israel with Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot.
I stand with all Christians persecuted in the Middle East by Islamic and Arab governments. Those with virgin hope are persecuting the Christians. Those who deny virgin birth did not.

Joseph Ng:
I've attended their zoom meetings

China's Political System - Theory and Practice

This YouTube video "Eric X. Li: A tale of two political systems - YouTube" tell us how good the Chinese political system is supposed to be.

This YouTube video "鲜为人知的落选：习近平的“民主事故” - YouTube" showed us how this ideal political system produced Xi Jin Ping (习近平).

Living Water

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing." (Ezekiel 47:1-12 ESV)

A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias. (Joel 3:18b NIV)

On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. (Zechariah 14:8 ESV)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1 ESV)

One Bible Two Readers

Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. (Hosea 14:9 NIV)

The Jews knew from the scriptures that the Anointed One would come 69 weeks or 483 years (Daniel 9:25-26) after the command to rebuild Jerusalem was given. Some Jews identified Jesus as the Anointed One that fulfils the prophecy. Others failed to do so. Not only did the Anointed One not come, but their temple was destroyed, and the daily sacrifice ceased. But they dared not to call God a liar. Instead, they created a new religion that replace the temple sacrifice.

Today all Christians know that the Anointed One will come again (Acts 1:11) after His ascension at the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12). Since He ascended from the Mount of Olives, will He come back to the Mount of Olives as predicted by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 14:4)? What will the circumstances be around the Mount of Olives? Will there be a city of Jerusalem? Will there be a temple at Jerusalem? Is the state of Israel in existence when the Anointed One return?

As the Jews at the first coming of the Anointed One were, so are the Christians at the second coming of the Anointed One today. We read the same scriptures, and we know that He will come. But when, where and how will He come? Are the prophecies clear on this? Do we even know if we have been enlightened or stumbled by the prophecies of the second coming of the Anointed One?

For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, so that all will be condemned - those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 CSB)

Exegesis Versus Eisegesis

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them. (Hosea 14:9 BSB)

Same Bible but different readers produce different results. There are those who let the Bible speak to them (exegesis). There are those who want to read their ideas into the Bible (eisegesis). There are those who let God reveal Himself and there are those who create their own image of God.

Always read through the Bible from cover to cover at least once. Then you will have a comprehensive overview.

Reading the Bible can make you as wise as Solomon or as blind as a bat.

They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand. (Isaiah 44:18 BSB)

Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. (Psalm 119:98-100 NIV)

Angel Preach Eternal Gospel

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water." (Revelation 14:6-7 ESV)

Has it ever occurred to you why is God using an angel to preach the gospel to men directly? I remembered that someone ever said to me, "Do you know why God does not use angels to preach the gospel? Because angels never experience redemption and cannot witness the joy of the gospel to us."

Then why is this angel preaching the eternal gospel to every nation? Is it because after the seventh and last trumpet, all the believers are raptured and there are no believers on earth?

It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. (1 Corinthians 15:52 NLT)

The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 11:15 CSB)

Israel Conquest of Jerusalem Fulfils Bible Prophecy

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24 BSB)

Jesus said that Jerusalem will be trodden down by Gentiles and the age of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Therefore, when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, Jerusalem will be restored to Israel. The conquest of west Jerusalem in 1948 and east Jerusalem in 1967 were just part of the process. Jerusalem will continue to be a problem until the end of the tribulation the times of the Gentiles end.

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:2 BSB)

And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him." (Daniel 9:27 BSB)

This will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again at the end of the great tribulation, when the Jews will say to Him, "Blessed are You who comes in the name of the Lord."

Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Luke 13:35 BSB)

Israel 1948 And Biblical Prophecy - 2

If at that time you and your children return to the LORD your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. (Deuteronomy 30:2-3 NLT)

This article "A Biblical Response to Christian Zionism - Christian Research Institute" argues that "Modern Israel fails to meet the biblical requirement for return to the land." Below is the quotation in context:

QUOTE
While Christian Zionists see the fact that Jerusalem is now completely in the hands of the Jews as validation for the Bible, nothing could be further from the truth. Even if one ignores the typological fulfillment of Jerusalem in Jesus, the Old Covenant promise of return to the land is inviolately conditioned on belief and faithfulness. Modern Israel fails to meet the biblical requirement for return to the land. As Moses unambiguously warned the children of Israel, disobedience against the Lord would result in dispersion (Deut. 28:58–64; 29:23–28), while return to the land requires repentance (Deut. 30:2–3).

There is therefore no warrant for the Christian Zionists' claims that the recapturing of Jerusalem by modern Israel signifies the preliminary fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. While one might well defend the right of the secular state of Israel to exist, the contention that the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy is indefensible. In truth, since coming under the exclusive control of modern Israel, Jerusalem has demonstrated a far greater resemblance to the harlot city spoken of by the prophets than to the holy city spoken of by the psalmists.
UNQUOTE

This reminded me of the reason why the Jews reject Jesus as Messiah. Jesus only fulfilled part of the prophecies required for the Messiah. He will come back again to fulfil the remaining prophecies. To the Jews, this is not acceptable. The Messiah must fulfil all the prophecies in one go or He is not the Messiah.

Now the Anti-Zionist Christians require the Jews to repent completely in one go before they can come back to the land of Israel to fulfil the condition given in Deuteronomy 30:2-3. They reject the idea that the Jews can come back first as unbelieves, have a gradual restoration as predicted in Ezekiel 37 and then repent on the day when Jesus lands on Mount Olive as predicted in Zechariah 14:4 and 12:10 as a nation born in one day (Isaiah 66:8). That will also fulfil Deuteronomy 30:2-3.

If the Jews missed the first coming of the Messiah because they interpreted the prophecies wrongly, will the anti-Zionists missed the seconding coming of the Messiah too?

Then he said to me, "Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, 'Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'" (Ezekiel 37:4-6 NLT)

On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south. (Zechariah 14:4 BSB)

Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (Zechariah 12:10 BSB)

Who has heard of such as this? Who has seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be delivered in an instant? Yet as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. (Isaiah 66:8 BSB)

Israel 1948 And Biblical Prophecy

On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (Isaiah 11:11 BSB)

Astounded and amazed, they asked, "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? How is it then that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" (Acts 2:7-11 BSB)

I always thought it was quite clear when prophet Isaiah refer to the Lord as bringing back His people for the second time (first time was after 70 years of Babylonian captivity), it was referring to the 1948 birth of the nation of Israel. But anti-Zionist claim that Act 2:7-11 is the fulfilment because they apply prophecies of Israel to Christians.

This website article "Pre-tribulation Rapture Refuted: 1948 Israeli nationhood did not fulfill prophecy" gave many Bible verses to refute the rapture and that the 1948 Statehood of Israel does not fulfil Bible prophecy. It came to the following conclusion:

QUOTE

1. True Christians are in a state of shock that dispensationalists want to restore the Old Testament law along with Temple sacrifices because it is a denial of the sacrifice of Christ's blood once for all to end all animal sacrifices.
2. Rapture false teachers want Israel to become a nation again mainly to fulfill the promise of inheriting the land. Problem is, the Bible clearly says Israel got the land long ago under Joshua and Solomon.
3. There is not a Jew alive today or anyone in the nation of Israel that knows which tribe they are from. It comes as a surprise to most people that the majority of Jews living in Israel today are gentile proselytes, being Russians who converted to Judaism.

UNQUOTE

I always notice that anti-Zionist will always insist that those who believe in rapture and the founding of Israel as prophetic fulfilment are Dispensationalist.

For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land. (Ezekiel 36:24 BSB)

"Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' Then they shall dwell in their own land." (Jeremiah 23:7 ESV)

Zionist Versus Anti-Zionist

In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people - those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. (Isaiah 11:11 NLT)

Who are these who fly like a cloud, like doves to their shelters? Yes, the coasts and islands will wait for me with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from far away, their silver and gold with them, for the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. (Isaiah 60:8-9 CSB)

Is Israel's existence today in the land of Canaan a fulfilment of God's prophesy? There are those like Albert Barnes (died 1870) and Robert Anderson (died1918) who predicted the Jewish nation's restoration well before 1948.

Then there are Christians who think that it is not because they believe that the promises to Israel are to be fulfilled by the Elect, that is, the Church and true Israel. There should be no segregation of prophecy fulfilment by Church and Israel separately. They believed that Zionism, the belief that Jews will go back to the land of Canaan, is a misinterpretation of the Bible. They think that Zionists are selectively literal in their interpretation of Bible prophecies to achieve the belief that Jews have to go back to the land of Canaan. They think that many prophecies, like those in Revelation, should be interpreted allegorically.

Can we actually know whose interpretation is right, the Zionist or Anti-Zionist?

We can do the following to find out:

1. See how Jesus fulfil the prophecies by His first coming (literal, allegorical or mystery);
2. Note the manner in which God announce His prophecies.

Then we can check whether the Zionist or Anti-Zionist is correct in their interpretation.

中國感恩節

11月25日蛋炒飯節是中國大陸的節日，又被稱為『中國感恩節』，由中國人民獨創。

1950年11月25日，隨人民誌願軍入朝作戰僅一個月的毛岸英在司令部遭南非飛行員投擲的凝固汽油彈擊中當場死亡。

毛岸英涉違反規定沒有跟大家一起吃早飯，擅自離開了防空洞，在茅屋（司令部作戰室）弄蛋炒飯，弄出炊煙，被聯合國軍四架南非的B-26轟炸機投下的凝固汽油彈炸毀了房子，毛岸英和一個名叫高瑞欣的參謀當場被燒死。

不少網友認為毛岸英之死避免了中國成為毛氏世襲王朝的可能，而毛澤東接班人選的變化很大程度上改變了中國歷史的走向，因此集體向意外擊殺『太子』的南非飛行員表達感謝，感謝歷史的偶然讓本朝避免了徹底淪為西朝鮮的厄運。

當真？史上最無辜的蛋炒飯要了毛岸英的命 | 毛澤東 | 朝鮮戰爭 | 抗美援朝 | 新唐人电视台
1985年5月6日，時任成都軍區參謀長的丁甘如將軍，在軍區將軍寓所談了志願軍總部被炸前相關情況和毛岸英遇難情況：「先一天（11月24日）傍晚，彭總、鄧華、洪學智等總部領導人在駐地附近散步，他們邊走邊聊，走著走著，鄧華副司令員說：這架敵機怎麼還在這兒轉呢？洪學智副司令員說：轉了個把小時了。幾位領導人幾乎同時說：看樣子，我們總部的目標暴露了。散步歸來，當晚九時，志願軍黨委在彭總主持下開會，緊急部署防空措施，即：佈置工兵增挖貓耳洞（防空洞），並加大加固已有貓耳洞；總部所有工作人員凌晨三點起床，吃完早飯後，除必要值班人員外，四點前全部進入指定的防空地點；同時嚴格規定，四時後所有住處不許冒煙。毛岸英三點起床了，他舀了一漱口杯子飯後，便伏在辦公室桌子上睡覺了。從四點到九點多鐘，睡了五個多小時吧。毛岸英醒來後，便就著火爐炒飯吃。」十時許，美軍飛機臨空，沒有繞圈子，一來就投彈，而且是凝固汽油彈，直接命中彭總辦公室，瞬間烈焰衝天，正在炒飯吃的毛岸英和值班參謀高瑞欣，沒有來得及跑出來，不幸犧牲。」

Hair And Feather

Hair (毛) and feather (习) are very light. But they are a big burden for China.

I am sure God is watching over China for evil. Otherwise, why would these two people with such lightweight surnames receive the Mandate of Heaven (天命) and became the emperors of China? And together, their surnames make such a nice proverb:
毛病不改 积恶成习

Note:
Some of you who know Chinese may argue that feather in Chinese is 羽 and not 习. 习 means habit or learn. While that is true, but in simplified Chinese, 习 really looked like a single feather. So I just take advantage of simplified Chinese script, which is of course predestined by God. I mean, this whole thing is pre-planned. First, mainland China adopt the simplified script. And 習 become 习. and my article now make sense.

Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: (Jeremiah 44:27a KJV)

Anti-Zionist Theology

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say "and to seeds," as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 CSB)

Below is taken from the website, "Why I'm Not a Christian Zionist | The Banner", which kind of summarized the anti-Zionist position:

QUOTE
God's Promises to Abraham
Christian Zionism takes the land promises of God in Genesis 12, 15, and 17 and applies them to the modern state of Israel. To Christian Zionists, this promise of land inheritance is permanent and unconditional. Therefore, despite Israel's own declared intention of being a secular state (and despite Israelis' low religious participation), modern Israel still benefits from a 4,000-year-old promise. For Zionists, the Abrahamic covenant is still active regardless of whether Israelis believe in God or not. In the Christian Zionist view - and this is key - the covenant of Christ does not replace or supplant the Jewish covenants.

Reformed theologians believe something decisive happened in Christ. His covenant affected not simply the covenant of Moses, making a new and timeless form of salvation, but also every other Jewish covenant, including Abraham's covenant. Christ fulfills the expectations of Jewish covenant life and renews the people of God rooted in the Old Testament and Judaism. Thus, Jesus is the new temple, the new Israel.

In Galatians 3:16, the apostle Paul writes, "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say 'And to offsprings,' as of many; but it says, 'And to your offspring,' that is, to one person, who is Christ" (NRSV). Paul argues from the singular noun in Genesis to show that the promises to Abraham point to Christ. Christ is the locus of the promise of land! The promises to Abraham have been realized in Christ. He holds everything Judaism desired, and knowing him gains access to such promises.

Jesus' homily in John 15 says the same. The Old Testament image of Israel is that of a vineyard filled with vines rooted in the soil of the Holy Land. You can see this outlined beautifully in Isaiah 5. But Jesus upends this. We see a vineyard again, but now we learn that there is one vine - Christ - and the only concern is not on gaining access to the land but being attached to him.

To think Christianly about land and promise is to think differently than Judaism. The New Testament changes the spiritual geography of God's people. The kingdom of God is tied to neither an ethnicity nor a place. Because the early Christians understood this, they carried their missionary efforts to the entire world. God loves Ephesus just as much as he loves Jerusalem. Indeed, God loves the entire world and all its people equally.

Reformed theologians are not convinced the promises to Abraham can be used politically today. The work of Christ is definitive. There is one covenant, and it is with Christ. In the zeal to promote and protect modern Israel, has Jesus been demoted?

Still, some might ask if emphasizing the centrality of Christ's covenant leads to the dismissal of Judaism and its covenants. Would this lead to anti-Judaism in the church?

No. Christ and his church are deeply rooted in Judaism. As Gentiles, we are grafted into the Jewish tree of Abraham (Rom. 11:13-24). Jesus was Jewish, and it is through the Hebrew covenants that we understand our own covenant.

Christ does not replace these covenants; rather, he fulfills them and enables the birth of God's kingdom, which includes both Jews and Gentiles. Reformed theology does not split Israel and the church; it finds rich continuity between them. Paul did not "become" a Christian; he realized the deepest meaning of his Jewishness when he chose to follow Jesus. This new, category-changing event at the heart of Christ's work cannot be diminished. It is central to New Testament faith. Some have misused this teaching and promoted a dreadful anti-Semitism. But this misuse does not mean we dismiss what the Scriptures teach. Judaism deserves our respect, and anti-Semitism should be rejected outright as an utter corruption of the gospel.

Israel, Prophecy, and Nationhood
In Christian Zionism, 1948 is not simply a political marker in history. It is a theological marker. Israel has been restored to the land in fulfillment of prophecy, Zionists say. Therefore, the establishment of modern Israel is a theologically ordained event deserving of profound Christian respect and awe.

Reformed theologians also affirm Israel's right to exist, but they are skeptical about Israel's theological claim to own the Holy Land. They point to countless times when Christians used ancient prophetic texts to interpret contemporary times with bad results. They also note that any biblical claim to nationhood must also incorporate biblical expectations of nation-building - expectations that aren't now being met.

The promise of land always comes with covenant expectations for religious life and for justice, themes echoed regularly by the prophets. Modern Israel began as a secular state. It does not reflect ancient Israel's religious or moral national aspirations as described in Scripture, and it has made choices regarding the Palestinians living within its borders that would inspire harsh criticism from Old Testament prophets such as Amos or Isaiah.

For all these reasons, Reformed theologians do not see commitment to Israel as a spiritual imperative. They are moved more by ethics than eschatology when considering any country, because no one country now enjoys a preferential place in God's economy.

History Is Coming to Its Close
Christian Zionists think Israel's national birth is the key prophetic fulfillment in counting down the end of history. They believe Israel's return fits with what else is happening in the world: moral values are in decline, an ecological crisis is looming with our oil-based economy in peril, and most importantly, there is war in the Middle East, all leading to widespread agreement among Zionists that history is reaching its end. All of this, they claim, was prophesied in Scripture.

Reformed theologians are not so catastrophic, not so sure these pronouncements are true, and they have always called for sober judgment. They worry Christian Zionists have let their zeal for prophecy and history's end drown out other, more primary Christian values.

Our chief complaint is how a desire for the end times has shaped the ethics of Christian Zionists. Building the kingdom of God has become secondary to building the kingdom of Israel. Passion for seeing Christ's second coming now comes before a passion for justice and fairness. When presented with the remarkable suffering of 4 million Palestinians living under harsh military occupation, Zionists typically stand unmoved. Negotiations that might return land to Palestinian owners are deemed to be against God's will. Some Zionist pastors have even written that natural disasters hitting the United States and killing thousands are God's punishment for political pressure put on Israel. It is this sort of theological confusion that stuns Reformed theologians.

Fidelity to Israel
For Christian Zionists, the first obligation of Christians is to study end-times prophecies and to monitor each nation's political decisions. One conviction is always held aloft: God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel. Nations will stand or fall based on this one creed.

Reformed theologians hear this and wonder if the message of the gospel has been lost. My first call is fidelity to Christ and his kingdom. And yet this commitment should inspire in me a deep love for Israel and a desire for its people to become what their Scriptures call them to become: a nation of priests, a light to the nations, a people in whom there is such goodness that the nations will see the glory of God and rejoice.

Jesus' Second Coming
This is the crown jewel of Christian Zionism. The birth of Israel has set the stage for the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Zionists claim, any national agenda that would impede God's plan, any peace plan that weakens Israel's hold on the land, or any decision that stands in the way of this dramatic stage-setting is not a plan blessed by God.

Reformed theologians believe in the second coming too. But the chief difference is that Reformed theologians make profound investments in the world. We are not sectarian. We devote ourselves to promoting Christ's commitments here and now. We do not despair about the course of the world, and we refuse to abandon it. We still build schools and hospitals and speak to injustice and poverty.

Dwight Moody, the founder of the dispensational Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, once asked why you'd want to polish the brass on a sinking ship. Reformed theologians are not convinced the ship is sinking, and we continue to polish the brass, navigate a course, and make passengers comfortable until we are surprised by Christ's return - just as the Bible tells us we should be.

This is my ultimate concern: Christian Zionists believe in Jesus, but I wonder if they have lost the gospel. They have uncritically wed our faith to the politics of one nation, and this, as the church has learned so many times, is a prescription for disaster.
UNQUOTE

Jeremiah 45

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch: Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. Thus shalt thou say unto him, The Lord saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. (Jeremiah 45:1-5 KJV)

When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, 'Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.' But the Lord has told me to say to you, 'This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.'" (Jeremiah 45:1-5 NIV)

In the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, Baruch wrote down everything I had told him. Then later, the Lord God of Israel told me to say to Baruch: You are moaning and blaming me, the Lord, for your troubles and sorrow, and for being so tired that you can't even rest. But all over the earth I am tearing down what I built and pulling up what I planted. I am bringing disaster everywhere, so don't even think about making any big plans for yourself. However, I promise that wherever you go, I will at least protect you from death. I, the Lord, have spoken. (Jeremiah 45:1-5 CEV)

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah while he was writing down in a scroll the words that Jeremiah spoke to him. (This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.) Jeremiah said, "The Lord God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. 'You have said, "I feel so hopeless! For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can't find any rest."'" The Lord told Jeremiah, "Tell Baruch, 'The Lord says, "I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go."'" (Jeremiah 45:1-5 NET)

The Lord asked me not to seek great things for myself in 1979 when I was in Penang.

No One Good And Righteous

Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, says the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 14:14 NLT)

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (Luke 23:50-52 ESV)

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:18 ESV)

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one. (Romans 3:10 BSB)

All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:3 BSB)

How is it that there is no one good except God and there is none righteous, but Joseph of Arimathea was good and righteous and Noah, Daniel and Job were righteousness?

Different Prophecies

Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. (Jeremiah 14:11-13 KJV)

Who would you believe when two persons claimed to speak in the name of God and both accusing each other of being a liar?

Blessing And Curse

Thus says the Lord:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5-8 ESV)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1:1-6 KJV)

Different King Different Response

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, "Inquire of the Lord on our behalf, since King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all his past wondrous works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us." (Jeremiah 21:1-2 CSB)

King Zedekiah was hoping that God would perform a miracle and forced Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw, just as He had done in the days of King Hezekiah when God struck the Assyrian king Sennacherib.

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven, and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword. (2 Chronicles 32:20-21 CSB)

But King Zedekiah got a very different response from God.

Jeremiah answered them: This is what you should tell Zedekiah: The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to turn your own weapons against you, yes, the weapons you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who have surrounded you! I will round them up in the center of the city. Then I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and strong arm in fierce anger and rage. I will strike down those within this city - both people and animals - and they will die of a terrible plague. Afterward, declares the Lord, I will deliver Judah's King Zedekiah, his servants, and those in this city who have survived plague, war, and famine to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and to their enemies who seek to do them harm. He will put them to the sword without pity, mercy, or compassion. (Jeremiah 21:3-7 CEB)

And the people were given a very clear choice.

This is what you should tell this people: The Lord says: I'm setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in the city will die by the sword, famine, and disease. But whoever leaves the city and surrenders to the Babylonians will live; yes, their lives will be spared. (Jeremiah 21:8-9 CEB)

The Sins of Judah

Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. (Jeremiah 2:11 NIV)

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13 NIV)

"For my people are fools; they do not know me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing what is evil, but they do not know how to do what is good." (Jeremiah 4:22 CSB)

The sin of Judah was so bad that even Moses and Samuel could not intercede for them. Noah, Daniel, and Job could only save themselves and not their families. This is the state of Judah before the first exile.

Then the LORD said to me, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! (Jeremiah 15:1 ESV)

Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, says the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 14:14 NLT)

As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, they wouldn't be able to save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved by their righteousness. (Ezekiel 14:20 NLT)

Jeremiah Prophesied That God Would Destroy Jerusalem

Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: "This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord's house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Say to them, 'This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse among all the nations of the earth.'" (Jeremiah 26:1-6 NIV)

Jeremiah prophesied that the temple of Solomon and the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. If you were a Jew living in those days, would you believe that God would destroy His own temple and His own city? Did not God promised that the dynasty of David would never end? How can Jeremiah's prophecy be true?

Would you believe that God would do something that seemed to be against His word?

Since you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house, your servant has found courage to pray in your presence. Lord, you indeed are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. So now, you have been pleased to bless your servant's house that it may continue before you forever. For you, Lord, have blessed it, and it is blessed forever. (1 Chronicles 17:25-27 CSB)

Jeremiah and Hananiah

In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon." Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet." (Jeremiah 28:1-9 ESV)

Today, when we look at Jeremiah and Hananiah, it is so easy to identify who is the real prophet and who is the false prophet. However, if you were living in the days when Jeremiah and Hananiah are alive, who would you believe? As a Jew, would you believe in the patriotic prophet Hananiah who prophesied the fall of Babylon, or the traitorous prophet Jeremiah, who asked you to surrender to the enemy? Tell me frankly. Who would you believe?

Swap Israel with your own country and Babylon with your country's enemy. Then a Jeremiah appear and ask you to surrender to the enemy country. Will you listen to him?

And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' (Matthew 23:30 NIV)

But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" (Luke 23:21 NIV)

Faith Required For Tomorrow's Reality

Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality - faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. (Hebrews 11:1 Amplified Bible)

The Bible defines faith as confidence and conviction of things hoped for but not seen.

In today's world, in every good there is evil and in every evil there is good. Men are aware of this fact. Many human religions and philosophies arose to explain this fact. Taoism has this yin (negative) yang (positive) symbol, where in the extreme yin, there is a bit of yang, and in the extreme yang, there is a bit of yin.

But the Bible tell us that in future, good and evil will be separated. Since this is not the reality today, you need to have faith in the Word of God, to see beyond today's reality. God will sort this out at His second coming and good and evil will be separated.

"The farmer's workers went to him and said, 'Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?' "'An enemy has done this!' the farmer exclaimed. "'Should we pull out the weeds?' they asked. "'No,' he replied, 'you'll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.'" (Matthew 13:27-30 NLT)

Fearing God Wrongly

Fear (יִרְאַ֣ת) of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. (Proverbs 9:10 NLT)

The fear (יִרְאַ֣ת) of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10 NIV)

Fear (יִרְאַ֣ת) can be reverential fear (a form of worship) or the terror or frightening feeling that something bad or even death may come.

Many fear God with the fear of a tyrant. They do not understand the action of God, but they dared not question Him. Their excuse is they fear the Lord.

This is wrong. Present your doubts. Question Him. You can ask nicely. Or you can scold Him about your perceived injustice. This one thing I know. My God will tolerate all your insults (He died on the cross) and will answer your questions and doubts if you are truly sincere in wanting to know the answers.

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8 KJV)

Job questioned God. He said he did no wrong and God punished him for nothing. God approved of Job's questions and answered him. But God was angry with Job's friends, who insisted that Job must had sinned because God was punishing him.

After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has. (Job 42:7 BSB)

When you refuse to question God by giving the excuse that you fear Him, essentially you are saying this:

1. I am right.
2. God is wrong.
3. But I have no choice but to accept it because He is the boss.

Of course you will say, "No, I accept His action because He knows best and I fear God." Whatever it is, examine your own heart. Please, do not fear God as you fear a tyrant. You are saying God is an unreasonable tyrant. This is blasphemy.

There are things that are clearly God's secret. And it should be clear that these are God's secret, not an excuse to fear God as a tyrant. But there are those that He reveal to us. We know the glory of God from those He revealed.

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29 BSB)

There Was Never A Palestinian State

Saw this tweet:

QUOTE
#History of the "Palestinian state":
01. Before Israel there was a British mandate, not a Palestinian state.
02. Before the British mandate, there was the Ottoman Empire, not a Palestinian state.
03. Before the Ottoman Empire, there was the Islamic state of the Mamluks from Egypt, not a Palestinian state.
04. Before the Mamluks of Egypt, there was the Arab-Kurdish Ayyubid Empire, not a Palestinian state.
05. Before the Ayyubid Empire, there was the Frankish and Christian kingdom of Jerusalem, not a Palestinian state.
06. Before the Kingdom of Jerusalem, there was the Umayyad and Fatimid Empire, not a Palestinian state.
07. Before the Umayyad and Fatimid empires, there was the Byzantine Empire, not the Palestinian state.
08. Before the Byzantine Empire, there were the Sasanians, not a Palestinian state. 
09. Before the Sasanian Empire, there was the Byzantine Empire, not the Palestinian state.
10. Before the Byzantine Empire, there was the Roman Empire, not the Palestinian state.
11. Before the Roman Empire there was the Hasmonean state, not the Palestinian state. 
12. Before the Hasmonean state was the Seleucid state, not Palestinian.
13. Before the Seleucid Empire, there was the empire of Alexander the Great, not a Palestinian state.
14. Before the empire of Alexander the Great, there was the Persian empire, not the Palestinian one.
15. Before the Persian Empire was the Babylonian Empire, not a Palestinian state.
16. Before the Babylonian Empire, there were the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, not a Palestinian state. 
17. Before the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, there was the kingdom of Israel, not a Palestinian state.
18. Before the Kingdom of Israel, there was the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, not a Palestinian state.
19. Before the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, there was an accumulation of independent Canaanite city-kingdoms, not a Palestinian state.
In fact, this piece of land had everything, except for a Palestinian state, because there is no such nation!
Last edited 20231022 12:21 PM
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History are facts. What can we do about facts? Three things. Accept it, lie about it or misinterpret it.

Last Nation To Be Converted

Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. (Isaiah 66:8 ESV)

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10 ESV)

Jews are unbelievers, just like any other unbelievers in the world. And they have a negative view of Christianity because of their persecution by the Christians. But they are different from other unbelievers in that their conversion is prophesied. They will be the last nation to be converted, at the second coming of Jesus. A nation shall be born in one day.

The gospel starts from Jerusalem and goes west and will come back to Jerusalem from the east. God has not abandoned the Jews, unlike what some Christians think.

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27 ESV)

Successful Believer Looks Like a Failure in the Eyes of the World

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. (2 Corinthians 11:25 BSB)

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (Hebrews 11:24-25 ESV)

A successful believer may not look like a successful person in the eyes of the world. Let us look at the examples of Moses and Paul.

If you were an observer during the times of Moses, would you not think that Moses was stupid to reject Egyptian royalty? Paul could have been a famous rabbi, like his teacher Gamaliel.

Follow the Rules

Success and failure are amoral. But to be successful, you must obey truth.

For example, if a thief come with a loudspeaker in broad daylight shouting, "I am a thief. I come to steal!" and went on to steal something, he will definitely be caught. He is not following the rules of theft. A good thief will come in the middle of the night and quietly break the locks to steal the valuables. He will not break the rules of theft.

But someone may say, "I like to break the rules because I think out of the box!"

Thinking out of the box is not breaking the rules. Rather, this person is able to see the rules not obvious to others.

Fact And Fiction

"The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abba Eban 21 December 1973

God Promised There Will Be No Hamas

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence (חָמָס). (Genesis 6:11 NIV)

The word Hamas in Hebrew means 'violence'. Thus, in Genesis 6:11, God saw that the world was full of Hamas and God sent a flood to destroy the world. But God promised in Isaiah 60:18 that there will be no Hamas.

No longer will violence (חָמָס) be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. (Isaiah 60:18 NIV)

Meaning of Hamas in Hebrew

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence (חָמָס). (Genesis 6:11 NIV)

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, 2023-10-07, Hamas attacked Israel. What is the meaning of Hamas in Hebrew and Arabic? According to this website 'Hebrew Word of the Day - robbery, evil-doing, Hamas - חָמָס', Hamas means 'heroism' in Arabic and 'violence' in Hebrew. Below is the quote from that website:

QUOTE
First, the transliteration 'cha' is the correct sound for the phonetic expression written in English as 'ha' such as in the name 'hamas'. It should be pronounced: 'chamas'.

It is amazing how one of the most derogatory words in the Hebrew Bible became the name of choice of the radical political religious movement that has ruled Gaza since 2007. It is both the abbreviation of the name Charakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah (Islamic Resistance Movement) and an Arabic word that means 'enthusiasm' and 'heroism'. It's amazing that two languages that belong to the same family produce such conflicting meaning to the same name. The horrible word 'hamas' which appears 66 times in the Old Testament, makes one wonder whether Jews and Muslims really worship the same God? This ruthless organization has been involved in a vicious war against the people of Israel since its establishment in 1987. It hails the value of death over life and educates every infant it reaches to strive to become a suicide bomber. Pathetically, the main reward that is promised to every suicide bomber is purity, but in abundance - 70 virgins in heaven upon arrival as a martyr who kills Jews during a suicide mission!
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No longer will violence (חָמָס) be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. (Isaiah 60:18 NIV)

Miracles and Amount of Faith

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18 NLT)

It is the object of faith, not the amount of faith, that matter.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego seemed to have great faith that God would rescue them from the burning furnace. But they still included a clause that even if God did not rescue them, they would still refuse to worship king Nebuchadnezzar's gods or gold statue.

But God does not always perform miracles to save saints from the fire. Polycarp was burnt at the stake without being miraculously rescued.

When Lies Are Decreed As Truth

One day, an absolute dictator king decided that 1 + 1 = 3.

King: I decree that from today onwards, 1 + 1 = 3. But to make life simple for you plebians, the rest of the mathematical rules will not change.

Is life as simple as what the absolute dictator king thought? Let see what happened after the decree.

Minister: Your majesty, what about 1 + 2? Is it still 3?

King: Didn't you hear what I decree? The rest of the mathematical rules will not change. So 1 + 2 is still 3.

Minister: What about the algebraic equation x + 1 = 3. What is the answer for x? Is it 1 or 2?

King: Well, maybe there are two answers to this equation, just like quadratic equations.

Minister: Okay, what about 1 + 1 + 1 + 1? Is it 4, 5 or 6?

King: What? You still cannot understand my decree? Only 1 + 1 = 3. The rest of the mathematical rules will not change. So, the answer is 4.

Minister: But if 1 + 1 is 3 and followed by 3 + 1 is 4 then 4 + 1, then isn't answer 5? Or if we do it as (1 + 1) + (1 + 1), then shouldn't it be 3 + 3 = 6?

King: Well, I suppose there will be 3 answers, like a cubic equation.

Minister: But this is not an equation.

King: Well, then get the mathematicians to work out new rules! Stop bothering me with these details!

So, the minister went to the mathematicians to work out a new mathematics to cater for 1 + 1 = 3. Very soon, the children started to get confused. Simple arithmetic become university subjects. Accountancy and science started to fail. Rockets cannot go to the moon with the new mathematics. New computers and software made to cater for this new mathematics could not work. The whole economy fell apart. Life became primitive again. The people became hunters and gatherers. Then the neighbouring countries came to attack with advanced weapons and conquered the kingdom. The king was captured and executed. Before his execution, the king said, "I cannot understand what had gone wrong. I had decreed that only 1 + 1 = 3. The rest of the mathematical rules will not change. It is all the mathematicians' fault. They made the new mathematics so complex."

For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. (2 Corinthians 13:8 BSB ESV NIV)

Two Perspectives on the Promised Land

Ephraim's envy will cease; Judah's harassing will end. Ephraim will no longer be envious of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim. But they will swoop down on the Philistine flank to the west. Together they will plunder the people of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects. (Isaiah 11:13-14 CSB)

The British made many promises in the Middle East but in the end, they left. There was no Palestinian state from the beginning. It was the Ottomans who ruled the land before the British took it. Here is the full list of Gentile invaders from the beginning - Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greek, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Ottoman, British.

Palestinian's Israel problem will not be solved in their favour because God had promised the land to Israel.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:2 KJV)

The Beginning of the Times of Gentiles

Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (Daniel 9:24 BSB)

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24 BSB)

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25 BSB)

Many philosophies and religions (Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, Platonism) come to birth around the year 500 BC. Socrates, Buddha and Confucius all lived at around that time. Has anyone wondered why is the period around 600 BC to 500 BC the age for sprouting philosophies and religions?

On 14th August 586 B.C. king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon razed and burned the Temple of God in Jerusalem. The Glory of God had departed from the Temple some time before that happened (Ezekiel 10). Historians will not tell you this, but from that day onward, Jerusalem was trampled under the feet of the Gentiles and the times of Gentiles began.

According to some historians, this is the beginning of the second wave civilisations which lasted from 600/500 BC to 500/600 AD. The Islamic calendar began in 622 AD.

There were four civilisations at the beginning of this period, the Greek, Persian, Indian and Chinese civilisations. These four civilisations will persist in various forms until about seven years before the end of the times of the Gentiles. Then the ten toes kingdom from the Roman empire will conquer the other three civilisation to start a world government under the anti-Christ.

As for the Gentile powers ruling Jerusalem while the Jews are living there are represented by the statue in king Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:31-45) and also the four beasts (Daniel 7:1-28) in Daniel's dream. These would be Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. The Gentile powers that ruled Jerusalem when the Jew were not staying there were not listed in the dreams. They are the Arabs, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Ottoman and finally the British. Here is the full list of Gentile invaders from the beginning - Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greek, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Ottoman, British.

Four Civilizations - 2

In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. (Daniel 2:44 BSB)

According to Arnold Toynbee in "A Study of History", there are 21 civilizations. They are: Egyptian, Andean, Sumerian, Babylonic, Hittite, Minoan, Indic, Hindu, Syriac, Hellenic, Western, Orthodox Christian (having two branches: the main or Byzantine body and the Russian branch), Far Eastern (having two branches: the main or Chinese-Korean body and the Japanese branch), Islamic (having two branches which later merged: Arabic and Iranic), Mayan, Mexican and Yucatec, which can be tabulated as follow:

1st Generation	2nd Generation	Universal Church	3rd Generation
Minoan	Hellenic (Greek and Roman)	Christian	Western; Orthodox-Russian; Orthodox-Byzantine
	Syriac Society (Ancient Israel, Phoenicia etc.)	Islam	Islamic (at early stages divided into Iranian and Arabic, civilizations, which later were unified)
Shang	Sinic (see also Han Dynasty)	Mahayana (Buddhism)	Chinese; Japanese-Korean ("Far Eastern")
Indus	Indic	Hinduism	Hindu
Egyptiac		-	-
Sumeric	Hittite; Babylonian	-	-
Andean; Mayan; Yucatec; Mexican		-	-

While I may not totally agree with Arnold Toynbee's classification, I do agree with him that in the end, four civilizations survived, the humanist Chinese, the polytheistic Indians, the two monotheistic civilizations based on Bible and Koran. The three civilizations which are not Bible-based remain at more or less the same level, making not much progress between the second and third generation. Only the Bible-based European civilisation grew to dominate the world with science and technology. The Bible has always insisted on objective verification in key doctrines and objective verification is what science is all about.

There is some parallel between China in the east and Europe in the west. The second generation Han China and Roman empire fell to barbarians and foreign religions (Buddhism and Christianity respectively) roughly at the same time. The Chinese synthesized Confucianism and Buddhism and revived. The Romans died and the European barbarians took over and built a Bible-based civilization on top of the Greek and Roman foundations.

Arnold Toynbee saw the parallel but could not understand why the Chinese civilisation revived but the Roman civilization died and was replaced by the Europeans. He did not know that God wanted to use the foolish European barbarians to conquer the wise of the world. Furthermore, God has to punish the Romans for their crucifixion of Christ, destruction of Israel and persecution of Christians.

Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world - what is viewed as nothing - to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one may boast in his presence. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 CSB)