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?