THE CHINESE ARE COMING!!!
Some time ago I wrote about how the Russians are gaining power in the Middle East and now the Chinese are coming, perhaps in fulfillment of the ancient prophecy of Isaiah regarding the times of the restoration of Israel:
Surely these shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
Sing, O heavens!
Be joyful, O earth!
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
Be joyful, O earth!
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
Isaiah 49:12-13
What is the land of Sinim mentioned here by name? From the grammar of the sentence it obviously refers to some land that is far off, not in the north or west, but in the east or south, from Isaiah's reference point, the land of Israel. Some say it is the region of Sin, in the desert lands of the Negev but this is not 'afar'. Some say it could be the a reference to the region of Syrene which was in present-day Egypt, but again that is not really 'afar'. To many however it is considered to be a reference to the far-off land of China. The Hebrew word for China is Sin and therefore the word Sinim, the plural form of the word, refers to the Chinese people. ( What various commentaries have to say on the issue can be seen on http://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/49-12.htm ).
Whatever the case, the Chinese Christian believers interpret it to refer to China. This week our congregation was greatly blessed by the visit of a Chinese pastor. I will call him Pastor C (not his real initial). He told us that in the 60 or so years since the western missionaries were forced to leave China, from the beginning of the Communist regime to the present day, the Chinese church has grown to an estimated 80-120 million members. This easily makes it the largest national group of believers on the planet today. As the western church is declining, and large sectors of it turn their back on Israel, in the far east in China, Christian believers, taking the Bible prophecies regarding Israel literally and seriously, are strongly in support of Israel, constantly praying for her and our little group of congregations here(numbering approximately a mere 15,000 believers in total) . What a comfort it is to know that such a large group of believers, strong and tested after having survived the years of terrible oppressions, imprisonments and torture under Communist rule, are praying for us. Surely this fulfills the words quoted above "For the Lord has comforted His people".
Pastor C, who visited us yesterday, has visited Israel five times. The first time he and 14 other Chinese pastors came to Israel they drove by car (!) from China, along the Silk Road, across Asia by land. It took them 40 days! Yesterday he came by plane and driving up the hills to Jerusalem from the airport, the car he and his friends were travelling in was involved in a serious road accident, in the very inclement weather at the time. The car was written off but none of its passengers were even slightly injured. We regard this as a miracle.
As we all know, since the 1970s the Chinese government has begun to open the doors of its great land for trade, and today Chinese goods are found all over the world. China is one of Israel's most important trade partners today. Pastor C told us that his government has a plan to develop the trade routes, and consequently increase its influence, along the ancient Silk Road which stretches from China across the nations of Central Asia to the Mediterranean and Europe.
The Silk Road, or more accurately the Silk Routes, consisted of an ancient network of roads and paths across Central Asia. It began to dwindle in importance around 700 AD as sea routes opened up. In recent years however this network of railways and roads has been in the process of restoration and development. In 1992 the Eurasian Continental Bridge railway was opened, beginning in Lian Yun Gang city on the East China coast, and crossing Kazakhstan, Russia, Byelorussia and Poland, before reaching Germany and the Netherlands. This railway runs parallel to the Orient Express crossing Russia, and is linked to it. Now the current Chinese President, Xi Jinping, with the support and cooperation of President Putin of Russia, is placing the highest priority on the development of the new "World Land Bridge" along the Silk Routes, first establishing and upgrading railways and roads, but also pouring billions of dollars into the development of water systems, the greening of the desert and investments in the development of the poor nations across this region http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html#9 . I strongly recommend you watch the video about this on http://worldlandbridge.com/ .
 |
| The Ancient Silk Routes http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/sub90/item50.html |
With the physical infrastructure inevitably comes economic and cultural influence, both good and bad, in both directions. Already the western province of China, Xinjiang, is predominantly Muslim.
The Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, spiritual centre of the town. Islam was one of the later imports along the Road, and now has a firm footing throughout Xinjiang.
http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk2.html#2
The aim of Pastor C and the Chinese Church is to use this new 'Silk Route' to facilitate the spread of Christian faith amongst the Muslim peoples along its route. To this end they plan to open a center here in Jerusalem to train Chinese believers in Hebrew and Arabic, and then send them back along the route with the gospel.
Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 2:3
I believe the State of Israel may not survive. That its days are numbered. I can hardly bear to say it. … But now the children of Holocaust victims and survivors and the children of those who came to Israel as refugees from pogroms in Islamic lands—now they too, face a future not merely bleak, but perhaps blank, empty, ended.
Joffe responds by reminding us that somehow Jews have survived for 5776 years, against all the odds. He points out that Israel, although surrounded by enemy states numbering many millions, still has the best army in the Middle East, the greatest nuclear deterrent, and the highest standard of living. In 2015 30,000 Jews immigrated to Israel, a 15 year high, and the birth rate is on average 3 children per woman, and this surely reflects a high level of belief that Israel has a future.
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/196345/stop-worrying-about-israel
Joffe concludes by quoting Sholeim Aleichem,
“No matter how bad things get, you have to go on living, even if it kills you.”This so truly sums up the Jewish attitude to life. Put that together with the promises of God, and the prayers of all our supporters, and you have an unbeatable combination.
Sing, O heavens!Be joyful, O earth!
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
Isaiah 49: 13
