en yan hua fang

“A Story of Divine Wonder” ~ ✨

Peace be unto you!

I want to share a true story—a story about God. There is only one true God, the self-existent and eternal Yahweh. Besides Him, there is no other god (Deuteronomy 4:35 & 6:4).

The Bible is God’s story, inspired by His Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), written over a span of about 1,500 years by different individuals. It tells us that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3).

God created humans in His own image; they were named Adam and Eve. God blessed them and commanded them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and rule over every living creature on land and sea. God gave them every seed-bearing plant and every tree with fruit-bearing seeds (except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden, which they were not to eat) as food. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and ate the fruit God had specifically forbidden. God had declared that if they ate it, they would surely die (Genesis 1:27–29 & 2:17). Through this act of disobedience, sin entered the world. From then on, sin reigned, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 5:12–14 & 6:23).

The first murder on earth occurred when Adam’s eldest son, Cain, killed his brother Abel out of jealousy (Genesis 4:8). From the accounts in Genesis, we also read that Adam’s descendants lived daily in sin. It wasn’t until Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, who walked with God for 300 years, that God took him away. Then came Noah, Enoch’s great-grandson, who was the only righteous and blameless person in God’s eyes in his generation and who walked with God (Genesis 6:9). Others were deeply corrupt, with every thought of their hearts consistently evil. God regretted creating humanity and was grieved in His heart, so He decided to wipe out all living creatures from the earth (Genesis 6:5–7).

At that time, the world was corrupt and filled with violence in God’s sight. God instructed Noah to build an ark (Genesis 6:14). During its construction, God waited for people to repent; sadly, they remained unrepentant, choosing to live in sin. In the year Noah turned 600, he followed God’s instructions: he, his family of eight, and pairs of every living creature entered the ark. Then, God shut the door. The floodgates of heaven opened, and rain poured down for forty days and nights, submerging even the highest mountains. Every living thing on dry land that had the breath of life died (Genesis 7:11–23). The only survivors were those inside the ark. When Noah turned 601, the waters had receded, and God commanded them to leave the ark (Genesis 8:13).

Witnessing God’s marvelous salvation, Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to express his gratitude (Genesis 8:20). God made a covenant with Noah, blessing him and his descendants (Genesis 9:1–3). Although the earth had been destroyed, Satan (the devil) still existed, so people did not stop sinning. Later, the descendants of Noah’s three sons established nations according to their clans and migrated towards the eastern plains (Genesis 10:32).

Eventually, these people became arrogant and decided to build a city and a tower (the Tower of Babel) that would reach to the heavens, to make a name for themselves. They did not fear God! God came down, confused their language so they could not understand each other, and scattered them across the earth (Genesis 11:1–9). Historians estimate this occurred about 1,000 years after Creation (around 5,000 years ago). According to Chinese historical records, Chinese civilization traces back about 5,000 years, originating near the eastern regions close to Babel (around the time of Emperor Yao in ancient Chinese history).

A key figure in the Bible is Abraham. He is the eleventh generation from Noah and is considered the ancestor of the Israelites (also known as Jewish people). God chose Abraham and directed him to take his family and leave his sinful homeland, journeying westward (Genesis 12:1). Abraham believed in God and obeyed His word, so God credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), established a covenant with him, and promised great blessings to him and his descendants. Moreover, the Savior-King would come from his line (Genesis 17:6). This took place approximately 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus.

Years later, a severe famine struck the land, and the Israelites went to Egypt, which was unaffected by the famine. Initially, they prospered, but eventually, they became slaves to the Egyptians. They lived in Egypt for over 400 years. The Israelites cried out under their oppression, and God heard their groaning. He called Moses to lead an estimated two million Israelites out of Egypt. Through Moses, God performed many miracles, compelling Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) to release the Israelites so that they could go to the land of Canaan—the fertile land God had promised their ancestor Abraham. The Bible describes it as a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:7–8).

After leaving Egypt, the Israelites repeatedly complained against God—about lack of water, lack of meat, and they often challenged and defied Him. As a result, God made them wander in the wilderness for forty years and gave them laws to follow. After the wilderness years, Moses, then 120 years old, passed the leadership to Joshua, who was about 80. Joshua trusted God and kept His laws. The Spirit of God came upon Joshua, and he successfully led the Israelites into Canaan. In this vast plain with beautiful mountains and rivers, the Israelites settled for about 400 years.

Yet, the power of sin was great. After Joshua and the elders of that generation died, the Israelites returned to their old ways: they did not keep God’s laws, turned to idol worship, and committed various sins forbidden by the law. Later, they demanded a human king instead of allowing God to rule over them. Thus, the kingdom of Israel was established (around 1050 BC). Israel lasted less than 500 years as a kingdom because the people refused to repent and persistently did what was evil in God’s sight. They worshiped idols, their kings were unjust, and the people suffered, completely abandoning God’s laws. Finally, in around 586 BC, God used the Babylonians (modern-day Iraq) to destroy the kingdom of Israel.

The Israelites were taken captive to Babylon, where they suffered for seventy years. Eventually, the Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Persian Empire (modern-day Iran). God moved the heart of the Persian king to release the captive Israelites, allowing them to return to Jerusalem (present-day Israel) and help rebuild the temple. However, the nation of Israel was no longer independent; from then on, the Jewish people lived under foreign rule.

Throughout the period of the kingdom and after its fall, God spoke to the Israelites through generations of prophets, calling them to repentance. Even after the exile, God continued to urge them through prophets to turn back to Him and promised that the Messiah (the Savior) would come to bring deliverance. All this history is recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible.

The Israelites had long expected the Messiah to come and help them to overthrow foreign powers and to restore the kingdom of Israel. By the first century AD, the land of Judea (formerly Israel) was under Roman rule. The Jews (formerly Israelites) suffered under harsh Roman policies and eagerly awaited the Messiah’s arrival. The Messiah did come—He was born around 3–4 BC. He was Jesus, born of the virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit; He is the Son of God (Matthew 1:18–21)—the promised Savior-King from Abraham’s line. Jesus did not come to restore an earthly kingdom of Israel; He came to call people to repentance. He came to die, to pay the penalty for sinners, so that people could be reconciled to God. To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God and to receive eternal life (John 1:12 & 3:16). The Bible also says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the gospel—the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 10:9 & 1:16).

The gospel has been preached for nearly 2,000 years. Today, out of about eight billion people worldwide, approximately two billion are Christians. Throughout history, countless individuals have been martyred for proclaiming the name of Jesus and testifying about Him.

The Israelites were God’s chosen people; His original plan was to save them first, and then through them, be a witness to the Gentile nations. In the Old Testament era, because the Israelites failed to keep God’s covenant, their kingdom fell. The Lord Jesus came, died in place of sinners, and established a new covenant. God’s great love was revealed in this (1 John 4:9–10)—a blessing for all humanity. Initially, the gospel was preached to the Jews first, then to all other peoples. Sadly, the Jews saw but did not perceive, heard but did not understand, because their hearts were proud, and they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament!

After the fall of their nation, the Israelites were dispersed throughout the world. They had no identity of their own and assimilated into the cultures where they settled. During World War II, Hitler massacred about six million Jews. This horrific event stirred a deep sense of identity among the Jewish people. They returned to Jerusalem one by one, and in 1948, the nation of Israel was reborn. Many Bible scholars believe this fulfills God’s promise in the Old Testament, spoken through the prophets, that He would restore Israel (Ezekiel 36:24).

After more than 2,000 years, most Jewish people today still do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God or accept the new covenant He established. In modern Israel, about 70% of the population still follows the Law of Moses (Judaism) and does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

After World War II, many missionaries from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations crossed oceans and traveled east, west, north, and south to preach the gospel and establish churches. This is in obedience to the command given by the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples before His ascension: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20). The Lord Jesus also left His peace with those who believe in Him: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Having shared this, I hope you have gained a deeper understanding of God and His wonderful works. If you wish to know more, I invite you to read the Bible and attend Christian church gatherings to know this God who is intimately connected to humanity! The Lord Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Sincerely!

✨✨💖 ~