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Friday, February 27, 2009

Gong Dao Zheng Yi, Tian Li Bao Ying

I spent the last two weeks glued to the TV. No, there wasn't any particularly good TV program. I was watching DVD of China TV serial "Pao Qing Tian" (the legendary Justice Pao). The pace of the China production was extremely slow and some of the Pao Qing Tian stories were familiar to me. What's the attraction that the serial held for me then? My interest and enjoyment of the "literary" Chinese script in the serial.

The theme of justice and righteousness runs strong in the TV serial. In the story of Chen Shi Mei who abandoned his wife Qin Xiang Lian and their young children, and married Le Ping Princess, the plaintiff Qin made an impassioned plea to the Justice Pao for "Gong Dao Zheng Yi" (which I translate literally as "public justice and righteousness") and "Tian Li Bao Ying" ("divine judgement and retribution"). As the story goes, the good Justice Pao beheaded the less-than-human Chen who was "Qin Shuo Bu Ru", notwithstanding the Queen Mother's appeal to the Emperor for pardon.

Today's legal framework of course provides redress without fear or favour for wrongs against any one. But what if the issue does not warrant legal proceedings or if the victim does not want to bring the issue to court? Who then do we have to address the wrongs or hurts that we suffer?

By God's grace and mercy, we have God as our judge. We need not travel thousands of miles as Qin Xiang Lian did to obtain justice; we only need to send our prayers to God any time, any where. In the parable of the persistent widow who kept going to an unjust judge for justice against her adversary, the Lord Jesus taught that we should persevere in praying and not give up.

"6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" "

(Luke 18 : 6 - 8)

While we have God as our judge, the Apostle Paul reminds us that we ourselves should not pass judgement on any one else. In judging another, do we do the same things? If so, we condemn ourselves. (Romans 2 : 1)

So then, each one of us is accountable for what we have done. And each of us will have to give an account of ourself to God. (Romans 14 : 12) When the day of God's righteous judgement comes, God will give to each person according to what he has done. (Romans 2 : 6)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Hell In All Its Fury

I visited the picturesque hamlet of Marysville in Australia's Victoria last September with my sisters. It was a pretty place with a little brook and lovely flowers in bloom then. We had enjoyed eating delicious home-baked meat pies in the restaurant and browsing through the little stores there.

I was shocked when I heard that Marysville was razed to the ground, on 7 February, in the deadliest wildfire that was described as "hell in all its fury". So many lives lost, so many homes down in flames, so horrific a catastrophe.

The fires raging in Victoria present a foretaste of what Christians call "the end-days" when the Lord Jesus comes again to judge the earth. The Apostle Peter foretold that everything on earth will be destroyed by fire. The recent media descriptions of the skin being burned off the fire survivors in Victoria give me the shivers. Great is the tragedy in such a localised area. But how much more horrific it would be when the whole earth is consumed by fire!

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. "
(2 Peter 3 : 10)

Even more chilling is the vision of the Apostle John of the last days. With Jesus' second coming and his defeat of the evil one, the devil and all who follow him will be cast into the eternal lake of fire. This lake is described as a "fiery lake of burning sulfur", never-quenching (for the devil and all with him will be "tormented day and night for ever and ever"), and the "second death".

"10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.....
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. "
(Revelation 20 20 : 10, 14 - 15)

What hope do we have then, when all will be destroyed by fire? The Apostle Peter gives the assurance of the promise of the Lord Jesus, that there will be "a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (2 Peter 3: 13). This new heaven and new earth is desribed in the Apostle John's vision as "the Holy City", the dwelling of God with men (Revelation 21 : 1 - 4).

This Holy City will shine with all the glory of God -
its wall is made of jasper;
the foundations of the city walls are decorated with every kind of precious stone;
each of the twelve gates is made of a single pearl;
the great street is paved in pure gold;
the whole city is of "pure gold, as pure as glass".
(Revelation 21 : 11, 18 - 21)

Burning lake or city of pure gold and pearly gates? My prayer is for all to make the right choice. Amen.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Zhi Qian Dong Feng

Red Cliff Part 1 was boring. Perhaps I watched it on DVD and so the panoramic effects of the battle formations were lost on the TV screen, albeit a wide-screen plasma TV. Part 2 of the movie was much more impressive as I watched it in the cinema and the military ploys and ruses were more evident.

What struck me most in Red Cliff Part 2 were the words "zhi qian dong feng" (literally translated as "only lacking the east wind"). This of course refers to the plan of the Commander-in-Chief, Zhou Yu, to use fire to destroy the fleet of his protagonist, Tsao Tsao. However, the prevailing winds in the winter conditions then were west winds which would blow in the direction of Zhou Yu's boats and destroy them instead. To cut a long story short, the movie climazed in a change in wind to southeasterly direction and Zhou Yu won the battle.

In the Old Testament days, the east wind played an instrumental part in the dividing of the Red Sea, saving the fleeing Israelites from the pursuing Egyptians. As Creator of the world, God has absolute command over the elements and all things are within His control.

"21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,
22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left."
(Exodus 14 : 21 - 22)

The warring commanders and their advisers in ancient China's Three Kingdoms exerted great human efforts as they racked their brains to out-manoeuvre each other in guise after guise. Even then, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang had to depend on the east wind for their plan at the Red Cliff to succeed.

For the Israelites who were commanded to take possession of the promised land Caanan and had to contend with opposing armies more numerous and better-built, human efforts were in vain. It was only when the Lord God was with the Israelites that they were able to vanquish their enemies. Indeed, the battle is the Lord's.

"1 Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.
2 The people are strong and tall--Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: "Who can stand up against the Anakites?"
3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you."
(Deuteronomy 9 : 1 - 3)

That the battle is the Lord's gives me great solace when I face difficulties and problems. Humanly, I have the tendency to seek the help of this or that person. But when I remain perplexed with a problem, I remind myself that the good God will fight the battle for me. My prayer is for the Lord Jesus to be my Advocate, to resolve whatever difficult issue that I am facing. Amen.