Dear Brethren,
I like to share with you 4 Chinese words that clearly show the truth of the Bible even in the Chinese language. We can see when some Chinese words were developed, the people then have in mind the truth written in the Bible and patterned the stroke of the words after the biblical truth.
Let us see 4 Chinese words that illustrate the biblical truth :
Disaster 災 (Water on top of fire)
The Chinese word for disaster is災. The judgment of God brings disaster to the world to punish the wickedness of mankind. It first came by water in the Noah’s flood recorded in Genesis. The 2nd world disaster that is impending in which God will judge the world by fire. 2 Peter 3:6 -7 clearly tells us this truth and the Chinese word 災 illustrates it so aptly.
2 Peter 3: 6-7, “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Boat 船 (Vessel on left, eight on top right and mouth on bottom right)
We are very familiar with the Chinese word for boat which is 船. The left side of 船 is 舟 which means vessel (or an ark) and the right side 八口 tells us eight mouth or eight people. Surely we know this is what happened in Noah’s ark where there were only 8 people (Noah, his wife and his 3 sons and their wives) inside the ark that were saved.
Genesis 7:7, “And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.”
Righteousness 義 (Lamb over me)
How can a sinful man become righteous? Certainly not by our good works which in the sight of God are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The Chinese word for righteousness is 義 which illustrates the bible truth so accurately that for me to be righteous, a Lamb must be above me to cover my sins. Who is this Lamb? He is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins.
John 1: 29. “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Believe 信 (Man on the left, word on the right.)
How do we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved? The Chinese word for believe is 信 and the character is illustrated with the left side of a “person” and the right side of “words”. Hence, for a person who truly believes in Jesus Christ, he must not be ashamed of Jesus Christ and will confess Jesus Christ with his words for all to know. Of course this confession has to come from the heart.
Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
We thank God for the Word of God that is perfect and without mistake. God has inspired and preserved His Words perfectly for us. May we read, meditate and obey the Word of God every day. Do not neglect your Quiet Time. It ought to be the most precious moment of each day for us.
Elder John Leong
