Late last year as heard a sermon and even a Christian newsgroups discussing the topic of whether a Christian is considered “save” by just going or attending church service faithfully. To me this matter is very subjective although deep in my heart I do believe being faithfully present in the House of the Lord does have its importance. What we do with our life outside the Church is between you and God, it is not for any faithful believer to judge by saying that being faithful regular attending the Church “does not mean you are saved or God does not honor it.”
I like to write (talk) something concerning this matter but recently I came across a well-written sermon outlines by David J. Riggs at http://oakridgechurch.com/riggs/outlines.htm” that he discussed this matter in two parts which elicits this issue nicely.
ATTENDANCE #1
WHY DOES THE FAITHFUL CHILD OF GOD ATTEND
EVERY SERVICE?
By David J. Riggs
Intro.
A. The problem of attendance has become so acute in some churches
that they have resorted to man-made gimmicks to correct it,
e.g., "the entertainment craze."
1. God compels men to be faithful to Him only through the
teaching of the gospel.
B. In this lesson we want to look at the principles in the gospel
which cause the faithful Christian to never miss a service.
1. This lesson could be entitled, "The blessings for faithful
attendance."
C. We will follow with a lesson on "The sins that one involves
himself in when he wilfully neglects the assembly."
1. Notice that our question says, "Why does the faithful child
of God attend every service?"
a. We are speaking here of all the services--Sun. morning
Bible study, Sun. night worship, Wed. Bible study.
b. We are not speaking of when one is "providentially"
hindered; that is, when he misses through no fault of his
own.
I. COMMANDS ARE FULFILLED.
A. He meets the command of Heb. 10:25.
1. "Not forsaking" -- a negative command.
2. "The assembling" -- it does not say the "assembly," but the
"assembling."
a. It is a verb participle that refers to the act of
assembling. Thus, it includes all the assemblies of the
church--Sun. night, Wed. night, Gospel meetings, business
meetings for the men.
b. It is not an optional matter. Attending gospel meetings of
others congregations is optional because that is not the
assembling of ourselves together. Where one is a member,
God did not give us a choice in the matter.
B. He gives God the worship that He seeks. Matt. 4:10; John 4:24
C. He meets with the Lord. Matt. 18:20
II. HE GROWS AND DEVELOPS SPIRITUALLY.
A. Hearing all of the sermons and attending all of the Bible
classes helps one to grow and develop into a mature Christian.
Heb. 5:12-14
B. He is admonished in song. Col. 3:16
1. In a church in Kentucky where I preached, some of the weak
members did not attend on singing night--a service that was
set aside for singing.
a. Is not singing part of worship?
C. He is comforted and encouraged by having spiritual fellowship
with others. Rom. 1:12; 15:32
1. All of us are in need of the fellowship, teaching,
encouragement, and spiritual strength derived from the
services. Why not attend every service to take advantage of
the blessings? Those who don't attend faithfully often miss
important lessons (such as this one) which they sorely need.
III. SO THE CHURCH CAN FUNCTION PROPERLY.
A. The mission of the church is accomplished through our meeting
and working together. The church cannot function without
assemblies.
1. Business meetings are an important part of the assemblies of
the church. If an unscriptural practice is being promoted,
we need to be on hand to voice our conviction regarding it.
2. It doesn't happen often; however, there are times in every
Christians's life where important issues on truth and error
are decided in the business meetings.
3. If the men are not there to voice our convictions, they have
let the Lord down. They have failed in their duty as a
Christian in guarding against apostasy.
B. Gospel meetings are important for our own good, and for
reaching people of the community.
1. I heard of a powerful case example which was done by brother
C.R. Nichol many years ago. He went in to begin a gospel
meeting and after seeing the very poor attendance on the
first night, stayed away the second night. When they asked
him where he was, he replied, "If some can stay home, I can
stay home." After this was spread around in the community,
the attendance got right for the rest of the meeting.
C. Let's briefly notice this chart on the Collective Actions of
the Church:
1. Chooses officers and servants - Acts 6:2-3; 1 Tim. 3:10;
Rom. 16:1-2
2. Has messengers - 2 Cor. 8:23
3. Pays wages - 2 Cor. 11:8
4. Relieves and enrolls - 1 Tim. 5:9-10, 16
5. Hears and speaks - Matt. 18:17
6. Disciplines - 1 Cor. 5:4-5
7. Greets in letters - 1 Cor. 16:19
8. Sends out preachers - Acts 11:22
9. Is reported to - Acts 14:27
10. Has worship - 1 Cor. 11:20, 34
11. Has its own treasury - 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 11:8-9
D. If I don't become actively involved in the functioning unit
that God ordained, I'm failing in my responsibility to God.
IV. FOR A GOOD EXAMPLE AND INFLUENCE.
A. Christians are to set a good example. 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7-8
1. Christians are to shine as light in the world. Matt.
5:14-16; Phil 2:15
B. Faithful attendance is essential for good influence.
1. It sets a good example before babes in Christ, and to the
weak.
2. It influences our friends, relatives, and neighbors--all
outsiders. 1 Pet. 2:12
C. It is a great support to the preacher, and to all others.
1. Let not any of the older widows say, "There's nothing I can
do," or "I'm not much help to the church." Your faithful
attendance is a great encouragement to all.
a. You are an encouragement in the Bible classes because you
can be depended on to be there. The church can have any
type of service and can depend on you to support it.
V. TO HOLD FAST HIS ALLEGIANCE, PROFESSION AND HOPE.
A. He holds fast that which he confessed when baptized. Acts
8:36-37; Rom. 10:9
1. To confess that Jesus is the Son of God or that He is Lord
is essentially the same.
a. To confess Him as the Son of God is to say that he is
Divine, and you will now submit to His laws.
b. To confess Him as Lord is to say that He will now be
ruler of your life.
B. It is holding fast his confession. Heb. 4:14
C. He holds fast the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Heb. 3:5-6
1. Let us show diligence and be not slothful. Heb. 6:11-12
VI. IT IS PUTTING CHRIST AND THE KINGDOM FIRST. Matt. 6:33
A. It is seeking things above. Col. 3:1-3
1. It is wrong to stay home on Sunday because of aches and
pains, but on Monday go to work, the grocery store, or the
mall when we have the same aches and pains.
B. It is putting Christ first (Luke 14:26); it is putting him
before family (Matt. 10:37-38).
1. Some stay home because of family visiting. This is not
putting Christ first.
2. I heard of a woman who stayed home from Sunday morning
services to fix a meal so she could have the preacher over
for lunch. However, when the preacher heard of it, he
didn't go to the sister's home. She was angry at him for
this; however, he did the right thing.
C. It shows that our attitude is right.
1. Not like some who say, "What is the least I can do and still
go to heaven?" but "How much can I do for the Lord" or, "I
want to do all I can for the Lord."
VII. HELPS FULFILL HIS DUTIES TO OTHERS.
A. Helps parents fulfill their duties to their children. Eph. 6:4
B. It brings us more knowledge so that we can always give the
right answers. 1 Pet. 3:15
C. It helps fulfill the commands of exhorting our brethren. Heb.
3:13
1. We are not to go to everyone's house or call daily--but on
Sundays and Wednesdays we have an opportunity to fulfill
this command.
VIII. IT IS BEARING FRUIT AND DOING GOOD WORKS.
A. We are to bear much fruit (John 15:8) and to be full of good
works (James 3:17).
1. Notice he did not just say, "bear fruit" or "have good
works," but "bear much fruit and "be full of good works."
B. We are to be zealous of good works (Titus 2:14), and always
abounding in the work of the Lord (I Cor. 15:58).
1. We are to be ready unto every good work (Titus 3:1), and are
to be careful to maintain good works (Titus 3:8).
2. The faithful child of God attends every service because he
wants to be zealous of, always abounding in, ready unto, and
careful to maintain good works.
C. We must do good works ourselves and exhort others to do good
works. Heb. 10:24
1. We couldn't rightfully exhort someone to attend on Wednesday
nights when we don't attend ourselves.
IX. IT IS PART OF BEING READY, WATCHING AND WAITING.
A. Matt. 24:44; 25:13; Mark 13:33-37
1. What if the Lord came on a Wednesday night and I wasn't with
the saints because I was wilfully forsaking? I John 2:28
B. It is part of enduring unto the end. Matt. 10:22; 24:12-13
1. It is "redeeming the time" (Eph. 5:16) in our short stay on
earth.
2. I once caught a young college student red-handed one Sunday.
His mother had asked me to exhort him. I took my family
home after the services and then went to his apartment. I
found him sitting in his house-coat watching TV. As I began
to show him his neglect, he was very embarrassed. However,
he needed to be concerned about what the Lord thought about
him, not what the preacher thought.
3. Too many people want to make sure that the preacher
understands why they were not present at services. Their
actions need to be resolved with God, not the preacher.
X. BECAUSE HE WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN.
A. God has promised that many marvelous blessings are waiting in
heaven for the faithful. John 14:2; 1 Pet. 1:4; Rev. 22:14
1. The faithful Christian attends every service because he
wants to have part in these marvelous things.
Concl.
A. Why does the faithful child of God attend every service?
(Summarize main topics)
B. The word of God is powerful and strong on this subject. It
overpowers by such strong reasons.
C. Psalm 122:1. Let us be glad that we have time and opportunity
to worship God.
1. Let us take advantage of this great privilege and afford
ourselves of the many spiritual blessings that are derived
from worship.
ATTENDANCE #2
THE SINS ONE INVOLVES HIMSELF IN WHEN HE WILFULLY FORSAKES THE ASSEMBLIES OF THE SAINTS
By David J. Riggs
Intro.
A. The first part of our study will be a verse-by-verse study of
Heb. 10:19-31 which, of course, deals with our topic.
B. In our heading notice the word "wilfully" which means,
"knowingly and deliberately going against one's conscience."
1. Notice also the word "assemblies." We will be referring to
all the assemblies of the saints, not just the one on the
Lord's day in the morning.
C. Many brethren do not understand the seriousness of forsaking.
Thus, there is a great need for lessons on this topic.
1. Denominationalism has added to this problem. Most
denominations put very little emphasis upon attendance. If
they do at all, they usually make Sunday morning mandatory
and all others optional.
2. Liberalism in churches of Christ has added to this problem.
Instead of teaching strong lessons from God's word on this
subject (they don't want to offend anyone), they have
resorted to man-made gimmicks to induce attendance.
I. BASIS OF EXHORTATIONS--TWO POSSESSIONS.
A. Verse 19 - "...Having boldness to enter the Holiest..." Before
this there was no free access.
1. Verse 20 - In the Old Testament order, the veil had to be
parted before the high priest could go from the holy place
to the most holy place. Matt. 27:51
a. Here the flesh of Jesus is represented as the veil. His
flesh was torn when He was consecrated for us (his death
on the cross).
B. Verse 21 - "...Having a High Priest over the house of God."
1. Heb. 3:1; 4:14
II. THREE EXHORTATIONS.
A. Verse 22 - "Let us draw near..." (the first of three
exhortations)
1. "With a true heart" - with a pure conscience.
2. "Full assurance" - with complete confidence.
3. "Having our hearts sprinkled..."
a. This involves the blood of Christ
b. It is typical of the O.T. priests sprinkling the
sacrificial blood to purify.
c. This is the internal part of regeneration.
4. "Our bodies washed..."
a. This is water baptism. Acts 22:16
b. It is the washing of regeneration. Titus 3:5
c. This is the external part of regeneration.
B. Verse 23 - "Let us (the second exhortation) hold fast the
confession..." - continue in it by faithful, godly lives.
1. "Confession of our hope" - thus, an exhortation to be
steadfast in obtaining the end of our hope.
2. "Without wavering" - without faltering, without stumbling.
3. "For He who promised is faithful." - He is reliable and
trustworthy and the one who commits his will to Him, will
never be disappointed.
C. Verses 24-25 - "And let us" (the third). He exhorts both
positively and negatively.
1. Verse 24 - the positive.
a. "Consider one another" - show concern, have interest in.
b. "To stir up" - to stimulate, provoke, arouse.
c. "Love and good works" - all of us need exhortation and
encouragement; thus, let us exhort and encourage one
another to do our best in living the Christian life.
2. Verse 25 - the negative. Thus, we are not to forsake any of
our assemblies. We will look at several objections that
brethren raise on this verse.
a. Some say that the word "forsake" refers to forsaking
altogether and should not be applied to when a person
misses just one service. However, the word is used in 2
Tim. 4:16 and Matt. 27:46 and refers to just once.
b. Some think that it refers to the "assembly" - only on the
Lord's day morning when the Lord's supper is taken.
However, it is the word "assembling" which refers to any
coming together; it is the word "episnnago" and not the
word "ekklesia" the regular word for assembly.
c. Some say the word "day" refers to the Lord's day--they
needed to increase their efforts when they saw the Lord's
day coming.
(1) However, there is no indication in the context that
it must refer to the Lord's day. It could refer to
any day wherein one needed exhortation. For example,
if one did not attend on Wed. nights and I had a
continual opportunity to exhort him, I would increase
my efforts as I saw that day approaching.
(2) Many of the older commentators take the position that
"the day" refers to the destruction of Jerusalem -
that the Hebrews by the signs that Jesus spoke of
(Matt. 24; Luke 21) could see that it was
approaching.
(3) It probably refers to the great day--the day of the
Lord's coming. We know that it is nearer than it
was. Rom. 13:11-12
(4) It could refer to the day of one's end--his death,
e.g., we are to number our days. Psalm 90:12
III. THE RESULTS OF FORSAKING
A. This is what one does when he wilfully forsakes; this is what
he brings upon himself.
1. He sins. (Verse 26a)
a. What is the sin considered in this context?
b. "Wilfully" - knowingly and deliberately going against
one's conscience, i.e., relatives come and he stays home.
He goes golfing, fishing, shopping, sleep in, or
whatever. It does not include those times when it is no
fault of his own
2. He loses the only sacrifice for sins. (Verse 26b)
a. He didn't say there is not more forgiveness, but no more
sacrifice.
b. He is rejecting the sacrifice which is his only chance
and hope; he is abandoning that which purchased the
church and all that pertains to it.
c. When he wilfully forsakes, he is setting his will against
the Lord's.
3. He incurs the wrath of God (verse 27) - here is what
remains:
a. "But a certain fearful expectation of judgment..." - We
all will face judgment, but it will be a fearful time for
the one who commits the sin of verse 25.
b. "And fiery indignation" - God is indignant, his righteous
anger is aroused, when one forsakes the assemblies.
c. "Which shall devour the adversaries" - You place yourself
in the realm of the enemy of God when you forsake, and
God's fiery indignation shall destroy you.
4. Man brings all these things upon himself when he wilfully
forsakes. As we said, many brethren do not understand the
seriousness of forsaking. It is something that is not to be
taken lightly.
B. What God does to those who wilfully forsake:
1. Verse 28 - has to do with capital punishment.
2. Verse 29 - "worse punishment" - worse than capital
punishment.
a. "Who has trampled the Son of God underfoot..." - How?
Attendance is part of the will of Christ and he shows his
disrespect for Him by not attending.
b. "Counted the blood...a common thing..." - He is reducing
the blood to no more than a common or ordinary thing;
thus, he shows his lack of appreciation for the blood
atonement.
c. "And insulted the Spirit of grace" - He shows contempt
for the Holy Spirit who delivered the message of grace.
3. Verse 30 - At the judgment what excuse will you give to the
Lord?
a. God will take vengeance on the disobedient.
4. Verse 31- He falls into His hands.
IV. THERE ARE MANY OTHER SINS THAT ONE INVOLVES HIMSELF
IN WHEN HE WILFULLY FORSAKES.
A. It has the opposite effect--as opposed to "Why the faithful
child of God attends every service."
1. Commands are disobeyed.
a. He neglects worship that God seeks. John 4:23-24
b. He forsakes being with the Lord. Matt. 18:20
c. On the Lord's day he misses many important commands.
2. He fails to grow and develop into a mature Christian. I
Pet. 2:2 Thus, he is not as strong spiritually as he
otherwise would be.
3. He fails to help the church function properly.
a. He hinders special efforts to preach the gospel (gospel
meetings) in making wise decisions (business meetings) in
dealing with the erring (withdrawing).
b. If the church has elders, he is not obeying them. Heb.
13:17
4. He sets a bad example and has a bad influence. Titus 2:7
a. He is not a light to the world around him. Matt. 5:16
b. He offends the church of God with his attitude and
actions. 1 Cor. 10:31
c. He becomes a stumblingblock to babes in Christ. Matt.
18:6
5. He denies his allegiance that he confessed when baptized.
Rom. 10:9
6. He is not holding fast his profession and hope. Heb. 3:6
4:14; 6:11-12
7. He is not putting Christ and the kingdom first. Luke 9:23;
Matt. 6:33
a. He is not seeking those things which are above. Col.
3:1-3
8. He fails in his duties to others.
a. Parents fail in their duty to their children. Eph. 6:4
b. He misses the opportunity to exhort his brethren. Heb.
3:13
9. He is not bearing much fruit and ready unto every good work.
John 15:8; Titus 3:1
10. He knows to do good but does not do it. James 4:17
11. He is not ready, watching and waiting. Matt. 24:42; 25:13
12. He is neglecting the salvation of his soul. Heb. 2:3
Concl.
A. I hope these things will cause all to vividly see the
seriousness of wilfully forsaking the assemblies of the saints.
1. A study of this will help in those times when there is a
fine line of decision, e.g., are my aches and pains strong
enough that I would be justified in staying home?
B. The word of God is strong and powerful on this subject. It
overpowers from two directions.
1. It shows the manifold blessings for attending.
2. It reveals the sins that one involves himself in when he
wilfully forsakes.
C. Brethren, let us attend every service that is humanly possible.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
ORIENTAL ORIGINS IN THE BIBLE
A Bible study guide, which reveals the origins of the Oriental peoples according to the Bible. After several years of study this writing was completed in 2000.
A Bible study project by Paul Phelps.
All Bible quotations are from the New King James Version except for my own translations, or as otherwise indicated.
The Bible speaks about origins and this study examines Biblical genealogy to find the origin of the Oriental peoples, the world’s largest family of nations. The orient has the largest population group of earth. The anthropological and historical evidences show that all East Asian peoples had their origin in China. From the Bible we can identify the first people group that populated China.
All men in fact belong to one family because Adam and Eve were parents of us all (Gen. 3:20), but there are three different genealogies after the Flood. Gen. 9:18-19,
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth... These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
Bible scholars have traced the descendants of Ham mainly into Africa, and also into the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and South Pacific regions. The name Ham means hot and indicates that Hamitic people went to hot climates. The descendants of Japheth have been traced to European and Aryan people, mainly of Europe, and also into central Asia, Iran and north India. The name Japheth means enlarged or expanded, and indicates the nature of this people.
Bible scholarship traditionally has held the view those descendants of Shem only settled in western Asia, thought to be Arabs and Jews mainly. But this conclusion does not take east Asia into account (half of humanity), and gives only a small portion to Shem. But Shem was given the greatest honor of all. Gen. 9:26,
And he said: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem...
The Bible says that Shem is the original forefather of the West Asian people together with the East Asian people. The genealogy of all the Oriental people can be traced to Shem in the Genesis account.
Shem means honorable name, which fits well to oriental cultural values. The Hebrew Bible often refers to God as “The Honourable Name” (HA-SHÈM), thus joining God with the people of Shem. In Genesis 10:21, Shem is called “The father of all the children of Eber,” meaning the Hebrew race. The word Hebrew means ‘of Eber,’ or ‘descended from Eber.’ Gen. 10:25,
To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for
in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Hence, the Hebrew race has descended from Eber in two branches, of Peleg, or of Joktan. The name Peleg means sectioned or partitioned, thus relating him to Babylon (Gen. 11:7-9), but the name Joktan means Youngson.
Only the first generation of Joktan’s descendants was recorded in the Bible (Gen. 10:26-29; I Chron. 1:19-23). Joktan’s family of thirteen sons is the largest family of early Bible times. It is unusual that their names were even recorded because Joktan’s lineage does not recur in later Bible history. Peleg’s lineage recurs however (Genesis 11), so Bible readers have traditionally thought that Peleg’s descendants are the only Hebrews in existence. But the descendants of Joktan are in fact another, even larger branch of Hebrews. Peleg’s lineage has heightened visibility in the Bible because God chose Abraham’s kindred to lead the Bible narrative; but the disappearance of Joktan’s lineage from the Bible narrative means that Joktan’s family left west Asia entirely and migrated far away to another land.
For more than a century Noah and all the Flood survivors dwelt somewhere in the east. This was eastwards of the Euphrates River plain: the Bible calls it the plain of Shinar. Gen. 11:2,
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
Later on, the plain of Shinar was renamed Babylon (Gen. 11:9). The phrase “from the east” is MI-KÈDEM in Hebrew, and we can give a literal translation. MI is ‘from,’ or ‘coming from’ (and cannot be translated otherwise). KÈDEM is ‘the front of the east,’ or ‘the orient.’ The root idea is “front” —in a geographic sense referring to the coastlands of east Asia facing sunrise. In the time sense it can also mean ‘ancient beginnings’ (the front of time), and can sometimes be translated ‘ancient orient.’ In Genesis 11:2, the word KÈDEM reveals that the Flood survivors journeyed from the orient before entering the land of Babylon. (Many Bible versions have poor translations of KÈDEM.)
The earliest sojourn of the Flood survivors was eastwards of Babylon, across the Iranian plateau, taking more than a century according to the genealogy of Gen. 11:10-16. More than a century is indicated (in Gen. 10:25) from the Flood until Peleg, and it could have been many years later that he entered Babylon. Peleg definitely went into Babylon, for his descendants were all dwelling there, including Abraham (Gen. 11). But Joktan did not go with Peleg into Babylon.
The pre-Babylonian sojourn is an important factor for it helps us to know the location of Joktan’s migration route. He evidently separated from the caravan before they came to Babylon because he chose to go east. Gen. 10:30,
And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go towards Sephar, the mountain of the east.
The caravan travelling west to Babylon was already in the east, so Joktan’s decision to travel farther east means that he separated from the caravan and turned towards the orient; (we give our own translation of Gen. 10:30 later on). Some scholars have suggested that Joktan went to Arabia because two of his sons, Sheba and Havilah had the same names as two Arabian tribes. But those Arabian tribes were of Cushite descent in the lineage of Ham and not in the lineage of Shem at all (Gen. 10:6-7). Arabia is part of the migration route to Africa, the land of Cush; therefore the first peoples in Arabia were Cushite. Names may reappear in different genealogies but relationship is not implied.
The separation of Peleg’s clan and Joktan’s clan made two Hebrew peoples, the Western Hebrews of western Asia and the Eastern Hebrews of east Asia, the orient. Orientals are Hebrew people.
Gen. 9:28 says that Noah lived several years beyond the Babylon confusion and so did the other post-Flood Patriarchs (Gen. 11). Therefore they also took part in Babylon’s confusion if they were there. But we doubt that Noah was in Babylon at all. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8) and was righteous (Eze. 14:14; 2 Peter 2:5); hence he certainly would have opposed the ambitions of Babylon and Nimrod’s kingdom (ref. Genesis 10:8-10). The Bible does not say where Noah, Shem, Arphaxed, Salah and Eber then were, but the possibility is that, like Joktan they may have gone eastward, farther into Asia.
We shall now examine the names mentioned in Gen. 10:30. The Flood had erased all former place names but the names in the Bible have meaning, and that is important. Mesha means ‘departure,’ which probably refers to Joktan’s point of departure from the caravan. Joktan’s group took their departure point somewhere on the Iranian plateau, or in central Asia, and that departure point (MÈSHA) became the starting point of Joktanite settlement. Joktan’s clan was certainly the first to scout the ancient Silk Road, which later became the main road of settlement into east Asia. Mesha (the departure point) was the start of the ancient Silk Road. The Silk Road first began near the city of Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran, and that name may derive from the ancient name of Mesha.
The phrase, “towards Sephar” is a translation of SEPHARÀH (in the Hebrew), but it literally means ‘towards a numerous population.’ Instead of a name, if we take word meaning we find a prophecy for the numerous populations that now exist in China and through all the orient. The phrase, “the mountain of the east” is a translation of HAR HA-KÈDEM, but the literal Hebrew meaning is ‘the mountain of the orient.’ Now we have our own translation of Gen. 10:30,
And their dwelling place shall be from the departure point, as you go towards a numerous population, the mountain of the orient. (translation mine)
“The mountain of the orient” might be a particular mountain that marks the far-eastern extent of the oriental homelands or it could be just a symbolic term for the numerous population of east Asia, but it definitely means that Orientals are Joktan’s descendants. (Joktan is indicated in Gen. 10:30, from the context.)
Chinese history affirms that the early pioneers came into the eastern plains of China from the west, migrating along the Silk Road route. This verifies the accepted dating of early settlements in the Yellow River valley of north China. Bible chronology puts this migration at about 2200 BCE. Tribal diversity in the orient began with Joktan’s thirteen sons and their families. It may also be due to others associated with the Patriarchal families. The whole of east Asia was eventually populated by descendants of those Semitic settlers. We therefore conclude that the East Asian peoples are entirely Semitic and may properly be called Eastern Hebrews. Other west Asian tribes came into China later on, such as the Elamites, the ten northern Israeli tribes, the Persian Jews, and the Assyrians. These were Semitic and they all eventually assimilated into China.
We shall now consider the language aspect of Oriental origins and we want first of all to clear up existing misunderstanding on the subject. Bible scholars have made conclusions about language categorisation and in such conclusions only the languages of Western Semites are regarded as Semitic (from Shem). It is true that Oriental languages appear unrelated to the languages of ancient Western Semites, such as Chaldee, Canaanite Hebrew and Aramaic. This nonrelationship has led some to conclude that the peoples of China and the orient are not Semitic. But the East Asian languages are equally unrelated to Hamitic languages and Japhetic Indo-European languages. This means that East Asian languages have another origin—not necessarily based on ancestry. The Bible does not say that all Semitic peoples must have related languages. That is a conclusion of the past that needs more consideration so that the contradictions may be corrected.
But we agree the non-relationship of Oriental languages to other languages is an interesting mystery and deserves an answer. The Bible says that at first all men used the same language; “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech” (Gen. 11:1).
The language brought over with Noah from the pre-Flood world apparently continued into this world more than two centuries. It was a unifying influence until it was confused amongst the Babylonian community. The Bible does not say what happened to the original language. The only reason given us for the confusing of it was that God wanted the Babylonian people to scatter abroad (see Gen. 11:8-9). Therefore God did not change the language of people that were not in Babylon for they were not part of the problem! Everyone that had earlier removed from the Babylon crowd and had chosen their migration route would have continued speaking the language taught them by Noah.
This means that Joktan’s clan remained entirely unaffected by the chaos in Babylon, and kept the ancient original language brought over by Noah. Joktan went to China, and this explains why Chinese is not related to languages that began in Babylon; it also explains why the language of China does not identify ancestry. Chinese legends indicate great antiquity for their language, and the findings of archaeology support this conclusion.
Various Oriental peoples not from China have national languages that seem unrelated to Chinese and unrelated to the other Babylonish languages as well. God might have done a miracle in China, just as He did in Babylon, (although we do not have a Bible record of it), to get people moving into the other lands around China. The miracle of languages may have happened again, and that can explain how the various Oriental languages came to be. As well, some of the Southeast Asian languages developed from foreign language intermixture.
Bible readers might be interested in Zephaniah 3:9, for it says that God will restore a pure language to the people when He sets up His kingdom on earth. The language from Eden probably lasted until Noah, with no major changes. It evidently was brought to China by Joktan—and has continued ever since as the spoken language of China. It might have seen changes during all the time since humanity first began, but much honour surrounds the Chinese language because of its ancient origins.
A Bible study project by Paul Phelps.
All Bible quotations are from the New King James Version except for my own translations, or as otherwise indicated.
The Bible speaks about origins and this study examines Biblical genealogy to find the origin of the Oriental peoples, the world’s largest family of nations. The orient has the largest population group of earth. The anthropological and historical evidences show that all East Asian peoples had their origin in China. From the Bible we can identify the first people group that populated China.
All men in fact belong to one family because Adam and Eve were parents of us all (Gen. 3:20), but there are three different genealogies after the Flood. Gen. 9:18-19,
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth... These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
Bible scholars have traced the descendants of Ham mainly into Africa, and also into the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and South Pacific regions. The name Ham means hot and indicates that Hamitic people went to hot climates. The descendants of Japheth have been traced to European and Aryan people, mainly of Europe, and also into central Asia, Iran and north India. The name Japheth means enlarged or expanded, and indicates the nature of this people.
Bible scholarship traditionally has held the view those descendants of Shem only settled in western Asia, thought to be Arabs and Jews mainly. But this conclusion does not take east Asia into account (half of humanity), and gives only a small portion to Shem. But Shem was given the greatest honor of all. Gen. 9:26,
And he said: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem...
The Bible says that Shem is the original forefather of the West Asian people together with the East Asian people. The genealogy of all the Oriental people can be traced to Shem in the Genesis account.
Shem means honorable name, which fits well to oriental cultural values. The Hebrew Bible often refers to God as “The Honourable Name” (HA-SHÈM), thus joining God with the people of Shem. In Genesis 10:21, Shem is called “The father of all the children of Eber,” meaning the Hebrew race. The word Hebrew means ‘of Eber,’ or ‘descended from Eber.’ Gen. 10:25,
To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for
in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Hence, the Hebrew race has descended from Eber in two branches, of Peleg, or of Joktan. The name Peleg means sectioned or partitioned, thus relating him to Babylon (Gen. 11:7-9), but the name Joktan means Youngson.
Only the first generation of Joktan’s descendants was recorded in the Bible (Gen. 10:26-29; I Chron. 1:19-23). Joktan’s family of thirteen sons is the largest family of early Bible times. It is unusual that their names were even recorded because Joktan’s lineage does not recur in later Bible history. Peleg’s lineage recurs however (Genesis 11), so Bible readers have traditionally thought that Peleg’s descendants are the only Hebrews in existence. But the descendants of Joktan are in fact another, even larger branch of Hebrews. Peleg’s lineage has heightened visibility in the Bible because God chose Abraham’s kindred to lead the Bible narrative; but the disappearance of Joktan’s lineage from the Bible narrative means that Joktan’s family left west Asia entirely and migrated far away to another land.
For more than a century Noah and all the Flood survivors dwelt somewhere in the east. This was eastwards of the Euphrates River plain: the Bible calls it the plain of Shinar. Gen. 11:2,
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
Later on, the plain of Shinar was renamed Babylon (Gen. 11:9). The phrase “from the east” is MI-KÈDEM in Hebrew, and we can give a literal translation. MI is ‘from,’ or ‘coming from’ (and cannot be translated otherwise). KÈDEM is ‘the front of the east,’ or ‘the orient.’ The root idea is “front” —in a geographic sense referring to the coastlands of east Asia facing sunrise. In the time sense it can also mean ‘ancient beginnings’ (the front of time), and can sometimes be translated ‘ancient orient.’ In Genesis 11:2, the word KÈDEM reveals that the Flood survivors journeyed from the orient before entering the land of Babylon. (Many Bible versions have poor translations of KÈDEM.)
The earliest sojourn of the Flood survivors was eastwards of Babylon, across the Iranian plateau, taking more than a century according to the genealogy of Gen. 11:10-16. More than a century is indicated (in Gen. 10:25) from the Flood until Peleg, and it could have been many years later that he entered Babylon. Peleg definitely went into Babylon, for his descendants were all dwelling there, including Abraham (Gen. 11). But Joktan did not go with Peleg into Babylon.
The pre-Babylonian sojourn is an important factor for it helps us to know the location of Joktan’s migration route. He evidently separated from the caravan before they came to Babylon because he chose to go east. Gen. 10:30,
And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go towards Sephar, the mountain of the east.
The caravan travelling west to Babylon was already in the east, so Joktan’s decision to travel farther east means that he separated from the caravan and turned towards the orient; (we give our own translation of Gen. 10:30 later on). Some scholars have suggested that Joktan went to Arabia because two of his sons, Sheba and Havilah had the same names as two Arabian tribes. But those Arabian tribes were of Cushite descent in the lineage of Ham and not in the lineage of Shem at all (Gen. 10:6-7). Arabia is part of the migration route to Africa, the land of Cush; therefore the first peoples in Arabia were Cushite. Names may reappear in different genealogies but relationship is not implied.
The separation of Peleg’s clan and Joktan’s clan made two Hebrew peoples, the Western Hebrews of western Asia and the Eastern Hebrews of east Asia, the orient. Orientals are Hebrew people.
Gen. 9:28 says that Noah lived several years beyond the Babylon confusion and so did the other post-Flood Patriarchs (Gen. 11). Therefore they also took part in Babylon’s confusion if they were there. But we doubt that Noah was in Babylon at all. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8) and was righteous (Eze. 14:14; 2 Peter 2:5); hence he certainly would have opposed the ambitions of Babylon and Nimrod’s kingdom (ref. Genesis 10:8-10). The Bible does not say where Noah, Shem, Arphaxed, Salah and Eber then were, but the possibility is that, like Joktan they may have gone eastward, farther into Asia.
We shall now examine the names mentioned in Gen. 10:30. The Flood had erased all former place names but the names in the Bible have meaning, and that is important. Mesha means ‘departure,’ which probably refers to Joktan’s point of departure from the caravan. Joktan’s group took their departure point somewhere on the Iranian plateau, or in central Asia, and that departure point (MÈSHA) became the starting point of Joktanite settlement. Joktan’s clan was certainly the first to scout the ancient Silk Road, which later became the main road of settlement into east Asia. Mesha (the departure point) was the start of the ancient Silk Road. The Silk Road first began near the city of Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran, and that name may derive from the ancient name of Mesha.
The phrase, “towards Sephar” is a translation of SEPHARÀH (in the Hebrew), but it literally means ‘towards a numerous population.’ Instead of a name, if we take word meaning we find a prophecy for the numerous populations that now exist in China and through all the orient. The phrase, “the mountain of the east” is a translation of HAR HA-KÈDEM, but the literal Hebrew meaning is ‘the mountain of the orient.’ Now we have our own translation of Gen. 10:30,
And their dwelling place shall be from the departure point, as you go towards a numerous population, the mountain of the orient. (translation mine)
“The mountain of the orient” might be a particular mountain that marks the far-eastern extent of the oriental homelands or it could be just a symbolic term for the numerous population of east Asia, but it definitely means that Orientals are Joktan’s descendants. (Joktan is indicated in Gen. 10:30, from the context.)
Chinese history affirms that the early pioneers came into the eastern plains of China from the west, migrating along the Silk Road route. This verifies the accepted dating of early settlements in the Yellow River valley of north China. Bible chronology puts this migration at about 2200 BCE. Tribal diversity in the orient began with Joktan’s thirteen sons and their families. It may also be due to others associated with the Patriarchal families. The whole of east Asia was eventually populated by descendants of those Semitic settlers. We therefore conclude that the East Asian peoples are entirely Semitic and may properly be called Eastern Hebrews. Other west Asian tribes came into China later on, such as the Elamites, the ten northern Israeli tribes, the Persian Jews, and the Assyrians. These were Semitic and they all eventually assimilated into China.
We shall now consider the language aspect of Oriental origins and we want first of all to clear up existing misunderstanding on the subject. Bible scholars have made conclusions about language categorisation and in such conclusions only the languages of Western Semites are regarded as Semitic (from Shem). It is true that Oriental languages appear unrelated to the languages of ancient Western Semites, such as Chaldee, Canaanite Hebrew and Aramaic. This nonrelationship has led some to conclude that the peoples of China and the orient are not Semitic. But the East Asian languages are equally unrelated to Hamitic languages and Japhetic Indo-European languages. This means that East Asian languages have another origin—not necessarily based on ancestry. The Bible does not say that all Semitic peoples must have related languages. That is a conclusion of the past that needs more consideration so that the contradictions may be corrected.
But we agree the non-relationship of Oriental languages to other languages is an interesting mystery and deserves an answer. The Bible says that at first all men used the same language; “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech” (Gen. 11:1).
The language brought over with Noah from the pre-Flood world apparently continued into this world more than two centuries. It was a unifying influence until it was confused amongst the Babylonian community. The Bible does not say what happened to the original language. The only reason given us for the confusing of it was that God wanted the Babylonian people to scatter abroad (see Gen. 11:8-9). Therefore God did not change the language of people that were not in Babylon for they were not part of the problem! Everyone that had earlier removed from the Babylon crowd and had chosen their migration route would have continued speaking the language taught them by Noah.
This means that Joktan’s clan remained entirely unaffected by the chaos in Babylon, and kept the ancient original language brought over by Noah. Joktan went to China, and this explains why Chinese is not related to languages that began in Babylon; it also explains why the language of China does not identify ancestry. Chinese legends indicate great antiquity for their language, and the findings of archaeology support this conclusion.
Various Oriental peoples not from China have national languages that seem unrelated to Chinese and unrelated to the other Babylonish languages as well. God might have done a miracle in China, just as He did in Babylon, (although we do not have a Bible record of it), to get people moving into the other lands around China. The miracle of languages may have happened again, and that can explain how the various Oriental languages came to be. As well, some of the Southeast Asian languages developed from foreign language intermixture.
Bible readers might be interested in Zephaniah 3:9, for it says that God will restore a pure language to the people when He sets up His kingdom on earth. The language from Eden probably lasted until Noah, with no major changes. It evidently was brought to China by Joktan—and has continued ever since as the spoken language of China. It might have seen changes during all the time since humanity first began, but much honour surrounds the Chinese language because of its ancient origins.
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