great controversy book work

The city is said to have 172,000 people, but, like most smaller cities outside of the Tokyo/Osaka/Northern Kyushu areas, it is bleeding young people, and dying. I asked someone where the busy part of town was, and they mentioned “Ginza Street”. When I arrived at the long shopping arcade around 6:30pm, it was ghostly silent except for the sounds of a few high school students going by on bicycle. Not a small number of buildings in the city looked abandoned, and some cats surprised me when jumping out of what I thot was the window of somebody’s house, but coming closer, saw that it was a hole into a really dilapidated “cat house”.

Anyway, my purpose was to go to the Seventh-day Adventist church there. I heard they have the 2nd largest SDA church on this island of over 4,000,000 people. Around 20 people attended on Sabbath, and I was refreshed to see the pastor basically agree with me about the sad pace of evangelism in Japan, and how our SDA church needs to be more active in winning souls, and less compromising with the world. Also, there was a young lady from Africa there, and we had a heartfelt talk about faith and Jesus and duty, and near the end of my time there she said that I must have been sent by God to help her faith. 🙂

But the comic book scene happened in the morning, just a few meters away from the church in the parking lot of a convenience store. My stomach wasn’t right, so I had sat down on a curb in front of the store. An elderly Japanese man came out, and sat on a block behind me, but soon came over and sat by me. We had a good talk, but with his old-folks’ accent/mumbling (probably caused by him not having many front teeth!) I couldn’t understand more than around 30% or so. Then one of his friends came down to sit by him. The 3 of us talked about things in that city, island etc. We talked about bicycles, as many people ride a special bicycle path there (I did too around 13 years ago), about the Hiroshima Carp baseball team who won their league pennant this year for the first time in 30 years, fishing, sightseeing etc.

Then they asked me what I was doing there. I pulled out my Japanese 1858 Great Controversy, and showed them. They didn’t say much, and I didn’t press it, just told them that I came to go to the church just across the way. But around a minute later, the second man who came to sit (who was drinking sake) started talking about religious things. He said Japan has many gods, and we respect them all. I mentioned something about how we should worship the one true Creator God. His voice got a little edge to it, and before I knew what was happening, I saw the first man riding away on a scooter. That’s when things got interesting.

He started talking about how we must have the sun to live. I said the one who created the sun is more important than the sun. Then he asked me if I knew about “Evolution” (all this was in Japanese). I said “yes”, and then took a light tone, (perhaps it seemed almost mocking to him?), asking him if it was possible that a rock could, over time, turn into a human? He said that it is like a child comes from its mother. I asked him if his mother’s mother’s mother was an ape or a rock. He seemed to soften a bit, and said “Well, all the gods are the same, they all lead to the same place”, to which I replied, “There is only one true God – Jesus Christ. He made everything, and we should worship him”. Suddenly his eyes changed, and he picked up his cane pointing to me like he was going to hit me, and said “You’d better not ever say things like that in Japan! Get out of here!” It was all so sudden, and comic-book-like, here’s an old man with a palsied arm starting to get tipsy, suddenly angry to the point of violence about being told that there is only one true God. I was smiling, and thinking he was half-joking at first, but when I saw his grip tighten on the cane, and his face turning a bright red (perhaps 1/2 from the sake?), I decided I’d better go, so picked up my backpack, and without turning around, walked away. I did notice that there was a young man at the smoking stand watching us, and could hear the old man talking excitedly to him as I walked away. Who knows, maybe a seed was planted in the young man’s heart?

Yes, the Great Controversy is alive and well, and being played out in big and small ways all over the world. Just as the title says, it’s between Christ and his angels, and Satan and his angels. We have a big role to play too. May we be ready to fulfill that role at any moment, even if it is like a comic-book scene. And yes, the thot did cross my mind, that doing this same thing in this same city around 80 years ago would have gotten me thrown in jail or worse. Let’s work to redeem the time, because that will happen again, but on a global scale in the end-times.

click for huge amazing hong kong skyline

The Seventh-day Adventist church in Happy Valley (love that name!) is having Prayer Meeting as i arrive. It is all in Cantonese, so i just sit in the back and look thru the hymnal. There are only 5 attendees, and as they break up to leave they ask me individually about where i’m from, my purpose here, and where i’m staying. When i tell them i might stay at the McDonald’s or in the park, they look a little flustered, and walk off, except for the young man who calls a friend who he thinks might be able to help me, but gives up when no one answers.

So i see them all off, then sit down on the steps to spend the nite. Fortunately there is a ledge high above the door which keeps out most of the rain, as the last stages of a tropical storm pass over. It is a good time to reflect on the goodness of the Lord, and think about the many things that have happened in my life. To enjoy a passing cloud, to hear a bullfrog praising God, to see the rain coming down in sheets in the lights of the horse racetrack over in the distance, to see the parade of luxury cars and taxis going by, feeling the wetness, feeling the hardness, all the sensory things that make life, life……to wish for sleep – ha! Sleep finally does arrive around 3am, as i learn i don’t have to just sit, i can actually lay down (a little slow on things). My bottom on my pants gets a big red “C” on it from the plastic bag i’ve put under me to keep me dry, but it just brings a smile to me and many memories of the supermarket i got that bag at in Thailand over a year earlier, and of course of the many people i met and stayed with there, and what “might have happened”, had the school kept going, had the friend decided to start our own school, etc etc.

Morning comes early, and hot. I’ve had a long sleeve shirt on all nite, partly because of the chill, but also to keep the mosquitos off, and it has worked perfectly, for which i’m most thankful. Taking it off to reveal just the short sleeve shirt below feels nice for a while, but then the red, itching welts pop up pretty quickly, forcing me to get a move on. There are 7-11s everywhere, and like in many SE Asian countries there is a huge selection of different kinds of soy drinks to choose from – yum. The nuts and raisins brought from Japan are enjoyed in a little park with the soy milk and rolls. Breadmaking skills never really arrived in the Far East outside of the former French areas, but it is palatable.

The Chinese Union Mission office is my main goal for the day, so i head off to the subway (MTR) to the place where i found it on the web. I really hate Google, but their map search is the best i know of. Today tho, it produces an epic fail. No one around the station where i get off, and go to the place marked on the map has even heard of the area, let alone the building name! I quickly find out that Hong Kong is very different from my expectations of something similar to Singapore in English skills, as i find many people cannot even read English, let alone speak it. In the city center there are lots of foreign-looking people, and lots of signs in English, but just a couple of miles from there plants you firmly in Chinese-speaking territory. Finally one man pronounces the address i’ve written in Roman letters, in Cantonese, and tells me i need to go to a place 4 train stops away. How to find the place once i get there? I have not a clue, but have come this far so……. Getting off at that station i look for an area map, when i notice right below the exit sign a list of places it serves, and there is the name of the building i’m looking for! Thank you Lord for helping me this far.

The Chinese Union Mission office is located on the 12th floor of an office building way outside of the city center, in a mostly residential area. The lady i’d contacted before on the internet seems a bit flumfluxxed about why i’ve come, but quickly becomes very friendly and helpfully introduces me to the publishing director who talks with me over 20 minutes about this book and Ellen White. We have some common ground as he went to school at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee (i didn’t go to school there, but have been there many times), but lose our common ground when he says regarding Ellen White books being published in the Chinese language: “We have too many Ellen White books already”. Perhaps he meant that there are many books not being read enough, but more talking reveals that he has some problems with Ellen White. He gives the same reasons as many others have about why this 1858 edition of The Great Controversy is not necessary, with the main reason being that Ellen White got better and better as she went along, and corrected her earlier works. Ouch. I agree that everything has to be read in context, but believe there are no mistakes in the earlier works. He then shows his views regarding the Bible, as he says Paul told the people in Corinth that a woman should cover her head, and not teach over a man, but that was just because Corinth was such a wicked place. So we must consider all the context of everything written. I keep mostly quiet, but demure a bit, saying that all the words in the Bible are inspired, to which he seems to politely disagree. He mentions that next year the General Conference is instructing to print many Great Controversy books, to which he shows his reluctance to perform, saying that he would rather give Desire of Ages to someone who doesn’t even know about Christ, unlike those in Western societies. I agree that to non-Christians, Steps to Christ should come before The Great Controversy.
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The pastor had told me in a email that he wanted me to give a testimony, so i was expecting 10 minutes or so during the Sabbath School time. But when i arrived, he said i was the main speaker! When i told him i’d like to study chapter 32 of the 1858gc with everyone, he said i could do my testimony and then the study, which we did after putting all the chairs in a circle. I guess there were around 15 present. I think 3 or 4 of the people are not SDA and maybe not even Christian yet. Even tho over half of the people were Korean, they were typical Japanese style with keeping quiet most of the time. After the study one couple seemed deeply affected, and asked a few questions. It was a great experience for me to be able to carry out a study in Japanese. One nice thing was, there was no spirit of doubt in the writings of Ellen White, and there was no put-down of myself either, both things that are quite common in my travels. I gave everyone a book, and pray that the Holy Spirit will work on hearts now. Around 1/2 of the people stayed all afternoon, and we had a little sundown-worship too. The pastor told me there are quite a few young pastors in the Japan Conference who are very dedicated, and waiting for opportunities to help lead the starving sheep into green pastures. May God hear their earnest cries, and incline his ears to my heartfelt prayers that something be done to awaken the sleeping church in Japan.
yongsan-japanese-church.com

The pastor said that he read that Japanese were 30 times more likely to become Christians while outside of Japan, rather than in their own country. I can believe it, because i’ve heard of quite a few cases like that myself. He said even a Japanese ambassador’s wife was baptized into the SDA church last year! But really, one of the best ways to evangelize the Japanese, may be to approach them when they are not in their comfortable “cocoon” of this island nation. Then again, maybe a certain nuclear reactor will drive them out of their cocoon soon!!

Thanks for everyone’s prayers to come back into Japan. I was forced for the first time to buy a ticket back to Korea before i could leave Seoul. But Asiana airline refunded all except around 35usd after i arrived in Osaka, so not too bad. The immigration officer didn’t say anything, but again, that may have been because i did have that ticket carrying me back out of Japan, something they like to see.