Watch Carefully, This is a Sign

China’s Threat to Taiwan and the Possibility of War

The division of Taiwan is the greatest obstacle to reunification of the motherland. It is a serious threat to the rejuvenation of the people. In the face of the serious provocation of the separatist activities and the external forces interfering with the affairs of Taiwan, we are determined to carry out the anti-separatism, anti-interference major struggle.

It shows that we defend the sovereignty of the country and the integrity of the territory. The strong determination and strong ability to fight against the separatists is the matter of the Chinese people.

It is up to the Chinese people to decide. We are determined to strive for a peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and effort. However, we never promise to give up using force and to take all necessary measures.

Taiwan insists on its independent sovereignty despite President Xi's remarks.

That's right, Angela. In response to Chinese President Xi's remarks, Taiwan's presidential office issued a statement saying that Taiwan is an independent sovereignty which is never a part of PRC.

On the other hand, you go to China and you're going to find several hundred million Christians in a country where Christians were massacred.

On October 15, 2022, President Xi Jinping, the head of the Chinese Communist Party for 10 years, delivered an ominous speech at the beginning of the 20th Party Congress in which he said, complete reunification of our country must be realized and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.

And given that Taiwan is unlikely to accept China taking control of the country, it seems like some kind of war similar to the war between Russia and Ukraine may be coming. President Joe Biden has said that the United States would defend China militarily.

There's a one China policy and Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence. We are not moving. We're not encouraging their being independent. We're not. That's their decision.

But would U .S. forces defend the island?

Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.

Although the White House attempted to walk back Biden's statement. And after Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China fired ballistic missiles around Taiwan.

Taiwan's defense ministry says China has fired multiple ballistic missiles during a set of military exercises in the air and the sea encircling Taiwan. Beijing launched the drills in response to a visit by Nancy Pelosi, the most senior U .S. official to go to the self-governed island in 25 years.

Elon Musk is extremely concerned about war breaking out between China and Taiwan because his electric car company operates a large factory in Shanghai and because he predicts war would result in a 30 percent drop in the global economy.

And Musk suggested the following in an interview with the Financial Times. My recommendation would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won't make everyone happy.

And it's possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that's more lenient than Hong Kong. So what does all of this talk of impending war between China and Taiwan and potentially the United States mean?

Persecution of Christians as Part of God’s Sovereign Plan

Well, first, we know that China is very hostile to the West and to Christianity.

When you ask me if God is involved, when a guy rides a bicycle up to the door and you happen to feel prompted to give the guy the Bible and then a hundred of the Red Guard arrive to take the Bible that's now gone with the guy on the bicycle.

And second, we know that evil leaders attacking and persecuting righteousness, especially Christians, is exactly what the Bible teaches will happen, increasingly so as history progresses.

There's a common saying among believers, and it is this. The blood of the martyrs always becomes the seed of the church. I'll give you an illustration of it. The strongest church in Asia, the one that Daniel comes from, is the most persecuted church.

It's the church in China. You go to China and you're going to find several hundred million Christians in a country where Christians were massacred.

Contrary to what many believe, persecution is actually part of God's sovereign plan, and it is good for Christians and for the church.

Because that's a purifying process. Hypocrites all abandon religion. They're not going to be phony for something that cost them their life. What is the outcome of that? Tremendous expansion of the gospel because of the credibility that that develops.

The Weakness of the American Church and Its Compromise with the World

The most popular churches in the United States have largely compromised concerning the gospel and the Bible and have become indistinguishable from the world. If you like this video, subscribe to help spread the truth.

Just take a look at how well the most popular pastors in the United States get along with Oprah, who stands directly against so much of what the Bible teaches.

You can watch Pastor Joel's entire I Am sermon. We have it on Oprah .com. I'm victorious.

When you hold on to your history, you do it at the expense of your destiny.

Oh, my God. That just hit me. Did that hit you? That hit me. Wow. Whoa.

This is a pump moment right here. God's purpose in using persecution is to reveal who are the true Christians who will follow Christ no matter the suffering and who are the false Christians who will abandon Christ at the first sign of trouble.

I am absolutely 100 convinced that the weakness of the church in America, the superficiality of the church, the shallowness of the church, the hypocrisy of the church is directly related to the absence of any cost or any price to pay to be a Christian.

If you don't have to pay a price, hey, jump on the bandwagon. If persecution came to America, you'd see a very different kind of Christianity. A whole lot of people were real eager to talk about Jesus, wouldn't be talking about Jesus anymore, who professed to know Jesus and to be a part of the church.

They would stop talking very fast if the price was as high as it is for some people.

Fear of War, Nuclear Conflict, and the Coming of Persecution

Certainly, the possibility of war is a frightening prospect.

There's fear about whether Europe is going to be embroiled in another world war and whether or not that's going to include us and whether or not people will unleash nuclear weapons if that does happen.

And so, again, there is this fear and anxiety.

But what all of this means is that we as Christians should not at all be surprised if war does indeed break out in the world, including nuclear war that could result in an unimaginable amount of death and suffering.

We should not be surprised that there are presidents and rulers who hate Christians and who would ruthlessly persecute Christians if they took control. The war might be with China or it might not. But rest assured, war and persecution are indeed coming.

Armageddon as an Apocalyptic Picture of the Church Under Attack

If we're not careful, we look to this Battle of Armageddon and we're watching the newspaper and we're watching what happens in the Middle East and trying to figure out what's going on with Syria, what's going on with Iraq, what's going on with China, what's going on with Russia, what's going on with Saudi Arabia, what's going on with Egypt, what's going on with fill in the blank.

And while we're looking at it, this war is going on right under our noses. This means that the reference to Armageddon is not a description of a literal military battle in which men in tanks and airplanes fight against God.

Instead, we have an apocalyptic image of the kings of the earth being gathered together by the dragon to wage war against Mount Zion, which is symbolic of the church of Jesus Christ. Which one makes more sense, folks?

Hundreds of millions of men bringing tanks to fight against God or that the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are assembling to fight against the church?

We should not be surprised by any of this. But at the same time, we should not be afraid because we know that there is a God and that this God gave us the glorious gospel that relieves all our fears over anything that could possibly happen in this crazy world we live in.

Whatever it is that you're enduring, it ain't bigger than a dead Jesus. And if God can raise Christ from the dead because of in order to demonstrate his commitment to the redemption of his people, then he can bring you through whatever it is that's causing you this fear and this anxiety because God always rescues his people, sometimes from, sometimes through, but always for his glory and for our good.