"Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years" - China in Future

Tokyo Bay

China in Future

The biggest social turmoil expected is not a future one in Iran but in China.

Libya and Egypt have already passed this dangerous phase in transformation of society.  Syria is now undergoing it, and Iran will have to face a drastic revolution.  But the biggest one should be set off in China, being accompanied by a similar but less graver one in North Korea.

It is very unreasonable that Chinese people are forbidden to exercise democratic rights in their society while enjoying the free-market economy.  While they can travel to the US to study in Harvard and other American universities, they cannot even criticize their government.  Such condition cannot last forever.

As the recent anti-Japanese violent protests in Chinese cities indicate, Chinese citizens are only allowed to demonstrate for some anti-Japanese purpose, but they cannot give a demonstration for any anti-government reasons.  There is no freedom of expression in China.  If you, in any city of China, reprove any leaders in Beijing, you will be surely arrested by the police.

The Chinese Government controls all the media in China, except some functions of the Internet.  So, they can hide any facts and truth that are objectionable to the Chinese elites.  For example, the scenes that Chinese demonstrators were attacking Japanese plants and setting fire to Japanese shops in China for the Senkaku issue were completely hidden from the public eye.

This situation cannot be sustained forever.  People will come to get freedom of express and other democratic rights. The Chinese Communist Party will be driven out of Beijing sooner or later.

But such a movement can be a bloody one like what is now observed in Syria.

Between 1912 when the Qing Dynasty fell and 1949 when the People's Republic of China was established, China was in a big turmoil.  Many warlords occupied various regions in China.  The Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party were fighting each other, though they tied up in the war against the Empire of Japan.  And, not only the Japanese Empire but other Western powers and Russia held their own interest in the Chinese Continent.

So, the so-called Japanese invasion of China before WWII was not a unilateral invasion of a well-governed nation with order and law by the Imperial Army.  China was not a well-governed nation with order and law at all at the period of time.  China was in a great turmoil and a civil war.

And, a similar situation might happen in near future in China, far surpassing the degree of the tragedy in Syria.



*** *** *** ***



Gen 9:28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
Gen 9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

"Jesus took him by the hand" - Politicians and Gangsters

Around the Tokyo Station in the Rain

Politicians and Gangsters

The fundamentals of Japan are of course industry.

Most of people work in fields to take out natural resources, in factories and plants to manufacture products, and in distribution systems and shops to sell goods.  After graduation from universities, colleges, and high-schools, young people usually get involved in economic activities in various fields of industries.

But some others work in the public sector as civil servants in municipal offices or the central government.    

In addition, there are experts in the society such as lawyers and medical doctors.

And above them in the social structure, politicians and lawmakers work in local assemblies and the national parliament which is called the Diet in Japan.

One dark side of Japan has been, however, linkage between some lawmakers and gangsters.

For example, an ex-gangster starts real-estate business.  With support from a bank, it can be very successful.  Then he starts to back a key lawmaker who has influences in the industry.  And the lawmaker gets big money from the ex-gangster businessman and distribute it among other politicians who follow him to form a faction.  Then this political faction might become dominant in a political party; accordingly some of those politicians can be appointed to a state minister in the Cabinet.

So, if a trouble occurs to the ex-gangster businessman and he is put under investigation by the police or public prosecutors, he would ask help from the key politician he has been associated with.  The key politician would tell his henchman who happens to be a state minister to help the dubious businessman.  Them the minister would exercise his power on some bureaucrats to handle the case in favor for his boss or his client.  When the matter is fixed, the virtually criminal businessman would present more money or other convenience for the key politician.

In fact, as this kind of cases became too much to tolerate over the era of the bubble economy around 1990, Japan introduced various improvement and correction in its political system in 1990s.  So, there are not so many cases of political corruption reported nowadays.

But there are many second-generation or hereditary politicians in the National Diet.  They might have no dubious connection with gangsters or ex-gangsters, but their fathers or grandfathers as politicians might have had.  Therefore, in rare condition, such an old dark linkage of his family might surface to harm reputation of a national lawmaker who might be very popular or trusted so much by the public.

So, if you look at a politician, such as Mr. W. Bush, you might feel envious of him; but his father, such as Mr. H.W. Bush, might have a dark connection with a kind of gangsters.

So, Christ Jesus said not to go to a place to see people well dressed and walking proudly.



*** *** *** ***




Mar 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
Mar 9:28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

"of him shall the Son of man be ashamed" - New PM of Japan Promised

Imperial Palace District, Tokyo

New PM of Japan Promised

Mr. Shinzo Abe was today elected as new president of the LDP, the major opposition party in Japan.

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sakurasakuya7/e/7f3cc8eb97a73b9a0f89a2ab32729883

The conservative LDP had kept power for almost 50 years, except a year or so since 1955, till it lost the 2009 general election to the DPJ that includes many leftist members.

But, Mr. Abe was once prime minister of Japan after Mr. Junichiro Koizumi who had consolidated a diplomatic tie with the Bush Administration.  From 2006 to 2007, LDP lawmaker Abe led Japan as prime minister, taking a nationalistic stance in his governance.  He was even regarded as a kind of dangerous nationalist by The New York Times.

Mr. Abe's father was also an LDP lawmaker who had his own faction with an ambition to become prime minister of Japan.  But Shintaro Abe died in 1991 for some disease to be succeeded by his son Mr. Shinzo Abe.  Shintaro Abe's wife, namely the mother of Mr. Shinzo Abe, was a daughter of Nobuskuke Kishi, the prime minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960.

Nobusuke Kishi is one of the most notable and controversial politicians in the modern Japanese history.  Kishi was an elite official of the Imperial Government of Japan.  He also worked in the Manchukuo Government in 1930s, taking an important part in development of the subject country to the Empire of Japan.  Kishi then became a state minister in the Cabinet formed by Prime Minister/General Hideki Tojyo who launched the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.  When the Empire of Japan lost the war against the US in 1945, Kishi was taken captive as a war criminal by the US military that occupied Japan.  However, in 1948 Kishi was released from a prison to become a lawmaker of post-war democratic Japan.        

So, being a grandson of notorious Nobusuke Kishi is a big merit for Mr. Shinzo Abe.  When Mr. Abe became prime minister of Japan in 2006, he was 52 years old, the youngest as prime minister of Japan after WWII.  But in the next year, he was taken illness suddenly at the beginning of sessions of the National Diet to resign, surprising the people so terribly.  One of the causes of his illness was defeat of the then ruling party LDP in the Upper House election held a few months earlier.  Mr. Abe was under strong pressure at the time which was said to trigger his illness.

And today, LDP lawmaker Mr. Abe was elected again as new president of the LDP, the major opposition party in Japan, since he was running for this presidential election as he had recovered from the illness that had affected him so badly in 2007.

And as most of today's polls indicate, it is expected that the LDP will take over power from the DPJ now being led by Prime Minister Mr. Yoshihiko Noda in the next general election.  What is more critical is that PM Mr. Noda already promised former President of the LDP Mr. Sadakazu Tanigaki to dissolve the Lower House in near future and hold a general election in exchange of support from Mr. Tanigaki in passing a tax rise bill.  The Lower House has power to choose the prime minister of Japan.  Accordingly, Lower House member Mr. Abe is expected to be elected as new prime minister of Japan after the LDP wins the next general election.

Put simply, as today Mr. Abe became president of the very-pro-American/capitalistic LDP, it is almost promised that Mr. Shinzo Abe will be next prime minister of Japan within a few months at the earliest.

Anyway, the term of office for incumbent Lower House members of the Japanese parliament ends in August 2013.  So, at the latest, Mr. Shinzo Abe of the LDP will be new prime minister of Japan one year later.  It will be his second time as prime minister of Japan after the first resignation in 2007, which is the first case in Japan after WWII.

So, a very rare situation is going to surface in the Japanese politics with a so-called nationalistic lawmaker, Mr. Shinzo Abe.



*** *** *** ***



Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

"whereas I was blind, now I see" - One National Treasure in Japan

Tokyo

One National Treasure in Japan

In 1329 a samurai had some notable sword smiths make a sword.  He then dedicated it to a shrine.

Today, the sword is designated as a national treasure.

This is one typical incident of the samurai era in Japan.

A powerful samurai became a feudal lord.  He governed a farming area, including some villages.  He took rice and other agricultural products from farmers as customs.  Then a samurai lord sold rice in the market in a big city to get money if necessary.

But there were usually other authorities in a farming area: shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

So, it was natural for a samurai lord to donate something important for him to a major shrine or a major temple in his fiefdom so as to be blessed by holy spirits and to be respected by farmers and townsmen.

Therefore in this case of the sword, a samurai called Okawara Tokimoto asked sword smiths named Osafune Kagemitsu and Osafune Kagemasa to make a good sword.  Then, Tokimoto donated it to a shrine called Hiromine Jinjya which is situated in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture near Osaka/Kyoto., though Tokimoto was originally from the Chichibu region, Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo.

At the time, namely around 1329, Japan was governed by the first samurai regime with its capital in Kamakura, 60 km west of Tokyo.  Kamakura samurai leaders gave a feud to each of their subject samurais.  So, Okawara Tokimoto was given a territory in Hyogo, 700 km far from his home ground in Saitama.  And his act of reverence for a dominant shrine in his feud resulted in preservation of a fine sword over a time period of 700 years.

So, as you see in the picture above, a successful samurai in Japan 700 years ago had such a sword as is today ranked as a national treasure of Japan.

It also tells that before modernization and westernization of Japan or during the samurai era, the society was under the rule of sword in Japan.  But samurais respected shinto and Buddhism.  The symbol of their soul, namely a sword, was also subject to religion, too.  And they might rather donate a better sword to a shrine or a temple than they had and used as a way of expressing their reverence for religion.  This is one of Japanese traditions.


*** *** *** ***



Joh 9:25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

"their laying await was known of Saul" - Christ at the Right Time

Toward Tokyo Bay

Christ at the Right Time

When Christ Jesus was walking with His followers, what did he talk about?

 In His era, the world must have looked so simple.  Only Romans had power to govern the world around Jerusalem.  Egypt now belonged to Rome.  But the east of the Euphrates remained out of power of the Roman Empire.  And, Israelites had to live subject to Romans, though they could maintain their religion.  Great cities at the time must be Rome, Athens, and Alexandria.  Not so many mighty cities were there around the Mediterranean.

So, Christ Jesus did not tell much about international situations surrounding Palestine at the time.

Then, was it just domestic issues and problems that required the emergence of the Son of God among Israelites at the time point in history?

For example, should we consider that Jaudaists at the time degraded themselves so much that they needed Christ to save their society.  Or as their religion went astray, did they need Christ to save their souls?  Maybe, it might have been just domestic crises that requested the first coming of Christ Jesus in those specified years.

However, the timing of His emergence in ancient Israel must have been critical.  He should come in those years around AD 1.  Indeed, He might have come 100 years earlier or later, but He appeared in the very years.

If Jesus had come 100 years later, Jerusalem had been already destroyed by Roman troops.  If He had come 100 years earlier, the region called Galilee was just conquered and annexed to the territory of Judaists so that it could not be a good stage for early activities of Christ..

In c.135 BCE, John Hyrcanus, Simon's third son, assumed the leadership and ruled as high priest (Kohen Gadol) and took a Greek "regnal name" (see Hyrcania) in an acceptance of the Hellenistic culture of his Seleucid suzerains. Within a year of the death of Simon, Seleucid King Antiochus VII Sidetes attacked Jerusalem. According to Josephus,[46] John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents which he paid as tribute to spare the city. He remained as governor as a Seleucid vassal. For the next two decades of his reign, Hyrcanus continued, like his father, to rule semi-autonomously from the Seleucids. 

The Seleucid empire had been disintegrating in the face of the Seleucid–Parthian wars and in 129 BCE Antiochus VII Sidetes was killed in Media by the forces of Phraates II of Parthia, permanently ending Seleucid rule east of the Euphrates. In 116 BCE, a civil war between Seleucid half-brothers Antiochus VIII Grypus and Antiochus IX Cyzicenus broke out, resulting in a further breakup of the already significantly reduced kingdom. 

This provided opportunity for semi-independent Seleucid client states such as Judea to revolt.[47][48][49] In 110 BCE John Hyrcanus carried out the first military conquests of the newly independent Hasmonean kingdom, raising a mercenary army to capture Madaba and Schechem, significantly increasing his regional influence[50][51] 

Hyrcanus conquered Transjordan, Samaria, Galilee, and Idumea (also known as Edom), and forced Idumeans to convert to Judaism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean_dynasty


So, for Christ Jesus to encounter fully the Roman power, it must have been just around 1 A.D. when Galilee was cultivated fully by Judaists and the last remnants of Alexander the Great were wiped away from the east part of the Mediterranean.

In summary, it was probably not only domestic situations of Israelites but some diplomatic or neighboring situations for the nation of Judaists that set the timing for the First Coming of Christ among Israelites.

Today, some such situations also seem to be set in these days around Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, the Middle East, and the world.

As I mentioned, the Second Coming of Christ Jesus  must have already started around 2010.


*** *** *** ***



Act 9:23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
Act 9:24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Act 9:25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.
Act 9:26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.