Author: Timothy Tin
Translator: Mandy Kwan
When people think of Thanksgiving, we often think of the bountiful feast with turkey and other dishes. How often do people remember the treacherous journey of the Puritans, who came upon the shores of North America on the Mayflowerand their harrowing experience as they settled upon Provincetown, Massachusetts? In fact, the significance of these first settlers point to something far more eternal and transcendent than just this annual American tradition. The Puritans were a small group of sojourners, in search of religious freedom, risked their lives and left their homeland to arrive on the American shores. They had not expected that this journey would not only leave a mark on the beginning of immigration to this country, but also become an embodiment of the U.S.’s establishment as its own nation. The Puritan’s original plan was to set sail on Speedwell on August 5th, 1620. However, the ship encountered problems and only 102 out of 121 passengers were chosen to board the Mayflower, and left Portsmouth of England on September 16th of the same year, sailing on a journey of no return.
These sojourners have gone through multiple life-death thresholds! Mayflower’s destination was present-day Virginia, but due to high winds and storms, the ship veered off its original route by 500 miles. Their first challenge was to find a safe harbor to dock, or else they would perish into the seas. They eventually landed in Cape Cod of Massachusetts, crossing the second hurdle. However, the region was not under British rule and there was no protection or law established.
Among the passengers, only 35 were Puritans, the remaining 70% of the passengers were originally laborers or workers bound for Virginia. Since they won’t be able to fulfill their employment contract, they grumbled and began to argue amongst themselves. To maintain civility and order, the Puritans proposed the Mayflower Compact to ensure the success of the first colony in self-governance. It requires all inhabitants that all are still subjects of King James and should follow the Christian faith and its way of life. Specifically, the Mayflower Compact declares, “for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith, and the honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices…” (9 Things You Should Know about the Voyage of the Mayflower by Joe Carter, 2023/4/19)
Even though a peace accord was established, many hoped for a new beginning but the brutal winter and various diseases have led to only 53 inhabitants of half of the Virginia Company surviving to the following spring. On 1621 March 21st, they finally left the Mayflower and went on shore. Their third potential danger was the reactions of Native American tribes to these new arrivals. With nearly 300 different tribes there was continuous contention over land and resources. Thankfully the Pilgrims encountered the Wampanoag tribe’s Abenaki. Its leader who was named Massasoit, and Squanto, an interpreter who spoke the native tongue and English, assisted the arrivals with farming and fishing methods, as well as shared botanical knowledge to discern between beneficial or poisonous plants. Squanto even mediated the signing of a peace accord between the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims, which lasted at least half a century long.
In November of 1621, after the Pilgrims had successfully reaped their first harvest of corn and maize, William Bradford, the settlement’s governor, invited all the settlers and the Wampanoag natives for a feast. This is the first and original Thanksgiving feast! On November 26th of 1789 (Thursday) George Washington announced in the nation’s first Thanksgiving address, that this holiday is to commemorate the Revolutionary War’s end as well as the passing of the US Constitution. He named this holiday as a public day of Thanksgiving, and Present Lincoln in 1863 declared the last Thursday of every November to be Thanksgiving Day.
Dear friends, the Mayflower’s passengers averted multiple dangers and threats to their livelihood with God’s providence and protection. Their journey and experience left an everlasting testimony of God’s sovereignty. Only a sacrificial love that transcends borders and nations can unite and establish a home in eternity. But the Devil sowed seeds of greed, hatred, and violence, turning the American soil into a scorched battlefield of bloodshed among the natives, colonists, and other groups. How tragic that the sinful nature of man brought destruction to the land of opportunity! The Thanksgiving story is akin to John 13:34-35, that the sacrificial love of Jesus is displayed in His devotion to the disciples: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The Pilgrims, with their faith and hope, relying on God’s protection, pursued unity and experienced a taste of heaven-like life upon the American soil, owing to the hospitality of the Wampanoag natives. Only Love remains, and only love will lead us to our heavenly home! “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16).
Author: Rev. Dr. Timothy Tin is the lead pastor of the Christian Alliance Bible Church in L.A.. Rev. Tin serves as Board of Director in the International Fellowship of Christian Short Term Missions and Presence Quotient. Rev. Tin is currently teaching in USA Christian Mission Seminary. He holds practitioner’s licenses of acupuncture in Southern CA and NACCAOM in US. Rev. Tin received his Master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Alhambra Medical University, Master of Longevity Martial arts and Doctoral degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from University of East West Medicine. Rev. Tin is a frequent speaker in many churches and nonprofits organizations.
Tin, Timothy (translated by Mandy Kwan). “The Eternal Meaning Behind Thanksgiving” NYSTM Truth Monthly, November, 2023.
https://nystm.org/nytm1123-09/
【人生天地線】巴黎奧運開幕式與末世預言
第33屆奧運會雖然已經在巴黎落幕,但在開幕儀式所引發的國際輿論與批評的聲音並未平息,特別是那一幕引起天主教極為反感的「最後的晚餐」時裝秀,甚至連回教徒也認為這是對基督的羞辱⋯⋯
辰龍迎春(華語)
主題:辰龍迎春
性質:新春剪紙福音
創作及分享:田森傑牧師
語言:華語
日期:2024年2月
辰龍迎春(粵語)
主題:辰龍迎春
性質:新春剪紙福音
創作及分享:田森傑牧師
語言:粵語
日期:2024年2月
【人生天地線】新春談龍
十二年一回的龍年又來了,恭祝大家龍馬精神、新春蒙福!提到「龍」字,古人把龍安排在十二生肖中的第五位,所相應的時辰正好是這個「辰」時,表明在這「一日之計在於晨」的重要時刻⋯⋯
【人生天地線】希臘夜貓助人解困的奇妙故事
筆者在2023年10月27日曾參加了一個聖經古蹟進深考察團,共有27名團員⋯⋯
God’s Creation of Life & Man’s Choice of Death
Every person in this world has the freedom to choose; however, this personal freedom is limited and conditional. We all can choose what we like and how we do things, when it is bound by the situation or legal constraints.
【人生天地線】創造生命的神與選擇死亡的人
我們每個人活在這個世界上都有選擇的自由,但是人的自由是有限度與有條件的。人可以選擇自己喜愛的東西,做自己想要做的事,可是當人在運用這個自由做出選擇的時候,就必須服從環境限制與法律的約束。
The Eternal Meaning Behind Thanksgiving
When people think of Thanksgiving, we often think of the bountiful feast with turkey and other dishes. How often do people remember the treacherous journey of the Puritans, who came upon the shores of North America on the Mayflower and their harrowing experience as they settled upon Provincetown, Massachusetts?
【人生天地線】感恩節背後的永恆意義
當人們提到感恩節的時候,我們常會聯想起美國人的火雞大餐,但是又有多少人會記得四百年前,第一批清教徒由英國乘坐「五月花號」船,在美國麻州普羅旺斯鎮(Provincetown, Massachusetts)上岸時所發生的驚險故事呢?
Hidden Numbers in the Bible & the Wisdom of the Almighty
There are countless great works of literature in the world, but only the Bible is the foremost book of wonder. Not only are there ancient manuscripts of it and hold the records of having the most translations, but also there are numerous authors to the Bible as well.
【人生天地線】聖經中隱藏的奇妙數字與全能者的智慧
世界上有無數偉大的書,但是唯有聖經才是天下第一大奇書,除了古代的手抄本與譯本最多以外,其作者人數眾多,成書時間超過千年。這本由古希伯來文寫成的三十九卷舊約全書,與希臘文的二十七卷新約全書所合成的經書,共有六十六卷。
Global Boiling: the Call for End Times
On July 27th, the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued a dire warning: “The era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived.” According to World Weather Attribution (WWA) which analyzed worldwide weather patterns and statistics, the month of July was possibly the hottest period in Planet Earth’s 120,000 years of history.
全球沸騰與末世呼聲
聯合國秘書長古特雷斯(Antonio Guterres)在7月27日向世界發出警告說:「全球變暖的時代已經結束,全球沸騰的時代已經到來。」根據《世界氣候歸因組織(WWA)》在7月25日從電腦進行模擬的一項有關天氣數據的分析報告,今年7月的高溫熱度可能是地球12萬年來最熱的時期。
逃離「泰坦號」死門關的父子
在父親節那天,也是2023年6月18日東部夏令時間上午8點,一部由探險公司海洋之門(OceanGate)的總裁兼創始人史塔克頓‧拉許(Stockton Rush)所設計並親自駕駛的「泰坦號」觀光潛艇,在加拿大紐芬蘭省港口城市的聖約翰斯向東約375海哩處潛入海裏,為要探索那艘在111年前沉沒在海底,一萬三千英呎、號稱「永不沉沒」的巨輪「鐵達尼號」。
Escape the Death Trap of the Titan
On June 18, 2023 at 8 am EST, a state-of-the-art submersible led by OceanGate Expeditions’ founder and CEO Stockton Rush, made its descent in Canada’s Newfoundland province approximately 375 miles east of the coastal town of St. Johns. Its objective was to explore the unsinkable Titanic’s wreckage, which sank 111 years ago, its mysteries and at a depth of nearly 13,000 feet below sea.
Train Wreck in India
On the evening of June 2nd, three trains derailed in India, causing almost 288 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries. According to a BBC report, this was the most devastating train collision in this century.
印度世紀大車禍的慘案
在六月二日週五晚上,在印度發生了三部列車相撞的慘案,據BBC的報導:「這許多列車相撞事件被形容為印度在本世紀以來最嚴重的鐵路事故」。
父親節「天父心」立體福音剪紙(華語)
父親節「天父心」立體福音剪紙
音樂曲詞:「天父愛你」
創作人:田森傑牧師
語言:華語
日期:2023年6月
父親節「天父心」立體福音剪紙(粵語)
父親節「天父心」立體福音剪紙
音樂曲詞:「天父愛你」
創作人:田森傑牧師
語言:粵語
日期:2023年6月
A Message of Wisdom from the Beginning of the Coronation Ceremony
Despite the fact that the British Empire and its colonialism policies had drawn ire, the tabloids pursued all sorts of gossip about the royal family, as well as lackluster feeling of this coronation (compared to Elizabeth II’s ceremony seventy years ago), Charles III’s coronation’s prelude still contained pearls of ancient wisdom that we should take note of:
滕張佳音博士
國宣創辦人
▪︎美國芝加哥三一福音神學院文學碩士(宣教)及教牧學博士(宣教學)
▪︎前建道神學院跨越文化研究部副教授
▪︎牧職神學院榮譽創院院長
▪︎國際短宣使團創辦人