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Biblical Revelation in Chinese Writing, part 2

Adam was made from the dust of the ground into a living soul (Genesis 2:7). The Chinese word for “to create” is 创 造 (chuàngzào).

• 创 (chuàng) = to initiate, establish, begin, found, create
• 造 (zào) = to make, build, construct, manufacture

Together, 创造 means “to create, to bring into existence, or to originate.” Historically, the earliest meaning of the first character chuàng was related to “cutting open” or “beginning something by making an incision.” From the idea of opening a new way came the extended meanings: to initiate, to found, to start, to create.

The second character造 (zào) consists of:

• 辶 (man walking/movement radical at the bottom, hair on top). Also: 儿
• 告 (gào) — to announce or proclaim

Traditional analysis of gào breaks this down into two parts:

• 牛 (niú) — ox
• 口 (kǒu) — mouth

The word gào correlates with Genesis 1:3, “Then God said…” He spoke things as an announcement of something coming into existence. So also Romans 4:17 says that God “calls into being that which does not exist.” The word of God, then, announces existence.

Traditional analysis sees:

• 牛 (niú) — ox (the equivalent of the Hebrew letter alef) The letter alef (א) represents God, strength of an ox, the First One, and even an overcomer who is destined to inherit life in the first resurrection.
• 口 (kǒu) — mouth (the equivalent of the Hebrew letter peh). Peh (פ) represents speech, expression, utterance, or a person in general.

So the combination of alef and peh naturally suggests strength expressed through speech or authority issuing a command. That is remarkably close to the conceptual structure in 告 (ox + mouth = proclamation).

While there is no standard Hebrew word equivalent to 告 (gào) built specifically from alef and peh, the symbolic pairing of alef (ox/strength) and peh (mouth/speech) produces a theological idea very much at home in Scripture: the sovereign God bringing things to pass by the word of His mouth. This is the same pattern seen in Genesis 1, Psalm 33, Hebrews 11:3, and John 1:1–3.

The Building Blocks of Creation

Chinese 创造 does not inherently mean creation out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo). It simply means “to create” or “to bring forth.” The theological idea that creation from nothing comes from the biblical context, not from the Chinese characters themselves. The earliest Jewish source of creatio ex nihilo is from 2 Maccabees 7:28,

“Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed.”

This was written around the second century B.C. The first known Christian writer to formulate the doctrine explicitly was probably Theophilus of Antioch (c. A.D. 180). In To Autolycus II.10 he wrote that God made all things from what previously did not exist. Soon afterward, the doctrine was defended by Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Athanasius. They were opposing Greek philosophical ideas that matter was eternal (and inherently evil).

Many modern scholars argue that Genesis itself does not attempt to answer the philosophical question of whether matter already existed. The doctrine of creatio ex nihilo arose as Jewish and Christian thinkers reflected on Scripture and defended biblical monotheism against competing philosophies. However, the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 11:36,

³⁶ For from [ἐξ (ex) “out of”] Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Paul is describing God as:

1. The origin of all things.
2. The means by which all things exist.
3. The ultimate end toward which all things move.

Step 1 declares that God created all things out of Himself. God is not nothing. He has a personal investment in creation itself. This is not Pantheism, as Spinoza would define it. Rather, all things come out of Him. Paul says all things come ἐξ αὐτοῦ, “out of Him,” not out of nothing.

Unfortunately, men—even believers—did not comprehend the magnitude of this statement. But Paul knew this truth and its implication that all things would go through Him and finally would return to Him. His statement is his conclusion after stating in Romans 11:31-33,

³¹ so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. ³² For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. ³³ Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

Paul was setting forth the truth of the reconciliation of all things. In Romans 1-3 he showed how “all have sinned” (3:23) and “there is none righteous, not even one” (3:10). So in Romans 11:32, “God has shut up all in disobedience,” not that they would be lost, but that “so that He may show mercy to all.” Therefore, all things must return “to Him.” All of the so-called “God particles” that He used to construct the universe, which became corrupt and diseased as a cancer, would invariably be healed and return to Him.

In the end, if a single God particle should remain outside of Him, God would forever remain incomplete. So the real question is whether or not God had the wisdom to devise a plan that would make Him the ultimate Winner—and whether or not God has the power to implement His plan with total success.

Well, the Old Covenant was a failure, because it was based on the will of man; the New Covenant, however, being based on the will of God alone (John 1:13) cannot fail.

Fire, Glory, and Light

Man was created to reflect the fire/glory of God in the earth, as in heaven. Fire in Hebrew is esh, from which we derive our English word “ash.” It is spelled alef-shin, “the strong devourer.” So we read in Deuteronomy 4:24,

²⁴ For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

For this reason, God manifested Himself only as fire when He came down on the mount to proclaim the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 4:15).

Man was created male (ish “fire”) and female (ishah, “what comes from fire”). The word ish is spelled alef-yod-shin. It is “fire” with the hand (yod) in the middle, denoting work, action, or activity. It is fire under divine direction, as the yod denotes God’s hand (presence). This observation became a classic rabbinic illustration of how the divine presence transforms human relationships from destructive fire into a dwelling place of God.

Hence, man was created to manifest and activate the “consuming fire” of God in the earth. Ultimately, when all the dross and chaff are burned away, all that remains is pure and holy, for it then fully reflects the nature of God Himself.

Such was the “holy ground” that Moses approached at the burning bush in Exodus 3:2, which, though it burned, had nothing to consume. It only reflected the glory of God. Therefore also, there is a famous rabbinic saying: “If husband and wife are worthy, the Shekinah dwells between them; if not, fire consumes them.”

The Chinese word for fire is 火(huǒ). It is one of the oldest Chinese characters. Unlike many Chinese characters that are composites of multiple parts, 火 is one of the primitive root characters. It contains a central vertical flame with two outward strokes representing flames and a lower stroke suggesting the fire spreading downward. It visually resembles a blazing fire.

By extension (as also in the Hebrew language), it suggests consuming passion, jealousy, anger, enthusiasm, or military action.

Since we were discussing 创造 (chuàngzào, “create”) and 说 (shuō, speak), it is noteworthy that Chinese tradition frequently links fire with transformation. Biblically, God's creative word brings light: “And God said, Let there be light.” Light and fire are closely related symbols throughout Scripture. The biblical narrative moves from divine speech to light and then to life (John 1:4).

Similarly, in Chinese symbolism, 火 often represents the active energy that changes and transforms things. Unlike the Hebrew word אש, which is built from letters with individual meanings (alef and shin), the Chinese 火 is fundamentally a picture of fire itself.

This word also includes the radical for man 人 (rén, person), although in Chinese etymology, the 火 is not analyzed as a man + other components. Nonetheless, man is pictured in the fire. Moses himself, as a type of Christ, went up the mount into the consuming fire of God (Exodus 20:21). He went alone, because the people themselves were too fearful (Exodus 20:20). In so doing, Moses pictured the original purpose of God, where a man (ish) would dwell in the fire of God and live to tell the story. It pictures perfection as well, having no flesh to consume—as with the burning bush that he had approached earlier.

Transfiguration

When Moses came down from the mount, he pictured the woman (ishah), where the hey ending means “what comes from.” The bride company are those who come from the fire of God in order to minister to the rest of the people, showing them the path to light and life. This was primarily manifested when Moses came off the mount with the second set of law tablets. His face glowed with the fire/glory of God (Exodus 34:29).

Moses thus prefigured Christ’s transfiguration on Mount Hermon (Matthew 17:2). He also pictured the Chinese concept that fire is transformational. The most common Chinese word for light is 光(guāng). It means light, brightness, radiance, shining. It is one of the most important and ancient Chinese characters.

The character is traditionally analyzed as:

• ⺌ (small rays or sparks) on top
• 儿 (a human figure/person) on the bottom

Ancient forms show a person with light or flames shining above his head. Many Chinese etymologists describe the original idea as “a person illuminated” or “light shining from above.” Unlike 火 (fire), which is a pictograph of a flame itself, 光 emphasizes radiance or emanating brightness. The Chinese Bible uses the word 光(guāng) in both Genesis 1:3 and Matthew 17:2.

Matthew 17:2 also uses 明亮 (míngliàng, “bright, shining”) to describe Christ’s transfiguration. The character 明 (“bright”) itself is fascinating because it combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), forming the idea of brilliance or illumination. So Jesus’ face “shone as the sun” (Matthew 17:2).

The imagery of 光 ("radiant light") is especially fitting. It portrays not merely fire, but light emanating and revealing glory. The Chinese translators therefore chose precisely the word one would expect for the unveiled splendor of Christ on the mountain.