The Testimony of the Church Returning to Jerusalem
——In Remembrance of Bro. Andrew Yu
Brother Andrew Yu had a lifelong zealous love for Israel and cared deeply about the Lord’s interests in Jerusalem. Beginning in 2011, he regularly travelled to Israel, visiting at least eight times between 2011 and 2014 alone. He often recalled Brother Lee’s call in the 1970s: “The testimony of the church must return to Jerusalem before the Lord’s second coming.”
Encouraging the Saints to Migrate
to Jerusalem with the Spirit of Martyrs
In 2012, Brother Yu encouraged the saints to migrate to Jerusalem, feeling that it was the right time to restore the testimony in Jerusalem. I came to say goodbye to him before setting out for Jerusalem in November 2012. At that time, tensions between Israel and Palestine were high and it seemed a war was on the verge of breaking out. I asked him, “What if the war really starts?” He replied, “It’s simple – just buy a ticket and come back.” I was very glad and got up to say goodbye. But unexpectedly, before I could touch the door handle, he continued, “However, if you don’t come back, you will be an overcomer.” At that moment, I understood that he wanted everyone who went to Israel to have a martyr’s spirit. The process of propagation was often hard, but our brother always had a firm resolution, saying: “Jerusalem is critically important, and even if there are only two people left, the testimony of the church still must be preserved.” Thanks to his perseverance and the blessing of the saints in various regions, the testimony of the church in Jerusalem, which had been interrupted for 2,000 years, was restored on March 9, 2014. We meet together every Lord’s day in this special city to break the bread with one accord in remembrance of the Lord until His second coming.
Propagating the Ministry of This Age
to the Messianic Believers in the Exhibition Hall
Our brother was well aware of the historical background of the Holy City, so he made special arrangements for the propagation there. In order to propagate the ministry of the age to the Messianic believers, an exhibition hall, Kokia House, was established in downtown Jerusalem as a window for the locals. Prior to this year’s pandemic, more than 6,000 locals had visited the exhibition hall, speaking highly of the film shown there, “The Good Land”, which was written by Brother Yu himself.
Voices from Jerusalem—
Waiting for the Lord’s Second Coming
In order to encourage the churches throughout the world to visit Israel, our Brother Yu also set up a special reception center to help the saints visit this good land in the light of the New Covenant and in the vision of the New Man. In recent years, this center has hosted visits from 20 to 30 churches yearly.
With the desire to inspire the saints to long for the Lord’s second coming, our brother encouraged us to record hymns with the theme of awaiting the Lord’s second coming, naming it “Voices from Jerusalem”. To date, we have completed the first volume of English hymns and the hymns in Chinese are also in preparation.
Toward the goal of reaching more local people, Brother Yu encouraged us to set up a school to teach Chinese to the Israelis in order to facilitate communication. All the preparation for this program has been done, and we are now planning to enroll students beginning in the spring of 2021.
Brother Yu was a special gift from the Lord to the Body of Christ. He thoroughly understood the Bible and knew that the testimony in Jerusalem is crucial to the Lord’s second coming. For this reason, he fully committed himself and has been praying for us all the time. We are grateful to him and miss him even more.
The Church in Jerusalem, Brother Benjamin Liu, Dec. 29, 2020
