The Land of Sinim

Jesus clearly revealed God’s purpose for giving prophecies when He said:

“And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”
(John 14: 29).

One of the most powerful, yet often neglected, Bible prophecies that might bring conviction to the Chinese, as well as the world, is the prophecy of China written by Isaiah (720 - 680 B.C.).

The Land of Sinim

The ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, found in 1947, include the book of Isaiah, and once again confirm that today’s Bible is accurate and reliable. This verse in Isaiah is thought to refer to China:

Surely these shall come from afar; Look, those from the north and the west; And these from the land of Sinim. (Isaiah 49: 12).

You may wonder what the word “Sinim” means. Where is this land of Sinim, mentioned by Isaiah before his service was terminated in 680 B.C.? According to Strong’s Concordance, “Sinim is a distant Oriental region.” Young’s Concordance reports, “Sinim is a people in the far east; the Chinese?” However, the meaning is still not quite clear. Let us now check an English dictionary for help: “‘Sino’ indicates Chinese; for example, Sinophile. [French, from Late Latin ‘Sinae;’ the Chinese, from Greek ‘Sinai;’ from Arabic ‘Sin;’ China, from Chinese (Mandarin) ‘Ch’in’ [Qin], dynastic name of the country.]”

Now it is clear that the Hebrew word “Sinim” means China, as can be seen, for example, in the word “sinology”—a study of things Chinese. As we mentioned earlier, all Chinese roots meet in the Qin dynasty. However, the Hebrew alphabet does not have the equivalent of “ch” in English and “Q” in Chinese. Thus “Qin” has been phonetically translated as “Sinim.”

The Significance of Chin

In Isaiah’s day, the state of Qin was only one of hundreds of states under Zhou (770 - 256 B.C.). It was located in the present Gansu Province through which trade with the West was conducted. How is it that Isaiah chose Qin to indicate the Middle Kingdom? What was so special about Qin?

Rang Kung was appointed as the first Duke of Qin (770 B.C.), then a small, aristocratic house. Under his administration, the state of Qin emerged as one of the 14 major states under the Zhou dynasty. It was 500 years after Isaiah that Qin Shi Huangdi defeated all the other competitive states and established the Qin dynasty. From then on, Qin represented the Middle Kingdom [China].

Simply put, the God of Isaiah, with divine foreknowledge, saw all the stages in the development of Qin—from a small, dependent, aristocratic house to becoming the famous Qin empire. God knew that the Duke of Qin would become ever stronger, equal with those of the other 13 states. Furthermore, He foresaw that after another 500 years, the Dukedom of Qin would still exist, defeat all the other states, and unite them as one empire, even choosing “Qin” as the name for the new empire!

Some attempt has been made to identify Sinim as Syene [Aswan] in upper Egypt. Yet a closer look at what Isaiah said precludes this opinion. Listen to what he said:

Indeed He says,
“It is too small a thing that
You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a
light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation
to the ends of the earth.”
(Isaiah 49: 6).

God proclaimed here that the mission of His Son[Jesus Christ] was not limited to the salvation of the Jewish nation and its colonies [like Aswan] alone, but is also extended to all Gentiles throughout the world. In fact, when Jesus affirmed the faith shown by the Roman centurion [a Gentile] He said, “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 8: 11).

Jesus used the expression, “from the east and west,” to represent all the Gentiles. Isaiah used the term, “those from the north and the west and these from the land of Sinim,” in the same sense. “These from the land of Sinim” should naturally be a large group of people among the Gentiles. Only China, not the small city Aswan, could fit the verse so well.

Sinim and Today

Isaiah’s prophecy about China did not stop with the Qin dynasty, but rather it extended into the future. Over the 2,600 years since Isaiah, many countries have come and gone, but the land of Sinim (Qin) still stands firm as the land of China.

The most exciting phases of this prophecy relative to “Sinim” will surely continue to be fulfilled. Reading earlier verses in this 49th Chapter of Isaiah, we find these words:

“That You may say to 

the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness,
‘Show yourselves. . . .’
For He who has mercy on
them will lead them,
Even by the springs of water
He will guide them. . . .
Surely these shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north
and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.”
(Isaiah 49: 9, 10, 12).

Isaiah’s foretelling of a final gathering of God’s faithful among those “in darkness” must indicate a multitude of peoples—even from China. Most of the people living in China, since Isaiah’s day, have been “in darkness” concerning the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Yet here is a specific prophesy and a promise to bring “prisoners of darkness” in the land of Sinim to the light of salvation, freedom and mercy.

The same prophet Isaiah foretold that the God of Israel paid the greatest price of all in sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue fallen humanity! Jesus Christ came to earth, was nailed to a wooden cross, and died that all mankind might be rescued from sin. He would bear the nail print scars in the palms of His hands forever.

  

John 3:16 "For God so loved THE WORLD, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Excerpts taken from Samuel Wang and Dr. Ethel Nelson’s book, God and the Ancient Chinese.

God's promises in the Chinese Characters: