Divine Geography by William Ambrose Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 14, 1910

Divine Geography

By William Ambrose Spicer

In the early centuries, students of geography concluded, from Eze. 5:5, that Jerusalem was at the center of the world: “Thus saith the Lord God: This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.”

And Jerusalem was at the center of the ancient world. It was on the highway of the nations, at the cross-roads between the ancient east and west. The Lord set his people in Palestine, in the midst of the nations, as a city set on a hill, to give light to all.

All the time he loved all the world, and desired the Jewish people to make his name known to all. But they sadly failed; and the kingdom of God was taken from them. The “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,” was committed to the gospel church of the believers, Jew and Gentile, and the commission was given to go with the tidings to all nations.

When the prophecy deals with the gathering call in the last days, it views the world with the eyes of the modern geographer. No longer is Jerusalem the center, with all the nations gathered round her; but the whole world, from pole to pole, is the scene of the closing call to every nation, and tongue, and people:—

“Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” Isa. 43:5, 6.

The word is fulfilling; and it is a remarkable thing that we are seeing in all the four quarters of the earth. Just now I am writing from Copenhagen, where our latest and largest Scandinavian union meeting is closing. For a month I have been in meetings with our brethren in these north countries, in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. I can testify that the Lord is saying to the north, “Give up;” and from out of the north the remnant children of the kingdom are responding to the gathering call.

As I write, I see a congregation of about five hundred believers gathered in Sabbath-school. Nowhere in the world may one look into four hundred faces on which is any more plainly written the “blessed hope” of the advent people. In America we are accustomed to have the English meetings in the big tent, and the Scandinavian meetings in the smaller tent. I have been glad to spend my first month in lands where the Scandinavian meeting has the big tent, so to speak.

Again I repeat, my ignorance of these languages is no barrier to understanding the spirit that fills the hearts of the brethren and sisters in these lands of the north. The merchant may not read the inscriptions on the coins; but to his ear the Scandinavian crown, the German mark, and the English shilling, all sound with the same silvery ring of genuineness. So it is with the tokens of the heavenly merchandise. The same true ring of the advent hope is heard wherever this third angel’s message gathers out a people.

Our brethren in this union rejoice at a new vigor and growth apparent in their work during the last few years. The difficulties that came financially upon the field in former days brought depression and delay. Strength that might otherwise have been given to aggressive work was called to wrestle with financial and institutional problems. But in this north country the long, dark winters are followed by bright and long summer days, when vegetation suddenly springs forth with a motion seemingly almost visible to the eye, as if to make up for lost time, and ripen the harvest quickly, before the season passes.

It is summer-time in our work in the Scandinavian union. A glorious harvest is preparing. There is upspringing growth that encourages the hearts of the brethren; and it is a glad sign to us in all lands. Only two years ago, I think, this union was receiving appropriations from our General Conference. All that is past now; and this union is sending an ever-increasing flow of means outward to the mission fields. And their training work is well established. I note great improvements at Skodsborg in the last five years, where the sanitarium work and school work are going forward together. This union as a unit is lined up with the stronger unions in all the world to hasten this message on to every tongue and people.

In these union organizations, growing into strength in all parts of the world, the providence of God is organizing agencies by which a quick work is to be done in evangelizing the unworked fields.

But we must pray for these brethren of ours in Scandinavia. They have a great field of their own to work. Here are hundreds of fine cities and towns

where the message has never been preached. The faithful canvassers have sown the seed nearly everywhere, but the evangelistic laborers have been few. Wherever towns have been worked, results have come. There are strong resources to be developed in Scandinavia. Wherever one travels, he sees evidence of modest prosperity, and very little evidence of extreme poverty. In fact, one may see far more appearance of the latter in any of our American cities.

As I close the first round of the Scandinavian union meetings that it has been my privilege to make, I thank God for the blessedness of the association with these faithful workers and earnest, warm-hearted believers. The family of the advent people is a good one to belong to.

W. A. S.

Copenhagen.