One of the Last Things by William Ambrose Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Mar 30, 1911

One of the Last Things

By William Ambrose Spicer

AGAIN and again Isaiah's prophecy speaks of the gathering out of the Lord's people from among the nations in the days of the final triumph of the gospel.

He tells how the feet of those bringing good tidings will press into the waste places, the long-neglected regions, and the voices of the watchmen will be lifted up. And as the messengers go among the nations, the Lord is to make bare his holy arm, and “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

In Isaiah 49 is one of the prophet's outlines of the finishing work. True, the work began in apostolic days; but the prophecy reaches to the end, and in it we see the progress of this advent message into every far corner of the earth until the shout of victory is heard:—

“Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause thee to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. . . .

“And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.” Isa. 49:8-13.

The suggestion is that when the Lord's children are gathered from north and west, and at last from the remotest of all peoples—those of “the land of Sinim”—the shout of victory will come. The greatest body of humanity is found to-day in the land of Sinim; for by that word is evidently indicated the peoples farthest eastward from Palestine, of the ancient land of Sina, or China.

And now the third angel's message is reaching into China, and we are face to face with this vast multitude of over four hundred millions. And true to the prophet's words, though we have but touched the far fields as yet, we see that God is calling to his own with a loud voice in the dark and desolate places. “Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all.” Verse 18.

All who lift up their eyes and look on the fields may see it. Here is a word from the land of Sinim, written by Elder I. H. Evans in a personal letter to a member of his family, telling just the facts that press so forcefully upon the hearts of the few workers among China's millions. Writing after one of their council meetings at Shanghai, he says:—

This morning we had a blessed meeting, in which we felt the deep movings of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts were touched with love and devotion as we saw the whitening fields waiting for the sickles of the reapers. We have thirty companies of believers where a foreigner never spent a week. Think of it, thirty companies without the help and aid of a foreigner! Never have I seen such wonderful opportunities for service as here; never have I seen such possibilities for gathering in fruit as here. It stirs my heart to its depths to see what God is doing, and to realize what we could do with men and means. Surely, if the world ever saw golden opportunities for the reaper's hand, they are seen here in China. It is appalling to think of these multitudes, yet many are keeping the Sabbath, who never had a teacher for a day. What does it all mean? Surely, the Lord is at the head of this people, doing a mighty work in getting these people to keep his commandments. . . .

Really, there never was such a prospect for success as for us now. We have such great opportunities for work, it is impossible to describe them. It seems as if in the whole world there is no place that holds such promise of a mighty ingathering of souls as China. The seed sown through our literature has ripened, and the harvest is now ready for the sickle. Truly if ever there was a time when effectual, fervent prayers should be offered that the Lord of the harvest would send forth reapers into the field, that time is now.

It is for such a time as this that the message comes:—

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. . . . And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then shalt thou see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged.” Isa. 60: 1-5.

Thus, with hearts enlarged, all believers of various nationalities united, the glory of God shining forth from lives surrendered, the last witness will be borne, the whole earth lightened, and Christ will come; and that right early.

These are wonderful times. Brethren in the churches, to you comes the privilege of “holding the ropes” at home, and of laboring to send the supplies of men and means to hasten the message through the waste places of earth, where God's providence is so mightily at work.

W. A. S.