In order to sympathize with, and work in the right way for, a people, we must know them and the hard battle they have fought for their existence, in pagan darkness and under papal oppression. In this age, when the last warning message is going to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, it is also interesting to know to what people we originally belonged.
Their Ancestors
After the confusion of tongues, the people scattered abroad. Gomer, the oldest son of Japheth, went to the northwest, making settlements of longer or shorter duration in Asia Minor, in the southern part of Europe, and later in the northern part; and the identity of his name is preserved in the name Germans. His oldest son, Ashkenaz, went in the same direction, and some of his descendants went as far north as Sweden, where we find the identity of his name in Scandinavia, Scandia, and Skane, the southern province of Sweden. To these Scandinavians the Anglo-Saxons also belong. Tiras, the youngest son of Japheth, went in the same direction, and made a settlement in Thracia. The people of that country were called Tirasians, but the wise Greeks changed their name to Thracians. From this people came many different tribes, and one of them was the Goths, who also settled in Sweden, where we still find their name preserved in the provinces, Eastern Gothland and Western Gothland, and the island Gothland. Thus we find that the Swedes are descendants of Gomer and Tiras, the oldest and the youngest of Japheth’s sons. Their kindred have settled in many other countries, but learned ethnologists claim that the identity of the race has been preserved in Sweden better than in any other country.
When They Settled in Sweden
“When they first settled in Sweden is not definitely known. History tells us that both Scandinavians and Goths emigrated to Sweden some centuries before the Christian era. Later researches in the old mounds in southern Sweden have brought out the conclusion that Sweden was settled about four thousand years ago, by the same race of people that lives there now.”—Montelly.
Their Relationship to Religion
Because Sweden is so far to the north, it was a long time before the gospel obtained a foothold there. According to Col. 1:23, we have reason to believe that some ray of light reached Sweden, as well as all other countries, in the apostolic age, even if history says nothing about it. But it did not take root. The Swedes remained in heathen darkness until 830 A. D., when the Catholic apostle, Ansgæus, came there to preach. After that Sweden came gradually under the Catholic yoke, and remained there till 1527, when it was decided, at the Riksdag at Westuas, that the priests should obey the king of Sweden, instead of the pope of Rome, and after that the teaching of Martin Luther became the state religion of Sweden.
In the year 1541 the Swedish people received a translation of the whole Bible in their own language. This was a glorious time for them, and better days were coming. Since that time they have gradually come out from heathen and Catholic darkness. But the gospel in its purity had never been established among them until the last warning message reached them in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is surely due them now.
Their Present Situation
The population of Sweden is now about 5,260,811. The country is in a prosperous condition, because of the enjoyment of peace and God’s kind providences in many ways for a number of years. Few countries have reached so high a stage of civilization as Sweden, and none higher. All but one per cent of the population can read and write.
Besides the state church, many different denominations carry on work among them, and the everlasting gospel for our day has eight hundred and thirty-five believers. Eight ministers, three Bible workers, and a goodly number of canvassers proclaim the truth among them. Their paper, Tidens Tecken (Signs of the Times), is also a strong factor in promulgating the truth. The work is going forward, and the children of Gomer and Tiras are made happy by the true gospel.
The Swedes in the United States
When this great country opened for settlers, the Swedes also found the way over. According to the statistics, there are about two million of them here now. The greater number live in the Northern States, from Maine to California. About ninety-three thousand live in the city of New York, and about one hundred and sixty thousand in Chicago. There are about one million east of Chicago, and the same number west of that city. Between twenty-five and thirty thousand of their kindred from Sweden come here each year. Therefore, the work among them must be continued in their own language.
Many different denominations are represented among them here, also; but, best of all, about twenty-five hundred are rejoicing in the present truth. We have about twenty ministers and Bible workers among them, and last summer seven gospel tents were pitched in Swedish colonies, where the truth was proclaimed.
Facilities for the Work Among Them
Besides our missionary workers, we have two factors that can be made strong, and be a good help to the work. These are our Swedish department at Union College, and our department in the International Publishing Association at College View. Nearly all our Swedish workers in this country, and some in other countries, have been trained at Union College. The outlook for this department is encouraging. When it opened this fall, eight new students, besides a number of the old ones, were present. An aged Swedish brother in Nebraska has donated all his possessions, amounting to about eighteen thousand dollars, to be used for the education of Swedish gospel workers. This will be a great help, for the truth generally reaches the poor people first.
In the publishing department our Swedish paper, Sions Vaktare, is published, and also about twelve books, and sixty-six pamphlets and tracts on many different subjects of the present truth. Last summer we increased the number of subscribers by about three hundred, and new books and tracts are under publication. As the Swedish people are, as a general rule, pretty well educated, and very fond of reading, much can be done among them by our literature.
The Lord Wants to Do a Great Work Among Them
We have special evidences of the Lord’s love and work for the Swedes in these last days. When the first angel’s message came to Sweden, the laws of the state church were very strict, and when adults were not allowed to preach it, the Lord put his Spirit upon the children, and they preached it, to the great astonishment of many. I met quite an old man in Chicago some years ago, who preached the first angel’s message in that country when a boy. It is quite evident that since the pure gospel was not planted among them till such a late hour, the Lord is going to give them a good opportunity now to accept it. “In the first century of the Christian era the gospel was planted in Palestine, its neighboring countries, and in Greece and Italy, and in the second century it obtained a foothold in Armenia, Persia, Media, Baktria, Arabia, India, Spain, France, Germany, and England. But17Sweden, like Norway and Denmark, remained in pagan darkness until the ninth century, and then in papal darkness until the sixteenth century, and three centuries later the gospel in its purity reached them, which most of the other nations had enjoyed in the second century.”—Kornelius Church History. In view of this, it seems that if we should sympathize with one people more than others, and work harder for one people than for others, we should do it for the Swedes.
We Need the Help and Liberality of the Americans
We are very grateful for the help we have received from our American brethren in the past. Because we have so few workers, we are much in need of help. You can assist us in many ways:—
1. You can direct some young Swedish brother or sister to our department at Union College.
2. You can keep your conference open to receive a Swedish gospel worker, so that the Swedish colonies in your conference may also get the message. We have very few experienced laborers to recommend, but we have some promising young ones, and we expect that you will accept them when they finish their training at college.
3. You can also help us to scatter our literature. Many of our American brethren have Swedish neighbors. Why not send them the Swedish paper for a year, and supply them with books and tracts in their tongue? Why can not our American brethren help us in circulating our extra numbers of the paper (one will soon be issued), and other literature, to a greater extent than in the past? This we feel bold to ask for, because our brethren take an active part in the support and circulation of the American papers. Order from your tract society, or from the International Society at College View. When you come in contact with these people, remember that they represent a nation that has been in the thickest darkness of heathenism for nine hundred years of the Christian era, in Catholic superstition and oppression seven hundred years, and that they have not known the true gospel long. Give them a tract or a paper, or sell them a book, and the Lord will bless.
4. You can also assist by giving a liberal donation toward the work of the International Society at College View. That institution is young, and needs assistance. Let us help it liberally, so it may be put in a position to do its work with success. The Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, and Germans are working extremely hard there, in order to be self-supporting. All this help will result in the salvation of souls. It will not be a financial loss, but gain instead. The Swedes have for a number of years freely given to American and other institutions, and do so still. I visited one church where the Swedish brethren paid thirty dollars in tithe per capita last year, and this year they are paying forty-eight dollars each. Help them in return, and the Lord will bless you.