Sinim - China?

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

Daniel 11:44
But news from the east and the north shall trouble him (Antichrist); therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.



The reasons for my belief that Sinim in Isa 49:12 is likely to be modern-day China:

1. There have been a number of interpretations of where Sinim might have been. Some say that the location of Sinim is in the Aswan region of Egypt, some say ancient Rome, others say Phoenicia, still some claimed it refers to the desert of Sinai, and to others Australia. After a deeper study, I found that only 2 interpretations stand to the test. First interpretation is that Sinim is located on the extreme South of Jerusalem. Second interpretation is that Sinim is located on the far East to Jerusalem. This second interpretation strongly supports the stand that Sinim is made in reference to China since China lies on the far East of Jerusalem.
2. The name "Sinim" is still used today in many places in the Middle East - in Egypt, Israel and other places. A chinese restaurant is known as a Sinim restaurant. A Chinese tourist, when conversing with the locals, at times has to identify himself as from the land of 'Sinim' instead of 'China'. Of course, I think further verification is required as to whether the name 'Sinim' that is still in use today with reference to China is the same biblical 'Sinim' in Isa 49.
3. In the Chinese Bible, the other name for 'Sinim' is 'Qin Guo' (秦国). During Isaiah's time, China was not one unified country yet. At that time, Under the Zhuo dynasty, China was made up of hundreds of states, whereby the state of Qin was only one of them. It was later on that the state of Qin emerged as one of the 14 major states. It was not until almost 500 years after Isaiah that the Qin dynasty was established, and the name Qin represented the Middle Kingdom, China. We need to understand that Isaiah was a prophet of God. He prophesied much about the 2nd coming of Christ, and about Cyrus, King of Persia, some 200 years ahead.

What is the importance in understanding that China is mentioned in the Bible? What are its implications?

1. One of the 'conditions' in ushering in the 2nd coming of Jesus is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. I believe that China plays a key role in fulfilling the Great Commission and in this last lap of in bringing the gospel back to Jerusalem (Mat. 28:19).
2. From Isa 49 and Dan 11, it is clearly stated in the Bible that the nation of China will stand with God's people, Israel, especially in the Great Tribulation, which is the final 3.5 years of human history (Rev 11:2, Rev 11:3, Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14, Rev 13:5, Dan 7:25, Dan 9:27, Dan 12:11). We also have the famous Parable of the Sheep and Goat in Matt. 25:31-46. When Jesus comes back again, He will judge all on the basis of whether we stand with Israel in her time of great persecution or we have not. It is therefore highly critical that we understand the weight of our choices in those days whether to be on God's side and stand with the nation of Israel in the last days or not to. The Bible has prophesied, that China as a nation, will be standing with Israel.

God requires that we respond to Him. He desires that at the 2nd coming of Jesus, the church of Jesus Christ would have matured as the Bride of Christ, standing in partnership with her Bridegroom God. We therefore need to know the will and plans of God, that we may know how to respond to Him, how and what to pray, and to partner with Jesus in executing the will of the Father. To my brothers and sisters in Christ, I invite you to stand with us and pray for the will of God to come to pass. May God's kingdom come!

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE INCLUDED ON MY EMAILING LIST TO RECEIVE QUARTERLY UPDATES, KINDLY EMAIL ME AT ISABELJLIN@GMAIL.COM.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU!