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The Japanese people are difficult to find within the pages of the Bible. As the church traditionally understands racial origins, their Oriental features place them within the family of Japheth. The "best guess" of those who study the origins and migrations of biblical peoples trace the Japanese to Javan (Genesis 10:2, 4), primarily on linguistic grounds.* Moses adds, "From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his own language, according to their families, into their nations" (verse 5). It is not clear if this explanatory material refers to "the sons of Javan" in verse 4 or to the whole line of Japheth. In other biblical passages, Javan is clearly Greece (Daniel 8:21; 10:20; 11:2; Zechariah 9:13). Situated on the Mediterranean Sea, Greece would be a natural trading partner of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:13, 19). However, notice Isaiah 66:18-19, speaking of a time just after Christ's return (described in verses 15-16): It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. This could not refer to the Grecian peoples of the Mediterranean region because Greece is a "Christian" nation. Indeed, the New Testament was written, preserved, and distributed in its language! Certainly, the Bible—not to mention the preaching of the apostle Paul—is a significant enough witness to qualify as having heard God's fame and seen His glory. Christianity, however, has had little success in "the coastlands afar off" of Asia. This leads biblical ethnologists to believe that Javan split in early times into a "Western" and an "Eastern" branch, part of which now resides in "the Land of the Rising Sun." It is likely that the descendants of Japheth, being the progeny of a Caucasian father and a Mongoloid mother, had combinations of these features and separated by racial and/or language type around the time of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Other than this theory, we know nothing for certain about Japan's origins, and we know even less about its role in the end time. Revelation 9:13-19 prophesies of a 200 million-man army that originates somewhere beyond the Euphrates, and this vast host slays one-third of humanity. Many have drawn parallels between this prophecy and that of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39. The latter prophecy, though, fits better at the end of the Millennium, when Satan inspires vast numbers to descend upon "the camp of the saints and the beloved city" (Revelation 20:7-9). However, the 200 million-man army may be an end-time precursor of the late-Millennial army. If this were the case, it would be difficult to imagine Japan not being involved with this vast horde out of Asia. As mentioned earlier, Japan is the second most technologically advanced nation in the world, and such a huge army would need Japanese technical know-how. Japan has already begun partnering with other Asian nations to secure Asia from Chinese hegemony, so it is not farfetched to imagine a pan-Asian confederacy coalescing in response to the power of the Beast when it rises to dominance. Whatever happens, the Japanese are a resourceful and persevering people. It is difficult to keep them down for long. Dark days may still lie ahead in the short term, but as Solomon notes, "The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose" (Ecclesiastes 1:5). Whenever the sun sets, we know that after the dark of night, the sun will rise again. *Another hypothesis derives the Japanese from Ashkenaz, son of Gomer, son of Japheth (Genesis 10:3). Like Javan, Ashkenaz is little mentioned in God's Word apart from genealogical references (Jeremiah 51:27). The ancient Ashkenazi, who called themselves "Nisaei," lived in what became known as Scythia, which they named "Land of the Rising Sun." Herodotus describes these original Scythians as having a rounded face and chin, a flat nose, and little or no body hair; speaking a peculiar language; and wearing a distinctive dress. They also drank a libation called asky, which linguistically resembles saki (see Harman Hoeh, Compendium of World History, vol. I, pp. 340-346).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Japan: Rising or Setting Sun?
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