The world gets smaller at the same time as the sign of all signs – anti-Semitism against a newly regathered nation of Israel – increases. I wouldn’t say I believe that the Biblical end times are almost upon us with one hundred percent certainty, but there are just too many giant “coincidences” in play at the same time to ignore, and the world is surely heading in the direction described in the book of Revelation. I think prudence is on the side of those who have their eyes open, and as I quoted in part one, Jesus Christ repeatedly told his disciples to do just that:
What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ (Mark 13:37).
If you think the world has gone crazy but you don’t think we may be near end times events, you are not watching.
THE KINGDOM OF THE BEAST. The kingdom of the Beast is, to extend a metaphor, a cementing of the “iron and clay” of differing cultures and of the loss of sovereignty and decision-making power. This cementing is being accomplished in several ways.
CENTRALIZED GOVERNANCE. Western leaders and elites (apart from Donald Trump and his version of MAGA) are forcefully attempting to blend un-mixable cultures. The West is an extrapolation of Rome. It is the iron and clay of Daniel chapter 2. Included in this extended remnant of the Roman empire, I’m convinced, will be the United States, despite the heroic efforts of Trump and others. Eventually the entire world will be under the power of the final empire.
As I wrote in previous parts of this series, God foretold via the prophet Daniel, the Revelation, and other parts of the Bible that nations we are familiar with will remain into the final years of human rule but without national sovereignty – as in any empire. In many cases their independence has already been surrendered or taken away. They maintain some local and small-scale decision-making power only.
THE STEP INTO REVELATION CHAPTER 13. Power blocks such as the EU are steppingstones to this political reality. In one giant but sudden event the whole unruly mess will succumb to a sudden takeover of global proportions – i.e. the Antichrist and his ten deputies. We don’t know just what form that sudden event will take. The internal fragile and brittle structure of iron and clay will remain. Some will resist the “man of sin” but be forcefully controlled by the new overwhelming power.
History is full of men (and some women) who just couldn’t rest until they had conquered someone, and then someone else. Today a lot of conquering is being done without the need for military style weapons. Leaders such as Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton and people in Europe have insisted that we’re all globally interdependent now, so that there’s no going back. Instead we can only move forward into more global treaties, laws, services and regulations. The United Nations has up to this point been almost powerless to “unite” the world effectively, but the coming world leader will somehow be able to pull it all together very quickly, and where necessary, ruthlessly. The ground is being prepared for him.
THE UNSEEN SPARK. In the spiritual realm the spark of the coming leader’s actions will be Satan’s arrival on earth, knowing he has only a short time (Revelation 12:12). Human kingdoms of the world “belong” to him (Matthew 4:9). Only individuals who confess the name of Christ belong to Jesus. Satan’s hope and dream has always been world government, as at Babel and as in all past world empires. This is demonstrated in the beast with seven heads, described in Revelation 13:1 and other passages. The last and eighth empire as described in Revelation and elsewhere is Satan’s movement onto a tangible (but temporary) throne, and his furious efforts to destroy the Jews once and for all. Also in his sights will be the true and world-wide Church.
HUMAN ALCHEMY. Centralization in the physical world, driven and influenced in the spirit world by the devil and his minions, is directed by elites who stand to benefit by gaining power and wealth: “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter” (James 5:5).
To be fair, some of these people do have a charitable bent and an uninformed and myopic desire to change the world, they think, for the better. The fledgling European Union was set up with the desire to avoid any more wars within Europe. If you can do away with national sovereignty and national pride, goes the logic, you can do away with the causes of friction. This has led on to an imposed human alchemy. “Let’s see what happens when we slap these two totally opposing cultures together….”Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaaa! We are seeing the outworking of prideful humans playing God, having dispensed (they think) with the Biblical God.
CENTRALIZED RELIGION. There have been perhaps two “religions” bent on dominating the world politically: Christianity and Islam. In truth the former in its purest form had and has no intention of ruling the world, and Jesus Christ said this to Pilate:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).
Any political or military action in the past intended to dominate or conquer others in the name of Christ was from the will of man and not the will of God. I don’t include defensive measures here, because it’s not ungodly to defend your homeland and your family against would-be conquerors. Spreading the gospel is not an attempt to conquer, despite what some people say. Beyond that, I believe that God has used nations and empires to work His will militarily, even if the tool and the weapon of His choice is anything but holy.
A LIST OF ONE. In any case, the Christian who is following Christ has no desire to rule the world politically. This leaves one religion on our list of world religions which most assuredly is still intent on ruling the world. Hoving gone from very small beginnings in the seventh century AD Islam now has over two billion followers on earth: that’s a quarter of the world’s population (1). Adherents for the most part aren’t bent on military conquest – they just want to live out their lives peacefully as we all do, but unknowingly or knowingly their movement is a civilizational crusade to dominate politically and militarily if necessary, and so to bring the world into submission to their god. Radicals will not let the nominal followers rest, as seen in other Islamic nations.
The most radical adherents are willing to use any means to bring this submission about. In Nigeria, for example, thousands of Christians have recently been murdered or driven from their homes by radical Islamists. As I noted in the last part of this series, the kingdom of the Beast, ruling with an iron fist in the final years as described in Revelation, has two targets for its ire: Christianity and Judaism (Revelation 12:3-17). By coincidence these are the same two greatest enemies according to Islam and its most committed warriors. I could go into a similarity between the preferred methods of execution, but I’ll leave that for another time.
GOD AND GODS. Scripture tells us that Antichrist will exalt himself above all that is called “god” (Daniel 11:37). Revelation tells us that the world will worship the Beast and the one who gives him and his empire power – Satan (Revelation 13:4). However, this doesn’t mean all other religions will be outlawed: it probably means that the devil will be at the top of the list of gods demanding to be worshipped at that time. He may even be named as the “true” god who is behind all beliefs. Many people are trying to claim that “all gods are the same” and that “we all worship the same god”. They are wrong: we don’t.
ONE WAY. Our elites have worked for decades to promote multiculturalism. I have nothing against people of other cultures, and I believe they are of equal value to myself in God’s eyes. However, to the true Christian there’s only one way to eternal life, and that’s Jesus Christ and his gospel. When those elites begin to silence the gospel we’ve gone too far in attempting to blend philosophies and beliefs, and the will of the devil, not the will of God, is being done. You can ask any Muslim to blend his beliefs with ours and he will tell you straight that God does not have a son. Here we see the principle of iron and clay on full display.
THE WORLD AGAINST ISRAEL. I wrote in part one about the predicament the nation of Israel is in today. Anti-Semitism is again increasing in the West. Eventually, according to several Bible passages, the world will make a series of political and military moves against Isreal which will culminate in the battle of Armageddon. At that time Jesus Christ will return to deliver Israel. When he comes this time he will not be meek and mild but the conquering Lion of Judah. God does indeed have plans to humble Israel as He has plans to humble all the nations, but Israel is still His chosen people, and He has every intention of keeping His promises. If he did not keep promises, we would all be in very serious trouble.
Revelation and the prophecies of Zechariah and Joel tell us that “all” nations will come against Israel at the time of the end. This could seem to be a ridiculous idea given the tiny size of Israel in relation to the rest of the world, but when you look around at the almost rabid hatred against Israel already, and at the fact that Israel has had more condemning resolutions against it at the United Nations than has any other nation, you can begin to see the possibility of the prophecy coming to pass. When Satan openly takes his place on the throne of mankind the entire phenomenon will magnify greatly.
TRYING TO HOLD BACK THE OCEAN. Not many prophecy commentators seem to have noticed the following: Revelation tells us that when, at the crescendo of the Tribulation, the world’s military unites to go against Israel they will also be trying to prevent the return of Jesus Christ. This is one of the most incredible passages of Bible prophecy:
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns (Revelation 19:11-12).
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army (verse 19).
This is a futile attempt to stop the Lion of Judah from coming and taking His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The forces of Antichrist will have no chance at all against a God who holds every atom in the universe together, and who commands every spirit in existence. Their defeat will be swift and total.
WORLD-WIDE COMMUNICATIONS. Global communications were foreseen in the first century and touched on in the Revelation. Digital, satellite and radio technology in our time enables armies, leaders, traders and citizens to communicate across the world in seconds, when in the first century it would have taken months.
Nine years ago I wrote an article entitled “Social Media in the Book of Revelation”. I had noticed an amazing fact in the eleventh chapter which displays God’s foreknowledge. Here’s a part of that article.
Chapter 11 of Revelation discusses two witnesses testifying to the whole world from the street of a city which is never far from the headlines in today’s world: Jerusalem. That soon-to-be number one target of political-correctness and of those who oppose any vestige of Judeo-Christian history, influence and belief, will be the venue of the giving of one of the last messages of God to unwilling mankind before judgment.
The two prophets of God will be killed and left in the street for the whole world to gloat over, but only for three and a half days, at which time they will come back to life for all to see – and I mean “all”. The first sentence of chapter 11 could perhaps be speaking of only a local interest in the two prophets, but the second is inescapably global:
Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. (Revelation 11:9-11 NKJV).
People across the planet will be gloating over the death of these two men for three and a half days. In the first century when John wrote this, news stories would not be available to “those who dwell on the earth” in such a rapid fashion that they could send each other gifts within three and a half days: it would have taken weeks or months. Now we’re able to send messages, photos, money, coupons, books and music digitally within seconds, and to purchase and have delivered anywhere in the world just about anything we can think of.
GLOBAL ECONOMY. Revelation describes a global economy and economic system at the time of the end. This alone speaks of an “empire” of sorts: a world which is united in many ways. Once Antichrist gains power, there will be some kind of system in place which will force everyone on earth to comply with his wishes. Without “the mark” representing him or his name, nobody will be able to buy or sell. In other words, they will be cancelled if they don’t conform to the politically correct way of acting and believing.
Whereas in the first century a trader or anyone for that matter could barter or trade with his neighbor using goods or gold or something of value, now our wealth is bound up in digital money, controlled by a centralized and distant banking and finance system. Whoever controls your money and your food supply controls you.
Just two years ago Nigel Farage had his assets frozen by his bank simply because the bank disagreed with his policies. While the bank eventually had to back down from its treatment of Nigel, the potential power to freeze someone’s life remains and only gets stronger by the year. Digital ID, which will pave the way for a social credit scoring system along with total surveillance of every transaction and every detail of every individual’s life, will greatly increase that power. Imagine one day your bank card stops working and the cash in your pocket is no longer valid currency: how would you live? Where would you live? How would you pay the bills? How would you eat? And if you were refused the right to work because of your beliefs the government’s power over you would be complete.
We are all dependent on global trade, on banking carried out we know not where and on central banks which control the money supply. We are dependent on governments hundreds of miles away from us. Our “money” consists of digital electrical signals on computers: there’s no substance to it at all. In short, we are at the mercy of a distant government and economic system which can dictate how we will live.
THE GOOD NEWS. There is one hope and one hope only: Jesus Christ. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ as shared by Paul and the apostles of Christ in the first century:
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame (Romans 10:9-11).
1 https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/muslim-population-change/
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 