Brexit, Bible Prophecy & The Revived Roman Empire
By PNW Staff June 25, 2016
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Does the vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union
have prophetic implications for the "Revived Roman Empire" described in
the Book of Daniel and Revelation?
This is the question that will be on the
mind of Bible Prophecy students for months to come as we watch what
happens next in both the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe as more
nations now threaten to follow England's lead.
The
terms: Swexit, Czexit and Frexit are already being used to describe
other movements to pull out of the European Union. Front National leader
Marine Le Pen has pledged to hold a French referendum if she emerges
victorious in next year's presidential elections.
The
Telegraph conducted a poll last month and found nearly half of voters
in eight big EU nations want a vote on whether to remain. One third of
the respondents said they would leave if they could.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel is leading the charge to hold the EU together
and asking nations to remain calm before making any rash decisions but
even she admitted in a statement, "There is no point beating about the
bush: today is a watershed for Europe, it is a watershed for the
European unification process."
French Prime
Minister Manuel Valls has perhaps stated the ramifications for Europe
best: "At stake is the breakup pure and simple of the union. Now is the
time to invent another Europe."
Another Europe?
The
potential for "another Europe" to emerge out of the current crisis has
ramifications not only politically and economically but prophetically as
well. Surprisingly, even The Economist magazine recognized that this
was an important factor for some Protestants voting to leave the Union
in their article: "Protestants, leaving Europe is a matter of
eschatology".
These evangelicals believed
that remaining in the EU put them at risk of eventually joining the "The
Beasts" final world empire. Why did they believe this?
The
Bible speaks of several different beasts. Each one is used symbolically
to give insight into different aspects of the final world empire and
it's leader, and when studied together give us a much better picture of
what to expect in the Last Days.
Revelation 13
speaks of a beast in its first 7 verses. Another beast, ridden by a
woman, is described in Revelation 17. Daniel 7 speaks of four separate
beasts, with a reference to a "little horn" that appears during the time
of the fourth beast. Revelation 13 also describes a second "two-horned
beast," beginning in verse 11. These beastly images are also to be
understood in the context of the giant image of a man composed of four
separate metals in Daniel 2.
Relative to most
of these descriptions, in describing this final world empire is the
number 10; 10 toes, 10 heads and 10 horns. Each give us different
understanding but all point to an alliance of 10 nations/leaders that
will one day be controlled by the "little horn", the Antichrist.
A Revived Roman Empire of 10?
One
of the most significant political and economic developments in our
modern era was the EEC Treaty, the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community. It was signed in 1957 in, of all places, Rome!
In
fact, there were two treaties, called, amazingly, "Treaties of Rome."
One treaty established the European Atomic Energy Community, and the
other established the European Economic Community, which later became
the European Union.
With the development of
the Common Market many students of Bible Prophecy thought this was the
start of the 10 nation alliance described in the Book of Revelation.
However, most were surprised and confused when it continued to grow
past 10, eventually reaching 28 nations.
To
reconcile the idea of 10, some alternative ideas to solve this dilemma
were put forward, including the potential role of the 10-nation
military alliance within the EU, which appeared in Europe in 1995,
called the Western European Union.
Another
idea floated by some leaders within Europe was the idea of an executive
council of 10 to handle the growing size of its nation membership, who
would represent the EU populace to an EU President.
Both
ideas have some merit but seem unlikely anytime soon. With the United
Kingdom pulling out and others threatening to do the same, it gives rise
to new speculations.
Will the EU reduce in
size to 10 when all the new calls for referendums are completed? Will a
new union of nations from within the EU evolve, to also include
countries from the Mediterranean area such as Israel, which was also
part of the Roman Empire? Will a new, powerful and charismatic leader
emerge on the scene to lead what is left of the EU or perhaps create a
new alliance of 10 nations that is not yet on the horizon?
We
do not know how this will ultimately play out but we do know eventually
this prophecy will come to pass. Recent events represent serious
change for this region and the world. It is an area that the Bible has a
lot to say about in the Last Days and we encourage you to become
familiar with the different passages in Daniel and Revelation that
reveal what the final world empire will look like.
Several
prophecy experts recently came together to produce a new 10 hour DVD
series called "Decoding The Future", that walks you through the Book of
Revelation, chapter by chapter. This resource will equip you with a
better understanding of how the these "beast" passages fit into the
larger context of Revelation and the Bible itself.
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