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We regularly receive questions asking, "Where are we in the flow of Bible prophecies?" It's a good question -- to which there could be many answers.
Jesus was asked essentially the same question by His disciples near the end of His ministry. They wanted to know when key events foretold by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel would happen.
Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 record His response. Here we find both details and major trends that must come to pass before the end of this age. Jesus cautions patience in expecting His return and the establishment of His Kingdom, telling His followers, "See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" (Matthew 24:6).
Jesus is essentially telling us, "Be patient and watch." It is the patient waiting with endurance while having a sharp understanding of the world that will give us the answer to where we are in the timeline of events leading to His second coming and the dawn of the new age of the Kingdom of God.
In Beyond Today magazine we present a biblical worldview of geopolitical events based on major prophetic trends we learn from the Bible, especially three key components.
First, we watch what is happening in the Middle East regarding the state of Israel. Jerusalem is the ground zero of Bible prophecy. It is where Jesus focused, such as in warning, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near" (Luke 21:20).
The armies that gather to fight at the end of the age gather at Jerusalem, in "the valley of decision" (Joel 3), pointing evidently to the Kidron Valley between the city's east side and the Mount of Olives. Christ will return to this mountain from which He ascended after His resurrection (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:9-11).
From a geopolitical perspective the Middle East has greatly impacted the world in the last century. With the discovery of oil in the Arabian Peninsula and the world's growing dependence on fossil fuel, what happens in this region has a major impact on the world.
Today the threat of nuclear weapons is used to advance extreme religious ideology. The land of Israel is usually the focus when regional threats of war and strife erupt. Israel is determined to preserve its presence on the land promised to Abraham's descendants millennia ago.
Look at your news feed anytime you see something about Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia or other Middle Eastern states. Learn their names and look at a map of the region. Examine a globe or world map and see the strategic location of the Middle East in relation to other nations. So much of world history and end-time prophecy involves this area.
A second key component of our geopolitical worldview is the prophesied rise of a system the Bible calls "Babylon the great." The center of this coming world system is Europe. Europe's historic role as a seat of world power, along with it being the cradle of Western Christendom, are central to understanding not only Western civilization but the prophetic flow of the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation.
Over the centuries Europe nurtured the union of political, economic and religious power that centered on the growing role of the Roman Catholic papacy and the political realm called the Holy Roman Empire. With the crowning of Charlemagne in A.D. 800 there began a church-state union that rose and fell, continually reinventing itself through the ages. Europe, in all its revivals, is the only world empire to contain the seeds of its resurrection in the ashes of every collapse. The continent significantly shaped the modern world.
We will yet see one more revival of this ancient system. Revelation 13:3 shows that the entire world will be astounded when it watches the rise of a newly revived Roman Empire: "And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast." Its power and authority will greatly impact the entire earth.
For more than 27 years Beyond Today articles and television programs have helped readers understand the background to the European Union, which has become a world economic power with a currency to rival the dollar. At present, the United States is still the most significant nation in the world, with Europe nowhere near challenging America's role. The current EU is far from the end-time juggernaut described in the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. But it is still a major power, and events in Europe have triggered a rise in spending for armaments and military defense.
In fact, levels of spending are at levels not seen in more than 30 years, since the end of the Cold War. A big factor in that is the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. NATO countries realized the need to take on more responsibility for their defense.
Among the EU nations, Germany is currently the largest supplier of money and arms to Ukraine. This is second to America, which supplies more money and weapons than anyone. The political and economic realities of Europe are complicated. Germany and other EU states are heavily dependent on Russia to supply their vast energy needs. But any land war in Europe is significant to world stability. Russia's actions have been a wakeup call, showing European nations that they are responsible for their own defense and cannot rely on the United States.
History teaches us we should seek to understand these events. Bible prophecy and Jesus Himself warn us to watch such matters and consider them with a biblical worldview.
A third major prophetic theme we follow in Beyond Today is the astounding role played by America and Great Britain. These nations, their peoples, and by extension much of the world's inhabitants, received their prosperity by the divine design of the God who blessed the patriarch known as Abraham. The promises in Genesis that set Abraham and his descendants in a unique position in the Bible story and human history spread wings through time and came to rest upon these two nations.
This understanding of the Bible, prophecy and history is little grasped today. But honest history combined with the spiritual discernment of this promise brings a profound perception of the plan and purpose of God. Not only do history and Bible prophecy come alive with meaning, but this allows us to recognize the dangers of current trends that are disrupting our present world order.
Perhaps the one trend leading us straight into a moral spiral is the LGBTQ+ hysteria that seeks to reorder the natural order of marriage, family, sexuality and gender -- all gifts given by God. But now America is exporting this deadly poison. Each June, with growing fervency, the nation is force-fed a diet of "pride month" propaganda meant to wear down our sensitivity to immorality of "Sodom and Gomorrah" proportions.
The endgame is not merely social acceptance of queer behavior or gay rights. It goes much further. The underlying objective is the total annihilation from the public arena of religious freedom and Bible-based religion in any form. This is demonic in its intent. Our generation has seen nothing like it. Read the Genesis 19 account of the people of Sodom breaking down the doors of Lot's home to get a picture of where we are heading.
This is the battleground on which the destruction of America is being fought. Any nation that follows this perverse lead will suffer God's judgment. We monitor this awful trend in Beyond Today because we understand the true "why" of America.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of a powerful speech given by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the great Soviet dissident. After receiving the Templeton Prize, he told the story of the words he heard from old people telling him why the evil of communism took over Russia: "These things are happening, these great disasters have befallen Russia, because men have forgotten God."
Sadly, a perverse spirit has seized America, and it is now leading the world away from God. This will bring to pass major prophetic events preceding the end of this age and the return of Jesus Christ.
This is a time to wait and watch with patient endurance. "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12). May you watch and heed!
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Keywords: prophecy Roman revivals
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