The world was shocked this week by the unexpected outcome of a vote in The UK (United Kingdom) to leave the European Union (Thus “Britain Exit”).
The threat of uncontrolled migration by Islamic refugees from the Syrian battlefields and other places–where the emerging ISIS caliphate is persecuting Christians and even Muslims who don’t agree with them—is one of the main reasons the majority of British voters feel the need to regain autonomy over their own borders.
The Bible predicted that there would finally emerge a One-World Government. The Old Testament book of Daniel and the New Testament’s final book, Revelation, give some idea of how this global government will materialize.
Daniel’s visions of world empires conclude with a sort of “revived Roman Empire” in the last days. The European Union (EU) could very possibly be the head of this final world government. It is located in the same area as the old Roman Empire, and is expanding its influence year by year.
The first step toward the formation of a European superstate was the Benelux Agreement on June 8, 1948. This was a treaty between three very small countries, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Several years later, in 1957, in the city of Rome, and with a document called “The Treaty of Rome,” those three countries joined with three other countries, Italy, France, and Germany to make the EEC (European Economic Community) which was called the Common Market for many years. Today the organization is known as the EU (European Union). In 1973 the United Kingdom joined the EU along with Ireland and Denmark, making a total of nine nations. In 1981 Greece became a member of the union. Since then the membership has grown to 28.
In Daniel, chapter 2, the major world empires are depicted in a series of dreams and visions. Before this time Egypt and Assyria had already come and gone as world powers. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a giant statue. He asked his wise men to interpret the dream, but they could not. However, Daniel, a devout young Hebrew captive, was given the ability to declare the dream and its interpretation to the king.
The statue had a head of gold that represented the Babylonian Empire and King Nebuchadnezzar.
The chest and arms were silver, and stood for the next world empire, which would have two parts. This was fulfilled by the Medo-Persian Empire that eventually conquered Babylon.
A bronze waist and thighs stood for another powerful empire that would arise. This was a preview of Greece.
The legs were of iron, stronger than the other metals, and they symbolized Rome, the strongest of all empires, and the last world empire to reign over the known world.
The final aspect of the statue was the composition of the feet. They were partly of iron, and partly of clay. Then a rock fell from heaven, symbolizing the coming of Messiah to reign, and broke the feet, causing the whole statue to fall and break apart. The rock then grew into a great mountain, representing the coming righteous reign of Christ.
What would the iron and clay mean? It is a Revived Roman Empire–partly of the old iron of the ancient Roman Empire, and partly of clay, something weaker and brittle, like the infiltration of Islamic groups that will not blend into the existing culture, and may even give rise to terrorism. When the stone comes out of Heaven and lands on these feet they will break. The stone from Heaven represents the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings. When he comes he will destroy the final evil empire and set up the Millennial Kingdom. (See also our blog from 2011: Iron and Clay)