Welcome to the Bible in the News,

As we review the headlines from Europe, our minds go to the picture painted by the scripture at the time of the end.

The Biblical Picture in the Time of the End

There are several scriptures that give the scene of the latter days. Daniel 2:28 tells us:

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days…

The picture that Daniel relates is an image which represents the kingdom of men. Daniel tells how the King of Babylon is the first stage, or the head of gold of the image, followed by the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, the Romans and finally, when we reach the feet of the image, how the kingdom of men ends up with a conglomeration of many nations which come into conflict with the Kingdom of God:

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Daniel 2:44)

The picture is expanded in Daniel 7 where each phase is animated by a grotesque animal. The last phase is found in Daniel 7:7:

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

The vision is interpreted and we are told in verse 17 that the beasts are four kingdoms, and the 10 horns in the last phase are 10 kings in v24. It ends with these 10 kings and the beast, which represent the kingdom of men in its last phase, makes war with the Kingdom of God:

And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Daniel 7:27)

Now this same picture is picked up in the book of Revelation where we find the last phase of the Roman Empire, and the kingdom of men, which is Europe today is represented by a woman riding a beast:

I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)

Again there are 10 horns which represent a multiple nations bound together:

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. (Revelation 17:12–13)

The destiny of these nations is to come into a collision course with Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God:

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)

But What About Britain?

Britain joined the EU in 1972 under the government of Edward Heath when it signed the Treaty of Assession. It signed the Maastrict Treaty in 1992, the second Treaty of Rome in 2003, and the Lisbon Treaty in 2007. It has not joined economic union by adopting the Euro as its currency.  

Although the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, the Christian Roman Empire and the Pagan Roman Empire known as the European Union currently contains Britain, does the Bible have anything to say about this? As a matter of fact it does.

The Bible paints of picture of two major conglomeration of powers in the time of the end, described in Zechariah 6 as two mountains of brass. Daniel speaks of the one pushing against the other:

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (Daniel 11:40)

The end result is the “King of the North” coming into conflict with the kingdom of God:

And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. (Daniel 11:45)

Ezekiel picks upon this same theme describing two hosts in the Middle East at the time of the end, one invading, the other protesting:

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? (Ezekiel 38:13)

Now, that Britain is Tarshish is clearly demonstrated in the Bible Magazine Volume 23 #3, Volume 21 #3, and specifically Volume 20 #3. (all available online).

Britain is Tarshish while the young lions represent the independent English speaking states that have grown out of her once great empire. The leading young lion is the United States. They find themselves on a different side of the conflict in the time of the end. Instead of invading Israel, they are protesting the invasion.

But the finger of God indicated a role for them long before this. The scriptures define them as being intimately involved in the building up of Zion, and the bringing of Israel’s sons from afar:

Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. (Isaiah 60:9)

John Thomas, a Bible student from centuries gone by read this passage, and others along with and made the following conclusions:

There is, then, a partial and primary restoration of Jews before the manifestation, which is to serve as the nucleus, or basis, of future operations in the restoration of the rest of the tribes after he has appeared in the kingdom. The pre-adventual colonization of Palestine will be on purely political principles; and the Jewish colonists will return in unbelief of the Messiahship of Jesus, and of the truth as it is in him. They will emigrate thither as agriculturists and traders, in the hope of ultimately establishing their commonwealth, but more immediately of getting rich in silver and gold by commerce with India, and in cattle and goods by their industry at home under the efficient protection of the British power….

I know not whether the men, who at present contrive the foreign policy of Britain, entertain the idea of assuming the sovereignty of the Holy Land, and of promoting its colonization by the Jews; their present intentions, however, are of no importance one way or the other, because they will be compelled, by events soon to happen, to do what, under existing circumstances, heaven and earth combined could not move them to attempt…. The finger of God has indicated a course to be pursued by Britain which cannot be evaded, and which her counsellors will not only be willing, but eager, to adopt when the crisis comes upon them.

The decree has long since gone forth which calls upon the Lion of  Tarshish to protect the Jews. Upwards of a thousand years before the British were a nation, the prophet addresses them as the power which at “evening-tide” should interest themselves in behalf of Israel…

To Britain, then, the prophet calls as the protector of the Jewish nation in the evening-tide trouble, and commands it to send its messengers in swift vessels because the crisis is urgent, and to plant Israel as “an ensign upon the mountains”; as it is written in another place, saying, “The Lord shall set an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Elpis Israel, 1848, pp442-443).

This passage was written in 1848, 100 years before the State of Israel was to be proclaimed, based on the fact that scriptures prophesied this to be the case.

Considering the scriptures mentioned by Thomas, and others like them, the extrication of Britain from Europe is a foregone conclusion. Europe is on a collision course with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. Britain has begun its role as the protector of Israel, being the tool that God used to remove the Turk from the land, and plant the Jew there once again. It is to be the protestor during the Gogian invasion and not the invader. It also is seen bowing the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ in the kingdom age:

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. (Psalm 72:10–11)

Britain’s Pull Out From Europe on the Horizon

With this background, we were greatly interested when this headline was drawn to our attention:

“Cameron's disillusioned senior policy adviser backs calls to pull out of Europe”

The article from the Daily Mail stated:

Tory calls for Britain to pull out of the European Union received a major boost last night after claims that they are backed by David Cameron’s most senior policy adviser.

Downing Street director of strategy Steve Hilton is said to have swung behind moves for the UK to go it alone after being shocked to discover how much sovereignty has switched from Westminster to Brussels.

He also believes Britain should pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) because it gives too much power to judges – and too little to Ministers and MPs.

The article went on to state:

‘Steve is impatient to get things done but time and again he is told that he can’t because of this or that European legislation,’ said a source.

Dismayed at the way EU laws restrict the Coalition’s freedom to act, he has moved into line with Tory Right-wingers in his views on Europe.

Regardless of the motives politicians may have, the scripture has indicated a course that will be pursued in the time of the end. It is exciting to see political rumblings at the top of the British government which are pointing in the direction scripture indicates events will go in the time of the end.

We continue to watch with great anticipation… the Bible in the News.

This has been Jonathan Bowen joining you.