The topic of a One World Government comes up often in conspiracy theories and also futuristic sci-fi movies. But does the Bible ever predict that Earth will have a One World Government? Would it be the "New World Order" that so many people have talked about over the last few decades? There are some clues in the books of Revelation and Daniel that can show if this government will ever exist, and what it will be like. This analysis will help us know what to look for on the geo-political scenes as we get nearer and nearer to the Tribulation period, and can help us see how close we might be.
The Vision of the Statue
To start our analysis we will look in the book of Daniel. Daniel lived in ancient Babylon and was an advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar. One night Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that disturbed him greatly. He asked all his royal advisors to explain the dream, but none of them could. The only one who could explain it was Daniel. It is Nebuchadnezzar's dream that gives a preview of the major empires that would rule Jerusalem throughout earth's history up to the return of Jesus. By understanding this dream, we can get some valuable insight into the characteristics of the last predicted empire which has not yet occurred.
In the King's dream (Daniel 2:31-35), he sees a statue shaped like a man. The head is gold, the chest and arms are silver, the lower torso and hips are bronze, the legs are iron, and the feet/toes are iron mixed with clay. At the end of the dream a huge boulder comes and smashes the feet of the statue and destroys it, and the boulder becomes a mountain which fills the whole world.
Daniel interprets the dream and explains that each section of the statue represents an empire, beginning with the then current Babylon as the head of gold. After the Babylonian empire ends then another kingdom (the silver chest/arms) takes over, but it will be inferior in quality compared to Babylon. After the second empire there will be a third empire (the bronze hips), and then a fourth empire (the iron legs and iron/clay feet). Daniel says the fourth empire will be divided and will be strong but also brittle. Daniel says "This kingdom will be the result of a marriage between kingdoms, but it will crumble, just as iron and clay don't stick together." (Daniel 2:43, CEV). Then "During the time of those kings, the God who rules from heaven will set up an eternal kingdom that will never fall. It will be like the stone that was cut from the mountain, but not by human hands - the stone that crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold." (Daniel 2:44-45, CEV).
So if we can determine the identity of each kingdom represented by the parts of the statue, we can see if they have all been fulfilled yet.
- Head of Gold: Daniel clearly identified this empire as Babylon. The Babylonian Empire ended when the Medo-Persian empire conquered it. This event is described in Daniel chapter 5: Daniel says "The words written there are mene, which means 'numbered', tekel which means 'weighed', and parsin, which means 'divided'. God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has brought it to an end. He has weighed you on his balance scales, and you fall short of what it takes to be king. So God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians"(Daniel 5:25-30, CEV).
- Chest and Arms of Silver: This is the Medo-Persian empire which took over the Babylonian empire as stated above. The two arms represent the two branches - the Medes and the Persians [1, p.97]. Source [1] says "The Medo-Persian empire was not a pure monarchy, nor would many say it was as glorious a kingdom as that of Nebuchadnezzar's", so this is why it is represented as silver, while Babylon was gold.
- Lower Torso and Hips of Bronze: This is the Greek empire under Alexander the Great, which conquered the Medo-Persian empire.
- Iron Legs: This is the Roman Empire - the Roman empire was eventually split into Eastern and Western branches, represented by the two legs.
- Iron/Clay Feet: This is the "Revived Roman Empire" often spoken of in Bible prophecy circles. This is the one that Daniel says will be a "marriage between kingdoms", while some will be strong like iron, others will be weak like clay. Another interpretation is from [1] which says that the lower quality of metals as the statue progresses indicate "the instability of the respective empires from pure absolute monarchy to virtual anarchy.". So Babylon is the most stable, with the Iron/Clay mixture being the most unstable. It is also notable that the feet have 10 toes - this will be significant later on. This empire has not yet appeared, and so it must occur some time in the future.
- The Boulder/Mountain: The boulder that was not made by human hands refers to Jesus' Millennial kingdom which will last for 1000 years. When Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation, he will set up a kingdom from Jerusalem which will be an absolute monarchy run by Jesus himself. He will rule the whole world with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15), meaning total control over the world and it's people. Jesus' kingdom will completely wipe out all human systems of government - represented by when the boulder destroys the statue, but it will be better than any government the world has ever experienced.
The Revived Roman Empire
One thing to note is that these empires mentioned above are not representative of all empires that have ever existed - this sequence of empires is only the ones which have ruled Israel at some point in history. This is why the Chinese empire is not mentioned - because they never ruled Israel. Between the time of Rome and now, Israel has been ruled by a variety of people, but never another huge empire like Rome or Greece, so there was nothing notable to report in prophecy until the formation of the final Revived Roman Empire that will occur in the end-times.
How is it justified to split Daniel's fourth Kingdom into two - the ancient Roman Empire (the Iron Legs) and the yet future "Revived Roman Empire" (the Iron/Clay Feet)? Proof for the Revived Roman Empire theory is found in Revelation 17:8: "The beast you saw is one that used to be and no longer is. It will come back from the deep pit, but only to be destroyed. Everyone on earth whose names were not written in the book of life before the time of creation will be amazed. They will see this beast that used to be and no longer is, but will be once more.". This shows that the Revived Roman Empire will be recognizable as a new form of the Roman Empire, which had disappeared but will reappear during the Tribulation.
Also, this gap between the Roman Empire and the future Revived Roman Empire is the same as the Church Age. In the Church Age, God's covenant with Israel is temporarily put on hold until the "times of the gentiles" are complete (Luke 21:24, NIV) - where Jesus is saving people from all nations in order to make Israel jealous (Romans 11:11, 11:25). Once the Church Age is over, and the number of Christians in the Church Age is complete, then the Rapture will occur and God's covenant with Israel will resume. At this point the final Revived Roman Empire will be in place and will be destroyed only when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation.
Summary of the Statue Vision
So in conclusion, from the vision of the statue we have learned that the last major empire that will rule Jerusalem will be like the Roman Empire was, but will be partly strong and partly brittle and will be formed by a conglomeration or union of many kingdoms. Right now, this sounds like the European Union - with certain "strong" countries like Germany and France, but also many smaller weaker countries such as Greece, Ireland, etc. However, part of Daniel's vision describes 10 toes. Since the other parts of the statue seem to symbolize the divisions of these empires (i.e. two arms for the Medes and Persians, and two legs for Eastern and Western Rome) it seems logical to say that this last empire will have ten divisions. This is not yet obvious in the European Union, so perhaps the European Union will undergo a transformation to transform it into this ten-division empire.
It is notable that this final empire may not be a true "world" empire. The prophecy in this vision only mentions empires which will rule or have significant power over Israel. There is evidence in the book of Revelation that there may be other kingdoms on Earth (notably the Kings of the East - Revelation 16:12) that are persuaded to come join the Antichrist's armies at the Battle of Armageddon. This would imply they are not directly part of the Antichrist's kingdom, even though the Antichrist will have power over the whole world (as per Revelation 13:7).
Even more detail on these four empires can be found in another of Daniel's visions - the vision of the four beasts.
The Vision of the Four Beasts
Daniel is later given another prophetic vision of four beasts, which is recorded in Daniel chapter 7. Daniel sees four powerful beasts come out of the sea. The first beast is a lion with wings like an eagle - the wings are then pulled off and it stands up as if it were a human and was given a human mind. The second beast is a bear that is on its hind legs and eating three ribs in it's teeth. The third beast is a leopard with four wings and four heads.
Then "The fourth beast was stronger and more terrifying than the others. Its huge teeth were made of iron, and what it didn't grind with it's teeth, it smashed with its feet. It was different from the others, and it had horns on its head - ten of them. Just as I was thinking about these horns, a smaller horn appeared, and three of the other horns were pulled up by the roots to make room for it. This horn had the eyes of a human and a mouth that spoke with great pride."(Daniel 7:7-8). Later "Then before my very eyes, the fourth beast was killed and its body destroyed by fire. The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer... I saw what looked like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven, and he was presented to the Eternal God. He was crowned king and given power and glory so that all people of every nation and race would serve him. He will rule forever, and his kingdom is eternal, never to be destroyed."(Daniel 7:11-14, CEV).
Daniel is told that the four beasts represent four earthly kingdoms (Daniel 7:17). So again, let's analyze what empire each of these beasts represents so we can understand this vision:
The Lion with Eagle Wings:
Source [1] says the symbol of a lion with eagle wings was a Babylonian symbol for the King, and "commentators are almost unanimously agreed that this beast is symbolic, whatever else the lion and wings may signify, either of Nebuchadnezzar himself, or the Babylonian empire which he represents"[1, p.200]. And also "The plucking of the two wings is understood to be symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar's loss of his ruthlessness as conqueror" [1 p.201].
The Bear Eating Three Ribs:
This is again the Medo-Persian empire. The bear is an appropriate symbol for the Medo-Persian empire because "This empire was much like a bear, which is feared as a beast with apparently ponderous movements but, when enraged, is capable of swift, powerful, and brutally aggressive attacks. The Medo-Persian Empire conquered Babylon and virtually every other kingdom that stood before it with its ponderous, bearlike strength."[2, p.97]. And "Daniel's vision of the three ribs in the bear's mouth prophetically represented the Persian Empire's conquest of three kingdoms (Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt). Those kingdoms had formed a defensive triple alliance to stand against the invading Persian armies"[2, p.98].
The Four-Winged, Four-Headed Leopard:
This beast represents the Greek empire, which began under Alexander the great, and then was ruled by his four top generals after Alexander's death. "Source [1 p.206] says "The use of both the four wings and the four heads may be the way the symbolism captures the two stages of this empire. The four wings are symbolic of the empire under Alexander's rule...The four heads symbolize the second stage of the empire in its stage under the four separate kingdoms. Heads are usually symbolic of kings or kingdoms, and wings are symbolic of warfare or military power."
The Fourth Beast:
Daniel was told the meaning of the fourth beast: "The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom to appear on earth. It will be different from all the others - it will trample the earth and crush it to pieces. All ten of those horns are kings who will come from this kingdom, and one more will follow. This horn will be different from the others, and it will conquer three other kings. This king will speak evil of God Most High, and he will be cruel to God's chosen ones. He will try to change God's Law and the sacred seasons. And he will be able to do this for a time, two times, and half a time. But he will finally be judged and his kingdom completely destroyed."(Daniel 7:23-26, CEV).
We can see the similarities between this description and the fourth empire in the vision of the statue. Here the beast has iron teeth, and the statue had iron legs. The beast also has ten horns, and the statue's feet had ten toes. So we can assume that this fourth beast also represents the Roman Empire. However, since the Roman Empire was never ruled by ten kings, and never had a king replace three other kings, clearly this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. So again like the vision of the statue, this prophecy is speaking about the ancient Roman Empire and also about the yet-future Revived Roman Empire, which will be a union of kingdoms and have ten kings. The "little horn" that is mentioned, which comes and replaces three kings, matches well with the description of the Antichrist as found in the book of Revelation. Then finally the Antichrist's kingdom is destroyed when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation.
The Beast of Revelation
The most detailed descriptions of the final Revived Roman Empire and the Antichrist are found in the book of Revelation. Now when reading the book of Revelation it is important to understand that both the Revived Roman Empire and the Antichrist are called "the beast", and it can be somewhat difficult to figure out which one is being referring to. I believe this is because in the later days of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will have such control over the Revived Roman Empire that the two will be virtually indistinguishable.
There are several descriptions of the beast in the book of Revelation, primarily in Chapter 13 and Chapter 17. I believe these two sections describing the beast are really referring to the same events, just with slightly different descriptions. I will use both of these sections to describe what Revelation shows us about the Fourth Beast of Daniel's dream.
John, the author of Revelation writes: "I looked and saw a beast coming up from the sea. This one had ten horns and seven heads, and a crown was on each of its ten horns. On each of its heads were names that were an insult to God. The beast that I saw had the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. The dragon handed over its own power and throne and great authority to this beast. One of its heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but now it was well. Everyone on earth marveled at this beast, and they worshiped the dragon who had given its authority to the beast."(Revelation 13:1-4, CEV).
This description of the beast is notable when we compare it to Daniel's vision of the Four Beasts. This beast comes up from the sea (the same as the fourth beast in Daniel's vision) and is a mixture of the first three of Daniel's beasts (the lion, the bear, and the leopard). Perhaps this is why in Daniel's vision of the beasts it said that "The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer" (Daniel 7:12, CEV). Source [1, p.224] says this verse means that "The three previous kingdoms did not continue as kingdoms once they were destroyed, yet they were given an extension of life in that the impact and influence of each previous kingdom on its successors lived on in these kingdoms until they were all ultimately destroyed along with the fourth kingdom.". In Revelation 13 we can see this heritage represented in the beast's physical form as a mixture of the previous three beasts from Daniel's dream. Also, Daniel describes the beast as having iron teeth (Daniel 7:7) and bronze claws (Daniel 7:19). The ten horns on the beast's heads match with the beast's ten horns in Daniel's dream (Daniel 7:7) and also with the ten toes of iron/clay on the feet of the statue in Daniel 2:41-42.
Revelation 17:8 says that this beast represents both the Ancient Roman empire, and the Revived Roman empire: "The beast you saw is one that used to be and no longer is. It will come back from the deep pit, but only to be destroyed. Everyone on earth whose names were not written in the book of life before the time of creation will be amazed. They will see this beast that used to be and no longer is, but will be once more." (Revelation 17:8, CEV). The Roman empire did fall, but apparently the Revived Roman Empire will be recognizable as the Roman Empire, and people will be amazed at this fact.
Next Revelation 17:9 says "These heads are also seven kings. Five of the kings are dead. One is ruling now, and the other one has not yet come. But when he does he will rule only for a little while."(Revelation 17:9, CEV). I'm not totally sure what this means, but I believe the explanation by Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible commentary on Revelation 17:10 [3] is the best I have heard. This source says "the beast, in the form in which John now saw it, was not yet risen in the times of these emperors; but by the seven heads are meant so many forms of government which took place successively in the Roman empire, and were all of them idolatrous heads, as kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, tribunes, emperors, and popes; it being usual for any sort of governors, or governments and monarchies, to be called kings". So the seven heads represent the previous seven forms of government that the ancient Roman Empire experienced.
Based on the rules of interpretation from Daniel's dream, we know that the heads of the beast also represent divisions in the empires (just as the four heads on the leopard described a four-fold division in the Greek empire) and the horns on this beast represent kings. Therefore in addition to the heads representing the seven forms of ancient Roman government, they also represent seven divisions in the yet-future Revived Roman empire. So the Revived Roman empire will have seven regional or administrative divisions ruled over by ten kings. Daniel describes three horns/kings who are uprooted to make way for a smaller horn/king. I believe this probably indicates that the three kings were somehow related - perhaps from the same regional division, and they are consolidated into only one king/horn for this division. Perhaps this three-division group will be the United Kingdom, or maybe a future North American Union made of Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
According to Daniel's vision, these three kings will be replaced by only one king (Daniel 7:24) who is the Antichrist (the little horn - Daniel 7:8). This probably corresponds with the opening of the first seal in Revelation 6:1-2, which is traditionally interpreted as the revealing of the Antichrist. The Antichrist comes to power at the beginning of the Tribulation by signing a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians (and possibly many other nearby local nations as well as per Daniel 9:27 - perhaps after the battle of Psalm 83). More analysis about the Antichrist can be found in my article here.
Once the Antichrist has come to power as the little horn (which is now the only horn on the seventh head), he is fatally wounded (i.e. dies) and then comes back to life (Revelation 13:3). This matches the description of the "beast that used to be and no longer is." (Revelation 17:11, CEV).
This makes sense when we add Revelation 13:3-5: "One of its (the beast's) heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but now it was well. Everyone on earth marveled at this beast, and they worshiped the dragon who had given its authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said,'No one is like this beast! No one can fight against it.' The beast was allowed to brag and claim to be God, and for forty-two months it was allowed to rule.". How was the Antichrist killed? Revelation 13:14 says "the beast that did not die after being wounded by a sword.", so it seems the Antichrist will be fatally stabbed, and either miraculously survive, or perhaps even really die and come back to life.
I believe the Antichrist may really die (or at least come so close that it appears he did die), and will miraculously recover, and people will worship him. I have never heard of people worshiping a government or an empire, but they do often worship leaders of empires - especially one who comes back from the dead. Therefore in Revelation 13:4 when they say "No one is like this beast" they mean no one is like the Antichrist, and "No one can fight against it" because the Antichrist came back to life when he was killed. It's hard to fight an enemy you can't kill.
After the Antichrist miraculously comes back to life (or appears to), he will claim he is God. Revelation 17:12-13 says "The ten horns you saw are ten more kings, who have not come into power, and they will rule with the beast for only a short time. They all think alike and will give their power and authority to the beast.". So after the Antichrist comes back to life, he will be promoted by the rest of the Revived Roman empire leaders to rule over them as the head of the Revived Roman empire (Revelation 10:12-13). This matches Revelation 17:11 "That beast is one of the seven kings who will return as the eighth king, but only to be destroyed". From now on in Revelation "the beast" refers primarily to the Antichrist and the rest of the government is represented as the ten horns. Perhaps when the Antichrist is promoted, they will find three new replacements to govern the seventh head, as it was before the Antichrist appeared as the little horn.
Further along in Chapter 13 it describes another beast who does miracles for the first beast (the Antichrist). The second beast is the False Prophet, and he seems to be the main encouragement behind making everyone worship the Antichrist (Revelation 13:11-17). It seems likely that the False Prophet will impersonate Jesus, according to my analysis in this article here.
The Prostitute on the Beast
This is extra information given in Revelation chapter 17 relating to the beast. An angel told John "I will show you how God will punish that shameless prostitute who sits on many oceans. Every king on earth has slept with her, and her shameless ways are like wine that has made everyone on earth drunk.". John then sees "a woman sitting on a red beast. The beast was covered with names that were an insult to God, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet robes, and she wore jewelry made of gold, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand the held a gold cup filled with the filthy and nasty things she had done."(Revelation 17:1-4, CEV). Also "I could tell that the woman was drunk on the blood of God's people who had given their lives for Jesus." (Revelation 17:6, CEV).
In the Bible, a woman prostitute represents a religion which has turned from God and become idolatrous. When Israel was not obeying God it was described as a woman who becomes a prostitute (Ezekiel 16), and Jerusalem and Samaria were also described as prostitutes who lusted after Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon (Ezekiel 23, Jeremiah 3). So this woman sitting on the beast seems to be an idolatrous world religion who has influenced many kings and countries. Based on her description of wearing purple, scarlet, and gold, and holding a golden cup, this image seems to fit with the Catholic church, whose leaders wear these colours and who is known for having all sorts of fancy gold decoration and religious items. It has also had power over many governments in the past, and has certainly persecuted many true Christians in the medieval ages such as the reformers who attempted to break away from it. While some Catholics may be Christian, there are many teachings of Catholicism which are not in the Bible and which are idolatrous - such as worshiping Mary and praying to saints. Also, "The seven heads that the woman is sitting on stand for seven hills." (Revelation 17:9, CEV). It is known that Rome is famous for it's seven hills [4], and this is where Roman Catholicism began. Also "The woman you saw is the great city that rules over all kings on earth" (Revelation 17:18, CEV), which again shows that the woman is equated with a city, which may be Rome.
I suspect a large number of Catholics will be left behind after the Rapture happens, and the Catholic Church will continue to have power over the world. The Catholic leadership is currently trying to promote interfaith-ism - where all religions get together and pray because they are supposedly praying to the same 'god'. You can read more detail on this in an article by Joeseph Chambers here [5]. So perhaps after the Rapture, this sort of interfaith religion will spread, and once again the church may persecute any true Christians who convert after the Rapture. This persecution may start at the opening of the fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-10), which leads to the multitude of people appearing in heaven who were martyred for their faith during the Tribulation (Revelation 7:14). It appears that for a time this religion will dominate the Revived Roman Empire and even people from all races and languages (Revelation 17:15).
Then, once the Antichrist has been killed and come back to life, and declares himself to be God, this changes. "The ten horns and the beast will start hating the shameless woman. They will strip off her clothes and leave her naked. Then they will eat her flesh and throw the rest of her body into a fire."(Revelation 17:15, CEV). After the Antichrist declared himself to be God, no other religions on earth will be tolerated. In Revelation 13:14 the False Prophet does many miracles to convince the world the Antichrist is God, and then convinces the world to make an idol of the Antichrist. "Everyone who refused to worship the idol of the beast was put to death." (Revelation 13:15, CEV). This would mean the destruction of any remaining religions and the confiscation of all religious property. The Antichrist and the Revived Roman empire will destroy the idolatrous world religion and replace it with worship of the Antichrist alone.
The Mark of the Beast
Once the Antichrist is being worshiped as God and has been promoted to lead the entire Revived Roman Empire, then "All people were forced to put a mark on their right hand or forehead. Whether they were powerful or weak, rich or poor, free people or slaves, they all had to have this mark, or else they could not buy or sell anything. This mark stood for the name of the beast and for the number of its name." (Revelation 13:17, CEV).
I believe the only way that it would be possible to control all buying and selling would be with an electronic currency where all transactions are processed by a central computer. If the currency was physical it would be easy to go to a black market or trade under the table. Similarly, the mark will not be just a tattoo, because it would be easy for a merchant to willingly ignore the lack of a mark in order to make a sale. Therefore, since the Mark of the Beast is both a "mark" which stands for the name of the Antichrist and controls all buying and selling, it must have a way to perform digital transactions and also have a visible component. My best guess would be an RFID chip implanted under the skin in the hand or forehead, and an identifying tattoo above the chip to indicate its presence and location. Then people would just have to scan their chips to complete any financial transaction. This sort of technology already exists, and could be rapidly implemented if desired.
It says the mark will include a component which is related to the number 666 and this number relates to the name of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:18). This is why so many people associate the number 666 with evil, and some people are obsessed with seeing which politicians' names add up to 666 when you convert them to the Hebrew or Greek alphabet (the letters of these alphabets also stand for numbers, so for example an A could equal 1, B could equal 2, etc., but the method is not fully agreed upon by scholars). I believe that this association with 666 will only be obvious when the Antichrist goes to implement this mark. The hint about 666 is meant to warn people who are alive in the Tribulation that this is indeed the Mark of the Beast, and that they must not accept it.
The Mark of the Beast must not be taken at all costs, because anyone who accepts it will automatically be thrown into hell either when they die or when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation (Revelation 14:9-11). This implies that the mark is not just a form of currency - accepting it will mean that a person must declare that the Antichrist is God and worship him. Therefore currently we don't need to worry about credit cards with RFID chips in them, because they do not ask you to worship anyone to receive the cards.
Christians will have to survive these last 3.5 years of the Tribulation without any mainstream buying or selling. This means they will have to either form groups and share their resources, or rely on sympathetic people who do have the Mark to provide for them, or set up an underground barter system. It is only the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation that the Mark of the Beast will be implemented, and so the first half may use either a worldwide currency or just local regional currencies as we do now.
Summary of the Revived Roman Empire
So now we can summarize all of these visions and symbols into one description of the final end-times empire. The final empire will:
- Appear on the world stage either at the start of the Tribulation or slightly before.
- Appear to be a form of the ancient Roman empire reborn. It will have seven major administrative or regional divisions, governed by ten leaders. This empire will be like iron mixed with clay - partly strong and partly weak, and will be a coalition or union of kingdoms. It will initially be dominated by a form of Catholicism/interfaith religion.
- The Antichrist will appear after the Rapture and will make a peace treaty with Israel and other nations, and will replace three of the leaders of the empire. He may start off as a minor politician as he is described as a "little horn". At about the mid-point of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be killed or severely wounded by a stab wound, and will miraculously recover. He will be worshipped by the whole world, and will declare himself to be God.
- The Antichrist will be promoted to head over the entire Revived Roman empire, and will have ten sub-governors.
- The False Prophet will do miracles and force everyone to worship the Antichrist or be killed. The false world religion will be eliminated and only worship of the Antichrist will be tolerated.
- The Antichrist and False Prophet will institute a new one-world currency, which will require a "mark" to use, and will probably be fully electronic. No buying or selling will be able to happen without this mark.
The Defeat of the Revived Roman Empire
Fortunately this empire will not last long (only seven years during the Tribulation), and the Antichrist will only rule directly for 42 months (3.5 years) (Revelation 13:5). The Antichrist will convince the rest of the kingdoms of the whole world to join together with his armies to wipe out Jerusalem at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-21). Then Jesus will return in the clouds with the armies of heaven to rescue Jerusalem, will destroy the Antichrist's armies, and will throw the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:11-21). Jesus will then set up his kingdom which will last for a thousand years.
Conclusion
I believe we are very close now to the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation. The European Union existing today seems very similar to the final version of the Revived Roman Empire which is prophesied to appear during the Tribulation - only some rearranging is necessary which could easily be accomplished in the world chaos which would follow the Rapture.
This Revived Roman empire will temporarily have seven divisions and be ruled by ten leaders, and will originally be dominated by a world religion. Then the Antichrist appears by making a peace deal with Israel and her neighbours, and replaces three kings on the leadership of the Revived Roman Empire. The Antichrist will be killed (or very nearly die) and will miraculously come back to life and be worshiped by the whole world. He will be promoted to head over the entire Revived Roman Empire, and will force everyone to worship him and take his Mark of the Beast. Yet he will be destroyed when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation. Christians today will not have to worry about who is the Antichrist. As discussed in my article here, the Rapture must happen before the Tribulation begins and the Antichrist is revealed. However, we may see the early formation of the Revived Roman Empire and the beginnings of the idolatrous world religion.
In fact, we may be seeing the formation of this empire today with the economic chaos in Europe - this article here [6] discusses a leaked memo which "sets out Germany's plan to tackle the eurozone debt crisis by creating a 'stability union' that will be immediately followed by moves on the way towards a 'political union'". Further: "Germany's euro crisis plans could result in a European super-state with spending and tax plans set in Brussels.". Already in Europe we have seen major changes in leadership for key countries - Italy and Greece so far - which were the core of the old Roman Empire. Some countries could potentially leave the European Union and the remaining countries may become more consolidated to form the Revived Roman Empire. This means the Rapture is very very close, and we need to seriously consider if we believe in Jesus or not. Now is not the time to put off anything which we have been waiting to do later, such as witness to friends or family.
References
[1] Thomas A. Howe - Daniel in the Preterists' Den
[2] Grant R Jefferey - Countdown to the Apocalypse
[3] Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible commentary on Revelation 17:10
[4] wikipedia.org - Seven Hills of Rome
[5] www.raptureready.com - "Lying Wonders: Antichrist Is Waiting Satan's Power" by Joeseph Chambers
[6] www.telegraph.co.uk - "German memo shows secret slide towards a super-state" by Bruno Waterfield, Nov 17, 2011