If you were to look on the geopolitical horizon, it would appear we are heading toward a dark abyss. The dimming light has been noticeable for awhile, but the bright achievements of the past kept the future illuminated. Yet we are quickly coming to a point when a fundamental change in world order will bring about the worse time on Earth. We will have to pass through the night to get to the dawn.
This geopolitical twilight is partly being precipitated by the demise of the nation-state. The days of empire are returning. The age when people could enjoy the autonomy to govern themselves freely, while enjoying unique freedoms and protection from aggressors, is passing. This is a fundamental change to the established world order.
By examining history, current events and Bible prophecy, this important trend becomes crystal clear.
You need to know where events are leading. This geopolitical shift has everything to do with your future. No matter where you live or what you do, this change will affect your life in a dramatic way!
Rise of the Nation-state
Empires have always existed. From the earliest days of civilization in Mesopotamia, we find evidence of the human race organizing into empires. In fact, history is mainly a study of which empire was in control and at what time. It is only in recent history that we find the existence of the nation-state and the benefits it has offered mankind.
The origin of the nation-state can be traced to the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. This is when Europe began its trend toward more secular governments. Before this, even if a nation was not directly ruled by another nation, the Catholic Church still controlled most of the nations in Europe. Smaller states began to exercise autonomy once the church’s power was broken, relying more on political alliances than religious allegiances. Even though many empires remained, the door was open for autonomous movements.
The next major event was the age of revolutions beginning with the American Revolution in 1776. This set off a powerful chain of events that resulted in the overthrow of many traditional monarchies and ruling governments. The nation state goes hand in hand with the ideals of freedom, human rights and more open societies. Napoleonic France was the last major empire in Europe. His defeat meant that the many different nationalities and cultures in Europe could have their own nations, instead of being a part of a European empire or hierarchy. This would slowly spread to the rest of the world.
However, at the defeat of Napoleon another empire took on world leadership. The British Empire proved to be the most benign empire in history, assisting the development of nation-states around the world. That may appear to be a dichotomy, but the British Empire and the subsequent phenomenon of globalization have done more to promote the widespread distribution of free trade, wealth and political institutions essential to creating nation-states than any other historical force.
America inherited world leadership from Britain and has followed much of the same pattern. For 200 years, the world’s dominant powers have defended the rights of smaller nations and the sovereignty of nation-states, propagating freedom around the world. This is a profound difference from the previous centuries of world history.
This brief 200-year period allowed the nation-state to rise as the geopolitical norm and become the cornerstone of the political status quo. This period coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the development of technology to bring about widespread prosperity that allowed all people to have a chance at a better life, not just those in the upper echelons of society.
But this is changing. Britain ceased to be a world power long ago, and America is quickly surrendering its role as world policeman. Which empires will replace them? Will they honor and protect the rights of the nation-states as Britain and America did?
Return of the Empire
Every time Europe has been “united,” it has been through empire. In reality, the history of Europe has been the history of empires! This even applies to the general history of the human race, discounting the past 200 years. The nation-states have been an historical anomaly—one that is quickly ending. Trends in Europe and around the world show that the days of empires are returning; we are witnessing the sunset of the nation-state.
Recent events in Greece illustrate this point perfectly. Greece should never have been allowed to join the euro—the financing, bailouts and low interest rates only increased its national debt instead of solving the real issues with the economy. This is true with many nations in the eurozone (e.g. Portugal, Italy and Spain). This increased Germany’s and the European institutions’ power and influence, rather than creating a more equal economic union.
Every attempt to unite Europe runs into the dilemma of which is more important: the nation-state or the union. Events in Greece show that if unity is desired, then national sovereignty must be surrendered or taken. If the individual nation-states are to be respected, then Europe will always be disunited. This is the basic question Britain is facing in its future with the European Union.
This is not only a trend in Europe, however, but in every major theater in the world. Russia continues to annex the territories of its neighbors. Ukraine had Crimea annexed and invaded. nato did nothing to protect its sovereignty even when Crimea was under American security guarantees. Georgia has had Russia repeatedly violate its sovereignty, yet there has been neither outcry nor solution to stop this aggression.
In Asia, China has repeatedly acted aggressively toward its neighbors in the disputed islands in the South China Sea. South Korea, Japan and the Philippines have all had threatening encounters with China over who can dominate the region economically and militarily. Again, there is no response from the West to counter this aggression.
Iran has had a free hand to use its terrorist proxies to conquer many nation-states in the Middle East. Not only has the sovereignty of many key strategic nations been compromised and overwhelmed, such as Yemen, the certainty of Iran gaining nuclear weapons will only further heighten anarchy and violence in the region. On top of all that, the rise of the Islamic State will only further remove the national boundaries of nations and lead to more war.
The trend of aggressive, imperialistic nations is not good news for the West. The idea of the nation-state goes hand in hand with the ideas of personal liberty, independent economic development and freedom. If we allow these nations and freedoms to be extinguished, we open the door for corrupt, aggressive empires to run amok. This has always happened in history, but now it seems like no nation is willing to guarantee the rights of the nation-states nor confront the larger, bullying nations.
Accelerating this further is the “imperial collapse” of the United States. Unparalleled concessions of American power and influence in the Middle East, Asia and Europe is aiding the rise of other, more imperialistic nations. All empires eventually end, but the removal of the United States from world leadership does not bode well for those who have benefited from its protection. Will the nation-state survive under a world dominated by Russia, China, Islam or a European Union?
Bible Prophecy
One book maps out the geopolitical landscape of world history. It was written thousands of years ago by a Babylonian captive turned statesman. The Prophet Daniel received revelation from the great God that foretold the very trend discussed in this article.
Ancient Israel had failed in its commission from God to be a model nation to the world. The Israelites had refused to obey God’s laws and had been conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians (2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 36). Israel had been the dominant civilization under King David and Solomon but had since denigrated into division and subjugation. Had the nation succeeded, it would have received the immense blessings promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 48:19, 49; Deuteronomy 33). Because of Israel’s sins, the imparting of these blessings were delayed, not discarded. This is an important detail to note. It was this failure that began the time line of what is called the Daniel 2 image.
In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon dreamed of an immense statue; each section of the statue represented a new dominant Gentile empire. This occurred around 580 b.c. The image had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, stomach and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet part iron and part clay (Daniel 2:32-33). God showed Daniel, who then told the king, that the head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. The various sections from the head to the feet represented the successive empires that would rule the world. As we can see from history, the chest and arms of silver represented the Persian Empire (558-330 b.c.); the stomach and thighs of brass, the Greco-Macedonian Empire (333-70 b.c.); and the legs of iron, the Roman Empire (31 b.c. - a.d. 467).
From that fourth empire, the Roman Empire, would come a new system of the same Roman heritage, only with a church-state relationship. These are explained in Revelation 13. This empire is described as a beast having the qualities of the previous three empires, but having 10 horns, or 10 different manifestations of this empire. This is known as the Holy Roman Empire. For a complete explanation of the beast of Revelation please read our free booklet Who or What Is the Prophetic Beast? by Herbert W. Armstrong.
The first three of the 10 horns were the Germanic tribes of the Vandals, Ostrogoths and the Heruli. The final seven represented the resurrection of the church-state combine of the Holy Roman Empire. The first six were led by Justinian, Charlemagne, Otto the Great, Charles v, Napoleon and the Fascist regimes from 1870-1945. The seventh manifestation of this empire is yet to come, but it will happen in your lifetime!
At the beginning of the 19th century the nations of Israel reentered the geopolitical landscape. The blessings promised were withheld and given to the nations of Britain and America around 1800-1803 (please visit this page to find out why). After having Gentile empires dominate the world for thousands of years, here was a brief reprieve of a different form of empire, where the world developed new institutions of freedom and prosperity (such as the nation-state) never seen before. The empires that rose because of the blessings of Abraham benefited the world. It was the British and American militaries that prevented the success of the sixth head of the Holy Roman Empire. Yet because of the sins of the people in the British Empire and the United States, these blessings have been removed.
This is where the feet of iron and clay from Daniel 2 enter into focus. These represent the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire as a union of 10 nations, represented by the 10 toes of the Daniel 2 image. This European federation will be a union of 10 nation-states formed into one conglomerate! This final union occurs during the decline of the Israelite period of domination and just before Christ returns!
This is where we are in Bible prophecy. This final age of empires is poised to eclipse the period dominated by the nations of Israel blessed with the promises of Abraham. It was during the age of Israel that the nation-state was developed and this current political reality was built. Recent events show that this system is crumbling and that mankind is again reverting to the oldest form of government: empire. Only this time, these empires will bring a new, dark age on this planet!
The Last Empire
The feet of miry clay, the last resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe, is not where the prophecy of Daniel 2 ends. There is a fifth empire that is prophesied to come to this earth! This will be the most significant geopolitical event ever to occur! Ironically, it will be an empire that will solve all the problems caused by the other empires. In Daniel 2:44-45 it says:
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.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
The great God, who foretold all of this, will set up the Kingdom of God, an empire that will stand forever. The Stone, Jesus Christ, will soon return and establish the rule of God on Earth. There will be no nation-states, and there will be no more imperialistic empires. This is the kingdom of God Jesus Christ spoke of when He was on Earth. This is the message of the whole Bible!
The destiny of the world is empire. However, the Kingdom of God will not be ruled by dictators or madmen but by immortal, perfect God beings. There will be no corruption or exploitation of the weak. All nations of the Earth will be given what they need, and international unity will finally be achieved. Racial and cultural divides will finally be bridged. Competition and war will be replaced by universal peace and cooperation. This is the ultimate geopolitical reality coming to this Earth.
Today, we are witnessing the sunset of the nation-state and the beginning of a new age of empires. The most dangerous of these is what will rise out of the heart of Europe. To know more about this soon-coming empire, request your free copy of our new booklet, The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy.