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WATCH or READ - Current Events & The Trump Effect

Updated: Apr 8

Currents events certainly one of the most exciting and faith strengthening things to discuss, for it shows us the nearness of our Lord’s coming! The downside of this subject though is that things are happening so fast that you have to prepare last second or else the information is outdated!

When we say current events, we aren’t just talking about what’s going on in the world right now. The subject we’re really asking is, Where are we on God’s prophetic timetable, and how close are we to the return of Christ and the fulfillment of the latter-day prophecies? What we want to know is how much longer we must wait until Christ returns, but in truth, the only thing we can get a real sense of is how long until the latter-day conflicts begin. What is often forgotten is that these are two very different things. We must make the distinction between Christ’s appearance to gather his saints and that of his coming to conquer the nations. I just wrote an article about this a few weeks ago, and the purpose was to show that Christ gathers and judges his saints likely long before conquering the nations and how that effects our expectation of him. I therefore firmly believe that we could be gathered at any moment, and we shouldn’t expect to see the stage fully “set”.

Now, before we look at what’s happening in the world, I believe we must review what the Bible teaches us will happen, for otherwise we don’t know what we’re looking for! This subject is really worth a multi-part class, but I’ll give an overview of what my understanding is, because once we know what to look for, seeing it in the world today is very easy. Once we know these things, it will be unmistakable to see where we are on God’s timetable, so that part won’t take very long. Most of the class will be spent on the conflicts, particularly the last one.

A Summary of the Latter-Day Conflicts

The end result of Christ’s plan is what we find declared in

Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

The entire planet will come under the rod of Christ, and he will rule it in righteousness. I believe we find that this end is accomplished through three main phases – all of which (in my understanding) take place after Christ has gathered his saints, and it will all begin with Israel. Let us summarize each, but particular emphasis will be spent on the final stage because many are less familiar with it. These phases are

1.     The Islamic Proximal War – This will involve Israel and what the Scriptures call the surrounding Islamic enemies “round about”, which includes Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. As shown from the prophecies on the subject, this war is motivated by hatred and the “right” to the Holy Land. This will begin by a joint Islamic attack and Israel requiring salvation from these enemies by the Lord’s intervention. Christ and his immortalized saints will appear to Israel’s salvation, and the result will be the destruction of these enemies and their lands coming under the control of Christ, thus fulfilling the promise to Abraham and his seed of inheriting the promised land (Genesis 13:14-18, 15:18-21, 17:8, Psalm 105:9-11). This conflict is described in Psalm 83, Zechariah 12-13:6, 14:4-21, Joel 3, Obadiah 1:17-21, Ezekiel 28:24-26, 34:22-28, Isaiah 63:1-3, Habakkuk 3, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 11:11-16, and others. All of the lands and wealth of these nations will be acquired by Christ, and this will perfectly set the stage for the next conflict. We’re therefore looking for three primary things: 1) for the Islamic confederacy of Psalm 83 to be a reality, and 2) for Iran to be out of the picture, for while they have historically been involved with the Psalm 83 nations, they are not part of the confederacy, and 3) for Israel to somehow stand on their own so the Lord will be their salvation.

2.     The Gogian War – This will involve the new Kingdom of God (Israel) and the nations of Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, Sudan, and potentially a few others (their identity often debated). These nations will be led by Russia, and they will come against Israel to take the “spoil and a prey” that they recently acquired from the Islamic nations (compare Zechariah 14:14, 2:4-5, and Isaiah 33:22-23 to Ezekiel 38:11-13). The Spirit prophesies that this will be motivated by riches alone, and the result is that these nations will be destroyed by Christ and their lands absorbed into Christ’s now much larger empire. This conflict is described in Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20:7-10 and will also set the stage for the next and final war. We’re therefore looking for a few things: 1) for the Ezekiel 38 confederacy to be a reality, 2) for the rest of the prerequisites of the prophecy to be met, like Israel dwelling safely, being increased with spoil and riches, having no carnal defenses like bars or gates, the Tarshish powers having a different stance, and so on. Essentially, we’re looking for the confederacy to exist and Phase 1 of Christ’s plan to be fulfilled. As I believe we’ll be gathered long before this time, it is possible that we may not see the Ezekiel 38 confederacy fully mature, at least with mortal eyes.

3.     The Papal War – Though there is probably a better title for this conflict, I call this the Papal war because it is led by the Apostacy and waged on the basis of resistance to Christ’s rule. This resistance will be justified on a “religious” basis as the Apostacy deceives the nations.

This conflict is quite different than the previous two are wars are against nations whereas this final conflict is a war against a system – the Babylonian Harlot system. As all nations have been deceived by this system, this final phase includes the rest of the planet, and it's at the end of this that the victory cry will be shouted – “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.”

This subject calls for a lot more discussion than the first two because of the nature in which it’s relayed to us – mostly through symbol. Symbols have to be interpreted, and if we aren’t disciplined in our interpretation methods or don’t have sufficient information to interpret with, it’s easy to come up with answers that are way off the mark. The vast majority of the details on this subject I find are in Revelation, but there are many other places as well. Because it’s easy to be intimidated by Revelation, it’s often not looked at in great depth. I therefore want to go into an explanation of my understanding of this.

We find this final phase described in Daniel 2:34-35, 8:23-25, Revelation 14:7-11, 15-29, 15:2, 16:13-21, chs. 17 & 18, 19:19-21, and others. The one I want to focus on is Revelation 17 because it is the most succinct and includes the most details on the system that fights Christ and how it is organized. We’re going to read most of Revelation 17, and what we find is that there are three main entities here: a beast, ten horns of the beast, and a harlot who rides and controls the beast and its horns. All nations have been deceived by this harlot system (the ten horns included), and the ten horns will actually turn against the harlot at the end when they realize they are being deceived.

Revelation 17:1-18 – Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:  (2)  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.  (3)  … I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.  (4)  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:  (5)  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH… (7)  And the angel said unto me… I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns… (9)  And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth...  (12)  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.  (13)  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.  (14)  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.  (15)  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.  (16)  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire…

This is a worldwide problem as the whore “sits upon many waters”, and “The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” We can actually trace this Babylonian system all the way back to Nimrod as he is the founder of it (hence the name “Babylon the Great”), but that’s a subject for another time. But let’s define these three entities as clearly as we can so we know what to look for. There are many interpretations of these symbols, but this is mine which I’ve found to consistently fit with the whole of Scripture (so far at least). I do believe that some of these aspects are actually formed as a result of Christ conquering on the earth, but some parts are discernible now.

The Beast

We note that this beast has 10 horns, and horns are used by animals for defense. This system therefore has a defensive arm (which we’ll more look at in a moment). It must also be something that can be controlled by a central head, for it is ridden by the harlot. I find that this final conflict is centralized in Europe, for that is where this harlot system is rooted, and I believe that the beast is essentially Europe, more specifically the European Union (EU).

Why do we conclude that the EU is the beast? Looking back through history, this system has been in development right before our eyes for some time, and many Christadelphians have written on it in the past. What we know today as the EU started after WWII under a different name. WWII ended in 1945 and caused the nations to seek out alliances and confederacies to prevent another World War, so NATO was created in 1949 and The Council of Europe was formed the next month (European Union). The EU website shows its history of growth and development, and much of it has been copied below (some information has been added from other sources). What we see is that little bits and pieces of unity and power come on the scene throughout the years in various treaties, but all of these get absorbed into the EU as it is today! Many of these titles will sound the same, but there will be a visual shortly that will help explain it.

5 May 1949 – The Council of Europe is established - 10 Western European countries create the Council of Europe to promote democracy and protect human rights and the rule of law.

18 April 1951 – European Coal and Steel Community - Based on the Schuman plan, six countries sign a treaty to run their coal and steel industries under a common management. In this way, no single country can make the weapons of war to turn against others, as in the past.

6 May 1955 – The Western European Union - 10 countries operated as a forum for the coordination of matters of European security and defense. It contributed to the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and worked in cooperation with that organization. The WEU became the primary defense institution of the European Union in the 1990s, though it gave up that role in 2001.

25 March 1957 – Treaties of Rome - Building on the success of the Coal and Steel Treaty, the 6 founding countries expand their cooperation to other economic sectors. They formalise this by signing two treaties, creating the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). These bodies come into being on 1 January 1958.

1 November 1993 – European Union – The European Union is officially formed to enhance political and economic integration of Europe.

1999 – Joining of the EU and the WEU – In 1999, the EU votes to absorb all responsibilities of the WEU in preparation for making the EU a defensive and peacekeeping military organization as well as a social and economic one. These defensive capabilities were officially transferred in 2001.

2009 – Joining of the EU and the EEC – In 2009, the European Economic Community formally ceased to exist and its institutions were directly absorbed by the EU. This made the Union the formal successor institution of the Community.

There are other events which took place, but in all of these treaties and councils, we have all of the necessary bits of the beast and its horns, but they were separated for a long time and therefore didn’t constitute one beast. We see the very beginnings of a unified Europe in the Council of Europe, but what is now called the EU was originally called the European Coal and Steel Community, and this had six original members. I find this interesting because in Revelation terms, this is a beast we are looking for – an animal of the land, and such animals were created on the sixth day of creation (Genesis 1:24-25, 31). I believe this is a hint that this was the rebirth of the beast system. In the years following, it would slowly grow and morph into what Scripture prophesied. Now, most of these things have been absorbed into the EU.

The European Coal and Steel Community which created unity among the nations was absorbed into the Treaties of Rome in 1957, and that is what created the European Economic community. Then, “In 2009, the European Economic Community formally ceased to exist and its institutions were directly absorbed by the EU. This made the Union the formal successor institution of the Community” (Wikipedia). So the EU therefore had all of the “joining” power of the former institutions, but remember, it was the WEU that was created for mutual defense. “The WEU became the primary defense institution of the European Union in the 1990s, though it gave up that role in 2001” as the EU took that role over too (Britannica). The EU therefore not only represents an economically and socially unified Europe, but also acts as its central defensive organization for common security and defense (European Parliament).

The diagram below is a timeline of how these systems came into being. Starting from left to right, you will see the different aspects of the beast come into being and eventually all absorbed into the EU as it is today.


Now let’s look at the horns of the beast.

The 10 Horns of the Beast

We mentioned that the horns are used for defense and fighting, so if the EU is the beast, then the horns must be an aspect of the EU which is used for defense. This was just seen in the previous section, but let us give special attention to it. Revelation says that the horns give up their power to the beast for one hour, showing us two things: first, it indicates that the beast did not always use its horns for defense, for otherwise it wouldn’t have to give its horns “power”, and second, that the beast would acquire the defensive abilities of a group of nations that are part of its body. We’re therefore looking for a time when it did not have power of the horns and then gained the power. Both answer perfectly to history.

The EU didn’t take on that name until 1993. It began in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community, and defense was not a part of this pact. Recall that the Coal and Steel Community agreement was simply an agreement between nations “to run their coal and steel industries under a common management. In this way, no single country can make the weapons of war to turn against others, as in the past.” It was designed to avoid war, but it had no war capabilities. This community had six member states. The beast therefore originally had no horns for war.

But only four years later, the Western European Union was created, and this coalition was created specifically for defense. Now we have the horns. Not only that, but can you guess how members it had when it started? Britannica records,

“Western European Union (WEU), former association (1955–2011) of 10 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom) that operated as a forum for the coordination of matters of European security and defense.”

It began with 10 members! But while part of Europe, the WEU was not joined with the Coal and Steel Community for some time, and it was the Coal and Steel Community which morphed into the EU today. But note that Britannica says that the WEU is a former association. That’s because it and its defensive capabilities were absorbed by the beast, the EU. “The WEU became the primary defense institution of the European Union in the 1990s, though it gave up that role in 2001” because the EU took that role over too (Britannica). The vote took place in 1999, but it seems it didn’t officially happen until 2001. Another source explains, “In 1999 the EU voted to absorb all the functions of the WEU in preparation for making the EU a defensive and peacekeeping military organization as well as a social and economic one” (Infoplease).

So the WEU had the defensive ability, it was absorbed into the EU while retaining the defensive ability, but it later gave up that power. See this excellent article on the history of the WEU and how the EU absorbed it.

On that note, we must mention this. We just read that the defensive arm of Europe which started with 10 members gave up its power to the EU beast. Revelation said that the horns would give up their power to the beast (the EU) for one hour! Is this the fulfillment of that? It could be. What is “one hour” in Revelation terms? It’s likely not a literal hour. On the common basis of 1000 years equaling 1 day, 1 hour would equal 41.67 years. (1000 years/24 hours in a day = 41.67). Since that defensive role was voted to the EU in 1999 and officially given up in 2001 to EU, the termination period is either 2040 or 2042, 15 or 17 years from now depending on which date we use as a start date. Based on what Revelation says, at the end of this “hour” is when the horns stop doing the harlot’s will and destroy her, for “the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” This works perfectly with my understanding of prophecy.

Now, it has been wondered whether the number 10 for the horns means 10 actual nations will fight Christ, or whether it’s given to identify the system. My personal view as of now is that the number 10 is given to us to show us the start of the defensive aspect of the beast system, but it will likely have more members than that when the harlot commands them. We don’t have time to go into it now, but the number 10 all over the EU and its history (Britannica, Britannica). The most important thing, in my view, is that the defensive arm of Europe was born with 10 members, and that power has now been absorbed by the beast.

We note that it’s the horns which war against Christ, so it is my view that after Christ conquers the Ezekiel 38 nations, the EU will utilize its defensive arm to combat Christ. These forces could be the combined forces of 10 of its members, but I believe the number will be higher than that. I don’t believe we have to look for exactly 10 nations, but that could be true. There’s more to discuss on this, but that’s for another time.

The Harlot

We don’t have time to go into as much depth with the harlot, but I believe it is well established and understood that the harlot is the Apostate Papal Church system. This has its beginnings in the early years of Christianity and is the “falling away” which the Apostles warned about (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10). The Pope himself is the “man of sin” who heads this system, and we find him here riding and controlling the beast, directing it to use its horns to fight against Christ, but the horns will eventually realize they were being deceived and turn against him. Such is what we find in Revelation 17 and other chapters.

Where We Are Today

Looking at the world today, we find that none of these three confederacies exist today. We shouldn’t necessarily expect them to be, although we certainly do see them developing. Let’s go through each to see what remains to happen for each to be fulfilled and where things appear to be heading now. I believe we’re seeing that Trump is helping further all of this in incredible ways.

Psalm 83

1.      Confederacy forming – It has not yet developed.

2.      Iran out of the picture – They are absent from the prophecy. Why?

3.      Israel isolated from allies – They must call upon Christ for salvation, so they must be estranged from all other allies.

This being the first stage of Christ’s conquering plan, it’s logical to assume that we could see the stage more set for this conflict than the other two. Yet it must be recognized that there may be some time between Christ gathering us for judgment and this war to begin, so I believe we will likely not see the stage fully set.

1.      Confederacy forming

There have been many wars between the Islamic nations and Israel, but none have matched the description of Psalm 83 as nations were either missing or they were not fully unified, for history has shown them to not fully trust one another’s motives. We’ve conjectured what might create the solidarity we find in the Psalm, and it looks Trump’s plan for Gaza could be it. He has told them to either create their own good plan or else the US will institute their own, and these nations hate Trump’s plan. It seems that having the US as a common enemy is enough for them to actually set aside some of their differences. Could this be the start of the confederacy’s formation?

2.      Iran getting out of the picture

It seems that either the US and Israel could neutralize Iran for having expedited its nuclear program. That would explain why Iran is not in Psalm 83.

But also, it’s clear that Iran is being left out of the conversation that the other Muslim states are having concerning Gaza. If that is what starts this confederacy, it’s clear to see why Iran isn’t part of it. They’re being left out, and they therefore despise the new Arab plan for Gaza.

3.      Israel isolated from allies

It’s easy to see how most nations of the world would abandon Israel. The big question is the US. Right now, ties are very strong. However, Israel fears that Trump’s “America First” policy could leave Israel in the dust. We are already seeing this concern and some tension start to arise between the two states:

Trump’s warming up to Putin also has resulted in Israel limiting some of their cooperation with the US:

Ezekiel 38

1.      Confederacy forming

2.      State of the nation of Israel – riches, dwelling safely, no defenses needed, etc.

3.      Tarshish nations’ unique response – either already fighting, fighting has ended, or to not fight at all. Result of WWIII? In the middle of WWIII? Basically, seems that an enormous conflict surrounds the time when Russia comes down. I do not believe it is a stand-alone event.

The Scriptures show that much will occur as a result of Christ’s success in the first phase, for Psalm 2 shows them joining together specifically to cast of Christ. Some things are perceivable now.

1.      Confederacy forming

This confederacy has been forming for many years, and while nations like Turkey still need to be closer to Russia, Iran and Russia have been forging strong ties.

2.      State of the nation of Israel

The Scriptures show that all of these are to become a reality as a result of Christ completing phase 1. I find that none of the descriptors are true of Israel today. With threats both inside and outside the nation, it takes an incredible amount of ignorance to claim that Israel is safe today.

3.      Tarshish nations’ unique response

Basically what I think we’re looking for here is for a third World War to start between the eastern powers of Russia, China, and Iran and the western powers of the UK and her allies. We would normally lump the US into that group as they are part of the Tarshish lions, but it seems that America might either take a more isolated stance like they have in the first two World Wars or not be able to assist Israel (perhaps weakened). What we’re seeing is WWIII brewing and nations aligning themselves against Russia. We’re also seeing the eastern nations prepare to take on the US specifically:

Revelation 17

1.      Confederacy more solidified – Is it already existent, or does it need to grow? It appears that this confederacy is created as a result of Christ’s coming.

2.      The EU (the beast) to have a more strong, active defense force (the 10 horns – are we looking for exactly 10?)

3.      The Pope (the harlot) to ride the beast. The harlot has deceived the nations of the world, but the Pope does not control the EU in any capacity.

This being the last stage of the conflict, we shouldn’t expect to see much (if any) of it present today, particularly as Psalm 2 shows that Christ’s appearance creates the need for the confederacies. But what we find today is incredibly strengthening.

1.      Confederacy more solidified.

We saw that it might be debated whether the 10 horns are 10 individual latter-day nations or whether the number refers to the origin on the horns, and my current view is that it is probably the latter. The WEU started with 10 members and was created for mutual defense of Europe, and its powers have been absorbed by the EU. As for the beast itself (the EU), we are seeing them unite because of Trump’s isolationists policies. Trump’s meeting went so bad with Ukraine’s Zelensky that Zelensky was kicked out of the White House, and that has caused fear all over Europe/ Europe believes that they can no longer rely on Trump, and the following headlines show how Trump is causing them to unite together as prophesied:

And therefore,

It is true that the US has been left to foot the bill for most of the activities of these organizations, and it seems like Trump is not afraid to pull the plug. The leader of the EU is showing a brave face though and has said that there’s no need to try and de-escalate things with the US. She believes that Europe is powerful enough (Bloomberg).

2.      EU (the beast) to have a more strong, active defense force – the 10 horns

Not only is Europe uniting together under the EU (the beast), but they are calling for the EU to have greater defensive abilities because the US cannot be counted on. The EU leader Ursula von Der Leyen has said, “the US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine, as well as intelligence sharing, was “a very strong wake-up call” for Europe to boost its defense capabilities” (Bloomberg). Consider the things that are happening in light of what we’ve been expecting from prophecy!

See also Euronews and Telegraph. We see the important key words: EU army, military buildup, everything that relates to defense. The EU beast is gearing up its horns for battle in preparation for the harlot to mount it and declare war against Christ.

3.      The Pope (the harlot) to ride the beast.

I find it remarkable that we’ve been so blessed to see the beast and its horns developing, because this could very easily have happened long after Christ already began conquering. But I believe the Lord is blessing us with these signs to say – “See, the pieces of the puzzle are all nearly in place. Get ready for my Son!” 

That being said, it is not surprising that we don’t yet see the Papal system “riding” or “controlling” the beast and its horns. That, I believe, will be the result of Christ declaring himself as King of Israel, and the world’s nations rush to figure out the true identity of this man who has called for their submission. I believe that many nations and people will become “religious” very quickly, and they will turn to the one religious figure they all know of: the Pope. He will unquestionably denounce Jesus as the Devil himself and claim to know the solution, and it is then that I believe that he will mount the EU beast and be given the controlling authority. I don’t expect to see this happen with mortal eyes, but it could!

That being said, it’s interesting that the current Pope seems to be nearing death. He has been sick for some time, and while recent reports indicate he is doing better, he is 88 years old and will not likely last much longer. Pope Francis seems to have not had any luck being of much influence on the EU, but his death will be yet another earthquake on the political scene. Who will succeed him? Popes are elected by the College of Cardinals so we can’t know for sure, but it’s likely someone who will have more ability to sway Europe. We shall see.

Conclusion

My, my, my – what an enormous number of signs! It probably feels like we’ve covered so many things, but there were still many that I had to cut out for time. For those of us watching and talking about the signs of the times, it’s a strange thing – for the closer we get to Christ’s return, the more signs there are. This means that there’s more to talk about, and it therefore takes much more time to cover all of it! But what a wonderful problem to have!

It is my firm belief that we have already been given far more evidence of the future conflicts to come than God needed to give us before we’re gathered for judgment. From what I understand of how Christ will gather his saints, it could take place long before the Psalm 83 confederacy is even somewhat formed, but God has nevertheless given us an undeniable mountain of evidence for all three conflicts to clearly tell us – Christ is coming soon! If we are thinking about putting off our service, it would be unwise to do. Now is the time for action! Now is the time for faith and dedication, for joy and gladness! It’s hard to imagine with the wickedness of this present world, but the day described in Psalm 22 is fast approaching:

Psalms 22:27-28 – All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.  (28)  For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.

 

In the Hope of Israel,

Tanner Hawkins

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