A Coming One-World Government

(an excerpt from Chapter 1: Pre-Tribulational Events)

The One-World Government

A disturbing pre-tribulational event which will also be readily perceptible will be the advent of a one-world government upon the whole earth.  The understanding of a coming one-world governmental power is observed in two visions from the book of Daniel, found in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7.  Both texts will be presented below, followed by a comparison of their similarities.

Daniel 2:26-45 

 26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
     ²⁷ Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, ²⁸ but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
     ²⁹ “As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. ³⁰ As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
     ³¹ “You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue–an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
     ³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. ³⁷ You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
     ³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. ⁴⁰ Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron–for iron breaks and smashes everything–and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹ Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
     ⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands–a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
     “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.”

Daniel 7:1-28

 1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
     2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. ³ Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
     ⁴ “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
     ⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
     ⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
     ⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast–terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
     ⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
     ⁹ “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place,
     and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
     the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
     and its wheels were all ablaze.
¹⁰ A river of fire was flowing,
     coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
     ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
     and the books were opened.
     ¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. ¹² (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
     ¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
      ¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this.
     “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever–yes, for ever and ever.’
     ¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws–the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell–the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. ²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
     ²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
     ²⁶ “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
     ²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

While this is a lot of text to consider at once, it is necessary to consider both visions as a unit, because both are of future world-dominating kingdoms; the same kingdoms, seen by Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel in different visions at different times.  It is clear from each context that an unfolding of world history is being presented through the observation of these global dynasties which are to exist in Daniel’s future.

History has clearly depicted these kingdoms to modern readers, yet the fourth kingdom has qualities which have not yet been fully realized historically.

The First Kingdom

The first kingdom is represented with the head of gold and the winged lion beast.  This was the Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar himself, which was an empire of the known world in Daniel’s day.

The Second Kingdom

The second kingdom, represented by the arms and breast of silver and the bear-like beast, refers to the Medo-Persian Empire which was the global kingdom emerging after the Babylonian Empire.

The Persian Empire overthrew the Medes and the remaining territories of the Babylonians, giving rise to the next consecutive world kingdom noted historically in Daniel’s vision.

The Third Kingdom

The third kingdom, with belly and thighs of bronze and depicted as a leopard with wings, is the Hellenistic Empire of Alexander the Great.

The Greeks conquered the remaining Persian territories, forming the next historical global empire of Daniel’s dream.

The Fourth Kingdom

The fourth kingdom, different from the others, was the world dominating kingdom of the Roman Empire.  What becomes difficult is the determination of how the rest of the vision will come to fruition.

Clearly the Roman Empire was the next world empire historically.  And noticeably, as Daniel 7:23 indicates, it was “different from all the other kingdoms” and devoured the earth.  Its differences will be discussed shortly, but the most essential question which must be answered is the question of how the Roman Empire, long since lost to the annals of time, can be the empire after which Daniel 2:44 states, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.”

One solution exists in Amillennialism, which teaches that Christ’s resurrection began this final kingdom which would crush the others.  Surely Christ’s kingdom came, surely he reigns supremely, surely he is the final authority.  However, in Daniel’s vision, each kingdom was literal prior to the fifth kingdom that will never be destroyed, which demands that the fifth kingdom itself must also be interpreted as a literal kingdom.  Amillennialism describes a symbolic kingdom of Christ in Heaven rather than a literal kingdom of Christ on earth.  Additionally, the destruction of the ten kings which ruled the fourth kingdom must be interpreted literally in light of the literality of the other kingdom’s descriptions.

The simple reality of life on earth today is that Christ’s kingdom has not literally obliterated the ten kings of a one-world government, which demands that this prophecy is not completely fulfilled, if indeed a consistently literal interpretive method is to be applied to scripture.  To be honest, a metaphorical interpretation is much easier to understand for this text, yet it does not keep the interpretations concerning each kingdom consistent.  It makes no sense for Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar to have visions of four empires which will come to literal power, only to be figuratively destroyed by a fifth and final kingdom.  In actuality, each of the first three were literally destroyed as the next succeeding empire came into power.  In the Amillennial view, the fourth empire fails to realize a literal destruction as did the others.  As difficult as it is to wrestle with the Roman empire being the empire which Christ will literally destroy, the consistent interpretation of the text demands that it be understood in this manner.  Christ will destroy, literally, the fourth empire, which is the Roman empire. 

One key to understanding the nature of the fourth kingdom is found in Daniel 7:23, in that it was “different from all the other kingdoms.”  It was unique.  The Roman Empire, unlike prior empires, gave rise to a new way of governing.  The Roman Empire gave rise to what is commonly known today as imperialism.  While some would argue that elements of imperialism existed in former governments, it was not until the Roman empire that imperialism was fully developed or that it was demonstrable in a truly global economy.  The Romans, for example, allowed a conquered nation to keep its social structure, religions and even government offices intact insomuch as the nation submitted to Rome as its ultimate authority.  This idea is represented in Daniel 2:40 “and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the other” and 2:43 “just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.“  This characteristic of the Roman empire is clearly visible in New Testament Israel, observable in the narrative of the arrest and trial of Jesus.

In Matthew 26, Jesus was arrested in accordance with the laws of Israel, a nation under Roman imperialistic rule.  In Matthew 26:57 Jesus is taken to the high priest after his arrest.  Once found guilty by that court, a sentence was given, as “all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death.“  Then, in Matthew 27:11 Jesus was taken to the Roman court and placed before Pilate, the roman governor, who held the final authority over such a sentence.  Without Rome’s consent Israel would have been unable to legally put Jesus to death.  Roman imperialism was indeed a new global system which allowed Israel to maintain their religion, laws and even certain governmental offices while being subject to Rome on the larger scale.

This type of government dominates the world today, with the United States being a shining example, though with its own unique qualities.  Each U.S. state has its own government, which submits to the Federal government.  Many other nations follow a similar pattern of imperialism, which had the Roman Empire as its root model of origin.

Among nations, furthermore, there exists today the United Nations, which is not currently a governing head per se, but is growing increasingly stronger in its influence each passing year, even to the point of managing the sovereignty of any nation foreseen to be a threat to the whole.  Many believe the UN will provide the platform for Antichrist’s authority, however this idea is only speculation.  The UN is, however, another form of modern imperialism.  It is in effect, even today, a form of global government having its own world court, the International Court of Justice.  The ICJ has heard cases related to war crimes, illegal state interference and ethnic cleansing, among others.  While each nation retains its sovereignty, the UN serves as a governing board negotiating relations between member nations such as the intervention into Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, which was authorized by the UN.  These examples each follow the same general model demonstrated on a global level by the former Roman Empire.  Imperialism permeates the modern world.

Historically, the Roman empire itself was split into an east/west balance of power in 364 by Valentinian.  The world continues in an east/west balance of power today.  Daniel 7:7 says “it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.”  No historical kingdom has fit this description on a global level since the Roman Empire. 

Daniel 2 reveals the messianic kingdom of Messiah – or the rock that becomes a mountain, to be the destruction of this fourth kingdom.  Daniel 2:44 states “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people.“  All variants of eschatological study agree that this kingdom is the kingdom of Christ.  Where they disagree on is whether this kingdom is literal, observed by the future return of Christ to rule on the physical earth, or figurative, that Christ rules vicariously from Heaven until the time of his return to restore the earth.  Once again, history has defined each kingdom in the text to be literal up until the time of the final kingdom.  It should not be suddenly rendered figuratively due to the difficulty of the subject matter.

If, then, this kingdom is literal, it represents the Roman Empire, and the contention must be that an element of this empire exists today, and will give rise to the ten kings noted in both Daniel 2 and 7.  Some conclude that the East/West balance of power is the remnant of the Roman Empire.  Some contend that imperialism is that which has lived on.  In either case, this empire will give rise to ten kings who will rule the earth.

Daniel 7:23-25 
²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.

Verse 24 reveals the next vital step which will unfold, namely the advent of a one-world ruler which will speak against God and oppress his saints.  More will be developed about this portion of Daniel 7 later in this work.

Essentially, it appears that this one-world government will in fact have a Roman imperialistic approach, as it will establish its kings in various places in the world to rule it, fitting the imperialistic model.

Historical speculations have pointed to the European Common Market (or more recently, the European Union) as the ten horns of this coming government.  Yet in the text, the ten divisions are created after the formation of the kingdom, not before.  Also, practically, it does not seem pragmatic that ten kings, all based in Europe, would rule the entire world, but rather kings who were dispersed throughout the world.

Still other speculation points to the United Nations as the substance of the ten kings.  Assuming the UN were given more power that it currently has, this postulate may have merit.  The UN is the epitome of imperialism, having each nation ruling itself under the global supervision of the whole.  While this is a more pragmatic speculation, it should be noted that it is still a speculation, and should not be placed into one’s eschatological lens in an unhealthy way.  One can observe the UN to see if perhaps it will have a role in a future one world government, or if it could perhaps become a rigid governing institution of the world.  But, one should not allow history to predict the Bible.  Calling the UN the one world government is not a valid assertion, at least at this point in history.

However, those who follow this speculation do propose a realistic postulate:  if the rapture (which will be covered later) occurs early enough, the UN would have a global catastrophic event which could in fact elevate their authority rapidly, especially if world leaders are taken quickly out of the picture from larger nations.

What can be know with certainty from the text is that there will be ten kings who will rule on behalf of a future one-world government.  The Bible does not reveal who each of these kings are, but only that the king which will lead them all will be overthrown by Christ. 

More About the One-World Government

Daniel 7:23 
“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.

The fourth kingdom will devour the whole earth like the three former kingdoms had done.  The Roman Empire has devoured the whole earth formerly in history, but will also do so while under the auspices of the ten kings, and the one king who will rise above them all.  The rising of the kings remains a future set of events.  This is clear due to the fact that Christ will overthrow them.  In literal history, Christ has not yet overthrown a government of any stature.  Since a literal interpretation is called for because each additional kingdom referenced is literal, a time is coming when Christ will overthrow this literal government and the literal king who will be identified as “Antichrist” in the course of this work.

Daniel 7:20-22 continues to reference three of the ten horns bowing to the “little horn” that comes up among them.  This little horn spoke boastfully and waged war against the saints until the Ancient of Days pronounced judgment on him.

Daniel 7:24-25
²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.

The antichrist will conquer three kings and kill them[1].  In Revelation 17 it is learned that the remaining kings will submit to him as well (in the middle of the tribulation) and will do his bidding, so that he will be the ruler of the earth for a season.  More will be presented on that subject in the chapters concerning the great tribulation.

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