Bible prophecy reveals the divine point of view

Bible prophecy enables us to see the character of the powers and significance of the events of our world today, from the divine point of view, rather than by current appearances, from an unenlightened human point of view. Often, the human perspective is the opposite of what one may see through a divine lens, for the human point of view is of “them that call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). We see the difference in the record when Samuel is sent by God to chose a king to replace Saul. When Samuel looks at David’s big older brother, thinking he would be a good king, the LORD says to Samuel:

“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1Samuel 16:7).

Bible prophecy enables us to see God’s plan. Therefore, we understand that we should not live as though our life will continue on as it always has. This life is temporary. By faith we have the long view, the eternal view of Abraham who lived waiting for a better endless life in the land of promise.

And so, Bible prophecy builds our confidence in the truth of God’s word when we can see the angels, and the risen Lord Jesus, at work in world affairs fulfilling the prophecies recorded by the inspiration of God thousands of years ago. In this way, when we see things like a restored nation of Israel back in their ancient land as God said over 2,000 years ago, we understand that it is God’s work, and His word is living and powerful. The time is coming closer when God will intervene in human affairs as He promised, and the present world order will be dissolved (2Pet. 3:10-12, speaking of the political heavens as in Isaiah 1) and a new world order will replace it under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Purpose of Bible Prophecy

That it is intended for us to have this kind of understanding is clearly stated in the Bible:

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

“This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17).

Therefore, we should expect that God has a plan which he is working to execute, and the messages revealed to His prophets, including His Son, are preserved in the Bible, as we also see in its last book:

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw” (Rev. 1:1-2).

And so, for the past 2,000 years, the Lord Jesus Christ has been involved in the fulfillment of this prophecy and its development in world affairs. Bible prophecy enables us to clearly see God’s purpose in our modern world with the restored nation of Israel and who the enemy is.

The Character of Nations Revealed

Therefore, in the Bible, we learn that God foretold the destiny and the character of certain nations. Specifically, those who have played a key role in his unfolding plan. He has given us a blueprint of how history would unfold, including in the prophecies of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation.

So, for example, we learn from the visions of Daniel chapters 2 and 7 that the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, and Romans would be successive powers that would constitute the kingdom of men, fierce persecutors of the saints, of His people Israel, and in the latter days would fall and be replaced by the Kingdom of God. These visions extend to our day where, in the iron-clay feet of the image and ten horns of the fourth beast, we see the modern successor of ancient Rome, Catholic Europe:

“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom [for ever, vs. 14, 18]. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth…” (Daniel 7:21-23).

Therefore, the fourth kingdom from the time of Daniel in Babylon, would be the power of Rome, also represented as iron legs in the image of Daniel 2.

Bible prophecy also reveals to us that Britain, and the merchant trading nations she is allied with, including the United States, will ultimately stand aside from Israel’s enemies. We understand this from Ezekiel 38 and other supporting Scriptures.

So, when we see friendship continuing between the likes of the UK and the US as we did this past week with Trump’s UK visit, despite all the rhetoric around tariffs, and on Thursday last week, the United States vetoing another United Nations Security Council resolution against Israel, we are encouraged to see that the divine plan is continuing as expected.

The following was written in 1992, in The Christadelphian magazine, regarding Ezekiel 38 and “the merchants of Tarshish”, and continues to hold true today, despite ever-changing political conditions:

“This Tarshish is said to be: the home of merchant nations (Ezekiel 38:13); a possessor of sea-going ships (Isaiah 60:9); a helper of the Jewish people, and in particular the nation that brings the Jewish people home (Isaiah 60:9); a protector of weaker nations, as is suggested by the phrase ‘young lions’ (Ezekiel 38:13). It is, moreover, friendly with the nations of the Arabian peninsula (Ezekiel 38:13) (see notes on Sheba and Dedan). Tarshish is stationed somewhere in the Middle East when Gog invades. The merchants of Tarshish say to Gog, ‘Why have you come?’ (Ezekiel 38:13).

Today the USA and the UK fit all these clues. They have been the dominant merchant sea powers in the last century. They have taken it in turns to support and help the Jews. It was the British who by the Balfour Declaration facilitated the return of the Jews to their land. Ever since World War II the Americans have provided money and military support.” – The Christadelphian (1992).

A special relationship between two trading nations

We have seen this in the speeches given by the King of Great Britain and the President of the United States this past week. King Charles began by saying,

“Mr President, Mrs Trump, it is with great pleasure that my wife and I welcome you to Windsor Castle, on this, your second state visit to the United Kingdom.

This unique and important occasion reflects the enduring bond between our two great nations. Anchored by the deep friendship between our people, this relationship which, with good reason, we and our predecessors have long called ‘special’, has made us safer and stronger through the generations.

Our people have fought and died together for the values we hold dear. We have innovated, traded and created together, fueling our economies and cultures through myriad forms of exchange. We have celebrated together, mourned together and stood together in the best and worst of times...”

President Trump, for his part, continued in a similar manner highlighting the strong bond and special relationship shared by the two countries:

“The legal, intellectual, cultural and political traditions of this kingdom have been among the highest achievements of mankind; there has really never been anything like it. The British Empire laid the foundations of law, liberty, free speech and individual rights virtually everywhere the Union Jack has ever flown, including a place called America. You know that place very well, don’t you?

His Majesty spoke eloquently about the bond which inspired Sir Winston Churchill – and the bust is in the Oval Office right now, the beautiful bust of Winston Churchill – to coin the phrase ‘special relationship’.

But seen from American eyes, the word ‘special’ does not begin to do it justice. We’re joined by history and fate, by love and language and by transcendent ties of culture, tradition, ancestry and destiny. We’re like two notes in one chord or two verses of the same poem, each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together.
The bond of kinship and identity between America and the United Kingdom is priceless and eternal. It’s irreplaceable and unbreakable…”

Probably unbeknown to them, the words of these men gave witness to the truth of the Bible, as they spoke of the shared destiny of their two nations, and the special relationship, a trade relationship, that has existed between them for hundreds of years.

As the above magazine quotation mentioned, over the years these Tarshish nations have also helped Israel to become what it is today. We witnessed this again this past week at the UN Security Council where the US was the only voice speaking in Israel's defense, again using its veto to help Israel.

Those who listen to what the prophets have said in the holy Scriptures will not be surprised by these events. The alliances we see between the Tarshish and young lion nations, those who have supported Israel, as well as those who are her enemies, such as Persia or Iran, are exactly in line with what Bible students have expected for centuries.

It is for this reason that we continue to watch world events, with the Bible in hand. This has been Daniel Billington with you this week, for another edition of the Bible in the News.