Editor’s Note: The following guest editorial comes from one of our correspondents in the United Kingdom.
London, March 23, 2022: Almost 2,000 years ago, the last original Apostle, John, experienced a dramatic vision – and the Book of Revelation is the product of Jesus Christ’s inspiration, sent by angelic messenger. (Revelation 1:1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,)
In Revelation, Chapter 13, John, apparently on the northern shore of the island of Patmos, witnessed a vivid and horrific sight.
Revelation 13:1: Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name
John saw what many Bible students understand as the final emergence of an ancient empire – Rome! One identifying characteristic of this “beast,” is the “deadly wound” which was inflicted – and healed!
The Bible interprets the symbolism of “beast” as government or political leaders. (Daniel 7:23-25) Historically, Rome existed as an Empire for almost 1,000 years! Rome was the largest of ancient Empires, stretching from the British Isles, across parts of Europe, and the Middle East. Rome fell in 476 A.D. This was the “deadly wound.”
The “healing” began with the restoration of the “Holy Roman Empire,” under Justinian, in 554 A.D. From that time, the Empire of Rome continued through Charlemagne in 800, Otto the Great, in 962, Charles the Great, in 1520, Napoleon, in 1805, and finally the unification of Italy, under Garibaldi, 1870, through Mussolini and Hitler, which ended in 1945 with the defeat of the Axis powers in World War 2.
These “Kingdoms” all claimed to be the descendants of Rome! They all had an association with the Church – most of these leaders were crowned “Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire” by the Pope! These six Kingdoms arose in Europe.
This leaves only one more “prophetic head” to arise to complete the fulfilment of John’s frightening vision in Revelation 13. John looked northward – across the seas of the Mediterranean and Aegean, to a Eurocentric union of Church and State, promised to be the most powerful resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire in history!
In Revelation 13:3-4, John describes the most fantastic of all prophecies – the entire world – all nations across the earth, giving homage, worship, and attribution to this modern-day resurrection of an Empire. “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marvelled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
In the wake of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, we are now seeing the infancy and the awakening of this new European colossus. Today European leaders announced the formation of a 5,000-man army “strike force,” for rapid deployment. Germany has taken the lead in this initiative, along with an already announced increase in military spending for the defence of Europe.
Bible prophecy suggests that the “beast” power will offer the world stability, wealth and comfort. But will the trade-off for stability, wealth and comfort be the worship of the Beast and the sacrifice of personal freedom?
As we watch world news, is the sea from which the beast will rise, starting to churn? For the Beast to bring answers to people — chaotic, difficult, and tumultuous circumstances must be in place. Then people will sacrifice their personal freedoms – much like the world has done through the Covid 19 Pandemic — and worship a demonic leader who brings them solutions to their problems. (Revelation 13:3-6)
Do we now stand on the seashore watching the nations of this world descend to the point of chaos which will allow the Beast to rise?
Realistically, we don’t know. The world has been through wars before. The world has been through economic hardships before, as well as famine and pestilence. All those factors have been in place for various parts of the world for millennia.
But the Russian invasion of the Ukraine may signal a new era to the world and Europe
We read in Proverbs 22:3 “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.”
We know that the world is going to get very difficult. Out of those difficulties will arise an end time evil leader who will deceive and dominate the world for three and a half years.
Those who lived in the United Kingdom in the 1970s remember the inflation, the bread lines, and the difficulties this country endured. Are we now entering an even more dangerous and dramatic time now? With war on European borders, will this coming year be one of increasing hardship? How are we to face this uncertain time?
Here are two things to consider:
Prepare As Best We can / Remember that God is our provider and deliverer
We have seen a rapid escalation in fuel costs. Most petrol stations are 30 pence ($1 US) a litre (3.79 US gallons) more expensive than they were a month ago and 45p a litre more expensive than last September, when there was a fuel shortage in the UK with many people being unable to fill up their vehicles for a number of weeks.
The prices are forecast to continue increasing throughout this year with £2 a litre expected (whereas in September 2021 petrol was £1.36 a litre). Some forecasters suggest £3 a litre for diesel (which is used in many cars and most agricultural vehicles) is possible.
The cost of crude oil in 2020 for a time went negative, producers couldn’t sell it quick enough to keep up with production, that situation has changed though.
The price of oil is now rocketing, having only seen these heights in 1980 and 2008. Natural gas is also becoming increasingly expensive, setting new records.
These and other factors are pushing energy prices up and up. QZ.com (https://qz.com/2138680/natural-gas-prices-in-europe-hit-an-all-time-high/) reported recently that the price of natural gas has stayed in the range of 15-25 Euro per MWh for the last decade. On March 7th it reached 345 Euros per MWh and settled back down to 190 Euros. That’s around 10 times the price for gas that we’ve been used to.
There is also an increase in the domestic energy price cap due in April which is going to allow providers to increase the price for gas and electricity up by approximately 50%. (https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/price-cap-increase-ps693-april) The old choice of “heating or eating” is going to become a reality for millions of people.
As well as a crisis in energy costs, there is expected to be a crisis in food production.
There are many influencing factors, but most recent is the fact that Russia and Ukraine export a large volume of cereal crops. The two countries account for almost 30 percent of global wheat exports, almost 20 percent of corn exports, and more than 80 percent of the world supply of sunflower oil.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-war-in-ukraine-is-threatening-the-breadbasket-of-europe/
Russia is unable to export due to sanctions and Ukraine will be unable to plant their crop because they are at war, being shelled and invaded. Currently we are living off last year’s harvest, but when those supplies run low, which is anticipated beginning July, there is going to be limited replacement – some media outlets are terming it “the wheat apocalypse”.
The UK doesn’t rely on Ukraine and Russia for wheat, but we live in a global market, so it affects everyone. The Prime Minister spoke recently on the Television news about the pain that sanctions would bring, but most in the UK probably didn’t realise the very real impact it will have at home, but it is coming and in some arenas like energy, it’s already arrived.
The gas price is also affecting fertiliser production which is going to have a huge impact on crop growth in many countries around the world. There is much more that could be explored, but the point to understand is this:
2022 is likely to be a year of huge price increase in essential services such as fuel and energy. Food is very likely to become much more expensive and restricted in variety and availability.
Revelation 6:5-6 speaks of a time to come, a time of famine that affects many nations:
When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
We know the world must come to a crisis point for the Beast to rise. Are we approaching that point? Is it on the horizon? Will the crisis we are now in lead to what we just read?
We don’t know — nobody does and only time will tell. Things could improve, God could put a halt to the decline, or they could speed up. What we do know is that this year is looking like being very challenging.
In Proverbs 22:3 we read; A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.
The Bible instructs us to prepare when we see evil or danger on the horizon.
At the beginning of COVID, there was a shortage of essential commodities. Some of the scarcity was due to panic and hoarding.
What if God allowed those shortages as a warning to prepare for what is to come? Wouldn’t we do well to heed the lesson and the warning?
As the crisis in the Ukraine is still unresolved, this may be the time for prudent students of the Bible to prepare for potential shortages in the months ahead.
But no amount of preparing or prudence should replace our trust in and reliance on God. He is our provider, our sustainer, He gives us the power to work and to trade and He looks after us and our needs. He knows every hair on our head, He knows the pennies in our bank account, and He knows how He will provide for us in our need wherever and whenever that is. One day in the not-too-distant future, He is going to provide for his faithful who are counted worthy, protecting them from the ravages of Satan and the “Beast.” (Revelation 12:14-16)
In the meantime, let’s do our part. In Proverbs 21:20, we read: There is desirable treasure [or food], And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it.
Whilst we do what we can to prepare, God doesn’t want us to get too focused on it or spend our time overly worrying, as it would be very easy and quite natural to do in these times.
Matthew 6:31-34 says: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
One reason for preparing physically is to take some worry out of that aspect of life, allowing us to focus on what is more important – seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Let’s learn to put our trust in God knowing that we are in His hand, and He will bring us through whatever is to come.
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