Finding connections between Brexit and Bible prophecy is a hot topic. In the Bible, there are two geopolitical events that are very significant to end time prophecy:
- the regathering of the Jews and statehood of Israel
- the revival of the old Roman empire
The amazing thing about the times we are living is that the stage is clearly being set for the fulfilment of both of these events.
The regathering of the Jews is not the topic of this blog – instead, we would like to briefly explore the revival of the Roman empire and whether Brexit is relevant in any way.
The book of Daniel is where we find references to the end time empire that we believe (at least partially) relates to the EU. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar is given a terrifying dream which is interpreted by Daniel in which a succession of Gentile empires are described. The last one of these is a confederation of nations that will arise out of the old Roman empire:
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. 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. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 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. (Daniel 2:40-43 NIV)
The same kingdom is described in Daniel 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. 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 human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. (Daniel 7:7-8 NIV)
It is from this final empire that the antichrist will arise:
“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 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. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. (Daniel 7:8, 23-25 NIV)
The text states that this kingdom will comprise of 10 kings and will morph into a oppressive dictatorial and blasphemous regime. Now it is unwise to speculate on precisely how this will unfold and where to identify the 10 kings – it could be related directed to the EU but it may well also include other nations that were in the previous Roman empire. However, we suggest the EU will be a significant feature in this end time political system. Despite the horrifying way this kingdom is described, it will prove to be very short-lived, for the Messiah will return and set up the kingdom which shall never end:
“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. (Daniel 2:44 NIV)
We recommend a full reading of Daniel 2, 7 and Revelation 4-19 to help put this all in full context. The question for us is what part, if any, does Brexit play in the above?
Well, one of the interesting features of the description of this end time empire is that there is very little, if any, unity. We are given this picture of a ‘divided kingdom’ which is ‘partly strong and partly brittle’ and we are given an analogy of ‘iron mixed with baked clay’. It would be difficult to find a more accurate description of the EU! And this is where we believe Brexit is relevant – the fallout over Brexit simply reinforces the dominant character of this empire that any perceived ‘unity’ within the EU will only ever be very manicured and superficial. It is a forged mix of nations that share no genuine cohesion and will be beset by friction, conflicts of interests and an array of different cultures and identities that do not blend naturally. Brexit is simply a manifestation of this empire – iron mixed with clay.
And it’s not just Brexit – there is disquiet throughout the EU and France is currently another great example of this. Macron, who was recently the poster-boy of the EU, is facing an huge uprising from within his own country and has approval ratings that are much lower than Donald Trump – who would have thought that?!
What do we do with all of this? Well, there are a number of symbols the EU have chosen that clearly reveal the character they aspire to emulate. This blog – Europe Rides The Beast – details the statues, coins, stamps and other ways the EU strongly identifies with the antichrist of Revelation:
Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3 NIV)
This bizarre choice of imagery can only reveal to true spirit behind the EU and we cannot see how the discerning Christian would want any part of it. There are no shortage of good reasons to support Brexit – however, for us, these are all trumped by the imagery detailed above. For a political entity to so brazenly associate with Biblical imagery in this way, we believe Great Britain is well advised to create as much distance as possible from the EU…with or without a ‘deal’!
Your view about Europa and Zeus as a bull being “a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3 NIV)“ seems to me to be a stretch…Zeus was in the form of a white animal with one head and two horns, not red with seven heads and ten horns. Also, if the EU were truly a Satanic conspiracy, wouldn’t It conceal it’s plans better?
It seems strange to us that the EU should choose some of the symbolic imagery it has adopted and whilst there may be no intentional link to biblical imagery concerning the coming end-time system, we feel this is certainly possible. However, we remain convinced that there are many similarities with the make-up of the EU and the revived Roman empire described in Daniel. This is not to say the EU is the end-time political system in its entirety – we believe it will be part (and likely a significant part) of this system. Many world events appear to be shaping up in a way that is consistent with the unfolding of many prophetic passages of Scripture and therefore discerning Christians should keep a close eye.