The collapse of the Berlin wall and the break up of the Russian empire at the beginning of the 1990s were amazing and unexpected events. I was struck by the comment by Joseph McAuliffe about the tumbling Berlin Wall and Warsaw Pact. He said,
As far as I know, no prophet, journalist, political science teacher, astrologer or state department official predicted this would happen. (Chalcedon Report No 296 March 1990)
If these were significant events in history, why was the collapse of Communist Europe not predicted? I began to search the scriptures.
The key I found is in Daniel 11:2-4.
Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
Daniel described the rise of three rulers in Persia. The fourth is a powerful King, who is the Ram of Daniel 8 (more of this later). He gains power by his wealth. This refers to the power that Middle Eastern rulers have gained through the control of the world's oil supplies. In the rest of Daniel, they are referred to as the King of the South.
The fourth of these kings provokes the King of Greece (Dan 11:2). The King of Greece is not the nation of Greece, but is the civilisation that came out of Greece. Many historians and philosophers consider that Western Civilisation emerged out of ancient Greece. The King of Greece symbolises Western Civilisation. In the rest of the chapter, the King of Greece is called the King of North.
Daniel 11:3 begins with a description of a mighty King that will appear, but is not the King of the South or the King of the North (Russia is not the King of the North). This mighty King that appears could be the ruler of Russia. Daniel says he will "rule with great power and do as he pleases" (v3). However, verse 4, says that as soon as he gains this power, "his empire will be broken up and parcelled out towards the four winds of heaven". He will lose power and his position will go to someone who is not his natural successor.
This is probably a description of Mikhail Gorbachev. Earlier in 1991, he was elected to a new position as President of the Soviet Union, with legal powers much greater than those of his predecessors. However, no sooner had he gained these powers than the Warsaw Pact countries broke free and the Berlin Wall was smashed. The Soviet Union broke up into a federation of independent states. Then as Daniel suggested, he lost his position, to Boris Yeltsin, the ruler of the Russian Republic.
So God did predict the events in Eastern Europe.
16/1/95
Next page Islam Advances
Return to What is Going On?.
