Nice post Infintite.
The authorship of the Book of Revelation is
traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, however there are quite a few "Johns" that surround
the life of Jesus and the issue of who truly penned it is still contested. It seems there is no solid proof either way, only circumstances and dates
that can be used to point to a likely author.
I can't seem to find any "new world order" line in Revelation 21 as you quoted, Infinite. In all the versions I checked, it refers to a "new
heaven and a new earth", as in your third quotation. E.g:
King James Version: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more
sea."
New American Standard Bible: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer
any sea."
I'm asssuming that the quote you provided is from a modern essay on the subject, or perhaps from the Mormon additions.
Originally posted by Infinite
Overall, i can see why some are making claims that the bible forsees a new world order. It is not really detailed enough, but this is really open to
debate and you can interpret the meanings in different ways.
Agreed.
The apparent single-mindedness of the majority of people worshipping the Beast as written of in Revelation alludes more to a one-world
religion
than a one-world government, however it stands to reason that a world united under one religion would also be united politically, i.e. under the rule
of the Beast. In order to turn humankind away from God en masse, and to instigate organized persecution and murder of Christians, a one-world system
of rule would be an absolute prerequisite.
Also as you mentioned, popular interpretation of the Beast implies that it may well be a coalition of nations rather than a single being. A
"Coalition of the Willing"? The European Union? Who knows? Some even go so far as to interpret the different animal aspects of the Beast as
referring to nations that exist today; the bear being Russia, the lion being the United Kingdom, and the dragon being China. So once again, we see
reasonable interpretation pointing towards some sort of new order of nations and alliances different to what we have at the moment.
Anothe popular interpretation is that the Beast is the combination of the Catholic Church and the European Union. In Revelation 17, some of the
symbology of the text is defined:
9 Here is the mind which has wisdom The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, [interpreted to mean the seven hills of
Rome]
10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
11 The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one
hour.
13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
The ten nations are interpreted to perhaps mean the European union.
www.contenderministries.org...
"The EU today is made up of over 25 countries, however the ten nations of the Western European Alliance have a separate status as full members, while
those nations who joined subsequent to the original 10 have only associate membership, or observer status."
Since it does not appear to actually state the words "new world order" in Revelation, we have to look for apparent allusions to such.
Revelation 19:19 appears to suggest that the kings of men will be united under the Beast.
20:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth
and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
In Revelation 20, we see an apparent gathering of nations by Satan to make war on Jerusalem.
20:7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan
will be released from his prison,
20:8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the
number of them is like the sand of the seashore.
20:9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and
devoured them.
I could go on and on, but I'll summise by saying that IMHO, institution of a new world order will definitely be an integral part, and indeed a clear
sign of the endtimes.
Great post, Infinite, and a fascinating topic.
