Revelation 13:7
It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
Verses like this have made many believe that the Beast to come will rule over the whole planet. But is this really the case?
Let’s look at verses that say “Whole Earth” but didn’t mean the whole planet. These open up a big possibility that the last beast just like the others, will not rule actually rule the whole planet as many think. Does the usage of the phrase, ‘the whole earth’ and ‘every tribe, tongue and nation’ in the Bible mean ‘the entire globe or planet’? It actually doesn’t mean that at all as the following scriptures demonstrate.
Daniel 4:1
King Nebuchadnezzar, To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly!
Did Nebuchadnezzar write to the Chinese too? Obviously no.
Daniel 5:18, 19
All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him
Did Norway or Indonesia serve Nebuchadnezzar? Obviously no.
1 Kings 4:34
And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
Did the people of Peru come to hear King Solomon? Obviously no.
2 Kings 17:29
But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.
Did the Australian Aboriginals make gods and place them in the houses of the high places that the people of Samaria made? Obviously no.
Isaiah 37:18
“It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.
Did the Assyrian kings lay waste to the Japanese and Japan? Obviously no.
Daniel 8:5
As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
Did this goat which is widely recognised as Alexander the Great, sweep across the whole planet in his military campaign. Did he cross Australia? Obviously no.
So now, what about these verses?
Zechariah 14:2 “For I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle”- Joel 3:2 “I will gather all nations”
- Matthew 25:32 “I will also gather all nations”
Once we realise what some of these terms mean in prophecy, it can change our view of end-time events substantially.
Many say that the Ottoman Empire for example cannot be the seventh king after the sixth which we know is Rome. They cite that it was not a global empire or that it wasn’t significant enough. As to the last point, the Ottoman empire ruled for centuries over the Middle East and great parts of Europe. It wasn’t any less than any Middle Eastern empire (head) before it. in fact it was greater than all of the previous empires that made up the Beast, even the Roman Empire.
So, the belief that the Beast or Antichrist will rule over the whole planet including USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand just doesn’t hold up. Sure this could happen, but not because the Bible says ‘ the whole earth’ or ‘every nation’. In fact we are told that the Beast rises out of ‘The Great Sea’ which we know is the Mediterranean Sea.
So when considering the yet to be fulfilled prophecy of the end times, you need to look to the Middle East.
For further research on this topic, read The Beast Revealed →
