The day the earth stood still

As with so much science fiction, it contains an element of truth, but in this case it is missing a very important twist. As the story goes, there are only a very few locations in the cosmos that are capable of sustaining life, and planet earth is one of them. Man is seen as hopelessly violent by nature and, given enough time, he will destroy all life from this planet. Therefore, the collective wisdom of confederated life elsewhere is that the planet is more important than pernicious man, and so samples of all other life forms must be collected in celestial arks prior to eliminating him.

After the United States military does everything within its capabilities and fails to defeat the giant indestructible robot, the only hope left is for the heroine and her precocious stepson to convince the friendly human-like alien representative that man can change. Her argument is that when faced with extinction, mankind will learn to love one another. And here is where we drift from science fiction into fairy tale.

As the late General Douglas MacArthur stated so eloquently, "If we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances … of the past two thousand years." Yes, we can harness the atom, go to the moon, and write an encyclopedia on a small coin-sized crystal, but we cannot live in peace.

You may be surprised to know that nearly 2000 years ago the Bible predicted that we would come to this crossroads. "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved [alive]" (Matthew 24:22). This means that without the intervention of Jesus Christ at the last minute, we would actually accomplish the unthinkable, and not even the reality of our own imminent extinction will cause us to change. Since the cold war proliferation of the hydrogen bomb and development of chemical and biological weapons, man has steadily moved to the place where Christ's prophecy can be fulfilled.

Many thought the world would be a safer place with the fall of the Soviet Union, but those hopes have been shattered. Many would cheer the fall of the United States, but who will fill the vacuum? Will China bring about a more compassionate world? What about a resurgent Russia with its KGB leadership?

Bible prophecy shows that there is a third power that will step up to the plate. It may look good at first, but in the end it will start a chain of events and wars that will bring man to the brink of extinction, just as Jesus predicted. That third power is a revival of the Holy Roman Empire, which is even now struggling to come together on the European continent. But how can all these competing European countries coalesce into a unit that will act as one? Napoleon, Hitler, and others came to power during times of severe financial stress. Will we see the same happen today? Will a strong leader step forward who will persuade the nations to trade freedom for hope and solve the economic morass in which Europe finds itself?

This may well happen, but the Bible also indicates two other factors that will bring together iron and clay. The first is a threat from the Middle East and the second is a charismatic religious leader. To learn more about the future of Europe and how it will affect you, no matter where you live, check out our booklet, The Beast of Revelation.