Kings of the East?

China continues to make waves in Asia and the world. A recent report states, “The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is not the leading economic power on the planet” (MarketWatch, December 4, 2014). “To put the numbers slightly differently, China now accounts for 16.5% of the global economy when measured in real purchasing-power terms, compared with 16.3% for the U.S.” (ibid.). 

This report concludes with the sobering observation: “Throughout history, political and military power have always depended on economic power. Britain was the workshop of the world before she ruled the waves. And it was Britain’s relative economic decline that preceded the collapse of her power. And it was a similar story with previous hegemonic powers such as France and Spain. This will not change anything tomorrow or next week, but it will change almost everything in the longer term” (ibid.). As China’s economy grows, its military spending and its aspirations for regional dominance have also become more apparent. 

Bible prophecies have long foretold that at the end of the age a powerful military force made up of “kings from the east” would move into the Middle East to engage the armed forces of the “king of the north” (Revelation 16:12-16; 9:13-17; Daniel 11:44-45).

For more on this trend, see “The Demise of the West.”