Here is an article that IMHO is very much worth considering. The Scofield/Futurist Club wants everyone to believe that Revelations is speaking of some New World Government taking over the entire planet. Could they be wrong?
Does the “Whole Earth” mean the “planet” in scripture?
Verses like this have made many believe that the Beast to come will rule over the whole planet. But is this really the case?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.
Let’s look at “Whole Earth” verses that obviously 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 today think. Does the usage of the phrase, ‘the whole earth’ and ‘every tribe, tongue and nation’ in the Bible mean ‘the entire globe’? It actually doesn’t mean that at all as the following scriptures demonstrate.
Did Nebuchadnezzar write to the Chinese too?Daniel 4:1
King Nebuchadnezzar, To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly!
Did Norway or Indonesia serve Nebuchadnezzar?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 the people of Peru come to hear King Solomon?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 Australian Aboriginals make gods and place them in the houses of the high places that the people of Samaria made?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 Assyrian kings lay waste to the Japanese and Japan?Isaiah 37:18
“It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.
Did Alexander the Great sweep across the whole planet in his military campaign. Did he cross Australia?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.
So now, what about these verses?
Once we realise what some of these terms mean in prophecy, it can change our view of end-time events substantially.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”
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 significant empire. How wrong they are. It ruled for centuries over the Middle East and great parts of Europe. It wasn’t any less than any other empire (head) before it.
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 ‘ 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.
(Source)
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