Which Nation Is The World’s Superpower?

If you ask a dozen random people which nation is the world’s greatest superpower, chances are almost every single person will give the same answer: the United States. But is this really true? And from where does this notion originate?

The idea of the United States as the world’s lone superpower comes from an acknowledgment of recent history, a history which witnessed the United States win two world wars, engineer a Cold War victory over the Soviet Union, and project its military power from one end of the earth to the next. By all means, the United States is a global power to be reckoned with, and for a brief moment, it was the preeminent world power – the world’s only superpower. But is the United States still the world’s undisputed superpower? I would argue that it’s not.

We’ll tackle the question of which nation is the world’s other superpower in due time, but first, let’s examine why the United States has so quickly squandered its exalted position.

Since the idea of the United States as the world’s lone superpower is predicated on its great military strength, we must ask the question ‘from where does this military strength come?’ The answer is clear. The military power of the United States is a function of its economic might. The most sophisticated military machine ever known is built on the back of the strongest economic engine the world has ever known. But that economic engine is starting to run out of steam, and most Americans seem oblivious to this reality.

In the decades since its triumphant victory in WWII, the United States has lost all financial discipline, growing fat and bloated on annual deficit spending. This poor stewardship threatens to hand the next generation a bankrupt and ruined nation. Better leadership could have avoided this dire situation, but at some point in the past, Americans and their leaders cast aside God’s principles in pursuit of their own desires. The inevitable result of this national shift in financial prudence has resulted in a nation saddled with an enormous burden of debt.

The bible teaches us to be mindful of our personal financial situation and to be accountable, lest we lose all we have gained:

“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?” Proverbs 27:23-24 (KJV)

Most Americans have come to expect their nation to lead the world both militarily and economically. They’ve come to view this reality as a birthright, requiring no action on their part in order to retain what past generations have acquired. But as the aforementioned bible verse explains, “riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.” No implicit guarantee exists which grants the United States automatic and everlasting supremacy in world economic and military affairs. Such a position of high authority and responsibility must be earned, and the United States has failed in its responsibility for some time now.

For decades, the United States has failed to take responsibility for its growing national debt, borrowing money from foreigners in order to finance lavish government spending programs. Paul warned the world, both governments and individuals, against such a lifestyle:

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 (KJV)

Through years of financial irresponsibility, the United States has become the world’s largest debtor nation. And this fact may be its ultimate undoing.

The Falling Dollar

Anyone in touch with the world today knows that the dollar is losing value on an almost daily basis. The dollar has fallen relative to oil, gold, silver, and every other commodity on the planet. Although this fall won’t last forever, it’s a clear symptom of an ominous future for the dollar’s underlying value. Conventional wisdom and the media try to portray this fall as a rally in oil or a rally in commodity prices, while pointing to increased worldwide demand sparked by China and India. But the reality of the matter is that the dollar is in the midst of its own bear market. Simply put, fewer and fewer people want dollars. Why? Because nobody wants to get stuck with a bunch of unpaid debt, and people around the world are beginning to question whether the U.S. can ever pay off its massive debt.

The rest of the world is starting to take heed of the following biblical principle:

“Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?” Proverbs 22:26-27 (KJV)

Why should other nations be the guarantors of U.S. debt? If the day arrives when the United States can’t pay, where will that leave its creditors? More and more people are unwilling to risk such a scenario. And why should they? Why would anyone risk being stuck with falling dollars or worthless promises to pay?

This is the real reason for today’s falling dollar and high oil prices. High oil prices are really the result of inflation (in this case, a result of decreased demand for dollars), not increased demand for oil. The worldwide price of oil is up only because most of the world’s oil is traded in dollars (at least for now). But most alternative currencies have increased relative to the dollar over the course of the past several years. As a result, citizens of nations with stronger currencies are paying just as much, if not less, for oil now as they were five and ten years ago.

Those who rely on the dollar to make their purchases are the ones who are truly realizing the effects of higher prices. Unfortunately, this situation could have been avoided had the United States made note of the following biblical proverb:

“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7 (KJV)

Many people continue to live under the false notion that the United States is a rich nation ruling over the poorer nations of the world. But reality paints a much different picture. The United States is really the world’s leading nation of borrowers. And after decades of spending more money than it has, the United States has become a servant nation.

The burden of U.S. debt is weighing down an entire nation, and a recent headline should give every American cause for concern. Here’s what it read:

“U.S.’s Triple-A Credit Rating Under Threat”

Every newspaper in America should have run this headline on its front page, yet the news went virtually unnoticed. The implications of such a scenario are utterly disastrous, for both the United States government and its citizens. If the United States loses its Triple-A credit rating, the financial destruction will be swift and relentless. In an instant, the United States as the world has known it will cease to exist. Its power and influence will be lost, and it will be a long time, if ever, before the U.S. can possibly regain its credibility and influence in the world.

Unfortunately, unless dramatic political change takes place, this day of reckoning will be unavoidable. The United States will experience financial ruin and will cease to be a powerful player on the world stage.

Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t.

More than 2,600 years ago, the prophet Daniel was given a vision in which he saw the rise of the final world power. The world empire foreseen by Daniel was one of enormous wealth and military might, and history clearly reveals the United States is not that power.

Daniel Foresaw Four World Empires

According to the bible, all other governments will give way to this final world empire, described as “the fourth beast” in Daniel Chapter 7. In this chapter, Daniel has a vision of four world empires, each represented by a beast. The fourth beast represents Rome:

“Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 7:23-25 (KJV)

The bible is clear. The United States can not retain its status as the world’s lone superpower indefinitely. The final world superpower – and only one will exist in the last days – will be Rome.

The Resurrection of the Roman Empire

The bible clearly points to a resurrected Roman Empire as the preeminent world power of the last days. In the Book of Revelation, an angel reveals to the apostle John the true meaning of his vision of a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with 7 heads and 10 horns:

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” Revelation 17:9-13 (KJV)

From Daniel 2:35, we know that a mountain can represent a kingdom, and given the context of the verses, it is proper to interpret these seven mountains as seven kingdoms. The seven heads of the beast represent seven world empires, five of which were referenced earlier by the prophet Daniel. They are, in order of their rule, the following:

1) Egypt
2) Assyria
3) Babylonia
4) Medo-Persia
5) Greece
6) Rome
7) The Revived Roman Empire

As the passage explains, the 10 horns represent 10 kings who, as we learned earlier from Daniel, will grant their power and authority to this final kingdom – the revived Roman Empire. Daniel concurs with the vision of the 10 kings, the appearance of an eleventh king, and the defeat of 3 of the 10 kings:

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Daniel 7:7-8 (KJV)

Furthermore, we learn earlier in the Book of Revelation that the final world empire will be the seventh successive world empire and will be formed by 10 kings:

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Revelation 13:1 (KJV)

The world is hurriedly marching toward the day of the Roman Empire’s revival, and when Rome once again becomes the world’s superpower, it will receive its power from ten kings.

The Resurrection of One of the Heads of the Beast

The Book of Revelation also teaches us that the seventh head of the beast will seem wounded beyond recovery, but the wound will be healed. Since the heads represent world empires, this is a reference to the revival of the Roman Empire. The following verses make note of this recovery:

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Revelation 13:3 (KJV)

“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” Revelation 13:12 (KJV)

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” Revelation 13:14 (KJV)

Many commentators have applied this attribute to the human head of this global government, the Antichrist. They believe the Antichrist will be resurrected in a satanic attempt to counterfeit the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, this is an errant interpretation of scripture. The wounded head is the kingdom of the Antichrist, not the person himself.

The following verse reiterates this concept:

“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” Revelation 17:10 (KJV)

The angel reveals to John that 5 of the kingdoms have fallen:

1) Egypt
2) Assyria
3) Babylonia
4) Medo-Persia
5) Greece

The sixth kingdom “now reigns”:

6) Rome (John’s vision occurred in the 1st Century, when Rome still ruled the known world)

And the seventh “is yet to come”:

7) The Revived Roman Empire

The Roman Nationality of the Antichrist

The concept of a revived Roman Empire in the last days is reinforced by an additional prophecy in the Book of Daniel. Although much debate surrounds his national identity, the Book of Daniel clearly states that the Antichrist will come from among the people whose armies destroy the Temple:

“and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” Daniel 9:26 (KJV)

The City and the Sanctuary referenced in this passage were destroyed in A.D. 70 by Titus and the Roman legions, but Titus was not the prince referenced in this verse. Daniel 9:27 describes the prince as one who will make a seven-year treaty with Israel in the last days, put an end to the sacrifices and offerings, and set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration. These are events that will be fulfilled in the life of the Antichrist. According to Daniel, the Antichrist will come from among the people who destroyed the Temple. Therefore, we can be certain that the Antichrist will come from among the Roman people, because the Roman legions destroyed the Temple.

Rome Will Be the Economic Power of the World

The bible also prophesies that Rome will be the undisputed economic power of the world:

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16-17 (KJV)

The economic influence of the final world empire will be so all-encompassing that no person will be able to buy or sell without its mark!

Conclusion

Bible prophecy is a certain indicator of future human events. Because God is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, omnipresent and omniscient – He can prophesy the world’s future with absolute certainty. According to God, Rome will be the world’s great superpower in the last days. The status of the United States is never mentioned.

In light of God’s Word, those who put their faith in the power of the United States, who put their faith in their own money, or the “almighty dollar” – those people would be wise to take heed of God’s Word so they don’t experience the same crisis the United States is now facing.

As the economic power and influence of the United States wanes, a new power is more than willing to fill its role. The European Union (EU) is the ultimate benefactor of the decline of the United States. Regardless of the world’s willingness to acknowledge it, or even recognize it, the European Union is now the center of world economic power.

The EU’s currency, the euro, is valued at more than fifty percent of U.S. dollar. And the dollar, once the reserve currency of preference for foreign nations, is quickly losing ground to the euro. Anxious to shore up their own financial stability, foreign nations are now hoarding euros instead of dollars, viewing the euro as a more stable and credible instrument of liquidity. In addition, the European Union boasts the world’s largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as the world’s greatest financial exchanges in terms of trading volume.

If military power is a function of economic might, as the United States illustrated in the latter part of the 20th Century, then it won’t be long before the European Union overtakes the United States as the world’s greatest military power. The revival of the Roman Empire is unfolding in full view of the entire world, yet many people refuse to acknowledge it.

Yet regardless of their acknowledgment, the bible clearly reveals that the final world empire will be a resurrected roman empire. This empire will rule the world for seven years before Jesus Christ returns to establish His everlasting and righteous kingdom.

Given what we know about the state of world affairs today, it’s clear that the return of Jesus Christ is very near, right at the door.

Are you ready for His Coming?

Britt Gillette is founder of BrittGillette.Com, a website examining the relationship between bible prophecy and emerging trends in technology. For more information or to sign up for his email alerts, please visit http://www.brittgillette.com

 

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Note from Mike: In the interest of presenting a consistent message to my readers, I want to state that while I totally agree with Britt on most everything, I differ slightly with him concerning whether the Antichrist will personally be slain during the Tribulation Period. There are several scriptures I believe suggest, at the very least, that he is going to survive/overcome via a counterfeit resurrection event a deadly wound that actually may have rendered him clinically dead for a time. Read my article on the Antichrist to see the scriptures that lead me to suspect that if interested. The Antichrist: 666