TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Lesson 27: Red China's foretold rise to world prominence.
SETTING: The continuing narrative of the mighty angel's little
book answers the question: "Who will send a 200-million
man army crashing into the Middle East at the end of
the age?"
I The imagery of a woman who appears in heaven, wearing a
crown of twelve stars.
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman
clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon
her head a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1).
A The woman symbolically represents the nation of Israel
which began when God called Abraham from his homeland to
be the father of a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3).
B God confirmed this promise of nationhood with Abraham's
son Isaac and grandson Jacob.
C One of Jacob's twelve sons, Joseph, had a dream that
gives the meaning of the twelve stars.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his
brethren: and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more;
and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars
made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and
his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this
dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and
thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to
the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed
the saying (Gen. 37:9-11).
1 The stars in this dream represent Jacob's sons who
eventually formed the twelve tribes of Israel.
2 Therefore, the woman's crown of twelve stars helps to
clearly identify her as the nation of Israel.
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and
pained to be delivered (Rev. 12:2).
A The woman "with child, travailing in birth," directs
attention to Israel's unique place in history as the
nation God selected to bring God's Son into the world.
B This additional information completes the evidence
needed to establish the woman's true identity.
C Many old testament scriptures foretold the birth of
God's anointed one.
- Jeremiah prophesied that this child was to come through
the kingly line of David.
5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will
raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall
reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth (Jer. 23:5).
1 Figuratively speaking the nation of Israel was in
labor for hundreds of years while they waited for
this King to be born.
2 From the days of Abraham, when the nation was
conceived, it was a long hard struggle for tiny
Israel to survive against her more powerful
neighbors.
II The imagery of another sign in heaven; a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns.
3 And was seen another sign in heaven; and behold, a great
red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and on the
heads of him seven diadems (Rev. 12:3, IGENT).
A Here God begins to reveal more detail concerning
Daniel's vision of the fourth beast.
B Why is it logical to conclude that the red dragon
represents Red China?
1 For centuries the dragon appeared as China's national
symbol and the Imperial Dragon was the badge of the
royal family.
2 From Zechariah's definition of the twentieth century
generation that will witness the events leading up to
Christ's Second Coming (covered in a future lesson),
we know the symbol has to represent a resident
twentieth century nation.
3 Thus, since today's political cartoons often use the
dragon symbol to represent Red China, we need not
look for a less obvious connection between the dragon
imagery and a modern day nation.
C Why does the word "red" serve to positively identify the
dragon as present day China?
1 During the twentieth century, communist political
radicals became known as "Reds."
2 Hence, it was quite natural for the world to refer
to the nation of China as "Red China," after Mao
Tse-Tung's Communist Revolutionaries gained control
of the country.
D Why is the prophetic imagery of the woman and dragon set
in heaven?
1 Note first that the Devil, or Satan, has always been
portrayed symbolically as a dragon, or serpent.
2 The woman and dragon vision is set in heaven,
therefore, to document the origin point of a war
between God and Satan, which began in heaven.
3 This entire chapter details this battle: past,
present, and future, and man's part in it.
4 Revelation 12's opening imagery also reveals the key
role the modern nations of Israel and Red China will
play in the final battles of the age.
E The contrast between Israel and China's historical
attitude toward God.
1 The Book of Genesis records God's reason for choosing
the nation of Israel to represent Him on the earth in
ancient times.
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that
thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely
become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations
of the earth shall be blessed in him?
18 For I know him, that he will command his children
and his household after him, and they shall keep the
way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the
Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken
of him (Gen. 18:17-18).
- According to this text, God chose Israel because
Abraham chose to rely on God, rather than man, to
solve his problems and taught his children after
him to keep the way of the Lord.
2 Satan, on the other hand, will select the nation of
Red China to champion his cause during the closing
days of the nuclear age, for completely different
reasons.
a China's leaders did not simply rebel against God
in ancient times, but defiantly adopted Satan's
dragon symbol as the nation's national emblem.
b In 221 B.C. the "First Emperor" of the Ch'in
dynasty built the great wall of China, which is
the most massive monument ever built to Satan's
dragon symbol.
c (The wall begins on a promontory overlooking the
Pacific, called the Old Dragon Head, and ends
3,700 miles later in the Gobi desert.)
d Though not always successful in keeping invaders
out, it did preserve Satan's idea of the unity of
all peoples "within the wall."
e The wall also generally served to keep God's truth
out.
f According to U. of Chicago professor Ping-ti Ho's
synopsis of China's past and present attitude
toward God: "No other major culture in the world
so consistently relied on man rather than God . . .
a reliance on the human spirit and will, faith in
his ability to solve his own difficulties-that is
the Chinese attitude toward mankind."
g This is the nation Satan will use to accomplish
his purposes in the last days.
F Biblical facts about the seven heads and ten horns that
provide insight into what they represent.
1 The "ten horns are ten kings" (Dan. 7:24).
2 The "seven heads are seven kings" (Rev. 17:9).
G Here the ten horns in Daniel's vision of the four beasts
are shown attached to Red China along with seven heads.
H In the imagery of the dragon then, China is at the
center of a united group of nations who are represented
as seven heads and ten horns.
I The seven heads are shown to be more powerful than the
organization represented by the ten horns since the
heads are wearing diadems, or crowns.
1 The crowns stand for authority.
2 Therefore the leaders of the seven crowned countries
will establish policy and make important decisions for
this power structure.
J What prophetic facts indicate that the nations
symbolically represented by seven heads and ten horns
should already be present in today's world?
1 First, the Rev. 17:8 statement that "the beast...was,
and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss,"
(post-AWWI ashes) teaches that the beast will be in
place before AWWI breaks forth.
a The authority for this conclusion can be determined
from John's specific reference to the segment of
the vision he was viewing when he recorded this
verse.
b For example, "and [the beast] is not" (present
tense) establishes the material fact that John was
viewing this prophetic time slice of the vision,
immediately after AWWI, when the world will be so
disrupted that international organizations, great
power summit meetings, etc., will cease to function
or meet.
c "The beast was," therefore, reveals that the
powerful seven heads and the fundamental structure
of the international ten-horned institution that
will carry out the actual governing processes of
the Fourth Beast, will be in place before AWWI
occurs.
d John's definition of his viewing reference point
shows further that even though the seven heads and
ten horns will cease to function during the
upheaval wrought by AWWI, they will "come up out
of" (IGENT) the post-AWWI ashes and rebuild an even
more powerful international governing beast.
2 Now since the generation that will witness the events
leading up to Christ's Return is already here
(according to Zechariah's prophecy-[covered in a
later lesson]), it is reasonable to take a look at
today's international alliances and organizations to
see if they fit the biblical portrait of the seven
heads and ten horns.
K Those who conduct a search within the framework of this
prophetic premise will find that the world's seven
strongest industrial powers, the "Big Seven" (Britain,
Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, and the United
States), fit the Bible's description of the seven
"crowned" heads.
1 The heads of the "Big Seven" states have had an
economic summit meeting once a year since 1975 for the
purpose of discussing international financial affairs
such as economic ties with China.
2 Never before in the course of history have the world's
seven strongest economic powers met once a year for 26
years to make far-reaching decisions affecting all the
nations of the earth.
3 Since today's "Big Seven" provide a recognizable
literal reflection of the imagery of seven "crowned"
heads that are prophesied to emerge on the world scene
before AWWI occurs, we need not look for another seven
to appear.
L In view of the presence of the "seven heads," is the
organization represented by ten horns also in place
today?
1 It should be. Since Daniel's initial imagery of the
ten-horned Fourth Beast did not mention the seven
heads, it is clear that the ten-horned organization
must appear on the world scene before the seven heads
do, not after.
2 Those who conduct a search within the framework of
this prophetic premise will find that the powerful
International Monetary Fund (IMF) fits the Bible's
description of the ten-horned power structure.
M What facts support the position that the IMF fulfills
the prophesied role of the ten horns?
1 The IMF was established in 1944 (31 years before the
"Big Seven" first met in 1975), for the purpose of
keeping order in the international monetary system.
2 The 182-nation IMF's inner circle of finance ministers
from the world's ten wealthiest industrial powers-the
Group of TEN (G-10)-make almost all of the world's
important monetary decisions.
3 The IMF has vast international economic authority (no
foreign country can get a cent without an extended
agreement with it), and it is run by the finance
ministers of the world's ten most economically
powerful nations.
4 The IMF is busy adding many East Block nations to its
membership, including Russia.
5 The IMF is not a regional economic institution like
the European Economic Community, but an all-
encompassing financial organization with global
clout.
4a "And the tail of him draws the third (part) of the stars
of heaven, and cast them to the earth" (Rev. 12:4a, IGENT).
A This imagery shows a devastating Chinese invasion of
Israel in which one third of the tribes will be lost to
the invading forces.
B The "stars" in this description again represent the
tribes of Israel.
C Daniel's reference to the "stars of heaven" being "cast
to the earth" in his ram-goat prophecy, supports this
interpretation.
8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he
was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came
up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which
waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the
east, and toward the pleasant land.
10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and
it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the
ground, and stamped upon them (Dan. 8:8-10).
- After seeing this part of the vision Daniel is told
the meaning of the prophecy by the angel Gabriel.
21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the
great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it,
four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not
in his power (Dan. 8:21-22).
1 This prophecy foretold, 200 years in advance, the
establishment of the Greek Empire by Alexander the
Great, who is represented by the great horn.
2 On his death the Greek Empire was divided among his
four generals who are referred to as "four notable
ones."
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce
countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own
power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall
prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and
the holy people (Dan. 8:23-24).
1 In subsequent generations, out of the offspring of
one of the four generals arose a fierce king who is
represented as a "little horn."
2 This king, Antiochus Epiphanes, "waxed great" and
"cast down some of the host and stars to the ground,
and stamped upon them."
3 Verse 24 explains this imagery as the action of this
king "destroying the mighty and the holy people."
4 The "mighty and holy people" are the Jews and their
priests whose lives and worship services were
shattered by this king's invasion of Israel.
5 Although this prophecy is about a period of time
prior to the birth of Christ and is not connected to
the vision of the Great Red Dragon, it establishes
the nation of Israel as the correct representation of
"the third (part) of the stars of heaven being cast
to the earth."
D The dragon's tail, therefore, represents the powerful
military force which will carry out the future invasion
of Israel.
E Since the tail is a definite extension and personal part
of the Red Dragon's body, this imagery shows that the
Chinese army, alone, will cast a third part of the
Israeli "stars" to the earth.
F The main purpose of the initial description of the Great
Red Dragon power structure is to introduce China's
future destiny and foretell her devastating military
invasion of Israel in the last days.
- On April 6, 1993, CBS News reported a major Chinese
military build-up in jets and tanks, while the U.S. and
Russia were continuing to downsize their armies.