Sometimes, my commentary comes from a question. After I respond, I realize others may be asking the same question. This morning a friend asked:

What do you think of the 7 Aircraft carriers being at a striking distance from China in the Pacific? To be honest, we have only 12 Aircraft carriers. We can't handle the World's crisis anymore .... fighting against the chinese will be bloody, but I believe we will win ..... any bible prophecy you know of this crisis?

In reply, I wrote:

I wonder if the huge demonstrations for democracy in Hong Kong have something to do with this? And China may think our military is stretched too thin to stop a move against Taiwan. But I don't think prophecy is clear in this area.

After answering, I recalled my morning's Bible study. And, once again it occurred to me that although Bible prophecy may not be clear in many areas -- like questions about China and the timing of the rapture, it is clear in other areas. To be specific, it is clear about what we're to expect concerning the rise of the last Gentile kingdom that will belong to the coming Antichrist. The prophet Daniel wrote:

After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns (Daniel 7:7 New American Standard Bible).

This fourth beast was the vast Roman Empire. The Roman Empire devoured the first three beasts that Daniel saw rising from the sea -- which were Babylon, Med-Persia and Greece. However, although the Roman Empire came on the scene over two thousand years ago, it never completely went away. And, Daniel's vision of this fourth beast quickly focused on its final stages. Some of what Daniel saw was to occur in the end-times just before the Messiah would appear to establish His kingdom. In other words, some of what Daniel saw could actually occur in our time.

And, I think it's possible some of it has. Let's take a look at what Daniel saw about the final stages of this fourth beast. 

While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts (Daniel 7:8).

What really catches my attention is where Daniel says while he was contemplating the 10 horns, another little horn came up among them. You see, that may be what happened to me. In November of 1999, while I was contemplating the 10-nation Western European Union (WEU), a new leader suddenly came up among them. His name was Javier Solana. He was the prior head of NATO and, in a short time, would be appointed the EU's first super, Foreign Minister.

My point is the following: If these events we've witnessed in Europe are the fulfillments of Daniel's prophecy about the final stages of the fourth beast, then the next thing for us to expect is the subduing of three WEU kings. Spain may have been the first. If so, the other two will soon follow.

The next thing to happen will be our persecution (Daniel 7:25, Rev. 17:14). I believe it will be incorporated by the Antichrist and the 10 kings in their global war against terror.

Then the court will sit and God will step in (Daniel 7:26).

When will the rapture occur? I don't know. Like I said before, I don't think the Bible is clear on this issue. But, if these recent events in Europe are the fulfillments of Daniel's prophecy, things may be happening a little differently than we expected.

The good part is, soon we'll all be home.