What is the role that China will play in the Bible and the end of the age prophecies?
Jesus and the End Times
Jesus was asked two questions by His disciples (Matt 24:3). One question was about the destruction of the temple, and the other about what would be the sign of His coming. Instead of giving them a sign, singular, He gave them several signs, and told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come” (Matt 24:4-6). It seems strange that Jesus doesn’t mention Gog and Magog, along with all the other nations that are to surround Israel in the last days. His reference point for the “end of the age” (Matt 24:3) was Jerusalem, and His concern was with His disciples living at the time, but He does seem to speak of those living in Judea at the time as well, warning, “when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Rev 24:15-16). Certainly we’re seeing more wars and hearing rumors of others; we’re seeing more false Messiah’s (false teachers) today, and we’re seeing the growing hostility towards the nation of Israel, but there’s more. Jesus adds that “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Matt 24:7), and no one can argue about that happening. Famines, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, have always been around, yet these events are expected to increase as the time of Jesus’ appearance draws near. Since Jesus knew all of this was to come to pass, why the silence about the end-time events regarding other nations where it appears it’s the world against Israel?
China in Prophecy?
Is China in Bible prophecy? If so, where is this mentioned? Some scholars believe that China is part of “the kings from the east” mentioned in the Book of Revelation (16:12). Today, China has the world’s largest standing army, and some estimate it to be almost six million soldiers, with a standing reserve of 2.8 million! This makes China’s military the world’s largest army by far, and imagine if they joined forces with other “kings of the east” such as Russia. Some Bible scholars believe that the Apostle John wrote about these kings when writing that the “sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east” (Rev 16:12). Whoever these “kings of the east” are, we know that they must be a formidable force because there is more than one king. Could this be an evil force that the Apostle John wrote about when writing that he “saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty” (Rev 16:13-14)? We know that the little “g” god of this world has blinded the minds of those who disbelieve, so it could be that even the kings of the world are duped into believing that what they are doing is right (2nd Cor 4:4).
Tons of Books
There are so many books written about prophecy that I could not possibly count them all. Many of these are by respected theologians, pastors, and authors, but when their teachings disagree with one another, somebody’s got to be wrong. So who is it? And does it really matter in the big picture of things? I suppose it does matter to some with their concerns with Israel’s latter days, but really, all of these mysteries are not going to be understood perfectly. We can agree to disagree. Thankfully, we don’t have to understand these prophecies in order to be saved, so we don’t want to put too much importance on them as if our eternal life depended on them, because it doesn’t. Jesus said it is not possible that the elect will be deceived (Matt 24:24), indicating that others would be. Many people sell books, but “the” book, the Bible, is the best source of all, and naturally, the Teacher Who comes alongside us and He illuminates the Word of God. There has been so much speculation about who the Antichrist is, but we have seen so many turn out to be wrong. Even if we knew, what could we do to change it, or stop it? Only Christ can defeat this end time demon inspired force; perhaps the greatest military force ever assembled in human history.
Conclusion
It is impossible, at least right now, to know who these “kings of the east” are. We might have a good idea, because the reference point of the nations to the north, south, east, and west is always Jerusalem. This much we know. For all who have repented and trusted in Christ, there is no power of darkness that can snatch God’s children from His hands (John 10:28-29), and not one of the elect will be lost (John 6:37-39). Our priority shouldn’t be in trying to understand all prophecy, but in seeing how short time might be, and to reach those who have not yet believed. Jesus boils all of this down for us by saying, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). The Apostle Paul would add, even “if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1st Cor 13:2).
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
