Prophecy Proves God's Providence

Most people think that the purpose of prophecy is to foretell the future, to give advance warning, direction, or guidance – primarily, if not exclusively. I suppose I used to be in that camp. It escaped my attention how often the meaning of a prophecy was not even known until years later, or centuries later? In fact, some prophecies were not even recognized as prophetic until after the fulfillment came to pass.

So, a second purpose for prophecy, an unsung purpose, must be acknowledged. Prophecy proves God’s providence. God wants mankind to know, unequivocally, that what has come to pass is by His design, by His plan, not by chance or happenstance. By seeing His providence in the rearview mirror, so to speak, He makes it clear that He is sovereign. That His dominion will rule from beginning to end. That He is deserving of glory, honor and praise.

God said of Himself, through the prophet Isaiah, “Remember history. From the beginning I tell you what the end will be, letting you know what is going to happen. I will do exactly what I set out to do. If I said it, I will most certainly do it. Once I have planned it, it’s as good as done.” (Isa 46:8-11, paraphrased). 

Consider some examples. Joseph’s prophetic dream of eleven sheaths of grain all bowing down to his sheath (Gen 37:7) was fulfilled years later, in Egypt, when his brothers bowed down to him, and he promised to provide for them (Gen 50:20). The prophecy that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isa 7:14) was probably not even recognized as a messianic prophecy until after the virgin birth of Jesus (Mt 1:23). But it is a key prophetic proof of God’s providential plan of redemption. Then there was the oft-repeated prediction that Jesus told His disciples, that He would be killed and then rise again on the third day. They never understood the second half of that prophecy, not until after the resurrection. The miraculous fulfillment then became the cornerstone of their life’s mission. 

Prophecy finally finds meaning when history fulfills it and interprets it. Until that time the interpretation of the prophecy may remain latently unrecognizable, or it may be zealously misconstrued. In fact, many times God never meant for the prophecy to be understood until the time of its fulfillment. And speculation only misleads and deceives. That is so true of end-times prophecy. History is the best interpreter of prophecy. The unsung purpose of the prophecy, then, is to prove God’s sovereign hand in current, unfolding events which He long ago prophesied. 

I want to apply this principle to interpreting two prophecies about the last days, interpreting them not by speculation but rather, by historical fulfillment. The first prophecy is the little horn in Daniel 7:8, 11-12. Speculators suggest that the little horn points to the Antichrist, but that is so misleading. The first four beasts in the vision were empires. History confirms that, and identifies them. The fifth beast, the little horn, is also an empire, most certainly. The empire which God foretold would arise out of the ten horns of the Roman empire and defeat three of those horns to establish its own unique authority. That is an amazing prophecy of America, which could not be understood until its fulfillment. America arose as a “revived Roman Empire” across the sea, a melting pot of European immigrants. When time came for it to form into its own empire it defeated three of those “horns” – England, France, and Spain. That interpretation, in light of history, is almost undeniable, and it proves God’s providence in raising up America as the last great empire of the end of the age. But there is more to the story, more to the prophecy, yet to be fulfilled. That little horn empire, America, will be destroyed, utterly destroyed – not just brought to an end like the other four empires in the dream, but completely destroyed. And that will happen while Christians are still inhabitants of the empire, not after an early rapture. The providential plan of God included not only America’s rise to riches and power, but it also includes its final fate. 

A second prophecy to consider is the seven trumpets in Revelation 8-9. Prophecy speculators suggest that the seven trumpets are judgments of God that will occur during a seven-year tribulation. Once again, that is so misleading. The trumpets are prophesied as signs to warn mankind that the time of God’s judgment is drawing very near. Much like God warned the world in Noah’s day, for 120 years, that judgment was coming, He prophesied what the warning signs would be at the end of this age. Since the time that John wrote the Revelation mankind has been clueless to interpret or identify what those trumpet warnings might be. Not until they began to be fulfilled. Without going into detail, the descriptions of each trumpet and bowl (which occur concurrently, not consecutively) describe a specific event. Five of these have already occurred, beginning with World War 1, followed by World War 2, the nuclear age, climate change, and the Iraqi war of 1990. History confirms this interpretation, for those who have eyes to see. God’s providential plan for the last days has already begun to unfurl. We are now waiting for trumpet/bowl #6 to occur, which is easily identifiable as the battle of Armageddon. When history interprets prophecy, it always proves God’s providence. The ramifications of this interpretation are manifold, but consider just two. The trumpets are not going to occur during a seven-year Tribulation, they are already occurring. That pretty much blows up the hoax of a Tribulation period. Secondly, the rapture of the faithful, then, will take place when Jesus returns to defend Israel in the Battle of Armageddon, just prior to the 7^th trumpet and bowl. (“at the last trumpet”). 

History interprets prophecy, not speculators.  And fulfilled prophecy proves God’s provide

Eyes But Do Not See, Ears But Do Not Hear

A woman opened the door and called out for Steve. She was an audiologist, and I was there for an appointment, by my wife’s insistence. I looked around the waiting room and there was no one else waiting. I asked her, “Did you say Dave?” She smiled at me ever so slightly and said, “Yes, I did.” I proceeded to take some hearing tests, one of which was to repeat words that were spoken over the headset, 25 in all. I said to myself, “Aced that one. Carol was wrong, my hearing is just fine!” Later, as we went over all the results the doctor told me that I had missed over half of the word recognition. She said, “With a hearing aid in your best ear, I think you can carry on a conversation without having to pretend that you are hearing what the other person is saying.”

Just a couple years later I went in to have my eyes checked, to get glasses if I needed them. Once again, at Carol’s insistence. The Ophthalmologist looked into my eyeballs before doing the vision test. He rolled his chair back, crossed his arms and said, “There is not a thing I can do for you at this time. You have such bad cataracts in both eyes that nothing can help.” When I went to see the Optometrist, her assessment was the same. She asked me, “Are you still driving? If so, I don’t know how you can see anything. One of your eyes has only a small pin hole in the cataract through which you are able to see anything.” The morning after the first cataract surgery I woke up and went into the bathroom to wash my face, forgetting all about the surgery from the day before. I looked in the mirror, and I was totally caught by surprise. I kid you not, my jaw dropped and I took a step back, gazing at the image in the mirror. “Who was this old man in the mirror looking at me?” I was startled, almost shocked at who I was seeing -- in full color and clarity.

In both cases, I came to realize that I had no clue how bad off I was. Clueless, and oblivious.  I presumed that I could hear just fine, that I could see just fine. “I don’t need any help, thank you.”

Christians, in these last days before the coming of the Lord, are in the same condition I was in. They think they see, and hear, and understand God’s prophecy clearly, but they have not a clue how misconstrued their understanding really is. We are in the midst of grave deception and flat-out denial. Very much like the Jews in Jerusalem in the days leading up to the Babylonian exile.

The word of the LORD came to Ezekiel: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” (Ez 12:2, also Jer 5:21).  God’s chosen people rebelled against the prophecies of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. They could not believe that they were deserving of God’s judgment. They believed they would live in peace and the blessing of God, that the prophecies of doom and destruction were not immediate, but way off in the distant future. They chose to believe the lies of the false prophets.

It sounds a lot like these last days, if you ask me. If the shoe fits, wear it. Biblical prophecy desperately needs to be re-examined so that Christians can see and hear clearly what is actually coming to pass, very soon. We must stop believing that America is above reproach, blessed of God, and will not be destroyed prior to the coming of the Lord (as prophesied in Daniel 7:11, and again in Rev 18:8). We need to see and hear clearly that the Day of the Lord involves judgment prior to redemption and restoration. We need to quit believing the deception that Christians will be raptured, blissfully, before a seven-year tribulation period (which in itself is also a hoax, totally). A lie doesn’t become truth just because it is believed by the majority.

Regarding End-Time prophecies, Christians in America think they hear and see so clearly. What they are hearing is man’s opinions, not facts. And what they see is a masterfully constructed mirage, not truth. They think they know and understand God’s declared plan for the future but are clueless of how far askew they have been led to believe. Like Jeremiah wrote at the end of chapter 5, they are in for a horrible and shocking realization. They love to believe the lies, and they glory in the authority of their favorite preachers. But they do not have a clue what is coming in the end.

The Strongman In the White House

We live in a world dominated by political strongmen. Global democracy is failing. US power was critical to the global rise and stability of democracy in the last half of the twentieth century. But, as America makes a shift to autocracy, it is abandoning those countries who counted on America to support their freedom

During the rise of democracy strongmen and dictators were the exception. But since 2000 the world scene has been changing dramatically. Authoritarian regimes are the new norm, especially for those countries with clout. Dictatorships, in the last 25 years are most likely to begin through democratic backsliding. Democratically elected leaders establish authoritarian regimes, while continuing to call themselves presidents.

America is no exception, much to the chagrin of our founding fathers. A majority of US-based political scientists agree that America is moving from a liberal democracy to a form of authoritarianism (Bright Line Watch survey, April 2025). President Trump recently quipped “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we would like a dictator’”, although hastening to add that he isn’t one.

We need to understand our country’s future, and the future of geo-politics, in light of the rise of the “Strongmen System”. Leaders of the world’s most powerful nations have a stronghold on authority in their country, and they seek to aggressively reshape their country and the globe. These leaders are trying to transform the international system America once built, united in their hostility to a world in which Washington makes the rules. They share technology, pool military capabilities, and much to Trump’s displeasure they plot against the US.  Vladimir Putin in Russia and Xi Jinping in China are the strongest, but most of the second tier of strongman leaders are in collusion with them, not aligned with America – Kim Jong Un in North Korea, Modi in India, Erdogan in Turkey, and the BRICS countries. Netanyahu, in Israel, also operates as an uncontested strongman. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed bin Salman, is another authoritarian ruler with designs to reshape the world. 

What are the characteristics and dynamics of Strongmen. They are ambitious and charismatic. They promise to strip away the rot and return their country to its glory days, and the people become a receptive audience. They seek to exert military prowess. In a world of strong rulers and dictators history comes at you fast. Shedding the shackles of constraint, they make hasty and bold moves. Strong rulers make for weak rules. Rules and norms mostly just get in the way – human rights, court rulings, international law, due process, even the constitution. J.D. Vance once said of Trump, “He doesn’t give a shit about such trivialities”. For strongmen, institutions, alliances, and partners matter little, while personal power and aggrandizement matter more. Under strongmen, economics and political stability are a casualty, decisions are hasty, and the risk of disaster goes up. While strongmen profess to be a stable genius, they usually surround themselves with a very few “yes-men” and are prone to grievous errors (e.g., Hitler’s assault on the Soviet Union or Putin’s disastrous miscalculations in Ukraine). In their quest for immortality, strongmen dismiss the need and the plan to be replaced, so succession is usually chaotic.

What about the Strongman in the White House? This is important to understand in relation to the Biblical prophecies of the Last Days. Daniel 7 (v. 7, 11, 20-21, 25) and Revelation 13 (v.5-8) predict that America and its leader will be arrogant, boastful, and oppressive, as well as blasphemous toward God. That arrogance may be a huge factor leading to America’s downfall. Prophecy warns that America will be destroyed (Daniel 7:11-12). The Great Babylon will be destroyed by fire, likely referring to nuclear attack (Rev 18:8). Biblical prophecy and unfolding US history dovetail, for those who have ears to hear. 

Is Trump really a strong man bent upon authoritarian rule? His disregard for rules is obvious. He ignores due process in his deportation process and many other executive orders. He controls Congress. They are no longer representatives of the people, they are courtiers, conforming to a royal court, shamelessly cozying up to the President. Policy-making emanates from the White House alone, while Mike Johnson and Congress kowtow and cower to the will and the whims of Donald Trump. Trump seeks to limit free speech, especially those who oppose him, threatening regulation and lawsuits. He sends the National Guard into cities for policing. He is chaotic and disruptive of institutions and norms – dismantling agencies, firing and harassing officials who disagree with him, retaliating and taking revenge on political foes, installing yes-men in every key role (enabling his tyrannical ascendancy). His tariffs are not logical, they are exploitative, unreliable, and perhaps illegal (but what does that matter?). They create great distrust and cause friend and foe, alike, to look for ways to work around the US. Debt is continuing to increase, precariously, despite his claims of the Big Beautiful Bill (even Elon Musk bailed on him in disgust over his financial irresponsibility). His incessant name-calling comes across as cutesy to his followers while others view it as derisive.

While his admiring Maga followers praise him for taking the bull by the horns, his opponents fear for the loss of democracy, constitutionalism, and balance of power.  Most people do not expect his rule to end when his second term is completed. How he will pull that off is yet to be seen. But when it happens some will rejoice while others will feel helplessly subjugated to the whim of a tyrant.

The strongman in the White House will bring an end to America. Divisiveness, disunity, distrust, and dissolution of international relevance will lead to self-destruction. The strongmen of the world will step into the void and complete the destruction, fulfilling God’s judgment upon America. Then the greatest strongman of the end of the age will take the helm, unite the Arab-Islam nations into a great army, and invade Israel. The world, it is a-changing mighty fast.  The near future will bring turmoil upon America and the world – death, mourning, and famine (Rev 18:8). Praise God, we look forward to the return of Jesus, when He alone will restore peace and righteousness.

 

"Vengeance is Mine", Says the Lord

 

Paul wrote that we humans should refrain from taking revenge. Rather we should “leave room for God’s wrath”. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay”, says the Lord. (Romans 12: 19; also Heb 10:30). 

God’s wrath and vengeance are not laden with the emotion of getting even, like we humans. No, His vengeance is just, it is deserved judgment upon evil. Furthermore, it is seldom meted out immediately, in the heat of the moment. Not that God believes that revenge is a dish best served cold. He simply is not in a rush to wrath.

Why doesn’t God deal with evil more swiftly, rather than waiting? There are likely many reasons, but let me suggest just a few. Sometimes evil serves his purposes, so He waits to mete out judgment. Egypt enslaved the Jews for 400 years, and God allowed it to continue. Though it was evil it prepared a fledgling bedouin tribe of Hebrews to grow in number and strength and perseverance, traits they would need to flee their persecutors, endure forty years in the wilderness, and then defeat the inhabitants of the promised land. When Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, he slaughtered many of the Jews and took captive thousands more. God designed the seventy-year captivity as judgment upon His own chosen people. God eventually meted out judgement upon the Babylonian empire, defeating them by the hand of the Medes and Persians.

Another reason God delays vengeance is to display His glory in the act of judgment. How memorable was the judgment upon Pharaoh and his oppressive army when they were destroyed in the Red Sea? The years of oppression and subjugation finally faced a climactic judgment, an event never to be forgotten.

Now consider the judgment of God upon the enemies of Israel in the battle of Armageddon. That great army will be an Arab-Islamic onslaught upon Israel and Jerusalem. The Arabs were the enemies of God’s people as early as the time of the patriarchs, then through repeated deliverances by judges raised up by God, continuing through the kingdom age. They were not an enemy at the time when John wrote the Apocalypse, but his vision predicted that they would once again become an enemy of the Jews (Rev 17:8,11). And that enmity is in full bloom, now, at the end of the age. When God finally judges the Arab nations, it will be just vengeance, and it will be an awesome display of his wrath and righteous judgment. His defeat of Gog and his armies (Ezekiel 38:22-23) are for one grand purpose, so that the “nations will know that I am the Lord”.

Before Armageddon, though, God will soon mete out His wrath and vengeance upon America -- the great empire of the end of the age, the little horn of Daniel 7, and the seventh best of Revelation 13 and 17.  America will be destroyed, utterly, not even allowed to limp along like other great empires that God judged (Daniel 7:11). 

Many are disgusted at bringing up the great sins and travesties of America’s past. They think such purveyors are Woke, or trying to degrade America’s history. But God says, “her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes” (Rev 18:5-8). God has withheld judgment until his perfect timing. There is no “statute of limitations”. America will be judged for its great evils – slavery, killing and corralling the native Americans, abortion, pride and arrogance, making itself rich off the nations of the world by means of cheap trade and cheap labor, and enforcing its will upon countless autonomous nations as it built an “empire”. 

Despite its evil God raised up America to serve His purpose. It brought about great gains in industry, medicine, electronics, and innovation. And it fostered an era of “pax Americana” following WW2. America was a leader in missionary outreach to unevangelized nations and indigenous peoples. But, in God’s perfect timing, America must be neutralized, by God’s judgment. 

America’s destruction will accomplish another milestone in God’s unfolding plan of the last days. It will allow the man of lawlessness and the great Arab-Islam army to rise up and invade Israel. The “restrainer”, America, will be removed (II Thes 2:6-7). 

One more thought to put into the mix. America will be destroyed before the rapture, while we as Christians will still be here, feeling smug and safe. The rapture will occur at the second coming of Christ, not seven years prior. We will suffer a great time of “death, mourning, and famine” (Rev 18:8). America, including Christians, will not escape God’s judgment, no more than the Jews escaped annihilation by Assyria, the captivity by Babylonia, or the slaughter by Titus in 70AD. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.”