British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a shake-up of international institutions, to better enable the world to cope with the processes of globalization. During a speech made shortly after his succession of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown said he believed that out of the greatest restructuring of the global economy, the 21st century would witness the creation of a new world order. After the signing of the Lisbon Treaty last year, the British government had promised that there would be no more institutional changes in Europe for some time to come. But parts of the Lisbon treaty are not due to come into force until around 2017 anyway, so this is less of a promise and more of a prediction on the part of the British government. Following the summit in Portugal, Brown stated that Europe's focus would now move away from internal institutional reform, to deal with the "the full agenda of globalization". Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates went further again, stating that the EU would become involved in three main areas of globalization, "the redesigning of global institutions, the globalization agenda, and the environmental issue". Today Gordon Brown outlined his intentions to press ahead with the redesigning of global institutions and the environmental issue. He called for the International Monetary Fund to be transformed into a global early-warning system which would be able to prevent turbulence in the financial markets. Brown also called for the United Nations to set up a fund for crisis and recovery management, and for the World Bank to establish a multi-billion dollar fund to finance environmentally sustainable development in the poorest countries. He also said Britain would take a leading role in nuclear disarmament, and would press for the setting up of a new international system whereby non-nuclear states could acquire new sources of energy.

Quote: "In a wide-ranging speech, he said the international institutions formed after World War Two, such as the United Nations, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), had to be radically reformed to fit the new, globalised world. "I see a world that harnesses for the common good the growing inter-dependence of nations, cultures and peoples -- a new global society," he said in a speech to business groups in New Delhi.

As we can see, rather than slowing down following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the push for globalization is continuing to accelerate at a rapid pace. Within the last three weeks, we have heard how the Gulf Cooperation Council is planning to establish an Economic Community by the year 2010, how the US and EU are planning to form a Transatlantic Economic Community by the year 2015, how military officials are considering the creation of a joint EU-US-NATO command structure, and how world leaders are trying desperately to bridge cultural and religious divides through the Alliance of Civilizations. When taken collectively, these factors give a clear indication of where the process of globalization is taking us, towards a system of global governance. The Bible prophesies that during the tribulation period, following a period of political turmoil, economic hardship and environmental catastrophe, ten kings will pledge their allegiance to the Antichrist for a short period of time. It has long been speculated whether these ten kings are the leaders of an existing alliance such as the Western European Union, or whether they will be a confederation of ten regional powers that will exercise authority over the whole earth.

Revelation 17:9-14
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. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.

In the book of Daniel, the word "prince" is often associated with angelic and demonic spirits that exercise control over the empires of men. In Daniel 10:13 the archangel Gabriel mentions that when he was sent by God to answer Daniel's prayer, the "prince of Persia" withstood him for three weeks, but Michael, one of the "chief princes", came to his aid. And in Daniel 10:20, Gabriel says that following the fall of the Persian empire, the "prince of Greece" would come. The Bible also states that we Christians "war not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places", Ephesians 6:12. These are not earthly principalities, but spiritual ones. As my friend Cliff says, seeing there are governments that exercise authority over the kingdom of men, perhaps there are are angelic and demonic governments that also exercise control over the spiritual realm. The Bible seems to indicate that the Antichrist will be the "prince" of the people would be responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple (Daniel 9:26). And we know according to history that it was the Roman Empire that fulfilled this prophecy in AD70. Now I believe the Antichrist will be a literal man, but the Bible often associates earthly rulers with demonic spirits, one example being the King of Tyre and his spiritual "prince", Satan himself (Ezekiel 28). And in the book of Revelation we read that it was the Dragon, or Satan, who gave the Antichrist his power, seat and great authority (Revelation 13:2).

So we can see the Antichrist will be controlled by a demonic spirit closely associated with the Roman Empire. Some will disagree with me on that, but this is my understanding of the Scriptures. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the image in chapter 2, representing four or five world empires that would rule over Israel, closely correlates with Daniel's vision of the four beasts in chapter 7. My friend Sam Jennings says that man views his empires as a glorious achievement, in Nebuchadnezzar's case as a magnificent image, whereas God views the same empires from a heavenly standpoint, as ravenous beasts that devour the earth. Daniel's fourth beast is associated with legs of the Nebuchadnezzar's image, which represent the Roman Empire and the Revived Roman Empire or presently the European Union.

The Apostle John saw a vision of a beast with seven heads and ten horns. According to the angel's interpretation of the vision, the seven heads are associated with seven kings, five are fallen, one is living and the other has not yet come. Most commentators believe that the seven heads of this beast represent seven kingdoms that would rule over the land of Israel. Six of them are believed to be Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. In John's day, five of these world empires had fallen, and one was presently in existence, the Roman Empire. The angel states that following the fall of the sixth king, another would come along who would continue for a short while. Presently the European Union has only existed for around 60 years, not even a generation yet, and we believe that it must soon fall to make way for God's Kingdom. The angel tells John that the eighth king, who is the Antichrist according to the angel's description of him, is actually one of the seven. According to John's vision, the Antichrist receives a deadly wound and is miraculously healed (Revelation 13:2), and perhaps this is why one of the seven kings becomes the eighth king. Naturally we would assume that the seventh will become the eighth, for the other empires have fallen. And all the world worships the Antichrist, who's deadly wound was healed. It seems that following this event, the nations of the world will pledge their allegiance unto the beast, paving the way for the setting up of a one world government system. You can just imagine the press a world leader would get if he had been targeted in some terrorist attack, was thought to have been killed, but was "miraculously" raised from the dead. No wonder the people of the world will chant, "Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?", Revelation 13:4.

As we can see from today's events, the Kingdom of God is at hand. Forget talk about the "end of the world" for a minute. The world ends every day for somebody. I know from having the accident on my motorbike, any one of us could be launched into eternity within an instant. If that happened, where would you be? In heaven with Christ, or in hell, to be separated from God for eternity? Don't leave it too late. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name 

Source Reuters