A Book You Can Trust​—Part 7

WE LIVE in a very special and momentous time​—that of the appearance of the seventh world power of Bible history. Moreover, this power is the only one mentioned in the Bible purely as prophecy, for the previous six were woven into the Bible’s historical record. Concerning the seven powers, or “kings,” the Bible foretold: “There are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while.”a​—Revelation 17:10.

A little over 1,900 years ago, when those words were written, five of the seven “kings,” or political empires, ‘had fallen.’ They were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The expression “one is” referred to Rome. But Rome would not last forever. There would be one more empire, but the prophecy stated: “[It] has not yet arrived.” True to Bible prophecy, the seventh ‘king’ did arrive on the world scene! What did this empire prove to be? Will it exercise its dominion indefinitely? If not, how will it exit the world stage? The Bible leaves us in no doubt.

Reliable Prophecy

The seventh power began to take shape when England rose out of obscurity in the northwestern corner of the Roman Empire. By the 1760’s, this island nation had become the mighty British Empire. Britain continued to grow in wealth and power, and in the 19th century, it was the richest and most powerful nation on earth. “The British Empire,” states one reference work, “was the largest the world had ever seen.” It “included 372 million inhabitants and extended over 11 million square miles [28 million sq km].”

However, the first world war (1914-1918) moved Britain to embark on a special relationship with the United States, a previous colony. The result? The British Empire gave way to the Anglo-American alliance, in many respects a dual English-speaking world power that has lasted until the present.​—See the box “A Noteworthy Alliance.”

The prophecy at Revelation 17:10 complements another prophecy found in the book of Daniel. Daniel wrote about an “immense image” that Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar saw in a vision given him by God. (Daniel 2:28, 31-43) Daniel revealed to the monarch that the sections of the body of the image represented the succession of political empires that began with Babylon, the world power at the time. (Egypt and Assyria had already come and gone.) History now confirms the following:

The head of gold represented the Babylonian Empire.

The breasts and arms of silver depicted Medo-Persia.

The belly and thighs of copper pointed to ancient Greece.

The legs of iron pictured the Roman Empire.

The feet, an amalgam of iron and clay, symbolize the politically and socially incohesive state of affairs during the time of the Anglo-American world power.

According to Revelation 17:10, the seventh world power “must remain a short while.”