When Westward Becomes Eastward

--Will China be the next world power, or America the final major hegemon nation?

--Do you perceive a move of God in appointing or allowing major hegemon nations across human history?

--Might there be a strategic, spiritual significance in the selection of major hegemon nations noted in a dream God gave King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon long ago?

Friends,

I perceive God may have effectively completed a full geographical circuit in terms of His apparent westward move across Earth and human history, specifically in terms of delegating hegemon nations – world powers. Consider the following geographic trend, starting with the Garden of Eden and culminating with America today. As you do, consider whether eastward may in some way signify moving geographically away from Eden and spiritually from God, and whether westward may signify moving spiritually toward or with God.

1. Pre-flood. God planted a garden eastward in Eden, at the center of which were two trees – the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of [Eternal] Life (Genesis 2:8) ‘When God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.’ (Genesis 3:24) Adam and Even ventured eastward, away from Eden and the presence of God. Subsequently, Cain also went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden, where he established the first city. (Genesis 4:16-17) There, pre-flood mankind grew and developed eastward.

2. Post-flood. ‘And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east (i.e., westward), that they found a plain in the land of Shinar (Babylon region), and they dwelt there.’ (Genesis 11:2) Noah’s ark had settled in Mount Ararat. From there, mankind began to re-populate the world after the flood. They eventually left the mountainous regions and headed westward, settling in an open plain, perhaps in an attempt to establish some forms of governing control. It is far easier to establish a government in an open plain than having people scattered across mountainous regions that separate groups. Nimrod began to be a mighty one (ruler or king) on the Earth. (Genesis 10:8) In a dog-eat-dog world, with easy access to people living in an open plain, perhaps it didn’t take long for a mighty ruler to emerge. There in the Plain of Shinar, Nimrod attempted to establish the equivalent of the first ‘worldwide’ government, which God abruptly interrupted and ‘scattered them abroad over the face of all the Earth’. (Genesis 11:8) Nimrod & Co. may have organized a big city and built tower possibly out of defiance against God (who had commanded man twice to scatter over all the Earth), and as a very high shelter against the prospect of yet another flood.

3. Abraham's Call-out. ‘Then He (God) said to him (Abram), ‘I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.’ ’ (Genesis 15:7) God subsequently reached into Ur (slightly southwest of the Plain of Shinar) and called Abram (a type of Adam) out of the God-rejecting east, to come westward … back (a) toward what may likely have been geographical Eden and (b) in faith, toward God, spiritually.

4. And today? Generalizing from here, this seems to have set the stage for a discernible trend of a move (circuit) of God on the Earth during the entire, planned roughly ~7,000 years of human history. (See: Pick Your '666' (Letter)) That trend is clearly manifested in the trajectory He planned or allowed for the emergence of major hegemon governments throughout human history. This trajectory was first revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, a major hegemon empire, in a dream summarized in The Book of Daniel, chapter 2. The dream was of a massive statue composed of different metals, from head-to-legs, and with toes of mixed iron and clay. The geographic trajectory would generally follow a westward move around the globe, from Babylon, culminating in derivatives/remnant nations of the Roman Empire that would be conquered first by a 7-year rule of the final anti-Christ, a man possessed by satan, and then by Jesus Christ’s eternal kingdom.

During this slow, deliberate, westward move across the millennia, I perceive God was wooing mankind back to faith and commitment to Him (spiritual Eden). In its wake was broad, strong rejection by subsequent generations of families who previously benefitted from His prospering presence. With each subsequent westward move, He allowed the leading hegemon nation to accumulate vast amounts of wealth, extracted from nations it ruled. While there were other empires throughout human history, they were more regional hegemons in nature. The British Empire, a derivative of The Roman Empire, influenced ~23% of the world’s population. America, a derivative of the British Empire and therefore of The Roman Empire also, stood as the global hegemon nation, pre-Covid 19. The toes in the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, made of a mix of iron and clay, are widely understood to represent the strong and weak remnants of the Roman Empire. It is ‘in the days of these kings’, these nations’ leaders, that The Bible declares the final anti-Christ and his governing council will emerge. (Daniel 2:44)

5. Questions worth pondering. It has taken ~6,000 years for God’s apparent westward circuit to be completed. It has culminated in (a) relatively strong faith toward Him in the new western world, (b) broad initial rejection of Him in the old eastern world.

--On a spherical planet, what might be His next move in this circuit? Some of us in the west now look with wonderment upon the rapidly emerging prosperity in the east, as we witness declining western faith toward God in our midst.

-- What might this dream and circuit infer for China’s quest to become the next world power? Interestingly, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which Daniel correctly interpreted based on insights from God, did not indicate another major hegemon government between the remnants of the Roman Empire and the final anti-Christ. Sehah.

--What role might the US play in this dream scenario, especially as a derivative of The British Empire, and therefore of The Roman Empire? The cumulative impacts of our America First push and the Covid-10 pandemic could well put an end to America’s role as the global hegemon nation.

--Has God effectively completed His circuit? It is interesting to note that the hegemon circuit from Babylon-to-the USA comprises 7 hegemonic steps: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Persia, Greece, Rome, British Empire, America. Does God’s proclivity to signal that the number 7 signify completion or perfection indicate this circuit may not continue? If so, the very next major world order will be that of the final anti-Christ for a 7-year period, followed by The Millennial Reign of Christ. (Revelation 20)

From across the ages and pages of The Bible, to our time today, God’s heart pulsates to mankind, ‘…return to me, and I will return to you!’ (Zechariah 1:3) He longs for the kind of relationship He had with mankind in The Garden of Eden. To achieve this objective, He has given to us a significant down payment in the form of (a) the gift of Jesus’ substitutionary suffering, death and resurrection from the grave, and (b) His in-dwelling Holy Spirit to anyone who embraces this gift. May you embrace Him today. For us who have already embraced Him…

…Look up, for our redemption draws near!