Have you ever wondered if the current affairs of your nation are expressly spoken about in the Bible?  I certainly have – especially as I witness my own country being entangled ever more bindingly in a web of bureaucracy spun by the European Union!  Regardless of the political party elected to govern, Britain has somehow mysteriously moved into an ever-closer union with its continental neighbours at a staggering economic and political cost, for seemingly little reward.  Furthermore, since the Eurozone crisis, in which ten European banks asked for a bailout during 2009, the question over the United Kingdom’s future in relation to the EU has dominated the political arena in Westminster, and perhaps will prove to be the most topical issue at the next General Election in 2015.
It was both the mystery of this ‘gravitational pull’ towards Brussels, and the global impact caused by the Eurozone crisis, that prompted the question: does the Bible have anything to say about Europe, and if so, what?  After three years of study, and to my own genuine surprise, I discovered that the Bible has a lot to say about Europe!  Disturbingly, the current evolution of the European Union is intrinsically related to the ascendance of the final world empire – an empire ruled by the antichrist. 
Starting in Babylon with a young Jewish captive named Daniel, this book explains God’s detailed description of the rise and fall of four successive world empires until the permanent establishment of His kingdom on the earth.  As we race from the courts of Babylon through the subsequent two-and-a-half millennia of history, the precise fulfilment of the Danielic prophecies will become startlingly apparent.  In particular, we will focus on the repeated process of death and resurrection found in the fourth empire and how each ‘revival’ has led to a significant new development in its character.
Many have sought to undertake the task of identifying the fourth empire or kingdom of the world, especially in its final form described by the apostle John in the Book of Revelation.  Countless scholarly treatises have been written, and innumerable websites are dedicated to this task.  Therefore it is difficult to claim that this book has somehow settled the debate and stands unique.  However, on the basis of the work I have studied, three notable differences in this book are present.  Twice in Revelation John was reminded that divine wisdom is needed to understand visions relating to the end of time.  So although thorough academic research has been carried out, the primacy has been prayer in the Holy Spirit for wisdom and revelation.  This in turn has led me to a literal understanding and interpretation of Bible prophecy above a figurative approach.  And finally, this combination of intimacy with the Lord and a literal approach has produced a work that provides harmonious answers to the complex questions that beleaguer students in this area of study.
The most sensitive of such questions concerns the Roman Catholic Church.  I trust that this book will encourage both Catholics and Protestants to understand our common origin and glorious future as the Bride of Christ.  Just as Issachar was commended for understanding the signs of the times, this book will enable both Catholics and Protestants to anticipate that which will come next, and how together we might be an effective witness of Christ in this most exciting and exhilarating closing chapter of human history.
I pray that the heart of every reader might be touched by the loving presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.