Douglas S. Winnail

Throughout this series of “Turning Points” articles, we have explored a major missing dimension in our modern view of the world and our understanding of history. While many today doubt that God exists, we have repeatedly shown how the God of the Bible has intervened in human affairs at critical points to guide the progression of history—as He alone is able to do (Job 12:23; Daniel 2:21; 4:25, 32, 34).

Western nations have dominated much of the world for nearly five centuries. During this era, European nations—and later, the United States—gained power and spread the influence of Western civilization over much of the globe. China and Japan were forcibly opened to European and American trade. Africa, India, and much of Asia were overwhelmed and carved up by Western powers. The Russian Empire fell to the communists and then lost the Cold War to the West.

Recent decades have witnessed the global resurgence of militant Islam. This modern eruption is surprising to scholars, especially those who assume that as societies modernize and become more secular, religion will gradually fade away. However, Islam is now the fastest-growing religion in the world, and within that faith, an Islamist revival is driven by zealous believers determined to reverse the course of history.

For all of Europe’s current difficulties, Bible prophecy makes plain that the continent has a final, earth-shaking revival to come.