The growing role of the WTO, the image of the first beast.
After World War II, the United States of America (USA) convened a series of multinational trade and commerce decision-making meetings known as the Global Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations. The road to a multinational consensus has been rough, with occasional significant disagreements. However, in 1986, the participating countries agreed to establish the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO is the first-ever sovereign global institution with its constitution, laws, and rules. The WTO is independent of the world’s countries. Each member country must surrender a portion of its sovereignty to the WTO by agreeing to abide by the WTO’s rules and decisions. The WTO is not subject to the laws and policies of any country in the world. Even the United States, the founder of the WTO, must abide by the rules and decisions of the WTO Appellate Body. The WTO became officially functional on January 1, 1995, with twenty-seven charter member countries. The current membership in the WTO comprises 166 members, with 25 observers at various stages of accession to full membership. Therefore, the words of God in Revelation 13:15 were fulfilled.
The fact that the WTO is located in Europe, Geneva, Switzerland, is a testament to the second beast establishing an image in honor of the first beast in Revelation chapter 13. The global free trade and commerce system, aggressively promoted by the WTO, will have unprecedented power and legal prerogatives. “It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave to receive a mark on their right hands or on their forehead, so that they would not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:16 – 17. The mark must be either on the right hand or the forehead, but not both. The mark is the specific identity of each member country. The WTO has the authority to regulate and coordinate all trade and commercial interactions among the member countries and to deny participation by countries that refuse membership. Humankind has never attempted to implement a global system similar to the WTO.
Those interested in the end-time events should pay more attention to these developments. Much work remains to be done concerning the global economy and the integration of sovereign countries’ commerce. However, the nations of the world are firmly committed to it. The member countries of the WTO have agreed to initiate a deeper integration of their economic and commercial activities by the end of 2023. This decade will likely witness a significant global realignment of socio-economic and commercial trends. This decade is, by design, uncertain. Definitive conclusions should wait until after the year 2030. The period after the year 2030 will usher in events never witnessed by humankind in history. The nature of it will be described later in these blogs. The ultimate goal of the member countries, which now is a majority of the world, is to ensure the availability and opportunity for all individuals to acquire wealth. Better living conditions are a prerequisite for global peace, which must be achieved first to ensure the possibility of global peace. The number of the beast, the seventh kingdom, is next.
Read the next blog.
