Daniel 7:2-12 “Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. (3) And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. … (6) "After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.”
The third nation which we will discuss is China, because as already mentioned, the third beast in Daniel’s vision represents the nation of China. In the above quoted passage of scripture Daniel describes the third beast like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. In a previous section we discussed what the four heads on the leopard signify. And so in this section we want to discuss what the four wings on the leopard beast signify.
In the book of Ezekiel we see that both the Babylonian and the Egyptian Empires are described as great eagles with large wings (Ezekiel 17). Both Babylon and Egypt were powerful empires, with extensive influence in the ancient world. And so we see that the wings on the leopard beast signify that this beast will also be a powerful kingdom, wielding extensive influence in the earth.
So what about the fact that this beast has not just two, but four wings on its back? The only creations of God that we know of that have four wings are angels called Cherubim (Ezekiel 1:6 & Ezekiel 10:20). These particular angels are extremely powerful and have great authority in the kingdom of God, and in fact the bible describes God Himself as dwelling between the Cherubim (Psalm 99:1). And so we can see that the four wings on the leopard beast indicate that it will be an extremely powerful kingdom, wielding great influence in the earth.
The question is then asked, do these biblical truths apply to China today? As we will see when we examine the evidence, the answer to that question has to be a resounding yes. Firstly, we will discuss China’s economic power and influence in the earth. Over the last seven decades China has grown from being primarily an agrarian economy with a GDP of less than 60 billion dollars, to become a global economic superpower with a GDP in excess of 15 trillion dollars today.
In fact China is the world’s second largest economy today, making up 16% of $86 trillion global GDP in nominal terms. However, if you adjust numbers for purchasing power parity (PPP), the Chinese economy has already been the world’s largest economy since 2014[1]. The effect of China’s economic growth has been enormous on its own population, for it has successfully lifted over 800 million Chinese people out of poverty[2].
China’s economic and political influence in the world is also rapidly expanding through its “Belt and Road Initiative”. China uses that initiative to build infrastructure in partner nations around the world, to develop an expanded, interdependent market for China[3]. And so we see that in half a century—China’s transformation has been an economic success story unlike any other.
This brings us to the second aspect of China’s power and influence which we will discuss, i.e. their military power. As we have already mentioned China’s armed forces are the third largest in the world today, after the United States and Russia. With the rise in China’s economy there has been a linked rise in China’s military.
In 2000 China’s annual military budget was only 14 billion dollars, whereas in 2022 that spending had risen to 261 billion dollars. China’s military growth has increased to such an extent that it now has the largest navy in the world, and continues to add the equivalent of an entire Australian navy to her fleet every year[4]. It is estimated that by 2025 China will have easily surpassed the USA’s military capability in the Asian Pacific to become the dominant military power in the region[5].
China is also increasing their nuclear capability from their current arsenal of 280 nuclear-capable missiles to an estimated arsenal of 1000 nuclear-capable missiles by 2030, which will still only be equal to one third the size of the US nuclear arsenal. China has used their economic growth to partner with 149 countries around the world using their “Belt and Road” initiative[6].
And so with such an expansive growth in China’s military one would expect that China would display a similar corresponding military footprint around the world. Nevertheless, unlike the United States which has over 700 military bases in 85 countries around the world, China only has 3 military bases in 3 countries[7]. So why is that? The reason is because China’s military build up has been purely defensive in nature, i.e. to protect China from outside aggression, and China has no ambition of military expansion outside of their borders. And so we can see that both economically and militarily, there can be no doubt that China can be classified as an extremely powerful nation in the earth today.
Michael E.B. Maher
[2] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/01/lifting-800-million-people-out-of-poverty-new-report-looks-at-lessons-from-china-s-experience
[4] https://www.navaltoday.com/2021/11/05/chinese-navy-is-the-largest-navy-in-world-new-report-shows/
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