Last night the world watched closely to see if Great Britain would pull out of the European Union—what has been called "Brexit." I watched the voting returns on television, and when I decided to turn in, it was trending toward leaving. When I awoke this morning, I was not surprised to see that British voters had narrowly decided to leave the EU. Britain today must feel like it has a major "hangover" to deal with.

Discerning history and Bible prophecy is ever more critical for those who seek to understand the times.

A friend in England wrote me to ask what I thought about the decision to leave after more than 40 years of membership. Here is what I wrote to him:

"This will no doubt reshape Europe. Great Britain and the United States are both deeply divided politically—a serious matter for the world. This creates a bigger vacuum, and geopolitics abhors a vacuum. With terrorism on the rise, a major attack on another EU capital would push the continent toward a more reactionary security position. The EU has reached a level of world economic status it will not lose. The stakes are high, and Europe is a major economic engine of the global economy. It is too big to fail. It may be reconfigured with fewer nations, but Europe will continue, and it will grow in power and influence."

Bible prophecy shows 10 kings will give their power to a single person, who is symbolized in prophecy as a "beast"—a powerful, charismatic figure who will wield power for a brief period at the end of this age before the return of Jesus Christ (Revelation 17:12-14). That consolidation of power is connected with the emergence of a spiritual revival led by another charismatic leader (as described in Revelation 13). On Beyond Today, we believe the center for this end-time superpower will be Europe. In time it will become clear even to the secularists of the Europe that religion is the only cohesive force that can truly unite Europe. We are not there yet, but we are a step closer.

Great Britain's decision to leave the EU will begin a new chapter for Europe. We are living at a moment in history where the alignment of nations is changing. Discerning history and Bible prophecy is ever more critical for those who seek to understand the times.