by Gary Stearman
 Something of great biblical significance is now being acted out on the world stage. A treaty is in the process of being ratified. It is called the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Once ratified, it will be able to rule on issues usually reserved for the local governments of each individual nation. It will affect national sovereignty, navigation rights, international taxation, the environment and energy production. In the hands of a powerful, unelected few, it could threaten the long tradition of freedom on the high seas — 70 percent of the Earth’s surface.
This brings a familiar Bible theme to mind. It is one of the most familiar prophecies in the Bible, a powerful visual image seen and recorded by the Apostle John, as he wrote the book of Revelation. His vision expands upon the book of Daniel, and brings perspective and detail to Daniel’s "fourth beast," which represents the final, global world empire.
In Daniel, the beast is placed in the context of the three beasts that precede it. In Revelation, it is given a recognizable form and a source of origin:
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
"And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" (Rev. 13:1-4).
Daniel describes four world empires as four beasts, the lion, the bear, the leopard and a fierce, unnamed beast with iron teeth. Clearly, the fourth beast is the great sea beast of Revelation. It reaches its peak of power during the Tribulation. The beast of Revelation is composed of all the animals depicted by Daniel, and is therefore, seen as the culminating phase of the Gentile world powers.
Usually, the sea from which the beast rises is interpreted as the masses of people who inhabit the globe. And indeed, the metaphor of the sea is often used to indicate the interchange between peoples, tribes and nations, as in Ezekiel’s lament upon the king of Tyre. In the following, "isles" indicates "continents:"
"And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty" (Ezek. 27:3).
Or as John writes in Revelation 17:15, "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
This symbol, in combination with another ancient image, yields a fierce and foreboding picture of the final great world power:
"In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
The defeat of this great sea monster has long been celebrated in Jewish lore. Daniel simply called him "dreadful and terrible," but nevertheless, he shall be completely destroyed at the conclusion of the Tribulation period. John’s beast gives us the final view of leviathan.
Lex Mercatoria
The ancient sea traders of Phoenicia developed a complex system of trade and transport that was highly sophisticated by the time the Kingdom of David and Solomon rose to power. It was the King of Tyre who actually helped Solomon build the Temple, by supplying him with the world’s rare building materials, skilled designers and laborers.
For centuries, Tyre had traded with nations around the periphery of the Mediterranean, and beyond the Strait of Gibralter to northern Europe and Africa, eastward to India and westward across the Atlantic. There are records suggesting that they visited the territory that would later become the Americas in those ancient days. Some say that the gold of Ophir, praised so highly in Scripture, came from traders at the headwaters of the Amazon River.
Over the years, a system of customs and practices among the sea traders developed into what later became known as the Law Merchant, or Lex Mercatoria, as it was known in the Roman Empire. The merchants, themselves, laid down local laws that could resolve business disputes in major ports. But the traffic of the sea remained separate from the laws of each individual country.
Local authorities didn’t interfere, giving up control over trade involving their territory to the merchant sea traders. Trade flowed and taxes within each individual country or kingdom increased. The single market, as it is known today, emerged from the medieval form of the Law Merchant. From Tyre to the present, it has been the centerpiece of the world’s wealth.
Cannon Shot to Continental Shelf
The high seas have always been regarded as free territory … up for grabs. This has been the case since time immemorial. In the 17th century, when a long cannon shot fired toward the sea would splash down about three nautical miles offshore, that became the boundary for international waters. Taxes, mineral rights, fishing grounds, and the control of pollution were generally regarded as coming to an end at that distance.
In the sixties, many nations began to extend their territorial limit to twelve nautical miles. Today, that limit is almost universally observed.
Now, however, the nations are about to set new territorial limits, called Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). These zones would extend 200 miles offshore, or to the edge of the continental shelf, up to 350 miles offshore, whichever is greater. Seabed and mineral rights would become the province of the nation or territory whose shoreline joins the EEZ.
At first thought, this sounds like a good idea. In fact, the rule over these new zones will actually reduce the power of national sovereignty
Technological breakthroughs in underwater mining and deep-sea oil production have begun to seriously impinge upon the rights of nations. As they look beyond the 12 nautical mile limit, they are currently unable to control what goes on there. This has led to international disputes of increasing concern.
UNCLOS
Beginning in 1956, the UN convened the first Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) in Geneva, Switzerland. The result was agreement that fishing and conservation should fall under some sort of international law.
In 1960, UNCLOS II met in Geneva again. The six-week conference yielded no new international agreements, The Unites States and the Soviet Union dominated the discussions, while third-world countries contributed no powerful voices of their own.
From 1973 to 1982 UNCLOS III witnessed the inclusion of over 160 nations that had not participated before. For the first time in history, the high seas began to fall under a new set of international laws, designed to resolve disputes over mineral rights, exploration, marine protection and research.
It also created a new UN agency having its own judiciary power to decide international disputes. That judiciary is not elected or appointed by any particular nation. Today, the Law of the Sea Treaty is in the process of ratification. One might ask about what is wrong with laws that end disputes. But in truth, it doesn’t take much imagination to see that UNCLOS takes decision-making power over sea issues away from any given nation and transfers it to the UN. And this is the problem. It marks a huge departure from the traditions of national sovereignty.
Debate has been vigorous. Conservative Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe argued against ratification, saying that UNCLOS was a threat to U.S. sovereignty. But the administration of George W. Bush, plus a majority of the U.S. Senate and military leaders at the Pentagon are said to support ratification. In fact, on May 15th, 2007, President Bush announced that he had encouraged the Senate to vote in favor of ratification.
Remember NAFTA
It has long been observed that the wealthy merchants – the global traders – have a plan, in which they intend to divide the world into ten zones or Regions. (Remember the ten horns on the sea beast.) The number one region was first named as Canada and the United States, later modified to Canada, the United States and Mexico.
When complete, these ten regions will trade with each other as they always have, by sea. Vast quantities of goods range across the world in an endless chain of supply. Many Christian writers have chronicled the events surrounding the publication of a paper called, "Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System," the first proposal of the ten-region plan:
Canada, U.S. and Mexico
European Union
Japan
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel and the Pacific Islands
Eastern Europe
Latin America and South America
North Africa and the Islamic Middle East
Central Africa
South and Southeast Asia
Central Asia
Note that the three nations of the first region comprise the North American Free Trade Association, commonly called NAFTA. It was released by the Club of Rome as a public proposal on September 17, 1973. Beginning with Richard M. Nixon and the American presidents who followed him, NAFTA has been more or less fast-tracked for the last thirty-five years.
Now, a new dimension has been added to the picture of global government. Imagine that international treaties are binding, not only upon the ten land areas, but the seas that surround them. Suddenly, we can picture the iron grip of an international authority that regulates both land and sea, all the way out to the continental shelf.
Taxation and regulation on a global scale becomes not only possible, but unavoidable. Ultimately, offshore drilling and mining will fall under the oversight of each of the ten regional directors. Think of the scale of the continental shelf that surrounds Canada, the U.S. and Mexico alone!
Millions of square miles will come under the international governance of each regional leader. The Bible calls them "ten kings." The majority of shipping, mineral production and fishing will fall under the aegis of dictatorial zeal, ultimately headed by the Antichrist, himself. The ancient prophecies against "Tyre" and "leviathan" suddenly take on new and forceful meaning.
And remember, John’s vision of the sea beast leaves no doubt about who will be in control. Just as the dragon (Satan) gives the beast its power, the controlling authority of the beast will be the one who receives a "deadly wound" that will be healed. The world will watch open-mouthed as this beast stands up to declare himself a god, and begins to blaspheme the name of God.
His authority, delegated through ten regional tyrants, will cause the entire world to tremble at his slightest word. And apparently, those words will be both fluent and prodigious:
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (Rev. 13:5).
His speech will be persuasive, and his authoritarian grip on the Earth will be the ultimate outcome of treaties being ratified at the present moment
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