European Union in Prophecy
Stage setting for Bible prophecy yet future already
moves forward at an electrifying pace. Even so, the end-time speedometer
amazingly continues to accelerate, as is demonstrated by each hourly world news
report. Developments involving the European Union are on the leading edge of
Planet Earth’s race toward the seven-year peace treaty Bible prophecy foretells
will set in motion the tribulation era.
A number of articles in the vast
body of material within this website examines, in great detail, the biblically
prophetic reasons Europe will one day almost certainly be the heart of the
Antichrist beast-system of governmental, economic and religious control
prophesied to engulf the world. It will also be at the heart of a false peace
process that will initiate the tribulation, which will culminate at Armageddon.
We, therefore, refer you to those background works by listing their titles at
the end of this article. Here, we will take a look at the European Union’s
development and growth in the twentieth century until the present. We will only
make brief references to the prophecies, so far as where they are found in the
Bible is concerned. This will be an examination of what is happening now in the
development of that prophesied evil world government that Jesus Christ will
destroy with His second coming to the earth.
Daniel, Chapter 2, presents the dream Babylon’s King
Nebuchadnezzar had, which provides the basis for our understanding that
history’s final system of government will try to establish total global
dictatorship.
Daniel, the young Hebrew prophet, asked for and
received permission to interpret the king’s dream of a gigantic metallic statue
of a man. The prophet did so, after praying with friends to ask God for details
of the dream and for the meanings of the dream. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that
the statue’s head of gold represented the king’s kingdom. The chest and arms of
silver represented the second kingdom. The belly and thighs of bronze
represented the third world kingdom. The fourth world kingdom to come upon the
earth would be, Daniel prophesied, symbolized by the two legs of iron. The
final world kingdom would be shown as the statue’s feet made of iron mixed with
clay.
History has proved, to the satisfaction of most
Bible scholars who study prophecy in depth, that the first four world kingdoms
prophesied through Nebuchadnezzar’s dream have come and gone. Nebuchadnezzar’s
Babylonian kingdom was the first. The Medes and Persians comprised the second
world empire. The Greek Empire under Alexander the Great was the third. The
Roman Empire, which split into two, with capitals in Rome and Constantinople
(now Istanbul, Turkey), was the fourth great world kingdom.
One is left to come upon the scene–the final world
governmental system represented in Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dream as the feet
and toes made of iron mixed with clay. This final world kingdom, we believe, is
far along in the process of coming together today in the form of the European
Union (EU). The fifth world empire symbolized in the statue is prophesied to be
an extension of the fourth kingdom. That is exactly what the EU is –an
extension of the ancient Roman Empire. It is, we are convinced, the feet and
toes of the man-image, the reviving of the unity that was once Europe in all
its power and glory. Yet, despite the tremendous power the final form of the
Roman Empire will have, the clay mixed with the iron seems to indicate it will
have significant weaknesses.
Again, we must, for the sake of proper focus,
mention the given prophecies that have been already fulfilled, only briefly.
The first of those is the king’s dream of the tremendous metallic man-image,
which the great prophet Daniel interpreted. The other prophecy most relevant to
looking at the European Union as figuring into prophecy yet future is also
found in the Book of Daniel:
“And
after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:
and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the
war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for
one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon
the desolate” (Dan. 9:26-27).
This all-encompassing prophecy foretells plainly
that the final world ruler, Antichrist, will rise out of the Roman Empire.
Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD under the
leadership of Roman General Titus. The future Roman leader (“the prince that
shall come”) is prophesied to be a dictator like no other in history.
This “prince that shall come” will come as a
peacemaker, confirming a covenant of peace with Israel. He will, at the halfway
point in the seven-year peace agreement, invade the Jews’ Temple and destroy
their worship. Thus will begin the great tribulation, or “Jacob’s trouble,” the
last three and one-half years of the seven years of Daniel’s seventieth week
(the tribulation era).
Once again, we refer you to other articles within
raptureready.com for more in-depth background. We must move forward now from
the times in which the prophecies were given into the more recent past, the
present, and the prophetic future in dealing with the matter of the European
Union in prophecy.
The twentieth century began with Europe, the heart
of what was the ancient Roman Empire, in decline. The upstart, America, was
coming on strong as a world leader among nations. This circumstance, some
historians propose, was a major factor in setting in motion movement toward
World War I. Following that war, Europe was in chaos, but with great determination
set about to put its house in order.
Despite fierce nationalism among Europe’s nations,
by 1954, the recovery was looked at as an economic miracle. Still, there was a
major problem in ever achieving the much longed-for unity of purpose so many
European thinkers elite coveted for the region. The nations had come together
to fight in a common cause against Germany for the most part. However, each
country continued to be completely independent from one another, and to
maintain impenetrable economic trade-barrier walls. The situation made carrying
on trade with other European nations difficult, if not impossible.
Powerful economic dynamics began to move Europe
toward its prophetic destiny.
The old Roman Empire, which had fallen apart but was
never destroyed, began reforming on May 9, 1950.
French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman contacted
West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, proposing that the two nations merge
their steel and coal production. They would act, the proposal went, as one in
dealing internationally in those matters. The governments, however, would
remain independent. There would be no joint, intergovernmental authority in the
pact. Adenauer and the Germans agreed the same night of the proposal. Six
nations, by May, 1952, had ratified the European Coal and Steel Community. The
glue that would begin putting the Humpty Dumpty, old Roman Empire, together
again had been applied.
Europe’s Coal and Steel Community experiment in
economic reunification was successful. Other negotiations for further economic
integration led to the signing of the
Treaties of Rome in March, 1957. That established the European Economic
Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Commission (EURACOM).
Following another step toward reunification with
agricultural integration in 1962, the stage was set for the Brussels Treaty of
1965, also called the Second Treaty of Rome.
All
previous treaties were merged into a four-fold structure. The structure
consisted of a commission, council, parliament, and court.
The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark joined the
other six members of the EEC in 1973. Greece was admitted in 1981, and Spain,
then Portugal, joined in 1986.
The
European Community (EC) approved the Treaty of Maastricht in December, 1991,
the third foundational treaty of the drive toward European reunification.
It follows that a unified Europe needs a single
currency, so the Maastricht Treaty established the European Monetary Union
(EMU) in three stages. The stages took place in 1991, 1994, and 1997. The
single European unit of currency, the euro, was created January 1, 2002.
Today, of course, many more nations have been
accepted into the EU. Jack Kinsella, writing for The Omega Letter, Prophecy
Update, 4/23/03, says: “The European Union consists of more than 25 European
nations today, but there are only ten full members. The rest are associate
members or have observer status. The ten nations of the Western European
Alliance have a distinct and separate status from the remaining associates.”
Where the number of countries that will ultimately
constitute the EU will end is anybody’s guess, but the figure that has long
fascinated prophecy watchers is the number 10. This fascination stems in part
from Daniel 7:7-8 and Revelation 13:1. Both passages describe a beast with ten
horns. The prophets Daniel and John apparently saw the same beast in their
visions, the beast symbolizing ten heads of ten kingdoms.
Further, a heavenly being tells John in Revelation,
chapter 17, that the vision of (apparently) the same beast he saw in Revelation
13:1 and the woman riding upon its back symbolize a religious system riding
(receiving its own authority to dominate) on the power and authority of a
satanically empowered system headed by ten kings over ten kingdoms. These
things are to occur during the future time just before Christ’s return to earth
to set up His Kingdom.
It isn’t surprising, then, that the addition of 10
nations to the EU in 2003 sent some prophecy buffs into speculation orbit.
Please don’t be one of them. As Jesus said in Matthew 24: 6, “…the end is not
yet…”
That is not to say that we shouldn’t get excited
over things of obvious prophetic significance we see occurring. An abundance of
signals indeed makes the diligent student of God’s Word know that ours could
well be the generation that will see fulfillment of all things prophesied for
this earth age.
No prophecy seems more in view today than the
foretelling about the beast that Daniel and John reported seeing in their
visions. Nonetheless, we simply must proceed with caution in analyzing what we
see happening. We must take care not to read into the events significance that
isn’t there. Truly, the facts involving current events are astonishing enough!
It’s not necessary for us to embellish.
The European Union is on the march as never before,
despite its family feuding on occasion. For example, just before the recently
concluded “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” we recall that France, Germany, and
Belgium threatened EU nations that sided with the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
These three promised serious consequences if any EU partner joined the
coalition that vowed to remove Saddam’s dictator regime.
Yet, just as quickly as the U.S. and Great Britain,
joined by a group of like-minded countries, swiftly dealt with Hussein and his
henchmen, the EU, headed primarily by France and Germany, was back to business
as usual.
It is more than interesting to note that these two,
France and Germany, are the same two primarily instrumental in starting the
drive toward unification with their Steel, Coal Community idea in 1950. It is
likewise more than interesting that the French in particular now are declaring
their commitment to good relations with the U.S. and the U.K. France offers its
better-late-than-never largesse to, as they phrase it, “contribute” all it can
to the establishment of a viable Iraqi government.
The European Union, according to some of its primary
players, is undeniably joined at the hip –or somewhere—to the United Nations,
so far as the whole Iraqi affair is concerned. It seems that they, together,
consider themselves the true representatives of the “international community.”
The coalition, i.e., the United States and Britain, did the liberating, but
France’s Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, Germany’s Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder,
and the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, with nodding approval of Russian
President Vladimir Putin, act as if their oversight of post-Saddam Iraq is a
foregone conclusion. That anything less than their plans for the region will be
illegitimate and unacceptable by nations of the region and around the world.
It is just that sort of arrogance that gave the
Caesars of the ancient Roman Empire
their lust and determination to try to conquer the world. Supreme
arrogance will inspire Antichrist, “the prince that shall come” out of the
revived Roman Empire, to take charge of the ten-horned beast-government and do
his deadly worst to enslave the world.
If the EU’s arrogant posturing in the Iraq matter is
somewhat of an indicator that we might be witnessing the forming of the
beast-government of Daniel 7, Revelation 13, and Revelation 17-18, then things
on the geopolitical horizon surely are irrefutable signs that we are bumping up
against the very end of the age.
The two preeminent entities
of Bible prophecy yet future are emerging and will shortly collide with each
other. These prophetic entities are Israel and the people of “the prince that
shall come” (Europe). Now that the conflict within the region where ancient
Babylon once sat appears to be under control, all eyes, cameras, and
microphones are turning –as they always do—back toward Israel and Jerusalem.
The European Union is
presently at the forefront of calling for Israel and the Palestinians to come
to the peace table. It will be just such a peace negotiation, according to
Daniel 9:26-27, out of which will come the “covenant made with death and hell”
(Isa. 28:15, 18). Antichrist, “the prince that shall come,” will personally
guarantee that covenant. But the prophetic Word says that “…when they shall say
peace and safety, then, sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a
woman with child, and they shall not escape” (1 Thes. 5:3).
The Islamic world’s hatred for the Jews and the
nation Israel is satanic at its core. No amount of negotiating for peace ever
will change that. Israel’s neighbors want the Jewish state forever done away
with –expunged from what they consider their land. The Arab leaders, all
dictators to one degree or another, must keep the region in foment against
Israel to assure their dictatorships stay in power.
Kinsella writes:
“When the population [of
Arab states] is demonstrating against Israel, they aren't demonstrating against
their own repressive regimes. On the other hand, they've seen the price of
defiance paid by Saddam Hussein.
In terms of Bible prophecy, this is
significant on several levels. It is clear that the Islamic world will never
accept the existence of Israel.
However,
they are unlikely to directly challenge the US war machine that leveled Iraq in
21 days. The U.S. is pursuing, as part of the ‘Quartet’ of nations, a ‘Road Map
to Peace’ which will, in essence, force a peace settlement between Israel and
her neighbors.
The
Quartet consists of the U.S. (Israel's only ally), the EU (Islam's most
powerful ally) Russia, (Islam's most powerful patron) and the UN (Israel's most
powerful enemy).
The
Bible speaks to three of the four members of the Quartet. Daniel speaks of the
ten kings who arise out of the ashes of the Roman Empire. Daniel says that out
of this alliance will rise the antichrist, who will confirm a seven year peace
deal between Israel and the many [Israel’s enemies all around].”
America’s part in pushing Israel toward the table of
false peace is troubling. President George W. Bush, who in many other ways has
proved himself to be a stalwart friend of Israel, has declared that that nation
must bring to the table the idea that a Palestinian state will be created. That
future state must, the U.S. as well as the EU and the others of the Quartet
demand, be formed out of land of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). This, the
usually fiercely combative and defensive-minded Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon has amazingly agreed to consider.
The European Union’s influence is growing at a
phenomenal rate. Soon its economy will, it is predicted, eclipse that of the
U.S. in almost every category. It is a beast just about to be released upon an
unsuspecting world.
Its key leaders gave a preview of coming attractions
when they blocked at every turn America’s attempts to get the nations of the UN
to honor the resolution they had agreed to regarding the overthrow of Saddam’s
regime. Understanding that Europe has shed its former robes of Christianity to
accept its prophesied economic and governmental role within the end-time Babylonian
system of world domination is essential to understanding its beast nature.
Those key EU leaders, in their callous deception, were willing to see the
pitiful people of Iraq continue to suffer horrendously under Saddam Hussein’s
murder and torture rather than give up their oil deals and other profitable
enterprises they enjoyed that were given them by the despotic Iraqi monsters.
Same with the UN. It has come out that the food-for-oil program profited that
organization tremendously, with billions of dollars paid the Kofi
Annan-administered program.
Searches by our military forces have produced
records of the economic collusion between Saddam’s government and the
governments of Russia, France, Germany and others. It is highly considered that
this might well be the reason the leaders of these nations so adamantly opposed
Hussein’s being deposed. Perhaps they feared just such light of truth would be
shed upon their dark dealings.
Out of this strange mixture of democracy and
collusion with dictators, a man will emerge whom Bible prophecy says will be a
genius at such underhanded dealings. That Scripture says: “And in the latter
time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of
fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up” (Dan.
8:23).
Antichrist will understand exactly how to get the
most for himself and his world-order elitists who assist him in his drive to
enslave the world.
The European Union grows rapidly toward its full
power that will produce a leader of unprecedented authority. Bible prophecy
foretells that seven out of ten “kings” will back a world leader, who will
forcibly rip power from the other three and give it to himself. The great
question of our time, prophetically speaking, might be: Is the European Union
the prophesied governmental body that will eventuate in becoming the ten
kingdoms that will provide Antichrist with his beastly power?
No one can say for certain, although some seem to
have no problem making such
declarations, as if they personally helped God give the prophets the
prophecies. All we will say here is that with all other prophetic indicators
seemingly in full view upon the immediate geopolitical horizon, another
profound ingredient has just been added to the fascinating mix. If the EU is
not the body that will evolve into that most evil of history’s empires, it must
be that biblically prophesied empire’s twin.
The EU has now begun the process that will give it a
leader like none other. This news item encapsulates the search for such a man:
European Union
Seeks First President
From the
Drudge Report
April 17, 2003
Convention
backs Blair's plan for EU presidency
From Rosemary
Bennett in Athens
“TONY BLAIR’s plans for a
powerful new full-time president of Europe look set to become reality after the
man charged with drafting a European Union constitution backed the project
yesterday.
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing,
the former French President who chairs the convention on Europe’s future,
supported the EU’s biggest member states who argue that the Union needs a
president if it is to punch its weight on the international stage…
… [d’Estaing] noted that two smaller states, Denmark
and Sweden, had just swung behind the idea, which originated in London but was
first publicly proposed by President Chirac of France. A new president would be
elected by heads of government of EU members and would hold office for five
years. The creation of such a post would help to settle the decades-old
question posed by Henry Kissinger of whom to call in Europe in an emergency. It
could also help to prevent a repetition of the bitter arguments that erupted
over Iraq…
…Mr. Blair has been linked
to the new post, which, conveniently, is likely to come into being in 2006, a
year or so after the next general election. Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime
Minister, and José María Aznar, the Spanish Prime Minister, have also been
suggested as prospective candidates…”.
The prophetic tide rolls toward an unsuspecting
world. Breaking news, however, should not surprise Christians. We are told to
watch for the nearness of Christ’s return in many places throughout the Bible.
Additionally, this website contains a number of articles that warn the
Christian to be watchful.
We believe that the fact that the European Union is
in prophecy is self-evident because of today’s stunning headlines. The true
importance of that, if the EU is in fact the forming of the beast-kingdom from
which Antichrist will come upon the world scene, is that it means Jesus’ call to His Church (the Rapture) must
be very near indeed!