The ninth resurrection of the Roman Empire under Mussolini and Hitler has ended, and one more revival is prophesied to occur. That last revival of the ancient Roman Empire has been in the making for quite some time, and its final configuration is not that far off.
According to the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation, the last European revival of the ancient Roman Empire will be a unification of ten nations or groups of nations, which will give their power to the “beast”—a charismatic political and military leader. This political power bloc will be collaborating with a mighty Church organization claiming to be Christian, but it is a fallen church which has rejected the truth of God and has aligned itself with the political powers of this present evil world.
The last resurrection of the Roman Empire has already begun. And politicians KNOW that they are resurrecting the ancient Roman Empire.
On October 29, 2004, the member states of the EU signed the EU Constitution. Even though it was not ratified by all member states and therefore did not become law (it was later replaced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which became effective on December 1, 2009, and which included many of the provisions of the EU Constitution), it is still interesting where the EU Constitution was signed.
The EuObserver wrote on October 29, 2004: “Symbolically, the ceremony [took] place in the same room as the signing of the original Treaty of Rome by the then six member states – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg – in 1957.”
The original Treaty of Rome in 1957 gave birth to the unification of Europe. Der Stern Online wrote that that First Roman Treaty signalized “the beginning of the success story of Europe.”
The idea of a united Europe is very much alive. European politicians want it—it is the people who are concerned. But the time will come when the European politicians will have their say. Europe is destined to become a super power. The dream of a united Europe has been around for some time. According to Der Stern Online of March 25, 2004, ‘Voltaire said in 1767 that Europe will become a great republic of cultivated spirits. Shortly thereafter, Immanuel Kant spoke of a European House. In 1849, Victor Hugo coined enthusiastically the phrase, ‘United States of Europe’ – a slogan that was later used by Winston Churchill during a speech in 1943.”
But things really began to shape up with the introduction of the euro. On January 1, 1999, the euro was introduced. Today, it is one of the most powerful currencies in the world.
Business Week wrote on May 4, 1998: “The Euro will turn Europe into a Superpower.”
National Review wrote on October 26, 1998: “That monetary union is first and foremost a political project… French officials cite the Euro as a means by which to develop a global political counterweight to the world’s only superpower [the US]. Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt says, ‘the arrival of the euro will… change the whole world situation so that the United States can no longer call all the shots.’”
Newsweek wrote in late 1998: “In January, the world will start getting used to a new currency. Whether you love the Euro or hate it, know this; nothing so big has ever happened before.”
Even though some European eurozone member states had and have to fight with economic hardship, it should have been clear to those who understand biblical prophecy that the euro was and is destined to survive—as it is the glue which binds together the Eurozone members politically.
On May 1, 2004, the (then) 25 member states of Europe celebrated the coming unification of Europe. Der Stern stated: “Great Europe is to become a world power – economically, culturally and perhaps even militarily.”
Mark Leonard wrote in “Why Europe Will Run the 21th Century (ed. 2005, page 7): “By creating the largest single internal market in the world, Europe has become an economic giant that, according to some calculations, is already the biggest in the world.”
The EUObserver wrote on July 16, 2008: “In 2005, the US was supplanted as the world’s largest single market by the EU… Many American firms suddenly had this new beast to deal with—the EU.”
And a beast it is—biblically speaking.
Very soon, ten core nations or groups of nations will rule continental Europe. Although presently 27 member states exist, there is already much talk about a Europe of two speeds, or of the necessity to establish powerful core nations to rule the rest of Europe. Remember, the Bible speaks about 10 nations or groups of nations—not 27 or more members.
Der Spiegel Online wrote on June 16, 2008:
“Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said… that it was time for a ‘Club of the Few.’ Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer likewise wrote… that ‘those who want political integration should move forward and those who are happy with just a common market should be left behind.’”
According to The Local, dated June 7, 2012, “Chancellor Angela Merkel said… that she would work towards a European political union even if that meant a two-speed approach.”
The EUObserver wrote on June 29, 2012: “… the phenomenon of a two-speed Europe not only becomes a fact of increased likelihood, but it is more and more politically acknowledged and approved.”
In fact, a core Europe already exists.
Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 19, 2005: “When EU finance ministers meet, the 12 ministers from the euro zone hold talks among themselves before they meet the [other] colleagues whose countries haven’t adopted the euro. In that pre-meeting, the most important decisions for the euro zone are made.”
Mark Leonard wrote in 2005 in “Why Europe Will Run the 21th Century,” on page 108: “There are already three ambitious projects that do not include all of the EU’s… members: the eurozone…; the Schengen agreement, which allows passport free travel…; and the Western European Union, Europe’s defence identity…”
Notice this statement, which was published in The Berliner Zeitung, dated July 2, 2008: “The idea of a core Europe or a two-speed Europe is not at all the heresy that some make it out to be. It has long been reality: Many states do not participate in one of the key issues of European integration: the single currency.”
There is strong historical and biblical indication that Britain will not be part of the final unification of Europe. The EUObserver hinted at this development, when it wrote on March 10, 2007: “The EU should go ahead and further integrate without the UK… Belgium’s prime minister Guy Verhofstadt has said. He added that [under certain circumstances], ‘the European Union must progress without Great Britain.’”
The Wall Street Journal wrote on May 24, 2007, that “Ms. Merkel’s team considers Britain one of the biggest obstacles to any agreement.”
According to a statement by former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt in 2004, core Europe might NOT include Britain, but he felt that it would include countries like France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. However, this assessment might not be entirely correct. Certainly, countries like Germany, Italy France, Spain and Austria will be part of the core European configuration, and it is very likely that countries such as Poland and Hungary will be part of it. Whether Greece will be a part of it is not certain at all, but it is virtually assured that Britain won’t be a part of it.
In regard to Poland, Der Spiegel Online wrote on May 25, 2012: “Poland… has become the most astonishing success story in Eastern Europe. Relations between Berlin and Warsaw have never been better… Berlin is already Warsaw’s biggest [trading] partner.”
Regarding Italy, the EUObserver wrote on March 4, 2013: “Italy indeed is a difficult beast to understand—let alone tame—for the other European countries, but it is an anchor, not an iceberg, for the European integration process.”
Regarding Britain, The Associated Press wrote on January 24, 2013:
“British Prime minister David Cameron wants nothing to do with a United States of Europe… Many in the EU, particularly among the 17 countries that use the euro, are on a drive for closer political unification, and that’s raised particular concerns recently in Britain… Britain’s relations with Europe have been strained since the end of World War II… It has stood against many efforts to forge closer ties, notably the creation of the euro…” Mail Online added on January 18, 2013: “… the EU’s mission for ‘ever closer union’ has always meant ultimately creating a federal superstate, something that is unacceptable to most Britons.”
And so, while Italy—a “beast”—will be part of the core nations of Europe, it is highly unlikely that Britain will be part of it. In fact, more and more voices are being heard insisting that the UK should leave the EU voluntarily or involuntarily. A vast majority of the British people are against the idea that their country should even stay in the EU. In fact, Britain is not part of the 17 European states presently in the Eurozone, and it is virtually certain that it will not adopt the euro. This is of great biblical significance, because the Bible says that in the very end, the European power bloc, under the leadership of the “beast,” will fight a war against Britain.
Europe, under its core member states, will also become a strong and powerful military union. Europe’s leaders realize that a strong political union necessitates a unified European army. We have seen Europe—and Germany—getting more and more involved militarily in non-European countries. As America’s influence diminishes, Europe sees the need to fill the vacuum.
Under the headline, “German Chancellor Favors Creation of European Army,” Deutsche Welle reported on March 23, 2007:
“The European Union should move towards forming a common army, Germany’s Angela Merkel said in an interview focusing on the chancellor’s vision for the future of the bloc. Just ahead of weekend celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the foundations of the European Union, Chancellor Merkel said she envisioned a single European army for the future of the 27-member bloc in the next decades. ‘We need to get closer to a common army for Europe,’ she told the mass-circulation Bild newspaper… The call for a European armed forces is not new. Last year, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said his country wanted a new 100,000-strong European army created to work with NATO in trouble spots in the world or to defend Europe.”
Under the headline, “European Army Backed,” The Sydney Morning Herald wrote the following on September 20, 2012:
“Germany, France and nine of Europe’s most powerful countries have called for an elected European Union president and an end to Britain’s veto over defence policy, in a radical blueprint for the continent’s future… As well as calling for a single, elected head of state for Europe, the bloc demanded a new defence policy, under the control of a pan-EU foreign ministry commanded by Baroness Ashton, which ‘could eventually involve a European army’. In order to ‘prevent one single member state from being able to obstruct initiatives’, a reference to British opposition to a European army, the German-led group demanded an end to existing national vetoes over foreign and defence policy… The plan, which has the backing of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Holland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Portugal, is likely to increase calls for a British referendum on EU membership.”
The core member states of Europe will become militarily strong (Daniel 2:42), but at first, they will not be totally unified. The Bible says that their unification will be “fragile” (same verse). It will take the arrival of the “beast” to create a short-lived military unification “of one mind” (Revelation 17:12-13), which will be hostile towards Jesus Christ (verse 14).
As we will explain in much detail in subsequent installments, the European political unification will be closely connected with the Roman Catholic Church. In a sense, the Roman Church has been influencing the European unification process to a certain degree all along. As The Telegraph wrote in 1991: “The Common Market itself started under the inspiration of Catholic politicians—such as Adenauer of Germany, Paul-Henri Spaak, Jean Monnet and Robert Schumann… They were all deeply influenced by Catholic social teaching.”
Monnet believed in the Catholic vision that Europe should become a federal superstate. The Financial Times wrote on May 22, 1995, that the “idea of a united Europe” has been viewed as “essentially a Catholic concept.”
In the next installment, we will discuss the characteristics of and other interesting facts about the future political and military European leader, called “the beast” in biblical prophecy.
(To Be Continued)
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
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