May 2

Tough Times for the European Union

Things are not going very well for the European Union. All across the European continent, opinion polls show that people are losing faith in the concept of a unified Europe.

All eyes are on the upcoming vote on the European constitution in France and the Netherlands. On May 29, the French will vote on the treaty. Three days later, the Netherlands will do the same.

At least two dozen polls predict the French will reject the European constitution by a wide margin. The latest poll put the “no” vote at over 60 percent, the highest yet. The latest Dutch poll showed 52 percent planning to vote “no.”

Some people are speculating that a French defeat could spell doom for the European Union. Three commonly feared fallouts could be less solidarity, less European funds, and the return of the idea of a multi-tiered Europe.

While most European leaders are tight-lipped about the French vote, Signor Prodi of Italy said if France rejected the treaty, “there will be no more Europe. The problem will not only be a catastrophe for France, but the fall of Europe. A ‘no’ would be catastrophic for economic and social Europe, not only political Europe. Everyone knows very well that there is no Europe without France.”

If the constitution is rejected, there is no “plan B” to fall back on. It is not even certain whether the other member nations should try ratify the treaty if France and the Netherlands vote against it. I’m sure, “Where do we go from here?” will be the main question asked at the next EU summit in June.

For many years, prophecy scholars have been eagerly watching the development of the European Union. Every time a new nation has been added to the ranks of the EU, they have cheered the event as a fulfillment of the predicted reformation of the Roman Empire.

The upcoming French vote would seem to be disastrous for both Europe and for Bible prophecy. The vote may have the leaders in Brussels pulling their hair out, but I doubt it will be a major problem for prophecy. For many years, we have had two key problems with the EU as it relates to the end times.

Daniel the prophet predicted that a kingdom of 10 members would be a launching pad of the Beast. The EU currently has 25 members. Because Daniel said the second stage of the Roman Empire was to be the weakest of all the empires he saw in his visions, we should expect to see an alliance frequented by problems.

"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Dan. 2:41-44).

The dramatic fragmentation of the EU could be what gets us to the point at which it looks like the political organization that will exist during the tribulation hour.

The biggest friend of prophetic progression is change. For several years, the political process in Europe has been plagued by stagnation. People's resistance to giving up political and financial control to a centralized government is the main reason the integration progress has bogged down.

This past week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair ruled out British membership of the euro for at least the next 5 years. He made his decision based on polls that show the majority of the people in Great Britain want to retain the British pound.

Because Europe is just one piece of the end-time puzzle, the indication that many of the other pieces are rapidly falling into place would seem to forewarn that a dramatic change will need to occur soon to get Europe back on track.

As we know, the Antichrist himself may be the one who comes to the EU's rescue. With all indicators pointing to Europe on the verge of a political crisis, it will be interesting to see if a savior suddenly appears on the scene.

"For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled" (Rev 17:17).
-- Todd

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Does the Prince of Persia Control America’s Light Switch?

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, now we learn that one of the “Axis of Evil” nations –so designated by President George W. Bush--apparently wants to put our lights out. It’s as if the Prince of Persia, that supernatural chieftain that kept God’s messenger from bringing Daniel answers to his prayers until the archangel, Michael, intervened, has his nefarious finger on America’s light switch.

One report states:

“This threat may sound straight out of Hollywood, but it is very real. CIA Director Porter Goss recently testified before Congress about nuclear material missing from storage sites in Russia that may have found its way into terrorist hands, and FBI Director Robert Mueller has confirmed new intelligence that suggests al Qaeda is trying to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction. Iran has surprised intelligence analysts by describing the mid-flight detonations of missiles fired from ships on the Caspian Sea as 'successful' tests…

A terrorist organization might have trouble putting a nuclear warhead 'on target' with a Scud, but it would be much easier to simply launch and detonate in the atmosphere. No need for the risk and difficulty of trying to smuggle a nuclear weapon over the border or hit a particular city. Just launch a cheap missile from a freighter in international waters -- al Qaeda is believed to own about 80 such vessels -- and make sure to get it a few miles in the air…” ("Unready For This Attack" by Jon Kyl, Washington Post, April 16, 2005; Page A19).

Another report further describes the threat that seems to have popped out of nowhere:

“Iran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America's technical infrastructure, effectively neutralizing the world's lone superpower, say U.S. intelligence sources, top scientists and western missile industry experts…” ("Iran plans to knock out U.S. with 1 nuclear bomb," www.wnd.com).

American scientists, including the man who was President Ronald Reagan's top science adviser, William R. Graham, are concerned Iran might soon develop electromagnetic pulse weapons (EPW), which, if detonated over America, could destroy most, if not all, things electronic. This, some fear, could set the U.S. infrastructure back more than a century.

The report said further:

“Iran will have that capability – at least theoretically – as soon as it has one nuclear bomb ready to arm such a missile. North Korea, a strategic ally of Iran, already boasts such capability.

The stunning report was first published over the weekend in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by WND's founder...”

So, will the “Prince of Persia” of Daniel 10:13 and 10:20 turn out America’s lights? Will this be America’s fate when this fallen angel’s principality gets useable EPWs --thus sending the U.S. into a new Dark Age? I don’t think so. At least not in this dispensation --prior to the tribulation.

I equate this threat, and the accompanying hoopla we are just now getting from media, to the dire predictions that led up to the turn of the millennium: the Y2K panic. My optimism isn’t based upon sticking my head in the sand, but upon truth found in God’s prophetic Word. That truth is found in the same prophetic passages that made me believe that Y2K wouldn’t have us all living in caves and pounding our clothing with rocks upon stones in some nearby creekbed.

Jesus foretold precisely how things will be at His coming again to intervene in the affairs of men in a catastrophic way. He wasn't talking about the second advent, when He will come all the way to the earth, but; He was talking about the rapture. The Lord prophesied:

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all” (Lk. 17:26-29).

We can know by the Lord’s prophecy here, that He was not referring to His coming at Armageddon. That will be the most calamitous time of human history. He said when the Son of man comes, it will be business as usual. People will be doing things pretty much like always. His coming will happen, and the earth-dwellers won’t know what happened to them. One second it will be business as usual; the next second it will be total chaos! That is the perfect description of the Rapture!

The world won’t be in the middle of the tribulation, or near its end. The world will be conducting life as usual.

This truth of Jesus’ prophecy can be applied, likewise, to state with firm assurance that, just as the feared Y2K was not a catastrophe, great apocalyptic violence striking the world before Christ’s return to rapture His Church is not likely to happen.

Such a calamity occurring, as the Y2K horror predicted for 2000, or such a decimation as America’s total infrastructure being destroyed by EPWs from Iran or North Korea, would take away the imminency of the rapture.

Business and all life would be disrupted. Make no mistake: America suffering such a meltdown would shatter this Babylonian system of humanism! It wouldn’t be “business as usual” for, probably, decades at a minimum. Conditions would not be as Christ says they will be at His coming in the rapture. Therefore, the any-moment rapture would not be true, as God’s Word teaches. And we know that God is not a liar! Now, after the rapture, all bets are off –if I may be so sinful as to use that term. Such weaponry most likely will be used, as well as weapons a thousand times more frightful.

Neither the Prince of Persia, nor any of Satan’s other minions, will be allowed to touch the light switches of the world in such a catastrophic way in this age of grace, except on a very limited scale. We who name the name of Christ do have our spiritual fingers on the switch to the greatest of all light: the gospel Light, who brings lost souls from the darkness of eternity apart from God.

Let us lift up the Light of the world for all the inhabitants of earth to see, while at the same time looking for Him to come for us, so that where He is, there we may be also.

--Terry