Once again the European Union is in crisis and people are expecting it to collapse. We believe the Union is at a
major crossroad in its history. The choice of path will determine if the EU will succeed or fail to achieve its goal of being a supra-national empire (see our book,
The European Union and the Supra-Religion: Setting the Stage for the Final Act?). Rather than seeing the present financial crisis as a problem, many in the EU see it as an opportunity to achieve that goal. Prior to that achievement, the EU must deal with three barriers:
Barrier 1: The ongoing regional or state mindset of the citizenry that hinders the EU leadership from agreeing upon and enforcing solutions to the crisis. People still see themselves as Germans, Greeks, Brits, etc., rather than a single people seeking a solution to a shared problem. They still see it as being a Greek or Spanish or Italian, etc. problem rather than their collective problem. A corollary to this is that the national mindsets among the EU leadership are often at odds as to solutions; for example, the newly elected French President’s concept of spending to get out of the problem conflicts with Chancellor Merkel of Germany’s plan for austerity.
Barrier 2: Considering the duration and lack of a solution to this crisis in its latter stages, it appears that the EU is too unwieldy to respond quickly enough to solve problems in their early stages.
Barrier 3: The lack of EU control over individual countries’ budgets and finances has allowed a single state’s situation to threaten the entire union and the financial security of its citizens.
Possible Solutions Offered
In the last several weeks and months, several solutions have been offered to solve the present financial crisis and to prevent future problems. It is interesting to note that several of these solutions could lead to the Bible’s prophesied final world empire of men. The EU may or may not be the embryo of that final empire, but its actions demonstrate the feasibility of events in our lifetime.
The prophet Daniel symbolically described the final world empire of man as having “toes of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken” (Daniel 2:42). Today’s EU could be similarly described. Economically it is equal to the US in financial strength, but the national mindsets of its people weakens it at moments of crisis. Additionally, its form of government (a supra-national government) is slow to respond because of its large bureaucracy and multiple divisions of government. The current Lisbon Treaty (its constitution) allows three positions of leadership that must agree for the EU to move ahead with solutions.
They are the President of the Parliament (Martin Schultz), the President of the Council (Herman van Rompuy), and the President of the Commission (Jose Manuel Barroso) – the three branches of the EU. The latter two are well known in Europe but lesser known in the US. There is an ongoing uncertainty as to who is really in charge. As has been said, if there is a crisis, whom do you call on the phone, for the EU lacks a single voice.
Several EU foreign ministers have recognized this problem and are now calling for a single super-president with greater power to replace the present system. To achieve this, it has been suggested that the changes be made “without changing the [Lisbon] Treaty.” (For sources go to www.CongdonMinistries.org <
http://www.congdonministries.org/ <http://www.congdonministries.org/> > and look under “News you need to know about…”)
The EU learned a lesson with the last treaty—never ask the people to vote for that only hinders and delays a resolution. Historically, when the people have voted “no,” as did Ireland for example, the EU merely presented the matter again until they changed their voted to “yes.” The founder of the EU recommended that the people never be allowed to vote, for they only hinder progress. This is why most EU institutions and member states want more EU secrecy and less transparency (see “Officials, diplomats want even more EU secrecy” by Andrew Rettman at
http://euobserver.com/18/115866).
A recent article in a British newspaper suggests that the new super-leader is a means to gaining “sweeping control over the entire EU and force member countries into ever-greater political and economic union.” (see
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/318045/EU-plot-to-scrap-Britain )
For students of the Bible, a path that puts more power into a single leader and becomes more secretive is a path that ultimately leads to the single-man government that John portrays in the book of Revelation, chapter 13. Like many empires before the EU, this union may not fulfill this prophecy, but the path it is headed upon could lead to it.
An additional point of interest is a much talked about two-tier EU, with some nations acting as a smaller unit to speed up solutions to crises and to eliminate hindrances of “too many fingers in the pie.” Germany and France, the two most powerful nations in the EU, have been lead the way in this discussion. Again, the
trend suggests that instead of decisions and power resting with the unwieldy 27 countries, a smaller number should be in the first tier to better handle decision-making in a crisis. Britain followed this thinking in World War II with its War Cabinet acting for Parliament. Recognizing the EU’s tendency toward decimal systems, the number 10 could be a likely number chosen for this smaller ruling group of nations (see Daniel 7:24).
A Possible Scenario
It is our belief that the economic crisis will significantly increase in the next few weeks and bring financial hardship to all EU citizens, not just those in Greece. Recent elections have reflected an unwillingness of citizens to sacrifice in order to restore financial stability (a prime issue in the recent French and Greek elections). Many are willing to allow the default of some nations, believing it will not impact their own. With defaults, it will become apparent to all that drastic measures are necessary to prevent a domino effect that results in a complete breakdown of all countries in the EU and around the world.
They will finally see that what hurts one, hurts all, regardless of nationality. Just as people unite to help following a natural disaster, people will start acting as Europeans rather than Germans, French, Greeks, etc. For those resisting, social pressure will increase for them to conform. They will now be ready to support the central government, believing that local national governments are no longer capable of finding viable solutions. Barrier 1 will be reduced significantly.
Desperate for immediate solutions at this point, they will seek a rapid response type of government and call for a single leader to deal with the empire-wide crisis. Recognizing the hindrance of nationalism, they will want a leader who is truly above nationalism (a supra-national leader), one who wants the common good above all. They will no longer see the need for national representation (today there are 27 commissioners, one representing each country). Seeking a rapid solution and change, they will except the change without a treaty change or vote and the governing powers will be reduced to regional representation of perhaps ten regional leaders. This new leadership will be able to respond quickly to eliminate crises. Seeking security the populace will yield up personal and national freedoms. Barrier 2 will be eliminated.
With the creation of regional government within the Union, there will be no need for government and budgets for individual countries. The Union will control the single currency financial system in order to restore financial stability and security to its citizens. Barrier 3 will be eliminated.
This may or may not be the scenario we will see in the near future, but by considering such scenarios, we, as students of the Bible are reminded to be watching and waiting as we redeem the time. The views and opinions expressed are only presented as possible thoughts to enable Bible students to think on current events and develop a world-view based upon the Scriptures.
Printed with permission from Dr. Congdon for God's glory!
Copyrighted 2012
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.As "we as a nation" passes into oblivion, may Almighty God and His Word be your total source for consolation and optimistic reality for today's crisis. Have FAITH in Almighty God America! He alone is able to deliver one from the poisons and corruption that dominate and infest this fallen world (Gal 1:4). My beloved, invest in ETERNITY, not in the few futile seconds of this vain life (Eccl 1:1-3). ETERNITY is where our sights should be set. ETERNITY is our future home (Isa. 65:17, 1 Cor. 2:9, Rev. 21,22:1-5). It is crucial today to be able to distinguish between these two perceptions.
