The New Roman Empire: Crisis=Change?

It seems that the EU is making prophetic related news almost daily now.

We have observed their increasing military plans, and their initial entry into border control with military units which are prepared to enter regions for various emergencies and areas in which borders are an issue. We've also seen their continuing and growing interest in the Middle East, and most recently their interest in securing the Gaza borders.

We have also watched the Euro crisis, and the bailouts of various countries which have created a great deal of instability in the entire EU concept, particularly the Euro currency.

Within all of the above - we know from biblical prophecy that we will have a change in which the revived Roman Empire of Daniel 2 and 7 will morph into the "10 Kings" stage as described in Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12.

Many of us contend that this transition from the EU -->10 Kings would only occur as a result of some kind of crisis. The details of this evolution into the 10 Kings phase are not described in biblical prophecy, so we are left to observe and speculate on how this will happen. The idea of a crisis precipitating this change is indeed speculation, but it is based on traditional models of epic changes taking place in established governmental structures.

To shift from a existing structure such as the current EU model into something such as the "10 Kings" would typically be based on some kind of crisis forcing such change (or, perhaps an incredibly strong leader who forces his will for big changes - that must also be considered).

However, for now, such a leader doesn't exist on the world stage, so for now, we watch for the various crises that engulf the EU and wonder if such crises could precipitate the changes needed to morph into the "10 Kings".

That takes us to today's news:

Year of bullying, bluff and bailouts leaves euro fighting for its life

Only 12 years after it was launched to great fanfare and after early success, the euro is fighting for its short life. Two of the 16 countries using the currency have had to be bailed out, despite the ban on such rescues in 1992's Maastricht treaty that created Europe's monetary union.

Following the traumas of Greece and Ireland, Portugal may be next in line. There are worries about Spain.

In Brussels tomorrow the leaders of 27 countries, as well as the heads of the European commission and the European Central Bank, gather for their seventh EU summit this year, all consumed by the crisis surrounding the single currency.

This meeting should be VERY interesting, and we will watch closely for developments coming from this summit.

The air of rancour and pessimism is pervasive. Bitterness is widespread, particularly among the smaller EU countries and those who feel they are being bullied by the most powerful.

"There is no appetite anywhere for another Franco-German plan to save the euro," said an east European government minister.

Jean Asselborn, the foreign minister of Luxembourg, went further: "I can only warn Germany and France against a claim to power that shows a certain overbearingness and arrogance."

Now we see recognition of "the crisis":

The crisis – a delayed impact from the banking and financial collapse of 2008 – crept up and took EU leaders unawares, starting in the Greek government's confession late last year that its predecessor had been cooking the books for years and that its public debt and budget deficit were careering out of control.

Tomorrow's summit caps a year of unprecedented trouble, with the leaders expected to agree on a new permanent European stability mechanism replacing May's ad hoc emergency fund from 2013. But the EU's leaders are gambling, crossing their fingers and praying for good fortune. No one knows if the gamble will pay off.

In a paper in July, Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of the Bruegel thinktank in Brussels, noted: "In Angela Merkel, the EU has a de facto leader, but one who was not prepared for leadership."

But there is no doubt Merkel is calling the shots, however ambivalently. The main business of the summit is to try to shore up the euro by changing the Lisbon Treaty to establish the stability mechanism.

This article is long, but fascinating and well worth reading. However, one more quote is potentially very telling:

Another new book, meanwhile, is heading up the Christmas bestseller lists in Germany. Save Our Money, an anti-euro broadside by Hans-Olaf Henkel, the former boss of the German equivalent of the CBI, argues for splitting the currency north and south, strong and weak.

Not sure what this means, but is it possible that the "split" described above could create a 10 nation block of the "strong"?

That is something else worth watching closely.

In related news we see this:

Street violence, trade union demos cast shadow on EU summit

Fresh, extremely violent riots in which the Greek finance ministry was set ablaze and an ex-minister was beaten and left with blood streaming down his face rocked Athens on Wednesday (15 December).

Anger at EU-IMF-imposed austerity is boiling over in Greece.

Some 20,000 workers according to police and 100,000 according to organisers marched through the Greek capital and descended on the parliament as part of a union-co-ordinated 24-hour general strike. Furious protestors threw chunks of concrete, bottles and molotov cocktails in pitched battles with police, who responded with tear gas. Demonstrators launched fire bombs at the second floor of the Ministry of Economics, setting the entrance alight.

The Greek violence comes in the context of wider social unrest in Europe in recent days.

In a different set of well-organised and peaceful protests, trade unions on Wednesday also organised a pan-European day of action designed to fall ahead of Thursday's EU summit, which will tackle the latest EU response to the financial crisis.

Events were held in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain.

Commenting on the recent upsurge in violence, Mr Monks warned that the EU's chosen path of austerity "will be marked by greater social unrest, more nationalism, more protectionism."

"There has been an upsurge in militancy and social unrest. There's something new going on," he said.

And finally, this commentary reveals interesting information:

Danger! EU aid!

The punitive amounts of interest the Irish will pay on the EU “loans” they were forced into accepting are beginning to emerge.

As for that European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), the one created on the dodgy legal base of Article 122 of the Lisbon Treaty, this aid too is being charged at an extortionate 5.7 per cent.

Ireland, which has no money and was not allowed by the EU to give a “haircut” to the banks that fuelled the bubble that destroyed its economy, is effectively being fined an interest surcharge of €658 million every year to encourage it to pay back the cash quickly.

Over the seven and a half years of the loan that could well be a punitive surcharge of almost €5 billion.

This is not exactly what most of us would think of as solidarity – as the Irish opposition has noted too.

It’s punishment time, and the EU has also drawn up a savage programme of cuts to social welfare, just to rub salt into the wound. But what exactly are the Irish being punished for?

The EU has become the mechanism by which big countries, such as Britain and Germany, coerce small countries, such as Ireland, in their own protectionist interests.

As stated before, crisis usually results in change, and the EU is experiencing an abundance of crises.

Couple that fact with the fact that biblical prophecy has forewarned us about a big change - a change that dictates that the revived Roman Empire will somehow change into "10 Kings" makes all of this highly interesting.

I believe it is quite possible that we are seeing the very beginnings of an epic transition into the 10 Kings phase. And if that is true, then we are rapidly progressing into the Tribulation - even faster than anticipated.

It seems that lately, there is never a dull moment in prophecy watching. And the excitement comes from the fact that we know what awaits us - a coming Christ - our bridegroom. And He will come for His bride. Its a promise.