More Steps Towards a NAU?

For years now, rumors have been circulating regarding the possibility of the U.S., Mexico and Canada forming a North American Union. A little digging reveals some interesting aspects of these discussions, and its not too hard to envision a progressive movement towards such a union. It is worth remembering that the EU was formed over a long period of decades of treaties, agreements and economic "law" including the formation of the EURO before the Lisbon Treaty was eventually ratified.

We've already seen tangible progress towards a so-called "super highway" which will link Mexico, the U.S. and Canada:
See here
here
and here

That takes us to the most recent articles in which we see plans for a "North American Perimeter" for border control:

Harper, Obama announce 'new vision' for border

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama are seeking a sweeping deal to establish a North American security and trade perimeter, opening talks Friday that could lead to jointly operated Canada-U.S. border facilities, an integrated entry-exit system to track travellers and the deployment of “cross-designated” law enforcement officers to intercept terrorists and criminals.

Harper touted the plan as vital to both the safety and prosperity of Canadians, even as critics expressed concerns a future agreement with the U.S. could compromise the nation’s sovereignty.

The ambitious border declaration — the product of several months of behind-the-scenes preliminary work — foresees the most significant changes in the Canada-U.S. border relationship since the North American Free Trade Agreement.

And that is exactly why so many people share concerns. Now we see the "perimeter approach" which suggests that the North American border will be treated the same as we would a border for a single country:

The declaration issued by Harper and Obama said the two countries “intend to pursue a perimeter approach to security” by tracking potential threats before they reach North America while eliminating many of the hurdles that currently slow the flow of people and goods at the Canada-U.S. border itself.

The Canada and U.S. governments plan to put in place “common technical standards for the collection, transmission and matching of biometrics” to screen travellers in real time.

Officials will also begin negotiating the feasibility of “joint” border facilities “within and beyond” Canada and the United States, opening the possibility of shared customs facilities at overseas ports.

The critics are lining up and expressing more concerns:

Critics decry 'secret' Canada-U.S. border talks

The announcement late last week that Canada and the U.S. are working together to improve conditions at the border has critics crying foul.

During his trip to the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined U.S. President Barack Obama in declaring their two nations are in the process of considering a number of changes to the current border regulations.

From his perspective, Liberal Public Safety critic Mark Holland said he too is worried by the cloak of secrecy that seems to be covering details of the border talks.

"It's very concerning," he said, pointing to national sovereignty, sharing of information and immigration as issues Canadians should be made aware of, if they are in fact up for discussion.

But the failure to detail exactly what such changes might look like has raised critics' ire

Proposed Canadian oilsands pipeline stirs debate in U.S.

This article mainly concerns a pipeline between the U.S. and Canada, something that actually sounds like a good idea, but it was this little nugget that interests the prophecy watcher:

The trend for the most part continued on Friday, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama inked a border declaration that could establish a North American security perimeter. As Harper started talking about the importance of the Canada-U.S. relationship, CNN cut away. Egypt dominated.

There it is again - a "North American Security Perimeter".

And don't forget, we still have this unexplained effort by the EU - as shown on their main site - to define 10 Regions or Unions of the world:

10 Unions

- North America
- Central America and Caribbean
- South America
- Western Europe
- Eastern Europe and Central Asia
- Africa
- North-East and South Asia
- South-East Asia
- Australia and Pacific

At least that represents how the EU sees the world.

Why is this interesting to a prophecy watcher?

Because we know from the prophetic scriptures (Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12-14) that "10 kings" will rule with the antichrist during the Tribulation; in fact, their entire purpose for existence will be as described in Revelation 17:13:

"They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast."

We still don't know exactly what the makeup of these "10 kings" will be. And we may not, on this side of the Rapture. Some scholars believe that the world will be divided along the same "unions" as proposed by the EU (or something similar), and each of these "unions" would have a leader (aka "king") who serves under the world leader, known biblically as the antichrist.

For now, we can just add this to the list of "things worth watching" as we approach the Tribulation.