T.R. Reid in his book, The United States of Europe (2004), remarks that his friend Donald Graham once said of the creators of the European Union: "If these guys really can unite Europe, after all the warfare and conflict they've been through, that's a fantastic achievement ... I think you've got a significant piece of history playing out right in front of you" (p. 291). That history is still very much in the making. Yet, international pundits see the recent "no" vote on the EU Constitution by France and the Netherlands as a "major blow to the EU" that "may scuttle the charter" (UPI, Paris, France; 5/30/05). They note, "The Netherlands has become the second country to reject a proposed constitution for the European Union, three days after the French turned the proposal down, leaving the EU in disarray over what steps to take next" (CNN.com; June 1, 2005). "Eurosceptic MEPs called the treaty 'dead' and attacked any notion of future ratification as 'arrogant and anti-democratic'" (euobserver.com; 6/8/05).

What brought on these "no" votes? One factor was Europe's sluggish economy. Many Europeans disagree with their leaders over the new constitution's usefulness in providing a viable solution to the economic problems confronting them. Notice this news item. "France and Germany, with unemployment stuck around 10 percent and pension systems sinking deeply in debt, are ill equipped to address the problem of massive immigration and the competition of cheaper labor. Nor are the richer countries, with stalled economies, happy about paying subsidies to the poorer ones, which are growing faster" (Newsweek, 6/13/05, p.35).

Clearly, smaller or weaker EU nations could become a financial burden to the larger and economically stronger ones under the new constitution. Smaller EU members generally benefit from the collective approach of the current EU structure. "The rapid increase of wealth in Ireland has caused problems, but these are problems that most of the Irish welcome" (The United States of Europe, p. 248).

However, a poll "... carried out by Germany's most widely read newspaper—the tabloid Bild Zeitung ... showed that if Germans had been asked their opinion on the EU constitution in a referendum, over 96 percent would have turned it down" (euobserver.com, 6/9/05). The German government bypassed its citizens' opinion by approving the new constitution without a referendum.

Will 10 future European leaders combine their power with the same tactic? Could these current EU disputes foreshadow the end-time prophetic makeup of an inner circle or "iron" core of stronger nations surrounded by an outer ring of "clay-like" weaker ones?

A centerpiece of end-time Bible prophecy is the last of the four kingdoms that started with ancient Babylon and ends with a resurrected Roman empire. Represented by a giant man-like image whose two iron legs and its ten toes symbolize an end-time revival of a Roman-like kingdom that embodies ancient Rome's far reaching power and international dominance (Daniel 2:40-44).

The modern European Union alone is emerging with that potential. No other combination of nations matches the Bible's prediction of that final revival of a church-state combination out of the traditions of the ancient Roman Empire (cf. Revelation 17). Like Europe today, this final Roman-like alliance will be marked by its bipolar strengths and weaknesses.

"Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay" (Daniel 2:37-43; emphasis added). Naturally, such symbolic mixture of iron and clay can refer to and include Europe's many national, economic, cultural and ethnic differences.

Have the recent "no" votes against the new EU Constitution shed a prophetic light on a "partly strong and partly fragile" future configuration of Europe? Most likely! Add to this mix a great internationally powerful church and you have a historically "holy" revival of the Roman-like empire prophesied in Revelation 17.