World News and Trends: Europe's first president: Prophetic significance?
In January 2009 the United States will inaugurate its 44th president.
In January 2009 the United States will inaugurate its 44th president. The selection process has been underway for many months. But few realize that, across the Atlantic, it's quite possible that the European Union (EU) may see its first president also assume office in January of next year, beginning a 2½-year term.
Currently the two primary candidates are former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Jean-Claude Juncker, current prime minister of Luxembourg. The EU process of selection runs roughly parallel with this year's U.S. presidential race, although the methods are vastly different. The much less democratic EU selection will be by a "council of chiefs of state and government created by the Lisbon Treaty" (International Herald Tribune, Jan. 22, 2008).
Europeans who oppose Tony Blair's candidacy point to Britain's ambivalence about its EU role in general. The U.K.'s choice to reject the euro as a national currency doesn't help his cause either. Britain's participation in the Iraq War is yet another important factor. However, in January Mr. Blair delivered a strong pro-Brussels speech in the French language at a Parisian conference in the presence of the new president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Prime Minister Juncker's reputation is "that of a European federalist or super-state advocate" (ibid.). Many in Britain oppose his candidacy. Perhaps a compromise choice will eventually emerge.
The term of office and the powers of this new EU presidential office are definitely limited in scope for the present time. Still, many European observers consider it a groundbreaking move forward for Europe. This is just one more step in the steady EU progression towards greater political union with a European military force firmly in the EU vision. In retrospect, the progress made in the last 50 years has been nothing short of astonishing.
For greater insight and understanding of these important events, request or download our free booklets The Book of Revelation Unveiled and Are We Living in the Time of the End? Much end-time Bible prophecy focuses on events in Europe and the Middle East. These two major regions will increasingly intertwine as time moves on, as noted in another of our booklets, The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Sunday Times [London], International Herald Tribune.)
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Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
