World News and Trends: Building the behemoth
The Middle East isn't getting any quieter or terrorists less suicidal.
Thus Europe is quietly ramping up its defensive capabilities. On April 5 in Brussels, the European Union endorsed 2007 as the date by which it plans to formulate six or seven battle groups of 1,500 each, able to fight in the world's most hostile and dangerous locations.
"It is hoped the groups will be deployable within 15 days and sustainable for 30 days (120 with rotation), as preparation for a larger EU contingent, if necessary. The EU had previously agreed to have 60,000 rapid reaction troops available at 60 days' notice, sustainable for up to one year by the beginning of this year. Now some say these new battle group proposals signal a watering down of the EU's ambitions after laborious work was made of the 60,000 goal. The EU's Foreign Policy representative, Javier Solana, emphasized ... 'You must get it out of your minds that the EU is starting from scratch. Lots of things are ready. For operations of this size, we have at this point enough capabilities to deploy them,' he told journalists" (EUObserver.com , April 5).
Bible prophecy tells us that in the end time, a European-centered power will dominate the world (see " The Rising European Superpower: Prophesied in the Bible?,"). Keep your eyes on the EU's internal and foreign policies. The EU-endorsed battle groups appear to be the tiny bud of a great blossoming standing army.
The Middle East cauldron will eventually stir up and directly affect this coming great behemoth.
You might well live to see it happen! (Source: EUObserver.com.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: May - June 2004
Course Content
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.
