Current Events & Trends: A view of where Europe is really headed
It's long been apparent that the European Union (as with its predecessors such as the EEC) has been slowly stealing sovereignty from individual nations, seriously undermining their democratic statehood.
Eurocrats who earnestly desire a centralized federal union strongly favor these long-term trends. People who wish to retain their statehood and sovereign rights abhor them.
Observers with a clear vision of Europe are in short supply. But Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic, is one. Bruno Waterfield interviewed him for The Sunday Telegraph, stating in his opening paragraph: "The new push for a European Union federation, complete with its own head of state and army, is the ‘final phase' of the destruction of democracy and the nation state, the president of the Czech Republic has warned" ("Vaclav Klaus Warns That the Destruction of Europe's Democracy May Be in Its Final Phase," Sept. 22, 2012, emphasis added throughout). Klaus warned that certain European politicians "had opened the door to a European superstate" (ibid.).
Recently 11 EU countries including Germany called for a conclusion to national vetoes on defense policy. Berlin's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, wants a directly elected European president who would appoint members of his governing cabinet (which sounds ominous to those who truly understand Bible prophecy). The end to defense vetoes Westerwelle and others envision could eventually pave the way for a "European army." Finally European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that he would put forward proposals for a "fully-fledged 'EU' federation in 2014" (ibid.).
Why all this talk of centralizing European power at a time of crisis for the euro and to a lesser extent for the EU itself? Iain Martin's article in Standpoint magazine sums it up. "To save the euro, some of its members are frantically setting about completing the work started by the original builders of the European project. It is unclear whether they will succeed or fail" ("Beyond Euroscepticism: Time for the Alternative," September 2012).
President Klaus grasps some of the potentially dire implications for the Czech Republic, telling The Telegraph, "We were entering the EU, not a federation in which we would become a meaningless province." Ultimately, smaller European states would have no real say when the leaders of Europe want to take significant steps clearly contrary to the wellbeing of these states and the world at large.
Biblical prophecy presages a far more ominous outcome. Whether the euro or the EU survives or not, a nucleus of 10 European nations under the rule of a charismatic dictator and a powerful religious leader at his side adamantly remains on the horizon. To grasp the direction in which Europe is ultimately headed, read our free Bible study aid Are We Living in the Time of the End? (Sources: Standpoint, The Sunday Telegraph.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: November - December 2012
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.
