The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Iron Mixed With Clay – The Brittle European Union

The Prophet Daniel 2,500 years ago had a vision of the four major empires that would dominate over the Holy Land up until the time Jesus Christ returned. The final form of the fourth empire of Rome would still contain some power, but be brittle in its structure and cohesion.

“As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.” — Daniel 2:42-43 (NIV)

The current torchbearer of the Roman Empire is the 27-nation bloc rising superpower based at Rue de la Loi in Brussels, Belgium — the European Union (EU). It is currently being tested by the world financial crisis, and true to prophecy, it is failing.

A Tuesday, October 7, 2008, Newsmax.com article titled European Union Tested by World Economic Crisis reports on how brittle the EU has been performing under the crisis:

“[The EU] hasn’t taken sweeping joint action to deal with the global financial meltdown. Instead, it’s essentially left member countries to go it alone with a patchwork of measures aimed at keeping banks afloat. Frustrated investors want to know why, and some have begun to question whether the EU — at its core, an economic union — will survive. Although the EU pledged to act as one to calm roiled markets, it hasn’t done much beyond a move Tuesday to boost guarantees on savings accounts.”

“By relinquishing key decisions to its members just as they’re turning to EU headquarters for guidance at a time of crisis, the bloc could see decades of attempts to forge unity simply disintegrate.”

“EU members have clashed repeatedly on deploying troops to Afghanistan or even whether to send 24 of their estimated 12,000 military helicopters to Darfur. They’ve bogged down completely on more thorny issues, such as how to respond to terrorism or recognize an independent Kosovo.”

“EU leaders have forfeited ‘a chance for Europe to find new leadership and credibility on the world stage,’ Italy’s II Sole 24 Ore financial daily said Tuesday. Instead, it warned, the leadership vacuum thrusts the entire bloc into ‘a suicidal position.'”

“If the EU can’t forge a common response to a collapse that transcends borders, involves multinational lenders and has pushed the euro currency down to its lowest level in a year, some wonder: What’s the point of having an EU?”

The European Union’s united military strength and formidable Euro currency makes the EU quite powerful. But, the lack of central leadership makes the EU unable to act in a crisis, and therefore brittle.

For the European Union to become a force to react to crisis, they will have to give emergency powers to a common leader who can effect change with power over its current 27 nations. The EU will indeed get that person at some point in the form of the man the Bible calls the Antichrist. Once he has stabilized the European Union, he can then assimilate the missing part of the old Roman Empire — the Middle East.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

5 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Yes indeed the world is ripe for a leader that can solve the financial upheaval. The antichrist will no doubt consolidate the EU into 10 nations to stabalize the economies thereby fulfilling the prophecy. Also, the US is close to the point where it can no longer provide any support to Israel which sets up Gog and Magog scenario.

    Even so Lord Jesus, come quickly. Maranatha!

  • I really appreciate your blog. I found it last week and have looked forward each day to read your thoughts since I also think we’re heading at warp speed toward the Second Coming.

    I do have a slight issue with your article on the EU and it’s relation to the Daniel prophecy. The current torchbearer to the Roman Empire is the EU only because Italy is part of the EU. The British had control over Palestine during the early part of the 20th Century and the British Empire during colonialism was larger and stronger than the EU would ever hope to be. There is that old line about the sun never setting on the British Empire. So wouldn’t the British Empire which no longer exists be a better example of the Daniel prophecy rather than the EU?? To me, it looks like you’re trying to shoehorn the EU into Daniel.

  • Glad the blog has been a blessing to you, Lori!

    That the British Empire is no more, swallowed up in many respects by the EU, shows it’s not the current standard-bearer of the Roman Empire.

    Some Bible prophecy teachers have speculated that the 10 nations portrayed as part of the Antichrist’s kingdom may also be representative of time periods. Just like the Roman Empire had a Western and Eastern half, so each of the 5 toes represents a nation in each half that has dominated a time in history as a continuance of the Roman Empire. If this is the case, Great Britian would have been one of the 5 toes on the Western half of the Roman Empire.

  • I was reading Zechariah 8:23 this morning and was hoping Nathan, David, or other could give their opinion of that. the “ten men” jumped out at me as well as they “will take firm hold of one Jew”. Does or could this verse represent the ten nations that will come together in end times (the ten toes). and is this one of the verses that people use to claim the antichrist will be a jew?

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