The real beginning of the idea of the Antichrist began with the Jewish people in the period between the Old and New Testaments in the 2nd century BC. At that time Israel was under the control of the Greeks. Although this period is between the Old and New Testament some of the major events are prophesied in considerable detail in the Book of Daniel. In Daniel chapter 11 the "little horn" or "vile person" is mentioned. This refers to Antiochus Epiphanes who defiled the Jewish Temple in 165 BC by offering a pig or swine on it. A pig is an unclean animal or abomination to the Jews in Daniel 11:31. It also mentions that he will take away the daily sacrifice in Daniel 11:31. Those that know their God were the Jewish fighters named the Maccabees. The idea of the Antichrist was also in Antiochus Epiphanes trying to set up an ungodly government and suppress the worship of the One true God in this case the Jewish worship of Him and to suppress their nation. This is mentioned in Daniel 11:28, 30 in the statement that he shall have indignation or anger against the holy covenant meaning Israel's covenant relationship with God. This will also be the case of the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea in the 70th week of Daniel or the Great Tribulation although he will also be against anyone placing genuine faith in Jesus Christ as the promised Jewish Messiah and Saviour of the world.
In the New Testament period because it was corrupt and ungodly and persecuted Christians and didn't accept the Christian teaching that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and know Him and get His eternal life and that He will later set up God's government over all the Earth the 1st century Christian saw the Roman Caesars and the Roman Empire as the Antichrist or the government of the Antichrist. This comes across very strongly in the book of Revelation. Evangelical Christians believe with globalization, increasing intrusion of privacy, increase of ungodliness and the rise of the European Union that the Antichrist will be revealed soon, right after the rapture. We think he will rule the world from Europe possibly Rome. He will have relations in power with the other kings of the Earth and the last days interfaith religious system that will probably be headed by the Roman Catholic Church. The Antichrist is also called the Beast out of the Sea, the Son of Perdition and the Man of Sin. The Antichrist especially in the second half of the Great Tribulation will be totally submissive and loyal to the devil or the dragon - Satan or Lucifer. He will also be part of the Satanic trinity of the last days that will be Satan's counterfeit of the Divine Trinity. The Antichrist will be like Jesus Christ in the Divine Trinity in that he will be the main Incarnation but of Satan and evil instead of God the Father and good in the case of Jesus Christ. Besides the Antichrist the Satanic Trinity will include Satan and the Beast out ot the Land who is the same as the False Prophet. The Beast out of the Land will most likely be Jewish as the land always speaks of the Jews in the Bible while the sea often speaks of the nations or Gentiles.
Some information I have learned recently helps me become more suspicious that the current President of the European Council or of the European Union overall Herman Van Rompuy could indeed be the Antichrist. I have found out that he has contempt for democracy and that because he comes from Belgium that is divided between the French Walloons and the Dutch Flemish people and doesn't have a distinct identity he feels more a citizen of the European Union or the world rather than his home country of Belgium or any other nation state. He also is very supportive of world government as his statement at around the time of his acceptance of his position of EU President. At that time he said the following: "2009 is also the first year of global government with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of a financial crisis; the climate conference in Copenhagen is another step towards the global management of our planet." From a Biblical Christian viewpoint we can certainly be said to be in a greater state of world government but not yet in the state of a stronger or more oppressive world government of the Antichrist after his treaty with Israel to rebuild their temple that will begin the tribulation and world eventually dictatorial rule of the antichrist. Mr. Van Rompuy also believes Europe as included in the current European Union or any possible additional countries such as from the Balkans are mostly Christian in culture and he wants to keep it this way by blocking the inclusion of mostly Islamic and very populous Turkey in the European Union. His religion on Wikipedia is also listed as Roman Catholic although I don't know how devout he is but this would also be a good qualification for him as the Antichrist as the government of the Antichrist is viewed as the revived Roman Empire.
In June 2013 a CIA worker in the US leaked some sensitive information to the British Guardian newspaper about American spying on its own citizens and of other countries. Mr. Snowden is 29 years old and works for a company named Booz Allen Hamilton which received work contracted out from the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). There were revelations that the telephone business Verizon was ordered to give phone conversation information to the National Security Agency (NSA). This information included both phone numbers involved in the call and the locations and date and time of the calls. There were also claims that a secret program called Prism that was supposed to be set up in 2007 by former US President George Bush Jr eavesdropped communications on major internet companies. Later on there were revelations that the United States security was eavesdropping or even hacking internet web sites in other countries including Germany and China. There have been claims by the US intelligence community that these intelligence measures prevented a couple dozen potential terrorist incident in the United States and other countries. US president Barack Obama and some US intelligence or defence directors have criticized this action of Mr. Snowden as threatening US security. Mr. Snowden fled to Hong Kong after this incident and is possibly still there or perhaps he has gone somewhere else but his location is currently not known as of mid-June 2013. All this goes to show the extent the United States and likely some other countries spy on their citizens or those of other countries and the extent things are ready for the antichrist or beast out of the sea mentioned in the bible in Revelation 13, 17, 2 Thessalonians 2 Daniel 9:27 and other scriptures when the antichrist will be world dictator and will be quite oppressive over the world's political, economic, religious and military spheres. I would therefore urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life so you can not only have eternal life but be assured of being spared the tribulation by taking part in the rapture of the church as soon as possible.
In October 2012 the European Union agreed on a pact to give more control of all the 6000 or so banks in the European Union to a centralized EU body. This will transfer control from the national central banks or other central banking bodies in the individual controls. Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Francois Hollands led the negotiations to reach this agreement. This agreement will be over all the European banks even though Germany had wanted some of its banks to be exempt. To some degree this treaty will take effect in January 2013 as with other things in this paragraph according to what I read in an article on the www.euobserver.com web site. This is another step to an eventual economic and political union in Europe that will be used by the Antichrist or Beast out of the sea to rule the world in the seven year tribulation according to God's Word - the Holy Bible. Since such steps are happening now and continuing to develop I would urge the reader to as soon as possible trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead to give new life so you can have a relationship with the creator God and also be spared being on earth during the tribulation.
In the second weekend of December 2011 the European Union had a summit to attempt to regain investor confidence in the Euro currency and the European Union. Among other things all participating countries, which now looks like all countries except the United Kingdom, will be required to have balanced budgets with annual deficits of no more than half a percent point of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Nations that exceed three percent of GDP will face scrutiny and penalties from the European Union. The European Commission will look at the national budgets and state their requirements. They will also be able to send in bureaucrats that will compel member nations to take bailouts even if they don't desire this. Member countries will also be required to contribute more money into an EU bailout fund to be called the European Stability Mechanism. It is supposed to come into effect by July 2012 instead of 2013 proposed for a previous bailout fund. More financial summits are also promised as is also further consideration of European Union bonds. There has also been a denial by Germany to the European Union to allow it to print more money (Euros). The EU Commission has called for more fiscal consolidation of member EU countries (all but the UK) and a cross EU tax on financial transactions and for a common corporate and financial tax base. These latter measures were the principle items that persuaded British Prime Minister David Cameron from including Britain in this agreement. With the closer fiscal union including national deficits and tax policy of member countries across the EU the stage is further set for someone to rise to the top of the European Union and more easily lead it. This fiscal union probably means the time is that much closer for the Antichrist the Beast out of the Sea and the Man of Sin and his partner the False Prophet to arise in Europe and lead the world in the tribulation as its antichrist and devilish tyrant although he will probably come in as a peacemaker and on a wave of public acclaim at first. A main thing besides solving remaining economic problems in Europe or the world that will make him popular and reveal him to the world will be the peace he establishes in the Middle East with Israel and probably involving the Arabs including Palestinians that will feature permission for Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount. Since these things seem to be progressing I would urge the reader to as soon as possible trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins on the cross and rose again to give you new life and receive him as your personal Lord and Saviour so you can not only have eternal life and a relationship with God etc but also be spared of being left behind on earth during the tribulation but instead be caught up to heaven as part of the church to be with God and the Lord Jesus Christ and his people. This will also insure you will come with Jesus at his second coming to establish his kingdom on earth and enjoy eternity with Him and God the Father.
In late October 2010 the European Union had a conference to try to replace the temporary system for bailing out indebted countries of the EU after the financial crisis in Greece. The temporary system adopted at the time of the Greek economic crisis will expire in 2013 but this new system will be more long term. The previous economic crisis in Greece almost led to the collapse of the entire area of Europe using the Euro currency after a finanical panic. This new treaty would seek to take more preventive measure to stop a similiar crisis from developing beforeahand farther in advance. For instance fines would be exercised to countries that are developing debt problems in which debts exceed the Lisbon treaty guidelines of 60% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) or in inflated housing speculation conditions that are getting ready to burst. There would be a permanent bailout fund created that would be made possible by the different EU nations contributing some money on an ongoing basis that could be used in an emergency or impending emergency. Under the recently passed Lisbon Treaty the EU was not allowed to have its member nations bail out other less well off member nations. Now Herman Van Rompuy the new EU President has been appointed to look out how these proposed measures can be implemented with out requiring votes or even referendum by national governments of the EU which they are generally allowed to do when significantly more power is given to the EU government. He and the European Commission will report back in December 2010. The EU government will try to say this is not a large enough change to require votes or referendum in the national governments since there is the idea that is probably justified that if national governments or especially the public through referendum are allowed to comment on the Lisbon Treaty and the EU they might make all kinds of other demands which EU leaders wouldn't like and would take power away from the EU and to which the national governments couldn't agree on. Any major change for which it is felt that national governments should vote or on have referendum conerning more power to the EU requires a unanimous vote which was what caused so much problems for passsing the Lisbon Treaty in the first place and almost prevented it altogether from being passed. From a bible prophecy viewpoint the fact that this measure will probably strengthen the European Union economically and probably politically in the long term and that it has been overseen by the new EU President Mr. Van Rompuy is a wake up call that progress is being made in the rise of the revived Roman empire from which the antichrist will rule the world in the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel although it is not at all certain that Mr. VAn Rompuy will be the Antichrist since he doesn't seem charismatic enough. Although Europe still has some economic problems and are some ways from more effectively competing with newly emerging economic giants like China and India or even standing above the United States this treaty will help the EU move forward and better provide the administrative base from which the Antichrist can lead the EU to world prominence in the tribulation. This article is based on information from the BBC and www.euobserver.com. Personally I think many evangelical Christians and Bible teachers these days are preoccupied with the role of Islam in the world and have forgotten about the New World Order and role of the revived roman empire led by the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea in the Bible for the main role of Bible prophecy in the tribulation. That can be seen by the lack of books on this subject in Christian bookstores among other things. I would urge the reader to make an effort to monitor this topic on such sources as I mentioned above or on some sources that still give Christian views on this topic like southwest radio church so that the rapture of the church and following tribulation don't sneak up on you like a thief in the night. This news was also not widely shared on Canadian media and probably not on general American media either. The way to be prepared for the rapture of the church and the following tribulation is to admit you are a sinner and pray to God in Jesus' name to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour that died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life so you can take part in the rapture and not be left behind for the tribulation.
Although it didn't start in October 2010, the currency crisis between China and the West especially the United States continued to become more critical and a greater source of tension in this month. The main reason China and some other countries undervalue their currencies is that it makes their exports more competitive on the world markets and leads to greater employment in their countries. I heard on the media that the Chinese currency is now about 40% undervalued. Although China is still resisting it it has now ackowledged the problem and has said it will do something about it but gradually and at its own pace not the faster pace desired by the United States and other western powers. The ongoing efforts to reach a solution to this problem will lead even further to the globalization of the economy and to some extent of government. However the efforts by the Chinese government to resist quick or substantial revaluation of the Chinese currency the yuan could lead to some strain in international government relations in the meantime but diplomatic officials from all sides will probably do their best to limit any strain in international relations between China and the west. According to the Bible these efforts to get global solutions to world financial problems is leading us closer and closer to the mark of the beast that will become the basis for the world economic system in the tribulation at least in the second half of the tribulation 3 1/2 years into the tribulation. It is apparent from problems like this currency crisis that the current economic system is not working. This artifical low ratio of the chinese currency to the US dollar and other currencies has been and continues to be one of the main factor for the United States and other western countries have a negative balance of trade with more imports especially from China than exports. This has also led to a huge debt in United States and other western powers and the devaluing of the US dollar with respect to other currencies and the questioning by many whether the US dollar should continue to be the international reserve currency including the currency in which global goods such as gold, silver and oil are quoted in. Any change from this could also lead to a more one-world currency and a step to the mark of the beast. I would therefore encourage the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give you new life as soon as possible so you won't be left behind on earth in the tribulation after the catching up to heaven of all true Christians. One of the dangers of living in the tribulation will be trying to survive without using the mark of the beast which will be the enforced world currency then and that refusing it could endanger one's physical life but taking it will condemn a person to an eternally tormented destiny in the lake of fire.
On August 2, 2011 United States President Barack Obama signed into law an agreement to avert national bankruptcy for United States at least for the time being. The United States had previously set a limit of 14.3 trillion dollars as the maximum for their debt which was reached earlier this year. This led to negotiations between president Obama and the Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress and Senate on a deal to provide for more money for the United States government in a way they hope won't be too offensive to investors and bond raters of the US debt. These investors were wanting about 4 trillion dollars in cuts to the US debt over a fairly short period. Instead they got about 2.4 trillion in cuts over the next ten years. This agreement will also allow the United States to borrow another 2 trillion dollars or so. It remains to be seen whether this will prevent the credit rating agencies from lowering the US credit rating for the first time in a long time with the concessions in this agreement. The Republics wanted cuts to social programs and not to increase taxes on the rich while the Democrats including president Obama were mostly the opposite. The Republicans were heavily influenced by the staunchly conservative Tea Party movement in their party that is extremely opposed to new taxes including for the rich. Predient Obama is also to set up a council of 13 including himself and 6 congressmen from each of the Democrats and Republicans particularly to determine where to find the spending cuts as outlined in Obama's plans in the next ten years. From a biblical Christian viewpoint this agreement prevents the immediate bankruptcy and collapse of the American economy and serious affects on the world economy but it still won't prevent continuing deterioration of the US and world economy with the continuing possibility in a downgrade in the US credit rating. This could still lead to a new world currency to replace the US dollar soon with the new world currency possibly introduced by the Antichrist or the Beast after the rapture of the church and beginning of the tribulation. I would therefore still urge the reader who is not yet a Christian according to the Bible to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins on the cross and rose again the third day according to the Bible the word of God and if you are already a Christian to grow in your Christian faith and urge other people you come in contact with that are still outside of God's family and Church to trust in the Lord Jesus soon so they can have their sins removed and into enter a relationship with God.
In late September 2010 there was a major United Nations Summit at the time of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting that generally takes place in September. Although there were other events at this summit a main event from a world government progress perspective is the 5 year update of the Millennium Development Goals. These were goals to help world society that were basically agreed on in the year 2000 and have target achievements set for the year 2015. There was an update on the progress of these goals in 2005 and this year in September there was the next 5 year update and review. The Millennium Development Goals are the goals through which the United Nations has agreed on with major countries in the world both in the developing world and the developed world to focus assistance to developing lesser developed countries. These 8 goals are the following: 1/ eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2/ achieve universal primary education; 3/ promote gender equality and empower women; 4/ reduce child mortality; 5/ improve maternal health; 6/ combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; 7/ ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development. Although many of these goals are good in themselves and things Christians can agree on some of them are also open to abuse such as combating HIV/AIDS by just encouraging same sex instead of chastity before marriage and abuse by using this as an opportunity to desensitize people to the sin of homosexuality that is a major factor still in the spread of AIDS which isn't always being addressed. Also environmental sustainability can sometimes be used as a general excuse at deindustrialization especially in the west as some people in the environmental movement have more care for mother earth, plants and animals than the well being of their fellow humans. Most of this basic news was from the BBC news service and a book What's Wrong With the United Nations and How to Fix It by Thomas G. Weiss. However, from a biblical Christian perspective, the biggest danger of this Millennial Development program is that it is through the United Nations and it is being used as an effort to further a global government and global economy and through groups like the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches that I am quite sure are involved in this program and other world religions that probably are as well this also leads the world closer to a one world religion. The reason myself and other bible believing Christians are so concerned about these things is that these are attempts at one world systems without the true Creator God of the Bible, His Son Jesus Christ or His Word - the Holy Bible or his people born again or bible believing Christians who have been called out of this world to God through the new birth of God's Holy Spirit after trusting in God's Son the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross are rose from the dead to give us new life from God. Since these global solutions of the nations through the United Nations are attempts at one world systems without God they will naturally fit right in with and set the stage for Satan the devil's global government through his representatives the Antichrist or Beast out of the sea as the coming world dictator and his associate the False Prophet mentioned in Revelation 13, 16, 17 and 20 etc. and in the Book of Daniel. Therefore I would encourage the reader not to be carried away with the excitement of some people with these programs or with the ignorance that they are even going on with others but to be aware of them but see them as a sign that the Antichrist and his one world systems without the one true God the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus Christ are coming soon and will be realized in the 7 year tribulation after the catching up (rapture) of all true Christians who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ according to the Bible. I would urge the reader to do this as soon as possible if you haven't done it already and if you have to continue to live for Jesus and better know his word, serve him and witness to other unsaved people about eternal life in Him while this current age of grace or church age is still in effect. The tribulation will start with a Middle East peace between Israel and the Arabs including the Palestinians that will allow the Jews to build their Third Temple where they can again have animal sacrifices viewed to cover sins on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as in Daniel 9:27.
On the beginning of December 1, 2009 the EU Lisbon Treaty became law thoughout the European Union. There has been very little coverage of this in the media especially compared with its importance and almost none in the Canadian media although there was some mention of it at the time of the new leadership positions of the EU. However my main source of information and about the only substantial media source in English on this topic has been the BBC or British Broadcasting Corporation. The probable reason there was especially little coverage on December 1 of this event is that most of the work was already done by the latest deadline. On October 18, 2007 the European Union as a whole approved this Lisbon Treaty and between that time and the December deadline all the European nations separately approved although with some special concessions to some countries such as to the Czech Republic and to Ireland which was the only country that by its national laws had to have a referendum rather than a parliamentary vote on matter such as this. It is quite possible that this would have been the situation also in Switzerland which is famous for having referendums on many issues but Switzerland has never joined the European Union and as far as I know has no interest in doing so in the forseeable future even though it is in the middle of Europe. This Lisbon Treaty of course was billed as a way to make the European Union more efficient and more prominent on the world stage. The first part will probably come true with majority voting replacing a universal consensus or vetoes on much of the legislation being considered by the European Parliament or other bodies but the actual choice of at least the first leading positions of the European Union or European Council of the low profile candidates Herman Van Rompuy from Belgium and Baroness Cathy Ashton from Britain means the promise of this treaty to give Europe a higher profile on the world stage will not be realized in the first 2 1/2 year term of the treaty and of these positions of President and High Representative or Foreign Minister of Europe. This would have been much more the case if someone like Tony Blair or Nicolas Sarkozy had been chosen for the presidential position. However it was mentioned that some existing prominent leaders of Europe such as Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and the existing head of the European Commission Jose Barroso didn't want people in these new EU positions that would overshadow them in Europe or the world stage. Both Herman Van Rompuy and Cathy Ashton are quite dedicated to a stronger and more centralized Europe and will probably work devotedly to pass legislation under the new Lisbon Treaty towards that end now that the treaty has come into affect after December 1. From a Christian viewpoint this could still pave the way for the Antichrist and the False Prophet with a more united and centralized Europe prepared for them to base their world rule from and they could still use these positions to gain the higher profile positions in Europe that were originally envisioned for them. I would therefore take this opportunity to again encourage the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he was the Son of God who came into this world to die for our sins on the cross and the third day rise again to give us new and eternal life and that you would also admit you are a sinner before a God that is perfectly righteous as well as loving and that you can't save or justify yourself by your own good works or merit. This is what is necessary not only to have eternal life and a relationship with God but also to escape the imminent worldwide tribulation for God's judgment of the world before Jesus' second coming to give a final judgment of the world and set up His Kingdom on earth for those who become His trusting people. If you are or soon become a Christian I encourage you to read and come to understand more of God's Word the Holy Bible especially from a literal viewpoint and apply it to your life and to otherwise serve God while he gives us opportunity in this age and so we can have eternal rewards or crowns laid up in heaven in addition to eternal life.
According to what I saw on the BBC and other sources the former Belgian leader Herman Van Rompuy has now officially been chosen as the first President of Europe or the European Council. He is not familiar to people outside Belgium, even to other parts of Europe as he is not very charismatic and was only Prime Minister of Belgium for less than a year. His main accomplishment was being even-handed between the French and Flemish factions in Belgium's divided parliament and country and doing much to bring them closer together as a consensus builder. This was probably his main appeal to European heads of state who were responsible for choosing the new European President and Foreign Minister. Herman Van Rompuy also has before clearly expressed his opposition to including Turkey in the European Union because of its primarily Islamic religion and culture unlike most of Europe that is nominally Christian. Mr. Van Rompuy has also expressed his interest in a more strongly centralized Europe. Mr. Van Rompuy also was formerly head of Belgium's lower house of parliament and a budgetary or finance minister where he brought much progress to Belgium in helping her better balance their national economic situation. He was a veteran member of the Flemish Christian Democrat party which is a center-right party in the Belgium government. He was also formerly worked for the Belgium central bank. He does not have any experience I know of in the European Union and another reason he might have been chosen for European Union President is because the existing heads of state didn't want a high profile candidate selected for EU President that would overshadow them such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Although Mr. Van Rompuy does not look like a fitting candidate for the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea mentioned in the Bible, time will tell whether he will change or whether some other more suitable candidate might soon replace him. The normal limit for a term in this position is 2 1/2 years with a possible additional second term also of 2 1/2 years. The end of the first term would probably go to the beginning of June 2012 as the start of this position might not begin until December 1, 2009 when the Lisbon Treaty is supposed to fully take effect. The Antichrist person in the Bible of course will be a matchless charismatic person who also is extremely cunning, deceitful, violent and ruthless especially in the second half of the tribulation when he will be entirely possessed by the devil. Mr. Van Rompuy especially at this time seems very far from these characteristics although sometimes power has a way of corrupting many people. The Antichrist will also be the world especially Europe's polical and military leader at least in the 7 year tribulation and these are aspects provided for at least as far as Europe is concerned for this position. However Mr. Van Rompuy would have to take much more explicit and notable leadership to be anything close to the Bible description of the Antichrist in these areas. The President of the European Union is supposed to also be the new face of the European Union to the world such as in international summits like the G20, the World Economic Forum or perhaps some specialized summits like the coming environmnental one in Copenhagen, Denmark so he should become more well known due to the international media quite soon. The complementary position that has also been created at this time is the Foreign Minister of the European Union or EU Council which is responsible for economic and foreign policy matters of the European Union, has now been filled for the first term by another low profile person, Baroness Catherine Ashton of Britain and could eventually lead to the Bible role of the False Prophet or Beast out of the Land.
In a meeting in Russia between top European Union authorities and those of Russia, Herman Van Rompuy was given priority in speaking on behalf of the European Union even though other main leaders of the European Union such as president of the European Commission Jose Barroso and EU Foreign Ministry Cathy Ashton were also present. It was stated by some officials that the permission for Mr. Van Rompuy to be the main speaker for the European Union was meant as a sign by EU officials that the primary authority to speak on behalf of the European Union at international meetings had shifted to the post of President of the European Union at that time and continuing at this time to be held by Mr. Van Rompuy. The topics of the meeting including energy trade and perhaps some other trade and security matters in the relationship between the EU and Russia. This story was in www.euobserver.com. and called Van Rompuy takes centre stage at EU-Russia summit.
As has been well publicized, there has been considerable economic problems in the European Union and attempts to address them this month. Although a great deal of the problems are real the response by international investors has probably been exagerated so they can profit from a declining market by economic methods such as short selling. I may have mentioned earlier on my web site that the European Union has stipulations for the economy of its member states that no more than 3% of the Gross Domestic Product should be the level of a country's annual deficit. But I have since learned from the EUObserver web site that there is another condition that the accumulated shortfall or the debt of any EU country should be no more than 60% of the annual GDP or gross domestic product. The situation in Greece and some other European countries has exceeded these amounts, especialy the condition for deficits, for several years in a row in some cases by large extents. There is now general agreement that more strict measures need to be taken to gain investor confidence and set the economies of the European Union countries on a more sound basis. Part of this was the recent one trillion dollar bailout from European Union central banks and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prop up the Euro currency. There has been around May 20 or 21, 2010 a meeting of the European Council and EU country finance ministers and treasurers a meeting to address these problems and move towards a more centralized or co-ordinated European Union wide economy instead of the economy being still mostly set by the individual national governments. A main complaint against the Euro currency is that the financial policy by the countries involved has been mostly set by the individual countries representing their particular interests which can sometimes even be contrary to each other and not a European wide financial body that would set planning that would best support the good of the European Union and its currency the Euro. Herman Van Rompuy has been presiding over these meeting as his role as the Predident of the European Union and coming to take some more responsibility and power although still quite low-key compared to what was originally envisioned for this role. I still think as a bible-believing Christian that these ongoing economic problems in the European Union could lead to the rise of the antichrist who could take over the role of EU President by the time of the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel and rise to be the world dictator from his power base in Europe. This would be very similiar to the way Adolf Hitler and the Nazis rose to power in the early 1930s when Germany was having a time of economic problems and some inferiority on the international stage. I therefore think these economic problems and the move towards a more centralized economy and to some extent government in the European Union could also indicate that the rapture or catching up to heaven of all true Christians who have in our heart admitted we are sinners and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour that he died for us and rose again could be soon. This would be immediately before the revelation of the antichrist on earth or the beast out of the sea through his covenant with Israel to allow them to build their third temple on the temple Mount in Jerusalem. I would therefore urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour now so you will be ready for the rapture and not be left behind for the tribulation and earth's darkest hour in history.
The European Union Lisbon Treaty, formerly called the European Constitution until it was somewhat watered down, was passed today by the last holdout the Czech Republic. Previously all other 26 countries of the European Union have passed including the Irish Republic by a second referendum in the beginning of October 2009 with all the others passing it through either their legislatures or heads of state. One of the main features of this treaty is that it will change the nature of votes in European bodies such as probably the European Parliament and European Commission so that a unanimous consensus is not required any more but just a majority vote. This will make the European Union more effective and sure to pass legislation and a national veto on this legislation would be taken away in many cases. There would also be new 2 1/2 year high profile positions of President and Foreign Minister of the European Council or Europe that will represent Europe to the rest of the world. These terms I think could be renewed at least for a second term. These positions and the more effective legislation process will lead to a more centralized Europe that could provide a more opportune step to world prominence of the Antichrist or world ruler mentioned in the Bible who will probably arise out of Europe and who will rule the world in the 7 year tribulation or 70th week of Daniel. The foreign minister position could be held by the false prophet or beast out of the land who will reign with the Antichrist and that is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Now there only needs to be some last minute beauracratic measures of the European political officials to put this treaty into law across the European Union by some time this month or in December 2009. The race to fill the two top posts will start in earnest and a good place to keep up with the news on this topic is the bbc at www.bbc.com. The fact that this treaty has now been agreed to and all hurdles are past is likely another major indicator that the tribulation and preceding rapture of the church is very near perhaps even this year or the next couple years and I urge the reader if he or she hasn't done so already to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart that you are a sinner before a God who is perfectly righteous as well as loving and that that you pray to God in Jesus' name to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who died for your sins and rose from the dead to give you new life. This faith in Jesus is also the condition for taking part in the rapture or catching up of the church according to 1 Thessalonians 4 and John 14.
By February 2010, it became apparent that Greece and some other countries in Europe have gotten into significant debt and other economic problems. Some of these other countries that also use the European Union Euro currency include Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland. Although it is illegal according to European Union laws for other countries in the European Union to financially bail out economically troubled countries in the European Union, it seems the European Union under the leadership of new EU president Herman Van Rompuy have proposed measures to financially assist Greece or to force it to make spending cuts in the public service or government spending that should help cut the debt or at least the deficit to a more manageable level according to the BBC and www.euobserver.com. This deficit is supposed to be no more than 3 % of Gross Deposit Product or something like that according to EU rules. It is thought if the EU doesn't take swift and decisive action against Greece and its deficit problems there would be more problems in the international money markets or stock exchanges and a further reduction of the Euro currency relative to other world currencies. There could also be more demands by some of the other financially troubled countries in the EU for financial help. It is thought that this topic of Greek and other financial troubles and the effect on the European Union would be a primary topic of the European Union Council meeting that is to be held in Brussels this month and led by Mr. Van Rompuy. The main conclusions of these events is that Mr. Van Rompuy proposes tighter central European Union controls and monitoring of the financial situation of European Union countries especially those that use the Euro currency and this is something that would certainly prepare for the Antichrist and his world government that will be centred in the European Union.
I have learned from a new video by Roger Oakland about the Emerging Church that some world leaders or recent leaders have or continue to endorse a one-world system with three aspects a one-world political, economic and spiritual or religious system. Some leading people in the world who endorse this plan are former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for the United Nations, Al Gore for the Environmental Movement, Pope Benedict for the Roman Catholic Church and Rick Warren author of the Purpose Driven Life for the Emerging Church. The quotes are all given in the video. This is definitely not of God as his system is individual nations not global government and his call to the church is to evangelize all the world not try to reform all its institutions by joining with those of the world or non-Christians. This endeavor of these leaders and their movements to establish a one-world system will fall into the hands of Satan and the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea and the False Prophet who will rule the world according to scriptures like Revelation 13 with a one-world political, economic, military and religious system without God or Bible believing Christians or even the Bible believing Jews and Gentiles who will be present in the tribulation on earth. If you are any of these movements or any other one that is trying to join with the world in setting up a global or one-world system I encourage you to trust or rededicate you to God through His Son Jesus Christ. This needs to focus on admitting that we are sinners before a God that is holy as well as loving and that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and rose from the dead to offer us new life. Jesus said of his church that it is not of this world system even as he is not of this world as I think the rapture of the church and the following tribulation for those left behind is very close and this movement towards a one-world system including in the evangelical church through the Emerging Church is a major indication of this.
In late September 2009, according to the BBC and other sources, the G20 announced significant measures that will lead to a more globalized world economy and government. To begin with in case the reader is not aware of it, the G20 is a relatively recent group of nations that includes the industralized world's main nations that were in the G7 or G8 and the main nations of the developing world such as China, India and Brazil as well as quite a few others. Some of the measures announced in September associated with meetings of the G20 that month that have been passed and implemented or are in the process of being implemented are the following: 1/ that the G20 replace the G7 or G8 for the world body responsible for directing the economic measures of the world; 2/ that trade between consumer and exporting countries be balanced by encouraging more savings both with businesses, government and individuals in the consuming countries mostly in the west and that savings be encouraging in the exporting countries such as China and India and other parts of Asia and perhaps some other countries in the world; 3/ that efforts be made to close tax havens so countries could get the fuller amount of taxes they are entitled to according to national laws; 4/ that there be agreement on limiting bank bonuses with the excessive amounts of especially in the United States contributed to the recent and still ongoing American and world economic downturn; 5/ that nations like India and China have more voting rights and other power on world bodies like the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to reflect their more powerful economies and; 6/ that efforts be made to look into developing a new world currency to replace the American dollar as a reserve currencey and that would be used to value commodities such as oil and gold because of the recently proven instability of the US dollar. All these measures are being done on a world wide basis which will lead to a much more globalized economy and to some extent government. This will further prepare the way for the one-world government and economy in the world in the 7 year tribulation under the Antichrist (the Beast out of the Sea or the Man of sin etc.) and the False Prophet the beast out of the land. I would therefore more intently encourage the reader to wholeheartedly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for you and your sins on the cross and rose again to give you new life so you can be caught up to heaven before and avoid the tribulation and worldwide dictatorship on earth under the Antichrist. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the condition for being caught up to heaven before the tribulation according to 1 Thessalonians 4 and John 14. The word rapture is biblical as it is based on raptare which is Latin for caught up as in the English word raptor about some birds of prey although Jesus will catch us up to heaven for beneficial not malicious purposes. For those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ before the tribulation we will also come with him at his second coming at the end of the tribulation to rule the earth with him and then serve him and have everlasting joy in the new earth, new heavens and new Jerusalem for ever after the end of the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom.
According to many evangelical Bible teachers and what I believe is consistant with the Book of Revelation and other Bible prophecy there could likely be a financial crisis in the world stock markets and banks and other parts of the financial sector in the end of the current church age that could set the stage for lack of confidence in cash and more confidence in an alternate perhaps electronic means of funds. This could lead to the Mark of the Beast at least on a voluntary basis at the beginning of the 7 year tribulation or seventieth week of Daniel. This Mark of the Beast would be for people to buy or sell any products but also this crash of cash that could precede the rapture of the church and following tribulation could also lead to the widespread adoption of RFID technology to replace bar codes also for food and other retail products at the beginning of the tribulation. Although there have been some stock market or financial market slides recently such as in 1997 to 1998 with the asian real estate sector bubble burst, the finacial sell-off after the attack and destruction of the World Trade Centre by the Muslim terrorist group Al Qaeda in September 2001 or the bursting of the dot com bubble more recently, the current problems that started from the overvalued stock markets worldwide that began in August 2007 if they continue could be the financial problems that lead to the crash of cash that lead to at least the beginning of the Mark of the Beast at the beginnning of the tribulation and widespread use of RFID technology and perhaps more electronic means of funds to replace cash for regular business. The rapture of the church which will cause widespread instability worldwide including in the United States with the sudden disappearance of a couple to several hundred million born again Christians worldwide could push any stability in the financial sector over the edge as has often been noted "business hates uncertainty".
As has been widely reported, I think since late 2007 the sub-prime mortgage sector of the United States housing market collapsed due to the passing of the peak of property values for residences in United States and the beginning of decline of these values. This means that people have the same amount of debt in their mortgage but less value for their property and less assets and less net value or assets. The sub-prime mortgage means that these people were generally not in a very good position to afford their own home and had no or poor credit history often because they are poor or unemployed or perhaps because they have not been very dependable in the past in paying back debts. Other factors such as increasing unemployment especially in manufacturing jobs in the United States meant many people were no longer able to afford the mortgage payments on their homes. Much of this borrowing for these mortgages was borrowed from banks or trust or other institutions that didn't have the money on hand themselves to lend to these borrowers but themselves borrowed from other banks or financial institutions usually on the belief that the housing prices would continue to go up and these sub-prime mortgages would continue to be sound which of course didn't prove true. By this time at least a significant amount of these first level mortgage institutions have gone bankrupt or been severely adversely affected by the failure of many of these sub-prime mortgages and been also forces to foreclose many of the homes bought on these terms. This has led to a tightening of credit across the financial sector not just in the United States but around the world as there was ultimately significant investment by banks of other countries in these sub-prime mortgages in the United States. This in turn has led to a slowing of investment and economic activity in general as credit becomes more difficult also for many investors or other financial institutions to get from banks. This has already led to the reduction in the US interest rate set by the Federal Reserve the US Central Bank and the central banks of other countries including a 3/4 reduction on March 18, 2008 to alleviate concern after the bailout of the Bear Sterns bank in New York City that was one of the biggest investment banks in the United States and that had heavy investment in sub-prime mortgages. The Morgan Stanley Bank with cash from the Federal Reserve bought Bear Stearns for 200,000,000,000 dollars US that was a fraction of its value up to recently. These are also a couple other major banks in the US that are still in shaky financial situations and that might want a rescue from the Federal Reserve which further erodes confidence in the world financial sector especially regarding the American economy. The reduced spending by Americans because of the housing and credit crisis has already significantly reduced the exports and balance of trade of China and Japan and other countries in Asia or elsewhere that are net exporters to the United States and has caused worry to those in charge of their economies as well. Perhaps the biggest danger on the horizon is that the tightening credit in the world financial system could make banks in Asian and other countries less willing or unwilling to lend further to the United States either for its government or its citizens or to continue to extend existing debts to Asian or other countries from the government in the United States which now stands at about 9 trillions dollars including just over half to the European Union, about 1.6 trillion dollars to China, 1 trillion dollars and several Arab oil exporting countries of a couple hundred billion dollars each and American citizens through credit cards etc. owing also about 1 trillion dollars. This is also making the US dollar fall with relation to the European Euro, the Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen and other currencies. If these problems continue and are not corrected soon they could lead to demands for a new international currency system to replace the current one dominated by the US dollar. This could give rise to one based in Europe and set up by the Antichrist who will probably come out of the European Union at the beginning of the tribulation after the rapture or catching up of the Church or all true Christians who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins on the cross and rose again from the dead to give us new life. This new currency system could be or quickly and readily lead to the Mark of the Beast that is mentioned in Revelation 13 which will probably involve a microchip under people's skin which will probably monitor how much money they have and what they have spent it on as well as their presence at any time and will be used to control the population and could be initiated after the rapture to some extent at the beginning of the tribulation but will be forced on everyone worldwide by the beginning of the second half of the tribulation 3 1/2 years after the beginning of the tribulation. The fact that current financial conditions point to the readiness and reason for an alternate system to the current one and a possible better worldwide currency very possibly means the rapture of the true Christians to heaven and the following tribulation and rule or the Antichrist and time of God's judgments on a world of those left behind who hadn't received the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour or an opportunity to also be saved for those who hadn't heard the Gospel in the current Church Age or Age or grace could be very near. I urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour who died for your sins and rose again from the dead as soon as possible if you haven't already and if you have to continue to live for God and Jesus for the remainder of this age so you might be caught to heaven with Jesus at the rapture and spared the tribulation or eternity in hell after that. These economic problems in the United States and to some extent affecting other parts of the world have continued since the early part of 2008. These problems were manifest again in September 2008 with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers that is one of the five biggest investment banks in the United States and the sale of Merrill Lynch which is another of the five biggest investment banks on September 15, 2008. Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America. At this time the formerly largest insurance company in the world the US based AIG is also having financial problems and might have to be bailed out or also go into bankruptcy. Also recently I think in August this year the US Treasury bailed out the huge real estate companies in the US Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that represent almost half of all mortgages in the United States or about 5 trillion dollars out of about 12 trillion dollars in total. All these things I believe indicate the current financial system is unsound and needs to be replaced with a new one that I believe will be done after the rapture of the church at the beginning of the tribulation when the Antichrist and False Prophet assume control of the world. All these events in United States are also dragging down the financial systems of other countries in the world as well. I urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour as soon as possible as it becomes increasingly clear that the world is heading to an unprecedented crises despite some of the economic naysayers increasingly without credibility saying otherwise.
The Federal Reserve the central bank of the United States was set up by an act of congress on December 22, 1913 and then enacted when it was passed by the US Senate on December 23, 1913. This was called the Federal Reserve Act or the Glass-Owens bill. This is according to the online website Wikipedia under Federal Reserve Act. On the surface the Federal Reserve was founded because of runs on the money supply when the United States didn't have a central bank. One of the worst runs on the money supply was in 1907. In practical terms however the idea of a central bank was supported by international bankers from Europe and elsewhere and ended up giving them a controlling stake in the US financial system that continues to this day. The Federal Reserve is not part of the US government but works at arms length but in association with it. According to the money expert Andy Gause the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 also says that it would take an act of the US congress to expire the Federal Reserve.
The annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly took place in the last week of September 2008 at the UN center in New York City. At this meeting each year each of the heads of state of the world are permitted some time to address the other members of the general assembly including the other leaders of the world as well as probably the ambassadors of each country to the UN and other UN officials. At this meeting President Bush of United States tried to focus as usual on the war on terrorism but was pressed by other world leaders and their representatives to give some answers to the US led world financial crisis which to some extent President Bush did do I believe. Anyway what was at least as important was that the French President Nicholas Sarkozy who in this six months also has the rotating leadership of the European Union spoke about the US led world financial crisis. Among other things Mr. Sarkozy said the current US led financial system of the world based on financial speculation had failed the world due to its greed and corruption which led to the current crisis. He then proposed a new world financial system that would probably be not as centred on United States and that would focus more on financial aid for relief and development in the third world especially in Africa. More recently in October Mr. Sarkozy or those associated with him said this new world economic system should be modelled on the Bretton Woods conference around 1945 which started the internationalization of the world economy including the establishment of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This would probably be a help economically to the third world esepcially Africa but could cause them to trust too much in a world economic system that could soon be headed by the Antichrist that could possibly be Mr. Sarkozy or someone else like him with globalist agendas and that is very ambitious. This new economic system could also spread some of the bad debt and economic problems of the United States to other countries that wouldn't otherwise be as directly affected by it such as Canada. Of course we will have to wait to see what happens next but this would give me more reason to urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ immediately so you can be taken to heaven at the rapture of the church and not be left behind to endure the Antichrist's tyranical and ungodly rule or God's judgment of the earth in the tribulation.
In November 2008 Barack Obama appointed Barack Obama as the designated Treasury Secretary of the United States government to replace Henry Paulson of the George Bush government. Although I believe Barack Obama promised in his election campaign that he would have new faces that wouldn't be tied in the established wall street order this appointment flies in the face of that. Timothy Geithner according to a profile I read on the BBC and heard from the economist Andrew Gauss is a Wall Street insider as the chairman up to now of the New York branch of the Federal Reserve that is comprised of private banks based in New York City mostly including most of the investment or other banks such as Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch or the former Lehman Brothers whose shady financial practices got the United States and the rest of the world into the current financial crisis. I think the idea is that Timothy Geithner might therefore be more loyal to these banks and getting money to them so they can buy up more companies than to the general American taxpayer and consumer. Timothy Geithner also served on the IMF or International Monetary Fund that is associated with the United Nations. For these and other reasons he probably will represent and pursue the interests of the globalists and the New World Order perhaps even more than other possible choices for this position and his choice is probably an indication by Barack Obama that he is at least willing to help the New World Order make progess in United States which will lead to the one world economy and government of the False Prophet and the Antichrist soon. I would therefore all the more urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour that he died for your sins and rose again to give you new life if you haven't already to be ready for the rapture of the Church before the tribulation. If you have trusted in Jesus already I encourage you to live for Him faithfully and witness to others about Him in whatever time remains for us on earth in this age of grace or Church age.
The Antichrist will also control the world economy through forcing people to take a mark with his number 666 to buy or sell or to worship his image. Although there is much speculation of what the mark of the beast is I think a safe bet is that it is the now being heavily promoted and applied to replace commerical bar codes or universal product codes technology called RFID technology. RFID technology stands for Radio Frequency Identification and consists of a microchip for storing information and an antenae for tracking a product or whatever it is attached to. There had also been much speculation about who the beast is from who has the number 666. Although it might offend some people especially Roman Catholics I heard a very convincing explanation of why the AntiChrist with the number 666 could be the Roman Catholic Pope or at least the one ruling during the Great Tribulation or 70th week of Daniel. I will say more about that in the paragraph in this web page about Revelation 13.
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