Is the European Union Splitting in Two?

The financial crisis in the eurozone is highlighting imbalances, strengths and weaknesses within the European Union. What does Bible prophecy say about Europe in the end time?

I just returned from an extended trip through several countries in Europe. The current economic crisis dominates the news, both print and electronic.

The European Union has been in economic crisis mode for many months. This potentially powerful union is composed of some of the most technologically, politically and economically advanced nations in the world, yet it faces a crisis that threatens its very existence.

The problems stem from the widely varied levels of economic competitiveness, deficit spending and sovereign debt of the different nations that now use the euro.

Countries in stronger financial condition, such as Germany and France, are in the north of Europe. The weaker ones, such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland, are mostly in the south. Nations in crisis are being forced to implement strict and unpopular austerity measures in exchange for bailout funds from the wealthier nations. The popular resistance and upheaval this continues to cause are affecting markets not only in Europe, but across the globe.

Press predictions

This economic divide and the crisis it is causing in the EU are frequently underscored in the European press.

• Radio France Internationale asks, “Can the Euro Survive the Greek Crisis?”
• Germany’s Der Spiegel carries an interview with a historian who states, “The Euro Can’t Survive in Its Current Form.” He postulates that the currency won’t survive at all without a massive and revolutionary restructuring of the entire European Union.
• Britain’s Telegraph warns, “The Two Halves of the Eurozone Are Locked in a Broken Marriage.”

I found this last article to be particularly interesting for a number of reasons.

First, it points out that the European Monetary Union has decided to establish offices in the countries receiving bailouts, to monitor compliance with the dictated austerity measures. This is obviously viewed, on the receiving end, as a sort of occupation, an adversarial coercion by the central European authority; and for some, it fuels comparisons with the German domination of the 1930s and 1940s.

Second, the analogy of a broken marriage leads to the possibility of a divorce, a splitting of the nations in the eurozone.

Prophecies of a strong-yet-weak union

Such a strong-yet-weak union, composed of incompatible parts, was foretold by the prophet Daniel to exist in the time immediately before the return of Jesus Christ.

In a strange and troubling dream, God revealed to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar an overview of human history from his time to the ultimate establishment of the Kingdom of God. The subject of the dream was a statue of a man composed of different materials. The head of gold represented the Babylonian Empire. The chest of silver represented the Persian Empire that followed. The belly and thighs of bronze represented the Greco-Macedonian Empire of Alexander. The legs of iron and the feet of a mix of iron and clay were clear references to the Roman Empire.

“And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:40-44).

A rising empire and an eternal Kingdom

The Roman Empire no longer exists, yet it will exist again in some form when God establishes His everlasting kingdom. This future, resurrected empire is in formation now in Europe. The technological, diplomatic and military potential of Europe will coalesce into a world-dominating power. But as Daniel foretold, it will not last long because the underlying union will be weak.

The strenuous efforts to maintain unity in the current economic and political turmoil in Europe are portents of that union to come. And as we witness its rise, we should be encouraged to know the return of Christ, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, are drawing ever nearer.

For more about the coming Kingdom of God, see The Mystery of the Kingdom.

Joel Meeker is the director of French-language regions for the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.

See previous posts about the European crisis:

• Coming: A United States of Europe!
• Have the Germans Really Conquered Europe?
• End-Time Prophecy Jigsaw: The Pieces Are Falling Into Place!
• Europe Rising From Confusion Toward Unity?