Ireland says "No!" to EU power grab

The people of Ireland have voted "No" on the proposed Lisbon Treaty, which would have enforced a new degree of supranational unity on the European Union nations.

By a margin of nearly 7 percent, Irish voters on Thursday, June 12, turned down the latest European Union attempt to centralize administration of the 490 million residents of European Union countries. What treaty supporters viewed as an effort to "streamline decision-making" in Europe, opponents saw as a confusing proposition and a dangerous loss of local control. A spokesman for Libertas, the anti-treaty lobby group that had worked to defeat the referendum, said that the day of the measure's defeat was "a great day to be Irish."

Ireland's three largest political parties had supported the Lisbon Treaty. Of the parties represented in the Irish Parliament, only Sinn Fein opposed the treaty. Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, reflecting on the treaty's defeat, said: "People feel secure at the heart of Europe, but they want to ensure there's maximum democratic power." Before Ireland's vote, 14 of the 27 EU nations had ratified the treaty EU bureaucrats had hoped would go into effect on January 1, 2009. Instead, the Lisbon Treaty will enter the record books as yet another failed attempt at enforcing European unity.

Why has this happened, and what does this mean for end-time prophecy? To understand what is going on, we must first know the identity of the people who are involved. Irish legends record that the island was long ago settled by a people known as the Tuatha de Danann.

Students of Bible prophecy recognize that today's Irish people are in large measure descended from the "lost" biblical tribe of Dan. It was to their fellow Israelites in Ireland that the Apostles Paul, James and Simon Zelotes traveled to preach the Gospel, as Jesus Christ had ordered them to do (Matthew 10:6). More than three centuries before "Saint Patrick" came to Ireland, the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God had already taken root in Irish soil.

Along with many of the other peoples of northwestern Europe (including Great Britain, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland), the Irish are modern descendants of the ancient "Ten Lost Tribes" of Israel. Bible prophecy reveals that these nations will have an uneasy relationship with an end-time supranational power known as the "Beast" – which will be led by the descendants of ancient Assyria, whose warlike traits coincide with the history of 20th century Germany (Isaiah 10:5-7).

So it is no surprise to find an Israelite nation rejecting advances made by modern Assyria. Scripture reveals that at the very end of this age, there will be a united European power consisting of ten "kings" – heads of nations or groups of nations – who will give their power to the Beast. Could Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty be an early milestone in the EU eventually "shedding" some of its present 27 members to form the core of what will eventually become the "Beast" power?

Clearly, not all of Europe is keen on unification. In 2005, France and the Netherlands (commonly identified in Bible prophecy as the modern Israelite descendants of Reuben and Zebulun) both rejected the proposed European Constitution – a previous Brussels attempt at bringing about closer European integration. In the wake of the Constitution's failure, Ireland was the only nation whose leaders gave their people the opportunity to vote on ratifying the Lisbon Treaty.

Already, some "Euroskeptics" in Great Britain are calling on Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown to again reconsider British participation in the EU. Bible prophecy reveals that at the very end of this age, Ephraim (modern Great Britain) will not be part of the "Beast" power, so we can expect some significant change that will push the British out of the EU. Ireland's "No" vote may speed the process.

To learn more about Ireland's fascinating past and its role in end-time prophecy, read our articles Behind the Mists of Ireland and Early Christianity and Europe's Western Isles.