Pope to Europe—Reclaim Your Roots!

Recently in Strasbourg “Pope Francis addressed the European Parliament with a strong message for the European Union (EU) to work together and be aware of its own identity” (Deutsche Welle, November 25, 2014). Building on the EU motto “United in Diversity,” he exhorted EU leaders to appreciate their religious roots, embracing them as the foundation that will make Europe “immune to the many forms of extremism spreading in the world” (ibid.). He characterized Europe as “elderly and haggard” and admonished leaders “to find a new sense of purpose” (Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2014). Europe’s “two-thousand-year-old history linking Europe and Christianity... ‘must still be written. It is our present and our future. It is our identity. Europe urgently needs to recover its true features in order to grow’” (The Telegraph, November 25, 2014). 

Bible prophecy reveals that at the time of the end, a final revival of the Roman Empire will emerge as a group of diverse nations seek to establish a single identity. The prophet Daniel foresaw this final revival would resemble a mixture of iron and clay “partly strong and partly fragile… they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay” (Daniel 2:41-43). This short-lived European confederation of ten nations or leaders will be promoted by a church with links to Babylon and Rome (Revelation 13; 17:12-13). Pope Francis’ efforts could prepare Europe to fulfill its end-time prophetic role.

To learn more about this vital subject, read “How the Romans United Europe: Then and Now.”