Babylon and Tribulation

The Lisbon Treaty, which went into effect on December 1, 2009, marks a watershed in European history—because it gives Europe the means to function as the superpower empire that in reality it already is.

While political scientists and economists have marveled about Europe's post-World War II transformation, God's faithful Church has long foretold these events, and has long warned of the tragic consequences facing America and the British-descended nations. Modern Babylon is rising, and Scripture shows that its rapid rise will herald the tragic demise of America, Britain and British-descended nations during the Great Tribulation.

Thankfully, the exciting truth is that soon after this final Babylonian revival, Christ will return as the conquering King of kings to establish His righteous government on the earth (Revelation 11:15).

Geopolitics: European and American

The Lisbon Treaty made all Europeans citizens of the new European Union. It removes many national veto rights, allows for qualified majority vote instead of unanimous consent of member-nations, creates a strong President of the European Council and establishes the diplomatic post of High Representative, giving the EU more influence on the world stage.

As Europe enters a new era, the U.S. seems adrift. The U.S. jobless rate is at a 26-year high above 10 percent, while U.S. fiscal policy is severely restrained by near-zero interest rates and a rapidly bloating federal debt. By contrast, Germany—Europe's largest economy—is surging ahead on fundamentals such as strong manufacturing and exports (Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2009). Meanwhile, Europe and Asian nations are making preferential trade deals allowing the EU to take precedence over the U.S. throughout Asia (Financial Times, November 9, 2009). Revelation 18:3 foretells that merchants around the world—including the Asian powers—will, for a while, become wealthy by trading with Europe, and we are beginning to see the fulfillment of these prophecies.

Not only is the U.S. being outpaced and outmaneuvered, it is facing international ridicule! When U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently "assured a group of Chinese students in Beijing that their country's U.S. dollar investments were in good hands," his comments provoked derisive laughter that "brought the house down" (Financial Times, November 10, 2009)! Such embarrassing lack of confidence in America is one reason why gold rose to record highs in December 2009, and why India's central bank recently purchased 200 tons of gold in a significant divestiture of U.S. dollars (Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2009).

Those who believe we have "plenty of time" and consider the dollar "too important" to rapidly devalue are overlooking economic fundamentals, neglecting the lessons from the short years it took Weimar Germany and modern-day Zimbabwe to collapse, and disregarding Bible prophecies such as Isaiah 30:13 and 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Regardless of economic swings, these trends will accelerate in the years ahead unless there is national repentance.

Europe: The Final Human Superpower

Will a unified and dominant Europe bring peace, or lead the world to a third World War? As London's The Times reported, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1989 bluntly warned Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev that a unified Germany "would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could endanger our security" (September 11, 2009).

Modern pundits may dismiss Thatcher's concern as "controversial," but she recognized that a united Germany had—twice in the 20th century—drawn Europe into devastating conflict in its desire for greater power and influence. Would we expect centuries of German psyche to have changed in just the last 50 years?

God's faithful Church has long warned that Scripture shows a unified Germany leading the final revival of the Holy Roman Empire—an unholy alliance of church and state. More than 40 years ago, our predecessor in this Work, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, wrote the following—decades before the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, or the Lisbon Treaty:

Describing how a great false religious system would interact with the final revival of the "Holy Roman Empire," he concluded:

As Ezekiel 27 and Revelation 18 reveal, initially all nations will benefit from trading with the Beast, but national sovereignty and religious and political submission will be the price.

Babylon Is Fallen

Before Christ's return, Babylon the Great will nearly obliterate the U.S. and British-descended nations during the Great Tribulation—a traumatic time for the entire world (Matthew 24:21), for God's Church, and especially for the physical nations comprising the modern-day descendants of Jacob.

As Babylon rises, God's Church will suffer persecution, but zealous Christians—who are wholeheartedly dedicated to supporting the Work of preaching the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God (Mark 16:15; Revelation 3:8), vigorously warning the nations (Ezekiel 33:6), and growing in all of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23)—will be removed to a physical place of safety (Revelation 3:10) before the Great Tribulation. Sadly, those lukewarm Christians who have lost their focus—whether through arrogance or apathy—will not receive God's protection. They will be "given into his [Satan's] hand" (Daniel 7:24–25) to become purified by suffering three-and-a-half years of horrific tribulation and martyrdom (Revelation 7:14).

Ezekiel 5:12 shows that two-thirds of modern Jacob will die by pestilence, famine and war. One-third will be taken into captivity throughout the north (Isaiah 10:5–6), the south (Deuteronomy 28:68) and the east (Ezekiel 27:12–13). The captives will endure suffering typical of those enslaved during war. "The sword" will be drawn after them, and barely ten percent will survive (Isaiah 6:9–13)! This is genocide of a magnitude never before seen in human history!

However, God promises that humanity's final fate is not to end in apocalyptic horror. Jesus Christ, the returning King of kings, will "set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people" (Isaiah 11:11). He will "have mercy on the whole house of Israel," bringing them back to their own land, leaving "none of them captive any longer" (Ezekiel 39:23–28). The Kingdom of God will cover the entire earth, and all nations will learn to obey God's commandments—all will keep the seventh-day Sabbath and annual Holy Days (Isaiah 66:23; Zechariah 14:16–18).

You can be a pioneer in this coming reality! You can escape these terrors and can stand before Christ, at His return, as a faithful servant who will receive the first and better resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52; Hebrews 11:35). You can—if you act on the Truth you are learning in the pages of this magazine!