A Coming European Empire?

After years of independent comments by EU leaders calling for a European Army, and following “pressure” from U.S. President Donald Trump for Europe to increase defense spending, European leaders now appear ready to act. According to the EU Observer, “German chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday backed the idea of creating a ‘real, true’ army for the European Union,” supporting an earlier call by Emmanuel Macron of France.  She “also called for a European security council with a rotating presidency of each EU member state, ‘where decisions can be made more rapidly’” (November 13, 2018). President Trump has derided the plan, calling for Europe to pour more money into NATO, instead.

Only days before Merkel’s speech, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt that Europe should become a “peaceful empire,” explaining “I am using this phrase because, in tomorrow’s world, it’s going to be all about power… technological power, economic, financial, monetary, cultural power—all will be decisive. Europe cannot be shy any longer about using its power” (November 11, 2018). Currently, Germany is preparing to increase its number of active troops to over 200,000 by 2025 (Deutsche Welle, November 26, 2018).

While the idea of a coming European empire may seem far-fetched in today’s world, from a biblical perspective this is not a new idea. Bible prophecy has long predicted the rise of a European “beast” power with links to the ancient Roman Empire just prior to the return of Jesus Christ (Daniel 2:40–45; 7:23–27; Revelation 17; Hosea 11). The Bible also indicates this European beast power will be German-led (Isaiah 10:5–11) and will invade the Holy Land and take control of Jerusalem (Daniel 11:40–43). When and how this short-lived empire will progress remains to be seen. For more insights into this coming European empire, be sure to read “Resurgent Germany: A Fourth Reich?”