A prophetic friend of mine, Bob Jones, believes that World War III actually began with the assassination of Anwar Sadat. It seems that this is proving to be true. This is marked by many as the beginning of the hijacking of the Islamic faith by radical extremists that have now stirred up a nearly worldwide conflict. This war may be unfolding very differently than the world wars of the last century, but it is in fact proving to be a world war, and its potential is to be far more devastating than the last two combined.
Ironically, it is the knee jerk reaction to war that is leading Europe to this war. Nazi Germany could have been stopped by the Czechs in 1939, with just a little help from the French and British. The leaders of those two countries sought the path of appeasement by which they thought they were getting peace in their time. But by doing this, they only multiplied the price they would have to pay to defeat the evil. Europe is being set up again for a far more devastating war than it has to be. This can still be changed, but time is running out fast.
World War III is bigger than the War on Terror. This is just one of the battles, though it is a major one, and is far from over. However, we must begin to see the bigger picture. What I am offering here is but another piece of the puzzle, but it is an important one for us to understand if we are going to perceive what is coming.
In future bulletins I will offer a few more pieces, as well as establish some of the points in this one a little more. However, this is a bulletin that is addressing an issue that is worthy of a very large book, so it is necessarily very superficial. My goal is not so much to convince, or fully educate, as it is to get some others to start looking in a direction that they may not be seeing at this time. To avoid this perspective will become increasingly costly to us the longer we wait.
The Fall of Europe
I am thankful to have been able to spend a considerable amount of time in Europe over the last twenty years. I have visited most of the nations there, and many of them quite a few times. On each visit I have tried to learn from the nation I was in, as well as about it. From this I have gained a deep love, appreciation, and respect for Europe. I love its diversity of culture, heritage, languages, geography, and cities. Europe has also given the world the very best of its civilization, from art and music to science and government, as well as the great Christian foundation that many other nations and cultures are built upon.
The whole world owes much to Europe, but America especially does. Not only is it the source of our basic culture, but Europe has been the greatest defender of the Christian faith, the birthplace of democracy, as well as our system of justice. The majority of the most noble, courageous, and godly souls to walk the earth over the last two thousand years were from Europe. Europe is deserving of our honor and respect. Even so, Europe is sliding into the deepest darkness of soul that has possibly yet perverted the human race. Its departure from the faith is possibly the greatest spiritual tragedy in history.
This may be dismissed by Europeans as an American’s perspective, or a Christian’s perspective. But since I have traveled around the world, I know that it is an increasing perspective around the world, that Europe, in general, has lost its moral clarity, and its courage. These are the two pillars of true nobility, and true greatness. Europe is sliding very fast into the abyss of not only moral and spiritual depravity, but even sound thinking. In general, it does not seem that they are even making sense in some basic issues. At the same time their politicians and media seem to view themselves as being the only ones with wisdom, dismissing those who disagree with them as either stupid or unenlightened. Like it or not, I am saying this as a friend of Europe who needs to tell this emperor that he really does not have any clothes on.
One of my most pressing questions is to know how those who had so much light have become so deceived. But before continuing along this line of thought, I must also make a distinction here between the European politicians, the media, and the people of Europe. They are often very different, just as there are at times a great gulf between the American politicians, its media, and its people.
There is no question that Europeans, in general, are becoming increasingly anti-American. However, when I have listened to such commentary from Asia, or other parts of the world, even when it is negative toward America, there was far more truth and accuracy to their evaluations, and often their conclusions. As I have studied European commentary on the rest of the world, I have concluded that this is also similarly flawed. This cannot help but lead to the conclusion that there is a far more pervasive and basic distortion in European thinking than there seems to be anywhere else. This is not just in relation to the way they see Americans, but the rest of the world, and even the way they see themselves. There is a thick veil of darkness settling over Europe, and yet they seem to think their brilliance is increasing.
Even the most brilliant reasoning will come to wrong conclusions if you do not start with truth at the foundation. European thinking, in general, is departing further and further from the foundations of truth, and therefore their conclusions are increasingly flawed. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The two world wars of the twentieth century, which were the two greatest human tragedies in history, were basically the result of failed European policies. It does not seem that present European leadership has learned one thing from those huge failures, and they are headed down the very same road once again.
The present European preoccupation with America as being the source of their problems, if not the world’s problems, is only accelerating their own catastrophe. At the same time they are blind to an impending disaster which threatens to be even more devastating than the two great wars of the previous century. The most common characteristic of successful people, businesses, sports teams, and even nations, is that they never look for outsiders to blame for their problems, but use that energy to look inside themselves for solutions. The European media and its politicians are increasingly dominated by blame seekers instead of solution seekers to the point where they are actually causing the quicksand that they are sinking in.
Traditional Allies?
The more that I have come to understand European thinking in general, the more alarmed I am to hear some Americans saying that we should strengthen the ties to our “traditional allies” in Europe. America does have some friends in Europe, but the continent is now overwhelmingly anti-American, and is becoming more so all the time. In truth the New World does not have many “traditional allies” in the Old World. We have in the last century joined with some European nations to face the common enemies of fascism and communism together, for which the whole world should be grateful. However, once those common enemies were removed, the differences have surfaced very fast. Europe will only appreciate America as long as we cow tow to European thinking and interests, which we must not do. Europe is fast plunging into another war that will devastate the continent. The threat of this is not as much to America as to Europe, and yet the nations most threatened by this are the very ones that seem bent on countering every move America makes, who is currently fighting their war for them. Europe is already hanging over the abyss and does not seem to even know it.
There is a saying that if you do not change your course, you will end up where you are headed. Europe is headed for another continental war—one that will be even more devastating than the last two if they do not wake up very soon. I am sure when this happens there will be many Americans who will again take the isolationist position to just let them stew in their own juice as what they deserve. I personally would never advocate such a course. As the present leader of the “free world,” America has responsibilities, even to those who are increasingly not our friends, but in truth are even becoming the friends of our enemies.
Even so, there are many ways and interests that we still have in common with Europe, some countries more than others. We now have an even greater interest in helping the emerging free nations such as Russia, and her former satellite countries that are experiencing transformation, and are actually in many cases far greater friends of America already than our “traditional allies.” America’s future foreign policy should focus much more on the “new world” than the old. Europe is very close to falling to an even greater tyranny and oppression than that which threatened it in the last century. The gates of hell have been opened, and there are only a handful of European nations that have even begun to see this and sound the alarm.
The Gates of Hell
Many Christians around the world view the European Union (EU) as the platform upon which the antichrist will seek world dominance. There is little question that the EU is a godless, and blatantly, anti-Christian organization. It is also true many are saying that Europe has now become “the dark continent,” the most heathen territory on the planet. Its political leaders seem to be increasingly void of both the nobility, courage, and vision that many of their predecessors had. However, let us not completely mark them off yet. Europe does have a history of repeatedly coming to this same place, and some of the greatest and most noble leaders in history have arisen in her midst to lead her out of the mire. I have not given up this hope, and I make it my regular prayer. The primary purpose of this bulletin is to stir up this prayer in others.
Even so, the gates of hell are wide open in Europe at this time, and the evil is pouring through them. These are some of the same access points the devil used before to try to destroy Europe. Along with the great leaders that Europe had in its history, they also had their share of despots that would have to be numbered among the most vile in history. That which has been called the “Dark Ages” was basically European history. That period was the result of religious intolerance, which surprisingly is the source of the new darkness now sweeping over the continent. It has come in another form, but it is the same demon.
The antichrist spirit that is now prevailing over Europe is also very anti-religion of any sort, even though it is far more opposed to Christianity than others. This is the very thing that is going to catapult the continent into its next, even more devastating war. Christianity is the only power that can keep much of Europe from being taken over by Islam. Not wanting religion, they are going to end up dominated by the most harsh, intolerant religion of all. Europeans are actually not far from experiencing the kind of tyranny and oppression of the Taliban in their own nations.
This is not to infer that all of Islam is like the Taliban. There are many faces of Islam just as there are many faces to Christianity at this time. There are Islamic nations that many Christians would probably prefer to live in rather than in the type of darkness of soul and anti-God mentality that is sweeping over Europe, which is already, in reality, renouncing religious liberty by its practices. However, the kind of perversion and darkness in Europe will be countered with a most oppressive form of Islam when it takes over Europe.
Islam is now taking over Europe as surely as if armies were occupying its cities. Because of what has happened to the core values of family and marriage in much of Europe, Europeans are now experiencing a negative population growth. One recent study estimated that Europeans were now having 1.1 children per family, which alone would result in a 50 percent reduction in the population. However, fewer people are marrying to even make up a family. At the same time the Muslims in their midst are almost all marrying, and having many children per family. Because of this alone, some European nations are likely to have Muslim majorities in the next decade. But, there is another factor that is likely to speed this along.
Turkey has made application for membership in the EU. They seem to have met all of the qualifications and it will be hard to keep them out for long. When they become members, the borders to all other EU nations are immediately thrown open to free immigration from Turkey. This alone could tip the balance and quickly lead to Muslim majorities in many European nations very fast.
A Prophecy
Much of Europe will fall to Islam. At first it will seem a very benign form of Islam rising in these nations, but that will not last long. Muslims will not tolerate the level of perversion that is now so common in Europe. There will be an attempt by the Muslim leadership to cleanse these nations of the perversion and idolatry that will become more and more extreme and ruthless. This will result in a war in Europe that will be even more devastating than the last two world wars combined.
Presently, the EU political policy is feeding the continent right into this trap because they still have not learned that you cannot talk the devil out of being the devil. The price for not learning this after World War I was a war many times more devastating in World War II. This is the third time they have followed the same basic course, and it will lead to an even more devastating conclusion than Word War I and II combined—much more.
Germany and Britain—the Salvation of Europe
Germany, the nation that brought so much destruction to Europe in the last century, is the main hope for the salvation of Europe in this one. The European Union has been built on the back of the German economic strength, and the Germans have been willing to pay a very high price for inclusion into the European community. This is mostly the result of the continued guilt many Germans feel because of the Nazi regime, which other European leaders have learned how to use to manipulate Germany. However, the price that the German people have to pay to carry this heavy burden for the rest of Europe is far more than their leaders told them, and the benefits are far less than they were promised. The German people will soon wake up to this. Germany will awake to what is being done to them by the EU, and to all of Europe by opening the door wide for Islam, and they will be one of the ultimate sources of salvation for Europe.
The German people have a “martial gift.” They are going to understand “the Lord of hosts” (literally “the Lord of armies”), and they will follow Him. Germany will help to stop Islam in Europe. At least for a time, Germany, Britain, and America will form a genuine alliance, a much more natural one, and will become pillars that uphold freedom and democracy in Europe, as well as the rest of the world. This “cord of three strands” (see Ecclesiastes 4:12), will ultimately be joined by many other partners in this from the emerging democracies in the rest of the world.
What the enemy was able to use to bring so much destruction to Europe in the last century, a conflict between Germany and Britain, will turn into an alliance in the coming years that will be the salvation of Europe in this century. Britain and Germany are natural allies, and together they can save Europe. We must pray for Europe, and especially these two countries. Both must cast off the guilt of the past, not forgetting its lessons, but moving ahead using them to help them see more clearly the moral compass they should follow. The British Empire accomplished far more good for the world than bad, and the same is true for Germany throughout history. These are two great cultures and peoples who have blessed the world with great light and leadership in the past, and will do so again.
Summary
Again, some of the points that I made in this brief bulletin are worthy of a book, and I realize that such a bulletin is quite inadequate to establish these points. Even so, I am conveying sober truth, not out of an offense toward Europe, rather, out of love and respect for the nations that have given so much to the world. Dark clouds are gathering over Europe, while the light is diminishing quickly. A few brave souls are starting to sound the alarm in Europe to what is happening, but very few are hearing them. We must earnestly pray for Europe.
Right now the majority in Europe relish their status as a godless society. Art does often prophesy, and as one European art critic recently wrote, “the future of art is perversion.” This is the future of Europe if it does not change the course that it is on. It is getting darker, and there seems to be a race to see who can be more perverted and more shocking. This is not just in art, but in philosophy, and even theology as well. How did this tragic fall happen?
This is a question that we need to understand because to close the “gates of hell” or the access points through which hell is entering, we have to at least know where they are. As my primary mission has been to Europe over the last two decades, I have spent much time studying this fall. The church has to accept much of the responsibility for it. When viewing much of Europe’s “Christian” history, it is understandable why so many Europeans want nothing to do with anything Christian again.
Europe’s history with Christianity is very different from that which is found in the United States, and other “new world” and even “third world” nations, but most Europeans fail to make these distinctions. Even so, I am not offering here that American Christianity is the answer. We have our own problems, and America is experiencing a similar meltdown in morality and faith, for many of the same reasons Europe is sliding into the abyss.
However, some of America’s own tragic fall from its devotion to God has been its links to Europe. I do not believe that America can ever return to its isolationist past, but we must guard who and how we join with other nations. America must have the courage and wisdom to steer a separate course from Europe in politics, religion, and business.
With the exception of Great Britain and Germany, America should look to build our national ties to the British Commonwealth nations, Russia, Asia, Africa, and our own hemisphere. Very soon she will be past the point of no recovery until the next devastating war has run its course. Europe is on an increasingly tightening death spiral and will pull down those who are too closely linked with her. As any pilot knows who has recovered from a death spiral, it usually takes a miracle that leaves us wondering how it happened. Europe needs a miracle now. God will hear even just a few who cry out to Him.