PCG, EU Unity, EU Flag, and Upcoming Treaty

PCG reported:

EU leaders are worried that Russia exerts a lopsided degree of power against Europe and are calling for a more unified front against Moscow’s tactics, according to a Washington Times report from Brussels.

“While EU leaders believe that peace and stability are built through interdependence, Russia’s leaders are working to create a situation where the EU needs Russia more than Russia needs the EU, particularly in the energy sector,” a recent report by the new European Council on Foreign Relations said.

The following two news items related to EU unity and symbols was of interest:

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 3, 2007 (Zenit) – Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today to the bishops of the Korean episcopal conference and Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in Rome for their five-yearly visit.

Dear Brother Bishops,

As servants of the Gospel, you have come to see Peter (cf. Gal 1:18) and to strengthen the bonds of collegiality which express the Church’s unity in diversity and safeguard the tradition handed down by the Apostles (Benedict XVI’s Address to Korean Bishops. http://www.zenit.org/article-21179?l=english).

Germany seeks to enshrine EU flag

Telegraph – Dec 12, 2007

Germany has mounted a last-ditch effort to get the European Union flag, anthem, motto and single currency recognised in the new EU Reform Treaty.

Along with 15 other nations, Germany is attempting to add a new clause that enshrines those symbols of the EU that were not included in the original treaty. Gordon Brown had specifically been against them being included.

It comes just days before the controversial treaty – which is almost identical to the rejected EU Constitution – is signed in Lisbon…

Germany wants the document to support the EU “Stars” flag, the anthem Ode to Joy, and its motto “United in Diversity“.

The single European currency – the euro – would also be formally recognised. Opponents of the treaty seized on the German move as further evidence that the document was the same as the rejected constitution.

The other countries backing the plan are Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.

The Prime Minister is still to decide whether he will attend the official treaty signing in Lisbon on Thursday. British officials are expected to resist the late German moves.

Mr Brown has refused to give Britain a vote on the treaty. The Daily Telegraph campaign for a referendum, which was promised in Labour’s 2005 election manifesto, has attracted more than 100,000 backers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/11/wflag111.xml
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Comments by COGwriter

The EU is determined to go ahead for its version of unity irrespective of what many people in Europe want. And while the United Kingdom will ultimately not be in it, it may remain part of the EU for a while.

(Belgium, on the other hand, is having a lot of problems itself and even if it splits in two–something that seems to actually be possible now–its parts, unlike the UK, will likely remain committed to the EU.)

Regarding the flag symbol, did you realize that although there were 15 nations in 1953 involved in the Council of Europe, a twelve star flag was adopted in 1955?

But why use twelve stars? Why hasn’t the Council of Europe (which has 45 member states, including the EU–which has 27 member nations) used another number or changed it?

There seem to be two reasons.

The first is that Mary is prominent in an unusual way in the new European Union as she was the “inspiration” for its flag. According to the Times Online (November 16, 2005),

“The chosen flag was designed by Arsene Heitz, a German Roman Catholic who said that he had been inspired by a line in the Book of Revelation about the Virgin Mary wearing a crown of 12 stars, a common depiction in Christian iconography.”

Hence we see a clear tie between Mary (called the “Queen of Heaven” by the Roman Catholics) and the flag for the European Union.

Note: Catholics now believe that the reason that Mary has been shown with the twelve stars is that she is the one specifically mentioned in Revelation 12:1. However, this interpretation of Revelation 12:1 is a change of Catholic tradition as in the third century,

“Victorinus said this is “the ancient church of fathers, and prophets, and saints, and apostles” (Ante-Nicene Fathers, VII, 355).

Mary worship, etc. was not a major factor in the Roman Catholic Church for quite some time as even The Catholic Encyclopedia even admits “we do not meet with any clear traces of the cultus of the Blessed Virgin in the first Christian centuries“. But it has been now for centuries and it apparently has ties to the EU.

The second reason for 12 stars may be because of private Catholic prophecies concerning 12 kings at the end.

Notice:

Francis of Paola (Born in Italy, 15th century). “By the grace of the Almighty, the Great Monarch will annihilate heretics and unbelievers. He will have a great army, and angels will fight at his side. He will be like the sun among the stars. His influence will spread over the whole earth. All in all, there will be on earth twelve Kings, one Emperor, one Pope and a few Princes. They will all lead holy lives.” (Dupont, p.38)

The above shows that Roman Catholics will believe that God is on the side of the one the Book of Revelation calls the beast–who they call “the Great Monarch” (additional specific prophecies are listed in the article Who is the King of the North?).

Hence the flag seems to tie Roman Catholic symbols in with a “Queen of Heaven” and a the future European Emperor. Both the flag and the expression “united in diversity” are interesting ways to bring Catholicism (which means universalism) into the EU officially, without actually mentioning religion.

A peculiar part of the Francis of Paola prophecy is that the Roman Catholics believe that there will be twelve kings associated with the beast (who they often seem to look forward to as “the Great Monarch”), yet the Bible states that there are ten kings (Daniel 7:24; Revelation 17:12). However, this is not necessarily a contradiction.

Daniel 7:24 says the last kingdom arises from ten kings, while Revelation 17:12 states that ten kings will give their power to the beast. However, it may be that after the beast power is fully formed, that he may add two additional kings and perhaps some princes.

The Bible itself does more than just warn against the “queen of heaven”. Revelation 17:9,18 states,

Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits…And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.

It is universally recognized that Rome is the city of seven mountains. This fact is also noted by various Protestant and even Catholic theologians. One such Catholic writer would be Yves Dupont who wrote in his book Catholic Prophecies,

The seven headed city is probably Rome (septicolis— seven hills) (Dupont Yves. Catholic Prophecy. TAN Books, 1973, p.24).

Other than Ammon Jordan, Rome is apparently also the only great city in the world to have precisely seven hills/mountains (though there may be some less important cities with seven mountains, and there may be seven near Constantinople/Istanbul).

While Rome itself was the ruling city of the Western world for several centuries, the Roman Catholic Church, whose headquarters is completely within the boundaries of Rome, has maintained tremendous influence over kings and governments of the earth for even more centuries. And still does today. Furthermore notice that the Bible specifically warns about a certain city ruling–Vatican City is the only city that appears to have possibly had such rule since John penned the Book of Revelation.

The above and more is in the article Europa, the Beast, and Revelation