Grexit: ‘Euro Armageddon’ next week?

Part of Athens (Photo By Joyce Thiel)

A reader sent me a link to the following:

Updated April 17, 2015

Euro Armageddon? Greece prepares for debt default – set to trigger eurozone financial melt

Greece is getting ready to default on its debt, a move that would send the Eurozone into meltdown.

By LANA CLEMENTS

The radical-left government is currently in talks with its Eurozone creditors to approve reforms in return for a loan of €7.2billion by a deadline of 20 April.

If a deal isn’t reached the government will refuse to make loan repayments worth billions of euros to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to the Financial Times.

“We have come to the end of the road . . . If the Europeans won’t release bailout cash, there is no alternative [to a default],” a government official told the paper.

Meetings regarding Greek reforms have been ongoing and progress slow. Executives at the IMF have even reportedly said that negotiations are “not working.” There are now less than four working days to reach an agreement.

Meanwhile, Eurozone equity markets are hanging in the balance and such an announcement could spark a mass sell-off, which would plunge economies into chaos.

But tensions were raised when Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras brought forward a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin from its scheduled date in May, raising fears that he could turn to Moscow for cash. Russia has previously said that it would consider a loan to Athens if it were asked.

The threat of a cosy alliance between the former Soviet state and Greece is no doubt a ploy by Mr Tsipras to apply pressure on creditors- he knows that Euro leaders do not want Putin to have any further influence on Europe. http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/570407/Euro-Armageddon-Greece-prepares-debt-default-set-trigger-eurozone-financial-melt

April 16, 2015

Bets are off on ‘Grexit’ as default fears grow

A U.K. bookmaker has stopped taking bets on Greece leaving the euro zone, saying it is increasingly likely that the country could “begin the process of departing” very shortly… one analyst told CNBC Thursday that the country faced a “slow-death scenario”—including a default and messy exit from the euro zone—as the country’s economic crisis took another turn for the worse following a credit rating downgrade.

BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research’s Thanos Vamvakidis warned Thursday that if Greece fails to reach a deal with its European partners, a Grexit—or Greek exit from the euro zone becomes inevitable.http://www.cnbc.com/id/102591625

A Grexit is the departure of Greece from either the Eurozone or the European Union. The Eurozone consists of the nations that use the Euro as their currency (which is most of the nations in the European Union, plus a couple of others). Technically, Greece could default, be pushed out of the Eurozone, but still remain part of the European Union.

The European Union does not want Greece to default nor turn to Russia. Europe does not want Greece to leave the Eurozone. Here is a report about some of what Europe is thinking about:

April 15, 2015

Germany is working on a plan to keep Greece in the eurozone if the country defaults on its debt, according to weekly newspaper Die Zeit.

The Financial Times reported on Monday evening that Greece is already making its own plans for a default scenario.

Things are looking more and more grim for Athens: Negotiations for the country’s latest bailout tranche are still going, but they’re not looking good. Senior eurozone figures are suggesting there will be no deal by April 24, when the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers next meets.

According to Die Zeit, Germany wants to keep Greece in the euro if it defaults. That would be a difficult task, and would probably require strict capital controls to stop money from flooding out of Greece.

It’s difficult to say when the whole situation will come to a head — HSBC suggested the Greek government’s payment to the IMF on May 12 is the “crunch point” at which they won’t be able to afford to go on. Even if that’s managed, there are several more payments in May and June which the government can’t surmount on its own. http://www.businessinsider.com/report-now-germany-is-getting-ready-for-greece-to-default-too-2015-4

This is tough for the Germans and the Greeks. The Germans feel that they have lent Greece money in good faith and that they are not being paid back as agreed, but they do not want Greece to default and not pay the rest back.

Yet, the leaders that are currently in charge of Greece probably feel that the EU has left them little choice but to either default or turn to Russia. Greece sent a bill to Germany related to claimed WWII reparations for €279billion, which offended the Germans. So, in the Greek view, it tried a way to reach out to Europe on this matter that was rebuffed.

Although when Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he did not get all that he wanted (see Fighting, despite ‘ceasefire’ in Ukraine; Greece and Russia talk, but…), his plans were not rebuffed like the German denial of the reparations request. So, another attempt to make a deal with Russia is something Greece feels it must do. Despite the fact that Alexis Tsipras said he was not going to ask Russia for money before.

Of course, if the EU can afford to bail out Greece (and other struggling nations) that is better for the Euro as a single currency.

As far as Greece does, Greece joined the predecessor to to the European Union in 1981. For historical and prophetic reasons, Greece will be a supporter of the final Beast power that will arise in Europe. At least two of the empires mentioned in Daniel 7 included all or part of Greece. Greece is on the ‘Great Sea’ (Daniel 7:2; which is the Mediterranean Sea according to other scriptures) and the final Beast power is called the Beast from the sea (Revelation 13:1).

I have written for years that there could be problems with the Euro, and that it even could get replaced. No matter what happens to the Euro, the reality is that something is being built in Europe.

There will be problems in Europe (Daniel 2:41-43), maybe massive ones and civil unrest. Europe itself will be affected by the biblical Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-16; 19:17-21), but the Eurozone issues with Greece are not part of that.

Despite problems in Europe, after some reorganizations a powerful leader there will arise (Revelation 17:12-13). And his empire will include Greece.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous.
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
WTO/TTIP and the Babylonian Beast Will international trade agreements like WTO/TTIP/CETA lead to the fulfillment of end time prophecies concerning the Babylonian Beast power that the Book of Revelation warns against? What does the Bible teach? A related video would be WTO Trade Deal and the Rise of the European Beast Power.
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a link to a related sermon titled Germany in Bible Prophecy. Here is a link to a video Is the USA Pushing Germany to Start WWIII?