The “European Miracle”–Europe will rise powerfully again
Noticed the following about Europe’s past rise:
September 13, 2024
It’s now been nearly 35 years since E.L. Jones first published his watershed book The European Miracle. Jones’s history of Europe’s economic development examined the reasons why Europe—a comparatively poor and backward part of the world in the Middle Ages—somehow became the wealthiest and most productive place on earth in the nineteenth century. The fundamental question remains: why did Europe surpass other civilizations1such as Islam and China—which had once been much richer than the west?
According to Jones, a major factor in Europe’s drive to economic prominence was the high degree of economic freedom. As Jones puts it: “Economic development in its European form required above all freedom from arbitrary political acts concerning private property.” Or, as historian Ralph Raico concluded, Europe’s industrialization was closely connected to the fact that “the economy achieved a degree of autonomy unknown elsewhere in the world except for brief periods.”
This, of course, raises the question of why Europeans enjoyed higher levels of economic freedom. As Raico shows in his work on late antiquity and the Middle Ages, Europe’s political institutions were different from anywhere else, thanks largely to the unique position of the Western Church as a rival and competitor against the civil power. https://mises.org/mises-wire/rise-western-nuclear-family-and-european-miracle
The Bible has various prophecies related to Europe.
In the Book of Daniel we read what the prophet Daniel told the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar about the dream he had and what it meant:
36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all — you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold — the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” (Daniel 2:36-45)
The dream was related to the Babylonian empire, which was succeeded by the Medo-Persian empire, then the Greek empire, and then the Roman empire. Then it points to ten toes and the time of the end. We know that this is a reference to the time of the end because the world’s empires are replaced by the Kingdom of God in verses 44-45. While the Babylonians and Persians were in Asia, the Medes, the Greeks, and the Romans were in Europe. So, we see a prophecy that relates to various times Europe would rise up. Perhaps it should be pointed out that in the end times, Europe is referred to as the “daughter of Babylon” (Jeremiah 50:42, 51:33; Zechariah 2:7) as well as “Mystery Babylon” (Revelation 17:5)–as the poster at the beginning of this post shows, Europe has also used Babylon as symbol of its relatively unnatural unity.
The late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong concurred with the connection of Daniel and Revelation with Europe. And, before the European Union formed, he wrote:
“And in the days of these kings … ”–it is here speaking of the ten toes, part of iron and part of brittle clay. This, by connecting the prophecy with Daniel 7, and Revelation 13 and 17, is referring to the new UNITED STATES OF EUROPE that is now forming, out of the European Common Market, before your very eyes! Revelation 17:12 makes plain the detail that it shall be a union of TEN KINGS OR KINGDOMS that (Rev. 17:8) shall resurrect the old ROMAN EMPIRE. So, mark carefully the time element! “In the days of these kings”–in the days of these then nations or groups of nations that shall, IN OUR TIME, resurrect briefly the Roman Empire… (The members of the European Common Market are probably not the same ten that will resurrect the Holy Roman Empire.) (Armstrong HW. Mystery of the Ages. Dood, Mead & Company, New York, 1985, pp. 301,302-303)
The EU, itself, has been called an empire (e.g. Zielonka J. Europe as Empire. The Nature of the Enlarged European Union, 1st edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006). Why?
The EU … resembles an empire we know from many centuries earlier. … the system we knew in the Middle Ages (Ibid, p. 1)
Interestingly, as far back as the Book of Daniel, the Bible prophesied that a little horn would develop into what apparently is becoming a European entity. This prophecy looks like it started to be fulfilled in the 20th century and is having further fulfillment in the 21st century.
Actually what is now the EU began as a small organization involving three small countries located in the northern and western regions of Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, called the ‘Benelux’ nations)–they then helped form the European Economic Community. Which expanded into the European Union.
Notice that, the Bible prophesied that a little horn would mainly expand South and East:
9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered. (Daniel 8:9-12).
And while the above has had a past fulfillment anciently, this prophecy seems to be dual. A horn is sometimes used in the Bible related to kings (cf. Revelation 17:12). While we do not see this direction expansion fulfilled with the first 5 kings, but we do see this related to the EU.
The European Union has mainly expanded south and east of the Benelux nations. Now, approximately 450 million people are under a new, single (though not completed united) government, called the European Union, headquartered in Brussels. The prophecy in Daniel 8:9 looks to be pointing the EEU and EU because of the amount and timing of that expansion–but that will later lead, per Daniel 8:10-12, to the rise of the final Beast of the sea who is also the final King of the North of Daniel 11.
The late evangelist Dr. Herman Hoeh concurred that Daniel 8 was related to the end time European King of the North power as he wrote:
Turn in your Bible to verse 9: “And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” …
The King of the North
The little horn in Daniel 8 is none other than the LAST KING of one of the four divisions of Alexander’s Empire. He is, in fact, the final “King of the North” described in Daniel 11. (Hoeh H. The 2300 Days. Plain Truth, August 1965)
While the expansion has mainly occurred with what looks to be the EEU/EU, the final rising up pertains to the final King of the North who is also the seventh king of Revelation 17:10. And he will also end up going south, not just towards but into and past the glorious land, per Daniel 11:40-43. He then may have control of much of the east and south side of the Mediterranean Sea like the ancient Roman Empire did.
As far as historical Church of God views go, the late CG7 leader Andrew Dugger wrote:
Verse 8 – Here the beast, upon which the harlot woman, having the name “Babylon” on her forehead, was riding. “WAS, and WAS NOT, and YET IS” (Revelation 17:8). This is the beast that was wounded by the sword, and was not. The deadly wound was healed (chapter 13), and it comes back. This is where we are at the present time. It has come back, and the voice of Rome is again being heard and felt. (Dugger A. Daniel and the Book of Revelation. First printed at Jerusalem, Israel, by the Mount Zion Reporter Press, ca. 1960s. NEW EDITION, 2013, p. 133)
Well, the closest thing to the Holy Roman Empire that existed when that was written was the European Economic Community (1958-1993)–of which such unity various pontiffs supported (see Stump KW. Ahead… RELIGIOUS UNITY OF EUROPE. Plain Truth, April 1982). Hence, Andrew Dugger had to have pointed to the EEC, and one would suspect him to have been pointing to the EU if he were still alive and held the same view (I did not learn that about him until May 6, 2024–which is a month or two after I originally speculated that the EU was that beast).
Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:
“And in the days of these kings… .” It is here speaking of the ten toes, part of iron and part of brittle clay. This, by connecting the prophecy with Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 and 17, is referring to the new UNITED STATES OF EUROPE, which is now forming out of the European Common Market before your very eyes! Revelation 17:12 makes plain the detail that it shall be a union of ten KINGS OR KINGDOMS that (Rev. 17:8) shall resurrect the medieval “HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. …
The seventh is now forming—the last, final, brief resurrection of the “Holy Roman Empire” by ten European groups or nations. (Armstrong HW. 7 PROOFS OF GOD’S TRUE CHURCH: Part Four. Plain Truth, May 1979; that same exact quote is also in his 1985 book: The Bible Superstition or Authority? …and can you prove it?)
Well, what formed out of the European Common Market (which officially was the EEU) was the European Union–it is not currently constituted as the group of ten nations or groups of nations. And while there will be a reorganization leading to the the seventh involving the ten kings, which Revelation 17:12-13 shows, that has not yet happened. The EU “now is,” yet since it does not have an emperor or dictator running it, it also “is not.”
When I asked him about the EU and the one that is but was not, CBCG’s Fred Coulter agreed that the one that “is” could be the European Union–and basically that “one is” should be seen as a contemporary event, not something that the Apostle John would have known about in his time–but Fred also said this will tend to be cleared up as we get closer (telecom 5/02/24).
Going back to Revelation 17, John continued with:
9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
Note that the seventh beast per Revelation 17:10 only continues for a short time. That is 42 months per Revelation 13:5. But the sixth king, then, can be assumed to have been around for a lot longer than that. And the EU has been around for over three decades and over six if you point to the EEU/Common Market as its start, and back to 1948 if you include Benelux.
As far as possibly being “is not,” consider that:
The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity (without precedent or comparison) combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation. (European Union. Wikipedia, accessed 02/27/24)
The EU is not a kingdom, yet is a type of empire. And it has attempted to emulate the old Holy Roman Empire.
Related to Revelation 17 and what is called the ‘Holy Roman Empire,’ Herbert W. Armstrong stated (note start dates in { } provided by me):
Now, this is pictured as the beast or the animal described in the 17th chapter of Revelation through the Middle Ages. It was called the Holy Roman Empire. It began now in 554 A.D. under Justinian … See these heads on these animals. The animals were government; the heads were the heads of state or the leaders, the heads of the government.
Now this government, the Holy Roman Empire began in 554 under Justinian. The second head of government represented by this 17th chapter beast or wild animal was Charlemagne who ruled at 800 A.D., he was the French head of state. He was followed by the third head of state, the German dynasty of Otto the Great {955}, …
Now notice from there, one is, and the other is yet to come. That is yet to come in our time. And you are seeing it beginning over in Europe right now, and it continues when he cometh, he must continue a short space. (Armstrong HW. Daniel. Radio broadcast https://www.hwalibrary.com/cgi-bin/get/hwa.cgi?action=getbroadcast&InfoID=1340285301&SearchWhat=KeyWord&SearchFor=Commandments%20Jesus%20Christ&NoShow=&page=278&return=search)
Yes, Europe rose up many times. Many think it cannot rise up again as many think Europe is basically dead and would be shocked to see it rise again. That, too, was prophesied in the Bible:
1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:1-4)
2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. 5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ 6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:2-7)
The “Great Sea” that bordered the ancient lands of Israel (Numbers 34:6-7; Joshua 1:4; 9:1; 23:4; Ezekiel 47:13-16) is the Mediterranean Sea–and that is the sea that Daniel was referring to. Despite some false claims by some, the Beast power is not a nation like Russia, which does not border the Mediterranean Sea, but Europe which does.
The EU is not, itself, the seventh king–but the EU is setting the stage for the coming reorganizations of Revelation 17:
12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. (Revelation 17:12-13)
The seventh king of Revelation 17:10 becomes the leader with the fulfillment of Revelation 17:13. A dictatorial beast will rise to power in Europe with that coming reorganization.
Related to the various kings in Revelation 17, notice the following chart:
Chart of Kings/Dynasties of the Revival of Rome as the ‘Holy Roman Empire’
Kingdom with a relationship to a type of ‘Holy Roman Empire’ Date(s) of Reign Number in Revelation 17:10 Justinian’s Imperial Restoration 554 – c. 797 1 Charlemagne’s Frankish Kingdom 800 -c. 905 2 Otto the Great of the ‘Holy Roman Empire’ 955 – c. 1137 3 Hohenstaufen dynasty 1138 – 1268 4 Habsburg dynasty;
Remnant until Otto formally gave up title in 19581274 – 1806
1806 – 19585 European Economic Union/
European Union1958 – 1993
1993 – Present6 Final King of the North Beast Future for 42 months 7
The seventh king will rise up soon.
That religiously-aligned leader, who will be supported by the final Antichrist, is prophesied to rise up in Europe.
He will be the Beast of the Sea.
He will be the seventh.
Europe is prophesied to rise up powerfully and dominate the world soon.
And, yes, religion will also be involved.
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 are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.
The European Union and the Seven Kings of Revelation 17 Could the European Union be the sixth king that now is, but is not? Here is a link to the related sermon video: European Union & 7 Kings of Revelation 17:10.
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. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Do You Know That Babylon is Forming? How is the final Babylon forming? Are Protestants such as Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland are endorsing something dangerous? Could Pope Francis be the ‘False Prophet’ that the Bible warns against? Is an antipope expected to endorse a one-world religion? Here is a link to a related written article In Vatican City: New Babylon more openly forming!
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 are links to two related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For and The Future King of the North.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
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