Saturday, June 27, 2015

EUCO Debrief

Impetus Towards EU Army

As you know, I have been tracking the "ramp up" and proceedings of the EU's June 2015 Council on "Security and Defence." There has been a huge push for the integration of EU armed forces, into something the EU Commission president calls an "European army." Some think tanks were making some pushes for some rather large decisions to be made at the June European Council on Security and Defence. The European Parliament, the interparliamentary council, talked big. On many fronts, there was a big push for defence cooperation. 

And of course, Dr. Javier Solana chaired a task force recommending the EU create a "European Defence Union." Solana's group of eminent person's have had a few meetings since a year and a half ago. Solana's plan was to strongly encourage the creation of a European Defence Union, at the 2015 security and defence meeting. It seems the EU is devoting a European Council (EUCO) meeting to security and defence every two years, starting in 2013. This was the next meeting after that. So Solana and his crew published his Wall Street Journal op-ed, and released his report. Furthermore, Solana has admitted to going on a "roadshow" to many capitals of EU member states to push for a European Defence Union. He even came to the United States. After all, at his original presentation of the report in Brussels in March, he pledged that he will put all of the energies that he has left into defence integration. He has clearly been hard at work.

Even right before the June EUCO on defence and security, he was interviewed by Euractiv on a "Wake up call for a European Defence Union." Germany seemed on board with the "European Defence Union" and so did ALDE group in European parliament, who plagiarized the term, issuing their own report, which almost had the same recommendations as the Solana paper. 

This whole time, Jean Claude Juncker, EU Commission president, has more than once called for a "European army" to stand up to Putin. Even secular bloggers think the Solana report was coordinated with the Juncker announcement. He called for an EU army at least twice, and one of his spokespersons reiterated support. Finally, the night before the EUCO, the Commission VP, Timmermans, said that the EU regarded an EU army as a long term objective, as well as the preservation of the Euro. So it's certainly not just Solana who wants an EU army of sorts.

I have been putting a lot of emotional energy into anticipating the EUCO on Defence and Security, due to Solana's apparent interest in influencing policy. Maybe...just maybe this time...we would not feel so lost in the dark as far as prophecy is concerned. Especially since the 666 was floating around again...

So what was the outcome of the huge meeting on defence and security?

The Meeting that Never Was

The meeting was so catastrophically lackluster I won't even bother to post their conclusions here. I won't give the EU the credibility by acknowledging them, the conclusions were so absolutely pitiful. In their big meeting on "defence and security" one item they touched on relatively little was "defence and security." Much what they said/aspired to was largely already public information for months prior to the meeting.

 I am not a huge fan of an EU army concept, especially if its not accountable to the electorate. But if they are gonna hype it like that, they had at least better follow through with something. If they are going to talk big, they have to back it up. It reminds me of that old "The Office" episode, where the boss hypes a big "surprise" for all his colleagues, but the big surprise ends up being ice cream sandwiches. Except in this case, there was no ice cream sandwich.

If you want some mildly interesting EU conclusions on defence, here are the May 18 defence ministers conclusions on CSDP

The meeting agenda, in the weeks before, was gradually upstaged by migration, and the word "defence" was scrubbed from the agenda. Talks covered Greece, then migrant quotas.

And don't get me started on the "new European Security Strategy." It will be presented....a year from now. Mogherini called for the revision of the European Security Strategy. She implied that Solana's '03 strategy was good for its time, but outdated. She acted like some of the details of the new ESS would be at this June meeting. Everyone started calling for its revision. But gradually (at least in my opinion), it went from "will present some initial ideas on ESS" to "Mogherini will be tasked with the creation of the new ESS."

How long does it take to write the European Security Strategy!?!?!? I want to say that Solana wrote his in the amount of time Mogherini called for a new one. Granted, his was simple and formatted somewhat like a college essay, but it was widely celebrated. 

Don't I sound frustrated? 

BUT....the fact I am mad has an important point to show for prophecy.

Who else do you think is royally infuriated the EU did absolutely nothing at all!??!?!?


Solana Must Be Furious!

I can't imagine how mad Solana must be! After all, I may be annoyed for other reasons, but then again I didn't put a year and a half of working and traveling to prepare for it, only for them not to discuss my ideas. This is exactly what happened to Solana, who has dedicated 14 years of his life to European defence (both in NATO and the EU). Very few of his ideas got any air time at all, and most of them were so generic that they weren't exclusively his idea (i.e. increase defence spending in Europe).

In one of his meetings before the June EUCO, he called for a debate on European defence, and said his new favorite phrase "If not now, then when?" If they aren't going to build an integrated military now, then will they ever? Solana is not getting any younger, he will be having a birthday soon. 

Emotionally speaking, if a human is put into the situation Solana is put in, they have three choices:
  1. Get mad and just give up
  2. Wait around for another opportune time, then try again
  3. Get mad, and try even harder.
#2 even Solana admits is not an option. After all, he has said "if not now, then when?" He is also not getting any younger. He has also pledged to give his remaining energies to pushing forward defence integration, going on a big road show to push his ideas. I don't think he's going to take a big break because they didn't do what he wanted. If anything, he'll do the opposite. 

#1 is unlike him, or unlike anyone at his level of personal achievement. He seems pretty invested in the project. He doesn't talk like a person who is just going to stop and give up.

So that leaves us with #3. Get frustrated and try even harder. If you were him, you would be mad too. So it's not slanderous to assume he's frustrated and going to try all the harder.

Conclusion

Hopefully, I didn't show too much anger or frustration in this post. But as you all know, prophecy watching has the capacity to be very hard on the emotions. It's an emotional roller coaster, that instead of lasting a few minutes, lasts several years. For some of you, it has been a much longer wait than I have waited.

Watching gay marriage get ratified in all 50 states, the exact same day the EU had their non-meeting on "security and defence" was admittedly somewhat demoralizing. 

I go to a verse:
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19-20
I realize this was said in context of church discipline, but it seems to apply generally to prayer as a whole. In some sense, we have already done this, since we all have prayed for wisdom on prophecy. 

But we have really been sitting in a dark room 5 years now. The best prophecy theory of all time ever seems to be foiled in its original form, and went to a watered down form. But against all odds, gives glimmers of hope 5 years later, only to fizzle slightly for the moment. I admit I have had some sinful thoughts in the past days, as if God owes me/us something. So I don't want to do this in a spirit of that. 

But...if you all agree...I think we should in some sense, corporately pray that God give us clarity on prophecy and what is happening around us. We seemed to have had clarity before, only to be shot down. 

That is..... if you all agree we should pray this. (If it's an inappropriate request, then you readers should object). I know we have prayed for wisdom before, but I am personally pray for clarity on this subject, as to why it seemed to fail back then, showing glimmers of hope again. May God grant us mercy and clarity on matters of prophecy, that used to seem so clear, but seem so dark now.

Dear God, please give us clarity, because we feel like we have been crawling around in the dark, with feelings of disappointment, for years as far as prophecy is concerned. Please take away the darkness from our eyes, give us insight to see. And may you be honored in the process. Amen.



Friday, June 19, 2015

Liveblog: Tailgate the EUCO on Defence


This week, I will have a running blog post, monitoring the activities leading up to the European Council meeting Thurs./Fri, which is supposed to emphasize defence and security. I will post items I believe are relevant for end time prophecy. I will pay very special attention to Javier Solana's role in EU defence integration process, as well as any proposed losses of sovereignty of the EU member states.

For more information on why I believe Javier Solana is very significant for end time prophecy, go to this link and see these two powerpoints.

As always, and in all matters we should never forget to pray for wisdom, peace, and pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Recommendation 666 Turns 15: What Really Happened?

This article is about Javier Solana. To see why I think there is strong evidence that he might be the antichrist, click here.

*****

Today, exactly 15 years ago, the Western European Union Assembly proposed the infamous Recommendation 666. The Western European Union was a 10-nation military alliance in Europe, that existed for 15 years, before finally integrating into the EU. 

It is relatively well known that the WEU Assembly recommended new powers to Javier Solana, former High Representative of the EU, with this recommendation. But I want to further explore Recommendation 666, and the major events surrounding it. Oddly enough, I don't think I fully realized it's prophetic significance, other than the fact that Javier Solana was receiving more power.


Here's a link to the Wayback Machine archive of Recommendation 666. Point #12 is most significant:
12. Support proposals for the WEU Secretary-General and CFSP High Representative to preside over the PSC and civilian crisis-management machinery and give him powers to convene the Council of the European Union in the event of an emergency;
Contrary to what I believed before, this recommendation was implemented very quickly after the recommendation was given. In January 22, 2001 decision setting up the Political and Security Committee installed this power for the high representative. 
After consulting the Presidency and without prejudice to Article 18 of the TEU, the Secretary-General/High Representative for the CFSP may chair the PSC, especially in the event of a crisis.


Though the WEU assembly was only a "consultative" body, it was part of the WEU organization, specifically put in place to give defence advice to the WEU Council. 

I didn't realize this, but Recommendation 666 came at a time of very rapid transition for the WEU. This came at a time when the WEU transferred almost all of its functions to the EU and its new Political and Security Committee. The only thing left after this was the "residual" Article V defence committment, which the WEU retained. On the day Recommendation 666 was implemented, Solana gave a speech and answered questions by those members of the Assembly who were upset that some people were going to lose their jobs! This was because of the transfer of the WEU functions to the EU.


The WEU conducted military operations as the "military arm" of the EU, though technically being a separate organization. The missions they performed were not that impressive, but the range of allowable missions included the "Petersberg" crisis management tasks, which included military tasks. 

It seems big prophecy developments are followed by a very obvious 666 symbol. For an overview of the viewpoint of this website, and the prophetic fulfillments associated with Javier Solana, see this overview. 

So where does Recommendation 666 fall in? It's one of the most "obvious" 666 connections. I suggest a possibility here, and I will make my case. 
The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. Revelation 17:12-13 NASB
I formerly believed this took place at the WEU's dissolution. But bear with me. Notice how it says that the ten kings have "one purpose." This is the same phrase in Greek as "common purpose" in verse 17 later on. Literally, it is "one mind," which is how the ESV renders it. Both verse 13 and verse 17 say the same Greek phrase.

I would like to point out some very interesting EU quotes to make my case.

An article from 1999 makes note of this transition:
The WEU, the organisational bridge between the EU and NATO, is undertaking an audit of what assets it can pass to the EU as the latter expands its Petersberg capabilities. By the time the EU has asset-stripped the WEU the latter will be largely moribund.
From the document announcing the WEU dissolution:
Building on the achievements of the WEU and the principle of European solidarity, the EU has taken on crisis management tasks since 2000 and has now developed a Common Security and Defence Policy.  
There's that "common purpose" that Revelation 17:17 seems to mention: the Common Security and Defence Policy. The EU is pursuing "common policies" on many subjects (agriculture, fisheries, etc), as well as defence.

The title of Recommendation 666 is:
on the consequences of including certain functions of WEU in the European Union - reply to the annual report of the Council
Interestingly, Recommendation 666 came around the time WEU Crisis management functions were integrated into the EU.

And at the Cologne European Council, they yet again borrow similar language from the Bible, albeit unknowingly:
The Council declaration states that in the event of the EU fulfilling its responsibility in the area of the Petersberg tasks, ‘the WEU as an organisation would have completed its purpose’. At the Cologne meeting, Member States also appointed Javier Solana, from Spain, as High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), a post that had been created by the Treaty of Amsterdam.



Remember? The ten kings have "one purpose" and give their power and authority to the beast.

Which is exactly what happened. At the Cologne European Council in 1999, a lot of big integration events happened.
  1. High Representative Solana appointed.
  2. Led to creation of Political and Security Committee 
  3. EU decides to take on autonomous crisis management tasks
  4. Decision to set up EU Military Committee
  5. Decision to set up EU military staff
The Bible says that the ten kings have authority with the beast for "one hour." I have always interpreted this to mean a short time. In Revelation 18 it says that Babylon's judgment comes in "one hour." Which is quite interesting, because almost as soon as Solana was appointed, they started transferring all of their functions to the EU, putting the military crisis management tasks under the PSC instead of the WEU Permanent Council. This is indeed, a very short time. 

And who is the leader of the PSC? Javier Solana and/or his deputies. Here is part of the explanatory memorandum on Recommendation 666. 

33. A more technical aspect, but one with political implications for the decision-making process, is who should in future preside over the forums that have to take the necessary decisions on the Common European Security and Defence Policy (CESDP), specifically the General Affairs Council expanded to include defence ministers and the Political and Security Committee (PSC). A Franco-German initiative proposes that the latter should be chaired by the High Representative for the CFSP and WEU Secretary-General, Mr Solana. Some member countries are still against this solution but in order to make the PSC more coherent and effective, strong pressure should be applied for the latter to be run by the High Representative. To this end the Assembly supports the position taken by the European Parliament in its resolution containing proposals to the Intergovernmental Conference

 And also:

     74. There is a need, should this prove too difficult, to retain the possibility of using the WEU framework to develop closer cooperation, as provided under Article 17.4 of the TEU. In order to strengthen coherence and continuity of action within the European Union, it is necessary to provide either:
    • for the WEU Secretary-General and CFSP High Representative to preside over the General Affairs Council, expanded to include the defence ministers; or
    • for the former at least to have the power to ask for a meeting of the Council to be convened, and
    • for him to chair the PSC and coordination machinery for civilian crisis management. In contrast, the Military Committee should be chaired by a military officer.

    Interestingly, the WEU Permanent Council held a luncheon on June 28, 2001. Because it would no longer meet as the WEU Permanent Council. It would meet as the expanded PSC, because the 10 reps on the WEU Permanent Council were the same ambassadors as those on the PSC.

    On 28 June 2001, the Netherlands presidency gave a luncheon to mark the last session of the permanent WEU Council. Three days later the crisis management functions of the WEU were taken over by the European Union and its Political and Security Committee (PSC), as envisaged at Amsterdam and confirmed in Nice. On the insistence of the Netherlands, the new institutions of the Union, the PSC, the EU Military Committee (EUMC) and the EU Military Staff (EUMS) had been formalised in Art. 25 of the Nice Treaty. The transfer was not complete, however, and a rump of the WEU secretariat was maintained to deal with the Art. V automatic military assistance commitment, relations with the WEU Assembly and armaments cooperation
    Long story short, the WEU, very quickly, transferred almost all of its functions to Javier Solana. This is confirmed by the Luxembourg Declaration of November 22, 1999.
    to authorise the transmission of all WEU"s work and analyses, particularly those of the military Staff, to the High Representative for the CSFP and the other appropriate bodies of the Council of the European Union taking into account the relevant security arrangements
    The WEU was quickly on the road to becoming dormant and defunct once again. Later on the WEAG (Western European Armanents Group) closed down in 2005. It's functions were transferred to the European Defence Agency (which relates to military arms procurement) in 2005. Same with the WEU Centre for Security Studies became the EU Centre for Security Studies in 2002, as well as the WEU Satellite Centre became the EU Satellite Center that same year.

    To summarize the ten kings have "one purpose" and they give their "power and authority" to the beast. Now, if Solana is the AC, then he is the beast. The WEU had "one purpose" which was to get the EU to fulfill military crisis management tasks (Petersberg tasks). Furthermore, they performed the transfers to the EU, and to Solana's leadership, very quickly, in "one hour" as it were.

    Here is a chart of WEU/EU integration:
    December 11-12, 1998
    Document 666: Vienna European Council proposes creating the post of the EU High Representative “as soon as possible.”
    June 3-4, 1999
    Javier Solana nominated to be first High Representative of the CFSP
    June 3-4, 1999
    Cologne European Council leads to creation of the Political and Security Committee, EU Military Committee, EU Military Staff
    Nov. 22, 1999
    Luxembourg Declaration transfers functions of WEU to the EU High Representative Solana
    Nov. 25, 1999
    Solana appointed new WEU Secretary General
    Feb 21, 2000
    Interim Political and Security Committee set up
    June 5, 2000
    Recommendation 666: Proposes Solana preside over the new body (PSC) that determines the “political control and strategic direction” of military crisis management operations
    January 22, 2001
    Decision establishing the Political and Security Committee
    June 28, 2001
    WEU Permanent Council holds last meeting
    July 1, 2001
    Political and Security Committee takes over crisis management? (see article above)
    2002
    WEU Institute for Security Studies becomes EU Institute for Security Studies
    2002
    WEU Satellite Center becomes EU Satellite Center
    2004
    WEAG (Western European Armaments Group) dissolved
    2005
    European Defence Agency (arms procurement organization) comes in and fulfills former role of WEAG
    March 30, 2010
    WEU dissolves itself, in light of the new Treaty of Lisbon, and the Common Security and Defence Policy. Mutual assistance pact in Treaty of Lisbon, similar to Article V of WEU Treaty, causes members to dissolve organization.


    Now I think we can safely say that the WEU gave its "power and authority" to Solana. Granted, the WEU didn't have much "power and authority" to begin with, but I think this prophecy has been fulfilled. It relinquished all of its decision making capabilities to the EU, with Solana at the head.

    Now, take a look at the passage again:
    The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 
    14 These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” 
    15 And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, arepeoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 For God has put it in their hearts to execute His [i]purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:12-18 NASB
    So here it seems that the beast (Antichrist) and his ten kings hate end times Babylon, whoever that is. They apparently violently destroy this city and "burn her up with fire." So it seems this is a military activity to say the least. Since the harlot rides the back of the beast (see Revelation 17), it seems the Antichrist and Babylon are initially allies. But this apparently doesn't last. The ten kings and beast have a "common purpose" by which they destroy end times Babylon. So it makes sense this common purpose is in the military domain (hence, a common purpose on defence issues: Common Security and Defence Policy).

    The EU has a common policy on defence, but its not very impressive, and exists mostly on paper. They do conduct some military missions, not the least of which is the new EUNAVFOR Med operation about to be launched, which is supposedly the most ambitious one they have ever done. However, national capitals dictate their own defence policies for the most part. If the EU launches an operation, they don't necessarily provide all of the resources needed for the mission! Even Solana back in the day had to resort to phoning each of the countries, asking for a field surgeon or transport plane. 

    So the part about the ten kings giving their kingdom to the beast does not seem like a past event. Verse 12-13 and verse 17 use very similar language, and almost sound like the same event. But notice the repetition, and the slightly different wording. Theoretically, these could be separate events. Furthermore, after verse 12-13, it seems to "fast forward" to Babylon's destruction. But why do the ten kings destroy Babylon? The text seems to tell us:
     For God has put it in their hearts to execute His [i]purpose by having a common purposeand by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
    God puts it in their hearts to do his purpose by them having a "common purpose" and ceding their sovereignty to the beast. Since it fast forwards to Babylon's destruction, it might not be the same moment as Revelation 17:12-13, though it sounds similar. Both the repetition and the "fast forward" to an event definitely future, I think, allow for this.

    So using our Solana/WEU lens, its extraordinarily interesting that he issued some proposals to the European Council for their meeting in June, on how to build a European Defence Union. This would entail a loss of sovereignty to the member states. Germany apparently backs the plan for a "European Defence Union." Solana has been out of politics for five years. So its rather remarkable he may be in the process of making a comeback. Not only did he chair this think tank, he also said that he will put all of his energies left into EU defence integration. "Defence integration" is what was happening when the WEU was merging with the EU. "Defence integration" is what happens when sovereignty is ceded to the EU in defence matters.

    The dissolution of the WEU in March 2010 was just the nail in the coffin, and the start of the ceding of sovereignty to the EU. At the Treaty of Lisbon, more sovereignty was ceded to Brussels. The only remaining vestige of the WEU was the Article V self-defence clause. After the Lisbon treaty, they saw no more need for this.

    However, though sovereignty was ceded at Lisbon, defence remains one of the most "intergovernmental" aspects of the EU, as opposed to "supranational." In short, sovereignty over defence remains with the member states. However, at the June 2015 European Council, they want to increase defence cooperation. Despite vocal opposition from some, many EU officials are fully ready to become on board for the integration of EU armies.

    Solana Needs A Job

    Solana needs a job if he's the AC. Preferrably, not a terribly demanding job. After all, he is almost 73. (He has a ton of energy at his age, but still). Will he be High Representative in the future? Maybe. Will he be some other job? Maybe. Hard to say.

    If he is going to make a powerful comeback before the next High Representative is nominated, what are some options for positions he could hold? Go back to recommendation 666 explanatory memorandum. What else did it propose, even more than once, in addition to the powers granted in Recommendation 666?

     74. There is a need, should this prove too difficult, to retain the possibility of using the WEU framework to develop closer cooperation, as provided under Article 17.4 of the TEU. In order to strengthen coherence and continuity of action within the European Union, it is necessary to provide either:
    • for the WEU Secretary-General and CFSP High Representative to preside over the General Affairs Council, expanded to include the defence ministers; or
    • for the former at least to have the power to ask for a meeting of the Council to be convened, and
    • for him to chair the PSC and coordination machinery for civilian crisis management. In contrast, the Military Committee should be chaired by a military officer.

    And also:

    33. A more technical aspect, but one with political implications for the decision-making process, is who should in future preside over the forums that have to take the necessary decisions on the Common European Security and Defence Policy (CESDP), specifically the General Affairs Council expanded to include defence ministers and the Political and Security Committee (PSC).

    There is no "Council of Defence Ministers" that meets formally and has voting rights. It is not a new recommendation, but Solana and crew propose the creation of such a group. They propose a Eurogroup of Defence Ministers, that includes the willing and able within the field of defence. Much like the Eurogroup for finance, it leaves behind those who don't wish to participate.

    Which is interesting, because of this article's address and contents. It contains many similar wordings as in Solana's proposal. (Learn more about that here).

    https://eu2015.lv/news/media-releases/666-eu-defence-ministers-in-riga-call-for-unity-in-addressing-european-security-threats



    In the Solana document, he proposes a second chair to a newly created Eurogroup of Defence ministers, in addition to the high representative. He also proposes a deputy to the HR be put in full time charge of the Common Security and Defence Policy (again, not a new idea).

    In the past, at the European Convention for the European Constitution, proposals were tabled for a "Mr ESDP" who would be a deputy for Solana. This person would: Chair the PSC, and chair the new Council of Defence ministers. However, it didn't make it into the final proposals.

    Interestingly enough, Solana was actually against the "double hatted" HR/VP position that exists today! He opposed the "double hatted" job which would merge the Commission and the EEAS. Despite being happy he was going to be the next foreign minister, he did oppose this move. Perhaps (pure speculation) he will find a way to bifurcate the defence component of the EU into his own future position.

    What else does Solana propose? A group of 'like-minded" member states to come to deeper cooperation in defence, through the Permanent Structured Cooperation mechanism.

    Remember. The ten kings, they have "one mind" (ESV) and give their royal power to the beast.

    Use the treaty basis for permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) to move European defence integration forward with a group of likeminded states. (More Union in European Defence, emphasis added)

    I don't know what is going to happen at the end of June, if Solana will make a dramatic comeback, or if they will create a new position, and only later (like in December) install him into it. Or maybe nothing will happen. I'm not sure. But I do know the suspense is killing me.

    Come Lord Jesus! He can't come soon enough! Though we (and especially me) are undeserving, yet we wait for him.