Friday, December 30, 2016

Proof that Jesus Christ will return!


 How do we know Jesus will return?
"but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect," (1 Peter 3:15 ESV)
We are called to be able to give an answer for the hope that is in us. But what is this hope?
"waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ," (Titus 2:13) 
The hope is clearly the second coming of Jesus Christ, which this website is about. But what, in particular, is proof that Jesus will return? One of the main things Jesus will do at his return is judge the world. Apostle Paul tells us:
"because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”" (Acts 17:31)
The resurrection, Paul says, is God's way of proving to the world that Jesus will one day judge the world. In addition, the resurrection of Jesus is not some lone wolf event, nor a mere magic trick to prove that Jesus is God. Jesus resurrection is the the "first fruits" of everyone else who will be raised at the Second Coming of Christ.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) 
The Resurrection and God's Plan 

The chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 very tightly binds Jesus resurrection with our own at the end of the age. Without the one, you cannot have the other. By his resurrection, Jesus inaugurates a new era of God's kingdom, that continues with the church, but eventually grows and reaches culmination when Jesus establishes his kingdom on earth. Christ's resurrection is the launch event of God's divine program that ultimately results in the resurrection of all who trust in him.

Furthermore, the Messiah is meant to rule the world on David's throne as a human being. If Jesus had died (and stayed dead) like the other Messiah claimants in the first century, then the movement would have dissipated like the others, since a dead king is rather useless. But on the contrary, the disciples, despite their grief, experienced the surprise of his resurrection. This enables Jesus to rule on David's throne after all.



Furthermore, God made an unconditional promise to Abraham that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Nevertheless, all humanity is under God's judgment because of sin. So how then can God fulfill his promise to bless all the families of the earth, when all the families of the earth deserve God's righteous wrath? (cf. Romans) Again, the answer is Jesus, who by his crucifixion, takes the penalty for our sin upon himself. Without the forgiveness brought through the cross, everyone would be under God's judgment and there would be no inhabitants of God's future kingdom!

When Satan thought he had the last laugh at the cross, is the precise moment when God made a public spectacle of the principalities and powers, (Colossians 2:15) enabling him to fulfill his promises after all. Furthermore, the resurrection vindicates Christ's sacrifice, placing God the Father's seal of approval on it.

So again, the death and resurrection of Jesus is absolutely central to the Second Coming of Christ, in many different ways. They aren't two events divorced from each other by a space of 2000 or so years. The resurrection, in a very real way, is the launch of the program which continues today, and will ultimately reach its full culmination at the return of Christ, when God will become King of the whole earth at last. (Zechariah 14:9)



God's divine program still continues as planned. As Jesus predicted, the Gospel of the kingdom is being preached to all nations and has spread to every country on earth. Israel was reborn, and is coming under increased pressure. A very viable candidate for a revived Roman Empire (the EU) exists alongside Israel. It seems we are running out of new territory to actually send missionaries. Furthermore, Facebook intends to provide free internet for the entire globe, and has already tested a solar powered drone for this purpose. If the whole world has the Internet, then the whole world has the gospel. Surely, the Second Coming is near.

If it is indeed the end times, we will suffer persecution. So all the more reason we should be sure of the hope that we have, so we don't back down under pressure. Below, I have compiled a list of videos, that I believe represent the the best evidence of God's existence and Christ's resurrection. Some of it is based on very new research on the Gospels. I have personally listened to all of these videos (excluding the Q&A portions).   There are lots of apologists out there, and lots of Youtube videos on apologetics. But here, I specifically tried to compile the best evidence by some of the sharpest scholars that I have ever heard, all into one place.

It includes three categories:

  1. Animated videos on God's existence
  2. Evidence of Christ's resurrection
  3. New research on reliability of the Gospels



Animated Videos on God's Existence

(Approximately 25 minutes)


















The Resurrection of Jesus

(Approximately 2 hours excluding Q&A)











New Research on Reliability of the Gospels

(Approximately 2 hours excluding Q&A)







Evidence for Christ's resurrection is particularly invigorating, because it makes the reality and glory of the Second Coming that much more stark. Jesus really is going to come back. He really is going to set up a kingdom and build the New Jerusalem. It's not something vague we hope is true. They are the facts. And we can stake our life on Jesus as a result. 

Glory to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Come Lord Jesus!









Thursday, October 20, 2016

Apologetics Corner: Why Do Some People Believe Jesus is the Messiah?

Ultraorthodox Jewish Men (source)


Since this is a prophecy website, I would like to branch out a little and explore other aspects of prophecy, in this case, Jesus Christ himself. Below is my Quora answer to "Why do some people believe Jesus is the Messiah?" I explain how Jesus "works" as a Messiah just as well as the current orthodox Jewish model(s) do. 


*****

"Why Do Some People Believe Jesus is the Messiah?" (My answer copied below).

Contrary to popular belief, Jesus is the best Messiah candidate there is.

He fits into the existing Jewish paradigms of the Messiah in a rather simple, unifying (and serendipitous) way. 

Before I can dive into this question, we have to discuss what a Messiah is....

What's a Messiah?

The Messiah is a figure predicted in the Old Testament who would:

1) Fight battles on behalf of Israel and defeat her enemies

2) Lead the world to worship Yahweh

3) Teach Law observance

4) Rebuild the Temple 

5) Generally rule the world and bring world peace

6) Be a king in the dynasty of king David

Christianity Started as a Jewish Sect

If you explore Orthodox Judaism (then and now) you will not find a single, unified concept of "what the Messiah will be like." Keep in mind, during the life of Jesus on earth, there was a variety of Jewish sects, such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. In fact, Jesus Himself and Paul, are very closely aligned with the theological views of the Pharisees, in some ways. 

Christianity started as yet another sect of Judaism. The first Christians had absolutely no intention of forming a new religion. They weren't open to pagan modifications either, because they were...well... Jews. Christianity has very strong Jewish origins. In fact, when reading the book of Acts, public officials regarded Christianity as a controversial sect of Judaism. 

Because that's precisely what it was, and what it is now. 


So How Does Jesus Line Up?

Contrary to what most people think, Christians back then (and Christians today!) don't "disagree" with Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. That list I made of commonly held features of the Messiah? Christians believe every one of them applies to Jesus. In fact, many evangelical Christians believe they apply in a very literal way.  In order for Jesus to fulfill Old Testament Messianic prophecy, he must fulfill every prophecy, including rebuilding the Ezekiel 40-45 Temple, defeating Israel's enemies, ruling the world from Jerusalem, etc. 

But orthodox Jews today will quickly point out that Jesus hasn't done any of these things. This is where I need to explain how Jesus makes the best sense of the data, and compare it to other Jewish interpretations of the Messiah. 


Orthodox Judaism's "Two Messiah Theory"

There is a long running theological concept among Jews which I will call the "Two Messiah" theory. Basically, there are passages in the Bible which one could interpret to mean that the Messiah will be killed (perhaps in battle). Yet there are others which imply he will be a king in David's dynasty who rules a political and religious golden age. These are very dissimilar concepts. So we need some kind of theological theory to reconcile them. Enter: Two-Messiah theory.

Messiah ben Joseph

Many orthodox Jews in the past up until today propose that there will be two Messiahs. The first one, called "Messiah Ben Yosef" will fulfill the prophecies about dying, and perhaps be killed in battle. However, his son or grandson will come to the throne to be "Messiah Ben David" and fulfill the Davidic/ruling aspects of the Messiah. So here we have two messiahs, fulfilling two different Messianic perogatives. 

For more info on this, see Joshua Kaplan's answer to this question. (Please upvote his answer if you read it):

Joshua Kaplan's answer to What do Orthodox Jews believe about the Messiah?

Christianity's "One Messiah Theory"

This is where Christianity comes in. We believe in a "one Messiah" theory. We think all the prophecies about the Messiah dying, but yet ruling Israel as a glorious conqueror and king, occur in the same person, but at different times.*

So the Orthodox/Talmudic theory is that there will be "two messiahs." The Christian theory is that there will be "two comings" of one Messiah

The one Messiah theory is a simpler theory that accounts for all the data. The Old Testament gives the impression that there will be one primary Messianic deliverer. So Christians stick to that theme, and resolve the tension by having two comings of the same Messiah.

So there is nothing, so far, that would rule out Jesus from being the Messiah. If He indeed resurrected (which is possible in a Jewish worldview), He very well fits the bill as the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament. 

The Resurrection Validates "One Messiah Theory"

If he was merely killed, without a resurrection, then it would be a cop out to say that he will fulfill all the other prophecies at the Second Coming. But if he really resurrected, then it's not a cop out at all, since we see that "One Messiah Theory" is a better theory about the Messiah than "Two Messiah theory." For evidence for Jesus' resurrection I direct you to one of my other answers:

David Wilkinson's answer to What are your reasons for believing in your religion?

The Jesus-Messiah Theory Has Theoretical Elegance 

But it doesn't stop there. The "Jesus-Messiah" theory has a lot of theoretical elegance that is very "unifying" when understanding the Old Testament. Good theories have a very unifying and simple explanation of diverse data. 

Here are some concepts found in the Old Testament.

1) Some day, God is going to make an entirely new covenant with Israel, in which he forgives all of their sins. (Jeremiah 31: 31-34)

2) Some day, all the people on the earth will rally to the Messiah. (Isaiah 11:10)

3) Some day, God is going to return in blazing fire and defeat his enemies. (Isaiah 66: 15-16)

4) Some day, the Messiah is going to destroy his enemies, just by breathing on them. (Isaiah 11:4) 

5) Isaiah and Psalms contain mysterious and confusing prophecies about someone greatly suffering on behalf of a large group of people. (Isaiah 53; cf. Psalm 22)  

6) The Old Testament is full of instances where God requires blood sacrifice for forgiveness of sins. (see the entire Torah).

7) Some day, God is going to write His law on everyone's hearts, so they instinctively do the right thing. (Ezekiel 36:22 - 37)

8) Some day, God is going to touch his feet to the ground, and defend Israel militarily (Zechariah 12-14)

9) Some day, God will be King over the whole earth and his name will be the only name. (Zechariah 14:9) 

10) Some day, the Messiah will rebuild the temple. (Zechariah 6:13)


Jesus Makes Sense of the Old Testament

So basically, upon reading the Old Testament, one will run into these ideas and themes now and again. On the surface, they appear to be separate concepts. 

But in Jesus, all of these ideas come together quite elegantly. 

1) Jesus makes a new covenant in which sins are forgiven, by dying on the cross. (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15) 

2) Christianity has huge amounts of Gentile converts. 

3) Some day, Jesus is going to return in blazing fire. (2 Thessalonians 1) 

4) Some day, Jesus is going to defeat his enemies simply by breathing on them. (Revelation 19; 2 Thessalonians 2:8) 

5) Jesus is that mysterious guy who suffers for everyone else in those prophecies in Isaiah and Psalms. (1 Peter 2:24)

6) Jesus, when suffering on the cross, is the final blood sacrifice. He was crucified on Passover week as the Ultimate Passover Lamb. (John 1:29; Revelation 5:12)

7) Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to all of His followers, to live inside them and guide them in their decisions. (John 14:16)

8) Some day, Jesus is going to touch his feet to the Mount of Olives, and engage in military conquest of Israel's and His enemies. (Acts 1:11; Revelation 19) 

9) Some day, Jesus is going to be King of the whole earth. He will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 20) 

10) Some day, Jesus is going to rebuild the temple, and be the person worshiped inside of it. 

The Most Beautiful Thing of All

I already hinted at it before, but I think this is the most beautiful thing of all, about Jesus being the Messiah. Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly promises Israel that he will save and deliver them. Furthermore, he promises a great religious and political hero called the Messiah. Jews have been anxiously waiting for this Messiah for millenia. But how fitting, that the true Messianic Hero that everyone has been waiting for, is really God Himself all along.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

*****
You will notice that, within the prophecies about the Messiah, there are two different theories to interpret the seemingly contradictory portraits we receive: suffering servant vs. conquering king. I argue above that the "two comings" (with a big gap in between) is not any more ad hoc or weird than a "two messiah" theory. 

Prophecy is replete with instances of "time compression" and the "mountain peaks" phenomena. We see this in many areas: 1) The first and second coming of Christ, 2) The first and second phase of the revived Roman Empire, 3) The gap in the 70 weeks prophecy. I am sure there are others. The prophets seemed to have given prophecies about a specific event or person, and only saw the "mountain peaks," but didn't report on the "valleys" in between. For example, when the prophets talk about Jesus, they just talks about him and all of the things he will do, regardless of how far apart each sentence will be fulfilled from each other. 

Furthermore, in prophecy, God seems to like to do things against all odds. Abraham was very old and normally wouldn't be able to have a kid with his old wife, even though God promised to make him the father of many nations. Noah made a big ark in anticipation of a large flood, to the confusion of the locals. Moses led the Israelites, fleeing the Egyptian army, to the shores of the Red Sea. Miraculously, God opened up the water and let them walk through.



This website argues both the "time compression" and "against all odds" phenomena are in progress with the Antichrist candidate Javier Solana. In the past, he had fulfilled prophecies in Daniel and Revelation about the Antichrist. Nevertheless, these fulfillments seemed to stop when he entered "retirement" and got older. Now, at 74, he seems to be back at it, in a much greater way than I (or some EU officials for that matter)* had anticipated. 

What makes him different from other Antichrist candidates is that he has historically fulfilled unique prophecies about the Antichrist that no one else ever has. Many people, when speculating on who the Antichrist is, point to a politician of interest and speculate on what he will do in the future, based on what he has done. To my knowledge no other Antichrist candidate, other than Javier Solana, is based squarely on fulfilled prophecy. To learn more about the theory guiding this website, check out the overview page. 





*(This website has no affiliation with the militia group mentioned in the Newsweek article, who share similar beliefs about Solana).

Saturday, October 15, 2016

EU Common Defense Push To Coincide with Top Job Musical Chairs

European Parliament President Martin Schulz

The European Union's common defense push is set to coincide with an undesired top jobs reshuffle. Ever since France and Germany came out with a joint paper September for a "European Defence Union," forces in Brussels and national capitals have been pushing to make that happen. In addition to this, Jean Claude Juncker's called for a permanent military headquarters and common defense in his annual speech. Since the Franco-German paper, Spain and Italy have hopped on board for further defense cooperation. This comes at a tumultuous time, when the European Council President and European Parliament seats are up for grabs in the coming months.


Common EU Defense Initiative

High Representative Mogherini has laid out plans with EU defense ministers to be proposed in November, to be decided by heads of state and government at the EU Council in December. Simultaneous to this, the European Parliament subcommittee on defence has been debating the draft of legislation on a "European Defence Union," a term former High Representative Javier Solana originally promulgated and proposed to European Parliament in June. This too is expected to be tabled in November.

While disagreeing to some extent on the details, EU officials and some major countries want a permanent military headquarters, joint defense finance activities, and the ability to intervene in outside countries, independent of NATO. This will happen under the auspices of the Treaty of Lisbon's "Permanent Structured Cooperation." These concepts are what Solana and others have meant by "European Defence Union."

Image source


Musical Chairs at the Top

Surprisingly, this major defense integration push may very well coincide with musical chairs among some of the EU's most senior positions.

  1. European Parliament President, Martin Schulz (S&D party), seeks an unprecedented third term of office starting in January 2017. Although he is backed by Juncker, this directly contradicts a written agreement Schulz has with the largest party in Parliament, the center right EPP party. It is likely the EPP will get the Presidency.
  2. European Council President Donald Tusk (EPP party) is not supported by Poland for a second term. This alone will not prevent his term renewal in June 2017, but it is politically destabilizing and might allow anyone who dislikes him or his party to have more leverage.
  3. European Commission President, Jean Claude Juncker (EPP party) was rumored to possibly quit his term early, due to health problems. However, due to Brexit and calls for his resignation, he did not step down in order to save face. This third option is much less likely than the first two, but needs to be considered. 
EU High Representative Federica Mogherini


Mogherini: Exceeding Expectations? 

High Representative Federica Mogherini (S&D) is one of the most followed of all the politicians on Twitter. Furthermore, she is very well liked by Commission President Juncker and is generally regarded to be high performing.

An article in Der Spiegel stated that Mogherini is the "hope" of many in the S&D party as a lead candidate in the next European Parliament election cycle. This article strongly implies that some want her as the "Spitzenkandidate" (lead candidate) for European Commission President.

If the EPP group gets the Parliament presidency, then 3/4 top jobs will be held by someone in the EPP party. According to S&D leader Pittella, this is "unimaginable." There is increasing reason to believe that the S&D group will try to put an S&D person in the European Council presidency if they lose the Parliament presidency. Though Germany wants to keep Tusk, Italy and France may be open to such a maneuver, because they are led by socialists.

A Man Leading the EU's New Military Machinery?

Long story short, if under any circumstance Mogherini is promoted to a new role, it leaves the High Representative seat wide open for Javier Solana. He has been increasingly interested in European defence integration, placing an inordinate amount of effort in the process, even working with European Parliament itself. If you check out this page (starting March 2015), it will be hard to imagine someone who has done all of those things being uninterested in the High Representative seat, especially since the job was literally made for him originally. Furthermore, Javier Solana would immensely help party balance, as he himself is of the S&D group.

A 7 Year Whitebook for Defense?

If you go to the overview page, you will see that Solana presented a proposal for a Whitebook for European defense. MEP's have gone on to create a draft resolution on a European Defence Union, to be voted on in November. Critically of interest, the White book, when it comes out, is meant to be a 7-year plan.  They repeatedly reference the EU's MFF (7 year budget) in the draft resolution.
Invites the VP/HR to propose an initial EU security and defence white book which will be based on the EU global strategy endorsed by the European Council; takes the view that the security and defence white book should guide the Union contributions in security and defence policy for each multiannual political and financial framework of the EU; 
The 7 year nature of the whitebook may not be prophetically significant, as the Antichrist's seven year treaty with Israel is most likely to happen under the auspices of the EU's ENP, which is a seven year relationship to Israel. (This too is based on the EU's MFF). Nevertheless, the Whitebook could be really interesting if it ultimately provides some kind of security guarantee to countries in the middle east and north Africa regions, or otherwise suggests using military force to stabilize the region, as Solana has suggested that the European Defence Union should do.




All of this is Biblically significant, because Javier Solana appears to have fulfilled some prophecies in Daniel and Revelation about the Antichrist. Though he originally seemed to have retired, it is quite likely he is in the process of making a political comeback. Even if you disagree with this viewpoint, an EU High Representative vacancy would give the opportunity for a man to control the EU's new military machinery. The Antichrist is a very powerful military conqueror in the end times, coming from a revived Roman Empire. (Daniel 11:36-12:2, cf. Revelation 13:4; Daniel 7)

Stay tuned and Come Lord Jesus!

(image sources are hyperlinked in captions)

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Solana 666 Connections

This page documents the numerous connections Javier Solana has to the number 666. This is the number of the beast in Revelation 13, and is somehow associated with him, in particular as it relates to the mark of the beast. While this page does not represent the core of the theory espoused by this website, it is possibly a breadcrumb trail provided by God to make sure we are on the right track. Many of these 666 discoveries immediately followed a prayer for wisdom by multiple different people on the fulfilledprophecy.com message board.

Document 666
Document 666 at the Vienna European Council recommends the creation of a new position, called the EU "High Representative." In June 1999, Javier Solana was appointed to be the new EU High Representative. He was also made the Secretary General of the 10-nation Western European Union. 


Recommendation 666
Recommendation 666 proposes that the WEU "crisis management" functions be transferred to a newly created EU committee, under the leadership of Javier Solana. It also gave him the power to convene the Council of the European Union in an emergency.



06/06/06 Solana Iran Proposal
Solana overcomes the EU3 and becomes the face of the EU in the Iran negotiations. On 06/06/06, Solana was seen across major news outlets presenting a deal to the Iranians that they could potentially accept.
  
Click to Enlarge


Gold = $666.00 for all of Javier Solana's birthday (07/14/2007).
The gold markets closed out on July 13, 2007 at exactly $666.00. This means that the price of gold remained at $666.00 for the following Saturday, since markets were closed. That Saturday, July 14, 2007, was Solana's birthday. If I understand correctly, this was a result of a prayer for wisdom by Adamantine on the Fulfilledprophecy.com message board.


Click to Enlarge


666 Solana UN Quartet Picture
Here, Solana is pictured with the members of the Middle East Peace "Quartet." You can see a "666" in the background, since the flags cover up the 0's of the 60th anniversary posters on the wall.


(Click to Enlarge)
Solana Bottom-Right


Doctor Javier Solana (6 letters, 6 letters, 6 letters)

Javier Solana's Linkedin Profile 
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/javier-solana/66/676/982 (Original hyperlink)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-solana-98267666 (More recent hyperlink)

Click to Enlarge


666: China and Global Governance Article by Javier Solana
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/666535-china-and-global-governance.html
Solana describes how China hasn't been given the place it deserves among international organizations. I found this one after praying for wisdom about Solana, even though I didn't deserve it because I had just sinned. Within two minutes, I happened upon this article I had seen before, with "666" in the hyperlink. 

EU High Representative on Pages 66-67
Between pages 66-67 (see where my mouse hovers), it recommends "Streamline Decision Making Give Mr CFSP More Resources" namely, Solana. I cheated with this one, by specifically Googling his name and the number 666.


Click to Enlarge



Iran and Big Three Solana Citation
"Dr. Solana also became, together with the Big Three states of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, a major mediator in Europe's relations with Iran since 2004. He presented the following three advantages. Internally to the EU, he represented all EU states, and not just the Big Three. This was a major issue for small states, which asked for the inclusion of the High Representative in the negotiations (Sauer 2007,10). In Iran itself, he was seen as a neutral actor as opposed to a negative actor such as the United States (Chubin, 2006, 66)." (emphasis added)
 I discovered this one completely by accident, back when I did not believe Solana was an Antichrist candidate, but was researching his position. 
The content of this EU Defence ministers meeting had an uncanny similarity to the Solana Task Force Report that was about to be released in the following weeks.

German Defence Minister Endorses Solana Plan

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3066687/Our-goal-EU-army-says-Germany-s-defence-chief-Fears-country-commission-chief-s-call-force-taken-seriously-world-stage.html

‘The European Army is our long-term goal’ she said ‘but first we have to strengthen the European Defence Union.’ 
The term "European Defence Union was not widely used until the Solana Task Force introduced it. Here, the German Defence Minister is making a clear nod to Solana's plan by using the term on the heels of the task force.  


06/06/16 EU Global Strategy Adopted by Commission
Javier Solana played an active role in advising the current High Representative, Federica Mogherini, in the new EU Global Strategy. Solana has a personal connection with this, since this was the first upgrade to the strategy since Solana penned the original in 2003, titled "A Secure Europe in a Better World." The new strategy was ratified by the Commission on 06/06/16.





06/16/16 Solana Presents to EU Parliament
Solana was asked by the European Parliament to provide guidance on a "White Book" (policy proposal) for a European Defence Union. As a result of this, he drafted an 80 page document for the European Parliament, advising them of how to construct a Whitebook for A European Defense Union. He then presented to the European Parliament, and was warmly welcomed there on 06/16/16.



View references, links, and Bibliography page here.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Breaking News Live Blog

Just in the past few days, things have started to move relatively quickly. So I want to use this live blog feed to provide breaking news and short analyses to keep up with the changes this summer. It will cover Solana, EU Army developments, EU High Representative, Israel, etc. Also, big meetings and decisions are coming up. 

Sunday, May 29, 2016

EU Army Rising & Solana's Role to Play




I haven't posted in quite a while, but I wanted to keep everyone posted as to the trends regarding Javier Solana, the push for an EU army, and the progress and relationship between those two things. Many important votes and meetings will take place in the coming weeks that should add further light to all of this. I plan to closely follow these events, and report back anything interesting I find. Yet in the mean time, I would like to provide a brief update as to what is going on.

Solana and the German White Paper on Defence

Germany has apparently taken on Solana's push for a "European Defence Union." Germany plans to actively push for a European Defence Union, which would include a permanent military headquarters, Council of Defence Ministers, and Permanent Structured Cooperation in defence. These are the main elements in the Solana plan. Furthermore, during Solana's "road show" the CEPS think tank noted that Germany was most receptive to the plan, and the German Defence Minister apparently gave a nod to Solana's plan when she called for strengthening a "European Defence Union," with the eventual goal to creating a European army. Largely to Solana's influence, the German White Paper on Defence notes that the German government plans to take a leadership role in the formation of a European Defence Union. This paper was scheduled to be released in June, but the UK Brexit referendum is coming up on June 23, so its full release is scheduled for after that vote, so as not to influence the outcome. Nevertheless, the paper was leaked and seen by the Financial Times.



EU HR Federica Mogherini

The EU Global Strategy 

The EU High Representative, Federical Mogherini, has spent the last year and a half preparing an EU Global Strategy, which is the successor plan to Solana's 2003 European Security Strategy (ESS). She in the past has called for the EU to be a military superpower. There was a very lengthy consultation period for the EU Global Strategy. Even until now, only a handful of political and security committee (PSC) ambassadors could see the plan, and they had to leave their cell phones outside. This was not to influence the UK In/Out Referendum on June 23, since rumors of an EU army are swirling about. Nevertheless, hand written notes were allowed, and thankfully someone leaked those as well. The EU global strategy apparently sees an urgent need to upgrade the EU's capabilities and activity in defence, calls for a permanent EU headquarters, and Permanent Structured Cooperation in defence (PESCO). This is of course is very similar to what Solana was calling for as well in his 2015 Report addressed to EU HR Mogherini. This is similar to the Eurozone's "Eurogroup" in which only the countries who wish to participate do so. While Britain cannot be forced to join PESCO, this allows the EU to build an army without British assistance. Though David Cameron may not support an EU army, whose to say a pro-EU successor won't sign them up to PESCO? Rumor has it that Merkel has a deal with Cameron that, in exchange for the UK-EU renegotiation deal, Cameron wouldn't block the creation of an EU army (presumably if other countires wanted to implement PESCO).

Momentum Towards a European Defence Union

The term "European Defence Union" was not widely used until the Solana report used it first. Curiously all other proposals for a "European Defence Union" have all the key proposals of the Solana plan. Furthermore, many powerful voices have gotten behind this in the past year or so.

  • European Parliament just a month and a half ago, demanded the EU set up a permanent military headquarters and a "European Defence Union." 
  •  The anti-NATO rhetoric of US Presidential candidate Donald Trump's has definitely put the pressure on the EU to put an EU army together. Even Obama and Hillary Clinton have long put pressure on allies to up defence spending. 
  • An EU battlegroup performed military exercises in Britain just this month, and it included two British battalions. The tanks had EU insignia on them. 
  • Of course, this is old news, but in March 2015, EU Commission President called for an EU army, a day before Solana gave his report. In an interview, Solana clarified that what was meant by a "European Army" was different than how some people were taking it. Knowing that those two are possibly good friends, their push seemed to be coordinated and planned.


The UK In/Out Referendum on June 23

As you've probably already guessed, they are not as talkative about an EU army or any enhancements to defence cooperation until after the UK votes whether to stay or leave. They even moved the European Council meeting until five days later, where Mogherini's EU Global Strategy is expected to be discussed and/or presented, at least to some extent. This is why the Germans rescheduled the release of their defence White Paper, wherein they intend to take a leadership role in the creation of a European Defence Union that will eventually lead to a European army. Nevertheless, the polls were neck and neck, but "Vote Remain" has gained a significant advantage over "Vote Leave." I even invested money in the prediction markets, that the UK would vote to stay. It tends to be that last minute, people fear change and opt for the status quo. So if "Remain" is already ahead, it is likely they will win, especially if there is high turnout. Once this vote happens, and the European Council has its meeting, I expect people to talk more freely about a European Defence Union.


Javier Solana's Role to Play

I believe Javier Solana has fulfilled a few highly specific prophecies about the Antichrist. (Click the link if you haven't seen the slideshow yet, which underpins the message of this entire website.) They are so specific no one living or dead can match them. Nor are they your typical vague "young charismatic leader wants peace in the Middle east" prophecy movie types. See my powerpoint for an extensive discussion about why I believe this is very likely.



Javier Solana has not stopped advocating in EU related fields. He even presented a report to EU High Representative Mogherini's team, in Brussels. This was part of the EU's formal consultation process prior to the EU Global Strategy. Solana's report in March 2015, calling for a European Defence Union, was addressed to the EU High Representative Mogherini. His recent report on "Human Security" was also intended to influence policy decisions on her part. The text of the "Human Security" report is not particularly interesting, except for who co-chaired it (Solana) and what it was used for the past. The Human Security Study Group is something Solana founded to advise himself back in his days as High Representative for CFSP, to provide specific recommendations. Here Solana is taking it upon himself to take a lead role in the study group he commissioned for himself back in the day.


There are lots of good reasons to believe that Javier Solana will not at all stop pushing for an EU army/European Defence Union. In March 2015, he said "I will put all the energies I have left to push forward this process" (CEPS Twitter account) when referring to European defence integration. Furthermore, back in 2009, when he "retired" he said "I am not yet ready for retirement" and stated he would keep working on the same things he always had been. He laid low and worked as an academic for a few years, but is coming back with a burst of energy, so much so that even one secular blogger believes that if the EU doesn't get too bogged down in the migration/debt crisis, that Solana would be appointed to an EU position. Finally, despite his age, it is very likely that Solana is trying to build a legacy for himself as one of the EU's founding fathers, in the same way Jacques Delors was the founding father of the Euro. I have extensively argued this point elsewhere, but in addition to it, I would like to point out that in his interview last year he stated that "It will be a very important step of the construction of the European Union." He also said, "This is a process. The sooner we start, the sooner it can be completed. If we don’t start, we will never finish." Very clearly, he sees himself as the one to get this done, despite not having any political power at the moment.



Bible Prophecy: EU, Solana Overview

If you are new to this website, I suggest you go to the overview page and see a slideshow as to why the EU is important in prophecy, and why Solana may be incredibly significant. To summarize:
  • The EU is a revived Roman Empire that exists in the last days, at the same time end time Israel does. (Daniel 7, 9, etc.)
  • The EU is a "divided kingdom" and has unity problems, as predicted in Daniel 2
  • The EU's defense structures were based on a group of ten countries, which later transferred their capabilities to the EU under Javier Solana's leadership (See Revelation 17:12-13)
  • Javier Solana started out with little political influence, as the inaugural holder of the High Representative position, but was also Secretary General of that ten-nation alliance. (see the little horn in Daniel 7)
  • Javier Solana gradually rose to power, and came into conflict with the "EU3" group for political influence in the discussions over Iran's nuclear program. He over came these three, as predicted in the Bible (see Daniel 7, where the Antichrist subdues 3/10 kings).
  • Javier Solana created a program for Eastern European and Mediterreanean countries, so that they could form a relationship with the EU. This European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) ultimately turned into a 7 year program that cycles every seven years (see Daniel (9:27). In the future, Solana recommends using money from the ENP to use military force to stabilize the Middle East and North Africa, very reminiscent of expectations of a 7-year security covenant between a United States of Europe and Israel, brokered by the Antichrist. 
The powerpoint explains this much better, in relative to all of the relevant Scriptures, and has images that are more helpful in explaining it. 

A Surprising Comeback Against All Odds

Nevertheless, a big snag in the theory that Javier Solana is the Antichrist was hit in 2009, when he left political power in his late 60's.. This was widely regarded in the news, and by his team, as a "retirement," despite his desire to continue working in academia. Those who thought Solana was the Antichrist were mocked*, and the EU-Washington diplomatic mission spokesman said it is "quite insane" because Solana is a "retired" and "private elderly gentleman." 

Consistent with how God does prophecy, against all odds, this "private elderly gentleman" now wants to spend the last years of his life, at 73, building one of the most powerful armies that has ever existed. Just like Jesus' resurrection, or the revival of the Roman Empire, or the return of Israel in the end times, God's word comes true, against all odds, after a very long time, no matter how dire it looks. This is very similar to the "mountain peaks" of prophecy phenomenon that has long been recognized. In literature, J.R.R. Tolkein coined the term "eucatastrophe" (no pun intended.) This is in contrast to the more disparaging term "deus ex machina" which is much more ad hoc and unexpected. My friend pointed out that many of these Bible prophecies seem to conclude with an eucatastrophe.**

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Mountain Peaks of Prophecy (Image Credit Here)

As I implied before, an Antichrist that retires then comes back is not theologically ad hoc. It does seem strange that the Antichrist would retire, then suddenly come back. It sounds like we are constructing a "comeback" to save a dying theory. But in fact, theologically, this has quite a bit of precedent, as I already mentioned. Prophecies that don't appear to have large gaps between them ultimately do. For example, the disciples, even at the ascension, had no idea that the coming of the Messiah would happen in two separate phases, one where he dies for sins, and another where he returns thousands of years later! Same goes with the revived Roman Empire. Daniel 7 describes how God violently defeats the "fourth kingdom" when the Messiah comes on the clouds of heaven. The fourth kingdom is regarded by almost all conservative scholars as being the Roman Empire. The problem is obvious. How can the Roman Empire be defeated by God, at Christ's Second coming, if the Roman Empire died out long ago? The answer is clear. It must come back, just like Israel came back after thousands of years, so must the Roman Empire. 

Solana and the Common Purpose? Revelation 17: 12-18

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 12:12-13 NASB)

One major event in the end times is the ten kings give their power and authority to the beast. The "beast" is synonymous with the Antichrist and/or his kingdom. (A king can't be king without a kingdom, and vice versa.) The ten-nation Western European Union military alliance, that was used by the EU to conduct military missions, transferred almost all of its capabilities to the EU under Solana's head, at Recommendation 666. I have gone into detail into why I believe that is historical as of 2001, in this article here. 

Nevertheless, when reading the rest of the passage, it seems to reiterate what it already says. I post here the entirety of the text, in NASB, to demonstrate this point.

2 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.
Victory for the Lamb
14 These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb willovercome 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, are peoples 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 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 17:12:12-18 NASB emphasis added)

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). Some theologians even believe that the one riding (i.e. the prostitute) is the one with the influence.


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.

Notice the apparent repetition in verses 12-13 and verse 17. I have argued elsewhere that verses 12-13 are most likely a past event that took place in 2001, after Recommendation 666 was implemented. However, it kind of "fast forwards" to Babylon's destruction and reiterates that the ten horns have a common purpose and give their "kingdom" to the beast. Since EU defence policy still remains largely intergovernmental, verse 17 does not seem like a past event. Interestingly, in Solana's surprise EU defence integration push, giving up sovereignty in defence is precisely what he is trying to get the member states to do.

EU Operation Blowing Up Pirate Ship


Is it exegetically ad hoc to place verses 12-13 in the past, and verse 17 in the future? If we look at another prophecy, the destruction of Tyre, we have precedent for a passage that sounds like one decisive event, but is actually two. In retrospect, the text allows for this. See this article here to see what I mean. God prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would destroy the city of Tyre. He did most of the job, but later on, Alexander destroyed the island portion. When reading the text, it actually allows for it, as the pronoun changes when discussing Tyre's attackers. Not to mention the "revived" Roman Empire, first and second coming of Jesus, restoration of end times Israel, and the entire "mountain peaks of prophecy" phenomenon allows for this. I think it is especially allowable in Revelation 17 because of the deliberate repetition and the "fast forwarding" to Babylon's destruction. Solana completed verses 12-13. We are witnessing him attempt to whip up the "common purpose" again, and get more integration in the defence domain.

I admit I shake my fist at heaven from time to time. But one thing that God does, is he doesn't do things when we expect them, but he does them exactly as he said, no matter how long it has been or how bleak the situation looks.

 Hallelujah and praise to our God in Christ Jesus, forever and ever!


P.S. Another fun 666 connection:


*This website has no affiliation with the group mentioned in the Newsweek article, the Hutaree militia, who also thought that Javier Solana might be the Antichrist. As I understand it, the Hutaree were exonerated of all the attacks they were alleged to have planned.

**This "againts all odds after a long time" prophetic principle does not apply if someone intensely hopes that God will come through in some instance, if he has made no explicit promise. It only seems to apply when God has made an explicit promise, or already partially fulfilled prophecies, only to turn them around at the last moment.