From across the pond….

Next week, the UK will hold a referendum on whether or not to leave the European Union. In this discussion, what fascinates me is that some Christians across the pond are concerned that the European Union is fulfilling the role of a “revived Roman empire,” as a sign of the End Times. For example, some prophecy people look upon the Euro currency as displaying a woman riding upon a wild beast, just as it is taught in Revelation 17:3.

Just a word of caution: It might be helpful to be a little bit cautious about prophecy claims that look to the newspapers for signs of fulfillment. Below is a three and a half minute video from British pastor and author Andrew Wilson, making his case for why the European Union (EU) does not line up with what you find in Revelation.¹

Interestingly, this may not be much of a surprise to some people! It is important to note that there is a growing, new movement among some Christians, that Europe is not to play such a role in God’s prophetic timetable. Instead, folks like Joel Richardson are teaching that the Islamic Middle East will play that role instead.²

Notes:

^{1. I blogged about this topic before when the last Left Behind movie came out. ↩}

^{2. Joel Richardson is interviewed extensively in Covenant and Controversy, a film about Israel and Christian Zionism that I highlighted in a recent blog post.↩}