The New Unholy Roman Empire

The New Unholy Roman Empire
by Alan Franklin

Alan Franklin has been a journalist for 37 years. He currently serves as editor of a newspaper in southern England. Alan is a Bible prophecy teacher and expert on the cults.

Alan's Website: End Times News

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I have been a journalist since 1964, spending ten years as a chief reporter and the last 17 as the editor of a journal serving a quarter of a million readers in southeast England in the London area. As a Christian versed in prophecy I cannot help but see in the emerging European superstate the foundations of a one world government with a one world dictator at its head — the man whose Biblical names include “the Beast,” “the man of sin” and “the Antichrist.”

In fact, leaders in Europe are already calling for a strong leader, saying that committees do not work and they need more inspired leadership. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer repeated his call for a European government in July, 2000, and said the European single currency — the Euro— was “the first step to a federation.” He added that he wanted a “powerful president.”1

Fischer said his aim was “noth­ing less than a European parliament and a European government, which really do exercise legal and executive pow­er,” to operate under his powerful president. More sinisterly, he welcomed the progress made in removing the “sovereign rights” of nations which he defined as control of currency and control of internal and external security.

In summary, Fischer said, “Political union is the challenge for this generation.”2

The Desire for a Superstate

I was invited to Brussels, where the European Parliament is situated, in my role as publisher of a business newspaper. I watched the vote taken as eleven countries abandoned their own currencies to form a united Eurozone with the euro replacing everything from the lira of Italy to the Irish pound. They were effectively voting for the abolition of the nation state, and it was astonishing to see with what little formality or protest countries like France and Germany gave up control of their financial and economic destiny to join in the project to create “a common European home,” as the founding fathers of the European Union put it. No mention was made of the crippling cost to nations of scrapping their currencies.

After the vote I went to lunch with six MEPS — Members of the European Parliament — of different political parties. We talked about the future and I said that, as they now had one parliament and one currency, they were in many senses effectively one country. They could not really disagree, as the EU has all the trappings of a state, even its own embryonic army — the planned 60,000 rapid-reaction Eurocorps. So I asked: “Have any of you thought about the next step?” They asked me what I meant. So I explained that, with one currency and one parliament, the next big step was to have one leader or one fuhrer, (one Antichrist!). After all, it was Hitler who was the last leader who tried to unify Europe under one Government with one currency.

The Desire for a Superman

That many in Europe have been thinking on these lines for years is shown in a chilling quote from Paul-Henri Spaak, former Belgian Prime Minister and President of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe nearly 50 years ago. He said : “We do not want another committee. We have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass in which we are sinking. Send us such a man and, be he God or the devil, we will receive him.”3

More recently Jack Lang, then president of the French National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee, said that the EU “needs a single figure at the helm.” Attacking the inertia in European foreign policy, he said Europe needed a strong central government with a single “personality” in control.4 Students of Bible prophecy will have little doubt who this “personality” will be.

A Global Vision

The present format of the EU cannot last, and it was never intended that it should. Right from the beginning, the founders had grand, globalist ambitions. Addressing the European Policy Centre in September, 2000, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhof­stadt described the subterfuge adopted to set up the embryonic EU. “With the European Coal and Steel Community, the seeds were sown of the European Union of today. It was the initial impetus to the development of a community approach, step by step forging European integration by joining, and sometimes also by abolishing, national sovereignty into a joint approach.”5

Turning to the next great leap forward, Verhofstadt said: “It is of the utmost importance to keep in mind a global vision of the ultimate goal of European unification.” This is a good thing, he explained, be­cause “the European Union as it is now could never be the ultimate goal.” He said the pace of integration must never slacken lest, “in the worst case, countries will start to plead for the restoration of their former sovereignty.”6 Notice that national sovereignty — independence — is referred to in the past tense.

Underlying Values

Next came the real bombshell. The Belgian said that there must be values underpinning this vast undertaking — the largest coming together of countries in the history of the world. But whose values? His answer: “the values which resulted from the French Revolution.”7 So, the values of the brave new Europe are to be those of the country which gave us the guillotine, the reign of terror and the time of blood washing through the streets of France!

“The Portman Papers,” a quarterly newsletter keeping watch on developments in the superstate, says in its October 2000 edition: “Verhofstadt’s values come from this. Eight years before the French Revolution began in 1789 with the Declaration of The Rights of Man, the General Council of Freemasonry at Wilhelmsbad, convened by Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Illuminati, drew up the blueprint. Its evil spirit was epitomized in Maximilian Robespierre, whose technique of terror anticipated Stalin’s by 100 years.”8

The French Reign of Terror claimed over a million victims. Inmates of prisons were slaughtered. Human heads were counted up like scores on cards. The terror was justified in the name of “democracy.” Similarly the coming clampdown on free speech, religious freedom and free political parties by the “beast of Brussels” system is being justified by words like “anti-discrimination” and a “charter of rights.”

Other Influences

What is emerging in Europe is a new Holy European Empire, an attempt to resurrect the old Holy Roman Empire that existed under the Pope. This is becoming increasingly blatant. The Vatican is playing a major role in the creation of the new European Empire, and Catholic social values — so-called “Christian Socialism” — are at its heart. The present Pope has repeatedly called for religious unity in Europe. This means a united, Catholic Europe, which was consecrated to Mary by the Vatican in 1309.

When I visited Strasbourg, the French city near the German border which, with Brussels, co-hosts the European Parliament, I was introduced to the head of the house of Habsburg, Otto von Habsburg, a man whose family dominated Europe for centuries. Full of charm and intelligence, he said that instead of war, a great new Europe could be built on peaceful cooperation. His ideas go far beyond this, however. In his book, The Social Order of Tomorrow, he writes:

Now we do possess a European symbol which belongs to all nations equally. This is the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, which embodies the tradition of Charlemagne, the ruler of a united occident . . . the Crown represents not merely the sovereignty of the monarch, but also the ties between authority and the people. True, it is the monarch who is crowned, but in this sacred act he appears as the representative of the whole people. It should therefore be considered whether the European head of state, as the protector of European law and justice, should not also become the guardian of a symbol which, more than any other, represents the sovereignty of the European community.9

Dr. Habsburg wants to see Europe have an elected head of state — a man elected for life. This influence of both Charlemagne and the Habsburgs hangs heavily over the new federal Europe. The crown of Char­lemagne, the first person to attempt to revive the Roman Empire in 800 AD, is an inspiration to those who promote the breaking down of nation states, and a Charlemagne prize has been established for those who work hardest for European unity. One who did was ex-President Clinton, who in June 2000, was the first American president to receive the Charlemagne prize for his work in promoting European unity. He received the prize at the cathedral in Aachen, Germany, where the first Holy Roman Emperor lies buried. Clinton called for an enlargement of the EU to even take in Russia.

America and the EU

In a report in The Daily Telegraph, President Clin­ton said the European Union should have at least 30 member states, including all the nations of the Balkans, Turkey and possibly even Russia. He said that European peace and prosperity now depended on the EU setting its boundaries ever wider. The report stated that Mr. Clinton was determined to be viewed as “part of a family of statesmen associated with European integration.”10 He held private talks with Helmut Kohl, the former German Chancellor, in Berlin.

Although Mr. Kohl has been discredited by a party funding scandal inside the Christian Democrat Union party, he is still regarded as the most important force behind European integration in the past 30 years. It is easy to see how these two suspect “statesmen” have much in common, but it is difficult to see how the establishment of a major, often anti-American power block in Europe could be in America’s interests, and thus it is surprising that it has been American policy to push for greater unification of Europe.

Perhaps America’s fine new President is the man to see the folly of this.

Religious Symbols of the European Union

The Bible teaches that the Revived Roman Empire of the end times will be a creation of Satan, and out of it will come his representative, the Antichrist. The fact that the formation of the European Union has major spiritual implications is reflected in the religious symbols that the Union has adopted in the form of its flag, its anthem, its architecture, and its basic logo.
European Union's Flag

The Madonna

The European Union’s flag consists of 12 stars, inspired by the halo of 12 stars that appear around the Madonna in Catholic pictures of her. A former secretary general of the Council of Europe, Leon Marchal, affirmed that the stars are those of “the woman of the Apocalypse.” Enthusiastically he explained, “It’s wonderful that we have gotten back to the Introit of the new Mass of the Assumption. It’s the corona stellarum duodecim (the crown of the twelve stars) of the woman of the Apocalypse.”1 This is a reference to the woman in Revelation 12 who appears with a crown of 12 stars. Although this woman represents Israel, the Catholic Church has always claimed that she represents the virgin Mary, “the mother of God.”

The EU, which now has 15 member countries, has confirmed that the number of stars will always stay at 12, which indicates that the stars do not represent countries. I quote from a leaflet, “Building Europe Together,” which I was given on a visit to EU headquarters in Brussels: “The European flag (is) a shared flag, blue with 12 gold stars symbolizing completeness. The number will remain 12 no matter how many countries there are in the European Union.”2

The Anthem

The same document, issued to commemorate “Europe Day, May 9,” also touts Europe’s new com­mon anthem, “Ode To Joy,” the prelude to the last movement of Beethoven’s ninth symphony. The EU document states that although the anthem officially is the “Ode To Joy,” it really is an “ode to freedom — to a sense of community and to peace between the 15 countries which have decided to unite and to others which will freely decide to join them.”

In fact the “Ode To Joy” is not quite that innocent. The lyrics, by a man named Friedrich von Schiller, concern the entering of the shrine of a pagan goddess and the uniting of all men in brotherhood, by the power of magic.­3

The Tower of Babel

An amazing poster was issued by the European Union, showing the Tower of Babel and carrying the slogan: “Many tongues, one voice.” In case the point was lost, a crane in the background was shown rebuilding the tower. Above the Tower of Babel were shown the eurostars, but inverted, as in witchcraft, with the central points downwards.

The story of the rise and fall of Babylon told in Genesis chapter eleven should have been a warning to all men for all time. Nimrod and his followers tried to build a tower to reach the heavens, but it was the counterfeit building of a counterfeit religion.

Mystical Babylon is now being rebuilt in Europe, and those who would follow Nimrod have now succeeded in building a parliament building in Strasbourg, France, whose centerpiece is an enormous replica of the unfinished tower of Babel. Even the secular press could not miss the connection between the old and new towers of Babel. They labeled the new French structure “The Tower of Euro­babel.” This monumental building, full of labyrinthine corridors, is used only one week in four, because the rest of the time the EU Parliament meets in committees in Brussels. Every three weeks the whole caboodle shuffles between the two sites in a fleet of 200 trucks, at enormous expense. An MEP I know was there on the day Eurobabel opened and reported total chaos in the £300 million structure, commenting: “If they can’t run a building, should we trust them with a continent?”

Nigel Farage is a member of the European Parliament who belongs to the United Kingdom Independence Party, which is fighting to get Britain out of the superstate. He said in an article just after the opening day: “We realize we are not merely entering a building, but being allowed access to the temple of a bold new empire.”4

The Woman Riding a Beast

Another demonic biblical symbol that is being used in conjunction with the European Union is the one from Revelation 17 where a “great harlot” is depicted riding a beast. For some strange and unknown reason this symbol is being used to repre­sent the EU! For example, when Britain issued a stamp to commemorate the first European Parliament elections in 1979, the picture on the stamp depicted a woman riding a beast.

According to the Rev. Dr. Ian Paisley, a Northern Ireland Protestant minister and member of the European Parliament, the woman on a beast is now the official picture of the EU. He points out that the multi-million dollar new parliament building in Brussels, Belgium, contains a dome with a colossal painting, three times life size, of a woman riding a beast.

In Strasbourg, France, the rival parliamentary building (the one with the Tower of Babel) features a mural of a naked woman riding a beast. Likewise, the new Brussels headquarters of the Council of Europe contains a bronze statue of a woman riding a beast, and the beast is depicted riding on waves, just as in Revelation 17.

Scripture is being fulfilled before our eyes, for those with eyes to see.

Notes Related to the EU Articles

Introduction
1) “The European Union: A Guide for Americans,” published by the Delegation of the European Commission in the United States, Washington, D.C., October 1999, p. 7. This is an excellent booklet, and it can be obtained free of charge by writing The Delegation of The Euro­pean Commission, 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037. Or, you can order it from the Delegation’s website at www.eurunion.org.
2) Jimmy DeYoung, “Europe, NATO and the Antichrist,” Israel My Glory, March/April 2001, p. 19.
3) EU: Final World Empire, a video program by Alan Franklin and Tony Pearce produced by Hearthstone and distributed in the United States by Southwest Radio Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Relating the EU to Bible Prophecy
1) Pascal Fontaine, “Seven Key Days in the Making of Europe,” an article posted on the Internet website of Europa: The European Union On-Line, located at http://europe.eu.int/index_en.htm#.
2) Van Impe Intelligence Briefing, February, 1996, available on the Internet at www.jvim.com.
3) S. Franklin Logsdon, Profiles of Prophecy, (Michigan: Zondervan Publishers, 1973), p. 119.

The New Unholy Roman Empire
1) “German Foreign Minister floats idea of elected EU president,” The Financial Times, July 7, 2000. This article was a report on a speech by Joschka Fischer to the European Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee.
2) Ibid.
3) This is a frequently quoted remark attributed to Paul-Henri Spaak. However, its original source is uncertain.
4) The London Times, August 19, 1997, quoting a speech by Jack Lang which he gave in Paris.
5) Speech by Guy Verhofstadt at the European Policy Centre on September 21, 2000.
6) Ibid.
7) Ibid.
8) The Portman Papers, October 2000. This is a quarterly newsletter concerning developments within the EU.
9) Otto von Habsburg, The Social Order of Tomorrow, Newman Press, 1959.
10) “EU must embrace Russia, says Clinton,” by Toby Helm, The Daily Telegraph (of London), June 3, 2000, page 12.

Religious Symbols of the European Union
1) Remarks of Leon Marchal were reported by Dr. William Crampton, executive direc­tor of The Flag Institute in York, England. The remarks were made in 1973.
2) Building Europe Together, a pamphlet published by the European Union, Brussels, Belgium, 1997.
3) Adrian Hilton, The Principality and Power of Europe, Dorchester House Publications, England, 1997, second edition in 2000. A copy of Schiller’s mystical words for “Ode to Joy” can be found on the Internet at www.ddc.net/ygg/etext/ode.htm.
4) Article by Nigel Farage in The Daily Mail (London), July 24, 1999.

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Related Links
Xenephobia and Racism Laws
The EU superstate- Future Base of Antichrist

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