By
2005 the United States of America had amassed some thirty-eight large and
medium-sized bases spread throughout the globe—mostly air and naval bases
for our long-range bombers and fleets. Roughly, this equates to Pax
Britannia’s thirty-six naval bases and army garrisons at its height in
1898. Empires, like Rome built, by its ultimate expansion under Emperor
Trajan in 117 AD demanded thirty-seven major garrisons to police its
ever-expanding acquisitions from Hispania to Armenia, from Britannia to
Egypt.1
Indeed, the suggestion that imperialistic aspiration leading to world
domination even in the present age ranges somewhere between thirty-five
and forty. Such colossal fortresses seem militarily reasonable, given the
age of information and travel within a world becoming increasingly
smaller.
In “part three” of Chalmers Johnson’s inadvertent trilogy, Nemesis, the Last Days of the American Republic (the first two parts being Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire), America’s imperial muckraker makes a determinant effort depicting Romish comparisons to America’s military-industrial complex wherein the USA has crossed the Rubicon under President George W. Bush through grandiose Imperium projection of its military presence and prowess, secrecy, along with Congressional acquiescence, coupled with Judicial compliance.
The consequence of this crossing by Julius Caesar spelled the ultimate demise of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire—exchanging Roman democracy for Roman dictatorship and consigning the aristocracy of the Roman Senate (comparable to the politico elites who currently inhabit the halls of an American Congress bought and sold by her military-industrial-Congressional complex with its myriads of registered lobbyists whose numbers now approach (2005) some 34,785 or 65 for every member of Congress)2 to the trash bin of history.
How ominous the tones of the final days of our republican democracy sound—especially from the likes of General Tommy Franks, commander of the American assault on Baghdad whose predictions of another terrorist attack upon American soil or upon her significant possessions bespeak of dictatorial inevitability:
“(another terrorist attack will) begin to unravel the fabric of our Constitution . . . the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government.”3
Chalmers’ depictions add credence to Frank’s scenario—here Presidential prerogative, Congressional compromise and the aggressive devolution of Constitutional guarantees have now reached epidemic proportions: The American experiment lies prepared as a sacrificial offering upon the altar of political expediency!
“The president now dominates the government in a way no ordinary monarch possibly could. He has at his disposal the clandestine services of the CIA, a private army unaccountable to the Congress, the press, or the public because everything it does is secret. No president since Harry Truman, having discovered what unlimited power the CIA afford him, has ever failed to use it.” (p. 17, Nemesis, The Last Days of the American Republic by Chalmers Johnson, Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2006 – and throughout)
Harvard professor, Michael Ignatieff, whose defense of “Empire Lite” as the American expression of “humanitarian imperialism” pontificates on behalf of American Empire in his New York Times Magazine piece, January 5, 2003:
“Ever
since George Washington warned his countrymen against foreign
entanglements, empire abroad has been seen as the republic’s permanent
temptation and its potential nemesis. Yet what word but ‘empire’
describes the awesome thing that America is becoming? It is the only
nation that polices the world through five global military commands;
maintains more than a million men and women at arms on four continents;
deploys carrier battle groups on watch in every ocean; guarantees the
survival of countries from Israel to South Korea; drives the wheels of
global trade and commerce; and fills the hearts and minds of an entire
planet with its dreams and desires.”
If this were not sufficient hubris to ignite the monarchial flames of subjugation—let’s ponder some of the one-liners extended from the imperial pen of Ignatieff:
“Multilateral solutions to the world’s problems are all very well, but they have no teeth unless America bares its fangs. . . . Regime change is an imperial task par excellence; since it assumes that the empire’s interest has a right to trump the sovereignty of a state. . . . The question, then, is not whether America is too powerful but whether it is powerful enough. Does it have what it takes to be grandmaster of what Colin Powell has called the chessboard of the world’s most inflammable region?. . . The case for empire is that it has become, in a place like Iraq, the last hope for democracy and stability alike.”4
Wafting in the background the poem of Rudyard Kipling’s 1899 “The White Man’s Burden” can be heard . . . written prior to Pilipino subjugation cir. 1899 by American Manifest Destiny:
“Take up the White Man’s Burden
And reap his old reward
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard”
RULE BRITANNIA
How delightful that the Lion and her cubs, especially her main pup, the USA, find extraordinary common cause in the War on Terror. Tony Blair’s departure as Prime Minister is a sad day in Anglo-American Empire building.
Likewise, how frightful the notion that Brits who forfeited Empire post-World War II, in exchange for democracy, have once again tempted fate by signing up under Pax Americana—thus, extending her white man’s duties and the bane of blame and hate for those she betters and guards.
Joseph Conrad complied the foremost work on British Imperialism and its raison d’être in his 1899 novel Heart of Darkness. Conrad received inspiration for his imperial diatribe from one R. B. Cunninghame Graham, himself an aristocrat and socialist whose views of Britain’s extensions drew his disgust. In Graham’s “Bloody Niggers,” he encapsulates British imperialism as follows:
“Far back in history, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians lived and thought, but God was aiming all the time at something different and better. He let Greeks and Romans appear out of the darkness of barbarity to prepare the way for the race that from the start was chosen to rule over mankind—namely, the British race.”
The racism embedded in British imperialism, initially justified by divine mandate, was ignobly supplanted by, of course, one of their own, Charles Darwin; hence, biological considerations wherein the survival of the fittest carried the day and ruled the waves.
Chalmers quotes Tapan Raychaudhuri, an emeritus fellow of St. Antony’s College, Oxford:
“All Indians (Asian Indians), whatever their status, shared the experience of being treated as racial inferiors. . . . The life stories of Indian celebrities are full of episodes of racial insults.” (Ibid. p. 80).
Globalization
a la the Brits has now been inherited by the Americans who have
learned well from their forebears.
Thomas Friedman’s Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding
Globalization and his The World Is Flat, proposes, according to
Chalmers, bringing Anglo-American economic configurations in parallel
alignment to wit:
“[t]he integration of capital markets and investor protection contribute mightily to the well-being of peoples under sway of either the British or the American empires. Though the idea does not survive close scrutiny, it has proved a powerful ideological justification of imperialism.” (Ibid. pp. 80-1).
In point of glaring fact—notwithstanding the Herculean efforts of historic economic revisionism—the notorious concept that the British Empire allocated generous economic benefits upon its subjugated peoples is naught but the pure ideology of British capitalists. Chalmers rightly adjudges this subterfuge of British historicity:
“[a]s impervious to challenge by empirical data as former Soviet prime minister Leonid Brezhnev’s Marxism-Leninism or George Bush’s belief that free markets mean the same thing as freedom. . . . At the apex of those who profited from British-style ‘free trade’ at the end of the nineteenth century was the Rothschild Bank, then by far the world’s largest financial institution with total assets of around forty-one million pounds sterling. It profited enormously from the wars—some seventy-two of them—during Queen Victoria’s reign, and financed such exploiters of Africa as Cecil Rhodes. (Ibid. p. 82)
PAX ROMANA
The Roman Republic rather abruptly consigned its aristocratic democracy under the ruse of assassinating Julius Caesar and the ultimate replacement by Octavian—a.k.a., Augustus Caesar—her first bona fide emperor (a.k.a., dictator). Ruse? Of course.
“Caesar seems not to have comprehended that in the conflict between haves and have-nots, the haves are really have-it-alls. . . . The Roman aristocrats lambasted the past reforms as the worst kind of thievery, the beginning of a calamitous revolutionary leveling, necessitating extreme countermeasures. And they presented their violent retaliation not as an ugly class expediency but as an honorable act on behalf of republican liberty.”5
Thus, as Brutus plunged the dagger that Ides of March into the heart of the Senate’s chief competitor, one Julius Caesar, we can still hear the acclamation of that memorable event from the lips of Cicero:
“That memorable almost God-like deed of yours (Brutus) is proof against all criticisms; indeed it can never be adequately praised.”
Yet, dripping with hypocrisy from the lips of these aristocrats within the Roman Senate were droplets of self-interest so resistant to anything of Roman Republic that, given the ultimate threat to their class interests and privileges, they impiously embraced political dictatorship “over the most anemic traces of popular rule and egalitarian economic reform.” (Ibid. Parenti, p. 50, 204.)
Pax Romana gave way to an extravagant disparity of wealth within that Empire—much akin to today’s egregious gulf between the “haves” of American wealth and the “have-nots” – viz., most of the world’s populous, excluding, of course, those elites, who as the “merchants of the earth,” so greatly benefit from her largess.
Tom Holland of the BBC wrote a splendid adaptation of Herodotus’s Histories and Virgil’s Aeneid, and has produced an even more riveting observation of Rome’s final days of republic: Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic. His thesis translates as follows: “The comparison of Rome to the modern-day United States has become something of a cliché . . . .” Chalmers amplifies:
“(Holland) draws a picture of the late Republic that seems a model of the modern United States with its flamboyant excesses of wealth, bad taste, and arrogance, as well as its impulse toward militarism. His social history of republican decadence, highlighting a puerile Roman vision of politics and war, sounds very much like the second Bush administration and the shop-until-you-drop world of American consumerism. . . . Corruption in the Republic threatened to putrefy the world.” (Ibid., pp. 57, 59).
One opportunity after another—of course, foisted upon Rome by circumstances beyond their control—propelled them to Imperium. The vast commercial empire of the Punic Peoples—inheritors of Tyre’s Phoenicians and the Canaanite merchants of antiquity (Ref. Ezekiel 26-28) succumbed to Rome’s protection and subsequent incorporation into her collective; undoubtedly exponentially embellishing her commercial expansion, as well as the military capacities to sustain her newly acquired wealth throughout the Mediterranean. The wealth of the world poured into her coffers and enriched her capitol.
Where do the comparisons, after two millennia, cease to be realistic? Without dispute—Rome’s most reliable attributes when juxtaposed to America’s insatiable drive toward empire fixate on militarism. It is this most disquieting accompaniment that saps the strength of its constitutional democracy.
Her founding fathers—Madison, John and Quincy Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, John Jay, Franklin, etc.—attempted to emulate most of Rome’s accomplishments: separation of powers, checks and balances, government based on constitutional law, fixed terms in office, the presidential “veto” and even the toleration of slavery!
These architects of democracy were so taken up with Rome’s majesty that the very creek which once flowed through this Nation’s Capitol Mall bore the name: Tiber River.6
Holland
entombs the civic responsibilities that once were Rome:
“By the first century BC, there was only one free city left, and that was Rome herself. And then Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the Republic imploded, and none was left at all. . . . As a result, a thousand years of civic self-government were brought to an end, and not for another thousand, and more, would it become a living reality again.”7
Rome’s Senate, much like the Congress of these United States, could not accommodate the burdens of imperialism and the residue remaining from its consequence. These quick sands eventually, like black holes, suck(ed) the life out of expression and so-called enviable freedoms we hold so dear. Here is where bureaucratic paralysis awaits all those who struggle to break free. This is where the troubled masses will or have inadvertently welcomed America’s Imperial Presidency with its empowered military and accomplice in Constitutional crime, the Congress—all in the name of stability and the War on Terror.
Chalmers sums up this debilitating exercise in descending democracy which, in point of fact, was anything but a participatory democracy – Alas! A millionaires’ club, an oligarchy of aristocratic families who dominated the Roman Senate—much like the fabulously wealthy who run our reigns of government in Washington!
“However, the Roman outcome—turning over power to a dictator backed by military force welcomed by ordinary citizens because it seems to bring stability—suggests what might well happen sometime in the future as a result of George Bush’s contempt for the separation of powers. . . . Imperialism provoked the crisis that destroyed the Roman Republic. . . . Rome was the first case of what today we call imperial overstretch. There were several aspects to this crisis, but the most significant was the transformation of the Roman Army into a professional military force . . . members of this large standing army (estimated at over 700,000), equipped by the Roman state, signed up for twenty to twenty-five years . . . (eventually) . . . Caius Octavianus (Octavian – Augustus Caesar) decisively changed Roman government by replacing the republic with an imperial dictatorship . . . He (Cicero) recognized that ‘for all his struggles the constitution was dead and power lay in the hands of soldiers and their leaders.’ In Cicero’s view, the only hope was to try to co-opt Octavian, leading him toward a more constitutional position, while doing everything not to ‘irritate rank-and-file opinion, which was fundamentally Caesarian.’ Cicero would pay with his life for this last, desperate gamble. Octavian, still allied with Mark Antony, ordered at least 130 senators (perhaps as many as 300) executed and their property confiscated after charging them with having supported the conspiracy against Caesar.” (Ibid. pp. 60-68)
It may be duly noted that although Julius Caesar exercised dictatorship from 48 to 44 BC – he, nevertheless, a month before his assassination by the senatorial conspiracy, had arranged that his name be changed to DICTATOR FOR LIFE. The Roman Senate, wishing to have their cake and to eat it as well, was ultimately terminated as aforementioned with the birth of the Roman Empire, and her first official Emperor, commenced in 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.
The
trappings of democracy still persisted, as Augustus hand picked the new
and cooperative Senate—this rubber stamp body simply embellished his
entitlements to include Tribune for Life (23 BC), giving
Augustus final veto powers over any Senate decree . . . for he had the
military to back up his authority; and, rightly so, since the Senators
were so handsomely rewarded for their contrivance.
Furthermore, the notion for positioning the Empire’s troops into far off places is not a novel idea—it is a military necessity. By the transference of virtually all Roman legions (approximately 6,500 in a legion) from Rome to these distant provinces and fringes of the Empire—he guaranteed that their commanders would not “invigorate” the political process. Then by creating his own CIA-SS and/or personal bastion of intensely loyal troops under his personal command—the infamous Praetorian Guard (an elite cadre of some nine thousand men)—Augustus was able to insure his own safety and the safety of his entourage. This secret service, par excellence, was designed to watch the regular Roman army—but as Chalmers postulates: Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? (Who will watch the watchers?) (Ibid. p. 69).
FUNDING THE GOD OF FORTRESSES
The neocons, the American patriot pastors and the ubiquitous military-industrial complex have become so obsessed with US-military might and alleged world stability, that its infringements have extensively penetrated all continents and nearly all nations withersoever they desire to place their battlements. Chalmers attempts to quantify the number of such intrusions:
“During fiscal 2005, the military high command deployed to our overseas bases some 196,975 uniformed personnel as well an equal number of dependents and Department of Defense civilian officials, and employed an additional 81,425 locally hired foreigners. The worldwide total of U.S. military personnel in 2005, including those based domestically, was 1,840,062 supported by an additional 473,306 Defense Department civil service employees and 203,328 local hires. Its overseas bases, according to the Pentagon, contained 32,327 barracks, hangars, hospitals, and other buildings, which it owns, and 16,527 more that it leased. The size of these holdings was recorded in the inventory as covering 687,347 acres overseas and 29,819,492 acres worldwide, making the Pentagon easily one of the world’s largest landlords.”8
Defense Department accountants acclaim that the overseas bases are worth at least $127 billion—and an estimated $658.1 billion for all of them, foreign and domestic. (Ibid., p. 139)
Swimming the waters of annual Defense expenditures within the National Budget is like breast stroking the English Channel in the midst of a raging storm—just when you thought you’re making progress, an additional Congressional military appropriations bill slams you smack down on the President’s desk for signature. The law of the Empire is “military Keynesianism.” Jobs on military bases hither, thither and yon carry the day in all final decision-making when it comes to funding—i.e., “the artificial stimulation of economic demand through military expenditures” (Ibid. p. 138). The fact of the matter is straightforward: Domestic base closures literally traumatize the US Congress! We’re all for ending the war in Iraq but keep them domestic bases open.
Configuring the nigh overseas 1,000+ large bases (plant replacement value (PRV) of over $1,584 billion), medium-sized bases (PRV between $1,584-$845 million) and small bases (e.g., the so-called “lily pads” or “Cooperative Security Locations” juxtaposed to “Forward Operation Sites” (FOSs) which are much larger but downplayed by the Pentagon), along with the maintenance of domestic active and retired military personnel, along with their medical expenditures and armaments, coupled with the federal and private contractor support for the military (American citizens and host-nation support personnel) – added to the staggering costs to militarize the atmosphere above the earth (a horrendously staggering cost indeed and deplorably ineffective—e.g., the infamous Strategic Defense Initiative) – it, therefore, can be embarrassingly calculated that these expenditures for the Department of Defense, Energy (wherein massive amounts of money are spent for militarily-related projects), Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, NASA, Veterans Affairs and scores of other federal departments and agencies – the total yearly outlay, according to Chalmers – is over $1 Trillion. The entire federal budget in fiscal 2007 is: $2.8 Trillion.
The annual shortfall (2007) is calculated at $400B (i.e., taxes/revenues are exceeded by expenses) – the national debt as of 2007 approximates $9T. This inflated economic time bomb is held by virtually all foreign central banks—but especially the Chinese and Japanese governments (nigh $2T with China holding more than Japan), as Chalmers concludes, “continue to be willing to be paid in dollars in order to sustain American demand for their exports . . . for the sake of domestic employment, both countries lend huge amounts to the American Treasury, but there is no guarantee how long they will want or be able to do so.” (Ibid. p. 271)
The consequence of our overspending—precipitated by our military expenditures for armies and weapons—is so onerous that even if a “severe reduction in our numerous deficits (trade, governmental, current account, household, and savings) would still not be enough to save the republic. Because of the unacknowledged nature of our economy—specifically our dependence on military spending and war for our wealth and well-being . . . . Ever since we recovered from the Great Depression of the 1930s via massive governmental spending on armaments during World War II, we have become dependent on ‘military Keynesianism,’ artificially boosting the growth rate of the economy via government spending on armies and weapons.” (Ibid. p. 271)
CHALMERS CONCLUDES:
The summation of where all of this has gone or will be going is hopelessly bleak, according to Chalmers Johnson. I believe his conclusions bear immediate reflection prior to our biblical accounting of the matter—which utterly confirms this inadvertent trilogy of exposure and despair:
“History
is instructive on this dilemma. If we choose to keep our empire, as the
Roman Republic did, we will certainly lose our democracy and grimly await
the eventual blowback that imperialism generates. There is an
alternative, however. We could, like the British Empire after World War
II, keep our democracy by giving up our empire . . . the people of the
British Isles chose democracy over imperialism. For this reason, I can
only regard Britain’s willingness to join the United States in its
invasion of Iraq as an atavistic response.
“Britain’s closing down its empire is one of its more admirable legacies. I do not share the nostalgia of contemporary Anglo-American writers who urge the United States to take up the ‘white man’s burden’ and follow in the footsteps of British imperialists.
“I believe that to maintain our empire abroad requires resources and commitments that will inevitably undercut our domestic democracy and in the end produce a military dictatorship or its civilian equivalent. The founders of our nation understood this well and tried to create a form of government—a republic—that would prevent this from occurring. But the combination of huge standing armies, almost continuous wars, military Keynesianism, and ruinous military expenses have destroyed our republican structure in favor of an imperial presidency. We are on the cusp of losing our democracy for the sake of keeping our empire. Once a nation is started down that path, the dynamics that apply to all empires come into play—isolation, overstretch, the uniting of forces opposed to imperialism, and bankruptcy. Nemesis stalks our life as a free nation.” (ibid. pp. 278-9)
“WHO IS ABLE TO MAKE WAR WITH HIM?”
Antiochus IV, the Syrian king who ruled from 175 to 163 BC, gave himself the name Epiphanes, “God is Manifest,” but those who “knew their God” (i.e., the Maccabeans who rebelled against his Hellenization of their Jewish culture) declared him to be Epimanes, the “Madman.” This mercurial figure and his exploits are described in detail by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 11); however, as one pursues the machinations of this vile person (Daniel 11:21) a not so subtle metamorphosis transpires wherein the Madman, under divine inspiration imparted through Daniel, takes on cosmic significance (Daniel 11:29-45). The despicable one is now ensconced in prophetic adumbrative language, presenting a gruesome figure of the Antichrist in his entire futuristic calamity:
“Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God or gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a GOD OF FORTRESSES; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain (i.e., profit)” (Daniel 11:36-39).
There is an unforgiving reliance and hideous expression of military dependency far in excess of any figure to have countenanced this planet now upon the scene. Here abides Julius Caesar, who through Octavian, revives to embody Empire and concomitant destruction and desolation—all in the name of Pax Romana. No, the Bible is not silent in so far as the military alignment of this one . . . who’s latter day manifestation was foreseen not only by Daniel, but certainly by Jesus, Paul, Peter and, most assuredly, by the Apostle John.
“When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make WAR against them, overcome them, and kill them” (Revelation 11:7).
“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make WAR with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17).
“So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make WAR with him?’” (Revelation 13:4)
“And
I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a
crown was given to him, and he went out CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER” (Revelation
6:2).
“He who KILLS with the sword” (Revelation 13:10).
“These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast . . . These will make WAR with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them” (Revelation 17:13-14a).
“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make WAR against Him who sat on the horse and against His army” (Revelation 19:19).
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little (i.e., “younger”) one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words” (Daniel 7:7-8).
“Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. I was watching, and the SAME HORN WAS MAKING WAR AGAINST THE SAINTS, and prevailing against them” (Daniel 7:19-21).
“The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom, and another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High. Shall PERSECUTE THE SAINTS of the Most High, shall intend to change times and law, then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:23-25).
THE “YOUNGER HORN” IS THE ANTICHRIST – NOT A EURO-UPSTART!
It
is at this juncture that literary courtesies will be shelved. “Mr.
Europe” is not going to be the Antichrist, no more than Javier Solana
Madariaga will be anything more than George W. Bush’s water boy!
In 1961 J. Dwight Pentecost of Dallas Theological Seminary is quoted by one, Herb Peters, of Fulfilled Prophecy (going into apocalyptic seizure over the EU’s “Recommendation 666”):
“The time will come when the nations of Europe will say to one man, ‘You take authority over us. . . . This man will appear as a savior and deliverer. He will bring peace to world tension by settling the Arab-Israeli dispute by his united power.” 9
Likewise, Dr. John F. Walvoord is quoted by Peters:
“The resulting prosperity of Europe under this arrangement has brought forth many predictions of an ultimate United States of Europe which could eventually include not only Europe itself, but the Mediterranean world.”10
Of course, in the Nineteenth Century this prophetic proposition seemed altogether viable. The prognostication that the ten horns/ten toes would some day give birth to the Eleventh Horn—and that this Eleventh Horn must of necessity come forth directly out of Europe proper (i.e., a “Revived Roman Empire”)—has led to an eschatological entrapment of blinding, insurmountable, geo-political embarrassment; and, worse yet, pompous, ignorant, patriotic claptrap!
So entrenched is this thinking among well-meaning, but wholly deceived, Premillenarian brethren (pre-mid-post tribulationists, it doesn’t matter) that any attempt to persuade them otherwise appears to be but a foolish attempt on this author’s part—naught but an exercise in eschatological futility; akin to throwing “pearls before swine.”
If these were not my brethren in Christ, there would be no bother—but they are precisely that; therefore, my persistence in the matter will not abate.
Allow me to quote one of the foremost spokespersons of the Euro-Antichrist, Herb Peters, from his book and lectures on the coming Son of Perdition:
“As I said before, if those 10 European nations known as the Brussels Treaty Powers are to become the 10 kings of bible prophecy, then I knew one man would soon rise to a place of power alongside them. So I began watching for the creation of an office within the European Union that could accommodate such a person. This happened with the signing of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997.
“Europe needed one voice to speak for the many nations that made up the European Union. They also needed someone to help the Council of the European Union in matters relating to their new Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The EU nations had big ambitions in this area. What they needed was someone who the world could call “Mr. Europe.” So, at Amsterdam, the 15 EU heads of state met together and decided to create the new office of High Representative for Common Foreign Security Policy.
“Although the Amsterdam Treaty was signed in 1997, it didn’t become effective until May 1999. Then just five months later, on October 15, 1999, a remarkable man became the first to hold this office. He was a 56-year-old Spaniard by the name of Javier Solana Madariaga. He was a member of the Spanish Socialist Party and had been the prior head of NATO.
“Solana’s position as High Representative also made him the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union. The Council is one of the three main governmental institutions that make up the EU. The other two institutions are the European Parliament and the European Commission.” (Herb Peters, Recommendation 666, The Rise of the Beast from the Sea, 2004, Part II, Chapter 8, Introducing Mr. Europe, http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/contents_menu.html)
Peters
begins from his Euro-Antichrist perspective (as if America’s 1,000 foreign
bases have not even appeared on his radar) to connect the dots of his—and,
unfortunately, countless others so deceived by this
fixation—Euro-Antichrist as possibly this Spanish Socialist:
“Then on November 25, 1999, while America was about to celebrate Thanksgiving Day (Note: We Americans are always ensconced in some form of religious posturing—after all, this “godly nation” simply could not be the platform for Antichrist?), something big did happen—something even I wasn’t expecting. Solana’s already lofty position was made even more powerful. Solana put on his third hat and became the Secretary General of the WEU (Western European Union) military alliance. In other words, Solana had now been placed in a position of influence over those “core” 10 Brussels Treaty Powers. He now was the head of Europe’s exclusive military club.” (Ibid.)
And, just how “exclusive” is this military club? Let us examine Eurocorps a bit more closely and ascertain the military significance of this formidable possibility as Antichrist’s bastion of beastly power.
“In January 1988, France and Germany formed a joint Franco-German Army Brigade consisting of approximately 40,000 troops. Since becoming operational in 1990, Belgium and Luxembourg have joined the force, with Spain and the Netherlands expressing interest in joining. The force is now called the Eurocorps, and has the following missions under the control of the WEU: common defense of allies, peacekeeping and peace enforcement, and provision of humanitarian aid. Late 1992 saw agreements established on the relationship between the Eurocorps and the NATO military structure under the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR); this includes plans for Eurocorps employment under NATO.”11
Now let’s discuss how expansive this Eurocorps has become, given the strategic placement of the Spaniard at its helm:
“Eurocorps is a force which consists of up to 60,000 soldiers drawn from the armies of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain. It is independent of any other military command, although it can be placed under the command of international organizations.
According to its founding treaties the Corps:
1. Is to be prepared to carry out humanitarian aid missions and population assistance missions following a natural or technical disaster,
2. Can be made available for peace-restoring or peace-keeping missions, for example within the scope of the United Nations Organization (UN) or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
3. Can be employed as a mechanized army corps in high-intensity combat operations, in order to ensure the common defense of the Allies in application of article 5 of the Washington Treaty (NATO), or of the Brussels Treaty (WEU).
In order to enable integration with NATO in the case of commitment under point 3, the Corps has adopted NATO structures and procedures. However, the Corps is able to perform outside of NATO command.”12
Eurocorps
entanglements with NATO, even the UN—whose
American dominance is altogether overwhelming (see links to NATO)—so
compromise this military absurdity that all comparisons to American
military superiority in Europe are akin to the mouse that roared . . . the
800-pound gorilla could care less, nor has any intention of moving off his
most comfortable European bed, let alone his intercontinental hospitality
houses!
Notwithstanding, the shocker continues:
“I was shocked by this news (i.e., Solana’s imperial positioning!). The prophetic implications of this event were many. I knew if the Brussels Treaty Powers were to become the 10 kings of prophecy, then one man with influence in the EU would rise to power among them. And this had just happened.” (Ibid.)
Now the confirmation:
“In fact, it was this event that caused me to write the column about Solana that Constance Cumbey read when she decided to give me a call. Needless to say, these three positions – High Representative, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and now Secretary General of the WEU – made Solana an extremely powerful player in the EU. This would make him – or someone who is to hold his office in the future – a good candidate for the Antichrist.
“Constance Cumbey brought Solana’s comment to my attention. She calls this press conference Solana’s ‘Head of the World’ speech. And her point is well taken. Who did Solana mean when he referred to the ‘Head of the International Community?’ Was he referring to himself or to someone else?” (Editor’s Note: If Solana were referring to himself as “Head of the International Community” then he is either delusional or something got lost in the translation.) (Ibid.)
The insightful backslapping going on between Cumbey and Peters astounds, for the EU or WEU or Eurocorps or whatever could or will someday be on a war footing, according to Peters, with the USA?
“The
creation of an independent European army brings Americans to an
interesting question. In light of what we’ve been learning about the
European Union’s ambitious new foreign policy, is war with our European
allies a future possibility? Even if Americans don’t think so, our allies
might. According to an essay written by
Carlos Masala, senior academic researcher for the Institute for
Political Science and European Affairs at the University of Cologne, our
European allies are already considering the possibility of such a
conflict.” (Ibid.) (Editor’s Note:
Dr. Carlo Masala now works as Researcher at the NATO Defense College,
Rome—see link above)
Peters sums up his otherwise brilliant thesis:
“So, after 50 years of depending on the United States for security, why are our European allies suddenly willing to spend their citizens’ hard earned money for an independent military capacity? They tell us it is to strengthen NATO. They also say it’s because of their global humanitarian concerns. And, perhaps, we still have friends in Europe who really believe this. But, as we’ve been seeing, the prophecies in the Bible indicate there may be forces at work that have other plans for the EU’s new crises management capabilities. And these forces are definitely not our friends. I’m referring, of course, to those wicked spiritual forces that make up the mystery of lawlessness.” (Ibid.)
What is this significance?
“Solana was not only the head of the most powerful agency in the EU (the Council of the European Union), but he was also the one entrusted with creating and directing Europe’s new Common Foreign and Security Policy. And now he was also in tight with those 10 core nations.” (Ibid.)
Peters’ military analysis, however, is the most breathtaking imaginable:
“Yet
I couldn’t help but wonder (given the Eurocorps prominence and all): Why
would we Americans want to make NATO resources available to our European
allies for their independent use? I realized that something big was
happening in Europe that the American people didn’t know about.” (Editor’s
Note: And, most definitely
EUCOM hasn’t heard a thing about this either!)
“The balance of military power that had existed for the last 50 years in America’s favor was going to change. Europe was on its way to once again become a military power. And they were going to do it with our equipment and help.” (Ibid.) (Editor’s Note: Without USA technological support current NATO troops from Germany and France in Afghanistan would be totally incapable of anything but garrison duty—and that’s precisely what they’re doing there now—so much for both Euro-NATO troops and the vaunted Eurocorps)
PETER’S 70TH WEEK, AND THE FALSE PROPHET
Getting excited about Solana’s ENP (European Neighborhood Plan) Action Plan wherein Israel is “the first nation to begin participating in Solana’s ENP covenant with the many" (January 1, 2007), is a major eschatological disturbance in the force for Peters et al.
“And, on January 1, 2007, Israel’s Action Plan will be conformed to fit Solana’s new seven-year ENPI. In other words, the stage may now be set for the 70th Week of Daniel to begin on January 1, 2007” (Ibid. Epilogue, Herb Peters) (Editor’s Note: Of course, it didn’t!).
Peters is enthusiastic that Daniel 9:27 MAY (thankfully, Peters always encapsulates his forecasts with MAY) be fulfilled through Solana’s orchestrations with Israel.
“It is commonly believed the passage (Daniel 9:27) foretells the rise of a strong leader from out of a revived Roman Empire who will make a seven-year covenant with Israel, which he will violate 3 ½ years later. In other passages from Daniel, we learn this leader will rise from among a 10-nation alliance (Daniel 7:7-8). And, in the New Testament book of Revelation, we learn he will somehow be connected to the number 666 (Revelation 13:18).
“This appears to be exactly what we’re seeing. As I’ve been reporting, a 10-nation alliance did appear on January 1, 1995. It’s a 10-nation military alliance known as the Western European Union (WEU). These nations are members of both NATO and the European Union (EU). What binds these 10 nations together is their mutual defense obligation under the modified Brussels Treaty. They are also known as the Brussels Treaty Powers” etc., etc., etc. (Ibid. Epilogue).
Israel’s dependence upon Euro-trade may be of interest to some; however, she can trust the Europeans as far as Solana can throw them when it comes to security issues! Furthermore, the Israel-USA Military Alliance is so ironclad that to countenance any other arrangement or “peace accord” orchestrated by any agency or Euro-supernova connected with the EU is altogether laughable!
Only the United States of America is capable of enforcing any security agreement with Israel—there is absolutely no other entity Israel will or can trust: NONE; particularly the wishy-washy EU, and, in particular Rumsfeld’s Old Europe!
But let’s get on with Peter’s thesis, predicated as it is upon the Euro-Centric Antichrist of the Nineteenth Century . . .
“If the first beast of Bible prophecy is to be born from events associated with Recommendation 666, then it is likely the second beast could be born from the world changing events of September 11.
“Here’s why I believe this: sometimes we focus so much on our attention on the first beast described in the 13th chapter of Revelation that we forget there is a second beast. Unlike the first 10-horned beast that comes from the sea, the second beast has only two horns and comes from the earth.
“The second beast – later called the False Prophet – is a powerful religious figure who will direct worship toward the first beast. This second beast will also cause all people, both rich and poor, to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell. And, if you recall, a beast in Bible prophecy is a king and his kingdom that rises over Israel.
“Here’s
my point: this religious figure will need some kind of kingdom to enforce
his global religious and economic control. I believe his kingdom will be
the United Nations. And I believe AMERCA MAY PLAY A BIG ROLE in bringing
his kingdom about” (i.e., the kingdom of the False Prophet). (Ibid.,
Epilogue, Chapter 12, Recommendation 666, Herb Peters)
O.K. – so Peters has the First Beast (i.e., the Antichrist) being some Euro-Centric character like Solana—especially since he’s picked on the European Neighborhood Plan for Israel. But who might the Second Beast, or False Prophet of Revelation 13 be?
Here we go . . .
“In other words, in the aftermath of September 11 and the Iraqi war (Editor’s Note: Now that a gazillion military bases, troops, and the Empire’s footprint is all over the Middle East, especially in Iraq), I believe AMERICA AND THE UN will create the end-times Babylon of Revelation. And it is this Babylon that the Antichrist and the 10 kings will destroy in one hour at the end of the tribulation.”
Yikes! Peters has somehow got the USA building a megalomaniacal citadel—in cooperation with the UN (who’s no where to be found in Iraq now) known as BABYLON ON THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES (not Babylon on the Hudson). Hey, at least Peters has America doing the building—no doubt with Halliburton and their subsidiaries. Babylon will rise in all her former glory thanks to what will undoubtedly be the world’s largest building program ever undertaken on the face of the planet all done by the USA.
This will be the GREAT CITY of the last days that will be destroyed by the same 10-nation Euro-Revived Roman Empire confederacy of the last days! Thus will Revelation 17 be fulfilled, literally!
Now, America’s all over the Middle East—just like they’re all over Europe. Apparently, the Euros thought that their little Euro-Mediterranean Partnership would somehow dominate the Middle East (economically, at least), according to Peters . . . .
“But,
thanks in a large part to September 11, America would go to war in Iraq.
And what the European leaders who opposed the war feared would happen,
happened. American forces would go to war and remain, giving America and
the UN (wherever
they are) a large, permanent footprint in the Middle East. So the
events of September 11 may have set the stage for the second beast from
the earth to appear – the False Prophet and the Babylon of prophecy.”
(Ibid., Epilogue) (My emphasis.)
Interesting, isn’t it – but not as much as this:
“Now here is where it gets interesting. As I said before, the prophecies tell us the 10 kings and the antichrist will hate this Babylon and destroy her in one hour with fire. With the way the European nations who implemented Recommendation 666 now appear to hate the United States over Iraq, it’s not hard to see how this event could happen.
“However, there is another reason they will hate this Babylon. The Bible tells us God will put it into the hearts of the 10 kings and the antichrist to have a common foreign policy – His foreign policy – to want to destroy this end-times Babylon (Revelation 17:16-17). Why will God do this? Because this Babylon killed His people who refused to receive the mark. And this Babylon divided up His land Israel (Revelation 19:1, Jeremiah 50:25, Joel 3:1-2). Yes, the end-times stage is being set. But few are noticing.” (Ibid., Epilogue)
Well, at least Peters has Babylon the Great as an amalgamation of the USA and the UN teamed up to build their tower to the sky in Iraq. What’s so incredibly distracting and utterly deficient about his analysis is America has now become the False Prophet? Where in Scripture does it say that the False Prophet will be destroyed by the First Beast, the Antichrist? Nowhere, that’s where; and Peters knows this convolution of Scripture is absurd to the uttermost—it is a shameful misinterpretation and manipulation of the Word of God and it should be stopped.
Furthermore,
depicting the False Prophet (which allegedly is the UN) teaming up with
Babylon the Great (a.k.a., the USA, especially HQed in Iraq’s monstrous
soon-to-be reconstruction of its ancient city, undoubtedly to be known as
Babylon East; juxtaposed to Babylon West, the USA) is nowhere to be found
in the Bible.
The Antichrist is a product of the culmination of Western Civilization—the ultimate byproduct of Gentile World Powers (A progressive development from Neo-Babylonia, to Persia, to Greece, to Rome, to the Ten-Toes, and finally to the 11th Horn.). To circumvent the conclusion of the West’s hegemony through the United States of America of all things economic, military and even religious, is a gross oversight of immense academic and spiritual ignorance, as well as false patriotism on the part of Christians found within the confines of Babylon the Great.
Now, for Peters to suggest that America is to play second fiddle to the Euro-Antichrist is the height of eschatological insanity and bespeaks of a preposterous hermeneutic of Scripture that has a “wag the dog” mindset wherein we find, in Peter’s analysis, the tail (Europe) is to wag the dog (the USA).
Not even his carefully crafted MAYs shall obfuscate the error of his instruction—nor, giving Babylon’s destruction the new entitlement as False Prophet (mixed in with the UN), shall prosper his thesis one iota.
Brethren, and those of you who view our “eschatological food fight” – to be mesmerized by the Euro-Antichrist and to think that Babylon’s newly designated False Prophet status can comfort us in this most difficult hour wherein all things take place apart and outside of the confines of this glorious party swirling within the ballroom of these United States, while the earth is about to be shaken to its core . . . think no further about such absurdities!
Antichrist will come forth, indeed he has, from the 10-Toes of the Image who colonized and WALKED the face of the whole earth—then he arose and continues to arise ripping out three horns in order to manifest his pomposities (England, France, and Spain know full well) – Europe gave birth and will and has given all authority to this ignobility whose destruction and desolation are all too known throughout the globe. The Empire that was Rome has revived and it is right in our own backyard, let alone the backyards of the entire world!
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall DESTROY many in their prosperity. He shall even RISE AGAINST the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means” (Daniel 8:23-25).
“But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined is poured out on the desolator” (Daniel 9:27b).
“At the time of the end . . . he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown . . . he shall stretch out his hand against the countries . . . he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things . . . but news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to DESTROY and ANNIHILATE MANY. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:40b-45).
A FINAL APPEAL TO SIRITUAL REASON
Now, given the extremity of the times, and the unyielding – yea, ruthless pursuit of the weapons of war and all the concomitant dependence wrought by such military aggrandizements – is it not time for you who find yourself among the “multitudes in the Valley of Decision” – for “the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision . . . the sun and the moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness” – to rise up and prepare to meet your God? “The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and the earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God” (Joel 3:14-17a). Yes, decide to assuage your fears, confusion and inner turmoil – wars within and wars without – what will you decide?
Right now—it is time, your time of decision, to embrace with all the fiber of your being, the Son of Man, who awaits your call for divine deliverance! Perhaps you still hold out some hope for American Republic or Pax Americana? Alas! That fruitless search for peace is but a dead end—yours is a choice that must be made—this is your Valley of Decision: Choose you this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! (Joshua 24:15)
NOTES:
1. See maps of the Roman and British Empires in “The Next American Empire,” Economist, March 18, 2004.
2. Bill Moyers, “Restoring the Public Trust.”
3. Newsmax, “Tommy Franks: Martial Law will Replace Constitution After Next Terror Attack,” November 21, 2003, http://www.propagandamatrix.com/211103martiallaw.html.
4. Michael Ignatieff, “The Burden,” New York Times Magazine, January 5, 2003; reprinted in various places under the title “The American Empire (Get Used to It).”
5. Michael Parenti, The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People’s History of Ancient Rome (New York: New Press, 2003), p. 191.
6. For a map showing the “Tiber River,” see James Sterling Young, The Washington Community, 1800-1828 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1966), p. 67. Also see Byrd, Senate of the Roman Republic, p. 183.
7. Tom Holland, Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic (New York: Doubleday, 2003), pp. xv-xvi.
8. Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Installations and Environment), Base Structure Report, Fiscal Year 2005, p, DOD-78.
9. J. Dwight Pentecost, Prophecy For Today (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961) p. 90.
10. John F. Walvoord, The Nations in Prophecy, p. 89, 93.
11. Major C. A. McNerney, NATO: Anachronism or Answer – an Argument for Collective Defense – Master’s Thesis, USMC Command and Staff College, United States Army, Conference Group 5, http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/mcnern.htm (Editor’s Note: Carefully note this is a Master’s Thesis prepared by a member of the US military!)
12. Eurocorps, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocorps
Part II
“The Rise or Fall of American Empire?”
By Doug Krieger
Here comes another in-house food fight—but it’s affecting everyone out there who claims to have a Weltanschauung or is remotely interested in Weltpolitik. If anyone should understand the supposed demise of American power, just ask the Germans, whose words have become part of the King’s English because they fit so well.
Having beaten back the Huns twice (actually thrice, considering the Hessian conscripts during the Revolutionary War) and then having America’s military-industrial complex, with a multitude of super bases located all over Germany, along with transporting nigh all who really mattered in the Nazi rocket programs into America’s lift off (as well incorporating scores of Nazis into America’s intelligence operations after the War)—well, just ask the Germans who’s the Babylon of the Last Days; better yet, who’s the new Rome.
Thankfully,
the Germans came to their senses and elected
Angela Merkel to recover from the Euro-firsters of
Gerhard Schroeder. No wonder
Forbes Magazine considers Merkel the most powerful woman in the world—and
perhaps one of the brightest: For example—whatever it takes to make the USA
happy, she’ll find a way. Ah, the vicissitudes of Empire—ultimately, knowing
how Weltpolitik is played out carries the day—Auf Wiedersehen to the Schroeders
who attempt a separate path to a Europe void of the Empire’s tentacles, after
all, every time Europe’s been left to her own demise she’s imploded and started
planting new killing fields.
You bet America would like to see a united Europe—as in united around the good ‘ole USofA! And, that continues to be the case in nation after nation . . . let us consider Schroeder’s counterpart . . . (Note: I should have said “client state” as in “client state after client state.”)
For Jacques Chirac—is now Bon Voyage as the Frenchman goes sailing off into legal entanglements . . . the Americans are much more comfortable with the likes of Nicolas Sarkozy—a man inspired by the “economic liberalization” of America and Britain . . . money has a way, after all, of calling the shots, even in French culture. And, of course, the Italians are right in there with their newly-elected and familiarly pro-American Romano Pordi—sort of fits well with Pax Romana or for that matter, Pax Britannia . . . all of which nicely fit into Pax Americana (a.k.a. Blair-Bush).
Whoops! Sorry to get distracted from the in-house food fight—but there’s nothing like watching the Europeans so enthralled with America’s political, economic and military charm . . . all this in spite of Javier Solana as the foremost possibility of the Antichrist since Nero and the not-so-distant rumors of America’s death!
RUMORS OF MY DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED BY CERTAIN EVANGELICALS!
Never
let it be said that astute Amero-Centric evangelicals—viewing the world no doubt
from
Jules Verne’s Around-the-World-in-Eighty Days Hot-Air Balloon (cir. 1870s)
chanced upon a European view simply mind-numbing for its ever-increasing
separate course, leading to the denial of their insipid social (i.e., socialism)
nets (including a full month’s vacation for all during August with scores of low
productivity holidays propping up the employment numbers and the Euro).
Let me explain . . .
Jules’ tale includes a rather entrepreneurial adventurer by the name of Phileas Fogg and his servant Passerpartout—both names caught my imagination as to how they might fit into my seemingly benign metaphor, likening the cir. 1870’s tour to Americans (though they were Brits) now wafting over European capitols. It’s just that Fogg seems such an apropos name given the vision thing and all; and, of course, Passerpartout fits as well—which doesn’t sound as if everything is all there.
Now,
connecting the scenic dots to another American novelist,
Mark Twain, a.k.a. Samuel Clemens, who lived about the same time
(1835-1910), we begin to see how the mind somehow strings things together to
make a point!
Aside from touring the planet—much like the Jules Verne characters—this witty and sardonic sort scored multiple quotes endearing generations of Americans. Faulkner called Twain the father of American literature! One such quote had to do with rumors of Twain’s death—apparently very real at the time.
Twain was delayed in New England on the yacht of his friend, Henry H. Rogers, because of treacherous seas (heading back to New York City), the ever prescient New York Times circulated the viable notion that Twain had drowned at sea—not knowing he had enough sense to stay dry until the storm passed—then again, nothing like fanning the flames of reliability (media-wise, nothing’s changed).
When hearing of his death, Twain muttered the profundity: “...I will make an exhaustive investigation of this report that I have been lost at sea. If there is any foundation for the report, I will at once apprise the anxious public." This was akin to an earlier dislocation wherein his death had been confirmed some years earlier—to which he replied: "The report of my death is an exaggeration" – hence, “Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Well, I’d be obliged to liken the evangelical American perceptions in Jules Verne’s hot air balloon as true colonial fantasy—even to this day the Fogg persists; and, likewise, their belabored attempts to dissuade the masses that somehow America is not found in Bible prophecy, but she is woefully omitted, and purposefully so (somehow). Furthermore, since even an ostrich must pull its head out of the sand from time to time to behold blatant realities of the real world, it appears that a number of these beloved brethren—knowing full-well there’s an 800-lb. gorilla talking on the bed—have now concluded that if this monstrosity is to play second fiddle it must be extinguished or delimited as a world player . . . thus, the American patriotic evangelicals have turned on Americana (easy to do with all her sins rising to the heavens) and are busy about destroying her from some of the most unimaginable gyrations that would make Verne’s fantasy come alive and confirm, once again, that “rumors of my death have been grotesquely exaggerated!”
DANIEL AND THE HORNS
It’s
a tough task being a super patriotic American, while at the same time trying to
figure a way out of this mess—i.e., how an ascending Europe will overtake
America (somehow) and constitute the singular base of the 11th Horn of Daniel,
the infamous Antichrist yet to appear on earth’s scene; therefore, let us review
these poignant verses prior to an excursion into American-style
hari-kari or how to eliminate the 800-lb. talking gorilla from my bed. A
variety of semi-prophetic proposals have surfaced of late . . . but let’s
consider Daniel’s “younger” or “little” horn, known as the 11th horn:
Daniel 7:7-8 . . .
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little (lit. “younger”) one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous (lit. “great things”) words.”
Prior to these verses (Daniel 7:2-6) the clear outline of the three beasts of history are graphically portrayed—all came forth from the Great Sea, including the fourth Beast: The Lion = Neo-Babylonia; The Bear = Medo-Persia; The Leopard = Grecian Empire; and now the fourth beast: Rome. And, out of this fourth beast—out of its “ten horns” arises an Eleventh Horn, the Younger Horn. Obviously, it comes forth from Rome and it plucks up or “uproots” three of the first horns in so doing.
The
“horn” - as a Biblical metaphor - constitutes “authority” or “government.”
Hence, the ten-horned fourth Beast is a composition of authorities or
governments banded or affiliated together with common aspirations, yet
distinguished; even so, the Eleventh Horn is likewise distinguished and has
similar aspirations, so it would appear, from the original ten horns; however,
by uprooting three of the “first horns” it obviously expressed a violent
overthrown of these three in order to express its youth, and assert its
11th-Horn posture as supreme; notwithstanding, this 11th Horn surfaces out from
“among them” – indicating that ALL somehow participate in its expression.
The fact that this younger horn has “eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking pompous words” personifies him, not only as another authority (i.e., kingdom) but also as a human figure associated with GREAT THINGS (harkening ahead to the GREAT CITY BABYLON); and, therefore, can clearly be heralded as that future “King of Babylon.”
Daniel continues:
“Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth or iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:18-22).
Here the younger horn (i.e., “other horn”) now takes on the “appearance” which is “greater than his fellows.” Something has happened wherein the younger horn now prevails over the other ten horns of the beast, let alone the three that were plucked up when this “other horn” came forth.
In the Revelation we discover another Beast—similar to Daniel’s Fourth Beast having ten horns but no mention of the 11th Horn. This Beast of Revelation, like Daniel’s has “ten horns” (Revelation 17:7); however, he is now identified as having seven heads as well (Revelation 17:7). The discovery of the Antichrist within Revelation’s description takes place when we discover that “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the Beast. These are of one mind, and they (the ten) will give their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:12-13).
Here, what was introduced in Daniel’s accounting as the 11th Horn (“11,” incidentally, is in Biblical numerology, one less than “12” and indicates “Satanic connection” and/or deficiency—Judas, made the disciples “11” in number; the 11 sons of Canaan vs. the 12 sons of Jacob, etc.) has now been entitled by John’s accounting as the Beast – thusly, we are dealing not only with a person who has become the Beast from the Abyss (appearing half way through the 70th Week of Daniel in Revelation 11:7; 13:1-10) but we are dealing with a BEAST NATION or “horn/government/authority.”
Finally, Daniel adds further clarity to this ten-horned beast and the younger horn Beast person and nation who comes forth from the ten-horned beast.
“The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample