“Friends of the EU Constitution” Gather in Madrid. This Saturday, representatives from EU member states that have already ratified the Constitution will gather in Spain to discuss options for moving the Constitution process forward. Also invited are the Catholic nations of Ireland and Portugal. They will discuss whether these nations will need to ratify the Constitution again, or whether only those nations that did not ratify it in 2004 will need to do so. Critics fear that only EU “leaders” will be involved in future constitutional talks and that EU citizens will be left out (euobserver.com, January 24, 2007). While the EU currently is made up of 28 member nations, Brussels (like France and Germany) periodically speaks of a “core of nations” in Europe moving forward ahead of the rest “even if other countriesnotably the UKdo not want to participate in further integration” (euobserver.com, January 12, 2007). The German Interior Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, recently mentioned that Germany preferred to work with the six biggest member states in the EU (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Poland) in order to speed up decision-making. He also praised Poland for representing the so-called Visegrad nationsHungary, the Czech Republic and Slovokia (Ibid). The meeting in Madrid could further promote the idea of a smaller core of nations leading Europe. We need to watch the actions of nations that will bring about the final revival of the Holy Roman Empirethe Beast that has been a focal point of prophecy for nearly 2,000 years (see Revelation 17).
Chinese and Japanese Military Cooperation. Following the “upgrading” of Japan’s Defense Agency to a Defense Ministry, Japan and China are now discussing joint military exercises. China is considering the possibility of Japanese war ships entering Chinese harborsfor the first time since World War II. These actions are significant in that they represent the two most powerful military powers in Asia working together (Financial Times, January 22, 2007). In addition, China has the capability to field the largest army the world has ever seen. Bible prophecy has long predicted the appearance of a military power “north and east” of Jerusalem. This 200 million-man military juggernaut is prophesied to attack and overrun the king of the North just prior to the return of Christ (Daniel 11:44-45, Revelation 9:13-21).
London Needs a Pied Piper. In 1665, fleas from a horde of infected black rats spread deadly bubonic plague across London. King Charles II and his court, along with thousands of commoners, fled to the countryside in hope of escaping the Black Death, but only helped to spread the infection. In a four-month period, over 31,000 people died in England’s capital. Today, it is brown rats that are multiplying at an alarming rate, and their droppings are causing a marked rise in salmonella poisonings and other fatal diseases. Brown rats are growing fat and numerous on discarded fast-food waste and other edible litter that has increased more than 400% around Britain. A new strain of poison-resistant super-rat has appeared, with enamel-coated teeth stronger than industrial diamonds, that are able to gnaw through metal traps and even concrete (The Leader-Post [Canada], September 11, 2006). Will London, New York and other cities of the earth suffer again from rat-borne plagues? The Bible states that God’s future judgments on Jerusalem [and probably other cities] will include “the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilenceto cut off man and beast from it?’” (Ezekiel 14:21). It is also ironic that this modern plague of rodents is growing strong on the excess (garbage) of a “rich” nation that has been blessed because of promises God made to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
