Greece Considers Exit from Euro Zone
The debt crisis in Greece has taken on a dramatic new twist. Sources with information about the government's actions have informed SPIEGEL ONLINE that Athens is considering withdrawing from the euro zone. The common currency area's finance ministers and representatives of the European Commission are holding a secret crisis meeting in Luxembourg on Friday
night.
Greece's economic problems are massive, with protests against the government being held almost daily. Now Prime Minister George Papandreou apparently feels he has no other option: SPIEGEL ONLINE has obtained information from German government sources knowledgeable of the situation in Athens indicating that Papandreou's government is considering abandoning the euro and reintroducing its own currency.
This scenario has ramifications for the entire EU:
Alarmed by Athens' intentions, the European Commission has called a crisis meeting in Luxembourg on Friday night. The meeting is taking place at Château de Senningen, a site used by the Luxembourg government for official meetings.
In addition to Greece's possible exit from the currency union, a speedy restructuring of the country's debt also features on the agenda. One year after the Greek crisis broke out, the development represents a potentially existential turning point for the European monetary union -- regardless which variant is ultimately decided upon for dealing with Greece's massive troubles.
It remains unclear whether it would even be legally possible for Greece to depart from the euro zone. Legal experts believe it would also be necessary for the country to split from the European Union entirely in order to abandon the common currency. At the same time, it is questionable whether other members of the currency union would actually refuse to accept a unilateral exit from the euro zone by the government in Athens.
What is certain, according to the assessment of the German Finance Ministry, is that the measure would have a disastrous impact on the European economy.
In addition, the withdrawal of a country from the common currency union would "seriously damage faith in the functioning of the euro zone," the document continues. International investors would be forced to consider the possibility that further euro-zone members could withdraw in the future. "That would lead to contagion in the euro zone," the paper continues.
This is a BIG story and it is receiving surprisingly little press.
Also see:
Portugal to Receive 78 Billion Euro Bailout
Lisbon has reached an agreement with the EU and the IMF to receive 78 billion euros in aid over the next three years to assist it with a crippling debt load. But with Portugal's government in flux and euro-zone approval dependent on suddenly euroskeptic Finland, final approval is far from a sure thing.
Portugal is the third debt-ridden member of the European common currency zone to seek assistance. Greece received a €110 billion loan last spring and Ireland followed suit in the autumn, taking out an €85 billion loan from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Union, among other places.
The 17-member euro zone, though, must also grant its unanimous approval of the bailout package -- approval that recent elections in Finland may endanger. The vote saw the radically anti-EU party True Finns receive 19 percent of the vote and the party's leader, Timo Soini, has made it clear that he is opposed to euro zone bailouts.
And this:
Beyond the EU Debt Crisis
The continent’s financial crisis gave rise to bailouts, infighting and demands for sweeping financial reform. Could there still be a bright future over the horizon for the European Union?
Working together has never been a strong suit for members of the EU, and having the continent on the brink of potential collapse is no different. Fiscally stable northern nations loathe the thought of shouldering the brunt of a mess they see as made by southern countries. And most nations lining the Mediterranean cannot imagine a scenario in which sweeping budget cuts will not lead to nation-crippling protests.
Ideological standoffs are not limited to financial recovery methods—they crop up over almost every EU decision. All 27 member-states have competing interests, and any country can opt-out of measures against its interests. For example, only 17 nations in the union use the euro.
On top of opt-outs, coming to a consensus means finding common ground. This is difficult enough in the United States under a two-party system. In Europe, consensus often means toothless resolutions and legislations that are nearly impossible to enforce.
As their economies are tied to the euro, every EU member-state wants to stop nations falling like dominoes into bailouts. To do so, however, it must find common ground about how to tackle the problem.
The north, led by Germany, appears willing to prop up foundering economies, but these “financier” nations want to see real, sustained effort on the part of countries receiving support to balance their budgets.
Note the following conclusion to this article:
Europe is poised to return as a driving force in world events. In the coming years, uncooperative, underperforming nations will become increasingly irrelevant and the reins of the eurozone will be handed to one streamlined leader.
While the often disunited European Union has long failed to live up to the high hopes it had at its inception, the historical model for a true United States of Europe is there. Given the right mix of EU crises, Europe will be united once again, ready to take on whatever comes its way.
As China rises and the United States continues to take a bow from its role as lone superpower, another powerhouse is emerging on the world economic stage.
Be sure to watch Europe and Germany.
So why are these current news stories relevant to biblical prophecy?
First - look at what we know about the future:
1. Somehow the EU will morph into "10 Kings" - we know from Daniel 2 and 7 that the 10 Kings will develop from the "revived Roman Empire". How or why this happens is unknown.
2. The "growth" into the 10 Kings stage will then somehow produce the antichrist.
3. The combination of 10 Kings and the antichrist will become the most powerful political force that the world has ever seen, including domination over "every tribe, people, language and nation." (Revelation 13:7).
So how will this evolve?
Considering the various problems that the EU is currently encountering - whether it involves finances and the Euro, or foreign policy ambiguity, or whether to grow or shrink in size, etc. - problems which, at the moment seem to be prohibiting any sort of "growth" into this world power we see in biblical prophecy - one aspect seems readily apparent:
The EU lacks a strong leader.
It is hard to imagine the EU morphing into any form of future government which could actually lead and dominate the world, and such a future seems inconceivable as we watch the current news and the various problems within the EU today.
It occurred to me, that such future "growth" will require a strong and powerful leader - someone incredibly charismatic and someone who has a tangible vision for their future - someone who can appear to solve all of these problems and conquer the Middle East while doing this.
If such an individual emerges (and we know that he will emerge), imagine the support and adoration that he will receive.
Right now, the EU continues to see their problems increasing and there seems to be no way out of this abyss. But we know otherwise. Perhaps more importantly - we know that big problems necessitate big changes, and that is where we appear to be in the current timeline of prophetic events. We're at the "big problems" stage. Next will come the "big solutions" stage, but it is my belief that such solutions will come from a powerful leader as described above.
As we watch biblical prophecy evolve, we now have more questions than answers. But these questions will be answered, and probably sooner rather than later:
- Will the EU somehow collapse into 10 powerful nations - leading into the "10 Kings" stage of biblical prophecy?
- Will the EU determine that more growth is required in order to solve stated problems - perhaps into 10 world "regions", or 10 world "unions", all under the direction of the EU and the EU leader with such a vision?
There may be other scenarios in play.
One thing is for sure: Big problems require big solutions.
Who will step forward and offer these solutions?
We know the answer to this question - the only unknowns to prophecy watchers are "when" and "how".
The "when" is pretty easy. It must come relatively soon, as we are most certainly in the final days.
The "how" is the fascinating aspect of this and we may or may not be here to see this part evolve - and that is what makes watching developments in the EU so interesting.
What intrigues this prophecy watcher is the following: This individual is alive at this very moment and he is most likely forming his power structure behind the scenes - watching and waiting for his moment to appear on the scene.
Meanwhile, Jesus awaits His moment to appear to His followers and take them to "that place" that He has prepared.
So, we have two worlds being prepared for two different people:
- We have New Jerusalem, which is being prepared by Jesus - for His Bride,
and
- We have the earth, being prepared for the "arrival" of the antichrist.
That's quite a contrast - a contrast which is described in detail by the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5.
I believe I'll take the New Jerusalem option.
Maranatha!
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