European Union Expansion & Bible Prophecy

Some believe the European Union will serve as an end time version of the Roman Empire. A key question these proponents must answer is whether the European Union’s borders have finished expanding. I assess whether the European Union’s borders have finished expanding in this article.

A Revised Roman Empire?

Some believe that the Antichrist’s empire will largely resemble the Roman Empire in geographic terms. Daniel 2, Daniel 7, and Revelation 13 provide depictions of the Antichrist’s empire. For instance, Daniel 2 depicts a statue featuring five empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Seleucid/Greece, Rome, and the empire of the Antichrist:

“(31) Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. (32) This image’s head was of fine gold [Babylon], his breast and his arms of silver [Medo-Persia], his belly and his thighs of brass [Seleucid/Greece], (33) His legs of iron [Rome], his feet part of iron and part of clay [empire of the Antichrist]. (Daniel 2:31-33)”

Notice how a different material represents each empire. For instance, gold represents Babylon while iron represents Rome. Meanwhile, clay and iron, the same material representing Rome, represents the empire of the Antichrist. Proponents of the theory that the empire of the Antichrist will largely resemble the Roman Empire geographically point out the presence of clay in the empire’s depiction.

Proponents view the European Union as an effort to unite much of Europe in a modern day version of the Roman Empire. The question of European Union expansion is important to consider for proponents:

  • If the E.U. has finished expanding then its current boundaries may serve as the boundaries of a potential a new Roman Empire.
  • If the E.U. has not finished expanding then the start of the end times may be delayed at least until the time when the remaining countries are finally integrated into the E.U.

European Union Expansion

If you examine a current map of the European Union you’ll notice a few things:

  • The E.U. has expanded to the edge of Eastern Europe
  • Switzerland and Norway are two significant Western European countries which have not joined the E.U..
  • The E.U. has not yet expanded into the Western Balkans, which include: Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo.

The following map displays the current members of the European Union in light blue and non-members in grey.

The European Union’s enlargement website lists the countries that are candidates to join the European Union and the countries are potential candidates to join the E.U. The following is a current list of candidate countries and potential candidate countries:

Candidate Countries

  • Albania
  • Macedonia
  • Montenegro (Negotiations Underway)
  • Serbia (Negotiations Underway)
  • Turkey (Negotiations Underway)

Potential Candidates

  • Bosnia Herzegovina
  • Kosovo

E.U. leaders declared in 2003: “The future of the Balkans is within the European Union.” However, at the time of this writing, there’s little sense that E.U. leaders are in a hurry to incorporate any of the countries listed into its union. Also, many of the countries listed have a long way to go before the European Union is ready to award membership status. Therefore, do not expect the E.U. to expand rapidly in the near future.

Bible Prophecy Considerations

If you believe that the European Union has already expanded enough or do not believe that European Union officials are serious about incorporating the Western Balkans, then the incorporation of the Western Balkans is probably not an important issue when assessing where we are in relation to the end times. However, if you believe the European Union must incorporate the Western Balkans and believe that European Union officials actually want to incorporate the Western Balkans someday, then you may conclude that it might be some time before the European Union reaches its final form/boundaries.

  • One potential detail to consider when gauging the relevance of the Western Balkans is that the Western Balkans were a part of the Roman Empire. If the E.U. becomes an end time version of the Roman Empire-as some believe-then one would think that the Western Balkans will probably be incorporated into the E.U.’s boundaries eventually.

If you would like to know whether we can use the Bible to support the notion that there’s an ongoing effort to bring a New World Order to the forefront, click this link for my article on the topic: New World Order?! What Does the Bible Say?

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Wayne Croley
Wayne Croley

Hi! I’ve studied and written about Bible prophecy since I was a teenager. My goal is to make Bible prophecy easy for you to understand while avoiding the sensationalism seen elsewhere. I am the author of several end time books, including Prophecy Proof Insights on the End Times, a comprehensive book about the end times. I hold an M.B.A. and degrees in Managerial Economics and Political Science.

31 Comments

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  1. You need to learn more about scriptures and the born again experience before you start calling people names. If you had any insight at all you would know that no one one earth knows the true name of The messiah but he himself. Jesus is just one of the names we are allowed to use to honour him. If you were born again you would know this.

  2. 1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

  3. Germanys going to get its gas shut off pretty damn quick if angela merkel doesn’t stop the sanctioning.30% gas Germany obtains comes from RussiA.

  4. shut up YOU Europeans are the devils same with white people on stolen indian land north America the bible refers to you as the edomite cracker devil

  5. eu is antichrist as well as lands got stolen looted bloodshedding lies etc. and quit using the false name for the Christian god his name isn’t jesus Christ dummy!

  6. eu is FinisheD’ if Europe and America interfere with RussiA then its all over the gas will be shut off and the dollar will be scrapped so both America and eu is DooMeD’

  7. Some would argue that it may be best to view the location of nations like Magog, Tubal, Meshech, etc where they were located at the time Ezekiel recorded chapter 38 and chapter 39 than to attempt to identify where all these nations migrated to today. If this method is used, many of the nations that Ezekiel mentioned would be found in modern day Turkey.

  8. Add to the above the fact that the Antichrist is depicted as rising out of one of the four Greek horns of the goat in Daniel 8, and we seem to have reasonable evidence that the Antichrist’s kingdom will be dominantly Middle-Eastern, in my opinion.

  9. That is an interesting theory. I include the Middle Eastern countries because all seven of those past empires are represented by the seven heads of the future beast in revelation, which in my opinion indicates that the remnants will be participants. Additionally, the angel tells John that “the beast that thou sawest was, and is not”, which seems to indicate that the culmination of the Antichrist’s Empire is one of the Middle Eastern empires that preceded Rome.

    Additionally, if we look up the history of the descendants of Noah, we find that the descendants of Magog, Tubal, Meshech, Togarmah, and Gomer, most likely went north into Russia and Northern Europe. (The statues of Gog and Magog in a Museum in London, England may not be coincidental). Therefore I am more inclined to place the origin of Gog and his forces in Russian, Scandinavian, and Northern European regions (or perhaps Slavic).

  10. I think it’s reasonable to include much of Europe in the empire of the Antichrist. I would include Russia as well. I currently do not believe the Antichrist will have many Middle East countries comprising his empire. I think many of those countries may organize a resistance against him after the sounding of the 6th trumpet.

  11. Correction to the above: THe Ottoman Turkish Empire lasted for a total of 641 years from the first Sultan in 1281 to the last in 1922 — not 700+ years as I posted. it continued for 488 years after the sack of Constantinople and the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire as a physical empire, which is still quite a long time.

  12. “And when he comes, he must continue a short (time).” – Rev. 17:10. That would certainly favor your interpretation over mine, as the Turkish Empire continued for 700 + years. Additionally, Israel was in the diaspora during the Arab and Turkish Empires, so their reigns were somewhat obsolete as concerning the Israelites.

    Regardless of whether the Third Reich or the Ottoman Empire was the seventh head, the kingdom of the Antichrist would still seem to consist of much of Europe and the Near East, including Iran and Egypt, in my opinion. I’m still unsure about Russia…

    But I do see your point about the Third Reich, and you may very well be correct.

  13. I’ve done a lot of research on Hitler and the Third Reich during my college years. The atrocities that were committed are just one of many things that make me view the Third Reich as the 7th empire. Hitler’s quest to destroy Christianity, the evil, spiritual forces empowering him, and some of the things he said to others (including telling some close to him about someone who would come after him) are things which make it hard for me to not see the Third Reich as the 7th empire. It came for just a short time.

  14. Also remember that the eighth empire — the Antichrist’s empire — is the one that will be heavily connected to the Roman Empire. The seventh empire was not likely a form of the Roman Empire, as it would have still been represented by the sixth head and not the seventh. It can be argued that Hitler’s Germany had Roman roots and affiliation, whereas the Turkish Empire was a completely separate empire.

    My current opinion is that Germany will be a part of the Western portion of the Antichrist’s empire, but was not one of the seven heads. If the horns of the beast are political leaders as opposed to religious leaders, Germany may be one of the ten kings.

  15. Excluding Hitler’s Third Reich from the seven empire’s of Rev. 17 is a difficult thing to do, considering the atrocities he committed. I also once included Nazi Germany as the seventh head of the beast. However, Hitler’s empire did not attain the dominion of the other seven consecutive empire’s of Egypt through Ottoman Turkey.

    Each one of those empires overthrew the previous empire and took its place as the dominant empire of the Near East. The Ottoman’s sacked Constantinople and physically replaced the Eastern Roman Empire, which the Arabic Empire failed to do. Thus, Turkey is probably a better candidate than the Arabic Empire for the seventh head. Also, including Turkey fills a geographical gap between Europe and the Near East.

    I still sometimes toggle back and forth between Nazi Germany and Ottoman Turkey, but Turkey currently is the better candidate, in my opinion. This is a very debatable subject.

  16. I take the view that 5 empires came before John’s time, the Roman Empire represented the 6th empire, and Hitler’s Third Reich represented the 7th empire. The empire of the Antichrist would represent the 8th empire. The borders of Hitler’s Third Reich are very interesting because they resemble a “modified version” of the Roman Empire. Hitler’s Third Reich at its greatest extent did come within a short distance of Moscow.

  17. Moscow, as the “third Rome” and an offshoot of the Eastern Roman Empire, could very well be included. I’m beginning to lean towards the idea that the ten kings may actually be ten religious leaders. If that is the case, the territories of authority claimed by each one of these leaders would likely define the physical boundaries of the Antichrist’s kingdom.

    There is some very interesting information available on the internet about “pan-Slavism” and its connection to Russian religious ideology that I strongly recommend that people research.

    Not only is a Eurasian Economic Union in the works, as you have previously written about, but the Patriarchate of Moscow wants to reclaim all of the territories it once held under the old USSR, which correspond to the same territories of the planned Eurasian Economic Union. It appears more and more likely that a reunion of the Soviet Union will take place.

    Here is an interesting read:

    htt

  18. The role of Russia is especially difficult for me to understand at this point. I am currently thinking that the majority of the forces of Gog will originate from Russia (or perhaps the Eurasian Union that is trying to form that you wrote about in a past article).

    I currently adhere to the traditional interpretation of Revelation 17:10 that most scholars hold. That is, of course, that the seven heads of the beast represent the six consecutive dominant empires of the ancient world — plus one modern one — that God allowed to rule over Israel, starting with Egypt. I personally agree with author Phillip Goodman that Turkey was the seventh.

    According to that interpretation, the physical empire of the beast will contain Europe and the Near East. I constantly toggle back and forth in my mind whether Russia should be included or not.

    If you have any new thoughts on the empire of the beast I would very much like to read them (or anyone else’s, for that matter).

  19. What about Russia in this equation? They are not a part of the E.U. currently but many people think they may be a part of the Antichrist’s future empire or maybe even the place where the Antichrist originates from.

  20. Those 10 kingdoms could represent the ten kingdoms with the most power within his union, although more may actually exist.

    One
    of the most revealing points of both Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 is that
    Daniel’s fourth kingdom never ceases to exist. It continues in some form
    from its beginning until Christ’s return. Conversely, the EU was
    founded in the 20th century.

    Another revealing point of Daniel 2
    is that it will continue to consist of both eastern and western halves,
    if I am interpreting the passage correctly (the two feet of iron and
    clay are not separated from the two legs of iron, and continue to be
    divided into two).

    In my opinion, in order to correctly identify
    the Antichrist’s future kingdom, we must follow the entire history of
    the Roman Empire until the present time. It must have existed in some
    form throughout history, and it must be in existence currently in a
    spiritual sense, if not physical. It will one day manifest itself in a
    much more physical and apostatized form. The Antichrist, as a spiritual
    leader, will attain great temporal control through spiritual influence.
    Hence, the fourth kingdom will devour the whole earth.

  21. It’s hard to see the EU in its present form being the Antichrist’s empire, especially when you consider that the EU currently has 27 countries. Antichrist’s empire will have 10 kingdoms

  22. I agree that Gog doesn’t seem to be the Antichrist. The Bible seems to provide ample indication that the Antichrist comes from the east, while Gog comes from the north.

    I’m hesitant to define the Antichrist’s kingdom as the EU because Scripture seems to indicate that his kingdom is the direct lineage and continuity of the Roman Empire. I’m currently not sure that the EU fits that description (although I should probably trace the history of Europe from the time of the Roman Empire to the present before making that assumption.) My opinion on this matter could definitely change.

  23. I don’t think the E.U. in its current form is what the Antichrist’s empire will be like. I’m currently working on an idea that rests on the assumption that Gog is not Antichrist. If Gog is indeed not Antichrist, then perhaps we could eliminate the countries that will comprise Gog’s forces when attempting to define the boundaries of Antichrist’s empire. Perhaps this could be an indirect way to derive the boundaries of Antichrist’s empire.

  24. We should be very careful of defining the Roman Empire as the European Union. The more I have thought about this and studied it, I have realized that the EU could be dissolved and the boundaries of the Roman Empire probably unaffected. We sometimes forget that the Roman Empire, both Eastern and Western, became Christianized by the apostles at one point. It is my firm opinion that the proclaimed territories of the churches that were established by the apostles represent the physical boundaries of Rome, both Eastern and Western, present and future, according to Biblical definition. The two feet of iron and clay show weakening of its power and scattering of its adherents, which certainly defines the condition of the churches today as compared to their unity and authority under Justinian’s Pentarchy.

    Please realize that I am not putting down the churches as long as they are in non-apostate form, but just stating that logic would suggest that God would define the land by the territories of the churches, hence the Biblical designation of “Rome”. Interestingly, the proclaimed territories of the five major sees indeed include all seven heads (and probably ten horns) of the future beast. When we see the Antichrist rising from the fourth kingdom, I believe that means that he rises from the area that is contained within the traditional territories of the five major sees. We seem to have good Scriptural indications that he will rise from the eastern half.

    Currently, I do not feel that any further political boundaries need be established, given the condition of the feet of Daniel’s statue. We could be much further along in the scheme than we realize.

  25. I saw its name appear in some documents I was reading about the EU’s Neighborhood Policy last night. Since you mention it I’ll take a closer look at it.