Continuing Neil Mackereth’s Discussion Paper ‘Stay or Leave?‘ with flagged annexures. Your attention is also drawn to the editor’s Footnote.

FLAG A

1. Tower of Babel – EU HQ Strasbourg

Apart from signposting the pitfalls of pride and idolatry, what significance does the Tower of Babel have today?

It may shock you to learn that the European Union Parliament building in Strasbourg is modeled on the unfinished Tower of Babel, as depicted in a painting by Brueghel (see poster image below). Here is a photograph of the EU Parliament building in Strasbourg, and below is an architectural model of the building:

Now take a look at the picture below:

The picture on the right was an early EU poster which, after considerable protest, was dropped. But the picture had done the damage. It had divulged the secret of the inspiration for the design of the EU building. There seems little doubt that the EU parliament building was modeled on Breughel’s painting of the Tower of Babel (seen on the left).

More controversial are suggestions that the inverted star symbols represent satanic inverted pentagrams.

Doesn’t it seem strange that anyone would choose to model the EU Parliament building on a tower built in defiance of God? Is it deliberate, coincidental, or a sign – a sign not only of the re-emergence of Babylon on the world stage but a sign also of the End Times?

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2. A Woman Rides the Beast

The first statue above is in front of the EU parliament building in Strasburg and the second below is in front of the Winston Churchill building, also in Strasburg.:

Is there some prophetic significance in the name Europe, its origins, and/or the woman riding the beast? The mythology is that “Europa” was a Phoenician noblewoman who was seduced by Zeus who was disguised as a bull. He carried her off to Crete and raped her. Europa subsequently became queen of Crete.

‘Europa seated on a bull’ has been a motif in European art since Greco-Roman times, and in the eighth century Europa gained ecclesiastical usage under Charlemagne. Today, Europe is called Europa in most Germanic languages.

The link that is made by some is with the Woman and beast references in Revelation 17 and 18. She is referred to in Revelation as Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abomination of the earth (Rev 17.5). There is much debate and conjecture on the metaphors and symbolism in these chapters. Suffice it to say, we are advised to have nothing to do with her.

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3. Pergamum Altar – Berlin

Pergamum was one of the cities in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) where Roman influence can be most clearly seen. Situated on a hill there was an altar to Zeus where historians and archaeologists now believe the Roman Emperor was worshipped by the citizens of the city. Every year, on the Emperor’s birthday, the Caesar of the day was adored by people throughout his Empire who addressed him as ‘son of god’, ‘saviour of the world’, and ‘lord.’

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus dictates a letter to the Apostle John, which includes the line:

“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.” (Rev 2.13)
The throne mentioned here can only refer to one thing – the temple-like structure which is known as the Pergamum Altar, built around 200BC. This temple is also mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus (56-117AD) in his Annals, and in Plutarch’s (45-120 AD) Life of Caesar. The mound on which it was situated is still visible today.

From what John sees and hears it seems that from the Ascended Christ’s perspective Pergamum is the location in Asia Minor where it can be safely said that “Satan has his throne” and where “Satan lives.”

Let’s now fast forward nearly 2000 years. In 1878 the German engineer and archaeologist Carl Humann started excavating the Pergamum Altar. In 1902 Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered that the whole structure, including the Gigantomachy Frieze, be transported to Berlin. The 113 metre sculptured frieze around the base of the altar depicts the struggle between the gods and the giants in Greek mythology. The altar was reconstructed, first in the Kaiser Freidrich Museum and subsequently moved to the specially built Pergamon Museum, on Museum Island. Kaiser Wilhelm II claimed this was the greatest achievement of his reign.

In 1933, Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany and in 1934 he ordered the building of a Tribune at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg. The architect, Albert Speer, is said to have used the Pergamum Altar as a model for the much larger scale “Zeppelintribune”. It took three years to build and it was from a podium at the centre of this vast edifice that Hitler took the salute during the Nazi rallies in Nuremberg.

[See Footnote by editor RB]

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4. Ishtar Gate – Berlin

The Ishtar Gate and Processional Way were built by Nebuchadnezzar II in c 575 BC. They formed the main and ceremonial entry route to the inner city of Babylon (there were seven lesser gates). It was dedicated to Ishtar, revered goddess of fertility, love, war and sex. Some scholars believe that, just as the Babylonian military and intellectual influence spread across the world, so too did their religion.

There is speculation that the different names, Eostra or Ostara (a Germanic pagan goddess) and Easter, may originate from Ishtar. The Benedictine monk Saint Bede chronicled that Easter took its name from “Eostre”, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. The Romans, in attempts at unity, were known to have combined festivals, their names and practices, in order to appease differing religious and pagan beliefs. If Easter is derived from Ishtar, that might make many of us think about the pagan origins of a major Christian festival.

The Ishtar Gate and Processional Way (an artists’ impression is shown above) were excavated by Robert Koldewey between 1899 and 1914. Its reconstruction in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin was completed in 1930, though some parts are so huge they are held in store.

There is a mass of information on the Internet about the gate, and a plethora of opinion, in which there is a considerable mixing of fact and fiction, myth, scientific study and archaeological findings. All this makes objective analysis very difficult. However, there are mythological references to the goddess Ishtar visiting hell and to the Ishtar Gate being the very entrance to hell. The depiction of 337 snake god images on the gate may have significance in Hebrew numerology, as the number 337 is said to represent hell.

You may feel that this connection and the Ishtar symbolism generally are overplayed. You may regard it all as just plain weird. Or you may come to the conclusion that this is an example of truth being stranger than fiction. Whatever your view, there is strong evidence to support the contention that the EU Parliament building is modelled on the Tower of Babel. Furthermore, there is no doubt that the Pergamon Altar and the Ishtar Gate stand in Berlin.

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5. Shiva – CERN Geneva

[CERN Statue Unveiled – official CERN link replaces photo: RB]

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, straddles the Swiss French border. Strictly speaking CERN is not an EU research project but rather a European lead cooperative scientific research venture. The 12 founding states, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia, established CERN in 1954. The organization was subsequently joined by Austria (1959), Spain (1961-1969, re-joined 1983), Portugal (1985), Finland (1991), Poland (1991), Czechoslovak Republic (1992), Hungary (1992), Bulgaria (1999) and Israel (2014). The Czech Republic and Slovak Republic re-joined CERN after their mutual independence in 1993. Yugoslavia left in 1961. Today CERN has 21 member states.

CERN came to public attention when scientists using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) identified the elusive Higgs Boson particle in 2013. There has been growing concern about the work that CERN does, especially from those who believe the scientists are “playing God.” CERN has tried to allay the disquiet by stating that the Large Haldron Collider (LHC) experiments are not trying to “open a door to another dimension.”

CERN recently explained that the statue of the Hindu god Shiva, a complex deity sometimes termed “The Destroyer”, in front of its Geneva HQ (shown here), was a gift from the Indian government. India is one of CERN’s “observer states” along with Russia, Japan and the US.

There is a wealth of information and countless “conspiracy theories” available on the internet – treat with caution.

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6. Babylon

The story of Babylon is interwoven in the timeline of Scripture. We have already looked at some strange and disturbing symbolism on the global stage today. Here I want to add some historical depth to FLAG A and FLAG B

Babylon is first mentioned in Genesis 10, a chapter that is sometimes referred to as “the table of nations” because it lists the countries founded by the descendants of Noah, after the flood.

Noah’s great grandson Nimrod, “a mighty warrior on the earth”, established a kingdom in Shinar that included Babylon (synonymous with Babel) as one of its centres. Shinar is thought to have been an area between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates in what is now Iraq, formerly Mesopotamia. Babylon was on the Euphrates, located about 55 miles south of modern-day Baghdad.

The first event of note concerning Babylon, recorded in Genesis 11, is the building of the Tower of Babel, which most scholars agree was a ziggurat, a many tiered structure with ramps leading upwards from each level to the next.

Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel, painted in 1563

It seems that the people of Babylon were building the tower as a symbol of their own greatness. It was a statement of identity, self-worth and pride: it was not built to honour God.

The Bible records that God stopped the building, the builders were dispersed and the common and only language spoken by the world’s population became many languages.

Genesis 11 is foundational in establishing Babylon as a picture of a city of rebellion against God. From then on, references in the Bible indicate that Babylon is symbolic of sin, depravity, and defiance (e.g.1 Peter 5:13; Revelation 17.5).

Perhaps no one expressed the origins of Babylon more eloquently than Josephus, a Jewish historian in the first century (an exact contemporary with some of the New Testament authors). He describes the extraordinary pride of the ruler called Nimrod who inspired the people of his city to build something that clearly sought to dethrone God:

‘Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it were through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power… Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God; and they built a tower, neither sparing any pains, nor being in any degree negligent about the work: and, by reason of the multitude of hands employed in it, it grew very high, sooner than any one could expect; but the thickness of it was so great, and it was so strongly built, that thereby its great height seemed, upon the view, to be less than it really was. It was built of burnt brick, cemented together with mortar, made of bitumen that it might not be liable to admit water. When God saw that they acted so madly, he did not resolve to destroy them utterly, since they were not grown wiser by the destruction of the former sinners [in the Flood]; but he caused a tumult among them, by producing in them diverse languages, and causing that, through the multitude of those languages, they should not be able to understand one another. The place wherein they built the tower is now called Babylon, because of the confusion of that language which they readily understood before; for the Hebrews mean by the word Babel, confusion.’
(From The Antiquities of the Jews by the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, c AD 94).

Coming back to the possibility EU being the new Babylon: why is the Europa symbol (a woman on a beast) so widespread? Is it merely symbolising Europe or is there some other prophetic significance?

“There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names ….” (Rev 17.3)

Most theologians agree that this prophecy refers to an end times world order where the woman symbolises an ‘ecclesiastical Babylon’ and the beast symbolises a ‘political and commercial (economic) Babylon’. Revelation 17 describes the woman as ‘Babylon the Great’ whilst Revelation 18 describes the fall of commercial or economic Babylon. In simplistic terms, a corrupt apostate church rides (and therefore by implication, controls) a corrupt and brutal political and economic system. If Europa (Europe) really is moving towards a fulfilment of this prophecy then we can expect to see a world political system and a world economic system developing the EU.

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7. What Does Scripture Say About Alliances

Peter Horrobin, founder-director of Ellel Ministries International, posted his ‘Thoughts on the coming referendum on membership of the European Union’ on his blog of 24 March 2016 under the title ‘In or Out?’ 

[NB: Neil copied the full blog as Flag ‘G’ to his paper but here it’s abridged. To read full original version click/tap its above, highlit title.]

After a brief introduction to the matter Peter writes, ‘As I meditated on the situation and prayed about how I should vote, God turned my thoughts to the story of King Jehoshaphat, as it is told in Chapters 17-20 of 2 Chronicles….

He’s drawn to the following conclusion:

‘After Jehoshaphat realised what he had done through his marital, political and military relationship with Ahab, God gave him an opportunity to repent and change direction once more. He took it and the subsequent years were the most prosperous and God-protected of his entire reign. In some ways I now see this coming referendum as being like an opportunity for the whole nation to repent of the decision it made in 1975, in ignorance of what membership of the EU would mean.

‘But now we know what it has meant and what it will mean, and we have a one-time opportunity to choose whether or not we are going to remain in alliance with a type of Ahab or Ahaziah, through which we lose both our sovereignty and the potential to be a God inspired nation. Or, we can choose to take back into our own hands the future destiny of our government, our laws and our finances.

‘You may say that it won’t make any difference, for our own government has not shown any desire to return to our spiritual foundations, an opinion with which I, sadly, have to agree. But the difference is this: with the UK inside Europe, if leaders were to rise up in the future with the intent of changing things, to bring the UK more in line with God’s laws, they would have no legal authority to change anything – because everything would be subservient to our masters in Brussels. Even if God were to raise up a modern-day ‘Joseph’, ‘Daniel’ or a repentant ‘Jehoshaphat’, inside the EU they would be impotent.

‘But, released from the shackles of what I now see as an ungodly alliance, who knows what God could still do in and through this nation?

‘I do not believe that God has forgotten our history, or the blood of the Christian martyrs who have laid down their lives and I would agree with the implication of what Archbishop William Temple said during the second world war – that God still has a purpose for this nation in the times that are yet to come before Jesus returns.

‘There are those who are saying that for the economic benefit of the nation and our workers we need to remain within the trading community that is the EU. However, let us not forget the painful lesson that Jehoshaphat learned the hard way – that trading alliances with the wrong partners will not be a source of blessing.

‘So, for deeply spiritual reasons – reasons that you will not see talked about in the Newspapers, or hear about on TV, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for the UK to cut itself free from alliances which undermine our sovereignty and limit our capacity to make our own laws. On the 23^rd of June I will be voting to leave the EU – but I’m already praying for those hidden ‘Jehoshaphats’, ‘Daniels’ and ‘Josephs’ to come to the fore of public life, and start steering our nation back to the godly roots from which it has currently wandered so far.’

FLAG ‘C’ FOOTNOTE by RB:

Joel Richardson makes this note in his blog Joel’s Trumpet about that altar of Zeus:

‘As an aside, while many saw it as a deeply ominous sign, I personally found it more humorous that when President Obama made his initial acceptance speech in 2008 for the DNC presidential nomination, it was in a nearly perfect replica of what Jesus referred to as “the throne of Satan.” Needless to say many leftist bloggers and news outlets went crazy when I pointed this out.’

Even so, perhaps this really is an omen in view of Obama’s supportive remarks during his state visit this April 2016 on behalf of the UK government’s propaganda for remaining in the EU.