Fall of Empires (3) Third Trumpet

The sounding of the third trumpet caused a great star to fall from the sky, blazing like a torch.

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter (Rev 8:10-11).

In the Old Testament, the fall of a great star represent the collapse of a powerful and evil empire (Is 35;5; Amos 5:26; Luke 10:18). Isaiah described the collapse of the Babylonian empire as star falling from the sky (Is 14:3,12). He described the judgment of Egypt as the darkening of the stars (Ez 32:7).

The name of this star is Wormwood, which means bitterness. The collapse of this powerful empire will produce great bitterness for the people who live under its power.

The European Union is an empire formed in a land of rivers and springs. Economic and political development got underway when the great rivers of river were harnessed for industrial power. River transport opened the way for increased trade and prosperity. In the last fifty years, the European empire has become a powerful force in the world, but with the global financial crisis it is now cracking at the seams. Many commenters are suggesting that its collapse is imminent. Many believe that countries like Greece, Italy and Spain will default on their debt and be forced out of the monetary union.

This concern is premature. The economic financial system is rotten, and will eventually collapse, but it has not happened yet, and it may not happen for a long time.

Political power always trumps economic reality.

The politicians of the world do not want the euro to collapse. They will come up with all sorts of solutions to prevent economic conditions from become the political reality. None of these solutions will solve the problem, but they will keep things going until a better political solution can be put together.

If the situation gets really bad, the politicians will force the ECB into printing money. This may lead to massive inflation, but politicians have always preferred inflation to spending cuts as a tool for eliminating debt. The modern banking and monetary system is flawed. They will eventually collapse, but not soon. Political power will have to collapse first.

Holding back the tide of judgment is dangerous, because when it does come, it will usually be worse. This creates a huge problem for the European empire. The people of Europe have taken on a monetary system that is inherently unstable, but their political leaders are determined to make it succeed. This struggle between politics and economics will be a fight to the death.

The political-bureaucratic clique that decides the fate of Europe will do what has to be done to ensure their great political project in survives the face of desperate economic realities. They are largely immune from the financial and economic pain they are creating, but the cost will be paid in bitterness by tens of millions of European citizens.

In the short term, political pride always trumps economic reality, so the whole charade will stagger on for several more decades. The politicians will demand more power for themselves, but economic situation for most of the people will go from bad to worse. The political powers will be relentless in their struggle to reverse this economic reality, but in economics will win in the end. The collapse of political power will not end the bitterness. As the mountain burns, the intensity of suffering will increase.