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could spend a day together. They
have gone through the rebuilding
process from an entirely different
perspective.
1
grew up in a postwar
American culture of high-tech prog–
ress- tbey in the hard working but
slower pace of Eastern Europe.
They see little hope or opportu–
nity for reuniting the two Germa–
nies in our lifetimes.
When
1
first went to Germany in
1964, the hope of a united Germa–
ny was alive and vibrant among
West Germans. A national holiday
on
J
une 17 each year was cele–
brated with speeches, marches and
the hope of seeing the dream of a
united Germany fulfilled.
Because of the fervor I observed
in Germany,
1,
along with many
other Westerners, believed it would
be a short time till East and West
Germany would be once again one
nation. At that time
I
wrote an arti–
cle entitled "The March for an
Undivided Germa-
ny."
But that was more
than 21 years ago.
There are, today, no
immediately visible
signs the two Germa–
nies will so unite. It 's
as though time has
stood still on the Ger–
man unity issue.
Europe than the men and women in
this chamber."
Thinking of the future, President
Reagan then expressed the hope that
Europe's centuries-old dream of uni–
ty would not die, but cometo reality:
"Here in Western Europe, you have
created a multinational democratic
community in which there is a free
flow of people, of information, of
goods, and of culture. West Euro–
peans move freely in all directions,
sharing and partaking of each other's
ideas and culture.
"It is my hope, our hope, that in
the 21st century- which is only 15
years away- all Europeans, from
Moscow to Lisbon, will be able to
travel without a passport and the free
flow of people and ideas will include
the other half of Europe. Jt is my
fervent wish that in the next century
there will be one, free Europe."
He added, "You are, today, a New
Europe on the brink of a new cen–
tury."
The marching has
ceased. Celebrations
looking forward to
one Germany are
minimal. Many ac–
cept the divided na–
tions.
That in no way
lessens the dream of
a united Europe,
however.
President of the
United States, Ron–
ald Reagan, speak–
ing to the European
Parliament in Stras–
bourg at the ceremo-
11
/t might now
seem
a vain hope
to dream of
bringing together
al/ the peoples of
Europe, but no one
can stop us
dreaming of a
complete Europe
united in peace. "
On the subject of
East and West Eu–
rope, European Par–
liament President
Ptlimlin said: "We
must recognize our
limitations. We rep–
resent only one part
of Europe. There are
peoples every bit as
European as our own
that are unable to
take their place in
our community.
Dresden and War–
saw, Prague and
Budapest are cities as
European as our own
1Ocapitals."
The hope of a
united Europe is far
from dead. No one
can see today exactly
how or when it will
come to pass. But
there is no doubt,
sooner or later, it
will.
ny commemorating
European Parllament
Presldent
Plerre Pfllmlin
the war's end, said:
" In this room are those who fought
on opposite sides 40 years ago, and
their sons and daughters. Now you
work together to lead Europe dem–
ocratically. You buried animosity
and hatred in the rubble. There is
no greater testament to reconcil ia–
tion and to the peaceful unity of
16
Prophesied for Our Day
As amazing as it may sound, the
ultimate formation of a modern
united Europe was prophesied
thousands of years ago--in the days
of the Babylonian empire.
Through a dream given to King
Nebuchadnezzar, God revealed the
panorama of Western civilizations
from 600
B.c.
all the way to our
time today.
In the dream, Nebuchadnezzar
saw a great image with a head of
gold, breast of silver, thighs of
brass and legs of iron.
The king called his wise men and
astrologers, but none could inter–
pret the dream. Then God gave his
servant Daniel the meaning. Here's
what the dream foretold: "You
[King Nebuchadnezzar and the
Babylonian empire] are that head
of gold. After you, another king–
dom
~ill
rise, inferior to yours.
Next, a third kingdom, one of
bronze, will rule over the whole
earth.
Fina/ly,
there will be a
fourth kingdom, strong as iron"
( Dan. 2:38-40, New International
Version throughout).
Though a powerful kingdom, the
great empire of Babylon fell to the
Medo-Persians in 539
B.c.
For more
than two centuries the Persians con–
trolled Western culture. But it, too,
could not endure. By 333
B.C.,
under
Alexander the Great, the Greco–
Macedonian empire rose to unparal–
leled heights in military strength, art
and education.
Shortly before the birth of J esus,
the Romans began to domínate
Western civilizations. Remember,
God had revealed in the book of
Daniel there would be only four
world-ruling kingdoms before the
establishment of God's government
on the earth. Babylon, Persia,
Greece and Rome make up those
four great world-ruling empi res.
Rome was to outlive the
others- but it, too, fell into deca–
dence and decay. The fall of the
great Roman empire officially
occurred in
A.D.
476. Rome had
survived 500 years.
More than 1,500 years have
passed since the fall of Rome. But
God's kingdom is not yet estab–
lished. What has happened? Was
the interpretation of Nebuchadnez–
zar's dream wrong?
Not at all. We don't, however,
have the complete story.
In Daniel 7 God revealed to the
prophet even more about these four
world-ruling kingdoms- this time
through an analogy of four great
wild beasts.
Daniel saw: "Four great beasts,
each different from the others, carne
The PLAIN TRUTH