Protestant Apocalyptic Narratives and the European Union

Abstract

Introduction: Christianity is apocalyptic. Christians since the days following the first-century crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth have anticipated a return of Christ Jesus—as stated in the Apostles’ Creed—“to judge the living and the dead.” Various Christian traditions have interpreted the prophetic utterances of the Jewish prophets, the author of Revelation and Jesus himself in their own particular ways—often arriving and very different views of the end of history. But orthodox Christians of all sorts have generally agreed that history will come to a dramatic conclusion with Jesus Christ returning in some manner to set things right. For some conservative European and North American Protestants the “imminent return of Christ” is central to their faith. They believe that the prophetic works of the Bible contain specific predictions that point to Jesus’ physical return to earth in the very near future. For many of these believers the apocalyptic narrative in Scripture is unfolding before their eyes—and the rise of the European Union (EU) figures prominently in the takeover of the world by the forces of evil. In their view the EU is on the wrong side of the cosmic struggle between good and evil