Antichrist & the God of Fortresses

The Book of Daniel tells us about the personality and top priority of the Antichrist:

He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. (Daniel 11:37-38)

The text goes to great pains to emphasize that the Antichrist has no god. He gives glory to no one besides himself. He won’t pay attention to any of the gods of his parents or any conventional religion.

Yet, right after explaining that the Antichrist has no god, the text goes on, saying that he does serve a god. He will honor the “god of fortresses” instead of traditional gods. The text says twice that his ancestors did not serve this “god of fortresses.”

Because of this contrast, the “god of fortresses” is likely a metaphor. Though he has no “religion,” he certainly has a top priority. Therefore, it becomes clear that the “god of fortresses” is a metaphor for military strength. As former President of Dallas Theological Seminary, Dr. John Walvoord, has said:

“...he will worship only the power to make war and gain victory…” (1)

As John MacArthur said in 1980*:

“In place of normal affection, he will place a perverted worship of military power. He’ll worship power.” (2)

This is supported by the fact that the Antichrist is a very violent military conqueror, as the rest of Daniel 11 bears out.

Yet, it does not say he serves the "god of war." Instead, he serves the "god of fortresses." Fortresses are much better for defending than for attacking. Therefore, the Antichrist does not just worship war. Specifically, he worships military defense.

How does he serve this god of defense? With “gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.” In modern terms, this is money. The Antichrist serves his god of military defense with money. Therefore, he is preoccupied with defense spending. Obviously, other kings besides the Antichrist have promoted defense spending. Yet for the Antichrist, this will be his top priority in life. Instead of serving a traditional religion, defense and defense spending will be his religion.

Completely Non-Religious

Consistent with the passage above, top Antichrist candidate, Javier Solana, is not religious.

After Solana stepped down, an opinion piece in the Guardian gave insight into his religious beliefs. The article, titled “Good Riddance to Javier Solana,” mentioned his views:

In a widely quoted interview he gave to the Financial Times in early 2003, Solana appeared to vent his frustration at how the US had turned into a theocracy under Bush and Dick Cheney. Their religious fundamentalism was difficult for Europeans to deal with "because we are secular", he noted. (3)

Furthermore, Javier Solana shared an article on Twitter titled: "Science and religion: God didn't make man; man made gods." The article explains that scientists:

...have produced robust theories, backed by empirical evidence (including "imaging" studies of the brain at work), that support the conclusion that it was humans who created God, not the other way around. And the better we understand the science, the closer we can come to "no heaven … no hell … and no religion too."

We can be better as a species if we recognize religion as a man-made construct. (4, 5)

This is hardly something that someone religious would share.

The Antichrist will eventually elevate himself above all other gods. Obviously, Javier Solana has not claimed to be God. If he did now, no one would take him seriously. However, he may do this once he becomes military leader of Europe, where he cannot be overthrown.

Just like the passage says, Solana has no god at all. Yet if he's not religious, then what's the top priority in life?

Devoted to European Defense

In March of 2015, Solana coauthored an article in the Wall Street Journal. In it, he called for the European Union to become a military power. (6, 7) This Wall Street Journal article summarized the outcome of an academic report he led previously. From June 2014 to January 2015, he chaired a group of experts, who discussed how the European Union could become a military power. After reaching a consensus, they published their report in February 2015. Among other things, the report called for:

• An EU military headquarters

• The ability to deploy troops abroad, to stabilize Europe’s neighboring countries

• A common defense budget and strong defense market (8)

When this report was finished, he presented the plan in Brussels, Belgium, the capital city of the European Union. (9, 10) While giving his presentation, he said:

"I will put all of the energies that I have left to push forward this process." (11)

Here we had the unthinkable. This 73 year-old, “retired” and “elderly private gentleman” was promising to devote the rest of his life to unifying the armies of Europe. (12)

Javier Solana was very passionate about building a military union for Europe. He was so fervent about this, that he went on tour to many capitals of European countries, as well as Washington D.C. He went to all this effort, without any official EU position. Though he was in many capitals himself, either he or one of the Task Force members presented in each of these cities:

• Riga, Latvia

• London, UK

• Paris, France

• Brussels, Belgium

• Rome, Italy

• Berlin, Germany

• Bucharest, Romania

• Prague, Czech Republic

• Warsaw, Poland

• Washington D.C., USA  (13, 14)

Solana Presents to Parliament

Obviously, Solana had great expertise on European defense. European Parliament subcommittee on defense invited him to speak on 06/16/16. (15, 16, 17, 18) They had first asked him to do a research paper on how to make the EU into a military power. Solana’s paper, which was over 80 pages long, showcased both his dedication and expertise on the matter. (19)

He presented the findings of his study to the European Parliament subcommittee on defense. His speech talked about how the European Union could use part of the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon that had not been used yet. They could use Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO as he called it, to create a military union for Europe. This way, they could deploy troops to stabilize troubled countries on Europe's doorstep. Furthermore, they could use this tool to work together to buy and upgrade their military hardware. (15)

Never Wears Out

In November 2016, the European Union proposed the European Defense Action Plan. The biggest part of this was the proposed European Defense Fund. This fund would be used for EU member countries to research and make new weapons together. Furthermore, the package also included an annual defense spending peer-pressure tool, similar to what Solana had proposed in his report. (8, 20)

Nevertheless, Solana was surprisingly critical of this plan. The article was titled: “EU defence plan is 'no game-changer'.” He praised the good elements of the plan. Yet, the new plan would not be the “big bang” that the EU needed to “turbo-boost defense spending.”

Even if agreed, its potential to turbo-boost defence spending is likely to be limited as it will probably only be able to bridge existing shortfalls. Until then, a mere €90 million per year is available. This is hardly the big bang the EU needs to create a military-industrial complex. (21)

This article is perfectly consistent with the personality of the Antichrist, who has no priorities higher than defense spending. Here, his typical flattering charisma changed to criticism, saying that the defense spending program was not good enough.

Later in July, Javier Solana wrote an article for Project-Syndicate, titled “What Trump Gets Wrong About EU Defense.” In it, he stated the importance that EU countries spend together, not necessarily more:

But obsessing over spending levels will not get to the root of the problem. Increasing military spending will be largely unproductive unless we do it “Europeanly.” The EU’s total military budget is already second only to that of the US, and almost four times larger than Russia’s. (22, 23)

Major Spanish newspaper, El Pais, gave a different title to this article: “Spend in defense, but as Europeans.” (23)

In an interview with Aljazeera, Solana indicated his desire for more European capabilities, and less dependence on the United States or other countries for weapons:

I think we have we we need to have the Europeans more European capabilities. [...] But I see very clearly that we have to be much more interoperable in much more integrated our capabilities. And we have the possibility of acting, acting in a strategic manner alone.

[...]

...Germany should not buy weapons in Russia the United States or in China eventually. But we have to construct all this within the European Union so I believe the European Union has to have European capabilities. (24)

Javier Solana fits the description of the Antichrist given in Daniel 11. He is a non-religious man who has promised to devote the rest of his life to European military unification. As expected, he has a special place in his heart for defense spending. If he were to become leader of these programs, he would fulfill an important prophecy about the Antichrist.

Yet do any structures exist, that he could possibly become the leader of?

European Defense Fund

In June 2017, the European Union proposed its first major defense spending program. (25, 26)

Previously, EU member countries would get together and throw money into a fund that was outside the EU budget, to use for police or military missions. (27) Yet the European Defense Fund is different. It is the first time ever that a significant part of the European Union’s own budget will be used for military purposes. (28)

The fund has two parts. The first is a weapons research part. The second is a weapons development part. The European Union would like to launch this fund to finance projects from 2019 until the end of 2020. However, the EU’s new 7-year budget comes out in 2021 and runs until the end of 2027. Therefore, the European defense fund from 2019-2020 is the pilot program for the bigger one that will be part of the EU’s next 7-year budget. This chart illustrates how the fund will be laid out in the coming years. (29, 30, 31)

The development part is designed to encourage member countries to develop and make new weapons together. For projects that the EU approves, the weapons development will be eligible for up to 20% financing when it involves making a new weapons prototype. However, weapons that are developed under the EU’s new military agreement, PESCO, will get a 10% bonus in addition to the 20% they are already receiving.  (29, 30, 31)

This is an incentive program for European countries to work together to build and buy new weapons. The European Commission hopes that for every 1 euro they spend paying for the development of a weapon, the member country will spend 5 euros on it. Therefore, the expected amount that will be spent on the development of entirely new weapons increases dramatically. (25)

The United States spends more than all the European Union countries on defense. I am confident they also spend more on the development of weapons than the EU will in the coming years. Nevertheless, these numbers are still very high, especially considering that they involve the development of entirely new weapons.

The European defense fund is not just a subsidy. The point is to encourage European countries to develop weapons as a group. (32) This is meant to help the EU become an independent military power, who is strong like Russia, China, or the United States. (25)

European countries have already discussed the types of weapons they would like to develop together. Some possibilities already discussed include a European Union drone or a battle tank. (33)

666

The European defense fund has numerous big connections to the number 666, as you can see here.

https://cesi-italia.org/articoli/666/european-defence-fund-origine-sfide-e-prospettive (34)

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML%2BCOMPARL%2BPE-595.666%2B01%2BDOC%2BPDF%2BV0%2F%2FEN (35)

https://web.archive.org/web/20170705233012/https://www.janes.com/article/72063/commission-s-defence-fund-plan-takes-hits-from-left-and-right-wing-meps (36)

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-18-3666_en.htm (37)

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2018-0247_EN.pdf (38)

In the past, 666 connections have been strongly tied to Javier Solana or a prophecy he fulfills. Yet the European defense fund has more 666 connections to it than any other fulfillment of prophecy in the past. Is God trying to tell us something?

Will Javier Solana come back to lead the European defense fund?

End Notes:

1. Walvoord, John F. "Major Events Preceding the Second Coming of Christ." Walvoord.com. Accessed October 16, 2018. https://walvoord.com/article/166.
2. MacArthur, John. "The Reign of Rebellion, Part 2." Grace to You. November 23, 1980. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/27-29/the-reign-of-rebellion-part-2. MacArthur has since changed to the "Muslim Antichrist" viewpoint, which the author does not agree with.
3. Cronin, David. "Good Riddance to Javier Solana | David Cronin." The Guardian. July 08, 2009. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jul/08/javier-solana-eu-foreign-policy.
4. Solana, Javier. ""@asazca: Science and Religion: God Didn't Make Man; Man Made Gods - Latimes.com Http://t.co/IFZauCa"." Twitter. July 18, 2011. Accessed March 5, 2019. https://twitter.com/javiersolana/status/93021776132583424.
5. Thomson, J. Anderson, and Clare Aukofer. "Science and Religion: God Didn't Make Man; Man Made Gods." Los Angeles Times. July 18, 2011. Accessed March 5, 2019. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/18/opinion/la-oe-thompson-atheism-20110718.
6. Solana, Javier, and Steven Blockmans. "Europe Needs More Union to Defend Itself." The Wall Street Journal. March 10, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/javier-solana-and-steven-blockmans-europe-needs-more-union-to-defend-itself-1426016839.
7. Solana, Javier, and Steven Blockmans. "[Opinion] More Union in European Defence." EUobserver. March 11, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://euobserver.com/opinion/127958.
8. Blockmans, Steven, and Giovanni Faleg. "More Union in European Defence." Centre for European Policy Studies. February 26, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://www.ceps.eu/publications/more-union-european-defence.
9. Doctorow, Gilbert. "A Push-back to the CEPS Task Force Report on "More Union in European Defence"." Une Parole Franche. March 15, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20150729170724/http://usforeignpolicy.blogs.lalibre.be/archive/2015/03/15/a-push-back-to-the-ceps-task-force-report-on-more-union-in-e-1141088.html.
10. AFP. "Commission Chief Juncker Calls for EU Army." Yahoo! News. March 08, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://www.yahoo.com/news/commission-chief-juncker-calls-eu-army-103425988.html?ref=gs.
11. CEPS ThinkTank. "'@javiersolana: "I Will Put All of the Energies That I Have Left to Push Forward This Process" of European Defence Integration #CEPSDefence." Twitter. March 09, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://twitter.com/CEPS_thinktank/status/574961632348086273.
12. Hosenball, Mark. "Hutaree Suspected Former NATO Chief of Being the Antichrist." Newsweek. June 02, 2010. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://www.newsweek.com/hutaree-suspectedformer-nato-chief-being-antichrist-216870.
13. "Task Force Roadshow Generates Momentum for a 'European Defence Union'." Centre for European Policy Studies. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://www.ceps.eu/content/task-force-roadshow-generates-momentum-european-defence-union.
14. Tost, Daniel. "Solana: A Wake-up Call for a European Defence Union." Euractiv.com. June 19, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2018. https://www.euractiv.com/section/security/interview/solana-a-wake-up-call-for-a-european-defence-union/.
15. "Subcommittee on Security and Defence - Meeting 16/06/2016 (AM) ." Subcommittee on Security and Defence - Meeting 16/06/2016 (AM) | News | European Parliament. June 10, 2016. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20160607IPR31011/subcommittee-on-security-and-defence-meeting-16-06-2016-am.
16. "DRAFT AGENDA - Wednesday 15 June 2016 - Thursday 16 June 2016 - Subcommittee on Security and Defence." European Parliament. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT COMPARL SEDE-OJ-20160615-1 02 DOC XML V0//EN.
17. "Javier Solana (ESADEgeo) Presents the Study "On the Way towards a European Defence Union: White Book as a First Step" in the European Parliament." ESADE. June 16, 2016. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://www.esade.edu/en/news/javier-solana-esadegeo-presents-study-way-towards-european-defence-union-white-book-first-step-european-parliament/10634-322632.
18. "European Defence: Javier Solana Puts Recommendations to MEPs ." European Defence: Javier Solana Puts Recommendations to MEPs | News | European Parliament. June 16, 2016. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20160615IPR32330/european-defence-javier-solana-puts-recommendations-to-meps.
19. SOLANA, Javier, Angel SAZ-CARRANZA, Maria GARCÍA CASAS, and Jose Francisco ESTÉBANEZ GÓMEZ. On the Way towards a European Defence Union - A White Book as a First Step. European Parliament Think Tank. April 18, 2016. Accessed October 24, 2018. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EXPO_STU(2016)535011.
20. "PRESS RELEASES - Press Release - European Defence Action Plan: Towards a European Defence Fund." European Commission. November 30, 2016. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-4088_en.htm.
21. Solana, Javier, and Steven Blockmans. "[Opinion] EU Defence Plan Is 'no Game-changer'." EUobserver. December 16, 2016. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://euobserver.com/opinion/136315.
22. Solana, Javier. "What Trump Gets Wrong About EU Defense by Javier Solana." Project Syndicate. July 19, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-nato-european-defense-by-javier-solana-2018-07?barrier=accesspaylog.
23. Solana, Javier, and Eduardo Estrada. "Tribuna | Gastar En Defensa, Pero Como Europeos." EL PAÍS. July 29, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/07/27/opinion/1532716821_045757.html.
24. English, Al Jazeera. "Ex-NATO Chief Javier Solana on Possible Arms Race in Europe: 'I'm Very Worried' | Talk To Al Jazeera." YouTube. February 17, 2019. Accessed March 5, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5EhVOWLfAU.
25. "A European Defence Fund: €5.5 Billion per Year to Boost Europe's Defence Capabilities." European Commission - PRESS RELEASES. June 7, 2017. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1508_en.htm.
26. "Defending Europe : European Defence Fund - Factsheet - EEAS - European External Action Service - European Commission." EEAS - European External Action Service. March 5, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/35203/defending-europe-european-defence-fund-factsheet_en.
27. "Athena - Financing Security and Defence Military Operations." Consilium. October 23, 2017. Accessed October 29, 2018. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/athena/.
28. "EU Budget: Stepping up the EU's Role as a Security and Defence Provider." European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press Release - EU Budget: Stepping up the EU's Role as a Security and Defence Provider. June 13, 2018. Accessed March 12, 2019. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4121_en.htm.
29. European Commission. "Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL Establishing the European Defence Fund." EUR-Lex Access to European Union Law. June 13, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52018PC0476.
30. "Texts Adopted - Tuesday, 3 July 2018 - European Defence Industrial Development Programme ***I - P8_TA-PROV(2018)0275." European Parliament. July 18, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2018-0275+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
31. Scheinert, Christian. "Briefing: European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) - Think Tank." European Parliament / Think Tank. June 29, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2018)623534.
32. Domecq, Jorge. "Kangaroo Group: The Role of the EDA in European Defence Cooperation." European Defence Agency. November 21, 2017. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://www.eda.europa.eu/docs/default-source/speeches/2017-11-kangaroo-group_ce.pdf.
33. Brzozowski, Alexandra. "European Defence Fund Could Be Breaching European Treaties, Legal Opinion Says." Euractiv.com. December 14, 2018. Accessed March 12, 2019. https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/european-defence-fund-could-be-breaching-european-treaties-legal-opinion-says/.
34. Tisalvi, Valeria. "European Defence Fund: Origine, Sfide E Prospettive." Ce.S.I. - Centro Studi Internazionali. February 1, 2017. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://cesi-italia.org/articoli/666/european-defence-fund-origine-sfide-e-prospettive.
35. Arthuis, Jean. "Amendments 1-58: Draft Opinion on Constitutional, Legal and Institutional Implications of a Common Security and Defence Policy: Possibilities Offered by the Lisbon Treaty (2015/2343(INI))." European Parliament. December 16, 2016. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML%2BCOMPARL%2BPE-595.666%2B01%2BDOC%2BPDF%2BV0%2F%2FEN
36. Tigner, Brooks. "Commission's Defence Fund Plan Takes Hits from Left- and Right-wing MEPs." Commission's Defence Fund Plan Takes Hits from Left- and Right-wing MEPs | Jane's 360. July 5, 2017. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170705233012/https://www.janes.com/article/72063/commission-s-defence-fund-plan-takes-hits-from-left-and-right-wing-meps.
37. "Press Release - Daily News 03 / 05 / 2018." European Commission. May 3, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-18-3666_en.htm.
38. Viotti, Daniele. "AMENDMENTS 1 - 120: Draft Report Mandate for the Trilogue on the 2019 Draft Budget (2018/2024(BUD))." European Parliament. June 20, 2018. Accessed March 12, 2019. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2018-0247_EN.pdf

*MacArthur has since changed to the "Muslim Antichrist" viewpoint, which the author does not agree with.

Photo Credits:

1. Fortress: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tower_from_the_Skopje_Fortress.JPG
2. Euro notes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:500_Euro_Banknoten.jpg
3. Money bag: https://openclipart.org/detail/31207/money-bag
4. Solana EDA: https://www.eda.europa.eu/Aboutus/our-history/15-years
5. Solana at Parliament: Originally found at this article: http://www.esade.edu/en/news/javier-solana-esadegeo-presents-study-way-towards-european-defence-union-white-book-first-step-european-parliament/10634-322632 Image: http://www.esade.edu/EsadeCMSView/image?imgId=12884935765
6. European defence action plan: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eeas/30514648994