Wow. I'm sitting here in near disbelief after having read an article written by Javier Solana for the Summer/Autumn 2007 issue of the journal Social Europe.

The article is a state of the union address -- for the European Union, that is -- with the long title, "Where We Stand: From Building Peace in Europe to Being a Peace-Builder in the World -- Taking Stock of the Union's Foreign and Security Policy." Read it here. 

It was just brought to my attention by an FP reader. Only five pages long, it's a must-read for students of end-times prophecy. It reveals Solana's global agenda -- one that appears to have a lot in common with the agenda of the Antichrist.

In his article, Solana -- High Representative for the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and secretary general for both the Council of the European Union and the Western European Union -- argues that since the European Union has been so effective at bringing peace and stability to Europe, it now needs to bring peace and stability to the world. He says the model the European Union has used -- one based on common laws and strong institutions, not armies  -- needs to be replicated in a "new international order." Solana says:

"As new powers emerge and new issues call for our engagement, Europe will have to apply itself to the task of promoting the emergence of a new international order. An international order which is based on clear rules and strong institutions."

Yes, you read that right. Solana's calling for the European Union to spearhead a new international order, based on foreign policy he's crafted. It's not the first time he's admitted to having a global agenda, but it's one of his most direct statements on it.

What intrigues me is Solana's repeated references in the article to the need for international rules and laws to make "global governance" a reality. He says: 

"Therefore, one key task for Europe for the next 50 years is to protect and develop a system of strong institutions able to tackle the problems of a new age; and to build a rules-based international order with the rules that will help us navigate the choppy waters ahead."

Speaking again of law, Solana says:

"Above all, we need to re-learn that the biggest shift in history came when we extended the rule of law. First within states and now, gradually, also among them. This gradual extension of the international rule of law has provided enormous benefits: taming the passion of the states but also providing a legal framework to guide many aspects of human inter-actions at a global level."

The legal framework for a global order would include stepping up both the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system and the International Criminal Court, according to Solana.

Solana's focus on law intrigues me because, in the book of Daniel, we learn that the Antichrist "will intend to make alterations in times and in law" (Daniel 7:25). When I recently asked one of my former theology professors -- who is also a lawyer and friend whom I respect -- what he thought is the meaning of this passage, he said something to the effect of, "Well, sure. Law is the first thing that has to be changed to bring about major change to a society."

So, Solana realizes that a new international order needs new laws to govern it or, in his words, new laws to "organize our globalised world." Could this be the meaning of that obscure Daniel passage?

Solana also stresses the necessity of the EU Member States' common foreign policy. He says:

"It means we can act together to address a range of different issues that concern us. Our unity, our influence and our action benefits us, of course. But it also serves many others. And, actually, it is often easier for us to act together than alone. Solidarity and shared political objectives are good force generators, and our collective weight counts."

This interests me because the book of Revelation tells us that 10 kings will share a "common purpose" with the Antichrist and help him execute it (Revelation 17:17). Similarly, Solana is asking for the help of the EU Member States -- which include the 10-nation Western European Union military alliance -- to extend his foreign policy globally.

A new international order will require other things, too -- more EU structure, staff and "sharpened crisis management performance" (a.k.a., police and military forces), according to Solana. He points out that the EU already has "sophisticated" crisis management forces that, in the past year, have conducted 10 operations across three continents, including military, police and rule-of-law missions. One of these missions provides the only open border crossing point in Gaza. And the EU is about to send out its largest force ever -- to Kosovo to enforce peace and the rule of law there. Of the EU's crisis management operations, Solana says:

"The global reach and scope of these different operations is striking. ... And their impact is significant. From Aceh to Rafah, and from Kinshasa to Sarajevo, the EU is providing the 'key enablers' for peace and stability."

A new international order will also require the representation of more countries in international governing bodies, like an enlarged G-8 and UN Security Council, as well as stronger regional organizations, like the African Union and the ASEAN, according to Solana.

And a new international order will require more "bargaining," he says. Concessions must be made when it comes to the environment and climate change and -- this is very interesting -- when it comes to "forms of dialogues between cultures." This sounds like Alliance of Civilizations language to me. If so, then it seems Solana may be referring to concessions being made between religions, which -- according to the Alliance of Civilizations -- would include giving up exclusivistic claims like "There is only one path to God." This is a bargain Jesus' followers can't buy.

Solana ends his article with a quote he's used before -- borrowed from Jean Jacques Rousseau in his The Social Contract -- which Solana applies to his own vision of a "global social contract." The quote goes:

"The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master, unless he transforms strength into right and obedience into duty."

In other words, a global government will only work when citizens dutifully obey leaders, according to Solana. And they'll willingly want to obey leaders who make right decisions. Yet, students of end-times prophecy know that the final world government will be unrighteousness and demand obedience.

It's amazing Solana has such a powerful position from which he can construct a new international order. Yet, most people still don't know who this guy is. (If you don't know about him and his powerful office, learn more here.)