men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.1

Here’s why I believe this: Sometimes we focus so much of our attention on the first beast described in the 13th chapter of Revelation that we forget there is a second beast. Unlike the first 10-horned beast that comes from the sea, the second beast has only two horns and comes from the earth. 2

This second beast – later called the False Prophet – is a powerful religious figure who will direct worship toward the first beast. This second beast will also cause all people, both rich and poor, to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell. And, if you recall, a beast in Bible prophecy is a king and his kingdom that rises over Israel.

Here’s my point: This religious figure will need some kind of kingdom to enforce his global religious and economic control. I believe his kingdom will be the United Nations. And I believe America may play a big role in bringing his kingdom about. 

Picture yourself on the island of Patmos where the Apostle John had his visions of these two beasts. This small island is off the coast of what is today known as Turkey.
We already know that the first beast John saw coming from the sea was Rome. And, from John’s perspective, Rome was in the direction of the sea. This being the case, it follows that the second beast John saw coming from the earth could mean some inland kingdom (from John’s perspective), like Iraq.

The reason I’m pointing this out is that, since the first Gulf War, I’ve been expecting American forces to occupy Iraq. And now that they are, it looks like America and the UN will share the job of nation building and managing Iraq’s enormous oil wealth.
No matter what people thought about the Iraqi war, the balance of power in the Middle East has changed forever. With American and international forces at their doorstep, the Middle East nations will have to learn how to live in harmony with their new, powerful neighbor. And this includes Israel. 

In other words, in the aftermath of September 11 and the Iraqi war, I believe America and the UN will create the end-times Babylon of Revelation. And it is this Babylon that the Antichrist and the 10 kings will destroy in one hour at the end of the tribulation.2

What does September 11 have to do with all this? For the first time in history, America experienced an attack on her home soil. And, like the rising smoke from the inferno where once stood the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, America roused herself for her new war – a war against terror.

This war would have two fronts. One front would be on America’s homeland. It would be fought with new, almost draconian-style security measures. The other front would be anywhere in the world. It would be fought with pre-emptive military engagements.

At first the European leaders seemed to agree with Washington’s reaction to September 11. And NATO, for the first time in the alliance’s history, evoked the mutual defense clause in their treaty. This meant that the September 11 attack on America was considered an attack on all 19 member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

However, the Europeans didn’t feel as threatened by the events of September 11 as did the Americans. So when President Bush called Iran, North Korea and Iraq an “axis of evil,” some of the European leaders became concerned. Later, when the Bush administration revealed its plans to go to war in Iraq, these European leaders turned their concern into direct opposition. This opposition would ultimately lead old allies into the deepest and most damaging spats in modern history. 

Although the official spin was that the Europeans who opposed the Iraqi war did so because they thought it would set a dangerous precedent and violate international law, I saw it differently. I saw their opposition as part of the EU’s new war with the United States over control of the Mediterranean – a war that began with the implementation of Recommendation 666.

You see, an American-led war in Iraq would also mean a long-term presence of American forces in the Middle East. And this was something these European leaders didn’t want. Why? Because, if you recall, the EU leaders had their own plans for the region – the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.

But, thanks in a large part to September 11, America would go to war in Iraq. And what the European leaders who opposed the war feared would happen, happened. American forces would go to war and remain, giving America and the UN a large, permanent footprint in the Middle East.

So the events of September 11 may have set the stage for the second beast from the earth to appear – the False Prophet and the Babylon of prophecy.

Now here is where it gets interesting. As I said before, the prophecies tell us the 10 kings and the Antichrist will hate this Babylon and destroy her in one hour with fire. With the way the European nations who implemented Recommendation 666 now appear to hate the United States over Iraq, it’s not hard to see how this event could happen.

However, there is another reason they will hate this Babylon. The Bible tells us God will put it into the hearts of the 10 kings and the Antichrist to have a common foreign policy – His foreign policy – to want to destroy this end-times Babylon (Revelation 17:16-17).

Why will God do this? Because this Babylon killed His people who refused to receive the mark. And this Babylon divided up His land Israel (Revelation 19:2, Jeremiah 50:24, Joel 3:1-2).

Yes, the end-times stage is being set. But few are noticing.

My journey discovering Recommendation 666 had been an exciting ride. Getting the story out, however, would prove to be even more exciting.

On January 1, 2001, Sweden took over the EU presidency for the next six-months. Unlike France, Sweden wasn’t a member of Javier Solana’s 10-nation military alliance. If I was right about Solana’s alliance becoming the 10 kings of prophecy, then the fast-paced fulfillments of the prophecies I had witnessed under the prior French presidency would slow down. In July, however, things could speed up again. 

At that time Belgium — another member of Solana’s alliance – would take Sweden’s place at the EU presidency. In other words, under the Swedish presidency there could be a lull in the fulfillment of the prophecies that would provide a six-month window in which I could write this book.

I needed such a window – a period without too much happening in the EU because I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the political events in Europe and write a book at the same time. Yet even while immersed in my writing, interesting news continued to come about Solana.

On May 8, just as my book was beginning to take shape, the results of the Mitchell Report were released. As you may recall, former Senator George Mitchell was tasked with heading a committee to find a way to stop the continuing violence in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. President Bill Clinton asked Solana to have a seat on Mitchell’s committee.

The findings were as I suspected. The committee put the blame for the violence equally on Israel. The report ignored the fact that the violence began entirely with the Palestinians and continued under the direct control of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. And, of course, the committee also called for a freeze on all new Israeli settlements.

As I said before, September 11 changed our world in a big way. But the shattering effect of that day wasn’t only to our world’s sense of peace and security. It also had a devastating effect on the global economy – especially here in America. In fact, I’d soon learn the events of September 11 would even have a negative effect on the publication of this book. When the economy goes south, so does book sales.

By October, I had finished my first manuscript and was waiting for a reply from several publishers. In the meantime, the events I had written about that appeared to be fulfillments of prophecy continued to unfold in Europe. And, as always, it frustrated me that nobody was noticing.

Yet another amazing encouragement from God was on its way. That October, I attended the Bakersfield Business Conference. This conference is unlike any other business conference in the world. The speakers aren’t just ordinary people. Each year the speakers include many former heads of state and top celebrities.

Coming just a month after September 11, the security at the conference was the highest I’d ever seen. Not only were metal detectors in use at all the gates, but plain-clothed officers were strolling around the grounds with assault rifles. 

Each year I attend the conference I have the same strange thought. I wonder if this time I’ll be able to speak to one of the key players in our world about the things I wrote my book about – the possible fulfillments of prophecy in Europe and Israel. This time, not only did I get to speak with someone important, but I was able to speak with one of the key players I had written about – former Secretary of Defense William Cohen.

Naturally, I wanted to know what Cohen thought about the EU’s new military wing created by Javier Solana and the French presidency. As I said before, Cohen once warned the EU heads that, if they created an independent military command, NATO would become a “relic of the past.” 

So I asked Cohen about this. Now that the EU leaders had gone ahead and done what he had advised against, will NATO become a relic of the past?
Cohen looked me in the eye and said, “In my opinion it hasn’t happened.”

His answer startled me. I knew better than that. After all, I had written an entire book about the EU creating their own independent military. My face must have revealed what I was thinking because Cohen decided he needed to reply more in depth. And, in so doing, I was about to be provided with a piece of inside information that would become very valuable in the days to come.

Cohen again looked me in the eye and said, “What the EU leaders have done is only for show – they only want the European people to think they have their own independent military.” 

At the time I didn’t understand the implications of what Cohen said. Now, however, I do. Evidently, at the time I asked him the question (October 2001), Cohen still believed the EU’s new military command structures were only for show. So apparently, when the concerned Clinton administration approached Solana and the EU heads about what they had done by implementing Recommendation 666, they were assured that the EU’s new military structures were just for show. And the Clinton administration bought it.

By December 2001, my hope for getting my book published was fading. A year had passed since my discovery of Recommendation 666 and my book still wasn’t going anywhere. All those old doubts were returning to my head. Was what I wrote about really a fulfillment of prophecy?  Was it really God’s will for me to write a book?

Needless to say, that Christmas morning my mood wasn’t quite as joyous as the rest of my family. When the gifts were passed, I received an envelope from a family member with what I assumed would be a gift certificate. But when I opened it, I had the shock of my life. It was a gift certificate that declared, “You’re the proud owner of FulfilledProphecy.Com.”

In other words, I now had my own Web site.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.3

By the end of July 2003, FulfilledProphecy.Com was averaging over three thousand hits a day and that number was growing faster each month.

The first edition of this book was also available for purchase on my Web site as an eBook. However, the most important information contained in this book was posted on my Web site for free. 

Thanks to my unusual gift on that gloomy Christmas day, the world would finally learn about Recommendation 666.

1. Luke 21:26
2. Revelation 17:16-18
3. Matthew 24:14