There's an old saying that you can bring a horse to water, but not make a horse drink. That's the way I feel about the way some are handling the recent news. In fact, it astonishes me sometimes how people can find a way to evade the apparent.

Before I get into the recent news, let's back up a bit. Let's look at the whole picture.

In 1948, Israel was reborn as a nation. Was this a sign of Christ's return? Some would say it wasn't, because there are no signs associated with Christ's return. It's just going to -- boom -- happen. I think it was a sign -- a big one.

Then, in 1950, with the Shuman Declaration, the old Roman Empire began to revive. Some would say this was a sign of Christ's return. Other would say it wasn't.

In 1995, the Western European Union became an alliance of 10 nations. Some would say this was a sign of Christ's return. Others would say it wasn't.

On November 19, 1995, a man by the name of Javier Solana became the Secretary General of the 10-nation alliance. Just the month before, he became Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, and the first High Representative of the EU's common foreign and security policy. These new offices -- both in the 10-nation alliance and in the EU -- are directly connected with the number 666. Some would say this was a sign of Christ's return. Others would say it wasn't.

Now, for the recent news. It turns out that this same individual, Javier Solana, is engaged in confirming, or making strong, an existing covenant with many -- his 1995 Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for Peace. And, if he is still in charge of the EU's foreign policy on January 1, 2007, he will be confirming it for a period of seven years Read about it here  I  And here.

If you've read the two articles, you might have noticed the term, "governance." This is Club of Rome talk. Internationalists don't talk so much anymore about creating a world government. They talk about a thing called "world governance." The idea is, instead of establishing a global federalization of some kind, they want to link existing governments, along with all the private sectors, into a new global ethic. In other words, they want to talk everybody into going along with their global agenda willingly.

You know why this is scary? Because, it means we may be much farther along than we think. While we Christians are waiting around for a world government, world governance may already be upon us. I don't know about you, but I find that idea really scary.

What does this all mean? It means, if we're not believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we had better become such. It means setting aside our sins and getting serious about the time.

Friends, we may not have much of it.