by Michael G. Mickey

(10-4-05)

By now, most everyone who reads my website must know Turkey's EU negotiations have begun after a significant struggle took place between the EU, Turkey, and Austria leading up to October 3rd - the date Turkey's accession talks were long ago scheduled to begin.

Opposed to Turkey beginning accession talks with the promise of a full EU membership waiting at the end of the line, Austria hoped to see language included in the EU's negotiating mandate which would've allowed Turkey to enter into some type of limited partnership at the end of accession negotiations. This Turkey, as well as others in the EU, refused to accept as an option. As a result, Austria eventually succumbed to the wishes of others and agreed to allow Turkey to begin what most agree is going to be a ten-year negotiating process at a minimum, the end result of which may not be an EU membership of any kind for Turkey, which is what I believe prophecy leads us to think is ultimately going to be the case.

In the 38th & 39th chapters of the book of Ezekiel, which foretell a yet-to-be-fulfilled battle most students of Bible prophecy refer to as the Gog-Magog invasion is described in detail. Among the nations listed and expected to participate in the invasion attempt, which will be thwarted by God Himself (in the early Tribulation Period, in my opinion), are the following:

It's not looking good for the Turks getting into the European Union, the revived Roman empire of Bible prophecy, if biblical scholars are correct in placing Turkey, perhaps LARGELY, in a participating role in Gog-Magog, is it? This is especially true if you hold the view I do, which is the Gog-Magog battle is going to take place in the early Tribulation Period while the Antichrist's 'confirmed' seven-year Middle East peace covenant is yet in its infancy (see Ezekiel 38:11's description of Israel to see my logic behind that thought).

This is, admittedly, speculative on my part, but what I envision taking place is Turkey, Russia, and the Arab confederacy attacking Israel in opposition to the Jewish people alone, essentially overlooking the European Union's main man and peacemaker, the Antichrist, in the process, perhaps because the Rapture will have greatly depleted NATO and the West as a military threat, at least in the early Tribulation Period.

Continuing with my theory, Bible prophecy makes it clear, as seen in Ezekiel 39:2-7 below (emphasis added mine), the forces of Gog-Magog will be almost completely wiped out. I believe the Gog-Magog invasion will shift the balance of military power back in favor of the West (and the revived Roman empire), setting the stage for the Antichrist to organize the West's military assets into a formidable force in short order.

The fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecies may prove my theory to have been incorrect, both in timing and in terms of what will have taken place that will have made Israel a "land of unwalled villages", in stark contrast to today's Israel which is presently building separation barriers as defense aids, but that's my best guess (KEYWORD: guess) as to what may ultimately take place, which is why I struggle to envision Turkey ever becoming an EU member nation.

Having said all that, it's interesting how the EU's decision to consider accepting Turkey, which has mostly a Muslim population, is playing out politically for the EU. Turkish Foreign Minister Adullah Gul, for example, is saying the European Union has become a "global actor" by opening entry negotiations with Turkey, as seen in an EUBusiness.com article. Regardless of the outcome of Turkey's EU bid, the image of the open-minded Europeans embracing a Muslim nation, even temporarily, will aid its image around the globe as a power for good, at least among the politically correct.

The EU itself is hailing Turkey's accession talks as "a new era", according to a different EUBusiness.com article which quotes British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as saying, "We are all winners: Europe ... Turkey and the international community." How very new world order-ish, huh?

As a third EUBusiness.com article points out, both the EU and Turkey hailed their historic deal to launch membership talks as a "bridge between cultures", noting both are looking "warily ahead to the task of convincing a deeply skeptical public."

A fourth EUBusiness.com article (yes, I'm a big fan of EUBusiness.com as a source of information on topics like this) states the following in its opening paragraph (emphasis added mine):