Two weeks of frenzied activity have laid bare President Nicolas Sarkozy's ambition to become a leading player in the Middle East peace process and put France at the centre of the world diplomatic stage.

Since the start of the month, Sarkozy has attended a Group of Eight summit in Japan, produced a command performance at the European parliament and hosted a meeting of 43 European Union and Mediterranean leaders to launch an EU-Med alliance.

Initial skepticism has given way to plaudits in recognition of his ability to bring together ancient foes Israel and Syria under the same roof and give a nudge to the region's perennially troubled peace process.

France has moved to front and center of the world's diplomatic stage with Sarkozy at its helm. That's no small feat to be sure but there's more.

The following is an excerpt from the Reuters story:

The rotating six-month EU presidency came at an inauspicious moment for Sarkozy on July 1, with his approval ratings sinking to a new low of 34 percent, hit by voter unhappiness over his abrasive personality and the feeble state of the economy.

Undeterred, Sarkozy has sought to take advantage of an opportunity on the European stage, with both Germany's Angela Merkel and Britain's Gordon Brown distracted by their internal political problems that have left a void at the top.

Sarkozy made clear how seriously he takes his EU role when he appeared before an often volatile European parliament last week, fielding questions for more than 3 hours without referring to notes, despite suffering jet lag after his Japan visit.

He laid out an ambitious program, offering the hope that he would find a way of salvaging a European Union reform treaty torpedoed by an Irish referendum "No" vote, and promising to reach a deal within the 27-nation bloc on climate change.

"I cannot remember during my 29 years in parliament seeing a European president spending 3-1/2 hours at a debate and answering all the questions," the assembly's head, German Hans-Gert Poettering, said.

Interestingly, Sarkozy finds himself in the spotlight of the world at a time when other leaders in the revived Roman empire of Bible prophecy and influential diplomats outside it are busy with other matters. He's tackling the obstacles that threaten the EU's progress and answering everyone's tough questions - all of them without so much as referring to a note! Pretty remarkable, in light of the size of the EU and its diverse range of issues.

As I documented in my commentary on the birth of the Mediterranean Union, Sarkozy is showing himself to be a very ambitious and talented leader. The Reuters story linked above reiterates that Sarkozy wants to play a "major role" in the Middle East peace process. At this point, one would have to wonder if anyone can stop him from doing just that!

Concerning the EU summit launching the Mediterranean Union, the Reuters report notes the following:

"This [the EU- Med summit] has shown that Europe and France are needed if there is to be peace (in the Middle East)," a satisfied Sarkozy told reporters on Monday.

The Frenchman appears keen to act as a mediator while the United States is distracted by its presidential election, and he has worked hard to convince Washington of his good intentions.

Here at RaptureAlert.com, the timing of activities taking place around the globe are always of interest.

For years on end I've told my readers to watch for a time to come when the focus of efforts to bring peace to the troubled Middle East would rest with the revived Roman empire, not so much the United States.

What Sarkozy's strut across the world stage may be telling us is that time is drawing near, if not here at this present hour.

Antichrist speculation

While an article like the Reuters story linked above and events of the nature we've seen take place recently can't be overlooked in any honest examination into the possibility that the advent of Antichrist may be drawing near, at the very least conditionally, I want everyone to absorb the information we're documenting here but be careful not to cast anyone in the role of Antichrist prematurely.

While recent events have Sarkozy resting at or near the top of most everyone's list of potential suspects to fill the role of Antichrist, I would point to the fact that the person who acts as the mediator of any peace covenant in the Middle East, even one seven years in duration, isn't necessarily the Antichrist.

What're you implying, Mike???

It is one thing to bring a peace covenant to the table that can be agreed upon in writing and a wholly different matter for such a covenant to be confirmed (or made strong).

While it is conceivable and probably likely that the mediator of the peace covenant prophesied in Daniel 9 will be the same individual who will confirm it "with many", it isn't a foregone conclusion.

Hypothetically, Sarkozy could mediate a peace treaty seven years in length and another leader, hypothetically EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, could be the one the EU chooses to oversee its implementation/confirmation. After all, Solana's current position held in the EU will command much more power than it presently does if Sarkozy succeeds in getting the Lisbon/EU treaty ratified as he hopes to during his six-month term as EU president.

Questions we don't NEED to answer but feel compelled to:

• Could Nicolas Sarkozy be the Antichrist in the making? Sure.
• Could Javier Solana be the Antichrist in the making? Sure.
• Could Tony Blair, presently special Middle East envoy of the Quartet, be the Antichrist in the making? Again, he most certainly could!
• Could someone we've never heard of or a relatively obscure leader in the EU right now be the Antichrist in the making? That's a possibility as well.
• Could we be years away from the advent of Antichrist? Certainly. Only the Father knows for sure!

Where the Rapture of the Church is concerned, our focus needs to be on conditions that may be pointing toward Christ's return for His Church, not on who the Antichrist is going to be.

Quite frankly, I could care less who the Antichrist is or isn't going to be because, even if his advent occurs in my lifetime, I'll be kicking up gold dust near the Throne of my Heavenly Father before he becomes anyone I need to be dwelling on!

Being an ex-police officer, no one loves a good mystery more than I do. In fact, simply because I like piecing things together, I have to keep a leash on myself that I don't spend time I could utilize more effectively here in the last days on something we can't figure out with certainty this side of the Rapture of the Church anyhow! I think many people get caught up with Antichrist speculation easily if they're not careful. I discourage it for that reason and others.

In closing, what is most striking about the whole 'Sarkozy strut across the world' is he is strutting on behalf of the revived Roman empire, looking to get something concrete accomplished in the Middle East at a time when the world seems ready to blow apart at the seams on many fronts.

I've anticipated seeing news stories that read like the ones we've seen in recent weeks appear before our eyes for years now. In light of that, to say I'm stoked to see what, if anything, is going to materialize of greater interest than what we've seen thus far is an understatement.

Daily, or so it seems, the mountain of evidence pointing toward the return of Jesus Christ coming soon grows a little taller. I don't know about any of you but my hope is we're going home to be with our Lord soon. Until He does so, however? We still have work to do. There are lost souls out there to be won!

So, who wants to go with us? Anyone?

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