Fact-checking 'The Rape of Europe'

In recent months, the video The Rape of Europe produced by David Hathaway has gained some traction in social media, especially in Britain, and not least because of the Brexit vote. In the video, Hathaway claims that the modern-day Europe is an unbroken continuation of the Roman Empire prophesied by Daniel. He claims that the heart of the new Roman Empire is now in Berlin, which is the “seat of Satan”. Also, he makes the claim that the EU is the prostitute of Revelation 17 that rides on the Beast of Islam—which will eventually rape it. 

Unfortunately, nearly everything in the video is untrue—both historically and biblically. There are some facts in the presentation—it is nearly impossible to talk for over an hour without some facts slipping in—but the way it is put together makes us look at the wrong direction.

Misinterpreting the Book of Daniel

Hathaway begins to build his argument on Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about the golden a statue in Daniel 2. Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2:36-45. 

 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” (Daniel 2:36-45)

Traditionally, the four kingdoms in Daniel have been interpreted as the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire of Alexander and the Roman Empire. Perceiving the EU as somehow linked to the antichrist or the beast is nothing new in the charismatic church. Since the creation of the EU, many have seen it as the vehicle that would usher in the rule of the antichrist. 

Hathaway makes a claim that the feet of the statue, made of  a mixture of clay and iron, is the EU.

The historical problem Hathaway faces is the apparent discontinuation of the Roman Empire, as it was destroyed by the Germanic tribes. He solves this problem by claiming that the Roman Empire was in fact never discontinued but that, essentially, any form of German government after the destruction of the Roman Empire presents the continuation of the Roman Empire.

This leads Hathaway to another problem—somehow, he has to link Rome and Babylon with Germany. 

Also, Hathaway places the timing of the feet’s destruction with the 2nd coming of Christ, rather than the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

But how sound is that interpretation? Not very sound.

To begin with, Daniel would have called any Germanic empire the fifth kingdom rather than the fourth, as that’s the logic of his narrative—one empire taking over another, with their territories overlapping. 

Second, Daniel seems to be clearly referring to the 1st coming of Jesus rather than the 2nd coming, when he prophesies the establishment of God’s Kingdom. 

The verse 35 says,

“But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.”

This is in consistency with the prophetic Psalm 118, which says in verse 22,

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”

So, the Kingdom of God begins with a little rock that becomes a huge mountain that fills the whole earth. Or it is the mustard seed that becomes a large tree, like Jesus said.

Third, the fourth empire begins with iron and continues with a mixture of iron and clay. 

Initially, the Roman Empire was entirely Roman, made of iron, but as it expanded, it became a mixture of nations, eventually splitting into two empires—Rome and Byzantine—the two feet in Daniel 2.

And it was the rising influence of Christianity that destroyed these empires and more specifically the idolatry of the emperor as god. 

The idolatry of the emperor is a much-ignored part when interpreting the dream, but it is an important part of the context, as the next chapter in the Book of Daniel moves on precisely to that.

Nebuchadnezzar gets it all wrong, as in Daniel 3:1 he makes a golden statue of himself, and asks every man and woman to worship him.

So, it should be clear that the prophecy of Daniel 2 has already been fulfilled. There is no basis of trying to drag its fulfilment for another 2,000 years.

The woman riding on a beast

This leads us to the 2nd major misinterpretation of the Bible prophecy in Hathaway’s video—one that is much less forgivable than his misinterpretation of the Book of Daniel, which is rather common, as nearly every generation of Christians has attempted to apply it to their circumstances. 

According to Hathaway, the EU is the prostitute—Babylon—riding on a beast of Revelation 17, and the beast is Islam. And according to Hathaway, Islam will rape, or it is already raping Europe.

Hathaway mixes biblical imagery with the Greek myth about the goddess Europa that was raped by Zeus, arguing that the readers of the Book of Revelation would have been aware of this mythology linked to Europa and understood its meaning. But this interpretation has many problems.

First, this kind of mixing of Christian imagery with Greek mythology is deeply problematic, and it has to be justified, as it easily leads to accepting ‘revelation’ from false—even demonic—sources. This kind of mixing of sources has been the Achilles heel of the modern-day prophetic and charismatic movement. 

Second, Hathaway’s interpretation completely ignores what is clearly presented in Revelation 17.

Third, it is not historically accurate.

The prostitute in the Bible

The basis for Hathaway seeing the EU as the prostitute and Islam as the beast she is riding is Revelation 17.

"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, 'Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.'

"So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

"I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

"But the angel said to me, 'Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

"'Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.  There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.

"'The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.'

"Then he said to me, 'The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.'"

The image of the prostitute in the Old Testament prophetic literature is mainly linked to Israel that prostituted herself with other nations. The writer of the Book of Revelation is astonished at the prostitute, as for the first time, the image is linked to the Church.

In Revelation 17, the prostitute is clearly the apostate Church that has prostituted herself with the kings and the nations and caused the people of the nations to be deceived because of her false testimony. The Church of Rome—the city which reigns over the kings of the earth—has now replaced Israel as the prostitute. 

What amazes John is that the prostitute was drunk with the blood of God’s people. How could the Church be the one that kills the saints?

So, here we have a prostitute that is both the Church and the city of Rome.

Historically, this is what happened—from the 8th century until the unification of Italy in 1870, the Papal States ruled the city of Rome but they were also the Catholic Church. 

It is no wonder that Martin Luther used the picture of the beast and Babylon to describe the Church of Rome, although, according to the Book of Revelation, the interpretation is not as simple as that. The Catholic Church alone is not the prostitute, and we must be careful not to name any individual denomination as the prostitute, for what the prostitute and her daughters stand for is the Church that has compromised the following of Jesus for earthly power with all its consequences. Even Luther’s own Lutheran Church has at times acted like the prostitute, teaming up with the kings to persecute the saints in the anabaptist movement, and so on.

And the present-day emphasis in many charismatic churches to be political influencers can easily lead to prostituting Christ’s teachings for earthly gain and influence. Look at how we have ignored the clear message of the Bible and twisted its words to support our political candidates that couldn't care less about the Bible! We have ceased to be a prophetic voice in our society and instead, we have prostituted the voice of the prophetic movement to gain influence in society. And because of us and our false witness, people find it difficult to believe the gospel. And Revelation 17 prophecies that, one day, the world will turn against the apostate church in anger and disgust.

And we are not far from the times when any Bible-believing Christian will have to depart from Babylon—their church—because the clear word of the Bible is being compromised merely to maintain the tax-exempt status of the denomination and for public acceptance. But in the end, the world will become disgusted by the Church that has lost all credibility of her witness.

So, although Rome stands in the vision for the prostitute, every Christian movement hungry for earthly power is in danger of becoming the prostitute. The violent acts perpetrated over the centuries by Christian states—Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox—are also the work of the prostitute and her daughters. The Christian states have over the centuries created some of the most formidable war machines, and often the saints of Christ have been the casualties.

Even Hathway’s much-loved Britain, supported by the Church,  perpetuated unimaginable atrocities through slavery and colonialism, waking up to the abomination of slavery hundreds of years too late.

Personally, I have high hopes for renewal in the Catholic Church and in all state churches, but we can’t ignore the fact that Revelation 17 makes the Church of Rome the archetype of the prostitute. We should not prostitute the Church with the kings of the nations.

No wonder John was astonished. He sees a vision of a prostitute Church in power in Rome at the time when the Church is still being persecuted and weak. It takes 300 more years before the vision has a chance to slowly begin to resemble reality.

But if the prostitute and her daughters in the Book of Revelation are the global apostate Church, it follows that they can’t be the EU. Also, in the verse 15 the angel says that the waters—the beast—the prostitute sits on—are the many nations of the earth.

To make even clearer that the goddess Europa riding on Zeus is not what the writer of Revelation means, there is a Sidonian coin from the 2nd century that depicts Europa riding on Zeus masquerading as bull. 

It bears no resemblance to the beast and woman in Revelation at all. 

But Hathaway needs the bull of Zeus to make a link to baal that was depicted as a bull, so that he can make a link to moon god and through that to Allah.

He argues that Allah, baal, the moon god and Zeus are the same god.

The problem is that Zeus was never linked to the moon but to sky and thunder. In the Greek mythology, Selene was the moon goddess.  

Hathaway completely disregards the actual text of the Book of Revelation and even Greek mythology to make them fit his theory.

Unforgivable historical errors

There are so many historical errors and falsehoods in Hathaway’s presentation that it seems clear that his main sources have been the internet conspiracy theorists. Sometimes, Hathaway quotes them word by word, but without attributing the sources. 

According to Hathaway, Babylon was destroyed by Medo-Persia in Babylon and Medo-Persia then destroyed by Alexander the Great in Babylon. This is true, but then he claims that Greece was also destroyed by Rome in Babylon, and that Rome was destroyed in Europe by Germanic tribes.

Hathaway needs  Greece to be destroyed in Babylon, as he tries to create an unbroken link from Babylon to Berlin and Germany, but it is simply not true that Rome destroyed Greece in Babylon. 

Rome destroyed Greece in Corinth—not in Babylon.

It seems to me that Hathaway invents new history to fit his theory. 

Berlin—the Ishtar gate

According to Hathaway, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon that is now in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin has 337 snakes, and in Hebrew numerology 337 means sheol—gateway to hell. He’s making this point, as he wants build a case for Berlin as the ‘seat of Satan’. 

Unfortunately, many other words have the numeric value of 337, as every Hebrew word has numeric value, so this wouldn't be conclusive evidence in any case. 

It is problematic to use Hebrew numerology in prophecy, as it is the study of the occult meanings of numbers. Don’t let the word ‘Hebrew’ in Hebrew numerology deceive you, as it really is an Assyro-Babylonian-Greek system adopted by the Jews that has very little to do with the Bible and a lot more to do with horoscopes and occultism.

But that doesn’t really matter, as the Ishtar gate isn’t actually decorated with 337 snakes at all! Instead, the wall and the gate are decorated with dragons, lions and snakes, symbolising the major gods of Babylon. 

There is a wall that shows around 120 lions, bulls, dragons and flowers and the gate itself depicts a small number of gods and goddesses. 

What I find astonishing is that in video Hathaway stands in front of the gate and explains that the gate is decorated with 337 snakes when the background image clearly shows that this is not the case!

Here Hathaway has believed the internet conspiracy theorists rather than his own very eyes!

Berlin—the seat of Satan

Hathaway then attempts to build  a link between Berlin and Pergamon, claiming that Berlin is now the throne of Satan. In one sense, that is understandable, as the Pergamon Museum is now situated in Berlin.

Hathaway claims that the the Altar of Zeus and Athena that was moved from Pergamum to Berlin is now in the Pergamon Museum and is the “throne of Satan” that Revelation 2 refers to.

Unfortunately, there is very little if no historical evidence at all of this theory, although some have made this conjecture.  

Hathaway also claims that Christians were sacrificed on that altar in Pergamon, which dramatises his voiceover, but there is no evidence that this has actually happened.

Is the EU Parliament building the new Babel?

Hathaway also claims that the EU Parliament building is an attempt to build a new tower of Babel and has been modelled on it. But that is not factually true.

The 60m high tower, intentionally left unfinished on one side, carries heavy symbolism, and is often said to have been oriented eastwards, i.e. towards eastern Europe, as by the time of the completion of the building no country from the former Soviet bloc had yet joined the EU. 

However, the open side of the tower actually faces west. Some have suggested that the tower's design consciously mirrors the Vienna painting of the Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

This is presented as fact, but it is nothing more than conjecture, as according to the architects, it was designed to look like an arena. 

Now, the arenas have their own negative connotations, but there must be thousands of buildings in the world built to look like an arena.

I don’t have time to go through all the occult references Hathaway finds in the EU symbols. A mind filled with conspiracy theories will always try to find meanings in symbols, but without bothering to research what they mean according to their designers. But at this stage there isn’t much left of his argument—all the main clauses in his argument have been proven false.

The Berlin Declaration 

The presentation ends with one more glaring historical error, as Hathaway builds the case for Berlin as the new seat of Satan.

According to Hathaway, Nazism was the result of the German Church rejecting the Pentecostal movement with the Berlin Declaration in 1919. He says that by 1920s the German church had become the seat of liberal theology and biblical criticism. 

Undoubtedly, the rejection of the Pentecostal movement by the German Church was a tragic event, and the Pentecostal Church has always struggled in Germany.

Unfortunately, Hathaway gets the rise of liberal theology and biblical criticism nearly 100 years wrong, as they started to influence the German Church already in the end of 19th century, rather than after 1909. 

Then Hathaway claims that the Germans have now rebuilt the Reichstag building that Hitler used in governing the Nazi Germany.

The Reichstag building was indeed rebuilt and opened in 1999, but in fact it was never used by Hitler when he was in power, as the building was set on fire on 27th February 1933 by an arsonist—just before Hitler came to power. 

During the 12 years of National Socialist rule, the Reichstag building was not used for parliamentary sessions. Instead, the few times that the Reichstag convened at all, it did so in the Kroll Opera House, opposite the Reichstag building. This applies particularly to the session of 23 March 1933, in which the Reichstag disposed of its powers in favour of the Nazi government. So, there is no Nazi governmental connection to the new parliament building at all. 

Hathaway makes  a claim that Babel and Babylon are the same thing, and links the tower of Babel to the EU through a medieval painting.  But it is unlikely that Babel was in Babylon, and the Bible never links Babel and Babylon together.

Hathaway makes a claim that God destroyed the Tower of Babel, but the Bible doesn't actually say that—Genesis 11:8 only says that God scattered the people of Babel and they ceased to build the city.

You may ask why does all this matter? Well, it matters to you especially if you live in the Continent. The Rape of Europe amounts to the demonisation of Germany and Muslims, and paints a rather saintly picture of the British Empire that was responsible for many atrocities such as starving to death of over 10 million Indians.

Also, these kind of conspiracy-based 'prophecies' have successfully extinguished the power of the prophetic movement in the USA, and I fear that the same thing will happen in Europe—even before the nascent prophetic movement is given a chance.

Looking at history, I see the EU rather differently, especially after two world wars that started in Europe and claimed nearly a hundred million lives. To me, the EU is not the beast, but a cage that restrains the beast. Europe might or might not be the beast of the Book of Revelation. But the caging of it with the EU has in fact pacified it. 

The apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 1:16, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

It is time for the prophetic movement in Europe to rediscover the sound teaching of the Bible rather than continuing to seek the latest conspiracy theory. 

You can connect with Marko on Twitter @markojoensuu and on Facebook at facebook.com/marko.joensuu or by visiting markojoensuu.com.