In recent World News and Prophecy seminars I have been giving a presentation called, "Europe's Long Dream". Here I go back to Daniel 4 and show how the dream of Nebuchadnezzar II foreshadows the revivals of a spiritual system called in the Bible, Babylon. This system was carried through the major empires that succeeded Babylon and has been revived numerous times through the ages into modern times.

It's seed was planted in the gathering of tribes that became Europe on Christmas day, 800 A.D. when Charlemagne was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III. Charlemagne created s spiritual, cultural and political system that lasted until 1814 when Napoleon fell to the nation states of Europe. A new age dawned but the roots of the old remained.

Today, it is difficult to see how Europe will regain its long lost spiritual dimension. It is threatened by a declining population and a rising tide of Muslim immigration. It shows many indications of giving in to and being swallowed by this movement from the south.

This article in Asia Times Online shows the role of Christianity in the formation of Europe and the role it could play to counter Islam.  A few quotes:
 

"...Europe existed before any of its constituent nations, and the unified Europe of Church and Empire created the nations along with their languages and cultures."

"Hilaire Belloc's famous quip - "Europe is the faith, the faith is Europe" - was precisely correct. Europe came into being before a single Frenchmen or German was born, at the crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman emperor in AD 800. Voltaire was only partly correct - the Holy Roman Empire was neither Roman nor an empire, but it was holy. European monarchs donned the robes of ancient Rome like small children playing dress-up, and the power of their emperors was more symbolic than real. But the unifying concept of Christendom is what made it possible to create nations out of the detritus of Rome and the rabble of invading barbarians."

"To recapture Europe means re-creating the faith. It is hard to imagine that the Roman Catholic Church might re-emerge as Europe's defining institution. The European Church is enervated. But I do not think that is the end of the matter. As I argued last month, Russia has become the frontier between Europe and the Islamic world and, unlike Europe, is not prepared to dissolve quietly into the ummah. [3] Pope Benedict's recent pilgrimage to Turkey, it must be remembered, only incidentally dealt with Catholic relations with Islam; first of all it was a gesture to Orthodoxy in the form of a visit to the former Byzantium, its spiritual home.

Franz Rosenzweig, that most Jewish connoisseur of Christianity, believed that the Church of Peter (Rome) and the Church of Paul (Protestantism) would yield place to the Church of John (Orthodoxy) - that the churches of works and faith would be transcended by the church of love. If Europe has a future, it lies in an ecumenical alliance of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and at least some elements of Anglicanism.

For the time being, Europe's constitution will be stillborn. But Europe is not yet dead. Russia is the place to watch, and the quiet conversation of Catholicism is the still, small voice to listen for."
 

The entire article is worth a read.

Revelation 13 shows that religion will play a large role with a powerful political force called "the beast" before the end of this age and the coming of Christ. This article gives a clue to watch in the development of this system the Bible calls Babylon, a system yet to arise from roots that lie dormant.