The history of ancient Israel is a reminder of how important demographics can be. After living several generations in the land of Goshen in Egypt, the Israelites had multiplied to the point where they were viewed as a potential internal threat to Egypt's security. We read of Pharaoh's concerns in Exodus 1:9-10: "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and...in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land."

As the verses that follow show, this was the main reason for the enslavement of the Israelites. In ignorance of the dynamics of demographics, some have wondered how a group of some 70 Israelites could have become a nation numbering possibly 2 to 3 million people within a span of just over 200 years. However, a look at European history shows just how quickly population growth takes place when conditions are favorable.

Consider that 300 years ago there were an estimated 120 million people living in Europe. The next 200 years witnessed a veritable population explosion in the region. The industrial revolution with mechanization of farming, food production, improved hygiene and medical practice contributed to a remarkable reduction in infant and child mortality. By 1914 Europe's population had increased to 450 million (even though about 60 million had moved to other nations during that period). From 1780 to 1910 Germany's population increased by 205 percent, from 21 million to approximately 64 million. Population growth in England and Wales was even faster. The 8 million people living in this region in 1780 had become 40 million by 1910, an increase of 400 percent (source: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung).

However, before the turn of the 20th century, birthrates in Europe had already started to decline, primarily in the upper middle class.

From slow growth to no growth in Europe

The trend continued in the 20th century, especially following World War II. Improved educational and career opportunities, the resulting delay in marriage or childbearing, the introduction of welfare and pension systems and changing lifestyles with an emphasis on leisure were among the factors contributing to the decline.

Birthrates in Europe have now fallen to an average of 1.45 children per woman of childbearing age, well below the 2.1 average needed to sustain the population. At this level, the population of the EU will decline by about 5 percent in the next 40 years, even with an estimated one million legal immigrants per year.

The situation is especially critical in Germany. As of early 2006, the birthrate was 1.36 live births. Given current trends, births will drop 50 percent by the year 2050. "Germany's negative demographic development has increased,"was the assessment of Hans Fleisch, chairman of the private Institute for Population and Development in Berlin. Fleisch says the decline is evident in just the last two years. The already low birthrate of the last three decades dropped even further.

This is most acute in the former East Germany, where the average birthrate since 1990 is 0.77 live births. Reiner Klingholz, the director of the institute, summarized the situation with some humor: "With Vatican City as the exception, that's the lowest birthrate anywhere in the world."Germany's eastern region will begin to see a marked population decline after 2015.

Apart from the declining birthrate, it is also interesting to note that the number of Europeans professing Christianity declined noticeably in the last 100 years, dropping from 95 to 75 percent at the beginning of the 21st century, most of the decline just in the last 25 years. Today's Europe is also the only continent witnessing a decline in the number of Catholics. The annual number of infant baptisms in the Philippines is now more than the combined annual total for France, Italy, Poland and Spain.

A fast-growing Islamic minority

In the boom years following World War II, Western European nations hired "guest workers"( Gastarbeiter in German) to meet the requirements of an expanding economy. These laborers came from Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, the former Yugoslavia, etc., which either are Islamic nations or have a large Islamic population. For the most part, the guest workers were Muslim.

The term "guest worker"says it all: A guest is supposed to go home when his stay is finished. However, immigration laws and residency requirements applied equally to all, regardless of the country of origin. That resulted in millions of Muslims receiving permanent residency status in their host countries. Spouses and children joined most of the workers, having used Europe's liberal immigration family reunification rules for immediate family members.

Much of this Islamic minority is now in its third generation in Europe and its numbers are growing quickly, tripling in 30 years. Most of the growth is attributable to the high birthrates among Islamic families, currently about three times higher than that of traditional native Europeans.

In other words, without its Islamic contingent, Europe's population would be declining even more rapidly. Muslims currently account for about 5 percent of Europe's population and their numbers are expected to double within 15 years, while the non-Muslim population will decline by an estimated 3.5 percent.

Europe's non-Islamic population is slowly but surely dying out, and Europe's Islamic community is experiencing a population explosion. If this continues, the Islamic community will become a sizable minority, possibly even a majority in the EU. In 2005, for example, there were more children of Islamic parentage born in France than of a traditional French background.

Europe's future in Bible prophecy

The key to understanding Europe's future is found in Daniel 2, in Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar's dream about a huge human statue. The statue was divided into four parts—head, chest and arms, mid-section and thighs and, lastly, its legs and feet. The image represented a chronological succession of world-ruling empires.

Daniel identified the Babylonian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar as the head of the image (Daniel 2:38). The succeeding empires were, in chronological order, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great and, lastly, the Roman Empire. In a parallel vision in chapter 7, "four great beasts"symbolize these empires (verse 3).

Nebuchadnezzar's dream appears to leave some questions open, since the fourth empire—the Roman—was described as existing at the time of Christ's return. Jesus is the stone that strikes the image on its toes (Daniel 2:44-45), causing it to crumble. So the image (and the governments it symbolizes) continues to stand until then. After breaking up the statue, the stone then fills the entire earth, symbolizing the Kingdom of God with Jesus as its ruler.

Daniel identifies the toes of the image as "kings"(Daniel 2:44). Since Nebuchadnezzar's image progresses in chronological sequence from top to bottom and the stone representing Jesus strikes the image on its feet, the 10 toes logically represent the final days of the fourth empire, the Roman Empire. However, history students know that the Roman Empire ceased to exist in A.D. 476, and Jesus did not return at that time.

However, the Roman Empire has been resurrected several times since its demise. The Roman pontiff asked Justinian of Constantinople to re-establish the "Holy Roman Empire"in A.D. 554.

Interestingly, the book of Revelation contains a prophecy about 10 kings who collectively form a "beast"that Jesus Christ will conquer and destroy upon His return to the earth. We read about them in Revelation 17:12-14: "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 will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them."(For a detailed look at this prophecy, see our booklet, The Book of Revelation Unveiled.)

Implications for Europe's future

The center of the final resurrection of the Roman Empire will likewise be in Europe. The European Union is its embryonic form. All EU nations will not necessarily be part of the final configuration, but 10 nations or 10 groups of nations will form a short-lived, powerful union influenced by a traditional religious system based in Rome, the modern heir of ancient Babylon.

Islam has never been the religion of the "Holy Roman Empire."Since Revelation 17 pictures the "great harlot"as the continuing dominant influence on the Beast system, we deduce that Islam will not supplant the traditional Roman church.

With the fast-growing Islamic minority in Europe, what are the implications for Europe's future vis-à-vis the Islamic community and Islamic immigration? There would appear to be several possibilities, including the following:

• Restrictions on those immigrating from Islamic countries.

• Revocation of residency for some—perhaps a majority—of non-EU Muslims.

The final configuration of the last resurrection of the "Holy Roman Empire"will occur relatively soon, while Europeans of a traditional heritage are still the obvious majority in Europe.

In the current liberal atmosphere here in Europe, restricting immigration for people of the Islamic faith—or even deporting some of those who are already here—seems unlikely today. However, the violent reaction toward Muslims in the Netherlands after a Moroccan Islamic militant brutally murdered movie producer Theo van Gogh in November 2004 shows what can happen under provocative conditions. Restricting immigration of Islamic nationals would certainly strain relations between the European Union and the Islamic world.

One area that remains a big question mark is whether Islamic Turkey will become a full member of the EU. Negotiations began last fall, but may last 10 to 20 years. Turkish EU membership would definitely weaken past criticism of the EU for appearing to be a "Christian club"of sorts. Turkey would become the EU's largest country, surpassing Germany's 82 million inhabitants by the year 2020. It may have as many as 100 million people by the year 2050.

Prior to becoming Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger described negotiations with Turkey on EU membership as a "huge mistake."The Catholic Church currently has no official position on the subject, and Pope Benedict has said nothing further, either. However, his silence may indicate that his personal viewpoint remains unchanged.

On the other hand, Pope John Paul II made an obvious attempt to improve relations with the Islamic world. As strange as it might sound, is an agreement possible between Christian Europe and at least part of the Muslim Middle East that would guarantee tolerance of the Muslim minority in Europe while providing Europe access to Middle Eastern oil and natural gas?

Whatever international relationships may develop, Bible prophecy indicates that the dominant religious influence on the final resurrection of the Roman Empire will not be Islam, despite the current demographic trends in Europe. As in previous revivals of the "Holy Roman Empire,"it will be "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth"(Revelation 17:5). WNP