It’s difficult, especially amid the doom and gloom in Europe, to realize that we are now moments away from the creation of a United States of Europe.

Of course, “moments” in the long grind of human history are measured in weeks and months. The point is, Europe’s financial crisis is so bad that virtually everyone—most especially Germany—now realizes that the only way forward is greater consolidation and integration, more unity. In other words, the formation of a United States of Europe.

Meeting this goal won’t be easy, simple or clean. There will be casualties. Many countries will likely have to make some pretty extreme sacrifices, the essence of which will involve relinquishing national sovereignty. But Europe’s financial crisis is intensifying and rapidly heading to the point of no return. Last weekend, Spain requested a $125 billion loan to bail out its banks; many worry that Italy will be next; on Sunday, Greeks head to the polls in a run-off national election that could easily be the catalyst for Athens defaulting on its debt, then leaving the eurozone. In Greece, anxiety is so intense, people are emptying their bank accounts and stocking up on food ahead of Sunday’s election.

Everyone agrees: A far-reaching solution cannot be put off much longer.

The most telling signs of how close we are to the emergence of a United States of Europe come from Germany. Ever since this crisis began in 2008, Berlin has reacted slowly and with tremendous caution. When others moaned and wailed and demanded more extreme measures—eurobonds, larger rescue funds, more spending—Germany simply ignored, even rejected, these cries. But over the last two to three weeks, there have been hints that Berlin might finally be ready to act.

Speaking on German tv last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized the “need [for] more Europe.” Europe doesn’t just need a currency union, she explained, “we also need a so-called fiscal union, more common budget policies.” Merkel’s recognition of the need for a “fiscal union” is significant, but it was what she said next that caught the attention of some commentators: “And we need above all a political union. That means we must step by step, as things go forward, give up powers to Europe as well.”

Notice who Merkel was speaking to. This wasn’t a press conference in Brussels or a speech before the European Parliament. Many Europeans, especially European leaders, don’t need to be convinced of the need for more Europe. Merkel was speaking directly to the German public. She was, as Spiegel noted, “carefully preparing the public for the possibility that great changes are coming and that established certainties are no longer valid.”

Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform, was recently in Berlin to discuss Europe’s problems with German policymakers. He wrote in the New York Times this week that “the view of German policymakers … is that the government will do what is necessary to save the euro.” Germany knows it is going to have to intervene on a major scale, and even has measures in place, explained Grant. But it’s not overtly publicizing these measures because it’s concerned this may encourage some states to “slacken efforts to curb budget deficits and enact reforms.” That’s pretty smart.

It seems we are now getting an idea of what these measures may look like.

On Monday, Spiegel published an article outlining a plan currently in the works to stabilize the eurozone and the euro. According to George Friedman, ceo of Stratfor, Spiegel’s “report appears to be well-grounded, with European leaders confirming that the four individuals are working on a plan.” The plan is the brainchild of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

Spiegel says these four are conversing on the phone daily. A watered-down version of the plan is already circulating in Europe’s capitals, while a more comprehensive presentation is being prepared for the European summit later this month. A concrete version is expected as soon as August.

If it goes ahead, thisdramatic plan will revolutionize Europe—and the world!

Spiegel reports that the four leaders intend on “making the currency union irreversible, and deepening it to become a political union” (emphasis added throughout). Remember, this is exactly what Chancellor Merkel also desires. Spiegel continues: “A completely different Europe would emerge from such a process. The plan envisions nation-states giving up significant elements of their sovereignty to European institutions. … At the heart of the deliberations is the creation of a real fiscal union, which would prohibit member states from taking on new debt on their own.”

Basically, the plan envisions an all-powerful EU fiscal authority that would have dictatorial power over the finances of member states!

One possibility under this new plan is the creation of a special EU institution to supervise Europe’s banks. This overarching EU body “would not only keep an eye on systemically relevant financial institutions, but on all banks,” reported Spiegel. If you think Brussels has too much of a controlling presence in the lives of Europeans now, wait till this plan is enacted.

The plan also provides for the creation of a eurobond, a bond backed by all eurozone nations, most importantly Germany. This will please France and many other countries, and could go a long way to solving Europe’s debt crisis. A eurobond backed by Germany is a thousand times more attractive than anything else on the market. But there’s a catch. In order to soothe Berlin’s justified concerns about a eurobond, which would basically result in all Germany taking on liability for the debt of individual countries, states would have to meet a laundry list of rules and guidelines. Rules and guidelines, mind you, essentially created by Germany.

Most notably, the plan puts the power to issue eurobonds—and leadership of the EU fiscal authority itself—in the hands of one individual, “a kind of European finance minister” with supreme authority.

What power! If this plan proceeds, European states will effectively transfer control of their national budgets to a European fiscal authority—headed by a single individual!

Here’s another important development. Citing sources in Brussels, Spiegel also reports that the plan includes “turning the office of European Commission president and European Council president into one” and creating an overarching “European president.” (Incidentally, this now-confirmed plan by an elite group to create a European super-president was exposed by Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser more than a month ago.)

This plan is still under construction. As it forms and becomes more public, it will likely be met with a lot of opposition as EU states and citizens fear ceding more power to Brussels and Berlin. But you watch: As this crisis escalates and as pressure mounts—if Greece defaults on its debt and leaves the eurozone; if Italy too needs a bailout; if the euro suddenly plummets; if even more destructive riots and protests break out—Europeans and their leaders will compromise.

Extreme crises demand extreme solutions—even as extreme as ceding power to Germany!

Consider one last observation. In its article on this dramatic plan to rescue Europe, Spiegel states that this plan would mark the “beginning of the United States of Europe.” On Sunday, the Independent’s Peter Popham explained how “amid the bailouts, a United States of Europe takes shape.” Today, if you type the term United States of Europe into Google, you’ll get hundreds of hits from news items posted in just the last few months. It seems politicians and news nerds the world over have given this term to the political organism now forming in Europe. But notice.

On Jan. 15, 1959—more than half a century ago—Herbert W. Armstrong wrote a co-worker letter discussing the formation in the end time of a European empire patterned after the ancient Roman Empire. He stated that “they may call it the United States of Europe.” Six years earlier, in the May 1953 issue of the Good News, Mr. Armstrong was again explaining the prophesied unification of a German-led European empire, and forecast that the moment would come when “suddenly the world will behold a United States of Europe!” By the time he died in January 1986, Mr. Armstrong must have employed the term hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, in his articles, books and sermons.

This is just more proof that God was working with Herbert Armstrong in a very special way. God didn’t just inspire Mr. Armstrong’s understanding of Bible prophecy and end-time events in Germany and Europe, He even inspired Mr. Armstrong to use—decades ago—the exact term that is today commonly used to describe what we are witnessing in Europe.