“Trim the Fat, Roast the PIIGS,” yelled one headline. “Is Europe Going to the PIIGS?” chided another. For those who aren’t following the European Union’s debt crisis, PIIGS is an acronym for Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain—five European nations on the brink of bankruptcy. In fact, some are estimating that Greece’s bankruptcy is now 98% certain. And the drama this week has centered on Chancellor Merkel of Germany and French president Sarkozy’s huddle with Greek prime minister Papandreou. Will the economic powerhouses of Europe be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat, or will Greece’s financial collapse drag Europe into its swirling vortex? (To insure $10 million of Greek debt now costs $5.8 million! http://seekingalpha.com/article/293251-eurozone-trim-the-fat-roast-the-piigs) Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar’s ancient dream (Daniel 2) about a towering metallic image deserves another look. Are its iron and clay toes—the nations that grew out of the collapse of the Roman Empire—a prophetic warning that even an economic union like the European Union is doomed to fail?  “Just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay” (v 43, emphasis supplied). And how will the United States—itself teetering on the economic edge—weather this hemorrhaging crisis? Thinkers the world over are warily endeavoring to decipher these unusual times. The gyrating global stock markets are simply empirical indicators of mounting apprehension and perplexity. Nobody knows. Emphasis on nobody. Thus the future of earth. What a made-to-fit moment this is for the “Prophecies Decoded” series that begins on September 30—seen coast to coast on satellite, and “live” here at Andrews University. And wouldn’t you know it—the opening lecture comes straight out of Daniel 2’s provocative prophecy. My friend, Dr. Ron Couzet, is the presenter. And he is as trustworthy and credible a voice I know to speak to the urgency of these times. That’s why I’d like to earnestly invite you to take advantage of this prophetic lecture series, by inviting friends, colleagues, neighbors you know who would benefit from a careful, biblical examination of the prophecies that speak to our age. We’ll be offering a big-screen live link to Nashville, Tennessee, where Ron Clouzet will be speaking—Friday evening, 7:20, September 30—that’s when it begins. Pick up a handful of the color brochures at Pioneer to give your friends. Have them go online to www.propheciesdecoded.com and watch the series trailer for a themselves. Call them up and offer them a ride. The point is—when you’re living in the toes of earth’s history—there is something greater than PIIGS to motivate your life. And that something is the Someone who is coming soon. So pass the word, will you? The PIIGS, Europe, the U.S., you and I—we’re all living on the edge. It’s time to believe. “‘The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy’” (Daniel 2:45).