Is the European Union About to Collapse?

And could an energy solution be part of the Antichrist's peace treaty?

Just last Thursday I mentioned in my Quick Hits article that Europe was facing a looming energy crisis, thanks to record-high prices and low supply of natural gas from Russia. Politicians were warning Europeans to prepare for energy rationing and a challenging winter.

Over the weekend, the crisis has grown even worse.

The weather is beginning to cool from the summer heat wave, and power prices in Europe are shattering records:

German power prices for next year, which are considered Europe’s benchmark, briefly jumped above €1,000 ($999.80) per megawatt hour on Monday before falling back to €840 ($839.69) per megawatt hour.

“This is not normal at all. It’s incredibly volatile,” said Fabian Rønningen, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy. “These prices are reaching levels now that we thought we would never see.”

As some experts are pointing out, the word “crisis” hardly describes what is happening in places like Norway and Germany. Over the past year, electricity prices increased by 10 times (Russia’s natural gas is a major source of electricity generation in Europe). Imagine taking what you pay each month for electricity and multiplying it by 10. Imagine seeing your $150-a-month electricity bill jumping to $1,500 a month.