The Dutch Lose Their Army and Germany Goes on Strike

Germany took over the Dutch Army this week. Two Dutch brigades have already submitted themselves to German command. On Thursday, the third Dutch brigade joined a division of the German armed forces.

The integration of German and Dutch forces is being accelerated by Russia’s war on Ukraine. “Russia’s attack on Ukraine in violation of international law has accelerated the rethinking of approaching Europe’s military defense readiness as a joint task,” the Bundeswehr announced in December. As a result, it said, the Dutch and German land forces “have decided on deep integration.”

The Netherlands isn’t the only one: The Czech Republic is integrating one of its two combat brigades into the German Army, and Romania is signing over a mechanized brigade to Germany. Over the past few years, several German defense ministers have pointed to this as a model they could copy with other countries. In several practical ways, there is an EU army—it’s called the Bundeswehr.

We’ve long warned of the rise of a united European military led by Germany. Revelation 17 describes a union of 10 kings that give their “power and strength” to a “beast”—a united European empire. To understand more about this prophecy and how you can know it applies to a power rising in modern Europe, read our Trends article “Why the Trumpet Watches Europe’s Push Toward a Unified Military.”

Another important story from Germany got more media attention: the nation’s biggest strike in 30 years. On Monday, 2.5 million public sector workers stopped working. Railways, ports, airports and bus networks shut down in much of the country. Protests also continue in France.

Dissatisfaction is growing in Europe with its leaders. Germany has seen a revolution in its political system—going in the last few decades from having a main left- and right-wing party to having about half a dozen different parties of similar size. France seems stuck in a cycle of unrest; it had the yellow vest protests five years ago, and now it seems set for a similar, if not worse, level of violence.

This is more than a passing political fad—it’s leading to the transformation of Europe, from the multicultural, bureaucratic union that all are frustrated with today to the union of 10 kings, not presidents or committees, prophesied in Revelation 17. You can learn more about these transformations in another Trends article: “Why the Trumpet Watches the Rise of a German Strongman.”