“The heads of the governments of Europe—all likewise men of inadequate caliber for the job—have lost all confidence in relying on the United States to protect them from Communist encroachments. The Russians … will not retreat. They are in no great hurry—(a bear lumbers along slowly most of the time)—but in due time they at least now plan to keep moving on. … Europe now fears them. The Europeans want political and military union. No leader in Europe is strong enough to unite them.”

These words are a sobering reflection of Europe’s current state of affairs in the era of United States President Donald Trump.

However, they were written by the late Herbert W. Armstrong on June 20, 1980.

In the decades after World War ii, Mr. Armstrong prophesied of Germany’s rise to dominance, Europe’s militarization and the sudden emergence of strong leaders. In May 1953, he prophesied that in a time of crisis, “10 powerful European nations will combine their forces.”

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rending of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe, Mr. Armstrong wrote on Aug. 27, 1980: “Will Poland free itself from Soviet domination and join with Yugoslavia, Romania and possibly Czechoslovakia—and with Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Austria—in a resurrected medieval ‘Holy Roman Empire’ to dominate Europe and equal the ussr and the U.S.A. in world power?”

We are now seeing this military union form in front of our eyes. It is inspired by fear of Russia and distrust of the U.S., just as Mr. Armstrong prophesied. We are also starting to see the rise of some strong leaders. This is leading to the fulfillment of key Bible prophecy to which Mr. Armstrong often pointed: “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Revelation 17:12-13).

This “beast” is a political-military empire led by an overarching emperor. Seeing this beast rising in Europe today confirms the legacy of Mr. Armstrong as a man of God. (For proof of this, request a free copy of our booklet He Was Right.)

But these prophecies do more than that.

For decades, tens of thousands of dedicated Worldwide Church of God members supported Mr. Armstrong in proclaiming God’s message over television, radio and print, and bringing it directly in person to world leaders. But after Mr. Armstrong’s death, many of these members lost faith and turned their back on the Church’s commission. While they may hold on to some doctrines Mr. Armstrong taught, they have stopped proclaiming these sobering prophecies. Even if they recognize this rising beast for what it is, they fail to warn about the monstrosities that this church-state combine will cause.

This is a terrible mistake. And Revelation 17 includes a strong warning to anyone who falls into this category.

Notice that the beast in Revelation 17 is controlled by a woman (verse 1). A woman in Bible prophecy symbolizes a church (see Ephesians 5). But this is not God’s Church—it is a worldly church in a relationship with worldly governments. That is why God calls this church a “whore.” Throughout history, this church-state relationship has instigated religious wars, crusades and inquisitions.

Verse 6 blasts the most sobering warning in the whole chapter: “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”

Commenting on this verse, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote, “This woman that rides this beast is prophesied to be drunk ‘with the blood of the saints.’ Christ is viewing this from a.d. 554 to the end time. He says this old lady has been killing God’s people for a long time! Only one church has that kind of history.

“Many of the Laodiceans are saying nice things about that woman, but she has a history of murdering the people of God! That is what she does best! The Laodiceans don’t have enough courage to tell this world what she is, even though that is what God has commanded us to do.

“Notice how God’s Church is intertwined with the beast. We are its number one enemy. And those who are Laodicean—95 percent of God’s people today—will not be protected by God. They are going to finally see—the hard way—just how deadly this murderous whore is. Many of them will then believe God and never forsake Him again” (“God’s Love for the Laodiceans” Royal Vision, May-June 2015).

While we see this rising military empire, we cannot ignore the fact that its main target is prophesied to be God’s own lukewarm saints.

The emergence of this prophetic beast should cause anyone hearing this message to support it wholeheartedly, leaving all other pursuits behind. Through the fulfillment of these prophecies, God calls out to His lukewarm saints to turn back to Him.