WorldWatch

Europe

All residents should stock three days’ worth of emergency supplies, the European Union urged its citizens on March 26. It advised storing at least 6 liters of water per person, tinned food, a flashlight, a radio with batteries and a printed emergency plan. The warning came a week after it emerged that France’s government was planning to mail to every home a 20-page survival booklet that provides emergency phone numbers and radio channels, details on local reserve units, and advice on dealing with a nuclear attack.

European elites are trying to start massive military spending sprees. But only Germany with its low debt can do so easily. Everyone else is close to maxing out their credit cards. The only way to substantially boost that spending is to make painful cutbacks, such as fewer unemployment benefits, higher pension ages or lower health-care spending. These emergency survival campaigns serve in part to prepare for big changes and sobering times.

Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland has been soaring in popularity since the February 23 national election. A March 25 INSA poll shows the AfD at a record high of 23.5 percent, only 3.5 percent behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union, which combined have been the main right-wing party since World War II. Hermann Binkert, head of INSA, estimated that the AfD has a voter potential of 30.5 percent and could easily become Germany’s strongest political party.

The CDU said it will form a coalition to gain a majority of seats in the legislature. It refused to form a coalition with the AfD, which leaves the left-wing Social Democrats (SDP) as almost its only option. Initial coalition documents indicate that the SDP, which won the fewest seats in its history, is in a position to call many of the shots in the potential federal government. Not only are German mainstream parties still unable to solve major problems, they are contorting themselves into unnatural coalitions that leave many questioning how democratic Germany really is—and whether democracy is the best form of government. Watch Germany, and look not only for the far right to continue growing in power, but for a strongman to take advantage of the political crisis and rise to rule Germany and Europe.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reopened Germany’s embassy in Damascus, Syria, on March 20, during her second visit since Bashar Assad’s regime fell in December. Baerbock’s stated goal: “a political new beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria.” After 13 years of civil war, ex-terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa now rules Syria, and Germany wants to ally with him. “With this embassy reopening, we are saying quite clearly: Germany is back in Damascus,” Baerbock said, adding that Germany has “an overriding interest in a stable Syria.” Based on insight into Bible prophecies in Psalm 83 and Daniel 11, Gerald Flurry wrote in our February Trumpet, “I believe today that Germany’s backing is the main cause of Syria’s fall.” For 13 years, the Trumpet has expected Iran to lose its power over Syria and Germany to move in. This is now in progress.

Asia

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 30-day pause on energy infrastructure strikes in Ukraine during a March 18 phone call with United States President Donald Trump. A few hours later, Russia bombed energy infrastructure in Slovyansk, Ukraine, with 145 drones and at least six long-range missiles. “Putin is playing a game,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. “We’ve seen that attacks on civilian infrastructure have not eased at all in the first night after this supposedly groundbreaking, great phone call.” Two days later, the Russians struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure in Odessa, and in the following days further intensified attacks on energy infrastructure across the nation.

“President Trump has done a lot of great things for America,” Gerald Flurry wrote in our April issue. “But he has a serious blind spot when it comes to peace negotiation and international diplomacy. This is a deadly weakness ….” He continued: “Peace is a noble goal, but if it is pursued the wrong way, that effort ends up achieving the opposite!”

Foreign ministers from China, Japan and South Korea held a historic meeting in Tokyo on March 22, seeking to unite their three nations on economic and security issues. Japan and South Korea have long had a deep fear of China’s increasingly belligerent foreign policy and have worked over the years to strengthen their alliances with the U.S. to be able to stand against China. But as President Trump increasingly dishonors America’s alliances, leaving partners wondering whether America would defend them, the leaders of these nations are making contingency plans. “Given the increasingly severe international situation, I believe we may truly be at a turning point in history,” Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. The Chinese leaders welcome this shift, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasizing the strength the three nations could have if they worked together due to their combined economic output of $24 trillion.

Bible prophecy reveals that Japan and South Korea will soon ally with China. These three nations, along with other Asian countries, will be part of the most powerful military force in history. Read more in Russia and China in Prophecy.

North Korea sent some 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February to continue supporting Putin’s war on Ukraine, South Korea’s military intelligence reported on March 27. North Korea had previously supplied Russia with at least 11,000 troops for the war, 4,000 of which are estimated to have been killed or wounded. It has also provided howitzers, suicide drones and millions of artillery shells. In return, Russia supplies North Korea with cash, oil and weapons technology, including space technology. The Bible prophesies of an alliance of several Asian nations headed by a Russian superpower that will field an army of 200 million men and play a central role in a coming worldwide war. To understand the specific Bible prophecies that foretold this trend, read “North Korean Troops Fight Alongside Russians, Against Ukraine.”

Middle East

Violence is flaring up in Ethiopia. Militants affiliated with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front attacked Ethiopian government buildings on March 11, entering government offices, detaining cabinet members, and opening fire on civilians. The Tigray ethnic group fought to gain independence from Ethiopia in a war that killed as many as 600,000 people from 2020 to 2022. The two sides have been in a stalemate in recent years, but violence like this could quickly plunge one of the world’s most populous countries back into brutal civil war.

The Trumpet watches Ethiopia because Daniel 11:40-43 prophesy that it will align itself with an Islamist bloc the Bible calls “the king of the south.” Its instability makes it vulnerable to control from foreign powers. Read Libya and Ethiopia in Prophecy to learn more.

President Donald Trump sent Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a letter on March 12 giving him a two-month deadline for a new nuclear deal. On March 27, Kamal Kharazi, Khamenei’s foreign-policy adviser, announced: “The Islamic Republic has not closed all the doors and is willing to begin indirect negotiations with the United States.”

Trump pulled out of President Barack Obama’s 2016 nuclear deal because its limited scope, expiration date and lack of enforcement actually helped Iran in its efforts to acquire a nuclear bomb. But he has recently said he hopes to reach a new deal. As we wrote in our April issue (“Does Trump Want an Iran Nuke Deal?”), it appears the president does not understand how committed the Iranian regime is to acquiring nuclear weapons. Bible prophecies show that Iran will continue pushing at other nations until a major war erupts. Also read our Trends article “Why the Trumpet Watches Iran’s Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons.”

Anglo-America

The United States is hurtling toward bankruptcy. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk recognizes this fact and is putting together cost-cutting proposals for the Trump administration to consider. Yet the new Department of Government Efficiency has yet to reduce the federal deficit or even slow spending. In Deuteronomy 28, God warned that debt problems are one of the many curses of disobedience. The U.S. is currently suffering these curses, with mainstream economists predicting bankruptcy within 20 years. Read “The Idiocy of the Tesla Attacks.“

Meanwhile, the administration of Donald Trump is being hindered by crippling lawfare. After President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward sued his administration. Enacted in 1798, the law authorizes the president to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war. President Trump has designated Tren de Aragua and seven other drug cartels as terrorist organizations and is using this act to deport foreign terrorists without trial. District Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked President Trump from enforcing the law, and the Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to overturn this order. A prophecy in Amos 7:12-13 indicates President Trump will have more success establishing the rule of law in America during his second term than in his first term, but activist judges are still trying to stop the Make America Great Again movement. Read “Is America’s Supreme Court in Bible Prophecy?”

In other news, a New Jersey hospital made headlines for handing out a form to parents, asking them to identify the sexual orientation and gender identity of their newborn babies. Authorities at hospitals and other local institutions are still encouraging parents to label their babies as “transgender,” “gay” or “queer.” The form was produced by Inspira Health, a group that operates four hospitals and eight health centers across South Jersey. The Bible reveals that unless America turns to God to raise strong, stable families, the nation will continue to be plagued by social and moral evils.