For decades, Friedrich Merz harbored the ambition of becoming Germany’s chancellor. In 2001, he made his ambition publicly known. But his plans were quickly thwarted by his chief rival, Angela Merkel, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (cdu).

Merz, then the cdu parliamentary leader, hoped to run in the 2002 election over Christian Social Union’s Edmund Stoiber, believing he had persuaded Stoiber to leave the candidacy to him. However, Merkel met Stoiber, backed his candidacy, and secured his future support in return.

Stoiber ran and narrowly lost the 2002 election. Merkel seized Merz’s position shortly after that election and became chancellor in 2005. Merz left politics in 2009.

When Merkel announced in 2018 that she would step down as leader of the cdu, Merz finally saw an opportunity for a comeback. He challenged Merkel’s favored successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and lost on December 7.

Kramp-Karrenbauer’s policies and party leadership soon proved unpopular, and she eventually announced her resignation. Merz then ran for the party leadership again. But on Jan. 16, 2021, the party congress voted for Armin Laschet instead. In the election that September, the party lost millions of votes and Laschet announced his resignation.

To some it seemed ridiculous, but Merz tried again and finally succeeded in becoming party leader in January 2022.

With him—or as some argue, despite him—the cdu secured victory in the national election this past February, making Merz the designated chancellor. A long, hard-fought dream had finally become reality.

But the hurdles didn’t end there. Coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats proved tedious and were marked by compromises. Soon after the election, his party’s polling levels dropped below that of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.

Then yet another setback arose at the moment he was meant to be crowned.

Not an Emperor

While the coalition he built had the necessary majority to elect him chancellor on May 6, 18 members of parliament rebelled and did not support him. The hours that followed may have been the most agonizing of Merz’s political career. His ambition to become chancellor had never been so near but a spanner was thrown into the works.

The vote was repeated, the mutiny dissolved, and Merz confirmed as chancellor. No chancellor in Germany’s postwar history had faced so many rejections. Now, many fear the country’s new government will be fragile, on perpetually shaky ground.

In April, Britain’s Telegraph hoped Merz could fill Europe’s leadership void, headlining “Friedrich Merz: The Man Europe Has Been Waiting For.” After the debacle, it published “Friedrich Merz Was Supposed to Lead Europe. Now He’s Fallen Flat on His Face,” concluding, “Germany’s Mr. Tough has become Mr. Trousers-round-his-ankles” (May 6).

Europe was looking to Germany for a savior amid great crises. Many hoped for a leader akin to an emperor of old who could direct the whole Continent. Instead they found a man who may barely be able to hold his own coalition government together.

This kind of outcome is what Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry forecast in his Trumpet Brief newsletter the week prior: “Europe Needs Someone Greater Than a German Chancellor.” He wrote, “Friedrich Merz will become Germany’s next chancellor on Tuesday. For years, Europe has suffered a leadership vacuum. Growing threats in the world demand stronger leadership, especially from Germany. Many people hope Merz will help fill that vacuum. … However, based on Bible prophecy, the late Herbert W. Armstrong believed it would take an office greater than that of a German chancellor to provide the leadership Europe is yearning for. End-time prophecy speaks of one overarching strongman who rules over 10 kings governing a European superstate” (April 30).

If anyone had any doubts before this, it became clear that Merz would be unable to provide this overarching leadership. But there is evidence he could be one of the prophesied “ten kings” of Daniel 2 and Revelation 17—European leaders who will give their power to an overarching king (Revelation 17:13).

In fact, the leader the Trumpet has watched as the likeliest man to fill Europe’s leadership void is already intriguingly linked to the new German government.

The Rise of 10 Kings

Revelation 17:12-13 read: “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.”

Commenting on this passage, the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in the October 1962 Plain Truth: “The beast, then, is the leader, or ruler, over all—and 10 other dictator-kings, or lesser rulers over 10 European nations or nation-groups ….” In 1951, he wrote: “These 10 lesser dictators over the 10 European nations are to unite with the supreme führer and with the pope to reestablish the Roman Empire—but only for a very short duration” (Plain Truth, October 1951).

These 10 kings will be fed up with democracy and set themselves up as dictators. But their power will be limited: They will submit to an overarching leader.

Merz’s recent struggle and weak coalition may pave the way for this overarching leader to rise. But there are also indications that Merz could be one of these prophesied 10 kings.

Mr. Flurry further explained in our April 2025 issue, “We believe there will be one supreme king over 10 kings. (There is a slight possibility that there could be just 10 kings total and that the leadership would come out of Germany.) Given that Revelation 17 is a prophecy of a church-state combine known as the Holy Roman Empire, Mr. Armstrong strongly believed that those leaders would be Catholic.

“We may be seeing some indications who the dictator-king, or lesser ruler, over Germany could be. Friedrich Merz is a Roman Catholic who has repeatedly called for a guiding culture in Germany based on Christian, or rather Catholic, values. He is also an outspoken advocate for a European army. Since his party won the election, he has been acting with unusual urgency and zeal to create a militarized Germany—even defying democratic norms doing so. Furthermore, he enjoys the support of [Karl-Theodor zu] Guttenberg, who we believe may be the ‘one supreme king’” (“Germany Is Looking for a New Charlemagne”).

Since Mr. Flurry wrote this, Guttenberg has emerged as a vocal backer of the new government. There are also indications that he may be personally shaping its agenda.

While there is room for plot twists, and it is far from certain, we may be seeing the beginning of a relationship between Europe’s prophesied supreme king and one of Europe’s 10 kings.

Guttenberg’s Influence

Guttenberg and Merz have known each other for years. In 2020 both were invited by Wolfram Weimer to the economic forum of the Ludwig-Erhard summit (January 16-17). Weimer at the time described Merz as the most promising candidate for chancellor. Guttenberg echoed the sentiment at the sidelines of the event: “For me, Friedrich Merz is currently the only one of the cdu/csu politicians who I consider to be entirely suitable for this task or who I would vote for.”

Five years later, Merz has indeed become Germany’s chancellor, and he has appointed Weimer as his cultural minister. His wife, Christiane Goetz-Weimer, continues the tradition of the Ludwig-Erhard summit; she invited Guttenberg to this year’s annual gathering in May.

At the event, Guttenberg again expressed his support for Merz and rebuked those who voted against him: “It was a bit of a bumpy start on Tuesday. But I am optimistic. I think they definitely deserve a chance. … I was just appalled again by the typical reactions in Germany. Yes, there was a second vote. So what? It’s not a super fiasco, a catastrophe, all these things. Give them a chance to work now and forget about these 18 idiots with their somehow weird vote for their own interest.”

Guttenberg appears very invested in the success of Germany’s new government. Perhaps this has to do with some personal attachments.

When Merz announced his prospective cabinet on April 28, one appointment caught many by surprise: Katherina Reiche as the minister for economic affairs. Adding to the intrigue, it was confirmed the same day that Reiche is in a relationship with Guttenberg.

These two have known each other from their time in politics in the 2000s. He left politics in 2011. She left in 2015. Like Merz, both had successful post-political business careers.

Before Reiche’s political comeback was made official, Berliner Zeitung cited cdu-csu circles calling the two a “politically aspiring dream couple.” Then after the rumors were confirmed, Bavaria’s merkur.de wrote: “Berlin … has a new political dream couple. Zu Guttenberg is very familiar with government tasks such as those Reiche is now taking on. He himself was already in Angela Merkel’s cabinet as economics and defense minister. Now his girlfriend Reiche is to become the new economics minister.

“With the announcement of their relationship and the announcement of Katherina Reiche’s new important role, the two are likely to attract a wave of media attention. It is possible that they will become the new glamorous couple of German politics. A role with which Guttenberg is already very familiar.” “‘Power couple’ would probably be an understatement for these two,” Brisant wrote (April 30).

Given his experience in the economics ministry, his connections and his post-political career, Guttenberg may very well serve as one of Reiche’s private advisers. Some have even speculated what role he may have played in her appointment. Perhaps he encouraged her to take the job or helped promote her expertise. Those speculations are not without basis.

On May 4, Guttenberg hosted the president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Moritz Schularick, on his podcast. This man told Guttenberg, “It is indeed the case that I would not be president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy if we hadn’t talked about it, so you have something to do with it.”

In their pre-coalition talks, Schularick advised the Social Democrats and the cdu-csu to soften the debt brake for defense spending and to set up a special fund for infrastructure. The two parties followed his advice. While Merz campaigned on the promise not to raise Germany’s debt, Guttenberg supported the amendment all along.

For more than 15 years the Trumpet has watched Guttenberg as the likeliest man to lead a resurrected Holy Roman Empire. The fact that he is now advocating for the German government and may even have a certain influence over its policies is most intriguing.

To add to the intrigue, evidence that Merz may fulfill the role of one of the prophesied lesser kings is also mounting.

Merz a ‘King’?

Growing up in the predominantly Catholic Sauerland region, Merz was involved in the Catholic youth community and was an altar boy. He became a member of a Catholic student fraternity and the Catholic social organization Kolpingwerk.

In the early 2000s, Merz suggested a leitkultur (guiding culture) that refugees into Germany would have to adapt to. In 2023, he picked up the term again, saying that Christmas trees are part of Germany’s “guiding culture.”

Merz’s cabinet picks also have a Catholic touch. The German Catholic news agency reported that at least 10 members of Germany’s new government are Catholic, including Merz. The new government also includes a Chaldean Catholic, three Protestants, a nonreligious Jew and six more ministers of undisclosed religious faith. Many of these ministers talk openly about their religious beliefs.

The Catholic-dominated government in itself fulfills prophecy. Revelation 17 describes an empire led by a church (verses 1-2); a woman in biblical prophecy symbolizes a church. This is why Mr. Armstrong forecast that the European Union would become a 10-nation superpower led by the Catholic Church. A predominately Catholic German government supports this prophecy.

Merz’s first foreign visits to France and Poland the day after his inauguration emphasized his commitment to strengthen European defense. In France, Merz stated: “We will intensify cooperation at all levels and develop further formats.” This especially applies to the area of defense and armaments cooperation. “We must further increase defense spending in all member states,” he added.

In his first speech as chancellor on May 14, Merz declared that strengthening the German Bundeswehr is the government’s “top priority.” His government now wants to spend 5 percent of its gdp on defense, as previously demanded by President Donald Trump (though 1.5 percent can be on dual-use civilian infrastructure). This works out to an astonishing $250 billion in defense spending.

This too fits with Bible prophecy. When this military power becomes strong, people are prophesied to question: “Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:4).

Merz’s rise was marked by democratic challenges, and there will be more. The question is, will those challenges break him—or will he break the democratic system? The latter would also indicate that we are seeing the rise of one of the prophesied 10 kings.

King-and-Emperor Tandem

As our booklet A Strong German Leader Is Imminent explains, various prophecies in Daniel and Revelation foretell the rise of an unusually cunning strongman. Daniel 11 notes that he will gain power by “flatteries.” Revelation 17 adds that he will assume rule over 10 nations in Europe, holding a position akin to that of an emperor of old.

In the Dec. 5, 2018, Key of David program titled “The Prophesied Holy Roman Empire Has Arrived,” Mr. Flurry noted, “[T]his strongman could come on the scene as, maybe like a president or a king over those 10 kings, or a ruler over those 10 kings, and rule all of Europe that way. He could be appointed that way, according to Revelation 17:12-13. There are indications of that. So we’ll have to wait and see, but he’s going to come in by flatteries! I’ll tell you this, Mr. Guttenberg is a charming man, and we have said again for years that we believe he’s going to lead that powerful European Union, which is going to be pared down to 10 nations and called the Holy Roman Empire.”

Germany is the strongest nation of this rising empire. It has a history of militarily dominating the Continent. The Bible also identifies Germany, ancient Assyria, as the leading nation of the conglomerate. It is therefore clear that, whoever the supreme leader is, he will have particular influence over Germany—no matter who the king under him will be.

Thus, Guttenberg’s connections to the new German government are intriguing to watch.

World events are moving steadily toward the fulfillment of the Bible’s most fascinating prophecies. But notice the most exciting part of these prophecies: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).

Whoever fills the highest offices in Europe’s rising superpower, these men are a sign that man’s rule over man is about to be replaced by God’s Kingdom!