Europe
The German military held its largest exercises so far this year from August 29 to September 12, leading more than a dozen countries in a major Baltic Sea naval operation. The “Northern Coast” drills focused on combatant vessel deployments and supply logistics necessary for transporting troops to Lithuania. Germany is strengthening its presence in Lithuania, where it has established its first permanent foreign military base since World War II.
Germany is Europe’s top military spender and became Europe’s top arms exporter last year, approving a record $11.7 billion in exports, according to government data. Most of these exports are being actively field-tested in the Ukraine war. Highlighting the overall trend toward militarization was Rheinmetall’s August 27 opening of the largest artillery shell factory in Europe.
Meanwhile, defense spending among the 27 European Union member states surged by 19 percent last year to a record $400 billion, equivalent to 1.9 percent of the bloc’s gross domestic product, the European Defense Agency reported September 2. Spending for this year is projected to reach $419 billion.
European integration also continues. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron met in France on August 29, discussing eight strategy papers and 20 projects covering industry, technology, research, quantum physics, artificial intelligence and defense.
Germany unveiled Europe’s most powerful supercomputer on September 5. The $500 million machine, called Jupiter, contains 24,000 advanced Nvidia chips and can perform 1 quintillion calculations per second. It will be used for simulations and training large artificial intelligence models.
The German government is serious about enhancing its military and technological capabilities, and may help pay for it by taking the painful step of cutting social spending. Merz said in a speech on August 30, “We simply can no longer afford the system we have today. This will mean painful decisions. It will mean cuts.”
On August 27, the German federal cabinet approved a new military service bill designed to quickly expand the number of personnel in the military. It introduces increased incentives and the possibility of conscription.
On the same day, the cabinet approved a new National Security Council, a stronger, more centralized body chaired by the chancellor and better able to plan for and quickly act on emergencies.
To understand where these trends are leading, read “Germany Is Arming for World War III.”
Middle East
“France will recognize the State of Palestine.” “[T]he UK will recognize the State of Palestine.” “Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine.” “Australia will recognize the State of Palestine.” “Belgium will recognize Palestinian statehood.” These statements from French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot came in quick succession starting on July 24, constituting a coordinated diplomatic attack on the State of Israel.
This comes in spite of the Palestinians lacking a strong identity, unified culture, historical claim, fixed borders, central government, control over their laws, wherewithal to perform basic government functions, and peaceful relations with their neighbor. And despite the fact that the Palestinians are divided between one regime in the West Bank and another in Gaza, the fact that the latter threw members of the former off of rooftops, and the fact that the latter demoniacally terrorize, brutalize, rape, kidnap and mass murder their neighbors on account of their race and nationality. The coordinated effort to recognize what would likely become a failed state isn’t about “justice for the Palestinians” but rather pressure on Israel and its war effort against Hamas terrorists and war criminals. Its goal is to limit Israel and keep Islamic terror in place.
Herbert W. Armstrong proved in his book The United States and Britain in Prophecy that the English-speaking peoples, as well as the French-speaking, descended from the lost tribes of ancient Israel. Most of the members of this family of nations are ganging up on their Jewish brother nation. God said in Zechariah 11:14 that He would “break the brotherhood” between Judah and the other tribes of Israel because of the sins of the people. This brotherhood is breaking right now.
Egypt has been training Palestinian security personnel for several months to replace Hamas in Gaza, the Middle East Eye reported on August 12: “Egypt has been training young people from Gaza or who hail from the enclave, some residing and educated in Egypt, others who fled to Cairo after the war began, and others residing in the West Bank whose families originally came from the Gaza Strip, to carry out security administration, take on police duties, and later govern the Gaza Strip.” This has reportedly been underway since just after the war started in late 2023.
In other words, after the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, Egypt immediately began creating an alternative government to Hamas, a day-after plan that, at least in part, aligns with Israel’s war goals and occupation effort.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy conducted a poll in November and December 2023, immediately after the October 7 atrocities. About 75 percent of Egyptians who responded had a positive opinion of Hamas; 41 percent of respondents, “very positive.” These percentages have likely increased since Israel’s invasion and Hamas’s use of human shields turned Gaza’s cities into fields of rubble, accusations against Israel for starving Palestinians, and Hamas terrorists being portrayed as “martyrs.”
The Trumpet forecasts massive changes for Egypt because a prophecy in Daniel 11 says Egypt will ally with “the king of the south,” radical Islam led by Iran. An Islamist revolution could cause this switch. The Egyptian government’s support of Israel adds fuel to a smoldering fire. Watch for a dramatic change in how Egypt reacts to what is happening in Gaza.
Asia
The Defense Ministry of Japan requested a 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.1 billion on August 29, its largest since World War II. The proposal represents the 14th consecutive year of increasing defense spending for Japan. At present, much of this militarization is driven by fear of nations like China and North Korea. But biblical prophecy shows that the Japanese will soon lay aside their differences and join forces with other Asian powers. Our Trends article “Why the Trumpet Watches Japan’s March Toward Militarism” states: “The Bible makes plain that an Asian superpower will very soon rise up, and it tells us that the resulting war—thanks partly to the participation of the Japanese war machine—will be the most devastating one mankind will ever have endured.”
The leaders of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran and more than a dozen other Asian and Middle Eastern nations assembled in Tianjin, China, on August 31 for the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization heads of state summit. The bloc was founded in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and has since expanded to represent nearly half of the global population. During the two-day summit, Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping unveiled a set of far-reaching proposals to expand the SCO’s purview and draw the nations into closer cooperation with each other and against the United States. Eric Olander, editor in chief of the China-Global South Project, said the summit showcased “what a post-American-led international order begins to look like” and that the pressures the Trump administration has applied “to counter China, Iran, Russia and now India have not had the intended effect.” The SCO is becoming one of the main tools China and Russia are using to achieve their goal. For an in-depth study on the role of Russia and China in end-time events, order your free copy of Russia and China in Prophecy.
Two days after the SCO summit, Xi stood in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and many other heads of state to view the largest military parade in China’s history. The event, which commemorated the end of World War II, represents a belligerent challenge to the U.S.-led global order.
“The Chinese nation is never intimidated by any bullies and always forges ahead,” Xi stated. China showcased its strategic land-, sea- and air-based systems for conducting nuclear strikes, including the Donfeng-5C hypersonic nuclear missile, which has the entire globe within its strike range. Xi also showed off the AJX002 underwater drone and an array of new laser weapons. Prophecy foretells the end of America’s dominance and a shift in the global power balance toward foreign blocs. Among those blocs will be a unified Asia that forges a massive combined military, unparalleled in size by any in human history. The way these Eastern strongmen are rapidly building up their military power and working with one another is leading directly to the fulfillment of that prophecy.
Anglo-America
President Donald Trump has taken bold action to confront crime in American cities, dramatically escalating Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions; federalizing the California National Guard to protect federal personnel and property; deploying armed National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., and federalizing the city’s police department; and announcing plans to use federal agents and Guard troops to confront crime in Chicago and several other large cities.
President Trump also issued an executive order on August 25 calling for the secretary of defense to provide a “standing National Guard quick reaction force to be resourced, trained and available for rapid nationwide deployment.”
These measures, which are being challenged in court, may or may not lower crime in certain cities, but the Bible prophesies that in the longer term, America’s crime problem will get worse as the American people turn away from God’s law (Ezekiel 7:23).
In addition to cleaning up America’s streets, President Trump is also trying to clean up political corruption. His administration has uncovered evidence that President Barack Obama, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and others faked evidence to portray Trump as illegally colluding with Russia. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed Department of Justice prosecutors to launch a grand jury investigation and ordered a federal prosecutor to initiate legal proceedings. To learn how Obama’s plot was prophesied in 2 Kings 14, request your free copy of America Under Attack.
On the other side of the world, Australia’s drug problem has reached record levels. The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring program concluded that between August 2023 and August 2024, Australians consumed a staggering 24.5 tons of illegal drugs, a 34 percent increase over the year prior. Cocaine usage was up 69 percent; methamphetamines, 21 percent; MDMA, 49 percent; and heroin, 14 percent.
Drug usage increased in every state and territory, and the total estimated street value of these illegal drugs is estimated at $11.5 billion, which includes $8.9 billion in methamphetamines.
Galatians 5:16 condemns giving in to the “lust of the flesh.” God describes the compulsion to indulge in intoxicants as slavery, and several verses later lists “works of the flesh.” The original Greek word translated “witchcraft” in verse 20 is pharmakeia, which translates to “the use or the administering of drugs.” In ancient times, the hypnotic qualities of the poppy plant were well known. Today, many still rely on opium, heroin and other drugs in a vain attempt to fill the spiritual void in their lives.