Germany’s domestic and foreign policy carries a dangerous deceit. History thunders a strong warning. Yet in modern times, the danger is greater and the stakes are higher.

The German people have many good qualities; they are a great people. But they have a past of starting catastrophic wars, including the two deadliest in history: World Wars i and ii. And as I wrote in our September Trumpet issue, Germany is preparing to start World War iii—just as the Bible prophesied it would.

Germany’s leadership is leading it into the abyss.

A Chancellor’s Weakness

In the lead-up to Germany’s election this past February, Friedrich Merz made many outstanding promises—only to shatter them once he came to power. He vowed that Germany would not take on new debt, then promptly removed the debt brake for military and infrastructure spending. He swore that Israel would never face delays in receiving German weapons, then imposed a partial arms embargo. He pledged to give Ukraine the formidable Taurus missile, only to deny it when the moment of decision came.

This is more than just your typical political deceit.

I want to remind you of a statement by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

According to Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council and current prime minister of Poland, Ms. Merkel admitted to him in a private conversation that the Nord Stream pipelines built to bring cheap Russian gas to Germany were her biggest mistake. However, she said that she found herself “helpless” in light of pressure from German businesses. Instead of ending the project, Merkel consistently defended the controversial gas pipeline against intense opposition from the United States and European Union allies.

German businesses have so much power, they can overrule even the chancellor!

We see them exerting the same pressure over domestic issues. On September 22, Chancellor Merz invited the bosses of the major umbrella organizations of the German economy to the capital to seek their advice and encouragement. What he received instead was a strong rebuke.

As Bild learned, “At the secret summit, the heads of the four major business associations gave the chancellor a thorough grilling for an hour and a half …. The key demand made of Friedrich Merz was to pick up the pace on social reforms, reducing bureaucracy, and modernizing the state.”

Some of the reforms they want may be difficult to push through in his government—but Merz has little choice but to submit.

We don’t know what these business leaders discuss in secret, but we do see the result, especially in foreign policy.

Soft on Russia

Recently, Russia has been testing the West by flying drones and manned aircraft into nato territory. If European nations responded strongly, such shenanigans would quickly end. Several Eastern European countries called for Russian jets to be shot down. But German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that would be dangerously escalatory.

Earlier this year, France tried to put together a coalition of countries willing to station soldiers in Ukraine to preserve peace after successful negotiations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen demanded “precise plans” from member states for such an initiative. But again, Pistorius shut down the proposal as “completely wrong.”

It is true that Germany has sent Ukraine some weapons. But one of the main reasons for that is to refine its weaponry. That’s why it has focused on new technologies such as drones instead of its proven high-tech weapons. It is working on creating swarms of drones driven by artificial intelligence that can reach the destructive level of small nuclear bombs or worse. Sending these weapons is not about helping Ukraine—it is about investing in the future of warfare.

Last year, Germany shut down a different French proposal to send Ukraine long-range missiles. At the time I asked: “Why is Germany continually saying what Russia wants to hear? Why is it withholding critical weaponry? Why is it putting brakes on other countries’ efforts to help Ukraine?” (“France’s Deadly Ignorance About Germany,” Trumpet, May-June 2024).

The answer is that there is a certain conspiracy going on between Germany and Russia.

“Germany today is working together with Russia against America and Britain. But France fails to see how devious these plans are,” I wrote. “It is blind to where its relationship with Germany is leading!” (ibid).

That article reveals Germany’s hidden strategy.

This is a prime example of German deceit. Germany and Russia want to appear as if they are fighting against each other, while they secretly cooperate. This doesn’t change no matter which government is in power because the business leaders are calling the shots.

A Forgotten History

The dream of German dominance did not die with Adolf Hitler. Toward the end of World War ii, in August 1944, representatives of massive German companies like Krupp, Messerschmitt, Volkswagenwerk and Rheinmetall met with senior Nazis at the so-called Red House meeting. A U.S. intelligence document, declassified in 1996, says that these business leaders were told they must “prepare themselves to finance the Nazi Party, which would be forced to go underground ….”

By 1944, these leaders knew that they would lose World War ii, so they were already planning for the next round!

The documentation of their plan is clear—but people ask whether the plan was actually carried out. Well, I can tell you based on the history and backed up by about a hundred Bible prophecies that it was! And the results are facing us right now! Everybody ought to be aware of it.

My free booklet Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans discusses that intelligence report and shows how the Nazis’ plans resulted in the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. This was really the first victim of World War iii. People don’t see it that way because Germany is operating underground. But the truth is about to become much more obvious.

Germany has a disdain for democracy. Many of the leaders do not want it, and much of the German public is also deeply dissatisfied with the current flawed democratic system. Many people don’t mind the Nazi sympathies their political leaders are demonstrating.

Germany’s new most popular political party is the once fringe, stigmatized far-right Alternative für Deutschland. In recent polls, it has surpassed Merz’s mainstream conservative bloc. If an election were held today, the polls suggest that this Nazi-tainted party would win!

Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt said at the end of World War ii that it was their “inflexible purpose to destroy German militarism and Nazism, and to ensure Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the world.” In hindsight, we can say for certain that this was a massive failure. The denazification process lasted for only two years after World War ii, and was really a farce. It was shockingly inadequate after 60 million people died in that war!

Today, Germany is the strongest military in Europe by far, and its most popular political party is a Nazi party! What does that tell you about Germany today? Where is this world headed? This is a deadly crisis!

Ready for War

The mood in Germany is changing rapidly. When a strongman comes to power, he will be able to harness that energy and power dramatically and lead the nation to war.

Daniel 8:23 prophesies about the rise of a fierce strongman. This man is about to come on the scene. We don’t know exactly when, but everything is leading to his arrival.

Remember, Daniel 12:4 and 9 say that the prophecies of Daniel are only for this end time, and no other. So we must be aware of these prophecies.

“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up” (Daniel 8:23). “Dark sentences” means that this man is in league with the devil. Satan is really in control of this man! That is a horrible problem.

Europe is very familiar with such bloody dictators.

Throughout Europe today, people look back on Charlemagne as a great leader. But Roman Herzog, the late German president, said this about him in 1997 when receiving the International Charlemagne Prize: “At such an hour, the truth must be told. Only by wading through a sea of blood, sweat and tears did he reach his goal.”

Charlemagne killed people all over Europe, wading through blood to do so. That is not something to take lightly!

Europe is looking for another Charlemagne, and he will almost certainly come from Germany. And remember: Germany has been Europe’s greatest instigator of bloodshed!

Adolf Hitler was inspired by Charlemagne to commit his atrocities. The Bible identifies Hitler as leading the sixth head of the Holy Roman Empire. You can see this in Revelation 17. Verse 10 says, “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is [speaking of the sixth resurrection under Hitler], and the other [the seventh] is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” The seventh resurrection that was “not yet come” is now rising. Everybody can see that Germany has risen from the underground, and people are asking it to help Europe militarize.

In verse 17, God says He has put this in their minds because He wants to use this empire to punish the sinful nations of Israel, primarily America and Britain. God makes this clear.

A fierce, powerful leader is about to arise and use all the power Germany is building today. He is going to hijack that country and repeat many of its worst sins—on an even greater scale! That is the clarion warning of Bible prophecy.

The Target

In 1944, German Gen. Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel said the German war machine would rise again and said America was its top target. On Nazi radio, Sept. 1, 1944, he said, “One day we shall come back. Until then, à bientôt”—goodbye for now.

America was its top target! Could that be true? Bible prophecy absolutely agrees!

The Germans know that they lost World Wars i and ii mainly because of America, and Britain under Winston Churchill had a major role as well. But now Germany is back as the greatest power in Europe.

Daniel 8:25 gives a strong warning—but also reveals a positive conclusion: “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes [Jesus Christ]; but he shall be broken without hand.”

That is good news! That power will come to an end, and there will never, ever be another Germany leading Europe the way it has so often in the past under the Holy Roman Empire.

You need to study these prophecies to recognize exactly what is happening in Europe before your eyes! You can prove it right out of your Bible. To begin this study, request a free copy of our booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.