Europe
America will withdraw 5,000 of its 35,000 troops stationed in Germany, the Pentagon announced in May. President Donald Trump made clear that the move came largely in reaction to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said in April that America was “being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards.” The U.S. also announced in May that it would send 5,000 additional troops to Poland, so many of those who leave Germany may simply move to another NATO ally. If the U.S. sees only Russia as a threat, this makes sense, but Bible prophecy warns that it is Germany that will rise first to once again unleash world war.
Meanwhile, Germany’s military spending is rising fast. Global military spending hit a record high $2.9 trillion last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported on April 27. Global average military spending is up 2.9 percent, but European military spending rose nearly five times faster to $864 billion. Germany has now overtaken China to become the world’s fourth-largest exporter of armaments.
In May, Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, became the first non-European leader to attend the European Political Community Summit. Some are even discussing the idea of Canada joining the European Union. On May 22, the EU and Mexico signed a free-trade agreement covering nearly all goods, expanding a 2000 trade pact for industrial goods. The new agreement could boost Mexican exports to the EU by roughly 50 percent by 2030.
The European Union is also active in the Middle East: It resumed formal trade ties with Syria in May and lifted sanctions on its defense and interior ministries, as well as three of its intelligence agencies. The German military will deploy a Patriot air and missile defense task force to Turkey, along with 150 German military personnel, from late June to September, the German Defense Ministry announced May 18. European powers are forging a network of alliances all across Africa and the Middle East as they prepare to confront radical Islam led by Iran.
Chancellor Merz and his coalition government of Christian and Social Democrats marked their one-year anniversary in May. The verdict on his first year is clear: Merz lacks leadership. Politico characterized him as “The Incredible Shrinking German Chancellor”; the Guardian wrote, “‘Stuck in the Mud’: One Year On, Friedrich Merz Struggles to Find His Footing.” Only 11 percent of Germans expressed satisfaction in the representative RTL/nTV Trend Barometer for the coalition government. For years, influential former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg advocated for Merz to become chancellor. After some M.P.s abstained from voting for him on day one, he rebuked them. But today he is increasingly frustrated with the little progress the coalition has made and demands more leadership from Merz, a greater willingness to sacrifice for unpopular reforms, and more unity. For years, the Trumpet has predicted that Germany’s weak government will ultimately lead to the rise of a strong and deadly German leader.
Middle East
On May 13, Israel’s legislature started the process for holding early elections. This follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition losing the support of one of its member parties. Netanyahu’s opposition is getting more organized, and two former prime ministers, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, have merged their political parties and invited other opposition figures to form a united front. Ongoing political machinations and voter polls suggest they could beat Netanyahu and his Likud-led coalition.
The Bible prophesies in passages like Hosea 5:13 and Zechariah 14:1-2 that the State of Israel will be afflicted by several curses, especially regarding Palestinian policy. (Mr. Flurry’s free booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy* explains this in detail.) Israel has been hit by heavy curses in recent years, including the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror massacre. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership has kept Israel relatively strong: His leaving office would likely accelerate Israel’s downfall.
Pakistan sent 8,000 troops, about 16 fighters, two drone squadrons and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia during active combat between Iran, the U.S. and Israel, Reuters reported on May 18. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense treaty last year, obligating them to defend each other in war time.
One Reuters source who saw the text of the treaty said it allows Pakistan to send up to 80,000 troops, and the Pakistani government previously implied that it puts the Saudis under the protection of its estimated 170 nuclear warheads.
Mr. Flurry writes in The King of the South that Daniel 11:40 is a prophecy of Iran starting a conflict with Germany and igniting a nuclear world war. Daniel states that Germany will conquer Iran “like a whirlwind,” implying Germany will place forces in the nations bordering Iran. A related prophecy in Psalm 83 says the Ishmaelites, modern Saudi Arabia, will be part of this strategy. Pakistan could be as well.
According to a May 23 Axios report, the United States and Iran are close to agreeing to a framework for ending their war. The reported provisions include extending the ceasefire for two months and lifting their blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran would be able to sell its oil freely and would have to clear the mines it planted in the strait. Iran is also required to announce that it will never pursue nuclear weapons and to start negotiations over suspending its nuclear enrichment and removing its enriched uranium stockpiles. The U.S. would meanwhile negotiate sanctions relief and unfreezing Iranian assets. The war between Israel and Hezbollah would also conclude. U.S. efforts to negotiate peace continue, even after U.S. forces struck Iranian missile sites and mine-laying boats on May 25. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the following day the framework could be official within days. At the time of writing, nothing has yet been agreed to.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously stated his goal was for Iran to dismantle its capacity to enrich uranium and end its sponsorship of proxy terror groups. If the reports are accurate, it appears President Trump has relented on both demands. In certain respects, the current deal framework appears remarkably similar to President Barack Obama’s 2016 Iran nuclear deal. Claiming the Obama-era deal was a bad one that would help Iran get a nuclear bomb, President Trump withdrew from it during his first term. Yet it appears he is placing America back in the same position that the old deal did.
Asia
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, visited China May 19–20, his 25th trip to the nation since becoming president. He held meetings with General Secretary Xi Jinping and other Chinese Communist Party officials to strengthen the Russia-China partnership across all levels. Putin described Xi as a “dear friend,” and both leaders declared their nations’ relationship to be stronger than ever. Though they failed to reach an agreement on the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, they clinched more than 20 smaller deals to expand energy, technology and strategic cooperation. To understand why these two Asian giants and historic rivals have drawn intimately close, read Russia and China in Prophecy.
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, emerged significantly stronger in May after two of his longtime regional rivals were voted out in state elections. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party had long been one of Modi’s fiercest opponents, championing secular politics and actively working against the Hindu nationalist policies of his Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp). But on May 4, Banerjee and her party were ousted, and the bjp took control of West Bengal for the first time in its 46-year history—one of the most consequential regional breakthroughs of Modi’s career.
Another major setback for the opposition came in Tamil Nadu, where longtime anti-bjp leader M. K. Stalin was ousted. Although the state was won by a new party rather than the bjp, the collapse of another entrenched rival further strengthens Modi’s position.
Together, the results weaken India’s already fragmented opposition and give Modi a freer hand at the nation’s helm. Watch for him to use this position to further deepen India’s biblically prophesied partnership with Putin’s Russia.
China gave 53 of Africa’s 54 nations tariff-free access to its market on May 1. The move expanded a zero-tariff policy that China put in place for 33 African nations in December 2024, which had lifted China-Africa trade to a record $347 billion last year. With tariff-free access to China’s market now rolled out to nearly the entire continent, this figure could increase dramatically.
China’s maneuvering is positioning it as Africa’s leading economic partner and as a power broker with major political leverage across the continent. Biblical prophecy warns that countries around the globe will build a vast trade network in the modern era, with China as a major hub. To understand the details of this prophesied anti-American trade bloc that is rapidly forming, read “Why the Trumpet Watches the Development of a Massive Anti-American Trade Bloc.”
Anglo-America
King Charles III made a state visit to the United States from April 27- 30 during badly strained relations between America and Britain over tariffs and the Iran war. President Donald Trump warmly welcomed the King for tea at the White House and other events, reminding many of the honor he had shown the king’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
In major speeches to Congress and at the White House State Dinner on April 29, the King celebrated the remarkable story of Britain and America, which separated, reconciled and became strong allies due to their shared commitment to the rule of law and individual freedom. These strengths are rooted in biblical principles of justice, freedom and morality, the true reason, along with repeated, large-scale interventions and blessings from God, for the greatness of Britain and America, as Herbert W. Armstrong proved in his book The United States and Britain in Prophecy. Yet Scripture warns that the bonds of brotherhood between America, Britain and Judah (the State of Israel) will break (Isaiah 9:21).
Radical activists are trying to tilt upcoming midterm elections in their favor. In Louisiana, Democrats created a second black-majority district by stretching boundaries over 200 miles to link unrelated cities. On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that this map was unconstitutional because it uses race as the main factor to draw districts and therefore violates the 14th Amendment’s “equal protection” clause. Then on May 9, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to block a Democrat-backed plan that would have turned Virginia’s competitive 6-5 Democratic edge into a 10-1 advantage by packing Republican voters into one district. The court said Democrats violated the state constitution by rushing the measure after early voting began. These redistricting battles between Democrats and Republicans expose deep divisions and an increasing willingness to win elections at all costs to the republic.
Political strife is verging on political murder. On April 25, Cole Tomas Allen sprinted through a security checkpoint carrying a shotgun, pistol and knives, shot a Secret Service Agent, and got within 100 yards of President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner before he was stopped. In a 1,000-word manifesto, he called the president a “pedophile, rapist and traitor.” Another deranged gunman opened fire outside the White House on May 24 in the fourth known attempt to assassinate President Trump. Nasire Best had prior encounters with authorities, and was arrested last summer while trying to enter the White House. Such events reflect America’s growing political polarization and mental instability.