The Return of Germany

In the last 20 years, dramatic changes have swept across Europe. The Berlin Wall, which had divided East and West Germany, came down.

The Soviet Union broke into pieces, bringing an end to the Cold War. This allowed the two Germanys to reunite, to become one powerhouse nation of 80 million people in the heart of Europe. These swiftly moving events changed the whole complexion of the continent, and presented sobering implications for the future. Many understand that Europe is undergoing great geopolitical change. However, only a few realize that Bible prophecy foretold these events thousands of years ago!

Bible prophecy indicates that Germany, which took the world to war twice in the 20th century, will continue on its path to becoming the most powerful nation in Europe. Your Bible shows that this nation will make one more attempt to dominate the continent—and the world—just before Jesus Christ returns to this earth to establish the kingdom of God. The stage is now being set for these climactic end-time events!

Behind the Scenes

Europeans, reeling from the effects of two world wars in the last century, sought to guarantee future peace and unity by voluntarily surrendering their national sovereignty to a central authority in Brussels. The modern idea of European union was conceived by several Roman Catholic thinkers, including Frenchmen (Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman), a Belgian (Paul-Henri Spaak) and an Italian (Alcide de Gasperi). British and American leaders supported the idea of a unified Europe, thinking that if Germany were tied firmly into a European confederation, it could not rise again as a dangerous power (The United States of Europe, Reid, pp. 36–37). French officials preferred to think of European unification through the metaphor of "the skillful French rider, controlling and directing the powerful German horse" (The Question of Europe, Gowan & Anderson, p. 77).

However, events of the last two decades have not worked out in the way many had expected. The German horse has regained its strength, thrown its French rider, and headed to Berlin! The planners of a united Europe did not see this coming, and they have little idea of what is ahead.

The groundwork for today's European Union was laid just after World War II, with the European Coal and Steel Community. This was a German-inspired plan to administer the coal and steel resources of France, Belgium and West Germany as a single unit. This was not a new plan; Germany had implemented such a unified administration twice before, for its own benefit—as a result of conquest in two world wars (see Gowan & Anderson, p. 86). The modern idea of a federal Europe controlling a common market also reflects the ideas of Albert Speer, a chief Nazi economic planner who revealed to Europeans "how punitive German economic primacy could be" (ibid., p. 88).

Germany's emergence as Europe's leading nation has been in the works for some time. Unification made Germany the most populous nation in Europe. Europe's currency, the euro, is essentially the deutschemark by a different name. The European Central Bank is located in Frankfurt. With the third largest economy in the world, Germany is the economic engine of Europe, casting a powerful cultural and economic shadow over Eastern Europe—the EU's eastward expansion was largely a German project. Germany has invested heavily in the Galileo satellite navigational system, which will end Europe's dependency on navigation satellites controlled by the United States. Germany's army is widely considered "the best, best trained, and most powerful in western Europe" (The Europeans, Barzini, p. 99). A key turning point came in 2001, when German armed forces fought outside their nation (with United Nations forces in Serbia) for the first time since World War II. "By late 2002, Germany had more 'peacekeepers' in the field around the world than any other European power" ( Superstate , Haseler, pp . 178–179).

Germany's Future

Where, then, is Germany headed? Analysts recognize that a resurgent Germany is "not prepared, forever, to remain an economic giant but a military worm" (Reid, p. 178). When the United States was gearing up for its invasion of Iraq in 2003, Germany reached another momentous turning point. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder denounced U.S. policy, and then sided with France to counter U.S. invasion plans—opposing the U.S. after nearly 50 years of close cooperation (ibid., p. 7). Germany then led the way in urging other European nations to adopt plans for a European defense force that would be independent of American-led NATO. Germany's tendency to make sudden changes in direction has been noted before (see The Europeans, Barzini, chapter 3).

America's post-war ally is now seen as a potential rival. As Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor in the Carter Administration, has observed, an "increasingly powerful Germany is bound to be the most difficult to manage" (The Grand Chessboard, Brzezinski, p. 63). Even France, also once considered part of Europe's central core, has begun to seek allies to counter rising German influence in Europe. Europe is also witnessing a surge in nationalism, spurred by the flood of immigrants from the south and east, and by government elites' efforts to surrender more sovereignty to the EU bureaucracy. If these forces awaken the "sleeping giant" of nationalism in Germany, the consequences will be serious (see Gowan & Anderson, pp. 83–84).

Bible prophecy shows that Germany will play a dominant role on the world stage just before Jesus Christ returns to this earth. The Bible calls the nation by its ancient name—Assyria (for more information about Germany's place in Bible prophecy, please write for our free reprint, A Fourth Reich?). Scripture shows that ten nations in Europe will surrender their sovereignty to a revived version of the Roman Empire (Revelation 17:12–18). This "beast" power will be aided by a prominent religious figure and organization linked with Rome (Daniel 7:24–25; Revelation 13:11–18). The leaders of this " revived" beast power (which is also called "the king of the North) will persecute true Christians. This power will punish Israelite nations that have abandoned God's ways (America, Britain and other nations of northwest European descent), and will launch military operations in the Middle East and against powers to the north and east on the Eurasian continent (see Daniel 11:40–45; Hosea 11:1–11). The Bible clearly identifies Assyria—modern Germany—as the leading nation of this end-time beast power, and indeed modern Germany is taking a place on the world stage that matches what the Bible has long prophesied.

However, this German-led federation will hold power only briefly. Bible prophecies indicate that after 31⁄2 years, the returning Jesus Christ will crush this final phase of a revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2:44–45: Isaiah 10:12–17; 14:24–27). Once the Messiah establishes the kingdom of God on this earth, and nations of this world begin to learn the way to peace, the German peoples will use their many gifts and talents for the service of all humanity, and will become a leading nation in Tomorrow's World—as more prophecies come alive (Isaiah 19:23–25).