On February 25, German Chancellor Angela Merkel led the largest-ever delegation of the German cabinet to Israel to conduct bilateral meetings with their Israeli counterparts for two days.

The delegation, including 16 top-ranking German ministers, marks the fifth time the governments have held joint cabinet meetings since they commenced in 2008.

Lately, some media reports have played up the growing dissatisfaction of Germany with Israel over the settlements issue. The latest contention surrounds whether or not Europe should boycott goods made inside Israel’s West Bank, the area held by Jordan before the 1967 War.

However, Merkel herself denounces the plan. Speaking in a joint conference with Netanyahu after one of the meetings, Merkel announced that Germany does “not in any way support the boycott ambitions. For Germany,” she continued, “this is not an option.”

Further strengthening the partnership, Merkel’s government went ahead and signed a number of new agreements with the State of Israel. One of which will allow Germany to provide consular services to Israeli citizens in countries where Israel does not have a diplomatic presence; mainly in hostile Arab nations.

According to Merkel, signing the agreement was a “sign of trust” between the two nations.

Defense ties were also on the agenda for the visit. A joint statement released during the meetings stated, “The defense establishments will continue their dialogue and cooperation in the face of shared threats and concerns, regionally and globally, in order to promote security in a way that will serve the mutual long-term interests of Israel and Germany.”

According to World Tribune, “German officials also commented that Israel has closer defense relations with Germany than virtually any other country in Europe.”

To cap off the visit, Mrs. Merkel received the presidential Medal of Distinction, Israel’s highest civilian award from Israeli President Shimon Peres. This is the first time a European politician has ever received the award.

While closer German and Israeli ties could be interpreted as a miracle in light of the atrocities committed against the Jews in World War ii, biblical prophecy indicates that this trend will have dire consequences.

Merkel’s intentions seem honest in desiring to make up for past German behavior. However, her constituents back home hardly share her moral duty toward Israel. A recent poll from the bbc showed that only 14 percent of Germans have a positive view of Israel.

This dichotomy of favor between the German chancellor and her people falls right in line with a prophecy mentioned in Hosea 5.

This prophecy indicates that German-Israeli ties will warm in this end time to the point that Israel goes to Germany for help in dealing with the Palestinian problem. However, as the Bible indicates, this will lead to a gigantic German double cross of the Jewish state. Perhaps this will come at a time when a new German leader will be in power; one who doesn’t follow Mrs. Merkel’s thinking but rather shares the sentiment of the German public.

To learn more of how this double cross could come about, read “Can Israel Trust Germany?” by Trumpet columnist Brad Macdonald.