Austria currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. As council president, Austria—and specifically its chancellor, Sebastian Kurz—has the opportunity to promote specific causes throughout the European Union. Generally, the president of the European Council promotes a theme or issue that he considers instrumental to the success of the European Union.

What theme has Austria’s president chosen to spotlight?

To answer that question, one needs only to visit the headquarters of the Council of the European Union in Brussels. Situated in the lobby of the Justus Lipsius building is an exhibit called “Museum in a Nutshell.” Endorsed by Sebastian Kurz and curated by Austrian historians, this small exhibit is designed to showcase Vienna’s many museums and to highlight Austria’s imperial and cultural heritage.

The exhibit’s message is clear: The key to Europe’s future success can be found in Austria’s history. So what facet of Austria’s history does Mr. Kurz want Europe to remember? In the video above, you can observe the focal point of the “Museum in a Nutshell” exhibit opening: a massive photograph of the crown of Charlemagne.

Mr. Kurz and his colleagues are not promoting this crown only in Brussels. The crown of Charlemagne and, more significantly, the history it symbolizes are also being heavily promoted in Vienna during Kurz’s presidency. Why? Bible prophecy tells us the answer.

Promoting Charlemagne’s Crown

The crown of Charlemagne is also known as the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. Commissioned by Otto i in the 10th century, this crown has been featured prominently in European history for many centuries. Most recently, the crown was promoted by Adolf Hitler. Hitler loved the imperial crown and emphasized its importance in Nazi Germany, moving it from Vienna, Austria, to Nuremberg, Germany. Like Holy Roman emperors before him, Hitler was determined to keep the crown in Nuremberg forever. (Following Hitler’s defeat, the crown was moved back to Vienna’s Imperial Treasury, where it is still exhibited today.)

The “Museum in a Nutshell” exhibit promotes this crown and its rich history with a large depiction at the entrance to the exhibit. Inside the mini-museum are pictures of other artifacts and artwork from the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The exhibit puts works of art that are located in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum (khm) in the context of the European Union, connecting the present with the past.

Kurz’s message is clear: Europe needs to learn from its past. The location of the museum could not be more fitting to get that message across. At the Justus Lipsius building, EU leaders meet to discuss and vote on Europe’s future. The mini-museum serves as a daily reminder and education for Europe’s decision-makers. It is also designed to be easily moved, which is a crucial factor because the “Museum in a Nutshell” is on tour throughout Europe.

“What is a European identity?” Austrian EU Federal Minister for Art, Culture and Media Gernot Blümel asked earlier this year. “If there is such a thing, then it is probably most likely found in the arts and culture [of the EU].” Sabine Haag, general director of the khm in Vienna, said: “Our common cultural heritage is a strong witness of European togetherness, and a glimpse into the past leads us into the future.”

Many Europeans consider the era of the Holy Roman Empire to be Europe’s most successful time of common governance. When the empire was strong under one supreme emperor, Europe was united in religion, culture and art. Charlemagne (a.d. 742–814) was one of the greatest of these emperors, and the crown of the Holy Roman Empire is named after him. Today, Charlemagne and his crown are still venerated in Europe. But few have asked how Charlemagne was so successful in uniting Europe. It is one thing to venerate him, but it is quite another thing to seek to imitate his success. However, that is precisely what Europe seeks to do now.

For this purpose, the Vienna Imperial Treasury set up specifically designed tours of its museum. Its website explains (emphasis added):

In July, Austria assumes the presidency of the Council of the European Union. This is the occasion for lively debate about what Europe is, and what it should be in the future. The Imperial Treasury in … Hofburg is well suited as a forum for this discourse, for many of the objects preserved here are directly related to Europe’s past.

For example, the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolved in 1806, as well as the crown of the Austrian Empire. These two insignia are central symbols of Europe’s history.

In the eyes of the curators of the Imperial Treasury, the crown of the Holy Roman Empire is a central symbol of the history that will guide Europe into its future.

Millions have seen the crown of the Holy Roman Empire and other artifacts in the Imperial Treasury, but now these symbolic objects are being presented in a new light. “It is from the European perspective, then, that 12 objects are examined afresh,” the Treasury wrote. “The intention is to elucidate the historic context in which these works of art were created, and thereby to make perceptible the diverse roots from which the ‘European Idea’ grew.”

The artifacts tell the story of how Europe faced many challenges, such as being a divided continent, living with a diversity of cultures, and experiencing foreign invasions from Slavic people and Islam. How did Europe face these challenges? The answer is bloody and lies in the history behind the crown of Charlemagne. Some news analysts, historians and art critics who know how Charlemagne used this crown to unite Europe are disturbed by the implied message behind its promotion.

The Justus Lipsius building, which houses the “Museum in a Nutshell” exhibit, is also the Brussels Conference and Press Center, which hosts most of the staff members of the Secretariat of the European Council. Sabine B. Vogel, an art critic, asked: “What message does this crown have for them?” That’s a great question. Why pick this building as the temporary home of an exhibit promoting the history of the Holy Roman Empire?

Hitler obviously saw great symbolism in this crown. That is why he worked so hard to bring it back to its home in Nuremberg. But what message do European leaders see in that crown today?

Dr. Hedwig Kainberger raised a similar question in the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Narchichten on June 26:

Why is the insignia of the Holy Roman Empire emblazoned as the eponymous image [of the “Museum in a Nutshell”]? This crown stands as a symbol “for 1,000 years of European history,” pertaining to Charlemagne, Otto iii, the Crusades or the Peace of Westphalia, said Culture and EU Minister Gernot Blümel on [June 25] at a press conference in Vienna.

Critics claim that using the crown as the central symbol is something of a double standard. Austria should instead “present itself to the EU presidency with a symbol of democracy more than a symbol of monarchy,” one critic said. Although Europe claims to be pioneering democracy, they are promoting a symbol of the greatest and most enduring dictatorship in the world!

Another name for Charlemagne’s crown is the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. However, many European nations, especially Austria, identify with it. Otto von Habsburg, son of the last Austrian emperor, explained: “We possess a European symbol which belongs to all nations of Europe equally. This is the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, which embodies the tradition of Charlemagne.”

What is the tradition of Charlemagne? We need to know, especially since Mr. Kurz is promoting this tradition in Europe and wants to see it resurrected across the Continent!

Who Was Charlemagne?

Most people in Europe have a shallow or no knowledge of Charlemagne’s history. Still, he is seen as the founder of modern Christian Europe, credited for uniting Europe, venerated as the father of Europe, and worshiped as a hero. However, few know how he accomplished all of that. The fact that Hitler venerated him should give us some indication of the nature of this man. By naming his empire the third “Reich,” Hitler claimed that he was following in the footsteps of Charlemagne!

How is it possible that Hitler got his inspiration from Charlemagne? The answer is simple if you look at the facts. Charlemagne was a mass murderer just like Hitler, even though he lacked the weapons of modern warfare.

Charlemagne fought for 30 years to subject the German state of Saxony to his crown and Catholicism. How did he convert the Saxons? Was it by peacefully spreading art and culture as European leaders want you to believe? No, he converted them with the most brutal methods of warfare the world had seen to that point in history. “[T]he violent methods by which this missionary task was carried out had been unknown to the earlier Middle Ages, and the sanguinary [bloody] punishment meted out to those who broke canon law or continued to engage in pagan practices [as he called them] called forth criticism in Charles’s own circle,” the Encyclopedia Britannica states.

That’s where Hitler got his inspiration. The first Reich was started by Charlemagne in a.d. 800 and lasted until 1806. Today, it is known as the Holy Roman Empire, responsible for the death of 40 million people in the Middle Ages. From 1871 to 1918, Imperial Germany was referred to as the second Reich, and it was responsible for World War i. The Third Reich was led by Hitler, and it killed 60 million people. Together, these empires are responsible for the greatest amount of bloodshed in the history of the world! Are we going to see a fourth Reich in the “tradition of Charlemagne”?

Charlemagne in Bible Prophecy

When European leaders talk about Charlemagne, they generally leave these gory details out. But if you succeed in imitating Charlemagne, you will end up doing what Hitler did! It was 80 years ago in 1938 when Hitler moved the crown of Charlemagne back to Germany. With a shallow understanding of history, it would be easy to think, That’s great—Hitler was trying to promote culture.

That is exactly what happened in Britain before World War ii. Many British leaders truly believed that Hitler was a man of peace. Only Churchill sounded the alarm. Today, the crown and tradition of Charlemagne are being promoted throughout Europe, and who sounds the alarm?

Bible prophecy clearly shows that another Charlemagne-like bloodshed is imminent. In “The Holy Roman Empire Goes Public—Big Time!” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains the dramatic prophetic significance of these developments:

Why would Austria promote these objects and this history—at the same time that it is leading Europe? Because Kurz believes the Holy Roman Empire is the solution to Europe’s problems!

First, Charlemagne set up a common religion, culture and art to provide Europe with an identity. Then he set out to subjugate Europe with the sword. We can see that pattern beginning again today. This year has been proclaimed “The European Year of Cultural Heritage.” Due to Charlemagne’s success, Europe already has a common cultural heritage.

But the quest of the Holy Roman Empire has always been world dominance.

Guided by the Roman Catholic Church, which they believed gave them God’s blessing, the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire have led Europe from one crusade to another. The crown is a symbol of that bloody history! One of the eight faces of the crown depicts Jesus Christ with the words Per me reges regnant. Franz Kirchweger, director of art and the treasury chamber in Vienna, explains that the words put into Christ’s mouth express that “the bearer of the crown is the representative of Christ on Earth and rules his people in His name, in His spirit.”

The Bible prophesied that the Holy Roman Empire would be resurrected seven times (Revelation 17:10). God used Herbert W. Armstrong to reveal that the Hitler-Mussolini axis was the sixth head of that empire. At the end of World War ii, he forecast that the seventh and last resurrection of this empire is yet to come. (Request your free copy of He Was Right for more information.)

In 2018, Europe is at a crucial turning point in how it treats its history and religion. The stage is set for Europe’s next Charlemagne!

This major turning point should make “headlines in every news media on this planet,” Mr. Flurry commented. Instead, it is barely noticed. To understand the depth of why this evil empire is rising again, read “The Holy Roman Empire Goes Public—Big Time!”

The Holy Roman Empire presents itself as God’s throne on Earth, but the Bible says otherwise. God indeed has a throne, but it represents the exact opposite of the “Holy” Roman Empire. Jesus Christ will return to a righteous throne, establish peace, and put an end to the world’s evil (Isaiah 9:6-7). The fact that this evil throne is rising again proves that God’s rule is imminent.

Request a free copy of Mr. Flurry’s book The New Throne of David to find out how this evil empire will end and what will replace it forever.