Record Gun Purchases in Germany and the Rise of Mini-Merkel

A recent report from Germany gives small statistics that indicate a far bigger trend.

The number of Germans seeking a weapons license has seen a massive increase in 2018. The amount of small arms permits issued jumped 130 percent from 2014 to the latest figures published this year.

The majority of these permits are in the “basic” category, meaning small, nonlethal guns: rubber bullet-firing gas pistols and flare guns, for example. It’s much harder to get a gun in Germany than it is in the United States. These “basic” category weapons are easier to get a hold of.

These stats are a small indicator of a huge trend: Germans don’t feel safe.

You can see this same trend in the polls. There’s a massive exodus from mainstream parties. They feel that they have been let down by mainstream parties, and that their leadership can no longer look after them.

A resent insa poll put the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) at 15 percent of the vote and the far-left Left Party at 10 percent. One in 4 Germans wants to vote for these radical, smash-the-system groups.

So in the face of all this fear and anger, Germany’s ruling party, the Christian Democratic Union (cdu), met on December 7 to choose a new leader.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had led the party since 2000 and aims to remain chancellor until the next election. The new cdu leader is in line to succeed her as chancellor if the party wins the next federal election. The new leader could even have a shot at forcing Ms. Merkel out of her job even sooner.

In the end, the vote came down to a simple choice. On the one hand Friedrich Merz, a strong critic of Merkel, wanted to move the party much further to the right. On the other hand, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, was Ms. Merkel’s preferred candidate. Kramp-Karrenbauer has some differences from Merkel, but not enough to keep some from calling her “mini-Merkel.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer won 51.8 percent of the vote.

So despite all the turmoil in Germany, they chose more of the same. This is going to cause the anger toward Germany’s political classes to grow.

The Bible reveals that an entirely different system of government is coming to Europe. Revelation 17 describes “ten kings” who submit to one overall king. Autocratic leadership is making a comeback.

Daniel 8 describes the same individual. “Daniel’s vision shows that the leadership of Europe is about to become a lot more authoritative,” wrote Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry in the January 2019 Trumpet issue.

Daniel 11:21 says that this leader will not be given “the honour of the kingdom” but shall instead come in “by flatteries.” This leader comes to power in an unusual, even illegitimate, way. He’s not voted into office through the normal channels.

A strong leader, who is not elected—this will be a big change for Europe. But with the anger building across Europe and the political class ignoring them, you can begin to see how this could happen.

“Current conditions in Europe, including the refugee crisis and the turmoil in German politics, provide probably one of the greatest opportunities ever for a new leader to come into power ‘by flatteries,’” wrote Mr. Flurry in that article.

If you have not already, be sure to read Mr. Flurry’s article “Germany—A New King Is Imminent.” It gives you the prophetic background you need to understand the tumultuous news coming out of Europe. And if you don’t yet have one, sign up for a free subscription the Trumpet magazine.