The Global Ambition to Destroy America and Its President
The Global Ambition to Destroy America and Its President
Remember the great face mask scandal? It occurred in April, at the height of the coronavirus crisis. It started in Bangkok, Thailand, where a shipping container filled with face masks destined for Germany was at the last minute inexplicably rerouted to the United States.
The Germans were furious. Andreas Geisel, Berlin’s interior minister, called America’s behavior an “act of modern piracy.” Berlin’s mayor, Michael Müller, pegged the blame squarely on Donald Trump. “The actions of the U.S. president do not just betray a lack of solidarity, they are inhumane and irresponsible,” he tweeted. German Chancellor Angela Merkel tacitly endorsed the remarks, stating that it was “important that we get to the bottom of it.”
As it turned out, there was no sinister plot to steal Germany’s masks. The Germans perceived a conspiracy that did not exist and massively overreacted. To their credit, the interior minister and mayor admitted their mistake and apologized.
Among geopolitical events, it was a minor scandal. But it is revealing. That such high-level German leaders would spontaneously combust over such an incident reveals an extreme sensitivity. Combined with other evidence, it shows a distinct and intensifying hostility toward America, especially President Trump.
But it’s not just Germany. Anti-American sentiment is increasing all over Europe. It is rife in Europe’s media, where Donald Trump is routinely portrayed as a colossal doofus and the root of world problems. Meanwhile, Europe’s leaders and officials outdo themselves trying to land digs at America and its president.
And it’s not just Europe. Today many of the world’s most influential countries, institutions and organizations are brazenly anti-American. Everyone knows Russia and China consider the U.S. an adversary, and that Germany and France are taking on the same view; but even America’s relations with traditional allies such as South Korea, the Philippines and Japan are deteriorating.
This same trend is happening with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (nato), the International Monetary Fund, the World Health Organization (who), and the United Nations. Pope Francis, another influential voice in global affairs, also loathes Donald Trump and America.
Why is the world turning on the U.S. and its president?
Most people blame Mr. Trump. Many consider America’s president ignorant and offensive, the antithesis of a statesman. Critics despise his “America first” worldview. They hate the fact that he’s prepared to hold other nations to account, and that he wants America to pull back as the world’s preeminent financier, policeman and all-round troubleshooter. These are the reasons, we are told, that nations are distancing themselves from Washington.
Of course, the leaders of every nation put the interests of their country first, even when it hurts others. That alone does not explain the antagonism toward America. The contempt for President Trump is consistent even when his decisions are provably correct. Pinning all the blame on this man is simplistic and superficial. And it obscures the larger, more sinister reason for this trend.
The truth is, a higher and much more evil and dangerous power is behind this welling hatred for America.
Hating On America
China’s disdain for America and its ongoing effort to challenge America’s power are obvious. Few, however, recognize the extent to which Beijing works to poison others against the U.S.
Consider Beijing’s association with the who, which was exposed by the covid-19 crisis. The who and its director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, received a lot of criticism for their dawdling, inept response to the virus. From the start, the who manipulated facts and mismanaged the crisis.
The reason had nothing to do with bureaucracy or resources. “The who has failed for a very simple reason: Both it and its director general are far too close to China (which is, by the way, a large investor in Dr. Tedros’s native Ethiopia)” (Spectator, April 18). From the outset, Dr. Tedros and the who were working to defend Beijing and further its interests.
Though it had some understanding about the trouble in Wuhan, China, as early as November, the who was slow to reveal the facts, especially how contagious the virus was. Throughout January it warned against imposing travel restrictions on China, even as hundreds of thousands of people poured in and out of Wuhan. Instead of asking China some hard questions, it praised Beijing for the way it handled the crisis.
At a January 28 press conference, Dr. Tedros said, “We appreciate the seriousness with which China is taking this outbreak, especially the commitment from top leadership, and the transparency they have demonstrated ….” There is strong evidence that this virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, but the who remains silent on this!
Meanwhile as the crisis progressed, Dr. Tedros and the who grew more critical of America’s president. On April 9, with Mr. Trump talking about investigating the who, Dr. Tedros reprimanded him for “politicizing” the crisis, a course that would result in “many more body bags.” “You have many other ways to prove yourselves,” he chided. “This is not the one to use for politics; it’s like playing with fire.”
Talk about politicizing the crisis: Dr. Tedros and the who were in China’s pocket. Yet America is by far the largest donor to the who, supplying nearly 15 percent of its total funding. Why shouldn’t its president investigate the conduct of an organization that receives hundreds of millions of American dollars?
Beijing’s infiltration of the who ought to raise questions about its relations with other key international organizations and institutions. Is it turning others against America as well?
Kristine Lee, an associate fellow in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Center for a New American Security, wrote about this for Politico: “For people who’ve been watching China’s growing activism in the United Nations closely, the who’s deference to China is no surprise. In fact, it’s just the exposed tip of a dangerous iceberg” (April 15; emphasis added throughout). Lee explained how Beijing in recent years has “systematically positioned Chinese nationals at the head of a wide range of UN agencies.”
Just this year, China was appointed one of five seats on the Consultative Group that heads the United Nations Human Rights Council. It holds similar positions of influence in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (unesco). Meanwhile, America left both agencies in 2018.
Lee wrote, “Beijing’s leverage over the who cannot be understood independently of a much longer and broader campaign, one that aims to bend the arc of global governance toward a more illiberal orientation that privileges the interests of authoritarian actors.”
That is a powerful statement: This Sino-who axis is part of a larger global crusade to weaken America’s leadership and orient the international community around authoritarian governments.
Further Evidence
Perhaps such subversion should be expected from the likes of China, Russia, the who and the UN. But we are also seeing America’s longtime friends and allies growing apathetic and even hostile.
A January Pew research poll revealed that Germans’ trust in America’s president has declined from 51 percent in 2001 to just 13 percent. In Spain, it dropped from 26 percent to 21 percent.
“Most Europeans and Latin Americans have little confidence in the U.S. president to do the right thing regarding world affairs,” the Pew Research Center reported. The share of Europeans who expressed “no confidence” in Mr. Trump (64 percent) is higher than any other world leader mentioned in the poll. The study revealed that Europeans have more confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin than in Donald Trump.
Another poll showed that the majority of Germans consider Mr. Trump more dangerous than Putin, China’s President Xi Jinping, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
Germany’s feelings about America in general are changing too. In 2000, 80 percent of Germans favored America. By 2015, the number had fallen to 50 percent. By spring 2019, it was only 39 percent. This trend has played out less dramatically in other European nations: In Italy in 2000 the favorable view toward America was 76 percent; today it’s 62 percent. In France it was 62 percent (the lowest in Europe in 2000); today it’s 48 percent. Only 52 percent of the Spanish have a favorable view of the U.S.
Today it is routine to see disrespect and hostility toward America in the decisions, speeches and policies of Europe’s leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron says nato is undergoing “brain death” and blames Donald Trump. Mr. Macron became an international hero at the nato conference last December when he publicly corrected America’s president, telling him to “be serious” after remarks Mr. Trump made about the Islamic State.
Many of Europe’s leaders now agree with Chancellor Merkel’s assessment after returning from the G-7 summit in 2017: “The era in which we could fully rely on others is over to some extent. … We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands …. We have to know that we Europeans must fight for our own future and destiny.” A recent poll commissioned by the Körber Foundation found that 47 percent of Germans believe Berlin should cooperate less with America.
In February, the theme of this year’s Munich Security Conference—the world’s most important meeting of world leaders on security issues—was “Westlessness” and the fragmentation of the West. With leaders from the U.S. and Europe speaking on the big issues of the day, the conference exposed the massive divide between the two. America and Europe “aren’t just far apart on the big questions facing the West (threats from Russia, Iran, China),” wrote Politico, “they’re in parallel universes.”
President Macron was especially forceful in his views at the conference. He spoke about the need for Europe to become more militarily independent, to break away from being America’s junior partner, and to draw closer to Russia.
Another strong critic is Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Germany’s former defense minister. Some speculate that Guttenberg, widely considered an expert on U.S.-German relations, will soon make a political comeback. Though he supports warm U.S.–German relations, he has ferociously denigrated America under Donald Trump, whom he has referred to as the “clown in the White House” and a “jack in the box.”
Guttenberg’s view of Mr. Trump resonates throughout Europe, where top newspapers and television stations routinely portray him as an ignorant buffoon. In recent years, the covers of Der Spiegel, Europe’s largest newsmagazine, have depicted America’s president as a middle finger to Europe, a terrorist beheading Lady Liberty, a subhuman ape, a baby riding a nuclear bomb, a meteor poised to destroy the planet, and a tsunami destroying Washington, D.C.
Another key figure with notable animus toward America is Pope Francis. Francis has called U.S.-style capitalism “a new tyranny” and the “dung of the devil.” In 2016, during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, the pope said any man who builds a wall couldn’t call himself a Christian; an obvious swipe at Mr. Trump.
“If Pope Francis is to be taken at his word, he could not possibly wish for the leader of the capitalist system to thrive and prosper, continuing to inflict its ‘tyranny’ on the world,” wrote Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry in his 2016 article “Why Is the Pope Meddling in American Politics?” “If he believes the free market is a force of destruction, then he would feel not only justified, but obligated to use his power to weaken it.”
Beyond Europe, America’s relations with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, all longtime solid allies, are also coming under tremendous strain.
It is easy to blame all this on Donald Trump. As president, he has withdrawn America from the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal, which the Europeans favored; he has criticized Europe’s meager contributions to nato and demanded that it pay more; he has supported Brexit, withdrawn America’s troops from Syria without consulting European allies, and called on friends like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines to provide compensation for U.S. support. In March, when Europe became a hot spot for covid-19, the president quickly locked America’s borders to Europeans.
These measures are dramatic. And there is no doubt that President Trump engages with the international community very differently than any of his predecessors. But while these decisions might upset world leaders, they were not unreasonable. There is nearly always merit to Mr. Trump’s actions and decisions, even if the execution can be undiplomatic or unconventional. The Paris climate deal hurt America’s economy more than anyone else’s by far; the U.S. has spent billions on nato for decades; the Iran deal was a known travesty from the beginning. In each case, the president was sincerely acting in America’s best interest—as a president should, and as all world leaders do.
So why does the world go ballistic almost anytime Donald Trump speaks? Why are Europe’s leading media outlets and politicians so disrespectful? Why are international organizations trying to please China and undermine America?
The Ultimate Cause
For nearly 10 years now, the Trumpet has reported on the rise of the radical left and its sustained attack on America’s Constitution, the rule of law and the nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage. In America Under Attack, first published in 2013, Mr. Flurry identifies the ultimate source of this campaign to destroy America.
This enlightening booklet focuses on biblical passages that reveal the existence of a devil, an inherently wicked spirit being who is “the god of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air” (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2).
As we will see, the devil has extraordinary hatred for the United States. Regarding the growing problems undermining America today, Mr. Flurry writes in that booklet, “We are seeing the aftereffects of a calculated, aggressive, satanic attack aimed at weakening and ultimately destroying the nations of Israel, starting with the world’s most powerful nation!” When he refers to “the nations of Israel,” Mr. Flurry is talking about America and Britain (and its Commonwealth), the end-time descendants of ancient Israel. (Prove this by studying The United States and Britain in Prophecy, free upon request.)
Bible history shows that the devil has always sought the destruction of the people of Israel and Judah. 2 Kings 14, for example, reveals the devil’s ancient campaign to “blot out the name of Israel from under heaven.”
Revelation 12:9, a prophecy for the end time, says, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” This milestone event has happened. Satan has been cast down to Earth. As Mr. Flurry explains in America Under Attack, “The devil and millions of demons are now confined to this Earth. They can no longer go out into the universe.”
Now Satan again seeks to “blot out the name of Israel,” both spiritual and physical. “Satan hates everything God is about,” wrote Mr. Flurry. “He harbors terrible hatred for Israel—spiritual Israel (God’s Church) and physical Israel (modern-day nations descended from ancient Israel, particularly America, Britain and the Jewish state in the Middle East)” (Trumpet, March 2020).
Today this campaign, which has been at work for decades, is in its final stages.
Over the years, we have exposed how Satan has deployed the radical left inside America. But when you consider the actions of Russia, China, Germany, France and a host of other countries, organizations and institutions, it raises the question: Is the devil orchestrating a global campaign to destroy America?
The radical left in America is in close contact with America’s enemies. During February’s Munich Security Conference, a delegation of Democrats met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, without the approval or knowledge of the U.S. State Department. John Kerry, Barack Obama’s secretary of state, has also met with Zarif several times.
Hillary Clinton, another secretary of state under Obama, also appears to be working behind the scenes against the White House. Last autumn, with Brexit hanging in the balance, Clinton visited the UK and encouraged the nation to stop Brexit and remain with the EU. In 2017, Obama visited Germany at the same time as President Trump and met with Angela Merkel just before Mr. Trump did. “We can’t isolate ourselves,” he told her. “We can’t hide behind a wall.” By arguing against Mr. Trump’s signature project, he was showing Germany there are alternatives to Mr. Trump. More recently, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, has tried to protect and encourage China even as the president seeks to pressure China.
These top American politicians are more loyal to the leaders of Germany and China than to their own president and their own nation!
“[T]he devil is attacking the nations of Israel,” Mr. Flurry writes in America Under Attack. This is the context in which we should evaluate the actions of China, the UN and the who, Germany, France, the remarks of Guttenberg and Macron, and even the polls and surveys showing hostility building in Europe toward the U.S. Remember, Satan is “the god of this world”—and he is turning it against America!
When you understand the devil’s deep hatred for “Israel” and all that this term encompasses, the world suddenly makes a lot of sense!
Let’s look at these prophecies even more deeply.
What Prophecy Says
To understand the Bible, we must grasp the principle noted in Isaiah 28:10: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Bible prophecies and doctrines are understood by considering multiple books and chapters. End-time prophecies about America and its relations with the rest of the world involve multiple passages, but there are perhaps four key ones: 2 Kings 14:23-29; Amos 7; Daniel 8 and Revelation 12.
The passage in 2 Kings describes the history of King Jeroboam ii, who ruled the kingdom of Israel in the eighth century b.c. Over his 41-year reign, the kingdom experienced an impressive resurgence, enlarging its territory, increasing its military strength, enhancing its political power, and expanding its material prosperity.
The Prophet Amos lived in the eighth century b.c. and delivered a warning from God to King Jeroboam ii. Part of this message is recorded in Amos 7. However, the message of Amos is dual; this book carries a warning for Israel in the “latter days,” or the end time. (All of what we call “the minor prophets” contain end-time prophecy.) Amos 7 is both history and prophecy. It records God’s message to the ancient Jeroboam, but it is also a prophecy about God’s message to an end-time type of King Jeroboam in Israel.
Does America have a king, someone who rules in the same spirit of Jeroboam and has overseen a remarkable resurgence? Although it was written thousands of years ago, 2 Kings 14:25-28 perfectly describe Donald Trump’s presidency!
2 Kings 14 records that Jeroboam ii became king during a time of extreme national upheaval. Verses 25-26 record that Jeroboam “restored the coast of Israel …. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.” The Hebrew word for affliction means depression or misery. Albert Barnes’s commentary says Jeroboam became king when Israel was in “extreme depression and weakness.” You could use the same language to describe America in 2016, when the nation was suffering the devastating effects of a president who hated the Constitution and rule of law.
Verse 27 reveals the severity of Israel’s condition: “And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.” The kingdom was in an existential crisis. There was a massive conspiracy afoot to “blot out the name of Israel.”
This is why God backed Jeroboam ii and created a resurgence. He didn’t want this colossal surge of hatred to destroy the kingdom, so, God “saved them by the hand of Jeroboam ….” He used this man to prevent Israel from being blotted out.
Today there is again a major conspiracy to “blot out the name of Israel”—and God has raised up another Jeroboam! This is ultimately why the radical left hates Donald Trump’s vision of America: because he is, at least for now, defending Israel!
Antiochus
Now consider another important dimension of this prophecy. The prophecy in Daniel 8 is also dual, meaning this history would repeat in what Daniel called the “latter days,” the time just before Jesus Christ’s return. Daniel 8 is mainly a prophecy about Antiochus Epiphanes, the third-century b.c. Greek tyrant who destroyed the Jews and the Jewish temple. Antiochus was used by the devil to try to “blot out the name of Israel.” (The Jews are part of Israel.)
Both Daniel 8 and 10 prophesy the emergence of end-time Antiochus figures—tyrannical men who will seek to destroy Israel. Daniel 8:12-13 record that the original Antiochus “cast down the truth to the ground” and saw the people of God (the Jews) “trodden under foot.” Verse 23 records that he “understand[s] dark sentences,” which implies he is directly influenced by Satan and demons. Verse 25 says he will “destroy many” and fight directly against the “Prince of princes”—Jesus Christ!
Mr. Flurry has explained that we can expect Satan to work through three Antiochus-type men in the end time. One of these men operates within God’s Church, spiritual Israel (this man is the “Amaziah” mentioned in Amos 7). Another Antiochus will emerge in Europe—he is the mighty political strongman mentioned in passages like Habakkuk 1:11. Finally, there is a political Antiochus operating within America, casting truth to the ground and behaving lawlessly. This man leads the radical left.
Can we recognize what the devil is doing? He has three Antiochuses in this end time, and all three have the same supreme objective—to destroy Israel!
In America Under Attack, Mr. Flurry exposes the behavior of Barack Obama and explains how the former president presided over a new age of lawlessness in America. Mr. Obama dramatically empowered the radical left movement, a movement that seeks to destroy traditional America.
But as we are now seeing, the Antiochus spirit—and the campaign to “blot out the name of Israel”—isn’t merely a domestic problem. The same spirit that motivated Antiochus is animating nations, organizations and media outlets all over the Earth, and it is taking over the minds of some of the world’s top leaders!
These stunning prophecies explain the reality at the heart of virtually all the major trends in America, Britain and the Jewish state. Just as there was anciently, there is today a diabolical conspiracy to “blot out the name of Israel from under heaven”!
Why Destroy Israel?
2 Kings 14:27 says the devil wants to “blot out the name of Israel from under heaven ….” He wants the truth about Israel not just removed from Earth, but eradicated from the universe. The world has never seen hatred this deep.
Why does the devil hate the nations of Israel (America, Britain and the Jewish state) so passionately?
In Mystery of the Ages, the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote: “The truly amazing truth about Israel is a mystery totally unknown by any religion—by Christianity—by even Judaism!” To understand why God raised up the people of Israel, and why the Bible talks so much about Israel, read Mystery of the Ages.
The truth about Israel revolves around God’s towering twofold promise to Abraham found in Genesis 12 and 17. This promise explains human civilization since Abraham and gives context and meaning to world history. It explains Britain’s empire and colonial past, its monarchy and its many wonderful traditions and institutions. This prophecy explains why America is exceptional, the reason for the success of the Constitution, and how this nation became the single greatest nation on Earth.
But there is more to the Abrahamic promise and the “mystery of Israel” than just this physical dimension. “It is indeed true that the nation Israel was God’s chosen people. But understand: They were not chosen as ‘teacher’s pet’ nor for special favors. They were chosen for a special purpose preparatory to the ultimate establishment of the Kingdom of God!” Mr. Armstrong wrote.
The undeniable virtues preserved and shared with the world by the descendants of Abraham did not originate in Abraham. They came from God! The entire purpose of God granting these blessings to Israel was to spread them to humanity. This isn’t just about a family or a race or nations. This is about God working with humanity.
When you truly understand the “mystery of Israel,” you understand the truth about human nature, the need for God’s Holy Spirit, the path to salvation, how to have a relationship with God, and the gospel of the coming government of God. You also understand the incredible human potential: to be born into the Family of God.
The “mystery of Israel,” explained Mr. Armstrong, “has great significance in God’s purpose for all peoples! One cannot understand the real purpose and incredible potential of man without this vital knowledge.” God reveals His spectacular plan for man through Israel.
Satan doesn’t just hate the people of Israel, the nations which through no individual merit have been the blessed inheritors of God’s promises to Abraham. The devil hates the “name,” the truth and knowledge—the divinely revealed understanding—embodied in Israel’s history.
He hates Israel because America and Britain’s existence proves God’s existence and proves that the Bible is God’s Word!
He hates Israel because its presence and history reveals the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!
He hates Israel because Israel has the throne of David from which Jesus Christ Himself will rule when He returns!
Satan the devil hates Israel because as long as this name exists, men will have the opportunity to consider and study God’s purpose for Israel. And this study will lead a person into the greatest, most fascinating, most inspiring knowledge he could ever learn.
Ultimately, this is why the devil seeks to “blot out the name of Israel”—it’s because the name “Israel” introduces us to the mind and plan of God!
