WorldWatch
Macron: ‘Napoleon is a part of us’
France commemorated the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte on May 5, prompting a heated debate over his legacy. French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying, “Napoleon is a part of us.”
For the past 50 years, French presidents have avoided officially honoring Napoleon. Macron ventured into the culture war, however, by visiting Napoleon’s grave to honor the anniversary. Macron said that Napoleon was both “ogre and eagle, Alexander and Nero … the soul of the world and the demon of Europe,” trying to appease those who despise Napoleon as an imperialist warmonger, yet also acknowledging those who, like French far-right nationalist leader Marine Le Pen, consider him “an eternal French hero.”
While English-speaking nations in the West are “canceling” their own historical figures, Macron’s cautious commemoration of a man who reintroduced slavery and caused some of the greatest bloodshed in European history is part of a revival of French and European pride.
Adolf Hitler also paid homage to Napoleon in 1940 at the exact same location as Macron. Like Napoleon, Hitler sought an alliance with the Roman Catholic Church, signed a concordat with the Vatican, praised the ancient French-German warlord Charlemagne, and enslaved and murdered many in an effort to dominate Europe and rule the world, only to fail in conquering Britain and suffering disaster after attempting to invade Russia. Hitler is viewed by most today as an evil tyrant, yet Napoleon is considered more complex.
The Bible categorizes both of these men as part of the same system. “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” (Revelation 17:10). This prophesies seven resurrections throughout history of the Holy Roman Empire. This sixth resurrection of this system has come and gone, and as Europe revives its heritage, the seventh is coming.
Islamic terror strikes France yet again
A terrorist fatally stabbed a woman in a police station on April 23 in the French town of Rambouillet, near Paris. Jamel Gorchene, a Tunisian man in his mid-30s, is known to have adopted strict Islamic practices, to have premeditated the attack by surveying the station beforehand, and to have watched videos of pro-jihad songs immediately before the attack. Stéphanie Monfermé, a 49-year-old administrative assistant at the station and mother of two put money in a parking meter. Gorchene then followed her inside, shouted “Allahu Akhbar,” and began stabbing. A police officer shot Gorchene dead.
Gorchene entered France illegally in 2009 and obtained a residence permit in 2019. He has the same Tunisian hometown as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the terrorist who used a truck to murder 86 people in Nice in 2016.
In September, a Pakistani immigrant attacked two people with a meat cleaver outside the former offices of a French satirical magazine. On Oct. 16, 2020, an 18-year-old Chechnyan refugee beheaded teacher Samuel Paty. Two weeks later, a Tunisian migrant, who had been in France for about a month, killed three people in a church in Nice.
“For years, France has refused to confront radical Islam as it grew within its borders,” we wrote in the January 2021 Trumpet. “Now the government is strengthening itself to confront that problem. But aspects of the new approach point to a new authoritarian direction for the country.”
French retired generals threaten military coup against Islamism
“The hour is grave. France is in jeopardy, threatened by several mortal dangers.” That is the beginning of an open letter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron and his government (Trumpet translation throughout). It was signed on April 21 by 20 former generals and more than 1,500 members of the military, police and gendarmerie, and calls on France’s leaders to “safeguard the nation” from Islamic threats and to preserve France’s history.
“[W]e remain soldiers of France and cannot in the present circumstances remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country,” the letter states. It expresses fear that France is “disintegrating with the Islamists of the hordes of the suburbs who are detaching large parts of the nation and turning them into territory subject to dogmas contrary to our constitution.”
The open letter was published in Valeurs Actuelles, which is considered a right-wing newsmagazine. Since its publication, it has attracted thousands more signatures from those who fear a military uprising and civil war.
Saying that a military coup might be necessary in a First World nation sounds extreme. It takes a lot of courage to sign an open letter that has gone viral and that your neighbors and acquaintances might read. But more and more Frenchmen see the situation as urgent enough to take this risk.
“[E]nough procrastination. The hour is serious; the work is colossal,” the letter further states. “Do not waste time and know that we are ready to support the policies that will take into consideration the safeguarding of the nation. … We can see that there is no more time to procrastinate, otherwise imminent civil war will put an end to this growing chaos, and the deaths, for which you will be responsible, will amount to thousands.”
Geopolitical Futures noted: “That so many current members of the defense and security establishment were willing to sign the letter suggests they do not fear punishment. This is especially notable in a country like France, with a history of the military getting involved in domestic politics.”
Iran advances uranium enrichment
The Iranian regime announced on April 16 that it has enriched uranium to 60 percent purity, the highest level ever publicly acknowledged by the regime. The work necessary to enrich from 60 percent to 90 percent (weapons-grade) is minimal by comparison.
Iran continues to advance and advertise its nuclear program despite ongoing negotiations with American and European diplomats. What explains its relentless, aggressive, seemingly self-destructive behavior? The regime espouses Twelver Shiism and therefore welcomes world chaos as the catalyst for the emergence of its mahdi to establish Islamic governance over the entire planet. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are unconstrained by pragmatism: They are motivated by radical ideology.
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over” (Daniel 11:40). Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has consistently identified the “king of the south” in this prophecy as radical Islam, led by Iran, and the “king of the north” as Europe, led by Germany. The conflict described here begins with repeated acts of provocation by the former, and overwhelming destruction wrought by the latter, sparking a global war.
App lets Chinese report others for ‘mistaken opinions’
The Chinese Communist Party has launched a new app for citizens to report each other to authorities for expressing “mistaken opinions” about the government.
An April 9 statement by the Cyberspace Administration of China said that the app gives users an “active role” in identifying “malicious people distorting facts and confusing [others]. For a while now, some people with ulterior motives … have spread historically nihilistic false statements online, maliciously distorting, slandering and denying party, national and military history in an attempt to confuse people’s thinking.
“We hope that the majority of Internet users will actively play their part in supervising society … and enthusiastically report harmful information.”
In February, Chinese lawmakers amended China’s constitution to stipulate that individuals who “insult, slander or infringe upon” the memory of Communist Party heroes may be imprisoned for up to three years. Chinese law also imposes prison time for those convicted of publishing criticism of government policies or questioning the Communist Party’s account of past events. The conviction rate in Chinese courts is 99.97 percent.
The Chinese government, led by dictator Xi Jinping, is increasing its power over the Chinese nation, which itself is increasing in economic, political and military power. Bible prophecy reveals that China will continue growing more powerful and that it and other authoritarian governments will soon dominate the world. For more information, read “What Are the Times of the Gentiles?”
Russia completes ‘peacekeeping’ bases in former Soviet Union
Russian military workers finished building 30 “peacekeeper” bases in Nagorno-Karabakh on May 8. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the bases took four months to complete and will provide accommodation for nearly 2,000 Russian troops keeping the peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The bases are part of an agreement Russia made last November to end a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over who controls the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Early in his reign, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the collapse of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” He has spent a great deal of his 20 years as Russia’s leader trying to reverse that “catastrophe.” In 2008, his forces invaded the former Soviet nation of Georgia and brought a fifth of the nation’s territory under Russian control. Six years later, he invaded the former Soviet state of Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Now he is positioned to do the same in the South Caucasus.
France pressures Lebanese politicians
The French government will penalize Lebanese politicians it deems to be impeding the formation of a new government, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said in an April 29 press release. This may include barring entry to France or economic sanctions for any politician it deems to be “obstructing a way out of the crisis.” The mere threat of this constitutes a serious intervention in the political process of a foreign nation.
On May 6, le Drian held a little-publicized meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. Arab Weekly reported him as telling reporters that if Lebanon, which is a former French colony, does not “act now in a responsible surge of effort,” the country “will face the consequences of this failure.”
Psalm 83 prophesies an alliance between Europe and certain Middle Eastern nations—an alliance that has never formed in history but is forming right now. Assur (Assyria) refers to Germany and Gebal refers to Lebanon. France’s increasing involvement in Lebanon is helping form this alliance and leading to war between Catholic Europe and the radical Islamist Middle East.
Putin and Xi could create a ‘nightmare scenario’ for the U.S. military
In April, Russia amassed more than 110,000 troops near Ukraine, and China simultaneously committed record numbers of incursions into Taiwan’s airspace. The concurrent developments raised fears about how the United States military could respond to two simultaneous invasions.
“Let’s face it: Regional war in Europe is again thought of as a possibility on both sides, and this should not make anyone happy,” the Moscow Carnegie Center’s Dmitri Trenin said on April 14. “Even in the U.S., because such a war will not be limited to the Old Continent. Fasten your seat belts.”
A Chinese government spokesman said: “The signal given by the military drills is that we are determined to stop Taiwan independence and stop Taiwan from working with the U.S.”
The United States still operates the world’s largest and most powerful military. But a landmark report by the Heritage Foundation in 2019 forecast that if two major conflicts were to erupt simultaneously, the U.S. may be unable to muster an adequate response.
Former U.S. Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis said a two-front war with Russia and China over Ukraine and Taiwan would be the “absolute worst-case scenario for U.S. security.” He wrote that the “nightmare scenario,” which has been only a remote possibility for more than 75 years, is now much more likely, leaving the U.S. with a “horrifying dilemma: choose to engage in a battle that could leave our armed forces fatally gouged or face humiliation by refusing to fight in the face of aggressive forces.”
The true inflation rate would crash the market
Many economists, investors and everyday people are getting nervous about inflation. The United States government has already spent more than $5.3 trillion to supposedly mitigate the economic burden of its own covid-19 lockdowns. And the Federal Reserve has pumped more than $4 trillion into circulation.
That means $1 out of every $5 of all the easily spendable dollars in existence has been created during the covid-19 pandemic.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned investors on April 28 that inflation could rise in the coming months. But the situation is actually a lot worse than Powell is willing to admit.
In April, the consumer price index was up 4.2 percent over the previous year, the fastest year-over-year increase in more than 12 years. Yet anyone who keeps detailed records of their expenses has probably noticed that the cost of goods and services in the United States has gone up by more than 4.2 percent over the course of the past 12 months.
This is because the government manipulates the statistics. In the past 30 years, it has changed the way it calculates inflation more than 20 times, always resulting in a lower inflation rate. According to shadowstats.com, if inflation were still calculated the way it was in 1980, today’s rate would be roughly 12 percent.
Second Steele dossier exposes FBI doubling down on its own corruption
The Telegraph revealed on May 3 that Christopher Steele wrote a second dossier while Donald Trump was president. Steele is the infamous former British spy hired by those connected to Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign to write a dossier of accusations against Trump. He filled the dossier with unsubstantiated accusations of sexual perversion in Moscow and collusion with the Russian government. Sources, including Central Intelligence Agency analysts, dismissed the dossier as “Internet rumor.”
Nonetheless, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations used Steele’s accusations to spy on the Trump campaign and ultimately to conduct a two-year investigation that produced zero evidence of Russian collusion.
Now it has emerged that the FBI continued to use Steele, even after President Trump was inaugurated and the first dossier came under scrutiny. The second dossier also made accusations that Trump had engaged in sexual misconduct, that Russians had proof of it, and that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential elections. The FBI’s acceptance of a second Steele dossier reveals deep corruption inside the United States government.
Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in “America Has No Helper” that 2 Kings 14:26-27 prophesied this corruption: “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. 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.”
“Israel” refers prophetically to America and Britain, and these verses shows there are people working to “blot out the name of Israel from under heaven,” and many of them are within the American government.
