China conducted two nuclear-capable hypersonic missile tests this summer, according to an October 21 Financial Times report. United States intelligence officials have been left “stunned” by China’s advanced missile systems which, one official said, “the U.S. does not currently possess.”

A prior Financial Times report covered an August 13 test in which the missile missed its target by about two dozen miles. The test caught U.S. officials off guard. One even told the Times, “We have no idea how they did this.”

But the latest report reveals an even earlier July 27 hypersonic missile test that government scientists are “struggling to understand.” China reportedly used a “fractional orbital bombardment” system, which propelled a nuclear-capable glide vehicle around the Earth for the first time.

Hypersonic missiles are practically indefensible. They fly into low-Earth orbit before hurtling back to Earth at up to five times the speed of sound. Their ability to fly at low altitudes and maneuver midflight makes them incredibly difficult to track and destroy. Russia, North Korea and five other countries are believed to be developing this weapons technology. It is advanced enough to evade even America’s defense systems.

China, of course, is denying that the test was a hypersonic missile test. “This was not a missile; this was a spacecraft,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian. “This is of great significance for reducing the cost of spacecraft use.”

But according to Michael Shoebridge, a director at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, China has no reason to openly declare its weapons development program.

“Transparency is an alien concept for Beijing’s strategic thinkers,” he said. After all, this is the same country whose rapid construction of 119 missile silos was only discovered through satellite imagery.

Many Americans are worried. Rep. Mike Gallagher of the House Arms Committee called the test a “call to action.” And yet some are still skeptical. Taylor Fravel, an expert on Chinese nuclear policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that the weapons tests did not necessarily mean Beijing would deploy the weapons. Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear expert at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, argued that these could be “exaggerated characterizations.”

These are fair points. But can the rest of the world afford to greet Chinese advancements with the same skepticism?

Consider the geopolitical context.

The United States recently abandoned Afghanistan without telling its allies. This caused European leaders to urge for a greater “political will” to establish a European military force. “You can have the most advanced forces in the world—but if you are never prepared to use them, of what use are they?” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “Europe has a unique opportunity to affirm itself as a power on the strategic plane,” said French Defense Minister Florence Parly. “The need for more European defense has never been as much evident,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs representative.

At the moment, this is all talk.

But what if China, emboldened by its weapons advancements and America’s abandonment of Afghanistan, suddenly invaded Taiwan? What if the U.S. abandoned another ally? What if Russia refused to condemn China’s actions, like when Russia annexed Crimea? What if China shared its hypersonic missile technology with Russia? What if Russia and China allied militarily? What would Europe do then?

This might seem like exaggerated conjecture, and these events might not take place in such a straight line, but those familiar with the Trumpet will know that we have been making Bible-based predictions of all these scenarios for years. And Europe will be at the heart of it all.

Here’s what Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in “After Afghanistan and AUKUS—Watch Europe”:

European leaders were shocked by America’s retreat from Afghanistan. The United States exposed its willingness to abandon our friends and allies. It proved, in fact, that we will not even help our own people! We sneaked our military out and left at least hundreds of Americans behind. That is not how a superpower operates!

After witnessing what America did, European leaders know they cannot rely on the U.S. as an ally. Europe is in a precarious state right now, and is on the cusp of radical change. We must understand how the Afghanistan debacle is hastening that change ….

Earthshaking events are happening in such rapid succession, it is difficult to keep up. America’s evacuation from Afghanistan seems like eons ago, with all that has occurred in the weeks since. But we are beginning to see how that withdrawal, and the collapse of American leadership it represented, is changing the world.

China’s weapons development is leaving America in the dust. When China takes Taiwan (as Mr. Flurry predicted in 1998) and further emasculates the United States, watch Europe!

Europe is crying out for strong leadership. That leadership has always come from Germany. The Bible prophesies of one final, strong leader to emerge from Germany and bring “radical change.” Watch for how America’s evacuation from the world stage will cause Europe to embrace this leader and change the world.

To learn more about the impending radical change in Europe and the world, request your free copy of A Strong German Leader Is Imminent, by Gerald Flurry.