The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after the four-party coalition failed to reach a deal on immigration. Leaders have been arguing for months on how to handle the surge in asylum seekers, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte pushing for stricter laws.

After reaching a standstill in negotiations last week with two parties refusing to support his plan, Rutte handed the entire cabinet’s resignation to the king, stating that the coalition’s differences were “irreconcilable.” Rutte has been in office since 2010, the longest-serving Dutch prime minister in history. General elections will likely be held in November.

Two-tier system and migration cap: The disagreement hinged mainly on two proposed changes to migration laws in Rutte’s plan. First, he wanted to create a two-tier system for asylum seekers, giving more rights to those fleeing persecution than those fleeing war zones. Secondly, it would cap the number of family members who could join refugees at 200 a year, curbing chain migration.

The four-party coalition is made of Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (vvd), the Democrats 66, the Christian Democratic Appeal and ChristenUnie. The smallest member of the bloc, ChristenUnie, voiced strong dissent for the second point of Rutte’s plan.

vvd asylum minister Eric van der Burg tried to compromise by making the migration cap an “emergency brake,” only to be enacted if facilities were close to being overcrowded. The ChristenUnie didn’t budge.

Surge in immigration: Asylum applications in the Netherlands climbed to almost 48,000 in 2022, a 30 percent increase from 2021. This year has kept pace with that uptick. As of May, there were 16,097 asylum seekers in the Netherlands, compared to 16,199 this time last year.

The majority of the migrants in 2022 came from Syria (19,989), Turkey (3,802), Afghanistan (2,945) and Yemen (2,813). All four of these countries are overwhelmingly Muslim: Syria hosts a population that is 90 percent Muslim, while the other three are 99 percent Muslim.

Immigration has become a massive source of contention in Europe in recent years. The Bible forecasts of a coming clash between Europe and radical Islam, led by Iran, a trend that the Trumpet has been watching for decades.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in “The Holy Roman Empire Goes Public—Big Time!”:

Europeans have been besieged by immigrants from the Middle East, growing Muslim populations within their midst … even Islamic terrorist attacks.

And more and more Europeans are looking for solutions in their own history. Specifically, their religious history.

What sort of solution will Europe settle on to solve this immigration crisis? Bible prophecy provides an answer.

Rise of a strong leader: Daniel 8:23 says, “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.” We are living in this time today, when sin runs rampant. This king of fierce countenance will soon come on the scene, setting himself up as a strongman over Europe. (Request our free book A Strong German Leader Is Imminent for proof.)

A leadership vacuum in Europe will help usher in the rise of this strongman. “Soon, Europeans will get exactly what they are asking for, another Charlemagne-type leader,” Mr. Flurry wrote. This is something Europe wants. The people are frustrated with how their leaders are handling immigration.

Daniel prophesied that this strongman would rule over a united European empire consisting of 10 kings (Daniel 2). As it has been throughout history, this united Holy Roman Empire will be closely intertwined with the Catholic Church. Half of these kings are already on the scene. The Netherlands is one of them. Could the collapse of Rutte’s government be another step toward the Netherlands coming under the strongman of Daniel 8?

Please read the July issue of the Trumpet to see how this European superpower is rising and what it will ultimately lead to.