A study published last month titled “Unusual Times—Unusual Measures?” revealed that 4 out of 5 Germans are in favor of government price controls due to rising inflation. More than a third of Germans favor nationalizing companies that didn’t generate a profit because of inflation. This indicates that millions in Germany favor socialist-style intervention. As crises intensify, support for this extreme is growing, but so are concerns about government overreach.

Following coronavirus lockdowns, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the increased push for “green” energy, Germany is turning into a socialist state. Some fear that socialism will lead to some form of communism and escalate into absolute government control of production. But Germany’s history shows that these socialist trends could lead to an even more dangerous totalitarianism.

Germany issues more state aid than any other European Union country. The European Commission reported that in 2022, 49.3 percent of approved state aid was registered by Germany. The trend is continuing into 2023. Last month, the commission approved an additional €3 billion (us$3.3 billion) for a German scheme that supports private investments in achieving climate goals. This was made possible by the Temporary Crisis Framework, initially designed in 2022 to support the economy in light of the geopolitical crisis.

The crisis enabled the unprecedented. Then the framework was used to “accelerate the green transition,” giving the impression that Germany’s shift toward socialist rule is not coincidence but by design.

It may also not be coincidence that more and more Germans favor state intervention. Reading the daily news, what other solution is there? The crises seem unending and the tasks too large for individuals to cope with.

Germany has a history with “National Socialism” or Nazism. Adolf Hitler was a strong critic of the Marxist Communist ideology sweeping through Germany in the 1920s, but as Friedrich Hayek noted in The Road to Serfdom, Hitler made use of the trend in his own way. Hayek argued that the socialist trends in Italy and Germany directly contributed to the rise of Nazism and fascism.

Hitler formed a close alliance with the industrialists of his time. They could not have survived without the government’s policies, and the government could not have survived without the industrialists. Hitler sought to control virtually every aspect of society. He used this interplay between government and industry to turn the German economy into a war economy.

Many Germans accepted this government overreach because they were suffering under hyperinflation and political instability. This intervention prepared their minds for the greatest of all interventions. Of course, many other factors contributed to Hitler’s rise. But Bible prophecy shows that similar trends will lead to another totalitarian government.

As our book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy explains, the alliance between Nazi Germany and fascist Italy was a resurrection of the old Holy Roman Empire prophesied in Revelation 17. Bible prophecy tells us that this empire would see seven resurrections before the return of Jesus Christ (verse 14). By studying the past, we can learn about the last resurrection of this Holy Roman Empire.

In our July 2020 Trumpet issue, editor in chief Gerald Flurry noted that this last resurrection has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has allowed for more government intervention. He wrote:

One of the most important effects of the global panic over covid-19 has been almost overlooked. Europe’s response to the pandemic is accelerating the fulfillment of one of the most crucial end-time prophecies of your Bible!

The coronavirus is hastening the arrival of the prophesied Holy Roman Empire.

Read Mr. Flurry’s article “Coronavirus and the Holy Roman Empire” to understand where this multifaceted trend of government overreach is leading.