WorldWatch
Anglo-America
A cold civil war is being waged in the United States. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy asked the United States House of Representatives on September 12 to open an official impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. This inquiry came after eight months of House Oversight Committee investigations into Biden family corruption. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer alleges that Biden’s son Hunter Biden profited from illicit business deals with numerous foreign entities by arranging access to his father. Comer also alleged that Joe Biden himself took a $5 million bribe from Ukrainian company Burisma Holdings while vice president. At the first hearing of this impeachment inquiry on September 28, Comer said the lawmakers have “a mountain of evidence” that will show the elder Biden “abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.”
Democrats hit back: Only five days after the impeachment inquiry, 208 Democrats and eight Republicans joined to remove McCarthy as speaker. Democrats and many Republicans wanted to replace him with an establishment-friendly Republican who won’t prosecute the Biden crime family.
Isaiah foretold that judgment would be “turned away backward” in the end time, and that truth would be “fallen in the street” (Isaiah 59:14). We see this prophecy being fulfilled as America is overrun by corrupt oligarchs who enrich themselves at the expense of their nation while prosecuting those who expose them.
Joe Biden, so confident that he will never be held to account for his crimes, is recklessly draining America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve for his own gain. Data from the Energy Information Administration indicates these reserves held only 351.3 million barrels of oil at the end of September, down 45 percent from 638 million barrels when Biden was inaugurated. He and Barack Obama, who ultimately controls U.S. policy, are draining these reserves ostensibly in an effort to lower high gasoline prices, all the while refusing to increase energy production in America. The reserves are now nearing their lowest levels in 40 years, putting America in a vulnerable position as wars in Ukraine and Israel jeopardize global energy supplies.
Declining petroleum reserves are only part of Biden and Obama’s America-destroying policies. Out-of-control government spending and rising interest rates have finally pushed the nation to the point where the cost of servicing its debts exceeds the cost of defending its borders. The government spent over $807 billion in interest on the national debt during the first 11 months of fiscal year 2023, according to the U.S. Treasury’s monthly statement. Meanwhile, it spent $696 billion on national defense. That means the cost of debt repayment is 16 percent higher than military spending. Financial historian Niall Ferguson has warned that this is usually the point where nations and empires fall apart. You cannot project power around the world when you are slashing your defense spending to make your interest payments.
The Prophet Micah foretold that God would destroy the chariots and cast down the strongholds of end-time Israel to punish them for turning from His law (Micah 5:10-13). This means that at the moment America reaches the zenith of its power, God will cut off its weapons systems and throw down its military bases.
Europe
Germany’s shift to the right continued with two key elections in Bavaria and Hesse. In Bavaria, the Alternative für Deutschland gained 4.4 percent, receiving 14.6 percent of the vote. Another right-leaning party, the Free Voters, sometimes referred to as AfD light, gained 4.2 percent and is now the second-strongest party with 15.8 percent. That puts support for fringe parties at over 30 percent. Just prior to Bavaria’s election, the leader of the Free Voters was accused of carrying an anti-Semitic pamphlet in his youth as well as imitating Hitler speeches. The accusations appear to have propelled the party forward. As our free booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire explains, there is a strong connection between right-wing, extremist sentiments today and Germany’s past.
Switzerland’s parliament voted to ban face coverings, including religious coverings such as burqas and niqabs, on September 20. This will make Switzerland the 16th European country to have a full or partial ban on the burqa. The ban was proposed in a referendum in March 2021 but was criticized as Islamophobic and sexist. While there are a few exceptions to the ban, including indigenous customs, health masks and religious services, there are no exceptions for the burqa or niqab in public spaces. Violators can be fined up to 1,000 francs (nearly US$1,100). Tension between Europe and Islam is rising, and the Bible prophesies that these two religions will clash in the end time.
A survey published by the German Marshall Fund on September 12 concluded that out of 14 countries, “German respondents are the least enthusiastic” in their support for Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union and NATO, as well as financial aid for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Germany and France blocked Ukraine’s entry into NATO in 2008. When France urged for a roadmap for Ukraine’s membership in 2023, Germany urged caution. In 2022, the same two countries prevented Ukraine’s entry into the EU. Germany has continually barred weapon deliveries from other countries to Ukraine and delayed its own deliveries.
While some argue Germany is wise not to provoke Russia, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has warned of a more sinister motive: “I believe that Germany’s leaders may have already agreed to a deal with Russia, a modern Hitler-Stalin pact where Germany and Russia divide countries and assets between themselves. This agreement would allow each to turn its sights on other targets. Any such deal that may have been struck between Germany and Russia is a precursor to war!” Read “Germany’s Secret Deal With Russia—Exposed.”
Asia
The nations of Asia are continuing to rally behind Russia’s leadership.
The government of India announced plans on September 13 to expedite transportation of goods between the two nations by developing the Northern Sea Route and Eastern Maritime Corridor. The Eastern Maritime Corridor takes ships east from India, past China, then north to Vladivostok on Russia’s Pacific Coast. The Northern Sea Route extends this farther, passing into the Arctic and sailing past Russia’s Far North coast. Developing these maritime routes is expected to considerably boost the already thriving trade between India and Russia.
On the same day, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un met with President Vladimir Putin in Russia. Kim pledged “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s “just” fight against Ukraine and said, “We will be together in the fight against imperialism.”
Analysts believe the two sides struck a deal in which North Korea gives Russia artillery shells and antitank missiles for use against Ukraine, while North Korea receives food aid and more advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines. Meanwhile, intelligence from South Korea reported on September 4 that Russia, China and North Korea are planning joint naval exercises for next year.
“If these exercises do go through,” said NBC News foreign correspondent Matt Bradley, “that could cement a new kind of alliance or axis that’s opposed to the West, and possibly in favor of expansionist military adventures like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and even more troubling, potentially Beijing’s ambitions to take over Taiwan and those islands that are contested in the Western Pacific.”
While the West is actively reducing ties with Russia as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine, China, India, North Korea and other Asian nations are maintaining or strengthening their ties economically, diplomatically and militarily. This backing is a major boon to Russia during a difficult time and is significant due to its accord with Bible prophecy.
Revelation 9:16 and 16:12 prophesy that modern Asian nations will soon unite and field the largest military force in human history. Although China has a far larger economy and a strong leader of its own, Ezekiel 38 prophesies that Russia and its “prince” will ultimately lead this alliance.
To understand more, read Gerald Flurry’s landmark article “Asia Still Stands With Putin.”
Middle East
In September, the New York Times released the name of a Swedish citizen detained by Iran for well over a year: Johan Floderus. Floderus was employed by the European External Action Service, the diplomatic agency of the European Union, and was arrested on a spying accusation on April 17, 2022. Long-standing United Nations standards accord diplomats and their staff “diplomatic immunity,” protecting even most of those who are accused of spying from arrest, prosecution and arbitrary detention. Floderus apparently was in Iran on personal business rather than official diplomatic business, but arbitrarily detaining a foreign diplomat is serious and can be interpreted as an act of war. Daniel 11:40 prophesies that radical Islam, led by Iran, will keep provoking Europe until it reacts with overwhelming force.
At least 4,000 people died in a flood in Libya on September 12 when rainfall from Cyclone Daniel burst two dams and inhabitants of the nearby city of Derna were caught in rushing waters that reportedly reached 10 feet high. As natural disasters like these continue with massive death tolls, many wonder where God is—if He is there at all. To understand, request your free copy of Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?
China formally presented its new ambassador to Afghanistan, Zhao Xing, to Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Hassan Akhund on September 13. This makes China the first country to send an ambassador to Afghanistan since radical Islamic Taliban terrorist forces conquered the capital, Kabul, in 2021 as American forces withdrew. Neither China nor any other country has officially recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, but naming an ambassador, for all practical purposes, makes China the first country to recognize the Taliban’s legitimacy. In addition to serving as a vast parking lot for abandoned American military hardware the Chinese regime might be interested in acquiring, Afghanistan is an important link in the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s planned network of global infrastructure to connect world trade to Beijing.
“Who are the main victors of America’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal?” the October 2021 Trumpet asked. “At first glance, it may look like the Taliban came out on top. … But in the broader geopolitical picture, the even bigger winners are China and Russia.” Events like Zhao’s appointment as ambassador to a Taliban regime prove this analysis right.
