The death of United States diplomat and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on November 29 was mourned around the world.

Henry Kissinger shaped American foreign policy like few others. His commitment to the trans-Atlantic friendship between the U.S. and Germany was significant, and he always remained close to his German homeland. The world has lost a great diplomat.
—Olaf Scholz, German chancellor

The Chinese people never forget their old friends, and Sino-U.S. relations will always be linked with the name of Henry Kissinger.
—Xi Jinping, Chinese general secretary

The name of Henry Kissinger is inextricably linked with a pragmatic foreign-policy line, which at one time made it possible to achieve détente in international tensions and reach the most important Soviet-American agreements that contributed to the strengthening of global security.
—Vladimir Putin, Russian president

Born in a German-Jewish community in 1923, Kissinger’s family fled to New York in 1938. He cherished his German heritage and improved relations between the U.S. and Germany. He was also credited for his role in breaking the ice of America’s relationship with Soviet Russia and China. In many ways, Kissinger brought our world closer together. But as these countries are praising his legacy, they are also turning against America.

The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in 1975, “Mr. Kissinger has been, on the whole, highly successful in bringing about temporary delays, agreements or ceasefires, especially in the Middle East.” In some ways, Kissinger brought temporary peace more than other diplomats. But at some point these efforts started to crumble and are now backfiring on the U.S. The Middle East is far from peaceful; other conflicts are boiling over. While Kissinger can’t be solely blamed for these conflicts, his policies certainly did not prevent them.

Kissinger’s strength was creating a balance of power that allowed U.S. dominance. His weakness was allowing opposing ideologies to flourish.

American Experience wrote:

Kissinger rejected a moralistic approach to the Soviet Union based on anti-Communist ideology. A realist, he recognized Russia as a rival superpower and sought to achieve a global balance of power by pursuing areas of cooperation with Moscow, a policy known as “détente.” …

Conservatives charged that détente allowed the Soviet Union to build up its military arsenal at America’s expense, while liberals accused Kissinger of pursuing the policy while ignoring human rights within the Communist bloc. During his last years in government, Kissinger frequently came under attack from Congress, the media and the Republican Party, and saw some of his greatest initiatives reversed, as détente ultimately failed, and South Vietnam fell to Communist forces in 1975.

A Controversial Legacy

Why are the leaders of Germany, China and Russia praising Kissinger? They all have one thing in common: They love Kissinger for what he has done for them, but none of them is interested in a relationship that mutually benefits the U.S. They are eager to take all they can from the U.S. to augment their own rise.

The Middle East

Henry Kissinger’s solution to the Middle East conflict ended with him pressuring Israel to give up land. He favored a “Palestinian state-in-the-making,” one step at a time. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry writes in Jerusalem in Prophecy:

Just a little understanding of history reveals that such an American-sponsored “peace process” can only lead to destruction.

Henry Kissinger said that Yitzhak Rabin, the assassinated prime minister, had “no other choice than the peace process.” That was not true a few years earlier, because the Israeli people had a much stronger will.

Such a statement is made out of weakness! We are weak because God has broken our will to fight and win. We now want to trust others to protect us, because we cringe in fear before our enemies. We no longer trust God! Our sins are destroying us.

On another occasion, Mr. Flurry wrote: “Henry Kissinger once said there is no other choice than the peace process. That is terribly wrong! That is not a choice of life.”

Russia

In regards to Russia’s war on Ukraine, Kissinger advocated for a ceasefire. Last year in Davos, Switzerland, he said it was important to “keep the war from becoming a war against Russia itself” and “give Russia an opportunity to rejoin the international system.” He thought this would prevent a world war. Ukraine criticized the compromise for rewarding Russia with military gains.

Kissinger advocated a “cooperative relationship” with Putin, as he told a U.S. Senate committee in 2018. Mr. Flurry has repeatedly condemned such a policy for failing to recognize Putin’s long-term goals, calling good relations with Putin good relations with the devil.

If America can get along very well with Vladimir Putin, then shame on us! What nation could befriend this evil, destructive murderer? He is a friend of the devil with numerous anti-God policies!

Mr. Flurry wrote this in regards to President Donald Trump, but whether Kissinger or Trump, such an approach will not work.

China

Earlier this year, Kissinger met with Xi—a man seeking to undermine the dollar and dethrone the U.S. Kissinger advocated for easing relations with the dictator. In his 1999 article “Feeding the Dragon,” Trumpet executive editor Stephen Flurry highlighted a key problem with Kissinger’s policy toward China:

In July 1971, Nixon’s national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, secretly met with Chinese leaders in Beijing. He assured them that the Nixon administration would not support Taiwan’s independence.

Three months after that meeting, the [People’s Republic of China] was admitted into the United Nations. Taiwan lost its seat despite vigorous opposition from many American officials, including U.S. ambassador to the UN, George Bush.

This laid the foundation for China to conquer Taiwan. For years, we have pointed out that it is a result of America’s weakness, and Kissinger was certainly part of that. The article continued:

Yet American leadership continues along, basing its foreign policy on greed and the naive notion that world conditions are generally improving. Concerning China, American leaders have ignored the plain facts and have forgotten history. They have forgotten that the world’s most populated nation was also one of the most advanced just a few centuries ago. They have forgotten that China has always considered itself the “Middle Kingdom”—the center of the world. They have forgotten that Mao Tsetung, the man Henry Kissinger said radiated “authority and deep wisdom,” murdered over 20 million of his own people. They have forgotten China’s stated objectives to be a genuine world power by the year 2000—a superpower by 2050. They have ignored the fact that China does not accept international law. And they have ignored the fact that China hates America and its policy.

When Mao Tsetung died, he left behind a poor, poverty-stricken country that had little exposure to the outside world. Now, almost 25 years later, China has nearly achieved its goal of becoming a world power—thanks, in large part, to America’s shallow, short-sighted leadership. Chinese genius has been feeding on Western technology—and Western weakness! And Beijing will continue feeding on that U.S. benevolence until it runs dry or until they do not need it anymore. The events surrounding nato’s bombing of China’s embassy in Belgrade gave us a brief glimpse of that eventuality. If you noticed, after the bombing, it was China who sanctioned the U.S.—suspending diplomatic relations, military contacts and human rights discussions. Twenty years ago something like that never would have happened because China needed America too much to further its ambitions.

Germany

Kissinger’s friendship with Germany is equally concerning. Mr. Gerald Flurry wrote in July 2022:

Many elite Germans feel that their nation has now extracted all the benefit it can from the United States, and they are now ready for a new phase in German strategy. Some want modern Germany to use its impressive industrial and economic power to multiply its political and military power. They want to establish Europe as a new superpower, a modern Holy Roman Empire!

A Mentor

Look at the people Kissinger mentored. One of them is Klaus Schwab, who heads the World Economic Forum and seeks to force all kind of weird ideas on the world in an effort to “unite” them.

Another is Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who is a great advocate for relations with the U.S. that benefit Germany, but he hates Donald Trump, the man who puts America first.

Mr. Stephen Flurry explained where Kissinger’s policies lead:

Without the Bible, it would be impossible to understand. But when you understand who biblical Israel is today (mainly the United States and Britain) and what God prophesies about Israel for this end time, it makes perfect sense.

God said in Isaiah 3 that at the end of this age, there would be a crisis in Israel’s leadership—one so severe that it would lead our peoples into captivity. One of the names God labels that soon-coming time period is the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). What we are witnessing, especially beginning with the seismic shifts that took place between 1989 and 1991, is a complete reversal of power. Israel used to be the “head,” God says in Deuteronomy 28. But because they have forsaken God, they have become the tail—and the strangers, or Gentile nations, have become the head.

God is now raising a conglomerate of Gentile peoples in the heart of Europe, led by Germany, to correct His wayward people of Israel. That coming captivity, referred to in dozens of prophecies, is called the Great Tribulation.

Kissinger may have been a successful peacemaker when America was strong, but God has withdrawn those blessings. There is a great lesson here: Even man’s best attempt at peace leads to destruction. Why? Because mankind does not know the way to peace.

While Kissinger was traveling the world negotiating peace deals, another man was traveling the world proclaiming the only way to peace: Herbert W. Armstrong. Both these men sought peace, but their messages were very different.

To learn the only way to peace, study “World Peace—How It Will Come,” by Herbert W. Armstrong.