As Germany prepares for more frequent and modern warfare, it’s making significant changes to the way it runs its military, according to an announcement from Defense Minister Boris Pistorius last week.

Germany will create a newly unified central command for its armed forces and a new branch of its military. It will now have an army, a navy, an air force and a cybercommand.

Pistorius said all this was to make Germany “war-capable,” which, as the Associated Press noted, is “a choice of words that some in Germany find jarring given the country’s long-standing post-World War ii culture of military caution.”

“I am convinced it is one of the few words that really describes correctly the imperative here,” Pistorius said. The entire military is being restructured around one clear principle: It must be ready for full-scale war.

Reorganization

The reorganization ends some of the last remaining restrictions placed on the German military after World War ii. Homeland security forces will be absorbed into the army—something previously kept separate to make it harder for a government to use the army to enforce its will at home.

Command of all four branches will be unified under one operational command. Right now it is split between a command center near Potsdam that oversees foreign missions and one in Berlin that focuses on national defense.

The unified command will mean Germany can act faster and help the government develop closer links with military command.

The Financial Times noted: “Although it is one of the largest military forces in nato, with 182,000 serving men and women, its sprawling structure left it ill-positioned for the strategic challenges faced by Berlin and its nato allies.”

What is not mentioned by most, is that this “sprawling structure” was no accident. When the Allies confirmed their war aims at Yalta, they specifically laid out their plan to “break up for all time the German General Staff that has repeatedly contrived the resurgence of German militarism.”

This German General Staff was the first organized general staff established in history. Designed to coordinate military operations at a high level, it organized Germany’s military successes.

The Allies were so wary of this general staff that when Germany was allowed a military again in 1955, it lacked the type of general staff most other militaries used. The “sprawling structure” was exactly what the Allies intended—something that would make it harder for Germany to launch quick or involved plans.

The military must also be ready for conscription, Pistorius said. This reorganization is designed to lay the groundwork for a much larger military. Everything is being designed to scale. The commanders are being prepared to run a much larger military—so it can be expanded later.

Cyberwarfare

By placing cybercommand on the same level as its army or navy, Germany is putting an unusual emphasis on electronic warfare—and it’s the first major country to do so. The closest equivalent is China’s People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, one of China’s five service branches. However, this includes outer space, as well as political and propaganda warfare—so it’s not as narrowly focused as Germany’s.

Germany’s analysis of the war in Ukraine is a major reason for the change: “There is no war, and hardly any combat situation” Germany has seen “in Ukraine, where digital command and control capability does not play a central role in ensuring that a battle can be [won],” Pistorius said.

Germany is positioning itself to be nato’s leading power in AI and cyberwarfare.

It’s a development we’ve long forecast. The world is dependent on electronic systems—and no military is more high-tech, and more dependent, than that of the United States. It’s no coincidence that China is the only major power to have a similar branch of its armed forces. China clearly sees the U.S. as its main enemy. Now Germany is pushing into the same battle space.

Nearly two decades ago, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote “America’s Achilles’ Heel—and Germany” about the danger Germany poses through cyberwarfare. Now the importance Germany attaches to it is clear.

“I believe one key end-time Bible prophecy could well be fulfilled through the kind of cyberterrorism … described: ‘They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof’ (Ezekiel 7:14),” he wrote. “The trumpet of war is to be blown in Israel—mainly America and Britain. … It seems everybody is expecting our people to go into battle, but the greatest tragedy imaginable occurs! Nobody goes to battle—even though the trumpet is blown! Will it be because of computer terrorism?”

He continued:

One of the main reasons the Allies won World War ii was that the British broke the German radio code. They knew about most of Germany’s war plans in advance! Quite a gigantic advantage.

German computer hackers might be inspired by Britain’s radio code-breaking in World War ii. Today they could be working to break America’s military computer codes. Then they could know war plans and even stop them by wrecking the U.S.’s computer-run military!

This is not a matter to take lightly. …

When you consider Germany’s past and its present ambition, beware. Germany’s bullying tactics in Europe have already alarmed many experts. And I personally wonder what kind of progress their computer hackers have made.

Have we forgotten the 1945 United Nations warning? If we do, it could be a mistake we make only once.

No country, politician or even major news outlet has raised any concerns about Germany throwing off the last remaining vestiges of postwar restraint. No one really fears a return to German history. But that shows such a shortsighted view of history. We’ve lived in peace for so long that a sudden betrayal seems unthinkable.

The Bible also specifically warns that Germany will betray the U.S. and many other of its nato allies. In focusing on cyberwarfare and increasing its ability to create sophisticated plans, that betrayal is closer than ever. To understand what the Bible says about this future, read our article “Germany’s Astonishing Military Rise.”