The European Union is working to unite Europe’s military industry. To this end, it nominated Andrius Kubilius in September to become the EU’s first defense commissioner. But as Politico remarked on October 4, “There’s someone else with a lot more power and money already doing the job—Armin Papperger, the ceo of German arms-maker Rheinmetall. … Papperger is already meeting with fellow arms industry titans as well as key national politicians and is driving real policy decisions.”

Europe’s, and specifically Germany’s, military industrial leaders are indeed calling the shots in Europe—but few realize to what end.

“The current structure of the defense industrial base in Europe is entirely industry driven,” said Christian Mölling from the Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German think tank. “The big thing about Papperger and the others is that because of the size of their companies they can take risks that Brussels can’t.” Besides Papperger, some of the most influential ceos are Airbus’s Guillaume Faury and Saab’s Micael Johansson.

Rheinmetall is Germany’s largest and currently one of the world’s fastest-growing arms manufacturers. Given Europe’s recent focus on militarization, the company stands to benefit greatly in the coming years.

With the acquisition of Spain’s shell-maker Expal in 2022, Rheinmetall became the biggest artillery player in Europe. This year it started cooperation with Italy’s Leonardo to produce modern tanks and armored vehicles for the Italian Army. It also works in partnership with the United Kingdom’s bae Systems to deliver Boxer trucks and Challenger 3 tanks, which the British government calls “Europe’s most lethal tanks.” Of Germany’s €100 billion special fund for its military, Rheinmetall is estimated to have taken around 40 percent.

Rheinmetall remains at the forefront of military innovation, as demonstrated by its unveiling of the KF51-U prototype at Eurosatory 2024—a next-generation main battle tank featuring a state-of-the-art uncrewed turret. Rheinmetall’s influence on global military power is also undeniable, with its fingerprints on the world’s most advanced weaponry. Notably, the smoothbore gun on the United States’ M1A1 Abrams tank is a licensed version of Rheinmetall’s 120-mm gun.

All of its innovations and connections help Rheinmetall achieve a grander goal: uniting Europe’s military industries.

“We need big companies in Europe,” Papperger told the Financial Times in April. He urged European countries to unite to rival those in America. While Europe still has a long way to go, the transformation could come quickly once the orders start flowing.

Many outside observers view the EU as a failed political project. But beneath the surface, powerful industrialist are creating a military industrial behemoth. The power of these industrialists is terrifyingly if you understand their history. As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained in “Rising From the German Underground”:

The economic power built by German business has made it the dominant power in Europe. And because businessmen pay the bills, they also call the shots. …

Right now Germany is an economic power. It has a smaller but growing military power. German leaders know their global clout rests on the shoulders of their businessmen. This gives those businessmen tremendous influence. And just as in the lead-up to World War i, it is German industry that is making the case for Germany’s expanded global role.

This development is not happenstance. It has been meticulously planned. Mr. Flurry summarized this history in our August Trumpet:

Everything is unfolding according to a well-calculated plan.

Toward the end of World War ii, Nazi leaders and industrialists got together to prepare for an inevitable military loss. A French spy attended one of these meetings and leaked the details to the Allies. The meeting was held on Aug. 10, 1944, in the Hotel Rotes Haus in Strasbourg, France. Among the industrial leaders present was a representative of Rheinmetall.

Think about this. The Allies knew in 1944 that the Nazis had exhaustive plans! Still, shortly after the war, they handed over the process of denazification to German authorities and allowed Germany to remilitarize. Then they kept the Nazis’ underground plans a well-guarded secret for 50 years!

Only in 1996—after Germany had remilitarized and reunified—did the U.S. declassify the information. By that point, most of the world didn’t care.

The Trumpet has been the only source that has repeatedly highlighted the report. Most media outlets ignore it to this day. …

… Rheinmetall only stopped producing arms for a short time. In the 1950s, its military branch was revived. Then it grew its exports to gradually build itself into an industrial powerhouse. Today it is preparing to arm a German-led European superpower!

The world ignores this threat, but the Bible reveals that this plan is still being worked out and it will be successful. The leader of this company is working on a military unification project that will make Germany’s World War ii military industrial complex look like child’s play.

Revelation 17:8 speaks of a beast, or empire, that “was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.” As Mr. Flurry explains, “bottomless pit” would be better translated underground. This prophecy describes the German-led power that went into the underground after World War ii. But notice what the Bible reveals would happen when it reemerges.

Verses 12-13 refer to the rise of “ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” This is referring to the European military unification project now underway. While the world is asleep, the rise of these underground industrialists is the greatest threat to the survival of humanity.

But this prophecy is not one of doom and hopelessness. The very next verse shows that it revolves, just like the entire book of Revelation, around God’s soon-coming intervention to stop this evil military empire and bring our world lasting peace. To learn more, read Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.