‘We took out [Hassan] Nasrallah and his replacement and the replacement of his replacement,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Oct. 8, 2024, after Israel eliminated Hezbollah’s top terrorists.

Netanyahu is in the process of wiping out Hamas in response to Hamas’s atrocious attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hezbollah made the mistake of joining Hamas’s fight, and now Netanyahu plans to knock out Hezbollah as well.

For the sake of his nation, I hope Netanyahu is around for a while. The Israelis need a strong leader who will really fight, because if they don’t fight, they will not survive! But right now, the situation looks very good for the people siding against Hezbollah. Israel is doing nothing less than breaking Lebanon’s ties with Iran!

For years I have said, based on Bible prophecy, that this break would occur. For example, in our October 2020 Trumpet, I wrote that “Hezbollah will forfeit much of its power and … Iran will lose its grip over Lebanon ….” This is happening before our eyes. Hezbollah is an evil terrorist group. The breaking of its power is an exciting fulfillment of prophecy.

However, unless we look to God, the Author of that prophecy, we will find ourselves back in a dangerous position.

Bible prophecy opens our eyes to wonderful truth. We can see events and know what will happen next. And what happens next should be of particular concern to the Jewish state of Israel. Prophecy gives insight into not only the next step for Lebanon but even beyond that. Israel’s recent actions are leading to a prophesied outcome—but the longer-term prognosis does not favor Israel.

Thankfully, however, in the end, God has wonderful news for Israel, Lebanon and the whole Middle East.

The Prophecy of Psalm 83

To understand what is about to happen in Lebanon, you need to know the prophecy of Psalm 83. This chapter speaks of an alliance, unprecedented in history, that consists of Turkey (Edom and Amalek), Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states (Ishmaelites), Jordan (Moab, Ammon), Syria (Hagarenes), the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank (Philistines), Lebanon (Gebal, Tyre) and Germany (Assur). (Read Chapter 4 of my free booklet The King of the South for a detailed explanation.)

Psalm 83 tells us that Lebanon will be aligned not with Iran but with a number of Arab nations and with Germany!

This will require a massive change in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s close ties with Iran have prevented any such alliance. There is deep mistrust and hatred between Iran (and that includes Hezbollah) and Germany. One recent example illustrates this.

On June 19, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah made a most interesting statement, openly threatening Cyprus: “The Cypriot government must be warned that opening Cypriot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cypriot government has become part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war.”

Cyprus is a little island nation less than an hour’s flight from Israel and Lebanon. It is a member of the European Union and not a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. War with Cyprus would not mean war with the United States—but it would mean war with the EU, and thus Germany.

Why would Nasrallah openly threaten Cyprus? It is not known to have contributed to Israel’s fight against Hamas, nor has it opened its bases for Israel to attack Hezbollah. This is a mystery to many, but from Hezbollah’s perspective, there was good reason for this threat.

Though Cyprus hosts British military bases and an America military presence, the island nation is essentially controlled by Germany. It is Germany that truly concerns the terrorists.

Right after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Germany expressed its support for Israel—and it stationed troops in Cyprus with the stated goal of intervening in Lebanon to evacuate German citizens. Just one month after the Hamas attack on Israel, the armed forces of Cyprus and Germany agreed to deepen cooperation. In light of history, this was alarming.

For hundreds of years, the Holy Roman Empire has sought control of Jerusalem, which it views as sacred. Crusaders often went through Cyprus to reach the coasts of Israel and Lebanon, and they butchered many Muslims! This is why Islamist leaders are alarmed by Germany’s takeover of that island.

Nasrallah knew this history. Iranian leaders know this history. They know what Germany has in mind, and they strongly oppose it! These terrorists also want control of the Middle East, especially Jerusalem—and Germany, moving military personnel and equipment into Cyprus, poses a real threat to their ambition!

The Bible reveals that Hezbollah’s fears are justified. Germany is prophesied to destroy Iran militarily! The Arab nations are going to ally with German-led Europe, and this modern reincarnation of the Holy Roman Empire will set its sights on Jerusalem.

Lebanon the Linchpin

Lebanon is going to be a pillar in this biblically prophesied alliance with Germany.

“Lebanon is the only Middle Eastern country with a strong Christian population,” I wrote a decade ago in an article about this alliance. “Forty percent of Lebanon’s people belong to a Christian denomination; the largest is the Catholic-affiliated Maronite Church. By constitutional decree, the president of Lebanon must be a Maronite. … This heavily Christian population makes Lebanon different from the rest of the Arab world. … Because of its high population of Christian Arabs, Lebanon has become a linchpin for the Psalm 83 alliance” (Trumpet, May-June 2014).

This large Christian population means it is of deep interest to the Vatican. Over the summer, Lebanon seemed on the verge of war, and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin made a last-minute trip there. Parolin is the second-most powerful man in the Catholic Church and a contender to be the next pope.

The Vatican is also keenly interested in Cyprus. In November 2023, Cyprus’s president visited the pope in Rome, with Parolin also present. Vatican News reported that “there was an exchange of views on the international situation, with special attention paid to ongoing conflicts, including the situation in Israel and Palestine.”

At the start of 2024, the Vatican inaugurated its first embassy, called an Apostolic Nunciature, in Cyprus. “Today we inaugurate the pope’s home in the small geographically but huge historically Cyprus,” said Vatican Deputy Secretary of State Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, after meeting with the president. The Vatican’s ambassador, Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, “depicts Cyprus as a bridge linking Europe with the Eastern realms,” wrote Cyprus’s Philenews in April 2024. In fact, the Vatican views both Cyprus and Lebanon as bridges, critical for advancing further into the Middle East.

What the pope and the Vatican are doing in Cyprus, the Holy Land and Jerusalem is key to understanding what Germany and Europe are doing—and why it poses a threat to Israel that is greater than Hamas, Hezbollah or even Iran!

The Vatican’s View

Many in Israel would welcome more European involvement in the region. But the pope’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre should make them think twice.

The day after the massacres, Pope Francis expressed sorrow over what is “happening in Israel,” and said, “Every war is a defeat.” He did not condemn Hamas. Three days later, after briefly recognizing “the right of those who were attacked to defend themselves,” he criticized the “total siege facing Palestinians in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims.” Vatican News said he “invited both parties to restraint.”

There is something terribly wrong with how the pope responded to those murders! He expressed little sympathy for “what is happening in Israel”—mass murder, the mass rape of women, the execution of parents and children in front of each other, the decapitation of civilians and even of babies! The pope did worse than try to make the blood-soaked terrorists and the Israeli people equally guilty: He insinuated that the Israelis were much more guilty! The Israeli Embassy to the Vatican rightly cried out against the pope’s “linguistic ambiguities” and false “parallelisms.”

In an early excerpt of his newest book, due to be released in 2025, Pope Francis wrote, “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.” That is a diabolic lie! In fighting Hamas, Israel is working harder than any other modern nation to avoid civilian casualties.

Why would the pope talk in such a vile way?

One of the most recent clues came the month before the massacres. In September 2023, the Vatican’s foreign minister made a statement that Jerusalem, which is controlled by the Israelis, should be subjected to an internationally guaranteed statute to ensure “the equal rights and duties of the faithful of the three monotheistic religions.” But Israel already gives equal rights to Christians, Jews and Muslims—even allowing Muslims to control the Temple Mount and deny Jews access to most of it. This is not about guaranteeing religious rights to various religions: It’s about getting more control over Jerusalem for the Catholic Church!

This is one of the latest indications of the Vatican’s—and Europe’s—intent to project power from Cyprus into the Holy Land and right into Jerusalem.

Expect Change in Syria, Too

Israel’s attack against Hezbollah is leading directly to Lebanon joining the prophesied Psalm 83 alliance. It is paving the way for Germany and the Vatican to become more involved in Lebanon. Expect to see the Psalm 83 alliance form quickly. Several of these nations are already on good terms with Europe, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey.

Syria borders Lebanon, and it is also listed in Psalm 83. Dramatic changes are taking place there as well. Iran has had a stranglehold on Syria for years—yet many Syrians really want help from Germany. They want Germany to help them reconstruct their economy and make progress nationally. Germany has its own goal: It has taken in many Syrian refugees but wants to repatriate them back to Syria. Many of these refugees, who do want to return home, want alliance with Germany, not Iran. This is an important factor to consider.

Israel’s recent attacks against Iran’s proxies will likely help bring about this prophesied shift within Syria.

What will happen next? Bible prophecy shows that it won’t be what Israel, nor America or Britain, would like. Psalm 83 reveals something vital we must understand as we watch these shifting relationships.

The Motive of the Psalm 83 Alliance

Here is a shocking truth, found in Psalm 83:4. This verse exposes what this alliance is all about: “They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” That is what this prophesied alliance wants to do: Destroy Israel!

They are determined to blot out even the name of Israel. Most people don’t realize it, but that name encompasses not only the Jewish nation called Israel today (which is actually biblical Judah) but also America and Britain, the descendants of Israel’s (Jacob’s) grandsons through Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim. You can prove this by reading our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.

Prophecy reveals this stunning reality. But you don’t need to accept this entirely on faith: This truth is backed up by recent history. In World War ii, the Arabs—those nations today considered “moderate” Arab states—allied with Germany. The Germans were committing terrible atrocities against the Jews, trying to blot every single one of them off the face of the Earth! Of course, the Germans were also waging war against America and Britain, and these Arab nations fought right along with them!

This is the true nature of this alliance that is building today. These nations that we are watching peel away from Iran are going to get swept up into Germany’s orbit—and will combine in a force whose unequivocal ambition is to destroy the nations of Israel!

Realize this: This is more than an alliance against the nations of Israel—it is really an alliance against God!

Read the first two verses of Psalm 83: “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.” These people are God’s enemies! They hate God!

The Vatican’s Power Play

Daniel 11 is a critical related prophecy. It says a European king of the north will defeat a radical Islamic king of the south.

Verse 45 describes the powerful leader of this European empire, who “shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” What does this mean?

Plain Truth founder Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in the October 1951 issue: “[T]he capital of this revived Roman Empire, along with the Vatican, will make a lightning move to Palestine—probably Jerusalem! That shall be the last abomination to be set up there! Notice, in Daniel 11:45, ‘tabernacle’ is a place of worship, and ‘palace’ the residence of a king” (“The Pope Plans to Move Vatican!”).

The Vatican and Germany are in the process of resurrecting the power of the Holy Roman Empire, and they want to rule Jerusalem! This has been a powerful desire of that institution for some 1,500 years. They will wage another crusade to conquer the Holy City.

The revived Holy Roman Empire will find a way to carve out more and more control for itself over Cyprus, the Holy Land and Jerusalem. They have an enormous plan for the Middle East! Daniel 11 is describing a much larger military operation than ever seen before. It will bring horrific results, far worse than the bloodiest crusades of the past!

Daniel 8:25 is a related prophecy: “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many ….” This aligns with Psalm 83 describing this alliance taking “crafty counsel.” This European power is very deceitful in how it pursues its aims. It claims to be all about peace—while aiming to conquer Jerusalem and blot out even the memory of Israel! (Read more about this in my article “The Dark Side of the Pope’s Visit to Jerusalem”).

Israel is surrounded by Arabs who hate it. Israelis may think they can solve this problem by inviting in European forces, but they fail to see the hatred building in Europe.

Some Israelis may be worried about the pope’s statements, but they fail to see what they are really about because they don’t understand Bible prophecy. They also don’t remember the history of the Crusades and other Catholic persecutions of Jews. And they fail to understand Germany.

Judah’s ‘Wound’

The Bible reveals that Germany wants to loosen the Jews’ control of Jerusalem—but not so Iran and radical Islam can seize it. There will be a great clash between the European king of the north and the radical Islamic king of the south. Germany is already planning its foreign policy and its deployments to surround Iran and ultimately destroy it in a whirlwind attack before it can take Jerusalem. (Read “The Whirlwind Prophecy” at theTrumpet.com/10678.)

That is Germany’s real ambition, however it feigns friendship with Israel today.

The book of Hosea exposes this same deadly trap. “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound” (Hosea 5:13). A study of this verse in the original Hebrew reveals that both Ephraim (Britain) and Judah (called “Israel” today) go to Assyria, the prophetic name for modern-day Germany. (To prove this, request our free booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.)

Why do the Jews go to Germany, and what is “Judah’s wound”? The word wound in Hebrew signifies binding up, a bandage or remedy. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon defines it as “the pressing together, binding up of a wound; hence used figuratively of a remedy applied to the wounds of the state.” In other words, the remedy is the wound!

Obadiah 7 describes a similar “wound.” The word here has the same root, and it means “falsehood; hence, fraud, insidious dealing … a net, or snare” (Gesenius’ Lexicon). This “wound” is directly related to being deceived by a peace pact.

Israel’s wound in Hosea 5:13 is the peace process with the Palestinians. The Jews have repeatedly given up bits of land and made concessions in exchange for mere promises. They have trusted the Arabs, and in return have received only hatred and violence.

The real wound is spiritual—a lack of faith in God. There would be no peace process if Judah had trusted God instead of men. The Jews keep trying to protect themselves by making peace pacts. Recently they have shown boldness and had some success in going after their enemies. But if they don’t repent and put their faith in God, they are sure to resort to the same failed policy!

Hosea 5 tells us that the Jews will finally see that the peace process has failed. But they only see the effect of their wound, not the cause. And so they turn to Germany for another peace pact! Once again they fail to trust God and this time place their trust in an even greater enemy! This will lead to the worst disaster in the Jews’ long history of suffering.

This is a lesson the Jews still have not learned. But God will teach them emphatically the real nature of their wound and what the real solution is. Bible prophecy promises they will learn this lesson!

God Will Heal

Still referring to Ephraim and Judah, God says in Hosea 5:15, “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.”

“Come, and let us return unto the Lord,” these nations say in the next verse, “for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1). These Jews, and many from the other nations of Israel, will realize that they have turned from God and that they are being corrected. They will see that God can and will heal them upon repentance. Near the end of the book, God promises, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4).

This tough correction will cause Israel to return to God, and He will pour down blessings! In fact, He will extend those blessings even beyond the nations of Israel.

In the next verses, God says, “I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon” (verses 5-6). In these magnificent promises to Israel, there is an implied promise to Lebanon. Its land will no longer be scarred, neglected or destroyed. Isaiah 29:17 confirms that Lebanon itself will return to its former glory.

God knew that Lebanon today would be one of the worst botches on Earth! That is probably why He prophesied specifically about it: He wanted the world to contrast the squalor of today with the glory of the World Tomorrow! Lebanon conjures up a picture like few other nations could today—but God will make it a gloriously beautiful nation very soon.

Men and women will get down on their knees and plant roses—they will beautify the Earth. Mankind will see what they can accomplish when their energy has a godly focus.

These beautiful prophecies are just as certain to be fulfilled as the dark prophecies unfolding in the world today!

The Bible makes clear that great suffering is coming if men do not repent. But it also shows that God is working out all these events for the ultimate good of all nations: to bring all people to Him so He can give them blessings like they have never experienced before!

Watch Lebanon, Syria and these other nations closely. Watch Iran, and watch Germany. As you see these prophecies come to pass, know that the great God is orchestrating them for His purposes. He has a wonderful plan to save all mankind—even the Arabs and the Germans. That plan begins with the nations of Israel, despite the fact that they have a history of rejecting Him. God still has a plan for them and for all of mankind. That is how merciful He is. As Mr. Armstrong explained in The United States and Britain in Prophecy, an understanding of this plan reveals the only hope for our world!

Psalm 83 exposes the evil of this developing alliance. But it does much more: It also shows that God will not allow the enemies of Israel to succeed. It shows God’s soon-coming intervention in human affairs and the fulfillment of His master plan for mankind!