For some 600 years, Germans have been gathering at Christmas markets, first out of necessity then out of pleasure. But fears are mounting that the tradition will never be the same again. On Friday, a Saudi migrant, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, rammed his car into a crowded market in Magdeburg, leaving five dead, over 200 injured—42 of them critically—and thousands grappling with trauma. The whole nation is in shock—and many are full of wrath. The Christmas that was meant to become a pause from politics and fears has become a whole lot darker.

Abdulmohsen was able to enter the market through a gap left between concrete barriers for emergency vehicles. This in itself was a shocking security failure that aroused justifiable anger.

It was long feared that Christmas markets could be a popular target for terrorism. These fears were justified in 2016 when Anis Amri, a Tunisian national, drove a truck into a crowd in a Berlin Christmas market, killing 13 and injuring dozens.

While the motives of Friday’s attacker are more obscure, the fears are the same. Can Germany ever again celebrate its cherished tradition in peace? Can Germany be freed of the ongoing terrorist attacks?

It is clear that the German authorities had plenty of opportunity to prevent this from happening.

The Saudi government warned their German counterpart of Abdulmohsen’s extremist views, but the warning was allegedly ignored. Granted, the Saudi government is known for persecuting political opponents, thus extremist views could be interpreted very differently. Moreover, Abdulmohsen is a man full of contradictions. He was granted indefinite leave in 2006 to remain in Germany, but he never became a German citizen. He was welcomed by Germany, but hated Germany’s asylum system and swore revenge. He presented himself as an anti-Islam activist, but he chose the most iconic Christian gathering in Germany for his attack.

Whatever future investigations may reveal, many Germans have already made up their mind: The German authorities have clearly failed. To many, the logical conclusion is that Germany won’t be secure unless refugees are deported and kept out.

Outrage Against the Establishment

The fact that such an attack has happened again has taken many from shock to outrage.

According to an initial police estimate, around 1,000 participants gathered in Magdeburg carrying so-called homeland flags, calling for “remigration.” According to Bild, slogans included “Those who don’t love Germany should leave Germany,” “Migration kills,” and “We must take back our cities, reclaim our villages and homeland.”

What makes people even more angry is that just this year politics promised drastic change and more security after a Syrian asylum seeker killed three people and wounded seven in a stabbing attack in August. The coalition agreed on a new security package, which includes stricter weapon laws and more powers for the investigating authorities.

While bags at the Christmas market were searched for small pocket knives, that obviously didn’t stop the deadly attack on December 20. Another case of incompetence; another case of justified outrage.

The events in Magdeburg add fuel to an already raging fire.

Elon Musk vs. the German Government

The recent attack may have an even greater impact than previous terrorist plots. Not only is Germany in campaign mode for a potential snap election on February 23, the mainstream parties have also lost control over the narrative. Elon Musk who purchased Twitter, now named X, is weighing in on the debate.

After the deadly car ramming in Magdeburg, he shared uncomfortable details about the failure of German security authorities, such as ignoring warnings from the Saudi Arabian government. After news emerged that the perpetrator had denounced Islamism, Musk shared another threat revealing a different narrative and noted: “The atheist angle was a scam to avoid extradition.”

Then on December 21, Musk wrote: “Yeah, he was obviously a lunatic who should never have been allowed to enter Germany and should have been extradited when Saudi Arabia made the request. Suicidal empathy by the German government.” On the same day he repeated his endorsement for the mainstream’s political opponent, the Alternative für Deutschland. “The traditional political parties in Germany have utterly failed the people. AfD is the only hope for Germany,” he posted.

Each of Musk’s posts receive tens of millions of views. For all those not on X, the mainstream media and politicians were forced to report on Musk’s comments adding to the publicity. Musk has a specific goal in mind with his comments: to spread distrust in the mainstream, as he wrote on December 22:

What … is the German press saying? Most people in Europe still think the legacy press is real, when it is pure propaganda. Please send them links to X, so they know what’s actually going on.

He then shared quite a few more comments about “lies” from the legacy media.

Musk’s platform is gaining popularity in Germany, ranking number one on Apple News apps. Musk himself is a polarizing figure. By penetrating through the usual censorship, he helps the rise of fringe parties, making it increasingly difficult for the mainstream parties to maintain their lead.

German Democracy on Its Deathbed

There is a lot of anger, frustration and wrath in Germany right now—and a lot of it is justified. There have been too many failures and no solutions.

The government has failed and is on its way out. But new elections promise no better solution. Even if the anti-migrant party AfD won the election, other parties would unite to keep it out of government. Thus the stronger the party is, the harder it is to form a stable government and the worse Germany’s problems become. As a result, there are no promising solutions.

Poll after poll show those who have a chance at becoming the next chancellor don’t have the approval of at least 75 percent of the population. Almost no one trusts them in solving Germany’s migrant problem, economic problems or the raging conflicts that draw closer and closer to Germany.

The polls with the many crises may lead the established parties to convince the president to call off the election (they have not yet been officially called) and find a different solution to regain popularity. They could cite the threat of disinformation as an increased risk after the attack. The earlier the parties can agree on a solution, the better; the longer they struggle, the stronger the AfD will get. But such a strategy would be an attempt to undermine the will of the people.

Germany’s democracy has reached a breaking point. This is the exact moment Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned about in “After Trump’s Victory, Watch Germany”:

There is a big leadership vacuum. Germans know something dramatic must be done, and quickly! You see this in recent election results with the rise of fringe parties like the Alternative für Deutschland. Voters are showing themselves willing to embrace out-of-the-ordinary politics. They are clamoring for a strong leader! …

I believe these recent events will lead to the installation of a strong leader very soon.

The Trumpet and its predecessor, the Plain Truth, have warned for decades that Germany’s democracy would fail and that a leader would assume power the undemocratic way through “flatteries” (Daniel 11:21; request our free booklet A Strong German Leader Is Imminent). Mr. Flurry continued:

In a 2009 Key of David program, I said this leader could perhaps “take advantage of a weak coalition.” Well, that is exactly what Germany is facing.

Back in 2002, I also said he would take power dishonorably—not by a vote but through a backdoor process, using his charm and appearing to be an “angel of light.” We saw something similar with the way Kamala Harris was selected as the Democratic nominee for president. There was no Democratic Party primary, no normal process of voting. Could Germany’s drawn-out election cycle and weak coalition lead to something similar? There is already great urgency for a strong leader. In a crisis, Germany’s elites may decide there is no time to appoint someone democratically—they could step in and select a leader quickly. But this man will hijack the whole alliance, and it will turn out very differently from what a lot of people want it to be.

Many people sincerely want peace from terror and from war. But the Bible warns against putting one’s trust in man. “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:5). However the Bible also clearly reveals that there is a radically different solution that does work: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is” (verse 7).

This is the only way Germany and our world can solve its problems. In fact, it is the only way to prevent the rise of another dictator in Germany and the unimaginable evil prophesied in Matthew 24 and numerous other prophecies!

But this solution isn’t a popular one. It will require radical change, not only at the top of the government but down to the lowliest people in society. It will require not only the enforcement of national common-sense laws but also individual laws of righteous living. The Bible outlines a way of life that is at odds with the ways of the world, but a way that brings, happiness, joy and freedom, as explained in Mystery of the Ages, by Herbert W. Armstrong (free upon request).

We cannot rely on government to solve our problems. We can fix our problems only by turning to God!