When Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the nation, a starting gun was fired on a new race: Which outside powers would have the greatest influence on Syria?

Turkey has long backed Ahmad al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) and his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (hts) group. But Turkey has major economic problems—it doesn’t have the cash to rebuild. This leaves an opening for someone else to step in as an important partner.

hts is classified as a terrorist group by most Western powers. Yet after Assad fell, leaders were falling over each other to meet with Syria’s new masters.

United States diplomats held their first meetings with Sharaa on December 20, but their European colleagues had gotten there first. Germany’s Tobias Tunkel met with Sharaa and the de facto foreign minister of the new government on December 17.

U.S. diplomats are unlikely to lose any sleep over losing this race. If Europeans are so eager to step in and help deal with the mess, more power to them. But Germany’s influence with the Syrian government points to a critical Bible prophecy. That prophecy warns that this influence will be used against America

Right now, the talks focus on rebuilding Syria. The German Foreign Office told Bild that talks would “focus on an inclusive transition process for Syria, as well as the protection of minorities.”

In “plain language,” wrote Bild, “if the Islamists take a moderate course, they will receive millions in German development aid.” Bild also cited anonymous sources saying that plans were already underway to open the German Embassy in Syria if the talks went well.

The day before, another German diplomat held talks with hts. Michael Ohnmacht used to serve in the German diplomatic service; now he leads the European Union’s delegation to Syria as its Chargé d’Affaires.

Other European leaders were also quick off the blocks. A French delegation met with representatives of Syria’s interim government on December 17. The same day, they raised their flag over the French Embassy for the first time in 12 years in preparation for reopening.

Italy reopened its embassy back in July, the only G-7 country to have done so. Its ambassador, however, never presented his credentials to Assad—and so did not recognize the old government.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Turkey and Jordan. She promised Turkey €1 billion for its help keeping migrants out of Europe. In Jordan, she “expressed Europe’s full support … in these uncertain times.”

Germany is able to move quickly because it has long prepared for this moment. “You could say the Development Department has been preparing for this moment for 13 years,” said its head, Svenja Schulze. “Building state structures is our core business. We have the contacts; we know many actors that are important now.”

Germany is one of Syria’s top donors, having given the nation €125 million (us$130 million) thus far this year. But these donations are also more targeted. This money has gone to Idlib province, which was run by hts long before Assad fell. The United Kingdom is the only other nation to also give money to this region.

This gave Germany great influence with hts. Last year, hts was preparing to pass a law segregating public places by gender. Germany threatened to pull its funding. hts canceled the law. Schulze neglected to mention that non-Sunni Muslims have few rights in Idlib; clearly, Germany has only extended its influence so far.

European leaders have good reason to act quickly. Around 4.5 million Syrian migrants live in Europe with Germany hosting the largest number. Their arrival has strained government finances and, more importantly, upset Europe’s social and political order. The sudden influx of young Muslim men—and the refusal of mainstream parties to acknowledge any problems—has transformed European politics. So leaders want them gone asap.

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, the UK and Norway have all suspended asylum applications from Syria. That doesn’t mean they’ll now be sent home, but it is a first step in that direction. “For many Syrian refugees in Europe, joy at the fall of Assad has been tempered by immediate calls for them to go home,” wrote Politico. Austria has already announced a “program of orderly repatriation and deportation” for 40,000 Syrian migrants allowed to stay in Austria. In Germany, getting Syrians home has been an important part of the election campaign, with several leaders calling for Syrians to leave.

European leaders also want to keep competitors out. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that many EU foreign ministers demanded that Syria “get rid of Russian influence” as “a condition for the new leadership.”

“Russia and Iran should have no place in Syria’s future,” she said. Her colleagues agreed. “We want the Russians out,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that “no external interference” must be a “red line” for Europe.

In European minds, Syria is theirs.

This is an outcome Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry forecast more than a decade ago. In his 2012 article “How the Syrian Crisis Will End,” he wrote: “Right now, Syria is Iran’s most important regional ally. But that is about to change. … Biblical prophecy reveals that, very soon, Syria will no longer align with Iran. It also shows that Germany will help cause this split.”

“The whole world ought to be watching what Germany is doing in the Middle East,” he wrote. The article went on to explain some key Bible prophecies that forecast that Syria would ally with Germany.

For the last few years, that article has looked embarrassingly wrong. Syria was a mess, millions were refugees. To many, a truce between Assad and the rebels meant that the Syrian crisis had ended—and Syria was not a German ally.

That changed in just a matter of weeks. Germany helped lay the groundwork for this dramatic change—and now it’s quickly moving in to secure its prize.

Assad’s rapid fall was a spectacular example of fulfilled prophecy. The speed with which Europe is moving in is another. Germany and all Europe are urgent to build this relationship with Syria. At both the German and European levels, it is Germany in the driver’s seat.

How Islamist is this new government? Will Syria be a stable enough country to send migrants back to? These are big questions worth asking—but Europe isn’t stopping to ask them. It takes Bible prophecy to make any sense of what is happening in Syria right now.

Mr. Flurry’s most recent article on this subject takes you through the Bible verses about modern Syria and shows what it means for America today. The alliance Germany is building in the Middle East will look like it is focused solely on taking down Iran. Germany is more urgent than America to move into Syria, and U.S. leaders have no problem with that. But this alliance is also working against Israel in the Middle East, as well as Britain and America. That article, “Syria’s Fall: Another Key Prophecy Fulfilled,” gives you the background you need to understand what is happening right now in Syria and beyond.