The two major natural gas pipelines connecting Germany to Russia have been out of commission since September 2022, when underwater explosions rendered them inoperable. Yet the cochair of Germany’s second-largest political party wants to change this.

At a rally in Saxony on January 11, Alice Weidel unveiled a new manifesto for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), supported by 20 percent of the German electorate. Among other things, this manifesto pledges to seal Germany’s border, deport undocumented immigrants, take Germany out of the eurozone, and restart the Nord Stream pipeline.

The AfD refused to condemn Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine in its manifesto, signaling that the party wishes to prioritize Germany’s economic relationship with Russia.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany imported 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia. This flow of gas has been cut off due to the war, prompting Germany to turn to Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium for its natural gas needs. But many industrialists miss the days of cheap Russian gas, so the AfD is promising to restart Nord Stream if it is brought into Germany’s next coalition government.

The original idea behind the Nord Stream pipeline was to transform Germany into Europe’s gas station. Before the Nord Stream project began in 1997, Russian gas had to flow through Belarus or Ukraine on its way to the European Union. This meant Russia could not cut off gas to Belarus or Ukraine without also cutting off gas to the rest of Europe. By connecting Germany and Russia with new pipelines running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream allowed Germany to buy directly from Russia. Germany could then resell some of its Russian imports to other West and Central European nations. This new arrangement was supposed to make Germany dependent on Russia and Europe dependent on Germany.

During his first term in office, United States President Donald Trump adamantly opposed the Nord Stream pipeline, saying that Germany’s dependence on Russian gas created a condition where “Germany is totally controlled by Russia.” Despite Trump’s repeated warnings, Germany did not stop buying gas from Russia until after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. The subsequent Russo-Ukraine War has halted plans to turn Germany into Europe’s gas station, and many in the AfD are upset by the delay.

Germany is the fourth-largest manufacturing power on Earth, but it is relatively poor in natural resources. This is the main reason why so many Germans want to overlook Russia’s human rights abuses. Combining German technology with Russian natural resources could create a Eurasian power bloc with the capability to challenge America’s position as the world’s lone superpower. Current geopolitical tensions over Ukraine are delaying the creation of such a superpower, but the AfD is working to change this.

Weidel probably will not be Germany’s next chancellor, but her popularity shows that Germans are looking for a dramatic change in the status quo. This should be deeply concerning: History shows that deepening cooperation between Germany and Russia is often a harbinger of dark times. The last time such an alliance occurred, it directly caused the Holodomor, the Holocaust, World War ii and the deaths of 70 million people.

“Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 are key components of Putin’s plan to tighten his grip on nations in Eastern Europe that used to be part of the Soviet empire,” wrote Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry. “What does Germany stand to gain? Well, once Russian gas flows through the Baltic Sea pipeline and into Germany, much of it can be shipped to France, the Netherlands, Belgium and other West European nations. This puts Germany in a position of power relative to Western Europe very similar to that of Russia with Eastern Europe!”

The Trumpet and our parent magazine, the Plain Truth, have proclaimed for 80 years that Germany will lead a final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. The Bible reveals Russia will play a key role in Germany’s rise.

Ezekiel 27 describes a power called Tyre that trades goods with many nations. “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre, and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord God: “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ … Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise”‘” (verses 1-3, 12-13; English Standard Version).

Tyre refers to an end-time resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. The people of Tarshish settled in Japan, the people of Javan settled in Greece, and the people of Tubal and Meshech settled in Russia.

This is a prophecy about German and Russian merchants exchanging human lives for merchandise. In the 1920s and 1930s, German industrialists traded the lives of 7 million Ukrainians in return for Communist support in bringing down the Weimar Republic. Today, German politicians and business leaders are again surrendering Ukraine in return for better relations with Russia and stronger leverage against the rest of Europe. This exchange may help the German economy, but it will be catastrophic for world peace.

To learn more, read our free book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy.