Last week, we saw two strongmen negotiating Europe’s fate. But neither of them were German, French, Italian or even British. Europe’s future is being determined by United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Not only are they negotiating over Ukraine, they are also shaping Europe’s political agenda. One is telling Europe to arm and threatening to withdraw allied troops; the other is threatening to send in hostile troops. One threatens to start a trade war, while the other controls Europe’s gas flow.

Europe’s response is outrage and paralysis—a paralysis that former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg demands must end.

In 2014, he warned that “Putin Is Basking in an ‘Astonishing Leadership Vacuum.’”

Since 2016, Guttenberg has also warned about Donald Trump. He called Trump’s reelection “the wake-up call we needed.”

In a podcast with Bild journalist Paul Ronzheimer posted on February 18, Guttenberg related that many are currently attempting “to gather together the debris … from this old structure of a trans-Atlantic order.” While Germany fails to lead, “Americans are obviously still out there with a wrecking crew.” He lamented “a continuation of European paralysis.”

Ronzheimer accused Trump of “talking to our enemy, to put it bluntly, and leaving our allies out of the equation.”

Speaking to msnbc, Guttenberg said: “The problem we are facing right now with that phone call Trump had with Vladimir Putin [on February 12] is that in our perception, it legitimizes aggression, and just consider what that means for the next years to come.”

With America’s restraints gone and as Europe remains leaderless, Putin no doubt will feel encouraged to keep marching west.

In his podcast, Guttenberg added that Germany is the “largest economic nation in Europe and leadership is repeatedly demanded of us by almost every European member state”—yet Germany fails to show strength.

He warned that if Europe relies on others in regards to security, “a very icy wind will blow over us from two sides or even from three. One will come from the east, driven by Russia; the other from Washington. And the third wind will be the European allies, who will then also increasingly lapse into nationalism. Every failure to act … ultimately only strengthens the extremists.”

Without strong leadership, Europe will fall apart. While Guttenberg is not running for political office, the Trumpet believes he is the leader most likely to emerge out of Europe’s leadership crisis.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has repeatedly pointed to Isaiah 10, Daniel 8 and 11, Habakkuk 1 and Revelation 17 as end-time prophecies regarding the rise of a strongman in Europe who will come to power through “flatteries.” Mr. Flurry wrote in “Is KT zu Guttenberg About to Come to Power?”:

Though he hasn’t been in politics for some years now, KT zu Guttenberg is keenly tuned in to world events. He has impressive political, economic and military understanding, and he frequently writes articles and gives interviews for some of America’s and Europe’s biggest news organizations. Guttenberg is a brilliant man in many ways, and for about a decade now I have indicated that he could be the next leader of Germany—and really, of Europe.

The Bible reveals a strongman will lead Europe out of crisis. However, his solutions will bring devastating consequences for our world. “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 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: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand” (Daniel 8:23-25).

No human being can save mankind from the conflicts boiling around the world—but God will. To learn how the rise of a strong German leader is tied to the return of Jesus Christ, read “Is KT zu Guttenberg About to Come to Power?” and request A Strong German Leader Is Imminent.