For our wedding anniversary one year, my wife organized a War of 1812 battlefield tour through Niagara. An excellent tour guide showed us the Lundy’s Lane and Queenston Heights battlefields. These scenes, now busy city streets or national parks, contain stories of heroism and tragedy in their gravestones and monuments.

I remember as a teenager reading about Sir Isaac Brock’s gallant charge up Queenston Heights, the tall British general in his brilliant scarlet uniform leading the 49th Regiment of Foot to retake the high ground before being shot in the heart by an American marksman, becoming the “Savior of Canada.” Brock’s cenotaph, patterned after Adm. Horatio Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square, remains the most impressive monument in Canada. Seeing the imposing terrain and his uniform with the fatal bullet hole at the Canadian War Museum impressed on my mind how important this moment was for Canada.

From left: Brock’s uniform, the monument plaque, the Brock Monument at Queenston Heights

I also remember seeing the names of Loyalist settlers from Pennsylvania who died at Lundy’s Lane, forced to fight against their relatives in the Pennsylvania militia. Perhaps the darkness of that nighttime battle was a blessing, hiding the sight of dying family members. My wife’s ancestry traces back to that area of Pennsylvania, making me grateful for the blessing of peace between our two nations.

Lundy’s Lane battlefield and cemetery

But the War of 1812’s overwhelming legacy is its pointlessness. “Of all the wars fought by the English-speaking peoples,” wrote historian Pierre Berton, “this was one of the strangest—a war entered into blindly and fought (also blindly) by men out of touch not only with reality but also with their own forces.”

If you live outside North America, you may have never heard of the War of 1812. If you do live here, its purpose is convoluted. Even its name is confusing, for the last battle of the War of 1812 was fought in 1815.

In a nutshell, the British—in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars—were stopping neutral American ships and forcing Americans to serve in the Royal Navy or Merchant Marine. They were blockading Europe, which negatively impacted the income of many “war hawk” states. The Americans, who profited from trade with Napoleon and were outraged by this insult to their pride, were stirred up by the war hawks to invade Upper Canada (modern Ontario). Some Americans believed they could liberate Canada and fulfill manifest destiny.

Weak attempts to diffuse tensions failed, and violence broke out. After three years of bloodshed, the Treaty of Ghent was signed. But it addressed none of the causes of the war, and borders remained unchanged. Berton wrote: “It is as if no war had been fought or, to put it more bluntly, as if the war that was fought was fought for no good reason. For nothing has changed; everything is as it was in the beginning save for the grave of those who, it now appears, have fought for a trifle.”

The War of 1812 was an emotional, thoughtless feud between two siblings.

The late Herbert W. Armstrong explained in The United States and Britain in Prophecy that these two English-speaking peoples are brothers. The United States is the Israelite tribe of Manasseh, and the British peoples are Ephraim, the younger brother (Genesis 48). These two brothers were prophesied to become great world powers: one a superpower and one a globe-girdling empire. These unconditional promises were delayed for 2,520 years because of our forefathers’ rebellion against God. The fulfillment of these prophecies is incredible proof of the Bible’s accuracy. Mr. Armstrong wrote:

These birthright peoples came, with incredible suddenness, into possession of more than two thirds—nearly three fourths—of the cultivated wealth and resources of the whole world! This sensational spurt from virtual obscurity in so short a time gives incontrovertible proof of divine inspiration. Never, in all history, did anything like it occur.

The two nations received these promises starting in 1800. Britain began to sprout as an empire, and America began to dominate North America. The War of 1812 was a clash between these two brothers. In this critical period, God drew clear borders between them. As God directs history and prophecy, He also decides the habitations of nations (Acts 17:26).

In many ways this foolish struggle was correction for these young powers. It is clear God did not intend for Britain to reconquer America or for America to conquer Canada. When America had the upper hand invading the Niagara Peninsula, tremendous miracles helped the British push it back. When Britain burned down the White House and invaded New Orleans, God provided miracles for the Americans. God intervened to settle a petty sibling rivalry that cost thousands of lives.

That war left a scar on the relationship between the two countries. Berton wrote: “The flames of war have long since died; the agony has been forgotten, the justification long obscured. But the legacy of that bitter, inconclusive, half-forgotten conflict still remains.” Resentment and bitterness have poisoned relations between the U.S. and Britain ever since.

In many ways, the trade war between Canada and America is a replay of the War of 1812. Both sides will suffer unnecessary casualties because of a lack of humility. Understanding their biblical identity and Bible prophecy would diffuse any physical disputes.

There are some important differences between the conflicts: Canada is much more of a malevolent actor today than before. Nonetheless, we need to learn from history to remedy our national relationship.

One grand lesson from the War of 1812 is essential for us to grasp: It was a massive distraction.

While North America was consumed in a sibling rivalry, Europe was on the verge of being conquered by Napoleon. The struggle between Napoleon’s Europe and the British Empire was the pivot point of Western civilization, deciding which empire ruled the world for the next 100 years. More importantly, it was also a prophetic pivot point.

Napoleon led the fifth resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. This European church-state system is described in Revelation 13. As Mr. Armstrong explained in Who or What is the Prophetic Beast?, this horrific beast is a violent, bloody, war-making empire that will have seven resurrections. It is an evil empire that has been a scourge to the human race. Our free book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy explains this history and prophecy.

Napoleon came within a hair’s breadth of suffocating the British Empire in the cradle. Without incredible miracles, Napoleon would never been defeated. This was the most important event happening in the world at that time.

While the Holy Roman Empire was conquering Western civilization, America and Canada’s focus was insular. Not only was America supporting Napoleon economically and politically, but the conflict weakened the resistance against his imperial ambitions.

Our nations are making the same mistake today. The trade war in North America, our “War of 2025,” is a fatal distraction from the seventh and final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe right now. A military superpower will rise from the European Union that will rival the U.S. The Trumpet has been warning about this for decades. In the April 2025 Trumpet, editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote:

All seven heads of the Holy Roman Empire have been diabolical and destructive. Millions died in the Middle Ages, as you can prove from history books. We have to be careful because it’s going to rise again suddenly. We should not be caught unawares.

Don’t be caught unawares. As the U.S. and Canada are caught up in a trade war, they are encouraging the rise of this deadly empire. Our attention should be on the momentous events in Europe. We must not be distracted by narratives, patriotism or emotions. Allow Bible prophecy to guide your focus.

Read our book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy so you are not caught unawares.