The World’s Next Superpower
As 2009 drew to a close, our editor in chief announced to the world that “In the next two months the Holy Roman Empire is going to be official in Europe!”
From its earliest beginnings, the Trumpet has watched and reported on this rising European imperial power, now in its guise as the European Union.
Why is that so? Why such a strong focus on the European Union?
Seizing a Lost Opportunity
The Trumpet looks upon Herbert Armstrong as its prime mentor. Mr. Armstrong published the Plain Truth magazine and was the voice of the World Tomorrow radio and television program, both serving international audiences numbering in the millions.
Europe’s unification was the key prophecy Mr. Armstrong highlighted over the years. So well known was he for this forecast that in 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, a news station in Seattle called the Plain Truth’s headquarters to ask for a statement on the event—after all, Mr. Armstrong had been saying this would happen for over 40 years. Sadly, Mr. Armstrong had died a few years before, and those in his place offered only the weakest, vaguest statement of the significance of this prophetically electrifying event.
The Trumpet has seized that lost opportunity and, as resources have permitted, sought to provide an ongoing educational service in the public interest exposing the truth about the dramatic turn of world events introduced by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Thus we have worked to expose the true nature of the imperial power that is readying itself to burst onto the world scene, for a brief period in time, as a superpower of frightening strength!
After Germany’s reunification, we declared in the first year of the Trumpet’s publication, “The Holy Roman Empire is almost resurrected as Bible prophecy said it would be (see Revelation 13 and 17). Here is what Otto von Habsburg of the European Parliament recently had to say: ‘The [European] Community is living largely by the heritage of the Holy Roman Empire, though the great majority of the people who live by it don’t know by what heritage they live’” (December 1991).
In May of 1992, the Trumpet warned: “Recent political events happening within Germany and Europe should cause alarming concern for people within the United States, England and even the rest of the world. But most do not know the true meaning behind all of these events.
“A major political, economic and religious conglomerate of nations is poised ready to burst onto the world scene. Historically, this union of nations was known as the Holy Roman Empire.”
First the Balkans—Then the Rest!
Up to the Berlin Wall’s fall, the project to unite Europe—church and state—into what Otto von Habsburg described as a union reflecting the “heritage of the Holy Roman Empire” had stalled at the Iron Curtain separating Europe’s western democracies from the Communist states of the Soviet Union. European elites had long planned to fix that after what they saw as the inevitable reunification of Germany. When Germany reunited in 1990, it did not take long for that plan to emerge. It all began in the Balkan Peninsula.
Prophesying of the expansion of the final resurrection of this empire, the Prophet Daniel was inspired to write that it would wax “exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east and toward the pleasant land” (Daniel 8:9). Any Bible commentary will confirm that “the pleasant land” is the land of Israel.
Thus, for 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, we have anticipated and reported on the southern and eastern expansion of the European Union. We have especially watched for a multi-nation EU “peacekeeping” force to eventually surround Jerusalem (Luke 21:20).
From 1991 we tracked German hegemony as it began expanding south and east.
In our September/October 1995 edition, our editor in chief reported, “In December 1991, some politically serious events began to take shape within Germany and Eastern Europe. Strongly opposed by the European Economic Community, the United States, and the United Nations, Germany recognized the ‘breakaway’ states of Croatia and Slovenia. The pope very quickly followed Germany by also recognizing these states. This was not by coincidence; the people of these two states are very loyal to the Roman Catholic Church. … There is something very dark and sinister stirring in Europe.” Gerald Flurry then prophesied, “What is now happening in Croatia is only a small sample of what is about to spread over the entire continent! This is the ‘straw that is going to stir the drink’ to unify all of Europe. It will not be long until Europe is reunited as the Holy Roman Empire.”
Four years later, as attention in the Balkan wars shifted to Kosovo, we forecast, “America (and almost the whole world) strongly opposed Germany’s plans in the beginning. But the U.S. weakened and then even decided to support Germany in their war to control the Balkans! Then the civil war spread into Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Serbs lost control of a large portion of this republic also. Now the Serbs see Germany supporting a guerrilla army of Albanians. … The only real winner in our war with Yugoslavia will be Germany. America and Britain will be the great losers. They will grow weaker as Germany grows in power” (May 1999).
In the same edition we commented, “This spring has been a monumental time for Germany. Not only has the Luftwaffe gone to war for the first time since World War ii [in the Balkan wars], but the official opening of the Reichstag in Berlin has brought a visionary parliament together in a building 66 years after a fire there ushered in Hitler’s dictatorship and the Third Reich. … [A] European empire is to revive one last time in Western and Central Europe. Germany will spearhead this revival. The Reichstag’s reopening is yet another indicator that ‘classic Europe,’ as historians call it, is not a thing of the past.”
Quickening Pace
Over the ensuing three years, we reported on the quickening pace of EU expansion, highlighting Europe’s right-wing swing and the increasing involvement of Europe—in particular Germany—in the Middle East peace process. We also warned of the impending financial crisis and the risk to America of an alliance between Germany and Russia. Meanwhile, Germany’s efforts to control the Balkan Peninsula—using nato, under the EU umbrella, as its proxy—were steadily bearing imperial fruit. We wrote in May 2001, “Events unfolding in Europe’s Balkan Peninsula are a major sign of how close Germany is to achieving its worldwide goals.”
In our March/April 2003 edition we followed up: “State by state, the country of Yugoslavia has been conquered. Even the name Yugoslavia is being discarded.
“Most of this conquering was accomplished with U.S. military power. But it is Germany and the European Union that are taking control of the former Yugoslavia.” This article spoke about the strategic value of the Balkan Peninsula, and how the German-led EU sought to gain control of it as part of a larger strategy to control the Mediterranean Sea.
By 2004, we witnessed—for the first time since Hitler had achieved the same goal by more aggressive means—the uniting of Eastern and Western Europe by treaty, when 10 ex-Soviet nations were accepted into the European Community. Two years later, Bulgaria and Romania joined, spreading Europe’s eastern leg clear on up to the Black Sea. The rising imperial European power now symbolically stood on its two legs, east and west, as prophesied in Daniel 2:33.
That which Herbert Armstrong had so consistently prophesied had become a current-day reality!
Shifting Policies
As 2005 rolled around, we warned of a political shift in Europe: “Germany is rapidly shifting to the right wing politically,” we wrote in January that year. Quoting Stratfor, we noted that Germany was “shifting toward policies ‘reminiscent of Hitler’s.’ Today, Germany is by far the greatest economic power in Europe. It leads the powerful 25-nation [now 27] European Union superpower, which is frequently challenging the U.S. A powerful right-wing Germany is far more dangerous to America than terrorism is. We just don’t know it yet.”
With the Balkans in the bag and a whole swag of ex-Soviet satellite nations firmly ensconced under the EU imperial umbrella, the following year we warned, “Watch for Europe to become more involved with Israel, especially Jerusalem. This rising Holy Roman Empire has already taken over the Balkans—and now it has its steely eyes set on Jerusalem!” (November/December 2006).
Earlier, encouraging our readers to watch events unfolding in Europe even more intently, our editor in chief wrote in our April 2006 edition, “Current events are starting a chain reaction that is going to stir Europe into actions that will shock this world. The iron strength at the core of an imperial European Union is growing. As it has done repeatedly in history, once again it is going to smash its way to global dominance! … Herbert W. Armstrong believed the same pattern would occur again in our time—that European nations would unite suddenly because of a crisis, and that the Roman Catholic Church would play a huge role in solving that emergency. In times of crisis, religion has a way of pulling people together!”
What would that crisis be? In 2006, a number of pundits began to vocalize their concern over America’s ballooning debt. Some predicted financial and economic disaster. These reports reminded us of a prophecy Mr. Armstrong had made concerning what exactly could trigger the unifying of the divisive nations of Europe and jolt into global dominance the prophesied great European power, the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire.
Just as we have consistently watched for and reported on the expansion of the EU southward and eastward on into the Middle East, we have also looked for the seeds of that crisis which would suddenly truly unite the fractious nations of Europe. In our April 2006 edition we had asked, “What emergency might unify Europe again? Mr. Armstrong believed that crisis would be the fall of the dollar. The dollar’s collapse could trigger a world financial crisis and make the European currency an attractive alternative for investors around the world. What other currency comes close? If the euro became the world’s new reserve currency, Europe would be flooded with money and would dominate world markets. Today the dollar is in real trouble.”
Euro Gains, Papal Politics and Crisis
Over the next year, we increased our scrutiny of America’s economy as the dollar continued to dip. “[T]he dollar’s status as a reserve currency is shaky. The euro is rapidly gaining on the dollar as a unit of global trade,” the April 2007 Trumpet said.
That year was the 50th anniversary of European union. In the same April edition, having the EU’s foundational treaty, the Treaty of Rome, in mind, we observed, “It may have been apparent to few at the time, but the signing of that treaty in that ancient city [Rome] on March 25, 1957, laid the groundwork for what is yet to become the singular most dominant force in geopolitics this century, the European Union. … The time will come when Europe will follow the rising fashion in Russia and Latin America, and the cry will go up for a populist leader. Such a man will come to office, not necessarily via the electoral process within the European Union, but rather by diplomacy—or flatteries (Daniel 11:21). He will lead the countries of Europe out of their divisions into great, though very temporary, imperial strength. Yes, that old Holy Roman Empire will rise again.”
The same year, we noted the demonstration of papal power in Italy when Pope Benedict forced the resignation of Prime Minister Prodi over the issue of state recognition of unwed and homosexual partnerships. We commented, “This is about more than just blocking laws that promote immorality. The Catholic Church is seeking to unite Europe under the power of religion—the Catholic religion, and Catholic laws. The Bible prophesies that this powerful entity will yet gain the power to enforce the policies—including Sunday worship—it now calls upon Europeans to uphold” (May 2007).
The subprime mortgage fiasco spilled over into major financial crisis a year later. We did not have to wait long to see Europe’s reaction to the crisis of autumn 2008! The EU proxy, the G-2o, met in haste on November 14-15 that year “to consider global financial and economic regulation. The EU plan is submitted to the leaders of these 20 leading nations. Commentator Dick Morris observes, ‘The results of the G-20 economic summit amount to nothing less than the seamless integration of the United States into the European economy. … Sovereignty is out the window. Without a vote, we are suddenly members of the European Union. … [M]erging with the Europeans is like a partnership with death’” (October 2009).
Mr. Armstrong’s prescience in declaring decades ago that a banking crisis in America “could suddenly result in triggering European nations to unite as a new world power” seemed startling as we observed the beginnings of its prophetic fulfillment (co-worker letter, July 22, 1984). Out of the global economic and financial chaos, we noted, “a beast arises, a regulatory authority ruled by a banking cabal significantly hailing from Rome, Berlin and Berne, with the innocuous name of the Financial Stability Board. Its work is done in secret, behind closed doors. The outcome is prophesied in your Bible in Revelation 13. Deeply involved in lobbying the central bankers of Europe are the powerful global merchants (Revelation 18)—many of whom head the very corporations, on both sides of the Atlantic, that aided Hitler in his drive for global power. Coincidence?” (October 2009).
As the push by the Teutonic EU for the power to control the global economy continued, Agence France-Presse published this startling item Nov. 19, 2009: “[O]bservers believe Germany could be saving itself to push for the top job at the ecb [European Central Bank]—arguably the most influential EU post, as the president governs monetary policy for all the countries that share the euro” (emphasis mine throughout). Within the G-20, it’s the powerful central bankers who call the tune and control the purse strings of the world. Hence Germany’s desire to seize the top job of the most powerful and influential of all central banks, the European Central Bank. “The ecb president is and will remain one of the most powerful European voices in global policymaking,” said Marco Annunziata, chief economist at Italian bank UniCredit. But Berlin will not be alone in competing for the ecb president’s job. The other strong contender is—guess who? Rome!
Whether Berlin or Rome is successful in seizing what has become the most prominent central banking post on the planet doesn’t matter in the whole equation of unfolding events involving centralized control over the global economy. Either way, one powerful entity wins: the rapidly emerging seventh and final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire!
Watch … and Pray!
By the time the Berlin Wall fell, the European Community was already a trading bloc wielding significant economic power. Afterward, the European Community became a definite political force via the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, changing its name to the European Union. That treaty opened the way for members to unify on matters of defense, justice and home affairs and primed the drive toward monetary union.
For 20 years, we have watched and reported on the metamorphosis of the European Union from a free-trade bloc, into a united political entity, into a global financial and economic regulatory power—and on to its present status: an imperial power of rising global influence, under its own federal constitution, possessing its own diplomatic corps, subject to the oversight of its own president—the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire!
Of the greatest concern is that the recently ratified Lisbon Treaty/European constitution legitimizes the creation of a pan-European military force. Indications are that this will be largely enacted by combining existing EU military forces and assets with those of nato, a process favored by the EU’s strongest military power, Germany. It will include access to nuclear weapons.
Already European industry is gearing up to unify and consolidate its component parts to support this end. The time it would normally take for such a process could be drastically hastened by crisis. The rising tension being created by Islam’s push into Europe’s sphere of influence could mean the EU is but one terrorist attack away from such a crisis.
With the EU now significantly advanced toward fulfilling its goal of global dominance as a superpower, to use Herbert Armstrong’s words, “greater than either the U.S. or Russia,” what will the Trumpet be watching for in the immediate future? To achieve the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecies detailing the seventh and final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, we shall continue to watch for a number of events to fall into place, among which will be:
—The reorganization of EU member nations into 10 distinct regions, each under its own leader subordinate to Brussels/Berlin (Revelation 17:12)
—Increasing cooperation between EU and nato defense forces until the one subsumes the other (Revelation 13:4, 7)
—Increasing penetration of the Middle East peace process by a German-dominated diplomatic thrust (Obadiah 1:7)
—An EU international “peacekeeping” force to surround Jerusalem (Luke 21:20)
—Increasingly aggressive initiatives by the Vatican to enforce Rome’s religion as the ideological glue to unite the masses in Europe behind the imperialist motives of both Rome and Berlin (Revelation 13)
—The rising European sentiment against Islam to spark a cry from Rome calling for a “Christian” backlash, culminating in a whirlwind response to Iran and its lackeys (Daniel 11:40)
As 2010 dawns, it does so with the words of a startling announcement from our editor in chief reverberating: “The final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire IS HERE!” That declaration ought to be a powerful stimulus to action to anybody who ever heard the voice of Herbert Armstrong prophesying for decades that these events would occur exactly as Bible prophecy declares they will. It ought to stimulate our watching and our praying—even as Jesus Christ appended to His great prophecy of end-time events in Luke 21 this warning (verse 36): “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man.”
