The indescribable wreckage of the Second World War left hundreds of thousands of civilians in Germany wandering around helplessly—hungry and homeless. Every major city in Germany was buried under a heap of ruin. Adding insult to these devastating injuries, the United States and Britain jointly stated, “It is our inflexible purpose to destroy German militarism and Nazism and to ensure that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the world” (emphasis mine throughout).

Germany had just received one of the worst beatings ever in the history of modern warfare. Its military might had been destroyed—its infrastructure, crushed.

Against this backdrop—even as Roosevelt and Churchill offered assurances that German militarism had been permanently dismantled—Herbert W. Armstrong warned of a prophesied revival of German might to be fulfilled in the “latter days.”

“From the very start of World War ii,” Mr. Armstrong wrote on May 9, 1945, “they have considered the possibility of losing this second round, as they did the first—and they have carefully, methodically planned, in such eventuality, the third round—World War iii!”

Few could have taken this warning seriously in 1945. Yet today, as Stratfor noted earlier this week, Germany has become “one of the richest, most technologically and industrially advanced states in human history” (February 8).

What a stunning transformation! In just six decades. How could it happen? How did Mr. Armstrong know in advance?

He knew because the Bible prophesied long ago that Germany would again become the dominant power, economically and militarily, that would lead the seventh and final resurrection of the “Holy” Roman Empire in Europe.

This week, as our regular readers know, we’ve thoroughly covered the financial crisis in Greece. It’s hugely significant for a number of reasons, as Robert Morley pointed out Tuesday. For one, the crisis could be the knife that cuts the European Union down to a more manageable size. At present, there are 27 nations in the European Union. Sixteen of them, including Greece, have adopted the euro as their currency. Since the Bible describes the final resurrection of the Roman Empire as having “ten kings” (Revelation 17:12), we know the fat in Europe will soon be trimmed, making the empire much more lean—and mean.

Yesterday, leaders from the 16-nation eurozone met to discuss a possible rescue operation to save Greece’s ailing economy. Finance ministers emerged from the meeting vowing to take “action” on behalf of Greece, but offered no specific details about a potential bailout plan. Then, during a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “The best solution without any doubt is that Greece meets its obligations and that the markets believe these commitments will be implemented.” German “support” for Greece, she said, means Germany wants Greece to bail itself out by balancing its own budget.

Last night, the Guardianquoted one European diplomat who said Germany was putting the “brakes” on a bailout package based on “legal grounds, on constitutional grounds and on principle.” The Germans, said another senior diplomat, are “not waving their checkbooks.”

Even if Germany did put together a bailout package, it would come at a heavy cost for Greece, as Mr. Morley noted. Perhaps this is one reason why Greece hasn’t even asked for any financial assistance.

In response to speculation that Greece might be booted from the eurozone due to its financial mismanagement, the chairman of the finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said such thinking was “absurd.” But is it really? Isn’t it absurd to think the European monolith will continue exactly as is, with Germany as nanny of a super-sized welfare state?

On the other hand, a more efficient, faster-moving, financially sound empire of 10 makes perfect sense!

Even if Greece survives the crisis in the short run, the process is already in motion that will soon turn a bloated union into a muscular superpower. On the eve of the eurozone’s meeting about Greece on Thursday, the New York Times wrote, “As Europe edges toward emergency guarantees to stem market panic over one of the most profligate members of the euro bloc, the country that the region turns to for leadership, Germany, is suffering from growing doubts about the European experiment it long championed.”

The Times knows the Union, in its present form, is in trouble. It correctly sees Germany as the indisputable leader. It just fails to grasp that Germany has been planning for this crisis even before it adopted the euro currency! But even if that reality escapes mainstream news coverage, what they do see, now almost daily, is that Europe’s fate is inextricably linked to a resurgent Germany. And Germany, as we’ve been reporting all week, is only using this “emergency” in Greece to solidify its already powerful standing in Brussels.

What a difference one generation makes! As Stratfor noted yesterday, Germany never would have considered such a move during the Cold War.

Stratfor compares the current crisis in Europe to that of the Roman Republic. “The Roman Senate had provisions by which, in times of emergency … it could bestow dictatorial powers on an individual. The EU may be nearing such a choice, albeit with the EU in the position of the Roman Senate, and Germany playing the role of Caesar. The offer may be too tempting for Germany to ignore. The question is: Will Germany’s past continue to torture Berlin and prevent it from assuming its natural sphere of influence?”

Answer? You know the answer! Germany has escaped from the handcuffs of its tortured past and is aggressively assuming its natural position as strongman of Europe.

Earlier this year, on January 4, we posted an article that may well set the tone for much of what we report this year: “The Holy Roman Empire Is Back!” As my father explained in that important piece, that final resurrection of that empire now has its own constitution. It has Roman Empire diplomats stationed all over the Earth. This year, it will begin assembling a military machine for its empire. And soon, it will undergo a swift and radical reduction in size—probably brought on by an economic crisis—that will actually strengthen its unity and add to its power.

And the beating heart of this revived Roman Empire, just as God said it would be, has risen from the ashes of worldwide war to become the largest, wealthiest and most powerful state in Europe.