Europe’s ‘Civil War’ and Germany

The European Union is fighting a “sort of European civil war,” French President Emmanuel Macron said last week. To him, this is a fight between the “authoritarian” and “illiberal” leaders on the one side and liberal democracies on the other.

This “civil war” encompasses the major news stories in Europe: the migration crisis, terrorism and the rise of the far right.

On one side are the “illiberals.” The upstart movement includes Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Poland’s Law and Justice Party. It is the side of strongman government, a religious worldview and the defense of Europe’s traditional heritage.

On the other side are more established leaders like Macron, Germany’s Angela Merkel and Europe’s formidable bureaucracy. They have a vision of a liberal, multicultural Europe. Many of these leaders are from right-wing parties, but they have still bought in to a version of the same multicultural, secularist worldview.

This is a fight over Europe’s soul and destiny—about which vision will prevail. It’s a fight happening in the media and at the ballot boxes. Multiculturalists inside and outside of Hungary openly root for Orbán’s opponents in Hungarian elections, while Orbán supports “authoritarian” groups in other nations, such as the National Front in France.

This fight is also going on inside the halls of the European Union, where bureaucrats are twisting and stretching the rules to try and place sanctions on Poland.

But at the heart of this fight for Europe’s soul is Germany. As Europe’s most populous, richest and dominant country, Germany will be crucial in deciding the outcome. Without Germany on their side, the illiberals are the minority, with the modest goal of merely avoiding EU sanctions and hanging on to the shreds of their heritage that they have left. With Germany on their side, the illiberals could change the fate of Europe.

But Germany is firmly in the multicultural camp, right? Wrong. The German government, and especially the German public, is full of people fighting on the side of the illiberals. A post-Merkel Germany could very quickly join the illiberals—and change the future of Europe.

The Christian Social Union (csu) is the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (cdu). And already the csuhas sided with the illiberals. While Merkel condemns Orbán, the csupraises him and even invites him to speak at party events. Sławomir Sierakowski, director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Warsaw, called csu leader Horst Seehofer “a sort of political godfather” to Orbán. Alexander Dobrindt, another key csu leader, calls Orbán “our friend.”

To Dobrindt, the csu is part of a “conservative revolution” opposing a “left-wing revolution of the elites.” This is the same European civil war Macron talked about, as described by those on the other side.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, another key csu leader, has promised to put crucifixes on the walls of all public buildings. Söder said the crosses demonstrate Germany’s “Christian-Western” culture. They are a literal sign of which side Söder is on in the ideological conflict.

Former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg still retains some of his superstar status in the csu. He clearly signaled which side of the civil war he is on during the federal election last year. He filled his blockbuster campaign speeches with references to Germany’s Christian heritage.

This ideological struggle all but guarantees that Germany’s current “grand coalition” government will be ineffective in answering Europe’s biggest questions. Seehofer leads Germany’s newly beefed up “Homeland” Ministry. Dobrint is the deputy leader of the combined cdu-csu bloc in Germany’s parliament. They’re not insignificant figures. In Europe’s civil war, Germany’s government is at war with itself.

Even inside Chancellor Merkel’s own party, a major faction is pushing for policies more like Orbán’s. One of the cdu’s top leaders, Jens Spahn, wants to move the party further to the right. In an interview earlier this month, Spahn praised Orbán’s border security policy. The interview made waves because his statement indicates he is on the other side of Europe’s ideological civil war, opposed to his party leader and chancellor.

Spahn is a strong contender to succeed Merkel as cdu leader. His popularity reflects the fact that many party members also want to move the cduto the traditional, Christian, strongman side of the ideological battle.

Macron’s civil war analogy is not perfect. Europe is not quite that polarized. Last week, for example, I wrote to you about Macron’s embrace of the Catholic Church—a stance typically more associated with illiberals. The two camps still share some policies in common. So a switch in Germany wouldn’t necessarily mean a violent overthrow of Europe’s status quo—but it would guarantee a major change in direction.

Europe is already in the process of a change of direction. We’ve been watching for this at the Trumpet for years, because it is prophesied in your Bible.

The book of Daniel prophesies that a strong leader will soon rise in Europe. In our free booklet A Strong German Leader Is Imminent, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry writes: “This soon-coming ruler could literally be called a king. Even if he is not, the Bible gives him that label. When the Bible talks about a king, in most cases it’s saying that this is not a democratic government. Even if he doesn’t have that title, he is going to lead like a king. This vision in Daniel shows that the European empire is about to become a lot more authoritative.”

But the Bible also prophesies that under this man will be a group of strong leaders—a group of kings!

Revelation 17 describes a beast that symbolizes a great European empire. This beast has 10 horns. Verses 12-13 state that “the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”

This prophecy describes a modern European power that will be ruled by 10 similar kings, authoritarian leaders who have power—which they give to an even stronger king.

The first few verses of Revelation 17 show that this beast is ridden by a woman, which the Bible uses to symbolize a church.

We already see strongmen emerging who emphasize their Christian heritage. We see factions in Germany wanting to take their nation in the same direction. We see a very plausible and very imminent scenario in which this ideology could finish taking control of Europe. We are very close to the Europe forecast in the Bible.

You can learn more about this trend in my article “Introducing Europe’s Eastern Strongmen” from the January Trumpet issue.

This trend is especially significant in Germany. The Germans hold the balance of power in this fight over ideals. Germany is Europe’s dominant power. And the Germans are the focus of so many Bible prophecies about the future of Europe.

This is why Mr.Flurry wrote his booklet dedicated to this subject: A Strong German Leader Is Imminent. Request your free copy, and learn what the Bible prophesies for Germany and Europe’s future. These same prophecies also foretell a better world beyond. ▪