In part 1, titled “The Middle East Beckons Europe,” published in the Fourth Quarter 2023 edition of this periodical, it was argued that a coming German-led European power will eventually arise and invade parts of North Africa and the Middle East.
What should we be looking for to identify it? What will the attributes of this system be like? Will it be terrifying to its citizens or uplifting? Will it be neo-Marxist, woke and Left Wing or fascist and pro-Western Civilisation?
Some believe that the Beast is Islam while others feel that it is China or Russia. Many more believe it is a conspiracy that is centered in America, claiming that America is the Beast and New York is Babylon. Others believe it will be a world government that will persecute all Christians. And while world governance may be achieved by the elites, such will be short-lived and the world will divide into rival camps, coming to blows.
The various theories cannot all be correct. However, when we view the prophecies in light of historical precedence we can establish repeats or iterations of a system that should surely arise again. History and repetitions provide us with a template for future occurrences.
Historically and prophetically, the Beast system with all its iterations and variations has always come out of Europe, normally centred around Germany. While other areas and systems have been awful and “beastly” in many ways, that does not make them the Beast as prophesied, which is a ferocious system that stamps on Israel –– both physical and spiritual –– going to war to defeat anything and anyone in its way.
War is Coming
Readers might find it unfathomable that a power could arise that would not only challenge American-British (and allies) world hegemony, but that it would also attack them militarily.
Consider this: over time Europe has experienced the rise and fall of the First Reich (the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation or Sacrum Romanum Imperium Nationis Germanica); the Second Reich (from Bismarck to the end of WWI – the neo-Protestant Prussian period); and of course, the Third Reich (the Hitler-Mussolini period). The day will come when the Germans and the European Union will be the world’s supreme power through the powerful Fourth Reich –– the final revival of the Roman Empire combined with eventual emperor worship.
It will most assuredly not be favourable toward the Anglo-Saxon-Keltic powers and it will probably see the Anglo-Keltic powers as part of a global Jewish-Masonic conspiracy that must be stopped and destroyed once and for all.
Desmond Seward cynically pondered “… Modern communications made possible the Fuhrer-state [Albert Speer said]. If this is really the reason why Hitler was able to do so much more evil than Napoleon –– or even only one of the reasons –– then technological progress should ensure that the next ‘national saviour’ on the scene will be infinitely more terrible. Antichrist is yet to come. Perhaps the Emperor and the Fuhrer were merely forerunners.” (Napoleon and Hitler: A Comparative Biography, p. 269)
Seward is a historian, not a Biblical scholar of prophecy, but he knows the cycles of history and what can occur in the future. Europe may again call on a “saviour” to preserve their civilization from relentless attacks by the woke and globalist Left.
A “saviour” will arise, but what will he and his system be like? Below, some aspects of this system will be explored to help you identify it when it arises and not be deceived by the voices of chaos.
The Political System and Capital
The Roman Empire, and later the Catholic Church, had Rome as their capital. But the Holy Roman Empire, being rather decentralised, varied the location of its capital.
Aachen was where Charlemagne was crowned and it, as well as various castles in the Rhineland, functioned as capitals over time. Various abodes were considered as the centre of government and for a time the chief residence of elected Emperors was Prague.
When the Hapsburg dynasty was in power, Vienna became their capital for centuries. Today, Brussels is the capital of the European Union.
The question is whether Rome, Vienna, Berlin or some other city will become the political and military capital of a United Europe (with Rome remaining the religious capital).
May I suggest that the final political capital of Europe will probably be located in a city acceptable to all or most European nations, Vienna. It is “neutral” yet German. It stands between north and south, east and west; between Catholicism, Lutheranism and Orthodox Christianity. At the heart and centre of Europe, that would bond a diverse continent and peoples under a single system and leader.
It could very well house the institutions now located in Brussels as well as the United Nations, World Bank and IMF (or successor organisations).
From Vienna we may see again the symbol of the double-headed eagle, proudly displayed as a restoration of the Holy Roman Empire. Eventually the future European leader will move his capital to Jerusalem (Daniel 11:45).
Symbols and Heritage
The European Union currently possesses a flag, anthem and annual public day. But what other symbols and emblems might the future regime have?
One of the most prominent symbols of ancient Assyria was the eagle: is this where many of the eagle symbols of Central Europe originate? (Donald Mackenzie, The Migration of Symbols and their Relations to Beliefs and Customs, pp. 343-345). Comparisons have been made between the Nazi eagle with spread-out wings and that utilised by the Assyrians.
All empires utilise symbols and emblems to create identity, maximize its glory and to honour itself. So what sort of symbols will the coming German-led European Union use?
Ancient Symbols – Modern Usage
It seems that as the European Union evolves more and more into a dictatorship, it will begin to hearken back to its roots in the Roman and Holy Roman systems and utilise the symbols of old.
In addition to the Roman Eagle used by both Napoleon and Hitler, we could see arise the double-headed Eagle representing the co-operation of Western and Eastern Europe (as well as the Church); the Imperial Crown representing the Emperor as temporal ruler and regent of Christ on earth (it includes the cross, an octagonal shape representing the heavenly Jerusalem and 12 stones supposedly representing the tribes of Israel); and the Holy Lance (also known as the Spear of Destiny) which mythologically pierced Christ –– this was politically the most important relic because it may be traced in history to Jerusalem via Italy, Lombardy and Burgundy. Tests undertaken on the spear indicate that it may be traced back to several centuries after Christ. However, a small metal strip within it may be much older. Nevertheless, it remains central to Holy Roman Empire regalia. The cross, too, will be a very important symbol.
These insignia reside today in the Treasure House, Vienna, awaiting another Emperor to claim them and fulfill his dream of world peace and a new order led by a United Europe. The creation of peace was the goal of the Emperors as well as the kings, princes, bishops, abbots and other leaders as they debated back and forth in their imperial diets. At times they unleashed holy wars to cause peace (in their estimation).
All Holy Roman Emperors wore or utilised these symbols as a representative of the god of the heavens upon the earth. Hitler did not wear them but had them removed from Vienna and stored in Nuremburg in March 1938. Only Napoleon, of all the European emperors, was not able to obtain them, which is interesting given that he was of non-German/Austrian stock, unlike most of the Holy Roman Emperors.
Napoleon claimed on one occasion in 1804 to have had the Imperial insignia of Charles brought to France. “But if there was not in this a trick of Napoleon’s, there must be a mistake … for these insignia had been removed from Aachen by Austria in 1798 … We are even told that it was at one time his intention to eject the Hapsburgs, and be chosen Roman Emperor in their stead.” (James Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire, pp. 354-55)
As one researcher wisely observed:
“… perhaps the Imperial Crown may come to be seen yet again as a symbol of a political order that some wish to reinstate, with all the dire consequences this would entail.” (Dagmar Paulus, From Charlemagne to Hitler: The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire and its Symbolism, p. 15).
Double-headed Eagle
The Empire generally portrayed a sense of freedom, well-being, prosperity. It had great celebrations, banquets, festivals, wars, ‘war dramas’, mock battles and so forth. It was not a totalitarian dictatorship, but power was given to the Emperor to perform his duties to govern Europe. It will be so again.
“The charters of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire invoke the One and Undivided Trinity and promise peace ‘to the faithful of God and of the Empire’, employing a sacral formula which goes back to ancient Roman and pre-Roman times.” (Friedrich Heer, The Holy Roman Empire, p. 6)
The double-headed eagle in particular has ancient origins: for in Mesopotamia, we find double-headed beast motives used extensively from the earliest of times (Gordon Childe, New Light on the Most Ancient East, p. 81), by the Holy Roman Emperors and later the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires. In Europe the double-headed eagle, in its most famous form, is in Vienna. Since the fall of Communism it became the official crest of Albania and Montenegro.
The single-headed eagle dates from at least the Roman Empire representing its single dominance over the region. The eagle was regarded as king of the skies and glorious to behold. But it was Constantine who devolved the Empire into two halves, the Eastern half based in Constantinople. From then on, the Empire and thus Europe, functioned in two parts, symbolised by the double-headed eagle.
When the new Holy Roman Empire comes –– a militaristic United Europe, of which the current European Union may be the genesis or forerunner –– it will probably be full of pomp and ceremony, drawing upon the history of Europe.
Economic and Financial System
As with the dictators referred to above, this system will not take Europe back to the feudalism of the Middle Ages. Instead, it will be modern and seek to uplift the general populace. Consider that Napoleon and Mussolini started off on the Left, drifting to the radical Right but bringing with them social and economic reforms. Hitler, on the other hand, was always radical Right, but the original National Socialist Party had some economic socialist credentials, most of which Hitler eschewed to gain and keep power. To do this he had to gain favour with the old Aristocratic class, bankers and industrialists.
All three turned around their terrible economies by applying government intervention and support of private enterprise.
Napoleon in particular implemented legal, social, educational and economic reforms. The country was stabilized and he was then able to pursue his dream of a United Europe. As did Kaiser Wilhelm II.
From the above we can deduce that Europe and its allies will forge some sort of modern version of fascism, adoring the Holy Roman and even the Roman Empires.
Today there are a number of conservative, Centre-Right and populist parties that are gaining power or are on the rise. The media and even some churches think that these are Far Right which wish to forge a fascist Europe. But these parties are not Far Right (fascist or Nazi). Their views are similar to Reagan’s or Churchill’s. They are conservatives, but to the media they are “Far Right.” They will know all about it when the real Far Right eventually gain power in Europe and other places. Right now these parties are backing away from encouraging their nations to withdraw from the EU. Their plan is to rather take over it and the associated institutions, to eschew woke and globalist policies and restore conservative values. They do not want a fully centralised EU, but one that is cooperative while having a single military.
Some day and in some way, there will be a backlash in Europe, and it will slide toward some sort of fascism, eschewing globalisation and the woke agenda. Even Centre-Right parties can slide toward fascism or new parties might arise with a radical Right agenda.
There could be uprisings and revolutions that will overthrow the Woke Left. In some countries there might be military coups. However this all comes about, be assured that the true extreme Right will gain power and turn against the Anglo-Keltic Powers.
Social Values
The values will be conservative and the strong hand of leaders in Europe will finally wipe out the Liberal-Left and neo-Marxists once and for all. The ideologies of the Woke and Globalist elites will be modified if not swept aside for a new, conservative set of values while maintaining some social reforms and progressive views.
They will likely represent themselves as the saviours of Western Civilization (the peoples, art, music, architecture, history, family unit) with initial support from many areas of the world worried about the gradual undermining of their families, religions, and nations.
The promotion of the family unit and nationhood (in a civilizational and cultural context), the eschewing of post-modernism and decadence will be the order of the day.
This follows the model set by Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler and the fascist dictators of eastern Europe and Iberia (the latter both before and after WW2).
Religion
If we look at the resurrections of the old Holy Roman Empire and its Catholic dominance, that should provide us with a clue to the future.
Consider Napoleon’s, Mussolini’s and Hitler’s initial Concordats with the Vatican. But Napoleon took two Popes into captivity and Hitler had definite plans to do the same (both of these men were deists). Mussolini was an atheist until his death and had many issues with the Church.
This new system will commence as a restoration of the Holy Roman Empire in cooperation with the Church but will morph into Roman Emperor worship with ensuing rivalry between the two resulting in disaster for the Church (Revelation 17:16).
The Horrors of the Final Reich
In a radio interview on BBC Radio in 2002 Clifford Longley, author of Chosen People, laid out how the Anglo-Keltic nations had seen off Napoleon, the Kaiser, Hitler and Mussolini, Soviet Empire and even (to date) Islamo-fascism.
What Clifford and other great historians and political analysts do not know is Bible prophecy. They do not know that the Great God of the universe has the final say –– He can either intervene directly or stand back and permit the Devil to wreak havoc.
From the prophecies it is clear that He will allow the utter collapse of the Anglo-Keltic and related peoples (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28).
If you are a resident within the Anglo-Saxon-Keltic nations, you have much to fear. Terror will be the order of the day in the years now before us.
But if you are repentant Christian, God will comfort and protect you during the dark days lurking on the horizon.
Each restoration of the Roman system is getting worse, crueller and more destructive. In the final installment in this series, we will discover the attributes of the final Beast leader –– his successes and final defeat.
Further readings (available on the internet):
• Great Tribulation Coming on America and Britain – But WHY? by Garner Ted Armstrong
• History of the Extended Arm Salute by Craig M White
• New Order Coming in Germany by Garner Ted Armstrong
• Seven Restorations of the Roman System (repeated patterns) Chart by Craig M White
• Where Are We NOW in Prophecy? by Herbert W Armstrong
• Who or What is the Prophetic Beast? by Herbert W Armstrong
