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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel address a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)
In a development that threatens the global balance of power, Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, has made several public announcements recently questioning the importance of the alliance between her country and the United States. One prominent end-of-days scholar believes this development has powerful implications and will culminate in Germany revealing its true identity as Israel's biblical nemesis.
As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Germany is an ally of the United States, its importance underscored by the vast number of U.S. troops stationed there, more than in all other ally countries combined. But the alliance is on shaky ground, as Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel questioned its relevance in several public addresses she made in the last few weeks.
At an election rally in Munich last week, Merkel rejected friendship with the U.S., stating, "We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands," adding, "we must fight for our own destiny, on our own".
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive at a ceremony at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, May 15, 2017. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)
Will Germany Unwittingly Step Into This Daniel 9 Prophecy?
"The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator" (Daniel 9:26b-27).
In January of this year, Germany attempted to control Israel by discouraging new settlements. This stance came after a meeting of ministers from 30 nations that came together in Paris to discuss Middle East peace. This past February, Germany cancelled a meeting between their Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, and the Israeli government. One of the reasons cited was the new settlements that Israel continues to build.
Daniel 9:26-27 speaks of the end times. Specifically, God tells us that wars will continue until the end. A covenant with many for one seven-year period is then mentioned. Presently, war and the threat of war rock the Middle East. Many threats of war come from entities (terrorist groups and nations) who want to destroy Israel.
Just last year, Angela Merkel was quoted as saying that she was "hopeful" that a peace deal could be brokered between the Israel and the Palestinians. In fact, Germany presently acknowledges the peace talks between the two sides to be mediated by four entities: the UN, EU, US and Russia. In 2010, Germany held a direct conference between Israel and the Arab League chief to find a two-state solution.
Their involvement in the peace process also makes sense in light of an increase in military trade between the two countries. In the past few years, Israel bought five submarines from Germany. Last year, they formulated plans to buy more. Germany is looking to purchase drones from Israel. These are just a two examples of their close military cooperation. Interestingly enough, they have also made deals to provide some Arab states with hundreds of their Leopard tanks.
From the Bible, it is clear that some kind of covenant or treaty will be formed with many nations. The UN, EU, US and Russia clearly represent many nations on earth. However, one nation has to be the driving force in pursuing this policy. Could Germany be this nation?
These recent political and economic moves show us that Germany is presently making a power play in the Middle East to bring a peace between all sides. They have the economy, military and political connections to make such a deal happen.
Kelly McDonald Jr. is an ordained evangelist at Hungry Hearts Ministries in Jackson, Tennessee. He has written over 40 books and booklets on pursing Christ, Hebrew roots and end-times prophecy. He is currently president of the Bible Sabbath Association (BSA). You can follow him at: kellymcdonaldjr.com.
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The names of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher are familiar as prominent symbols of strong female leadership in times when women heads of state were rare.
By 2015, however, the number of female leaders of nations reached 19, according to the United Nations. On July 13, British Home Secretary Theresa May joined the club by replacing outgoing U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, becoming the U.K.'s second female prime minister after Thatcher.
As America waits to see if Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton becomes the country's first female president in the November 2016 election, JNS.org provides eight examples of current and former non-Jewish female heads of state, their relations with Israel and the Jewish community, and how they embody tikkun olam—the Jewish value of repairing the world.
Angela Merkel
The daughter of a Lutheran pastor, Merkel has been the chancellor of Germany since 2005. She has spoken out many times about her commitment to fighting anti-Semitism in a country carrying the notoriety of Holocaust history, calling Germany's current community of 100,000 Jews a "national treasure" at a 2014 rally and saying that it is "every German's duty" to take a stand against anti-Jewish threats. The same year, she received Israel's Presidential Medal of Distinction.
Back in Germany, using the German slogan "wir schaffen das" ("we can do this"), Merkel has steadfastly expressed her commitment to the acceptance and integration of Syrian and other Middle Eastern refugees in Germany. Her political rivals have criticized her for this refugee policy due to the growth of Islamic extremism in Germany, a trend many have blamed on the refugees.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Sirleaf, the president of Liberia since 2006, is Africa's first democratically elected female president. She was imprisoned in the 1980s and also lived in exile to avoid persecution for criticizing the government. She shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her promotion of women's rights and women's safety.
In June 2016, Sirleaf visited Israel for the second time and thanked the Jewish state for its help during the Ebola crisis of 2015.
"We want to share in the tremendous progress that Israel has made especially in the field of agriculture, where your achievements continue to amaze us," she said.
Theresa May
Before becoming prime minister last week, in her capacity as home secretary—a position responsible for the internal affairs of England and Wales—May had promised to defend the country's Jewish community and wipe out anti-Semitism.
"No one wants the school where they send their child to need security guards, or have their place of worship be fitted with security alarms and blast-resistant glass. But until that changes, the government is clear—we will stand by the Jewish community," May said.
May has also been known for supporting religious freedom, particularly the Jewish practices of shechita (kosher slaughter) and brit milah (ritual circumcision), and has advocated for greater British-Israeli ties in homeland security.
Tsai Ing-wen
Ing-wen became the first female president of Taiwan in January 2016. During the election campaign, she focused strongly on a platform advocating for more women leaders and workplace equality, and expressed support for same-sex marriage.
"When it comes to love, everyone is equal. I am Tsai Ing-wen, and I support marriage equality. Every person should be able to look for love freely, and freely seek their own happiness," she said.
In 2013, Ing-wen praised Israel and its citizens' ability to lead normal lives amid a reality of ongoing terrorism, in addition to lauding the Jewish state's high-tech industry.
Benazir Bhutto
Bhutto, as Pakistan's prime minister, was the first democratically elected female president of a Muslim country. She served as prime minister for two terms in the 1990s before being accused and tried on charges of corruption. After several years in exile, she returned to Pakistan but was assassinated in 2007.
In 2008, Bhutto was posthumously awarded the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights. "My mother always said, democracy is the best revenge," said Bhutto's son, Bilawal, after her death.
As prime minister of Pakistan, a Muslim country in a region typically hostile to Israel and Jews, Bhutto developed surprisingly positive relations with both Jews and Israel. The Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv reported that she had asked Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, along with the U.K.'s Scotland Yard and America's CIA, for protection.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had called the assassination of Bhutto a "great tragedy." Mark Siegel, a Democratic Party consultant and Jewish community liaison who knew Bhutto, said the Pakistani leader "was the most tolerant person I know ... She was at my daughter's bat mitzvah. Her husband came to my daughter's wedding."
Michelle Bachelet
Bachelet has been the president of Chile since 2014. She was also president from 2006-2010, when she was the first female president in her country's history.
A socialist politician, Bachelet began her second presidency by promising to tackle economic and social inequality, education reform, and human rights abuses by police.
"We need to ensure that everyone has the same rights and opportunities," Bachelet said in 2014.
During her first term as president, Bachelet garnered praise from the Jewish community for appointing three Jews as government ministers. At the time, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Achronoth referred to her cabinet as "the most Jewish government in the world."
Yet Bachelet's government has had a strained relationship with Israel. During Israel's 2014 war with Hamas in Gaza, Chile recalled its ambassador to the Jewish state and referred to Operation Protection Edge as "collective punishment" for the Palestinians.
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Grabar-Kitarović, the president of Croatia since 2015, is the first woman elected to that post in her country. At age 46, she was also the youngest president-elect in Croatian history.
"I would like to see more effort on preventing organized crime, co-operation on matters of security, but also a more vigorous fight against corruption, media freedoms, democratic systems, control of the intelligence sector, and the proper usage of the intelligence sector in accordance with the law," she said in 2015.
In 2015, Grabar-Kitarović visited Israel, participating in a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in which Croatian-American film producer Branko Lustig donated the Oscar he received for "Schindler's List" to Yad Vashem. Grabar-Kitarović told Israel's i24newsthat Croatia's collaboration with the Nazis is "a dark period in our history that casts a shadow on Croatia's past."
Dalia Grybauskaite
Grybauskaite, in her second term, is Lithuania's first woman president.
In 2015, she spoke out several times against Russia's annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Ukraine.
"It is our duty to uphold the international, humanitarian, and human rights laws, and to seek accountability when these laws are violated," she said.
Grybauskaite visited Israel in 2015. In a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, she said, "Lithuania and Israel are facing difficult challenges. Lithuania is well aware of what unrest and military threats in the region mean and how much effort it takes to ensure peaceful national development. Therefore, we must do everything we can to prevent provocations and protect peaceful populations. Aggression, coercion, and violence cannot be justified."
Grybauskaite and Rivlin discussed Israeli-Lithuanian economic, financial, and high-tech cooperation. The Lithuanian leader also visited Yad Vashem and planted an olive tree in the Grove of Nations, where more than 700 commemorative trees are planted in honor of Lithuanian citizens who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
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