Dear Brethren and Friends,
Prophecy is marching on, and what a mess this world is in! The costly Iran war has been spinning out of control, depleting America’s weapon’s arsenal and contributing to the destruction of the USA; and there is little hope that Israel will ever experience peace in this world. In fact, as the Bible predicts the utter downfall of the USA, so it speaks of a wound that Israel will receive—apparently some kind of a military defeat. The much praised “Board of Peace” that was to help end the fight between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is going nowhere. Also, Britain is in a desperate state, with no cure in sight. It is compared with a silly dove, not realizing or ignoring its true condition.
The Iran war is not only affecting the USA negatively, but the entire world which has become a more dangerous place to live in, and which is suffering from high oil prices, while the stock markets are behaving like the proverbial leaves in the wind, being tossed to and fro with every contradictory statement by the White House. The Sword of Damocles of global depression is hanging over our heads. At the same time, the Ukrainian war with Russia is raging on, and Europe concluded that President Trump is not really interested anymore in helping to end this war, wanting to leave it to Europe, so as not to antagonize Putin. As Europe alone will be unable to assist Ukraine militarily for long, Russia will ultimately overtake Ukraine, as has been predicted from the outset.
America’s “allies” are distancing themselves from Donald Trump who is blamed for the Iran war fiasco. They feel that his and Israel’s attacks on Iran were unprovoked and destined to fail, without any clear goal or exit strategy. Trump’s proclamations that America has won the war; that regime change has taken place; that Iran’s military has been all but destroyed; and that it has now been reassured that Iran will never have a nuclear bomb are falling on deaf ears, given the fact that reality does not match his declarations. Trump might very well understand that himself, and his threats, outbursts of anger and foul language may reflect his desperation and realization that things are not proceeding his way. He would love to get out of this war, but does not know how, and his advisors are of no help. So, what we see is an empire in decline.
At the same time, Europe is becoming more assertive in its desire to become a strong military power, independent of the USA. While Trump speaks about not forgetting NATO’s unwillingness to help in the Iran war and while he threatens to leave NATO, Europe is speaking about a “European NATO.” But there is much disunity in Europe, even though one unpopular anti-European leader, Viktor Orbán, was just defeated in Hungary’s election, to be displaced by a pro-European politician, Péter Magyar, as had been the case in Poland when Donald Tusk was elected. In Bulgaria, a Russian-friendly and somewhat anti-European politician, Rumen Radev, claimed victory, but Bulgaria was never a European force to reckon with, when considering the prophesied empire consisting of ten core nations [of which Hungary and Poland might very well become members, while Bulgaria won’t.]
The fiery exchange between Pope Leo XIV and President Trump is also significant. What the Pope has said about the evil of war is undeniably true. God does not approve of war. When Christ returns, He will put an end to war, and people will not learn war anymore. The problem is, the Catholic Church believes in the wrong and unbiblical concept of just war, and unless the Pope breaks with Catholic teaching, he believes in it too. Even though he does not consider the Iran war as a “just war” according to Catholic doctrine, in all his general and all-encompassing comments about war, this aspect of “just war” was never mentioned. The Catholic Church has a long history of engaging in warfare, and according to prophecy, it will do so again. When Europe attacks the USA, it will do so with the help of the Catholic Church and its Protestant daughter churches. That is why the feud between the Pope and Trump gains further significance and goes beyond a mere temporary “exchange” of opinions.
The Bible says that in these end times, a powerful political and military leader—“the beast”—will arise in Germany or Austria. He is alive for sure, but who is he? Just about every other influential country has powerful leaders who, in many cases, would display, to an extent, the characteristics of the beast—from the USA to Russia to China and North Korea to Turkey and even to Spain and France. On the other hand, Germany (and Austria) are currently plagued by weak and ineffective leadership. But this will change… soon.
In the past, there were strong German or Austrian leaders who would have fit the profile. The former Federal Minister of Defense in Germany, Franz Josef Strauss (1915-1988), appeared to be such a man, but he collapsed suddenly without warning during a hunt. He was transported to the Regensburg Hospital, underwent surgery, but never regained consciousness.
Another potential candidate could have been Austria’s Jörg Haider (1950-2008)—Governor of Carinthia on two occasions and long-time leader of the Freedom Party. He died of injuries from a car crash, allegedly speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol. Many have doubted the official explanation of his death and maintained that Haider, a seasoned and experienced driver who never drove under the influence, was drugged and murdered. The Bible seems to indicate that the beast will be homosexual. To the surprise of many, it was revealed after his death that Haider had been homosexual, even though he had been married and had a daughter. In any event, it appears that the manifestation of the beast (and of the false prophet) has been restrained or delayed until the time is ripe… which may be very soon now.
I have been saying that I believe, as do many others, especially those in the state of Israel, that Donald Trump will be used to help build the prophesied Third Temple in Jerusalem. Some have asked how this can be, given Trump’s un-Christian and blasphemous behavior and the fact that David was not allowed to build the First Temple, as he was a man of blood (like Trump is today). But this objection is not compelling. David was a man after God’s own heart who had been predestined to be called for salvation in his life. And even though he repented of his many sins, God judged him differently than someone who did not understand the Truth. God used Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great to help build the Second Temple, even though Cyrus was an idolatrous worshipper of pagan gods… and he was also a man of war with much blood on his hands. Later, Herod the Great enlarged and beautified the Second Temple, but he was a murderous ruler who had all boys under the age of two slaughtered. Herod’s expansion of the Second Temple was often called “Herod’s Temple,” but Christ still called it “My Father’s house” (John 2:15-16).
The fact that Trump is a man of war and that he is not living a life pleasing to God does not have to mean that God will prevent him from assisting in building the Third Temple. This is not to say, however, that God might not deal with and punish Trump in other ways (as He did when He punished proud Nebuchadnezzar or when He had Herod Agrippa I eaten up by worms because he accepted praise as a god instead of giving glory to the true God). If so, then Trump’s being taken out of the way because of his pride would, by necessity, also prevent him from helping to build the Third Temple. In that case, God would inspire someone else to carry out that task. As an aside, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque will have to be replaced to give way to the Third Temple. But this can easily happen. For instance, a single “strayed” rocket could do the trick.
It should also be noted that it is not the beast and the false prophet alone who will pollute the Temple. According to the prophecies of Ezekiel, both high-ranking influential leaders of the houses of Israel and Judah will participate in the desecration. We will have to see how all of this will play out.
In light of these terrible coming events, what are you to do? Firstly, you must have faith in God that He will lead and protect you. This faith must be free of doubt. Then, you must live your life as if you had many years ahead of you, prepare for a career, a better job, or a marriage with children. Don’t delay your baptism if you are ready. Live your life with joy. At the same time, make sure that you are ready if you were to die tonight. Walk with God in all your ways; rely on Him, trust in Him, let Him guide you; follow His lead. When you do this, nothing will separate you from Him and His love for you.
This concept might be difficult for some of you to really embrace at first, but the more you seek God in prayer and in following Him, the more it will become clearer to you that this is the way to go… the only way! And with that realization, you can look with confidence into the future, because you KNOW that God will work it all out and that He will make you worthy to escape all these evil things to come and to stand before the Son of Man—with the potential of becoming an immortal God Being in His Family.
With Christian love,
Norbert Link