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Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats have sparked a trade war. But could this spark a military war?

SOTU seems to thinks so:

WARNING! Tariff & Trade Wars Always Precede World Wars

April 4, 2025

The … warmongers … know exactly how to trigger World War III.  They know that the citizenries of every country on Earth need to feel a sufficient degree of pain and suffering so that two key dynamics will naturally unfold.

First, that national economies will collapse to the point where joining the military looks real good compared to the inevitable unemployment and pervasive joblessness caused by the deliberately manufactured Energy Wars and Trade/Tariff Wars.

Secondly, that the populace will reach a level of visceral anger toward their nation’s perceived enemies, who they wrongfully blame for their worsening economic plight and financial destitution, so that every countryman will be psychologically committed to and emotionally invested in fighting and/or supporting a World War scenario. https://stateofthenation.info/?p=16360

Could trade wars and tariffs be factors leading to WWIII?

Yes.

Back in 1971, the late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following:

Trade War Looming to Trigger World War III?

Either we start raising high tariff barriers against other countries, starting a TRADE WAR which in time will trigger the nuclear war that will DESTROY US – or, American workers are going to have to MEET the competition of the workers in other countries, by lowering living standards. Obviously American workers are not going to choose to do the latter. And if they don’t – well, THE HANDWRITING IS ON OUR NATIONAL WALL. (Armstrong HW. Trade War Looming to Trigger World War III? Plain Truth, March 1971)

And while this has taken longer than he figured, we have had stagnation of real wages for American workers from that time to present. Now, we have the type of tariffs that he warned about.

Consider further that he looks to be correct that trade issues will be a factor that will trigger WWIII. A war that will be against the USA, Canada, and UK by a power that will reorganize (Revelation 17:12-13; Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations?) and then rise in Europe (watch also Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?).

What about a nuclear risk?

Last century, the late Herbert W. Armstrong taught:

The indication is the armies of the “beast” of Revelation 17, entering Jerusalem…From this time (Daniel 12:11) to Christ’s coming will be 1290 days. … Forty-five days later “the beast’s armies” will surround Jerusalem. Thirty days later the Great Tribulation will probably start with a nuclear attack on London and Britain–and possibly the same day or immediately after, on the United States and Canadian cities. (Armstrong HW. The Time We Are In, Now. Pastor General’s Report-Vol 1, No. 15, November 20, 1979, Page 2)

Do any verses in the Bible support the idea of something like a nuclear war?

Yes.

Consider the following:

23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’ 24 All nations would say, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ 25 Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; 26 for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. 27 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. 28 And the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’ 29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:23-29).

The whole land being “brimstone, salt, and burning” is consistent with a nuclear type of attack.

Consider also the following from the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel:

19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. 21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah (Isaiah 9:19-21).

6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste (Ezekiel 6:6).

Nuclear and certain other modern attacks tend to burn land up and make waste cities.

Jesus said that the time was coming when “there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened’ (Matthew 24:21-22).

Devastation that is consistent with at least a nuclear war and probably something worse is coming according to Jesus.

Do you believe that?

So now, we are at a time when Europe is seriously in the process of spending more on its military while also looking to develop its own nuclear arsenal.

Regarding trade leading to WWIII and the conquering of the USA, here are some excerpts from my free e-book Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?:

Political issues, climate change, trade policies, communication’s deals, and other events are pushing the U.S.A. to a position that will encourage its takeover someday. …

It is likely that trade issues will be a factor in Europe ultimately turning against the U.S.A. …

The U.S.A., itself, has repeatedly shown the Europeans that it does not trust them, yet scripture suggests it sometimes will trust them too much. According to the Bible, the time will come when the U.S.A. will find that continental Europe will be an enemy (cf. Isaiah 10:5-11) and not an ally (Ezekiel 23:4,9-10). The Bible warns:

² All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. (Lamentations 1:2)

Europe will cooperate with the U.S.A. as long as it feels the relationship is beneficial, and then (as prophecy foretells) one day turn totally against the U.S.A. …

God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their pride and sexual immorality (Ezekiel 16:49-50; 2 Peter 2:6).

God’s word points out that what will happen to the Anglo-lands will actually be worse than what happened to Sodom:

⁶ The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her! (Lamentations 4:6)

The time will come when the U.S.A. and NATO will be no more. NATO or other arrangements will give the Europeans cover for publicly preparing for a military event, while giving it the ability to publicly state that such preparations are only parts of an exercise. The Germans have historically used the element of surprise to gain military advantage—remember WWII and blitzkrieg? Europe one day will turn on the U.S.A. (Lamentations 1:1-2, Daniel 11:39; Isaiah 10:5-12). Weapons of mass destruction, and not necessarily just nuclear, will be employed. …

Daniel 11 …

39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

The “he” is the King of the North. The two Hebrew words translated as “the strongest fortresses” in verse 39 do not appear together anywhere else in the Bible.

Thus, something is unique here. Notice another translation which is similar:

³⁹ Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward. (Daniel 11:39, New Living Translation, 2007)

Who has the strongest fortresses?

Looking further down in this chapter in Daniel, we must eliminate the King of the South, because that King is not attacked until later (the next verse). We must also eliminate those in the North and East, as they do not get involved until later (verse 44).

Neither the rest of Africa nor Latin America has anything resembling “the strongest fortresses.” The strongest fortresses belong to the United States, and to a much lesser degree, its English-speaking allies. Thus, in current times, Daniel 11:39 looks to be describing when the Anglo-English-American nations are being destroyed. Some might refer to this as WWIII. …

The dividing of the Anglo-American lands for gain will prosper the European Babylonian power, which in turn, will increase prosperity to the Asians, Africans, Latin Americans, and others consistent with the following prophecy:

² … Babylon the great … ³ … all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. (Revelation 18:3)

Yes, much of the world will prosper through trade for a time after the U.S.A. and its British-descended allies are conquered.

The old Radio Church of God published the following:

TRADE WAR!

TRADE war! These electrifying words will send a chill of apprehension over you when you realize their full meaning! …

For years, listeners of the World Tomorrow program and readers of The Plain Truth magazine have been frankly warned of the growing industrial and military resurgence of Western Germany, and of the coming United States of Europe as a real political entity! … It’s time you KNEW what the prophecies of your Bible say about this great TRADE WAR that is underway! (Armstrong GT. TRADE WAR! Plain Truth, August 1960)

The Bible shows that Europe will, temporarily, dominate trade, which means that the USA will not:

3 … all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. (Revelation 18:3)

9 The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her … 19 in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! (Revelation 18:9,19)

1 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre, 3 and say to Tyre, ‘You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God: ..

12 “Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. 14 Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. 15 The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. 16 Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. 17 Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm. 18 Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. 19 Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. 20 Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. 21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. 22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. 23 Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. 24 These were your merchants in choice items — in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace.

25 “The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise.
You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26 Your oarsmen brought you into many waters,
But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.

27 “Your riches, wares, and merchandise,
Your mariners and pilots,
Your caulkers and merchandisers,
All your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is in your midst,
Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.  (Ezekiel 27:1-3, 12-27)

Europe does not have to be perfect to do this, but perceived for a time, as the best economic option for the world.

Although it does not look like that now to most people, Europe is prophesied to do so.

It is Europe, not the USA, that will ultimately–though temporarily–“win” this trade war (though Europe will have problems before it does so).

We just put together the following video:

14:49

Trade Wars – and the Winner will be …

US President Trump imposed tariffs on a global scale. Those tariffs were imposed on friend and foe alike. It seems as if President Trump is no respecter of nations. But how will this work out for the United States? Will these tariffs result in other nations drawing closer together that have had rather cold, and even not so cold, relations in the past? Will global tariffs result in trade wars? Were the events which are happening predicted by any in the Continuing Church of God? Is Europe drawing closer to China? Is Europe drawing closer to Latin and South America? With the exception of a few of America’s allies, is the net result of these tariffs a worldwide scramble to create new alliances and new trading partners to the exclusion of the United States? What will be the future result of these new alliances? Many of the nations that are now seeking new alliances were just recently America’s allies. They were her friends. Dr. Thiel brings to light the fate of America and her allies at the hands of her former friends, as revealed in the book of Lamentations. As we rapidly approach the end times listen in as Dr. Thiel brings to light world events. Then listen as he shines the light of Bible prophecy directly on the questions raised from these world events.

Here is a link to our video: Trade Wars – and the Winner will be …

Church of God warnings on trade are coming to pass.

In the Continuing Church of God:

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (2 Peter 1:19, KJV)

We continue to see international affairs that are aligning with properly explained biblical prophecies.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2025 at 8:00 am and is filed under Prophecy.

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