We are about to see a massive Roman Catholic revival in Germany, in Europe and around the world! Bible prophecy makes this clear.

Current trends in Europe may look the opposite. But you could say the same four years ago about a different prophecy. In 2021, Donald Trump looked politically dead: The presidential election was stolen from him, and an impostor was in the White House. Yet Philadelphia Church of God Pastor General Gerald Flurry said Mr. Trump would return to power because prophecies in Amos 7 and 2 Kings 14 about him had not yet been fulfilled. Four years later, that forecast was proved correct.

We need to watch Europe with the same faith in Bible prophecy. Right now, the Catholic Church, the Vatican and Germany look weak. The church is suffering real tensions and schisms, especially in Germany where hundreds of thousands have officially left in recent years. Some have left because they no longer want to pay the church tax; many because the church and the current pope have absorbed too much leftist thinking toward homosexuality, lgbtq, migrants and other issues; many because the church hasn’t absorbed enough of that thinking; and many due to the revelation of the church’s numerous accounts of sexual abuse and cover-ups. Yet prophecy is clear that the Holy Roman Empire will rise again, dominated by the Vatican and Germany.

Europe, especially France and Germany, has been the epicenter of Catholicism for centuries, yet now it is the one place on Earth where the church is losing followers rather than gaining them. But the Bible says this trend is about to change rapidly and radically!

The Sabbath after Mr. Trump’s historic election victory, Mr. Flurry gave a sermon about it. Interestingly, he spent little time talking about the election and how he had forecast such a comeback for years. He focused on Europe, Germany and the coming Holy Roman Empire. You are about to see that prophecy fulfilled just as surely as you saw Mr. Trump’s return.

You can read the substance of Mr. Flurry’s message in the January 2025 Trumpet magazine: “After Trump’s Victory, Watch Germany” (theTrumpet.com/30484). Here we will examine one prophecy that underscores that message. It describes an event that no one is expecting right now but that will soon become a towering development in world affairs.

You find this prophecy in Isaiah 47.

Attacking God’s Church

If the Vatican, and the Roman Catholic Church, is not yet on your radar, you need to put it there. Many people in the West see this institution as a spent force. But it is about to bounce back in a dramatic way, affecting not only Europe and America but the entire world—and God’s one true Church in particular. Prophecies about the Roman Catholic Church help true Christians understand who they are because this church was created to destroy God’s plan, God’s Church, God’s laws and God’s doctrines!

Daniel 7 contains dramatic end-time prophecy. Verse 21 describes an important vision that God gave to Daniel: “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (New King James Version used throughout unless otherwise noted). He then describes 10 horns, representing 10 kings, “and another” who “shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time” (verse 25).

In The True History of God’s True Church, Mr. Flurry writes that the Holy Roman Empire “rising up seven times is the primary weapon the devil uses to attack and kill God’s saints repeatedly through the centuries!”

And the devil isn’t done! This empire is going to rise up one last time in our day.

Isaiah 47 was written by the Prophet Isaiah, probably in Jerusalem, toward the end of the eighth century b.c. The amount of detail is extraordinary considering it was written about seven centuries before
Simon Magus. Simon is the pagan religious leader who, after he was rejected by God and His apostles (Acts 8), combined his paganism with some of the teachings of Christianity and took the name “Christian” for his own. This was the foundation of what became the Catholic Church.

Isaiah 47 prophesies not only that this system called “Babylon” would exist, but also that God would ultimately triumph against it! This is a message from God to the Vatican—and God is detailed and personal. After it has had its centuries of destruction and persecution, God will have His vengeance!

First, however, notice Isaiah 47:6: “I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.”

In The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong explained how God will use the coming united nations of Europe to punish and destroy the modern nations of Israel (which include Jewish state in the Middle East, the United States, Britain and other English-speaking nations). Why? Because these nations have had a history with God but rejected Him and turned to sin. They will suffer civil war, foreign attack, slavery and cruelty at the hands of the Vatican-dominated European Holy Roman Empire. This is what is coming to the nations of Israel, as well as to those who have been part of spiritual Israel, God’s true Church, but rejected Him and turned away. God wants His Church to warn them—and give them hope!

A Counterfeit Throne

Look now at how this prophecy begins—directed right at this great false church: “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and delicate” (Isaiah 47:1). In Bible prophecy, a woman represents a church. This particular church, or religion, is associated with Babylon and Chaldea. This is the Roman Catholic Church.

This woman is made low and humbled—not a position she is accustomed to. For 2,000 years she has been praised, worshiped, doted on by her followers and by kings and statesmen of the Earth. She appears tender, delicate, soft, mild, gentle. But Revelation 13:11 describes this same institution as looking like a lamb but speaking like a dragon. God promises to expose this “virgin daughter of Babylon.”

Note this important detail: She will “sit on the ground without a throne.” Right now, this church has a throne. Though the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Church and a few other Christian churches today have a throne, the oldest such throne in use today is the papal throne, located in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The institution of this throne dates back to the fourth century; it claims its origins in the first century and Peter’s role as chief apostle. The pope today sits on a literal throne (the current chair was made in the 17th century) for important ceremonies, underlining his great authority over Catholics everywhere.

God says He will take away her throne!

In The New Throne of David, Mr. Flurry offers this valuable insight: “There is a war between David’s throne and the throne of this great false church; the latter is a political throne guided by an evil spiritual throne. In [Habakkuk 1:5-6], God is putting His Church right beside this Babylonian religion, exposing the counterfeit of David’s throne for what it is!”

As God increasingly puts the spotlight on the throne of David, which is held by the leader of His one true Church, surely the devil will seek to draw attention to his counterfeit throne! Will we soon see a renaissance in Catholic leadership, a new pope bringing more attention to the Catholic throne?

Mr. Flurry then quotes Habakkuk 1:11: “Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god” (King James Version). He explains, “The leader of this modern-day Holy Roman Empire will be guided by a religious power that has fornicated with the kings of the Earth. He will impute his war-making power ‘unto his god’—Satan the devil.”

Mr. Flurry cites England: The Remnant of Judah and the Israel of Ephraim author Frederick Glover, who wrote that “a Christian bishop has been found to magnify himself into, and has found others to make of him, a king of kings, and lord of lords, and further dared to act, the mighty ruler of princes.”

A parallel passage to Isaiah 47 is Revelation 17. Matthew Henry’s commentary, Clarke’s Commentary, the Scofield Bible and others correctly identify Babylon in Revelation 17 as the Roman Catholic Church. “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. … And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (verses 1-2, 15; kjv).

This church rules on a throne over many peoples, multitudes, nations and languages! Revelation 18:3 amplifies this point: “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (kjv).

What is the main goal of this ambitious woman? You can see the answer in Revelation 17:6: “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration” (kjv).

“This religious power wanted to take over King David’s throne!” Mr. Flurry writes. “It has made powerful efforts to rule this world. But its main objective is to subjugate God’s people! …

“The Catholic Church’s main goal throughout the ages has really been to destroy David’s throne. It cannot stand the thought of someone else having the preeminent throne on Earth! And it kills people who disagree with it, if it has the power. It has done this time after time after time after time, yet people still don’t understand just how dangerous that church is” (The New Throne of David).

He then cites the preamble of the Bull of Pope Pius v, who asserted that the pope of Rome rules the church “in fullness of power” and “him alone [God] has made ruler over all peoples and kingdoms, to pull up, destroy, scatter, disperse, plant and build ….” That language comes directly from the Jeremiah 1:10 commission, which God has emphasized to His true Church today. “This religious leader was appropriating the Jeremiah 1:10 commission,” Mr. Flurry writes. “The Catholic Church believes it can uproot, build and plant David’s throne. … When the throne of David was in Britain, Satan was extremely busy. But now we can expect conditions to get far worse very quickly. God moving David’s throne is one of the great signs that Satan’s time is very, very short!” (ibid).

Exposed and Humbled

Isaiah 47:2-3 state, “Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers.
Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.” God will humble and shame this proud woman, and she will be made to do the humiliating work of a female slave.

God is going to expose this filthy religion once and for all. It has history of deadly inquisitions, of exploiting and subjecting communities, of collaborating with corrupt governments, of financial scandals, of abuse of nuns and children. A great deal of this is documented but widely ignored; a great deal more is certain to be made public, in fulfillment of this prophecy.

John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible states of verse 3, “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen …. Not only stripped of their garments, and have nothing to cover their naked bodies, being spoiled of all by the soldiers; but should have nothing to cover those parts which women are most ashamed should be exposed to view, and which is often the case of such who fall into the hands of the conquerors.”

“Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms” (verse 5). This church was once the chief and glory of all kingdoms; the largest, most potent and glorious empire of the world—the Holy Roman Empire! These verses are God’s furious response.

“And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them” (verse 7). This institution thinks of itself as above reproach, untouchable, infallible! God says she will pay the price for her arrogance.

“Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely. Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’” (verse 8). Dwell securely brings to mind Vatican City, a tiny enclave in the heart of Rome, in the belly of Europe—a mere 110 acres inhabited by the pope and about 800 other people, yet it is its own sovereign city-state.

I am, and there is no one else besides me. This concept of exceptionalism is at the essence of the doctrine of papal supremacy, the Catholic Church being the one true church, Catholicism being the only means of grace and salvation, revelation coming only through the church, and several other Catholic doctrines.

Absorbing Protestants

I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children, this church says. This implies that the Roman Catholic Church will unite the Christian world! What a bold prophecy! Today, the Catholic Church is losing members in Europe, yet God prophesies that it will not only reverse that trend but regain entire “daughter” churches that left it centuries ago in protest. Expect for Protestant churches to reunite under
Catholicism and the authority of the pope. It seems impossible, yet it is about to happen! That will underpin her attitude of I shall not know the loss of children.

Understanding the meaning of this prophecy goes back almost a century to Mr. Armstrong. “Protestant churches everywhere are gravitating toward union with the Roman Catholic Church,” he wrote. “These religious movements are speeding the fulfillment of the prophecies of the resurrected Roman Empire. For 30 years I have been proclaiming this tremendous event over the air and in print” (co-worker letter, Oct. 27, 1963).

“The final—albeit short-lived—triumph of Catholicism is recorded in literally dozens of Bible prophecies,” the November 1963 Plain Truth stated. “Right now—whether we want to believe it or not—the stage is being set for the greatest revolution in religion the world has witnessed.”

“[W]e need to understand that the one great, overall, ultimate goal is the reuniting of all Christianity into one cohesive unit under one head—the Roman pontiff—in an attempt to bring to the world the Catholic concept of peace. This plan envisions the full use of the new europe!” (Plain Truth, January 1963).

God says: Try all you want, but here is what is going to happen: “But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments” (Isaiah 47:9).

Revelation 17 also gives a stunning account of this church’s fall: “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (verses 16-17; kjv).

This prophecy continues in Revelation 18:9-19, which states that “the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her” will mourn her, saying, “Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come” (kjv). Merchants of the Earth trading in all kinds of goods and enriching themselves “shall reap and mourn over her” because they “were made rich by her.” “For in one hour” verse 17 reiterates, “so great riches is come to nought,” and verse 19 again: “for in one hour is she made desolate” (kjv).

This is God’s assessment of this institution—and this is God’s judgment of it!

God’s Judgment

The details mentioned in Revelation 17 and Isaiah 47 are striking! No institution in world history fits the description like the Roman Catholic Church—and this will be especially clear when it guides the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire and grows unprecedentedly rich.

Read Isaiah 47:10-11 and note the similarities with Revelation: “For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’ Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know.”

What a perfect description of the behavior and doctrines of the Vatican and Roman Catholic Church. For centuries, this institution has operated as a law unto itself, committing countless unmentionable atrocities and deceptions all over the world—and with barely any consequence. For centuries, this institution has been virtually untouchable!

Read the rest of the chapter, and again consider the specificity of these verses and the certainty with which God foretells this church’s downfall! “Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before!” (verse 14). This will be a consuming fire!

Have faith in the prophecy of Isaiah 47. It truly is a phenomenal prophecy—and it is about to be fulfilled! You are about to see massive, dramatic changes in Europe, especially in the Catholic Church.

As you do, remember why God allows the Catholic Church all this power and influence. Verse 6: “I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand.”