CHAPTER 8
NAZI GERMANY
Another historical event may give us an even greater understanding of the antichrist and the great tribulation. I believe the spirit of antichrist is constantly preparing for the arrival of the antichrist just like the Holy Spirit is constantly preparing for the arrival of Jesus Christ.
I believe Adolph Hitler was a “type” of the antichrist. World War 2 and the events leading up to the war also seem to be a “type” of the great tribulation.
THE FIRST THREE AND ONE-HALF (3 and ½) YEARS
On March 12, 1938, Germany forcefully annexed Austria. The next day on March 13, 1938, the Nazi’s immediately begin to persecute the Jews in Austria. If we date World War 2 from this date, the actual starting date of Nazi Germany’s military aggression, and we count to the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, we arrive at approximately seven (7) years of war. Seven is a very important number for Christians and Jews. Seven (7) is the number of perfection and completion.
Rom 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew FIRST (emphasis added), and also of the Gentile;
The Nazi’s incrementally made life intolerable for Jews under their authority with a series of anti-Semitic laws. The Nazi’s made laws taking away German citizenship and basic rights from all Jews, including the right to bear arms, within all German controlled territory. At first the Jews were encouraged to immigrate from Nazi territory; however, approximately 3 and ½ years into the war, the Jews were physically prevented from immigrating because a homicidal spirit (Satan?) began to motivate Hitler and he became determined to exterminate all the Jews in Europe. There is that 3 and ½ years mentioned in the Bible again. It is not an exact fulfillment of prophecy but it is awfully close.
Rev 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
A rapid series of events allows the Nazi’s to control the fate of nearly every Jew in Europe. On September 29, 1938 the Munich agreement forced the Czechoslovak Republic to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. When Hitler could not achieve his aims by peaceful methods he turned to war.
Rev 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Nazi Germany unleashed its “blitzkrieg” in September of 1939, blitzkrieg meaning “lightning war”. Blitzkrieg was an innovative military technique based on speed and surprise. Light tanks moved quickly to occupy enemy territory while being supported by infantry, fighter planes, and soldiers fortified with ample supplies of methamphetamine.
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and England and France declared war on Germany to honor their guarantee of Poland’s borders. In April of 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, Denmark surrendered the same day, while Norway held out until June 9. In May of 1940, Germany then attacked Western Europe and quickly occupied Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium, within a few weeks all these countries surrendered. After brief resistance France surrendered and signed an armistice with Germany in June of 1940. In less than a year Nazi Germany and its Axis allies controlled most of Europe.
In every country occupied and controlled by Nazi Germany, Jews were identified with a “J” on their identification papers and all Jewish males from age 14 to 60 were used for forced labor by the Third Reich. Jewish Ghettos were created in the large cities and Jewish families were separated from the general population. For approximately 3 and ½ years from March 11, 1938, when Hitler’s armies occupy Austria through the summer of 1941, it appeared that Nazi Germany and its Axis allies were unstoppable. In June of 1941, Nazi Germany and its Axis allies invade the Soviet Union and capture Smolensk in August, they laid siege to Leningrad by September and were attacking Moscow by October. German and Romanian troops also capture and overran Kiev by September of 1941.
THE SECOND THREE AND ONE-HALF (3 and ½) YEARS
In the middle of September 1941, Zyklon B is tested at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Construction of mass extermination facilities begins in September of 1941 to implement Hitler’s “final solution” for the murder of all European Jews. In October of 1941, mass deportation of Jews to “extermination” camps in the East begins. A frenzy of killing begins that eventually kills 6,000,000 Jews and nearly 6,000,000 other undesirables like gypsies, communists, the mentally ill, dissidents, and all other people who attempted to resist the Nazis’ program.
It appears that this is the moment that the invincible Nazi juggernaut achieves its greatest success but then the tide rapidly begins to turn. In December of 1941 a Soviet counter-offensive forces the Germans to retreat from Moscow. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and the United States declares war on Japan, entering World War 2. In May of 1942, the British begin bombing Cologne Germany and over the next three years British and American bombing reduces Germany to rubble.
In rapid succession German armies begin to suffer defeat after defeat at the hands of the allied armies. In October of 1942, British troops defeat the Germans and Italians at El Alamein in Egypt. In November of 1942, a Soviet counterattack traps the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad and the German Sixth Army surrender in February of 1943. In May of 1943, Axis forces surrender in Tunisia ending the North African campaign. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily. In November of 1943, Soviet troops capture Kiev. In June of 1944, Allied troops capture Rome.
On June 6, 1944, Allied troops land at Normandy, France. In August of 1944, Free French troops and the Allied troops enter Paris. By January 1, 1945, the German and Axis armies are in full retreat on all sides. At the end of January, 1945, the Nazis begin forced death marches from the concentration camps as they flee the allied forces. Auschwitz is liberated on April 15, 1945. Approximately 3 and ½ years from the beginning of mass extermination of Jews in the middle of September 1941, Adolph Hitler commits suicide in April of 1945 and Germany surrenders unconditionally on May 8, 1945. The survivors of the concentration camps are finally set free.
This timeline may be familiar to students of Bible prophecy: A seven (7) year campaign led by a mad man with the last 3 and ½ years ending in a frenzied mass murder of millions of human beings. However, the antichrist is going to be Adolph Hitler on steroids and will receive authority for a brief period to rule over the whole earth for a 3 and ½ year period of time called the Great Tribulation!