God’s News In The News

Week One Hundred Forty-Five

Is WWIII In The Bible?

Is WWIII Imminent?

With Russia parading around its Satan-2 rocket during a war with Ukraine, people are more than hinting that the war could spark a global conflict. For those who want to know, the rocket mentioned is described this way by an article from the web site military.com:

Russia's newest weapon is the RS-28 Sarmat "Satan-2" missile, with 10 heavy reentry vehicles, each with enough payload to wipe out an area the size of Texas or France. It also features hypersonic glide vehicles to make it less detectable by U.S. or space-based sensor systems and could be immune to American missile defense systems.

Yes, America has their own versions of this missile system, but the optics are key to the panic. Would Russian leader Vladimir Putin dare to use it? And would it start WWIII if he did?

We’ve Seen A Lot Of Wars

In just our lifetimes, we have seen conflicts that stand out. With all the talk of life in the 1960s and 1970s, the Vietnam War stands out. And then when the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked by terrorist planes we had the second of two gulf wars that are still debated today. And it seems like whenever a cause is important we call it a war on this or a war on that. Perhaps we throw that three-letter phrase around too much, so much so that it loses its impact and importance. But for those who fought in WWI and WW2 the verses in the Bible about wars being the sign of His coming, world-wide conflicts hit too close to home. Both of these wars were seen as signs of the Second Coming of Jesus when they were being fought and who could avoid the comparisons? In hindsight, we know they weren’t, but two wars fought on a global levels and with global consequences were easy prophetic targets.

Prophets Coming Out Of The Woodworks

Few people now realize how popular major war prophecies abounded before WW1. Of course you had the infamous Nostradamus whose prophecies continue to be popular but are so vague in my opinion when compared to the Bible, but they are mentioned even now. He seemingly predicted WW1 in many people’s minds, but he was not alone. The famous author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was impressed by a medium as noted in the quote from chapter Chapter 2 of A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination and Faith during the First World War. By Owen Davies:

There were numerous claims by mediums. Arthur Conan Doyle was impressed by the Sydney medium Mrs. Foster Turner, who, in February 1914, before an audience of hundreds, apparently channeled the spirit of the well-known journalist and spiritualist W.T. Stead (1849-1912): ‘I want to warn you that before this year 1914 has run its course, Europe will be deluged in blood.’ The London-based ‘Scottish seer’, Miss McCreadie, apparently told friends that, during a trip to France several years before the war, she had felt a foreboding psychic sense of turmoil and treachery, of a great conflict triggered by Germany.82 There was a stir in occult circles in 1918 when a series of mediumistic interviews with Julius Caesar, purportedly conducted in Teddington, Middlesex, in 1909 and 1912, were published that seemed to prophecy the war and its ending. The first communication in 1909 began with the question, ‘What is impending?’ The reply from the Roman emperor was, ‘War – horrid war. Mars is king ...The weak must suffer. The strong will die. Those who are neither will suffer and live’. There followed a stream of cryptic lyrical statements, including, ‘Red Poppies in the graveyard. And then Red Poppies in the smiling cornfields in the sun. Read, learn, and fear not.’ Caesar returned to his poppy theme in October 1912, ‘The Poppies cometh to pass before the Day of Christ. Note what we have said. Poverty and Hunger and the War-lust in every land on which lieth the shadow of the Cross. ... when Europe is exhausted the reign of Asia will begin, for there the sun is rising. So say we.’

They Had Their Reasons

Before we criticize these sidewalk prophets, they were feeding off the fear of wars already swirling. And they may have taken advantage of those fears with good intentions, although selling articles and books using the fears of the public was also a motive, we do much the same today. Our prophets are oftentimes actually employed by major media outlets, but I digress a little. The point is that even political leaders use these panicked people as the rationales for beefing up their war machines in anticipation of a war with Germany or other major world players. War is a business at some level and one can’t ignore the obvious. However, Christians also had their share of spokespeople at the time and allusions to Armageddon were heard in sermons around the world. And all of these Bible scholars pointed to the various Olivet Discourses to make their points.

Signs Of The Times

You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom… (Matt 24:6-7, NASB)

When the followers of Jesus asked Him what will be the sign of His Second Coming, He mentioned wars as one of them. These Jewish believers were not foreign to the concept of war, but now they would be on the watch for them, because now they were part of the last days puzzle pieces of when their leader would be coming back. However, the extent of these wars and talk of wars was up for debate with them, and it certainly is up for debate with us. Will it be the accumulation of wars that will point to His return? Or is the magnitude or number of them that triggers His soon return? Is there a way to know?

Words Mean Things

As I tend to do, looking at the original language can open up the true meaning of a passage in the Bible, so let’s take a closer examination of these verses and see if we can figure out more. The word for war in the Greek is exactly what you would think it is. It is the word polemos (pol'-em-os) and it means war, a war, battle, strife. It can also mean battle or quarrels, but the point is made. It’s not hard to define what Jesus meant. And even back then, they knew of great battles both in and out their Scriptures. And when Jesus went further and talked of nations and kingdoms, it only provided a bigger net to cast of what would be seen just before He came back. So many of these conflicts will center around national interests as well as kingdoms, not just earthly ones, but spiritual ones. It would make an interesting study all by itself, but for our purposes, we’ll stay with more conventional examples.

Whole Lot Of Fightin’ Goin’ On

It could be said that the atmosphere Jesus spoke of was not that there would be unusual wars, but that we would know more about them because of our vast communication abilities now. And that is a valid point. It can refer to the next things listed by Him about earthquakes and famines as we may see an explosion of those both literally and as a result of ways to track both better scientifically. Whichever barometer you want to use, Jesus did point to these signs as things those living in those days would recognize and use as a way to prepare themselves and, more importantly use as an inspiration to witness and spread the Gospel more fervently. But I bet you thought I forgot the lead of this lesson which was WWIII predicted in the Bible. The answer is yes, and no. How’s that for wishy washy answer? I knew you’d appreciate that reply and I do expect some virtual tomatoes to be hurled at me now. Allow me to explain.

Wars Were Predicted

As see in Matthew 24, Jesus did say there would be major wars and even wild talk of them breaking out. But the upcoming wars listed in the Bible are not global in nature and center around Israel’s existence. They would be the Psalm 83 war and the War Of Gog and Magog detailed in Ezekiel 38. However, the next one after them does fit the description of WWIII and that would be the last war before the 1,000-year reign of Jesus, the Millennium. Its name? That would be Armageddon. It is led by the real Satan and is an attempt to take out God Himself. While we should be concerned by the saber rattling of Putin, he is not the Antichrist, and his stated goals are not fighting God. So, yes the banter of a possible WWIII is valid, but no, they are not predicted in Scripture other than Matthew 24’s generic mention of such fighting. Here is how the web site gotquestions.org broaches the question:

There is no doubt that world war will be a part of the future. Christ plainly taught that there would be war prior to His return (Matthew 24:4-31). Some hold that He spoke generally of the Church age in verses 4-14 and spoke of the tribulation period starting at its mid-point in verses 15-31. Others believe that Christ spoke of only the seven-year period known as the tribulation in verses 4-31. Though verses 4-14 do seem to be giving general descriptions, they parallel the description given early in Revelation 6, which records details concerning the beginning of the tribulation. Matthew 24:6-7 says there will be "wars and rumors of wars...For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes." Here, Christ makes it very clear that war will play a significant role in the last seven years prior to His return.

To be more specific, the future does hold at least one more world war. There is nothing in Scripture that says there will be only a certain number of world wars. World Wars I and II are not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, nor is a possible third World War. It is only the last war that is mentioned in detail, which allows the interpretation that there may be others before the final conflict.

People Get Ready, Jesus Is Coming Soon

For us the major takeaway is to be prepared. All of the signs Jesus told his disciples could very well be the birth pangs we feel right now. And if we are as close to the full blown birth of sorrows predicted in the Bible, getting ready for even the early signs is a wise course of action. But we are not citizens of this world, so the survival plans promoted by so many are not the ones that should be at the top our lists, although they are good in and of themselves. Rather getting ourselves and those around us ready for Heaven is vitally important. Sharing the Gospel is paramount and sending missionaries or being missionaries should be a priority. And then training ourselves in sharing the Gospel to those needing to hear it is also very important. In short, we can see that even the World Clock is ticking closer to conflict, and we do have little time left before literally all Hell breaks loose. These verses in Ephesians 5 ring true today:

So be careful how you live. Live as men who are wise and not foolish. 16 Make the best use of your time. These are sinful days. (Eph 5:15-16, NLV).

Can I get an amen on that?