Because of the relative peace this generation has experienced over the past fifty years it is often hard to imagine another world conflict erupting in our lifetime. It is more comfortable to imagine our modern world gradually evolving with no cataclysmic upsets striking our enlightened age. However, wars have been the sad reality in every period of human history just as Jesus predicted (Matthew 24:7). The ghoulish red horseman of the apocalypse has successfully ridden down through time bringing death and destruction wherever he rides. The Apostle John's graphic vision reveals: "Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword" (Revelation 6:4).

Cycles of War

The influence of the red horseman has been felt by every generation of mankind. It will be particularly punishing during the crises at the close of our age. The cycle of war appears unbreakable. The Norwegian Academy of Science and the World Organization for the Protection of Humanity have calculated that, in the last 5,600 years of man's written history, armies have fought 14,531 wars. Over the 5,600 years, they estimate only 292 years of peace. That means that 94 percent of the time, or 5,208 of those years, saw war. The same organizations figure that deaths caused by war have totaled 3.4 billion, or more than half the world's present population.

War, on average, results in about 700,000 deaths every year, or 70 million per century. The most bloody century in history, the 20th century, produced some 150 million deaths from armed conflicts. That is more than half the present population of the United States. Over a decade ago, James Reston of The New York Times wrote that in the past century alone history has recorded 207 wars.

World Wars

Almost thirty nations took part in World War I. Peter Young, professor at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England, points out, it "took the lives of twice as many men as all the major wars from 1790 to 1913 put together." The total number of military and civilian personnel killed or missing was about 14,000,000. The displacement of millions of refugees and destruction to industrial and community life were unparalleled.

Theodore Ropp, author of War in the Modern World, graphically states "World War II killed more persons, cost more money, damaged more property, affected more people, and probably caused more far-reaching changes than any other war in history." More than any previous war, it involved the commitment of nations' entire human and economic resources, blurring the distinction between combatant and noncombatant. The expansion of the battlefield included all of the enemy's territory. In the last stages of the war, two radically new weapons were introduced: the long-range rocket and the atomic bomb.

The cost in human life and economic resources was horrific, making it by far the greatest war in history in terms of human and material resources expended. Taking part were 61 countries with 1.7 billion people, three-fourths of the world's population. A total of 110 million persons were mobilized for military service. Over 55 million civilian and military persons died because of the conflict. Total money spent on the war has been set at more than $1 trillion, which makes it more expensive than all other wars combined.

World War III?

Are the two world wars witnessed in the 20th century a prelude to another worldwide conflict, leading to the final battle before Christ returns (Revelation 16:14-16)? Some reject such a prospect. They view the over 50 years of relative peace that have passed since the end of World War II, as an indication that humankind has learned a lesson from the past and will not engage in another worldwide conflict.

It is difficult to share this optimism for at least four important reasons. First, world wars have not eradicated war. Second, technological advances make war more deadly than ever before. Third, there is a major readjusting of world power and influence which naturally leads to more infighting and conflict. And fourth, the root cause of war has not changed.

World Wars Did Not End War

Neither world war proved to be the war to end all wars. Since the end of World War II there have been more than 150 conflicts in which an estimated ten million people have died. Even today, at any given time, about a fourth of the nations around the globe are caught up in some form of armed conflict. In the light of the present proliferation of national, ethnic and revolutionary wars, it is hard to discount the possibility of a new world conflict breaking out sometime in the future.

Samuel Huntington in his book, The Clash of Civilization, summarizes it this way: "The illusion of harmony at the end of that Cold War was soon dissipated by the multiplication of ethnic conflicts and ethnic cleansing,...the breakdown of law and order, the emergence of new patterns of alliance and conflict among states." He indicates that "the one harmonious world paradigm is clearly far too divorced from reality to be a useful guide to the post-cold War world" (page 32).

Sophisticated Weaponry

Growing technological sophistication of modern implements of war make future wars more frightening. In addition to "smart bombs" and other sophisticated weapons delivery systems, the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons around the globe is a major concern.

Nevertheless, some feel encouraged by the prospect of world peace. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the fragmentation of the Soviet Empire has lessened international tensions. However, consider the frightening figures. Newsweek reported recently that, from a Cold War high of 13,000 strategic warheads, the United States has 8,500. Russia's has decreased to about 10,000. France had 482, China 284, and Britain 234. Israel was estimated to have 50 to 100, India had the capability for 80, and Pakistan owned 15 to 25. North Korea is believed to have had enough material for two to three bombs. Authorities think Iran is actively pursuing a secret program that would make it a nuclear power before long. Iraq also has tried to develop chemical, biological and possibly nuclear capabilities.

The leaders of these nations are candid in explaining that any cutting back on the number of nuclear weapons was more a result of the collapse of the Soviet empire than any desire to disarm the world.

In a way, the world is in more danger now than before the end of the Cold War. These modern nuclear devices are now in danger of passing far more easily to unstable rogue nations and terrorist groups. If enough material for just one bomb is collected, blackmail or attack could be the result. Some sophisticated devices are small enough to be packed inside a suitcase and left nearly anywhere.

Biblical Predictions

Sophisticated weapons of mass destruction are not divorced from the Bible. It is as up to date as tomorrow's news. Prophecies specifically warn of an unprecedented time of universal distress and earth-jarring developments that will descend on planet earth.

Daniel reveals "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time" (Daniel 12:1). The prophet Jeremiah describes how awful and unprecedented is the day of destruction (Jeremiah 30:6-7).

The Apostle John saw in vision an end-time weapon like a futuristic chemical or biological weapon. It does not devastate the landscape or kill opponents. The torment that grips victims is more agonizing than death itself. A sophisticated delivery system is described in terms familiar to John. "The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle" (Revelation 9:4-10). He saw iron breastplates, a gold crown, a manlike face and teeth like a lion. Coming from it was what appeared as streaks of long flowing hair. He heard sounds like chariots or horses rushing to battle. Its long tail carried a sharp sting like a scorpion.

John also records a military exchange that will occur just before Christ's intervention that involves weapons of mass destruction. From the mouth of breastplated implements of war a third of humankind will be killed (Revelation 9:14-19).

Until the mid-20th century we could not have grasped the horrendous portent of these words. Yet they are rendered more ominous by warnings of Jesus Christ that total cosmocide would result unless He intervened (Matthew 24:21-22).

Changing Balance of Power

As the world balance of power shifts and old alliances break down, the world becomes a less stable place. Small skirmishes are more likely to mushroom into regional or even world war. Europe is acting more independently of the United States. Russia is a wounded nation with much economic and political instability, leaving an enormously powerful nuclear arsenal in unstable hands. Economic problems rock many Asian countries. In spite of peace efforts, the Middle East appears in perpetual conflict. World terrorism is growing.

The world appears headed for more chaotic times. In The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel P. Huntington summarizes the growing instability including, "the breakdown of governmental authority; the breakup of states; the intensification of tribal, ethnic, and religious conflict; the emergence of international criminal Mafia's; refugees multiplying into the tens of millions; the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction; the spread of terrorism; [and] the prevalence of massacres and ethnic cleansing" (page 35). This picture of a world in chaos was convincingly set forth and summed up in two penetrating works: Out of Control by Zbigniew Brezinski and Pandemonium by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Henry Kissinger's book, Diplomacy, summarizes the changing alignment of world powers. Although every world order appears permanent, they are in constant flux. "Never before have the components of world order, their capacity to interact, and their goals all changed quite so rapidly, so deeply, or so globally.

"Whenever the entities constituting the international system change their character, a period of turmoil inevitably follows" (page 806). "Vast global forces are at work that, over the course of time, will render the United States less exceptional." Economic competition will come from "...other power centers-in Western Europe, Japan, and China (pages 809-810).

"In the years ahead, all the traditional Atlantic relationships will change. Europe will not feel the previous need for American protection and will pursue its economic self-interest much more aggressively. Americans will not be willing to sacrifice as much for European security and will be tempted by isolationism in various guises; in due course, Germany will insist on the political influence to which its military and economic power entitle it." (page 821).

Bible prophecy indicates that a major end time world war will threaten the existence of the human race. Major power centers from Europe, Asia and the Middle East will be sucked into the vortex of a cataclysmic conflict the likes of which the world has never seen. Jerusalem and the Middle East will be the center of the controversy that will lead to the end time battle popularly referred to as Armageddon (Revelation 16:14-16).

Heart of the Problem

The root cause of war has not changed. Human nature is a warring nature. "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it because there is a whole army of evil desires within you? You want what you don't have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can't afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them" (James 4:1-3 The Living Bible). When people and nations fail to fill their self indulgent agendas through deceit and manipulation, they often turn to violence. Full-blown war follows.

Do not be lulled to sleep. A major world war is on the way. The harsh realities of our world reveal world wars have not eradicated war. Technological advance. WNP