Wars of the End Times: The Nuclear War of the Tribulation in Revelation 8 and 9
By Dr. David R. Reagan We are continuing our series on the nine end times wars prophesied in the Bible. Most people are surprised to find out there are so many, knowing of only the Battle of Armageddon. But, there are nine, and now we'll discuss the fourth war.
#4 - The Nuclear War of the Tribulation (Revelation 8 and 9)
It appears in Revelation 8 and 9 that the fourth end time war is the Nuclear War of the Tribulation. This war is portrayed in the book of Revelation in chapter 8 and 9 as a series of trumpet judgments. What appears to happen here in the book of Revelation is that the conventional war started by the Antichrist begins to morph into a nuclear war, resulting in the deaths of another one-third of those left alive. If you calculate that one-third of those left alive is another 1 1/2 billion people, that means that by the middle of the Tribulation three billion people will die in just the first 3 1/2 years. That's one-half of all humanity is going to die in the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation! I have preachers all the time call me and ask, "Do you think we are in the Tribulation?" I say to them, "Let me tell you something. If you go into the Tribulation, you will not have to ask anybody if you are there. You'll know. You'll know without a shadow of a doubt." There are some hints that the Conventional War is going to turn into a nuclear one. For example, one of the hints is found in Revelation 8:7 where it says, "The escalation of the war will result in one-third of the earth being burned up." One-third of the earth being burned sounds like nuclear war to me. Another hint is found in Revelation 16. Right at the end of the Tribulation we're told that loathsome and malignant sores will afflict people all over the earth. That's something that would be a natural consequence of radiation from the use of atomic weapons. It could very well be that a nuclear holocaust was what Jesus had in mind when He said that in the end times men would faint from fear over the expectation of the things coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Review
In review, thus far we have considered first of all the War of Israeli Extermination. This is a war described in Psalm 83 in which Israel will overwhelming defeat all the nations with whom it has a common border. This war will most likely occur before the Tribulation and will result in a short-lived peace for Israel. The second is what we call the First War of Gog and Magog. This is the war described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. It will be a second attempt to annihilate Israel, this time led by Russia who will be accompanied by an outer ring of Muslim nations. In this war, the enemies of Israel will be destroyed supernaturally by God. This war is most likely to occur at least 3 1/2 before the Tribulation begins. The third war is the Conventional War of the Tribulation and is described in Revelation 6. It will be launched by the Antichrist in his attempt to conquer the whole world. It will ultimately morph into the fourth war of the end times, what I call the Nuclear War of the Tribulation. This war is described in Revelation 8 and 9. It brings us up to the mid-point of the Tribulation, and by the time it is finished, the Antichrist has conquered the whole world, killing one-half of humanity in the process.
Application
At this point, you may be asking yourself, "What do these wars have to do with me? Why should I be concerned about them?" Let me mention two reasons. First, the signs of the times point to the fact that we are on the very verge of the first of these end time wars - the War of Israeli Extermination mentioned in Psalm 83. And that, in turn, means that we are living on borrowed time. The Lord is at the very gates of Heaven, waiting for His Father's command to return. Second, the story of these wars should be of concern to us because they are the climax of a cosmic battle between God and Satan for dominion over this world. The good news of these wars is that we, the Saints of the Lord, we will win in the end! Yes, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is going to win. He's going to take back the dominion over this world that was stolen by Satan when Adam and Eve sinned, and He is going to give it back to us. This will happen because our Creator has the wisdom and the power to orchestrate all the evil of mankind and Satan to the triumph of His glorious Son, Jesus Christ. That is going to happen very soon, and I pray that you are ready for it. I pray that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. John 3:36 says that God deals with sin in one of two ways - either grace or wrath. Are you under grace or wrath? It is a glorious thing to be living under the grace of God. It is a terrible thing to be subject to His wrath. If you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I pray you will do so before it is too late. Just confess to God the Father that you are a sinner, repent of those sins, and receive Jesus as you Savior. Then, seek out a Bible-believing and Christ-exalting church and witness your new born faith in public confession of Jesus in water baptism. Then, get involved in a Bible study group so that you can start growing in the Lord. In the fifth part of this series on the nine wars of the end times, we'll look at wars five through seven in the progression. Original Article |
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