10 The wars of the end times

10. The wars of the end times

10.1 Causes of the wars

As we saw, the second seal was the man on the red horse. With his sword he represents falsehood. He was therefore given power to take peace from the earth so that men would begin to kill one another more than before. (More on the power of the lie to deceive in 10.4.2)
The rider's great sword presumably indicates that there will be many wars, of larger scale, and with all the more effective weapons. The cost of the world's armament has certainly steadily diminished during the period 1987-94, since the days of the cold war, but the money spent would still suffice to raise the standard of living 100-300% for the world's poorest peoples.

In our time, as mentioned, we have the following main causes of war:

differences in political ideologies gave rise to the world wars, for example Nazism in the second world war.
ethnic conflicts between various population groups lead to local wars. According to Jesus' own words, these will become increasingly common in the end times.(Matt 24:7 therefore speaks about "people group against people group"). The most recent examples of this in the 1990's were the civil war in Yugoslavia, and the many tribal conflicts in Africa.
in the future, the risk will also increase for wars between poor and rich countries, and above all
a battle over the world's last oil reserve in the Middle East. In Matt. 24:28, Jesus speaks about this happening in the last times. "Where the body is (that is, oil, which is of course formed from decayed biological material) there the vultures will gather."
Hatred towards the Jews will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, which will grievously hurt all the peoples who try to lift it. (Zech. 12:1-14)

10.2 Conventional war with demonic evil.

Theoretically, conventional war should be fought between the contending sides' armies. The civilian population and prisoners of war should thereby be protected according to international laws of war.

However, developments during the 1900's have shown that the civilian population always suffers the most.

Conventional wars furthermore become extremely atrocious when the laws of war are disregarded. We saw this during the Second World War and, for example, in connection with the civil wars in Yugoslavia and Africa. The most frightening thing in the latter case was that all sides systematically violated the laws of war. Rapes, torture, massacres of civilians, and ethnic cleansing became everyday events in a barbaric way that has probably not occurred for a long time in Europe. This should certainly cause every thinking person in the whole world to reflect upon the reasons for our evil.

Can this extreme evil depend upon demonic influence, or are we ourselves so horribly evil?

If this extreme form of evil depends upon being possessed by demons, then according to the Bible, there is also the possibility of help and deliverance through God's power for salvation.

But if we deny the Devil's existence and the possibility of demonic possession, then there is no proof of any effective help in the history of the world.
Then it becomes truly frightening when we think about what will happen in the future with similar but larger conflicts. (More on this in connection with the 5th trumpet.)

10.3 The Antichrist and the great battle of the end times.

We truly live in a time which is characterized by "wars and rumors of wars", according to Jesus' words in Matt. 24 on the various events of the end times. Therefore, it seems presumptuous to highlight here just a few wars during a time period when hundreds of smaller wars have shaken or will shake the world. The reason that we nevertheless do it is that according to my understanding these two or three major wars with nuclear weapons constitute key events in the closing of this age. (See also the comments below.)

10.3.1 Gog and Magog's war against Israel. (Ezek. 38 and 39)

Causes of war Israel's enemies will eventually join together in a military force to attempt to finally "liberate" Jerusalem and to cast the Jews into the sea, just as they have always desired. These enemies seem today to be a number of extreme Muslim countries. Israel's allies would in the best case be the same nations who fought together in the Kuwait war. In the worst case, they would stand alone.

Consequences of war Currently, Israel is estimated to have 200 nuclear weapons. Without the help of allies at least, they would then be forced to use some of them against the attacking and numerically superior armies. These would likely be hindered from themselves using nuclear weapons against Israel since they would then even kill Palestinians, who live in quite close proximity with the Jews. The extremely radical Muslim countries will after the war acquire a more moderate leadership which will open these countries for a short while for the world's last revival.

The Antichrist Most likely, the war will allow the Antichrist to appear on the scene as a peacemaker. He will perform this so well, that he will subsequently be offered to head the restored Roman Empire, here called "The united states of Europe."

Peace lasts The prophet then graphically describes how Israel will first during 7 months scour the battle field to "cleanse" the land from the dead, and from radioactive fallout.

at least 7 years During the at least 7 years of peace which then follow, they will continue to clean up and burn the materials of war.

But just when people feel secure, and maintain that no further danger is lurking, then the worldwide tribulation will begin through the third world war.

10.3.2 The third world war = the 6th trumpet (Rev. 9 and 13)

Possible causes of the war We have already warned previously that the great population explosion in Asia could lead to large scale population migration and a new world war. The driving force could be the difference between the rich and the poor, together with the battle over the Middle East's last oil reserves. A further contributing cause could be that in China too few girls are being born. Therefore, when today's boys grow up they will perhaps go out on raiding expeditions against the wealthy Europeans, just like Genghis Kahn's Asian army did in the past. It's interesting to note that China can already today almost enlist the great 200 million person army described by the prophet.

Satanic influence The driving force for the enormous evil in this war and the next will be satanic possession. This occurs when a horde of evil spirits from the abyss are released upon the inhabitants of the earth in connection with the 5th trumpet.

The consequences of the war Against such a huge army, Europe can of course only defend itself with nuclear weapons. The destruction in this war, which comprises the 6th trumpet, will be so vast that a third of the world's population, or between 2 and 3 billion people, are killed.
The world's economy will collapse in such chaos that the stock market crash of the 1930's will seem like only a mild ripple. All the leaders of the world will be helpless before all these things and the wave of anarchy and rioting which follows.

The Antichrist attains world dominion The cry of the people for a strong and capable leader will presumably give the Antichrist the possibility which he so passionately desires, namely to completely or partially attain world dominion.
Success will however go to his head, exactly as it has for other world rulers before him. He will thereby open himself for such complete possession that he can eventually be said to represent the Devil himself incarnated as a man. In the extreme case, he will take his stand in the temple in Jerusalem and exalt himself as a god who demands everyone's worship.

The satanic evil of the Antichrist With this a great persecution breaks forth against all true Christians who refuse to worship him. It will last until the Bride of Christ is freed from the earth by being raptured up to the skies to meet Jesus. When the Bride is gone, God will give the world entirely over to the Devil for a short time. The Antichrist's satanic malice will then turn first against the religious establishment, that is, the false harlot church, and against Israel. He will eventually completely wipe out the harlot church. Israel will then for the first time realize their catastrophic mistake, that they not only rejected Jesus as their Savior, but that they also accepted the Devil's representative as their Messiah, savior and god.

Israel's trouble Thereafter for Israel follows a very difficult time of anguish and persecution, which in the Bible is called "Jacob's trouble". (Jer. 30) It is conceivable that some of the Jews will seek refuge in caves and in the desert areas. These Jews will mourn for Jesus as deeply as if they mourned for an only son. (Zech. 12:10) The conditions appear to be so extremely hard that only a third of the people will survive and experience the final salvation at the end of the Battle of Armageddon.

10.3.3 The final conflict becomes the Battle of Armageddon = the 7th bowl of wrath (Rev. 16:16-21, Rev. 19:11-21)

Possible causes of the battle The satanic evil of the Antichrist will probably become too much for the rest of the world, which will end up rebelling against him and his remaining faithful followers. At Armageddon, which is a large plain north of Israel, the wicked and unrepentant armies of earth will physically fight out a part of their great final battle against the God of creation. The colossal events of the war will probably involve the whole world, but most of the prophetic descriptions, as well as our text, concentrate on Israel and its surroundings.

Christ appears In order to this time save Israel and the rest of humanity from total annihilation, Jesus himself descends upon the Mount of Olives as a rider upon a white horse, followed by his heavenly armies. Together, they defeat all who oppose God, including the Antichrist beast, the false prophet, and the Devil himself, who are thereafter put out of action and imprisoned. The entire world is shaken by such a great earthquake that its like has never happened before. It occurs when the end of the seventh seal's final trend coincides with the seventh bowl of wrath, which is a sudden event.

The consequences of the war As a result of the earthquake and the ongoing global nuclear war, many cities are destroyed and the earth is overrun with dead.

Israels salvation. The remainder of Israel's people, who have had time to deeply repent of their sins, will by their salvation become the first entire nation to confess Jesus Christ as their Savior on a single day. (Isaiah 66:8-16)

10.3.4 Comments

Certain biblical interpreters maintain that Gog and Magog's military campaigns take place both in the third world war and in the Battle of Armageddon.

In that case, portions of Ezek 38 and 39 describe their participation in the third world war, and
Ezek. 38:18-3 and Ezek. 39:17-26 describe their participation at Armageddon, which follows after a minimum 7 year period of peace (vs. 9). This final battle is recognized in that it also includes a great earthquake. (Ezek. 38:19)
The way in which these two prophecies weave in and out of one another is a good example of the difficulties in interpreting the prophetic perspective, where the "mountain tops" blend into one another, as we mentioned in the foreword.

I have above chosen to present the most encompassing model with three separate wars. Personally, I feel that the three nuclear wars in close succession sounds unbearably hard. When Jesus speaks about the end times, he promises that for the sake of the elect, they would be shortened, otherwise no one would survive. (Mark 13:20) The elect comprise the Bride and the Jews who believe in Christ = the company of the first fruits. This perhaps implies the above mentioned bringing together of at least two of the wars, and an overall shortening of the tribulation.
Even in Rev. 20:8, which depicts the absolutely last war in the history of the world, the first to appear after the millennium are Gog and Magog again.

Therefore, I see the expression Gog and Magog partially as a symbol for Israel's most hated enemies in the various wars of the end times. Further, I have intentionally refrained from pointing out specific nations in this group.

Those who live then will see which interpretation is correct. The important thing is that we do not lock ourselves into a special interpretation. Otherwise we run the risk of becoming unwilling to reconsider our view, and we become as unable to see and recognize reality as the Pharisees were in Jesus' day. However, with a proper outlook, we will be able to correctly interpret the prophecies and to recognize where we are at, when we are actually in the situation.

Irregardless of which interpretation is correct, the important message is the following:

The Antichrist will come into world dominion through deceitful ploys. He will begin first by establishing peace for Israel, thereby winning the confidence of Europe and eventually of the entire world.
He never has as his primary goal, however, to truly help. He only desires to press for the possibility of extending his power in order to glorify himself.

10.4 The information war of the end times

10.4.1 Weapons of technological destruction (more on this in section 5.)of the Prophetic/Technical supplement.)

In peace time, our high-technology society makes available the possibility of increasing our welfare, but in times of crisis and war, it becomes extremely vulnerable. Along this line, a well-directed sabotage attack against the telephone and banking system in Sweden would precipitate chaos in the country, if all salary payments and business transactions were rendered impossible.

The technical threats against our information-based society include computer viruses, electronic bombs, logistical bombs, and live signals. The intentions of our human enemies with these technical attacks are to create chaos with the aim of facilitating a takeover in power. The technical methods of manipulating the flow of information will perhaps not affect everybody in connection with the future wars.

10.4.2 The lie = the ammunition of the information war

The Devil is called in the Bible the "father of lies." All people repeatedly meet over their lifetimes our spiritual enemy's ancient and well-tested method of lying in order to deceive people.
Ever since the fall of man, the Devil has successfully used these deceptions:

he first appears as a true friend of mankind who wants to help and to give good advice
then he attempts to create distrust towards God's right solution through blending truth and lies, or even more effectively, by using half-truths.
In this way he succeeds in luring many into choosing the wrong way or the wrong solution,
which over time only results in worsening the problem.

Some examples of successful propaganda in the 1900's:

Hitler came to power and was able to begin the second world war and the persecution of the Jews through systematic, wide-spread propaganda against his own people.
The success of Communism largely builds upon similar systematic propaganda, promoting among other things Marxist-Leninist dialectic. Besides outright lies, people are deceived in this way by giving common ideas a whole new, false meaning. Altogether, "the communist freedom" is estimated to have cost more than 100 million lives. Nevertheless, our politicians mostly talk about the victims of Nazism, despite the fact that there were significantly fewer of these.
The civil war in Yugoslavia would have never have become as awful as it was, if the controlling parties did not have power over the media. With their systematic propaganda, they succeeded in inciting their people not only to war, but also to rape, torture, and massive slaughter of the civilian population.

The Antichrist will use all of these recipes for propaganda on a worldwide scale during the final phase of this age. The culmination, as we have said, will probably be the battle between the Antichrist�s "propaganda minister" and the two prophets of God.

Not until the consequences of the lies of the Devil are exposed in all of their wickedness can God make use of his omnipotence and imprison the Devil:

With this, the next to the last war of information is finished
The final information war will occur after the Millennium, when the Devil is released to one last time expose all religious hypocrites. (See illustration 4.5)

Causes of war	Israel's enemies will eventually join together in a military force to attempt to finally "liberate" Jerusalem and to cast the Jews into the sea, just as they have always desired. These enemies seem today to be a number of extreme Muslim countries. Israel's allies would in the best case be the same nations who fought together in the Kuwait war. In the worst case, they would stand alone.
Consequences of war	Currently, Israel is estimated to have 200 nuclear weapons. Without the help of allies at least, they would then be forced to use some of them against the attacking and numerically superior armies. These would likely be hindered from themselves using nuclear weapons against Israel since they would then even kill Palestinians, who live in quite close proximity with the Jews. *The extremely radical Muslim countries will after the war acquire a more moderate leadership which will open these countries for a short while for the world's last revival.*
The Antichrist	Most likely, the war will allow the Antichrist to appear on the scene as a peacemaker. He will perform this so well, *that he will subsequently be offered to head* the restored Roman Empire, here called *"The united states of Europe."*
Peace lasts	The prophet then graphically describes how Israel will first during 7 months scour the battle field to "cleanse" the land from the dead, and from radioactive fallout.
at least 7 years	*During the at least 7 years of peace which then follow,* they will continue to clean up and burn the materials of war.

Possible causes of the war	We have already warned previously that the great population explosion in Asia could lead to large scale population migration and a new world war. The driving force could be the difference between the rich and the poor, together with the battle over the Middle East's last oil reserves. A further contributing cause could be that in China too few girls are being born. Therefore, when today's boys grow up they will perhaps go out on raiding expeditions against the wealthy Europeans, just like Genghis Kahn's Asian army did in the past. It's interesting to note that China can already today almost enlist the great 200 million person army described by the prophet.
Satanic influence	The driving force for the enormous evil in this war and the next will be satanic possession. This occurs when a horde of evil spirits from the abyss are released upon the inhabitants of the earth in connection with the 5th trumpet.
The consequences of the war	Against such a huge army, Europe can of course only defend itself with nuclear weapons. The destruction in this war, which comprises the 6th trumpet, *will be so vast* that a third of the world's population, or between 2 and 3 billion people, are killed. The world's economy will collapse in such chaos that the stock market crash of the 1930's will seem like only a mild ripple. All the leaders of the world will be helpless before all these things and the wave of anarchy and rioting which follows.
The Antichrist attains world dominion	The cry of the people for a strong and capable leader will presumably give the Antichrist the possibility which he so passionately desires, namely to completely or partially attain world dominion. Success will however go to his head, exactly as it has for other world rulers before him. He will thereby open himself for such complete possession that he can eventually be said to *represent the Devil himself incarnated as a man.* In the extreme case, he will take his stand in the temple in Jerusalem and exalt himself *as a god who demands everyone's worship.*
The satanic evil of the Antichrist	With this a great persecution breaks forth against *all true Christians* who refuse to worship him. It will last until *the Bride of Christ is freed from the earth* by being raptured up to the skies to meet Jesus. When the Bride is gone, God will give the world entirely over to the Devil for a short time. The Antichrist's satanic malice will then turn first against the religious establishment, that is, the false harlot church, and against Israel. *He will eventually completely wipe out the harlot church.* Israel will then for the first time realize their catastrophic mistake, that they not only rejected Jesus as their Savior, *but that they also accepted the Devil's representative as their Messiah, savior and god.*
Israel's trouble	Thereafter for Israel follows a very difficult time of anguish and persecution, which in the Bible is called "Jacob's trouble". (Jer. 30) It is conceivable that some of the Jews will seek refuge in caves and in the desert areas. *These Jews will mourn for Jesus as deeply as if they mourned for an only son.* (Zech. 12:10) The conditions appear to be so extremely hard that only a third of the people will survive and experience the final salvation at the end of the Battle of Armageddon.

Possible causes of the battle	The satanic evil of the Antichrist will probably become too much for the rest of the world, which will end up rebelling against him and his remaining faithful followers. At Armageddon, which is a large plain north of Israel, *the wicked and unrepentant armies of earth will physically fight* out a part of their *great final battle against the God of creation.* The colossal events of the war will probably involve the whole world, but most of the prophetic descriptions, as well as our text, concentrate on Israel and its surroundings.
Christ appears	In order to this time save Israel and the rest of humanity from total annihilation, *Jesus himself descends upon the Mount of Olives* as a rider upon a white horse, followed by his heavenly armies. Together, they defeat all who oppose God, including the Antichrist beast, the false prophet, and the Devil himself, who are thereafter put out of action and imprisoned. *The entire world is shaken by such a great earthquake that its like has never happened before.* It occurs when the end of the seventh seal's final trend coincides with the seventh bowl of wrath, which is a sudden event.
The consequences of the war	As a result of the earthquake and the ongoing global nuclear war, many cities are destroyed and the earth is overrun with dead.
Israels salvation.	The remainder of Israel's people, who have had time to deeply repent of their sins, will by their salvation become *the first entire nation to confess Jesus Christ as their Savior on a single day.* (Isaiah 66:8-16)