Although the Bible does not explicitly use the term "World War 3," it describes a major conflict that will touch humanity at the end of times, just before the return of Jesus Christ. This prophecy appears in Revelation 9:13–19.

The Bible announces that this war will mobilize 200 million soldiers and bring about the death of a third of humanity — more than 2.5 billion people based on the current world population.

To this day, no conflict — neither World War 1 nor 2 — nor even a catastrophe such as the Black Death has caused such a proportion of human loss.

Revelation 9:13–19
¹³And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. ¹⁵And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. ¹⁶And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. ¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. ¹⁸By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Revelation 9:13–14
¹³And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Through these verses, the Bible indicates where World War 3 will begin: in the Middle East. The Euphrates is an ancient river mentioned in Genesis 2:14 that flows through this region. It has its source in Turkey, passes through Syria and Iraq, and empties into the Persian Gulf. It is therefore in this zone, the Bible tells us, that this conflict will begin.

Is the current conflict between Iran on one side and Israel and the United States on the other its triggering cause? Let us wait and see what unfolds.

Revelation 9:13–18
¹³And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. ¹⁵And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. ¹⁶And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. ¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. ¹⁸By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

The Bible allows us to place the moment when World War 3 will occur. It indicates that this event will take place at the sound of the sixth trumpet.

Now, the Bible also mentions seven trumpets — with the seventh being associated with the Church and the Rapture. Since the sixth trumpet sounds before the seventh, this war will therefore take place before the Rapture of the Church.

Revelation 10:5–7
⁵And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, ⁶And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: ⁷But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

1 Corinthians 15:51–52
⁵¹Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Revelation 9:18
By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

The Bible announces that this world war will bring about the death of a third of humanity. What does this figure represent? With a world population estimated at 8 billion, this corresponds to approximately 2.6 billion dead. How can such a scale be explained? The following point provides elements of an answer.

Revelation 9:18
By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

To cause the death of more than 2 billion people, conventional weapons alone would not suffice — the use of weapons of mass destruction, and nuclear weapons in particular, becomes inevitable. By closely examining the prophecy of Revelation 9, we read that a third of humanity perishes through three plagues: fire, smoke, and brimstone. What other phenomenon, if not a nuclear explosion, could simultaneously unleash these three destructive forces on such a scale?

When an atomic bomb detonates, a thermal fireball rises instantaneously, reaching millions of degrees at its epicenter. In the face of this nuclear fire, all flesh is carbonized and skin falls away in shreds within seconds. Added to this are a suffocating sulfuric effect and devastating radioactive fallout.

The smoke generated — in the form of the atomic mushroom cloud — is saturated with radioactive elements that durably contaminate the air and water. Breathing this air or drinking this water condemns survivors to certain death. Millions will perish not from the direct explosion, but from the invisible irradiation of the fallout.

We have examined these points in depth in our teaching on World War 3, which we invite you to consult. We also encourage you to research the history of Hiroshima.

It is evident today that most of the nations that will be involved in this future conflict already possess nuclear weapons: Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea, among others. It is no coincidence that the construction of atomic shelters is intensifying throughout the world.

After World War 1 in 1918 — which caused more than 8 million deaths — the solution adopted to prevent this type of conflict was the creation of the League of Nations, an organization charged with maintaining world peace.

Unfortunately, in 1939 the world again plunged into a world war that this time caused not 8 million but 40 million deaths: World War 2. At the conclusion of this conflict, the United Nations came into existence with the same objective as the League of Nations: to ensure world peace.

Now, these two organizations — the League of Nations and the United Nations — are nothing other than forerunners of the future world government. What, then, should the world expect at the end of a world war that kills a third of humanity? A World Government — whose emergence we are already witnessing today.

1 Thessalonians 5:2–4
²For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. ³For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. ⁴But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

The Bible defines the Great Tribulation as a period of suffering and persecution — perpetrated by the Antichrist against those who refuse to worship him or his image. It therefore has nothing of a war about it that would allow it to be equated with World War 3. It is a time of trial and persecution of the saints.

Revelation 13:15
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Revelation 13:10
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

See also: Seven (7) Truths to Know About the Great Tribulation

May God bless you !