A Prelude to the Weapons of World War III

A Prelude to the Weapons of World War III
We have entered a new era of warfare, where the size of a nation, its population and even its military arsenals are overshadowed by the pace of technological innovation. Wars will increasingly be fought by machines—yet no conflict will be decided without devastating human cost.
Efforts to predict the military conflicts ahead can only scratch the surface of a swiftly changing battlefield. Yet Bible prophecy unveils the most vital and astonishing details of the wars of the future. Today, the realities of modern warfare align precisely with prophecy. If ever there was a time to heed God’s prophetic warnings, it is now.
Ukraine’s surprise strike against Russia on June 1 and Israel’s crippling attack on Iran on June 13 offer a glimpse of the wars of the future.
Operation Spiderweb
Both Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler, after conquering swaths of Europe, met defeat in the vast expanse of Russia. But on June 1, the seemingly insurmountable foe took an embarrassing blow from a nation seen as a military lightweight: Ukraine.
Only with the technological advances of the last five years was this made possible.
Under the code name Spiderweb, Ukraine executed a major drone strike that targeted several air bases deep in Russian territory. It involved 117 first-person-view drones hidden in wooden mobile cabins on trucks with remotely operated roofs. The drones were launched near airfields located all the way into Siberia and the Arctic, striking strategic aircraft designed to carry Russian nuclear bombs.
Hitler’s Luftwaffe could only reach Moscow, and it caused limited damage there; but the Belaya Air Base in Irkutsk Oblast, one of the bases struck by Ukrainian drones, lies some 2,500 miles beyond Moscow.
With the aid of artificial intelligence, the drones targeted weapons pylons carrying cruise missiles, over-wing fuel tanks, among others, with the intent to inflict maximum damage, the Kyiv Post wrote on June 2. Ukraine claimed it damaged or destroyed 41 aircraft and degraded 34 percent of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, causing $7 billion in damage. Never underestimate the latest military innovations.
In 2024, Time wrote: “War has always driven innovation, from the crossbow to the Internet, and in the modern era private industry has made key contributions to breakthroughs like the atom bomb. But the collaboration between foreign tech companies and the Ukrainian armed forces, who say they have a software engineer deployed with each battalion, is driving a new kind of experimentation in military AI. The result is an acceleration of ‘the most significant fundamental change in the character of war ever recorded in history,’ Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Washington last year” (Feb. 8, 2024).
A new kind of experimentation in military AI is upon us, and most of mankind is clueless about how destructive it will be. “We had better pay attention to what might be ‘the most significant fundamental change in the character of war ever recorded in history’!” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in February 2024. “Technology advances are often hyped up, but I believe there are reasons that may not be the case here” (“AI and the End of ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’”).
He cited Palantir ceo Alex Karp, who said AI could “allow David to beat a modern-day Goliath.”
To some extent, that is what we witnessed in Ukraine’s attack on Russia. Comparatively weaker Ukraine delivered a deadly blow to Russia, a military powerhouse. Drones crippled giant warplanes.
“But ultimately, this is not about Ukraine winning against Russia,” Mr. Flurry wrote. “Ukraine has become a ‘lab’ to prepare for much larger wars!” (ibid).
Operation Rising Lion
In mid-June, the skies over the Middle East transformed into a war zone, as Israel attacked Iran and Iran retaliated.
In World War ii’s Battle of Britain, German bombers suffered a high rate of casualties. But between Israel and Iran, it was a war of machines: missiles and drones versus interceptors. Human casualties occurred only when defenses were breached. Israel’s fatalities were limited because of its June 13 preemptive strike against Iran.
Early that morning, Israel attacked dozens of Iranian military sites with the aim, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it, “to thwart the Islamic regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat.”
Besides its 200 fighter jets, Israel reportedly also used “explosive-carrying quadcopter drones, rockets and other sophisticated equipment located inside Iran for precision attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists, military leaders, antiaircraft batteries and surface-to-surface missiles” (Times of Israel, June 15).


The operations relied on “groundbreaking thinking, bold planning and surgical operation of advanced technologies, special forces and agents operating in the heart of Iran while evading the eyes of local intelligence,” a security official said.
Israel had smuggled the drones into Iran using trucks, shipping containers and even suitcases, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a master stroke, Israeli forces had established a secret drone base inside Iran.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin announced on June 16 that the Air Force had destroyed a third of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers, 120 in total. Without this preemptive strike, Iran could have fired dozens more missiles each day, potentially overwhelming Israel’s defense system and causing hundreds of deaths.
One can only imagine the destruction Iran could have achieved had it enriched enough uranium to mount nuclear warheads onto its missiles. If just one had penetrated Israel’s air defenses, the casualties would have been in the hundreds of thousands.
Iran’s onslaught would have been even more catastrophic had the regime managed to achieve what Israel did: After just four days of precision strikes targeting Iranian air defenses and missile systems, Israel declared air superiority over Tehran, leaving the Iranian capital exposed and vulnerable. Had Iran executed this move, Israeli cities would have been at the mercy of the Iranian regime that has vowed to wipe them out. Israel would have ceased to exist.
With its close to 90 million people and a land area of 618,000 square miles, Iran appears to be the superior power, compared to Israel’s 9 million people and 8,500 square miles. However, Iran has suffered for years under critical sanctions that limit its military innovations and cripple its economy, while Israel has access to the best Western systems and innovations of its own.
Israel is no doubt the superior military force. However, unlike Iran, it is not seeking mass casualties. If it were, the events in June would have been very different.
Imagine if Israel had Iran’s destructive ambitions. After disabling Iran’s air defenses, it would have sent a barrage of missiles deep into Iranian cities, killing thousands and plunging the nation into chaos. It would have used its fighter jets, submarines and ballistic missiles to drop nuclear bombs on Iran’s capital and other cities. Within days, Iran would have been rubble, and Israel would have no fear of retaliation.
Military Innovation in Prophecy
“Future wars most certainly will include nuclear bombs and biological weapons,” Mr. Flurry wrote. “These deadly weapons can be mounted on aircraft and drones and sent all over the world. Imagine what they could do! covid-19 was a mild biological weapon compared to something they might send in one of those drones. Some analysts are warning that artificial intelligence can be used to develop bioweapons that target only specific ethnicities. We know only a fraction of the weaponry being developed in secret. …
“A prophecy in Revelation 9 describes the military equipment used in this warfare as swarms of locusts. Could these locusts be swarms of various aircraft coordinating their flight patterns through AI?” (“The Unknown Future of Artificial Intelligence”).
Not until our day was it possible for military hardware to fly in coordinated swarms like locusts—yet the Bible prophesied of it almost 2,000 years ago!
Another prophecy of modern warfare is found in Habakkuk 1:8-10: “Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.”
What is “swifter than the leopards,” “more fierce than the evening wolves,” and flies “as the eagle that hasteth to eat”? Mr. Flurry explains: “This is an incredibly evil, destructive force—like evening wolves that eat anything they can find, even the bones of their prey. Do we really comprehend what a ravenous, deadly beast this is going to be? It will be far more destructive than the Nazis of World War ii” (Prophesy Again).

For 80 years the world has avoided the horrors of a global nuclear war. “Why?” Mr. Flurry asked. “It was not love toward neighbor. It was fear of ‘mutually assured destruction’—the probability that a nuclear strike would meet with nuclear retaliation” (“AI and the End of ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’” ).
Even without nuclear weapons, the fear of retaliation has stopped countless wars. When retaliation could mean the destruction of one’s own nation, the deterrence is all the greater.
But the Bible prophesies that this status quo will be nullified in the coming war.
Ezekiel 7:14 prophesies, “They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.”
“In other words,” Mr. Flurry wrote, “the missiles, airplanes and drones will not fly! Since the 1990s, I have believed this could refer to the effects of a cyberattack. With recent advances in AI, such a crippling attack becomes much more likely” (ibid).
Another end-time prophecy adds vital detail. “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets” (Isaiah 10:5-6).
All these prophecies are about the same nation that God will use to correct a sinning people, the descendants of Israel, the house of Jacob (verses 20-21). Israel is a prophetic term for the United States and Britain primarily. Assyria refers to modern-day Germany (for proof, request a free copy of The United States and Britain in Prophecy). “America will be blindsided by German military technology. The Germans are moving fast, and in some ways they are already ahead of America. What we see in the news is only a fraction of what is going on behind the scenes, I am sure” (“The Unknown Future of Artificial Intelligence”).
German Weaponry Spotlighted
The top military leaders from 35 countries met in Dresden, Germany, at the invitation of German Army Chief of Staff Alfons Mais in the last week of August 2024. The “10th Commanders of European Land Forces Forum” held a weapons show spotlighting innovations from Germany’s armaments industry.
One of the highlights was Rheinmetall’s Skyranger air defense system, designed to eliminate the smallest of enemy drones within a 3-kilometer radius using its 30-mm revolver cannon and other air targets at a range of up to 9 kilometers with its four Stinger missiles.
“The Taliban had no air force when we were in Afghanistan,” Mais commented. “We are now seeing in the Ukraine conflict that the use of drones in particular has taken a massive leap—that drones are omnipresent on the battlefield. That’s why we all have to take a stand against the new threat from the air.”
According to Bild, United States Gen. Darryl A. Williams (now retired) was most impressed by knds’ Remote Controlled Howitzer 155, which can hit its target with great accuracy from 54 kilometers, shooting up to nine rounds per minute while driving on bumpy terrain at over 18 miles per hour. “I’ve been in the U.S. artillery for 40 years. This is a game changer.” The commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa added in German: “Unbelievable. This is German engineering.”


Citing a classified document, Spiegel reported in 2024 that Germany and Norway want to jointly develop a “long-range supersonic sea-to-sea guided missile capable of enforcement and combat” that is to be deployed on German frigates from 2035. The cooperation has been sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the alleged use of supersonic weapons. These weapons, which fly at multiple times the speed of sound, can slip past defense systems—which undermines the mutually assured destruction principle since they could neutralize an enemy’s ability to retaliate.
German engineering is world renowned. But in the decades since World War ii, its military hardware has not been paraded with pride. This is now changing.
In late 2024, Helsing unveiled the HX-2, a precision strike drone with a 160-mile range. “Advanced on-board AI enables full electronic warfare and jamming resistance,” the company explained.
“[M]ultiple HX-2s can assemble into swarms, controlled by single human operators.” The drone can be mass-produced at a fraction of the cost of conventional systems. And swarms of strike drones are said to have the potential to be more destructive than nuclear bombs and even harder to defend against.
But Helsing is not satisfied with conquering the sky: One of the company’s latest innovations deploys AI-driven drone swarms into the depth of the seas. Its SG-1 Fathom “redefines subsurface surveillance,” the company writes. “Mass manufacturable, hundreds of SG-1s can be deployed at scale to monitor vast underwater areas. … [T]he glider operates at depth and throughout the water column. It is resilient and energy efficient, enabling persistent operation for up to three months.” These underwater drones are presently unarmed; the potential deadly blow is left to other military hardware. But that too could change.
In February, Fortune highlighted arx Robotics, another Munich-based dual-use start-up. “Its technology helps convert traditional military equipment like trucks and tanks into unmanned, autonomous vehicles,” Fortune noted. “This allows for safer reconnaissance, logistics and combat in high-risk areas like Ukraine’s front line.”
arx also produces small robots and supplies six European countries, including the German armed forces. The robots, tested and operated in Ukraine, are designed to assist soldiers in combat zones, transporting supplies or spying on the enemy. The company recently secured significant investment from the nato Innovation Fund.


arx works closely with another start-up near Munich: Quantum Systems, which manufactures reconnaissance drones. Quantum Systems also gained experience in Ukraine developing vertical take-off drones to spy on Russian troop locations.
To quickly mass-produce drones in the future, Germany is also getting help from outside. Germany’s Rheinmetall and U.S. start-up Anduril Industries formed a strategic partnership on June 18 to accelerate drone and rocket motor production in Europe. Together they will develop European variants of Anduril’s Barracuda (a low-cost, mass-produced drone) and Fury (a high-performance, multi-mission drone).
It is hard to overstate how the combination of the Ukraine war and AI developments is transforming the modern battlefield. Old weapons systems are being augmented, while entirely new technologies are emerging at unprecedented speed.
After Helsing announced the delivery of thousands of strike drones for Ukraine at the end of 2024, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Bild, “We are in close dialogue with our Ukrainian partners and will be able to draw conclusions for the Bundeswehr on how this type of drone can be used effectively. This will also help us to develop our own drone capabilities.”
Citing an anonymous European official, the Washington Post wrote on April 19: “The strategy also allows nato countries to use Ukraine as a testing ground for developing weapons, such as drones, in which they don’t have as much experience ….”
Germany’s government has hired Helsing to make the Eurofighter capable of electronic warfare and to provide the AI infrastructure for the Future Combat Air System, which involves swarms of drones, fighter jets, cargo aircraft and satellites.
In June of last year, Airbus Defense and Space signed a framework cooperation agreement with Helsing to advance AI in a future Wingman system, an unmanned fighter-type aircraft designed to work in conjunction with manned fighter jets.
“The current conflicts on Europe’s borders show how important air superiority is,” said Mike Schoellhorn, ceo at Airbus Defence and Space. “Manned-Unmanned Teaming will play a central role in achieving air superiority: With an unmanned Wingman at their side, fighter pilots can operate outside the danger zone. They give the orders and always have the decision-making authority. Supported by AI, the Wingman then takes over the dangerous tasks, including target reconnaissance and destruction or electronic jamming and deception of enemy air defense systems.”
Truly, we are getting an idea of what the biblically prophesied “swarms of locusts,” made up of various aircraft, from the smallest to the largest, will look like.
When Ukraine was testing AI systems that enabled drones to recognize enemy equipment, few paid attention. But when it pulled the trigger, the world took note. How much more could Germany do with this innovation? Winston Churchill warned, “Beware! Germany is a country fertile in military surprises.”
It is true that America’s military is responsible for impressive advancements and innovations. But biblical prophecy doesn’t warn of American surprise attacks provoking world war. It specifically foretells of America’s military being neutralized and blindsided by foreign blitzkrieg, specifically from a German-led military juggernaut.
The Unsuspecting Victim
After American Rheinmetall Vehicles delivered autonomous, unmanned ground vehicle Mission Master SP to the U.S. Marine Corps, it demonstrated its armed variant in Fort Clinton, Ohio, in February 2024. Rheinmetall boasted how the vehicle “provides Marines a variety of remote-operated capabilities including armed reconnaissance, sentry over watch, fire support, flank security, screening capability and more.”
“And more” could include opening the door for Germany to take revenge on its World War ii foe in a spectacular way.
Ukraine and Israel smuggled drone parts into Russia and Iran, respectively, in secret operations to enable them to launch drones within the enemy nation. But Germany already has Trojan horses placed all over America.
American Rheinmetall is a subsidiary of German automotive and defense manufacturer Rheinmetall, which was instructed in a 1944 meeting of top Nazi leaders and other industrial executives to fuel the Nazi underground. Today it plays “a pivotal role in U.S. military modernization,” its website states. To expand this mission, it acquired Loc Performance Products at the end of 2024.
What might Rheinmetall do to help execute a surprise attack on its unsuspecting client?
Another example of the U.S. foolishly trusting Germany is the approval by Congress and regulatory agencies for Bayer AG’s 2018 acquisition of Monsanto. Bayer AG’s history traces back to IG Farben, the infamous chemical company that helped empower Hitler and manufactured the gas for the extermination camps.
What if a surprise attack doesn’t come from a battlefield enemy but from a supposed ally who plotted not for mere months but decades? What if that ally is the third-largest economy in the world and has a history of starting world wars?
Instead of 100 attack drones, take 100,000, or even a million, spread across an unsuspecting country. Imagine the attack coupled with a 1000 Rheinmetall Mission Master SP unmanned ground vehicle armed with a variety of weapons programmed to kill and destroy. Add drones from Bayer, spraying not the usual pesticides but deadly poisons.
Their first target may be military air bases, radar sites, power grids, cities and top leaders—while a simultaneous large-scale cyberassault cripples the nation’s defenses and causes autonomous military and civilian vehicles, drones and machinery to run amok.
Imagine the surprise attack followed by 100 heavy drones armed with compact nuclear warheads obliterating military installations in coordinated strikes. Meanwhile, swarms of underwater drones target submarines, warships, aircraft carriers and civilian boats.
Combine such an attack with what international law forbids: chemical and biological warfare. Imagine drones dispersing engineered viruses over crowded cities; others release colorless, odorless toxins into reservoirs, rivers and farmland. Fields of crops are rendered not only inedible but deadly poisonous. Water taps transform from sources of life into instruments of death.
Imagine not knowing if your next breath, drink or bite could be your last.
The ensuing chaos would make the nation an easy target for an advanced military using hypersonic missiles (which Germany and many other nations are also developing) and fighter jets firing precision strikes on anything the first onslaught missed. By the time the ground invasion comes, with autonomous tanks and augmented human soldiers, most of the defenses would have already capitulated, and the vast majority of citizens would be ready to wave the white flag.
Whatever horrifying possibilities you may imagine, they are rapidly turning into realities in modern warfare. Not only could AI enable the execution of such attacks, it could draw on lessons from thousands of years of warfare to work out the most devilish war plan in history.
Futuristic Warfare Prophesied
No one wants to imagine what all-out modern warfare would mean for mankind. Yet the Bible warns that God will allow this nightmare to take its course so we experience firsthand the consequences of our rebellion against Him.
Jesus Christ called the time just ahead of us “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21). He said that unless He intervened, no one would survive (verse 22).
This is what it will take for God to get mankind’s attention. But note: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (verses 29-30).
All the instrumentalities of war will appear as child’s play at Christ’s return. With supernatural power, He will end the world’s warmaking forever.