TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Lesson 15: The Revelation account of Atomic World War I (AWWI).
I The first trumpet angel described the initial atomic
exchanges of AWWI and the global scope of the war.
7 And the first trumpeted; and there occurred hail and fire
having been mixed in with blood, and it was cast to the
earth; and the third(part) of the earth was burnt (up), and
the third(part) of the trees was burnt (up), and all green
grass was burnt (up) (Rev. 8:7, IGENT).
A The first angel itemized the three most destructive
aspects of AWWI.
1 Atomic hail was named first because its lethal
radiation effects will kill more people than the
local effects from heat, blast, and fire.
2 Also, land contaminated by radioactive hail cannot be
used to grow food crops for decades, whereas land burned
by fire can be replanted within a year's time.
3 Fire from atomic explosions was named as the second
most powerfully lethal of the local effects of
nuclear weapons.
- A megaton explosion can set ninety-five square miles
or so on fire at the same time.
4 The blood, mixed in with the hail and fire, refers to the
vaporized remains of people instantly reduced to super-
heated gases from the intense heat of the nuclear
explosion's initial thermal pulse.
B The first angel reported the overall extent of AWWI's
damages on the earth.
1 AWWI will burn up one-third of the earth's land mass.
2 One-third of the trees within the atomic war zones
will be lost to fire.
3 All the grass in the atomic war zones will be burned up.
4 How do we know "all green grass was burnt up" does not
refer to all the grass on the planet?
- Since only one-third of the earth will be burned
up, it is clear that two-thirds of the earth will
not be affected by AWWI, which has to include the
grass in that two-thirds of the earth.
5 How do we know a "third part of the trees was burnt up"
does not refer to one-third of the trees on the planet?
- Since only one-third of the earth will be burned
up, the text would say all the trees would be
burned up in that third if that were to be the case.
C The number of casualties expected from major nuclear war
(5,000- to 10,000-megaton yields) was quantified by
forty scientists who met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in
April of 1983, to discuss the Long-Term Biological
Consequences of Nuclear War.
1 They estimated that there would be 750 million
immediate deaths from blast alone.
2 They estimated another 1.1 billion deaths from the
combined effects of blast, fire, and radiation.
3 They estimated an additional 1.1 billion people would
sustain injuries requiring medical attention.
4 Thus, 30 to 50 percent of the total human population
could be immediate casualties of a nuclear war.
5 Millions more will die from famine, pollution effects
and political upheaval in the post-AWWI period.
D What facts in this passage provide further support for
the position that Ezekiel's Russian invasion of Israel
prophecy and John's account of AWWI, are descriptions of
the same atomic war?
- Both accounts, in addition to naming a great earth-
quake as the spark that will touch off AWWI, list
radioactive hailstones first, in front of nuclear
fire, as the most powerfully lethal of the local
effects of nuclear explosions.
"I shall rain on him, and on his troops, and on the
many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with
hailstones, fire, and brimstone" (Ezek. 38:22, NASB).
"the first trumpeted; and there occurred hail and fire
having been mixed in with blood" (Rev. 8:7, IGENT).
II The second trumpet angel sounded a warning concerning the
far-reaching destruction of the seas during the naval side
of AWWI.
8 And the second angel sounded, and something like a great
mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a
third of the sea became blood (Rev. 8:8, NASB);
9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a
third of the ships were destroyed (Rev. 8:9, NIV).
A The naval side of the nuclear war will erupt directly
following the opening salvos of AWWI.
B Damages will include the death of a third of the
creatures living in the sea and destruction of a third
of all sea-going ships.
C The first thing to establish is what the unnamed
"something" will not be.
1 It will not be a mountain since the text states it
will be something "like" a great mountain.
2 It will not be a meteor since John did not identify
the fiery object's trajectory as coming from the
direction of the heavens, but likened it to an
entire mountain, lifted suddenly by some tremendous
force and cast into the sea.
3 What facts eliminate a great asteroid as a possible
candidate for the unnamed "something?"
a First, since Mount Everest is a great mountain (six
miles high), if the unnamed "something" was an
asteroid it would have to be at least six miles in
diameter to qualify as "something like a great
mountain."
b According to scientific calculations, if a six mile in
diameter asteroid landed in the ocean it would create
a tidal wave three miles high and the impact would
make entire continents burst into flames.
c Therefore, the unnamed "something like a great
mountain," could not be a six mile across asteroid
since such an object would burn up more than one third
of the earth.
D According to the text, the damages inflicted on the seas
by the unnamed "something" will be similar to the
destructive forces unleashed when volcanic mountains
explode in maritime regions of the world.
E The 1883 Krakatoa blowout and the Santorini explosion
about 1500 B.C. are two past examples of large-scale
maritime disasters.
F Why should we suspect that the unnamed "something" will
be damages resulting from the naval side of AWWI?
1 Since the sixth seal prophecy introduced AWWI as the
main topic of the opened Book of Revelation and since
no other major subject has been introduced thus far,
it follows that the destruction wrought on the high
seas by the unnamed "something" will be the negative
effects resulting from the naval action of AWWI.
2 The third, fourth, and fifth trumpets support this
position since they continue to describe the negative
effects wrought by the atomic war.
G Does the world have enough firepower to burn up one-third of
the earth and destroy all life in one-third of the sea?
1 The world's most destructive weapons systems, the 560
foot long U.S. Trident boomer and the 600 foot long
Russian Typhoon boomer killer submarines, provide insight
into the answer.
a One Trident, armed with 24 Trident II missiles, can
fire 114 megatons of devastating power (equal to the
aerial bombardment of 38 WWIIs), at some 200 targets
in less than 20 minutes.
b This means one U.S. Trident, or Russian Typhoon
boomer, could kill 100 million people or more in less
than 60 minutes.
2 Thus the world's sea-based nuclear forces have more than
enough firepower to blow cities and naval and air bases
located on the rims of the continents and on islands in
the sea, miles into the sky.
3 In AWWI, much of their burning contents will fall into
the sea, where, if it all landed in one great heap, it
would easily add up to a "great mountain burning with
fire."
a The net effect of this mountain of poisonous radio-
active debris falling into the sea will turn a third
part of the world's oceans a dark, blood-red color.
b The metaphorical statement: "and the third part of
the sea became blood" IGENT, compares the unlivable
condition of the polluted third of the oceans to
blood, a matrix within which living creatures in the
sea would not be able to survive.
III The third trumpet angel sounded a warning concerning the
massive damage wrought on the interiors of the continents
during the second stage escalation of the initial atomic
exchanges.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star
from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the
third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the
third part of the waters became Wormwood; and many men died
of the waters, because they were made bitter (Rev. 8:10-11).
A Reuse of the Sixth Seal Atomic War prophecy's symbol for
a nuclear bomb--i.e., stars--dictates that fulfillment
of the third trumpet event will not only occur over the
course of the First Trumpet Atomic War, but will also be
an integral part of that war.
B The text defines "great" atomic starlike bombs in terms
of their aim points--"it fell upon the third part of the
rivers, and upon the fountains of waters."
1 That is, the interiors of the continents where the
majority of the world's rivers and lakes are found.
2 The aim points, therefore, classify nuclear bombs that
are delivered to the interiors of the continents by
long range, intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBM's) as "great" starlike bombs.
C Thus, the great star falling from heaven represents war-
heads delivered to the interiors of the continents
during the second stage of AWWI.
1 The first stage would reach border and coastal
targets, generally located on the rims of the
continents.
2 It would be an additional fifteen minutes or more
before the big long range ICBMs began falling from
the heavens on targets deep in the interior of the
continents.
D The analogy of a star to describe an atomic bomb is
commonly used today.
- Los Alamos nuclear weapons tester, Elbert Bennet,
commenting for Discover magazine in 1985, explained,
"Conditions in a thermonuclear explosion are very much
like the interior of a star."
E Today's scientists know that an atomic war large enough
to burn up one third of the earth will leave the waters
in the vicinity of the bombed areas highly radioactive.
- Many survivors, faced with the dilemma of drinking
irradiated surface waters, will be confronted with the
Bible's prediction: "and many men died of the waters,
because they were made bitter."
F Why is "the name of the star" called Wormwood?
1 Wormwood was a well-known bitter herb which has come to
mean grievous bitterness.
a The "great star" is so named here to allegorically
describe its qualities.
b John did not say it would be called this, but
appropriately called "Wormwood."
2 "The third part of the waters became Wormwood,"
therefore, properly means they will become bitter as
Wormwood from the radioactive fallout released by
great starlike nuclear bombs "falling upon the third
part of the rivers, and fountains of waters."
G Radiation contamination of Ukrainian land and water from
the 1986 Chernobyl (means Wormwood) nuclear-power-plant
disaster provides a recent example of health risks from
radiation exposure.
- In addition to those who died from initial radiation
exposure, a higher incidence of cancer has been reported
in the region since the accident.
H John's report does not mention a victor.
I In fact, according to Jesus Christ's comments on AWWI,
without the intervening hand of God the First Trumpet Atomic
War would end all human life.