Threats And Aggression: Does Bible Prophecy Predict A Future Nuclear War?

Does the Bible say anything about nuclear weapons in the end times? It’s a very pertinent question today, with all that we see happening in Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Before we tackle that question, let me paint a little bit of the background for what we see happening in our world today, which I think makes this a more interesting and relevant question than ever before.

The United States has just given the green light for Ukraine to take US-made ballistic missiles and fire them into Russia. Up to this point, we provided these ballistic missiles with the stipulation that they not be used to fire into Russian territory. This week, that ban was lifted, and ballistic missiles began firing into Russia—at one point, even 70 miles into their territory. This is a real game changer in the war between Ukraine and Russia, and this has brought a strong response from Moscow.

Russia has now, according to their recent edicts, lowered the threshold necessary for the use of nuclear weapons. In other words, they have updated their nuclear doctrine and established new “red lines.”

They said in this updated policy that aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state if it’s supported by a nuclear power, will be considered a joint attack. In another statement, they say that the launch of ballistic missiles against Russia would now be among the conditions that could warrant a response using nuclear weapons.

While Russia has more nuclear weapons and warheads than any nation on earth, there are eight other nations today that we know also have nuclear weapons: the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel (although the Jewish State has never acknowledged this fact), and North Korea.

Of course, a tenth nation is also trying to cross the nuclear threshold: Iran. An article in the Wall Street Journal this week has a headline that reads, “Iran Sharply Expands Stockpile of Nuclear Fuel Ahead of Trump’s Return.” Iran realizes what’s coming with an incoming Trump Administration, and they’re doing all they can to rapidly cross the nuclear finish line.

Now, at the same time that article came out, another report revealed that, during Israel’s counter-attack against Iran in October, the IAF destroyed an active top-secret nuclear weapons research facility. Within the site was significant equipment used to design the plastic explosives that surround uranium in a nuclear device and are needed to detonate it.

The elimination of this facility, they believe, has set Iran backward on its road to a nuclear weapon.

But with all this talk today of nuclear weapons, we asked this question: does the Bible tell us that there will be a nuclear exchange during the tribulation period? Let me mention a few passages of Scripture which many believe refer to nuclear weapons in the future.

Zechariah 14

The first is Zechariah 14:12, which reads, “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.”

Some people picture this in the context of a rapid disintegration or melting away of flesh, which occurs during a nuclear explosion. There are a few problems with taking this verse in that light.

Firstly, the context at the beginning of this chapter describes a time on the earth after the second coming of Christ. Notice chapter 14 begins, “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle…” Later in verse four, it says, “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives”—this is the return of Jesus back to the earth. Zechariah 14:12 is after that takes place; therefore, this wouldn’t be describing a time before the rapture or during the tribulation period.

Verse 12 also states that the Lord will strike these people with a plague—pointing to divine judgment rather than human activity—like nuclear weapons.

2 Peter 3

Another passage that’s often used is in 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Now, I do agree that this is going to be a massive “nuclear explosion,” but I don’t think it is an act of mankind. Who’s doing it? God himself. He’s going to untie the atoms, if you will, and destroy this present heaven and earth, creating a new heaven and earth. This passage is parallel with Revelation 21:1, which reads, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away…”

This period of time described in 2 Peter 3:10 occurs after the millennial reign of Christ. I call this “uncreation.” The God who spoke everything into existence is going to speak it out of existence, and He’s going to make it anew again. Therefore, I don’t think that the passage in 2 Peter supports the idea of a nuclear explosion during the tribulation period either.

Revelation 8

There is one other passage of Scripture that many believe references nuclear warfare. In Revelation 8, the trumpet judgments are unleashed during, I believe, the second half of the tribulation period.

Revelation 8:8-11 states, “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. 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; 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.”

Many see these judgments as describing a nuclear war. They see this “great mountain burning with fire” and “great star” that comes from heaven as a nuclear weapon—some kind of thermonuclear exchange. Now, that’s certainly possible, and a lot of good Bible prophecy teachers believe that this is describing massive warfare and destruction during the tribulation. I don’t hold that view for a couple of reasons.

These trumpet judgments are coming from God Himself. These are divine judgments, many of which parallel the plagues in Egypt. The plagues in Egypt were not natural or man-made occurrences, so we wouldn’t expect the trumpet judgments to be either.

You will also notice these are limited. Over and over again, we read that it is “a third of the sun,” “a third of the waters,” “a third of the creatures,” etc. If you did have a thermonuclear exchange, it wouldn’t be limited to a third of this and a third of that on the earth. God is displaying His precise control of what is happening and how broad the scope of the effects of His judgment will be.

Could We See A Nuclear Exchange?

Now, that raises the question: even if these verses do not describe a nuclear exchange, could there be one anyway? The answer is yes. The Bible doesn’t tell us everything about the future.

Just because, in my view, the Bible doesn’t specifically say that there’ll be nuclear weapons exploded during the end times doesn’t mean they won’t be. In fact, it is hard to imagine that there won’t be some use of nuclear weapons in the future when you have nine nations that wield them, and Iran’s trying to get them.

Could it happen before the rapture? Certainly, it could. Could it happen during the tribulation? Certainly, it could (that’s even more likely). But when the Bible doesn’t specifically tell us, all we can do is speculate.

Mark Hitchcock is an author, associate professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, Senior Pastor of Faith Bible Church in Oklahoma, and hosts the weekly program “Marking The End Times.” Threats And Aggression: Does Bible Prophecy Predict A Future Nuclear War? - Harbinger's Daily