FACT: The Bible reveals that there will be a total of nine wars in the end times.

Key Scripture: "It was also given to him [the Antichrist] to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him" (Revelation 13:7).



The only end times war that most people have ever heard of is the War of Armageddon which, as will be explained later, is not going to be a true war at all. So, people are very surprised when they discover that Bible prophecy reveals nine end times wars. Let's take a brief look at each one.



(1) The War of Extermination - Psalm 83

The psalm states that the immediate neighbors of Israel will launch a war for the purpose of "wiping out Israel as a nation" (verse 4). The nations described as being a part of this nefarious effort are those with a common border with Israel today (verse 6-8). The rest of the psalm is a prayer for the victory of Israel (verses 9-18).



The outcome of the war is not stated, but we know from other scriptures that Israel will be victorious. For example, in Zechariah 12:6 we are told that in the end times Israel will be like "a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples . . ."



(2) The First War of Gog & Magog - Ezekiel 39 &39

But the security provided by the Psalm 83 war will not last long. The Arab nations will turn to their natural ally, Russia, and cry out for help.



And the Russians will be very happy to respond, for they have always dreamed of taking the oil fields of the Middle East. They will, therefore, launch an invasion for the stated purpose of helping the Muslims destroy Israel, but their unstated agenda will be to use the Arab invitation as an excuse to expand their sovereignty over all the Middle East. This ulterior motive is described in Ezekiel 39:12 where it says the Russians will come "to capture spoil and to seize plunder."



The invading armies will be supernaturally destroyed by God "on the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:4). The Lord will accomplish this destruction through earthquakes, pestilence, hail storms, fire, brimstone, and battlefield confusion (Ezekiel 38:19-22).



The greatest mystery concerning this war is its timing. Most have placed it at the beginning of the Tribulation, but increasingly in recent years, the tendency has been to place it before the beginning of the Tribulation. One of the most important reasons for this conclusion is that Ezekiel 39:9 says the Jews will spend seven years burning the weapons captured in the war. But the book of Revelation says they will flee the land 3 and a half years into the Tribulation in order to escape the Antichrist.



(3) The Nuclear War of the Tribulation - Revelation 8 & 9

The Antichrist's conventional war will morph into a nuclear holocaust, resulting in the deaths of another one-third of Mankind. A hint that this war will be a nuclear one is to be found in Revelation 16:2 & 11 where we are told that "loathsome and malignant sores" will afflict people at the end of the Tribulation, something that would be a natural consequence of radiation poisoning.



 It could very well be that this nuclear war is what Jesus had in mind when He stated that in the end times men will faint from fear over the expectation of the things coming upon the world, "for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:26).



This war is portrayed in the book of Revelation in chapters 8 & 9 as a series of "Trumpet Judgments."



(5) The War in the Heavens - Revelation 12

The next end time war is totally different in nature from all the rest. It is a supernatural one that will occur in the heavens in the middle of the Tribulation. It is most likely prompted by an attempt of Satan to once again take the throne of God.



Satan and his angels are opposed in this war by Michael and his angels. Michael is an archangel who is pictured in the Hebrew Scriptures as the commander-in-chief of the armies of God (Daniel 10:13,21 and 12:1). Michael and his angels prevail in this war, and Satan is cast down to earth. His access to God's throne is cut off (Revelation 12:9-10).



When this happens, Satan realizes that his time is short because he knows Bible prophecy (Revelation 12:12). In his rage, Satan decides to destroy the Jewish people, and this decision leads to the next war.



(6) The War Against the Jews and the Saints - Revelation 12

When Satan is cast down to earth, he will possess the Antichrist (Revelation 13:2) and inspire him to annihilate all the Jews. This is the reason that Jesus referred to the last half of the Tribulation as "the great tribulation" (Matthew 24: 21) - not because this half will be worse than the first half, but because the wrath of Satan will be focused on the Jews.



Some of the Jews of Israel will flee to a place in the "wilderness" where they will be supernaturally protected by God (Revelation 12:13-14). Many believe this hiding place will be the ancient city of Petra, located inside a box canyon in modern Jordan There is good reason for this assumption because Daniel 11:41 says the Antichrist will be prevented from conquering Jordan.



But despite this supernatural protection of a remnant in Jordan, Zechariah 13:8 indicates that two-thirds of the Jewish people worldwide will be killed by the Antichrist during this time, and Revelation 12:17 says the Antichrist will also war against the "offspring" of Israel - namely, those "who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." This is a reference to all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the Tribulation, both Jews and Gentiles.



(7) The Middle East Campaign of the Antichrist - Daniel 11

Daniel 11:40-45 describes a military campaign of the Antichrist in the Middle East that occurs at the end of the Tribulation.



The verses and related verses in Revelation could very well indicate that when the Antichrist becomes insanely obsessed with destroying the Jews and the Saints, the nations of world will see an opportunity to rebel against him. The Antichrist responds by invading "the Beautiful Land" and subduing all the area except Jordan.



Just as the Antichrist seems to be completely victorious, he hears "rumors from the East and from the North" that deeply disturb him. He retreats with his armies to the area "between the seas" where "he will come to his end." The geographical description here of a location between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee corresponds to the Valley of Armageddon.



The rumors that frighten him are, in part, the news that "the kings from the East" (Revelation 16:12), who are bringing huge armies from Asia, have arrived at the Euphrates River and are ready to cross into Israel to challenge him. The rumors from the North could relate to a reconstituted rebellious army from Russia.



(8) The War of Armageddon - Joel 3, Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19

It appears that just as the armies from the East and the North start arriving in the Valley of Armageddon to challenge the Antichrist, the Lord breaks from the heavens, returns to the Mount of Olives, speaks a supernatural word, and all the armies are instantly destroyed (Zechariah 14).



In other words, there really is no such thing as the "Battle of Armageddon." The armies are assembled to do battle, but the Lord annihilates all of them in a microsecond "with the breath of His mouth" (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Joel 3:16 says the Lord will "roar from Zion" and "utter His voice from Jerusalem." Isaiah 10:16 says the result will be "a wasting disease." Zechariah 14:12 says it will be a plague that will cause the flesh of the soldiers "to Rot while they stand on their feet." Their eyes will melt in their sockets and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths. It will be like the explosion of a neutron bomb.



(9) The Second War of Gog & Magog - Revelation 20

Mercifully and joyfully, the "battle" of Armageddon will be followed by one thousand years of peace, as the reign of Jesus from Jerusalem results in the world being filled with righteousness and justice (Isaiah 11:4-5,9). But to produce this result, Jesus will have to rule with a "rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9 & Revelation 19:15).



Thus, when Satan is released at the end of the Lord's millennial reign (Revelation 20:7), the majority of those in the flesh will unite in one last rebellion against God that is pictured in Revelation 20:7-9. Led once again by Gog & Magog, this war is often confused with the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39. But the two are very different. The Ezekiel war picture Russia coming against the nation of Israel with certain specified allies. In Revelation 20 Russia is portrayed as leading all the nations of the world against Jesus Christ.



The rebellious nations will be destroyed by God with fire from heaven (Revelation 20:9)



The Abolition of War

The Second War of Gog & Magog will be the final war of history. Following it, God will take the Redeemed off this earth and place them in the New Jerusalem on the new earth.



This new world will inaugurate eternal peace. War will be gone forever, The hope of Mankind will not be achieved by diplomats. It will be a gift of God through Jesus Christ who died to redeem Mankind and all the cosmos.