For several years now there has been much talk and many rumors spread about a coming Third World War. Attached with these rumors are endless speculations as to the events which will trigger this global conflict, along with much pondering upon the key nations who might possibly be involved in this epic end time drama. For decades the geographical region known as the Middle East has been the central focus for students of Bible prophecy in their quest of pinpointing where exactly the final battle on earth will be fought. And this future and final war of Biblical proportions is none other than Armageddon. However, some hold that even though World War Three will be devastating, it will not be the end. For many Greek Orthodox prophecies concerning the end times relate that in the aftermath of the Third World War, a time of peace and prosperity will follow. This, however, is not to be mistaken for the millennial reign of Christ on earth as many Protestant denominations teach. For the thousand year reign of Christ on earth symbolically represents the time period between the first coming, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. But before Christ returns, and directly after the global war, the holy Fathers of the Church have predicted that the entire planet will experience a Renaissance.
According to what has been foretold, the majority of the fighting perpetrated during World War Three will not be executed by soldiers and infantry, but with missiles and rockets. It will be a computerized war operated from a central command in remote locations, and not by the traditional warfare of boots on the ground. Technology will play a huge role in the coming war. For by using high tech weaponry, more damage will be done and more human life will be lost. Now precision guided missiles can be launched from the security of an underground military base, and can easily reach targets located hundreds of miles away. So through the use of electrical engineering a global catastrophe will occur at lightning speed. It is estimated that within a period of just three days, over 500 million people will be killed. However, the Fathers also make it abundantly clear that as devastating as this carnage will be, the Lord will use the coming war as a means to purge the world of evil. For the wicked people in government who are guilty of crimes against humanity, will ultimately end up destroying themselves. And when all the fighting is over the good people who had previously suffered under the oppression of evil men, will suddenly find themselves liberated and set free from the bondage which they unjustly and painfully lived under for so very a long time.
Though many people will survive World War Three, the only factor in determining the survival of the human race will be due to divine intervention. For the prophecy tells us that at the peak of the war, an archangel will descend from heaven and stop the fighting. Miraculously the people will come to their senses, wondering why they were all fighting each other in the first place. Then a former Byzantine Emperor, who is also a Saint of the Church, will be risen from the dead and rule the world from Constantinople for a period of about 35 years. The entire earth will then experience an age of peace and prosperity. A true global spiritual Renaissance will follow the war, and God will provide all peoples from all around the world with an opportunity to hear and accept Orthodox Christianity before the coming of the Antichrist. Now all this may seem far-fetched to many, and some will comment on how foreign this sounds compared to what has been written down in the book of Revelation concerning the end times. However, many in the Greek Orthodox Church do believe that these things will indeed happen. Yet some of those in the Church, both priests and parishioners alike, don't believe these things will happen. Time will tell, but as events continue to unfold in our current state of affairs many people are interpreting these signs as warnings of a coming catastrophe. And these doomsday predictions are not only coming from Orthodox Christians, but from economists and secular humanitarians as well, not to mention all the various Protestant denominations who make the study of the end times their primary mission.
In closing I would like to offer some perspective on the claims made in this brief work and borrow the insight of a very wise and extremely holy man, which in the end could provide for us the best comprehension regarding this somewhat problematic ecclesiastical claim. In all honesty and fairness, we as Orthodox Christians do not know for certain if the prophecy concerning the resurrected Saint known as the "Sleeping King" is in fact the Gospel truth, or if it is simply a legend that has been passed down over the centuries from generation to generation. Yet several years before his repose, some Orthodox monastics had the opportunity to ask the holy Elder Ephraim of Arizona if the prophecies foretelling the global devastation of the Third World War and the Renaissance which is predicted to follow directly afterwards will truly happen. The holy Elder humbly and prudently answered that these events will happen. However, the Elder also discerningly added that if all of us as a people would repent of our sins, then God in His mercy would not allow World War Three to happen, or at least the Lord would grant an extension of time before the prophecy is finally fulfilled. So it is evident that we as human beings determine our destiny by the choices we make, and that our only hope of salvation comes through the personal repentance of our sins. Maybe if we turn from our evil ways now (while there is still time) and serve the Lord before a global war takes place then, God willing, humanity will inherit a Renaissance and not ruin.
References:
Valava, G.D. The Marble Emperor: Saint Ioannis Vatatzis. (Larissa, Greece: Koutoulas K. Nikolaos, 2008).
