Few modern people are seriously worried about the possible risk of war. It seems that the era of large-scale military battles involving several states at once is already in the past. But human nature has remained unchanged and the possibility of unleashing a war disastrous for the entire world still exists.
Dangerous US actions
The topic of global conflict again became popular in the press after American missiles killed Iranian General Soleimani on January 3 . This came as a shock to the entire Islamic world, and Iran openly promised to prepare a tough response.
The White House considers the assassination of General Soleimani forced. They insist that the operation was carried out “for the purpose of self-defense.”
Trump, who personally ordered the killing of the Iranian military leader, calls the killed man a dangerous enemy of the United States. It was Soleimani who organized the assassination attempts on American diplomats and military personnel. According to the Pentagon, the general was behind the riots at the US Embassy in Baghdad.
No one knows how far the Iranian authorities will decide to go in terms of revenge. The United States is a formidable adversary, and it is too dangerous to attack American bases directly. But leaving the murder of a prominent military leader unanswered would also be a sign of weakness.
Iran has already announced that it is withdrawing from its obligations under the nuclear deal, which limited the number of centrifuges in the country. In fact, this gives the Islamic country more opportunities to develop a nuclear program.
In this video, US President Donald Trump will tell you why America began these dangerous actions in Iran, which could cause a global conflict:
Iranian military advisers are threatening to strike American military targets. In the event of an attack by Iran, Trump promises an even tougher response and the use of the most modern weapons.
On the night of January 8, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on the US air base in Erbil in northern Iraq, where US troops are stationed. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility. The Ain al-Assad airbase suffered significant damage.
Donald Trump has so far responded by tweeting: “Everything is fine! Missiles were fired from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Casualties and damage are being assessed. So far, so good! Today we have the most powerful and well-equipped military in the world!” – the message says.
An open clash is not beneficial for either side . But there is still a risk that Iran will not calculate the strength of the retaliatory measures and the Americans will perceive them as a direct declaration of war. Then one of the largest conflicts could break out in the East, which would lead to millions of victims.
Who needs this?
There have always been two reasons for the outbreak of war: political and economic. For political reasons, a nuclear war could have happened in the 20th century, when there was a confrontation between the capitalist West and the communist USSR.
Then the political confrontation lost its relevance, but the economic one came first. The world's resources are not endless, but the greed of the world's oligarchs, on the contrary, knows no end. And the struggle for profit is taking on increasingly terrible forms.
But something else is possible.
Maybe someone is deliberately and consciously rocking our world. This is not necessarily done in order to destroy it. Perhaps balancing on the edge turns out to be the only way for humanity to avoid something more terrible than nuclear war. The existence of different countries in conditions of fierce competition stimulates scientific development and technological progress. The history of past centuries has clearly shown this. And maybe the powers that be decided to play this particular card.
A strange feature of our civilization is that all its achievements are based on wars. Long periods of peace have always led to stagnation and subsequent collapse. This is how all the great civilizations of antiquity perished.
Modern people do not want to repeat their fate and therefore create the image of an enemy without planning a real war.
When will World War III start?
Taking into account the latest US actions to eliminate Soleimani, a scenario is quite possible in which the Third World War will break out as early as 2021 .
The likelihood of tensions escalating to the point of no return largely depends on the actions of two heads of state: Trump and Khameni. The American president is known for his impulsiveness and decisiveness. The leader of Iran is almost 80 years old, so many have doubts that at that age a person is ready to make informed decisions.
It is encouraging that Iran did not immediately respond with military action for the death of a high-ranking general. Khameni is probably still not ready to start a dangerous war.
Will there be a Third World War?
Most political scientists believe that the likelihood of a new large-scale war is extremely low . The main factor that restrains the escalation of conflicts is the presence of nuclear weapons in a large number of countries.
Formally, the number of nuclear powers today includes no more than ten countries. But in reality their number is much higher for two reasons:
- Secret developments in some states. There are suggestions that Israel and Iran also have secret programs aimed at creating nuclear weapons;
- Deployment of NATO's nuclear arsenal on the territory of various countries. In case of emergency, the heads of these states will be tempted to use it.
According to military doctrines, most countries are committed to using nuclear capabilities only as a retaliatory measure. This is understandable, because using even a small part of the arsenal will lead to catastrophic consequences in which there will be no winner.
However, the First World War was also considered a war that should have served as a clear example for preventing new ones. But a large-scale conflict that claimed 18 million lives did not prevent the Second World War.
Predictions of the holy elders
Here are the predictions about the war in 2022 given by the holy elders who lived in Russia at different times:
- Archbishop Theophan of Poltava. A ruler erected by God will appear on Russian territory. He will be distinguished by his unbending faith, strong will and bright mind. This knowledge is revealed by God. All that remains is to wait for the fulfillment of the prophecy. Everything confirms his imminent arrival, unless our sinfulness leads to a change in what the Lord has promised.
- Archimandrite Seraphim. Everything is God’s will, and much in life depends on the actions of the Russian Church, on the strength of our people’s belief in divine justice, on the fervent prayer of the Orthodox.
- St. John of Kronstadt. Rus' will be reborn into a powerful and great power. She will go through all the torment in order to rise renewed, believing according to the old covenants in Christ and the Holy Trinity. It will follow unity, as the founder of Russian Christianity, Prince Vladimir, bequeathed. Because now the people have forgotten that Russia is under the protection of God. A Russian person should be grateful to God for being Russian.
- Seraphim Vyritsky. The world will lose stability when a strong state appears in the East. They will take it in quantity and because their people are very hardworking and don’t drink, unlike us. ...But there will be a time of discord and turmoil, when Russia will fall apart. It will be divided to be completely plundered. The Western world will participate in the plunder of Rus' and will lead to the fact that the eastern part of Russia will be under China. He will insidiously occupy the vast territory of Siberia all the way to the Urals. The Chinese will marry Russian women in order to gain a foothold on our land. And the Japanese will appear in the Far East. The Chinese will want to continue to conquer Russia, but the West will interfere with their plans. The territory of Russia will be the same as during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
- Grigory Rasputin. St. Petersburg is the place where the meeting of the three kings will take place. Europe will be well-fed. The last time will be filled with great signs and suffering. People will be plunged into darkness. But all attention will turn to the East, to Russia. Exactly, there are new prophets there. They will glorify the Lord who will appear in Russia...
- Jonah of Odessa. In a neighboring and friendly country for Russia there will be serious unrest, lasting 2 years, and then a long bloody war will begin. And after the war a great Russian ruler will appear.
Which countries will participate in World War III?
Several decades ago, the most likely scenario was the aggravation of relations between the USSR and the USA, followed by the transition of the Cold War into the present. With this development of events, it was assumed that both states would destroy each other with nuclear weapons.
possible participants in World War III come to the fore :
- Conflict between India and Pakistan . The problem is compounded by the fact that both countries have nuclear arsenals. At the same time, India has strong ties with Russia, acquiring modern weapons from it. The USA, which is engaged in military supplies to this Muslim country, is interested in the dominance of Pakistan;
- Worsening relations between Israel and a number of Arab states . Israel is actively supported by the United States, while the Arab world shows interest in Russian weapons;
- War between the USA and China . One of the less likely, but still possible scenarios. China has become one of the most developing countries in recent decades, and it is only a couple of steps away from superpower status. It has friendly relations with Russia, but disagreements periodically arise with the United States. The latest clear example is the “trade war”. Again, both states have a “last argument” in the form of nuclear missiles.
Opinion of Russian and Western experts
Russian and Western experts have already expressed their hypotheses regarding the coming 2022:
- Vladimir Pantin. Russian political scientist and candidate of chemical sciences, doctor of philosophical sciences Vladimir Pantin, in his work “The Crisis Era 2010-2020,” suggested that in 2022 Russia will face a turning point not only in economic, but also in socio-political development , the consequences of which are difficult to predict. Either it will lead to the formation of a completely new state, its revival, or to decline and degradation. As a result, a powerful country that has existed for centuries will split into several opposing camps. The scientist connects these events with “Kondratieff cycles,” that is, periodic cycles of decline and rise of modern economic systems. According to him, Russia is now in the fifth Kondratieff cycle, which has been going on since 1980. In any case, the expert believes that in 2022 the country will see a strong change in the ruling elite. However, it is impossible to say now whether these changes will be positive or not.
- Sergey Glazyev. A well-known Russian economist is inclined to believe that the United States is in every possible way pushing Russia towards collapse and political isolation. An example is the situation in Ukraine and the Maidan. It is not difficult to guess that friendly relations between the countries were destroyed not at all because of real contradictions. Even if changes in Ukraine had occurred as a result of legitimate elections, the chance for a pro-Russian candidate to make it to the presidency would have been minimal. The post of head of state would be filled by someone who would support US policy in every possible way. However, the result is ultimately the same - the formation of large military locations on the borders with the Russian Federation.
- George Friedman. It’s not just Russian experts who predict the Russian Federation’s imminent collapse. George Friedman, an American political scientist, is also sure of this. As an argument, he cites the destabilizing situation in the country regarding oil and gas prices. As you know, their value has dropped significantly. And now it is in a state of volatility. The political scientist also predicts the collapse of the European Union. But he cannot say exactly when these events will happen. The expert claims that in 2022 the balance of power among world leaders will be finally established. According to George Friedman, only Poland will emerge victorious from this whole situation, since it cooperates closely with the United States.
- Ilan Berman. Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council Ilan Berman is inclined to believe that Russia will have to face a massive influx of emigrants from Muslim countries. As a consequence, they seized power at all levels. Perhaps the politician said this in response to Vladimir Putin’s article in The New York Times regarding military actions in Syria. The Russian president spoke negatively about the use of force in Syria and called on countries to peacefully resolve the conflict. Our country has long been multinational and relations between representatives of some religions and nationalities have not always been calm, but there has never been open confrontation. Unlike racism in the United States of America or Europe.
Countries on the verge of global conflict
Several times humanity was on the verge of World War III:
- 1945 . As soon as the USSR emerged triumphant from the most terrible war, Churchill was seriously concerned about the future of England. After all, there were Soviet troops in some European countries. It was then that the British military developed Operation Unthinkable, aimed at imposing the conditions of England and the United States on important geopolitical issues on the USSR. Soviet spies transmitted information about the upcoming operation to Moscow, so Zhukov managed to regroup his troops to strengthen the defense. As a result, offensive plans turned out to be too risky and were curtailed;
- 1962 . Everyone knows the Cuban Missile Crisis. The United States almost carried out a military scenario of invading Cuba after intelligence reports that Soviet missiles were located there. Fortunately, the crisis was resolved through mutual concessions between the US and the USSR;
- 1983 . This time the world was on the brink of war due to the false alarm of the Soviet missile defense system. She warned that a ballistic missile had allegedly been launched in the United States. The Soviet military did not retaliate because other means of detecting the attack did not detect the launch of enemy missiles.
World War III is still only a hypothetical conflict . Despite the fact that humanity was close to realizing a terrifying scenario several times, each time the warring parties came to a consensus.
Antichrist
According to Biblical legends, the end of the world will come after the appearance of the Antichrist and the grandiose battle between him and Christ. Many modern predictors connect the Third World War and the appearance of the Antichrist.
Its appearance will be preceded by four formidable signs, two of which we are already observing. This is a decline in faith and a social and moral decline. People lose faith in God and deny his commandments, forget traditional family values, live in self-interest and deception.
The coming of the Antichrist will be accompanied by terrible natural disasters, such that the living will envy the dead.
Indeed, in recent years, nature has seemed to go crazy. Every year, more and more destructive hurricanes, floods, and fires hit the Earth. Volcanoes erupt and earthquakes occur. Many blame this on the actions of man, who disrupted the climate balance of the planet.
And at this terrible hour, a person endowed with power will appear who will declare himself the savior of humanity and will work miracles. But these miracles will be false. However, many recognize the power of the Antichrist, which will last three and a half years and end with his fall in the final battle.
Whether these prophecies relate to our days or not is a controversial issue. We live in difficult times, but even these may seem heavenly to those who come after us.
