The commander in chief of Ukraine’s army, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and Lt. Gen. Mykhailo Zabrodskyi warned there is a “direct threat” of Russia using nuclear weapons. “It is hard to imagine that even nuclear strikes will allow Russia to break Ukraine’s will to resist,” they wrote on September 7. “But the threat that will emerge for the whole of Europe cannot be ignored. The possibility of direct involvement of the world’s leading powers in a ‘limited’ nuclear conflict, bringing closer the prospect of World War iii, cannot be completely ruled out either.”

They are not the only ones warning of World War iii. In an interview with nbc News in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said World War iii “may have already started.” Headlines around the world are saying the same thing. In Britain, the Daily Express asked, “Is World War iii now a reality in Europe?” On March 15, the New York Times published a piece titled “This Is How World War III Begins.” In June, a Russian tv host said, “A real war has already begun—World War iii,” according to the New York Post.

Are they correct? Are we in the beginning stages of a conflict that will embroil the entire world? Is World War iii now reality?

The answer is, not yet.

Jesus Christ prophesied, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6). World War iii is impending. Christ said the worst suffering mankind has ever experienced is coming. It will get so awful that if it isn’t cut short, “not a single person will survive” (verse 22; New Living Translation).

The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in his final work, Mystery of the Ages:

The world’s number one concern today is the question of human survival! Science and technology have produced the weapons of mass destruction that could blast all human life off this Earth!

So many nations now possess nuclear weapons that one madman could ignite the nuclear World War iii that could erase all human life from this planet.

So how do we know Russia’s war on Ukraine is not the beginning of this prophesied cataclysm? How do we know this war won’t ignite World War iii?

Christ told us how World War iii would begin: “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh” (Luke 21:20). In Matthew 24, this event is called “the abomination of desolation.” Jerusalem is surrounded by armies—this sparks world war!

The book of Daniel reveals who provokes the clash. “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over” (Daniel 11:40). The king of the south is radical Islam, led and supported by Iran. (You can prove this identity for yourself by ordering your free copy of our booklet The King of the South.) The king of the north is a united Europe, led by Germany. These two powers trigger a worldwide conflict so dreadful that Christ has to come put an end to it. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry writes in Nuclear Armageddon Is ‘At the Door’: “It is childish folly to think anybody but Christ could stop this nuclear madness. … So all this nuclear insanity is also a part of the sign of the Second Coming and the sign of the end of the age when Christ will save humanity from totally exterminating itself!”

Russia will be a key player in World War iii. Revelation 16:12 speaks of “the kings of the east” joining this great war in the end time. Our booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia’ explains that Russia will be leading this group of nations. But it will not initiate the conflict. The war between Russia and Ukraine is very significant—we should watch how these events unfold. But it is not the start of World War iii. To learn more about the events in the end time, request Nuclear Armageddon Is ‘At the Door.’