Is the Book of Revelation about nuclear war? No, but radical Evangelicals are set to make it happen
A recent documentary shows how an increasingly powerful group is committed to bringing the world to an end — and trying to get away with it
When I was a child, during First Communion Catechism, the Book of Revelation was my favourite reading in the Bible. It had it all: scary monsters, super creeps, war, plague, catastrophes, and the Boss level with Jesus separating the wheat from the chaff. You can’t ask for more when you’re a kid.
It didn’t matter that John of Patmos’s visions didn’t fit at all with the rest of the New Testament, whose message was (mostly) of Love — unlike the Old Testament, chockful of genocide, murder, rape, and many other crimes against humanity. Amalek anyone?
There’s evidence that Revelation was “squeezed into the canon in the fourth century”. But people who enjoy it couldn’t care less about coherence, instead preferring to interpret what appear to be references to the preordained unfolding of historical events. One of these interpretations has been very popular ever since the spectre of nuclear annihilation reared its ugly head: what was revealed to John would be the fateful path towards global thermonuclear war. Can we take this seriously? We’ll soon see.
Two more things before we embark on this wild ride:
(1) “Apocalypse” means “Revelation” in Greek — what is uncovered, in this case the future of the world, with the Last Judgement and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
(2) It looks exceedingly unlikely that the John who wrote the violent Book of Revelation was the same John who wrote the most beautiful, poetic Gospel.
Now let’s go. Fasten your seat belts.
Apocalypse, how?
There is no shortage of passages in the book allowing for speculation about how the world will end — because make no mistake, John’s unhinged visions are about the end of the world.
Let’s take a look at some parts of the story that might offer grounds for the nuclear war interpretation. Spoiler alert: the good guys win in the end (I will quote from the King James Bible, a literary masterpiece).
Seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets
It all starts with John writing the letters he will send to seven churches (in modern day Turkey), telling everything he saw and heard in prophetic visions. And he has so much to tell. One of his first visions is the Throne of God, where seven seals are broken. From that moment on, things will go downhill for mankind — the first four seals release the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The seventh seal reveals seven trumpets. An angel hurls to the earth a golden censer full of fire, causing “peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake” (Revelation 8:5).
But this is nothing compared to what comes next. The seven trumpets are sounded in sequence, and this rather long passage (from 8:6 to 11:19) is precious to those who see in the book a prophecy about nuclear war.
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
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.
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Talk about shock and awe. Let’s pause for a moment to appreciate the richness and otherworldliness of these images:
A third part of whatever exists dies or is forever tainted
A mountain on fire and, immediately after, a star, fall from the sky
From a bottomless pit emerge crowned locusts with faces like men, lion teeth, scorpion tails, and other unpleasant characteristics — ordered not to kill, but to torment.
We also have the powerful passage that will indeed be true of the aftermath of a nuclear war (which doesn’t mean it predicts one): “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
It goes on.
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
No rest for the wicked
There is much more, of course, and if you want to read it in full, this online version of the King James Bible is a great resource. Now I’m going to give an overall picture of what happens next (Revelation 12:1-9).
A pregnant woman, dressed with the Sun, appears in the sky, followed by “a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads”. According to one interpretation, the woman would be Israel, her son about to be born would be Jesus, and the dragon, which was Satan, would try to devour the child — a reference to the temptation of Christ in the Gospels.
Satan fails miserably in his attempt, and a great battle takes place in Heaven. God’s army, led by St. Michael The Archangel (one of the most badass characters in the Bible), defeats Satan, who is cast onto earth. The lesson here is: Don’t mess with angels; they are brutal, merciless warriors.
After being thrown out of Heaven, Satan starts wreaking havoc on earth. A Beast rises from the sea, vividly depicted by John (13:1-2):
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
But wait, here comes another Beast, this time from the earth. He “had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon”. His supernatural powers led the clueless humans to worship him, receiving a mark that is perhaps the most famous number in history (13:18).
Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Many a heavy metal band was inspired by this passage. Give them hell, Bruce.
But God would have none of it. Seven bowls are given to angels who pour His wrath on the Earth. Plague, unbearable heat, water turning into blood, darkness, you name it. A great battle is coming — the Battle of Armageddon, which, to be honest, is a bit of an anticlimax. All armies on earth will gather to fight God, with predictable results. Actually, there’s no real fight at all. Remember this?
It was even easier.
Babylon’s burning
It’s not over though. The stage is now set for the judgement of the Whore of Babylon — not a particular woman, mind you, but a symbol of the old city associated with everything that is depraved. Sin City, if you will. She is represented as a lady mounted on yet another one of those foul creatures who populate John’s visions. Unsurprisingly, Babylon is found wanting, and is destroyed.
Things go well and good for one thousand years, until Satan is released and all hell (literally) is about to break loose again. Not this time though: he and his acolytes are thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is followed by the Last Judgement and the New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven. Jesus assures John that the consummation of the prophecy is near (22:10-13).
And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
But now you might ask, Where is the Antichrist? You know, Christ’s evil twin, who would lead all human armies in Armageddon. Where is he?
Well, the Antichrist is not mentioned in Revelation. Not even once. In fact, in the whole Bible the only explicit mentions appear in the First and Second Epistles of John (the Apostle).
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time (1 John 2:18).
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22).
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist (2 John 7).
It’s underwhelming, to be sure, but the advantage of being so sparse and vague is that it gives ample room for interpretation and speculation — from the exegetically sound to the absolutely bonkers. Many public figures, from Roman Emperors to American Presidents, have been accused throughout history of being the Big Bad One. Some, like Hitler or Kissinger, looked like the real deal, but it was an honest mistake after all.
As I said at the beginning of our journey, it was a wild ride. And we cannot but admire the richness, extravagance, and plain brutality of John’s visions. One is left wondering what was the source of such powerful imagery.
Let’s not forget that the Bible is overflowing with prophecies, especially in the Old Testament, that basically set the stage for John’s visions of the end times. He had some background, that’s for sure.
And now I’m in a position to offer an answer to the question in the title — and my answer is “No”. It is undeniable that many, if not most, of the torments described, be they physical or psychological, will be endured by the survivors of a nuclear war. It’s also true that they will desire to die, but death will elude them (as someone once said, the best place to be if the unthinkable happens is the epicentre of a nuclear blast; immediate death without a long time of suffering).
But this doesn’t mean that John “saw” a nuclear war — and had to resort to imagery to convey something he couldn’t understand. What it means is that, in any world-ending situation, horrific afflictions like those are highly likely to happen. Unfortunately, since the end of World War 2 we ourselves have become capable of putting the world to an end.
All this, of course, is a matter of interpretation, and the Bible is rich in symbols, allegories, and other stylistic devices that can veil as much as they reveal.
After so many centuries of Bible studies, it would appear that, as a matter of basic common sense, nobody would take the Book of Revelation literally and believe that there will really be a Battle of Armageddon as a prelude to the end of the world.
Right?
Well, I’ve got news for you.
The end is nigh, say 130 million Americans
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that almost 40% of Americans believe that we’re living “in the end times”. The survey was made when the pandemic was raging, and to be frank, we’ve seen the spread of apocalyptic beliefs before, from Antiquity to the Cold War.
As a personal note, I recall that in the early 80s, at the height of worldwide nuclear anxiety, I actually heard people claiming that American President Ronald Reagan might bear the number of the Beast. Why? Because each of his three names — Ronald, Wilson, Reagan — had six letters: 666, can you see?
Not fringe anymore
These beliefs used to be fringe phenomena (this article offers a detailed account, but it’s behind a paywall). The difference now is that, more and more, they’re taking hold of the mainstream. For many Evangelical Americans, the “return of the Jewish people” to Palestine was already a portent of what’s to come. This is the reason why they have always been unflinching in their support for Israel. And the current slaughter in Gaza is seen as evidence that Armageddon is near.
Radical Evangelicals are today a powerful group, with an increasing influence on American foreign policy. A recipe for disaster.
They believe that the Battle of Armageddon will take place in Israel, around the ruins of Megiddo, 35km from Haifa. Megiddo was an ancient city, and the word “Armageddon” comes from the Hebrew “Har Megiddo” (meaning “mountain of Megiddo”).
But fear not: according to many, the true believers will be sucked up to Heaven, in what is known as The Rapture. Yes, you read it right: all of a sudden, aeroplane pilots, surgeons, car drivers, soldiers, will disappear, leaving the unfaithful behind to suffer the calamitous consequences.
Left Behind, by the way, is the title of a bestseller book series, later adapted to cinema — with one of the films starring Nicolas Cage, clearly in need of a hefty paycheck.
O Nicolas, where art thou?
Don’t dismiss this social phenomenon as simple hilarious lunacy, because it’s very serious. A recent documentary called Praying for Armageddon should set off all the alarms. Directed and produced by Norwegian filmmaker Tonje Hessen Schei, the film dives deep into the world of the powerful Evangelical lobby and how it is leading American foreign policy in the Middle East towards a global cataclysm. American investigative journalist Lee Fang does a superb job.
This is not just a matter of believing in prophetic visions — it’s an attempt to make them true, whatever it takes, because you will not be the ones to suffer.
No, it didn’t start on October 7
Many events in the documentary happened during the major conflagration in 2021, when, after months of settler attacks in the West Bank, Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (the third holiest place in Islam) with stun grenades while people were praying. Hamas and Islamic Jihad retaliated with rockets, and Israel’s answer was a brutal and totally disproportionate attack on Gaza.
For those who, out of ignorance or pretended ignorance (most likely the latter), claim that “the conflict started on October 7 2023”, well, they are more than 70 years late.
The film gives the appropriate context to current events, emphasising the unholy alliance between Christian Zionists and the religious extremists in the Israeli government. I advise you to watch it in full. It’s revulsive, but also a treasure trove of information, showing what investigative journalism can do (remember?).
One key intervention in the first part is by Rabbi Arik Ascherman, from Torah of Justice, an Israeli human rights organisation. He defends Palestinians against widespread settler violence, and couldn’t be more emphatic:
“As a rabbi, as an Israeli, as a Jew, I believe the kinds of policies that the Christian fundamentalists, Christian Zionists, are advocating for endanger me, my family, my society. They increase the chance that we will continue to live here by the sword in perpetual warfare … It is inconceivable to me that God would want us to be treating other human beings this way and it is impossible from what I do know of Jesus that he would be in favour of oppressing other people.”
The second part is even scarier, showing the extent of Radical Evangelical infiltration into the American Armed Forces themselves. Chaplains and even high-ranking officers hammer down on recruits’ minds the idea that they will be fighting a Holy War. Things get really creepy when you see American weapons decorated with symbols from the Crusades.
Colonel Larry Wilkinson, former Chief of Staff to General Colin Powell, doesn’t hide his disgust and contempt for a powerful group, Christians United for Israel.
“Some of these Christian nationalists have zeroed in on some biblical prophecy that, if a certain criteria is met in terms of the chosen people of Jews controlling Jerusalem, there will be an Armageddon … The most vivid danger in all of this is the special relationship with Christians United for Israel … We are armed with the largest and most powerful military on Earth and thousands of nuclear weapons, and so, when you put the Armageddon Lobby together with American power, t's a different deal.”
John Hagee, founder and leader of Christians United for Israel, appears later in the film saying totally deranged things to his congregation (who, as expected, react ecstatically):
Are you listening, Iran? Are you listening, Russia? God's going to wipe you out!!!”
Let’s say it straight: these people don’t give a flying eff about anyone else. They’re evil — and already much more powerful than they should be.
Or, as the brave Palestinian writer, poet, and journalist Mohammed el-Kurd, interviewed for the documentary, put it,
“We decided we were going to call it what it is and start a campaign against the ethnic cleansing in Sheik Jarrah [in occupied East Jerusalem] … We are dealing with a fanatic regime, that is backed by Evangelical people who believe in that fanatic ideology of Zionism, in which they are willing to depopulate an entire country of its native inhabitants to bring on Jesus or Armageddon or whoever the f*ck they want to bring on.”
Mohammed and his sister, Muna el-Kurd, were the most visible faces of the resistance to settler violence, land grabbing, and home stealing in 2021. Gen Z leading the way.
Show me the money
Why don’t Amerian politicians at least try to rein in on something that is clearly detrimental not only to their own country, but to the whole world? They don’t look like religious fanatics — their fervour is mostly performative and opportunistic (like Trump himself; I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe any of it).
The answer is actually very simple.
There’s serious money in the game. In the video below, we have the CodePink grassroots organisation confronting American senators backed by AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) and other groups from the pro-Israel lobby, and saying in their faces that they’re traitors.
Track AIPAC is another organisation that exposes the power of the pro-Israel lobby, and how much money it spends. Their Twitter account denounces their recipients with gusto. They’re not there to spare kind words, as the following example shows:
Here are some of the top recipients from the lobby, according to data analysed by Open Secrets. As you can see, it crosses party lines.
Open Secrets is an independent research group that tracks the flow of money in American politics, with detailed accounts of how and where it is spent. And if you fancy some data analysis, all the information is available as .CSV files. Say what you will about the United States, but this kind of civic service is rare in other countries (I wish we had a vibrant civil society in Europe, but alas, this is not to be expected anytime soon).
Other well-known American politicians didn’t make it to the million-dollar mark yet, but you have to keep the faith.
And what about the two main contenders in the Presidential election? The numbers are below. Don’t forget that Biden’s amount is much larger than Trump’s because he was a Senator for more than 35 years, and ran for President three times (he didn’t pass the primaries in two of them).
Not that this is any excuse, of course, because Biden has always made it very clear that he is a staunch Zionist, mostly for what he believes are strategic interests of the United States.
Notice that lobbying is legal in the United States — nobody is committing any crime here. But this practice is and should be questioned, because of the obvious influence big money can have on policy issues that, contrary to what Biden and others maintain, are not in the best interests of the American people.
Same difference?
The main difference between the Evangelical and political camps is that the former is purely ideological, and hence uncompromising. The latter won’t push all the way towards a nuclear conflict: money makes the world go round, and you don’t want to break the wheel.
Until you do.
But we must not despair. Many people are working hard, and taking risks, to reverse the tide. As we have seen, there are human rights groups, activists, independent journalists, retired military officers, and they are even joined by former CIA analysts and highly influential conservative commentators.
When Pandora’s Box was opened and all evils were unleashed upon the world, Hope was the only thing kept inside. We have to open the lid and set it free.
That’s it. Before you leave, here is a song that is in tune with the gist of this article. Go, Billy.
“We all want to hold in the everlasting gaze
Enchanted in the rapture of his sentimental sway
But underneath the wheels lie the skulls of every cog
The fickle fascination of an everlasting god”