World War 2 is often looked upon as the greatest and most terrible war in human history. In terms of the size of the armies involved, the sheer number of human casualties, and the expanse of territories battled for, no other event spanning a few years in human history measures up.

The armies on all sides numbered in the tens of millions. Fifty to sixty million soldiers and citizens were killed, which included the six million Jews lost to the Holocaust. The theaters of war included Europe from France to Moscow, North Africa, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, eastern China, Southeast Asia, and all of the islands of the western Pacific.

Even World War 1, “the war to end all wars,” lost that designation when World War 2 came along.

Mentioning the very name of Adolph Hitler conjures in the mind the terrible evils perpetrated by the German Nazi regime. His empire persecuted and executed whole populations.

Do an internet search of “Hitler” and “Antichrist” and see the articles and posts that come up comparing the two.

In Daniel Revisited, it is shown that Bible prophecy indicates seven historical empires in history attacked the Jews on a grand scale. These empires include Egypt, Babylon, and the Islamic realm. Yet, Nazi Germany is not among those empires, having perpetrated the greatest sins to the Jews, it could be argued.

So it might seem to some that World War 2 could be related in some way to the end times, but is it?

World War 2’s Place in Prophecy

As it turns out, I believe World War 2 has some relation to Bible end-time prophecy. After my research on Chronicles (that book touched on so many topics) I’ve come to the conclusion that World War 2 was a preview, a foreshadow, of the end times worldwide, everywhere.

World War 2 beset the entire world. No region was unaffected. So it will be during the Signposts and Great Tribulation. Every region of the world will be touched by the end times in one form or another.

When World War 2 is compared to the coming Signposts and Great Tribulation, both in terms of features and in terms of what happened in the three parts of the great city (the three parts of the earth), the parallel result is rather stunning.

Center Earth

This area of the earth/great city is Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The nations in this region fell away from the Gospel either in past centuries or will in the end times.

The end-time theme for this area of the world is a dictator ruling an empire, while attempting to both conquer as much additional territory and peoples as possible, and exterminate certain segments of the population within the empire. This will seemingly occur with the Antichrist, but it also already occurred with Hitler.

Nazi German leader Hitler speaking to his army. The world will likely witness such a scene as this again in the end times.

Hitler attempted to conquer as much territory as he could with the whole world as his goal. The Antichrist will attempt to conquer as much territory as possible with the world as his goal. Like Hitler, Antichrist will only conquer a part of the world, the center part.

Hitler attempted to exterminate all the Jews in his realm. The Antichrist will attempt to exterminate all Christians and Jews—all those who will not receive his mark.

Hitler made the Jews and Christians wear a mark. The Antichrist will do the opposite—he will put a mark on those who follow him.

The difference between WW2 and the end times is there will be no America or any other powerful, benevolent world power to rescue Europe and Africa from the grip of a megalomaniacal dictator. The end of the Antichrist and his realm will be at the hands of Jesus Christ himself.

East Earth

This area of the earth/great city is China, Russia, India, the Far East and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia. The end-time theme for this area of the world is a tyrannical power that is not out to exterminate God’s people per se, but will control this part of the world in order to get the natural resources necessary to feed its industries.

Imperial Japan went beyond its islands to conquer much of China, and Korea, as well as Southeast Asia. It threatened Russia and Australia. It took Indonesia’s oil. It took Manchuria’s coal and iron ore.

China will do the same kind of thing. It will conquer the remainder of the Far East. It will go after Indonesia’s and Russia’s oil. It will take Australia’s mineral wealth.

Worse, Japanese soldiers, with no exposure to Judeo-Christian culture, committed all kinds of atrocities against humanity. One of the most famous events along these lines was the massacre, looting, and rape of the people of Nanking (an excellent book was written about this as well).

With no strong influence from the United States or Europe, or any nation with a Judeo-Christian heritage, China will feel free to commit atrocities to various countries under its thumb.

West Earth

What about West Earth? Its theme, by and large, is the pursuit of wealth instead of relationship with Christ. As concluded in Chronicles, the Americas will be made poverty-stricken in the end times.

With World War 2 paralleling the end times in the Center and the East, we might have hint how some of that might take place in the West.

Oil, rubber, metals, and food were needed for the war effort in World War 2.

During World War 2, taxes were raised to around 90% for higher incomes. Wikipedia states the following items were rationed: “coffee, sugar, meat, cheese, butter, lard, margarine, canned foods, dried fruits, jam, gasoline, bicycles, fuel oil, clothing, silk or nylon stockings, shoes, and many other items.” “Automobiles and home appliances were no longer made.” In the USA and Canada, gasoline was rationed.

During the end times, many resources like these may also be available in only limited quantity to the people of the Americas, or much more expensive, though the reasons for the shortages may likely be different.

During World War 2, Latin American nations lost trade with European nations, causing great economic distress during those years. During the end times, economic downturns may very well occur again in the Americas.

Conclusion

Many more parallels between World War 2 and conditions around the world during the Signposts and Tribulation could likely be drawn.

It seems World War 2 can indeed be considered a preview or foreshadow of the end times, and more specifically, in each of the three major areas of the world.

Categories: America in the End Times, China in the End Times, Chronicles of the End Times, Europe in the End Times, USA in the End Times, World in the End Times

Tags: Antichrist, China, Germany, Hitler, Japan, World War II