To be clear from the outset, Scripture does not speak of a “World War 3,” nor did it speak of World War 1 or World War 2. It does speak clearly though of the “Battle of Armageddon” in Revelation 16:14 & 16, “For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of THE WHOLE WORLD, to gather them to the BATTLE of that great day of God Almighty… And they gathered together to the place called in Hebrew, ARMAGEDDON.” To see more details about the “Battle of Armageddon,” see Revelation 17:14 and 19:11-21. This will surely be a “World War” but we can’t say with certainty that this will be the “3rd World War.” As I am typing out this answer there is a very significant WAR taking place in the Middle East which began when Israel and the United States attacked Iran. Since then, Iran has attacked many of its neighbors, and two of Iran’s terrorist partners (Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen) have joined the war by attacking Israel. It’s quite possible this war could expand to other countries too if Iran were to attack European nations. We also know that North Korea is supplying Iran with missiles and China and Russia may also be helping Iran. At some point, there may be enough countries involved to call this World War 3.

Yet this war is NOT the “Battle of Armageddon,” for that won’t take place until the Church is Raptured to heaven (see John 14:2-3 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and the 7-year Tribulation Period begins. The Tribulation will begin with a 7-year PEACE TREATY signed in Israel but in the middle of that period, which is referred to as a “week” (a “week of 7 years” …Daniel 9:27), the peace will be broken. The Apostle Paul alluded to this in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, “For when they say, “Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.” At that point in the Tribulation, events may quickly occur that lead up to the Battle of Armageddon. No doubt all the nations in the world that will be present at Armageddon will be sending troops and military assets to the Middel East, for it will take time for such a large gathering of nations to assemble in that region.

I will mention one more passage. In Matthew 24:6-8 we read, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Jesus spoke these words after being asked by His disciples, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age” (verse 3). He was speaking to JEWS who wondered when the “end of the Jewish Age” would be. The Rapture will close the end of the “Church Age” and then God will resume His dealings with Israel and as we saw above, that period will last 7 years, beginning with a PEACE TREATY. It will be a short-lived peace lasting 3 ½ years and during that time the signs Jesus spoke of in verses 6-8 will take place. There have always been “wars and rumors of wars…. famines, earthquakes, and pestilences” during the Church Age, but these will increase in intensity at that time. This is borne out by the words, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” The word “sorrows” is translated “birth pangs” in some translations, so just as a woman in labor has more frequent and intense pains leading up to the birth of a child, so those signs will increase as they lead up to the Battle of Armageddon. On a positive note, when a woman gives birth a time of blessing begins, and so will it be at Armageddon, for the Lord will subdue all His enemies and then His glorious Millennial Kingdom will take place (read Revelation 19:11-20:6).  (DO)  (723.5)