First Egypt and Syria start the cycle of war after the Abomination of Desolation by attacking Israel (and the Antichrist who just declared himself to be God in the rebuilt Temple).  The initial attack will occur exactly 30 days after the Abomination and exactly at the mid-point of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (see previous sections and the chapter on Israel for further explanations).  The initial Egyptian and Syrian battles with Israel probably take no more than a few weeks before the Antichrist’s armies begin to intervene—and then only a few more weeks or months for his forces to win.  So decisive will his victory be that the Bible says, “…he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over” (Dan. 11:40).  At this point, the Antichrist becomes aware of Russia and China threatening to intervene.  Most likely it will take some time for Russia to fully respond to these events, because of the sheer magnitude of the troops and equipment that will have to be mobilized.  Thus, after the Abomination occurs there has to pass at least a number of months and perhaps even up to a full year before the first two superpowers directly engage in battle.  Once Russia moves down through the Middle East and decides to attack Israel, however, everything changes.  Direct confrontation between Russia and the Western Alliance quickly moves from conventional weapons to nuclear destruction and affects the entire Western world.  When China and the Kings of the East also join the battle, nuclear weapons again are seen to decimate what is left of the world.

Huge fireballs as a result of nuclear explosions will consume cities and the ensuing firestorms will burn down the countryside of all major nations.  The poisons of radiation and contamination which follow these nuclear exchanges will further destroy the ecological balance of all life on Earth.  Amazingly, the effects of World War III and nuclear devastation are predicted with incredible clarity within the Bible.  ...