Chapter 10

Russia’s & China’s Military Capabilities

Contents

A) Russia’s nuclear weapons

B) Russia & China’s ability to neutralize America’s nuclear weapons

Primary Points

• The Scriptures indicate that Russia will be the source of the Antichrist’s nuclear weapons to destroy America.
• Just one of Russia’s new “Satan II” missiles has the destructive power to produce 500 Hiroshimas.
• Russia has enough nuclear warheads to hit every city in America with over 100,000 people, with 20 nuclear warheads each.
• The explosive power of the nuclear warheads carried by one Russian submarine is greater than all the bombs dropped in World War II combined.
• The estimated time for a traditional nuclear missile launched in northern Russia to cross over the North Pole and hit targets in America is 30 minutes. Hypersonic missiles will be able to land in America even faster. This is how America could be destroyed in one hour (Rev 18:10, 17, 19).
• Russia has developed a drone torpedo that can carry a 100 megaton nuclear warhead and cause a tsunami wave that would wipe out all life within 1,000 miles of a coastline.
• Biblical prophecy suggests that Russia is not destroyed by America’s military in retaliation for being attacked.
• These biblical predictions are being confirmed in the alarming advances in cyber warfare and EMP technologies made by Russia and China.
• In 2016 the head of Russian cyber warfare claimed they were “on the verge of having ‘something’ in the information arena” regarding nuclear weapons that will allow Russia to “dictate to Western partners from the position of power.”
• China has an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 personnel devoted to hacking America’s computer systems.
• It has been demonstrated that cyber-attacks can neutralize America’s use of its nuclear weapons, including those on submarines.
• Forbes business magazine recently reported: “China Has ‘First-Strike’ Capability to Melt U.S. Power Grid With Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon.”
• A recent report to the United States Congress concluded regarding modern EMP technology: “This poses a real threat of possibly being able to win a war with a single blow by means of an EMP attack… By attacking the technological Achilles heel of a nation like the United States, you could bring us to our knees and not even have to do battle with the Marines or the Navy or the Air Force, and win a war in 24 hours with a single blow–a combined EMP cyberattack.”
• Ancient Babylon’s walls gave it the greatest defenses in the ancient world, but Cyrus found an ingenious way to defeat them.

A) Russia’s nuclear weapons

A.1) Russia is “a nation from the north”

Where would the nuclear weapons that destroy Endtime Babylon come from? In our world today the most probable source would be Russia. It is estimated to have about 6,000 nuclear warheads, the largest number in the world. ^[1] This seems to be precisely what Scripture predicts. In Revelation 17 we are told it is the beast [Antichrist] and the ten horns, a 10-nation Endtime Coalition, which will hate Endtime Babylon and will burn it down with fire (vs. 16; cf. 18:8). In the previous book, The Beginning of Birth Pains it was demonstrated that one primary member of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition will be Magog or Russia (cf. chs. 4-6).

As noted there, the 10-nation Endtime Coalition will be among those present at the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Rev 16:14, 16; 17:14). Elsewhere, Ezekiel 38:1-6 identifies people groups that will be at Armageddon such as Magog, Rosh, and Gomer. All of these have been identified since ancient times as being located in modern Russia.

This seems to be confirmed in Scripture when it repeatedly describes Endtime Babylon being attacked from the far North. It is remarkable that these prophecies were never fulfilled by ancient Babylon because both the Persians and Greeks who defeated it came from the west of Babylon, not the North. ^[2]

In biblical times the North would have clearly referred to Russia in relation to Israel. ^[3] But it could also describe a modern nuclear attack on America from Russia. By far the shortest route for Russia’s nuclear missiles is over the North Pole to hit the United States. Therefore, we should notice that God says at least five times that the attack on Endtime Babylon will come from the North. Speaking of this attack Jeremiah predicted:

“Babylon will be … filled with terror. A nation from the north will attack her and lay waste her land.” (50:2-3 NIV)

“For I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north… They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.” (50:9 NIV)

“Look! An army is coming from the north; a great nation… They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy … to attack you, Daughter Babylon.” (50:41-42 NIV)

“For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her… for out of the north destroyers will attack her,” declares the LORD. (51:47-48 NIV)

Again, these prophecies were never fulfilled in ancient Babylon. Rather, they apply to the future destruction of Endtime Babylon. It seems obvious that God wants Endtime Babylon to know that its destroyer is going to attack it from the north. We notice again the mention of bows and arrows as among the weapons the army … from the north will be using. As noted in the previous chapter, this seems to be referring to the modern use of missiles (cf. ch. 9, sec. C.1). This is precisely what will happen if Russia’s nuclear missiles fly over the short cut the North Pole provides, to hit their targets in America.

A.2) Russia’s nuclear weapons

On April 20, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced a successful launch of Russia’s new RS-28 Sarmat Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. Putin had originally announced the existence of this new weapon in 2018. Following this most recent launch, he said:

This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security in the face of external threats, and provide food for thought to those who in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric try to threaten our country. ^[4]

Another news report states:

On Wednesday [4/20/22] the ICMB Sarmat was launched from Plesetsk in Northwest Russia and hit its intended target in the Kamchatka Peninsula almost 6,000 km [over 3,700 miles] away. As per Russian news reports, the missile will have at least five more launches in 2022 before being inducted into the Russian military… the first [Russian] Regiment fully armed with Sarmat ICBM will be operational by the end of 2022. ^[5]

Oddly, the Washington Post reported regarding Russia’s Sarmat ICBM: “The [U.S.] Pentagon said it was not a significant threat to the United States.” ^[6] But no Pentagon official was quoted as explaining why. Of course, Russia already has a multitude of nuclear warheads deployed and ready to launch. But this new missile, claimed to be deployed by the end of 2022, is certainly a grave threat to America.

This new RS-28 Sarmat missile has been nicknamed “Satan II” by NATO. It has the ability to carry 10 individual warheads. Each warhead is capable of being programmed to hit its own target and can yield a 750-kiloton blast. That is 50 times the destructive power of the 15-kiloton nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima Japan in WWII.

That one bomb “immediately killed an estimated 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.” ^[7] That one bomb essentially destroyed a city of about 250,000 people.

Therefore, just one warhead of a Russian Satan II nuclear missile has the destructive power to destroy 50 cities of 250,000 people like Hiroshima. More than that, just one Satan II missile carrying 10 warheads could produce 500 Hiroshimas. And again, the Satan II missiles are only a part of the estimated 6,000 warheads of various yields that Russia possesses. ^[8]

As one noted expert on the topic has written: “It is assumed that most cities in America with a population over 100,000 people are targeted by Russia.” ^[9] Those 6,000 warheads would enable Russia to hit every city in the U.S. with over 100,000 people, with almost 20 warheads each, that are multiple times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

It was argued earlier in Endtime Babylon (ch. 7) that New York City is the prophesied great city of Babylon (18:21) in the Endtimes. Therefore, the following should not surprise us:

In 2002 the U.S. Foreign Military Studies Office produced a study titled “Prototypes for Targeting America, a Soviet Military Assessment.” The study reports that New York City is the single most important target after military installations on the U.S. Atlantic coast.

In addition, a report commissioned in the 1980s by the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment is still as relevant today. It said Soviet nuclear war plans called for aiming two one-megaton nuclear warheads at each of the following: The three airports serving NYC; Wall Street; each major bridge; all major rail centers; all power stations; four NYC-area oil refineries; and the NYC port facilities.

Also, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in a recent report on nuclear-attack preparedness, featured a map showing an obliterated New York City from nuclear blasts and the resultant firestorms and fallout. It predicted millions of people would instantly perish, while most survivors would die shortly thereafter from radiation burns and exposure. ^[10]

Accordingly, it would seem the Bible predicts of New York City:

The international businessmen who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city!.. In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” (Rev 18:15-17)

It is not only the Russian land-based missiles that are a threat. The Russian Typhoon class submarine is the largest submarine in the world. It is equipped with 20 R-39 nuclear missiles that have a range of 6,000 miles. Each missile can carry a maximum of ten warheads. The explosive power of the nuclear warheads carried by one Russian submarine is greater than all the bombs dropped in World War II combined. ^[11]

Russia’s Borei class submarines are their newest nuclear attack vessels. They carry 16 RSM-56 Bulava missiles with six warheads on each missile. In 2013 when the Borei class Yury Dolgonsky submarine joined the Russian Navy, the Russian Deputy Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Twitter: “Tremble, bourgeoise! [rich people, like America]. You are done with!” ^[12]

In recent years Russia has been focused on a massive modernization of its nuclear weapons. This has prompted analysts to report that these upgrades have resulted in weapons that America will not be able to match for at least 20 years. ^[13]

It is clear that Russia’s nuclear weapons have the ability to accomplish what God predicted could happen to America:

The ten horns that you saw, and the beast will hate the Prostitute, and these will permanently remove all people from her and strip her naked and they will devour her body and will burn her down with fire… in one hour (Rev 17:16; 18:10).

Indeed, a Russian nuclear attack can happen very quickly. The estimated time for a traditional nuclear missile launched in northern Russia to cross over the North Pole and hit targets in America is 30 minutes. ^[14] Hypersonic missiles will be able to land in America even faster. Sea-based Russian submarine missiles launched from 100-300 miles off the coast of America would reach America in 6 minutes. ^[15]

This may be why God said three times in Revelation that Endtime Babylon would be destroyed in one hour (18:10, 17, 19). Accordingly, in Daniel we read of the Antichrist: When they feel secure, he will destroy many (8:25). Another version has He will destroy many without warning (NLT). “Official Soviet military writings, despite public disavowals of preemption, indicate that Soviet military doctrine stresses surprise attack and striking first.” ^[16]

Of course, China’s nuclear arsenal is much smaller than Russia’s. Still, China has the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, with an estimated 400 warheads. And China is producing nuclear weapons faster than any country in the world. Accordingly, it is believed that China could have more than 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030. ^[17]

The recent and public efforts that Russia and China have made to enhance and advertise their unity is noteworthy and unprecedented. A recent news report said:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the friendship between China and Russia is “rock solid.” He pointed specifically to a joint statement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, in which China and Russia described their relations as “entering a new era” with “no limits” to their countries’ cooperation with one another. ^[18]

It is becoming increasingly obvious that Russia and China are becoming allies against America. Recently, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov said the West’s sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine were drawing Russia and China closer together. ^[19]

Because of America’s support of Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Biden that “those who play with fire will perish by it.” ^[20] Why would the Premier of China say such a thing? Because he is regularly briefed on the military and even nuclear warfare capabilities of his country.

Russia especially acts like it is ready for nuclear war. It was recently reported:

Dmitry Medvedev, an outspoken former Russian President who is close to Vladimir Putin, has warned NATO that Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war. [He said] “The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war… Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends.” The Kremlin was quick to endorse Medvedev’s remarks, saying they were in full accordance with Moscow’s principles. ^[21]

Over 20 years ago, former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, an expert on the threat of nuclear war, said in a speech:

The most significant, clear, and present danger to the national security of the United States is the threat posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Nothing else comes close. The public perception of the threat is low; the reality of the threat is high. There is a dangerous gap between the threat and our response. ^[22]

More recently, the 2018 National Defense Strategy identified the Russian and Chinese militaries as “the central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security.” ^[23]

Perhaps Americans are waking up to the threat. As noted in the previous chapter, a recent poll claimed that 58 percent of respondents said they fear the United States is headed toward nuclear war with Russia (cf. ch. 9, sec. C.2).

Therefore, more Americans are catching up to the view of the “Doomsday Clock.” In BBP it was noted:

On January 24, 2023, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced its updated and famous “Doomsday Clock.” It is a countdown to nuclear warfare first developed by Albert Einstein and maintained by leading scientists and historians in the world. Because of Putin’s recent actions, the “Doomsday Clock” was advanced in January 2023 to 90 seconds to “midnight,” marking a nuclear apocalypse. ^[24] This is the closest the “Clock” has ever been set to “Doomsday” in its 76 year history.

Again, it is not unreasonable to claim the Bible predicts the nuclear destruction of America by Russia.

A.3) Nuclear flood-causing torpedo

In recent years Russia has developed a drone torpedo called the “Kanyon.” It can travel at about 115 miles per hour at a depth of 3,000 feet for 6,000 miles. It has been equipped with stealth technology to elude acoustic tracking devices and can be programmed to hit any target along America’s coasts. It is designed to carry a 100-megaton nuclear warhead. That would be approximately 6,666 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

It is claimed that a nuclear detonation of that size off the coast of an American city would cause a tsunami wave over 1,600 feet high. That is higher than the Empire State Building in New York City (1454 feet tall including its antenna). Can you imagine a wall of water hitting New York City that is higher than its tallest buildings? It has been estimated that such a wave would wipe out all life within 1,000 miles of a coastline. ^[25]

This may be one way that the following prophecy regarding Endtime Babylon is fulfilled: The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her (Jer 51:42 NIV).

B) Russia & China’s ability to neutralize America’s nuclear weapons

B.1) The biblical predictions of the neutralization of America’s offensive and defensive weapons capabilities

There is a very curious thing about the substance and sequence of Endtime events. It was demonstrated in The Beginning of Birth Pains (ch. 5), that Magog, including Russia, will fight Christ at the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Ezek 38:1-6). Therefore, it becomes clear that Russia is not destroyed by Endtime Babylon’s (America’s) military in retaliation for being attacked.

This is an ominous discovery. For decades, Americans have been greatly comforted by the belief that Russia would never attack us because then America would annihilate them. As one source puts it:

Nuclear weapons deterrence was developed in the Cold War primarily on the basis of what was called ‘mutually assured destruction’ (MAD). The idea behind MAD is that the horror and destruction from nuclear weapons is enough to deter aggressive action and war. ^[26]

But Scripture tells us “mutual destruction” is not what will happen. In fact, the Bible predicts the impotence of Endtime Babylon’s military in the face of the attack by the Antichrist and the 10-nation Endtime Coalition. Describing this attack, God says in Jeremiah:

“Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD. (50:30 NIV)

Don’t let the archers [of Babylon] put on their armor or draw their bows. Don’t spare even her best soldiers! Let her army be completely destroyed. They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians, slashed to death in her streets. (51:3-4 NLT)

Her mightiest warriors no longer fight. They stay in their barracks, their courage gone. They have become like women… All the escape routes are blocked… and the army is in a panic. (51:30, 32 NLT)

A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, their bows will be broken. (51:56 NIV)

What do these broken bows refer to? As noted previously, Endtime Babylon is described as being destroyed with arrows that will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed and that come out of the north (Jer 50:9, 48 NIV). In addition, there will be archers against Babylon … who draw the bow (v. 14). It was noted there that these arrows may refer to the nuclear missiles that Russia will fire over the North Pole to hit America. The prophesied bows may refer to what will launch those missiles. This may be another reason the Resurrected Antichrist is described at the beginning of Endtime events as one who held a bow (Rev 6:2 NIV).

Therefore, let us notice the difference between these two armies if they turn out to be America and Russia. In America, the archers will not draw their bows (Jer 51:3 NIV). In Russia there will be archers against Babylon … who draw the bow (v. 14 NIV). In other words Russia’s ability to launch nuclear missiles will be functional. America’s bows will be broken (51:56 NIV) and unable to launch a retaliatory strike against Russia.

It is not only predicted that Endtime Babylon’s offensive warfare capabilities will be neutralized. In addition, its defenses will somehow be broken as well. Earlier in EB you read about the immense Walls of Babylon, one of the “7 Wonders of the Ancient world” (ch. 6, sec. F). Accordingly, the Prophet Jeremiah said ancient Babylon makes her fortifications incredibly strong (51:53 NLT). Even God referred to Babylon’s thick wall … and her high gates (Jer 51:58 NIV). The city was virtually impregnable. Babylon’s walls, made of mud bricks, eventually collapsed over time and are practically non-existent today. But they were never breached in an attack. Which is why the following prophesies are still to be fulfilled in Endtime Babylon:

Shout war cries against her from every side. Look! She surrenders! Her walls have fallen. (Jer 50:15 NLT)

I will punish … Babylon… The wall of Babylon has fallen! (Jer 51:44 NLT)

This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground, and her massive gates will be burned.” (Jer 51:58 NLT)

Again, these prophecies have never been fulfilled in history. Therefore, it is predicted that Endtime Babylon’s offensive bows will be broken (Jer 51:56) and the defensive thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground (v. 58). It would seem both America’s offensive and defensive military capabilities are predicted to be neutralized. This is why Scripture predicts that America’s soldiers will be silenced in that day, the archers will not put on their armor or draw their bows, and its mightiest warriors will not fight, but will stay in their barracks, their courage gone (Jer 50:30; 51:3, 30 NIV).

B.2) Modern cyber warfare & biblical prophecy

The neutralization of Endtime Babylon’s offensive and defensive military capabilities seem to be clearly predicted. How could this relate to America? There is modern data that is confirming these very things. There are at least two ways that Russia and China have been working very hard to sabotage America’s nuclear forces and defenses: cyber warfare and electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) weapons.

Regarding cyber warfare, Time magazine reported in December of 2020:

The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Agency was hacked as part of a suspected Russian cyber-attack [which was] one of the biggest cybersecurity breaches in recent memory…

Hackers with ties to the Russian government are suspected to be behind a well-coordinated attack that took advantage of weaknesses [in the computer systems connected to U.S. nuclear weapons systems.]

“This is a patient, well-resourced, and focused adversary that has sustained long duration activity on victim networks,” the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a bulletin that signaled widening alarm over the breach. The hackers posed a “grave risk” [and] demonstrated “sophistication and complex tradecraft.” ^[27]

One expert commented on this cyber-attack: “It poses serious questions around securing America’s nuclear weapons from cyberattacks.” ^[28] This cyber-attack in 2020 was the biggest and most alarming because it directly targeted our nuclear weapons systems. However, there have been many other large scale and alarming Russian cyber-attacks:

In April 2015, CNN reported that “Russian hackers” had “penetrated sensitive parts of the White House” computers in “recent months.” It was said that the FBI, the Secret Service, and other U.S. intelligence agencies categorized the attacks as “among the most sophisticated attacks ever launched against U.S. government systems.”

In 2015, CNN reported that Russian hackers, likely working for the Russian government, are suspected in a State Department hack. Federal law enforcement, intelligence and congressional officials briefed on the investigation say the hack of the State Department email system is the “worst ever” cyberattack intrusion against a federal agency.

In February 2016, senior Kremlin advisor and top Russian cyber official Andrey Krutskikh told the Russian national security conference in Moscow that Russia was working on new strategies for the “information arena” that was equivalent to testing a nuclear bomb and would “allow us to talk to the Americans as equals.” ^[29]

Another source tells us more about what this head of Russian cyber warfare said:

According to notes of Krutskikh’s speech, he told his Russian audience: “You think we are living in 2016. No, we are living in 1948. And do you know why? Because in 1949, the Soviet Union had its first atomic bomb test. And up until that moment, the Soviet Union was trying to reach agreement with [President Harry] Truman to ban nuclear weapons. But the Americans were not taking us seriously. But in 1949 everything changed, and they started talking to us on an equal footing.”

Krutskikh continued, “I’m warning you: We are on the verge of having ‘something’ in the information arena, which will allow us to talk to the Americans as equals.”

Putin’s cyber adviser stressed to the Moscow audience the importance for Russia of having a strong hand in this new domain. If Russia is weak, he explained, “it must behave hypocritically and search for compromises. But once it becomes strong, it will dictate to the Western partners [the United States and its allies] from the position of power.” ^[30]

Therefore, in 2016 the head of Russian cyber warfare claimed they were “on the verge of having ‘something’ in the information arena” regarding America’s weapons that will allow Russia to “dictate to Western partners from the position of power.” In other words, he was claiming that advances in Russian cyber warfare would neutralize America’s nuclear forces. Have the Russians already accomplished what they said they were “on the verge of” in 2016?

Experts on the topic are so confident they can, that they are warning the U. S. must negotiate nuclear disarmament with Russia now before they are able to neutralize our nuclear weapons completely. One group of experts comes from The Nuclear Threat Initiative which is “a nonprofit global security organization focused on reducing nuclear and biological threats imperiling humanity.” In 2018 they issued a detailed report entitled: “Understanding the Cyber Threat to Nuclear Weapons and Related Systems.” In it they concluded:

Nuclear weapons systems are likely to remain vulnerable to cyber threats regardless of what cybersecurity improvements are made in the future, so much so that changes in nuclear posture [i.e. negotiations] are necessary to compensate for risks introduced by the cyber threat…

Given the level of digitization of U.S. systems and the pace of the evolving cyber threat, one cannot assume that systems with digital components—including nuclear weapons systems—are not or will not be compromised. Among the reasons: nuclear weapons and delivery systems are periodically upgraded, which may include the incorporation of new digital systems or components. Malware could be introduced into digital systems during fabrication, much of which is not performed in secure foundries.

In addition, there are a range of external dependencies, such as connections to the electric grid, which are outside the control of defense officials but directly affect nuclear systems. ^[31]

The dependence of nuclear command and control systems on electrical power is one more vulnerability that the Russians are researching:

In 2018, the United States Computer Emergency Response Team released an alert warning that the Russian government was executing “a multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors who targeted small commercial facilities’ networks where they staged malware, and gained remote access into energy sector networks.” The hacks targeted at least a dozen U.S. power plants. ^[32]

Perhaps in response, the U.S. launched its own cyber-attack on Russia’s electrical power grid:

In 2019, the New York Times reported that hackers from the United States Cyber Command planted malware potentially capable of disrupting the Russian electrical grid. According to Wired senior writer Andy Greenberg, “The Kremlin warned that the intrusions could escalate into a cyberwar between the two countries.” ^[33]

It already has:

In February 2021, a report by Dragos stated that Sandworm, a cyber military unit in Russia, has been targeting U.S. electric utilities, oil and gas, and other industrial firms since at least 2017 and were successful in breaching these firms a “handful” of times. ^[34]

But the Russians may not be the greatest cyber-attack threat:

Foreign Policy magazine estimated the size of China’s “hacker army” personnel was anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 individuals.

The United States of America has accused China of cyberwarfare attacks that targeted the networks of important American military, commercial, research, and industrial organizations. A Congressional advisory group has declared China “the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies” and “there has been a marked increase in cyber intrusions originating in China and targeting U.S. government and defense-related computer systems.” ^[35]

We know that cyber-attacks can stop missiles from working. One report states:

The Obama administration spent years ramping up its cyber sabotage, with suggestions that it was responsible for an 88% failure rate of mid-range missile tests in North Korea. ^[36]

Our own nuclear weapons systems have demonstrated they are vulnerable:

In the mid-1990s, the Pentagon uncovered an astonishing firewall breach that could have allowed outside hackers to gain control over the key naval radio transmitter in Maine used to send launching orders to ballistic missile submarines patrolling the Atlantic. ^[37]

Such a tactic could neutralize the use of nuclear weapons carried by American submarines. In another case occurring in 2010:

For three-quarters of an hour on a Saturday morning, launch control officers at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming couldn’t reliably communicate or monitor the status of 50 Minuteman III nuclear missiles. Gulp… the outage is considered serious enough that the very highest rungs on the chain of command — including the President — are being briefed on the incident today.

A defense official said that power failure led to a loss of communication between a control center and the missiles. It was a “significant disruption of service,” an Air Force official familiar with the incident tells Danger Room. But not unprecedented: “Something similar happened before at other missile fields.” ^[38]

B.3) Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) weapons & biblical prophecy

Cyber warfare is not the only way that Russia and China could disable America’s nuclear weapons. We read:

In order to address the potential EMP [electro-magnetic pulse] threat, in 2000, Congress created the EMP Threat Commission. In its final report it acknowledged that an EMP attack against the United States would disable “all systems that depend on electricity and electronics from medical instruments to military communications.” ^[39]

Another source explains: “EMPs are rapid, invisible bursts of electromagnetic energy. They occur in nature, most frequently during lightning strikes, and can disrupt or destroy nearby electronics.” ^[40]

An article in the Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin had this to say about the threat of EMP weapons:

While testing hydrogen bombs in outer space [in the 1960’s], hundreds of miles above the planet, American and Soviet scientists discovered that each atomic blast created a pulse of electromagnetic energy similar to conventional radio-made microwaves, but with energy so great that they erased magnetic memories and melted the microscopic junctions in transistors on the Earth below. These were veritable tidal waves of energy, sufficient to cripple sensitive microelectronics but too weak to be seen, heard, or felt by human beings…

According to a declassified U.S. military report, the explosion of a bomb about one megaton in size (the exact size remains classified) eight hundred miles over Omaha, Nebraska, would shower the continental United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico with an EMP capable of disabling virtually every computerized circuit in its path.

Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, succinctly described the damaging consequences of such an EMP attack in 1982, when he wrote in an obscure engineering journal:

Today there is almost universal dependence on electronic computers. They are used by first-graders as well as research engineers. Industry, communications, financial records, are all at stake here. In the event of heavy EMP radiation, it would be difficult to list the electronic devices that would continue to function…

The U.S. Defense Technology Plan confirms that development of advanced EMP weapons continues to this day, and not just by the Americans… This knowledge has set off a new arms race. Whether fitted into cruise missiles or parked at the side of the road in a van, non-nuclear EMP weapons have the potential to devastate the electronic systems of areas as large as a city or as small as a selected building, all without being seen, heard, or felt by a single soul.

Sound far-fetched? It did not in 1993 to the owners of automobiles parked about 300 meters from a U.S. defense contractor’s EMP generator test site at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Their alternators and electronic engine controls were accidentally and permanently fried by a pulse during classified field trials. ^[41]

Of course, such knowledge has prompted efforts to protect America’s infrastructure and military equipment. But it would seem those efforts have been ineffective. As recent as June of 2020, Forbes business magazine published an article entitled: “China Has ‘First-Strike’ Capability To Melt U.S. Power Grid With Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon.” The article was derived from a U. S. Congressional hearing and reports the following:

Last week, the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security issued a scary report on China’s ability to conduct an Electromagnetic Pulse attack on the United States. The key takeaway, according to Dr. Peter Pry, executive director of the task force, is that China now has super-EMP weapons, knows how to protect itself against an EMP attack, and has developed protocols to conduct a first-strike attack, even as they deny they would ever do so.

According to the Center for Strategic International Studies, China has the most active ballistic missile development program in the world, so this is doubly troubling. China used stolen U.S. technology to develop at least three types of high-tech weapons to attack the electric grid and key technologies that could cause a surprise “Pearl Harbor” attack that could produce a deadly blackout to the entire country.

Dr. Pry outlines how China has built a network of satellites, high-speed missiles, and super-electromagnetic pulse weapons that could [permanently] melt down our electric grid, [permanently] fry critical communications, and even [permanently] takeout the ability of our aircraft carrier groups to respond.

EMPs are one of those things that many people think is fake, or over-blown, or a conspiracy theorist’s dream. But they are real… If they are coordinated with physical attacks then things can get very bad, real fast…

The phenomenon of a large electromagnetic pulse is not new. The first human-caused EMP occurred in 1962 when the 1.4 megaton Starfish Prime thermonuclear weapon detonated 400 km [250 miles] above the Pacific Ocean. One hundred times bigger than what we dropped on Hiroshima; Starfish Prime resulted in an EMP which caused [permanent] electrical damage nearly 900 miles away in Hawaii…

Even more troubling, Dr. Pry found that China is eager to shoot first with “high-altitude electromagnetic pulse,” or HEMP, weapons launched from satellites, ships, and land.

“China’s military doctrine—including numerous examples presented here of using HEMP attack to win on the battlefield, defeat U.S. aircraft carriers, and achieve against the U.S. homeland a surprise ‘Pearl Harbor’ writ large—is replete with technical and operational planning consistent with a nuclear first-strike,” said Pry in his report.

Needless to say, we are not prepared for this. China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are moving to build and deploy systems which can launch a nuclear weapon into the atmosphere to explode and disable electronics below, including flying aircraft.

Pry concluded in his remarks to Congress: “This poses a real threat of possibly being able to win a war with a single blow by means of an EMP attack. This is regarded by Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran as potentially the most decisive military revolution in history. By attacking the technological Achilles heel of a nation like the United States, you could bring us to our knees and not even have to do battle with the Marines or the Navy or the Air Force, and win a war in 24 hours with a single blow–a combined EMP cyberattack.” ^[42]

These reports are in regard to non-nuclear EMP devices. But nuclear weapons themselves have a very powerful EMP affect. One source reports:

There’s a lesser-known consequence of a nuclear explosion that can drastically expand its damage zone: an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP.

Nuclear EMPs — if a detonation is large enough and high enough — can cover an entire continent and [permanently] cripple tiny circuits inside modern electronics on a massive scale, according to U. S. government reports.

The power grid, phone and internet lines, and other infrastructure that uses metal may also be prone to the effects, which resemble those of a devastating geomagnetic storm… Radios, computers, anything that uses electrical transmission to power itself, will be effectively neutralized by a nuclear bomb’s EMP… It happens within a fraction of a microsecond, and the surge of energy can overload or “shock” sensitive electronic devices — especially the kinds we heavily rely on today…

A 2008 report by the EMP Commission suggests that the right nuclear device detonated at the right altitude could bathe the entire continental U. S. in EMP, disrupting telecommunications and power grid infrastructure with a “catastrophic”” effect. ^[43]

The Bible predicts of Endtime Babylon: The light of a lamp will never shine in you again (Rev 17:23). Of course, this could be caused by being destroyed by nuclear weapons. But perhaps this is a reference to EMP weapons completely destroying all electrical devices in America. Including its ability to track and warn of incoming nuclear missiles, shoot them down, and launch its own in retaliation.

It was noted above that the following are unfulfilled prophecies about Endtime Babylon: its offensive bows will be broken (Jer 51:56) and the defensive thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground (v. 58). Modern cyber warfare and EMP weapons developed by Russia and China certainly seem to be a way that these unfulfilled prophecies concerning Endtime Babylon could be fulfilled in the future of America.

B.4) A proposed plan of attack that fulfills biblical prophecy

Do you see a plan of attack developing here? As noted above, Russia and China are becoming increasingly united in their hostility and military build-up against America. As explained in BBP, (chs. 4-6), both are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that is a prime candidate to become the 10-nation Endtime Coalition that will unite with the Antichrist to destroy Endtime Babylon (cf. Rev 17:16). China does not have near the nuclear weapons of Russia. But China has the most advanced EMP weapons in the world.

Therefore, all the Bible predicts about Endtime Babylon’s (America’s) destruction could be fulfilled in the following way. First, cyber warfare and EMP attacks from Russia and China could disable America’s electrical power grid and nuclear strike capabilities. It would also shut down all radar systems that would detect incoming nuclear missiles. Such surprise tactics would render America’s military completely blind and defenseless. Officials have warned, and examples have demonstrated, that without electrical power, America’s military command and control operations would fail.

This would include communications to American submarines that carry nuclear weapons. Without the ability to communicate to command structures, submarine commanders would have no idea what has happened and remain “in the dark” long after the U.S. has been completely destroyed.

Second, after the electrical and communications blackout of America’s weapons systems, Russia could launch a devastating attack on virtually every military facility and city in America. Literally, in less than one hour, America would be burned down with fire (Rev 18:8, 10; cf. 17:16).

Third, to reduce the effects of radiation, smoke, and a “nuclear winter” for the Remaining World, Russia’s under water drone torpedoes with 100 megaton nuclear warheads could be deployed. Their detonation and resulting 1,600 foot high tsunami waves would cover much of America with sea water, extinguishing the nuclear fires. Eventually, these waters would recede and leave (Endtime Babylon) America the uninhabitable wasteland it is predicted to be.

B.5) The example of ancient Babylon being defeated without a fight

What happened to ancient Babylon is instructive for Endtime Babylon. In 539 B.C. the Persian king Cyrus attacked ancient Babylon. His troops surrounded the ancient city for a considerable amount of time. But Babylon’s inhabitants were not alarmed as they believed their famous walls would protect them. In fact, the Prophet Daniel records the following events in Babylon even at the time the Persians had surrounded the city:

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them… As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale, and he was so frightened that his legs became weak, and his knees were knocking. (5:1, 5-6 NIV)

Daniel is brought to the king to interpret the vision and says:

“You, Belshazzar … have not humbled yourself… You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone… But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways…” That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. (5:22-23, 30-31 NIV) ^[44]

Again, Babylon’s king held a great party during Cyrus’ siege because he was not at all concerned that Cyrus could breach Babylon’s walls. Instead, they were praising the power of the wealth they possessed. It could be argued that Americans are acting the same today. We too worship our gods of gold and silver. Most cannot conceive of an America whose offensive and defensive military power is completely neutralized before it is completely annihilated in a nuclear attack. Like the Babylonians, Americans just continue to party.

So how did Cyrus invade the city of Babylon without even having to fight? The Euphrates River flowed into the city by going under a portion of the great wall. In one night, Cyrus’ soldiers were able to divert the flow of the river, so it was significantly lowered. Then, the Persians were able to simply enter the city on the riverbed by going under the wall. Ingenious. Unexpected. And the tactic effectively neutralized the greatest defensive system in the ancient world. ^[45]

The Bible may be predicting something similar will happen to America. Jeremiah even predicts the same kind of “party” atmosphere in the U.S. when it is destroyed. God says of Endtime Babylon:

“While they lie inflamed with all their wine, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter— then sleep forever and not awake,” declares the LORD. “I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter… How desolate Babylon will be among the nations! (Jer 51:39-41 NLT, NIV)

Daniel warned of the Antichrist, When they feel secure, he will destroy many (8:25 NIV). That’s America. We feel secure against Russia’s nuclear weapons. But in spite of the fact that we feel secure, Antichrist will have a way to destroy many, really all, in America. In one day a sudden and severe disaster will strike her hard… She will be burned down with fire (Rev 18:8).

What is predicted to happen in that one day? A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken (Jer 51:56 NIV) and it walls … will be leveled to the ground (v. 58 NIV). America’s ability to defend itself and retaliate from a nuclear attack may be neutralized. At some point it would seem that Russia and China will know they have this capability.

It is tempting to monitor Russia and China regarding their military capabilities and hostility toward America in order to get some idea of when they might strike. But neither of these is the ultimate reason their attack will come. Such an attack will come because this is what God wants.

Ultimately, it is He who will decide when it happens. Scripture predicts it will be God Who will put a desire in the hearts of the ten kings to join the beast and commence their attack on the Prostitute to permanently remove all people from her and strip her naked and … devour her body and … burn her down with fire in order to accomplish His purpose … until God’s prophecies for the Prostitute are fulfilled (Rev 17:16-17).

 

1. “Status of World Nuclear Forces – Federation of American Scientists”. ↑

2. Thomas agrees and remarks, “The reference [to an army from the North] is hardly to the Persians who came from the west. For Babylon it meant the destruction and desertion of the city by man and beast. This did not happen when Cyrus took the city. (733) ↑

3. Tracy explains:

   It may come as a surprise to some of you to know that Moscow is directly north of Palestine. When the Scriptures give us compass references (east, west, north, south), we must be properly oriented before they can convey their meaning to us. The point of orientation is the Holy Land. The king of the south, reckoning from Palestine, is Egypt; likewise, the king of the north would have reference to the confederacy of nations surrounding and north of the Black Sea [Russia]. (loc. 716-720) ↑

4. Washington Post online at; https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/20/satan-2-icbm ↑

5. The Indian Express online at; https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-russia-ukraine-war-nuclear-missile-sarmat-7880021 ↑

6. Ibid. ↑

7. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#:~:text=However%2C%20it’s%20estimated%20roughly%2070%2C000,term%20side%20effects%20of%20radiation. The site goes on to state:

   Because of the extent of the devastation and chaos—including the fact that much of the two cities’ infrastructure was wiped out—exact death tolls from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain unknown. However, it’s estimated roughly 70,000 to 135,000 people died in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people died in Nagasaki, both from acute exposure to the blasts and from long-term side effects of radiation. 

   Again, that was from just one relatively very small nuclear weapon. ↑

8. https://thebulletin.org/premium/2022-02/nuclear-notebook-how-many-nuclear-weapons-does-russia-have-in-2022 ↑

9. Helen Caldicott, The New Nuclear Danger (New Press, 2004, Kindle ed.), 7. ↑

10. Jon E. Dougherty, “McNamara: Nuclear War Still Possible; NY No. 1 Target,” (2004); online at NewsMax.com. ↑

11. Richard N. Rhoades, The Babylon Code: Is AMERICA in Prophecy? (iUniverse, 2015, Kindle ed.), loc. 4154-4157.

    ↑

12. http://www.rt.com/news/yury-dolgoruky-submarine-ceremony-678/ ↑

13. Washington Times, “Putin’s power play: Russia builds up Missile systems, seeks to limit U.S. defenses;” online at http:// http://www.washingtontimes.com/ news/ 2013/ may/ 16/ putins-power-play-russia-building-missile-systems. ↑

14. “If launched from Russia, nuclear weapons would explode over American cities thirty minutes after takeoff,” Caldicott, 7. ↑

15. Rhoades, loc. 3982. ↑

16. Ibid., locs 3982-4011. ↑

17. https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/china-nuclear-weapons-taiwan-b2138074.html. ↑

18. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/09/china-watches-as-ukraine-war-makes-us-eu-and-japan-show-unity.html ↑

19. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-russia-officials-meet-show-unity-eu-us-76623335 ↑

20. Reuters, August 2nd, 2022. ↑

21. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/19/medvedev-warns-of-nuclear-war-if-russia-defeated-in-ukraine ↑

22. Rhoades, loc. 4343. ↑

23. https://sgp.fas.org/crs/nuke/R45861.pdf ↑

24. https://thebulletin.org/2023/01/press-release-doomsday-clock-set-at-90-seconds-to-midnight/ ↑

25. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34797252 and

    https://news.usni.org/2015/12/04/russian-mystery-submarine-likely-deployment-vehicle-for-new-nuclear-torpedo ↑

26. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/12/how-deter-cyberattacks-nuclear-weapons-systems ↑

27. https://time.com/5922897/us-nuclear-weapons-energy-hacked/ ↑

28. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/12/how-deter-cyberattacks-nuclear-weapons-systems ↑

29. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberattack ↑

30. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/01/18/russias-radical-new-strategy-for-information-warfare/ ↑

31. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep19983.6.pdf ↑

32. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberattack ↑

33. Ibid. ↑

34. Ibid. ↑

35. Ibid. ↑

36. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/us-cyber-war-against-north-korea ↑

37. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/opinion/why-our-nuclear-weapons-can-be-hacked.html ↑

38. https://www.wired.com/2010/10/communications-dropped-to-50-nuke-missiles-in-icbm-snafu/ ↑

39. Frank J. Gaffney & Colleagues, War Footing: 10 Steps America Must Take to Prevail in The War for The Free world, (Naval Institute Press, 2006), 102. ↑

40. https://www.businessinsider.com/nukes-electromagnetic-pulse-electronics-2017 ↑

41. Major Scott W. Merkle, “Non-Nuclear EMP: Automating the Military May Prove a Real Threat” online at https://irp.fas.org/agency/army/mipb/1997-1/merkle.htm ↑

42. https://www.wionews.com/world/expert-warns-of-impending-doomsday-says-us-vulnerable-to-chinas-electromagnetic-pulse-attack-432136 and

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2020/06/25/china-develops-first-strike-capability-with-electromagnetic-pulse/?sh=42b2e6dbe190 ↑

43. https://www.businessinsider.com/nukes-electromagnetic-pulse-electronics-2017. For updated information on the threat of cyber warfare and EMP weapons from Russia and China, see online at: https://emptaskforce.us/ ↑

44. There is a problem in the historical account of Daniel 5. History tells us that Cyrus attacked and defeated Babylon, but Dan 5:30 says Darius took over after the defeat. As Wiersbe notes:

    Many students believe that Darius was Gubaru, an important officer in the army whom Cyrus made ruler of the province of Babylon. Darius the Mede must not be confused with Darius I, who ruled from 522 to 486 and encouraged the Jewish remnant in the restoration of the temple (Ezra 5–6).

    Some scholars think that “Darius” was the title of the Persian ruler just as “Pharaoh” was the title of the Egyptian ruler. This would mean that “Darius the Mede” could have been Cyrus himself. (cf. Walvoord, 133-4.) ↑

45. For Herodotus’ account of the defeat of Babylon, see Walvoord, Dan, 129. ↑