World on Fire—Number of Regional Conflicts Soars

The number of regional conflicts across the globe will reach at least 183 in 2023, a 30-year high, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported in its annual Armed Conflict Survey on December 6.

The number of victims increased by 14 percent over last year, and violence cases surged by 28 percent.

Conflict everywhere: The wars in Gaza and Ukraine are only the most prominent in a world full of conflict. Major regional conflicts are also raging in Africa, Eurasia and Latin America. Clashes between various Iran-backed groups and Western powers throughout the entire Middle East threaten to tear the region apart.

In Eurasia, many conflicts are driven by territorial disputes: Azerbaijan captured the territory Nagorno-Karabak in September, displacing over 100,000 Armenians; the dispute between Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara appears ready to boil over; tensions between the United States and China over the South China Sea are intensifying.

‘Wars and rumours of wars’: Jesus Christ prophesied that one of the trends in the lead-up to His return would be “wars and rumours of wars” (Matthew 24:6). Combined with other trends prophesied in the Bible, the current surge of conflicts across the globe bears scrutiny.

Learn more: Read The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.