Commentator Tucker Carlson’s first newsletter about the current conflict didn’t directly mention Iran, Israel or the United States. It begins, “If the unthinkable happens, will your family be ready?” It directs readers to a “prepper” company to stock up on emergency supplies.

He’s saying that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran could spark a new global war. And he’s not the only one.

A February poll by Politico found that 46 percent of U.S. respondents think World War iii will start within the next five years. That was before the United States and Israel launched hundreds of heavy strikes on a radical, heavily armed, Islamist theocracy that sponsors terrorism and war worldwide and believes that mass bloodshed will result in the return of its messiah—before they killed its supreme leader.

Iran struck back with ballistic missiles and drones targeting Israel, U.S. bases and its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf. It has launched more than 160 missiles and 540 drones into the United Arab Emirates alone and has also targeted Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Kuwait. It also bombed a British base in Cyprus, which is a European Union member state, resulting in deployments of warships from nearby Greece. Israel bombed Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ships from dozens of nations are blocked from passing through the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian coast, constricting the flow of global oil and potentially affecting economies worldwide.

Perhaps you are one of those people polled who see the metaphoric storm clouds gathering. Perhaps you are seriously worried about seeing literal mushroom clouds. Perhaps you know the Trumpet identifies Iran and radical Islam as “the king of the south” prophesied in Daniel 11:40, and you know that this prophecy connects to a chain reaction that leads to global cataclysm.

Perhaps you are even wondering, Is this the start of World War iii?

What does the Bible prophesy?

What Prophecy Says

“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps” (Daniel 11:40-43).

Most of Daniel 11 was fulfilled in ancient times. (Request your free copy of History and Prophecy of the Middle East.) But from verse 40 on, the prophecy dates itself to “the time of the end.” This is for our time today.

Since the 1990s, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has identified radical Islam, led by Iran, as the king of the south. Iran is the worldwide leader of radical Islam. Like verse 41 states, it has waged and will wage war over the “glorious land,” currently occupied by the Jewish nation called Israel today. It is located to the south of the king of the north. And it leads Islamist groups and nations that it can use to “push” at the king of the north.

But who is the king of the north? Answering this question in turn answers whether the U.S.-Israeli attack has started the prophesied nuclear countdown.

Who Is the King of the North?

Before verse 40, Daniel 11 describes the king of the south and the king of the north based on which world powers were fighting over the Holy Land. From the first century b.c. onward, the main empire north of the Holy Land, which was fighting to control the Holy Land, was the Roman Empire in Europe.

Verse 36 records: “And the king [of the north] shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.”

History and Prophecy of the Middle East author Stephen Flurry writes, “Verse 36 is an apt description of Roman emperors, who have historically done according to their own will, even exalting themselves above God. … Verses 37-38 continue to describe this new line of Roman rulers in the region called the ‘king of the north.’ Historically, Roman emperors have set themselves up to rule in God’s stead.”

Verse 39 reads: “Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.”

“These rulers of the king of the north do practice a religion, but as verse 39 says, it’s the religion of a strange god” (ibid).

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in The Proof of the Bible, “After setting themselves up as gods, before a.d. 476, the emperors who followed, beginning with Justinian, a.d. 554, began to honor with gold, silver and power, a god in a high religious office never known to their fathers.”

The Roman Empire became Christian.

This is the key. Associated prophecies in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 and 17 forecast that the Roman Empire would fall and be resurrected seven times, each time guided by a church. History records six of these resurrections coming and going. (Our book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy elaborates.) One more is coming.

This imminent resurrection of the Roman Empire in Catholic Europe is the king of the north. Neither the United States nor Israel is the prophesied king of the north.

Europe has barely been involved in fighting Iran. It is hardly the belligerent superpower that Daniel 11 describes.

This means the current war is not the start of World War iii.

However, does this mean we should breathe easy?

How World War III Will Come

The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran will not directly spark the events of Daniel 11 and World War iii. But those events will happen—soon! And they will affect your life.

The Jews know they descended from ancient Israel. But as Mr. Armstrong proved in The United States and Britain in Prophecy, the British and the Americans also descended from ancient Israel. God gave unparalleled power, wealth and peace to these nations, fulfilling promises He made to their patriarch Abraham. God specified His blessings in Leviticus 26, blessing He would give as the people obeyed His law. Among them: “And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword” (verses 7, 8).

God also promised punishment for disobedience. “I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. … And I will break the pride of your power …” (verses 17, 19).

Iran is led by an extremely evil regime. President Donald Trump wielded American power courageously to attack that regime. Many in America and beyond hope this could break the regime and open the possibility for Iran to become a democratic, peaceful, prosperous country. Many hope this could be America’s first serious victory in the Middle East in decades. Many hope this could finally bring peace to the region and, to a large extent, to the world.

Such an outcome does not depend on the amount of firepower, level of investment, or intelligence of strategy. What determines whether America will actually win this war is whether it turns to God.

Many obvious sins, such as the booming pornography industry, saturate the country. America is also afflicted with sins less obvious to many, such as breaking God’s Sabbath. These sins are causing America’s many national curses.

None of this is discussed as national policy. As far as the Iran war is concerned, beseeching God in humility, obedience and faith is not on anyone’s mind. There are no calls for national prayer, whether shallow or more sincere, like those of Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Without real repentance, and regardless of the exploits of the U.S. military, America has already lost this war.

This brings us back to Daniel 11:40. The U.S. is conspicuous for its absence in this prophecy. The fact that God does not mention what you might call “the king of the west” in this greatest of Middle Eastern conflicts is an ominous warning.

“Think seriously about the fact that [Iran’s defeat] will not occur at the hands of America or Britain,” Gerald Flurry writes in The King of the South. “These nations aren’t even involved in this prophesied war! That is because they are going to fall into social and economic ruin before this prophecy is even fulfilled! The time when Britain and America were superpowers, or kings, is history. A new superpower is rising in the European Union. The Bible calls this conglomerate the king of the north. It takes one king to topple another king.”

The entire world should know that world war is coming, and it will affect every person on this planet even more terribly than you can imagine. The only way out, whether for nations or for individuals, is to turn to God in repentance.

Mr. Flurry’s booklet The King of the South explains what is happening right now in the Middle East and beyond. If you haven’t already, you need to order this book. All of our literature is free, with no cost or obligation.