THis article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The End of the American Dream. 

Are we on the verge of an apocalyptic global war in which billions of people could die?  Very few people anticipated that World War I would erupt, but it happened anyway.  And very few people anticipated that World War II would erupt, but it happened anyway.

All throughout human history, there have been wars.  Ever since the very beginning, it has just been a matter of time before major powers collide.  Unfortunately, even though very alarming warning signals are flashing all around us, most of the population of the Western world seems absolutely clueless about what is really going on out there.  Leaders all over the planet seem to have come down with a really bad case of “war fever”, and preparations for apocalyptic showdowns are being made.  The following are 10 signs that global war is rapidly approaching…

#1 Politico is reporting that Israel and Hezbollah have both “drafted battle plans”, and the Biden administration is convinced that “intense fighting is likely to break out”…

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah have drafted battle plans and are in the process of trying to procure additional weapons, according to two senior U.S. officials briefed on the intelligence.

Both sides have publicly said they do not want to go to war, but senior Biden officials increasingly believe that intense fighting is likely to break out despite efforts to try and prevent it.

The risk is higher now than at any other point in recent weeks, according to another senior U.S. official, who, like others in this story, was granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive intelligence.

#2 Iran is warning that there will be an “obliterating war” if the IDF enters southern Lebanon…

Israel will face an “obliterating war” if it embarks on “full-scale military aggression” against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN warned on Friday.

The announcement was made on Twitter.

“Albeit Iran deems as psychological warfare the Zionist regime’s propaganda about intending to attack Lebanon, should it embark on full-scale military aggression, an obliterating war will ensue. All options, incl. the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table,” the post reads.

By “all Resistance Fronts,” Iran means not just Hezbollah and Hamas, but also the Houthi rebels in Yemen as well as other groups in Syria and Iraq.

#3 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convinced that a major with Iran is inevitable because he believes that the Iranians have plans to conquer the entire Middle East…

Netanyahu emphasized that the fight against Iran’s terror proxies is critical for other nations in the Middle East, as Iran aims to dominate the rest of the region, including Sunni Muslim nations.

“We also have to deter the other elements of the Iran terror axis. But we have to deal with the axis,” Netanyahu explained. “The axis doesn’t threaten only us. It threatens you. It’s on the march to conquer the Middle East.”

“That means, actually, conquer. Conquer Saudi Arabia, conquer the Arabian Peninsula. It’s just a question of time,” he warned.

#4 According to NBC News, the U.S. is moving military assets into position so that they can be “ready to evacuate Americans” once an all-out war erupts between Israel and Hezbollah…

The Pentagon is moving U.S. military assets closer to Israel and Lebanon to be ready to evacuate Americans as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, according to three U.S. defense officials and a former U.S. official familiar with the plans.

The USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, and Marines from the 24th Expeditionary Unit, which is special operations capable, moved into the Mediterranean on Wednesday to join the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill and another ship in their amphibious ready group, according to the Marine Corps. The Wasp will operate in the eastern Mediterranean to be ready for a Military Assisted Departure and other missions, the officials said.

#5 On Thursday, Hezbollah sent approximately 40 rockets into northern Israel…

Hezbollah launched a barrage of some 40 rockets at northern Israel on Thursday afternoon, in what the terror group said was a response to recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, including the killing of one of its operatives earlier in the day.

#6 On Saturday, Israeli aircraft bombed several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon…

On Saturday afternoon Israeli fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Houla where a group of Hezbollah operatives were gathered, the military said. The IDF said the operatives were spotted by troops of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, and a short while later the airstrike was carried out.

Another building used by Hezbollah in Houla was also struck, the IDF added. It published footage of the strikes.

#7 I know that I wrote about this last week, but I couldn’t leave this particular item out of this article.  Apparently Joe Biden is thinking about approving a plan that would “allow US military contractors to deploy to Ukraine”…

President Joe Biden’s administration is moving toward a plan that would allow US military contractors to deploy to Ukraine for the first time in a limited capacity, CNN reported.

Four US officials familiar with the matter told the outlet that a policy is being worked on to allow the Pentagon to issue private contracts to send troops for the maintenance and repair of US-supplied systems in Ukraine.

#8 Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly interested in developing a coalition of nations that would “rival the West and NATO”…

Rhetoric from Vladimir Putin about a Eurasian security coalition is part of a Kremlin plan to create a group of Moscow-friendly countries to rival the West and NATO, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

The assessment by the Washington, DC think tank follows Putin’s visit to North Korea which, one international security expert told Newsweek, has “deepened an already intensifying relationship of convenience” between Moscow and Pyongyang.

#9 Putin is also warning that Russia will need to begin production of intermediate-range nuclear weapons systems…

Russia must respond to the actions of the United States and it seems that it is necessary for the country to start the production of intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) strike systems, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

“We need to respond to this and make decisions about what we will have to do in this direction next. Apparently, we need to start manufacturing these systems and then, based on the actual situation, make decisions about where – if necessary to ensure our safety – to deploy them,” Putin said at an operational meeting with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council.

Of course, the Russians already have more tactical nuclear weapons than anyone else in the world by a large margin, and they have developed brand new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles which are so advanced that they aren’t even worth comparing to the Minuteman missiles that the U.S. is depending on which first went into service in the 1970s.

#10 A very influential figure in Russian foreign policy circles is suggesting that the Russians should actually detonate a nuclear device in order to show the world how serious they are…

Dmitry Suslov, a top figure at the Moscow-based Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, has put forward the idea of Russia carrying out a “demonstrative” nuclear detonation, a move that could prompt the start of World War 3. This alarming suggestion arises as tensions with the West intensify due to Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weaponry against Russian forces.

Suslov’s think tank, known to occasionally sway government policy, made this proposal public shortly after President Vladimir Putin delivered a grave warning to NATO countries. Putin warned that if Ukraine were to employ Western arms for attacks on Russian soil, it could spark a worldwide crisis, reinforcing his point with threats of severe repercussions.

Unfortunately, all of this is happening at a time when 72 percent of U.S. voters believe that the guy with his finger on the nuclear button does not have “the mental or cognitive health to serve as president”…

A sweeping section of registered voters do not believe President Joe Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve a second term as president after his unsteady debate performance last week, according to a new poll.

The CBS/You Gov national survey conducted in the days after the debate found that 72% of voters do not believe Biden has the mental or cognitive health to serve as president, as well as nearly half of his own party. That’s up seven points from the beginning of June.

We are in far more trouble than most people realize.

And it is far later than most people think that it is.

I just wish that we could get more people to wake up.  We are literally stumbling into an apocalyptic global war, and once we are in the middle of it there will not be any way to go back and get a second chance to do things over.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.