Coming, The Great A.I. “Terminator” War?

James Cameron’s movie, “The Terminator,” was released in 1984. The theme of his movie focused on the destructive potential of high technology if left unchecked, and its threat to the survival of man. In the movie, the manmade robots, enlightened by artificial intelligence (A.I.), were intended to help humanity, but they eventually come to the conclusion humans are the world’s problem; they set out to extinguish humanity off the earth.

Now, 41 years later, the use and knowledge of artificial intelligence is growing by leaps and bounds. We are seeing the use of advanced scientific technologies in weaponry being thrust into fighting wars. The value of developing A.I. in the marketplace is tremendous. It has been projected to have a global market value of $827 billion by 2030.

At the same time A.I. is being developed, robotics is advancing at a rapid pace. In the foreseeable future, they could be used to eventually replace human boots on the ground. Interestingly, in the war between Russia and Ukraine, there is a growing trend to replace its human soldiers with robotic forces, showcasing optimism about military robotics. Does the Bible say anything about this kind of war, and where is the use of A.I. technology headed?

Wars are a proving ground

The Ukraine war with Russia has allowed NATO countries to test their advanced weaponry in a real battle, increasing further knowledge. Modern conflicts are increasingly like laboratories for refining and demonstrating future military technology. The prophet Daniel was told in Daniel 12:4, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

Knowledge is increasing rapidly, with some saying it doubles about every 12 to 13 months, and some futurists project, with the rise of advanced (.A.I), knowledge will double about every 12 hours.

Revelation 9 describes the angel blowing the 5th trumpet, and what are called “locusts” ascending from the great abyss. They are called locusts, perhaps because they swarm like locusts, or it could be an overwhelming force let loose to fight. They are different and strange, and “they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.” (Revelation 9:5-6).

Is this some kind of flying drone or some flying craft? Revelation 9:7-12 further says, "The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.”

Are these some kind of flying craft which appear to look like they have a gold crown and faces of men, with armaments, and have the sound of a helicopter? Are the stings in their tails a type of missile or laser? Is their ability to cause torment without death some kind of chemical warfare? Drones have been part of modern warfare, but the use of swarms of A.I.-powered drones is still in development by the United States military.

We have perfected one drone operated by a person, but not dozens or even hundreds, flying in formation, thinking as they fly by A.I., and capable of carrying out missions without a human giving constant input.

Countries like the U.S., Ukraine, and China are already putting these systems to work. They’re fast, cheap and hard to stop, which makes them incredibly useful and incredibly powerful weapons of war. As technical knowledge increases, A.I. will make a swarm of autonomous drones possible. Imagine a drone with infrared technology which detects a warm body (a physical human being cannot hide) and has the capability to kill. The technology is almost here.

Iran could have been destroyed

Since neither Israel nor the United States intended to obliterate Iran, it survived. Iran could have been destroyed in the 12-day war with Israel, and it was nearly left defenseless because of the use of advanced weaponry. Israel owned the skies over Tehran, allowing them to knock out every critical piece of infrastructure in Iran.

The Jerusalem Post, in an article on July 20, 2025 titled: “Israel’s strategic edge in the age of AI & autonomous warfare,” reported: “In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern warfare, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force. From autonomous drones to predictive threat analysis, AI is reshaping how nations prepare for and engage in conflict. The battlefield of the 21st century is increasingly digital, decentralized, and data-driven. And for Israel, a country with a long-standing emphasis on technological superiority and strategic innovation, AI is not just a tool, its integration of AI into military operations reflects a broader strategic vision. AI technologies enable militaries to process vast amounts of information in real time, identify patterns invisible to human analysts, and respond to threats with unprecedented speed and precision. In the Middle East, where geopolitical tensions are high and threats are often asymmetric, these capabilities are not optional, they are essential.”

As Ukraine seeks to bolster its shrinking personnel, Ukrainian officials announced plans last month to field 15,000 ground robots, uncrewed Ground Vehicles or UGVs, in 2025.

Forbes.com, in an article on April 22, 2025, titled, “How Ukraine Is Replacing Human Soldiers with A Robot Army,” reported, “Ukraine has scaled up drone production at pace, going from a few thousand in 2022 to 200,000 in 2024 to 2 million last year. But putting thousands of metal boots on the ground to replace humans is a far more challenging prospect, as Bondar explains. The figure of 15,000 combat robots came from Hlib Kanevskyi, head of the Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense quoted in Economichna Pravda. Kanevskyi says they signed contracts for $2.5 million of UGVs in the last half of 2024, in the first quarter of this year that surged to $150 million. This suggests a roughly hundred-fold increase.”

For the elect's sake, humanity saved

Jesus Christ told us what it will be like in the end time: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22, emphasis added).

Man could possibly go one step further and make the fatal mistake of using A.I. to have control over nuclear arsenals. Maybe Cameron’s movie premise could be possible; A.I. may well bring the world to the brink of human annihilation. If that were to happen, all life would be blotted out. Albert Einstein once said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

How thankful we should be to our Father, Who has revealed to us through the words of Jesus Christ that life will not be totally blotted out, but for the elect’s sake, everything is going to be cut short to save humanity!