Wormwood Prophecies: How An Islamist Attack on Chernobyl Could Start WWIII

YOWUSA.COM, 18-March-02
Janice Manning

One of the best-known prophets of Old Testament times was Ezekiel.  In Chapter 38 of his book, he predicted two major disasters that would come at a time of sudden war in Israel, deemed the beginning of the "End Times."  Later, John, the Apostle gave one of these disasters a name; he called it "Wormwood."  Prophets seldom apply proper names to their predictions for fear of being called false, so John's naming of this disaster clearly demonstrates his unwavering certainty of this prediction.  Further, his prophecy is also mirrored in several secular prophecies, such as those of the Hopi and Mother Shipton.  However, what could a modern day Wormwood disaster look like and who would create it?

If the name, "Wormwood," rings a bell, it should. By the end of 1986, it had spread deadly radiation across the breadth of Europe and was debated hotly by religious scholars because the English translation of the Russian word "Chernobyl," is Wormwood.  This facility was eventually closed down in December, 2000, but the danger from damaged reactor #4 still remains.

CNN, April 26, 2001
Chernobyl -- the world remembers

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ceremonies have been held throughout the former Soviet Union to mark the 15th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster.

The accident, on April 26, 1986, contaminated wide areas of Europe and resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 people.

Following the explosion the reactor involved -- Reactor No. 4 -- was encased in a huge steel and concrete sarcophagus to prevent any more radiation leaking out.

The sarcophagus, which has been crumbling for many years, is now the focus of a $758 million (£527 million) project to repair and strengthen it.

The plant's other three reactors continued operating until December 2000, when the last one was closed down.

In a speech on Thursday in the town of Slavutych, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said: "The Chernobyl atomic power plant has been closed down, but human calamities and problems born by the disaster remain."

So if the Chernobyl is no longer operating, how could it present a threat and by whom?

Is Chernobyl Still Vulnerable to an Air Attack?

What 9/11 has taught us is that every nuclear reactor in the world is now a prime target site for terrorists.  It may only be a matter of time before someone attempts an assault against one of the world's nuclear reactors, as CNN is suggesting below.

CNN, November 2, 2001
N-terror: 'Clear and present danger'

LONDON, England () -- Could nuclear facilities and re- processing plants become potential targets for a terrorist attack?

The events of 9/11 demonstrated just how easy it would be to cause a major disaster at a nuclear installation such as Britain's Sellafield re-processing plant. 

Maps of Nuclear Power Reactors: WORLD MAP

"An aerial attack by jumbo jet was not really considered part of the security threat in the past," says Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which was meeting in Vienna on Friday for a special session on the prospect of nuclear terrorism.

"I mean, we have taken care of threats emanating from sabotage, theft, natural causes like earthquake or hurricane -- but we did not take into the engineering analysis the possibility of an aerial attack by a large aircraft."<<

Modern nuclear reactors throughout the world are built with containment shells designed to shelter nuclear reactors from attack by a heavy bombs dropped by aircraft or by the impact of a large aircraft itself.  In other words, these containment shells are designed to protect the nuclear core of the reactor from an outside attack while protecting the outside from internal accidents such as a nuclear reactor leak.  This is why they take years to build.

The reason why Chernobyl disaster was so deadly is because it was not built with a European or American-style containment shell.  Actually, it was built without a containment shell at all! 

The sarcophagus that now covers Reactor #4 was constructed after the accident and is primarily designed to contain the radiation within the disaster site.  The builders had little time to consider the possibility of an airborne attack.  This hastily constructed, after-the-fact sarcophagus is now in a state of poor physical repair.

Chernobyl Today Web Site
Chernobyl Sarcophagus

Currently, it has been noted that the Sarcophagus is not in good shape at all.  When originally built, it appeared that the concrete tomb was perceived to be less permanent.  Valerii Legasov quoted the following about the Sarcophagus:

"In principle it will last for hundreds of years, but our descendants may find ways and means of moving [the nuclear] waste elsewhere or rendering it harmless.  [58]"

Recent studies find the Sarcophagus covering Reactor No. 4 to be full of holes. An engineering report stated that the stone coffin would collapse in an earthquake measuring 6 or more on the Richter scale. It is estimated that an earthquake of that magnitude should hit the Chernobyl region once every century. If this were to happen, it would release large clouds of radioactive dust that could once again blow around the earth.

Nuclear reactors in the rest of the world are built to withstand a 9.0 quake, which has a very slim statistical probability.  However, the 6.0 capability of the Chernobyl sarcophagus is most likely a highly optimistic estimate at this time due to the present condition of the sarcophagus. In short, the structure is highly vulnerable to attack.  If were attacked, where does the danger lie?

Chernobyl Today Web Site
Tons of Missing Chernobyl Reactor Fuel

Scientists have been able to estimate the amounts of radioactive fuel blown into the atmosphere and into the remains of the Unit No. 4, but they leave about 10 to 50 tons of reactor fuel unaccounted for.  Three different scenarios have been raised to attempt to explain this mystery:

Some or all of the missing fuel may have been released in the explosion the missing fuel may have been spewed out in the fire that occurred after the explosion or perhaps the missing fuel is buried deep under the rubble in the reactor, yet to be discovered

"Finding the missing fuel is an extremely important question for us - the nuclear safety of the [reactor] depends on it," says Edward Pazukhin, head of the ISTC's department of nuclear safety. Pazukhin says this because a growing pool of water in the bowels of the reactor may cause the remaining fuel to go critical.

Short of an earthquake, what could happen to create an even more catastrophic Chernobyl disaster?

The Danger of a 9/11, World Trade Center
Style Attack on Chernobyl Reactor #4

For years, Russia has claimed that Chechen rebels were receiving financial and logistical support from the "international jihad" movement orchestrated by Al Qaeda. This fact was finally accepted by the US, but only after the attack on 9/11.

Now that al Qaeda proved on 9/11 that it could turn commercial airliners and the tons of fuel they carry into building-busting terrorist cruise missiles, Al Qaeda-backed Chechen rebels present a new nuclear threat to Russia and the world at large. If a similar attack is carried out at Chernobyl, this threat could again send nuclear fallout towards Europe with an impact on Reactor #4; an attack that could be far more devastating than the original accident.

In that area of the world, Russian-made airliners are used extensively.  They are heavier, and carry much greater fuel loads 

Boeing B767-200ER Ilyushin L-96-300 Max. No. Seats 285 300 Max. Take-off Weight 179,140 kg 216,195 kg Fuel Capacity 65,700 kg 122,000 kg

If a commercial Ilyushin IL-96 were hijacked and flown into Reactor #4 at Chernobyl it would impact with a force greater than a Boeing 767 (similar to those used against the WTC) and would likely collapse the sarcophagus and drive far enough down through the reactor to trigger a reaction.  This is because the Ilyushin is much heavier than a 767 and carries nearly twice as much fuel.

Given this possibility, has a disaster like this been foreseen in the past?  If so, has it yet to be fulfilled in the present?

In examining both secular and Judeo-Christian prophecy regarding the possibility of another Chernobyl disaster, it is important to understand the context of its meaning as it was in the days when the prophecies were first issued. 

Prophets of the past, for whom primitive technologies dominated, simply lacked the technological understanding in their visions of what we now take for granted.  Therefore, before we delve into their prophecies we must first try to understand their context beginning with how they received their visions.