The US Secretary of Defense made some comments related to North Korea:

September 4, 2017

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday shot back at North Korea’s claimed test of a hydrogen bomb with a blunt threat, saying the U.S. will answer any threat from the North with a “massive military response — a response both effective and overwhelming.” …
Mattis told reporters that America does not seek the “total annihilation” of the North, but then added somberly, “We have many options to do so.”http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170904/trump-military-strike-against-north-korea-possibile

The BBC does not seem to think too highly of the USA’s military options:

4 September 2017
How should the US respond?
While the North remains the primary source of regional insecurity, an additional, and perhaps more worrying element of instability is the temperament and thinking of Donald Trump.
The US president continues very conspicuously to hint at the possibility of pre-emptive US military action against the North – a course of action that would have catastrophic consequences for the citizens of Japan, South Korea and especially the 10 million or so residents of Seoul directly in range of the North’s conventional and nuclear forces.
Ultimately, a US military response to the North Korean challenge would, therefore, represent a “doomsday” scenario for America’s two key regional allies as well as jeopardising the lives of the 28,500 US servicemen and personnel based in South Korea. …
President Trump’s bellicose sabre-rattling may be a negotiating ploy, intended to alarm Pyongyang sufficiently to deter it from further provocations, or to encourage an increasingly irritated Chinese leadership to impose decisive and punitive economic pressure on the North, most immediately through a suspension of critical crude oil supplies.
Yet if this is the intention, it does not appear to be working. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41143589

So, the BBC sees “doomsday” if the USA provides a military response. Yet, the BBC also does not seem to think anything would really work (e.g., see North Korea tests a hydrogen bomb–Donald Trump tweets ‘appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!’).

As far as “doomsday” goes, a battle between the USA and North Korea is NOT World War III nor would it be the actual start of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; see also When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? watch also: Will the Great Tribulation Start in 2017?).

Let me add that if the USA were to be heavily involved in military conflict with North Korea, it would get international condemnation. Not only from North Korean allies like China or Russia, but from American allies, such as Europe. The ramifications for the future of the USA would be bleak. The Europeans already do not like Donald Trump and a war with many causalities would be blamed on him and the USA.

As far as options go, let’s not forget that North Korea has several options as well. Some believe that the following could be one of its most devastating:

A “Super-Powerful” EMP Attack: North Korea’s Newest Weapon Against The U.S.
September 4, 2017
The dynamics of the standoff between the US and North Korea have shifted dramatically in the past week. … Unlike a conventional nuke, an EMP blast – think Oceans’ 11 – is not directly lethal, and serves mostly to knock out key infrastructure (useful when robbing a casino). …
In the worst possible scenario, regional power grids could be offline for months, potentially costing many deaths as people would eventually start running out of necessities like food and medicine. Lawmakers and the US military have been aware of the EMP threat for many years, according to WSJ. IN a 2008 report commissioned by Congress, the authors warned that an EMP attack would lead to “widespread and long-lasting disruption and damage to the critical infrastructures that underpin the fabric of US society.” …
Luckily, if US military authorities truly fear an attack, there are some long-term steps the US could take to minimize the effectiveness of an electromagnetic pulse attack. Defenses could be bolstered inexpensively by designing electrical-grid components to withstand sudden pulses, just as the grid already is protected against lightning strikes. The US could also build backup systems that could step in for the principal electrical grids in an emergency. …
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump in a series of tweets hinted that he was frustrated with diplomatic measures, which he referred to as “appeasement.” We imagine there are more than a few generals whispering in his ear about the potential success rate of a surgical strike. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-09-03/super-powerful-emp-attack-north-koreas-newest-weapon-against-us
Electromagnetic Pulse: North Korea’s Latest Threat Against U.S.
The idea of an EMP attack is to detonate a nuclear weapon miles above the earth with the aim of knocking out power
North Korea’s threats against the U.S. now include a tactic long discussed by some experts: an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, triggered by a nuclear weapon that would aim to shut down the U.S. electricity grid.
North Korea’s state news agency made a rare reference to the tactic in a Sunday morning release in which the country said it was able to load a hydrogen bomb onto a long-range missile. The bomb, North Korea said, ‘is a multifunctional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP attack. 09/03/17 https://www.wsj.com/articles/electromagnetic-pulse-north-koreas-latest-threat-against-u-s-1504435000

While the Wall Street Journal is calling this North Korea’s latest threat, regular readers of the COGwriter news page realize I have been warning about this here (and elsewhere) for years. North Korea’s hydrogen bomb seems to be its latest threat (see North Korea tests a hydrogen bomb–Donald Trump tweets ‘appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!’).

Military action may not turn out as well as people like James Mattis or Donald Trump hope. A vengeful North Korea may have operatives try to detonate nuclear bombs, electromagnetic pulse weapons, and/or dirty bombs in the USA. North Korea may attempt to unleash chemical and/or biological weapons against the USA, South Korea, Japan, and/or Guam. Steps to prepare for some or all of this seem to have been begun by the North Koreans.

North Korea’s leaders seemingly have decided that if they are attacked that they should attempt to cause the most damage possible. This will not bode well for North Korea, but also may damage South Korea, Guam, Japan, and even the USA.

Jesus spoke of a time of wars, rumors of war, and troubles prior to the Great Tribulation (Mark 13:8) and we seem to be in it.

We may be hearing the call for the second horseman of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:3-4).

http://www.cogwriter.com/news/prophecy/james-mattis-military-options-bbc-doomsday/

Radio News Reporter: John Hickey.

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