I'm not sure about WWIII as such - that suggests a coordinated, global (or near-global) war of the kind we saw in 1914-18 and 1939-45, and because we're in the nuclear age, would be very likely to lead to near-total destruction of the world. Usually, that also needs a united cause against a specific enemy, eg: the Allies vs Axis powers. But the world is much more ideologically fragmented than that now.
What looks more likely - and in fact is already happening - is a series of simultaneous and overlapping major regional conflicts that encompass the whole world, while not necessarily all being fought by all nations. That would tie in better with Jesus' prophecy for the end times that "you will hear of wars and reports of wars".
As for "political elements" turning on "religion", there have been lots of tensions building in the past few decades that could lead to that. The global political movement clashes with most religious organisations over many issues, including creation vs evolution, abortion, sexuality and LGBT issues, and, as economic pressures grow around the world and issues of poverty and homelessness increase even in wealthier nations, the wealth of churches is also coming under the spotlight. Not to mention issues of legal legitimacy, with many religions resisting the authority of governments and states, some overtly (like Islamic terrorists attacking Western governments and even governments in Muslim countries that are not seen as "Muslim" enough, and other conflicts over religion in the Middle East and Asia), some more passively, like the resistance of groups like the JWs who will not join armies, vote, etc.
All these things are already irritating the political elements of this world, and are likely to continue to do so. Religion is rapidly losing its influence in places like Europe, Canada and Australasia, and while it might seem unlikely for the USA, South America, Africa and the Middle East to turn their backs on religion at the moment, there will come a tipping point where organised religion will be seen as the aggravating factor of all the intractable problems we have and that it will be a solution to unite people and break down barriers. Many people worldwide already believe this to be the case.
