Does Ezekiel 38 prophesy world war?

[Elysian]

I know people here don't believe in the Bible, but I thought it interesting just the same, considering Iran and Israel have become enemies even though they've never had any direct land dispute or any other dispute.

[Zealot]

I've heard this before but it's so vague. It mentions "Persia" and some other nations attacking Israel. These other nations aren't even known but are conveniently said to be Russia and a few Arab states.

The big giveaway is that, according to Ezekiel, Israel will be "living in safety" and he goes on to say (in the second-person)


You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 38:11

Does this sound like Israel to anyone here? I don't think so. Furthermore, I doubt Iran is going into battle with "horses, swords and small shields" in this age.

[El Chuncho]

Yeah, I could not have said it better myself, Exoperism. I will not knock your faith, Elysian, but Ezekiel has not really prophesied anything... and neither has any book of the Bible - you could say that the Old Testament prophesied the coming of Jesus, but that was within the Bible, itself and thus not verifiable - for that matter.

[Doflamingo]

While I'm not a Christian (soft-atheist), I used to go to a christian school when I was younger, excelling in biblical study grades, I can assure you that Ezekiel wasn't a book of prophecy.

[Franz Fanonipants]

biblical prophecy is an eternal wisdom deal. you can't apply it to singular historical events, rather you have to understand that those prophecies are about human realities.

i don't literally believe that revelations is going to happen as described, but i do know that for every human being there will be a reckoning with mortality and an end to what we know.

[workersadvocate]

Look up Jack Van Impe, Herbert W. Armstong, and hundreds of other end-time preachets who were using these same Bible quote to scare their flocks 30+ years ago, when the big bad commie Soviet Union was gonna get us all....boo!
When I was a kid, seeing these preacher on tv scaring everybody about imminent war with Russia, and seeing my parents take it seriously, I admit it was effective.

Fast foward to today. They were totally full of shit. They played on fears for their cults' benefit, and to foment anti-communist, pro-Israel, American patriotard and Christian holy warrior sentiments.
And one day, the Religious Right is gonna pay for it. Everything they stood for and wrapped themselves in will be a "mark" of our enemies, allowing the working class to identify and eliminate such obvious enemies in perhaps less then a few seconds, when the time of words is finally over.

[Zostrianos]

Prophetic literature was common up until the fall of the Roman empire. The most common examples from that time were the Sybilline Oracles, which focus on various events from the time and sought to retell actual events to make it loo as though they had been predicted already, as well as presenting suitably vague prophecies for various kingdoms. Most of it is vague enough that it can apply to any period in history. Even the Biblical books that appear to have accurately predicted events (such as Daniel) are thought by many scholars to have been written after the events themselves.
As for modern conflicts, the middle east has always been a volatile region so it's not surprising that the prophecies fit. Plus Israel was very ethnocentric in antiquity (which explains a lot of the animosity toward neighbouring peoples) and unfortunately that carried over into modern times.

[The Jay]

No, because prophecy doesn't exist. It's as simple as that, unless you want to debate it, that is.

[Ocean Seal]

The problem with most prophecies is that they are vague and open to interpretation. So in effect we can argue that a lot of things have already been fulfilled by the prophecies, but then again we would be talking in hindsight.