Is nuclear war in prophecy?

[Wildfire]

I have been reading through the OT and would like to ask those who are interested in this subject to read the following chapters of Zechariah and Haggai, since they are too long to post! I will recite some passages from those chapters, in what appears to be a nuclear event.

12:
And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

14:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and winter it shall be.

And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

And in Haggai

1:
The great day of the Lord, is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty men shall cry there bitterly.
That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath: but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

These chapters seem to refer to the "heathen that surround Jerusalem", in Assyria (modern Iraq?) Palestine, Ethiopia and the surrounding isles. With India and Pakistan poised with nuclear arms, I am wondering if this refers to the present day.
All replies are welcome.

Wildfire

 

[Josephus]

Nuclear or biological warfare? Of course. I almost wait in anticipation for the day Israel finally nukes Damascus.

 

[GraftMeIn]

I have to agree that it does, while it is a day to anticipate, It is also going to be a day of great sadness. My heart is saddened when I think about all those unsaved souls that are out in the world today, and refuse to hear Gods word. But I also delight in the fact that God will keep me safe, and that in the end I will be saved.

 

[Auntie]

Yes, I believe nuclear war is an end time prophecy.

 

[jenlu]

There seems to be very little evidence of that describing a nuclear bomb attack...my guess is no...

 

[davo]

G'day jenlu -don't disagree too much or you're likely to be labeled an evil pret

davo

 

[Wildfire]

Remember I am welcoming all views on this subject!

What strikes me most about the passages I have included, is how immediate and terrible the desolation is that occurs:
The horses and their riders become astonished, mad and blind.
People are consumed while standing upright; their eyes, their flesh and their blood consumes away, they turn to dust.
There will be thick clouds, cries and darkness.
And how the summer and winter will change; light and darkness become something new, as they stretch into one together.

I believe a holocust could cause the sun to darken, and the moon to turn red and the seasons to change. And the fallout from that event would lead to other types of calamities. I remember reading somewhere in the OT that baldness will be upon every head, during that day (currently looking for that).

Wildfire

 

[Pericles]

Originally posted by Wildfire
I believe a holocust could cause the sun to darken, and the moon to turn red and the seasons to change. And the fallout from that event would lead to other types of calamities. I remember reading somewhere in the OT that baldness will be upon every head, during that day (currently looking for that).

Wildfire

How does a nuclear explosion cause the moon to turn red exactly? I am just curious...I know quite a bit about physics and I fail to see how this works...

 

[jenlu]

thanks for welcoming all views...I can see how the calamity seems catastrophic, but I feel that reading nuclear bombs or war in these passages is somewhat adding to the verse...it clearly has some symbolic meaning in my opinion...one easy way to tell is the fact that men are on horses...not only that, especially the one in Haggai, it seems that the blindness has to do with understanding and not the physical act of seeing...evidence of calamity is definitely in there, but so is the evidence of symbolism...and reading anything into it, but what it says and what the symbolism that God chooses to use here(He has used this symbolism before in the Bible and after)seems to give rise to sensationalism...I say, take the word for what it is...

 

[Brian45]

WILDFIRE This is what I have been saying all along . Gods focus is the middle east and his enemies are the nations that surround Israel , they are the followers of a false prophet who worship a false God . The middle east will become ground zero and the cities of those nations shall fall . But we should not hate these people , it is the false spirit of mohammed that is in them that we should hate , it controls their minds

 

[Wildfire]

Oh no, I did not want to sensationalize my post by what I have written, but only trying to speak plainly as though I am talking with everyone face to face.

Zechariah speaks of the return of the Lord/ end days as being dark and terrible. Given this worlds own nuclear capability and the trouble brewing in the middle east, today, anything is possible. The OT warns those countries surrounding Jerusalem, whom Gods calls heathens, to gather around and know that by his power, (God) is the Lord.

In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

yes, it is true that we no longer ride horses as a means of travel; we now have helicopters and planes and tanks, and machinery. But there is an emphasis on God smiting everyone/everything that is against Jerusalem when he returns, with madness and blindness.
The blindness could be symbolic, but in what way? Blind to the word of God, or a physical blindness such as from light and explosion?

The plague that Zechariah speaks of causes men to consume where they stand, is this also symbolic? I am seeking honest responses here.

I have not studied physics, but <if> a nuclear explosion happened on this earth, wouldn't that greatly affect and alter the atmosphere? If the sky was darkened by the dust of the earth and nuclear fallout, causing the sun not to shine, we would all be poisoned, would we not?
Could this then be the seven vials that are opened, upon the opening of the seventh seal? (I am referring to Revelation) remember that "part" of the sea and air and earth become destroyed and the inhabitants with it die.

Would the moon turn red from a nuclear holocast, I can only wonder (and hope never to know).
Wildfire

 

[rollinTHUNDER]

Hello Wildfire,
This is a great time to bring this up. I would say that the answer would be yes, IMHO. I was going to raise this question to the preterists a while back. I ended up choosing not to because they would have only spiritualized it away, which would mean that I was only wasting my time. And my typing with only one finger had a lot to do with my decision to back off.

Zech.14:12 - "This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in there sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths."

This is an exact description of the modern day Neutron Bomb. It will destroy all the life, but it will leave all the material buildings standing unharmed. This nuclear type bomb only destroys flesh, and Israel has this technology now, even as we speak.

I believe that in the days Armageddon, this world will experience hell on earth. The wrath will be no picnic, and that goes without saying. But I would expect to watch from heaven, as the world unleashes these nukes like we do fireworks on the 4th of July. Maybe this explains the silence in heaven for a half hour??

 

[Auntie]

Originally posted by rollinTHUNDER
Their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet...

This is the kicker. There's never been a disease or natural disaster that destroys the flesh "while standing".

btw, hiya thunder

 

[Susan]

Yes, and we are seeing it now. I believe that as an adjunct to Russia's attack on Israel though, that Russia will fire a preemptive strike on Israel's ally America.
While Israel is protected, WE IN AMERICA WILL NOT BE.
So where is america in the last days? Incinerated and radioactive.
Dig your bomb shelters now. Maybe we can survive until the rapture that way????

 

[jenlu]

this is where I get frustrated(not really, but it makes me wonder)...your logic is that since you've never heard of a disease or natural disaster like this you jump(I think it's a big leap, but some may think it's just a hop) at H-bomb or nuclear explosion...Wildfire, this is what I'm talking about when I talk about sensationalism...you take something that you either can't or don't understand fully and go beyond scripture to describe it...It's pretty obvious there is destruction or calamity described in this passage, but jumping to the conclusion that some do is something I would warn against...BTW, if you are standing anywhere near where a nuke touches down there will be no time for rotting...I know, I know, you are thinking, well what about the people that are far enough away not to die from the initial hit or fields of radiation...That type of radiation contamination does some wierd things, but it's internally...it passes through the skin and messes with internal organs...The scripture actually saying it's a plague leads me to believe it's a plague...imagine that...

 

[rollinTHUNDER]

Just another thought about the war of Armageddon that will be taking place in the second half of the 7 yr tribulation.

Matt. 24: 22 - "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

It appears that the whole world will be involved in using all the weapons of mass destruction, to the point where Christ would have to intervene, otherwise no flesh would be alive to repopulate the earth when Christ comes to rule and reign for 1000 years.

 

[franklin]

Originally posted by rollinTHUNDER
Just another thought about the war of Armageddon that will be taking place in the second half of the 7 yr tribulation.

Armageddon has nothing to do with any future global war as so many futuristic dispensationalist interpretations see this.... Armageddon as described by John has to do with the Roman armies gathering at a specific location called Armageddon before they're attack on Jerusalem in AD70. The historical setting must be kept in it's proper perspective and context.

 

[Wildfire]

Hi Jenlu, I appreciate your honesty. Since you disagree that the passages I have written do not describe a nuclear event, would you share your view on what Zechariah and Habbagi were warning us about, during the "day of the Lord" and it's destruction?
Thanks, Wildfire

 

[Wildfire]

Rollin, I have already considered that (the days being shortened);do you believe that a nuclear attack (or something similiar) in Israel would be the fufillment of Daniels vision concerning the abomination of desolation? The word that strikes me most is <desolate>, because the first part <abomination> has already happened in 70AD. If the desolation is the second part of the prophecy, then it could be nuclear; we are told to run to the hills and flee when we see this happening. What do you think?
Wildfire

 

[jenlu]

First of all, I believe prophecy not to be some sort of fortune telling that can be speculated on lightly...God uses prophecy to glorify and magnify Himself...I believe He makes it understandable so that when what He says comes about He may be glorified by his saints...this prophecy seems to be talking about a judgement upon Israel...how it comes about seems to be by plague...you know a "day of the Lord" came upon the Egyptians in the form of plagues as well...