Could we all be vulnerable to incorrect or “out-of-date” dogma? Things may be believed that we have never ourselves corroborated from Scripture, or for reasons that we cannot recall. Of course, we should “…always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Yet, realistically, it requires continuous Bible study to work out our faith … an ongoing process of “sharpening” our dogma.
Wrong dogma most certainly can apply to interpretations of endtime prophecy. If anything, this field of beliefs may be the most vulnerable of all. How so? Here we face additional challenges in our understanding. Not only does non-fulfilled prophecy deal with the future (a time frame that will always remain dark to the viewer in some respects), but also, we inevitably will be influenced by our sight … by what we already know to be familiar to us today.
The reader may subconsciously tend to interpret future prophecy, colored in the light of observed trends and world conditions of today and the recent past. This is called the recency bias. As a result, we may exclude or rule out certain future scenarios simply because these do not fit the conditions of the world that we observe today. But things can change.
Prophecy misinterpretations can be of different types. For example, we might incorrectly assume that the Bible is using symbol rather than literal language. That said, for the most part, the intended message of “symbols” should be considered to be literal as well. But what do we do if a literal interpretation of Bible prophecy does not align with today’s status quo? In other words, what if future prophesied events do not align with the technology of our day? This would be a conundrum.
Interestingly, the study of the roles of horses in the Bible reveals some provocative information in this situation.
Here is an example. Consider Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. These describe warfare—widely agreed still to occur in the future—taking place on horseback. These two chapters mention the role of horses three times (verses 38:4, 15, and 39:20). The wars described here are conducted from horseback.
Following are the selected excerpts: First, “…your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords” (Ezekiel 38:4); second, “You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army” (15); and third, “‘At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign LORD” (39:20).
These three passages in the Bible use the Hebrew word for horse: sûs. As such, however, we now encounter a potential problem. How so?
Most would agree that the events described by Ezekiel in these two chapters are yet future. This is prophecy written some 2,600 years ago that has not yet been fulfilled. Yet today, for the most part, mankind no longer conducts its wars from horseback. In the present era, humankind wages mechanized warfare using tanks, personnel carriers, aircraft, drones, and various other technologies. Horses are not a major factor on the battlefield any longer. Why? It is a change that has occurred fairly recently. Mankind’s age of mechanized warfare is a little more than a century old … considered to have begun as of World War I (1914–1918).
But should we not expect the prophet Ezekiel to have foreseen this change? Even though today’s technologies would not have been understood by Ezekiel, shouldn’t we have expected him to at least explain what he saw … as farfetched as it might have seemed to him? Ezekiel tells us what he sees, and what he sees here are references to horses, which are to play a role yet future. What is the problem? Ezekiel says future fulfillment will take place with horses.
Let’s leave this “conundrum” for the moment and examine another instance of prophecy.
Consider this interpretative situation found in Isaiah 60:8-9: “Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar…”
These verses appear to capture images of the Aliyah of the Jewish people back to their homeland in the last days. Isaiah sees them arriving on ships and clouds at some future time. Indeed, according to these verses, this migration has already begun.
However, that statement presumes that we live in a time of passenger air travel. To us living in the current age, this is obvious. Flying “along like clouds” foresees zeppelins; “doves to their nests” foresees travel with airplanes. As for “the ships of Tarshish,” these have been well-known means of travel for thousands of years. Isaiah, of course, would have had no idea about human air travel. Nevertheless, he did try to explain what he saw in the future.
Little did he know that air travel would be possible someday. Interestingly, not only was air flight invented just a little more than a century ago, but it also clearly sets the timing that fits with the Bible’s prophecy in this case. The modern-day “international” Aliyah began in the late 1800s. The Jews at first returned to their homeland mostly by boats (and also a few by foot). Then, at a later date, aircraft were invented … and not sooner. It wasn’t until commercial passenger service was launched by El Al (the national airline of Israel) in 1953 that Jews began to arrive in Israel by commercial airplane.
This is a wonderful prophecy. Furthermore, Isaiah sees future technology in advance that fits exactly with the era of its fulfillment.
This is not the case in the prophecies of Ezekiel that we examined earlier. We return to our conundrum. The future he foresaw did not reflect or predict any modern technology. He provides not even a hint. Could he have not approached the situation as other prophets?
Apostle John was particularly called upon to interpret the difficult visions he received from the Holy Spirit. Many of these were very hard to describe. Nevertheless, he depicted what he saw, though he may not have understood the images and technologies. As a matter of fact, some of these prophecies have not been understood even today.
The vision described in Revelation 9:7-9 provides just such an example. We read: “The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.”
Interestingly, twice the word “horses” appears in this prophecy. However, in each case, Apostle John is careful to make sure that these were not to be understood as real horses. The depicted images “looked like” horses or “sounded like” horses.
How does John compare to Ezekiel? He strives to explain what he sees because it is not actually a real horse. Ezekiel, on the other hand, sees horses that he identifies as real horses.
What can we conclude? We encounter a situation where a literal reading of Ezekiel’s prophecies does not fit the technologies of the current times.
Yes, a literal interpretation of Ezekiel’s prophecies would have been popularly supportable during the 2,400 years before our time. But no longer after the First World War.
Must we then presume that Ezekiel saw something other than a horse in his prophecies? How can we reconcile this conundrum? Some prophecy teachers interpret the Hebrew word for horse as meaning a “leaper.” This, in turn, leads to the speculation that a “leaper” may be imagined as a military tank or Hummer (among other things). In this writer’s opinion, these interpretations themselves are somewhat of a leap. Clearly, Ezekiel is referring to horses … real horses that have existed since Creation.
A literal Bible interpreter, therefore, must continue to believe that a future fulfillment of Ezekiel will occur as written. However, adhering to these texts today may make us appear silly. What do the facts tell us in the here and now … and can we rely on our eyes to see clearly?
Thoughts to Ponder
More often than not, we note prophecies in the Bible that awaited their elucidation in the future. Many of the prophetic visions given in the Bible were not explicable to the prophet at that time. For example, Daniel’s prophecies are understood better today than 2,500 years ago. Not only has our understanding benefited through the collective study of Scripture by many readers (both clergy and lay people) over the years—the action of iron sharpening iron—but also the times, eras, and technological possibilities have changed. Daniel’s visions are, therefore, more understandable today. In this sense, previously adopted interpretations of prophecy, though having become dogma, can be proven to be incorrect.
Who is to know what will happen in the next 10, 20, or 50 years? Could it be that humankind will again return to fight wars conventionally, as in previous history? Might there be a catastrophic event that intercedes and reverses human technological advances in the future?
This writer believes that to be in the affirmative, and prefers that text must remain as written. This approach, therefore, expects that future fulfillment of prophecy will prevail exactly as written. This would mean there will be horses participating in future wars, exactly as Ezekiel foresees. Also, modern-day technology would be precluded.
Many interpreters do, in fact, choose to escape literalism. In some instances, they may take license from the Hebrew word for horses (“leapers,” as mentioned earlier) and apply it to their interpretations as they wish.
But what are the facts of the situation?
The Hebrew and Greek word for horse (and its derivations) occurs over 200 times in the Bible. In each case, they are indicated to be living horses, with the exception of some 16 references in the book of Revelation. It is interesting to note that the word “horse” (and its derivatives) appears in the New Testament only 16 times, all found in the Book of Revelation. Therefore, we can know that all of their mentions and roles take place yet in the future.
We see that horses appear to play an exclusive role in the wars taking place in heaven and at Armageddon and the Millennium. This also supports the notion that mankind will not adopt the technologies of the premillennial world during the Millennium. A major “reset” of the present world as we know it is yet to take place.
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Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His 2002 book The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free accurately anticipated and prepared its readers for the Global Financial Crisis. A following book, Global Financial Apocalypse Prophesied: Preserving true riches in an age of deception and trouble, looks further into the prophetic future.
