Qu'en dans poiffon, fer & lettres enfermee,
Hors fortira qui puis fera la guerre:
Aura par mer claffe bien ramee,
Apparoiffant pres de Latine terre

Michel de Nostredame
(AKA Nostradamus)

Translated:
When the weapons and documents are enclosed in a fish, out of it will come a man who will then make war. His fleet will have voyaged far across the ocean to appear near the Italian shore.

The man coming out of a fish that contains weapons and documents is commonly interpreted as emerging from a modern submarine. No wars have started in this manner lending this prophecy attachment by many to a third world war. However, this could just as easily be associated with any major war yet to be. There is little doubt that submarines will be apart of modern warfare for many decades to come. Even a war after a third world war could theoretically be what was seen in this prophecy.

Nostradamus lived during a time in the 16th century when being a prophet was considered a great offense to many. People would outcast such individuals, the church even known to execute. That is primarily why these prophecies appear in a quatrain format. This gave an artistic excuse for those that were against precognitive activities. Nostradamus believed it was worth the risks for the chance that knowledge of what could happen, might change the future. Eliminating the negative events that he had foreseen.