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Predictions about the future and the end-time; special messages from God, often uttered through human spokesmen, which indicate the divine will for mankind on earth and in heaven.
The focus of all prophetic truth is Jesus Christ <Heb. 1:2; Luke 24:25-27>, who was destined to be the greatest prophet <Deut. 18:15-18>. He declared God's truth in this age <John 3:31-33> and the age to come <Is. 2:2-4>. As the embodiment of truth <John 1:1>, Christ fully radiated the brilliance of God which the earlier prophets reflected only partially.
Earlier prophets anticipated Jesus Christ by reflecting His person and message in their own life and ministry <Ex. 34:29-35; 1 Kin. 19:10; 2 Chr. 24:20-21>. Each contributed a portion of the truth, sharing in the Spirit that would be completely expressed in Jesus Christ <John 6:68>.
Prophecy was technically the task of the prophet. But all truth or revelation is prophetic, pointing to some future person, event, or thing, The full panorama of God's will takes many forms; it may be expressed through people, events, and objects. Historical events such as the PASSOVER anticipated Jesus Christ <John 1:29>, as did various objects in the tabernacle, including MANNA <John 6:31-35> and the inner VEIL <Matt. 27:51; Heb. 10:20>.
Prophecy may also be expressed in many different forms through the prophet himself, whether by his mouth or some bodily action. The prophets received God's messages from the voice of an angel <Gen. 22:15-19>, the voice of God, a dream <Daniel 2>, or a vision <Ezek. 40:2ff.>. The prophetic speech might range from the somber reading of a father's last will <Genesis 49> to an exultant anthem to be sung in the Temple <Ps. 96:1,13>.
Sometimes a prophet acted out his message symbolically. Isaiah's nakedness <Isaiah 20> foretold the exile of the Egyptians and the Cushites. Hosea's marriage symbolized God's patience with an unfaithful wife, or the nation of Israel. Ahijah divided his garment to foretell the division of the monarchy <1 Kin. 11:30-31>. Even the names of some of the prophets are symbolic, matching their message. Hosea means "salvation"; Nahum, "comfort"; Zephaniah, "the Lord hides"; and Zechariah, "the Lord remembers."
Prophecy declared God's word for all time, so the time of fulfillment of a prophecy is rarely indicated in the Bible. Exceptions to this rule include the timetable assigned to Daniel's seventy weeks' prophecy <Dan. 9:24-27>, the prophecy of Peter's denial <Matt. 26:34>, and predictions of someone's death <Jer. 28:16-17>. The common problem of knowing the time for the fulfillment of a prophecy is acknowledged by Peter <2 Pet. 1:11>. This problem is due to several factors. First, some prophecies appear together, as if they would be fulfilled simultaneously. For example, <Isaiah 61:1-2> has already been fulfilled, according to <Luke 4:18-19>, but <Isaiah 61:2>, which adjoins it, awaits fulfillment. The same is true of <Zechariah 9:9-10>. The prophets saw the mountain peaks of prophetic events but not the valleys of time in between.
Another factor that complicates the problem is the ambiguity of tenses in the Hebrew language, which distinguishes type of action but not time of action. The prophets focused on the reality of their prophecies and not the time of their fulfillment. In their minds their prophecies were already accomplished, primarily because they knew God was in charge of history.
Finally, since the prophets' messages had eternal force, it is often difficult to tell whether they applied their messages to their day or the future. For example, <Isaiah 7:14> promised a son who could be a contemporary of Isaiah (perhaps the prophet's son in <8:3>, and <18> or the son of Hezekiah the king in <Isaiah 36--39>) or Jesus <Matt. 1:23>, or both.
Several questions are raised when there appears to be more than one possible fulfillment for a prophecy. Does a primary fulfillment in one passage rule out a secondary application to another passage? Not necessarily. Did the author intend both fulfillments with one as an analogy or illustration for the other? Did the author intend a dual fulfillment for two different audiences at two different times? <Joel 2:30>, speaking about signs on the earth, was applied by the apostle Peter to the tongues of fire at PENTECOST <Acts 2:3-4,18-19>. But Jesus seemed to apply this prophecy to His SECOND COMING <Mark 13:24; Luke 11:25>.
In the same way, the destruction of Gog and Magog in <Ezekiel 38> and <39> may be fulfilled in <Revelation 20:8> after the MILLENNIUM. But similarities of this prophecy to earlier invasions from the north before the millennium seem to allow for its multiple fulfillment. The earlier parallels with <Ezekiel 38> and <39> are two invasions from the north in <Daniel 11:40,44> and a third in <Revelation 19:17-18>, where the birds consume the carcasses as in <Ezekiel 39:17-20>.
The problem of understanding when a prophecy is fulfilled is compounded if the modern reader has a theological bias about who is to fulfill a prophecy. For example, premillennialists believe that a 1,000-year reign by Christ <Rev. 20:2-7> will exalt the nation of Israel and the Jewish people in the future <Rom. 11:24-26>. But amillennialists believe the promises to Israel in the Old Testament have been taken from Israel and transferred to the church <Gal. 6:16>. Such a disagreement does not deny that Abraham's descendants will inherit Palestine from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates River <Gen. 15:18>. But the premillennialist looks for a future revival of Israel as a nation <Ezek. 37:11-28>, while the amillennialist claims the promise of the land was fulfilled in the past in the days of Joshua <Josh. 21:43-44> or Solomon <2 Chr. 9:26>.
Prophecy presents volumes about the future kingdom of God, particularly information about the MESSIAH and His chosen people, Israel. Much prophecy also foretells the destiny of the nations and their relationship to the kingdom of God. The New Testament identifies Jesus as the King <John 1:49> who spends much of His ministry describing His kingdom and its establishment <Matthew 13; 24--25>. The battleground is the world; and the arch-foe of Christ is Satan, whose intrigue in Eden gave him control of the nations <Matt. 4:9>. Most prophecy is concerned with undoing Satan's work; it elaborates upon the initial promise of <Genesis 3:15>, which announced that Christ, the seed of the woman <Gal. 4:4>, would crush the great Serpent, the Devil <Rom. 16:20; Rev. 20:2>. All prophecy testifies about Jesus <Rev. 19:10>.
Over 300 prophecies in the Bible speak of Jesus Christ. Specific details given by these prophecies include His tribe <Gen. 49:10>, His birthplace <Mic. 5:2>, dates of His birth and death <Dan. 9:25-26>, His forerunner John the Baptist <Mal. 3:1; 4:5; Matt. 11:10>, His career and ministry <Is. 52:13-53:12>, His crucifixion <Ps. 22:1-18>, His resurrection <Ps. 16:8-11; Acts 2:25-28>, His ascension <Psalm 2; Acts 13:33>, and His exaltation as a priest-king <Psalm 110; Acts 2:34>. The kingly magnificence of His second coming is also graphically portrayed. <Psalms 2,45>, and <110> picture His conquest and dominion over the nations. His kingdom is characterizd in <Psalm 72>. Events leading up to and including the first and second advents of Christ are described in the two burdens of the prophet Zechariah <Zechariah 9--11,12--14>.
Premillennialists point to many Bible passages to support their belief in the national resurrection of Israel. Many prophecies graphically portray Israel's history <Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27--28; Amos 6--9>. Her bounty as a nation is prophesied in <Deuteronomy 30> and <Isaiah 35>. Just as the nation had received a double punishment <Jer. 16:18>, so it would receive a double blessing <Is. 61:7>. Temple worship would be restored <Ezekiel 40--48>; Israel would be the center of world government <Zechariah 1--6>; and the Davidic line would be set up as a permanent dynasty <2 Sam. 7:12-16; Luke 1:32-33>.
Much controversy surrounds the roles of the church and Israel in the final days preceding Christ's Second Coming, known as the "day of Jacob's trouble" <Jer. 30:7>, "the great tribulation" <Matt. 24:21>, or "the great day of His wrath" <Rev. 6:17>. This will be a period of seven years <9:27> with the most intense trial in the last three and onehalf years of this time <Dan. 12:11-12; Rev. 12:6; 13:5>.
As Christ's Second Coming approaches, many difficult prophecies about the Tribulation will be understood more clearly <Jer. 30:24; Dan. 11:32-35; 12:3,9-10>. Premillennialists point to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 as just one of these signs of Christ's approaching return.
While premillennialists agree upon the restoration of Israel in the earthly reign of Jesus Christ, many are divided over the relation of Israel to the church, particularly just before Christ's appearance at the end of the Tribulation. Covenant theologians see Israel and the church as one people who go through the Tribulation together. Dispensational theologians believe Israel and the church are always separated in the Bible. As a result, dispensationalists believe the church will not join Israel in its days of tribulation, but will be transported to heaven before it begins, at the beginning of the seven years.
Three theories exist about the time of the church's departure to meet the Lord in the air <1 Thes. 4:13-17>: the pre-tribulational rapture, the mid-tribulational rapture, and the post-tribulational rapture. These three theories place the rapture at the time of John's ascension to heaven <Rev. 4:1>, at the time when the two prophets ascend to heaven <Rev. 11:11-12>, and at the end of the series of seven bowls <Rev. 16:15>, respectively.
(from Nelson's
Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C)
1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
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