Sunday, 23 November 2008
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What is the Nature of Biblical Prophecy?
Guest post submitted by no1charmerlondon
Bible prophecy can seem both confusing and unbelievable, but time and again, it keeps coming true. Why is prophecy so intriguing? Everywhere you turn, people are interested in knowing the future. The Greeks consulted the Oracles, others have gazed into crystal balls, studied tea leaves, flipped Tarot cards, or invited somebody to evaluate the wrinkles in their palms.Of course, all you have to do today for the latest-and-greatest predications is to check out at your local supermarket and scan the tabloid headlines. I hope you don’t take these seriously, but obviously, prophecy sells big. Why? Well, I think one reason is because people feel so powerless about the future. They want to know there is a plan and that life isn’t some big cosmic joke. Let’s face it, people are looking for a purpose; they are looking for a reason to live for the future.
God's prophecy, found in the Bible, has so much more to offer than human prognosticating. If you don't want to feel helpless, know that God knows your future. That also means He has a plan for you, even if we don't completely know what that is, but thats why we have our lives. If we knew our future we would try and avoid mistakes and death, we would aim to be sin-free but then things would get out of hand and the world would become destructive and fall into Satan's hands.
It's a very secure feeling to be in the hands of someone who loved you so much that He sent His Son to die for you, isn't it? “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). God can see the future infinitely better than we can see it today. It's no problem for Him.
I often wonder why prophecy can be so hard to understand. I think God wants us to dig for truth, partly because you appreciate gold when you dig for it more than if it's dropped in your lap. But more than that, God protects His message. Virtually all of the apocalyptic prophets, such as Ezekiel, Daniel and John the apostle, wrote as captives under a foreign power. Many of these prophecies addressed the destruction of those powers. Revelation talks about the fall of Rome, and Daniel talks about the fall of Babylon and Persia.
Another question I get is, “Why spend so much time looking at prophecy? Aren't there other, more important things to talk about?” Yes, there are. But prophecy is vital to our Christian experience, having the power to inspire others with confidence in God's omniscient knowledge, and set those sailing off course back on track.
Given time, a Bible, and a person who is honest and logical, I've always believed that I can convince a searching soul that the Bible is true based on the fulfillment of its prophecy. But we know that the prophecies in the Old Testament were written long before Christ appeared on the scene, and they came true. The timing of His birth, the place, the mother, and all the details of His ministry—His betrayal, His death, and His burial—were spelled out in amazing detail long before Jesus was born.
So, if the Bible is right about the when, the where, the how and the why, then we can also trust that it is right about the who. Jesus is the Savior, the only way to the Father. God is in charge, and He's proven it with prophecy. He can be trusted, because His Word has never and will never fail. “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Luke 21:33). You can bank your life on Him and His Word, especially as you go out to tell others of His wondrous power.
What is Prophecy to you? Has God revealed His plan for you?
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Comments (13)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11
That's ALL the prophesy I need to know. God will work out all of the details, :) I don't believe in making it any more complicated than it has to be, but then again I've but a simple mind, :)
that was very deep -
@JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga - I agree!
Virtually all prophecy in scripture was written (or stated) with immediate consequence in mind. Much of it, in fact, was conditional. "This terrible thing will happen, unless you repent."
Prophecy in scripture is mostly always concerned with the religious community abusing its power.
Prophecy in scripture very rarely has to do with foretelling the future in any detailed way. To see this, glance through the gospel of Matthew, and notice where Matthew mentions that an event happened "to fulfill the prophecy in such-and-such a scripture." Then go back and read the cited passage. Notice that in very few of the cases was the original prophecy saying, "Someday the Messiah will come and do this." Most often it was simply a descriptive passage similar to what Jesus did.
What did Matthew mean by all of this citation of non-prophetic prophecy? He was mainly highlighting how Jesus was in line with the revealed word of God. There was no list assembled before the Messiah came of 147 things the Messiah would have to do to prove himself, despite what Josh McDowell claims.
The main use for prophecy in the church today? To rebuke us for abusing our religious authority, to reveal to us the heart of God, and to give us hope as a community. Sadly, I don't think we can use it to chart the political terrain or predict when we will have a one-world language.
-NDSR
you're forgetting the original role of the prophet in ancient society. the Israelites were certainly not the first to have court prophets... and they served an important function within the royal household. they might have talked about God a lot, but that was not their purpose. they were one of the few who could criticize the king and not get killed or exiled for it.
a vast majority of the prophets in the Old Testament were not quite staying on the party line. a prophecy is one of the easiest ways to get the message out, without talking about a specific person or event. sure, the average person would know that it's about something contemporary (all of Revelations is about the Roman Empire, especially when read in context with the Apocalypse accounts in the DSS). but if the state got a hold of whatever was written down, there's no way they could prove it.
sirnickdon pretty much stole my answer. No seriously I thought he hit the nail on the head.
Although I know that everything is foreknown by Him and even though He had already told me the future twenty-something odd years before it happened, sometimes, I still get distracted by the things of the world and forget that He is in charge and knows my every move, thought, and decision before I make it. Thank you so much for reminding of Him.
Prophecies are only meant to be revealed to those who are enlightened/spiritually mature enough to understand them and deal with their implications properly. If a prophecy seems impossibly cryptic to you, chances are you're not supposed to understand it, or it's a fake. Stop trying to figure it out because you'll probably get it wrong and then spread misinformation, perpetuating a lie just because you felt you deserved to know.
Actually, I disagree with quite a bit. Prophecy can very much be used to look and relate to our current political situation--just look at King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel's interpretation of his dream. Prophecy takes study, without a doubt. It's not my gift, for sure! But I believe we can definately understand it, and are called to study it. It wouldn't be in the Bible if it weren't important! These sites have some good prophecy references to help you study. http://www.vop.com/ http://www.amazingfacts.org/
Biblical prophesy amazes me and intrigues me like nothing else...I read a book called, "Is The Bible a Time Capsule?" by Sonia Sadr-Panah. It leads you all throughout the Scriptures and explains the different prophesies in not only the book of Revelation, but in other places where prophesies were fulfilled, and will be fulfilled.
how do we know the gospels weren't written with copies of the OT available to make it seem like prophecy was fulfilled to the T?
Prophecy is cool, but is it useful? You never really know what the prophecy means until it happens, so it's not as if it actually helps anyone avoid anything. Name one prophecy, from the Bible or otherwise, that actually prevented what it predicted from occuring. Doesn't happen. The Old Testament prophets talked their jaws off and no one paid attention. As for other prophecies, both modern and ancient, they're all either too cryptic, or the person who receives them mistakes the meaning and goes on to do what they were predicted to do anyway, while trying to avoid their fate.
So, while I do think prophecy is interesting, I'm not going to spend a lot of time thinking about it. In the words of Max from The Sound of Music, "What's going to happen is going to happen--just make sure it doesn't happen to you."
Prophecy is "the juice" that should excite and keep Christians alive and in a state of expectation of Christ's return! Without it, life would be dull and routine. It is God alive! Our amazing God alive!