Prophecy, Looking Back to Look Forward

[HKHaugan]

Prophecy

When dealing with the idea of prophecy we immediately recognize we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience which means 100% of our life is motivated by what can't be seen. Prophecy by its very nature is spiritual. Spirituality deals with everything that can't be seen. “What is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal (2Cor.4:18).” The whole Bible, while visible, references the invisible, the spiritual reality behind physical creation. The very words, “In the beginning God created...”, indicate a prior invisible reality. What that means is that everything in the universe has spiritual significance because it comes from a personal spiritual mind with personal spiritual intention. When it comes to us as human beings the Bible was intentionally written for us as spiritual beings who were intentionally designed to have a human physical experience as images and likenesses of the spiritual Creator God (Gen.1:26).

Prophecy, therefore, has three purposes: to inform, to conform and reform us spiritually. When we are conformed spiritually, our intellect, heart and spirit (His image and likeness in us), are maintained, contained and sustained. When we are not conformed, and that because of sin, prophecy is the spiritual gift that returns us to our spiritual roots. The Bible is God's imagery manual, our prophetic guide book, to inform us about the person and the principles that conform us to His likeness and reform us when we veer off our intended spiritual path; His soul, His role and His goal, to make us whole.

With all that in mind the sum total of prophetic purpose in the Bible is to present Jesus as the one person who models what a human being is meant to be like in a world that is not like Him and to show exactly who the One God has always been. He informs us how to think spiritually, trust Him in our heart and respond physically by spiritually motivated action. When that happens we become holy, that is usable by His Spirit, the Spirit of Holiness. Human holiness is simply letting God be Holy through us. When we act inspired by faith in Jesus, that is holiness in action.

So the work of prophecy has two goals for us, to make us faithful---a full-of-faith witness, and holy---set aside to let Him be Holy through us. When our minds think Jesus that is holy thinking. When our hearts trust Jesus that is holy trust. When we act from faith in Jesus then our action is holy faith. So thinking, trusting and acting that do not proceed from faith is sin (Rom.14:23). There is no in-between; it is either holy or worldly, Jesus or sin.

So the centrality of Jesus gives us our focal point for what we believe, who we trust and how we act. This is what makes each of us as believers prophetic. All prophecy before Jesus was to prepare for His coming and make us aware that there is a new kind of prophecy, relational prophecy, whereby each of us stands directed by, corrected by and ejected by the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit working in our heart. As Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is within you (Lk.17:21).” By faith we are propelled into the world to bring the part we live in---to Him. Just by having Him in our heart, we become prophets like Him. We discern, distinguish and declare His presence as the only Person who can bring eternal life into every next moment.

The basic needs in people are heart needs. Heart needs include a range of vulnerabilities to sin due to fear and pride on every level of mind, heart and spirit. Fear arises because of aloneness in each of us. We need relational trust and emotional stability. We need recognition, acceptance and purpose, consistent attitude, a reason for existing. We're talking heart needs here which entail our mind and spirit where we are justified and motivated. Prophecy leads us to the only One who can satisfy that kind of depth spiritually, personally and relationally, namely Jesus the Christ.

One more thing needs to be said about the idea of prophecy being some kind of fortune or future telling. There is no question that the prophets in the Old Testament were predicting the coming of the Messiah and the Book of Revelation is looking forward to give us a feeling of the end times and their pictures of the devil's demise, evil and the arrival of the new Heaven and new earth. What we need to keep in mind is the understanding that God as revealed in Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb.13:8). The point being that all that does not conform, coincide, fit in with Him, will fade and disappear. That is a future guarantee. The gift of prophecy is usually a local experience given to some believers to encourage a believer or group of believers as to the need for change in direction and behavior. It is always to bring them into conformity with the Lord's will for them personally as they approach every next moment. It will be a call to accomplish something that brings glory to God and blesses those through whom He will work His will.

The Old Testament is loaded with specific Messianic prophecies. The following are some that came from the Clarifying Christianity website.

Old Testament Scriptures That Describe The Coming Messiah
The Messianic Prophecy (paraphrased)
Where the prophecy appears in the Old Testament (written between 1450 BC and 430BC)
Jesus’ fulfillment of the prophecy in the New Testament (written between 45 and 95 AD)
The Messiah will be the offspring (descendant) of the woman (Eve)
Genesis 3:15
Galatians 4:4
The Messiah will be a descendant of Abraham, through whom everyone on earth will be blessed
Genesis 12:3; 18:18
Acts 3:25,26
The Messiah will be a descendant of Judah
Genesis 49:10
Matthew 1:2 and Luke 3:33
The Messiah will be a prophet like Moses
Deuteronomy 18:15-19
Acts 3:22,23
The Messiah will be the Son of God
Psalm 2:7
Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22
The Messiah will be raised from the dead (resurrected)
Psalm 16:10,11
Matthew 28:5-9; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:4-7; John 20:11-16; Acts 1:3 and 2:32
The Messiah crucifixion experience
Psalm 22 (contains 11 prophecies—not all listed here)
Matthew 27:34-50 and John 19:17-30
The Messiah will be sneered at and mocked
Psalm 22:7
Luke 23:11,35-39
The Messiah will be pierced through hands and feet
Psalm 22:16
Luke 23:33 and 24:36-39;
John 19:18 and 20:19-20,24-27
The Messiah’s bones will not be broken (a person’s legs were usually broken after being crucified to speed up their death)
Psalm 22:17 and 34:20
John 19:31-33,36
Men Will Gamble for the Messiah’s clothing
Psalm 22:18
Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23,24
The Messiah will accused by false witnesses
Psalm 35:11
Matthew 26:59,60 and Mark 14:56,57
The Messiah will be hated without a cause
Psalm 35:19 and 69:4
John 15:23-25
The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend
Psalm 41:9
John 13:18,21
The Messiah will ascend to heaven (at the right hand of God)
Psalm 68:18
Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9; 2:33-35; 3:20-21; 5:31,32; 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20,21; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22 . . . sorry, we got carried away!
The Messiah will be given vinegar and gall to drink
Psalm 69:21
Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23; John 19:29,30
Great kings will pay homage and tribute to the Messiah
Psalm 72:10,11
Matthew 2:1-11
The Messiah is a “stone the builders rejected” who will become the “head cornerstone”
Psalm 118:22,23 and Isaiah 28:16
Matthew 21:42,43; Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-8
The Messiah will be a descendant of David
Psalm 132:11 and Jeremiah 23:5,6; 33:15,16
Luke 1:32,33
The Messiah will be a born of a virgin
Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-35
The Messiah’s first spiritual work will be in Galilee
Isaiah 9:1-7
Matthew 4:12-16
The Messiah will make the blind see, the deaf hear, etc.
Isaiah 35:5-6
Many places. Also see Matthew 11:3-6 and John 11:47
The Messiah will be beaten, mocked, and spat upon
Isaiah 50:6
Matthew 26:67 and 27:26-31
The “Gospel according to Isaiah”
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
People will hear and not believe the “arm of the LORD” (Messiah)
Isaiah 53:1
John 12:37,38
The Messiah will be rejected
Isaiah 53:3
Matthew 27:20-25; Mark 15:8-14; Luke 23:18-23; John 19:14,15
The Messiah will be killed
Isaiah 53:5-9
Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37-39; Luke 23:46; John 19:30
The Messiah will be silent in front of his accusers
Isaiah 53:7
Matthew 26:62,63 and 27:12-14
The Messiah will be buried with the rich
Isaiah 53:9
Matthew 27:59,60; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:52,53; John 19:38-42
The Messiah will be crucified with criminals
Isaiah 53:12
Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:32,33
The Messiah is part of the new and everlasting covenant
Isaiah 55:3-4 and Jeremiah 31:31-34
Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:6-13
The Messiah will be our intercessor (intervene for us and plead on our behalf)
Isaiah 59:16
Hebrews 9:15
The Messiah has two missions
Isaiah 61:1-3 (first mission ends at “. . . year of the LORD’s favor”)
First mission: Luke 4:16-21; Second mission: to be fulfilled at the end of the world
The Messiah will come at a specific time
Daniel 9:25-26
Galatians 4:4 and Ephesians 1:10
The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2
Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-7
The Messiah will enter Jerusalem riding a donkey
Zechariah 9:9
Matthew 21:1-11
The Messiah will be sold for 30 pieces of silver
Zechariah 11:12,13
Matthew 26:15 with Matthew 27:3-10
The Messiah will forsaken by His disciples
Zechariah 13:7
Matthew 26:31,56
The Messiah will enter the Temple with authority
Malachi 3:1
Matthew 21:12 and Luke 19:45