Of course, I think sometimes we misunderstand the purpose of prophecy. I know I have. If you are like me, you might look at prophecy as “telling the future.” Because of this, we often think that prophecy was provided in the Bible simply to give us a future road-map. Another way to think of it is that it was given to us so we can solve the “puzzle” and know what will happen next. But is this what the Bible says about prophecy?
To start, we must understand that prophecies were always meant to be a blessing to us (see Revelation 1:3 and 22:7). Every prophecy in the Bible was given to benefit the people of God, not to scare or intimidate. The definition of the word “prophecy” is “an utterance of God.” A prophet is one to whom God speaks (Jeremiah 23:21) and then delivers God’s message to the people (Deuteronomy 18:18; Exodus 7:1). Anytime God speaks to His people through a prophet is considered prophecy.
This is why Paul says that the gift of prophecy is meant for believers (1 Corinthians 14:22)—because it is God’s message to them. Although we may be more familiar with the prophecies in which God reveals future events, there are many more prophecies that were given to the people as warnings of their wickedness. In fact, one of the major reasons for prophecies was to expose their sins and ward off captivity (Lamentations 2:14, see also 1 Corinthians 14:24). More prophecies in scripture consist of some kind of warning and a plea to return to God.
In fact, in Jeremiah 23:21, 22, God says that if the prophets had truly spoken His words, the people would have turned from their wicked ways. It is actually a false prophet who preaches peace and that no harm will come from sinning (Jeremiah 23:16–18; Jeremiah 28:9). We know it cannot be God speaking such words because He says, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23). Again He says in 2 Chronicles 7:14—“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” This is why we should not treat such prophecies with contempt (1 Thessalonians 5:20), because they are often given to us to warn us, change us, and save us!
But what about the ones that do reveal the future? Part of the reason we have been given future prophecies is so we can know the times in which we live. Jesus, after telling the disciples some of the signs of His coming, said, “when you see all these things, you know that He is near, at the very gates” (Matthew 24:33). In Luke 21:28, He says, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Basically, the signs were to tell us that Jesus is coming soon.
Notice, though, that Jesus doesn’t say, “when you see a sign fulfilled, figure out what will come next.” The signs weren’t meant to be puzzle pieces for us to figure out, but were a means to warn us that Jesus’ kingdom was near! Our reaction to seeing a sign, according to Jesus, should be raising our heads in preparation to greet Him when He comes. If anything, any prophetic fulfillment we recognize should prompt us to deepen our relationship with the King Who is coming!
More than this, though, future prophecies have a greater reason. According to Isaiah 46:9 10, knowing the future, and telling it with 100% accuracy, is something only God can do. In a somewhat humorous challenge to idols, God explains again that knowing what is to come is an attribute to being God (Isaiah 41:22–24). This idea is also established in Daniel 2:47.
The fact that He can reveal the future, and is always right about it, proves He is God (this is also why God’s prophecies of the future are so specific and not vague). It is not surprising, then, that God would say, “when this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God” (Ezekiel 24:24). That phrase, “then you will know that I am the Lord,” shows up more than 50 times in the book of Ezekiel alone. Each time it is in the context of when something takes place as God said it would, then they would know He is God. Therefore, prophecy was meant to be recognized when it is happening, not necessarily figured out before. It is meant to prove that God knew it would happen. This is the greater purpose of prophecy: when we see what God said would happen, happening, we will trust Him even more.
Yes, it is good to study and know what the prophecies are so we can recognize them when they happen. Understand, though, that some claim that a prophecy is from God when it isn’t. Deuteronomy 18:21, 22 says that if someone proclaims something in the name of God, but it does not take place or come true, then God did not speak through them. Because of this, we must be faithful to test everything to make sure it is from God (1 Thessalonians 5:21)—remember, Jesus warned there would be false prophets (Matthew 7:15), which means there will be false prophecies as well.
God’s prophecies are found in scripture (not on Facebook or Google). They are specific and they will be fulfilled exactly as He said. And when you recognize one being fulfilled, you can know that God’s kingdom is near—it can serve as a reminder for you to hold on to Jesus.
It is not for us to try to figure out how the future will unfold (the Pharisees tried this with their interpretations of the Messianic prophecies and still did not recognize Jesus as the fulfillment). We are not to wait until some greater prophecy is fulfilled to get right with God. There are plenty of signs that show He is near. So let us look to the sky—and prepare to meet our Savior!