Chapter 2 - Prophets of the Bible (Continued)
Summary
The messages each prophet conveyed were as diverse as the prophets themselves, but in each message was the theme of divine love. Even when He scorned or warned His people, it was in the sense of discipline and desire of reconciliation. Many Bible readers find the Old Testament distasteful because there is so much death and bloodshed, but we always need to remember that God is a ‘just’ God, meaning that disobedience must be punished. God told Ezekiel, “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.” (Ezekiel 18:32, see also Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11) With mankind unable to resolve its sin problem, God sent His Son to offer a ‘fix’ for sin. But even with Jesus, those who chose not to accept Him as their Savior will be punished and be condemned to hell for eternity. God seriously does not want that to happen. The apostle Paul summarizes this in his first letter to his protégé Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6) Peter also emphasizes the point that God wants all to repent of their sins and accept Jesus. He wrote, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) So, that even though God does not want anyone to be condemned to an eternity in hell, but since He is a just God, anyone who does not accept Jesus, will be condemned.
With that said, coming back to the prophets and their prophetic messages, we can see that each message had an intended audience that typically required an action. Either from people (the audience), such as to repent or follow instructions, or from God promising to do something. The substance of prophecies is not found in the method God used to authenticate the prophecy, but should be explored by identifying the audience and understanding the message.
In the book of Matthew alone, the writer specifies seventeen times when something that was done that fulfilled prophecy. God’s Word is true and if a prophecy has not yet occurred, doesn’t mean it will not happen, it just means that it will occur in the future. God’s Word is unshakable and should never be compromised or allegorized just because something didn’t occur or it didn’t happen when or where it was thought to occur. The prophecies in the Bible are an integral part of God’s Word and should be respected as such. Simply put, God means what He says and says what He means.
Has God-given prophecy come to an end? No, as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:10 that some believers will be blessed with the gift of prophecy. Paul doesn’t elaborate how that gift will be used but does state, “prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers” (1 Corinthians 14:22b, see also 1 Corinthians 13:2, 18; 14:6). Prophecy is to encourage and embolden believers to do as God directs them to do, to boldly go!