In the United States, there were approximately 1.7 million new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2018.¹ Globally, there were at least 25 ongoing armed conflicts with vast humanitarian, political, and economic consequences.² In 2016, 815 million people were undernourished.³ Many people look at these statistics of human suffering and wonder where God is in all of this. Does He see our suffering? Did God know all of this would happen? Why doesn’t He do something about it?

From cover to cover, the Bible teems with prophecy. Some prophetic words provide comfort and encouragement during ordeals. Others pierce our hearts and move us to action. Hundreds of the Bible’s predictions have reached their fulfillment while others await future events. Prophecy reveals critical messages from God and provides a lens to interpret our world and our circumstances.

Some prophetic words provide comfort and encouragement during ordeals. Others pierce our hearts and move us to action.

Prophecy Defined

The English word prophecy derives from prophéteia, which means “the gift of communicating and enforcing revealed truth.”⁴ A prophet is one who possesses that gift. He or she is responsible for declaring God’s Word with absolute fidelity (Jeremiah 23:18-22).

Exodus 4 provides a beautiful illustration. When Moses objected to speaking before Pharaoh because of his insecurities, God appointed his brother, Aaron, to be his prophet. “So [Aaron] shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God” (Exodus 4:16). Likewise, God supplies His prophet with what needs to be said, but the prophet is the one to say it. A true prophet appointed by God takes no credit for his words, recognizing that his revelation is God’s and not his own.

Prophecy’s Two-Fold Purposes

Prophecy can have two purposes: to forthtell the present and to foretell the future. Forthtelling is prescriptive. It speaks the truth of God, not for the future but today, for purposes of edification and exhortation and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). Foretelling is predictive; it describes something that will happen in the future. It is also capable of edifying, exhorting, and comforting.

Whether it is predictive or prescriptive, prophecy always points back to God. Before its fulfillment, prophecy conveys an important message from God. After its completion, prophecy produces praise to God.

Prophecy Points to Messiah

Much of biblical prophecy proclaims the Messiah’s first and second coming. It anticipates a day when the nations will recognize Israel’s God as King (Isaiah 2:1-4; Zechariah 8:1-23). Jesus prophesied about His own Second Coming through the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Like the traveling ruler, Jesus will return unexpectedly to settle accounts with every person. He will summon each of us to explain how we used our resources and gifts in this life.

This truth comforts the faithful and warns the unrepentant. As a builder determines the soundness of a wall with a plumb line, God will evaluate our holiness against His holiness and righteousness. His faithful servants will have nothing to fear. They can expect God to substitute Christ’s holiness for theirs while rewarding their efforts with praise, additional responsibilities, and joy (1 John 2:2; Matthew 25:21, 23). If we fail to meet God’s standard of holiness, He will have no choice but to tear us down and cast us out in judgment (Amos 7:7-17). God’s judgment may seem harsh, but He never acts without fair warning. “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Prophecy Produces Praise

Ultimately, prophecy produces praise to God. It reminds mankind of God’s faithfulness in the past and His promises for the future (Habakkuk 3:3-15). In Luke 24, Jesus explained how He fulfilled prophecies throughout the Old Testament (verse 27). When they understood the significance of this, that He was Messiah and had conquered death, they marveled and were full of joy (verse 41). After Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke tells us what His disciples did next: “They worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God” (verses 52-53).

Fulfilled prophecy proves that God is who He says He is. Mathematicians have calculated that the chances of one person fulfilling 48 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah are one chance in ten to the 157th power. Friend, Jesus fulfilled three hundred! Those odds are unfathomable. It’s doubtful that the disciples calculated this before praising and worshiping their risen Lord. So, having gained this perspective, how much more should we praise Him for His fulfilled promises?

Fulfilled prophecy proves that God is who He says He is. Mathematicians have calculated that the chances of one person fulfilling 48 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah are one chance in ten to the 157th power.

Recognizing False Prophets

True prophets command our respect as those chosen to communicate God’s plans and purposes. Impostors often try to imitate them. Since ancient times, false prophets have deceived people by conjuring counterfeit prophecies. How can we know the difference? Scripture gives us several warning signs of false prophets.

A hallmark of false prophets is that they are self-serving and prideful. Rather than glorifying God, they magnify themselves, seeking prosperity and popularity. God’s prophets carry messages that challenge His people to repentance and endurance, while false prophets tell people “what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3, NIV). They often live a lifestyle that is inconsistent with God’s priorities. Numbers 22 describes a prophet for hire named Balaam who “divined” for financial gain and favor with the princes of Midian and Moab.

God’s prophets do not live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. They routinely endure persecution and hardship. When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to proclaim the Good News, He warned them to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” because He was sending them out “as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16).

False Prophets Deny Scripture

Another characteristic of false teachers is their denial of the inspiration or authority of Scripture. Second Timothy 3:16 states, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” If a prophet is genuine, his words will not contradict a single word of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21; Matthew 5:18). God does not change, and neither does His Word. Anyone who rejects the Bible rejects its Author and cannot be His spokesman.

Ultimately, unfulfilled prophecies will debunk false prophets. In Jeremiah 28, Hananiah claimed to be God’s prophet and directly defied the true prophet, Jeremiah. He prophesied that God would dethrone Nebuchadnezzar within two years and liberate Judah. Not only was he wrong, but the exact opposite also happened: Nebuchadnezzar’s grip on Judah tightened, and the Lord put Hananiah to death two months later.

Two Tests of Prophecy

The Lord gives us clear instructions for testing the words of a prophet in Deuteronomy 18:21-22:

And if you say in your heart, "How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?"—when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Of course, this test only works after the oracle has been discredited. In Matthew 24, Jesus warns us that, in the end, many will come claiming to be Him. In fact, the presence of many who claim to be the Messiah will be a sign of the end of the age (verses 3-5, 23-27). These soothsayers “will deceive many” (verse 5).

The apostle John warns believers to be wary and provides an additional test for the validity of prophecy:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:1-6)

Prophecy and Peace

Our world yearns for peace. Science seeks to create physical harmony by curing diseases like cancer and heart disease. Society strives for social harmony by performing random acts of kindness, finding inner peace through meditation, improving work-life balance, eliminating prejudice, resolving to be happy, and pithy sentiments like “Be the change.”

At the surface, these are admirable goals, but they are powerless to transform lives. They are band-aid solutions that do nothing to cure the cancer engulfing our souls, inciting our wars, and encouraging our apathy to others’ misfortunes. If we desire peace, we must embrace the Prince of Peace.

More than seven hundred years before Jesus was born in a dirty Bethlehem stable, Isaiah predicted, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus Christ was born into adversity. He was the Son of a poor, unwed mother in an occupied nation, yet He possessed the power of peace.

The Suffering Servant

God did not spare His Son from hardship because He was ordained to be the Suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah 53. In John 12:23-26, Jesus stated:

The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

God’s children are not immune from suffering. Joblessness, illness, and tragedy find us all. Yet, knowing that God is sovereign above our circumstances, that He loves us, and that He is for us can provide peace in troubled times.

¹American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 2018 (Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2018) 1.

²“Global Conflict Tracker,” , accessed on December 26, 2018.

³“Conflict and Climate Change Challenge Sustainable Development Effort: UN Report,” , accessed on December 26, 2018.

⁴“Prophéteia,” , accessed on December 27, 2018.