The true sense of a prophet is one who proclaims truth on behalf of another. Within that framework, God revealed truth to Old Testament prophets in various ways. They received information from God through dreams, visions, angels, and verbal communication. The method does not matter nearly as much as the message. Whenever Israel’s king began to fail, God provided prophets to correct him. After Israel and Judah fell and there was no longer an earthly king, God provided prophets to guide the exiles. God spoke to His ancient prophets in various ways; regardless of the method, the prophets were responsible for faithfully communicating His message to the people.

Prophecy’s Perspective

While the prophets were hand-selected messengers from God, they still grappled with the limitations of a human perspective. As they peered into the future, events often converged for them because they didn’t understand the timeline of their prophecies. When we watch the sunset, it appears to melt into the earth. Now, we know the two do not touch, but it seems as if they do from our limited vantage point. When the prophets received a vision, they didn’t realize that vast spans of time sometimes separated prophetic events. For instance, the coming of the Messiah and the Day of the Lord often appeared in succession. These prophecies were event-oriented, not time-oriented. God gave the prophets supernatural revelation, but He didn’t explain all the specifics.

When the prophets received a vision, they didn’t realize that vast spans of time sometimes separated prophetic events.

One Story—Two Testaments

The prophets’ fundamental role did not change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Prophets continued to be God’s spokesmen. They communicated His plans, purposes, and power. Before Israel and Judah’s exile, prophets addressed the king’s failures and called him to repent. During the banishment, prophets pointed to a future King who would ransom His people and rule in perfect holiness. In the New Testament, prophets illustrated Christ’s kingship through the events of His life and prophesied His triumphant return. Old Testament prophets anticipated the King of kings, while New Testament prophets affirmed the King of kings.

Prophecy’s Purpose

More than three hundred specific promises anticipate the coming Savior in the Old Testament. In Acts 3:24, Peter stated, “All the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.” Here are just a few of the messianic prophecies Jesus fulfilled.

• Micah predicted Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem Ephrathah (Micah 5:2).
• Zechariah foreshadowed a future when the Davidic monarch and the priesthood would meet in the Messiah (Zechariah 6:11-15; Hebrews 3:1; Revelation 5:5).
• Jeremiah foretold the slaughter of the innocents carried out by Herod (Jeremiah 31:15).
• Hosea revealed that Mary and Joseph would have to flee to Egypt to save Jesus’s life (Hosea 11:1).

These prophecies occurred more than four hundred years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem!

Prophecy has always pointed to Almighty God’s magnificent plan of redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prophecy has always pointed to Almighty God’s magnificent plan of redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord. Once the life, death, and resurrection of the promised Messiah were complete, an era of prophecy ended. Old Testament prophecies anticipated the Messiah. Then, New Testament prophecies announced the Messiah. Finally, John’s book of Revelation completed God’s written Word. Since this vision, prophets have relied on information from the Bible, together with the Holy Spirit, and applied it to the situation of their day.

Fulfilled Prophecy

Much of the New Testament prophecy was fulfilled before the apostle John’s death because it centered around the life of Jesus and His disciples. Some predictions dealt with the disciples: they anticipated Judas’s betrayal (Matthew 26:24-25), Peter’s denial (Matthew 26:34), and the manner of Peter’s death (John 21:18-19). However, most of its prophecy foretold events of Jesus’s death, resurrection, and Second Coming.

After the Resurrection, Jesus sat down with His disciples and showed them how He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy. That should be an encouragement to us! Even the men who had lived with Jesus for years and studied the Scriptures with Him needed help understanding all of this. As He concluded His lesson, Jesus said, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). Then He “opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (verse 45). Some people want to say Jesus was nothing more than a good teacher. That can’t possibly be true because He repeatedly declared Himself to be the promised Messiah, and He met the requirements of Messiah.

New Testament prophecy builds up the Body of Christ through exhortation and encourages believers in the face of persecution.

When the disciples’ lesson was over and Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke tells us that they “worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:52-53). Understanding God’s sovereignty and His faithfulness to fulfill promises prompted joyful worship by the disciples. Our response should be no different! New Testament prophecy builds up the Body of Christ through exhortation and encourages believers in the face of persecution (1 Corinthians 14:4-5).

Prophecy’s Power

The disciples’ lives bear testimony to the power of prophecy. They were so confused and frightened in the days immediately following Jesus’s death that they hid behind closed doors (John 20:19). Then, Jesus appeared to them, and everything changed. Once they understood how He had conquered the grave and fulfilled prophecies, they courageously proclaimed that truth to the point of death. The book of Acts records James’s martyrdom in chapter 12, verse 2. Other historical records suggest that at least nine of the other apostles met gruesome deaths as martyrs. If Jesus’s fulfillment had not thoroughly persuaded these men of prophecy, they would not have died for their faith.

Unfulfilled Prophecy

Many biblical prophecies still await their fulfillment. In Revelation 22:10, John was instructed not to seal the words of the book, “for the time is at hand.” The entire book describes events that will not occur until the end of days. Both at its beginning and end, Revelation promises a blessing to those who read it. It is always relevant because it points to the future. If we want to understand God’s plans, we do not need to seek hidden knowledge revealed by a self-proclaimed guru. Instead, we must diligently study the Bible and consider its prophecies.