On the Nature of Prophecy

                To follow my last post on miracles, the topic of prophecy is very closely tied in with the topic of the supernatural becoming part of the natural. I’ll stay with the same style as the same post and give the dictionary definition of the word prophecy. In this case from Merriam-Webster: “The inspired utterance of a prophet, the function or vocation of a prophet, the inspired declaration of divine will or purpose, or a prediction of something to come.” Unfortunately, prophecy seems to have been shelved with parlor tricks with psychic readings and divinations. What I would like to do is try to bring back the credibility of prophecy, maybe not in the so-called modern day prophets, but definitely in the prophets and prophecies of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

                Throughout the Old Testament are prophecies that were fulfilled either immediately or there were prophecies that remained unfulfilled for hundreds of years. There were the interpretations of dreams, such as Joseph and Daniel interpreting dreams in the books of Genesis and Daniel, respectively. The book of Daniel also portrays one of the prophecies that were not fulfilled initially, but took a few hundred years to fulfill. What I am speaking of is the prophecy that fortold the rise and fall of great empires. The Babylonians, the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans have come and gone as Daniel predicted.  If you want to read the verses for yourself, please go and read the book of Daniel for yourself.  

                There is also a very large group of prophecies that I have yet to mention. These are the prophecies about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, which are found all throughout the New Testament. There are hundreds of prophecies that are interpreted to speak of Jesus, and there are groups who will argue that there are more or less. Regardless of how many there are, Jesus had to have fulfilled all of the prophecies pertaining to him for Jesus to have the credentials to be called the Messiah. Now there are those who would claim that Jesus orchestrated some of the acts that he did to fulfill the prophecies about him. While this may hold water for certain acts, it certainly cannot hold for all of the prophecies about Jesus. For example, during his crucifixion, Jesus could not have compelled the Roman guards to not break his legs. During crucifixions, the Romans would typically break the legs of the victims when they deemed the ordeal had gone on too long. Instead, the Romans pierced the side of Jesus.

                Now this is only scratching at the surface of the prophecies and credentials of Jesus, but that is a whole other post in itself. The power of prophecy is a marvelous thing, and while there are those who claim to be prophets and psychics, they stay rather vague in their words. The Bible is so specific or so out there in the claims that is makes that have come true that it lead me to believe that there really is something behind the words on the page. I would pray that you see this power as well and come to realize that you need Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Thanks for reading and have a good rest of your day.