Definition of Prophecy:
·
The word prophet combines two
terms: phemi which means to speak and pro in
the place of. A prophet speaks in the place of God; he is God’s
spokesman. This is evident in all the above lineup of prophets. Jeremiah
has God’s word in his mouth (Jer. 1:9; 15:16). Isaiah answers the call of
God, Whom shall I send and who will go for Us (Isa.
6:8). Ezekiel eats the scroll with God’s words and then tells Israel
those words (Ezek. 3:1-4). Hosea became a prophet when the
LORD began to speak by Hosea (Hos. 1:2).
·
There are two key phrases in the prophetic
writings. First, the word of the LORD (e.g. Hos.
4:1) which you will see countless times; this is their
message. Then, thus says the Lord (e.g. Ezek.
2:3-4). The prophet receives his message from God and then declares
it. These men are never to be understood as declaring the platform
of a political party in Israel but as declaring God’s word to the nation,
including and especially the leadership. All of this leads us to
understand that the writings of the prophets are the result of the inspiration of
God. This is Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17). These men
were moved (lit. borne along) by the Holy Spirit
as they spoke and wrote (2 Peter 1:20-21). Thus we must conclude
that God is continuing to speak through them today as we read and study their
writings.
Interpreting Prophecy
We
have published on our blog an excellent article by Jewish Christian commentator
Viktor Buksbazen entitled Some Guidelines to the Interpretation of Prophecy (in
4 parts, July 15,22,29; Aug. 5, 2017). Here
are brief reminders.
o Interpret
literally. Inspiration is what we
call verbal (to the very words) plenary (completely, without exception). Thus we need to understand the prophet’s
words in their original, historical context.
Remember: even the foretelling (predictions of the future) have been
fulfilled literally.
o Interpret
harmoniously. As 2 Pt. 1:20-21
indicates, Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. The word of the LORD is a whole, including
what He gave to every individual prophet.
o Interpret
perspectively. There are gaps in
prophecy. Someone has said, “Prophecy
sees together what history sees separate.”
A profound illustration of this is in Isa. 61:1-3. Jesus quotes half of this in Luke 4:18, the
half that applied to His incarnation.
The other half applied to His return and reign and is still future. Thus He left it unsaid. Often the illustration is used of two
mountain peaks. From a distance they
seem together; but if you climb one you see a big gap between them. This is critical.
o Interpret Christologically. 1 Pet. 1:10-11 reminds us that the prophets often did not understand what they said and wrote. Having Christ in our rearview mirror we are able to understand some of what they couldn’t see. Remember: the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). The word of the Lord is God’s message that reveals how He exalts His Son. The word of God is the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:2).
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