What is Prophecy? - Two Definitions

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Since we are talking about prophecy on this blog, it's only fair to define what prophecy is.

There are at least two definitions of "prophecy" (Tweet that!):

• To predict the future 
• To speak forth God's Truth

When I first started studying this subject years ago, I thought prophecy meant foretelling the future, and it does. (Tweet that!) This is what God did through the prophets of old in the Old Testament, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, and Zechariah.

But I have since learned that prophecy also has another meaning, and that is speaking forth God's truth. Whenever a man or woman of God speaks forth the truth of God, this too is prophecy. Are you a prophet in this sense? (Tweet that!) 

In this blog my aim also two-fold:

My aim is to show you places in God's Word, which is the Bible (Old and New Testaments), where His prophets predicted future events. And then also show where those events were perfectly fulfilled, if they have been fulfilled in the past. (Tweet that!) 

Then secondly I want to show places in God's Word, the Bible, where His prophets predicted events that are future to us, prophecies that have not yet come to pass. (Tweet that!) With these we are looking at what is happening in the world today that could be a fulfillment of that prophecy or could be leading up to or setting things up for its fulfillment. (Tweet that!) 

Sometimes when we talk about prophecy on the internet or elsewhere, we can sound, ranting about things like "the mark of the beast" and other important topics. But what's neglected is what comes before that, questions like "what is the mark of the beast?" and "where do they get that?" I can almost hear many people asking where does come from? If it's in the Bible, where does it say that? And just what does the Bible say about that?

In this blog it's my aim to answer these questions as best as I can, especially "Where do they get that?" (Tweet that!)

Prophecies Fulfilled in the Life of Jesus
by Dianne E.  Butts

There can be other meanings of prophecy also, including the "prophetic pictures" God painted in the Bible of His kingdom or His Messiah, including the prophetic pictures painted in the Tabernacle/Temple and the seven Feasts of the LORD, which we will look at occasionally here, including next week. I discussed these very topics in my newest book, Prophecies Fulfilled in the Life of Jesus, so you if you'd like to learn more about these you may like to get that book. (Tweet that!)

Prophecy can also mean interpretation, such as when Daniel was called in to interpret the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2) and interpret the handwriting on the wall for King Belshazzar (Daniel 5). When Daniel interpreted these signs from God, Daniel was also speaking prophecy or prophesying. 

Another vitally important issue is, how can we tell a true prophet from a false one? And how can we determine which prophecies are truly from God and which are not? In the next post we'll look at how to tell a true prophet and true prophecies from false ones.

Meanwhile, I hope you've found this discussion of "What is prophecy?" and these definitions helpful.

The Prophecy of the Potter’s Field

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Judas has betrayed Jesus.

The religious leaders of Israel offered Judas Iscariot thirty pieces of silver to betray the sinless son of God. Judas took the money and betrayed him.

This was prophesied in Zechariah 11:13:

"And the LORD said to me, 'Throw it to the potter'—the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter."

After Judas betrayed Jesus, he felt remorse, but Judas Iscariot did not repent—not in the way that is required by God to obtain forgiveness. (Tweet that!)

Remorse means he felt bad about it. Repent means to stop doing something that is wrong, admit that wrong, turn around, and go another direction. (Tweet that!)

Scripture tells us Judas repented, but he repented to the religious leaders…not to God. Matthew 27:3-10:

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." 

"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

Matthew attributes the prophecy to Jeremiah and apparently had in mind a similar passage written by Jeremiah. Jeremiah worked as a prophet from 626 B.C. to 585 B.C.

Zechariah was a contemporary of Jeremiah's and was among the exiles who returned to Israel from Babylon in 538 B.C. He wrote this prophecy sometime after 480 B.C. So this prophecy which Judas fulfilled in the betrayal to death of Jesus was written around 500 years before the events of Jesus' death. (Tweet that!)

This is another Bible prophecy that was fulfilled in amazing detail. (Tweet that!)

Strike the Shepherd and the Flock will be Scattered

After Jesus and the Eleven remaining disciples left the Last Supper, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30).

"Then Jesus told them, 'This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered" ' " (Matthew 26:31).

Here Jesus quotes Zechariah, once again applying prophecy to himself. (Tweet that!)

" 'Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!' declares the Lord Almighty. 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones,' " (Zechariah 13:7).

Zechariah is speaking for God, so it is God saying He would turn the sword against His beloved Shepherd.

This prophecy, which Zechariah wrote and Jesus quoted and applied to himself, was fulfilled only a little while later.

"Jesus said to the crowd, 'Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writing of the prophets might be fulfilled.' Then all the disciples deserted him and fled," (Matthew 26:56).

And so the sheep were scattered, and another prophecy was fulfilled. (Tweet that!)

If there comes a time when the flock you're a part of is scattered, and the human shepherd you follow is struck, have you considered where you will flee to? Always follow Jesus and you'll never be lost. (Tweet that!)

The Prophecy in Thirty Silver Coins

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Judas Iscariot agreed to betray Jesus for thirty silver coins. This was not a random number or a coincidence. Thirty pieces of silver was significant. This is a fulfillment of prophecy. (Tweet that!)

"Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?' So they counted out for him thirty silver coins," (Matthew 26:14-15).

Zechariah was among the exiles who returned to Israel from Babylon in 583 B.C. Zechariah wrote to the people of Israel that they were not following their shepherd, God, and this was the reason for their exile. He said, in effect, if you are not willing to follow "me," meaning God the good shepherd, then pay me my wages—thirty pieces of silver—and the relationship between shepherd and the sheep will be severed.

You can find Zechariah's words in Zechariah 11:12:

"I told them, 'If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.' So they paid me thirty pieces of silver."

Furthermore, in the next verse (v. 13), Zechariah said:

"And the LORD said to me, 'Throw it to the potter'—the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter."

Judas Iscariot agreed to betray Jesus to the hands of the Romans and the leaders of Israel for thirty pieces of silver, paid by the Jewish leaders.

Afterwards, however, Judas felt remorse and wanted to the return the money. He took it back to the Jewish leaders but they would not take it back. This is what Matthew tells us happened next. Look for the prophetic parallels in these verses below to Zechariah 11:13 above:

"So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 

"The chief priests picked up the coins and said, 'It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.' So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah* the prophet was fulfilled: 'They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me,' " (Matthew 27:5-10).

*Jeremiah also gave a prophetic object lesson in Jeremiah 19:1-13 (see also 18:2-12 and 32:6-9) which is why Matthew points to Jeremiah, the more "major" prophet in his passage, instead of Zechariah.

When God knows such details such as the prophecy in the thirty pieces of silver hundreds of years in advance, and then is able to see to it that those details play out in perfection at the proper time, what does this tell you about God? (Tweet that!)

How does this prophecy given and fulfilled give you confidence in God today?

Riding into Jerusalem on a Donkey Fulfilled Prophecy

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In his gospel, the eye-witness, John, one of Jesus' twelve disciples, connected the prophecy written by the prophet Zechariah of Israel's king riding a donkey to Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem. John wrote:

"Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 'Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt' " (John 12:14-15).

As a good Jew, the apostle John was very familiar with the Jewish Scriptures—what we now know as the Old Testament of the Bible. So John knew about, and quoted, the words Zechariah had written in his book:

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" Zechariah 9:9.

Zechariah was a prophet and a priest who lived centuries before Jesus was born. Zechariah was among those who returned from the exile in Babylon to Judah and Israel in 538 B.C. Bible scholars date Zechariah's chapters 9 – 14 as being written sometime after 480 B.C.

The eyewitness John, a close friend and follower of Jesus, recognized that Jesus was fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy when Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. (Tweet that!)

Do you know the Bible well enough to recognize prophecy and when it is being fulfilled?

If not, what steps can you start taking today to get to know it better? (Suggested answers: Read it. Pray for understanding. Study it with some friends. Find a Bible-teaching church to become a part of. Visit this blog regularly, because that is the aim of the blog.)

What might you be an eyewitness to today that you believe is a Bible prophecy being fulfilled? Anything? (Tweet that!)