Prophecy Bible Reflection

". . . For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention.’” Isaiah 46:9-10

Many Christians today believe that Prophecy is a God-given revelation of the future. The prophets of history, namely Moses, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, are the most popular. God gave us prophecy for the purpose of preparing us for the future and to show that his is the one and only God. Rather than being a prediction of the future, prophecy is a promise of the future. These promises were revealed to the prophets in a divine nature (usually through dreams and visions) and then passed along to the people and recorded in the Bible as history. There are different kinds of prophecy. “Messianic” prophecies tell about an “Anointed” or “Chosen One.“ There are also prophecies about the end times, many of which are found in the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Psalms. There are two categories of prophecy; foretelling and forth telling. Most of the Old Testament foretelling prophecy deals with the First and Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. The forth telling prophecy of the Old Testament was usually associated with three main points: 1. You have broken the Covenant of Mosaic Law. 2. If you do not repent, God will bring judgment. 3. Even in judgment there is a future hope and restoration (New Covenant, Messiah, and a new Kingdom). In my reading, I learned that the prophets tried any and every method they could find to relay the message of repentance to the people. They used poetry, object lessons, and narrative material; they tried relaying their messages simply, and when that didn’t work, they were more complex about it. The people were extremely stubborn and obviously didn’t have any respect for the God-chosen prophets. The prophets themselves were not perfect, and I enjoyed the fact that they show a human side by portraying their emotions in their passages to God. The Psalmist shows honesty and real raw emotion in Psalm 137:1-9 1 By the rivers of Babylon —there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4 How could we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! 6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. 7 Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem's fall, how they said, "Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!" 8 O

daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! 9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!

I was almost shocked when I read this verse. All my life I was taught that it was unacceptable and unchristian to express emotions such as anger, hatred, and frustration. As a good Christian girl, I was not supposed to even have or feel such emotions, much less express them. Now I see them, as raw as they come, right in the Bible. I am not sure why I had never seen them there before, but now that I do I don’t feel quite so alone in my anger and I know that God can deal with me at my very worst, as so often I sit and shake my fist at Him. Understanding, and even reading through the book of Jeremiah has always been a difficult task for me. I really never got past all the “woes” and depression to get to any deeper meaning. I usually just skip right by reading it so I don’t get too depressed myself. He always seems to be enduring some sort of misfortune, always carrying the world on his shoulders… Somehow he keeps his sight set on God and says in Lamentations 3:24, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in Him.” That says a multitude about his character. I suppose I am entirely too superficial to let myself get to that point. I’d be too worried about getting grey hair to worry about stressing out about everyone else’s problems. I have enough of my own! This is why I had difficulties understanding this prophet. He and I would probably not see eye to eye on very many issues.