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“THAT THOU MAYEST KNOW”

FULFILLED PROPHECY SUPPORTS BELIEF IN GOD AND THE INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE

STEPHEN GREEN

AMONG THE VARIOUS reasons for belief in God and His Word which we put before the public in these days, prophecy should take a prominent place. Miraculous events such as the plagues of Egypt or the resurrection of Jesus have caused a great surge of belief in their time, and their historical soundness has ensured that they still have an effect. For those who have little or no previous contact with God, this kind of sign is important. Prophecy fulfilled, particularly prophecy fulfilled in our own age and relating to familiar events, can provide that drama which is necessary to stimulate the attention of men and women, even when the working out of God’s purpose seems to involve only natural processes.

As man gets lost among the immediate detail and events of his life, where everything seems important, prophecy provides that guiding light (2 Pet. 1:19), that structure in which to view the events of history as it unfolds, and in which to fit one’s own small slot of natural life.

Nebuchadnezzar: “Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?” (Dan. 2:26).

Daniel: “... this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart” (v. 30, RV).

When Daniel used the title of this article in answer to Nebuchadnezzar’s query, he clearly had in mind the need for Nebuchadnezzar (1) to remember his dream, (2) to know its interpretation, (3) to know certain events of the future, but especially (4) to know the Divine source of the dream and its interpretation, and thus its certainty. “The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure” (v. 45). The manner in which Nebuchadnezzar’s secret was revealed by Daniel was the confirmation that Nebuchadnezzar needed.

The human parade of wise men, astrologers, magicians and soothsayers at the court of Nebuchadnezzar (v. 27) was ignorant and impotent, but there was a God in heaven, One that revealed secrets, and made future things known. True prophecy can only be a product of the God in heaven Who is all powerful, is in control, and knows. He uses prophecy because He wants to make Himself and His purpose known. And so prophecy becomes a characteristic of His Word intended for our benefit and to demonstrate both the power of God and the inspiration of the Scriptures.

Prophecy not to be despised

Prophecy, then, is part of the manifestation of the great God and His presence in the earth. As pointed out elsewhere in this issue, the Bible lays much emphasis upon prophecy in the sense of the prediction of future events. One of the purposes behind this gift of God is that it should witness to Him, that it should stimulate and support our belief in Him and in His inspired messengers and Scriptures.

The world in general, and members of false churches and religions, have long despised prophecy. Some have begun to despise it even among Christadelphians, claiming that its use savours of magic and fortune-telling, and the world of horoscopes.

It may be humanly more convenient when God does not speak clearly and in real terms. There is more opportunity to make of it what we will. If we ourselves confuse true and false prophecy to the extent of despising both when it comes to preaching or Bible study, then we have to ask ourselves firstly whether we are making the right distinction between the two, and secondly whether we are prepared to bear the reproach of Christ, the reproach of the Spirit of Christ which was in the prophets (Heb. 11:26; 13:13; 1 Pet. 1:10,11).

In the days of Nebuchadnezzar the prophecy of the Image dream and its interpretation was confirmed by a sign, by the revelation of the dream to a second person, Daniel. In our own day the signs come from the prophecy itself, as we trace for ourselves and our neighbours in terms familiar to Christadelphians the series of world empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome ruling over the known earth.

The dream and its fulfilment to modern times provides a framework in which to see the Lord’s control and prescience among the nations. It is given so that, not only Nebuchadnezzar, but men since—modern man included— may “know” too. The image (with Nebuchadnezzar as head) stands for successive governments by man. Just as Goliath was the champion of man’s power and David the champion of God, so the image was manufactured, moulded as if by the hand of man from extracted metals and clay, whereas the stone was taken out of the mountain without hands, of Divine origin. That is to say, the stone being centred in the Man (of God) exists now in Christ himself and remains to be completed in “All Israel”.

A man like Nebuchadnezzar desires to know what will come to pass hereafter, but there is only One Who knows. “There is a God in heaven”, proclaims Daniel, “that revealeth secrets” (2:28). At the end of the episode Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges this (v. 47): “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret”.

One of the remarkable things about Biblical prophecy and its fulfilment is the wide compass of prophecy. It sees the future of particular nations; of individuals when they have some fundamental or important role in God’s purpose; of cities; of categories of people; of the earth on which we dwell. It applies to diverse times. The result is a wide base for prophetic appeal, and a message of Divine reality relevant to men and women in many different ages and countries. For the purpose of this article we select prophecy mainly relating to the nation of Israel, and concentrate upon aspects the fulfilment of which is well known in history.

Prophecy fulfilled in Israel through the ages

No doubt the mountain out of which the stone was excavated without human hands signified the nation of Israel, the Kingdom of God, out of which Christ was taken by Divine power (Rom. 9:5). But just as the image itself has been and is now a witness through prophecy to the power of God controlling the nations, so the history of Israel, the Kingdom of God, has been the major witness to Him, sadly often an unwilling witness. When we examine the prophecies of Israel we see them build up stage by stage to a full picture of Israel’s destiny. It is as if Israel is created by prophecy, by Divine fiat, a creation still to be fully implemented.

Foundation prophecies made to the early ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, related to the people and the land. These prophecies have not yet received their complete fulfilment. However, within this background, Genesis 15:12-18 prophesies the early migration of Abraham’s descendants and provides a framework for the subsequent Kingdom of God. The Lord tells Abraham that his descendants would:

1. be strangers and slaves in an unnamed land;

2. come out with great wealth after judgements on the host nation;

3. return to Canaan; and,

4. under a covenant involving Divine theophany, be given the land from Egypt to Euphrates.

The prophecy was fulfilled of course as Israel descended to Egypt and came out under Moses with the riches of their Egyptian neighbours, returned to Canaan under Joshua, and at one stage took the land from Egypt to Euphrates under David. The prophecy was about to begin its fulfilment when God spoke to Israel (the man) in vision at Beersheba. It was the means of encouraging him to leave for Egypt: “God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And He said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again” (Gen. 46:2-4). At Beersheba Divine prophecy is made the basis for Jacob’s decision, having learned in life the lesson of dependence upon God. It is also seen to be the manifestation of God’s continuing care for the people. He will become nationally great in Egypt and return to Canaan.

Looking back, this prophecy is seen as an unfolding clarification of an earlier one, seeing that fulfilment of Genesis 15 was just commencing with Jacob descending into Egypt, a land not his (not promised to him), where he would initially be welcome but, Divinely speaking, more of a stranger than in Canaan. This pattern of further prophetic expansion as each stage receives its fulfilment is typical of God’s continuing use of prophecy for His witness.

As they begin their journey back to Canaan substantial prophecies are made again, this time relevant to their life in the land and the national response to Yahweh their God. Leviticus 26 is God’s solemn pronouncement of blessings and cursings, and a summary is listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Blessings and Cursings from Leviticus 26

These prophecies are made conditional upon the actions of the people. Verse 3: “If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them ...”, then the blessings. Verses 14,15: “But if ye will not ...”, then the curses. When the conditions applied, so did the relevant prophecy, God’s pronouncement. Subsequent history shows occasionally the blessings being fulfilled, but more frequently the curses. It was only in the mercy of God that He continually sent messengers and prophets to warn them by short-term confirming prophecies which provided more detail of the coming fulfilment. Thus here, in Leviticus 26, God lays the basic picture of cursing and restoration.

At the end of their journey, as the people prepare to enter the land, the prophet Moses pronounces a similar set of blessings and cursings, especially concerning their relationship to other nations. In Deuteronomy 28 he tells them that Israel will be set on high above all nations (vv. 1,13,14), if they are observant of God’s law, that is, in spiritual things, and then they will be blessed in material things. Their life as a nation is bound up in prophecy. Table 2 summarises some of the details in this chapter.

Verses 36,37, where the people and their king are taken away, were clearly fulfilled in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. A second wave of curses seems to commence at verse 38, as if they have returned to the land, but under domination by foreigners (v. 43). If they will not hearken, then upon them will come curses and destruction (v. 45)— “for a sign and for a wonder ... for ever (an age)” (v. 46). The extreme siege by the nation “from far” (vv. 49,52 etc.), the people plucked out of the land (v. 63), and scattered (v. 64), and given no rest among the nations, were clearly fulfilled in the events of the Roman occupation and destruction, and Israel’s wanderings since.

One of the features which comes out of Moses’s prophecies at this time is the continuing mercy of God: “I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men: were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this ... for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land, and to His people” (Deut. 32:26,27,43).

There is a long list of prophecies of the survival of Israel as a people in spite of all the judgements of God, and to the verses quoted we can add Leviticus 26:44,45; 2 Kings 14:26,27; Isaiah 44:21,22; Jeremiah 30:11; Romans 10:21-11:2. The holocaust, although it presents moral problems to many, especially those who were caught up in it, still demonstrates the preservation of Israel. In spite of systematic and highly efficient attempts to destroy the nation, they survived in response to prophecy that they would not be cast off.

Table 2: A Summary of Blessings and Cursings from Deuteronomy 28

Prophecies of survival against the humanly perceived trend of history are amongst the most powerful to demonstrate that God exists, and that He is inspiring the prophets and guiding history to conform. These prophecies of Israel show them as God’s continuing witnesses, essentially timeless witnesses, a place clearly outlined for the children of Jacob through Isaiah in chapters 43 and 44: “Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD) ... that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He ... Who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them ... have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even My witnesses ... Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all ... that confirmeth the word of His servant, and performeth the counsel of His messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited ...” (43:10; 44:7,8,24,26). These quotations show the emphasis placed upon the witness of Israel and its basis upon prophecy.

The periods of the major and minor prophets of Israel provide an elucidation in detail of stages in the longer-term prophecies of Leviticus and Deuteronomy as their fulfilments draw closer. As earlier, we see more detail being continually revealed of eras still to come.

The pre-exilic prophets are concerned not only with Israel but often also with their neighbours; and these prophecies, most of which have received their fulfilment long ago, can very profitably be used to substantiate the Divine origin of the prophets.

Apostles as prophets to Israel

The prophetic function as it was directed to Israel continued through the apostles, the messengers of the Lord, largely in explaining the significance of Jesus’s coming rather than in predicting the future, but for those who believed in the Hope of Israel, both Jew and Gentile, there was a special prophecy of warning, to be compared with the warnings of Moses we considered earlier. All the apostles who wrote, except James, warned of the apostasy of the church, that is, of Israel after the Spirit. Table 3 lists the many passages showing that a widespread and wholesale departure from sound teaching would be involved. This has been fulfilling ever since, just as Israel after the flesh over many generations were departing from the Lord and reaping the curses.

The cyclic nature of apostasy which we see in Israel’s frequent fall and then return to God has also been a feature of the Body of Christ. After spiritual decline extending almost to complete loss of the Faith, return to the Word of God has brought about a recovery of the basis, the Truth by which spiritual Israel have life. We are forced therefore to see a parallel between natural and spiritual Israel in this respect. Belief in the fulfilment of these prophecies is the basis of our existence as a separate community in the religious world today. And the importance of the Word to us must never be forgotten.

When we think of what the two Israels were and are intended to become, their failure is the more terrible. The worldwide dispersion of Israel and the apostasy of the church add to the strength of these two witnesses for the existence, foreknowledge and power of God.

Table 3: Warnings of Apostasy

Prophecy fulfilled in our own day

We should not end without a mention of prophecy fulfilling in this generation, before our very eyes. It should be and often is a central feature of our preaching in these days when faith in God and in the Bible is so rare.

The resurgence of Israel as a nation is a feature of prophecy. “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24). “Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth ...” (vv. 29,30). The shooting forth of new nations including the fig tree of Israel has been a notable feature of recent decades, not merely in the Near East, but also through out the world.

This is the reversal of earlier fulfilment of solemn prophecy and the curse of God. We would therefore expect the event to be part of the deliberate plan and purpose of God, rather than a chance quirk in Near Eastern affairs. That this is true is confirmed by other prophecies which indicate Israel’s presence in the land before their full political and spiritual salvation at the return of their King (for example, Ezek. 36:22-25).

The return of Israel to their land and the setting up of the State of Israel has been something special. As nations are battered by history, they are driven or drift in response to pressure from the invader or attraction of a desirable location. They migrate from one side of a continent to another or even over the sea in major groups. If they refuse to move, then either they absorb the newcomers, or they are themselves absorbed. Through the long march of man’s existence there have been a multiplicity of changes, and nations have managed to forget their original fatherland for loyalty to the new. Has there ever been a case where the fatherland was forsaken practically completely, and yet, generations later, the nation has returned to the same place? I know of only one such nation—Israel. And they have returned, not once, but at two distinct periods of history and against all human probabilities.

When we consider that this was the subject of prophecy so many years before the event the probability of the complete pattern being fulfilled becomes many times more remote. God’s hand must have been behind the events. The prophecies of Israel’s return and the rebuilding of the land have been fulfilled, and are irrefutable evidence for their Divine origin and their Divine progressing through centuries.

Knowing God

We wonder how far Nebuchadnezzar progressed in the lesson of God’s reality and the inspiration of His Word. We know that later he needed a further dramatic dream and even more dramatic changes to his life style which were provided in the mercy of God, not merely to produce some change in him but also to provide an example of the greatness of God for others. Prophecy and seeing its confirmation is meant to have an effect upon mankind; it is more than a mere understanding by books (Dan. 9:2). One of its chief intentions is that we may come to believe, and that, like Daniel, we may maintain faith under the pressures of life.

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