Different Types of Fulfillment:
At the beginning of Disney’s Hercules, the Fates prophecy to Hades that Hercules will foil his plans of world domination. This prediction had definite boundaries, pointed to one event, and eventually had a definitive fulfillment.
That’s what we generally think of when we imagine prophecies. But that isn’t always how Biblical prophecies work. I found that they generally fell into three different categories:
Narrative Prophecies:
These prophecies are the most abstract. They contain no explicit mention of being a prediction of future events. Rather, they are part of the narrative of Israel’s history – a history which the Messiah recapitulates in his own life.
A good example of this is Hosea 11:1, which reads:
“I loved Israel when he was a child; out of Egypt I called my son”The Gospel of Matthew (2:11) names this as a prophecy fulfilled by Jesus, but a person approaching the original text would not think he is looking at a Messianic prophecy. It appears to be a very straightforward description of Israel’s exodus from Egypt – and it is. However, Jesus reenacts the history of Israel in His own life, giving the text a more elevated and literal fulfillment.
But since there is no way to look at these in advance and know if these types point to future events, they have no predictive power.
Multiple Fulfillment Prophecies:
A second type of prophecy are those which are clearly predicting something, but refer to more than one event. There is an initial fulfillment which is near to the actual giving of the prophecy. Then later on there is a greater fulfillment in the actions of the Messiah.
An example of this would be 2 Samuel 7:12-13, in which God says to King David:
“When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for my name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever.”On first reading this it is clearly referring to the reign of King Solomon. Solomon is, after all, David’s son and the builder of the first Jerusalem Temple. Then later on we see a greater fulfillment in the person of Jesus, who a “son of David” in an extended sense. The house He creates for God is foremost His own body. (John 2:21)
While these prophecies are clearly predicting something, the early fulfillment of these prophecies makes it difficult to know if they also apply to the Messiah. Thus they have more predictive power than the narrative prophecies, but not by much.
Direct Predictions:
These are examples of what most people would think about when they hear of prophecy. These are references which refer directly to the nature and actions of the Messiah. More on those later.
My Focus:
With all this in mind, I wanted to apply certain criteria in constructing a sketch of the Messiah through Old Testament prophecies:
Clarity in Reference:
I’m looking for prophecies which refer to the Messiah in ways which are clear, or at least very probable. A person armed with these texts should be able to form an expectation of what to look for.
No Do-It-Yourself Prophecies:
I don’t want to rely on prophecies which a person could fulfill through his own initiative. For instance, there is a prophecy which says the Messiah will preach in Galilee. Well… any idiot who wished to establish himself as Messiah could take it upon himself to fulfill that prophecy.
No Pre-Existing Christian Faith Required:
Lastly, I wanted to keep in mind a modern perspective that may be skeptical of the miraculous works of Jesus. There were prophecies which stated the Messiah will give sight to the blind. That would be very compelling evidence if you actually saw Bartimeus casting off his cloak, but a modern reader might be more skeptical.
With all that said, join me as we draw this prophetic sketch of the Messiah.
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Part 2 - In the Fullness of Time
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