Edward D. Andrews — **EDWARD D. ANDREWS** (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored ninety-two books. Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).

Most understand the word “prophecy” always to be another word for prediction. The Hebrew, navi and the Greek prophētēs (prophet) carry the meaning of one who is a proclaimer of God’s message and need not necessarily be foretelling of the future. He may very well be proclaiming a moral teaching, an expression of a divine command or judgment, but they also mean a foretelling of something to come. Below, we will be considering the secondary meaning of prophecy, one who for foretells the future, not the primary meaning, one who forth tells the will and purpose of God, i.e., a proclaimer. Just as it is true of all these genres, there are principles that both writer and reader were aware of and need to be explained. We, however, are far removed from their time and need to be introduced to these principles.

The Prophetic Judgment of Nineveh

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

²⁰But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ ²¹You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which Jehovah has not spoken?’ ²²When a prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that Jehovah has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Jonah 3:4-5 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁴And Jonah began to go into the city a journey of one day, and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ⁵And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

Jonah 3:10 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
¹⁰When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Based on Deuteronomy 18:20-222, does Jonah 3:4-5 and 10 not prove that Jonah was a false prophet? No, both Jonah and the Ninevites were aware of a principle that is often overlooked by the modern-day reader. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel give the answer or the principle that readers of that time would have understood about judgment prophecy. Jeremiah explicitly explains the rule of judgment prophecies when he writes,

Jeremiah 18:7-8 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁷At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to tear down, and to destroy it; ⁸and if that nation which I have spoken against turns from its evil, I will also feel regret over^[1] the calamity that I intended to bring against it.

The opposite is true as well,

Jeremiah 18:9-10 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁹Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; ¹⁰if it does evil in my eyes by not obeying my voice, then I will feel regret over^[2] the good with which I had promised to bless it.

Yes, if one turns back from their evil ways, endeavoring to obey God’s Word, he will not receive the condemnatory judgment that he deserves. That a previous wicked deed will not be held against them, God states,

Ezekiel 33:13-16 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

¹³When I say to the righteous one: “You will surely keep living,” and he trusts in his own righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous acts will be remembered, but he will die for the wrong that he has done. ¹⁴“‘And when I say to the wicked one: “You will surely die,” and he turns away from his sin and does what is just and righteous, ¹⁵and the wicked one returns what was taken in pledge and pays back what was taken by robbery, and he walks in the statutes of life by not doing what is wrong, he will surely keep living. He will not die. ¹⁶None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.

Regardless of all that one has done throughout their life, it is their standing in God’s eyes at the time of the divine judgment which God considers. Therefore, God goes on to say through Ezekiel, “None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him.”

Supposed Unfulfilled Prophecy

In the days when Micah was prophesying, c. 777-717, the king, the heads of the Jerusalem government, the religious leaders, the priests, and some prophets, were deserving of nothing but death. All were guilty of causing the life of their fellow countrymen, all for the sake of greed. They were guilty of false worship, bribery, lies, and wicked behavior. These leaders used false prophets, who were not true spokesmen of God. Therefore, the real prophet, Micah, shouted,

Micah 3:12 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
¹²Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain^[3] of the house as a high place in a forest.

The destruction occurred in the late seventh-century B.C.E., just as it was prophesied. As we can see below, Micah 3:12 was quoted over a century later in Jeremiah 26:18.

Jeremiah 26:16-19 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
¹⁶Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man is not worthy of death; for he hath spoken to us in the name of Jehovah our God.” ¹⁷Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸“Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying: ‘Thus says Jehovah of hosts,

“‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear Jehovah and entreat the favor of Jehovah, and Jehovah changed his mind about the misfortune, which he had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against our own souls.”

Is this another unfulfilled prophecy? Did not Jeremiah himself say, “Jehovah changed his mind about the misfortune, which he had pronounced against them”? Verse 19 of Jeremiah [chapter 26] “indicates that Micah’s preaching may have been instrumental in the revival under King Hezekiah (see 2 Kgs 18:1–6; 2 Chr 29–31).” (Barker and Bailey 2001, 82) The New American Commentary authors go on to say,

Lamentations describes the awful fulfillment of this prophecy (see Introduction, p. 30).^[4] It is ironic that those who thought they were the builders of Zion (v. 10) actually turned out to be, in a sense, its destroyers. The Lord, because of their breach of covenant, used King Nebuchadnezzar’s Neo-Babylonian army to raze Jerusalem and its temple. They were reduced to a “mound of ruins” (translating the Hb. word ʿîyyîn) similar to an archaeological tell and to Ai (see also comments on 1:6), foreshadowing the Roman destruction of a.d. 70. Jerusalem became a place suitable only for wild animals. And the temple mount that thronged with worshipers became as deserted as when Abraham almost offered Isaac there on Mount Moriah (Gen 22:2, 14). (Barker and Bailey 2001, 82)

Yes, there is no reason to view Micah’s words as an unfulfilled prophecy. We have a following of the above rule, with a qualifying clause, so to speak. As God said through Jeremiah, “If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would.” (17:7-8) However, “if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would.” In other words, the king, the governmental leaders and the priests heeded Micah’s warning, repented, and were forgiven for a time, with the judgment prophecy lifted. However, they fell back into their former ways more grievously than before. Therefore, Micah’s prophecy was reinstated. It is as Jeremiah said in 26:19, “But we are committing a great evil against our own souls.” Therefore, Jeremiah was saying, Micah prophesied, the people repented, God forgave them, and now Micah’s words will be carried out because of the current generation of God’s people ‘committing a great evil against their own souls.’

As we can see from the above, judgment prophecies are based on a continued wrong course by those receiving condemnation. However, both the condemned and the one proclaiming the prophecy knew that the judgment would be lifted if they reversed course, and repented. This was even expressed by Jonah himself. “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to Jehovah and said, “O Jehovah, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (4:1-2) However, it is also true, if one goes in the opposite direction after having repented, returning to the sinful ways, the judgment will be reinstated.

Prophetic Language

The prophet is much like the poet, in that he is given a license to express himself in nonliteral language. Generally, he is working with images that are far more effective than words themselves.

Matthew 24:29-31 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰And then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The above cosmic terminology need not be taken literally. It is a part of their toolkit, which enables them to make it clear that God is acting on behalf of humans. (See Dan. 2:21; 4:17, 25, 34–35; 5:21) The sun will not be darkened, the moon will not stop giving its light, and the stars will not fall from the heavens, nor will the heavens be shaken. What is being communicated here is that following the tribulation, when God is going to judge humans, the righteous will receive life, and the unrighteous will be cut off from life. (34-45) While we do not take cosmic terminology literally, we do discover its meaning, and this is what we are to take literally.

Acts 2:14-21 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and declared to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day;^[5] ¹⁶but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel

¹⁷“‘And it shall be in the last days, God says,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
¹⁸and even on my male slaves and on my female slaves
I will pour out some of my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
¹⁹And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
²⁰the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
²¹And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’^[6]

In all occurrences, prophecy proclaimed in Bible times had meaning to the people who heard it; it served for their guidance as well as each generation up unto the time of its fulfillment. Usually, it had some fulfillment in that time, in numerous instances being fulfilled during the days of that very generation. In looking at Peter’s quote from Joel, it must be asked; did they see those cosmic events on Pentecost? Yes, the cosmic terminology expresses that God was acting on behalf of those first Christians. A new era was being entered, and God poured out His Spirit, and sons and daughters did prophesy, both in proclaiming a message and in foretelling further events. However, let us delve even deeper into prophecy and how they are to be interpreted. Before moving on, let us briefly offer what we have learned this far:

Judgment prophecies could be lifted and set aside if the parties affected repent and turn around from their former course.
On the other hand, if God has promised blessings, but then that person or group disobeys him and does evil, he will not do what he had said he would do.
Then again, if one has repented, turned around, and a judgment prophecy has been lifted, it can be reinstated if that person or group returns to their former evil ways.
Prophets have a license to use prophetic language, cosmic terminology that evidences that God is working or acting within humanity.
While we do not take cosmic terminology literally, we do discover its meaning, and this is what we are to take literally.

Interpreting Prophecy

If we are to understand and interpret prophecy correctly, we must first have a grasp of the figurative language, types, and symbols. We have already dealt with figurative language back in the CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING HOUSE BLOG Interpreting Figurative Language,[7] and typology is dealt with throughout this book. In addition, the reader should carefully consider New Testament Writers Use of the Old Testament.[8]

We will follow the same interpretation process here that we would elsewhere, grammatical-historical interpretation, which attempts to ascertain what the author meant by the words that he used, which should have been understood by his original readers. (Stein 1994, 38-9) It was the primary method of interpretation when higher criticism’s Historical-Critical Method was in its infancy back in the 19th century (Milton Terry), and remains the only method of interpretation for true conservative scholarship in the later 20th century into the 21st century.

Grammatical Aspect

When we speak of interpreting the Bible grammatically, we are referring to the process of seeking to determine its meaning by ascertaining four things: (a) the meaning of words (lexicology), (b) the form of words (morphology), (c) the function of words (parts of speech), and (d) the relationships of words (syntax). In the meaning of words (lexicology), we are concerned with (a) etymology- how words are derived and developed, (b) usage how words are used by the same and other authors, (c) synonyms and antonyms -how similar and opposite words are used, and (d) context-how words are used in various contexts.

In discussing the form of words (morphology), we are looking at how words are structured and how that affects their meaning. For example, the word eat means something different from ate, though the same letters are used. The word part changes meaning when the letter “s” is added to it to make the word parts. The function of words (parts of speech) considers what the various forms do. These include attention to subjects, verbs, objects, nouns, and others, as will be discussed later. The relationships of words (syntax) are the way words are related or put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. (Zuck 1991, 100-101)

Historical Aspect

By “historical,” we mean the setting in which the prophet’s book was written and the circumstances involved in the writing. … taking into consideration the circumstances of the writings and the cultural environment. We must keep in mind that even though many of the prophetic utterances were meant for the generation in which they were spoken or shortly thereafter. Even if it is not the immediate generation, all prophetic utterances had some type of meaning to the prophet’s generation, be it hope in some future person or event or the knowledge of a judgment that is coming or could come as a result of their behavior. For example, maybe the Israelites are under persecution and oppression by the surrounding nations, and the prophecy is for a protector that is to rise up, and set matters straight. Even though they do not know who the protector is or the exact time of his appearance, they do know that God cannot lie, nor has he ever lied, so they can have hope and faith in his words. Moreover, they would have also known that if they fell back into false worship, God could withdraw his prophetic message of a savior.

The context in which a given Scripture passage is written influences how that passage is to be understood. Context includes several things:

the verse(s) immediately before and after a passage
the paragraph and book in which the verses occur
the dispensation in which it was written
the message of the entire Bible
the historical-cultural environment of that time when it was written. (Zuck 1991, 77)

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