Old & New Testament Examples
Like two wings of a dove, biblical prophecy contains twin characteristics which are designed to act in harmony with one another.
The first, foretelling, predicts the future by announcing the will of God and his plans for his people. Foretelling calls the faithful cooperate with God’s holy intentions through prayer, patience, and faithful obedience.
The second, forthtelling applies to the present circumstances. Forthtelling calls God’s people to repentance and draws them back to the covenant promises and lessons of old. The Old Testament the prophets frequently served as social and political reformers. “Prophetic prognostication was not mere foretelling to appeal to the idle curiosity…
Like two wings of a dove, biblical prophecy contains twin characteristics which are designed to act in harmony with one another.
The first, foretelling, predicts the future by announcing the will of God and his plans for his people. Foretelling calls the faithful cooperate with God’s holy intentions through prayer, patience, and faithful obedience.
The second, forthtelling applies to the present circumstances. Forthtelling calls God’s people to repentance and draws them back to the covenant promises and lessons of old. The Old Testament the prophets frequently served as social and political reformers. “Prophetic prognostication was not mere foretelling to appeal to the idle curiosity…
The genius of Old Testament prophecy was rather, a prediction of the future arising from the conditions of the present and was inseparably connected with the profoundly religious and spiritual message the prophet was called to proclaim to his own generation.”
—Unger's Bible Dictionary
Pesher: This is That
The authors of the New Testament also applied both the foretelling and forthtelling aspects of prophecy in their writings. For example, using the standard rabbinic method of Scripture interpretation known as pesher and summarized with the phrase “this is that,” Peter appealed to the prophecy of Joel (Acts 2:16-17). Similarly, Paul appealed to one of the Psalms (Eph 4:8-10). In both cases, Peter and Paul were forthtelling by calling their listeners to apply the lessons of Israel’s past to their first century circumstances.
The Gospel of Matthew uses similar technique. Written for a Jewish audience, the Evangelist presents over sixty explicit Old Testament quotations. These references develop the unmistakable portrait of Jesus as the powerful “lion of the tribe of Judah,” the promised Mashiach foretold in the Scriptures.
Like Peter and Paul, Matthew develops his argument using the “this is that” interpretive technique. For instance, compare Matthew 2:6 with
Micah 5:2. Matthew uses additional prophetic patterns to develop his Gospel argument including “this completes that” (Matt 2:15; Hos 11:1) and “this is like that” (Matt 2:17-18; Jer 31:15). In Matthew 2:23, the Evangelist also uses allusion (or word play) to suggest the notion that Jesus is “the branch” spoken of Isaiah 11:1.
The authors of the New Testament also employed the foretelling aspect of prophetic fulfillment. Using the vehicle of apocalypse, John’s Book of Revelation is the most detailed New Testament example of prophecy which predicts the Judgment and final consummation of history.
Prophecy: Near & Far
Christ’s shorter teaching on the end times in his Olivet Discourse (Mark 13) illustrates another aspect of biblical prophecy: near and far. From this passage, it is clear that Jesus was making a prophetic prediction of far off events (the Day of the Lord) which would be mimicked by nearer catastrophic events (Jerusalem’s Fall in 70 A.D.). The precise time period between the two events was hidden or unknown.
This dual pattern of prophetic foretelling occurs elsewhere in Scripture. Although all of the specific details are usually not given in straightforward language, God intends the foreknowledge of significant events to be comforting to believers and to motivate unbelievers to repentance. Tragically, just as the nation of Israel failed to recognize the first appearance of the promised Messiah, most people do not recognize the biblical patterns as prophesied events are unfolding.
In summary, prophetic fulfillment is more that a prediction of future events. Both forthtelling and foretelling belong to the Spirit’s vocabulary of biblical prophecy. Where the former looks to the past, the latter hastens the future. Like two wings of a dove, both aspects of prophetic fulfillment are applicable in the present time.
I'm indebted to my theological study at Northwest University for the information contained in this post.
Related
The authors of the New Testament also applied both the foretelling and forthtelling aspects of prophecy in their writings. For example, using the standard rabbinic method of Scripture interpretation known as pesher and summarized with the phrase “this is that,” Peter appealed to the prophecy of Joel (Acts 2:16-17). Similarly, Paul appealed to one of the Psalms (Eph 4:8-10). In both cases, Peter and Paul were forthtelling by calling their listeners to apply the lessons of Israel’s past to their first century circumstances.The Gospel of Matthew uses similar technique. Written for a Jewish audience, the Evangelist presents over sixty explicit Old Testament quotations. These references develop the unmistakable portrait of Jesus as the powerful “lion of the tribe of Judah,” the promised Mashiach foretold in the Scriptures.
Like Peter and Paul, Matthew develops his argument using the “this is that” interpretive technique. For instance, compare Matthew 2:6 with
Micah 5:2. Matthew uses additional prophetic patterns to develop his Gospel argument including “this completes that” (Matt 2:15; Hos 11:1) and “this is like that” (Matt 2:17-18; Jer 31:15). In Matthew 2:23, the Evangelist also uses allusion (or word play) to suggest the notion that Jesus is “the branch” spoken of Isaiah 11:1.
The authors of the New Testament also employed the foretelling aspect of prophetic fulfillment. Using the vehicle of apocalypse, John’s Book of Revelation is the most detailed New Testament example of prophecy which predicts the Judgment and final consummation of history.
Prophecy: Near & Far
Christ’s shorter teaching on the end times in his Olivet Discourse (Mark 13) illustrates another aspect of biblical prophecy: near and far. From this passage, it is clear that Jesus was making a prophetic prediction of far off events (the Day of the Lord) which would be mimicked by nearer catastrophic events (Jerusalem’s Fall in 70 A.D.). The precise time period between the two events was hidden or unknown.This dual pattern of prophetic foretelling occurs elsewhere in Scripture. Although all of the specific details are usually not given in straightforward language, God intends the foreknowledge of significant events to be comforting to believers and to motivate unbelievers to repentance. Tragically, just as the nation of Israel failed to recognize the first appearance of the promised Messiah, most people do not recognize the biblical patterns as prophesied events are unfolding.
In summary, prophetic fulfillment is more that a prediction of future events. Both forthtelling and foretelling belong to the Spirit’s vocabulary of biblical prophecy. Where the former looks to the past, the latter hastens the future. Like two wings of a dove, both aspects of prophetic fulfillment are applicable in the present time.
I'm indebted to my theological study at Northwest University for the information contained in this post.
Related
• Literary Genres in the NT
• Earthquakes & Eschatology
Photos: Cenz, Rejik (Dove Orchid-Holy Ghost Flower) & Today is a Good Day (Flickr)
Up Next—Wednesday: Word-Filled & Wordless
Do you enjoy this kind of Bible study?
Do you enjoy this kind of Bible study? 
2 Comments:
my husband enjoys this kind of study more than me, but I did like reading all of this! Yesterday in our last sermon regarding Satan, our pastor used many references from 2 Thess about the prophecy of the end times and the antiChrist, etc. We really learned alot. I always learn alot here too! Great food for thot today, emom! and have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING if i don't talk to you before then....
Hey Faith!: I enjoy our email chats. Happy Thanksgiving back to you!
Post a Comment