06. The Predictive Principle

CHAPTER SIX The Predictive Principle

There is a difference between prophecy and prediction. We have in the Bible the definition of the office and function of the prophet –Exodus 7:1-2. Aaron’s office as a prophet was to be the spokesman of Moses. The message of God was to come from Moses through Aaron to Pharaoh –Exodus 4:15-16. Aaron was the spokesman of Moses unto the people. He was to speak the words that Moses gave him. a. Definition. A prophet was essentially God’s spokesman, and his sole mission was to speak the Word of God and only the words which God gave him to speak. God said to Jonah, "Go and preach what I bid thee."

1. Prophecy does not necessarily mean the unusual. Our trouble when we speak about prophecy is that we think it has to do with the unusual, the spectacular, with signs and visions, such as the beast coming up out of the sea, etc. If you speak of prophecy, people expect you to explain all these things.

2. A prophet is God’s spokesman. He is not only a FORETELLER but a FORTHTELLER of the Word of God. We always think of a prophet as one who foretells the future, but primarily a prophet was not a foreteller, but he forthtold the Word of God. Foretelling is only a small part of the prophet’s work. A prophet is one who speaks for God, whether by way of instruction, reproof, correction, judgment, etc. A man is God’s prophet when he speaks forth the Word of God.

3. Reason for not having prophets now.

There is no office of prophet in the church today as there was in the early church. Before the Word of God had been written, so that everyone could have it, there were special gifts given by the Holy Spirit, and prophecy was the greatest. To the man who had this gift, God revealed His will and His Word. We do not need the prophets, as we have the word and will of God in the Bible. In that day they were dependent upon the prophets. When the Church came to the place where information from God was needed, the Holy Spirit gave it to some man, who proclaimed it to the people – Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12.

4. Prophecy and predictive prophecy.

Prophecy is speaking forth the Word of God. Predictive prophecy is speaking forth the Word of which has to do with the future.

5. A prophet – by Dr. Scofield. "A prophet is a man whose function primarily is that of a revivalist and a patriot, speaking on the behalf of God, to the national conscience, striving to bring faith in Jehovah, purity of worship, and patriotism among the people."

6. Why the prophets came to Israel. A prophet always came in a time of apostasy and declension. Whenever you find a prophet in Israel, you know there is something wrong. In the beginning when God established the priesthood, He made no provision for the prophets, and there would have been no prophets had there been no failure on the part of the priests.

7. What prophecy concerned. .

Prophecy had to do primarily with the moral and religious condition of the people of the prophet’s own time. The exhortations are local and Israelitish.

8. The prophet was appointed. The priests and kings had their offices by right of birth; but not so the prophet. He was called especially, and given a special message to be given to the people at a divinely appointed time.

9. Why predictive prophecy came to be written.

Some of the prophets were also foretellers of future events. When it became evident that the sin of Israel would necessitate the withdrawal of God’s presence, resulting in the dispersion of Israel, it also became evident, that this would result in the cessation of prophetic utterances. God wanted to proclaim that in some future day the Messianic Kingdom would come, and so prophecy must be preserved for future generations.

Predictive Scripture in the main has to do with the Gentile – only as he comes in contact with the Jews, Daniel is the one exception.

10. Chart of Subjects Covered by Prophecy. (See page 38)

(a) The prophet spoke the Word of God concerning the moral condition of his own people, and his own time.

(b) The 70 year captivity refers to the Babylonian captivity. In this prophecy the time also is stated. It was to last 70 years – Jeremiah 25:11.

(c) Restoration – Jeremiah 29:10; Daniel 9:2. Daniel was instrumental in bringing about the restoration of Israel. Having studied the prophecies, he found that the 70 year period was nearly up, and 80 he went to Cyrus the King and showed the prophecy in Isaiah which said that Cyrus would restore the people of Israel to their land. The Word of God presented to the king by the man of God worked effectively in the heart of the king.

(d) First coming of the Messiah – Isaiah 53. The first prophecy in Genesis 3:15 speaks of both the first and second comings, The bruising of the heel of the seed of woman comes in the first coming, and the crushing of the serpent’s head, will come in the second coming. We also have the resurrection in this verse, because a man cannot crush the one who bruised him until there is a resurrection. The seed of the woman was the seed of Abraham, of the line of Isaac, of the house of Jacob, of the tribe of Judah, of the stem of Jesse, of the house of David. We have picture after picture of the way in which this servant of Jehovah would be treated. Isaiah gives a marvelous picture of the first coming in Isaiah 53, which really begins with 52:13. Here we find that He would be so marred in His humiliation that men would be astonished, and His exaltation would be so marvelous that kings would close their mouths in astonishment. He had no form nor comeliness. The Jews saw all these things come to pass, and yet that blind nation thought He was being smitten for His transgressions, not realizing that it was for their own.

(e) World wide dispersion of Israel.

Prophecy not only speaks of the captivities and the restoration, but also speaks of the world-wide dispersion of the Jews.

God says He will bring them back from among all the nations – Amos 9:9; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Ezekiel 37:14.

(f) The time of Jacob’s trouble.

Called the tribulation, the great one – Jeremiah 30:4-7; Daniel 12:1.

(g) The Second coming of Christ.

Christ is the Messiah King – Isaiah 11. Practically everything in the Word of God that is of a predictive nature will be found on this chart. God goes over and over these, as will be found; for the best plan to follow in getting the teaching into men’s minds is repetition. Not all of these have to do with Israel, but the predictive prophecies apply to the Gentiles only as they come into contact with the nation of Israel.

(h) Classification of Prophets.

(1) Pre-Exile prophets Jonah Isaiah Jeremiah Joel Amos Micah Habakkuk Obadiah Hosea Nahum Zephaniah

(2) Exile Daniel Ezekiel – both of Judah.

(3) Post-Exile Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi Malachi is known as the seal of the prophets. No man knows what’s going to happen in the future. Only God can know.

(i) Conclusion Man could not write the Bible if he would, and would not if he could. b. Notes from a lecture by Dr. A. T. Pierson on the predictions in Scripture.

1. The Bible points to prediction as an absolute proof that God is speaking. God makes that claim Himself, that when He utters these predictive statements, they can come from God and God alone – Isaiah 42:9; Isaiah 44:6-8; Isaiah 45:21; Isaiah 46:9-10. The difference between the idol of man, and God, is that the heathen carries his god and God carries His people. John 13:19; John 14:29 – The proof of a prophet – the things that he utters are fulfilled.

2. The Bible challenges other religions to foretell future events – Isaiah 41:21-29; Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

3. The Bible is a Book of prediction.

(a) There is a great deal of prediction in the Bible.

There is so much prediction in the Word of God that there can be no honest doubt about this hook being the Word of God.

(b) The writings of other religions are obscure, and if they do make a prediction it usually fails, but there are always excuses made for such errors.

4. Criteria by which to test prophecy.

(a) Remoteness of time. In order that there shall be no possibility of an efficient agency on the part of the one who predicts it to bring a thing to pass, it is necessary that there be remoteness of time for the fulfillment of a prediction. The prophecy must be uttered sufficiently before the time for it to come to pass so that the prophet cannot make it come ’to pass through his own power.

(b) Minuteness of detail. The particulars of the prophecy should be so many and so minute that there could be no possibility of shrewd guesswork for the accuracy of the fulfillment. 33 prophecies were fulfilled within several hours at the crucifixion.

(c) Novelty of combination.

There should have been nothing in previous history which would make it possible to forecast a like event in the future.

There must be something new, something fresh, startling, original, in the prediction and the method of its fulfillment to prove divine intervention.

(d) Mystery of contradiction.

There should be something in the prophecy when examined carefully, which is apparently contradictory and paradoxical-an apparent contradiction that makes it impossible to understand the prediction fully until history has supplied the key.

(e) Clearness of forecast. No ambiguity, no cloudiness of statement – a clearness of forecast to make the meaning obvious. c. Application of the Predictive principle tests.

1. Prophecies concerning Christ.

He was to be the seed of woman, seed of Abraham, of the line of Isaac, house of Jacob, tribe of Judah, family of David, born of a Virgin. There are the predictions of the cries from the cross, His working of miracles, the last days of His life, betrayal by His own, the selling of Christ for thirty pieces of silver, details of the crucifixion such as: His death and burial in a rich man’s grave after His grave was appointed with wicked men, His intercession for transgressors; third-day resurrection, incorruptible body, and ascension into heaven.

(a) Remoteness of Time.

400 years elapsed between the writing of the last book of the Old Testament and the birth of Christ. Besides this, some of the details written about Him were written as long as 4000 years B.C.

(b) Minuteness of detail.

There are hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Christ, and the details are very minute, such as have to do with the drink given on the cross, and the gambling over the single garment of the Lord at the foot of the cross.

(c) Novelty of combination.

There never was anything like this before-a human child who was also a divine son. In the Old Testament an individual relationship with God was absolutely unknown; the Jew never called God "Father." Jesus introduced something new, when, in the Lord’s Prayer, He addressed God as Father.

(d) Mysteries of contradiction.

Prophets wrote of the suffering and glory of Christ. They couldn’t understand it then.

(e) Accuracy and clearness of forecast.

(1) Prophecy declares that Jesus must be born of some of the families of earth. Every time a family of a certain line brought offspring in to the world, God picked out one who would be in the line of Christ.

(2) He must be born in a certain place. Of the three known continents – Africa, Asia, and Europe – Asia is chosen; and of the countries of Asia, God chose the small country – Syria. Of the three districts – Judea, Samaria, and Galilee – Judea is taken; and out of the many small villages, the village of Bethlehem.

(3) He was to be born at a certain time.

It might be any century, any year. God did not tell Eve when this Seed of Woman would be born. God alone knew, and He foretold the exact year.

[a] Sir Robert Anderson, head of the Scotland Yard detective Agency, was not a preacher, but a student of the Bible. He has figured out from prophecy that Christ came on the exact day of the year as prophesied.

[b] In Genesis 49:10, the season is given. This is a prophecy uttered by the dying patriarch, Jacob. He gave a prophecy which was true of each son, and also true of the tribe which came from each. God says these are true of the last days. Jacob said, "the scepter shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh come." Shiloh is the Old Testament name for Christ. When Christ came we find that Judah was still in authority with a great deal of power in her hands, but her power was waning.

2. History must be taken into consideration in the fulfillment of prophecy – Revelation 11:9-10. Until the present day men have skipped over this prophecy, for in no other day could the whole world have rejoiced together for three days the message could not have been received in many places for months and years afterwards. Today a message can he flashed around the world in just a few seconds.

3. The Mosaic Covenant.

Nobody but God could make the statements made in connection with this covenant. When Israel entered into the land of Canaan God said He would bless them if they continued to obey Him, but He prophesied four punishments which would befall them if they disobeyed. Would be plucked off the land, Scattered among all the nations, Persecuted as no other people;

Yet would be preserved; for God said He would bring them back. d. There is a great deal of difference between speculation concerning prophecy and interpretation of a prophecy.

1. The vision of Daniel – Daniel 8. The place of Shushan referred to here, has recently been excavated, and everything found there verifies the Word of God.

If God does not give light on this prophecy, then no one knows what is meant by these two beasts. We can only speculate, and then will miss the meaning.

God explains this vision in the last part of the chapter – Daniel 8:20-25. If a prophecy has not yet been fulfilled, history will fulfill it, and it will be filled full.

2. The dream image of Nebuchadnezzar.

It is not necessary to speculate on this, for God tells us what this is – Daniel 2. It is a forecast of the "Times of the Gentiles" – Luke 21:24. The times of the Gentiles is that period of time in which Jerusalem is politically in the hands of the Gentiles.

Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Gentiles 2500 years ago, when taken by Nebuchadnezzar, which was the beginning of "the times of the Gentiles."

Jerusalem went down and Babylon came up. Jerusalem became politically a cipher, and Babylon politically the center.

3. This vision was striking, terrible, and so fearful that "his sleep brake from him." Immediately he sent for the wise men to interpret the vision. This they were willing and eager to do; but first he must tell them what he dreamed. The king, however, had forgotten what it was, except that it had frightened him and it was terrifying. Since they could not reproduce the dream and give its meaning, the king ordered them all to be executed.

Now Daniel was a wise man, and when the soldiers came to him, he thought they were getting a little "previous" and he asked to see the king. Daniel was conducted to the palace, and brought before the king, declaring that he could tell the dream and interpret it – not because of any superior knowledge – but because he was a servant of Jehovah. The dream and its interpretation are given in Daniel 2:31-45.

4. These four metals composing the image were symbolical of four world empires:

(a) Head of Gold – Babylon.

Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. He was the only absolute monarch (one person – no vote of the people) the world ever saw. God gave it into his hands – Isaiah 14:4. Jeremiah 51:7. Babylon was the golden empire.

(b) Breast and arms of silver – Media-Persia, Daniel 5. This passage is one that the critics like to criticize. Secular history proves that Belshazzar was a king. His name has been uncovered. This has stopped the mouths of critics who based their criticism of this chapter on the fact that no such name had been recorded in secular history. Now Belshazzar was the second ruler of the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar was his grandfather, and Nabonidus was his father and the first ruler. While Belshazzar’s father was away from the city on business, he decided he wanted to show off, so he ordered the feast. The occasion for the "showing off" was when the enemy, the Medes and Persians, were encamped outside the city. But the king, Belshazzar, was so sure of the safety of the city, that he chose to ignore the danger. The walls were too strong to be broken down, and too high to climb over, and they felt safe. In the midst of this revelry there appeared the fingers of a man’s hand that wrote on the plaster of the wan. The words written were, "Mene, Melle, Tekel, Upharsin."

Belshazzar didn’t understand, but he was so scared his knees shook. Then, like his great ancestor, he sent for his wise men, who were just as ignorant as those of Nebuchadnezzar’s day – Daniel 5:8-9. That scared them more than ever, and they made so much noise the queen’s mother came down to see what the trouble was – Daniel 5:10-12. At her suggestion Daniel was sent for and offered gifts which he refused – Daniel 5:16. Before telling the meaning of the writing, he chided Belshazzar because he had not profited by the experience of Nebuchadnezzar, who had been punished by God for becoming filled with pride. Daniel then told the meaning of the words (Daniel 5:25-28); but Belshazzar, not greatly impressed, went on with the banquet. That night Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede took the city. This was the second world empire, the Medo-Persian empire as given in Daniel’s interpretation in Daniel 5. The silver empire is a good term for this second one, for the soldiers of the Persian army wore silver corsets of armor. It was a silver army.

(c) The belly and sides of brass – Greece. In Daniel 8, Daniel states that the ram is Persia and the he-goat Greece. Greece, therefore, was to take the place of Media-Persia. We read that the ram went north, south, and west (three directions) and began to grow so that nothing was able to stand before it. Persia was a world monarchy, with 127 provinces under her rule. When the ram had become great, there appeared in the west a he-goat with a horn. That horn was the first king, Alexander the Great, the great general who never lost battle. At twenty years of age he was the ruler of a petty empire, and at thirty he was the ruler of the world. Alexander came from the west swiftly, and the goat Daniel saw came so fast that he seemed not to touch the ground. The army of Alexander moved in an almost miraculous way, so that men marvelled. The Greek army was a brazen-coated army, the brass army of the brass kingdom. When the first king of Macedonia consulted an oracle (wise person), he was told to follow a herd of wild goats. He did so, and where they stopped he built a city, calling it Aegea, the "City of goats." There is a body of water adjoining the country of Greece – the Aegean sea. The goat then, is a sign of Greece, in secular history; and God had told Daniel a long time before about the goats.

(d) Legs of Iron – Rome – Luke 2:1.

Caesar Augustus was the ruler of Rome.

Rome was the iron empire, which made the world to tremble. One thousand years is a long time, but one thousand years after God made this revelation to Nebuchadnezzar, it came to pass.

(e) The ten toes of iron and clay.

(1) Here we have not metal or mineral, but something foreign, clay or mud in the feet of the image. This is something that does not belong in this image at all, and does not unite with the other ingredients. From the context, we find that the clay stands for just the opposite of monarchy. It is the rule ofthe people (democracy). As the iron and clay will not mix, so monarchy (rule by one) and democracy (rule of people) will not mix. The feet of the image are not stable. The image is top-heavy. There is not clay in the head. The rule of the people comes – not at the beginning – but at the end. With the rule of the people we have Socialism, Anarchy, etc. In all countries today the rule of the people is the popular government.

(2) In the revival of the old Roman Empire the two divisions are to become ten, and there will be both iron and clay in them. .

(3) God told Nebuchadnezzar that after him should come a kingdom inferior to Babylon. Silver is inferior to them all. e.g. Nebuchadnezzar was an absolute monarchy, but the silver monarch was bound by the laws of the Medes and Persians. If Nebuchadnezzar didn’t like the laws, he made new ones.

(4) We are prone to say of our plan of government that it is best, but the best is that of an absolute monarchy. That’s the way Christ will rule.

(5) These ten kingdoms will spring up in the old Roman Empire. There will be, in this revival, a group of subordinate kings under one king. We are on the verge of these ten kingdoms right now. God is working it out – Daniel 7:23-25.

(f) The Mountain.

(1) A Mountain in Scripture speaks of a government, a rule, or kingdom – Psalms 30:7. The mountain here is the kingdom of Judah. The stone, or rock, is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Word, both stone and rock are used to represent Christ in many instances.

(2) The stone Nebuchadnezzar saw cut out of the mountain of Judah was Christ – I Pet. 2;4, 8. It was cut out without hands, in a supernatural way. Man had nothing to do with the cutting of it. Christ was supernatural in His first coming, and will he in His second coming.

(3) The stone falls on the feet of the image – not on the head nor on the thigh. When it smites the image it is crushed to dust. That is the catastrophe coming. The falling of the stone will bring the end of "the times of the Gentiles." God will set up His kingdom under His Son, and the stone will become a mountain that fills the earth. The Kingdom of Heaven will be the world empire then. God declares the meaning of this over and over.

(4) Some prophecies in the Bible God does not explain, so we know nothing about them. Many of the prophecies in the book of Revelation cannot be explained. There are some Scriptures which will never be understood until history fulfills them. The prophets themselves did not understand them, because the fulfillment must come with the passing of time. e. Symbolical prophecy.

1. Ezekiel, the writer of symbolical prophecy.

(a) In Ezekiel 1 the vision of which he wrote is also explained in the same chapter. He saw the cherubim – highly figurative.

(b) Ezekiel 5.

Ezekiel was the man with long hair and a long beard. God said to him, "Shave it all off. Take the balances and weigh the hair and divide it into three equal parts. Take one part and throw it into the fire; take another part and smite it with the sword, and take the third part out and throw it to the winds. Take a few hairs and tie them in your skirt."

God explains it in the same chapter.

One-third of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall die with famine, pestilence and burning.

One-third shall fall by the sword. The remaining third shall be scattered among all nations. The little bunch tied in the skirt is the faithful remnant – Jeremiah 52:16.

(c) Ezekiel 4.

Ezekiel was told to go on a diet. He was to weigh his food and measure the water he drank. God said that He would bring a famine upon Israel and they would weigh their food and measure the water in that time, even as Ezekiel was doing.

2. Jeremiah.

(a) The linen girdle – Chapter 13:1-5. All the orientals wore (and still do wear) girdles. Those of higher rank, such as the kings, wore theirs about the breast; and those of lower rank wore the girdle about the loins.

Jeremiah was commanded by God to get a new linen girdle and wear it. Of course a new girdle would be of importance and would be noticed by everyone. After Jeremiah had worn it for some time, God said, "Take the girdle and bury it down by the Euphrates." Jeremiah did so – Jeremiah 13:6-11. The girdle was a symbol of service. The people of Israel had an important and honorable part in God’s service for the salvation of the lost, and just as a man will wear a new girdle for honor and praise, so they were for God’s praise. But just as this new girdle had lost its beauty and usefulness down by the Euphrates, so they will be marred and will lose their beauty and usefulness down by the Euphrates.

(b) Jeremiah 16 – The sign of the unmarried prophet.

God told Jeremiah to abstain from marriage, from mourning, and from mirth. This is symbolical.

Jeremiah was not to marry, not to have a family, not to go into the house of mourning, not to feast at the time of feasting. When the people wanted an explanation, he was to tell them, "The reason why I am not married is because I dare not bring a family into the world, since they would fall into evil ways and judgment." The reason for not mourning – the time is coming when they will be under the judgment of God, when they will need consolation and there will be no consolation. The reason for not feasting – the time is coming when there will be no mirth. This is predictive prophecy, in which God uses everyday events in life to preach His truth. f. How one may misinterpret predictive prophecy.

1. Ezekiel 37. Vision of valley of dry bones.

(a) How this has been misused and misinterpreted!

People picture the Church as a valley of dry bones. There is a great deal of encouragement here, because these bones all come alive again.

(b) The Church is the Body of Christ, and not a valley of dry bones. There are a lot of dry bones in the organization, it is true.

(c) This has no reference to the Church at all. So many people when reading this, do not finish it. We both know it does not refer to the Church.

(d) There is no Church clearly revealed in the Old Testament; this is reserved for the mystery in the N.T.

(e) Ezekiel 37:11-14. We know what the hones are, because God tells us. This figure is prophecy concerning a national resurrection of Israel. There it will be a restoration of all the twelve tribes. g. Rule for the interpretation of prophecy:

1. Let the prophet give his own interpretation.

(a) The Ram and the He-goat – Daniel 8:20-21.

Ram – 2 horns – Medo-Persia (one horn higher).

Goat – king of Greece.

(b) Valley of dry bones.

(c) We do not know who the two witnesses are in Revelation 11:3-12. God does not clearly tell us – Malachi 4:5.

(d) The trees, grass, sun, moon and stars in Revelation are just what they are; not (as one man said) the nobility, the common people, a walled city, an unwalled city, and the population of the city.

(e) Jerusalem is Jerusalem, and not Sodom. Jerusalem is guilty of the same sins, and is spiritually called Sodom.

(f) Jeremiah 18:1-10 – Israel is like a vessel marred in the potter’s hands, and God will make it anew.

(g) John 2:19-22 – Jesus prophesied concerning the temple, and gave His own interpretation.

(h) Matthew 13:18-23 – This is a predictive parable of the sower which the Lord interpreted.

2. Facts in history may give the interpretation.

(a) City of Tyre – Ezekiel 26 :

(b) The Flood – More than a century before the flood God predicted it. Before that, man had never seen rain. It took history to fulfill it.

(c) Joseph’s dream – The sun and stars, and the sheaves of wheat were explained and fulfilled in the course of history.

(d) Many of Daniel’s statements and prophecies are known now through the fulfillment of history, e.g., Daniel 2.

3. Other inspired Scriptures may give the interpretation of prophecy.

(a) Psalms 16. This was mysterious to men in bygone days. A man who will not remain in the place of death, and whose body will never decay. Other inspired Scriptures tell us all about it.

(b) Isaiah 29:14 and Habakkuk 1:5. This is the work that is to be wondered at. The Messianic import is given in Acts 13:40-41.

(c) Psalms 41:9. This refers to Judas, but we would not know this without Acts 1:15-18.

(d) Nebuchadnezzar’s dream image.

See discussion in notes. This is found in Daniel 2, and other Scriptures needed to complete the interpretation are Daniel 5 and Daniel 8.

4. The resemblance of things compared will help in interpretation.

(a) A great many prophecies compare Christ to a Lamb. Where Christ is set forth as a lamb in Scriptures, see what they have to say concerning a lamb, and the resemblance will aid interpretation.

(b) He is also called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This shows another characteristic of Christ.

(c) Genesis 49 – This is a good example of the rules. Many striking comparisons are made here. A study of these beasts will prove an aid – e.g. –

(1) Benjamin is ravenous as a wolf. (Only tribe which took up archery.) (2) Naphtali is a hind in the mountains let loose.

Naphtali, like the deer, was wild and lived in the mountains.

(3) Issachar is like an ass, bearing a double burden. .

Issachar today is lowly, slow, like an ass. Not anxious to go, and would rather let someone put a double burden on his back than take two steps to get out of the way.

5. Proper recognition of figures of speech.

6. Proper interpretation of symbols and types. You know nothing about prophecy if God does not give the meaning somewhere in Scripture. Speculation is not interpretation.