Verses¶
Primary Verses -- Isaiah Trial Speeches (Isaiah 41-48)¶
Isaiah 41 (Full Chapter -- First Trial Speech)¶
41:1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. 41:2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. 41:3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 41:5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 41:6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. 41:7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 41:9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 41:11-20 [Promises to Israel -- deliverance, provision, transformation of the wilderness] 41:21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 41:22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay. 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. 41:27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. 41:28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counseller, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 41:29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
NOTE: The courtroom structure is explicit: God summons the nations (v.1), points to historical evidence (vv.2-4), exposes the response of the idol-makers (vv.5-7), reassures Israel (vv.8-20), then directly challenges the idols (vv.21-23): "Show us what shall happen... declare things to come... THAT WE MAY KNOW THAT YE ARE GODS" (v.23). The verdict: "ye are of nothing" (v.24). The test of deity is predictive ability.
Isaiah 42:8-9¶
42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
NOTE: "Before they spring forth I tell you of them" -- explicit temporal claim. God declares new things BEFORE they happen.
Isaiah 43:8-13¶
43:8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 43:9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. 43:12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. 43:13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
NOTE: Another trial scene: nations assembled (v.8-9a), challenge to declare/show former things (v.9b), Israel called as witnesses (v.10), God's unique claim (v.11), evidence: "I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed" (v.12). The logic: declaration BEFORE the event, then salvation/fulfillment, making Israel witnesses to both.
Isaiah 44:6-8¶
44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 44:7 And 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. 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
NOTE: v.7 challenges: "who, as I, shall call and shall declare it?" The Hebrew uses nagad (Hiphil) twice. v.8: "have not I told thee from that time, and declared it? ye are even my witnesses." Again, Israel's witness-status is based on God's demonstrated predictive ability.
Isaiah 44:24-45:7 (Cyrus Named in Context)¶
44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 44:25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; 44:26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: 44:27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: 44:28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. 45:4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
NOTE: The Hebrew text explicitly names "Koresh" (Cyrus) in 44:28 and 45:1. Hebrew parsing confirms: כֹ֨ורֶשׁ֙ (Koresh) is a proper noun. Cyrus is called "my shepherd" (ro'i, 44:28) and "his anointed" (meshicho, 45:1 -- mashiach/Messiah). God says "I call thee by thy name" (45:3-4) -- the naming itself is the prophetic act.
Isaiah 45:20-22¶
45:20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
NOTE: v.21 -- another trial speech element: "who hath declared this from ancient time?" The question demands an answer: only the LORD has done so. Monotheism and predictive prophecy are inseparable.
Isaiah 46:1-13 (Full Chapter -- End from Beginning)¶
46:1 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. 46:2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. 46:3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: 46:4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. 46:5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? 46:6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. 46:7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 46:8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 46:12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: 46:13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
NOTE: The centerpiece verse 46:9-10: "I am God, and there is none like me, DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING, and from ancient times the things that are NOT YET DONE." Hebrew parsing: maggid (Hiphil participle of nagad = "declaring") mereshith (from beginning, H7225) acharith (the end, H319). The participle describes God's CHARACTERISTIC activity. v.11 -- "a ravenous bird from the east" refers to Cyrus (cf. 41:2, 25); "I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass."
Isaiah 48:1-8¶
48:1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. 48:2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name. 48:3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. 48:4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; 48:5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. 48:6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. 48:7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. 48:8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
NOTE: God gives the explicit PURPOSE of predictive prophecy in v.5: "LEST thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them." Prediction prevents false attribution. v.3: "I have declared the former things from the beginning... I did them suddenly, and they came to pass." v.7 adds a second reason for new predictions: "lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them" -- to prevent after-the-fact rationalization.
Isaiah 48:14-16¶
48:14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 48:15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. 48:16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
NOTE: v.14 -- "which among them hath declared these things?" followed by the Babylon/Cyrus reference. v.16 -- "I have not spoken in secret from the beginning" -- God's predictions are public, not post-hoc.
Cyrus Fulfillment Texts¶
2 Chronicles 36:22-23¶
36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 36:23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
Ezra 1:1-4¶
1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 1:2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 1:3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. 1:4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
NOTE: Both texts explicitly state the fulfillment language: "that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled/accomplished." Cyrus himself acknowledges divine commission: "he hath charged me to build him an house." The decree matches the prediction of ISA 44:28: "saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."
Babylon Prophecy Texts¶
Isaiah 13:1-22 (Full Chapter)¶
13:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 13:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation... 13:22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
NOTE: Isaiah specifically identifies the Medes as the agent (v.17). Babylon called "the glory of kingdoms" (v.19) -- to be made like Sodom and Gomorrah. The prediction of permanent desolation (v.20) has been historically fulfilled.
Isaiah 47:1-15 (Full Chapter -- Babylon's Fall)¶
47:1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 47:5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 47:9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood... 47:11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. 47:12-13 Stand now with thine enchantments... Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee... 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves... 47:15 ...none shall save thee.
Jeremiah 51:1-14 (Representative Section)¶
51:1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon... a destroying wind; 51:7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken... 51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed... 51:11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple. 51:12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon... for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
NOTE: JER 51:11 specifically names "the kings of the Medes" as God's instrument, matching ISA 13:17.
Tyre Prophecy Texts¶
Ezekiel 26:1-21 (Full Chapter)¶
26:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 26:2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken... 26:3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 26:5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD... 26:7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon... 26:12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches... and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. 26:14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it... 26:21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.
Isaiah 23:1-18 (Full Chapter -- Burden of Tyre)¶
23:1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste... 23:8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes... 23:9 The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory... 23:15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years...
NOTE: Specific predictive details in EZK 26: (1) "many nations" (v.3), (2) scraping dust, bare rock (v.4), (3) spreading of nets (v.5), (4) Nebuchadnezzar named (v.7), (5) stones/timber/dust laid in water (v.12), (6) never rebuilt (v.14). The shift from singular "he" (Nebuchadnezzar, vv.7-11) to plural "they" (vv.12ff) may account for the multi-phase historical fulfillment.
Messianic Prophecy Texts¶
Micah 5:1-4¶
5:1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Matthew 2:1-6 (Fulfillment)¶
2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king... 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
John 7:42¶
7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
NOTE: Even Jesus' opponents knew the Bethlehem prophecy (JHN 7:42). The chief priests under Herod cited MIC 5:2 as settled prophetic expectation (MAT 2:5-6).
Zechariah 9:9-10¶
9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen...
Matthew 21:1-5 (Fulfillment)¶
21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 21:2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 21:4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
John 12:14-15¶
12:14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, 12:15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.
Prophet Testing Texts¶
Deuteronomy 18:15-22¶
18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 13:1-5¶
13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 13:2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 13:5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death...
NOTE: Two complementary tests: DEU 18:22 -- if the prediction fails, the prophet is false. DEU 13:1-5 -- even if the prediction succeeds, the prophet may be false if he leads away from God. Fulfilled prediction is a NECESSARY but not SUFFICIENT condition for true prophecy.
NT Claims about Prophetic Nature¶
2 Peter 1:16-21¶
1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
NOTE: Peter contrasts eyewitness testimony (vv.16-18) with the "more sure word of prophecy" (v.19) -- the Greek comparative bebaioteron means "more confirmed/established." Peter treats prophecy as MORE reliable than his own eyewitness experience of the Transfiguration. v.21: prophecy was not human-originated but Spirit-driven (pheromenoi = "being carried along" by the Holy Spirit).
1 Peter 1:10-12¶
1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
NOTE: v.11 -- the Spirit "testified beforehand" (promartyromenon, G4303) specific future events. The prophets themselves searched "what, or what manner of time" -- they did not fully understand their own predictions. This confirms the predictions were externally given, not humanly generated.
Acts 3:17-26¶
3:17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. 3:18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out... 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me... 3:24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
Acts 7:52¶
7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
NOTE: Three uses of prokatangello (G4293) in Acts: 3:18, 3:24, 7:52. Each time: prophets ANNOUNCED BEFOREHAND (pro-kat-angello) and the events CAME TO PASS. The verb is definitionally predictive.
Fulfilled Prophecy Pairs¶
Josiah Named ~300 Years Before Birth¶
Prediction: 1 Kings 13:1-3
13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
Fulfillment: 2 Kings 23:15-16
23:15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. 23:16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.
NOTE: Josiah named BY NAME approximately 300 years before his birth. 2KI 23:16 explicitly states the fulfillment was "according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed."
70-Year Captivity¶
Prediction: Jeremiah 25:11-12
25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 25:12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD...
Fulfillment: Daniel 9:2; Ezra 1:1
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia...
Outpouring of the Holy Spirit¶
Prediction: Joel 2:28-32
2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
Fulfillment: Acts 2:16-21
2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh...
Additional Key Verses¶
Amos 3:7¶
3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 3:8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
NOTE: Hebrew sod (confidential counsel) -- God reveals His secret plans to prophets BEFORE acting. This makes predictive revelation a universal divine principle, not an occasional event.
Sure Fulfillment Texts¶
Ezekiel 12:22-25, 28:
12:22 ...The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? 12:23 ...The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. 12:25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged... 12:28 ...There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
Habakkuk 2:3:
2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.