Some statements in Old Testament prophecy carried much more than just predicting a single historic event. God dwells in eternity. He knows the end from the beginning. A day is with Him as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. His character doesn't change. His love doesn't change.
A prophet taps into that when he speaks with divine inspiration and revelation.
It's like describing a river. Or like photographing a river. Or Niagara falls. The flow is continuous, but you describe only what you see in that moment. Yet what you describe is likely what will be tomorrow, and the next day, and the next...
So when a prophecy is an exclamation that reveals something of God's heart, don't limit it to a single historic event.
But at the same time, when a prophecy speaks of a historic event or events, don't expand it to an event or events beyond what was intended. Take note of any markers or parameters.
For example, if it prophesies nations coming up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of tabernacles, obviously its fulfilment refers to more than just a single event, but to a yearly event.
But at the same time, its fulfilment can't be future, because its not relevant to keep the feast of tabernacles anymore.
But what is eternal is God's heart and what the prophecy reveals about it - irrespective of whether or not the specific historical fulfilment of it is now past.
A prophet taps into that when he speaks with divine inspiration and revelation.
It's like describing a river. Or like photographing a river. Or Niagara falls. The flow is continuous, but you describe only what you see in that moment. Yet what you describe is likely what will be tomorrow, and the next day, and the next...
So when a prophecy is an exclamation that reveals something of God's heart, don't limit it to a single historic event.
But at the same time, when a prophecy speaks of a historic event or events, don't expand it to an event or events beyond what was intended. Take note of any markers or parameters.
For example, if it prophesies nations coming up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of tabernacles, obviously its fulfilment refers to more than just a single event, but to a yearly event.
But at the same time, its fulfilment can't be future, because its not relevant to keep the feast of tabernacles anymore.
But what is eternal is God's heart and what the prophecy reveals about it - irrespective of whether or not the specific historical fulfilment of it is now past.
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