Monthly Archives: September 2024

Fulfilled Prophecy After the Return from Exile

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What actually happened when Israel returned from Babylon? Compared to the texts we’ve been reading, the fulfillment was disappointing. Remember principle 2: God is not predictable. There were many residents of Israel and Judah who read the texts of Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, and others. I can imagine them making out charts to outline in advance just what God was going to do. But God’s work, when it came, wasn’t quite what the predictors expected.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month,
the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,
to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest,
and to the remnant of the people.
Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?
How does it look to you now?
Does it not seem to you like nothing?
But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’
declares the LORD.
‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak,
the high priest.
Be strong, all you people of the land,’
declares the LORD,
‘and work.
For I am with you,’
declares the LORD Almighty.
‘This is what I covenanted with you
when you came out of Egypt.
And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
“This is what the LORD Almighty says:
‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all nations,
and the desired of all nations will come,
and I will fill this house with glory,’
says the LORD Almighty.
‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’
declares the LORD Almighty.
‘The glory of this present house
will be greater than the glory of the former house,’
says the LORD Almighty.
‘And in this place I will grant peace,’
declares the LORD Almighty.”
Hag 2:1-9 NIV

In this text the Lord notes the disappointment of the people as they view the fulfillment of the prophecies of return from exile. Yet He affirms that the fulfillment is nevertheless a true fulfillment. They were tempted to question the fulfillment. That’s something to keep in mind as we approach unfulfilled prophecy– as we approach the book of Revelation. From Münster to Waco, people have tried to use the material in Revelation to gain a detailed “knowledge” of the future that God did not design for them to have. We all need to be reminded that the same God who is consistent is not predictable.

As time went on it gradually became clear that God’s mighty act in returning His people from the Babylonian Exile was not going to be the final event of earth’s history. Attention more and more shifted to God’s greatest act of all– the arrival of the Messiah. But that raises a fresh question. Many people assume that the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament have more of a point by point fulfillment than the prophecies we have been looking at. Is this really so? Are the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament an exception to the rule that God uses the language of the past to describe events in the future? Are the messianic prophecies more predictable than the general trend? Let’s look at a few examples.

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD,
‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.’”
Jeremiah 23:5-6

What do we learn from this text? First, the Messiah is coming and he will be a king like David. David’s kingship provides a historical model for what the Messiah will be like, a model of wise and just rulership. But obviously not every action of David provides a model for the righteous Messiah. The Messiah will be like David, but his life will not be an exact replay of David’s reign. The line from prophecy to fulfillment here is not totally predictable.

A second aspect to this prophecy is found in the title given to the Messiah, “The Lord Our Righteousness.” There was a king reigning in Judah at the time when Jeremiah gave this prophecy. His name was Zedekiah, which in Hebrew means , “the Lord is my righteousness.” Jeremiah tells us that the Messiah, when He comes, will be a king like Zedekiah. While Zedekiah did not live up to his own name, his name was still a model of what the Messiah would be like. The Messiah would play the role that Zedekiah was supposed to play. He would be the One who perfectly carried out the righteousness of God. So the messianic prophecy of Jeremiah 23 uses the language of the past and the present to project an image of what Messiah would be like.

Let’s go back to another prophecy in Isaiah:
“Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’ But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.’ Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the
Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.’”
Isaiah 7:10-16

This prophecy is talking about a king named Ahaz and a prophet named Isaiah. Ahaz is worried about two nations seeking to conquer his kingdom. Isaiah is offering him a sign from the Lord. God sends him a message that a young woman (Hebrew can be read either “a young woman” or “a virgin”) will conceive and have a child. The good news for Ahaz is that before the child is ready to eat solid food and before he knows right from wrong, the two nations will be destroyed. So this prophecy of the Messiah grows out of an immediate situation. God uses the language of the present to describe the future. In the time of the Messiah God will deliver His people just as Ahaz was delivered in Isaiah’s day (Isa 9:1-7).

In Zechariah, a small book at the end of the Old Testament, we see the same principle operating again:
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
Zechariah 9:9-10

Here we see the language of Ephraim, Jerusalem, and the river Euphrates (just the River” in the text). In the language of the people’s time and place there is also a description of the Messiah. But using texts like these, could anyone have predicted the exact course of Jesus’ life? No. Should it surprise us that some understood these texts to predict that the Messiah to be a powerful king who would dominate the political forces in His world? Even Jesus’ own disciples, after copious hints, failed to understand Jesus’ Messiahship until Pentecost. Only after having known Jesus, walked with Him, and received God’s interpretation through the Spirit, could the life of Jesus be seen as the fulfillment of these very prophecies.

The Old Testament Prophets: A New Creation

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I am emphasizing these principles because they provide the basis for making a sound analysis of unfulfilled prophecies. Many people treat unfulfilled prophecy as if it were written directly to them and to their own time and circumstances. They forget that when God gave the prophecy He did not use the language of their day but the language of the prophet’s past. I cannot underestimate the importance of this principle. When you study a book like Revelation, the content concerns the prophet’s future, but the language is the language of the prophet’s past. We should not expect a point by point correspondence between every detail of the prophecy and its fulfillment.

This last assertion is clearly illustrated in another passage from the book of Isaiah, one that is often used in conjunction with the book of Revelation.
“Behold, I will create new heavens
and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.”
Isaiah 65:17-19

Most people think of this passage as a description of our future. In fact, the book of Revelation actually uses this text to talk about the New Jerusalem that God has prepared for His people. But here in Isaiah, God is talking about the Exile and the Return. Some of the language has taken on an extended meaning over time (confirmed by inspiration), but when Isaiah writes he’s talking about the Exile and the Return. If you read the chapter in context, you will see that it doesn’t talk about eternal life and heaven, but rather about people living longer lives on this earth.
“Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth;
he who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.”
Isa 65:20

This is not a description of heaven the way the Revelator sees it (Rev 21:4)! Heaven as we understand it doesn’t include death. But as a description of the mighty things God plans to do when they return from Exile, this text makes sense. In other places Isaiah has described the Exile in the language of the Exodus. But aspects of God’s future mighty act are so great they can only be described in the language of Creation. Remember the principle of spiritualizing the type? Using the language of Creation doesn’t mean that Isaiah is describing the very end of earth’s history– creation language was also used in the description of the Exodus (Exod 14:21-22). In this case the language of creation describes what will take place after the exile to Babylon.

Daniel. You may be thinking, “OK. I see your point when it comes to Isaiah. But isn’t Revelation an apocalyptic book, more like Daniel? Surely in these types of books the prophet speaks directly about the future. He’s not speaking to his time and place but to our time and place. Shouldn’t we read those books differently than the other prophets?” A fair question. But a look at the evidence suggests that even in apocalyptic passages like Daniel 7 the language of the past is used to describe the future. In Daniel’s vision the sequence of future kingdoms is described in the language of creation.

“Daniel said, ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea’” (Daniel 7:2). Does the language of the winds blowing over the sea sound familiar? We’ve seen similar language already in Genesis 1:2. The vision of Daniel 7 begins with an echo of the chaotic waters before creation. Then after Daniel’s description of a series of animals we come to a fascinating statement in verses 13-14:
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14
The highlighted language reminds us of Adam’s dominion over the creatures of the earth (Gen 1:26-28). That dominion was exercised when he named the animals (Gen 2:19-20). So in Daniel 7, as in other Old Testament prophets, the language of creation is applied to the prophet’s future: winds churning on the sea, animals appearing, and a son of man (a second Adam) who is given dominion over these animals. So Daniel 7 describes the future history of the world as a new creation of God. Once again the language of the past is used to describe the future.

What excites me about this reading of Daniel 7 is that this prophecy made perfect sense at the time Daniel was writing. God’s people were right in the middle of the Exile at that time. Daniel and his people were captives in Babylon. How would Daniel view the animals in Daniel 7? They represented the nations who were oppressing the people of God. These nations are portrayed as vicious, ravenous beasts.

So what was the message of the vision to Daniel and his people? Something like this. “Just as Adam had dominion over the animals after creation, so the Son of man will have dominion over these nations that were oppressing you and your people.” The message of Daniel 7, in other words, was that God was still in control. The world seemed out of control because wicked nations were doing evil things to the people of God. But God’s people were not to be discouraged. God had not lost control of the situation, in spite of appearances.

Remember the principle that God meets people where they are? We see that very clearly in Daniel 7. God gives a message to Daniel about the future of the world. But His purpose was also to assure Daniel that He was in control of the present circumstances as well. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a vision similar to Daniel’s with a similar interpretation. But there was one major difference. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the nations of the world were symbolized by an idol. That makes sense because Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king, to him the nations of the world were shining examples of the gods they worshiped. These nations were something to be excited about. But to Daniel these same nations were vicious, ravenous beasts who were hurting his people. God gave the same message to each “prophet” in terms they would understand. When God reveals the future, He uses the language of the prophet’s past. God meets people where they are. We should not, therefore, expect point by point fulfillment of every detail, even in apocalyptic prophecy.

The Old Testament Prophets: The New Exodus II

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Micah.

A contemporary of Hosea was the prophet Micah. He prophesied to the kingdom of Judah (just to the south) a short time after the prophecy recorded in Hosea 2. He too follows the pattern that we noticed in Hosea. In talking about the Exile, he uses the language of the Exodus.

“As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my wonders.’
Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their power.
They will lay their hands on their mouths
and their ears will become deaf.
They will lick dust like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their dens;
they will turn in fear to the LORD our God
and will be afraid of you.
Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
You will be true to Jacob,
and show mercy to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our fathers
in days long ago.”
Micah 7:15-20

Did you notice the word “again” in the above passage? “You will again have compassion on us.” “Again” combined with “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,” makes it clear that this is talking about a “New Exodus” which will be modeled on the first Exodus out of Egypt.

The principle of “spiritualizing the type” is very strong in this passage. The new Exodus will be as much spiritual as literal. God’s purpose for the New Exodus is to forgive His people and to restore their hearts to Him. He’s not primarily interested in having a nation with political power on His side. God is interested in a spiritual relationship with His people. He is not satisfied with merely a “name” relationship. He wants a heart relationship of genuine intimacy. In that sense this Exodus will transcend the previous one.

In Micah 7 the Exile and Return are once again described in terms of a New Exodus. But instead of the Red Sea, we have the “depths of the sea.” The sea here is not a physical barrier that will be physically divided, it is the place where they leave their sins behind. Micah prophesies that they will leave their sins and transgressions in Babylon and when they come back home, they are going to be faithful to God. So the prophecy of the Exile builds on the language of the Exodus in a spiritual way.

Isaiah.

Isaiah prophesied just a few years after Hosea and Micah. He too describes the Exile in the language of the Exodus.

“The LORD will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
so that men can cross over in sandals.
There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.”
Isaiah 11:15-16

In this text it is the Euphrates River that functions as a parallel to the Red Sea of the Exodus. A highway of return from Assyria would cross over the Euphrates River. It will be a New Exodus all over again. When Israel comes out of captivity it will pass through the Euphrates River in a way similar to the way Israel passed through the Red Sea.

Do you remember the principle that God is consistent? What God did for His people in Egypt, He will do again when they return from the Exile. Isaiah uses the language of the past to describe the future. But that isn’t all that is going on here. The Exile can be described in terms of the Exodus but God is not bound to the entire pattern. Did Israel actually return from Assyria? No. By the time of the Exile, Israel was no longer in existence. Only Judah was left. Assyria was also destroyed and Babylon has become the new superpower. Not only that, did the remnant of God’s people actually pass through the Euphrates River in sandals? No, there were bridges across the Euphrates River right in the city of Babylon. How do you explain the anomalies in this prophecy? God meets people where they are. At the time Isaiah was written, Israel had not yet been destroyed and Assyria still ruled the territory of Babylon. So the prophecy was given in the context of the time, place and circumstances of Isaiah’s day. When the fulfillment came circumstances had altered the case.

The Euphrates River did dry up, however. That happened when Cyrus, king of Persia, came and surrounded Babylon. Since Babylon’s walls seemed too difficult to take by siege Cyrus tried to find some way to get around its defenses. He did that by diverting the Euphrates River–drying up its waters–and marching his soldiers along the river bed, under the walls, into the city. In principle the Exodus happened again, but many details were different this time. God is consistent but He is not predictable. He meets people where they are at each stage of the historical drama.

Another text in Isaiah takes a slight turn from the previous one. It begins with the language of the Exodus again, but then shifts to something new.

“This is what the LORD says–
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
‘Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.’”
Isaiah 43:16-19

In this passage the Exodus still provides the model for the return from exile. There are references to passing through the waters, and the destruction of chariots, horses and armies. But the event to come is also a new thing that will transcend the Exodus. The past provides the language for the future, but once again God is creative and the fulfillment is not bound to the pattern in every detail.