Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy comprises the passages of the Bible that are claimed to reflect communications from God to humans through prophets. Jews and Christians usually consider the biblical prophets to have received revelations from God.
Prophetic passagesinspirations, interpretations, admonitions or predictions "b. An instance of divinely inspired speech or writing; a revelation from God or a god; a prophetic text. Also as a mass noun: such writings considered collectively."appear widely distributed throughout Biblical narratives. Some future-looking prophecies in the Bible are conditional, with the conditions either implicitly assumed or explicitly stated.
In general, believers in biblical prophecy engage in exegesis and hermeneutics of scriptures which they believe contain descriptions of global politics, natural disasters, the future of the nation of Israel, the coming of a Messiah and of a Messianic Kingdom—as well as the ultimate destiny of humankind.
Overview
Prophets in the Bible often warn the Israelites to repent of their sins and idolatries, with the threat of punishment or reward. They attribute both blessings and catastrophes to God. According to believers in Bible prophecy, later biblical passages—especially those contained in the New Testament—contain accounts of the fulfillment of many of these prophecies.
Christianity has taken a number of biblical passages as prophecies or foreshadowings of a coming Messiah. Christians believe that Christ Jesus fulfills these messianic prophecies, while followers of Rabbinic Judaism still await the arrival of the Jewish Messiah and other signs of Jewish eschatology. Most Christians believe that the Second Coming of Christ will fulfill many messianic prophecies, though some Christians (Full Preterists) believe that all Messianic prophecies have already been fulfilled. Rabbinic Judaism does not separate the original coming of the Messiah and the advent of a Messianic Age. (For details of differences, see Christianity and Judaism.)
A much-discussed issue within Christianity concerns the "end times", or "last days", particularly as depicted in the Book of Revelation.
Hebrew Bible
Genesis
promises Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, and Genesis 17:8 states:
F. F. Bruce argues that the fulfilment of this prophecy occurred during David's reign. He writes:
Christian apologists point to corporate personality here to connect Abraham with the Jewish nation. H. Wheeler Robinson writes:
Exodus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges God is represented as guaranteeing that the Israelites would drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites from their lands, so that the Israelites could appropriate them.(). The same applies to the Girgashites (). In , this is referred to as a covenant, commandments being given. In Judges, the Israelites are described as disobeying the commandment to worship no other gods () and, as a result, not being able to drive out the Jebusites (). The Israelites did not drive all of the Canaanite tribes out in the lifetime of Joshua. The books of Joshua and Judges (Chapters 1) mention towns that could not be defeated. According to 2 Samuel, the Israelites occupied Canaan but the complete seizure took place only when David defeated the Jebusites in Jerusalem and made it the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. ()Siegfried Herrmann, A History of Israel in Old Testament Times, London, 1981, SCM Press Ltd, p. 155.
Davidic dynasty
Biblical scriptures say that God states that the house, throne and kingdom of David and his offspring (called "the one who will build a house for my Name" in the verse) will last forever (2 Samuel 7:12–16; 2 Chronicles 13:5; Psalm 89:20–37). 1 Kings 9:4–7 as well as 1 Chronicles 28:5 and 2 Chronicle 7:17 state that Solomon's establishment is conditional on Solomon obeying God's commandments.
According to bible stories Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 2:1; 6:7–10) and did not obey God's commandments (1 Kings 11:1–14).
Biblical stories place the destruction of the 'Kingdom of Judah' by Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BC and tell that this brought an end to the rule of the royal house of David.
Some scholars including Saul of Cyrene state that God has promised an eternal dynasty to David unconditionally (1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19). They feel the conditional promise of 1 Kings 9:4–7 seems to undercut this unconditional covenant. Most interpreters have taken the expression "throne of Israel" as a reference to the throne of the United Monarchy. They see this as a conditionalization of the unconditional dynastic promise to David's house expressed in 1 Kings 11:36, 15:4 and 2 Kings 8:19. They argue the presence of both unconditional and conditional promises to the house of David would create intense theological dissonance in the Book of Kings.
Christians believe that the promise is of surviving descendants that could fulfill the role of king rather than a permanent earthly kingship.Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible Readers Companion (electronic ed.) (468). Wheaton: Victor Books.Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Je 33:17). Peabody: Hendrickson.Smith, J. E. (1992). The Major Prophets (Je 33:14–26). Joplin, Mo.: College Press.Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983–c. 1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An exposition of the Scriptures (1:1176). Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books.
Kings According to the Book of Jeremiah, God told Zedekiah: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon... You will not die by the sword; you will die peacefully. (Jeremiah 34:2–5) However, the Books of Kings and Jeremiah relate that when Zedekiah was captured, his sons were slaughtered before his eyes, his eyes were put out, he was chained in bronze, and taken to Babylon where he was imprisoned until death. (2 Kings 25:6–7 and Jeremiah 52:10–11) There is no other historical record of what happened with Zedekiah in Babylon.Siegfried Herrmann, A history of Israel in Old Testament times, London, 1981, SCM Press Ltd, p. 284. God is also represented as promising Josiah that because he humbled himself before God, he would be "buried in peace" and the book goes on to say he shall not see the disaster to come on Judah (2 Kings 22:19–20). Josiah fought against the Egyptians although the pharaoh, Necho II, prophesied that God would destroy him if he did (2 Chronicles 35:21–22)—possibly Josiah was "opposing the faithful prophetic party".F.F. Bruce, Israel and the Nations, Michigan, 1981, p. 84. Josiah was killed in battle against the Egyptians (2 Kings 23:29–30). However, Judah was in a time of peace when Josiah died, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Isaiah
When the Jews heard that "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim" God is said to have told them: It will not take place, it will not happen... Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. () According to "God delivered the King of the Jews, Ahaz, into the hands of the King of Syria, who carried away a great multitude of them captives to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the King of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter".
In , the prophet says clearly that a prerequisite for the fulfillment of the prophecy is that Ahaz stands firm in his faith. This means that he should trust God and not seek military help in the Assyrians which Ahaz nevertheless did.F.F. Bruce, Israel and the Nations, Michigan, 1981, pp. 62–67.
The Book of Isaiah also foretold; Babylon would be overthrown by the Medes () and its palaces taken over by wild animals. () Christian apologists state that the prophecy in Isaiah chapters 13 and 21 could possibly have been directed originally against Assyria whose capital Nineveh was defeated in 612 BC by a combined onslaught of the Medes and Babylonians. According to this explanation the prophecy was later updated and referred to BabylonNew Jerusalem Bible, Standard Edition published 1985, introductions and notes are a translation of those which appear in La Bible de Jerusalem – revised edition 1973, Bombay 2002; footnote to Isaiah 21:1. not recognizing the rising power of Persia. On the other hand, it can be mentioned that the Persian King Cyrus after overthrowing Media in 550 BC did not treat the Medes as a subject nation. Instead of treating the Medes as a beaten foe and a subject nation, he had himself installed as king of Media and governed Media and Persia as a dual monarchy, each part of which enjoyed equal rights.F.F. Bruce, Israel and the nations, Michigan, 1981, p. 96. Damascus will become a "heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks". () The prophecy may date from 735 BC when Damascus and Israel were allied against Judah.New Jerusalem Bible, Standard Edition published 1985, introductions and notes are a translation of those which appear in La Bible de Jerusalem – revised edition 1973, Bombay 2002; footnote to Isaiah 17:1. Tiglath-Pileser took Damascus in 732 BC, which some apologists point to as a fulfillment of this prophecy, but this campaign never reduced the city to rubble. The depiction of Damascus as a "heap of ruins" has been understood as figurative language to describe the despoiling of the city, the leading of its people as captives to Kir (an unidentified city), and the way that the city lost much of its wealth and political influence in the years following Tiglath-Pileser's attack. The prophecy is also believed by some to have a future fulfilment relating to end-time developments concerning Israel.
The passage is consistent with , which states that Assyria defeated the city and exiled the civilians to Kir. The river of Ancient Egypt (identified as the Nile in RSV) shall dry up. (). "The land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt." () "There shall be five cities in Ancient Egypt that speak the Canaanite language." () "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, 'Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.'" () Some theologians argue the statement that the "land of Judah" will terrify the Egyptians is not a reference to a large army from Judah attacking Egypt but a circumlocution for the place where God lives. They argue it is God and his plans that will cause Egypt to be terrified. They go on to argue the second "in that day" message from verse 18 announces the beginning of a deeper relationship between God and Egypt which leads to Egypt's conversion and worshiping God (verses 19–21). They say the last "in that day" prophecy (verses 23–25) speaks about Israel, Assyria and Egypt as God's special people, thus, describing eschatological events.