Edgar R. Fiedler was an American economist who served both the Nixon and the Ford presidencies, dying in 2003. Fielder was a rather entertaining sort who at one time came up with what he called “Fiedler’s Forecasting Rules.” Here they are:
- It is very difficult to forecast, especially about the future.
- He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass.
- The moment you forecast, you know you’re going to be wrong — you just don’t know when and in which direction.
- If you’re ever right, never let them forget it. (Quoted in The Official Rules, Paul Dickson.)
Folks, during this season of Lent we’re going to be talking about forecasting, in a sense—messianic prophecy in particular. But, what is this kind of forecasting? What is prophecy? We’ve heard the term. Some of us have even done some studies of prophecy, but how well do we understand it? And do we really understand its purpose? We’re going to be looking at all of these things during this season. Tonight, as we begin the season of Lent for 2011, we’re going to simply be introduced to prophecy (and you’ll probably hear a bit of this again on Sunday—for those who didn’t hear it tonight). Let me begin with an Old Testament example from the Book of Daniel. Listen…
I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the LORD my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision. 24 “A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. 26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. 27 The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.” – Daniel 9:20-27 (NLT)
What a wonderful example of biblical or messianic prophecy to begin the season with! Here, we see a prophecy or prediction of ‘The Anointed One’ being ‘cut off’ at a specific time after Jerusalem’s wall is rebuilt … and before the Temple is destroyed. From our perspective (having witnessed through the NT Jesus’ birth, life, death & resurrection), we can know today that Daniel was speaking of Jesus, the Messiah—pointing toward his passion that comes at the end of this season of Lent—Easter.
Well, let’s get back to: WHAT IS PROPHECY? PROPHECY IS … by definition: “… setting before people the Word and wisdom of God persuasively.” Well, to me … that’s what prophets do, but is that what prophecy is? What comes to your mind when you think of prophecy?
If you’re thinking … foretelling–as in predicting the future, you’re right. That’s what most people think of. Let take a moment to look at our scripture again…
Verses 25-26 tell us, “Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. 26After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.” This is the section of this prophecy from Daniel that specifically speaks of the ‘the Anointed One’ or the Messiah—Jesus. That is foretelling … but is that all that prophecy is?
Let me suggest that prophecy is not only foretelling, but it is also forthtelling–a word from God for today. That is also another word for preaching… Again, let’s go back to our scripture…
Verses 22-23 say, “He [Gabriel] explained to me, ‘Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.’” Prophets, you see, were the preachers of their day! These are who folks listened to in order to hear a word from God. This particular section of Daniel shows us Daniel having a conversation with the angel, Gabriel, and Gabriel giving Daniel ‘insight and understanding’ NOT for the people of God hundreds of years down the road, but for that time…
An Old Testament professor of mine—Dr. Victor Hamilton—always likened prophecy to ‘a double-edged sword.’ I think it’s a good visual for remembering what prophecy is. Both edges are important—crucial, if you will. But, they are two different edges … of one sword—two different messages … of one prophet or prophecy…
So, prophecy is both … foretelling and forthtelling. But, is that all that prophecy is? Here’s what I want to tell you about prophecy—the Good News—and what we’re going to be looking for in the prophecies we cover during Lent…
PROPHECY GIVES US HOPE! Folks, this is the most exciting part of prophecy, as far as I’m concerned; prophecy is a vessel of HOPE! And, this is what we want to concentrate on during Lent this year—HOPE! Does that sound good to you?
Here’s what one author (Today in the Word, April, 1989, p. 27) has to say about this aspect of prophecy:
Biblical prophecy provides some of the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first advent (birth) … so both testaments are filled with references to the second coming of Christ. One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament, where 17 books give it prominence. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second advent of Christ—an amazing 1 out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. For every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s first advent, there are 8 which look forward to His second!
Again, we’re going to be talking about perspective throughout this series. This author is speaking of our perspective! Because we are the ones who get to look forward—maybe even in our lifetime, the way the world’s going—to Jesus’ second coming, that messianic prophecy in both the OT & NT point toward…
We’ll continue all of this on Sunday, but for now, know that prophecy gives us hope because prophecy is not only foretelling … or forth telling, but prophecy is also … the promise of God! The prophecies in scripture that have to do with Jesus’ first advent—his first coming—have all been fulfilled. As we take a look at many of those throughout this season of Lent, my hope is that we will all be able to see that prophecy is really … the promise of God—promises that will always be kept. And, therein lays our HOPE…
Are you ready for Lent to begin? Are you ready to dig deeper into God’s word to find out just how faithful God is … how much God really loves us? We all need that. That is our HOPE. And HOPE is what this season will be all about… So let it be written…