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Table of Contents
Key Verses
- And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision1 and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by. For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day. Habakkuk 2:2-3 AMP
- Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [actively] watching over My word2 to fulfill it.” Jeremiah 1:12 AMP
Prophesy fulfillment
Quick
- Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’ ” 2 Kings 7:1 NKJV
Delayed
1. Joseph
- Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. … Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers Genesis 37: 2,5 NKJV
- Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. Genesis 41:46 NKJV
Time to fulfilment: 13+ years (Age 17 to Age 30+)
Dream to Fulfillment Sequence
- Pit
- Potiphar
- Prison
- Prime Minister
- Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” Genesis 42:9 NKJV
2. Abraham
- Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. … Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:4,7 NKJV
- Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Genesis 21:5 NASB
Time to fulfilment: 25 years (Age 75 to Age 100)
What to do with prophesies?
1. Believe prophesy & prophets
- Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:14-15 NKJV
- believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV
Other versions
- Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 NASB
2. Write down prophesies
- “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. Jeremiah 30:2 NASB
- Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV
- Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. Daniel 7:1 NKJV
3. Hold on to prophesy in the wilderness; to have hope & to fight fear
- This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, so that [inspired and aided] by them you may fight the good fight 1 Timothy 1:18 AMP
- Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. Psalm 119:49 NKJV
- Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well 1 Timothy 1:18 ESV
4. If prophesy delayed, pray
- in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel 9:2-3 NKJV
Prophesy
- Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”
- So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bent down to the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, but he said, “There is nothing.” Yet Elijah said, “Go back” seven times.
- And when he returned the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a person’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot horses and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” Meanwhile the sky became dark with clouds and wind came up, and there was a heavy shower. 1 Kings 18:41-45 NASB
Avert negative prophesies
1. By taking action
And David said, “O LORD, God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account. 11Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” “He will,” said the LORD. So David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” “They will,” said the LORD. Then David and his men, about six hundred strong, set out and departed from Keilah, moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he declined to go forth. 1 Samuel 23:1-10 BSB
2. Through prayer
In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ” Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. 2 Kings 20:1-6 NKJV
3. Through fasting
On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!” And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.” When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them. Jonah 3:4-10 BSB
Responses to prophesy
1. Hezekiah
- In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’ ” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. Isaiah 38:1-5 BSB
First Prophesy: Responded by praying
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.” Isaiah 39:5-8 NKJV
Second Prophesy: Responded by simply accepting
2. Eli
So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.” 1 Samuel 3:18 BSB
3. Abraham
- And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:20-25 NKJV
Responded by interceding
4. Ninevites
- On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!” And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.” When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them. Jonah 3:4-10 BSB
5. Sons of the Prophets (Trainees)
- Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”
- Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do
you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” 2 Kings 2:3&5 BSB
They knew Elijah was going to be taken up but appear to have taken no action other than talk about it – unlike Elisha who pressed on to be with Elijah.
Prophesy insights
1. Prophetic promise to fulfillment. What happens in the gap?
- Until the time that his word [of prophecy regarding his brothers] came true, The word of the LORD tested and refined him. Psalm 105:19 AMP
2. Purposes of prophesy
- the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation. 1 Corinthians 14:3 NASB
- Your prophets have seen (imagined) for you False and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your wickedness To restore you from captivity [by teaching you to repent], But they have seen (imagined) and declared to you false and misleading oracles. Lamentations 2:14 AMP
- For [in this way] you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may be instructed and everyone may be encouraged 1 Corinthians 14:31 AMP
- Your prophets have predicted for you falsehood and delusion and foolish things; and they have not exposed your iniquity and guilt to avert your captivity [by causing you to repent]. But they have divined and declared to you false and deceptive prophecies, worthless and misleading. Lamentations 2:14 AMPC
3. Prophesy changes us - Sequence
- Fact: Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Genesis 18:11 BSB
- Prophesy/Promise: behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” Genesis 15:4 ESV
- Faith/Believe: By faith even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive [a child], even [when she was long] past the normal age for it, because she considered Him who had given her the promise to be reliable and true [to His word]. Hebrews 11:11 AMP
- Statement: Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. Genesis 20:2 NKJV
- Fulfillment: Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised. Genesis 21:2 BSB
Sequence of events
- Receive Prophesy
- Believe
- Changes happen (Read: YOUNGER)
- Fulfillment
4. Prophecies can be time bound
- Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’ ” 2 Kings 7:1 BSB
- And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.” 2 Kings 4:16 BSB
5. Essence of prophesy
- the substance (essence) of the truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy [the vital breath, the inspiration of all inspired preaching and interpretation of the divine will and purpose, including both mine and yours]. Revelation 19:10 AMPC
Media
Footnotes
- .2377 חזון [châzôn] \khaw-zone'\ From 2372; a sight ({mentally}) that {is} a {dream} {revelation} or oracle: - vision.
2372 חזה [châzâh] \khaw-zaw\ A primitive root; to gaze at; mentally to {perceive} contemplate (with pleasure); specifically to have a vision of: - {behold} {look} {prophesy} {provide} see. - 1697 דּבר [dâbâr] \daw-bawr'\ From 1696; a word; by implication a matter (as spoken of) of thing; adverbially a cause: - {act} {advice} {affair} {answer} X any such ({thing}) + because {of} {book} {business} {care} {case} {cause} certain {rate} + {chronicles} {commandment} X commune ({-ication}) + concern {[-ing]} + {confer} {counsel} + {dearth} {decree} {deed} X {disease} {due} {duty} {effect} + {eloquent} {errand} [evil favoured-] {ness} + {glory} + {harm} {hurt} + {iniquity} + {judgment} {language} + {lying} {manner} {matter} {message} [no] {thing} {oracle} X {ought} X {parts} + {pertaining} + {please} {portion} + {power} {promise} {provision} {purpose} {question} {rate} {reason} {report} {request} X (as hast) {said} {sake} {saying} {sentence} + {sign} + {so} some {[uncleanness]} somewhat to {say} + {song} {speech} X {spoken} {talk} {task} + {that} X there {done} thing ({concerning}) {thought} + {thus} {tidings} what {[-soever]} + {wherewith} {which} {word} work.