| THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF PROPHECY |
| by Robert Tippett |
When talking to a fellow writer about my topic of Nostradamus, he told me that a very
spiritual person that he looked up to also had spoken warmly about Nostradamus. He
said that this wise sage had observed that the best prophets of history are those whose
prophecies never were fulfilled. The reasoning for this, of course, is the prophet was
believed to be connected to God and the people warned took steps to avoid the
prophecy coming true. This is the ultimate purpose of prophecy; but, history shows
more failures to listen and believe than it does show success stories. This means that
prophecy also serves another important purpose.
spiritual person that he looked up to also had spoken warmly about Nostradamus. He
said that this wise sage had observed that the best prophets of history are those whose
prophecies never were fulfilled. The reasoning for this, of course, is the prophet was
believed to be connected to God and the people warned took steps to avoid the
prophecy coming true. This is the ultimate purpose of prophecy; but, history shows
more failures to listen and believe than it does show success stories. This means that
prophecy also serves another important purpose.
In the Old Testament, after Judah and Israel were established nations, a series of slips
began. The people began to worship idols, influenced by the Queen Jezabel and her
importing of her own prophets and the killing of the existing prophets. The stories tell
of one prophet after another crying out to the people to return to the service of God,
or they would be defeated and their temples destroyed. No one would listen to these
prophets and most were not allowed inside the temples, as the leaders of the churches
would not listen either. While it took quite some time and several prophets passed,
both Judah and Israel were defeated, by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. The
children of Israel were taken to Babylon, in cpativity, not to regain their land until the
year 1948. In these cases, it shows the purpose of prophecy is to listen and respond.
Otherwise, the prophecy will come true; but, when the prophecies do come true, it
serves the purpose of proving that God is real. It is this realization that the truth has
been spoken by God, through the prophet, that allows for the prophecy to be taken
into the hands of the people. Prophecy is then a test of this faith.
began. The people began to worship idols, influenced by the Queen Jezabel and her
importing of her own prophets and the killing of the existing prophets. The stories tell
of one prophet after another crying out to the people to return to the service of God,
or they would be defeated and their temples destroyed. No one would listen to these
prophets and most were not allowed inside the temples, as the leaders of the churches
would not listen either. While it took quite some time and several prophets passed,
both Judah and Israel were defeated, by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. The
children of Israel were taken to Babylon, in cpativity, not to regain their land until the
year 1948. In these cases, it shows the purpose of prophecy is to listen and respond.
Otherwise, the prophecy will come true; but, when the prophecies do come true, it
serves the purpose of proving that God is real. It is this realization that the truth has
been spoken by God, through the prophet, that allows for the prophecy to be taken
into the hands of the people. Prophecy is then a test of this faith.
Once the children of Israel were in captivity in Babylon, the prophet Daniel worked
both for the Isarelis and King Nebuchednezzer, trying to keep the children of Israel as
safe as possible. It was in this foreign environment that the Bible relates the signle
most important story of faith in God, which becomes the strength from which all
people can find the power to believe prophecy and act. That story is of Shadrack,
Meshack and Abendigo. For refusing to eat the food of the Babylonians, because it
was against Jewish law, the king ordered these three to be sent to the furnace, which
was heated ten times hotter than ever before. The three walked in the furnace and
after the fire was stoked, when it was all over they walked out without even a singe
on their garments. Whether this story can ever be proven to have occurred as it has
been told is irrelevant. The point of this story is to show the complete safety that
utter faith and devotion provides to each of us. When the prophets speak it is from
divine inspiration and the faithful must listen, no matter if the news goes against our
desires and wishes. God spoke to Abraham and told him that Sodom and Gomorrah,
would be destroyed; but, Abraham begged God not to let this destruction happen.
God and Abraham bargained, so that Abraham had to find ten good people in those
two cities to have them spared. In the end, the Angels of the Lord could only find
Lot, his wife and two daughters that had remained good, so they were told to leave.
This shows that God is willing to listen to our complaints about His ability to see what
we cannot see; but, in the end, while it is good to try to save as many as possible, it is
best to listen to what God has to tell us.
both for the Isarelis and King Nebuchednezzer, trying to keep the children of Israel as
safe as possible. It was in this foreign environment that the Bible relates the signle
most important story of faith in God, which becomes the strength from which all
people can find the power to believe prophecy and act. That story is of Shadrack,
Meshack and Abendigo. For refusing to eat the food of the Babylonians, because it
was against Jewish law, the king ordered these three to be sent to the furnace, which
was heated ten times hotter than ever before. The three walked in the furnace and
after the fire was stoked, when it was all over they walked out without even a singe
on their garments. Whether this story can ever be proven to have occurred as it has
been told is irrelevant. The point of this story is to show the complete safety that
utter faith and devotion provides to each of us. When the prophets speak it is from
divine inspiration and the faithful must listen, no matter if the news goes against our
desires and wishes. God spoke to Abraham and told him that Sodom and Gomorrah,
would be destroyed; but, Abraham begged God not to let this destruction happen.
God and Abraham bargained, so that Abraham had to find ten good people in those
two cities to have them spared. In the end, the Angels of the Lord could only find
Lot, his wife and two daughters that had remained good, so they were told to leave.
This shows that God is willing to listen to our complaints about His ability to see what
we cannot see; but, in the end, while it is good to try to save as many as possible, it is
best to listen to what God has to tell us.
It must not be forgotten that Jesus Christ was also a prophet of God. His time as a
man was to prophesy as well as teach. His message is for all to follow, as it comes
from God. Jesus Christ is also the source in the prophecy of John, in The Revelation;
and, he has clarified, while repeating that same prophecy to Nostradamus. For
Christians, especially those that attend church regularly and take the sacraments as a
symbolic gesture of acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Savior, it is important to pay
attention to the words of the service. In the Nicean Creed, near the end, each person
avows to accept that "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son, is worshiped and glorified, who has
spoken through the prophets." This affirmation of faith is not something to take
lightly. When one believes that prophets are the vehicle of God and Christ, there is
no just cause to believe that that avenue to help mankind ceased to be viable, after the
Church settled on the books that would become the Christian Bible. God is a living
God, who speaks to us daily; and, Christ is always with us, as the Good Shepherd
watching over his flock will do.
man was to prophesy as well as teach. His message is for all to follow, as it comes
from God. Jesus Christ is also the source in the prophecy of John, in The Revelation;
and, he has clarified, while repeating that same prophecy to Nostradamus. For
Christians, especially those that attend church regularly and take the sacraments as a
symbolic gesture of acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Savior, it is important to pay
attention to the words of the service. In the Nicean Creed, near the end, each person
avows to accept that "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son, is worshiped and glorified, who has
spoken through the prophets." This affirmation of faith is not something to take
lightly. When one believes that prophets are the vehicle of God and Christ, there is
no just cause to believe that that avenue to help mankind ceased to be viable, after the
Church settled on the books that would become the Christian Bible. God is a living
God, who speaks to us daily; and, Christ is always with us, as the Good Shepherd
watching over his flock will do.
