Too many believers have an incorrect view of how prophecy is fulfilled. Firstly, there is a mentality that says, if God said it, then it is bound to happen. This is Christian fatalism, and seems to absolve us of any personal responsibility in partnering with the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, the other school of thought declares that God will do it all; we do not have to do anything.
These Christians love to quote three specific verses of scripture to prove that all prophecy will automatically come to pass. 1 kings 8: 56; Ezekiel 12:25; and Isaiah 55: 11 to prove their point, that God alone is responsible for prophecy coming to pass. It is important to deconstruct this myth.
1 kings 8: 56-blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. There has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised through his servant Moses.
I agree that the promises of God referred to in this scripture came to pass. None of them failed; they were fulfilled. However, they were fulfilled by the 2nd generation of Israelites, not the 1st who had received the prophecy while still living in Egypt. These prophetic words, spoken first by Moses in (Exodus 6: 6-8), we’re cancelled in (Numbers 14: 20-23) on behalf of that first generation of liberated Israelites.
The issue here is not whether God’s words were fulfilled, but whether they were fulfilled by the people who received the promise. We need to read the five following verses.
1 Kings 8: 56-may the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us nor forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to himself, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that he may maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel as each day may require, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; There is no other. Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes and keep his commandments, as at this Day.
After saying that God’s words will not fail, Solomon, the wisest man of his time, declared that there are four requests and responses that had to be at the forefront of the hearts of God’s people:
1-For God’s presence to be with us.
2- For our hearts to be turned to him, that we may obey him in all things.
3- For our prayers to be heard and our needs met.
4-For God’s glory to be seen by all the earth.
On top of that, Solomon issued this command: let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God. These requests, responses, and commands indicate that we cannot take a wait and see attitude with prophecy.
Ezekiel 12: 25-for I’m the Lord, I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; It will not be postponed; for in your days, over rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it.
Ezekiel 12 is a rebuke given to a rebellious nation. They had eyes, but could not see, Ezekiel prophesied. They had ears, but could not hear, because they were too rebellious. In the first part of the chapter, Ezekiel is commanded to put on a prophetic drama as a sign to Israel that they were going to exile because of their rebellion (Ezekiel 12: 1-10).
In this case the word that was going to come to pass was a prophecy about the future exile of the Israelites when they would be held in captivity in Babylon. The people’s response was exactly the same as the wait and see people council today: son of man, look, the House of Israel is saying, the vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesized of times far off (Ezekiel 12: 27). In other words, we do not need to respond right now. This word will not be fulfilled too soon, it can wait. The Israelites lack of remorse and repentance ensured that the prophetic word of exile would come to pass.
Isaiah 55: 11 so shall my word be that goeth forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
When we examine this passage, we must remember that there is a difference between the prophecy of Scripture and personal prophecy. Second, we must not confuse the difference between a human being’s free will and the sovereignty of God.
The prophecy of scripture relates to God’s ultimate purposes for the earth and his people. He declares the end (revelation) from the beginning (Genesis) and all in between. His purpose will be established, and his good pleasure accomplished (Isaiah 46: 10).
Those words relate to God’s Eternal Covenant with his people. Having given us his Spirit, he declares that his word will never depart out of our mouths, nor our descendants for now and forever (Isaiah 59: 21). In that context, Jesus declared that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away (Matthew 25: 35).
The prophecy of scripture, like the one in (Isaiah 55: 11), always points to an unchanging God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has a fixed purpose and thus gives fixed prophecies that will undoubtedly be fulfilled, though not necessarily by the generation that first received the word.
We cannot put prophecy to individuals in that same category. Isaiah 55: 11- refers to the prophecy of scripture, the ultimate desire of God for the earth and humankind. God’s word will come to pass; His purpose will be achieved.
However, I believe it also contains the element of God’s ideal for the individual. If I were to ask God’s intention for every personal privacy given to an individual, I believe he would point to this verse as the evidence of his desire for us. Yet we know that God’s intention and desire will never override our free will. He does not execute personal words on us by his sovereignty. He graciously speaks out the possible, not the inevitable.
We need to look at the verses leading up to Isaiah 55: 11.
Isaiah 55: 8-For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
God describes a cycle of how he works. Rain comes down from heaven and waters the earth before returning to the sky in the process of evaporation. Likewise, spiritual things come from down for him, touch the earth and returned back to him. His word comes out of his heart, accomplishes what he wants and then returns to him in a different form through confession, worship, thanksgiving, prayer, proclamation and declaration. Yet we are an integral part of this process.
In Numbers 14, a prophecy was cancelled for two million adults and reactivated for their children. Saul had his personal word canceled in Samuel 13. In fact, the Lord told Samuel that, I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned his back from following me, and has not performed my commandments (1 Samuel 15: 11). At that point, God expressed his sorrow, not a mistake. His intention was that Saul would receive the full promise; the reality was a source of grief to him.
For 23 years, Jeremiah prophesied continually to Israel, proclaiming the message found in Jeremiah 25; 5-6-Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your father’s forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the works of your hands; for evil to you.
Numerous prophets had spoken the same message, over and over, to the nation. God’s intention and desire was to see Israel turn around, repent, and return to their first love. 23 years, the word of the Lord was spoken with no response from the people.
Further into Israel’s history, we discover some foundational principles that undergird every prophetic utterance given to that nation. Leviticus 26: 14-33 expresses, in detail, the penalty for not obeying God’s words, rejecting his statutes, and breaking a covenant with him. These include ill health, destruction by their enemies, a hard land, a cast iron sky, plagues, wild animals’ attacks, pestilence, rationed food, cannibalism, and desolation. Disobedience would culminate in exile and banishment. In its biblical history, Israel suffered all these things.
Deuteronomy 28 is built on this theme, starting with the blessings of obedience to God’s word, followed by the curses of disobedience. The instruction was clear, as we see in Deuteronomy 28: 14-so you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I commanded you this day, to the right or to the left.
When God desires to speak prophetically to us personally, it is his intent and desire that these things should happen. However, there can never be any room for fatalism or apathy in the heart of a Christian. We can’t wander around singing, K, sera, sera, whatever will be, will be! Personal prophecy always speaks to the potential, never to the inevitable. We must make a positive response.
Take responsibility for your blessing. Use the prophetic word to enter a dialogue with the Holy Spirit regarding your own preparation. Write a prayer around the prophecy so that it always is in your heart expression to the Lord. What does this mean? What must I do?
What does this prophecy mean for me in my life? What must I do to cooperate with the Lord and partner with him for its fulfillment? All personal prophecy is conditional to our response.