What about the prophecies that weren't fulfiled?

Dear R.,

I appreciate your dedication to the Message of Truth as you progress into the second half of the course. Your questions are important, and I will share my insights on them.

What do Adventists say about the prophecies that Jesus didn’t fulfill?

The Bible contains numerous prophecies. These can be categorised into general prophecies, which address future events, apocalyptic prophecies that focus on end-time occurrences, and conditional prophecies that rely on specific circumstances, such as human actions or the passage/fulfilment of other conditions or time.

A prophecy from God is fulfilled (Ezekiel 12:24, 25). If it does not come to pass, we should refrain from hastily declaring it false and instead consider various possibilities with careful thought:

1. If it is an apocalyptic prophecy, its time hasn’t yet come. For example, many such prophecies are to be found in the book of Revelation. See this one, in chapter 21: ‘I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God . . .’ (21:2). Its time for fulfilment is sometime in the future. What about ‘the heavenly bodies will be shaken’ (Mark 13:25). Probably it is also a prophecy that is going to be fulfilled as we get closer to the end of time. Read in Habakkuk 2:3: ‘the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.’

2. If it is a conditional prophecy, it depends on some conditions: if the human does X, God will do Y. A typical example is the story of Jonah and the city of Nineveh. They were warned of destruction, they repented. Should we say that Jonah was a false prophet just because the destruction of the city didn’t take place? Certainly not. A more personal example is when God says to king Hezekiah ‘put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover’ (Isaiah 38:1). Following Hezekiah’s repentance, the word of the Lord amended the first prophecy, and we read ‘I have heard your prayers and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life’ (Isaiah 38:5).

3. If it is a prophecy that involves pain and suffering and challenges our perspective, we may be tempted to twist its interpretation. I know it sounds strange, but that’s what the Jews did with many prophecies related to Jesus. For example, in Isaiah 53 we find the story of crucifixion and yet, the Jewish people didn’t read it (not even today) as applicable to Messiah. Not surprisingly then, Jesus himself challenged his two disciples on the road to Emmaus: ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ (Luke 24:25, 26)

Now, regarding prophecies Jesus did not fulfill . . . I am not sure of your perspective. Do you mean there were prophecies that Jesus failed to fulfil? Hard to believe . . .

What I know from the Bible, is that Jesus carefully covered all these things. With those two disciples on the road to Emmaus, ‘beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27). This verse encompasses everything: from the first page of Moses to the last in the prophets, and you can see the word ‘all’ repeated and implied several times. The same evening, to all the disciples, He did it again. This time we read that ‘He said to them:

Again we find powerful key words: ‘everything’, ‘must be’, ‘fulfilled’, while the entire Old Testament is represented by its three parts (law, prophets and writings).

Coming back now to your second question, the words of Jesus are unmistakably clear. But allow me to quote the entire text:

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished’ (Matthew 5:17, 18).

Three things are obvious:

1. people probably thought that Jesus came to contradict what had been written before. This is not the case, as Jesus made it clear and started by speaking what was on their minds.

2. His coming was not to abolish anything, to cancel, to deem unfit, but rather to fulfil. Which, again, means all the Law and the Prophets said was good, and all He did was to fulfill the same.

3. (please take note of this one, as you didn’t quote it) whatever is in the law that needs to go away, will go, at the right time, meaning at its fulfilment. Can we give examples? Well, you gave some: tefillin, circumcision, etc. Some were acknowledged by Jesus: if we read in Matthew 23:5, when talking about the Pharisees: ‘everything they do is done for the people to see: they make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long . . .’ I sense from your question and example something like ‘why don’t we keep the same today?’

The issue of circumcision was clarified back in the apostolic times.

When some demanded that the Gentiles be circumcised in order for them to be saved (Acts 15:1, 5), the apostles, being led by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28) informed the brethren that they should ‘not burden you with anything beyond the following requirements’. The next verse lists those, and circumcision is not there. In fact, there are many verses in the New Testament proving that circumcision is no longer necessary (see Galatians 6:15, 5:6, or Romans 3:30). You can see here our answer to a student who asked what circumcision means for a New Testament believer.

What about all the other things in the law?

We believe that ALL (yes, it is in capitals), all that was ceremonial ended with Jesus’ crucifixion. Remember John the Baptist pointing to Jesus: ‘Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). When Jesus died, ‘at that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom’ (Matthew 27:51). If you remember the setting of the temple, the tearing of this curtain meant that the service (function and purpose) of the sanctuary was coming to an end, in that what was allowed for priests only, for the high-priest only, now was open . . . Christ's death brought all things that were shadows to meet their fulfilment. ’The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning’ (Hebrews 9:8). Jesus became the curtain, He was the one torn . . . Let us read together in Hebrews 10:19-23:

‘Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body'.

And the text continues, as we draw our response to a close:

'and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.’

Dear student, we invite you to consider following Jesus, as ‘it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my word! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you all.’ (Galatians 5:1, 2). ‘For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’ (Galatians 5:6)

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