Prophecy
Today I want to talk about prophecy because understanding it is challenging for many of us, especially reading Isaiah. If you are like me, you wonder if you interpret it correctly. I don’t pretend to know everything Isaiah is saying for many reasons. The main reason is that I am unfamiliar with the culture and historical context of the time he lived. However, I don’t think it is necessary to get the message explicitly expressed because it can be applied to many other situations. So I will attempt to lay out several key aspects of prophets and prophecy and explain how you can be a prophet.
The primary key to being a prophet is to have the spirit of prophecy. In the Book of Revelation, John says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The testimony of Jesus encompasses several areas of importance, and the main one is an understanding of the plan of salvation.
Knowing that there is a God in heaven who sent his Son to save us from our fallen state and society’s proclivity to degenerate over time, it is not hard to predict outcomes based on current conditions. Another simple way to know what will happen in the future is to understand what has happened in the past and why it happened. This principle applies to both short-term behaviors and long-term societal shifts.
Understanding the nature of God is essential to prophesy. If you know that God will do everything short of interfering with our agency to bring us back to him, you will understand that both miracles and destruction are not withheld to bring about his purposes. Also, knowing that he will test and try us make knowing the future possible.
The more familiar we are with the commandments and the principles which underlie them is another key to predicting trends in society. If we observe how closely we are adhering to them, we can gauge the timeframe of impending blessings or punishments.
On the flip side, we also need to know the strategy and methods used by the adversary of God’s plan. As I mentioned earlier, God does not interfere with our agency; Satan does everything he can to entice us to give it away. He makes things appear okay when they are not; his timeline to drag us into hell is very slow. He conditions us a little bit at a time until we become comfortable and complacent. He divides us into as many tribes as possible. If he could convince people that the only thing they need is to be true to themselves, he would win. Chaos ensues when every individual is headed in a different direction, and all are lost.
Studying the words of past and present prophets provides us with context for assessing our current state of affairs and the urgency needed to make shifts in behaviors or prepare for coming disasters. It is clear that prophets rely on those who have gone before them to speak wisdom and warning. In this regard, I think Isaiah is the prophet’s prophet and is often quoted or referenced by other prophets and even Jesus Christ.
Every prophet seems to have their own style. In the case of Isaiah, the language he uses is poetic, metaphoric, and symbolic, and he uses chiasmus for emphasis. The more precisely prophecy is articulated, the more effective it is. That does not mean that explicitly laying out details of future events is the best way to convey the message. Sometimes abstract ideas allow us to mold the intended meaning to individual situations as the Spirit moves us.
There is rarely a single interpretation of prophecy. For instance, a single prophecy can be applied to different epochs and times. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a type of what happens every time a society degenerates to the point that its members have no redeeming qualities, and there is no hope that anyone will change or repent. You could say that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah followed the precedent of the flood in the time of Noah. The only difference is that destruction came from water in one case and by fire in the other.
While everyone can and should be a prophet, only one has the authority and holds the keys of prophecy to speak the word of God to the whole world at any given time. So why are there many other prophets at the same time? Because not everyone has access to or will listen to the prophet. Micro-prophecies are valuable in families, communities, and cultures. Even non-secular people need prophets and indeed have many voices that speak the truth and can reliably predict the future in the case of world events.
Do you have to agree with the prophets? No, but you do so at your peril. Do not let pride or bias get the best of you. It takes humility to be successful in life. This means that when you do not like the message being sent, you would be wise to observe for the prophecies to be fulfilled and adjust your life accordingly. Almost no one knows the mind of God. We demonstrate this fact with great frequency. A wise person knows that they hardly know anything and require constant direction.
I invite you to seek to have the gift of prophecy. You can do so by strengthening your testimony of Jesus Christ, coming to know God, observing current events in the context of history, understanding human nature, keeping the commandments, and being sensitive to spiritual promptings and acting on them. If you are in tune with these things, you will receive knowledge that will save your family and give you hope for the many good things that will come to pass.