Sunday, May 29, 2022

John Tvedtnes on Examples of Contingent Prophecies in the Old Testament

  

Jeremiah himself illustrated the principle of conditional prophecy when he told king Zedekiah, in the name of the Lord, that he would not go captive into Babylon if he followed the prophet's instructions; otherwise, he would be taken captive and Jerusalem would be destroyed (Jer. 38:17-23).

 

Concerning the men of Keilah, the Lord said to David, "They will deliver thee up [to Saul]" (1 Sam. 23:12), but this didn't happen because David fled from the city (vss. 13-14)! Two centuries later, the prophet Elisha told King Joash to smite on the ground with his arrows. The king did so three times. The prophet then said that he should have smitten five or six times in order to consume Syria (2 Kings 13:18-19). Obviously, the actions of men play a role in the fulfillment of prophecy. (John A. Tvedtnes, A Reply to Dick Baer)

 

Further Reading:


Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies