We have seen evangelicals invoke
Deuteronomy 18:22 as proof that, unless Daniel’s prophecies were
literalistically fulfilled, Daniel is a false prophet. However, the fact that
Deuteronomy 18’s description, of a true prophet as being evidenced by
fulfillment of prophecies, does not imply a literalistic fulfillment of
prophecies is evident even in a Deuteronomistic text such as Kings, for all its
interest in prophecy and fulfillment. Note how, while in 1 Kings 21:19 Elijah
prophesies “Thus says the LORD: ‘In the place where dogs licked up the blood of
Naboth [meaning Jezreel], dogs will also lick up your blood,’” this is
explicitly noted as fulfilled “according to the word of the LORD that he had
spoken,” even though “they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; the dogs
licked up his blood,” not matching the apparent thrust of the prophecy that
Ahab’s punishment would hap-pen in the very place where Naboth was killed. On
other occasions it is accepted a prophecy may come to nothing since God’s
sovereign will might change in response to human actions. Thus in 2 Kings 20:1,
Isaiah tells King Hezekiah plainly: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in
order, for you shall die; you shall not recover,’” yet after Hezekiah’s prayer,
this prophecy is superseded in 2 Kings 20:5–6a by “Thus says the LORD, the God
of your ancestor David: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears;
indeed, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the
LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life.’” According to the interpretation
of Deuteronomy 18 as requiring literalistic fulfillment by the evangelicals
mentioned above, Elijah and Isaiah must join Daniel as “false prophets.” Evangelicals
must be aware of the various cases such as these of imprecise fulfillment of
prophecy, but it seems a different standard of literal fulfillment is set when
it comes to Daniel’s apocalyptic symbols. (Ian Young and Thomas J. Elms, “Avoiding
the Apocalypse in the Book of Daniel,” in Misusing Scripture: What Are
Evangelicals Doing With the Bible?, ed. Mark Elliott, Kenneth Atkinson, and
Robert Rezetko [Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and
Biblical Studies; London: Routledge, 2023], 207)
Outside Kings, there are of
course various examples, such as Ezekiel 26:1-21 and 29:17-21. In the former
passage, Ezekiel predicts Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Tyre, while in the
second passage, dated 16 years later, Ezekiel admits Nebuchadnezzar’s siege
failed. God now promises the Babylonians an Egyptian conquest as a consolation.
As another example, a key plot element in Jonah involves an unfulfilled
prophecy. (Ibid., 220 n. 27)
Further Reading:
Richard L. Pratt (non-LDS [Presbyterian] scholar), "Historical Contingencies and Biblical Predictions" (PDF Version)
