Use of Old Testament Prophecy in the New Testament
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- Date Submitted: 09/27/2010 08:09 AM
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Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
in The Gospel of Matthew
The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in the Gospel of Matthew is often considered enigmatic and confusing. Some scholars consider the Old Testament prophecies as a double-fulfillment of God’s word—they have an eschatological fulfillment as well as an immediate Old Testament realization. It is also held that the prophecies of Old as found in the New are typological. But as Blomberg points out, although Matthew consistently uses typology, he expands the prophecies beyond their immediate precursors. Cook believes, however, that prophecies cannot be made to fulfill specific events for they “founder . . . as the events unroll.”
It is the purpose of this paper to examine key prophecies in the Gospel of Matthew that has been long held as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. First we well attempt to define the term “prophecy.” Then we will look at the role of prophecy in the lives of the Israelites how many Old Testament prophecies have appeared as fulfillment in several passages of Matthew.
Webster defines prophecy as a divine prediction: a prediction of a future event that reveals the will of a deity. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible says thus, the “term[s] always carry the connotation of speaking, proclaiming, or announcing something under the influence of Divine inspiration.” From this we can posit, for our definition, that a biblical prophecy is a future event proclaimed by one influenced by the Holy Spirit through dreams and/or visions in addition to direct encounter. Kaiser quotes Horne in defining a prophecy as “’a miracle of knowledge, a declaration or representation of something future, beyond human sagacity to discern or to calculate.’” God revealed his mysteries to those he had chosen to tell his people of his loving redemptive plan. But who are those we call prophet and why is their message so integral to Matthew’s Gospel?
A prophet or nabhi’ – the Hebrew equivalent...
in The Gospel of Matthew
The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in the Gospel of Matthew is often considered enigmatic and confusing. Some scholars consider the Old Testament prophecies as a double-fulfillment of God’s word—they have an eschatological fulfillment as well as an immediate Old Testament realization. It is also held that the prophecies of Old as found in the New are typological. But as Blomberg points out, although Matthew consistently uses typology, he expands the prophecies beyond their immediate precursors. Cook believes, however, that prophecies cannot be made to fulfill specific events for they “founder . . . as the events unroll.”
It is the purpose of this paper to examine key prophecies in the Gospel of Matthew that has been long held as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. First we well attempt to define the term “prophecy.” Then we will look at the role of prophecy in the lives of the Israelites how many Old Testament prophecies have appeared as fulfillment in several passages of Matthew.
Webster defines prophecy as a divine prediction: a prediction of a future event that reveals the will of a deity. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible says thus, the “term[s] always carry the connotation of speaking, proclaiming, or announcing something under the influence of Divine inspiration.” From this we can posit, for our definition, that a biblical prophecy is a future event proclaimed by one influenced by the Holy Spirit through dreams and/or visions in addition to direct encounter. Kaiser quotes Horne in defining a prophecy as “’a miracle of knowledge, a declaration or representation of something future, beyond human sagacity to discern or to calculate.’” God revealed his mysteries to those he had chosen to tell his people of his loving redemptive plan. But who are those we call prophet and why is their message so integral to Matthew’s Gospel?
A prophet or nabhi’ – the Hebrew equivalent...