How Does the New Testament Explain the Prophets?
Throughout this course we have emphasized one important principle.
The prophets first spoke God's message to the people of their own day.
Yet the prophets also looked forward to God's future work of redemption through the Messiah.
The question is:
How do we know when and how those promises were fulfilled?
The safest answer is simple.
We let the New Testament explain them.
Again and again, Jesus and the apostles quoted the prophets and showed how God's promises had been fulfilled.
Peter stood before the crowd on the Day of Pentecost and declared,
"This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel." (Acts 2:16)
Joel's promise of God's Spirit was no longer something to be expected in the distant future.
Peter said it was happening before their eyes.
Matthew repeatedly explained the life of Jesus by saying,
"This took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet..."
Again and again, he showed how Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures.
Paul followed the same pattern.
He reasoned from the Scriptures, explaining that Jesus was the promised Messiah (Acts 17:2-3).
He quoted Abraham, David, Isaiah, Habakkuk, Hosea, Joel, and many other prophets to explain the gospel.
The writer of Hebrews does the same.
He shows that Jesus fulfilled the priesthood, the sacrifices, the tabernacle, the covenant, and many other themes introduced in the Old Testament.
This teaches us an important principle.
When the New Testament explains an Old Testament prophecy, that explanation becomes our safest guide for understanding the prophet's words.
That does not mean every prophecy is explained in the New Testament.
But it does mean we should never ignore an inspired explanation in favor of our own ideas.
Sometimes the New Testament shows that a prophecy was fulfilled in a way that people living before Christ could not have fully understood.
The prophets faithfully proclaimed God's message.
The apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, revealed how God's promises reached their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
That is why Christians read the prophets through the light of the gospel.
The same God inspired both Testaments.
The New Testament does not contradict the Old.
It completes the story the Old Testament began.
Whenever we study the prophets, one question should always guide us:
"How does the New Testament explain this passage?"
Very often, God has already given us the answer.
Continue Your Study
How Should We Read Prophecies That Have More Than One Fulfillment?
Some prophecies seem to describe events in the prophet's own day while also pointing forward to Christ or to later events.
How should we understand these passages?
And how does the New Testament help us recognize them?
Related Bible Studies
How Does the Bible Interpret Itself?
What Did the Author Intend?
The Story of Redemption
Understanding Revelation
Companion Video
How Does the New Testament Explain the Prophets?
Read First. Conclude Later.