When most people read something called prophecy in the Bible, especially predictive prophecy, they assume that the statements about the future intend to describe accurately what the prophet understands, through divine inspiration, will actually happen in the future.
But that’s not what the Old Testament tells us.
Statements about the future are descriptions of how bad things might get if current selfish, greedy, violent, and oppressive behaviors continue.
Biblical prophecies are conditional statements. Biblical prophecy does not seek to predict the future, but to change the present. The potential of future disaster is meant to change current behavior and to motivate people to repent.
Prophets in the Scriptural Narrative want to activate certain behaviors in their audiences, not prognosticate future events. They are like parents warning children against foolish behavior and encouraging good behavior, not weather forecasters attempting to tell you whether or not you’ll need an umbrella at noontime tomorrow.
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