Does God use prophecy to punish humanity out of some perverse sense of enjoyment? Of course not! But if there are positive purposes to prophecy, what are they?
by Jerold Aust
Why do some people think that God gets enjoyment out of prophetic punishments? Does God have a fundamentally cruel streak that He randomly satisfies, targeting people who can't defend themselves?
Historically, writers of apocalyptic literature promote this satanic notion, as Dante Alighieri did in his Divine Comedy. Why would anyone perpetuate this concept? Your Bible makes clear that there are purposes for prophecy; and those purposes, contrary to conventional wisdom, serve us.
Defining prophecy and classic examples
Prophecy is a divinely inspired prediction of the future, and there are many examples of fulfilled prophecy in Scripture.
A classic example is when God promised a revival of His true religion under a king named Josiah (1 Kings 13:2). This amazing prophecy was fulfilled 300 years later when God restored the rebellious kingdom of Judah by installing young Josiah as king (2 Kings 22:1). Josiah's grandfather was the infamous evil King Manasseh who ruled Judah for 55 years.
Josiah had a different heart, and God used him to turn the nation around. It worked, but not for long. God also predicted that Judah would go into captivity for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:8-12), which He fulfilled to the letter.
After Josiah's premature death, Judah went right back into following false religious practices and, as God had prophesied, the nation went into captivity under the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24).
