The Prophet’s Development in Understanding

An interesting aspect of the process of revelation/inspiration is that after receiving the message the prophets may not have fully understood it. We should keep in mind that occasionally the message given contained long-term revelations that went beyond the time of the prophets who received them. According to Peter, after the prophets received messages related to the sufferings of Christ, they “searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing” (1 Peter 1:10, 11, NIV). It was pointed out “to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (verse 12, NIV). The message may not have been difficult to understand, but they were not certain about its full implications and how it would be fulfilled.GOP 102.1

There were times the prophets simply did not understand the message, and had to ask the Lord to clarify it. Zechariah saw a vision of red, brown, and white horses, but was not able to understand its message. So he asked: “What are these, my Lord?” An angel provided more information to him in order to make the message intelligible (Zech. 1:8, 9, NIV; see also verses 18-21). In another vision the angel asked him, “What do you see?” The prophet described the vision and, realizing that he could not understand it, asked, “What are these, my Lord?” The angel, perhaps surprised by the question, asked the prophet, “Do you not know what these are?” The prophet replied, “No, my Lord.” Then the message was clarified for him (Zech. 4:1-7, NIV). As in the experience of Jeremiah discussed above, the angel was interested in making sure that the prophet received the vision and that he understood it. This was done by asking him to describe in his own words the content of the vision and by asking him whether the meaning was clear. The verbal description accurately corresponded to the revelation given to the prophet. Little by little the prophet gained a better comprehension of the revelation.GOP 102.2

There is also the experience of Peter, who, after receiving the same vision from the Lord three times, “was wondering [Greek, diaporeo, “to be greatly perplexed”] ^{73Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker, 235.} about the meaning of the vision” (Acts 10:17, NIV). He was not pleased with his own understanding of it. Later on, when three visitors were arriving at his home, he “was still thinking [dienzumeomai, “to give serious thought to something, to ponder”] ^{74Ibid., 244.} about the vision” (verse 19, NIV). The Spirit did not correct Peter’s initial misunderstanding, nor did He fully explain to him the meaning of the vision. He simply commanded Peter to go with the three visitors. In other words, the Spirit was going to reveal to the apostle the meaning of the vision through the flow of history. Two days later he arrived at the house of the Gentile Cornelius, talked to him, and then spoke to the group meeting in the house about the vision: “God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean” (verse 28, NIV). The divine message, conveyed to him through a vision that he had originally totally misunderstood, was by then clear. The Spirit had little by little led him to a correct and fuller understanding of the divine revelation. God’s providential acts on behalf of a group of believers were used by Him to clarify the meaning of the vision to the prophet.GOP 102.3

Abraham thought that the divine promise of the son was to be fulfilled through Ishmael, and years later the Lord clarified it for him (Gen. 21:11, 12). Samuel thought that the Lord sent him to anoint the eldest son of Jesse as king, and the Lord corrected him (1 Sam. 16:6, 7). Jeremiah appeared to have concluded that his call to the prophetic office would keep him from a life of constant suffering and rejection by the people (Jer. 1:4-19). When his interpretation of the call proved to be wrong, he was extremely disappointed, and concluded that the Lord was to him “like a deceptive brook” (Jer. 15:15-18, NIV). The language he used was so strong that the Lord had to reprimand him (verse 18).GOP 103.1

There were times the Lord had to provide more information to the prophets to help them understand the message He was entrusting to them or to correct their misunderstandings of it. In all of these we witness a divine concern to make sure that the message was clearly understood. The human dimension did not weaken the process of revelation/inspiration but strengthened it. God continued to work with the prophet until the message came through clearly and accurately.GOP 103.2