Some of God's Prophecies that Failed

I'm always amazed when I hear people talking about God being sovereign and "nothing can happen unless God wills it." What a crock! That's not in the Bible. The Bible tells us that we are co-laborers with God. We are told God "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US.


God wills and prophecies stuff but it is up to we humans to help to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. 


Consider the situation with Moses. God told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. In the fullness of time, God raised up Moses. Moses was all set to be a deliverer. The four hundred years were about to end. But then what does Moses do? He kills an overseer -- sooo not the thing to do. Then he has to wander about in the desert for 40 years. So, the Israelites leave Egypt 420 years later. Two years after the prophecy. 


God prophesied through Samuel to King Saul that King Saul would have a great destiny and would become a father of kings. Saul didn't believe it. He didn't trust that God would use him. God's prophecies failed with Saul because Saul was insecure and didn't trust that God would work within him to do what was necessary. We co-labor with God by trusting that Immanuel --God with us. We trust that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us.


Jonah prophesied Yet 30 days and Nineveh will be destroyed. Clear prophecy. But the Ninevites co-labored with God and this particular prophesy failed.  Which is what God wanted. Then the ninevites went off track. 


Daniel was reading the book of Jeremiah when he realized that the days of the fulfillment of prophecy was supposed to be coming. This worried him. He prayed and fasted and God explained the meaning of Jeremiah's prophecy to him.  Even better, Daniel got some really great clarification of the end times. What if Daniel had decided to do as Moses did or to attempt to take matters in his own hand? It would've been the wrong thing to do. We co-labor with God by praying and fasting and discovering the right thing. 


Zechariah was told by the angel Gabriel that he would have a son. Zechariah didn't believe. Gabriel had to make Zechariah mute. Or else Zechariah would've spoke all sorts of unbelief and not co-labored with God. We colabor with God by speaking the word of faith and not speaking our doubts.


Jesus told Peter: Your name is Reed (Simon). I'll call you Peter (Rocky.) Peter was a wuss in the beginning, being blown here and there by people's opinion, betraying Jesus when the time gets hard. Peter gets baptized in the Holy Spirit and later has enough strength to preach on the steps of the temple after Jesus ascension. But what does he do later? He wimps out when certain men from James came and saw him eating with the gentiles. This is Peter? No, it's Simon. He managed to die as a rock but Jesus prophecy about Peter's name change never fully got hold of Peter until Peter's death. Peter could die for Jesus but when it came to standing outside the herd, he definitely had a lifelong fight against giving in to people's opinion. Luckily, by the time he died he was co-laboring with God by dying to self.

God is always giving us prophecies. His Bible has the best general prophecies for our lives -- sure and certain promises. But he also gives us dreams -- as in hopes, but also as in nightly dreams-- to show us what he has for our lives. God knows the thoughts he has for us -- thoughts of good and not for evil, to give us a future and a hope.

But we must believe. We must pray. We must co-labor with him. We must speak his affirming word. We must die to self so that we can prove what is that good perfect and acceptable will of God for the lives of His people. I'm not talking about wealth and mansions. But if God has given us a dream, we must remember what ST Paul said to Timothy, "We wage war by the prophecies we receive." When we feel we'll die before our work on earth is finished, we must remember the prophecies God has told us. If it's even something as small as: "you will write a great short story" or a general promise such as "You will live to see your children's children" we have to hold fast to it. The redeemed of the Lord must say so. We must "order our conversation aright." We must remember what James said "death and life are in the power of the tongue." We must trust God and speak and act as faith-filled people.