Because prophecy was fundamentally a tool God used to motivate his people to obey his covenant, it was also fundamentally conditional. In other words, the prophecies about Israel’s restoration were conditioned upon Israel’s repentance and renewed covenant obedience.

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God’s covenants with his people had conditions. If his people obeyed the conditions, they’d be blessed. But if they disobeyed, they’d be cursed. For example, their disobedience had gotten them exiled from the Promised Land. And because prophecy was fundamentally a tool God used to motivate his people to obey his covenant, it was also fundamentally conditional. In other words, the prophecies about Israel’s restoration were conditioned upon Israel’s repentance and renewed covenant obedience.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah explained this fundamental conditionality in Jeremiah 18. In that chapter, he described his visit to the potter’s house, where he saw the potter shaping clay. When the vessel didn’t turn out the way the potter wanted, he reshaped the clay, according to his own preference and discretion.

Listen to what God said about the potter’s work in Jeremiah 18:6-10:

O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does? … If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

Here, Jeremiah indicated that prophecies are fundamentally conditional, just like the covenants they represent. This is true even when the prophecies concern the nation of Israel, and even when the kingdom they refer to is God’s kingdom.

Of course, when we talk about God altering prophetic fulfillments, we have to be careful. When God swears, or takes an oath, or makes a covenant, those promises are absolutely sure. But not everything God says is a promise. And when prophecies don’t include promises, their fulfillment isn’t guaranteed.

The patriarch Abraham clearly understood this. In Genesis 15:7, 8, God said that Abraham would possess the Promised Land. But that wasn’t enough to convince Abraham that it would necessarily happen. So, Abraham asked God to turn his prophecy into a covenant promise.

The prophet Daniel also understood this principle. Around a generation after Jeremiah’s ministry, Daniel ministered to God’s people that were living in exile in Babylon. They’d been exiled, of course, because they’d ignored Jeremiah’s warnings and refused to repent. Daniel observed that their exile might be coming to an end. According to Jeremiah 25:11, 12, the exile was supposed to last 70 years. So, when those 70 years had passed, Daniel prayed for God to restore their kingdom. But, as we read in Daniel 9, the people were still breaking God’s covenant law. Daniel knew that God might have mercy on them despite their sin. But he also feared that God might choose to extend their covenant punishment. Sadly, his fears were well founded. Rather than ending the exile, God multiplied it seven times — extending it another 490 years!

This extended exile was nearing completion in the days of Jesus. God sent his own Son as the messianic king and tasked him with preaching repentance so that the kingdom would be restored. Mark 1:15 summarizes Jesus’ preaching this way:

“The time has come,” [Jesus] said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”


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