Well laddies and lassies, it has been a wee while since I wrote a blog! Since my last blog, I have retired from the field of medicine, moved from New Mexico to Washington (state, not DC), and gone on a much-needed real vacation with my besties to…you guessed it, Scotland. Meanwhile, the topic for this blog has been rolling around in my head for a few months. So, let’s consider a verb tense sometimes referred to as the “prophetic perfect.” What if we look at this tense as more than just some more boring grammar stuff, and explore the potential impact of the prophetic perfect on our world view as Christians?

 So, what is the “prophetic perfect”? First of all, grammatically speaking, “perfect” refers to a completed action rather than something that is without flaw (such as “these shoes are a perfect fit”). This verb tense can be difficult to understand for a lot of us, because Hebrew and Greek have less emphasis on absolute time (as in past, present, future) than the English language. In the English language, a completed action would imply a past tense…in order to be completed, the action had to have taken place in the past. In Greek and Hebrew, there is more emphasis on something called the “aspect” of a verb rather than absolute past, present, future. The aspect refers to whether the action is completed (perfective aspect) or ongoing (imperfective aspect). Ok, before your eyes glaze over completely, let’s get to the prophetic perfect. Waltke and O’Connor describe the prophetic perfect (aka “accidental perfective” or “perfective of confidence”) as “a speaker vividly and dramatically represent[ing] a future situation both as complete and as independent.”¹[ Similarly, C. Hassell Bullock explains that “the prophets often envisioned future events with such confidence of their reality that they spoke of them as having already occurred. In grammatical terms that phenomenon has been called the “prophetic perfect.”²[ Bullock’s description sheds further light on why the prophetic perfect is also called the “perfective of confidence.”

Let’s look at a couple of classic examples. First though, it’s important to recognize that English has no exact parallel to the perfect tense,³3therefore, when the prophetic perfect verb is translated into English, another English language tense (such as past or future) is used.

Numbers 24:17 (ESV): “I see him, but not now; I behold him but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth [italics added].” In the Hebrew, “shall come out of,” “shall rise,” “shall crush,” and “break down” are all perfect tense verbs. In other words, in Balaam’s final oracle, these future events were so certain that they were described as already complete…hence the English use of the future “shall” rather than “might, may, or probably will.” Looking at both the near and far fulfillments of this prophecy, David indeed conquered Moab (2 Samuel 8:1-3) and there seem to be some messianic overtones in the prophecy as well. At the time the prophecy was written though, neither David nor the incarnate Jesus had yet appeared on the scene. With that in mind, Balaam’s confident predictions are impressive.

Isaiah 9:1-2 (ESV): “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone [italics added].” In this great messianic prophecy, “has made glorious,” “have seen,” and “has light shone” are all written in the perfect tense in Hebrew. In the translation, we see the English past tense reflecting the original sense of completion. This is truly fascinating, because Isaiah was a prophet to the Judean kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1). During Isaiah’s ministry, the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria. The southern kingdom of Judah held out against the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:20-37), but even so, it was a rough time for both Israel and Judah. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be too long until Judah would be conquered by Babylon. Considering this historical context, Isaiah’s beautiful prophecy of restoration obviously pointed to a future time rather than current events, making his confident use of the Hebrew perfect tense even more astonishing.

Although there are plenty of perfect tense verbs in the New Testament, we don’t see a clear use of the prophetic perfect. We do, however, see the fulfillment of many of the Old Testament prophets’ uses of the prophetic perfect. Most importantly, the birth, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus emphatically confirm the confidence underlying the prophets’ use of the perfect tense.

Before moving on to how the prophetic perfect might affect our outlook as Christians, let’s look at one especially meaningful use of the perfect tense in the New Testament. In what Dr. Mounce describes as “perhaps the single most important statement in all of Scripture,”⁴[just before He bowed His head and gave up His spirit, Jesus said “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Greek word translated “It is finished” is τετέλεσται (tetelestai). Not only is this word in the perfect tense, but the word itself means “to complete” or “to bring to perfection.”⁵[5Remember how we discussed the perfect tense carrying the sense of completion? Well, here we see a word meaning completion or bringing perfection, used in a tense that also implies completion. The theological implications are weighty. In His perfect (and here I do mean “without flaw” as well as “complete”) atoning sacrifice, Jesus “finished” everything that the entire Old Testament pointed toward. He fulfilled the promises and prophecies. He restored the relationship between God and humanity that broke in Genesis 3. When Jesus gave up His spirit, the heavy curtain dividing the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple tore in half (Matthew 27:50-51), symbolizing the removal of the barrier between God and man. Although we are still waiting in the “in-between” right now, we can look forward to abiding with God just as Adam and Eve originally did in Genesis 1 and 2.

So, keeping all of this in mind, what if we looked at the prophetic perfect as a way of life? What if we courageously lived with the confidence of the Old Testament prophets? What if we refuse to be bound by fear and instead embrace the promise of 1 John 5:4-5 (ESV): “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” This passage doesn’t say “some people who have been born of God will overcome the world” or “everyone who has been born of God might overcome the world.” It says “everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world”!

I’m writing this in mid-September during a presidential election year. I don’t know very many people on either side of the aisle who aren’t living with a little anxiety (or a lot) about the political future of America right now. I’m also in the middle of a career change and have been unemployed for the last two and half months. Many of us seem to be living in a constant state of feeling a bit unsettled and unsure. What if we lay our anxiety down at the foot of the cross and courageously believe 1 John 5:4-5? Yes, there is political unrest and insecurity. Yes, there are many of us who worry about our jobs and finances. Yes, we see evidence of a fallen world all around us. But…we serve Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. We serve El Roi, the God who sees us. We serve Jesus Christ, the One who uttered τετέλεσται and promptly destroyed sin and death forever! While we are still living in the middle, the in-between, the now and the not yet, we can choose an eternal viewpoint and live with the assurance of victory.

If you want to get picky, you might say my idea isn’t truly analogous to the prophetic perfect because Jesus already achieved victory over sin and death, whereas the events prophesied in the Old Testament had not yet come to pass. Ok! You make a valid point. But if we really believe the victory is won/completed/perfected, why don’t we always live like it? Well, probably because we are imperfect humans that really are still living in the in-between. Even so, lets pray for greater faith, more courage, abundant strength, and let’s choose to live with the same confidence found in the Old Testament prophets’ use of the prophetic perfect. Let’s grasp Hebrews 4:14-16 tightly and “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.” God already won the war. Jesus already defeated death. Our reserved place in the eternal joy of New Jerusalem is confirmed. It is finished indeed!

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[1] ¹Bruce K. Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 490.

[2] ²C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books, Updated Ed.  (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2007), 262.

[3] ³William D. Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, 4^th Ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019), 276.

[4] ⁴Ibid., 275.

[5] ⁵Ibid.