PROPHETIC PERFECT TENSE

1 Corinthians 2:10   I am going to write about something that is one of those deep things of God.

To be clear on a point, Philippians 3:10-16   All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view.

In these verses Paul is explaining a deep thing of God.  In much of Paul’s writings he comes across a one who has attained.  He speaks as though what is a promise or hope as a present reality.  This is due to the zeal in response to the power of God that worked in him.  2 Kings 19:31 This spiritual phenomenon is called Prophetic perfect tense.  This is a style of preaching that describes future events that are so certain to happen that they are referred to in the past tense as if they had already happened.  Under the powerful influence of the Fathers Holy Spirit Paul on many occasions wrote or spoke in this manner.  God was in effect speaking through Paul.  This was also in the prophets as well as Jesus himself.  Hebrews 1:1-2  1 Peter 1:10-12  

Isaiah 9:6  is an example of prophetic perfect tense as the verse seems to say the son was already given when we know this son would not be born or given until the future. Romans 8:30:31  is an example of Paul’s prophetic perfect tense as he says, “and he also glorified “ ,  we know our glorification is still future.  This effect is true in many scriptures because the God who inspired these men speaks this way.  Romans 4:17  ,  Isaiah 46:9-10 ,  and Jesus also Matthew 22:32  .   If the God of our inspiration speaks in this manner then is it not also true of His prophets, His son and the Apostles.  Those who do not understand this may well think that future events have indeed been already fulfilled.   Again, the possibility of mistaking the prophetic perfect tense effect as truly fulfilled prophecy when the prophecy has not actually been fulfilled will hide the reality to believe a fantasy .  An event of the past which in some ways are very similar to a future event is called, shadow prophecy, which is the result of a persons belief that the shadow is real.  Isaiah 9:6 where the son seems to have already been born and given is the shadow but it cannot be believed that it was fulfilled in Isaiah’s time.  The same is true when Paul said we are glorified, we should not take this literally and turn it into a doctrine.   Prophecy and doctrine are not the same. Doctrine is prophecy fulfilled and prophecy is yet to be fulfilled doctrine.

Jesus was a prophetic character until the prophecies concerning him were fulfilled then it became doctrine.

Knowing this shows Jesus did not pre exist. We must be aware of many things in order to come to a correct understanding.