Robert Carroll and His Views on Old Testament Prophecy

Robert Carroll argued that there were sometimes inconsistencies between the various Old Testament prophecies about overlapping events. He noted that Haggai and Zechariah tried to make one of Coniah's descendants the anointed king in Haggai 2:20-23 and Zechariah 4:6-10 and 6:10-14. They did so in spite Jeremiah's prediction in Jeremiah 22:28-30 that Coniah's descendants would not rule. Carroll argued that when the Israelites did not make Coniah's descendants the king, they confirmed Jeremiah's prediction, but refuted the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah.

An evangelical response is not hard to find. Jeremiah predicted specifically that no descendant of Coniah would rule as king on David's throne. Haggai and Zechariah did not claim anywhere that a descendant of Coniah would be king. They do claim that Zerubbabel would have enough authority in the community to lead the community in rebuilding the temple; however, that's a very far thing from being crowned king. So, Carroll is proven incorrect.

Carroll further argued that the future predicted by the prophets was simply the present written in large letters with current evils removed. He argued that the full character of the community changed when the Persian Empire replaced the empire of Assyria and Babylon. The prophets' promises did not precede this change. Carroll argued that the prophets did look for some future time when the present troubles would be over; however, this future hope was not realized. The Davidic dynasty was never restored; the hopes for peace and prosperity were largely not realized; Israel and Judah were never reunited. He argues that the only elements of the prophetic hope that were realized in some way were the continued existence of a community centered in Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple.

It is certainly true that many of the prophets' promises do not sound like what really happened in history. The real question is this, did the prophets only speak a word to the people of their own day, a word that they dreamed up themselves, or did the prophets actually speak a word revealed to them by God, a word that still points forward until the end of the age? How do you evaluate the prophets' future promises? Your answer will depend entirely on the broader questions, do you believe that God exists and do you believe that He speaks? If you do not believe that God speaks, then you'll dismiss the accuracy of the prophets' promises. If you do believe that God speaks, you will trust His word and look forward to the day when His promises will be fulfilled in the future.