Jacob has given the allegory as an answer to the question of how the rejected Jesus can become the Triumphant Messiah. He now turns from the testimony of the past prophet, Zenos, to his own prophecy. Virtually his entire prophecy is included in the affirmation that the allegorical events “must surely come to pass.”
For Jacob, prophecy is more than describing the future. To him, utterances under the power of his prophetic position are included as “prophecy,” not because they foretell the future, but because they declare Yahweh’s truth. This chapter begins with his succinct “prophecy” but includes admonitions to his people. As true statements by a prophet, they are therefore “prophecy” according to this wider definition.