Prophecy

Prophecy is a major part of the Bible.  In the Old Testament it was one of the ways that God to spoke to His people, through His prophets. 

A prophet of God was held to a very strict standard.  If he prophesied anything that did not come to pass, he was immediately branded a "false" prophet, and no longer was his prophecy listened to. 

The prophecies in the Old Testament foretold various events, but were focused on the coming of a redeemer, called the Messiah of God. 

The Prophet Daniel sought the Lord for many days and the Lord sent the "man" Gabriel to him.  Daniel Chapter 9, contains detailed information, given by Gabriel to Daniel, telling him what was coming in the future.  This began with the timing of the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem when it was to start and that it would extended to:

The arrival of Messiah.

The cutting off of Messiah.

The end of sacrifice.

The end of transgressions.

The end of prophecy (seal up [Hebr. Chatham: "close up," "seal up," "make an end to," "stop"] the vision and prophecy) Daniel 9:24.

Anoint the most Holy.

Bringing in of everlasting righteousness.

The destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple after Messiah was cut off.

This prophecy was fulfilled and the Messiah arrived exactly as predicted when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  He was taken to Egypt for a few years, then to Nazareth where he grew up, the son of a carpenter. He began his ministry when he was about thirty years of age.  It is witnessed by many proofs that He was the Messiah of God.  He gave His life for all of mankind and to those who would accept Him, He promised salvation from their sins and eternal life.

This is very important: The very nature of prophecy requires its fulfillment.

New Testament:

Prophecy is just as important, if not more important, in the New Testament, because it is more "focused".  Jesus prophesied many coming events.  The most famous of the prophecies of Jesus is probably the "Olivet Discourse," found in the gospels. This foretold what was going to happen in that generation.