זכריה, פרק א׳, פסוק ו׳

The messages delivered by God through His prophets do not fade with time. Even after the prophets themselves pass away, their words stand forever and eventually become reality. For the generation that lived through the destruction, the harsh warnings they once ignored materialized completely, forcing them to face the truth of those prophecies and accept the justice of their fate.

The severe decrees that God handed down, which included death by sword, famine, plague, and exile, were originally given to the prophets as a warning for the people [רד״ק]. These judgments eventually caught up with the earlier generations, striking them exactly as foretold. Yet, the punishment fell exclusively on the ancestors who committed the sins, leaving the prophets who delivered the warnings unharmed [מצודת דוד].

In the midst of the disaster, the ancestors finally repented and confessed their wrongs [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. They acknowledged that the punishments God had carefully planned and decided upon [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ] were fully carried out. This admission brought two major realizations. First, they recognized God's absolute power and His active role in punishing those who do wrong. Second, they understood that their suffering was an exact match for their behavior, a direct consequence of their own actions [מלבי״ם].

Because of this painful awakening, there is no longer a need for a new prophecy to warn the people about the future. The hardships are already a lived reality, and their eyes are completely open to God's actions [מלבי״ם]. It is now obvious to everyone that the warnings of the prophets are entirely true and that their authority lasts forever [ביאור שטיינזלץ].