Were any Biblical prophecies understood before they were fulfilled? In a recent discussion on this site, someone told me that the nature of Biblical Prophecy is such that it cannot be understood prior to its fulfillment; that this is essentially the point of a prophecy: to be understood only after the fact.

This was a new concept to me, and now I'm curious:

Are there any examples of Biblical prophecies which were understood (by anyone) before they were fulfilled?
Without doing too much digging and research I can think of one example.

In Matthew 2 the priests and teachers of the law knew that the Christ was to be born in Bethelehem as per their interpretation of the prophecy in Micah 5.


  Matthew 2:3-6 (ESV)
  3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem
  with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the
  people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They
  told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
  
  6  “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler
      who will shepherd my people Israel.’”


Also in the Old Testament, dreams foretelling the future were interpreted prior to the events taking place. (Examples in the stories of Joseph and Daniel) However I'm not sure this falls under the category of official prophecy.