Prophecy expressed in the past tense

When the prophetic Spirit speaks of things that are going to happen as though they had already happened, as can also be seen in the passages quoted above, we will explain this too so that it gives no excuse to those who read them. Things that he certainly knows will happen he foretells as though they had already happened. Pay close attention to what is said, and you will see that this is how these words must be understood.

David spoke the words quoted above fifteen hundred years before Christ became a human being and was crucified. No one who lived before him and was crucified brought joy to the nations, nor did anyone after him. But our Jesus Christ, after being crucified and dying, rose again and, ascending into heaven, began to reign. And because of what has been proclaimed in his name among all the nations through the apostles, there is joy among those who await the incorruption promised by him.