Lesson 4: The Interpretation of Prophecy
LESSON 4: THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY
Darryl Nunnelley & David R. Reagan
FACT: Bible prophecy was meant to be understood by the common person.
Key Scripture: "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words"
(1 Corinthians 2:12-13).
Two Myths
Many people believe that Bible prophecy is indecipherable to anyone except theologians who have been trained at a seminary.
Others believe that Bible prophecy never means what it says, and they therefore spiritualize it to mean what they want it to say.
The Truth
God wants to communicate with us, and He knows how to do it. You do not have to be a seminary graduate to understand Bible prophecy.
Theologians refer to the principles of biblical interpretation as "hermeneutics," which causes most people to respond, "Herman who?" The word is derived from the Greek god, Hermes, who was considered to be the messenger of the gods.
It is important to realize that there is a God-given meaning to all Scripture, apart from any of our wishes or preconceived notions, and that meaning is determined by God. Understanding that meaning is the task of hermeneutics. What does it matter to believe that the Bible is God's perfect word if you misinterpret it? To draw God's intended meaning from the Scriptures, apart from anything else, is our task. Some principles for doing just that are listed below.
Principles of Interpretation
1) Have the Right Attitude:
The Scriptures need to be approached with childlike faith, believing that God wants us to understand what He is saying, and that when He speaks, He means what He says. Dr. Henry Morris addresses this issue in his great commentary on Revelation, called The Revelation Record.
He says: "Revelation is not difficult to understand. It is difficult to believe. If you will believe it, you will understand it."
For example, in Revelation 7 it says that at the start of the Tribulation God is going to seal a great host of Jews to serve as His special "bond-servants." The text specifies that the number will be 144,000, and that 12,000 will be selected from each of 12 specified Jewish tribes.
What would God have to do to convince us that He intends to set aside 144,000 Jews for special service during the Tribulation? The text is crystal clear. Yet, hundreds of commentators have denied the clear meaning and have spiritualized the passage to make it refer to the Church! This is reckless handling of God's Word, and it produces nothing but confusion.
2 ) Look for the Surface Meaning:
Always look for the plain sense meaning of every passage. A good rule for the interpretation of all of Scripture, including prophecy, is this one: "If the plain sense makes sense, don't look for any other sense, lest you end up with nonsense."
Early in Christian history, due to the influence of Greek philosophy, some of the Church Fathers began to allegorize the Scriptures, arguing that the real meaning was hidden below the surface. This resulted in all kinds of fanciful interpretations.
The Bible is not written in code. The surface meaning is the true meaning. The First Coming prophecies abut the Messiah meant what they said. There is no reason, therefore, to spiritualize the Second Coming prophecies. Thus, when Revelation 20 says that Jesus is going to return to this earth to reign for a thousand years, we should accept this to mean what it says.
3) Consider the Context:
Always keep in mind the context because context determines the meaning of words. A word in one context may be symbolic whereas in another context it may be literal.
For example, in Psalm 50:10 God says that "the cattle on a thousand hills" belong to Him. The context makes it clear that the word, thousand, is symbolic. But in Revelation 20 where we are told six times that the Lord is returning to reign for a thousand years, the context makes it clear that the word, thousand, is literal.
4) Let Scripture Interpret Scripture:
Scripture is its own best interpreter. A correct interpretation is always consistent with all the rest of the Scriptures.
Revelation 12 says that in the middle of the Tribulation the Antichrist will attempt to annihilate the Jewish people, and many of them will escape on "the wings of a great eagle." Some have interpreted this to mean that the United States, whose symbol is an eagle, will supply an airlift to rescue the Jews. But this exact same terminology is used to describe the escape of the children of Israel from Egyptian captivity (Exodus 19:4 and Deuteronomy 32:11). All it means is that they escaped under the protection of God.
5) Reconcile all Scriptures:
Avoid hanging a doctrine on one isolated verse. All verses on a particular topic must be searched out, compared, and then reconciled.
Second Peter 3:10 says that when the Lord returns, "the heavens will pass away with a roar...and the earth and its works will be burned up." Now, if this were the only verse in the Bible about the Second coming, we could confidently conclude that the heavens and earth will be burned up on the day that Jesus returns.
But, there are many other verses in both the Old and New Testaments, which make it abundantly clear that the Lord will reign over all the earth before it is consumed with fire. Those verses must be considered together with the passage in 2 Peter 3 in order to get the correct overall view.
6) Watch for Prophetic Gaps:
The previous example points to the fact that there are often gaps in Bible prophecy. This is due to what is called "telescoping." This occurs when a prophet compresses the time interval between prophetic events.
The reason this happens is due to the perspective of the prophet. As he look into the future, he sees a series of events, but he does not necessarily see the time gaps between those events. It's like he is looking at a series of mountain tops and is unable to see the valleys between each peak.
In Zechariah 9:9-10 there is a passage with three prophecies which are compressed into two verses, but which are widely separated in time. Verse 9 says the Messiah will come humbly on a donkey. The first part of verse 10 says the Jewish people will be set aside. The second part of verse 10 says the Messiah will reign over all the nations.
These three events - the First Coming, the setting aside of Israel, and the reign of Christ - appear to occur in quick succession, but in reality, there were 40 years between the first two events, and there have been almost 2,000 years thus far between the second and third events.
7) Be Aware of Prefilling:
Sometimes prophecy is prefilled in symbolic type before it is completely fulfilled.
In this regard, the Jewish people must have felt that Antiochus Epiphanes (215 - 164 BC) fulfilled Daniel's prophecies about a tyrannical leader who would severely persecute the Jews. But 200 years after Antiochus, Jesus referred to those prophecies of Daniel and told His disciples they were yet to be fulfilled. Antiochus was a symbolic type of the Antichrist, but he was not the Antichrist.
8) Avoid "Unique" Interpretations:
Don't try to be the only one to ever "discover" a different interpretation of Scripture. If you do, you will most likely end up with a heresy.
Keep in mind the warning of 2 Peter 1:20-21, which says: "But know this first of all, that no prohecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
A Challenge
Mastering Bible prophecy requires time devoted to serious study. And it requires the study of all of God's Word - both the Old and New Testaments. But it will be time well spent because you will discover three things: 1) Fulfilled prophecy confirms that the Bible is the Word of God; 2) Fulfilled Messianic prophecy is proof positive that Jesus was the Son of God; and 3) Prophecies yet to be fulfilled provide hope for the future.
Quotation: "About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation in the midst of much clamor and opposition." Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727).
Lamb & Lion Ministries www.lamblion.com