Why Study Prophecy: An Introduction

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2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The entire Bible is prophetic. It is God revealing his past, present, and future—as well as ours. The Bible is the unfolding story of God and his relationship with his creation. The Holy Scriptures are the means by which God reveals himself to his creation. This point is amplified by the Apostle Paul’s writing to Timothy…All scripture is given by inspiration (inspiration means God-breathed) of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, God is the author of all scriptures and Bible prophecy. The Apostle Peter wrote that…prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21 & 2 Timothy 3:16). Prophecy in the Biblical sense is a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; the prediction of future events such as the rise of the nation of Israel, the birth of Christ, his passion, death, and resurrection, his second coming and the End-Time prior to his return and so forth.

God holds himself to prophetic perfection…So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11). The implication is that every word and prophecy found in the Bible must be true and fulfilled. This standard is set by God and delivered to Moses, who gave the Law to the Israelites. If someone spoke something in God’s name and it did not come to pass, that person was not to be feared, or pitied, but was to be put to death (Deuteronomy 18:18-22 & Deuteronomy 13:1-5). Jesus speaks to this exacting standard in the New Testament when he declared…If [God] called [humans] gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken (Psalms 82:6 & John 10:35). If ONE scripture is wrong, voided, or broken—then the entire Word of God collapses; and as a result God would not be perfect or as powerful as he claims.

The proof of the Bible being prophetic is found in Genesis chapter 3. After the “Fall of Man” God pronounced a curse upon the serpent (Satan) and spoke prophetically to Eve (humanity): And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Gen. 3:15). This prophecy is threefold:
1. There would be a perpetual struggle between Satan and humankind (i.e. Job 1:1 through 2:10);
2. The offspring of the serpent would be in continual conflict with the offspring of the woman (i.e. John 8:44);
3 Another Adam would come and Satan would try to destroy—wound—and the second Adam would kill (bruise) the serpent (i.e. 1 Corinthians 15:45-58)! The rest of the scripture is a fulfillment and revelation—of how God will accomplish His Prophetic Word.

Throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament, Satan tries to defeat the plan of God. Since the “Fall” Satan has tried many times to destroy the woman’s “seed.”

  • The Murder of Abel.
  • Pharaoh ordering the murder of all male Hebrew children.
  • The Babylonian Captivity and Haman’s scheme to destroy the Jews (Esther).
  • Herod murdered all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts.
  • Judas’ betrayal of Christ and his crucifixion.
  • The martyrdoms of Stephen, James, Peter and Paul.
  • The Banishment of John to the Isle of Patmos,
  • From the birth of the church until today, Satan has tried his best to circumvent the plan of God by killing Jews and Christians alike.

Satan knows how powerful the Word of God is and that if one word of God fails, he can call God a liar and perhaps prevent his (Satan’s) end: but God declares it is impossible for him to lie (Titus 1:2 & Numbers 23:19 & Hebrews 6:18)! Many times in history, it looked like all was lost Satan would win; but God’s Word is true and God always triumphs over Satan!

John in Revelation 19:10 made Jesus the center of the End-Time prophecy when he wrote: And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. As Christians, we believe and understand the Old Testament scriptures point to the coming Messiah—Jesus the Christ (i.e. Isaiah 61:1-2 & John 1:45) and Calvary (i.e. Isaiah 53). The New Testament scriptures point to humanity’s redemption and the restoration of all things (i.e. Acts 1:6 & Revelation 21:5).

Since the late 1800s, there has been a sudden surge of interest in Eschatology or the study of the End-Time. Eschatology is

  • the doctrine of the “last things” pertaining to the individual (death, afterlife), and
  • the Great Tribulation, and
  • the redemption of the Jews, and
  • Christ’s second coming, and
  • The consummation of Christ’s kingdom, and
  • the millennial, and
  • the resurrection, final judgment, and the eternal state of the righteous and wicked.

Prior to the 1800s, there was little written or much interest in End-Time Prophecy and the timeline of events leading up to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Great Tribulation as it is called. Now there is a proliferation of books and television programs devoted solely to the End-Time Prophecy. Some books and programs are excellent sources of explaining eschatology, as they are rooted and grounded in scripture, doctrine, and historical events. Unfortunately, some books and programs are based upon a twisting and/or misapplication of scripture, lifting scriptures out of their historical context, violating basic rules of scriptural interpretation, and ignoring the historical church and secular history. This leads some End-Time teachers to make sensational claims, espouse erroneous doctrines, and promote claims that are macabre, sensational, and sometimes outright heretical.

Most Christians believe the Bible to be the Word of God. The Word of God prophetically ”declares the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10 & Revelation 1:8). The Scriptures foretold the Word becoming flesh—Jesus—and dwelling among us (Isaiah 9:6-7 & John 1:1-14). The study of prophecy is important because fulfillment of prophecy testifies that GOD IS ONE AND THE ONLY GOD (De. 6:4). It also validates God’s Word is true, and it attests to God’s plan for the ages as unshakable (Isaiah 55:11 & Matthew 24:35). The fulfillment of prophecy gives the believer assurance that God’s word is true, and it gives assurance that His Word can be trusted. It confirms Jewish and Christian teachings that all humans are sinners (transgressors) and in need of a messiah-savior; that humans would destroy themselves if it was not for God’s love and intercession (Mt 24:22). Finally, the fulfillment of prophecy also gives the believer assurance that salvation has come and is readily available to everyone who asks.

The last reason to study Bible prophecy is it will show the Christian things to come and to be prepared lest that day overcome you like a thief in the night (Amos 3:7, 1Th 5:2, 2, Pe 3:10, Revelation 1:1-17).

What difference does it make what someone believes about the End-Time?

Consider Noah. From the fall of Adam in Genesis chapter 3 through Genesis 6:13 is approximately 1,650 years—around 2500 BCE (using the timeline from the birth of Seth to Noah and keep in mind that the exact date of all Biblical events is subjective). God instructed Noah to build an Ark for the saving of his household. God spoke to Noah and told him that the end of all righteous flesh—those who would seek after God—was in sight and thus the redemption of man was in peril (Satan had done a good job). God would divinely intervene in the affairs of humans in order to save them. God’s intervention took the form of the flood—deluge.

God would destroy all living things except those on the Ark. God instructed Noah to build a boat approximately 600 feet long, 60 feet high, and 100 feet wide, having three levels, one door, and one window. This was a prophetic word spoken by God. How did Noah respond? …By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith (Hebrews 11:6). Noah took God at His word, although it had never rained, and logically there was no need for a boat of that size, if at all. Noah moved with fear while he preached to those around him, but to no avail (2 Peter 2:5). It was only after the flood did Noah realize the full truth of God’s Word—the end of all flesh; there was only Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives, 8 souls (1 Peter 3:20)! The planet was all theirs. After the flood, God made a perpetual, everlasting covenant with Noah (Noahide laws) that he would never again destroy every living thing by water and set the rainbow in the sky as a token of this covenant (Genesis 9:11-17).

Next, consider the Mt. Olivet discourse. Shortly before the crucifixion, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him what would be the sign of his coming and the end of the world (Matthew 24:3)? Jesus warns them of false prophets, great cataclysmic upheavals on the earth such as famines, earthquakes, pestilence, wars, etc. Toward the end of his discourse, he reminds his disciples of Noah! Noah warned the people what was about to happen and make preparations for saving their house. How did the people respond to his warning? Jesus said they…were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away (Matthew 24:37-39 & Luke 17:26-27).

Many people believe the story of Noah to be a fable or a localized flood—Jesus makes it a literal event and judgment of God. There is worldwide geological evidence—sedimentary strata—of such a cataclysmic flood; Considering such obvious evidence, why don’t modern geologists and scientists readily accept the validity of the Flood? One reason is that geologists date these relatively recent formations as occurring (in most cases) millions of years before the Flood. The theory of evolution has had such a powerful influence on the thinking of the intelligentsia of this world that the truths of the Bible have been dismissed.

Jesus’ point in mentioning the Flood is God gave Noah ample warning of the coming Flood and judgment. Noah was given an opportunity to escape the flood and judgment: he believed God’s word and prepared a way of escape as God instructed: his obedience saved his family: while preparing the Ark he preached and warned the sinner of the coming judgment of God and urged them to repent and get into the Ark: and when the flood came the impenitent wicked sinners never knew what hit them: Noah was safe riding above the deluge: and when the flood was over Noah was the heir of all things as he literally owned the entire earth.

In short, Noah, knowing what was about to happen, saved himself and his family (1 Peter 3:20 & Acts 16:30-32). Therefore, by understanding End-Time prophetic events and their timeline, the Christian can escape the soon coming judgment found in the Book of Revelation. As these prophetic events occur and the world gets closer to Jesus’ return, the Christians will not be fearful because Jesus tells us… And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:28). By understanding End-Time Prophecy the Christian will not be caught unaware—but will look for Jesus’ return (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10, & Luke 21:35, 2 Timothy 4:8).

Recent historical events such 9/11, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the instability of the entire Middle East, the war on terror, the recent Ukrainian war, will make sense when viewed through the prophetic Word of the Holy Scriptures.

What is Rapture? The Great Tribulation? And the significance of their timing?

There is minor disagreement among Orthodox Christians that Jesus will literally return a second time. Unfortunately, not all Christians agree when certain aspects of God’s prophetic Word are to be fulfilled in history. This disagreement centers upon how Christians interpret various Bible prophecies on the subject and timing of the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Millennium, and other End-Time related events.

It is important to know what the Bible teaches about the timing of prophecy fulfillment. Of paramount importance is determining whether the Great Tribulation is a past, present, or future event. There are four doctrinal views on The Great Tribulation. These four views reflect the only possible ways that one can relate to time: past, present, future, and timeless. These four timing possibilities are called idealism, historicism, preterism, and futurism.

  • The Idealist (timeless) does not believe the Bible specifies the timing of events or that we can determine their timing in advance. Therefore, idealists see prophetic passages as teaching great truths about God to apply to our present lives.
  • The Historicist (present) sees much of the current church age as equal to the Tribulation period. Thus, prophecy has been and will be fulfilled during the current church age.
  • The Preterist (Latin for ‘past”) believes that most, if not all prophecy has been fulfilled. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD plays a pivotal role in fulfillment.
  • The Futurists (future) believe that almost no prophetic event has occurred yet but will take place in the future: the Tribulation of seven years, the Second Coming, the 1,000-year millennium, and the eternal state.

Throughout the twentieth century, the Futurist position on End-Time prophecy was the dominant position held by most people. As the church entered the twenty-first century, the Preterist position on End-Time prophecy is gaining popularity.

To put it simply: one’s viewpoint on how they view the End-Time—either as a Preterist or Futurist—has far-reaching implications and influence on how one views predestination, the Church, Israel’s role in End-Time Prophecy, Jesus’ Second Coming, Heaven, Hell, Final Judgment, and so forth.

Along with the diverse beliefs on the timing (fulfillment) of prophetic events, there are differing beliefs on the timing of Jesus’ Second Coming—or the Rapture. There are four major doctrinal views of the Rapture—or when Jesus returns for His Church (or Bride): Pretribulation, Partial Rapture, Mid-tribulation, and Post-tribulation.

  • PRETRIBULATION
    Christ will return in two stages. The first stage is called the Rapture, or more scripturally correct, the “Catching Away.” He stops in the clouds to call his church home. He returns to heaven with the believers to ride out the Tribulation. The second stage is called the “Revelation.” He will return to earth with his church. The old school emphasized the issue of ” imminentcy.” However, in more recent years, the crux of this position centers more around the aspect of God’s wrath and whether the church is called to experience any or all of it during the Tribulation. Source: Charts of Christian Theology & Doctrine, H. Wayne House. Page 129PARTIAL RAPTURE
  • This position states that only believers who are watching and waiting for the Lord will be raptured at various times before and during the seven-year Tribulation. Those who are raptured are spiritually mature saints, both dead and living (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Source: Charts of Christian Theology & Doctrine, H. Wayne House. Page 130MIDTRIBULATION
  • This position sees that the church (believers in Christ) is raptured in the middle of the tribulation period prior to the Great Tribulation. This view offers the best of the Pre-tribulation and Post-tribulation positions. It also has the mid-seventieth-week Rapture. Source: Charts of Christian Theology & Doctrine, H. Wayne House. Page 131POSTTRIBULATION
  • This position asserts that the living believers are to be raptured at the second coming of Christ, which will occur at the end of the Tribulation. Within this camp, there are four views as categorized by Walvoord: (a) classic, (b) semiclassic, (c) futurist, (d) dispensationalist. The spectrum is broad, encompassing a period from the early church fathers to the present century. Source: Charts of Christian Theology & Doctrine, H. Wayne House. Page 132

If the above four views seem puzzling they are. How does one go about discerning the correct Biblical view of End-Time prophecy?

The Apostle Peter said, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy… [and] knowing this first, that no Scripture is of any private [or personal] interpretation” (II Pet. 1:19-20). Notice Peter said, “Knowing this first.” He emphasizes one cannot arrive at a personal interpretation of prophecy because the Holy Spirit gives the Word of God. The Word cannot be interpreted by the reader’s human ability. It needs the teaching of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15). God is the author of Scripture. He is its supreme interpreter. One cannot have a sure word about the meaning of Scripture unless one has a sure method to interpret the words. Remember that Satan deceived Eve with the twisting of God’s Word.

When the Emperors Constantine (280?–337 C.E.) and Justinian (527- 565 C.E.) tried to settle doctrinal disputes of their time, they discovered that the “word wars” of the theologians were exceedingly hard wars to deal with. They discovered every theologian was determined to make the “Word” mean what they wanted them to mean.

In the interval between the ancient church and now, nothing has changed. These “word wars” continue to produce a twisted mass of doctrinal confusion that is so prevalent in Christendom today. All false doctrines are distortions of biblical words. “God is not the author of confusion” (I Cor. 14: 33). Who is the author of these many centuries of doctrinal confusion?

There are established and acceptable rules of Bible interpretation called hermeneutics, or the study of the methodological principles of interpretation of the Bible. These rules regulate all grammatical interpretations. They apply to legislative or theological language equally. Critical analysis is impossible without them; interpretive scholarship accepts them. Jesus and the apostles, many fathers of the ancient church, reformers such as Luther, Calvin, and Wesley, used these rules.

Biblical interpretation is more than just knowing a set of rules. Yet we cannot do it without rules. Learn the rules, rightly apply them, and you will be “approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Before a person can understand scripture, the reader must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible is a love letter written to God’s believers, his beloved. Paul writes that everything that happened…happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Corinthians 10:11). God wrote the Bible for the believer, not the unbeliever (Matthew 13:1-23 & Isaiah 6:9-10). The Bible is a legal document! Throughout the Bible, there is frequent use of legal terms and illustrations. The word’ Testament’ is a legal term. God declared his word as commandments, laws, ordinances, and covenants.

There are 6-12 hermeneutics rules to follow (depending on which source book you use). Regardless of which book you chose, in substance they all agree on the following rules.

Eight Basic Rules Of Bible Interpretation

  1. Begin with what the passage says, but always ask, “What does the passage mean?”, not what it “says.”
  2. Pay attention to the Greek and Hebrew, (For those without language training, an interlinear Bible used with a Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words or Expository Dictionary of Bible Words is recommended).
  3. Remember the context. Read verses in the context of the whole passage, the chapter, and even the book. Finally, keep in mind the larger context of the New Testament or Old Testament.
  4. The Bible is a progressive revelation. This means that the New Testament specifically interprets the Old Testament.
  5. Always interpret the incidental passage by the systematic teachings of that topic; consider all the passages dealing with the topic. A good topical Bible is a useful aid (e.g. Nave’s Topical Bible).
  6. Interpret the unclear passages by the clear ones. A favorite ploy of the cults is to choose a difficult passage and build their unique doctrines on it.
  7. Beware of novel interpretations; check various conservative commentaries on the passage. There is very little new under the sun. Many of the heresies of the cults have been dealt with thoroughly. Even though there are many Christian denominations, it is interesting that in the essential doctrines there is solid agreement. Always go beyond what the passage is saying to get at its intended meaning. Cult leaders are experts in isolating passages and imposing their interpretation on it.
  8. Come to Scripture prayerfully, submitting to be taught by the Holy Spirit, allowing the Scripture to interpret itself and not be clouded by personal doctrinal presuppositions.

A similar set of rules follows:

  1. Since Jesus spoke and the Bible writers wrote primarily for the people of their day, always consider the historical, geographical, and cultural setting of the passage you are studying.
  2. Always consider the context of the unit, chapter, and book when interpreting a text. The meaning of each verse must agree with the theme of the unit, chapter, and book, as well as the overall teaching of the Bible.
  3. When interpreting a passage or verse, study each sentence grammatically to get the correct meaning. Pay special attention to the verbs as they deal with actions.
  4. Get the meaning of each text as intended by the Bible writer or inspired speaker before making an application. This is called bridge-building and is important in giving Bible studies.
  5. Difficult texts must be interpreted in the light of the clear teachings of the whole Bible. Therefore, study all that Scripture teaches on a subject before coming to a conclusion in any verse.
  6. The New Testament must be interpreted in the light of the Old Testament and vice versa. The Old Testament is God’s promise and the New Testament is fulfillment. Both complement each other.
  7. For accuracy, use the best translations and compare with the original text.

A final set of similar rules.

  1. The interpreter must be saved and dependent on the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13-16).
  2. Let Scripture Interpret Scripture – (Analogy of Faith) – No part of Scripture can be interpreted in such a way that it contradicts another part of Scripture. John 10:35 “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), Sproul (p. 46), “Quite apart from a question of inspiration, the analogy of faith method is a sound approach to interpret literature. The simple canons of common decency should protect any author from unwarranted charges of self-contradiction. If I have the option of interpreting a person’s comments one of two ways, one rendering them consistent and the other contradictory, it seems that the person should get the benefit of the doubt.”
  3. The Bible should be interpreted literally – The word literal comes from the Latin word litera which means “to the letters or words.” We interpret the Bible using the normal rules of syntax, grammar, speech, and context.
  4. We must interpret the Bible with an awareness of different genres (sorts or species). There are different writings in the Bible. Historical narratives, poems, laws, teachings, letters etc. are but a few literary kinds. Sometimes the writers use hyperbole (exaggeration for the sake of affect see Rom 1:8), personification (attributing human qualities to something not human see Isa 55:12), metaphors (one thing or idea is used for another to suggest a likeness see John 10:9, Luke 22:19).
  5. We interpret the Bible using the Grammatical-Historical method – By paying close attention to the context, historical background, and the way language is used, we can determine meaning. For example, when Jesus says, “You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8), is he making a prediction or issuing a command? Greek construction makes clear he is issuing a command (imperative voice). For example, in Romans 1:1, Paul uses the phase “Gospel of God.” Does this imply that the Gospel comes from God as its source… or does it mean that the Gospel is all about God? Here a genitive of possession which means it comes from God and belongs to Him.
  6. Historical Narratives are to be interpreted by the Didactic (Teaching or Instructional). For example, since the epistles of the New Testament come after the Gospels, and are interpretive, they should interpret the Gospels. We must be careful not to draw too many inferences from what people did in Scripture as what is taught. The question is not so much “What would Jesus do but what would Jesus have ME to do?” Jesus’ mission differs from mine… I cannot use a whip to drive out corrupt clergy… Also consider that the examples of David or Abraham or Moses are not always to be imitated. It can be a great mistake to build doctrine from narrative alone.
  7. The implicit should be interpreted by the explicit. Mark 12:25 says that angels do not marry, but it does not explicitly say that they are sexless… In 1 John 5:16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. This passage says we should pray for our brother who has not sinned a sin unto death; but DOES IT EXPLICITLY FORBIDE PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE COMMITED THE SIN UNTO DEAtH?
  8. Determine the meaning of Words – Each word contributes something to our understanding. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary). Don’t always assume you know what the word may mean, Sproul (p. 80),“I once heard a theologian giving a lecture in Reformed theology. Part way through his lecture a student raised his hand and said to him, “Sir, should we assume as we are listening to you that you are a Calvinist?” The scholar replied, “Yes, indeed I am,” and re­turned to his lecture. A few moments later he stopped in the middle of a sentence with a sudden look of understanding in his eyes and turned his attention back to the student who had asked the question. He said, ‘What do you understand a Calvinist to be?” The student answered, “A Calvinist is someone who believes that God brings some people kicking and screaming against their will into his kingdom while excluding others who desperately want in.” With that the lecturer’s mouth dropped open with shock and he said, “Well in that case, please do not assume I am a Calvinist.” If the professor had not asked the student what he understood by the term, the man would have communicated something radically different from the intended because of the student’s gross misunderstanding of the words he used. This kind of thing can happen and happens when we study the Bible.”

    We understand words by etymology and customary usage. Hippopotamus (Greek – hippos and potamous River) River Horse. Glory in Hebrew, root wood “kabowd” means weighty, significant. Words change meaning. Cute in Elizabethan times meant “bow legged.” Scan used to mean—read carefully; now it means a quick read through.

  9. Take note of Parallelisms in the Bible. In the Bible there are three basic kinds of Hebrew Poetry.
    (a) Synonymous—different lines present the same thought a little differently—(Pro 19:5; Psa 95:6)
    (b) Antithetic—two lines set in contrast to each other (Pro 13:1; Pro 10:4).
    (c) Synthetic—two lines, first sets expectation, answered by the second (Psa 92:9; Matt 7:7).
  10. Note the difference between law and proverb—Watch out for taking a proverb as a moral absolute (Compare Luke 9:50 with Matt12:30; Compare Pro 26:4-5).
  11. Be Careful with Parables—Parables have an element of concealment in them (Mark 4:10-12; Matt 13:43; Mark 4:9).
  12. Be Careful with Predictive Prophecy—This is so difficult, it would be hard to boil it down to a few principles.

To know which view is correct is easily arrived at but requires:

  • A diligent study of the Word of God,
  • A study of world history,
  • Carefully following and adhering to established rules of scriptural interpretation,
  • And keeping an open mind which allows God to reveal his Word. An open mind is important as it means one will allow the scripture to speak for itself instead of starting with a preconceived viewpoint of the End-Time prophecy and then picking scriptures to make one’s case (as some prophecy teachers do). God is the author of the Bible, and only God can reveal the truths hidden within its pages.

Pray that God helps you become an outstanding student of the Holy Scriptures.