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Biblical Prophecy
How to Understand
Biblical Prophecy
What is Biblical Prophecy?
Simply
put, it is history foretold before it happens.
God
uses prophecy to REVEAL events to occur in the future and to warn man to repent
and change his ways.
The
Bible is the only book ever written that can demonstrate its supernatural
inspiration.
Our
Creator cannot only predict the future he has the ability to cause his
predictions to happen in every detail.
Fulfilled
Biblical prophecies are a major proof of God's existence. They attest to his
authority and power to influence the course of events on planet earth.
Originally,
the Old Testament was divided into three main sections: the Law, the Prophets
and the Writings.
The
division known as the Prophets had six books total representing the prophetic
writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, plus the twelve minor prophets (so-called
because their prophecies are shorter).
Manuscripts
written by Joshua and Samuel are also in this section.
This
article explains several concepts and keys CRITICAL to understanding the
roughly two-thirds of the Bible that is related to prophecy.
Duality
Many prophecies are dual in nature.
Dual
prophecy consists of pronouncements that have both a smaller and much larger
fulfillment (known also as type and anti-type).
One
of the greatest examples of prophetic duality is the destruction of Jerusalem
and its temple predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.
Jesus
then discusses false saviors and false prophets, wars and rumors of wars,
global conflict, famines, pestilences, etc. culminating with the beginning of
the Great TRIBULATION (Matthew 24:21).
All
these events ultimately lead to the resurrection from the dead of all the
saints and the second coming of Christ.
After
his prophetic outline Jesus states that "this generation" will not
die until after all things take place (verse
34).
How
are we to understand Jesus' statement in verse 34?
Did
the generation who heard Him utter His prophecies experience what He predicted?
The
concept of duality helps explain His predictions.
The
generation who heard Jesus speak DID experience a type or smaller fulfillment
of the events yet to occur in the End Time.
Forty
years after Jesus' death in 30 A.D., the total destruction of Jerusalem and its
temple took place.
The
Jewish historian Josephus writes that the city suffered a protracted siege by
the Romans (known as the First Jewish-Roman War).
During
the siege, the Empire cut off access to Jerusalem, causing it to endure severe
famine and starvation.
The
Romans crucified anyone found escaping, with the victims of such torture put on
a hill and made to face the city as they suffered.
When
its walls were finally breached in 70 A.D., the city was sacked then burned to
the ground.
Survivors
of the war became Roman slaves. According to Josephus, the war cost the Jews
the loss of more than one million people.
Biblical Symbolism
Often, the Bible uses symbols to express thoughts and ideas.
For
example, water (John 3:5; Ephesians 5:26; 1John 5:6,
etc.), fire (Acts
2:3; 1 Peter 1:7), and wind (John 3:8; Acts 2:2) are
used to represent God's Holy spirit.
Sometimes
the explanation of a symbol is found verse close to where it appears.
For
example, in Revelation 1 Jesus tells us that the 7 stars in His hand represent
7 angels and 7 golden lampstands symbolize 7 churches (Revelation 1:19-20).
Many
other symbols are in the scriptures.
Time Sequence
The Bible gives use certain keys to understanding God's
prophetic time sequence, such as a day can equal a year in prophetic time.
“34 You will suffer
the consequences of your sin for forty years, one year for each of the forty
days you spent exploring the land.” (Numbers 14:34)
Let
us take a look at another time sequence example.
God
tells Ezekiel the prophet to portray Jerusalem on a tile.
He
was to depict, like a child, a walled city with armies going against it, etc.
He was then told to lie on his side for a certain number of days, with each day
representing a year of punishment.
"Lie also on your left side . . . According to the
number of the days that you lie on (your side) it, you shall bear their
iniquity. For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the
number of the days, three hundred and ninety days." (Ezekiel 4)
For
yet another example we go to Revelation 12 to 13.
We find here a woman (symbolic of true Christians) given "two
wings" (which is symbolic of protection), that she might fly into
the wilderness for a time, and times and half a time, from the face of the
serpent.
In Revelation 13 we find the duration of the persecution of
the beast and false prophet is "forty and two months" (verse 5).
Yet,
in Revelation 12, the same period is referred to by a number of days (Revelation 12:6).
Using
the prophetic key that a day stands for a year in fulfillment, we can come to
understand that there was a period of 1,260 years during the Middle Ages when true
believers experienced persecution.
Is
also tells us a prophetic year consists of three hundred and sixty days of
thirty-day months!
Categories of prophecy
Placing prophecy in proper categories can help minimize
confusion when studying the Bible.
Some
of the major and minor categories of prophecy are below.
·
Prophecies concerning Israel as a
united nation
·
Prophecies about the House of Israel
(sometimes referred to as the lost tribes of Israel) or Judah
·
Individual Israelite tribes (e.g. Dan)
·
Individual nations or peoples
·
Prophecies regarding individuals, their
descendants or both
·
Prophecies involving God's elect
·
Punishment, protection, and rewards
foretold (e.g. Jonah telling Nineveh it will fall due to its sins)
·
The End Time
·
The return of Jesus, his rule and
upcoming Kingdom
·
The Resurrections of the dead
The tribes of Israel
The context of a given prophecy is important, especially how
it relates to Israel.
The
Israelites are at the center of God's plan to redeem all man.
When
studying prophecies concerning the time just before the return of Christ, it is
important to note that references to Judah or its house primarily refers to the
Jewish nation of Israel which has people from the tribes of Levi, Judah and
Benjamin.
Balance is key
Prophecy is important because it is a major proof of God
existence and shows that His plan of salvation is on schedule.
An
obsession with Biblical prophecy, however, such as trying to pin down a date
for Jesus' return, can easily lead a person into doctrinal error or to following
false prophets (Ephesians 4:14).
True
Christianity is far more than the knowledge of what will happen in the future.
If
we do not love, no matter how wise prophetically we may be, we have gained
NOTHING (see 1 Corinthians 13)!
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