"We have also a more sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation" (II Pet. 1:19-20).
In
order to interpret prophetic Scripture aright the Word of God must be consulted
and believed as the authoritative and infallible Word of the living God. We must learn to take heed to what God's
Word plainly says if we are to understand the truths of prophetic
Scripture. The interpretation of
prophecy is not up the private whims of the individual. Rather, we must bow to the clear and literal
teachings of the Holy Book.
The study of prophetic Scripture is no
easy task. It requires diligent labor,
prayer, and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit in order to come to Scriptural
conclusions. There are certain keys or
laws that must be used if the treasures of prophetic study are to be opened to
the Bible student. I offer the
following suggestions to be used as keys to the interpretation of prophecy.
1. In order to interpret prophetic Scriptures,
or any Scriptures for that matter, the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit is
necessary. We must pray for the Holy
Spirit, who is the Divine Teacher, to open our eyes and hearts so that we may
receive the truths of God's Word. When
we study prophetic Scripture we should pray as the Psalmist did in Psalm 119:18
which states: "Open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." When we come to the Word of God we ought to
come as eager students wishing to be taught by the Blessed Holy Spirit. We should come with a deep sense of
humility, recognizing our need of instruction, along with a holy reverence for
the Word of God. Since the subject
matter is Divinely inspired we need the direction of the One who inspired it if
we are too "rightly divide the word
of truth" (I Tim. 2:15). I
Corinthians 2:10-11 declares: "But
God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God."
I am
convinced that if we earnestly and fervently pray for the leadership and
illumination of the Holy Spirit He will guide us into all truth and shew us the
truth about things to come. John 16:13
states: "Howbeit when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come."
I believe that if an individual comes to the Scriptures with an unprejudiced
mind and an open heart he will at once identify with the truths of
premillennialism. I have long been of
the opinion that one of the reasons why so many men defect to the theories of
amillennialism is because they have spent more time poring over the writings of
fallible men than they have the writers of sacred Scripture.
2. Prophetic Scripture should be interpreted
literally unless otherwise indicated by the context. As a general rule, we are to interpret the words of Scripture as
meaning exactly what they say. By a
literal explanation, we mean that the words of prophetic Scripture should be
explained in a simple, natural, unrestrained manner, and that we must not
depart from the literal meaning except when forced to. A word is a vehicle of a thought, so the
meaning of any passage must be determined by arriving at a correct grammatical
understanding of the words in the text.
We have no right to give the words of Scripture another meaning other
than the common and literal one unless the Scriptures themselves plainly tell
us to do so. For example, when
Revelation twenty employs the phrase "thousand
years" six times we are to understand that the writer is referring to
a literal thousand year period of time since there is no indication from the
context that it should be interpreted otherwise.
I
like what George N. Peters, the writer of the massive three volume study
entitled The Theocratic Kingdom,
wrote concerning the literal interpretation of prophecy:
"In
confirmation of such a course, it may be said: if God has really intended to
make known His will to man, it follows that to secure knowledge on our part, He
must convey His truth to us in accordance with the well-known rules of
language. He must adapt Himself to our
mode of communicating thought and ideas.
If His words were given to be understood, it follows that He must have
employed language to convey the sense intended, agreeably to the laws
grammatically expressed, controlling all language; and that, instead of seeking
a sense which the words in themselves do not contain, we are primarily to
obtain the sense that the words obviously embrace, making due allowance for the
existence of figures of speech when indicated by the context, scope, or
construction of the passage." (1)
The
reason why a non-literal interpretation is resorted to by many is because the
literal meaning does not fit in with their preconceived opinions and
theological training. Those who abandon
the law of literal interpretation do so because they want to avoid the obvious
meaning the words of the text are trying to convey. For example, those who deny a future for the nation of Israel say
that the terms of the Abrahamic Covenant were conditional and temporary. Yet God said unconditionally to Abraham and
his seed: "And I will establish my
covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for
an EVERLASTING COVENANT, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee. And I will give unto thee, and to
thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of
Canaan, for an EVERLASTING POSSESSION; and I will be their God" (Gen.
17:7-8). An amillennialist who refuses
to believe that the land of Canaan was intended by God to be the everlasting
possession of His chosen nation must give the word "everlasting" a new and foreign meaning. This is dangerous indeed. What would prevent the same interpreter of
Scripture from giving the word "everlasting"
in John 3:16 a new and foreign meaning?
Unless otherwise indicated by the context all Scripture should be
interpreted in a literal fashion, otherwise the individual could make the Bible
say anything they want it to.
3. When interpreting prophecy the student must
understand the literal method of interpretation is sustained by the literal fulfillment
of certain prophecies. Consider all of
the unlikely prophecies concerning the first coming of Jesus Christ. His birth, His ministry, His unparalleled
sufferings, His death and resurrection were all prophesied in the Old Testament
Scriptures. All of the prophecies
relating to His first coming were literally fulfilled, so we may safely
conclude that all of the prophecies relating to His Second Advent will likewise
be literally fulfilled. The only way to
know how God will fulfill prophecy in the future is to see exactly how He has
fulfilled it in the past.
A
prime example of the literal method of interpretation being justified by
literal fulfillment of prophecy is found in Hosea 3:4-5 which states: "For the children of Israel shall
abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice,
and without an image, and without an ephod and without teraphim: Afterward
shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David
their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days." The things mentioned in verse four have
already been fulfilled. During the
present age, the times of the Gentiles, Israel has been without a king. The things mentioned in verse four are
literally true concerning the nation of Israel. Any amillennialist will agree with that. Why then do they change their method of
interpretation when they come to verse five?
Why not read it and believe it in the same way you read verse four? The literal fulfillment of the prophecy of
verse four sustains and justifies the literal interpretation of verse five.
4. When interpreting prophetic Scripture the
student must understand the principle of partial or double fulfillment. Often times prophetic Scripture has
fulfillment in the immediate circumstances as well as in the distant
future. The angel's announcement in
Luke 1:31-33 is a prime example of this, it states: "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a
son, and shalt call his name JESUS, He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever: and of his
kingdom there shall be no end."
The things mentioned in this text were literally true at the birth of
Jesus Christ, but will not be universally true until the Second Advent when He
comes to reign upon the throne of David.
The fact that Christ was literally conceived in the virgin womb of a literal
woman named Mary, that He was literally named Jesus, that He was literally the
Son of the Highest points us to the conclusion that He will literally reign
upon the throne of David some time in the future because He did not do so at
His first coming. Thus, the law of
double or partial fulfillment must be recognized in some portions of Scripture
where there is a partial fulfillment of a prophecy first, followed by a
complete fulfillment later.
5. Another key to interpreting prophetic
Scripture correctly is to understand that many of the prophecies by the Old
Testament prophets are mingled together in one verse. A majority of prophetic utterances by the Old Testament prophets
contain no reference to the time period between the first and second advent of
Jesus Christ. Their vision of the future
was like viewing two mountain peaks, yet not viewing the valley in between the
two mountains. The first advent of
Christ was the first mountain peak, and the second mountain peak was the second
advent of Christ. The valley in between
the two peaks, which they did not see, is what many call the church age. The fact that two events are prophesied side
by side, in the same context, is no proof that the fulfillment will take place
at the same time, or in immediate succession.
This is particularly true in the prophecies concerning Christ, where
events of the first and second advents are spoken of together in the same
context as though taking place at the same time.
A good example of this law operating is
seen in Micah 5:2-3 which states: "But
thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel:
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the
time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his
brethren shall return unto the children of Israel." In this passage of Scripture the exact place
of Christ's birth is foretold which relates to His first advent. Jesus was definitely not a ruler in Israel
in His first advent. Rather, He was
despised and rejected by men, and finally crucified like a common thief on a
tree of cursing. So the reference to
His rule in Israel must relate to the second advent. In the very same context we have an allusion to Christ's birth as
well as His reign and rule in Jerusalem on the throne of David. The restoration
of Israel is alluded to as well. Thus,
The prophet foretold of the first and second advents of Christ without seeing
the period in between. Much of
ammillennial error could easily be avoided if this law of interpretation were
applied in such passages.
6. Another key to interpreting prophecy is to
understand that the church and the age in which it was to operate was an unseen
mystery to the Old Testament prophets.
The focal point of most of their prophecies relate to the apostasy,
restoration, and latter day glory of Israel.
The establishment of the church by Christ during His earthly ministry,
its development and growth as an institution, as well as its commission were
largely unknown to the Old Testament prophets.
God used the apostle Paul to unveil the mysteries of the New Testament
church which had been hid up until that time.
Ephesians 3:9-11 declares: "And
to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to
the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
When
this principle is understood the amillennial attempt to make Old Testament
Israel the New Testament church becomes utter foolishness. They are two distinct and separate
entities. The New Testament church did
not take the place of Israel. The fact
that many of the Old Testament promises to Israel may be applied to believers in the New Testament in no way nullifies their
literal fulfillment to Israel. There is
no warrant from Scripture to either cancel or transfer the promised blessings
made to Israel in the Old Testament.
Romans 11:1-2 and 29 makes this very clear: "I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid.
For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of
Benjamin. God hath not cast away his
people which he foreknew...For the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance." The reason why so
many amillennialists are so far off base in their interpretation of Old
Testament prophecies concerning Israel
is because they fail or refuse to see that the New Testament church was an
unseen mystery to the Old Testament prophets.
7. Finally, prophetic Scripture should be interpreted in light of
the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ: "...Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy" (Rev. 19:10). All of the prophecies in the Word of God,
whether fulfilled or unfulfilled, relate in some way to the person and work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is
the center and focal point of all of God's revelation to man. He forms the central theme of all of
prophecy. Thus, all of the lines of
prophetic Scripture converge upon some aspect of the glorious Second Person of
the Sacred Trinity, the holy Son of God.
I Peter 1:10-11 declares: "Of
which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what or what
manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow."
Any
system of prophetic interpretation that takes away from the glory and
sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ should be immediately shunned. Postmillennialism would have you believe
that there will be a kingdom of peace and righteousness without King
Jesus. This certainly robs Christ of
His kingly glory. On the other hand,
Amillennial eschatology limits the reign of Jesus Christ to that of a spiritual
nature rather than a literal reality.
Both systems fail to believe all that the law and prophets spoke
concerning Jesus Christ. Luke 24:25
declares: "...O fools, and slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."
May
God grant us grace and wisdom to see the wonderful truths of prophetic
Scripture. May the keys listed above
enable and help us to unlock the vast treasures of the prophetic Word.