Author Description

The subject of prophecy has been the endeavor of liars, lunatics and the true lovers of God since it first began to be spoken and recorded. For the liars, it has been a tool for deception and self interest. For the lunatics, it is ultimately a tool of pathetic discredit and nonsense. For those who sincerely love and seek to understand God's Word, it serves to guide, instruct and encourage. The principles to understanding prophecy are not complicated, nor are they restricted, as some assert, to scholarly mediators, mysteries or magi. God has always been willing to give the necessary wisdom for 'hearing' the message He conveys in His Word to those who seek Him with all their hearts. Highlighted below are seven of them: Principle One - let the Word of God interpret itself. Like a marvelous tapestry, the scriptures are integrated and complete. Careful study of the whole Bible reveals a consistent revelation throughout. God's Word is perfectly inspired, translations are not. Principle Two - God's key focus in prophecy is Israel - the nation, the people, the capital and especially, the Savior. Of course, there are prophecies concerning other people and nations but only because of their relation to Israel. Principle Three - God is consistent with His Word. Key imagery does not mean something in one prophecy and something else in another. Principle Four - pay special attention to the first mention in the Bible of important words, phrases and/or imagery for significance and broader understanding. Compare them with other scriptures for confirmation or correction of your impressions. Principle Five - be aware of the subtle tendency toward the erroneous influence of substitutionalism. Misguided teachers of scripture all the way back to the third and fourth centuries have claimed that the promises of God to Israel became those of the church since the Jews rejected Christ. Not so. That teaching is heretical and demeaning of God. Nevertheless, the overt and sometimes subtle tenden