Prophecy Primer

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A Prophecy Primer

Perspective

Language

Structure

These

following three aspects are vital to a true understanding of Bible prophecy. Unfortunately, the prophecies of Holy Scripture have been some of the most abused and misrepresented parts of Holy Scripture. But the Bible was not written for an elite of experts. It was given to those open to the presence of the Holy Spirit by whom these prophecies were given.

The Perspective

The

ultimate purpose of our Creator in the creation of humanity –

To represent God according to His nature in His rule over all creation

The first chapter of the first book in the Bible teaches that humanity was designed to appropriately represent God in their management of all biological life on this planet. Although human distrust resulted in the fall of humanity and creation, God has not changed His original intention. The failure of humanity was judicially atoned for before God by the Lord Jesus Christ. The consequent gift of Holy Spirit makes us part of this restored humanity, which continues and completes the mission of Jesus which is described in holy Scripture as “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 Jn.3:8) as it applies in every sphere.

See:
Authority Restored

This is not a religious perspective. It is a total perspective on human life given by the Creator of all.

The Language

The

language of prophecy is no different than the language of Holy Scripture in general. For instance, the idea that terms change their meaning in prophecy, such as a 'day' means a 'year' is simply not true.

See:
Common Fallacies

Language is to be understood within the literary and historical context of when it was written.

However, the special depth of significance in prophecy will sometimes require a larger degree of metaphor than in common speech.

For

instance, Isaiah's 'virgin' prophecy is a prophecy within a prophecy. The term translated as 'virgin' in all English translations (other than the Jewish Publication Society version, Bible in Basic English, and Good News Bible) translated the term "‛almâh" (which literally means 'young woman') as 'virgin' because the Jewish Septuagint version did so. As far as we know, the Septuagint was produced by the top Jewish scribes of the time sent by the Jewish High Priest at the request of the Egyptian king to translate the sacred Scripture into the international language of that time. This was so translated because the Jewish scribes knew that those without the cultural background, assumed in the prophecy, would not pick up its dual significance concerning Isaiah's child and the messianic birth. Although this explanation is not supported by Judaism today, there is no logically consistent alternative explanation.

See: Isaiah's Virgin

Please Note!

common error is this regard is properly understanding the use of the term "generation" (genea). Although its literal meaning is simply a generation of people (usually about 30 to 33 years) it is used by Christ in prophecy about "if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved" (Matt.24:22) to reassure the continued survival of Israel as a people throughout this unique future time –

"this generation [Israel] will not pass away until all these things take place." (Matt.24:34).

Accordingly, it has no reference to any fixed time-period (as frequently alleged by so-called prophecy teachers) as has often been claimed in order to calculate the time of the End. Not only have these 'experts' been subsequently been shown to be wrong when the declared period (40-years after 1948) ends without significance, but more importantly, it has led to a discrediting of Holy Scripture in some circles. Its context always determines its meaning!

For this reason, prophecy requires a vital sensitivity to the full context of the statement.

The Structure

The

special Hidden Time, its place within the sequencing of human history, and its purpose –

See:
Hiding The Hidden Time

The revelation of the presence of God in human flesh in this present world

The coming of Israel's messiah was correctly understood by them in terms of Daniel's prophecies (chapters 2, 7, and 9) to necessarily result in the destruction of the fourth [Roman] empire's dominance over Israel and so the physical inauguration of God's kingdom on earth in resurrection. For this reason, the prophet John the Baptist became confused when Jesus did not do as legitimately expected (Matt.11:3). John is not be blamed. Nor the disciples of Jesus who queried the timing of the kingdom just before His ascension. The gap between the coming of Messiah as the Sower and His action as Reaper of which John himself had prophesied (Matt.3:12) was deliberately hidden by God from all the prophets for His awesome historical purpose. For this reason, Satan was caught completely 'off-sides' by God's justification of His redeemed in the Crucifixion of Jesus which Satan had helped orchestrate (John 13:27).

The Hidden Gap between the Sower and His Harvest

lack of this understanding has bedeviled many in Christian history resulting in foolish expectations and frequent misleading of God's people by biblically incompetent leaders. For, greater than the end time close of this age was the humility of God in the humanity of the Christ in which resides the "mystery of the kingdom", the invisible presence of the absolute authority of God, which in principle continues in His Church (as it was in Jesus through the special relationship of the Spirit of God to His humanity) until it is completed in the Church's completed mandate (Matt.24:14).

See:
Chronology of Confusion