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The Beginnings of Prophetic Revelation
Based on God's Word as given us through His Prophets revealed through the Spirit of God. Sometimes through dreams, sometimes through visions, and sometimes through messengers.The leading problem in the interpretation of prophecy is whether the Scripture should be interpreted in its natural or literal sense. It is also important to understand that the interpretation of prophecy, every prophecy is related to other prophecies like the piece of a tapestry to the whole. Accordingly, a system had to be used that would unfold prophecy in an orderly way and relate prophecies to each other. To achieve this, the general method of study of prophetic Scripture was approached from the biblical point of view, beginning in Genesis and ending in Revelation. General Assumptions in Biblical InterpretationWhat is true of theology is especially true of biblical interpretation. In approaching the interpretation of the Bible, at least four assumptions are essential. 1. In order to have a coherent and consistent interpretation of the Bible, it is necessary to assure that there are ample proofs that the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit and that the human authors were guided in the writing of the Scripture and in the selection of the very words that they used. Accordingly, the Bible is an inerrant revelation containing all the truth that God intended to be included and excluding all facts that were not to be included. As the inspired Word of God, it should be expected that, properly interpreted, the Bible does not contradict itself. 2. The Bible was intended to communicate truth about God and the universe, to record historical facts, to reveal ethical principles, to provide historical facts, to reveal moral and material values, and to provide prediction of future events. 3. The Bible progressively reveals the truth of God in such a way that changes in the moral rule of life are recognized, such as the contrast between the Mosaic Law and the present age of grace, Later revelation may replace earlier revelation as a standard of faith without contradicting it. 4. Though the Bible is an unusual book, in many respects it is a normative piece of literature, using words to convey truth, and yet providing a great variety of literary forms, such as history, poetry, and prophecy, and sometimes using normal figures of speech. Though a supernatural book, the Bible nevertheless speaks in normative ways which can be illustrated in literature outside the Bible. General Rules of Biblical InterpretationThough the interpretation of the Bible is an exceedingly complex problem, if certain general rules are followed, they will keep the interpreter from misunderstanding Scripture. 1. In approaching Scripture, first of
all there must be study of the words that are used, their general usages, variety of meanings,
historical context, theological context, and any determination of the probable meaning of the word
used in a particular context.
2. Words in Scripture are used in a
grammatical context which should be observed, including such matters as
whether the word is used in a statement of fact, a command, a desired
goal, or an application to a particular situation. 3. In any interpretation it is important to decide
to whom the Scripture is addressed, as this involves the application of the statement. 4. Scripture should never be interpreted in isolation
from its context. Careful thought should be given to the immediate context, the general
context, and the context of the whole of Scripture. This will serve to relate the revelation
contained to other divine revelation. 5. The literary character of the Scripture interpreted
should be taken into consideration as the Bible is written in a variety of scriptural
styles--such as history, poetry, worship, prediction--and uses a variety of figures of speech.
These factors determine the interpretation of a particular text. 6. If the Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit and
without error, it is important to compare any particular text to all other Scripture that might
be relative. For instance, the book of Revelation may often be interpreted through a study of
the book of Daniel. One Scripture will serve to cast light on the other Scripture. 7. Though the Bible is largely written in factual style to
be interpreted as a normal, factual presentation, the Bible, like all other literature, uses
figures of speech, and they should be recognized for their intended meaning. All forms of
biblical literature ultimately yield a factual truth. 8. In interpreting the Bible, one must seek the
guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit who casts light on the Scriptures and guides
its interpretation. The interpretation of prophecy has its own peculiar problems of interpretation when prophecy reveals some future event or is couched in figurative or apocalyptic form. In some instances it is difficult to determine the precise meaning of the text because there is no corroborative comparison with history. In general prophecy is factual. Because so many prophecies have already been literally fulfilled, the nature of this fulfillment provides guidelines for the interpretation of prophecy which is yet unfulfilled. In addition to the general rules of interpreting the Bible, certain additional guidelines assist the interpretation of prophecy. 1. As is true in the interpretation of all Scripture, it is most important to determine the meaning of significant words in the interpretation of prophecy. Often these words have a historical background that will help in understanding the reference. 2. One of the important decisions necessary in the interpretation of prophecy is the determination of whether the prophecy concerns the present or the future, that is, whether it refers to a situation now past or present or is prophetic of future events. A biblical prophet, especially in the Old Testament, often delivered contemporary messages that dealt with current problems which were not necessarily futuristic in their revelation. This problem is compounded by the fact that many times prophecy was given in the past tense, where the writer took a position of looking back on the prophecy as if it were already fulfilled. Normally, however, it is possible to determine quickly whether the prophecy deals with the past, present, or the future. 3. Many prophecies of Scripture were fulfilled shortly after their revelation. At least half of the prophecies of the Bible have already been fulfilled literally. Such fulfillment confirms the fact that unfulfilled prophecy will also be literally fulfilled as one could anticipate from fulfillment already achieved. Fulfilled prophecy is an important guide in interpreting prophecy unfulfilled and generally confirms the concept of literal interpretation of a prophecy. 4. Prophecies may be conditional or unconditional. This becomes an important part in the conclusion that may be reached from the revelation of the prophecy. If a prophecy is conditional, it is possible it will never be fulfilled. If it is unconditional, then it is certain to be fulfilled, regardless of the human response. This is an area of confusion in the interpretation of prophecy, as some have assumed that prophecy is conditional when there is no supporting data that indicates this. 5. Prophecies sometimes have more that one fulfillment. This is referred to as the law of double reference. It is not unusual in Scripture for a prophecy to be partially fulfilled early and then later have a complete fulfillment. Accordingly, what seems to be a partial fulfillment of a prophecy should not be assumed to be the final answer as the future may record a more complete fulfillment. 6. One of the most important questions in the interpretation of prophecy is whether a prophecy is literal or figurative. As discussed earlier, early in the history of the church, especially in the third century, a school of prophetic interpretation arose in Alexandria which attempted to interpret all the Bible in an allegorical or a no literal sense. The influence of this school was one of the major reasons why premillenialism in the early church faded and a form of amillennialism became dominant. Major Theological Interpretations of ProphecyAmillennial interpretations. Within orthodox interpretation of the Bible the most prominent theological interpretation of prophecy since the fourth century of the Christian era has been amillennial or nonmillennial. Beginning with Augustine, the amillennial interpretation held that there would be no literal future thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, but that the Millennium referred to the present age or possibly the last thousand years of the present age. Because this did not provide a literal interpretation of millennial passages, it has been designated as amillennial since the nineteenth century. Amillenarians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have offered varied interpretations, some holding that the Millennium is fulfilled in the time between the death and resurrection of a Christian. Some in the twentieth century hold that the Millennium will be fulfilled in the new heaven and the new earth described in Revelation 21-22. Some amillenarians have also suggested that the millennial passages are conditional and will not be fulfilled due to the departure of Israel from the faith. Still others suggest that the kingdom on the earth was fulfilled in the reign of Solomon who controlled the land promised to Abraham. (Gen. 15:18). Within twentieth-century amillennialism the neoorthodox interpretation of Scripture may also be considered. This view considers the kingdom being fulfilled now in the experience of individual Christians. Generally speaking, neoorthodox scholars hold that God directly communicates to Christians supernaturally, but the Bible is not considered in itself an infallible record of revelation. All liberal theologians also are amillennial in the sense that they do not believe any future millennium will ever take place. Post Interpretation. Beginning with Daniel Whitby in the eighteenth century an interpretation of prophecy became popular which held specifically that the Millennium would be the last 1,000 years of the present age. Adherents of this view believed the Gospel would triumph to such an extent in the world that the whole world would be Christianized, bringing in a golden age which would correspond to the millennial kingdom. Like amillennialism, it places the second coming of Christ at the end of the Millennium. Postmillennialism in its original form was a bible interpretation and attempted a more literal interpretation of the Millennium than was followed by the later post millenarians of the twentieth century. In the twentieth century, however, postmillennialism, influenced by evolution, has become less biblical and adopted the concept of spiritual progress over a long period of time as in a general way bringing in a golden age. These post millenarians, however, are not considered orthodox. As a theological movement postmillennialism largely died in the first part of the twentieth century, but small groups have attempted to revive it in current theological discussion. Premillennial Interpretation. From the first century Bible scholars have held that the second coming of Christ will be the premillennial, that is, the second Coming will be followed by a thousand years of Christ's literal reign on earth. This was a predominant view of the early church as witnessed by the early church fathers. By the third century, however, the Alexandria school of theology, bringing in sweeping allegorical interpretation of Scripture, succeeded in displacing the premillennial view. In the last few centuries, however, premillennialism has been revived by biblical scholars and now is held by many who are orthodox in other respects. Unlike amillennialism and postmillennialism, the premillennial interpretation has no liberal adherents as it builds on the concept that the Bible is the Word of God and that prophecies are not to be interpreted in their normal literal sense. The premillennial view has much to commend it as it has the same principles of interpretation regarding prophecy as in normal in other areas of theological interpretation. The fact that so many prophecies have already been literally fulfilled lends support for the expectation that prophecies yet to be fulfilled will have the same literal fulfillment. The Beginnings of Prophetic Revelation
General Introduction to Prophecy in the Book of Revelation
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