I don't think there is a more important, magnificent and yet controversial subject around today, especially as it relates to eschatology. (The study of end-time events and surrounding issues)
It affects the lives of untold millions, and will soon affect billions of people. The prophetic Word can give you hope, confidence and security in this evil day of darkness. Interpretation is therefore just as important.
Today the most common argument used by believers and unbelievers alike to downplay the importance of the scriptures and prophecy in particular is..."Its all open to interpretation"
Obviously if it's all open to interpretation then it is not really important at all, because there are so many views out there. It means that anything goes and there are no absolutes. All viewpoints have equal merit, if there are no absolutes and all is variable.
Coming judgement is part of prophecy and if you believe its all open to interpretation then any lifestyle or value system is equally worthy. Hogwash I say!
Luke8:18 says "Take heed how you hear" and Mtt24:4 says "Take heed that no one deceives you"
There are primarily two methods of interpretation which are irreconcilable and world's apart.
●The first is the allegorical method, which presumes that prophecy is not literal and is all symbolic. If this is the case then the interpreter is God's editor and can foist into the scriptures any meaning he wants. It is a very dangerous method. Now, of course there are many things in the scriptures that are allegorical. For example our Lord is referred to as "The Lamb of God", This does not mean He is a lamb. He is also referred to as the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" No, He is not a lion. All this means is that these are two attributes of His nature.
The big thing with interpretation of scripture is that you should seek to apply common sense and only apply allegory when it is obvious.
Some people use allegory for everything and put no limit to it. This leaves you in a world of multitudes of opinions and one big mess up.
With the allegorical method of interpretation, the mind of the interpreter becomes the authority and not the God of the Scriptures. The allegorical method appeals to man's pride! Job 41:34 "He (Satan) is king over all the children of pride."
Jer17:5 "Cursed is the one who trust in man"
●The second is the literal method of interpretation. This is right.
Here is the most powerful, unarguable evidence in its favour:
Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in Old Testament times were fulfilled exactly and literally, with not one exception. Then we come to the prophecies of the Old Testament which were fulfilled in the New and again we see the same pattern of fulfilment. For example all the prophecies of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament were fulfilled exactly and literally, with not one miss. Some of these were greatly detailed, like "He would be born in Bethlehem". Then we come to the prophecies of both the Old and New Testaments, relating to the second coming and this time period we are in now, and again we see exact literal fulfilment. For example, prophecy declares that Israel would become a nation again and Jerusalem would again be restored to the Jews. Both of these were fulfilled exactly in our time.
A 100% hit rate in literal prophetic fulfilment paints a very clear picture. If you reject this you ARE gambling against immeasurable odds!
Here is the big question. If this is the past pattern of prophetic fulfilment, why is it suddenly now going to shift to the allegorical method where all is variable and open to interpretation? Obviously it is going to continue in the same literal way!
The past pattern of fulfilment is an extremely powerful case for the literal method. Ignore it at your peril!
There is no problem with the literal method accommodating certain aspects of allegory, figures of speech or symbols. All that is required is some common sense For example the coming antichrist is also described as a beast. Yes he will soon arrive on the world stage literally as a person, but will have many characteristics of a wild beast. He will be a real literal antichrist and won't be a real literal beast.
There is also no problem with prophecy having a double reference. There are many personal lessons to be learnt from prophetic events, but this does not invalidate the primary aspect which is the literal event itself.
If the surface reading of a prophecy is plain and clear it requires no allegorical interpretation...seek nothing extra. Keep it plain and simple.
There are many other pointers and indications that the literal method of interpretation is the only valid one, that adds up and makes perfect sense. Lets have a look at a few more:
The Bible says that "Our God id not a God of confusion." Furthermore it says that "Satan is the god of confusion" So if you're confused about the subject you know who to blame!
The Bible declares in 1Cor14:8 "If a trumpet makes an uncertain sound, how can you prepare for battle?" The allegorical method is filled with uncertainty and variables!
The literal method gives to each word the exact basic meaning of normal language. It is also called the grammatical-historical method.
The method of interpretation at the time of Christ was undoubtedly the literal. It was only when Satan chose to bring confusion into the scriptures that the troubles and divisions started. I will not go into how it all got going, but essentially it began through a deceiver called Origen, who did much damage to interpretation.
A very important key relating to interpretation relates to you as a believer. The Bible says that "when He the Spirit of truth has come He will lead you into all truth and show you things to come." This implies that you need to be "in the Spirit of truth" to be led into all truth.
Job42:5 puts it this way. "I have heard of You by the hearing of my ear, but now my spiritual eye sees You" This implies that there is more that we need than just ordinary head knowledge. "in Your light we see light" declares the Psalms. And again Job15:8 says "Have you not heard of the secret council of God or do you limit wisdom to yourself?"
The Bible says in Amos3:7 "The Lord does nothing unless he reveals this to His servants the prophets" He has and still is doing exactly this and doing it clearly without ambiguity.
Relating to the time period which the Bible calls the last days, our Lord says in numerous places that you should take heed that no one deceives you, He commands us to know the times and season and tells us exactly how to know the times.
1Pet.4:7 says, "The end of all things at hand, be watchful"
The most important portion of scripture relating to interpretation of prophecy is found in 2nd Peter chapter one. From verse 19 to 21 it says "We have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts; knowing this that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation."
The earlier verses speak about seeing with your eye and hearing with your ear. So now Peter says that there is something even "more sure" than seeing and hearing and it is this recognising that the prophetic word is the most sure thing. The morning star is the planet Venus and it rises in the darkest part of the night indicating that the day is about to dawn. You can see nice and clearly once the day has dawned.
So then, realising that Spirit led interpretation of prophecy and prophecy itself is extremely important, will lead you into clarity an surety (daylight)
1Jn2:2,3 says "He who has this hope within him purifies himself." "This hope" refers to the coming of our Lord, which in other places is referred to as a marriage. Here is the point. If you are aware that the marriage is about to happen, why would you remain a dirty pig? You can't live in true holiness without the active, alive blessed hope of His soon coming within you!
Jesus commands us to know the signs of the times and declares that those who don't are hypocrites. (Mtt16:3) Now, I ask you, how can you know the signs of the times and be ready, if they are all allegorical and open to interpretation?
Here are some general verses of scripture that most certainly apply to interpretation:
Pr.9:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom".
Pr.8:19 "When you seek Me diligently, you will find Me".
Pr 3:32 "His secret counsel is with the upright"
Ps 36:9 "In Your light we see light."
There is a spirit of truth and a spirit of error at work, there is wisdom from above and wisdom from below out there, so be careful, don't receive everything simply because it comes dressed in religiosity!
Beware of this satanically inspired deception all over the place today: 2Peter3:3,4 "Scoffers will come in the last days saying where is the hope of His coming, all things will carry on as normal"
Finally:
There is one very easy quick way to know if prophecy is being interpreted correctly. If so, it will correctly place and deal with the land of Israel, Jerusalem and the Jewish people.
In closing let me leave you with one of my favourite versus in the Bible: Ps119:165 "Great peace have they that love your word and nothing causes them to stumble"
*********************************
For your own study:
Perhaps the best book on this subject is the monumental work by Dwight Pentecost called "Things to Come" It is a big thick book, a little difficult to read, but I can assure you it is the most comprehensive and quite brilliant. I have read it through many times and never tire of it's wonderful truths.
Summary:
Dr. Pentecost’s book Things to Come has to be one of the most comprehensive studies of eschatology ever written. The entire book is devoted to presenting eschatology in what Pentecost considers the best interpretation of prophetic passages. Central to Pentecost’s arguments is the method in which the Scripture is interpreted. He presents a good argument for the literal interpretation, which was “the original and accepted method of interpretation” throughout history, and therefore is the only method that produces the “right interpretation in any field of doctrine today.” The main goal or thesis of the book is to bring together the major prophetic Scriptures into one complete picture of eschatology.
Many blessings...Joel Joseph
