When one is interpreting the bible's prophetic word one needs to
handle it in a professional manner.


Biblical prophecy comes in two main forms.

1) Prophecies which are intended to be taken literally.
   These may have an end-time shadow meaning to them, but
   their primary meaning is clearly literal.

2) Prophecies which are intended to be taken symbolically.
   These usually refer to end-time events.
   While they may (or may not) be capable of being understood
   literally, they should be interpreted symbolically.
   For example those present in the books of Daniel and
   Revelation.
   


For prophetic purposes the bible is NOT AN INCOMPLETE BOOK!

So, would be interpreters should not try and gather information
from history books, ancient writings, current news, astronomy etc.
They should NOT weave such content into any prophetic outlook.


Bible prophecy can be extremely difficult to fathom. The desire
to source material from outside of Scripture, in order to frame
a viewpoint, can be extreme. However, in such cases all one ends
up with is an elaborate distortion.


While it is true that prophecy couched in symbolism can present
an obstacle to understanding - it is nevertheless something the
bible student should try and work with.



A final point is that bible prophecy can not be understood without
gaining a grasp of the complexities of biblical chronology. As 
many of the time periods cited in prophetic texts are references
to durations within the overall biblical framework of time.







RETURN TO INDEX