Introduction to the book of Revelation
Some principles of Biblical prophetic interpretation used in this study:
1. All scripture is taken in its ordinary, usual and common sense meaning unless the context makes
it clear that the statement is symbolic.
2. Symbolic language is usually interpreted in a clear fashion in an-other biblical passage.
3. God has consistently prophesied and set appointed times for Israel and the nations which have
been fulfilled to the exact day as predicted. The Lord has always dealt with Israel in terms of
specifically appointed time periods and the Promised Land.
4. In dealing with the church, scripture reveals no appointed time period pinpointing the day or the
hour of the Rapture.
5. The message of the prophet is both for his own time and for all the generations which will follow
him.
Introduction
More than 1/4 of the Bible is prophetic -- prophetic in the sense that it foretells the future. In the New
Testament, only the book of Revelation is prophetic. It prophesies about the end of time. The
impressive thing is the amazingly accurate fulfillment of past prophecies of the Bible. The prophecies of
the Bible have been fulfilled to the letter. We have every reason to believe that future prophecies will be
the same.
Other religious writings, such as the Koran, or the Veda, do not contain detailed, specific prophecies.
Only the Bible is so bold. Modern day secular prophets dare to make predictions but they have a very
poor record of accuracy. No one, except God himself, would dare to risk his claim to the divine
inspiration of His Word, the Bible, on such a risky undertaking as predicting future events in great detail.
A study of the top ten psychics whose prophecies were published during a 3 year period -- 1976 -1979
-- showed only a 2 percent success rate. Only 2 % of their predictions were fulfilled. Six out of the ten
n psychics were wrong 100% of the time. The other four made only one correct prediction each during
the 3 year period. Yet billions of people still followed their predictions religiously.
When we examine the prophecies in the Bible we are confronted with a different phenomenon of
staggering mathematical proportions. The Bible contains hundreds of incredibly accurate predictions of
events which historians and archeologists have verified. God declares boldly in His Word that these
prophecies and their fulfullments are His signature upon the Bible and His verification that the Bible is
truly the in-spired Word of God. Accurate prophecy belongs to God alone.
1. All scripture is taken in its ordinary, usual and common sense meaning unless the context makes
it clear that the statement is symbolic.
2. Symbolic language is usually interpreted in a clear fashion in an-other biblical passage.
3. God has consistently prophesied and set appointed times for Israel and the nations which have
been fulfilled to the exact day as predicted. The Lord has always dealt with Israel in terms of
specifically appointed time periods and the Promised Land.
4. In dealing with the church, scripture reveals no appointed time period pinpointing the day or the
hour of the Rapture.
5. The message of the prophet is both for his own time and for all the generations which will follow
him.
Introduction
More than 1/4 of the Bible is prophetic -- prophetic in the sense that it foretells the future. In the New
Testament, only the book of Revelation is prophetic. It prophesies about the end of time. The
impressive thing is the amazingly accurate fulfillment of past prophecies of the Bible. The prophecies of
the Bible have been fulfilled to the letter. We have every reason to believe that future prophecies will be
the same.
Other religious writings, such as the Koran, or the Veda, do not contain detailed, specific prophecies.
Only the Bible is so bold. Modern day secular prophets dare to make predictions but they have a very
poor record of accuracy. No one, except God himself, would dare to risk his claim to the divine
inspiration of His Word, the Bible, on such a risky undertaking as predicting future events in great detail.
A study of the top ten psychics whose prophecies were published during a 3 year period -- 1976 -1979
-- showed only a 2 percent success rate. Only 2 % of their predictions were fulfilled. Six out of the ten
n psychics were wrong 100% of the time. The other four made only one correct prediction each during
the 3 year period. Yet billions of people still followed their predictions religiously.
When we examine the prophecies in the Bible we are confronted with a different phenomenon of
staggering mathematical proportions. The Bible contains hundreds of incredibly accurate predictions of
events which historians and archeologists have verified. God declares boldly in His Word that these
prophecies and their fulfullments are His signature upon the Bible and His verification that the Bible is
truly the in-spired Word of God. Accurate prophecy belongs to God alone.
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