Some Principles of Prophecy - 250201

SPEAKER A Hello, I'm Steven Groom. Welcome to Let God Speak. Jesus not only commanded us to search the scriptures in John 5:39, but he also asks us, how do you read the scriptures in Luke 10:26? The second question is most important because the right method of Bible interpretation will give us the right answers to life's important questions. Today we begin a new quarter's subject entitled Allusions, Images and Symbols how to Study Bible Prophecy. This is the first lesson. Please join us for this important Bible study. Foreign today we have Cassie Sollano and Harold Harker. Welcome, Cassie. Welcome, Harold. SPEAKER B Thank you. SPEAKER A Before we begin our discussion, let us open with prayer, shall we? Dear Lord, please help us to understand from this discussion how illusions, images and symbols are used in the Bible so that we can gain valuable insights into God's Word. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. When we first study the Bible, we are symbolically or figuratively coming to the Lord. So Harold, when we come to the Lord in this way, what should we keep uppermost in our mind? SPEAKER B Well, the very important thing to keep in mind and to understand the Lord God whom we worship and serve. He is omniscient. That means he knows everything. And we don't know everything, but he does. The Bible puts it this way. Isaiah 55, 9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. The problem is, is true. God has given us everything we need. It's not a problem. He knows everything and he's given us everything to know about His Word. The problem is we don't apply ourselves correctly and properly to his way to understand His Word. SPEAKER A Yes. And this understanding how much higher God is should bring humility. SPEAKER B Amen. SPEAKER A When we come to Him. Cassie, there's a great variance in Bible interpretation in regard to Bible prophecy nowadays. Has it always been this way? SPEAKER C No, it hasn't. For the first 18 centuries of Christian history, most Protestant Christians were actually very comfortable, especially with those in Daniel and Revelation. They would understand these images and would have a surprising level of agreement on what the key messages and interpretations of those were. SPEAKER A Thank you. And so, Harold, what do you think has created this great variance of opinion in regards to Bible prophecy? SPEAKER B Well, there have been many great advances and helpful tools in Bible interpretation, but there's also entered some other ideas of Bible studies, such as source criticism. And that's an example. Some people then say all of the Bible is not inspired. There's a group, it's called the Jesus Movement, and they teach that some of These miracles aren't trustworthy. And if they're not trustworthy, where do you go? But 2 Timothy 3, 16 tells us that all scripture, that's everything in the Bible, all scripture is inspired and it's good for doctrine and for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished for all good works. This shows us the foundational teachings that Jesus has given us. Is right, Jesus movement is not. SPEAKER A And so when we see groups that want to cut away portions of the Bible, we should disregard it. SPEAKER B Correct? Right, correct. SPEAKER A Thank you for that. Is there any other reasons, issues in regards to coming to sound conclusions, Cassie? SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER A That we should keep in mind? SPEAKER C Yes, definitely. We have to understand that when we come to the Bible, we have our own preconceived ideas. Every single person has their own experience and their own thoughts that affect the way they might read the Bible. That those from the Jesus movement may think, oh well, miracles cannot happen, you know, it's no explanation for that. And then they will toss that away. We need to be able to give up what we believe in terms this is not centred in the Bible. We have to be humble enough to do a thorough search and accept it if it tells us that we are wrong. One such instance of this is the state of the dead. Some people are convinced that when they die, people either go straight away to heaven or hell. This is prevalent in a lot of media and people will take it as the truth, even though the Bible proves that that is not the case. SPEAKER A So they're being brainwashed, so to speak. SPEAKER C Yes, so to speak. And if they don't realise that that will affect the way that they come to the Bible and they won't give that up, then they will be so stubborn in their own conclusion. Because yes, there are verses that you can take completely out of context that seem to support this idea. But when they really come to the Bible, the overwhelming majority, in fact 66 verses, supports that death is asleep and the dead wait until one of the two resurrections to come. Either the resurrection of life at Jesus second coming or the resurrection of the wicked at Jesus third coming. SPEAKER A Yes. So there's even religious institutions that we can't trust in regards to Bible doctrine. So the truths we find in the Bible has to go above, don't they? What important point do we need to understand from this, Harold? SPEAKER B Well, the most important lesson is that we must consider the term tota scriptura, which is total the whole scripture, you know, we must look at all of it, not just take one verse or another here, one or two verses, see what the whole Bible says about prophecy and about every subject. SPEAKER A Yes, very good. Yep. It is also important that we have the right mindset in order to gain the right answers from the Bible. First of all, what is the right mindset to have? SPEAKER C Well, to gain the right answers and we want them from the Lord directly, who is above everything else and his thoughts are above the world. We have to have a relationship with him and a relationship with Jesus Christ. We must be converted. Like the Bible authors, they were converted to God and were empowered by the Holy Spirit when writing the Scriptures. And those who read the Word must be the same. We must surrender ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit and this will give us that right mindset to come to sound conclusions. This is why we live in a world when there's all these winds of doctrine that are accepted and taught as truth. Because most people are not studying the Bible prayerfully or when they are in a right relationship with God at the time. SPEAKER A Yes. And that's why we have all these variant viewpoints, isn't it? On many subjects, all winds of doctrine as the Bible predicted. So if you find in your Bible study that you have previously understood about Bible or prophecy is wrong according to to what you are currently studying, what should you do? Should you stick to your previous opinion or should you give that up for what you're being convicted of as new truth? SPEAKER B Well, in looking at the Bible, a person needs to be ready to repent of preconceived ideas. This means you've got to have a heart that is open to learning truth. Yeah. And to find new truth, be ready to surrender to give up something that we've previously held it could be proven to be wrong if we keep studying the Bible. You know, this is harder than most people would realise. That's why just reading the Bible without the right tools, and most importantly the right attitude and under the Holy Spirit. And so we should ask the Spirit to lead us and be willing to follow what the Bible is saying. SPEAKER A Yes, on that very point. Let's keep going. In regards to unity, does God require unity amongst his believers in regard to doctrine in Bible prophecy? SPEAKER B Well, Paul really, he has a look at that question and he answered it in First Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 10. And he says, now I plead with you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. That's from our Bible. Now we clearly see that God intends that we should all speak the same thing as the Bible. We should have the same mind, the same judgement. If the body of Christian believers have these attitudes, they'll also have a unity in understanding Bible prophecy. SPEAKER A Yes, but does that allow for individual ality in thought? I mean, surely I'm not indebted to believe exactly the same as my fellow believers do in the church. Can I have separate viewpoints on minor things? I mean, that is healthy, isn't it? SPEAKER B It's healthy. The Bible must be the final answer for all of us. SPEAKER A Yes. Now let us look at a prophetic symbol in Scripture, such as for instance, the abomination of desolation in Matthew, chapter 24 and verse 15. Casey, can you give us a practical step in how to interpret this? I mean, this is a rather difficult term, isn't it? SPEAKER C Yes, it sounds like a very difficult term and a lot of people would turn away from that. But the Bible tells us to do exactly the opposite. In Matthew 24, in this verse, the author Matthew says this. Yes. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet standing in the holy place, that's the quote the author adds. Whoever reads, let him understand. We must understand this. SPEAKER A And that's a command too, isn't it? SPEAKER C It is, absolutely. And the practical step to doing this is going back to its original source. Source? The Book of Daniel. In verse 27 of the ninth chapter of Daniel, it is introduced and we must go to that to understand before applying it to Matthew. We can't have one without the other. And that will allow us to understand the prophetic meaning. SPEAKER A Yes. Okay, thank you. So when we see a prophetic symbol in the New Testament has its origins in the Old Testament, it's important to go back to the original source and try and understand it in its context in the Old Testament so you can get an idea of how it's being used in the New Testament. Yes, it sounds difficult, but it's important to do this, isn't it? SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER A People say that the apocalyptic end time book of Revelation cannot be understood with all its symbols, etc. Is that true, Harold? SPEAKER B If that is true, then why did Jesus say something different? Let me read to you from Revelation. That's the book you're talking about. And here in chapter one and verse three, it says, blessed is he who reads. And those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near, you know, God is not the author of confusion. So why does he pronounce a blessing? Here's a blessing. If we read in here on those things, if it's impossible, it's not, we can understand. And he's told us to hear and to read the prophecy and to keep the words that are here. And so in whatever is written here, it's possible, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can do so in unity. Remember, the Holy Spirit inspired the Word. And if we've asked him to lead us here, we read and we hear and we keep. It becomes understandable. And it's not anymore something that you can't understand. It's clear. SPEAKER A But what happens when, like I know many people who say to put it in the too hard basket, the book of Revelation, they say I can't understand that. And you know, reading Revelation chapter one, verse three is fine. But what happens if you are having trouble understanding? SPEAKER B I'd keep reading again, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you, because this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. That's how the book starts. So if I want to know more about him, I keep reading, I keep asking. And God will give the answers as we read and as we hear and as we keep those things. SPEAKER A So we have to wrestle with the Lord, we have to keep studying and don't give up. SPEAKER B Correct. SPEAKER A And just hold on to that which you do understand, because there are going to be portions you understand. Is that right? SPEAKER B Yes. SPEAKER A In Daniel chapter 12 and verse 4, Daniel is told by the angel Gabriel to shut up the words and seal the book. And this book would be his book, the book of Daniel. Does this mean that there are parts of prophecy that Daniel and we therefore cannot understand? Cayce? SPEAKER C Yes. Well, the verse states, yes, definitely to shut up the words and seal the book. But if we continue reading, it says, even to the time of the end, many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. The book of Daniel itself was to be sealed during Daniel's time, but for us today it is different. I'd like to turn to Revelation 22:10. And knowing these books are interconnected, we can take note of the fact it says, and he said to me, do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. So in other words, the time of the end that it speaks about the close of this world's history and Jesus second advent is the time we are in now. And now more of Bible prophecy will be open to those who are in a close relationship with the Lord and are diligently searching the scriptures that's amazing, isn't it? It is very amazing. SPEAKER A We're living in a time when all the mysteries of these books will be revealed to us. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER A Thank you. So we've already looked at the symbol of the abomination of desolation in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 15. Let us now look at some more examples, more symbols. And also in the book of Daniel, if we go back to Daniel chapter seven and verse seven, reference is made to a fourth dreadful and terrible beast. So Daniel chapter seven is like an expansion of chapter two. In Daniel chapter two, we're given world history in the form of a statue of Nebuchadnezzar. And in that statue we had four kingdoms. Babylon, Medo, Persia, Greece and Rome, all given through parts of the body. But then in Daniel chapter seven, he repeats it, doesn't he? But he uses animals, doesn't he? And the first animal was a winged lion, wasn't it? The second was a bear up on one side. Then you had a leopard. And the fourth that I'm mentioning here was a fourth dreadful and terrible beast. It was like no animal in the kingdom, was it? It was terrible. Some scholars call it the nondescript beast. It's like nothing else. But on that beast it had 10 horns. What do these horns represent that are on its head? And what can we learn from this, Harold? SPEAKER B Well, in that same chapter, chapter 7 and verse 24, it tells us that the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. So we understand that this terrible beast, which history tells us is Rome, it had ruled over 10 horns or 10 nations of Europe. Now Daniel 8 and verse 5, it has another symbol. It has a goat with a notable horn between the eyes. History tells us that that kingdom, the goat, was Greece. But the notable horn was its first great leader. We know of Alexander the Great, who conquered the world in no time. Now this tells us if we want to know the symbols, let the Bible interpret the symbols for us and we don't have to guess the answer while there are symbols there. Yes, but the answer's in the Bible too. SPEAKER A Yes, we don't have to guess, do we? SPEAKER B Right? SPEAKER A Or make it up? SPEAKER B Right. SPEAKER A We just have to search for the answers in the scriptures. Now let us turn to the other apocalyptic book in the end time. That's the book of revelation. In chapter 12 and verse 1, John makes reference to a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, etc. What does a symbol of a woman represent in reality, Cassie? SPEAKER C Well, we can find it very simply in the Bible. So we can start in the fifth chapter of Ephesians, which describes in verses 22 to 31 a relationship between a husband and a wife. But in verse 31 and 32, Paul states, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. For this is a great mystery. But I speak concerning Christ and the church. So in Matthew 25:10, it describes Jesus as the bridegroom. So it's actually very simple. We have Christ and the church and the husband and wife. So who is the wife? In Jeremiah 6:2 it says that the bride is the church. And I'll just read that verse which says. And when they went. Oh yeah, yes. Hang on. All right. It says, I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman. The daughter of Zion also meaning the church, which is God's people, who he is coming back for. SPEAKER A Yes. Yeah. Thank you. So trying to find a symbol, sometimes you have to go through a lot of text in scripture to really cement that meaning, doesn't it? SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER A You have to do a lot of work. Almost. SPEAKER B Sure. SPEAKER A What do you think? SPEAKER C But we can get a definite answer at the end. Unlike a lot of modern fortune telling that might tell you, oh, here's something, and you come to your own conclusion. SPEAKER A So you can be quite, after all that searching, you can be quite secure in what you understand that to be. Coming back to the book of revelation in chapter one and verses 13 to 16. We have a lot of symbolism here. Speaking of the Son of Man, it says in verse 13 that he was clothed with a garment down to his foot and girt about the paps, with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were a full flame of fire. And his feet were like under fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. And his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword. So we'll finish here. There's a lot of symbolism here, but we've only got time to look at one. What is this sharp double edged sword that's coming out of his mouth mean. SPEAKER B The Bible has the answer. I turn back to Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17 and it tells me the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. So in Revelation 1, the sword is coming out of his mouth. It means Jesus spoke the word of God. Simple as that. The symbol is explained by scripture itself. SPEAKER A Yeah. Thank you. Even People in the Old Testament can be used symbolically sometimes to represent something else in the New Testament. Can you give us an example of that, Cassie? SPEAKER C Yes, I can. In First Kings, it speaks of the king Ahab of Israel at the time who married the wicked Queen Jezebel. She was successful in turning the people of Israel away from the true God to worshipping Baal. Then in the New Testament, in Revelation 2:20, the message of Jesus to the church at Thyatira, which historically represented the period of the Dark Ages of 538 A.D. to 1798 A.D. the reference to the woman Jezebel is a symbolic reference, which is the church that during the Dark Ages corrupted Christianity with sun worship, which was closely associated with the worship of baal. SPEAKER A Thank you for that. Yes. So there's a lot of parallels, isn't there, between stories in the Old Testament and that which happened in New Testament history and could be relevant for us today? So another symbolic use of phrases in Revelation are idioms. That is, they are special expressions that are not to be taken literally, but symbolically. If we use them literally, we actually misinterpret what it's trying to say to us. Let us look at one in Revelation, a phrase used all through the book of Revelation and three times in chapter 13 of the book of Revelation is the ones dwelling upon the earth. What does this phrase allude to, Harold? SPEAKER B Well, let's look at that phrase in Revelation 13:8. All the ones dwelling upon the earth shall worship him. All whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, slain from the foundation of the world. Now, if you take that literally, the phrase the the ones dwelling upon the earth would refer to all the living people. But there was an exception. Those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. First, John tells me all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and is not of the Father, but is of the world. So all who dwell on the world or Satan's Kingdom, with their mind, they will worship the beast. Speaking of a future event, this phrase helps us to identify the meaning of this group. They don't have their names in the Lamb's Book of Life. They're opposite to the heaven dwellers, those lot not with their minds on heaven. So here we have this term, all in the world. It can mean mainly those who are following the evil one, the devil. They're opposed to God and they're blaspheming him, you know, so take the word, the idiom, and See how it refers to different things. SPEAKER A Thank you. And also we have the opposite spoken in Revelation 13 and that's heaven dwellers. SPEAKER B Correct. SPEAKER A And it says in Revelation 13:6 that he, I.e. the dragon, opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle. And the ones dwelling in heaven. SPEAKER B Correct. SPEAKER A So he's not actually blaspheming those in heaven, but the ones who are heaven dwellers. SPEAKER B Correct. SPEAKER A That is their mind dwell upon heavenly things. So. So there's a battle, isn't there? There? And in Revelation 14:6 it tells us that the. The gospel has to go to those who dwell on the earth and to every nation, kindred tongue and people. Well, if it wasn't referring to the wicked, it would be repeating that phrase, wouldn't it? But it's not. It's talking about two separate entities. Thank you. Thank you, Cassie. Thank you, Harold, for joining us today. That's all we have time for. God is omniscient and has chosen to communicate salvation to us through the word of God, that is the Bible. Therefore, it is important to read the Bible and rightly divide it, that is to use the correct methodology for interpreting Bible doctrine and prophecy. This is most important. We pray that you will continue to watch this series in order to gain valuable insights into getting to know more of the truths of God's word. We are glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. You can view all our past programmes on our website, 3abnaustralia.org.au Teacher's notes can be downloaded there. You can email us on [email protected]. Do join us again. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.