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This was the title of a day's Teaching Seminar held at the end of August in Stapleford Methodist Church, near Nottingham. Cliff Richmond was the chairman and organiser of the day, and Michael Penny lead each of the sessions.
We started by setting up the systematic approach which is based on the wise words of Bishop Miles Coverdale, who produced the first complete Bible in English. His advice was that when we approach a passage of Scripture we should ask such questions as:
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Who was it written to? |
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Who is it about? |
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When was it written? |
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When is it about? |
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Where is it about? |
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What exactly is written, taking into account the context? |
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Why was it written? |
This is the basis of what is called the historical-grammatical interpretation of Scripture. That is we should first understand what a passage meant to the people it was written to (historical), understanding the words as they would have understood them (grammatical). We should do this before we try to apply any passage to 21st century Christians.
An historical understanding showed us that most of prophecy is to do with the Jews, and it is centred around the land of Israel and the surrounding nations.
A grammatical understanding showed us that the terminology used in prophecy, and popular misuse today, lead to a misunderstanding of such terms as last 'fulfilled', 'the last days', and 'the day of the Lord'. For example, it is commonly thought that the words 'the last days' always refer to the days leading up to Christ's return, but this is not the case. It is used in the Bible of such periods as David's reign, the Acts Period, the days after Christ's return, as well as the days leading up to His return.
The context defines the period of time and the precise meaning of the term; the term by itself does not define the time period.
We also looked at why prophecy was given and saw that it was basically to solicit a response in the people to whom the prophecy was given. It also has great benefit for the people alive when the prophecy comes true. However, people living between the times when it was given and when it comes true, often got the interpretation of the prophecy wrong.
One most interesting feature was looking at conditional and unconditional prophecies.
We then applied what we had learnt by considering a number of prophecies in Detail, including Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Isaiah 35:3-6 and 61:1-3. We finished by looking at Daniel and that greatest prophecy of all, Revelation.
A list of resources, books and CDs on prophecy can be seen here and here.
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