Understanding the Bible in Prophecy

   When it comes to understanding Bible prophecy, there are many diverse views, ranging from those who claim that all Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled to those who claim that every current news item is somehow a fulfillment of prophecy, going to great lengths to show how the world events of today fit into the prophetic scenario.  Others, many who are confused by all the different views of prophecy, give up on trying to understand prophecy, thinking that it is impossible.  All of these approaches are wrong.
   At least one fourth of the Bible was prophetic when it was written, and while quite a bit of it has already come to pass, there is still a great deal of prophecy to be fulfilled.  The accurate fulfillment of prophecy in times past gives us assurance that God will indeed bring all of the prophecies yet unfulfilled to pass in the future.  The Bible, after all, is not just a book, it is a one of its kind “Divine Book” whose author is God.  The prophecies found in Scripture are not the mere ideas and visions of mortal men, but are God’s plan for the future that He has revealed through His servants, the prophets.  “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Pet. 1:20-21; cf. II Tim. 3:16-17).
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