How to Interpret Bible Prophecy

There is a simple formula to help iterpret prophecy, and that is to use the Bible to
interpret itself ... AND ... use historical events to back up the prophecies. Now this is
where many prophecy students and teachers go wrong. They ignore the past 2000
years of amazing history and place the vast majority of Biblical prophecy in the
future right at the end of time. So our question to them is, would God be silent
about a third of earth's history and just focus on the last days? No, this could not be,
because our interpretation of end times prophecy would be pure guesswork if we
didn't have historical events to back up our beliefs.
Notice what the apostle John says in the first chapter of the book of Revelation
Revelation 1:1 ...'The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him, to shew
unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.'
Revelation 1:19 ...'Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which
are, and the things which shall be hereafter.'
As you can see, the things revealed to John were happening in his day and also to
begin happening a SHORT time after he wrote them. So the Bible must contain
prophecies that have been fulfilled right throughout history. Which means we must
take an historical view of Bible prophecy, which will give us the facts and data we
need to truly understand the end times.
Why do you think we get so many wild speculations as to who the antichrist beast
system is? Why do you think we get so many wild speculations as to what
armageddon will be? And why do you think we get so many wild speculations as to
what the mark of the beast is? Because the people who make these speculations
have no historical evidence to back up the prophecies they are trying to interpret.
They are just guessing at best.
Let me give you an example of how to interpret prophecy. In Daniel 7 we have four
beasts. A Lion, Bear, Leopard and a "terrible beast". What do these beasts
represent? Well, let's use the formula we mentioned above. Does the Bible tell us
what beasts in prophecy represent? Yes ... Daniel 7:17 ...'These great beasts, which
are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.' ... Are the beasts literal
kings, as in a single leader? No, take a look at this next verse ... Daniel 7:23 ...'Thus
he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.' ... So there we
have it. The four beasts are four nations of the world.
But what four nations do they represent? Many end time prophecy students and
teachers today proclaim that these four beasts are kingdoms of TODAY. But they
make the vital mistake of not using the scripture to interpret itself. In the above
verse in Daniel (v23) it clearly states that the fourth "terrible" beast would be
the FOURTH KINGDOM UPON THE EARTH. So clearly, the four beasts CANNOT be

kingdoms of today because we have had many, many kingdoms come and go
throughout history.
So what nations do the beasts represent? Well, the prophecy was made in Daniel's

day, when the ruling nation

was Babylon. So Babylon would be counted as the FIRST "kingdom upon earth". Can
we prove this? Yes. In Daniel 2 we have Nebuchadnezzar's image. And what was
represented by the "head of Gold"? Babylon! The FIRST major ruling kingdom upon
earth.
The prophecy of Daniel 7 concerning the beasts is a parallel prophecy to Daniel 2, of
the image. Both tell of the four major ruling nations that would conquer the earth
throughout history, and gives us an historical picture that we can build up, which
will help us understand more fully the prophecies concerning the end times. So let's
find out who the beasts of Daniel 7 are:
.
FOURTH BEAST = FOURTH KINGDOM ON EARTH (WE KNOW THAT BABYLON WAS THE
FIRST)
FIRST BEAST = BABYLON (605/606 - 539 BC)
SECOND BEAST = MEDO-PERSIA (539 - 311 BC)
THIRD BEAST = GREECE (311 - 168 BC)
FOURTH BEAST = ROME (168 BC - 476 AD)
We MUST stay true to the Word of God. And the Word of God clearly states that the
fourth beast was to be the fourth kingdom (ruling kingdom) upon the earth.
Therefore we CANNOT take this beast and place it in the future like so many people
do. We HAVE to take an historical view of it as shown above. This is how to interpret
Bible prophecy.

Prophecy Concerning the End Times

Although a lot of Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled throughout history, there
is still a good number of prophecies concerning the end times that are yet to be
fulfilled. And on this page we will be adding important studies dealing with those
end time prophecies. There is only one way to know the future and that is to find
out the "Revelations" that God has provided for us through His prophets. God gave
us detailed prophecies concerning the last days and the end of the world. And we
pray that you will seek these truths with all your heart, as they will help stop you
being deceived by Satan.