A Tip For Reading Biblical Prophecy

Sometimes, when reading our Bibles, we may have questions about when a certain event, or prophecy occurred, or will occur. Determining whether or not an event is yet to come, has already taken place, or has multiple aspects related to time can be difficult. I hope today to make this sometimes difficult task a bit easier by sharing an interpretive tip that has been of tremendous value in my own walk with Christ.

Who’s Future?

When we see a passage that is speaking in some sense of a future event, ask the question “whose future is this passage speak about?”. If we don’t ask this question, we may fall into a few mistakes. The first mistake is thinking an event that was in ancient times spoken of regarding the future, has already taken place in our past. The second mistake is thinking that an event that is still yet to come, has already occurred. Either mistake can lead to some serious and dangerous consequences in our faith.

Not Our Future

An example of the first mistake would be in Genesis 17 when God made his covenant with Abraham. God spoke of an event that would come to pass in Abraham’s future, but that doesn’t mean that event would come to pass in our future. In Genesis 17:19 we read:

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him”

Fulfillment of Prophecy

As you well know Abraham did later have a son (Genesis 21:1-7) and named him Isaac. As we read Genesis, we see future promises made and we know to avoid the mistake of thinking that every future promise is about OUR future. We recognize that God made a promise to Abraham and then later on within Abraham’s lifetime that promise came to fruition. As I was taught by my faithful mentors when we have a question of a passage keep reading! The answer to the question will often be only a few verses or chapters away. By continuing to read we discover both the timetable and the fulfillment of the prophecy.

The Future is in Our Past

Much of what the Bible has spoken of regarding the future, is actually in our past. This is true in Genesis, as well as many other prophetic books of the Old Testament and New Testament (like Revelation). It is a mistake to assume that simply because a prophetic text is speaking of something’s future it must automatically be speaking of our future. 

God’s Established Covenant

An example of the second mistake would be in the same passage (Genesis 17:19) thinking that all of the promises God made to Abraham would be fulfilled during Abraham’s earthly immediate lifetime. While a part of God’s promise would be fulfilled during Abraham’s earthly life (he would have a son), much of God’s promise would continue to be fulfilled for long into the future. God’s established covenant continued beyond the days of earthly living for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even we today who have faith in God’s mighty redemption. For as long as there are new believers being born again through faith in Christ Jesus, the covenant promise of God to Abraham continues.

Connecting the Faith

The book of Hebrews connects the faith we share today, with the faith of the ancients like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Hebrews 11:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. (Hebrews 11:1-2)

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)

Ongoing Present

Much of what the Bible has spoken of regarding the future, includes our present and our yet to come future. This is true within many books that we think of as being ancient and without much relevance for us today. Biblical books like Joshua, Isaiah, and Ezekiel contain many prophetic passages that speak with ongoing present, and yet to come fulfillment until the return of Jesus.

When reading a passage that you think might be about any potential future event, slow down and begin to ask as you read “whose future is this speaking of? Is this the future of the original audience, or some extended future which even includes my time?”