Why Prophecy has Resisted Interpretation

Prophesy is reality revealed. One reason prophesy has resisted interpretation for so long is that its version of reality is so different from the generation that studies it. Scholars try to describe the Biblically prophetic world in the context of their own experiences. It doesn't work. Therefore the only way to correctly model the prophetic world that is coming, is to be able to visualize a world much different than the present one. By faith we look for a kingdom radically different from our present world. Man has conveniently fettered himself with all types of limitations that veil his true responsibilities. Some of those limitations are doctrinal. Much of Christianity today is like the Sadducees of Jesus' day. Regarding the resurrection, an issue that the Sadducees wrongly interpreted, Jesus revealed the cause of their blindness saying, "you neither know the Scriptures or the power of God". Any one can be honestly mistaken, but Jesus implied this was willful ignorance. They were faithless, not wanting to see a world much bigger than their own. Interestingly, this type of ignorance is deep in the church today. The Sadducees were the ones who would say, "I'll believe it only if I find it in the Bible". On the surface this sound commendable, but underneath is often a spirit of unbelief. The truths of the Scripture will lead us to many more truths that are not in the Scriptures. We are to seek truth, we are to know God, not be walking Bibles. Jesus said we are to know the Scriptures and the power of God. Almost all prophetic errors today are a failure of one or both of these areas.

Non-Prophetic Prophetic Scriptures

An example of a common 'power of God' mistake, is the Scripture below. There are many Scriptures like it that do not appear to be prophetic. For example:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matt 5:6

If we look at this Scripture within the context of our experiences it is not prophetic. Our experiences say there is no absolute righteousness, but only degrees. We can only strive for a higher degree. 'Be filled' means 'in the process of being filled', not 'filled full'. According to most Christian doctrine, righteousness, in this age, is a journey not a destination. But that is not the purpose of this Scripture. If we understand the 'power of God' correctly, it is prophetic. It is supposed to create an intense hunger for ultimate, absolute righteousness. After 2000 years of journey we are supposed to have an intense hunger for the destination. The prophetic kingdom includes perfection (righteousness). If one cannot, by faith, visualize that, one cannot arrive at a correct model of the end of the age. There are many more examples like this one, and many more changes that must come.

Hunger and Thirst

The Word of God is designed to create hunger. Hunger is the void or gap between what is and what should be. More specifically, it's the prophetic Scriptures that create hunger. We should study prophecy not out of fascination with the future or fear (self preservation), but out of a desire to build faith and knowledge of God and to be wise and ready stewards of his will.