HIStory, Our Future: Pearls for the Bride

Related Topics

This page is a work in progress...

Episode 0: Introduction

"…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." | Revelation 19:10

Synopsis

Prophecy has been around from the beginning of time, "things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." Matthew 13:35 We are told to watch, but what are we watching for? How are we to know the signs except they be revealed to us? I believe we have been given all we need to know in order to understand the signs of the times and not be caught off guard by what we are told will be sudden and unexpected to the world. Though prophecy has been around from the beginning so has corruption of it, as evidenced by the many predictions based off interpretations of it that have not come to pass. With so many interpretations out there, how are we to know what is true, and can we trust the prophecies of the Hebrew scriptures? 

My approach is fairly straightforward. God says what He means and means what He says, and while I don't believe we can take every scripture literally, we should absolutely take every scripture seriously. A vision John has of a woman crowned with twelve stars, clothed with the sun, and the moon at her feet in heaven is not a literal woman, although the Mazzaroth used to depict the passage of time is symbolized in the virgin which many times during the fall is juxtaposed with the sun being within the constellation and the moon at the feet of her. But even more interesting is that who this woman symbolizes is interpreted for us by scripture itself in Genesis 37:9-11 when Joseph dreams of the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing to him. His father Jacob, named Israel by God, then interprets this dream as being himself, his wife, and his sons bowing to Joseph. While this was literally fulfilled in the famine that led to Israel's captivity in Egypt, the symbolism of this woman who gives birth to a child who will rule the nations with a rod of iron speaks to the Messiah coming from the nation of Israel. 

Words have meanings and many times the modern translated words can obfuscate the intended meaning. There is also cultural context that is built from the relationship that God had with Israel as laid out in the Old Testament. As modern Gentile Christians, we can miss a lot by not understanding that relationship and its statutes, purposes, foreshadows, and meanings. Many times this is directly related to future events. 

In addition to taking God at His Word seriously, it must be understood that the truth of a matter is not found in just one prophetic passage, but is spread throughout the whole of scripture here a little and there a little. Isaiah 28:9-11 All scripture must agree with itself. Sometimes this means what seems to be saying one thing in one place is expanded upon elsewhere to provide more insight and reveal the true meaning in a different paradigm. We must be willing to let the scripture lead us where it goes and not pick and choose the scriptures that will affirm our paradigm. 

It is my contention that the only way true understanding can be reached and agreed upon by the body is to be Bereans and trust God's Word as the plumbline upon which our understanding is built. "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 Ghost." 2 Peter 1:20-21 If we are to truly understand what God desires for us to know, then we must be guided by the Author of it. 

Many are turned off by trying to understand prophecy because they've heard it all before. My goal in this series I call HIStory, Our Future: Pearls for the Bride, is to start from the beginning and focus in on the details of Bible prophecy. These are designed to understand meaning by focusing on defining the terms before we start using them to explain what is coming soon.

Outline | Script | PowerPoint

While I’m working on this series, you can read through some of the BIble studies this is based on here:

• page link

Image placeholder for embedded video

Associated Studies

• Series Overview

References