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The Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy and the End-TimesBy J.
Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall and C. Marvin Pate
The purpose ofThe Dictionary of Biblical
Prophecy and the End-Times is to introduce thereader to all
things prophetic in the Bible. From
A to Z, major topics related to biblicalprophecy and the
end-times are covered in thisvolume: Antichrist, Amillennialism,
Christ,
Destruction of Jerusalem, Dispensationalism,
Millennium, Premillennialism, Postmillennialism,
Rapture, Second Coming, Zion, to name only afew. The Dictionary
of Biblical Prophecy treats
all major views of biblical prophecy fairly,
pointing out both strengths and perceived
weaknesses in each approach. Indeed, at times thethree authors
themselves did not share the same
view when they wrote on their respective topics.
But the authors did agree on one fundamental
fact, namely, biblical prophecy and end-time
predictions should be interpreted according tosound
hermeneutical principles. That is, that the
texts containing prophecy should be analyzed
historically, culturally, and grammatically, leading the
interpreter to the proper meaningof the passage. For example,
knowing the historical setting of Daniels seventy weeks
(Dan. 9:24-27) helps one not to jump too far in the future too
fast for its fulfillment, sincea partial fulfillment occurred in
the Maccabean revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes from171 to 164
B.C. That historical background may well then point to a future
Antichrist
rising up against the people of God at the end of time. The
historical background also
points to an overarching theme in biblical prophecy: there can
be an immediate, partialfulfillment and then a distant ultimate
fulfillment for prophetic texts. Daniel 9:24-27 is a
case in point. Isaiah 7:10-14 may also be another example of
this two-fulfillment
dynamic. The Immanuel predicted by Isaiah was a child born in
ca. 735 B.C. (it may
have been Hezekiah or an un-named child) who, before he was
weaned from his mother,God defeated the Syro-Ephraimite coalition
in defense of Judah, the southern kingdom
of the Jews. Every time Jews in Judea saw that child they would
exclaim Immanuel
God is with us, for he rescued Jerusalem from its enemies. That
was the immediate,partial fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy. But
according to Matthew 1:23, the
distant, final fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 was Jesus Christ who
was born of the Virgin
Mary.
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The cultural background is also vital to interpreting biblical
prophecy. Thus the book of
Revelation fits into three types of genre, each of which taps
into a particular milieu.Revelation is apocalyptic literature, much
like Jesus Olivet Discourse in the Gospels or
like Jewish apocalypses in the first century (4 Ezra, 2 Baruch,
for example). Revelation isalso prophetic material much like the
Old Testament prophets. And then Revelation is aletter, which
shares some of the components of ancient letters, not to mention
the New
Testament epistles.
Finally, biblical prophetic texts need to be examined
grammatically, which includes thestudy of words and how those words
are related to each other in a sentence. This will
prevent readers from inappropriately reading contemporary
meanings of words back into
the Bible. Thus one will avoid reading rosh in Ezekiel 38:1-2 as
Russia, since roshis a generic Hebrew term for prince not a proper
name. Based on this grammatical fact,
one need not subscribe to the theory that Russia is the nation
from the north who will
attack Israel in the last days.
But whatever ones view of eschatology, Gods word of assurance
rings forth from
biblical prophecy assuring Christians that they are on the
winning side, the kingdom of
God!
C. Marvin Pate
August, 2009
