We need to examine the words, the grammar, the paragraph flow, the type of literature we are dealing with, and the overall message of the Bible. We have to use an understandable method of interpretation, one that makes sense historically, linguistically and theologically. We need to base our understanding, our arguments, and our teaching on what the scriptures say and on what people can see for themselves, in the translations that are commonly available. If we did that, we would be asking them to have faith in us. Therefore, as a practical matter, we cannot convince people of our interpretation if we are using special insight they don’t have access to. All sorts of erroneous interpretations have been taught by people claiming to have God’s Spirit and claiming to have the inspired interpretation. But even people who have the Holy Spirit can make errors, and people with the Holy Spirit may disagree with each other. Prophecy has a spiritual message, and readers need the help of the Holy Spirit to be able to understand it. Since prophecy encourages us to know God and do his will, it is important for us to study it, even if it is difficult. There are many difficulties involved in interpreting prophecy, but if we take the Bible seriously, we need to study prophecy, because prophecy is a large part of the literature God has inspired to be written and preserved in the Christian canon.
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