Prophecy

The (Old Testament) prophetic section of Scripture is contained in the later portion of the Old Testament. The prophets of each book speak on the people of Israel’s coming judgment if they do not turn back to their first love (Hos. 2:1-7). The books of prophecy contain at least two of these three main parts for the focus of each book (Duvall et al. 403, 407-407).

These three parts are:

1. You have broken the covenant; you had better repent!

2. No repentance? Then judgment!

3. Yet, there is hope beyond the judgment for a glorious, future restoration.

Major Prophets:

— Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

Minor Prophets:

— Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

Note:

The difference between major and minor prophet books does not lie in importance, but rather, the length of the book. Major prophets, are longer than minor prophet books.

How to Interpret Old Testament - Prophets:

Step by Step

(Duvall et al. 407-415)

1. Prayer.

Any study of Scripture will be more beneficial when you speak to God about the truth He is going to give to you through your time in spent in His Word.

2. Understanding what the text meant to the biblical audience.

This is where observation must thrive! Looking at how the biblical audience would have understood what you are reading is essential as we come to later steps.

3. Note differences of the biblical audience and us.

We do not live in ancient Israel, in fact, our culture (as Americans) is vastly different than even the Israel of today. You must note differences such as in Jeremiah when the prophet speaks about coming judgment. For example, believers today are not fearful of a Babylonian invasion.

4. Cross the principlizing bridge.

This is where theological principles will come into play. Duvall et al. says, “To determine the theological principle, first recall the differences you identified in Step 2. Next, try to identify any similarities between the situation of the biblical audience and our situation.” (44, Step 2 in the quote is step 3 in this step by step guide).

An example from Jeremiah would be:

Though we do not fear Babylonian invasion, believers of today can recognize there is punishment for our sin. We must turn back to God in repentance.

5. Consult the biblical context.

This step involves viewing the theological principle with the rest of the Bible.

You must ask questions such as:

How does my principle match up with what I already know about Scripture?

Is my principle consistent with Scripture?

Are there other examples in Scripture which support my principle?

If the answer is yes to these questions, it seems as though you have correctly interpreted the Scripture you are studying (It is important to remember while you interpret, you never create meaning, rather, you must search for the meaning which is already there).

6. Application for believers today.

Here is where the application is put into practice! Not only do we study to know what God’s Word says, now we can live by the very truth in His Word. We begin to use the theological principles as a way to shape our lives to be more like Christ.

7. Near-view/far-view text.

This is not the last step, but rather must be done throughout your study of prophecy (during steps 4 and 5). Many times a prophet will switch between speaking of events coming soon (near) and events which have yet to come (far or farther events). This tends to be in reference to future destruction and restoration. The near-view/far-view text is like looking at mountains. They may look like a flat, two-dimensional image though there is a vast valley between the two. When the prophets do speak of future restoration, they mean one of three things:

— The return of Jewish exiles to Israel under Ezra and Nehemiah.

— The first coming of Christ.

— Christ’s second coming.

The prophets do not seem to worry about specific details of the future events. They know the truth God has given them and they trust Him to take care of those details. In the same way, as believers who study prophecy, we should not be looking for the specific details of things still yet to come, rather, focus more on broader theological principles (Duvall et al. 411-415). God will handle what He has planned to do, we must obey in light of the truth He has provided for us.

Works Cited

Duvall, J. Scott, et al. Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-on Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. 3rd ed., Zondervan, 2012.

NASB. New American Standard Version. The Holy Bible. Lockman, 2013.

This was originally written for Assignment 2-1 of Interpreting Scripture taught by Professor Larry Asplund (Moody Distance Learning)