In The Latter Days
An Intellectually Honest Study of Bible Prophecies Concerning End Times
Description:... As I set out to write a book about End Times Prophecy one of the most important rules of interpretation that must be carefully observed is to distinguish between what is actually said in the texts and that which is assumption, exaggeration, speculation or imagination.All too often writers and preachers of prophecy publish their works mainly because they believe they have solved the riddle or completed the picture. But their resulting product ends up being more a description of their own personal opinions, assumptions, speculations and biases than of what the writings actually say. That by itself wouldn't be so bad. The problem comes when these assumptions and speculations are not presented as such, but rather are presented and accepted as though they are well established truth. Presenting them this way implies that the conclusions of the author have been proven and are sure, when in fact they are not.In hopes of avoiding this kind of error I have carefully tried to distinguish in this study between the facts from the writings and the assumptions or speculations that may be made from them. The facts from prophecy are unmovable and sure. Any assumptions or speculations must be open for change or outright abandonment if events around us prove them wrong. Now, I understand that "facts" can also be open to interpretation and interpretation can be a very subjective thing. Therefore, an author's method of interpretation is extremely important if he hopes to discover what is true. The method should be as objective as possible and designed to remove the natural tendency to project one's own biases or preconceptions into the interpretation. The goal is to allow prophecy to define what is true and to paint its own prophetic picture of what is to come. The goal is not to use the Bible to support or lend credence to one's own pet doctrines or preconceived beliefs or imaginations. Sadly, the latter approach is more often than not the method that is applied in prophetic studies. In this study I begin with the assumption that I know nothing of the subject at hand. I approach the prophecies like a detective looking for clues to solve a mystery. In order to get to the truth, I have to trust that my clues are accurate and that they say what they mean and mean what they say. But like every human being it is hard not to filter what I'm seeing subjectively. So in an attempt to keep my method of interpretation as objective as possible, I developed several ground rules. These ground rules are explained in the book.I believe that all of the prophecy in the Bible is true and accurate. Therefore, it will never contradict itself. If it appears to contradict itself, then there is something we are missing or misunderstanding. If this assumption is valid, and I believe it is, then there is never a reason to isolate a prophetic text from the rest of the writings. They should all agree and form a congruent picture.Basically what I am going to be focusing on is developing a timeline. Using just what the writings and the prophecies in the writings tell us, without exaggerating, reaching, stretching, spiritualizing, symbolizing, isolating, projecting or looking for hidden meanings, we will discover amazing detail and congruence as to the chronology of events. Once we understand the chronology and the framework, even if we do not fully understand what the events are or exactly how they will look, we will be equipped to recognize the events when they actually begin to happen, and thus will not miss our time of visitation.Our journey begins in the book of Daniel where most of the framework of the timeline is discovered. Then we will move on to the words of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. With this knowledge, then, we will work our way through the Book of Revelation and will discover that we are much better equipped to understand how these things flow into the chronology of events In the Latter Days.
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