How to Study Prophecy

In the book of the prophet Habakkuk, God says: «Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who it .» And in the book of Revelation, the apostle John receives this order: «Do not the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at .» The Word of God therefore states that we can understand Bible prophecy.

To study Bible prophecy in an effective way, we have to get on to the wavelength of the Holy Spirit, who inspired prophecy. In concrete terms, what does it require of us? (Check off all the right answers.)
An attitude marked with humility.
An open-minded spirit.
A desire to understand.
A desire to develop a relationship with God.

Our success in studying Bible prophecy also depends upon our attitude toward the Bible. In his First Epistle to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul indicates how we must regard the Bible: «For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of , but as it is in , the word of , which also effectively works in you who .»

To get on to the Holy Spirit's wavelength, so as to understand Bible prophecy, we must also have the following elements (check off all the right answers):
Having the greatest respect for the entire Word of God.
Searching what the will of God is.
Having the desire to conform our life to God's will.
Persevering in our relationship with God.

To understand Bible prophecy, we must rely on the continuous presence of the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles gives us this precious piece of advice about this: «And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the whom God has to those who Him.» Let's never forget this essential condition.

During our lesson, we also discovered seven keys which are essential for understanding Bible prophecy. The first key indicates the source of the meaning of all the symbols used in prophecy. What is that source?
The student's imagination.
International news.
Human logic.
The Bible itself.

Prophetic symbolism often refers to the places of the Old Testament, and the dramas which happened there. It also refers to the characters of the Old Testament, their attitude toward God, and their past deeds. To illustrate this point, our lesson presented an Old Testament place and an Old Testament character which are used, in prophecy, in a symbolic way. This place and this character are:
Sidon and Ahab.
Babylon and Jezebel.
Niniveh and Jonah.
Jericho and Joshua.

The sixth key for understanding prophecy tells us that the numbers found in Bible prophecy express more than just a quantity. For example, we have seen that many prophetic numbers are multiples of 12, a number which plays an important role in the Bible. Which one of the following numbers - all multiples of 12 - is not found in Bible prophecy?
24.
144.
120 000.
144 000.

Finally, the Epistle to the Hebrews presents the last of the seven keys opening the doors of Bible prophecy: «For everyone who partakes only of milk is in the word of righteousness, for he is a . But solid food belongs to those who are of full , that is, those who by reason of use have their senses to discern both good and evil.» Let's therefore make sure to properly understand the meaning of simpler prophecies before studying complex prophecies, rich in symbolism.