We can never fully comprehend the mind of God. Thus, the attempt to understand prophecy cannot be completely accomplished by a human being. When we engage prophecy, we must respect it as a genre in Scripture that hosts interpretative challenges. Nevertheless, we need to decipher what God wants us to do with a prophetic word. After all, God only reveals what we need for the specific time period. God would not reveal anything more in order to protect us from getting overwhelmed or from getting confused. We can still train ourselves to understand a prophetic word.
A Story of Redemption
First, we must not miss the point. If a prophetic word must be
tested against the Word of God, then we must recognize the main
theme of the Bible. The Bible is a story of redemption. It is a love
story between God and man, wherein God rescued man because
of His great love for Him. Any prophetic word that goes against
this redemption love story is false or misinterpreted.
It is possible to lose sight of the big picture on account of
confusing or troubling prophetic details. It can happen all the
time. Have you ever seen a mosaic puzzle? Individually, each
puzzle contains a small picture. You can only study the elements
of the photo a few inches away from the puzzle. However, when
you step back from the mosaic, you’ll realize that the individual
puzzles form a larger composition, a bigger picture. In the same
way, each prophetic word is only one piece of the puzzle, and
you must look at it according to its place in the bigger picture of
humanity’s redemption story.
Understand each prophetic word according to its part in the
grander mosaic. Prophecies that have been fulfilled and promises
still to be realized boost our confidence that God will continue
to take to build His Holy Kingdom. God does record prophecy to show
His servants the things that must shortly take place (Rev.
22:6). However, these things must not be isolated from the grand
story they are helping to tell. The purpose for prophecies is not
mainly to tell about the future, but to point to a victorious God
who has already won the heavenly battle through Jesus Christ.
Experience the Power of Prophecy as a gift to open your mind to receive the Mind of Christ.
Recall a prophetic word you’ve just received. Ask the Holy
Spirit to confirm if this connects with the story of redemption
in the Bible. Write down how the Holy Spirit responded.
