Interpretation Rules for Understanding Prophecy

1.      The Golden Rule of Interpretation

When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense. (David L Hooper – the Golden Rule of Interpretation)

Therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicates clearly otherwise.

2.      The Law of Double Reference

The Law of Double Reference is the principle of associating similar or related ideas, which are usually separated from one another by long periods of times, and which are blended into a single picture like the blending of pictures by a stereopticon.  That is, one passage of scripture dealing with one event or one person at a particular time may be followed immediately by a passage dealing with a different event or person and time, with little indicating a gap between them.

A good example of this law may be found in Isaiah 11:1-5. Verses one and two refer to the First Coming of the Messiah and verses three through five tell of the second time He comes to earth.

3.      The Law of Recurrence

The Law of Recurrence involves the recording of an event and the repetition of the account which gives added details.  This principle may be illustrated by the artist who “blocks out the portrait” of a person at the first sitting and adds details at subsequent sittings.

Example Genesis 1:1 – 2:25

Chapter 1:1 – 2:3 gives the ordered account of the creation, including creation of humans. Chapter 2 back-tracks and provides greater details around the creation of humans, and in particular Adam and Eve.

Example:  Ezekiel 38:1 - 39:16

Chapter 38 gives the complete account of the coming invasion of Israel by Russia and the subsequent destruction of the Russian army in Israel.  Chapter 39 then repeats the account from the beginning giving additional details.

4.      A Text Apart from its Context is a Pretext

A rule that if not followed will certainly derail you – your interpretation will be false.

Note

Some may add a rule called the “law of double fulfilment” where it is said one passage may have a near and a far view; hence, in a way, it may be fulfilled twice. This is rule is not valid, would cause utter confusion and lead to an incorrect interpretation of Scripture. The Law of Double Reference should not be muddled with the view that a passage could be interpreted as having a “double fulfilment”.

Appendix: Further Notes

These were provided by Alice A Anacioco on the website https://biblical-christianity.com (see references below)

1. Prophecy needs to be studied as a whole not in isolated parts

Context is everything and this is especially so with prophecy. For instance Revelation ties together at least 550 portions of the Old Testament thus interpretation if the prophecies in Revelation requires an in-depth knowledge of the Old Testament. 

If you find someone who says that the Bible disagrees with itself, it is usually because they have taken a text (verse) out of context.

Thus, all prophecies need to be studied as whole: the Antichrist is mentioned in Daniel 11:36-45, but you must start reading from Daniel 10:1 to put this into context.

2. Context includes cultural and historical aspects

Like interpreting any Scripture, you need to understand the intended meaning of the author, which means knowing that author’s cultural and historical context.

For example, the prophets of the Old Testament lived in a time of great chaos, politically, militarily and economically as the powers of Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and Persia followed by the Romans waxed and waned. Israel sat in the middle of this tumult and God used it to deal with His people who were unfaithful to Him.

3. Grammar is important when interpreting prophecies

Grammar is important! Use the standard rules of grammar to interpret prophecy, and indeed any portion of Scripture. This may mean understanding the use of certain words or phrases at the time the author penned the prophecy; these words all have a particular meaning in that particular context. This is the way Jesus and other New Testament authors interpreted the Old Testament.

4. Learn about the book that contains the prophecy is about

Ask why did the author wrote the book (or portion of book, as some books cover large periods of time; how do the events in the book tie together)? Who was it written to? And Why?

What is the main theme of the book? Why did the author write of this theme?

Use study aids to familiarise you with the book.

5. Use the correct context of the prophecy you are studying

To correctly interpret a particular prophecy you need to find out why such a prophecy was provided. For instance, was it provided to herald the arrival of the Messiah, or to warn against further idolatry, as in the case of Israel?

6. Symbols or symbolism are explained in Scripture – find where these introduced or explained earlier in Scripture

The Bible explains itself – but you need to find where the explanation is. This may also need knowing about the use of certain words in the context of the time of writing, as these change constantly.

7. Use other prophecies that parallel the one you are studying to aid understanding

Often more than one prophecy about an event has been given; read all of these together, for example about the coming of the Messiah. They may also parallel each other in relation to people groups, such as prophecies against Israel, and against Judah; their histories provide the context. Within a book they might parallel each other for example the subject matter of Daniel 2 parallels the subject matter of Daniel 7.

8. Use the literal interpretation unless it is obviously a symbol or interpreted as such

This rule has been broken to the extent that vast portions of Christendom believe false doctrines.

Always start with the plain meaning of the text, unless it is obvious that symbols, or other literacy devices are in use, such as found in the poetry of Psalms.

That is, there must be clear unequivocal evidence in the context that some particular word is being used in some other sense than its literal natural meaning. You need to do this to determine symbolic versus literal meanings, especially in prophecy.

9. Literally interpret animals, plants, colours and numbers literally unless the author reveals that they are approximations by using words such as like, as, or about.

The prophets are describing often some very fantastic visions, or visions they cannot possibly interpret in the context of when which they live. John would not possibly be able to describe warfare of the 21^st century or beyond found Revelation so he uses symbols. Furthermore, the splendour (or evilness) of some sights were much greater than the language of author – they turned to symbolism. We see this often in Ezekiel and Revelation

“And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stones in appearance” (Revelation 4:3)

“The first living creature was like a lion” (Revelation 4:7)

“And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire” (Revelation 15:2)

10. If a prophecy has not been completely fulfilled in the past, assume it will be fulfilled in the future

A partial fulfilment, like the foretaste of the kingdom experienced by Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration of Christ, makes the future fulfilment of the prophecies relating to the kingdom all the more sure. This is Peter’s point in 2 Peter 1:19-20.

References

Further notes reference: https://biblical-christianity.com/guidelines-in-interpreting-bible-prophecy (27 October 2025)