There are many reasons given to not study prophecy. I hear them all — it is confusing, it’s complicated, we weren’t meant to know it, or there are more important things we should be concerned about. I do agree with that last one sharing the Gospel is more important, but it is important that we have a grasp on what Scripture says about the coming future.

Just think, wouldn’t it has been helpful if those on earth when Jesus was here in flesh knew more about the prophecies concerning Jesus? I think it would have been. Maybe they would have believed, they would have savored his short time with them, and theoretically maybe they wouldn’t have crucified him. At least the Jews would have been left out of causing the crucifixion. It would have been greatly helpful for their life then and for eternity.

And they can’t use the line that it wasn’t meant for them to know it.

It is estimated there are over three hundred and fifty prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. If they knew only a few then they could have put it together. They could have realized what Peter proclaimed, “You are the Christ.”

One prophecy in Daniel 9 says that the Messiah would be “cut-off” 483 years after one of the decrees given in the return of Israel from Babylon. This alone should have put the Jews in the ballpark if they took prophecy to heart. They could have been looking earnestly at the time Jesus appeared.

Another was that He was to be preceded by one “preparing the way”. John the Baptist did this before there very eyes.

Of course another was that He would be born in Bethlehem. Why didn’t someone ask Him where He was born?

If the people of Jesus’ day knew prophecy then they could have been aware that He was the Messiah.

If we don’t know the warnings of His return then we too could be deceived.

Prophecy is not as confusing as we make it. One of the problems out there is that there is so much material to weed through. Not all sermons, study tools, commentaries, and other resources are created equal. Some of the confusion from your study and with the messages bouncing around in your head that you have heard are because they are apples and oranges. Actually in the case of biblical end-time prophecy it is best said that there are apples, oranges, and bananas.

There are three main interpretations of the “layout” of biblical prophecy. There are variations of each of the three, but if you can learn to recognize and work within these three your understanding of prophecy will become clearer.

For your own study and understanding of prophecy you need to decide which of the three you espouse and study from that interpretative framework. Also when you are studying or listening to a message you need to recognize which of the three views the author or preacher espouses.

The three views are based off of two things the Millennium and the Second Coming of Jesus. The Second Coming of Jesus is when He “touches down” on earth physically. The millennium is the 1,000 year rule of Jesus on earth that is explained in Revelation chapter 20. A straight forward, literal reading of the passage explicitly says that Satan will be bound for a 1,000 years as Jesus rules from Jerusalem. Then after that 1,000 years Satan would be let loose for a short time. Although this is the only Scripture passage that mentions the 1,000 year time frame, it is not the only passage about Jesus ruling on earth. Almost all of the Old Testament prophecies wrote about the Messiah establishing a kingdom on earth and ruling from Jerusalem.

Here are the views:

1. Premillennialism

The prefix is the key to remembering this term. “Pre” means before. So this terms says that Jesus would return before the millennium. This view also   states that there will be a literal, physical millennium kingdom. Jesus would physically rule from Jerusalem. This is the predominant view of present day evangelicalism. It seems to have been the view of the early Christians. There are two main variations of the view Classical Premillennialism and Dispensational Premillennialism.

2. Postmillennialism

Again the prefix is the key to remembering this term. “Post” means after.      So this terms says that Jesus would return after the millennium. This view says that we are currently living in the millennium. Proponents of this view differ in the view of the time frame of the millennium some still believe it is a literal 1,000 years while some believe it is an undetermined amount of time. Both sides do agree that that Jesus rules spiritually through the church, and that the spread of the church and Christian values will bring about the promised peace written about in Revelation 20 and elsewhere in Scripture. This view became popular in the 17^th century. It began to wane during the World Wars, but can still be found today. Some would argue that the millennium hasn’t even started and is still to come, but Jesus would not return until  Christianity ruled the world.

3. Amillennialism

Again the prefix is the key to remembering this term, but unlike the     previous two interpretative views this prefix does not apply to the return of   Jesus, but rather the existence of the Millennium. “A” means not. So this term states that there will be no 1,000 year rule of Jesus. Proponents still       believe Jesus would return, but they see Revelation 20 as being only symbolic.

For one to begin to understand end-time prophecy they have to select an interpretive view to follow. But let me be clear it is not a buffet where any view is fine — just pick one. The interpretative view must arise from the text itself. So you need to take seriously which view you espouse. You need to let Scripture itself show how it should be interpreted. If the particular passage or biblical book does not give clear direction then it needs to be interpreted like other prophecy passages.

So seek the Lord and study on how the text should be interpreted and prayerfully discern the end-time prophecy layout. Recognize what view the preacher you are listening to is following or the author you are reading — it is important to know if you are studying an apple, orange, or banana.