Where, then, do true propheciers originate, and who can interpret them? The apostle Peter wrote: "No prophecy of Scripture springs from any private interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20) The Greek word for "interpretation" has the meaning "solution, disclosure," with the idea that "what is thus released or loosed was before bound." Thus, the Amplified New Testament renders Peter's words: "No prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of any personal . . . loosening."
Pictire a sailor skillfully tying a rope into a complicated knot. What it is complete, the layman can see the strands going into the knot, but he is not sure how to loosen it. Similarly, people can observe current trends leading to a future bound up with complexity, but they are unsure of how that future will unravel or turn out.
The inspired prophets of old, such as Daniel, did not personally analyze the current trends of their time and tjhen attempt to unravel a complicated future by utterling a prophecy. If they had tried to force the future to unfold in this way, such prophesying would have origninated in their imagination. It would have been a human prediction, a forecast built upon an imperfect foundation. Instead, Peter went on to explain: "Prophecy was at no time brought by man's will, but men spoke from God as they were borned along by holy spirit." - 2 PETER 1:21.
Next time: Who Can Interpret Prophecy? -"Interpretations Belong to God"
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