Gilberto, At 10:28 AM 12/21/2004, you wrote: >>So all of this isn't really independent confirmation. It all just depends on >>how you read the Biblical prophecy.<<
`Abdu'l-Baha was reported to have said: "The texts of the Holy Books are all symbolical, needing authoritative interpretation." -- Promulgation of Universal Peace, p.220 What do they symbolize? IMO, they symbolize the meanings in the minds of God, the writer, or the interpreter. In other words, prophecies, like all scriptural texts, whether their contents are clearly stated or ambiguous, have no independent "meaning." >>And over the centuries different groups have read the exact same prophecies >>and used them to predict the end of the world many different times. The Beast >>has been identified with everyone from Nero to the Pope to Luther to Hitler >>to Ronald Regan.<< And they continue to do so. Full preterists believe that prophecies *prove* that Christ returned once and for all in 70 AD. Partial preterists believe they demonstrate that Christ returned in 70 AD and will return again in the future. Premillennialists, or futurists, argue that most biblical prophecies are fulfilled in the times immediately preceding the millennium. Historicists contend that prophecies have had a gradual fulfillment. The meanings are in the minds of the interpreters, not in the texts. With regards, Mark A. Foster * 15 Sites: http://markfoster.net "Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger" -- Abbie Hoffman __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
