I am emphasizing these principles because they provide the basis for making a sound analysis of unfulfilled prophecies. Many people treat unfulfilled prophecy as if it were written directly to them and to their own time and circumstances. They forget that when God gave the prophecy He did not use the language of their day but the language of the prophet’s past. I cannot underestimate the importance of this principle. When you study a book like Revelation, the content concerns the prophet’s future, but the language is the language of the prophet’s past. We should not expect a point by point correspondence between every detail of the prophecy and its fulfillment.

This last assertion is clearly illustrated in another passage from the book of Isaiah, one that is often used in conjunction with the book of Revelation.
“Behold, I will create new heavens
and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.”
Isaiah 65:17-19

Most people think of this passage as a description of our future. In fact, the book of Revelation actually uses this text to talk about the New Jerusalem that God has prepared for His people. But here in Isaiah, God is talking about the Exile and the Return. Some of the language has taken on an extended meaning over time (confirmed by inspiration), but when Isaiah writes he’s talking about the Exile and the Return. If you read the chapter in context, you will see that it doesn’t talk about eternal life and heaven, but rather about people living longer lives on this earth.
“Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth;
he who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.”
Isa 65:20

This is not a description of heaven the way the Revelator sees it (Rev 21:4)! Heaven as we understand it doesn’t include death. But as a description of the mighty things God plans to do when they return from Exile, this text makes sense. In other places Isaiah has described the Exile in the language of the Exodus. But aspects of God’s future mighty act are so great they can only be described in the language of Creation. Remember the principle of spiritualizing the type? Using the language of Creation doesn’t mean that Isaiah is describing the very end of earth’s history– creation language was also used in the description of the Exodus (Exod 14:21-22). In this case the language of creation describes what will take place after the exile to Babylon.

Daniel. You may be thinking, “OK. I see your point when it comes to Isaiah. But isn’t Revelation an apocalyptic book, more like Daniel? Surely in these types of books the prophet speaks directly about the future. He’s not speaking to his time and place but to our time and place. Shouldn’t we read those books differently than the other prophets?” A fair question. But a look at the evidence suggests that even in apocalyptic passages like Daniel 7 the language of the past is used to describe the future. In Daniel’s vision the sequence of future kingdoms is described in the language of creation.

“Daniel said, ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea’” (Daniel 7:2). Does the language of the winds blowing over the sea sound familiar? We’ve seen similar language already in Genesis 1:2. The vision of Daniel 7 begins with an echo of the chaotic waters before creation. Then after Daniel’s description of a series of animals we come to a fascinating statement in verses 13-14:
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14
The highlighted language reminds us of Adam’s dominion over the creatures of the earth (Gen 1:26-28). That dominion was exercised when he named the animals (Gen 2:19-20). So in Daniel 7, as in other Old Testament prophets, the language of creation is applied to the prophet’s future: winds churning on the sea, animals appearing, and a son of man (a second Adam) who is given dominion over these animals. So Daniel 7 describes the future history of the world as a new creation of God. Once again the language of the past is used to describe the future.

What excites me about this reading of Daniel 7 is that this prophecy made perfect sense at the time Daniel was writing. God’s people were right in the middle of the Exile at that time. Daniel and his people were captives in Babylon. How would Daniel view the animals in Daniel 7? They represented the nations who were oppressing the people of God. These nations are portrayed as vicious, ravenous beasts.

So what was the message of the vision to Daniel and his people? Something like this. “Just as Adam had dominion over the animals after creation, so the Son of man will have dominion over these nations that were oppressing you and your people.” The message of Daniel 7, in other words, was that God was still in control. The world seemed out of control because wicked nations were doing evil things to the people of God. But God’s people were not to be discouraged. God had not lost control of the situation, in spite of appearances.

Remember the principle that God meets people where they are? We see that very clearly in Daniel 7. God gives a message to Daniel about the future of the world. But His purpose was also to assure Daniel that He was in control of the present circumstances as well. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a vision similar to Daniel’s with a similar interpretation. But there was one major difference. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the nations of the world were symbolized by an idol. That makes sense because Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king, to him the nations of the world were shining examples of the gods they worshiped. These nations were something to be excited about. But to Daniel these same nations were vicious, ravenous beasts who were hurting his people. God gave the same message to each “prophet” in terms they would understand. When God reveals the future, He uses the language of the prophet’s past. God meets people where they are. We should not, therefore, expect point by point fulfillment of every detail, even in apocalyptic prophecy.