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When a true prophet says something about the future, at some point, it must be fulfilled. This raises the question of how the concept of fulfillment works. In cases of non-symbolic prophecy, it is often easy to identify the fulfillment, as when Jesus said he would rise from the dead. The concept of fulfillment is not always so straightforward, however. One reason is that—as we noted in Answer 5—a symbol can have more than one meaning and thus be fulfilled in more than one way. In Revelation, the …

Even read merely as a piece of literature, the parable of the prodigal son is starkly beautiful. But when read as the word of God, it bears the power of eternal salvation to those who read it with an open heart.A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father: “Father, give me the portion of the substance that falls to me.” And he divided his substance to them. And not many days later, the younger son, gathering everything together, went abroad into a far country; and …

The Bible can be intimidating.It’s a big, thick book—much longer than most books people read. It’s also ancient. The most recent part of it was penned almost 2,000 years ago. That means it’s not written in a modern style. It can seem strange and unfamiliar to a contemporary person. Even more intimidating is that it shows us our sins and makes demands on our lives.No wonder some people hesitate to take the plunge and start reading the Bible!But each of the things that can make it intimidating is …