旧约研究6——他赐给我们先知 HGP——第一课   基本的释经学角度

• 目录

• 一、介绍

• 二、我们的困惑

• 困惑的源头

• 先知的书

• 教会

• 困惑的结果

• 欺骗

• 冷漠

• 三、先知的经历

• 精神状态

• 默示

• 机械的默示

• 有机的默示

• 理解力

• 四、原始意义

• 流行的解经法

• 不连贯说

• 不顾历实说

• 合宜的解经法

• 文字情境

• 历史情境

• 五、新约的视角

• 权威

• 预言的经卷

• 预言的意图

• 应用

• 先知的期望

• 先知的成全

• 六、总结

一、引言

我的一个朋友曾经告诉我，「理查，如果你想教会人数增多，你只要举行一次《圣经》预言会议，又告诉大家耶稣很快就要回来了。」当我去看一看基督教书店和基督教电视节目的时候，我相信他这样说是对的。许多人听见预言就很兴奋，因为他们相信旧先知告诉他们耶稣很快就要回来了。

多数基督徒不注意旧约的预言，但是当他们注意一下的时候，他们就立刻想到基督再来和其它与世界末日有关的事情。许多不同宗派的基督徒领袖鼓励人在每页先知著作中寻找这些主题。虽然我们几乎自然地倾向思想这些题材，然而在这些课文中，我们要采取一种更认真的方法去看旧约的预言，就如先知们自己所用的方法那样。当我们这样做的时候，我们就会发现先知有更多话要说，多得我们无法想象。

我们称这一课为『基本的释经学角度』，因为我们将要分辨释经学上或诠释学上的考虑因素，我们若要负责任地处理《圣经》的预言，我们必须充分地掌握这些因素。这开头的一课将划分成四个部份：我们对旧约预言的困惑，然后我们将看三个帮助我们清除困惑的题目；先知经验的本质；寻找原本意义的重要性，最后；新约看旧约预言的角度。让我们首先看看我们的困惑。

二、我们的困惑

你有没有注意到，许多基督徒熟悉某一部分的《圣经》比另一些部分要好吗？在旧约中，五经的故事是非常熟悉的。主动读《圣经》的人都知道约书亚和士师们，有些信徒什至对撒母耳记，列王纪和历代志等书了解什多。但是，如果有人问：「以赛亚书是关于什么的？」或者问：「那么西番雅书又是怎么样的书？」「哈该书不是一本兴奋刺激的书吗？」好了，我们都变得哑口无言了，因为我们对这些书卷的认识只有那么一点点。甚至牧师和其它基督徒教师都倾向于避免仔细地解释旧约先知书，因为这部分的《圣经》对他们来说是如此的混淆不清。

在我们开始研究旧约的预言的时候，我们要看看我们令我感到混乱的地方，这是十分重要的。我们将会问两个基本的问题：「混乱的来源是什么？」和「这种混乱带来的结果是什么？」让我们先看看我们许多人感到旧约预言十分混乱的原因。

困惑的源头

至少有两件事情导致许多基督徒对这部分的《圣经》有问题。首先，先知书本身；其次，教会中的不和谐。

先知的书

我们要面对事实，先知书大概是《圣经》中最难掌握的部分。许多基督徒连读先知的名字都有困难，更不要说去理解他们说的是什么了。先知书的内容往往使我们十分困惑，它们似是互不相连，一节经文与下一节之间似是连结不起来。先知讲话又好似在出谜语和难题。有时候他们的话对我们来说，根本看不出个所以然。

如果这还不够的话，我们还可以加上我们对《圣经》这个时期的历史事件知道得不多。各国的王，各个国家，一次又一次的战争，和其它事件是那么的复杂，简直把我们搞得晕头转向。多数基督徒读旧约先知书的时候，他们感到好像进入了陌生的异国土地。街道标志变得没意思。习俗又是那么的古怪。正因为先知书本身所呈现的困难，所以我们都茫茫然不知去向了。

教会

我们感到困惑的第二个主要的原因是：教会。基督教会在许多方面都有美好和谐的教导。但是，当要解释旧约预言的时候，就根本说不上和谐，只能说是分歧甚多。你听见过各种辩论。你属哪一派呢？是前千禧年派时代主义者吗？你相信灾难前被提、灾难中被提、或是灾难后被提呢？你是前千禧年派或是历史的前千禧年派？又或者你是或称悲观或乐观的无千禧年派呢？我们去听一个宗派所说的，会发现其他所有人都是错的。我们到另一个群体去，听见的又与前者相反。虽然福音派在信仰的基要上能够有认同，但是当谈到预言的时候，就根本没有一致的看法。教会在先知书的诠释上是如此的有分歧，以至于当我们看这些经文的时候就难以有信心了。

困惑的结果

我们内心深处的困惑导致了一些令人遗憾后果。我至少能够想到两个主要的后果，是由于我们对这部分《圣经》的混乱感觉而造成的：(1)欺骗；(2)漠不关心。

欺骗

欺骗的事情经常在我们周围发生。教会中有这么多分歧和混乱，导致一些所谓的『预言专家』跑出来把秩序变为混乱。他们四出教导他们的主张，似是有绝对肯定的把握。

我想起了几个欺骗的例子。在近数十年，不计其数的书藉和教师认为以色列在1948立国，是标志了基督再来之前的最后世代。这说法曾被广泛地被教导，基督必定会在1948年以后的第一个40年世代之内回来。「以色列回到属他们的土地后的一个世代，基督就要迎接他的教会。这段时间只有一个世代那么长，《圣经》说这世代是四十年。」

好了，四十年过去了，什么事都没有发生。我们也许希望1988过去之后，这种猜测就会停止，可是没有。当年日过去，预言专家把注意力转到别的地方去，他们现在声称公元2000年会带我们来到世代终结的门槛。期望又再狂热起来，甚至连杂志和小报都告诉我们启示已经在望了。所有的征兆都在指向末期。他们告诉我们每一宗时事、每场战争、每次地震、每次经济危机，都向我们表示旧约有关基督再来的预言快要实现了。当然，许多这些预言会议的实际应用是：「买我的书吧。」「奉献给我的事工吧。」不幸地是，基督徒十分容易被这些所谓『专家』所骗，数以万计的人从一个解释跳到另一个解释去，因为我们不懂得怎样了解先知书。

冷漠

被骗只是我们对旧约预言感到困惑的其中一个结果。我们见到的另一个结果，是很多时候我们对于了解这部份《圣经》变得漠不关心。许多基督徒在处理预言的时候似乎经历好几个阶段。起初，他们是满怀热情的。他们听见某人教导先知书，或者在参加有关会议和读了谈论有关先知的书籍后十分兴奋。但是，不久之后，这些信徒会发现自己身处在危机之中，因为结果他们老师告诉他们的并没有成为事实。在许多情况之下，这些基督徒最终会变得极为冷漠。他们对了解这部分《圣经》不再抱有期望了。

这样的事正发生在我身上，那时候我在念高中。我是个刚信主不久的基督徒，我所有的老师都告诉我，「理查，耶稣快要回来了。」因此，我甚至放弃了读大学的想法。幸而我发现他们错了，我立即继续过我的生活，并且做我想做的事。可是，我变得对旧约预言漠不关心。我对自己说：「我不可能了解这部分《圣经》，我就只处理我能了解的那部分算了。」让我告诉你，我所到的每处地方，我都碰见对旧约预言漠不关心的基督徒。

我恐怕今天许多信徒对旧约预言是漠不关心的。他们已经放弃了去尝试明白这部分的《圣经》，因为他们厌倦了一次又一次的失望，也厌倦了一次又一次地被骗。我说不清我曾经听见过多少位牧师说：「不要管预言那部分，反正你是永远不会了解这些预言的。」就这样，我们干脆忘掉这部分《圣经》算了。

好了，是时候改变这个情况了。我们需要学习旧约的预言，这样我们就不会被『教义的无定向风』所骗。同时，我们必须学习预言，这样就能避免对预言漠不关心。神把预言包括在《圣经》里，并不是要我们忽略它不看不理。他把这部分的《圣经》给我们好叫我们受益，其好处是数之不尽的。我们不应该满足于停留在对预言无知或迷茫的状态里。

我相信我们都认同旧约预言的这些问题，现在我们必须要问另一个问题。我们究竟需要明白什么才能避免这些问题，增加我们对旧约预言的理解呢？

我们必须探索至少三个方面才能避免受骗和出现漠不关心的态度。我们要知道先知经历的性质。我们必须重申预言原来意义的重要性。我们也需要对新约怎样处理旧约预言有较佳的理解。由于这三个题目十分重要，因此，我们将在这一系列的课程中逐一处理这些题目。我们暂时先简单地介绍一些初步的概念。

三、先知的经历

让我们首先看看一位旧约先知的经历。如果我们希望比较负责任地处理旧约预言，我们就不能不仔细地看先知的经历。有什么事发生在这些从神而来的使者身上呢？当他们宣讲神的话的时候，他们经历的是什么？当我读到和听到人们谈论先知的时候，首先出现的是他们对先知经历的误解，这些误解有三方面。许多基督徒误会了先知属灵状态。我们也误会了神启示先知说话的方式。。我们往往对于旧约先知所明白的事情没有正确的理解，我们不明白他们是如何理解自己的话。

精神状态

首先，许多学习《圣经》的人认为先知接受预言的时候，实际上是发疯了。这些先知被神的灵控制了，使他们失去了自觉意识。他们进入了癫狂的神志失常的状态之中，就象迦南的先知巴力，以及古代和现代其它宗教的先知那样。

不管这种对先知的看法何等的普遍，它与《圣经》的证据并不相符合。我认为我们可以确定是有时候当旧约先知从神那里看见或听见一些讯息的时候，他们的确是十分震惊的。以西结在以西结书第8章里，被神的灵抓着头发，把他从巴比伦带到上百哩以外的耶路撒冷圣殿去，我们实在难以想象以西结当时的精神状态如何。但是就算在这情况之下，以西结没有完全地失去自制能力，他并没有发疯。当我们读这部份的以西结书时，我们反而发现他能够清醒地与神沟通。就算在不寻常的情况之下，旧约先知仍然保持警觉，清楚知道神向他们启示了他的话。

默示

对先知经历的第二种普遍误解，是他们接受神启示的方式。

机械的默示

不幸地是，许多基督徒对旧约先知所抱的态度，是他们都是机械性地接受启示的。我们把先知看成为仅仅是口述记录机。当以赛亚讲话的时候，他只是在让神移动他的嘴唇。当阿摩司讲道的时候，是神把每个字从他的口中逼出来的。我们知道在考虑《圣经》其它部分的时候不用这种看法，但是，当我们处理旧约先知的时候，我们往往把他们看成为接受启示的被动仪器；只是神的机械喉舌。

有机的默示

与这种对启示的普遍看法相对比的，是我们将在以下课程中采用的『有机式启示』(Organic Inspiration)的看法。我们相信圣灵启示先知的著作，好叫其中没有错误。但是同时，我们知道当神启示经文的时候，他使用了作者的个性、想法和立场。我们在新约中看到这是事实。保罗的书信反映了他的个性和背景。我们也可识别四本福音书因作者的写作动机和目的之间的差异而不同。在类似的情况下，神在启示先知的时候，使用了先知的个性、经验和写作动机。如果我们希望了解旧约预言，我们必须摒弃对他们的经历作机械的理解，而应开始寻求神向这些完全的、具有思想的人启示自己的方式。

理解力

我们对先知经历存有误解的同时，我们也不知道先知究竟听懂了多少他们自己所说的话。实际上，大多数基督徒好像把先知看成是无知的，或者无法了解自己说的是什么。例如，如果有人叫阿摩司停下来，问他：「你刚才说的话是什么意思？」大多数基督徒会认为阿摩司必定作这样的回应：「我不知道我正在说什么，我只知道我在说神要我说的话。」

然而，与这误解相反的，是《圣经》教导我们说，先知是具备理解力的，他们非常清楚自己说的是什么。例如，在但以理书12:8中，但以理坦白地说：「我听见这话，却不明白。」但是我们必须小心辩明但以理是什么意思。他一边继续与主谈话，一边解释说：

你看，但以理明白、了解他听见的和写了下来的事情；他懂得所用的词汇；他懂得所用的语法，这些毕竟都是他的话。但是，他并不明白一切。他承认不知道这预言将要怎样实现。

同样情况下，彼得前书1:11告诉我们，旧约先知是明白他们说的话，只是他们不全了解他们说的话的意思。彼得说旧约先知尝试

换句话说，彼得说旧约先知并不知道预言中的时间和其中的细节，但是他一点都没有暗示他们完全不理解自己所说的话。先知们明白大部份自己所说的话。先知不是无知的，他们对神的方式有极大的洞察力。

我们对旧约先知的经历有许多误解，而我们只谈了三种误解：他们的精神状态；他们的启示；他们对自己所说的预言的领悟。如果我们希望能够正确地了解预言，我们必须谨记先知是有意识地，有组织地领受启示，他们明白大部分自己所说的话。如果我们记住这些要点，那么我们去解释旧约预言的时候就能获益不浅。

对先知的经历有了这个定位之后，我们就能够转向第二个基本的释经学角度：预言原来意思的重要性。

四、原始意义

从宗教改革的时候开始，福音派信徒总相信我们必须先发掘一段经文的原来意思，然后顺服于那原来意思的权柄之下。当我们读《圣经》其它部份的时候，我们十分乐意这样做。可是，当我们处理旧约预言的时候，我们就忘记了这项基本的释经学原则。我们要（看）通过两件事来探讨这个做法。第一是普遍的释经方法，然后是正确的旧约先知书释经法。首先，让我们看看一些解释旧约预言原来意思时被广泛采用的方法。

流行的解经法

今天无论你到哪里，你都会见到诚实的基督徒在解释先知书时，都很少注意到先知所存的原来意思。这些普遍的方法至少表现出两个特点：

不连贯说

我们说普遍的释经学是『不连贯的』，我们指的是什么呢？一般来说基督徒读先知书的时候，会把先知书看成为一系列松散地连接着的预言汇集。我们一般都不会仔细地通读先知书的大部分经文，反之，我们常常满足于只集中在一句引人注意的经文，或一些特别的字句之中。有时候会我们会研究几节经节，对大多数读旧约先知书基督徒来说，这大概是一段颇长的经文了。以不连贯的方法去读旧约预言是绝对行不通的。

不顾历实说

令人悲哀地是，大多数福音派基督徒对先知的历史背景也是漠不关心的。他们不把注意力集中在作者身上，也不考虑旧约预言中原来的听众所身处的情况和他们的需要。预言反而被看成是空罐子，等待我们填入意思。我们看不见这些罐子其实已经填满了原来的意思。相反，我们却以当今事件的意思去为预言提供意义。我们（会注意）观看我们的世界里所发生的事，然后寻求以当前的历史事件去填满预言的空罐子。

记得有一次我在一所很好的欧洲教会中讲学，在答疑的时候，坐在会场后面的一个人举手问我：「你认为切尔诺贝利的大灾难是末世的征兆吗？」我看着我的传译员说：「他真是这样问吗？」传译员说：「是的。」因为『切尔诺贝利』这个字在此人的母语的意思是『苦恼』(wormwood)。并且在耶利米书第23章中，『苦恼』一词与末世联系在一起。这个人所做的是什么呢？他在《圣经》中找到一个字，然后把这个字与他的经验连结在一起，结果，他搞出了末世征兆这个名堂来。我们不但把自己的想法读到《圣经》之中，我们更是不连贯地读它，又不关心旧约先知书的历史背景，我们该怎么办呢？

把自己的意思读到旧约预言中是非常普遍的现象，因为很多时候我们是以『不连贯』的方式读这些经文的，又没有关心到作者和听众的历史背景。我们若忽略了经文的原来意思，我们很难不把自己的想法读入这些经文之中。

合宜的解经法

只有一种方法能改正这读旧约预言的普遍方式，这方法就是要发展对这些经文原来意思的适当关心。在多方面来看，我们要做的就是采用解释《圣经》的基本原则，就如我们解释其他部份的《圣经》那样。我们要以『语法历史释经法』去发现预言的原来意思。这是防止我们把自己的意思倾注给先知的唯一防线。

『语法历史性』一词所建议的，是我们必须集中于以两个元素去发现原来的意思。首先，我们必须要看预言的语法，并集中去看著作的上下文。其次，我们必须关注原作者和听众的历史背景。

文字情境

我们在本课中会看到单单集中在片言只字上是不够的，正如普遍被采用的不连贯方式那样是行不通的。我们必定要学会怎么处理大段的材料、章节、书卷的部分，或甚至是整本先知书。

例如，我们也许对在以赛亚书7:14中的著名预言有兴趣：

基督徒往往只满足于注意几个关键的字句，如『童女』和『生子』。这种做法令他们感到非常舒服，他们自以为已经明白了这段经文的意思了。

历史情境

除了要看一个预言较广的上下文之外，适当的释经法也包括了在预言的历史背景之内去读预言。我们必须考虑作者和听众。大多数基督徒读预言的时候，往往把经文看成好像是悬浮在无时间限制的空间里那样。但是，语法历史释经法要求我们把这些预言放回地上。我们要问这些问题：「是谁写这些话的呢？」「这些话是什么时候写的呢？」「他是写给谁的呢」「他为什么写这些话呢？」

例如，当要研究以赛亚书7:14的时候，我们不应该把这些话想成为一堆漂浮在天堂的话，只在等待耶稣诞生的时候登陆地球。我们必须实际地看这句经文。我们必须记得我们在读一段描述以赛亚与犹大王亚哈斯说的话。我们要问这样的问题：「以赛亚为什么对亚哈斯说这些话呢？」「当时是怎样的情况呢？」「这些话的目的是什么？」只有当我们考虑这段经文的历史位置时，我们才能有希望正确地了解它。

因此，我们必须拒绝采用解释旧约先知书的普遍方法，这方法是不连贯的，也是不顾史实的。反之，我们要努力通过语法历史释经法去发现经文的原来意思。一旦我们了解预言的原来意思，我们就有一个稳固的防线去帮助我们了解如何在今天应用此预言。

到目前为止，我们看了克服旧约先知书混乱状态的两个层面，这两个层面是我们必须要学会的：先知的经历；和原来意思的重要性。现在我们要转向第三层，这个层面我们要仔细地探究：新约《圣经》看预言的角度。

五、新约的视角

在我们探究新约看旧约预言的角度的时候，许多问题出现了。我们会在今后的课程中回到这个主题上，现在我们要处理新约的看法的两个层面。首先，新约对先知权柄的看法，第二，新约应用旧约预言的方式。

权威

耶稣和新约使徒经常表示他们完全地顺服在旧约先知的权柄之下。先知的著作在他们看来是有权柄的。他们也认为先知的写作目的是具有权柄的。

预言的经卷

首先，耶稣和他的使徒确认他们是顺服先知经卷的。几乎不言而明，耶稣是忠于当时的《圣经》犹太教教导的。当然，当时犹太教其中一个教导的中心是认为希伯来《圣经》是拥有绝对权威的。因此，耶稣经常确认他的工作是与旧约这圣洁的经书相符合的。例如，在马太福音5:17中，耶稣说：

注意看，耶稣在这里并不只是简单地说他认可摩西的权柄，同时，他也认可了先知著作的权威性。新约中所有作者都这样跟随基督。当他们提及到先知书的时候，总是把它看成为有权柄的经卷。

预言的意图

我们看见了耶稣和他的使徒如何钟爱先知的神圣书卷，同样重要的是，我们要意识到他们也忠于先知起初的写作原意。新约作者不是用武断的方式去了解预言。他们并没有把自己的意思强加到先知身上。他们反而深切的关注如何去发现预言的原来意思，和如何在其上建立稳固的基础。

今天人们有一个非常普遍的想法，他们认为新约作者有神授的权柄去以任何方式解释旧约。但是，这与事实相离甚远。从新约选出来的两段经文将显示新约作者是非常关心旧约预言的原来意思的。

我们在使徒行传2章29至31节中，能看到彼得在众人面前解释的时候，是如何完全地忠于先知的原意。在引述了诗篇16篇的部份经文之后，彼得在第29节中说：

注意彼得没有声称他有权把自己的基督徒想法读到诗篇16篇中。相反地，他根据大卫的经历和大卫的原意去解释大卫的预言。

与以上情况类似的是，使徒约翰也显露了对预言原来意思的深切关注。在约翰福音12章39至40节中，约翰提到以赛亚书第6章中的预言。听听他怎么说：

约翰把这一段以赛亚书应用在耶稣的工作上。听听他如何确认其解释的方式。在接下来的一节，约翰福音12章41节中，他提及到先知的原意。

约翰把他的原意集中于以赛亚的经历上，以及以赛亚希望别人怎样去了解他的话。约翰没有因为要达到自己的目标，而贪方便以自己的方法去解释以赛亚的预言，他反而寻求顺服先知有机式启示的原意。

我们作为基督徒的必须跟随新约作者的榜样。我们不应该仅仅把旧约预言本身看成是权威，我们也必须寻求预言背后的原来意思。

应用

虽然预言的原来意思对耶稣和新约作者来说是十分重要，但是他们不仅仅重覆这些原来的意思。基督和跟随他的人反而专注于把预言应用到他们当时不寻常的事件上。要看这应用过程如何运作，我们需要考虑两点。首先，先知为未来提出了什么样的期望？第二，新约怎么理解这些期望的实现呢？

先知的期望

在这些课程中，我们将会描述旧约对未来所预言的各种盼望和期望。但是现在我们将概括地讨论，目的只为新约的角度提供定位。简单地说，先知知道罪在世界上发泄其怒气，蹂躏全地。就是神的子民也堕落了，神使他们流放在外。但是，尽管罪的后果是这么的可怕，先知仍然盼望神会有一天把一切都变好了。这将来的日子是最后审判的日子，那时邪恶的人要受终极的审判，有信心的人要得到永恒的祝福。先知以各种词句来描述这人类历史的高潮。他们谈到『主的日子』，也提及到『末后的日子』。这伟大的将来是神介入这个世界的时候，他要把一切带到最后的终结。

先知的成全

新约以特别方式来处理这些旧约预言的期望。我们要看他们怎么了解这些期望在基督里的实现。在耶稣和使徒的时代中，许多以色列人相信审判的日子会很快来临，他们期盼弥赛亚的来临，因为弥赛亚要把人类历史带到最高点。总的来说，基督徒接受耶稣作为弥赛亚，因此他就是预言应许的实现。耶稣成为了基督徒理解旧约预言的释经学中心。

耶稣坚持解释先知书的时候必须以基督为中心。他在以马忤斯路上与门徒谈话的时候，强调以基督为中心来解释先知书的重要性。在路加福音24章25和26节中，耶稣说：

耶稣盼望跟随他的人把他看成为旧约预言的实现。因此，下一节经文，路加福音24章27节中这样告诉我们：

注意路加是怎么说的：耶稣解释了所有先知指着他所说的话。新约作者肯定了预言中原来期望的重要性，他们也把这些预言的期望与基督的位格和工作联系起来。

原来，旧约先知设立了盼望的投射、期望的投射。在将来世代中要出现的是重大的审判和祝福。新约《圣经》沿着这道轨迹把它勾勒到未来之中，并发现它在基督第一次来临的时候实现了，在今天属他的国度里实现了，也在这世界终结时基督在荣耀中回来的时候要实现。

我们将在这系列课程中看见新约《圣经》解释基督通过三阶段实现了所有旧约预言的期望：他二千年前在世上所作的工，完成了开启（Inauguration）他国度的大部份工作。在教会整体历史过程中，他国度的延续（Continuation）继续满足旧约的期望。

最后，当基督再来，并带来他国度的成就（Consummation）的时候，他要叫所有预言完全实现。基督的工作的三阶段为新约作者提供了一个释经学模式。他们能够按照这个模式，把所有旧约先知的盼望和期望应用到他们的时代中。

作为跟随基督的人，我们必须学会怎么把旧约预言的期望，应用到基督第一次来临、他国度的延续和基督再来这三方面之上。

六、总结

在这一课简单的介绍中，我们谈及了四个主题，这些主题将会是我们整个旧约预言研究的蓝本。我们要集中于三个主要的释经学角度，这样就能克服《圣经》这部分的混乱感。我们要学习先知的经历。同时我们必须重申肯定预言原来意思的重要性。然后我们要学会怎么以新约的角度去看旧约预言。

在后面的课程中，我们要进一步探索三个基本的释经学角度。首先，我们将看一看先知的经历，接着再看原来意思的重要性。然后，我们最终可以比较仔细地探索新约作者怎样处理旧约预言。当我们看这些不同的题目时，我们将发现一个看预言的角度将会启发教会，并把荣耀带给我们的神。

He Gave Us Prophets: Essential Hermeneutical Perspectives

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INTRODUCTION

I have a friend who once told me, "Richard, if you want a big church, all you have to do is throw a Bible prophecy conference and tell everyone that Jesus is coming back very soon." And as I take a look at Christian bookstores and Christian television, I'm convinced he's right. Lots of people are excited about prophecy because they're convinced that the prophets of old tell them that Jesus is coming back very soon.

Most Christians pay little attention to Old Testament prophecy, but when they do their thoughts run immediately to things like the second coming of Christ and other end-of-the-world events. Christian leaders of many different denominations encourage people to look for these themes on every page of the prophetic writings. Although our minds almost naturally run to these themes, in these lessons we're going to take a much more sober approach to Old Testament prophecy — the approach that the prophets themselves took. And as we do, we'll discover that the prophets had much, much more to say than we can possibly imagine.

We have entitled this lesson, "Essential Hermeneutical Perspectives," because we'll identify the hermeneutical or interpretative considerations which we must all grasp if we're going to handle biblical prophecy responsibly. This opening lesson will divide into four parts — our confusion about Old Testament prophecy; and then we'll look at three topics that will help us overcome this confusion: the nature of a prophet's experience, the importance of finding the original meaning, and finally, New Testament perspectives on Old Testament prophecy. Let's take a look first at our confusion.

OUR CONFUSION

Have you ever noticed how most Christians know some parts of the Bible better than they know others? In the Old Testament, the stories of the Pentateuch are very familiar. Motivated Bible readers know Joshua and Judges, and a few believers even understand a lot about books like Samuel, and Kings and Chronicles. But, as soon as someone asks, "What is Isaiah about?" or "How about that Zephaniah?" "Isn't Haggai a thrilling book?" — well, we're left dumbfounded because we know so little about these books. Even pastors and other Christian teachers tend to avoid careful explanations about Old Testament prophets because they're so confused about this part of the Bible.

As we begin this study of Old Testament prophecy, it's important that we start with a look at our confusion. We'll ask two basic questions: what are the sources of our confusion, and what are some of the results of this confusion. Let's begin with a look at the sources of confusion that so many of us feel about Old Testament prophecy.

Sources of Confusion

There are at least two things that cause many Christians to have problems with this part of Scripture. First, the prophetic books themselves, and second, disharmony in the church.

Prophetic Books

Let's face it, the books of prophecy contained in Scripture are probably the most difficult parts of the Bible to grasp. Most Christians have a hard time even pronouncing the names of some prophets, much less understanding what they said. We're frequently perplexed by the contents of their books. They seem disjointed; one verse doesn't seem to lead to the next, and prophets seem to talk in riddles and in puzzles. And sometimes their words just don't make sense to us at all.

And if this weren't enough, we don't know much about the historical events of this period of the Bible. The kings, nations, wars and other events are so complex that we have a hard time keeping our bearings. When most Christians read Old Testament prophets, they feel as if they've entered into a very strange, foreign land. The street signs don't make sense. The customs are bizarre. And we walk around bewildered because of the difficulties that the prophetic books themselves present.

The Church

There's a second major source of our confusion: the church. The Christian church has wonderful harmony of teaching in so many areas. But, when it comes to interpreting Old Testament prophecy, there is hardly any harmony at all, only disagreement. You've heard the debates — what are you? A premillennial dispensationalist? Do you believe in pre-tribulation rapture or mid-tribulation rapture or post-tribulation rapture? How about becoming a postmillennialist or a historical premillennialist? Or are you a pessimistic or optimistic amillennialist? We go to one denomination and hear that everyone else is wrong. Then we go to another group and hear just the opposite. Although evangelicals agree on the essentials of the faith, there is hardly any agreement among us, when it comes to prophecy. The church has been so divided about the interpretation of the prophets that it is difficult for us to come to these texts with much confidence at all.

Results of Confusion

This deep confusion we feel has led to some regrettable results. I can think of at least two major results from the confusion that we have over of this part of the Bible: victimization and apathy.

Victimization

Victimization happens all around us. There's so much disagreement and confusion that so-called "prophecy experts" rise to bring order to the confusion. They do this by going around and teaching their opinions, as if they were absolutely certain.

Several examples of victimization like this come to my mind. In recent decades, countless books and teachers have said that the establishment of Israel in 1948 marked the last generation before Christ's return. It used to be taught widely that Christ had to return within one forty-year generation after 1948. "Only one generation after Israel returns to the land, the Bible says forty years, and Christ will come back for his church."

Well, forty years have passed and nothing happened. We might have hoped that the passing of 1988 would have stopped the speculations, but it hasn't. As the years have passed by, prophecy experts have turned their attention elsewhere — now they claim that the year 2000 brings us to the threshold of the end of time. Expectations are feverish again — even magazines and tabloids tell us that Apocalypse is just around the corner. All the signs are pointing to the end. They tell us that every current event, every war, every earthquake, every economic trouble, shows us that Old Testament prophecies about the return of Christ are about to be fulfilled. And of course, the practical application of many of these prophecy conferences is this: "Buy my books." "Give money to my ministry." Sadly, Christians are easily victimized by these so-called "experts." Thousands of us bounce from one interpretation to another just because we don't know how to understand prophets for ourselves.

Apathy

Victimization is just one result of our confusion about Old Testament prophecy. There is another result that we can see as well. Many times, we become apathetic about understanding this part of the Bible. Many Christians seem to go through phases in their approach to prophecy. At first, they begin with a lot of enthusiasm. They hear someone teach and they find a lot of excitement in going to conferences and reading books about prophets. But, the next thing you know, these believers find themselves in crisis, because their teachers have told them things that just don't turn out to be true. And in many cases, these same Christians end up with great apathy. They give up on trying to understand this part of the Bible.

That's what happened to me when I was in high school. I was a brand new Christian and all my teachers told me, "Richard, Jesus is coming back very soon." So, I even gave up on the idea of going to college. Happily, I discovered they were wrong very quickly, and I went on and made a life for myself. But I became very apathetic about Old Testament prophecy. I thought to myself, "I can't understand this part of the Bible. I just have to deal with other parts that I can understand." And I have to tell you, everywhere I go, I see Christians who are apathetic about Old Testament prophecy.

I'm afraid that many believers today are apathetic about Old Testament prophecy. They give up on trying to understand this part of the Bible because they're tired of disappointment and they're tired of being victimized. I can't tell you how many pastors I've heard say, "Don't worry about prophecy. You'll never understand it anyway." So, we just forget about this part of the Bible.

Well, it's time to change this situation. We need to learn about Old Testament prophecy so that we will not be victimized "by every wind of doctrine." But, we must also learn about prophecy so we can avoid apathy. God did not include prophecy in the Bible so that we would ignore it. He gave us this part of Scripture so that we could benefit from it in countless ways and we should not be satisfied to remain ignorant or confused about prophecy.

I think we all recognize these problems with Old Testament prophecies, but now we have to ask another question. What kinds of things do we need to understand in order to avoid these problems, in order to increase our knowledge and understanding of Old Testament prophecies? There are at least three major topics that we must explore to avoid victimization and apathy. We need to learn about the nature of a prophet's experience, and we must also reaffirm the importance of the original meaning of prophecies. And we need to gain a better understanding of how the New Testament handled Old Testament prophecies. These three topics are so important that we'll deal with them throughout these lessons. At this point, we will simply introduce some preliminary thoughts.

PROPHET'S EXPERIENCE

Let's take a look first at the experience of an Old Testament prophet. If we ever hope to handle Old Testament prophecy more responsibly we must look carefully at the experience of prophets. What happened to these messengers from God? What did they experience as they announced God's Word? As I have read and listened to people talking about prophets, at least three misconceptions about their experiences have come to the foreground. Many Christians misunderstand the mental state of prophets. We also misunderstand the ways in which God inspired the words of prophets. And we often don't have the right idea about the comprehension of Old Testament prophets, what they understood about their words.

Mental State

In the first place, many students of Scripture act as if the prophets were practically out of their minds when they received their prophecies. The prophets were so overwhelmed by the Spirit of God that they lost their senses. They went into a state of feverish delirium, much like Canaanite prophets of Baal, and other religions of the ancient and modern world.

Now as widespread as this outlook on prophets may be, it does not match up with the evidence of Scripture. I think we can be sure there were times when Old Testament prophets were astonished by what they saw and heard from God. We can only imagine the state of mind Ezekiel must have been in when in chapter 8, the Spirit of God picked him up by his hair and carried him hundreds of miles from Babylon to the temple in Jerusalem. But even in this condition, Ezekiel was not completely beside himself. He did not lose his mind. Instead, when we read this portion of the book of Ezekiel, we find that he was able to interact reasonably with God. Even in dramatic situations Old Testament prophets remained alert and aware as God revealed his Word to them.

Inspiration

A second widespread misconception of the prophet's experience has to do with the ways in which they were inspired by God.

Mechanical Inspiration

Unfortunately, many Christians approach Old Testament prophets as if they were mechanically inspired. We treat the prophets as if they were mere dictation machines. When Isaiah spoke, he merely allowed God to move his lips. When Amos preached, God forced every word through his mouth. We know better than to think this way about other parts of the Bible, but when it comes to Old Testament prophets, we frequently treat them as if they were passive instruments of revelation, mere mechanical mouthpieces of God.

Organic Inspiration

In contrast with this popular way of looking at the inspiration, in these lessons we'll operate with a view called "organic inspiration." We believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the writings of prophets so that they have no errors. But, at the same time, we know that when God inspired the writing of Scripture he used the personalities and the thoughts and the outlooks of human writers. In the New Testament we know this is true. Paul's epistles reflect his personality and background. And we also recognize that the differences among the four gospels result primarily from differences in the human writers' intentions and goals. In much the same way, God used the personalities, the experiences, and the intentions of prophets as he inspired them. If we hope to understand Old Testament prophecy, we must reject a mechanical understanding of their experience and begin to look for the ways God inspired them as full, thinking human beings.

Comprehension

In line with our other misconceptions of prophets' experiences, we often don't have a very good idea of how much prophets understood their words. In fact, most Christians act as if the prophets were ignorant, or unable to understand what they were saying. For instance, if someone had stopped Amos and asked him, "What do you mean by what you're saying?" most Christians think that Amos would have to have responded this way: "I don't know what I'm saying, I just say what God tells me to say."

Well, in contrast with this misconception, the Bible teaches that prophets had understanding. They understood much of what they said. For instance, in Daniel 12:8, Daniel did confess,

I heard but I could not understand (Daniel 12:8, NRSV).

But we have to be careful to discern what Daniel meant. He explained himself as he continued to speak to the Lord,

My Lord, what will be the outcome of these things? (Daniel 12:8).

You see, Daniel understood what he had heard and written; he knew the vocabulary; he knew the grammar — these were his words, after all. But, he did not understand everything. He admitted not knowing precisely how the prophecy would be fulfilled.

In much the same way, 1 Peter 1:11 tells us that Old Testament prophets understood, but they did not understand all that they had said. There, Peter says the prophets of old tried:

… to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing (1 Peter 1:11).

In other words, Peter said that Old Testament prophets remained ignorant of the details of timing and circumstances, but he does not suggest for a moment that they were entirely without understanding of their words. On the contrary, as we will see, prophets were very much aware, they comprehended much of what they were saying. Rather than being ignorant, they had tremendous insights into the ways of God.

There are many misconceptions about the experience of Old Testament prophets, and we have only touched on three: their mental state, their inspiration, and their comprehension of their prophecies. And if we can ever hope to understand prophecy correctly, we must always remember that they were mentally aware, that they were organically inspired and that they comprehended much of what they had to say. If we will remember these things, we can go a long way in interpreting Old Testament prophecy.

With this orientation toward a prophet's experience in mind, we may now turn to a second essential hermeneutical perspective: the importance of the original meaning of a prophecy.

ORIGINAL MEANING

From the time of the Reformation, evangelicals have always believed that we must first discover the original meaning of a passage and then submit ourselves to the authority of that original meaning. Well, when it comes to other parts of the Bible, we're happy to do that, but with Old Testament prophecy, we forget this basic hermeneutical principle. To explore how we do this, we have to look at two different matters. First, popular approaches to exegesis, and then the proper approach to the exegesis of Old Testament prophets.

Let's look first at the very widespread, popular approaches to the original meaning of Old Testament prophecy.

Popular Exegesis

Everywhere you turn today, well-meaning Christians interpret the prophets with very little attention to the original meaning intended by the prophets. These popular approaches may be characterized in at least two ways: they are atomistic, and they are ahistorical.

Atomistic

What do we mean when we say that popular exegesis is atomistic? Well, it's very typical for Christians to read the prophets as collections of loosely connected predictions. Instead of reading carefully through large sections of a prophetic book, we are usually satisfied to focus on a catch phrase, or some special word. At times, a few verses come under consideration, but that's about as large a context as most Christians consider when they read Old Testament prophets. An atomistic approach to Old Testament prophecy simply won't do.

Ahistorical

As sad as it is, most evangelicals also don't concern themselves with the historical context of prophets. They don't focus on the human writer and they don't consider the circumstances and the needs of the original audiences of Old Testament prophecies.

Instead, prophecies are treated as if they were empty canisters just waiting to be filled with meaning. We don't find the original meaning that fills these canisters already. Instead, we supply our own meaning by looking at events in our day. We look at what is happening in our world and we seek to fill up the empty canisters of prophecy with current, historical events.

I remember teaching in a wonderful church in Europe, and during the question and answer time, a fellow in the back of the room raised his hand up and he said, "Do you think that the disaster at Chernobyl is a sign of the end of time?" Well, I looked at my translator and I said, "Did he really say that?" And the translator said, "Sure," because the word "Chernobyl" in this man's language meant "wormwood," and in Jeremiah 23, the word "wormwood" is used and associated with the end of time. Well, what did this fellow do? He had found a word in the Bible and he had associated it with something in his experience and as a result, he came up with a sign of the end of times. Well, what are we to do, except read our own ideas into the Bible, when we read it atomistically and without any concern for the historical context of the Old Testament prophets?

Reading our own meaning into Old Testament prophecy is widespread because so many of us read these texts atomistically and without concern for the historical context of the writer and the audience. When original meaning is ignored, we can do very little but read our own ideas into these Scriptures.

Proper Exegesis

The only way to correct popular approaches to Old Testament prophecy is to develop a proper concern with the original meaning of these texts. In many respects, all we have to do is apply the basic principles of interpretation that we use in other parts of the Bible. The original meaning of prophecy is to be discovered through grammatico-historical exegesis. This is the only anchor that will keep us from pouring our own meanings into the prophets.

As the term "grammatico-historical" suggests, we must focus on two elements to discover the original meaning. First, we must look at the grammar of a prophecy and we do this by focusing on the literary context. And second, we must concern ourselves with the historical context of the original writer and the original audience.

Literary Context

As we will see in these lessons, it is simply not enough for us to focus on a word or two here and there, as popular atomistic approaches do. We have to learn how to handle large sections of material, verses and chapters, sections of books, even whole books of prophecy.

For example, we may be interested in the famous prophecy of Isaiah 7:14:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son (Isaiah 7:14).

Christians are often satisfied simply to notice certain key words — "virgin" and "child," and when they do, they feel very comfortable that they have understood what this passage means.

As much as we may feel comfortable with this approach to Isaiah 7:14, to be responsible with this passage, we must go beyond these few key words to consider the entire context. How does this verse fit within Isaiah 7, and how does it fit within this part of the book of Isaiah? And how does it contribute to the whole purpose and meaning of the book of Isaiah? It is only when we set this one verse within its larger context that we can be sure we have understood it correctly.

Historical Context

In addition to looking at the larger literary context of a prophecy, proper exegesis also includes reading prophecies within their historical context. We must think about the writer and the audience. When most Christians read prophecies, they act as if these Scriptures float in timeless space. But grammatico-historical exegesis requires us to put these prophecies back on earth. We ask questions like these: "Who wrote these words?" "When were they written?" "To whom was he writing?" and "Why were these words written?"

For example, when approaching Isaiah 7:14, we should not think of this as a mere batch of words floating in heaven, simply waiting to touch ground when Jesus was born. We must bring this verse down to earth. We have to remember that we are reading a passage that describes Isaiah speaking to Ahaz, the King of Judah. And then we have to ask questions like these: "Why did Isaiah say these words to Ahaz?" "What were their circumstances?" "What was the purpose?" And it is only by considering this historical setting that we can ever hope to understand this passage correctly.

So, we see that we have to reject popular approaches to Old Testament prophets, which are atomistic and ahistorical, and instead we have to work hard to discover the original meaning through grammatico-historical exegesis. Once we understand the original meaning of a prophecy, then we have a secure anchor that will help us understand how to apply prophecy today.

So far, we have seen two areas that we must learn about to overcome our confusion about Old Testament prophets: the prophet's experience, and the importance of original meaning.

Now we must turn to a third area that needs careful attention — New Testament perspectives on prophecy.

NEW TESTAMENT PERSPECTIVES

When we consider the outlooks of the New Testament on Old Testament prophecy, many issues come to the foreground. We will return to this subject in later lessons, but at this point it will be helpful to deal with two dimensions of New Testament perspectives: First, the New Testament outlook on the authority of the prophets; and second, the ways in which the New Testament applied Old Testament prophecy.

Authority

Jesus and the New Testament apostles often showed that they were fully convinced of the authority of Old Testament prophets. They appealed to the writings of the prophets as authoritative, and they also appealed to the intentions of prophets as authoritative.

Prophetic Scriptures

In the first place, Jesus and his apostles affirmed their submission to the sacred Scriptures of the prophets. It nearly goes without saying that Jesus was faithful to the teachings of biblical Judaism in his day. Of course, one of the central teachings of Judaism of that time was the absolute authority of the Hebrew Bible, and this is why Jesus frequently affirmed that his ministry was in accordance with the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament. For example, in Matthew 5:17, Jesus himself said:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets" (Matthew 5:17).

Notice here that Jesus did not simply say that he recognized the authority of Moses, but he also recognized the authority of the prophetic writings. All the writers of the New Testament followed Christ in this way. They constantly referred to the prophets as authoritative Scriptures.

Prophetic Intentions

As important as it is to see that Jesus and his apostles loved the sacred texts of the prophets, it is just as important for us to realize that they were committed to the original intentions of the prophets as well. New Testament writers were not arbitrary in the ways they understood prophecy. They did not impose their own meanings on prophets. Instead, they were deeply concerned with discovering the original meaning of a prophecy and then building on that solid foundation.

It is very popular today for people to think that New Testament writers had a God-given right to interpret the Old Testament any way they wanted to. But nothing could be further from the truth. Two passages from the New Testament will show that New Testament writers were very concerned with the original meaning of Old Testament prophecies.

We can see this deep commitment to the intentions of prophets in the ways that Peter explains himself in Acts 2:29-31. After quoting part of Psalm 16, Peter says this in verse 29:

Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day, but he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ (Acts 2:29-31).

Notice that Peter did not claim some right to read his own Christian ideas into Psalm 16. On the contrary, he interpreted David's prophetic words in the light of David's experience and David's intentions.

In much the same way, the apostle John also revealed a deep concern with the original meaning of prophecy. In John 12:39-40, John refers to the prophecies of Isaiah 6. Listen to what he says:

As Isaiah says elsewhere: "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn — and I would heal them" (John 12:39-40).

John applied this passage from Isaiah to the ministry of Jesus. But listen to the way he validated his interpretation. In the very next verse, John 12:41, he appealed to the prophet's intentions.

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him (John 12:41).

John focused his attention on the experience of Isaiah and how Isaiah intended for his words to be understood. John did not take Isaiah's prophecy in a way that was convenient for his own goals. Instead, he sought to submit himself to the organically inspired intentions of the prophet.

As Christians, we must seek to follow the example of New Testament writers. We should not only look at the Old Testament prophetic text as authoritative, but we must also seek to discover the original meaning behind those prophecies.

Application

Now, as important as the original meaning of prophecy was to Jesus and the writers of the New Testament, they did not simply repeat the original meaning. Instead, Christ and his followers were committed to applying the prophetic word to the dramatic acts of God that were happening in their day. To see how this application process worked, we need to consider two ideas. First, what kinds of expectations for the future did the prophets present? And then, how did New Testament writers see the fulfillment of these expectations?

Prophetic Expectations

Throughout these lessons, we'll be describing the kinds of hopes and expectations that the Old Testament predicted for the future. But for now, we will speak in general terms, simply to provide an orientation toward New Testament perspectives. Put simply, the prophets knew that sin had wreaked havoc in the world. Even the people of God had become so corrupted that God drove them into exile. But despite these terrible results of sin, the prophets looked forward to a time when God would set things straight. This future would be a time of ultimate judgment against the wicked and eternal blessing for the faithful. The prophets had all kinds of terms they used to describe this climax of human history. They spoke of it as, "The Day of the Lord." They spoke of it as, "The Latter Days." This great future would be a time when God intervened into the world and brought all things to their final end.

Prophetic Fulfillments

Now, the New Testament had special ways of handling these Old Testament prophetic expectations. We need to see how they understood the fulfillment of all these hopes in Christ. In the days of Jesus and the apostles, many Israelites expected that the Day of Retribution was coming very soon. They longed for the Messiah, who would bring human history to its climax. And in a word, Christians received Jesus as the Messiah, and therefore as the fulfillment of all of these prophetic hopes. Jesus became the hermeneutical center for Christian understanding of Old Testament prophecy.

Jesus himself insisted that interpretation of the prophets must be Christ-centered. He stressed the importance of Christ-centered interpretation on the road to Emmaus as he talked to his disciples. In Luke 24:25-26, Jesus said these words:

How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? (Luke 24:25-26).

Jesus expected his followers to see him as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. For this reason, the next verse, Luke 24:27, tells us this,

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27).

Notice how Luke put it — Jesus explained all the prophets said about him. So it is that New Testament writers affirmed the importance of the original expectations of prophecy. But they also related these prophetic expectations to the person and work of Christ.

Originally, Old Testament prophets set a trajectory of hope, a trajectory of expectation. A future time of great judgment and blessing was coming. Now the New Testament takes that trajectory and traces it into the future and finds fulfillment in the first coming of Christ, in his kingdom today and in the end of the world when Christ returns in glory.

As we will see later in this series of lessons, the New Testament explains that Christ fulfilled all Old Testament prophetic expectations in these three stages of his kingdom: he accomplished much in the inauguration of his kingdom, his earthly ministry two thousand years ago; he continues to fulfill Old Testament expectations in the continuation of his kingdom throughout the whole history of the church; and in the end, Christ will bring all prophecies to complete fulfillment when he returns and brings the consummation of his kingdom. These three stages of Christ's work provided New Testament writers with a hermeneutical model, and with this model, they were able to apply all the expectations and hopes of the Old Testament prophets to their day.

As followers of Christ, we must also learn how to take the expectations of Old Testament prophecy and apply them to the first coming of Christ, the continuation of his kingdom and the second coming of Christ.

CONCLUSION

In this introductory lesson, we have touched on four subjects that will guide our entire study of Old Testament prophecy. We must overcome our confusion over this part of the Bible, by focusing on three essential hermeneutical perspectives: we must learn about the experience of prophets, and we must reaffirm the importance of the original meaning of prophecy. And then we must learn how to follow the New Testament perspectives on prophecy.

In the lessons that follow, we are going to explore these three essential hermeneutical perspectives even further. First, we will take a look at the experience of a prophet, and then we are going to take a look at the importance of original meaning. And then, finally, we will explore even more thoroughly how New Testament writers handled Old Testament prophecy. As we look at these various topics, we will discover an outlook on prophecy that will edify the church, and bring glory to our God.

Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. (Host) is Co-Founder and President of Third Millennium Ministries. He served as Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary for more than 20 years and was chair of the Old Testament department. An ordained minister, Dr. Pratt travels extensively to evangelize and teach. He studied at Westminster Theological Seminary, received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, and earned his Th.D. in Old Testament Studies from Harvard University. Dr. Pratt is the general editor of the NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible and a translator for the New Living Translation. He has also authored numerous articles and books, including Pray with Your Eyes Open, Every Thought Captive, Designed for Dignity, He Gave Us Stories, Commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles and Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians.