A postscript to Suggestions for Interpretation: A text can never mean what it never meant. That is, it was addressed by a certain individual to a certain audience of hearers or readers at a certain time. Those original readers should have had little trouble understanding it. The problems we have today in interpreting those ancient texts are related to the fact that we are far removed from their time and circumstances. We need to find out what they were, and then we can come closer to what the text meant for the original writer and audience. If the interpretation that we arrive at today would not have been understandable to the original readers/hearers of the message, then it is probably not a correct interpretation. This is especially true when we are dealing with the prophetic writings of the Hebrew Bible, and the apocalyptic writings of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Revelation in the New Testament. A text can never mean today what it never meant for the original audience to which it was addressed. It is only when we can understand and identify commonalities between our situations today and their situations in ancient times that we can find ways to apply those texts to our situations today.