The Golden Rule of Prophecy as defined by Hal Lindsey in his book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” is this: “When plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.” Therefore, when trying to understand the scripture in general, and specifically prophesy, take the passages literally unless the context or related passages indicate a symbolic meaning. Don’t filter prophecy through what you believe can happen. Only filter it if the Bible indicates some filtering should be done.