Rather than the, I feel, I think, I believe, or the spirit told me what the passage means. Which cannot be put to any test? The best way to learn how to interpret prophecy is to look at prophecies that have already been fulfilled. There are reoccurring themes and vocabulary, turns of phrases/language patterns, that can be compared or matched to actual history. This way unfulfilled passages become easier to speculate on or make educated guesses as to what possible meanings might fit, the language. e.g. the beasts from the sea in Daniel are all imperial powers, therefore the beast in The Revelation is also an imperial power.

When Joseph tells his family of his dream that the sun moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. (Gen 37) Not one then or since has interpreted it as some kind of astrological event. Isaiah called the king of Babylon the planet Venus i.e. Lucifer and says he is fallen.[Is. 14] Yet the planet is still in our skies, but Babylon fell long centuries ago. Yet when we get to the Revelation the sun moon and stars behaving in strange or exotic ways is always said to be literal. When it is clear that in biblical prophecy heavenly bodies behave in strange and exotic ways, indicates that there will be a change in the political structure.

The Fall of Babylon to the Medes

9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.  10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light.  11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless. Is 13:9-11

The Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon

23   I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.  24 I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.  25 I looked, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.  26 I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. Jer. 4:23-26

Egypt falling to Babylon

7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.  8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness upon your land, says the Lord GOD. Ezek 32:7-8

Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John 

By Sir Isaac Newton (1733) 

In the heavens, the Sun and Moon are, by interpreters of dreams, put for the persons of Kings and Queens; but in sacred Prophecy, which regards not single persons, the Sun is put for the whole species and race of Kings, in the kingdom or kingdoms of the world politic, shining with regal power and glory; the 

Moon for the body of the common people, considered as the king’s wife; the Stars for subordinate Princes and great men, or for Bishops and Rulers of the people of God, when the Sun is Christ; light for the glory, truth, and knowledge, wherewith great and good men shine and illuminate others; darkness for obscurity of condition, and for error, blindness and ignorance; darkening, smiting, or setting of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, for the ceasing of a kingdom, or for the desolation thereof, proportional to the darkness; darkening the Sun, turning the Moon into blood, and falling of the Stars, for the same; new Moons, for the return of a dispersed people into a body politic or ecclesiastic. Page 14

Please look through the file on Hermeneutics (rules to interpreting the Bible) before reading the files on specific Bible passages.

See Also: Blood Moon Hoax