In a previous article I discussed some translation missteps that are frustratingly unnecessary. Let’s move on to more critical examples when it comes to verse tenses. The following is from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home:
KIRK: What’s going to happen when you release the whales?
GILLIAN: They’re gonna have to take their chances.
KIRK: What does that mean, exactly? ‘Take their chances.’
GILLIAN: It means that they will be at risk from whale hunters … same as the rest of the humpbacks…. What did you mean when you said all that stuff back at the Institute about extinction?
SPOCK: I meant…
KIRK: He meant what you said on the tour, that if things keep going the way they are, humpbacks will disappear forever.
GILLIAN: That’s not what he said, farm boy. ‘Admiral, if we were to assume those whales are ours to do with as we please, we would be as guilty as those who caused’ … past tense … ‘their extinction.’… I have a photographic memory. I see words.
SPOCK: Are you sure it isn’t time for a colorful metaphor?
The premise of the film is about time travel: returning to the past to fix a problem in the future. Gillian caught the significance. Kirk tried to reinterpret a significant time indicator to protect his mission.
When it comes to Bible prophecy, verb tenses are important as are words used to identify the timing of prophetic events. Let’s look at several passages from the book of Revelation:
