In order to understand bible prophecy one needs to understand a few basic principles used by GOD in the bible. These are their differentiation:

Partial Prophecy: This type of prophecy is partially performed, thus there is a future fulfilment to the remaining of the prophecy. For example: Matthew 17:11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. [Though John the Baptist did restore and prepared a people for the Christ, it however did not fully fulfill this prophecy as he did not restore all Things and the dreadful day of the Lord has not yet come. This prophecy point to a future Elijah yet to come]

Complete Prophecy: This type of prophecy has been fully fulfilled. That is performed 100% and it no longer continues as a prophecy but passes on as history. For example: Genesis 15:13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. [This prophecy has been fully fulfilled]

Shadow Prophecy: This type of prophecy points to an action in the future that is quite similar to the prophecy ahead of it. For example: Matthew 24:7-8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. [This has not yet happened though there have been events in the twentieth century that one would think that related to that period, but rather these were just events . In these events millions of people died, the one to be fulfilled billions are going to die. This prophecy is referring to the time of the tribulation and the end]

Dual Prophecy: This type of prophecy fulfils two outcomes distinctively yet still stemming from the same prophecy. For example: Isaiah 1:9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. [This is a prophecy for the time of the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians, yet also this prophecy relates to the future time when Israel will be almost destroyed and slaved again. This is yet to happen. It will happened before and during the Tribulation time when the lawless one will annihilate everyone and everything to do with Jewish things, but Christ will stop this from happening]

Single Prophecy: This prophecy has only one single outcome in the future once it comes the prophecy will have been fulfilled. For example: Isaiah 54:11 "O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires. [This refers to the New Jerusalem above. This will only happen once]

The other factor for understanding prophecy and the most crucial is that you need The spirit of GOD, the spirit of prophecy, more exactly. This is a spirit endowed with the ability to understand, see, discern the future Not only through seeing visions, reading the bible and understanding these visions but through dreams.also This type of spirit is known as having the testimony of Christ. This is because all prophecies comes from him and are either related directly or indirectly. Revelation 19:10 …For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”