I don't follow what you mean by a historical and then a spiritual fulfillment, more than one meaning. Can you give an example from scripture what you mean? My statement is based mainly on the following.

I was a teenager in the 1950s and the Scofield was THE Bible. Pastors would not only give you book, chapter and verse to turn to, they would give you the Scofield page number. The dual meaning I had in mind, as best I remember as an example, was such as the four kingdoms in Daniel.

In Daniel two, the fourth kingdom was Rome and it had two meanings. It referred to ancient Rome which finally fell about 400 years after the destruction of the temple. PLUS it referred to a revived Roman Empire still in our future. We, me included for I was a dispensationalist at that time, were still giddy over Israel's establishment in 1948 and of course the generation in Mt. 24:34 was about 40 years, so 1988 was prominent, as Hal Lindsey mentioned later in his Late Great Planet Earth.

There was such certainty among many of the preachers then, that the dual reference to a revived Roman Empire that we could see it taking place at that time. It would be made up of 10 countries, based on the ten toes of the image. At that time the Common Market was formed and growing and many were looking for the final 10th country to join. That would surely be a key to the rapture. Well, the Common Market got to the 10 countries and kept growing and the rapture did not happen. I suppose that was a forerunner to the European Common Market. This is the dual fulfillment I reject, in my experience.

I'm interested in reading your meaning about a fulfillment in history and then a later spiritual fulfillment. Do you mean something like an allegory or the idea of a type? I know Paul speaks of the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, but I see that differently. I'm on a road trip the next few days but I eagerly look forward to reading what you meant on my return.