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Continuation of previous post:
As for the "short time" that Satan has after he is cast out of heaven, I don't believe that is supposed to be understood as literally a short amount of time (I'd agree that 2000 years would not qualify as a short time in that sense). Instead, I believe what it's saying is that he has a limited time. The duration of the time is not the point. It's that it will be limited. He will not get forever to go and persecute Christians like he has done for the past 2000 or so years.
I realize that if I'm going to make a claim like that I need to back up how I understand the word translated as "short" as meaning limited rather than a small duration of time. So, that's what I'll do now.
The Greek word is "oligos" and it is not always used in relation to time in scripture. First, I'm going to show how it is used in relation to a number of people.
Both Matt 20:16 and Matt 22:14 say that many are called but few are chosen. Keep in mind that your understanding of the word in relation to the amount of time Satan gets after he is cast out of heaven is that it means a literally small number (such as 3.5 years or whatever you think it is). But, in these verses the word stands for a large number. The number of chosen is few only in relation to the number that are called. But the actual number of those who are chosen is a huge number and I'm sure you would agree.
So, in those verses the word means not literally few (as in 3 or whatever we normally think of as few) but literally a lot but relatively few. That is how I believe the "short" time should be understood. Short in the sense of being a limited amount of time, but not a literally short amount of time as we would normally think of a short amount of time.
Here is a verse where the word is used in relation to a person's lifetime:
James 4:4 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time (Greek: oligos), and then vanisheth away.
Some people live up to 100 or more years. To us, that can seem like a long time. But, in relation to history, it's not. The word is always used in a relative and limited sense rather than a literal short period of time as you undertand it in Rev 12:12.
Here is a verse where the word is used in relation to time and its translated as "long" instead of "short"! How about that? If that doesn't show that Satan's "short time" doesn't have to mean a literally short amount of time, I don't know what does.
The following passage contains the verse I'm talking about. This is after Paul and Barnabas were traveling together and preaching the gospel and then they went to Antioch.
Acts 14:26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time (Greek: oligos) with the disciples.
The ironic and funny thing here is that I believe the "long time" of the verses above is much shorter than the "short time" of Rev 12:12. But, this just shows once again that the word is used in a relative sense to refer to an undefined, limited amount of time.
Your focus, however, is on trying to figure out all the different things that will happen (at each seal, trumpet and vial) and when they will happen and for exactly how long and all that. That's not my focus.
To me, the next major thing to happen in the prophetic timeline is Satan's little season. So, my focus is more on the time when there will be an increase in people falling away and being led astray from the truth (I see 2 Thess 2 as describing that time period). With that being the case, I have to focus more on showing how his little season occurs before Christ's second coming and the thousand years rather than after.
Rev 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
I'm sure you and all other premils (whether pre-trib, pre-wrath or post-trib) would agree that at the point that the fire comes down from heaven and destroys all these rebels (the number of whom is as the sand of the seashore - billions?) then that would bring an end to Satan's little season. What comes next after that is the judgment (Rev 20:11-15). Wouldn't those that had just been killed in Rev 20:9 at the end of Satan's little season have to be resurrected to stand before the throne for this judgment to give account of what they had done in their lives? Of course. Rev 20:15 says all those whose names are not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire at that point, so that would include the ones who had just been killed. They would not get out of having to stand before the throne to be judged just like all other unbelievers.
So, how silly do you think my belief that people will be killed and then resurrected and judged shortly after is now? Knowing that you too believe the same thing since we all believe that Rev 20:7-9 happens just before the judgment.
Honestly, this post took a lot of time and effort. I appreciate the time and effort you took for you to create yours. Even though we disagree, I appreciate you keeping things civil.
Rev 12:5 is a clear reference to Christ's ascension. So, that establishes the timing of the war in heaven. Knowing that Jesus ascended to heaven long ago and is now our Mediator in heaven on our behalf, how is it that you think Satan has any cause to be in heaven any longer to accuse us? Do you think Jesus our King and Mediator who defeated Satan on the cross would allow that? I certainly do not. So, I believe you are mistaken on that.as for Satan, Satan has been going up to heaven to accuse us before God basically all of creation. He only loses that access in what you think is a past event, and I think is a future event (and I think it's future because he knows his time is short after it happens, so his efforts become very intensified, hence the 70th week events and 4 horsemen 2000 years.. is not a short amount of time).
As for the "short time" that Satan has after he is cast out of heaven, I don't believe that is supposed to be understood as literally a short amount of time (I'd agree that 2000 years would not qualify as a short time in that sense). Instead, I believe what it's saying is that he has a limited time. The duration of the time is not the point. It's that it will be limited. He will not get forever to go and persecute Christians like he has done for the past 2000 or so years.
I realize that if I'm going to make a claim like that I need to back up how I understand the word translated as "short" as meaning limited rather than a small duration of time. So, that's what I'll do now.
The Greek word is "oligos" and it is not always used in relation to time in scripture. First, I'm going to show how it is used in relation to a number of people.
Both Matt 20:16 and Matt 22:14 say that many are called but few are chosen. Keep in mind that your understanding of the word in relation to the amount of time Satan gets after he is cast out of heaven is that it means a literally small number (such as 3.5 years or whatever you think it is). But, in these verses the word stands for a large number. The number of chosen is few only in relation to the number that are called. But the actual number of those who are chosen is a huge number and I'm sure you would agree.
So, in those verses the word means not literally few (as in 3 or whatever we normally think of as few) but literally a lot but relatively few. That is how I believe the "short" time should be understood. Short in the sense of being a limited amount of time, but not a literally short amount of time as we would normally think of a short amount of time.
Here is a verse where the word is used in relation to a person's lifetime:
James 4:4 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time (Greek: oligos), and then vanisheth away.
Some people live up to 100 or more years. To us, that can seem like a long time. But, in relation to history, it's not. The word is always used in a relative and limited sense rather than a literal short period of time as you undertand it in Rev 12:12.
Here is a verse where the word is used in relation to time and its translated as "long" instead of "short"! How about that? If that doesn't show that Satan's "short time" doesn't have to mean a literally short amount of time, I don't know what does.
The following passage contains the verse I'm talking about. This is after Paul and Barnabas were traveling together and preaching the gospel and then they went to Antioch.
Acts 14:26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time (Greek: oligos) with the disciples.
The ironic and funny thing here is that I believe the "long time" of the verses above is much shorter than the "short time" of Rev 12:12. But, this just shows once again that the word is used in a relative sense to refer to an undefined, limited amount of time.
This is because you take things like Jesus riding on a white horse with a sword coming out of His mouth literally. Do you really think that He will be riding a flying horse with a sword in His mouth when He comes?It depends. If it's omitted detail I can still consider them the same things. If it's contradicting details I cannot. I see Matthew 24's return of Jesus happening in Revelation 6 despite not being specific about the gathering of the elect, because the other details match, the sun and moon darken, and the son of man is visible in the clouds, and the tribes of the earth mourn.
The details in Revelation 19 on the other hand, contradict, on a horse rather than in the clouds, and the tribes of the earth are prepared for battle rather than mourning, and it'd be omitting the darkening of the sun and moon, and the gathering of the elect. Nothing matches.
It's not contradicting because I don't forget the Revelation is a highly symbolic book so that I don't make the mistake of thinking that Jesus will literally ride a white horse with a big double edged sword in His mouth.So you understand that the 6th seal is the return of Christ, and yet you still think it's the same as Revelation 19's coming on a white horse, even though what's described is contradicting?
I've never actually said otherwise. The reason I focus more on the wrath that comes down on the actual day that Christ returns is because if it's global destruction on that day, as I believe, then that makes it so that the thousand years cannot be in the future. Which obviously would make premil (whether you're pretrib, pre-wrath or post-trib) untrue and force all premils to rethink what they believe.To be honest, I'm not even really talking about the millennium mostly in this thread what I'm trying to get you to grasp is that the wrath of God takes time, it is not instant, and God's people are rescued before it.
Your focus, however, is on trying to figure out all the different things that will happen (at each seal, trumpet and vial) and when they will happen and for exactly how long and all that. That's not my focus.
To me, the next major thing to happen in the prophetic timeline is Satan's little season. So, my focus is more on the time when there will be an increase in people falling away and being led astray from the truth (I see 2 Thess 2 as describing that time period). With that being the case, I have to focus more on showing how his little season occurs before Christ's second coming and the thousand years rather than after.
I will never understand that no matter what you do because it isn't true. There is a future 24 hour day coming during which He will return and resurrect the dead, have His own gathered to Him "in the air", and destroy His enemies (followed by the final judgment - Matt 25:31-46).I'm trying to get you to understand that the Parousia is also not instant, that the Parousia is a presence, and everything that happens from the moment Jesus appears in the clouds, is the second coming, up through eternity.
Wait a minute here. Hold on. Timeout. There's something you have not thought of here and that is probably because of your admitted lack of paying attention to Rev 20. You don't even realize that you have the same "silly belief" as I do, assuming you believe that the ones killed in the following passage would need to be resurrected for judgment right afterwards.Amillennialism requires viewing the first resurrection to have taken place back with Christ, and for it to not be an end time resurrection, and because of that, they only have the second resurrection left, meaning they have to take a post wrath view, and view the wrath of God as being instantaneous, and also leads to the absolutely silly belief that God resurrects everyone who's ever died then returns and destroys the entire planet instantly. Then He'd have to resurrect all the people He'd just killed again in order for them to stand judgement. But Hebrews 9:27 doesn't have people dying twice and then standing judgement, but once.
Rev 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
I'm sure you and all other premils (whether pre-trib, pre-wrath or post-trib) would agree that at the point that the fire comes down from heaven and destroys all these rebels (the number of whom is as the sand of the seashore - billions?) then that would bring an end to Satan's little season. What comes next after that is the judgment (Rev 20:11-15). Wouldn't those that had just been killed in Rev 20:9 at the end of Satan's little season have to be resurrected to stand before the throne for this judgment to give account of what they had done in their lives? Of course. Rev 20:15 says all those whose names are not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire at that point, so that would include the ones who had just been killed. They would not get out of having to stand before the throne to be judged just like all other unbelievers.
So, how silly do you think my belief that people will be killed and then resurrected and judged shortly after is now? Knowing that you too believe the same thing since we all believe that Rev 20:7-9 happens just before the judgment.
Honestly, this post took a lot of time and effort. I appreciate the time and effort you took for you to create yours. Even though we disagree, I appreciate you keeping things civil.
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