G'day aChristian, you asked the following:
Originally posted by aChristian
So, in your opinion, the thousand-year reign of Christ has been going on for nearly 2,000 years? I agree Christ began ruling over his church nearly 2,000 yaers ago. But most understand Christ's 1,000 year reign to be a time when His rule is extended over all the earth.
As you would know, John being a Hebrew was steeped in the rich symbolism of the Old Testaments language. "1000" or 10 cubed, 10x10x10 carries the meaning of God's ordered completeness, everything ultimately being His and in his reins "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills," He orders things to the thousandth generation etc. It is to miss the point to look for who owns the 1001st cattle of course God owns and orders all.
The 1000 years in light of this speaks to the reign of Christ specifically the generational span of 40 years [approx AD30-70]. Now we know Scripture is clear that Christ reign in actuality never ends, however John is showing us Christs triumphal reign and victory over Sin/Death and Satan in the so-called millennial age. In keeping with Christ's attitude of subjugation to the Father when He Comes in judgmental victory over His foes hands the Kingdom over to the Father so He [The Father] "fills all in all" as per 1Cor 15:24,28.
note: verses 25-26 recapitulate the reign and victory of that accomplished prior to verse 24. The "For He must reign" from Paul's pen is not future, but is in the "present tense" in the "this generation" time frame.
Originally posted by aChristian
What do you believe the future holds? Will this world go on as it is forever? Or will Christianity eventually conquer the world with its good ushering in an era of true peace?
The Gospel of Christ our gospel, has "no limited tenure" "no short-self-life" "no use-by-date" that futurism places upon it. According Rev 14:6 our gospel is ETERNAL, as in Eph 3:21 KJV "world without end." What the future holds and how that works out only God fully knows He has however given US, Christs Body in the earth, the mandate to be His emissaries of blessing and godly change.
Originally posted by aChristian
When will the parables be fulfilled, like the one telling of a time when the weeds will be removed from the field of wheat and thrown into a fire, and the one where the bad fish are taken out of the net and thrown away?
Paul said "there is
about to be [gk mello] a [gk singular] resurrection of the dead,
BOTH [a one time event together] the just and the unjust" Act 24:15. The parables reflect this resurrection: either to everlasting Life or everlasting Damnation. cf Jn 5:28-29.
Originally posted by aChristian
Did all such prophecies point to AD 70 or to a time following our deaths? Do you believe that Christ will never again intervene in human affairs? If so, why?
Christ is continually intervening in the affairs of His world through His Body the Church. Christ's Coming really is all about God restoring the fractured relationship between Him and a lost humanity. Ultimately ALL the Law, Prophets and Psalms [Lk 24:44] speak to Gods "eschton" in history with regards to mans redemption. Christ brought in "Gods Age" if you will, of salvation [Gal 4:4, Eph 1:10]. This being the case, Christ's 1st and 2nd Comings really are the book-ends of the ONE last days event of God into history
[with regards to mans deliverance-redemption-salvation]. The OT prophets focus was the "outworking" of this. "Fulfilled Prophecy" does NOT detract from the saving work of the Cross, it high-lights it. The Cross is the central plank of ALL that God did.
From the Crib to the Cross to His Coming is all the "last days" work of God Jesus came again and "completed" salvation. This is NOT saying the work of the Cross was in any way inadequate, far from it; it is saying salvation because Christ returned is an established fact in totality. The first century believers had in one sense a "positional" salvation, theirs was the "earnest" the "down-payment" of the Spirit till the "outworking" of their salvation came in full this happened at Christ's Parousia. Because this is true the benefit for us since that time is this:
Rev 14:6 "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
from now on."
Originally posted by aChristian
Why do you reject the notion that Jerusalem's destuction in AD 70 was only meant to serve as a small scale picture of a larger judgment to come?
Try asking this the other way around: "Why do you reject the notion that Jerusalem's destruction in AD 70 was not the larger picture of God's judgment against sin and death." Jerusalem's destruction was the main means in showing the ending of the Old Covenant Age. From Pentecost to Holocaust was "THE" generation when ALL that was written should be FULFILLED not some partly, BUT all completely.
Luke 21:22 "For these are the days of vengeance, that ALL things which are written may be fulfilled."
davo